It all began here...
Above, you see my well-read copy of Showcase #6, published in February of 1957. It features the first appearance of a team that is near and dear to my heart: THE CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN!!!
The original Challs, as they came to be called, were Lester "Rocky" Davis, Olympic wrestling great; Kyle "Ace" Morgan, jet pilot and decorated war veteran; Walter "Prof" Haley, the world's best skin-diver; and Matthew "Red" Ryan, astounding circus daredevil. It all began when all men survived a horrible plane crash together and afterward, agreed that they were all living on borrowed time. They decided to band together as a team to, well...Challenge the unknown, of course! In time, they would begin to use a logo in the shape of an hourglass, to symbolize that they knew that their time was running out. This amazing team was created by...Well, it's complicated. What-say we handle this in the FUN FACTS, eh?
The Challengers of the Unknown took on all comers, from crazy scientists to genius thieves to giant monsters to aliens to supernatural threats - the Challs faced them all down with their courage, infinite resourcefulness, and their indomitable wills. In their first adventure above, the Challs aid the peculiar Mr. Morelian who, after hearing of their heroic deeds, invites them to a deserted island and offers them one million dollars if they open Pandora's Box. Each time a member of the team opens the box they are confronted with a deadly threat that the team must overcome. Unbeknownst to them, Mr. Morelian has sinister plans of his own for what lies at the very bottom of the box, underneath all the perils. ON TO THE FUN FACTS!!!
FUN FACT 1: The Challengers of the Unknown was created by artist Jack Kirby, and scripter, Dave Wood (one of Bob Kane's unsung Batman ghost-writers, and co-creator of Animal Man); however, some accounts say that Kirby actually created the Challs with his long-time partner, Joe Simon (who left comics to work in advertising). Kirby then brought the concept to DC where it came to fruition. Did Wood actually script the first story, or had Simon and Kirby already done the lion's share of the work on the first story before coming to DC with the concept? The world will never know...
FUN FACT 2: The Challengers aren't exempt from death...or resurrection. Red, The Prof, and June have all been believed dead. Oh, who is June, right?
FUN FACT 3: The Challs had an "honorary" girl-Challenger on the team who often shared their adventures (and ended-up pregnant by the Prof ). Her name was June Robbins.
FUN FACT 4: June may have been "honorary," but for a time, another female Challenger attached herself to the team, the sexy occult specialist, Corinna Stark.
FUN FACT 5: The Challs had a town named after them - Challengerville.
FUN FACT 6: There was more than one team of Challs. Later, others would take up the mantle and face horrors even darker than the team before them (Of course, Challengers of the Unknown vol 3 debuted in 1997. Everything was darker in the 90s).
And then there's Howard Chaykin's team:
And, yes, there were other teams, as well.
FUN FACT 7: The Challs were the FIRST, that's right, THE FIRST super-team to debut in the Silver Age. Before the Justice League (1960), or the Fantastic Four (1961, also created by Jack Kirby). What made them so cool? They were a super-team without super-powers. I REALLY dig that.
FUN FACT 8: Although many might have forgotten about, or even never heard of The Challengers of the Unknown now, they were an instant hit when they debuted. They soon got their own series (1958-1970, and published sporadically until 1978) which won an Alley Award in 1967 for Best Non-Powered Super Group Title and Best Normal Adventure Group.
FUN FACT 9: In 1977, an adventure novel starring the Challs was published - strangely, DC Comics is not mentioned anywhere on the cover...
If you can get your hands on a Showcase #6, I'd advise that you do it. It's an ultra-cool, important part of comics history - the first super-team to kick off the Silver Age of Comics, and more than likely, these guys will make it to the big or small screen sooner or later. DC is currently publishing an updated take on the Challs called, New Challengers, that's pretty sweet..but that's a story for another time. ;-)
Thanks for reading!
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