in an alternate universe
In the early Silver Age, DC Comics began publishing superheroes who were new versions of characters from the Golden Age, in a process masterminded by Julius Schwartz. This started out with the Flash (Barry Allen) in 1956, followed by Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) in 1959, the Atom (Ray Palmer, named for a science fiction magazine editor) in 1961, and Hawkman and Hawkgirl (Katar Hol and Shayera Thal/Carter and Shiera Hall) also in 1961. The whole thing got derailed when Schwartz and Gardner Fox came up with the story "Flash of Two Worlds," in which the Silver Age and Golden Age Flashes met, followed by the first crossover of the Silver Age Justice League and Golden Age Justice Society in 1963, which grew into the whole DC multiverse; apparently no one wanted to make up new versions of the Golden Age heroes when they could just tell new stories about the originals.
But I've thought for some time that it would have been interesting to see Silver Age versions of more of the Golden Age heroes. What might the DC universe have looked like if it hadn't become a multiverse, and if the original characters hadn't been brought out of retirement?
Schwartz's treatment had a different feel than the older stories. His background was in science fiction, and he wanted science fictional rationales for his characters' powers. It would be an exaggeration to say that his treatment was realistic; but its fantastic elements were justified by appeals to scientific speculation, where the older character's abilities were magical as often as not, and their writers cared a lot less about either continuity or plausibility. This meant that Schwartz's legacy characters often had to be transformed from the originals:
(1) The original Flash actually gained his super-speed in a lab accident, which fit the sfnal formula; the new one gained his in a different lab accident.
(2) The original Green Lantern and Hawkman/Hawkgirl had magical origins and powers (a magical lantern found in China, and the reincarnation of an Egyptian prince and the woman he loved, respectively); the new Green Lantern was given a ring created by incredibly advanced aliens and appointed an interstellar policeman, and the new Hawkman and Hawkgirl were police officers from a planet of Polaris using advanced technology.
(3) The original Atom had no powers at all, but had trained himself to amazing fitness despite being 5'1"; the new one had invented a device that could shrink him, initially to 6" tall and later to subatomic sizes.
So that provides at least three formulae for creating Silver Age analogs. Let's try them on the other original members of the Justice Society.
The original Dr. Fate was Earth's greatest sorcerer, granted his powers by ancient relics found in a Mesopotamia tomb; he had a few abilities in himself (telekinesis and flight, for example), he got more from various artifacts, and he could do all sorts of things through elaborate rituals. Probably the best approach would be to have his artifacts be scientific (either alien, or relics of a lost advanced civilization), and to have his elaborate "rituals" turn into scientific procedures. The Helm of Fate could give him enhanced mental abilities (intellectual and psychic) and store the memories for former wearers; the Amulet of Anubis could turn into an energy weapon; the Orb of Nabu could be a device for scanning and communicating. Perhaps his mission could be to protect the current civilization from the forces of conflict and disorder that had destroyed the former one.
The original Hourman had developed a pill, "Miraclo," that boosted his strength, speed, and durability for an hour. This fits the scientific model well enough to be easy to adapt. The original formula of "I have to test this on myself before I risk giving it to anyone else" would fit well enough also.
The original Sandman had no powers, but had invented a gas gun that put criminals to sleep. That's a little low-end for the Silver Age, but I'm not sure coming up with superpowers would be an improvement. Marvel's villainous Sandman could turn his body into sentient sand, but DC wasn't doing body modification that early on, particularly for heroes; and the other meaning of "sandman," the one that goes with sleep and dreams, seems to be addressed by the original concept. Maybe he could be linked to early research on REM sleep, with an electromagnetic device that let him induce sleep?
The original Spectre was a murdered policeman whose soul became an embodiment of the wrath of God, which seems way too supernatural! I think I'd look for a character with psychic abilities rather than magical ones, perhaps with a main theme of astral projection; that would work with invisibility, insubstantiality, flight, and perhaps telekinesis or the ability to appear to evildoers. Maybe instead of dying the character could have been left in an apparent coma by his attackers. Marvel was having the early Dr. Strange do astral projection, so the idea could have been made acceptable.
But I've thought for some time that it would have been interesting to see Silver Age versions of more of the Golden Age heroes. What might the DC universe have looked like if it hadn't become a multiverse, and if the original characters hadn't been brought out of retirement?
Schwartz's treatment had a different feel than the older stories. His background was in science fiction, and he wanted science fictional rationales for his characters' powers. It would be an exaggeration to say that his treatment was realistic; but its fantastic elements were justified by appeals to scientific speculation, where the older character's abilities were magical as often as not, and their writers cared a lot less about either continuity or plausibility. This meant that Schwartz's legacy characters often had to be transformed from the originals:
(1) The original Flash actually gained his super-speed in a lab accident, which fit the sfnal formula; the new one gained his in a different lab accident.
(2) The original Green Lantern and Hawkman/Hawkgirl had magical origins and powers (a magical lantern found in China, and the reincarnation of an Egyptian prince and the woman he loved, respectively); the new Green Lantern was given a ring created by incredibly advanced aliens and appointed an interstellar policeman, and the new Hawkman and Hawkgirl were police officers from a planet of Polaris using advanced technology.
(3) The original Atom had no powers at all, but had trained himself to amazing fitness despite being 5'1"; the new one had invented a device that could shrink him, initially to 6" tall and later to subatomic sizes.
So that provides at least three formulae for creating Silver Age analogs. Let's try them on the other original members of the Justice Society.
The original Dr. Fate was Earth's greatest sorcerer, granted his powers by ancient relics found in a Mesopotamia tomb; he had a few abilities in himself (telekinesis and flight, for example), he got more from various artifacts, and he could do all sorts of things through elaborate rituals. Probably the best approach would be to have his artifacts be scientific (either alien, or relics of a lost advanced civilization), and to have his elaborate "rituals" turn into scientific procedures. The Helm of Fate could give him enhanced mental abilities (intellectual and psychic) and store the memories for former wearers; the Amulet of Anubis could turn into an energy weapon; the Orb of Nabu could be a device for scanning and communicating. Perhaps his mission could be to protect the current civilization from the forces of conflict and disorder that had destroyed the former one.
The original Hourman had developed a pill, "Miraclo," that boosted his strength, speed, and durability for an hour. This fits the scientific model well enough to be easy to adapt. The original formula of "I have to test this on myself before I risk giving it to anyone else" would fit well enough also.
The original Sandman had no powers, but had invented a gas gun that put criminals to sleep. That's a little low-end for the Silver Age, but I'm not sure coming up with superpowers would be an improvement. Marvel's villainous Sandman could turn his body into sentient sand, but DC wasn't doing body modification that early on, particularly for heroes; and the other meaning of "sandman," the one that goes with sleep and dreams, seems to be addressed by the original concept. Maybe he could be linked to early research on REM sleep, with an electromagnetic device that let him induce sleep?
The original Spectre was a murdered policeman whose soul became an embodiment of the wrath of God, which seems way too supernatural! I think I'd look for a character with psychic abilities rather than magical ones, perhaps with a main theme of astral projection; that would work with invisibility, insubstantiality, flight, and perhaps telekinesis or the ability to appear to evildoers. Maybe instead of dying the character could have been left in an apparent coma by his attackers. Marvel was having the early Dr. Strange do astral projection, so the idea could have been made acceptable.