Who Was Who Is Who Summary

Back last year, not long after the New 52 launched, I had the ridiculous idea to go through my old copies of Who's Who and attempt to predict who would appear in the new DCU in DC comics published in 2012.

I've compiled the full summary here (it may take a moment or two to load) which lists all the characters I made a prediction on along with whether or not I was right. The numbers, though, tally up as follows:

Prediction	Right	Wrong	Right	Wrong
Definitely	19	12	61%	39%	31
Possibly	34	63	35%	65%	97
Probably Not	79	12	87%	13%	91
Definitely Not	361	22	94%	6%	383
Totals	493	109	82%	18%	602

In the Definitely's - those I was convinced would appear - I was almost two thirds correct, a great result tempered only by the complete reversal of the Possibles where I had almost two thirds wrong. Those I was sure weren't going to appear, I did a lot better with; hardly surprising as most of the characters featured in the books were decades old second or third stringers who were passed their sell by date even in the early 80's when the books were first published.

Still, it was kinda fun and a big thank you to everyone who commented to let me know whether characters had appeared in titles I wasn't reading, but especially to Dave Sopko who kindly went through all the Legion characters for me and offered up predictions, and Martin Gray who left a note on most entries.

Tune in next Monday for another round of regular posts!

Who Was Who Is Who #52

Throughout the whole of 2012, I've been using Monday's posts to go through all my copies of Who's Who and see if I could predict who would make it over to the new DCU by the end of 2012, who might make it and who hasn't got a Knodar's chance.

In issue #26 of the original Who's Who they had a bit of a catch-up and looked at characters that had been missed in the earlier issues, hence the sudden change back to earlier letters.

Who Was Who Is Who #51

So for want of anything better to write about on a Monday, I'm going to go through all my copies of Who's Who and see if I can predict who will make it over to the new DCU by the end of 2012, who might make it and who hasn't got a Yellow Peri's chance.

THE WIZARD - despite being an old Justice Society villain, I think it unlikely that the Wizard will make an appearance in Earth-2 so I don't expect him to be around too much.

Who Was Who Is Who #50

So for want of anything better to write about on a Monday, I'm going to go through all my copies of Who's Who and see if I can predict who will make it over to the new DCU by the end of 2012, who might make it and who hasn't got a Whip's chance.

THE WANDERERS - far as I know, they're unlikely to be wandering around the Legion's time line before the end of 2012, and Dave Sopko, the official COEP Legion go to guy, agrees "Have not been seen for a long time. Doubt we will see this roaming band of adventurers again."

Who Was Who Is Who #49

So for want of anything better to write about on a Monday, I'm going to go through all my copies of Who's Who and see if I can predict who will make it over to the new DCU by the end of 2012, who might make it and who hasn't got a Vanquisher's chance.

THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER - one of the stories in the soon to be released (this is written in early April) G.I. Combat is a back-up featuring the new Unknown Soldier so he's in place.

Who Was Who Is Who #48

So for want of anything better to write about on a Monday, I'm going to go through all my copies of Who's Who and see if I can predict who will make it over to the new DCU by the end of 2012, who might make it and who hasn't got an Ultra Man's chance.

TSUNAMI - an enemy of the All Star Squadron, it's unlikely that we'll see her in the new DCU at any point soon, if only because of her ties to World War II.

Who Was Who Is Who #47

So for want of anything better to write about on a Monday, I'm going to go through all my copies of Who's Who and see if I can predict who will make it over to the new DCU by the end of 2012, who might make it and who hasn't got a Tobias Whale's chance.

TIM TRENCH - a private investigator linked with Wonder Woman, I don't think even that association will be enough to get him back in the DCU.

Who Was Who Is Who #46

So for want of anything better to write about on a Monday, I'm going to go through all my copies of Who's Who and see if I can predict who will make it over to the new DCU by the end of 2012, who might make it and who hasn't got a Tiger's chance.

THE TERMINATOR - as in Deathstroke before he really became known by that name. He's made it through into the DCU, helming his own title as well so he's definitely in place.

TERRA - poor old Terra didn't have a good time of it in the pre-Flashpoint world and ended up a traitor to the Teen Titans and then a Black Lantern. The new Terra, Atlee, was a nice addition to Power Girl's title but she's been lost post-Flashpoint. However, it has been announced that a new Terra will be in the forthcoming (this is written in early April, my friends) Ravagers series so while it may not be the same person, the name's in use.

Who Was Who Is Who #45

So for want of anything better to write about on a Monday, I'm going to go through all my copies of Who's Who and see if I can predict who will make it over to the new DCU by the end of 2012, who might make it and who hasn't got either of the Tempests' chances.

SYRENE - anybody else remember the days when Superman would battle demons in the future? No? Chances are we won't be seeing Syrene again, then.

Who Was Who Is Who #44

So for want of anything better to write about on a Monday, I'm going to go through all my copies of Who's Who and see if I can predict who will make it over to the new DCU by the end of 2012, who might make it and who hasn't got a Syonide's chance.

STRONG BOW - another Old West character that may benefit from All Star Western so will go into the possible column.

Who Was Who Is Who #43

So for want of anything better to write about on a Monday, I'm going to go through all my copies of Who's Who and see if I can predict who will make it over to the new DCU by the end of 2012, who might make it and who hasn't got a Stiletta's chance.

STARFIRE - no, not the one you're immediately thinking of but the swords and sorcery heroine on the left there who surprised us all by showing up in the pages of Time Masters: Vanishing Point just before the whole Flashpoint thing. Don't think she'll be making an appearance again, though.

STARFIRE - okay, so this is the one you're thinking of with the metal bikini and all the controversy following her first appearance post-Flashpoint. For better or worse (I've not read them) Starfire's in Red Hood and The Outlaws so gets in the in place column.

Who Was Who Is Who #42

So for want of anything better to write about on a Monday, I'm going to go through all my copies of Who's Who and see if I can predict who will make it over to the new DCU by the end of 2012, who might make it and who hasn't got a Spook's chance.

SONAR - is there anything more terrifying than a villain armed with a gun shaped like a tuning fork? Hmmm, now that I put it like that . . . I don't think Geoff Johns will be revitalising Sonar any time soon.

Who Was Who Is Who #41

So for want of anything better to write about on a Monday, I'm going to go through all my copies of Who's Who and see if I can predict who will make it over to the new DCU by the end of 2012, who might make it and who hasn't got a Slipknot's chance.

SHRINKING VIOLET - as far as I can see, thanks to the wonders of the internet, Shrinking Violet is appearing in the pages of Legion of Super Heroes so gets in the in place column.

Who Was Who Is Who #40

So for want of anything better to write about on a Monday, I'm going to go through all my copies of Who's Who and see if I can predict who will make it over to the new DCU by the end of 2012, who might make it and who hasn't got a Shimmer's chance.

THE SECRET SOCIETY OF SUPER-VILLAINS - there's been a couple of big gatherings of super-villains over the last few years, particularly in Infinite Crisis, Justice League of America and Final Crisis but I don't think they've ever reached the heights of the the late 70s grouping. Will they continue to band together in the New 52? Probably, but I doubt the somewhat cheesy name will be retained. Either way, I doubt it will be before year's end.

Who Was Who Is Who #39

So for want of anything better to write about on a Monday, I'm going to go through all my copies of Who's Who and see if I can predict who will make it over to the new DCU by the end of 2012, who might make it and who hasn't got a Rubberduck's chance.

RUBBERDUCK - another of Captain Carrot's crew, and another we won't be seeing in the new DCU.

RYAND'R - Starfire's brother and member of the Omega Men, I'm going to guess we won't be seeing him any time soon.

SABBAC - one of Captain Marvel Jr's enemies, the chances of this guy getting an appearance in the brave new world has got to be really low.

THE SANDMAN - there are two versions in Who's Who: Wesley Dodds, the original Earth-2 Sandman and Garret Sanford. I suppose it's possible that Dodds might reappear in Earth-2 but with the Sandman name being so wrapped up with Neil Gaiman's series I sort of doubt it.

Who Was Who Is Who #38

So for want of anything better to write about on a Monday, I'm going to go through all my copies of Who's Who and see if I can predict who will make it over to the new DCU by the end of 2012, who might make it and who hasn't got a Roving Ranger's chance.

THE RED TORNADO AND THE CYCLONE KIDS - while Ma Hunkle had something of a revival as the housekeeper for the reformed Justice Society, I can't see her making an appearance in the new Earth-2 series.

RED TORNADO - he's an android! He's blown apart! He's the Tornado Champion! He's blown apart! He's the Tornado Tyrant! He's blown apart! He's a wind elemental! He's blown apart! He glimpses the multiverse! He's blown apart! Blimey, poor old Tornado's had it rough over the years. Don't think we've seen him yet (I'm writing this at the start of April) though hints about his creator T.O. Morrow were dropped in Justice League early on so while he may show at some point, I don't think it'll be before the end of 2012.

Who Was Who Is Who #37

So for want of anything better to write about on a Monday, I'm going to go through all my copies of Who's Who and see if I can predict who will make it over to the new DCU by the end of 2012, who might make it and who hasn't got a Reactron's chance.

PUZZLER - umm . . . who, now? Apparently an old Superman villain, "obsessed with games, tricks and puzzles" who was intent on outwitting Supes. Yeah, don't think we'll be seeing him.

QUAKEMASTER - pretty sure this is one Batman villain that we won't be seeing again.

QUEEN BEE - there's been a couple of versions of the Queen Bee: the original alien seductress and her modern-day JLA version along with the Queen of Bialya who caused trouble for the Justice League way back when it was funny. Will we see either in the New 52? I don't think so.

Who Was Who Is Who #36

So for want of anything better to write about on a Monday, I'm going to go through all my copies of Who's Who and see if I can predict who will make it over to the new DCU by the end of 2012, who might make it and who hasn't got a Pulsar Stargrave's chance.

THE PREDATOR - in the recent Green Lantern books, the Predator was revealed to be the entity behind the Star Sapphire's power rather than Carol Ferris's dark side. So while the black and silver garbed villain is no more, the Predator is still around but hasn't appeared post-Flashpoint. I'll put it in the possible column, though, as most of the GL continuity is unchanged.

PRIMUS - one of the Omega Men so I don't think we'll be seeing them any time soon.

Who Was Who Is Who #35

So for want of anything better to write about on a Monday, I'm going to go through all my copies of Who's Who and see if I can predict who will make it over to the new DCU by the end of 2012, who might make it and who hasn't got a Pig-Iron's chance.

PHANTOM GIRL - one of the perennial Legion members, even I'm aware that Phantom Girl is likely to be included in most versions of the team and a quick check on the internet reveals that she is alive and well in the latest Legion of Super-Heroes series.

PHANTOM LADY - at the time of writing (start of April) none of the versions of the Phantom Lady appear to have survived into the post-Flashpoint world. The last page of The Ray series, though, hinted at a possible return for Uncle Sam and, by extension, the Freedom Fighters so maybe they'll be back at some point. For that reason, Phantom Lady goes in the possible column.

Who Was Who Is Who #34

So for want of anything better to write about on a Monday, I'm going to go through all my copies of Who's Who and see if I can predict who will make it over to the new DCU by the end of 2012, who might make it and who hasn't got a Pariah's chance.

ORION - with the events of the Justice League first arc, I think it highly likely that Orion will make an appearance at some point but I don't think it'll be before the end of 2012.

O.S.S. - this World War II precurosr to the CIA could get a mention in the pages of G.I. Combat, I suppose, but I doubt it. Feel free to tell me I'm wrong!

THE OUTSIDER - a surprise inclusion in the original Flashpoint series was an updated version of this little-known villainous alter-ego of Alfred Pennyworth, Batman's butler. As far as I know, though, there's been no hint of him making an appearance in the New 52.