OK, dig out your answers and compare them to what I have below. I have added an explanation to each answer to give a little history. I promise, you will stump your friends with at least one of these questions. If you get 100% on this quiz you’re writing this blog from now on.
1.) In Loki’s first appearance in Journey into Mystery #85 he couldn’t use his powers when:
a.) He didn’t have his helmet on
b.) He didn’t have his scepter
c.) When he was soaking wet
d.) During the night
As odd as it may seem, In his first Modern Age appearance (Journey Into Mystery #85) Loki couldn’t use magic when soaking wet. That is no longer an issue apparently.
2.) Wonder Woman’s bracelets were made of Amazonium, but in the 70’s TV Series they were named something different. What was it?
a.) Vibranium
b.) Feminum
c.) Adamantium
d.) Indestructinum
“Amazonium”, the metal from which Wonder Woman’s bracelets are made, was renamed “Feminum” in the 70’s tv series. I couldn’t locate a reason for this change.
3.) In the Marvel Universe, Loki’s real father is ________, but in Norse Mythology that is actually Loki’s _________ name.
a.) Odin, brother’s
b.) Laufey, mother’s
c.) Zeus, son’s
d.) Odin, father’s
In the Marvel Universe Laufey is Loki’s father. In Norse mythology Laufey is actually Loki’s mother’s name, while his father’s name is Farbauti.
4.) Captain America set aside his original shield for his current discus shaped shield. Who gave him the discus shaped shield?
a.) Tony Stark
b.) Tony Stark’s Dad
c.) Nick Fury
d.) Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Yes, given to him by the president and it was lighter than Caps old shield, bulletproof, and disc shaped so it’s easy to “hurl”. The President goes on to say, “I’m told that the metal in the shield has some incredible properties. If only the metallurgical accident which produced it could be duplicated..."
5.) Batman once peed himself and admitted it (yes, it’s true). He said that there was a large explosion with a sudden impact and he:
a.) had a bladder spasm
b.) peed himself
c.) secreted hydrogen dioxide
d.) found he had excessive moisture in his pants
Batman says, “And when I felt the size of the explosion and the sudden blast of searing heat...well...I had a...bladder spasm.” To which another person says to him, “No! You’re saying you wet your pants?” Look for yourself in Batman: Year One.
6.) Who was the first flying hero?
a.) Superman
b.) Namor the Sub-Mariner
c.) Captain Marvel
d.) Wonder Woman
Since Superman started flying only after the animated series (1943) and apparently Captain Marvel started in the fifth issue of Whiz Comics (1940), the first hero to fly was actually Namor, who was described in his first appearance on Motion Picture Funnies Weekly #1 (1939) as “An ultra-man [who] flies in the air”.
7.) Cyclops, from the X-Men, can light a fire with the beams that come from his eyes.
a.) True
b.) False
Cyclops’ optic blasts are not lasers -they only have concussive force- and they don’t generate any heat.
Sometimes writers don’t know about that, forget, or joke about it. There are several panels in comics that show Cyclops lighting birthday candles or starting a fire. In another panel, Corsair, Cyclops’ father, asks him to start a fire and Cyclops replies, “My eyes don’t give off that heat, Dad.” Whatever “that heat” means. Oddly enough, his laser blasts come from another dimension to which his eyes are a portal. He is also immune to his own power which is why he doesn’t lose his eyelids.
Source (and Uncanny X-Men #391/#502)
8.) In The Amazing Spider-Man #3, Doc Ock calls Spider-Man another name, what does he call him?
a.) Super-Spider
b.) Super-Man
c.) Spider-Web
d.) The Spider
The conversation went like this:
Spider-man (thought bubble): My web! He snapped it! Nobody has ever done that before!
Dock Ock: And now, Super-Man, I grow bored with this game! My time is too valuable!
Did you ever notice how everything they say, or think, is exclamatory? They’re very excitable.
9.) In the 2007 crossover “New Avengers Transformers” Iron Man comes up with an interesting way to fight the Transformers. What does he do?
a.) He sprays them with a “Rusting Agent” which rusts them instantly
b.) He uses huge magnets to hold them until he can dismantle them
c.) He finds their inventor and asks him how to stop them
d.) He puts on his “Anti-Transformers” armor
There is nothing more to this than Tony’s ingenuity. Yes, he created “Anti-Transformers” armor.
10.) It’s a fact that “Kryptonite” was introduced on the Superman radio show, not in comic books. In comic books it was first called “K-Metal” in an unpublished story in 1940, introduced by co-creator Jerry Siegel. Why was kryptonite introduced into the radio show initially?
a.) Because Superman was too strong and he needed something to weaken him
b.) It was suggested by the creators of Superman as an alternate to “K-Metal”
c.) It was a slip of the tongue by the voice personality and they kept it in
d.) It was a plot device that allowed other characters to take the lead so the voice personality
could take a vacation
Contrary to popular belief “Kryptonite” made its debut in the Superman radio drama, not in the comic books. It was added as a plot device to allow Bud Collyer, Superman’s voice on radio, to be able to take some time off while other characters took over as the main characters for awhile. The idea, however, did come from the unpublished comic by Jerry Siegel in 1940 called “The K-Metal from Krypton”.
11.) Jamie Madrox, also known as Multiple Man, creates duplicates of himself that can live their own lives. It’s interesting to note:
a.) that Jamie didn’t originally have this power until he died and was brought back to life
b.) that he got the power after falling into a vat of radioactive liquid that was being churned
c.) that one duplicate body started a family and became a Preacher
d.) that Jamie was asked to become part of the X-Men but turned it down
Bizarre but true, that is until Jamie reabsorbed said Preacher and his family was left to fend for themselves.
12.) While the current Green Lantern Corp is weak against the color yellow, the first Green Lantern, Alan Scott, was weak against:
a.) the color yellow also
b.) other Green Lanterns so they couldn’t fight
c.) against himself, so he couldn’t use his powers to fly
d.) wood
While the modern age Green Lanterns can’t use their powers against yellow stuff, Alan Scott could not use his powers on wood. Wikipedia states that "power ultimately corrupted the early Green Lantern, the one that predated Alan Scott, as he attempted to rule over mankind, which forced the Guardians to cause his ring to manifest a weakness to wood, the material from which most Earth weapons of the time were fashioned. This allowed the Chinese peasants to ultimately defeat their corrupted "champion". His ring and lantern were burned and it was during this process that the “intelligence” inhabiting the ring and the lantern, and linking them to the Guardians, was damaged. Over time, when it had occasion to manifest itself, this "intelligence" became known as the mystical 'Starheart' of fable."
13.) What was Jack Kirby’s real name?
a.) Jacob Kurtzberg
b.) Jack Kirby
c.) Jacob Krigstein
d.) Jake Kurgsburg
He changed his name soon after he was married.
14.) Arkham Asylum, the famous institution from the Batman comics, is names after:
a.) Arkham Sanitarium in Arkham, MA
b.) The actual Arkham Asylum that used to be in New York City
c.) It’s not named after anything, it was created by the writers of Batman
d.) It was named after Noah’s Ark because it held so many different “animals”
Arkham Asylum is a reference to Arkham Sanitarium in Arkham, MA. Don’t see an Arkham in MA? You won’t. It’s fictional. It’s taken from H.P. Lovecraft’s story “The Thing on the Doorstep”.
15.) Which of these statements is false:
a.) Before Action Comics #1, Siegel and Schuster published a short story called “Reign of the
Super-Man" where the Superman was a telepath trying to take over the world.
b.) In Age of Apocalypse, Magneto and Rogue are romantically involved. In this reality, Rogue
absorbs Polaris’ magnetic powers so that touching Magneto won’t put him into a coma
c.) Because of the time they spent together the Venom symbiote no longer triggers Spider-Man’s
spider-sense.
d.) Nightcrawler is Mystique’s son, but she was the father thanks to her shapeshifting
capabilities. Destiny is his mother.
a.) It’s true! Still wondering where the Superman idea came from? Sadly, this evil Superman thing has
no relation to the Superdickery covers. Look it up.
b.) No strange explanation here. It’s just how the story went. This is certainly better than when they
first got together and Rogue’s touch caused rather unfortunate reactions in Magneto.
c.) Although it does trigger the spidey sense of spider-man’s clones created before Peter got the
symbiote.
d.) Believe it or not, this storyline was considered. The idea was dropped due to the Comics Code
Authority’s limitations about gay or bisexual characters.
16.) Which doctor did Squirrel Girl beat-up with the help of her Squirrels?
a.) Dr. Doom
b.) Dr. Strange
c.) Dr. Octopus
d.) Dr. Light
Squirrel Girl is a mutant with squirrel-like looks whose ability is to communicate with squirrels and also behave like one. In Marvel Super-Heroes Volume 2 #8, where she made her first appearance, she managed to defeat Dr. Doom with the help of her squirrels (all the other Doombots laughed at him I would guess). In the process she saved Iron-Man, who she was trying to impress. That must have done the trick!
17.) In his first stories, Bruce Banner didn’t turn into the Hulk when enraged. It was actually triggered by:
a.) Being physically threatened
b.) Being struck
c.) When he concentrated on becoming the Hulk
d.) Sundown
Oddly true. Prior to being enraged caused the transformation the change was triggered by the sun setting.
18.) Natalia Romanov a.k.a Natasha Romanov, Black Widow, has kept her young looks due to a variation of the Super Soldier Serum. How old is she actually?
a.) 30
b.) 50
c.) 70
d.) 90
This one speaks for itself. ‘Nuff Said.
19.) Batman is known for having a huge penny in his bat cave. How did he get it?
a.) It was given to him by Two-Face
b.) He got it from “The Penny Plunderer” a villain he fought in the 40’s
c.) He had it made for him to remind him that there are two sides to every story
d.) It was a novelty made for Wayne Enterprises that was discarded during remodeling
Long thought to be a gift from Two-Face, it was actually owned by The Penny Plunderer, apparently a “penny-themed” villain. I can’t even imagine who came up with this idea or what the villain looked like.
20.) The original Hulk was gray, but later changed to green due to printing problems. Why was the original color gray?
a.) The original drawings were black and white and the original gray coloring just stuck
b.) They wanted him to resemble the color of stone to symbolize strength
c.) They wanted a neutral color so as not to suggest a particular ethnic group
d.) He was supposed to be green all along, but at the time of the printing deadline they didn’t
have enough green ink to satisfy the volume of comics to be produced.
It was Stan Lee who suggested that the original color be gray. It was only changed after a printing problem caused him to go green. I can’t see any ethnic group being offended by green, unless the “Kermits” have an issue with it.
So ends the World’s Hardest Comic Book Quiz. How did you do? Get a 100%? Liar! Admit your plans of a perfect score were foiled by me!!
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it and I expect you to name and drinks you win after me.
I would like to pay tribute to the website from which I pulled all of this information, Comicfacts.com. So, no, I didn’t scour the web, I scoured this site. Wikipedia filled in on the whole “Alan Scott” and “Wood” thing.
I would highly recommend you go there and see all of the other things you probably didn’t know about comic books.
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