All this month we will be celebrating team-ups, pairs, and duos in comics with a little something we’d like to call “Feb2ary!” Well actually, we did call it that so…I suppose that’s redundant. Anyway, you can forget all about your significant other (real or otherwise) this Valentine’s Day and instead keep your browser locked onto AP2HYC all month long because there’s lots more to come!
In order to ceremoniously kick off this Feb2ary, we’re going to be taking a look at some of the best team-ups and duos in comic book history. The criteria for this list is simple, friends: the duo must have teamed up for more than one issue, and they must have had a lasting impact on comics as a whole. Keep in mind that these selections are this writer’s opinions (which are also facts), so feel free to agree, disagree, or both! Okay then, let’s start at the bottom with number six!
6. Green Hornet and Kato
Like most of the duos you will see on this list, Green Hornet and Kato have been featured in a wide variety of entertainment mediums, which I think is a testament to their overwhelming popularity.
From their humble beginnings on radio in the 1930s, Green Hornet and his trusty driver/sidekick Kato went on to appear in a couple film serials before finally breaking into the fabulous world of television with The Green Hornet in the mid 1960s. You know, the show that featured Bruce Lee as Kato? Of course, we have comics to thank for the television show, so let’s talk a bit about that.
Around the same time as the film serials, Helnit Comics published several issues of Green Hornet Comics until the property was picked up by Harvey Comics, who some of you may recognize as the very same publisher of First Love comics; just a little Valentine’s Day humor for you.
::tumbleweed::
From there the duo was all over the map with comic book publishers, including stints at Dell Comics, Gold Key Comics, NOW Comics, and finally, Dynamite with a Kevin Smith run. Sheesh, what a history! These guys sure get around! Let us not forget the recent DC Comics’ crossover series Batman ’66 Meets the Green Hornet which was also written by Smith with beautiful artwork by Ralph Garman; Alex Ross‘ covers don’t hurt either.
You might say that these two vigilantes are something of a comic book institution, but let us not forget that there are still five more duos left on this list! C’mon, let’s go!
5. Power Man and Iron Fist
What started as a last ditch effort by Marvel Comics to save Luke Cage and Iron Fist’s respective solo books by combining them became one of the best team-ups of all time. Don’t you just love when things “accidentally” turn out great like that?
Power Man and Iron Fist ran for seventy-five knock-down-drag-out issues (not including the three issue story arc that started the team-up) that featured the titular heroes bopping their way to victory with flying fists and feet! If you are a fan of hand-to-hand combat, or fisticuffs if you will, this series really hits all the right marks.
Writer Jim Owsley ended the series on a rather somber note when Danny Rand (Iron Fist) gets cancer and later “dies.” At the time this was highly controversial, and is one of the those comic book deaths that is still talked about to this day. Fear not though, since Rand’s death isn’t all that it seems, and we all know too well that comic book characters don’t like to stay dead for very long.
Now some of you may be aware that Marvel/Disney/Netflix (I know, right?) is planning on introducing Iron Fist at some point in the near future. We’ve got Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage already, so that Defenders mini-series is right around the corner! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: for those that have been waiting a long time for a live action portrayal of Power Man and Iron Fist, this might just be your ticket to ride! Sweet Christmas!
But enough about our hopes and dreams for the future! The list must go on!
4. Green Lantern and Green Arrow
Lots of “green” in this list, no? Anyway, coming in at number four is the legendary run by the great Dennis O’Neil, with art by the equally influential Neal Adams, in which Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) teams up with the emerald archer himself, Green Arrow!
Rather than being its own self-contained book, Green Arrow was simply injected into the pages of Green Lantern starting with issue seventy-six. What makes this team-up so interesting is the distinct difference between Jordan and Queen’s political ideologies. “Boring”, you say? Okay, okay; let me back up for a moment. The Silver Age of Comics really began with the implementation of the Comics Code Authority, which not only caused superheroes to become more popular in the medium, but also caused some…interesting changes to certain characters. One need only look at the Silver Age Batman’s rogues gallery as an example. I’m digressing, aren’t I?
Hal Jordan’s conservative views often clashed with Oliver Queen’s more radical, somewhat forward thinking views, which was something that hadn’t really been done in superhero comics at the time, and was decidedly more serious in tone than some of the goofy stuff that was going on. The duo dealt with a plethora of social issues such as racism and political corruption, and most famously perhaps, drug addiction. When Queen’s sidekick Speedy (Roy Harper) gets himself hooked on heroin, Queen initially blames himself for Speedy’s addiction since he was busy gallivanting around America with a cosmic police officer (Jordan), but Queen confronts Speedy and soon all is back to normal.
Jordan and Queen had to learn to work together despite their differences, and it made for one of the most heralded runs in comic book history. If you haven’t read this, pick up the collected editions and give them a try; the issues that are confronted throughout the series remain as relevant today as they were back then. You know, plus it has Green Lantern and Green Arrow!
We’re getting into the second half of the list now, and some of you might be thinking “I know what’s coming next”, but you will be surprised by the top three entries. Now if you would direct your attention to that little link at the bottom of the article that leads to page two, we can continue. But not until you do that so let’s get a move on!
3. Captain America and Bucky
Captain America and Bucky Barnes. Steve Rogers and James Buchanan Barnes. The names go hand and hand with one another, especially since they debuted at the very same time! Yes friends, our favorite ultra-American duo first appeared together in the pages of Captain America Comics #1 in 1941. Published by Timely Comics, the predecessor to a little publishing house you may have heard of called Marvel Comics, Captain America Comics featured Cap’ and Bucky squaring off against Nazis during WWII. Can you say propaganda?
In all seriousness, we’re talking about the earliest team-up between Cap’ and Bucky in their history, long before all the retcons and before Winter Soldier was a thing. Captain America and Bucky Barnes were created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, both of whom require no introduction, and it was during this time that one of Captain America’s greatest adversaries made his first appearance: Red Skull! When Bucky accidentally discovers that Steve Rogers is actually Captain America, hilarity ensues as Rogers decides that it’s perfectly acceptable for a young teenager with hardly any military training to join him as he battles Nazis in one of the most violent wars the world has ever known!
To the surprise of no one, Cap’ and Bucky’s little escapade ends in tragedy while battling the nefarious Baron Zemo when a bomb explodes on a plane, sending our heroes into the frozen ground below. Everyone should be more or less familiar with what happens next; Captain America wakes up only to be a “fish out of water” in modern day America and presumes Bucky to be dead, while Bucky himself is later discovered and conditioned as the assassin known as Winter Soldier. Much later, Bucky even takes up the mantle of Captain America, finally following in his hero’s footsteps. Don’t you just love happy never-ending-second-acts?
Our next entry is sure to boggle the mind of some, and infuriate others! I like to go for a full range of emotions, so here we go; number two!
2. Archie and Jughead
If you think that’s a type-o you are sorely mistaken. Yes, in at the number two spot on the countdown of the best duos in comics are Archie and Jughead! Well, to be fair they’re more like best friends, but I’ll let that slide (I already did, in fact). You may have noticed that this little pairing is unique to this list in that neither Archie nor Jughead have any super powers (usually), but are instead your average teenagers, which was just what creator Bob Montana was going for.
In 1941 (always with the 1940s!), Archie and Jughead made their debut in MLJ Comics’ Pep Comics before the publisher and its flagship title were renamed to reflect the growing popularity of its best book: Archie Comics (duh!). Archie and Jughead became fast friends at an early age, and despite Jughead’s incredibly unsettling appearance (more on that in a bit), he is always the one to help Archie when he is in a jam. Yet, it is the times when Jughead is unable to talk Archie out of any number of hair-brained schemes that the duo are at their best.
Concerning Jughead: Typically, Jughead is depicted as wearing a sweatshirt with an “S” on it, and looking somewhat disheveled. He always seems to be squinting (hmm) and is virtually never shown without his trademark crown/beanie thing (HMM). I don’t know guys, if I didn’t know any better I’d think that Jughead was some kind of burnout, but maybe that’s just the cynic in me. Nevertheless, it’s Jughead’s odd appearance that makes it so strange that he would be the voice of reason.
What gives these guys their place in the countdown is the longevity; it’s all about the longevity. Well, there’s also the fact that two completely normal teenagers (and their friends) have been a staple of the comic book medium for many, many years. Bravo.
The time has come fellow enthusiasts! The coveted number one spot in the countdown of comics’ best duos; it could be a fast ball right down the center, or a curveball right to the shin. So, for the sake of not wasting any more time with sports metaphors, here we go!
1. Batman and Robin
C’mon guys, we all knew this was coming. But, in order to avoid the title of “most cliched number one spot of 2016,” we’re going to do something a little bit different. That’s right, I have randomly (READ: planned the whole time) chosen one incarnation of Robin to go along with the Caped Crusader: and it is…
wait for it…
Jason Todd! Oh, you know you’re even more angry with me now! Yes, Jason Todd. Before Damien and all his mommy and daddy issues, and all that “but I wanna kill people” stuff, Batman was teamed up with an actual criminal! Well, sort of.
When Dick Grayson went on to become Nightwing in the Teen Titans, DC figured “hey, we need another Robin now,” and so Jason Todd was born. Depending on whether you are reading pre or post-Crisis stories, Todd’s origin story will differ. For the purposes of this article, we will be referring to “post-Crisis” Jason Todd.
When Batman catches Jason Todd trying to jack the tires off the Goddamn Batmobile in Crime Alley (of all places), Batman first tries to help him as Bruce Wayne. After some time, Batman decides to train Jason as his new Robin since it worked out so well with Dick, and so the Dynamic Duo go on to thwart many a criminal from committing…crimes…ehem.
The fact that Jason Todd was more or less a “criminal” attempting to deface the vessel of justice known as the Batmobile in Crime Alley, the site of the murder of Bruce Wayne’s parents, is somewhat poetic. Now, the character of Jason Todd has its fair share of detractors; purists who could not bear to see young Dick Grayson grow up, or those that feel Jason Todd was too unruly to be taken under the wing of the illustrious Batman. Whichever the case, the Batman editor at the time, Dennis O’Neil (yeah, you know who he is), decided that including the audience would be a good financial move for DC Comics. He wasn’t wrong; but then again, I’m not sure he ever was.
In 1988, DC Comics held a telephone poll (remember those?) in which callers would vote on the fate of Jason Todd. Well, the bloodlust of comic book readers everywhere (or perhaps a conspiracy) led to DC Comics’ publication of the epic storyline A Death in the Family, in which Jason Todd is hoodwinked by his own mother, right into the hands of the Joker. And for those of you that haven’t read this storyline, this is the Joker at his absolute worst. The Clown Prince of Crime pulls no punches in A Death in the Family, and brutally murders Jason Todd with a crowbar. Oh, and then he blows him up. If you aren’t able to read the comics, DC’s animated film Under the Red Hood features some of the plot points from A Death in the Family; if only Todd’s demise.
Jason Todd may not have been the best Robin, but his brash and violent tendencies not only paved the way for Damien Wayne, but they also played nicely off of Batman himself. At that point, we already had a wise-cracking sidekick like Dick Grayson, so it was only natural for DC to go in a different direction with the second Robin. If anything, Todd’s return from comic book heaven (hell?) made him even more interesting. The point is, you can “read” characters like Dick Grayson; they’re somewhat predictable. Jason Todd is a whole other animal, and DC used the character in a new and inventive way (at the time), which has had a lasting impact on the Batman mythos. It also gave the Joker something delightfully cruel to do that would forever effect Batman’s approach to crime fighting.
That about wraps it up for this list of comic book team-ups and duos! Before we finish, I’d like to list a few honorable mentions:
1. Ratchet and Buster Witwicky from Marvel Comics’ The Transformers.
2. Casey Jones and Raphael from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
3. Wolverine and Jubilee from X-Men
4. Too many to mention!
What are your favorite team-ups, duos, and pairs from the world of comics? Do you agree of disagree with the selections on this list? Let us know in the comments section and on our Twitter page!