7 Obscure Characters We Need in the New History of the DC Universe

DC Comics is having a banner year in 2025 and they’re looking to take advantage of that. With Superman (2025) and the Absolute Universe firing on all cylinders, the publisher wants to give new readers as many ways in as possible, opening up the breadth of the DC Multiverse to what will hopefully be many new fans. That’s where The New History of the DC Universe comes in. This new series looks to establish, well, the new history of the DC Universe, and it has DC expert Mark Waid as the man behind it all. That means that this is going to be one of the most meticulously researched projects in the history of comics. Waid knows DC like few others, and loves every single corner of its 87 year superhero history. It’s going to hit all the right notes, giving readers the characters they want to see in the greatest events in DC history. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Justice Society, and many more are going to play roles in it, but they shouldn’t be the only characters to show up.

DC has the best lower tier of superheroes in the history of the comic industry. One of the things that we DC fans love the most about it is the strange esoteric characters that form the substrata of the DC Multiverse. The New History of the DC Universe needs to incorporate that stuff into its narrative, showing readers the DC Universe in all of its glory. These seven obscure DC characters are perfect additions to The New History of the DC Universe, and fans hope to see them.

Hourman I

I love Earth-Two and DC’s Golden Age superheroes, and one of my favorites is Hourman I. Rex Tyler was a chemist who created Miraclo, a drug that gave him super strength and invulnerability for one hour at a time. Hourman I joined the Justice Society, and participated in the Justice League of America/Justice Society of America crossovers of the Silver Age. He was simply the team strongman, and did that job very well. However, it was later revealed that Hourman I became addicted to Miraclo and being a superhero, an interesting aspect of the character that make him one of the most complicated Golden Age superheroes as he battled this addiction. He’d go on to have a son Rick, who would also become Hourman, while dying and being resurrected and possibly dying again at some point. Hourman I is a deceptively simple character, and an important part of the Golden and Silver Age. Hourman I is a DC legend, and since Waid is definitely going to dig into both, he needs to include Hourman I.

Giovanni Zatara

Giovanni Zatara, introduced as Zatara, first appeared in Action Comics #1, making him an integral part of the most important superhero comic ever. Zatara was one of DC’s many Golden Age magic users, but has the best legacy of them all. Zatara trained his daughter Zatanna in magic, as well as training Batman in the art of escape. While Zatara could use actual magic, he also was a skilled stage musician, which is how he and his daughter made their living. Zatara popped up throughout the DC Universe in the Silver and Bronze Age, but died in the classic Swamp Thing story “American Gothic”, working with a group of magic users to hold back the Great Darkness. Zatara’s place in the training of two Justice Leaguers makes him extremely important, but more than that he’s just important on his own. Magic is an extremely part of the history of the DC Universe, and Zatara is the perfect character to include to really show that side of DC.

Doctor Occult

Doctor Occult premiered in what is known in the Platinum Age of Comics (a name I just learned today), in 1935’s New Fun Comics #6. Doctor Occult was a pulp occult detective working cases with monsters and magic four years before Superman showed up and the DC Universe really kicked off. Armed with the Mystic Symbol of the Seven and powerful magical abilities, he was created by Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. All of this makes him an extremely important part of any series about the history of DC. Doctor Occult has existed through each era of DC, a truly unique character in the pantheon of the DC Universe. However, beyond that, Doctor Occult is a super interesting character, he and his partner Rose fighting evil threats and then fusing into one being, each taking control at different times. Doctor Occult is a DC deep cut, and it would be a mistake for Mark Waid to not include him.

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Kamandi

Jack Kirby is the greatest creative force in the history of the comic industry. Kirby was a key part of the beginning of the Marvel Universe, but he ended up leaving the publisher, his treatment by Stan Lee and the company sending him to DC Comics. Kirby created some amazing concepts at DC, including the Great Disaster, a cataclysm that would destroy Earth and humanity, leading to a world of intelligent animals fighting for the scraps of human civilization and technology. Into this futuristic hellscape walked Kamandi, the Last Boy on Earth. Kamandi’s battles to survive his terrible future are some of Kirby’s finest DC work. Waid is a man who respects the classics and their creators, so there will be definitely be plenty of Kirby characters. The Great Disaster has been shown in many alternate DC futures — it even had its own Earth in the New 52 DC Multiverse — so putting it, and Kamandi, in The New History of the DC Universe is a must.

Anthro

The New History of the DC Universe has way more to cover than the 20th and 21st century and beyond, because the history of DC stretches back to the Stone Age. Anthro first appeared in 1968’s Showcase #74. Anthro is the first human being, born to Neanderthal parents, and had adventures in the Stone Age. After a single appearance in Showcase, Anthro got his own series, which only lasted six issues. Anthro made few appearances in the interim until Crisis on Infinite Earths, where he played a key role in the second issue, then disappeared again until the ’00s, where DC tried to bring him back in Tales of the Unexpected and Final Crisis. It’s been established that Anthro battled Vanda Savage back in the Stone Age, and even met Batman. Anthro is perfect for The New History of the DC Universe, and Waid is sure to include the character in the book.

Animal Man

Grant Morrison is one of DC’s most storied creators, and has worked rather closely with Mark Waid over the decades. Waid is sure to include a lot of Morrison stuff in The New History of the DC Universe. Morrison has been a key architect of the DC Universe since 1989, when they had their breakout book Animal Man. Animal Man starred Buddy Baker, the titular animal powered superhero, his wife Ellen, his son Cliff, and his daughter Maxine, dealing with Animal Man’s career as a superhero. It’s a brilliant work, a comic that drew readers into the Baker family, all while redefining the character, and introducing what would become the Red, the energy source for all living animals, then known as the morphogenetic grid. Animal Man was a comic all about the ways humans and fiction interacted, and Morrison’s landmark run ended with Animal Man meeting them, the two of them talking about comics and the changes the character has gone through. Animal Man isn’t the most obscure character out there, but he’s still not as well-known as he once was. Animal Man is a very important DC character, and it would be great to see him in The New History of the DC Universe.

Captain Comet

Captain Comet is a very interesting hero in DC history. Captain Comet first appeared in Strange Adventures #9 from 1951. This is a weird time in DC history. Technically, the Golden Age of comics, which began with Action Comics #1, was over for all intents and purposes by 1951. The Justice Society was gone, and DC’s only superhero books were starring Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. This was the age of weird DC sci-fi, and is often called the Atomic Age. Fiction of the time was obsessed with atomic energy and space flight, so along came characters like Captain Comet. Adam Blake was born in 1931 with the evolutionary potential of a human being from a hundred thousand years in the future. This gave him amazing superpowers, including superhuman strength, invulnerability, flight, telekinesis, telepathy, super speed, teleportation, super senses and intellect, concussive energy blasts, and more. Captain Comet fought aliens and went to space, and would become a DC cosmic hero, fighting alongside the heroes of the Earth and beyond. Captain Comet is a very important part of DC history, opening the door to a boatload of sci-fi characters like Space Cabbie and Tommy Tommorrow. Captain Comet needs to be in The New History of the DC Universe more than most characters.

What characters do you want to see? Let us know in the comments!