Talk:Captain Comet

Infobox streamlining
In regards to the edit of this character's "Notable Powers" section of the Infobox, please see revelant topics at WikiProject Comics/templates and Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Comics. Thanks. dfg 05:23, 2 April 2006 (UTC)

Is Captain Comet a metahuman?
I thought I recalled from somewhere that Comet was not a metahuman - that although he was the apotheosis of human evolution, his powers were not metagene related. Is there a source that he's metagene positive? TheronJ 19:05, 8 September 2006 (UTC)
 * It's mentioned in the 2006 miniseries, but the date/publication of the actual retcon is not clear. Anybody? --Canonblack 20:23, 10 October 2006 (UTC)

I have seen it written in several different titles that Captain Comet is in fact a mutant.Troymann2004 (talk) 00:29, 16 July 2009 (UTC)Troymann2004


 * It's made clear in the first story (Strange Adventures #9) that he is a mutant (page 6 panel 1) and also in #10 (page 5 panel 1). Both also have a small text box explaining what a mutant is. The word is also used in ref at other times in the series.

Never noticed before, but nowhere in the original series does it actually link the comet that appeared when he was born to his powers, just that he is a 'throw-forward' to 100,000 years in the future. Archiveangel (talk) 23:32, 9 January 2010 (UTC)

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Parallels to original superman origin?
Apparently Jerry Siegel's original concept for Superman has many similar conditions to Captain Comet. While, yes, Captain Comet wasn't born in the future, they are both examples of peak humans from the future and in Secret Origins Vol2 Annual 1, Comet goes through the same process of breaking world records privately but deciding to keep it secret. Maybe this is too much conjecture on my part but is it possible that Captain Comet was created in response to reusing the rejected superman origin? Sources http://www.lettersofnote.com/2010/01/superman-man-of-tomorow.html http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Secret_Origins_Annual_Vol_2_1 208.255.118.242 (talk) 17:08, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

I wonder if, other than the 'son of the last man on Earth' making Superman a future human bit, there's any similarity in the Captain Comet origin to the Siegel Superman one, although there is some to the later Superman canon. Everything else in the letter is pretty much the same as the published version of Superman's origin in Action Comics #1. According to the early Superman stuff (and the 50's Captain Comet also):
 * Their powers are very different. The original concept for Superman wasn't even 'faster than a speeding bullet, able to leap tall buildings etc etc' but able to leap 1/8th mile, leap 20 storey-high buildings, outrun a train, and nothing less than a bullet could penetrate his skin - all physical stuff and no flight, x-ray vision, super-breath etc; that's later story. Captain Comet is heavily oriented to mental power - photographic memory, able to instantly learn new skills, mental power to stop a girl falling to her death, reading people's minds etc. Other than being an Olympic Class athlete, he has no enhanced physical skills. He also spends most of his time using mental skills to solve his situations rather than raw power - more Flash Gordon than Superman.
 * Adam Blake became Captain Comet by accident after beating some crooks because he was there, for Superman however 'Early Kent decided he must turn his titanic strength into channels that would benefit mankind ... and so was created Superman'. Clark's was a long-term positive choice.
 * Their youth is very different. Siegel has no concept of Superboy at this stage - although rocketed to 20th century Earth as a baby, Kal-El lives in an orphanage and only really discovers the extent of his powers later. CC hid his powers from everyone from an early age while practising skills in private in a family environment.
 * Although super-strong' Clark discovered his true powers 'when maturity was reached' (Action #1 again) or 'when maturity was attained' (the Siegel proposal). CC is aware of his powers from an early age (although his mental ones were honed with the Professor)
 * not part of the proposal, but the character difference is massive - CC was insecure from the beginning while Superman oozed confidence - CC is explicitly a loner from the start, and this has been a key point in his history.

Convergent timing coincidence - I'm nearly done re-writing the Captain Comet Wiki entry at the moment, should be done in a day or so. This is pre-empting slightly, but although John Broome has always received credit as his creator (sometimes with Carmine Infantino), most people don't realise Editor Julius Schwartz had a big part in it, and that the concept was spawned partly from a pulp fiction hero much on the lines of Flash Gordon that Schwartz had a link to.

er ... a thought. If Superman's dad was 'the last man on Earth', then what was Clark? - now my brain hurts! Cheers! Archiveangel (talk) 14:53, 12 January 2010 (UTC)

Non-standard sections
You'll have to find a way to make the sections pasted below fit within the standard formatting for these articles, just plug the factual data into Pub History of the Biography section where appropriate but without speculation. --Xero (talk) 15:43, 31 January 2010 (UTC)

Other information


 * In  'Challenge of Man-Ape the Mighty'  ('Strange Adventures' #32, May 1953) Captain Comet met a race of super-intelligent apes in the jungle. This concept was identical to that used for Gorilla Grodd and Gorilla City in 'The Flash' years later.
 * In ' The Guardians of the Clockwork Universe'  ('Strange Adventures' #22, July 1952), Captain Comet meets 'The Guardians of the Universe' (the clockwork part is not mentioned). The Guardians tell him  'we are not men of action. Always in past emergencies we have found someone like yourself - with great powers and a hatred of evil - to serve us' . This, and the story, is a similar concept to the The Guardians of the Universe later used in Green Lantern.
 * In  'The Cosmic Chessboard'  ('Strange Adventures' #35, August 1953) the Captain Comet cover depicts a chessboard with a character piece that looks remarkably like the Justice League of America villain Despero. It is also reminiscent of that for 'Justice League of America' #1 (October 1960).
 * Captain Comet is mentioned in the Jimi Hendrix song 'Dolly Dagger', released in 1971.  'Yeah, look at old burnt out Superman / Tryin' shoot his dust off the sun / Captain Comet is dead on the run ....' 

Minor continuity issues

Captain Comet is unusual among DC superheroes in retaining his origins unchanged, with a consistent history that has not been ret-conned or re-written by DC Comics major continuity changing events ('Crisis on Infinite Earths', 'Zero Hour' etc). In the 2006 'Mystery in Space' miniseries, his dog Tyrone talked about Adam Blake discovering his abilities  'during what he called the 1950s.' , and recaps his history as was previously documented. There are a few minor inconsistencies however:
 * In 'Mystery In Space (vol 2) #1 (November 2006) Tyrone says Captain Comet was in space for 30 years after the early 1950s, which would have negated his 1970s adventures with the Secret Society of Super-Villains. However, Tyrone then mentions them almost immediately afterwards, so it can be assumed that he actually meant he was in space for 20 years. ref There has been some question over whether 'Secret Society Of Super-Villains' #1 - #5 (featuring Darkseid) are actually part of DC continuity, and for some time it has often been assumed that none of the SSOSV stories were. In that case, Captain Comet's return in the 1970's, and all the stories he appeared between 1976-1990, would not be part of his continuity - his return from going into space in the 1950s occurred in L.E.G.I.O.N. in 1990 (i.e. 35 years). However, events in the rest of the SSOSV series have been referred to elsewhere in other series since, so most of the SSOSV stories are canonical continuity (leaning the argument more towards #1-#5 also belonging). In addition, he is recognised by younger DC superheroes not just as a historical figure, suggesting they are aware of him in action since the 1970s. Notwithstanding the position of SSOSV issues #1-#5, merely the fact the other SSOSV tales are within continuity means he did return to Earth in the 1970s and went back into space later (rendering the L.E.G.I.O.N. 'spent the next few years drifting' an accurate reference to a second, shorter, space travel period and the original period lasting 20 years). Tyrone's dating is clearly wrong - even in dog years. ref


 * In 'Mystery In Space (vol 2) #2 (December 2006) Captain Comet's new body is that of someone in his 20's, Tyrone comments  'forty years younger than you should be' . Tyrone had already said Captain Comet was in his 70s, so that should have been  'fifty years younger' .