Search/Recent Changes
DBTropes
...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!

Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book)

 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book)
type
TVTItem
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book)
label
Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book)
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book)
page
ChallengersOfTheUnknown
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book)
comment
The Challengers of the Unknown are a Badass Normal hero team appearing in DC Comics since 1957. It is not known exactly who had a hand in their creation, as their first appearance ran without writer credits, but the artwork is definitely by Jack Kirby and he probably had a hand in shaping the story, too.Ace Morgan, Prof Haley, Rocky Davis, and Red Ryan miraculously survive a plane crash and are inspired to devote their lives to investigating mysteries and facing down strange threats, fearing no danger because they feel that they've already been granted extra time. They debuted in Showcase #6 in 1957 and made a few more appearances in that title before being given their own series, which ran from 1958 to 1971. They were subsequently rebooted post-Crisis in a 1991 miniseries, and reimagined in the New 52 as competitors in a reality TV show, as well as making guest appearances in other series.A new team took up the name in a short-lived 1997 ongoing. A 2004 miniseries also introduced a new team, reimagining them and the original Challengers as having been subjects of a mind-control experiment by a global conspiracy who escaped the leash. A New 52 version combining the original and 1997 teams appeared in DC Universe Presents, but we don't talk about that. Another new team gets an ongoing in 2017, New Challengers, as part of DC's Dark Matter initiative.By the way, if the premise sounds familiar, most Kirby fans say that one of the best arguments that he was the real creative force in Marvel Comics was that he basically recycled it in combination with Stan Lee's ideas for more complex Super Hero characters to created the groundbreaking Fantastic Four, which jump-started the creation of the Marvel Universe.Outside of comic pages, the Challengers have appeared in a novel about the team, the animated adaptation of DC: The New Frontier (although all of them besides Ace are Demoted to Extra in comparison to their prominent roles in the original limited series), a few Batman: The Brave and the Bold episodes, and Teen Titans Go! To the Movies.
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book)
fetched
2023-04-23T17:27:31Z
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book)
parsed
2023-04-23T17:27:32Z
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book)
processingComment
Dropped link to DeadMan: Not a Feature - ITEM
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book)
processingComment
Dropped link to FantasticFour: Not a Feature - ITEM
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book)
isPartOf
DBTropes
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_1195fbb6
type
Solar System Neighbors
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_1195fbb6
comment
Solar System Neighbors: The challengers once rounded up three giant plutonian animals wreaking havoc on earth and then handed them over to intelligent aliens from Pluto who safely removed the creatures.
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_1195fbb6
featureApplicability
1.0
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_1195fbb6
featureConfidence
1.0
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book)
hasFeature
Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_1195fbb6
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_3df7b43b
type
Pull a Rabbit out of My Hat
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_3df7b43b
comment
Pull a Rabbit out of My Hat: In the 1991 reboot, this was the first thing Ace attempted when he was reinvented as a mystic. Since one of his teammates was actually named Rocky, he even used the Rocky and Bullwinkle quote.
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_3df7b43b
featureApplicability
1.0
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_3df7b43b
featureConfidence
1.0
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book)
hasFeature
Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_3df7b43b
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_624c868
type
Transplant
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_624c868
comment
Transplant: Rocky was transplanted to the Doom Patrol in Keith Giffen's run, essentially becoming their chaplain.
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_624c868
featureApplicability
1.0
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_624c868
featureConfidence
1.0
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book)
hasFeature
Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_624c868
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_6411dac8
type
BadassNormal
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_6411dac8
comment
Badass Normal: The Challengers face many science-fictional or supernatural menaces without any superpowers of their own.
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_6411dac8
featureApplicability
1.0
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_6411dac8
featureConfidence
1.0
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book)
hasFeature
Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_6411dac8
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_7ccd3698
type
Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_7ccd3698
comment
Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: In an early issue, an accident in June's lab turns her into a Giant Woman and a germ she was inspecting into a Mega Microbe, the two eventually getting into a Behemoth Battle.
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_7ccd3698
featureApplicability
1.0
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_7ccd3698
featureConfidence
1.0
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book)
hasFeature
Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_7ccd3698
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_8ae880f7
type
Deconstruction
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_8ae880f7
comment
They received the popular Dark Age deconstruction-focused miniseries from Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale in the early 90s.
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_8ae880f7
featureApplicability
1.0
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_8ae880f7
featureConfidence
1.0
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book)
hasFeature
Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_8ae880f7
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_a58e762d
type
The Fantastic Faux
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_a58e762d
comment
The Fantastic Faux: The Ur-Example; they actually predate the Fantastic Four by about three years, and were also created by Jack Kirby. Kirby in fact used them as the template for creating the Fantastic Four, and DC has often retooled or reinterpreted the characters to be more similar to their more-famous knockoffs.
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_a58e762d
featureApplicability
1.0
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_a58e762d
featureConfidence
1.0
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book)
hasFeature
Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_a58e762d
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_b2283870
type
Retool
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_b2283870
comment
Retool: The Challengers have been retooled many times as trends in comics have changed, and have managed to represent nearly every trend at some point: They started as science adventurers (often considered a dry run for Kirby's later four-person science adventurer team) in the Fifties and tended towards Silver Age wackiness in the Sixties. In the Seventies they became more traditional superheroes on the weird DC fringe, interacting with Deadman and Swamp Thing. They received the popular Dark Age deconstruction-focused miniseries from Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale in the early 90s. They were rebooted completely with a new, more diverse squad of legacy characters in the late 90s as The X-Files-esque weird investigators. The New Challengers disappear into Comicbook Limbo in the early-to-mid 2000s as the original Challengers return only for them to be demoted to C-List Fodder for a Crisis Crossover, and two get Killed Off for Real around Infinite Crisis.
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_b2283870
featureApplicability
1.0
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_b2283870
featureConfidence
1.0
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book)
hasFeature
Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_b2283870
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_b7d2dbed
type
Tonight, Someone Dies
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_b7d2dbed
comment
Tonight, Someone Dies: An early issue actually did kill off one of the Challengers this way. CPR brought him back within a few panels.
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_b7d2dbed
featureApplicability
1.0
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_b7d2dbed
featureConfidence
1.0
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book)
hasFeature
Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_b7d2dbed
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_b997ea9e
type
Comic-Book Limbo
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_b997ea9e
comment
The New Challengers disappear into Comicbook Limbo in the early-to-mid 2000s as the original Challengers return only for them to be demoted to C-List Fodder for a Crisis Crossover, and two get Killed Off for Real around Infinite Crisis.
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_b997ea9e
featureApplicability
1.0
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_b997ea9e
featureConfidence
1.0
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book)
hasFeature
Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_b997ea9e
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_c47fed84
type
Waking Up at the Morgue
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_c47fed84
comment
Waking Up at the Morgue: Rocky in his origin story was seemingly killed during a wrestling match where he was crushed to death by his opponent with a very strong bear hug, only to wake up when the doctors were ready to do an autopsy on his body.
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_c47fed84
featureApplicability
1.0
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_c47fed84
featureConfidence
1.0
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book)
hasFeature
Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_c47fed84
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_c9e5a0db
type
Legacy Character
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_c9e5a0db
comment
They were rebooted completely with a new, more diverse squad of legacy characters in the late 90s as The X-Files-esque weird investigators.
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_c9e5a0db
featureApplicability
1.0
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_c9e5a0db
featureConfidence
1.0
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book)
hasFeature
Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_c9e5a0db
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_debf324f
type
Immune to Fate
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_debf324f
comment
Immune to Fate: A 2007 story arc in The Brave and the Bold revealed that the Challengers were destined to die in the plane crash, and ever since they have existed beyond fate; even the Book of Destiny of the Endless, which records everything that has ever happened or will happen, contains no record of them beyond that point.
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_debf324f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_debf324f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book)
hasFeature
Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_debf324f
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_name
type
ItemName
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_name
comment
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_name
featureApplicability
1.0
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_name
featureConfidence
1.0
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book)
hasFeature
Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_name
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book) / int_name
itemName
Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book)

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book)
hasFeature
Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever / int_56a42a38
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book)
hasFeature
Computerized Judicial System / int_56a42a38
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book)
hasFeature
Distinguished Gentleman's Pipe / int_56a42a38
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book)
hasFeature
Hypocritical Heartwarming / int_56a42a38
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book)
hasFeature
Immune to Fate / int_56a42a38
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book)
hasFeature
Mistaken for Apocalypse / int_56a42a38
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book)
hasFeature
Pull a Rabbit out of My Hat / int_56a42a38
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book)
hasFeature
The Fantastic Faux / int_56a42a38
 Challengers of the Unknown (Comic Book)
hasFeature
Waking Up at the Morgue / int_56a42a38