Legacy has always been an important theme in DC. Almost since the beginning, its heroes have wondered who would take their place after their time fighting crime has passed. Over the decades, numerous iconic identities and mantles have passed hands, from Robin to the Flash. These names becoming mantles that other people can pick up to become heroes creates a sense of awe, like the heroes themselves are something greater than just people. These heroes mean something, and using the names of those who came before them is the best way to continue their mission. However, not every hero who takes up a mantle is remembered for that.
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Sometimes, superheroes simply become so popular or synonymous with their name that people forget that they’re legacy characters at all. Today, we’re going to shine a spotlight on all the forgotten heroic lineages by talking about five DC heroes who you probably didn’t know have been using someone else’s name. All of these heroes, past and present, deserve their dues, and we’re here to give it to them. So, with all that said, let’s leap into these heroic legacies.
5) Black Canary
The lore behind the two Black Canaries is one of DC’s most convoluted, but to summarize, the Dinah that we all know and love is actually the second Black Canary. The original was her mother, who lived on Earth-2 with the Justice Society of America. She fought crime without any superpowers, just her grit and a blonde wig, before she eventually retired and raised her daughter. That child would grow up to follow her mother’s footsteps and become the second Black Canary. Dinah has become the definitive Canary, to the point where most forget that her mother even exists. Of course, that could also be due to her very strange history.
4. Air Wave
Harold Jodran Levey has been making waves recently as a member of the Justice League Unlimited, but he’s actually not the first to wear the name. He originally served as the sidekick to his father, the first Air Wave. The original was a Golden Age hero whose special suit let him intercept radio waves and ride along power lines, but his son developed the suit to let him transform into a radio frequency himself. Air Wave is well on his way to becoming, if not a household name, at least a C or even B-tier hero, and when he does, it’ll be important to remember where he came from.
3) Nightwing
Dick Grayson famously rechristened himself Nightwing when he grew out of his role as Robin. He named himself after a Kryptonian legend that Superman told him, which, in actuality, was also the name of Superman’s vigilante persona in the Bottle City of Kandor. Dick wasn’t even the second Nightwing, as that honor went to another Kandorian Superman passed the title on to. In fact, Dick isn’t even the newest Nightwing, as in the New Earth continuity, General Zod’s on Lor-Zod took up the name after serving as Superboy for a brief time. The Nightwing mythos stretches much farther than Bludhaven, that’s for sure.
2) Mister Miracle
While Scott Free is the most famous hero to call himself Mister Miracle, it was actually a name he inherited after he arrived on Earth. However, the original Mister Miracle, Thaddeus Brown, wasn’t a superhero at all, but a stage performer. He mentored Scott Free in the ways of Earth and inspired him to find his own way to live and escape the bad parts of life before he was killed. His life and death inspired Scott to become the hero that we know him as today, and while Thadeus never fought crime on his own, he did mentor some of the world’s finest, including a young Batman. There is also a third Mister Miracle, Shilo Norman, who took up the mantle after Scott, also trained by Thaddeus.
1) Mister Terrific
Michael Holt is one of the smartest men in the world and is a rising superstar in the superhero community, which makes the fact that he’s a legacy hero all the more important and surprising. Terry Sloane was the first Mister Terrific, being a self-made millionaire, Olympic athlete, and Golden Age superhero. He was the man who coined the term fair play, which still serves as the basis of Michael’s entire worldview today. He was an important, if often forgotten, member of the JSA, and without him, we wouldn’t have one of DC’s newest big stars. Mister Terrific has fought for fair play across numerous generations, and I don’t see either of them stopping anytime soon.
Which underrated legacy superhero is your favorite? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts on the ComicBook Forum!
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