Who's Who in the Superman Comics
Nightwing and Flamebird
When a major crimewave erupted out of the bottled city of Kandor, Superman and his pal Jimmy Olsen went in to investigate the disturbances. Inside the bottled city, a friend of Jor-El, Nor-Kann, warned Superman that many Kandorians believed that The Man of Steel was witholding a process to enlarge the city, and thus, wanted to destroy Superman himself.
As a fugitive, and lacking his normal super powers while inside the bottle, Superman decided to adopt a new identity - one patterned after his fellow crimefighter, Batman. However, because there were no bats or robins on Krypton, Superman and Jimmy Olsen created the costumed identities of Nightwing and Flamebird. Eventually defeating the evildoers, Superman and Jimmy Olsen returned to their regular identities once outside of Kandor. But a number of emergencies eventually called back The Man of Tomorrow, and he and Olsen reprised their costumed personas again.
Afterward, a Kandorian citizen, Van-Zee, and his nephew-in-law Ak-Var, took over the guises of Nightwing and Flamebird, effectively thwarting evildoers throughout Kandor. This led to a team-up of the two Nightwing and Flamebird duos, as well as the ultimate extermination of major crimes throughout the city. Eventually, Van-Zee and Ak-Var retired as the Kryptonian Crusaders, while the legacy of Nightwing and Flamebird has managed to live on.
It was the recounting of these adventures which inspired Dick Grayson (the young man who became the first Robin) to adopt a new crimefighting identity as Nightwing. Protecting Gotham City and nearby Bludhaven, Nightwing carries on the legacy he established as a part of the original Dynamic Duo of Batman and Robin. Also, when Superman returned to the planet Krypton for a brief visit, he and Lois Lane assumed the roles of Nightwing and Flamebird.
First Appearance: SUP #158 (Volume I)
Who's Who in the Superman Comics
Introduction
This is a listing of many of the notable characters and a few places that have appeared in the
Superman comics from the 1986 revamp up until around 2008.
NOTE: A new, and more current version of the Who's Who is currently being worked on and can be accessed by clicking here.
Although Superman often appears in other DC Comics, this text's information is limited mainly to what has occurred in the regular Superman comics.
Many thanks to Scotty V, Derrick Lyle Coleman, Dean Vanek, Genevieve Clemens and Benjamin Grose who all helped out at one time or another with writing and updating these Who's Who descriptions.
The listings are displayed as follows:
- Surname, Firstname - Text describing the character, place, object, etc...
Relevant issues of the Superman comics are listed as such:
- SUP = Superman
- MOS = Man of Steel
- AOS = Adventures of Superman
- ACT = Action Comics
- MOT = Man of Tomorrow
The Issue Number for each of these titles is written in this manner: “#000”. (e.g.
SUP #123)
“First Appearance” refers to the issue since 1986 unless otherwise noted.
