By David R. Black

Test your knowledge of DC trivia! The challenge is designed so that it (hopefully) has both easy and difficult questions which require knowledge about a variety of characters, places, etc. in the DCU.

Answer the following fifty questions by choosing the best answer or filling in the blank. To do the bonus cryptogram at the end, you’ll need to crack the code (an example is provided, so don’t worry if you don’t understand. Answers are provided at the end, so no fair peeking!

1) Olympic athletes are awarded gold, silver and bronze medals. Name three DC characters (one of each) who have the word gold, silver or bronze in their name. No fair using the Metal Men as answers!

2) The traitorous New Teen Titan Terra is from what fictional European country?

   a) Moldova    b) Markovia    c) Vlatlava    d) Modora

3) Pre-Crisis, what did blue kryptonite do?

   a) Rob Kryptonians of their powers permanently

   b) Kill any form of plant life

   c) Allow the Phantom Zone Criminals to mentally attack Superman

   d) Weaken Bizarro in a manner similar to green kryptonite’s effects on Superman

4) What character was not created by Keith Giffen?

   a) Vext    b) Ambush Bug    c)The Creeper    d) G’nort

5) What group of villains murdered the original Doom Patrol?

   a) Brotherhood of Evil    b) The Fearsome Five    c) The Injustice Society
   d) Secret Society of Super Villains

6) Name two of the three villains who have received their own ongoing series.

7) Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster, Superman’s creators, went to high school together in what city?

   a) Boston, MA    b) St. Louis, MO    c) Metropolis, NY    d) Cleveland, OH

8) Cosmic Boy (Rokk Krin’s) brother is also a Legionnaire. What’s his code name?

   a) Braalian Boy    b) Magnetic Kid    c) Color Kid    d) Sun Boy

9) Homer Glint, Karel Sorensen, and Rick Purvis are members of the space faring group known as?

   a) Star Rovers    b) Planeteers    c) Knights of the Galaxy    d) L.E.G.I.O.N.

10) The mother of the undersea heroine known as Deep Blue/Indigo is?

   a) Dolphin    b) Mera    c) Tsunami    d) Judy Walton (of the Sea Devils)

11) The goddess to whom Starfire (Koriand’r) always swears to is?

   a) J’emm    b) X’hal    c) Venus    d) Kalista

12) The Green Lantern who failed to prevent Krypton’s destruction was?

   a) Tomar-Re    b) Alan Scott    c) Hal Jordan    d) Waverly Sayre

13) What villain was responsible for causing Barbara Gordon’s paralysis?

   a) Two Face    b) Deadshot    c) Bane   d) The Joker

14) At one point, how was Starman Ted Knight related to Arn "Iron" Munro? Ted was Arn’s ____

   a) brother in-law    b) stepfather    c) cousin in-law   d) uncle

15) How is Rip Hunter, Time Master, related to Dan Hunter (Tomahawk’s sidekick)? Rip is Dan’s ____

   a) brother    b) cousin    c) great great great grandson

   d) great great great grandnephew

16) For the old time JLA fans: The Spirit King killed the original Mr. Terrific during a JLA/JSA team-up. Whose body did he possess to do so?

   a) Superman    b) Flash (Jay Garrick)    c) Flash (Barry Allen)   d) Black Canary

17) Pre Zero Hour, Gemworld left its dimensional plane to become a planet in the 30^th century. What was the planet’s name?

   a) Zerox    b) Naltor    c) Tharn    d) Braal

18) What 1940’s hero lives in the same apartment building as Dick Grayson (Nightwing)?

   a) Daniel Dunbar (Dan the Dyna-Mite)    b) Happy Terrill (The Ray)

   c) Ted Grant (Wildcat)    d) Jon Law (Tarantula)

19) What type of Justice League never existed?

   a) Justice League America    b) Justice League Antarctica

   c) Justice League Europe    d) Justice League Africa

20) As Kid Flash, Wally West protected Blue Valley, Nebraska. Who protects Blue Valley now?

    a) Michael Hutchison    b) Star Spangled Kid II    c) The Secret    d) Impulse

21) The Teen Titan Damage is legally forbidden to set foot in which U.S. state?

   a) Georgia    b) Florida    c) South Carolina    d) Delaware

22) The name of Metropolis’ maximum security prison is?

   a) Blackgate Prison    b) Belle Reve    c) The Slab    d) Stryker’s Island

23) Batman used to be a member of which team?

   a) Global Guardians    b) Gotham Knights    c) Outsiders   d) Teen Titans

24) Another name for the Seven Soldiers of Victory is?

   a) Law’s Legionnaires    b) Infinity, Inc.    c) Super Squad   d) Junior Justice Society

25) Name the long time Green Arrow writer who also created the Warlord.

   a) Chuck Dixon    b) Len Wein    c) Mike Grell    d) Mike W. Barr

26) Pre Zero Hour, what was the name of the thug who killed Batman’s parents?

   a) E. Nigma    b) Joe Chill    c) Thomas Blake    d) Julian Day

27) Name 4 people whom Superman/Clark Kent knows whose initials are L.L.

28) Orion, Barda, and Mister Miracle have all been members of the Justice League at one point. What other New God was briefly a member of the league?

   a) Metron    b) Lightray    c) Forager    d) Mark Moonrider

29) Which of the following women is not a member of the Female Furies?

   a) Lashina    b) Bernadeth    c) Stompa    d) Amazing Grace

30) DC’s first sword and sorcery character was?

   a) The Warlord    b) Nightmaster    c) Claw the Unconquered    d) Arak

31) Kyle Rayner received his Green lantern ring from?

    a) Hal Jordan    b) Appa Ali Apsa    c) Ganthet    d) A Crackerjackã box

32) Which speedster is affectionately known as the "Zen guru of speed" by his peers?

   a) Jay Garrick    b) Max Mercury    c) Wally West    d) Johnny Chambers

33) What Teen Titan is capable of creating solid energy objects, much like Green Lantern, but silver in color?

   a) Argent    b) Prysm    c) Mal Duncan    d) Arsenal

34) Which of the following New Blood characters did not have their own ongoing series at some point?

   a) Hitman    b) Anima    c) Gunfire    d) Ballistic

35) What was the name of Star Hawkins’ robotic secretary?

   a) Automan    b) Ilda    c) S.T.R.I.P.E.    d) Gernsback

36) In the DCU, rock musician David Bowie’s 1970 hit song "Starman" was supposedly inspired by which Starman?

   a) Ted Knight    b) Gavyn    c) Mikaal Thomas    d) The Starman of 1951

37) Cameron Chase works for the?

   a) F.B.I.    b) Secret Service    c) L.A.W.    d) D.E.O.

38) Which of the following characters did not receive their own ongoing series after a tryout in the 1960’s-1970’s version of Showcase Comics?

   a) Enemy Ace    b) Bat Lash    c) Sea Devils    d) Inferior Five

39) Wonder Woman is the Amazon’s ambassador of _____ to man’s world?

   a) Beauty    b) Peace    c) Prosperity    d) Can’t we all just get along?

40) The western heroine Madame .44 married what other western hero?

   a) Nighthawk    b) Jonah Hex    c) Johnny Thunder, lawman    d) Bat Lash

41) The new Batgirl is?

   a) blind    b) deaf    c) mute
   d) has no sense of smell, which comes in handy when fighting Killer Croc

42) Swamp Thing is Earth’s plant elemental, and Red Tornado is the air elemental. Who is the water elemental?

   a) Firestorm    b) Neptune Perkins    c) Tempest    d) Naiad

43) After getting his powers "pumped up" by Neron in Underworld Unleashed, the Batman villain formerly known as Killer Moth changed his name to?

   a) Charaxes    b) Killer Elite    c) The Wrath    d) Mothball Man

44) Which of the following villains is not an immortal?

   a) Vandal Savage    b) The Parasite    c) The Shade    d) Ra’s al Ghul

45) Before the Zero Hour reboot, Tenzil Kem was the Legionnaire known as Matter-Eater Lad. After the reboot, Tenzil was re-introduced as the Legion’s _________?

   a) ambassador to Bismoll    b) Science Police liaison officer   c) cook/bartender
   d) chief information officer

46) Aquaman’s _______ hand was destroyed and replaced by a hook

   a) right    b) left    c) third (it’s an Atlantean thing)
   d) it depends on the artist drawing him

47) In the Tangent Comics skip week events, which of the JLA’s "Big Seven" (in the regular DCU), did not have a title named for them?

   a) Martian Manhunter    b) Wonder Woman    c) Flash    d) Batman

48) Cameron Chase once said "Never trust a man with two first names" (Chase #8). Name six DC characters (male or female) who have two first names, meaning one as a first name, and one as a last name. (For example; John Wayne, Peter David, etc.)

49) Which of the following is not a private investigator/detective?

   a) Nathaniel Dusk    b) Jonni Thunder    c) Roy Raymond    d) Paula Brooks

50) When Adam Strange gets zapped by the Zeta beam, he ends up on which planet?

   a) New Genesis    b) Rann    c) Oa    d) Thanagar

Cryptogram Instructions and Example:

Crack the code to reveal a quotation by a DC character. Each letter in the cryptogram represents another letter, and the word(s) after the hyphen is the person’s name who said the quote. For example,

"QS, QS, LIG LPLX!" – FQSNBHLI becomes

"UP, UP, AND AWAY!" – SUPERMAN when unscrambled.

Got it? Q really stands for U, S stands for P, and so on. Now try it for real, and be warned, the new encryption is not the same as in the example.

Cryptogram

"RJ’I XBFFO; ICTY ILO JALJ JAY IBKYQAYQCYI LQY JAY FYEJ IJLSY RF ABTLF

YMCZBJRCF, OYJ YMYQO JRTY GY TYYJ, LZZ GY IYYT JC UC RI XRSAJ CFY LFCJAYQ. RX JALJ’I JAY XBJBQY, RJ UCYIF’J ZCCD JCC PQRSAJ JC TY."

-- TRDY TLEGYZZ

ANSWERS

1) Gold – Booster Gold, Golden Gladiator, Golden Glider, Goldface, Goldstar.

Silver – Silver Banshee, Silver Ghost, Silver Scarab, Silver Swan,

Bronze – Bronze Tiger

There may be more correct answers in addition to those listed here.

2) B. Terra was from Markovia

3) D. Blue K only affected Bizarros

4) C. Steve Ditko created the Creeper

5) A. The Brotherhood of Evil – specifically Madame Rogue and Captain Zahl

6) Eclipso, Kobra, and the Joker

7) D. Cleveland, Ohio

8) B. Magnetic Kid

9) A. Star Rovers

10) C. Tsunami

11) B. X’hal

12) A. Tomar-Re

13) D. The Joker

14) C. Cousin in-law. Munro was briefly married to Sandra Knight (Phantom Lady), Ted’s cousin.

15) B. Cousin. Dan went back in time and decided to stay there.

16) B. Flash (Jay Garrick)

17) A. Zerox.

18) D. Jon Law (Tarantula)

19) D. Justice League Africa

20) B. Star Spangled Kid II

21) A. Georgia. Damage blew up Atlanta.

22) D. Stryker’s Island

23) C. Outsiders

24) A. Law’s Legionnaires

25) C. Mike Grell

26) B. Joe Chill

27) Lois Lane, Lana Lang, Lex Luthor, Lori Lemaris, Lucy Lane (Lois’ sister), Liri Lee (of the Linear Men). If you’re thinking pre-crisis, Lightning Lad and Lightning Lass would also count.

28) B. Lightray He was in the Giffen-era league

29) D. Amazing Grace

30) B. Nightmaster

31) C. Ganthet. Just kidding about the crackerjack box!

32) B. Max Mercury

33) A. Argent

34) D. Ballistic

35) B. Ilda

36) C. Mikaal Thomas

37) D. DEO

38) A. Enemy Ace

39) B. Peace

40) C. Johnny Thunder, Lawman

41) C. Mute

42) D. Naiad

43) A. Charaxes

44) B. The Parasite

45) C. Cook/bartender

46) B. Right. Although, sometimes I feel like it depends on the artist…..

47) A. Martain Manhunter. Neither did Aquaman, if anybody’s keeping score.

48) Oh boy! There are a lot of these. Here goes, in no particular order;

Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne, Alan Scott, Barry Allen, Hal Jordan, Donna Troy, Rex Tyler (Hourman), John Stewart (ex-GL and Darkstar), Ted Grant (Wildcat), Michael Jon Carter (Booster Gold), Paul Kirk (Manhunter), Joan Dale (Miss America), Ronnie Raymond (Firestorm), Nathaniel Adam (Captain Atom), Bart Allen (Impulse), Le Travis (Crimson Avenger), Dave Clark (Midnight), Jason Todd (Robin II), Paul Dennis (Robotman I), Justin Arthur (Shining Knight), Travis Morgan (Warlord), Mikaal Thomas (Starman), Lyta Trevor (Fury), Tex N. Thomas (TNT), and the list could go on and on and on…..

49) D. Paula Brooks. She’s the Tigress

50) B. Rann

Cryptogram: "It’s funny; some say that the superheroes are the next stage in evolution, yet every time we met, all we seem to do is fight one another. If that’s the future, it doesn’t look too bright to me."

--Mike Maxwell

Mike Maxwell used to be the hero known as B’wana Beast, and he said this quotation to Animal Man in Animal Man #13.