Loading AI tools
DC Comics parody superhero team From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Inferior Five (or I5) are a parody superhero team appearing in books by the American publisher DC Comics. Created by writer E. Nelson Bridwell and artist Joe Orlando, the team premiered in the DC Comics title Showcase #62 (May-June 1966).[1]
| Inferior Five | |
|---|---|
Showcase #62 featuring the Inferior Five. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Showcase #62 (May–June 1966) |
| Created by | E. Nelson Bridwell (writer) Joe Orlando (artist) Mike Esposito (inker) |
| In-story information | |
| Member(s) | Merryman (high intellect, weakling's body) Awkwardman (flawless in water, clumsy on land) The Blimp (could fly only when propelled by a tail wind) White Feather (skilled archer, but scared of people looking at him) The Dumb Bunny (superstrength, terrible grades) |
The premise is that the characters are the children of members of a superhero team called the Freedom Brigade, a parody of the Justice League of America.[2] In their early appearances, the team went up against spoofs of the Marvel Comics heroes. Showcase #63 featured "Brute Brainard", who was exposed to Phi Beta Kappa radiation and became the giant green hulk known as "Man-Mountain", and in #65, the team visited Dean Egghead's superhero academy to meet the five young "Egg's Men".[3] When the team got their own series, early issues also mocked the Fantastic Four and Thor.[3]
After appearing in Showcase #62, 63, and 65 (1966), they got their own title which lasted 12 issues. The first 10 had new material and were published from 1967 to 1968.[3]
Issues #11 and 12 were published in 1972, and titled Inferior 5 (using the number 5 rather than spelling out the word) and were all reprints, except for the covers. Nothing changed with the alteration of the title.[4]
The team has appeared only sporadically after their series was canceled, with Showcase #100 being their only new appearance during the Bronze Age of Comic Books.[5] Other appearances include one or two panels (there is disagreement over whether the characters in one panel are the Inferior Five) in Crisis on Infinite Earths, Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew! in The Oz–Wonderland War #3 (March 1986), and the Grant Morrison-written Animal Man series. They appear in one panel in JLA: Another Nail as Flash and the Atom take a trip through many dimensions.
Although the Inferior Five's original stories made frequent references to other prominent DC heroes, Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew! in The Oz–Wonderland War #3 revealed their adventures to have occurred on "Earth-Twelve", which had its own doppelgangers of the JLA, the Teen Titans, etc., meaning that any such references were out of continuity in relation to the heroes of DC's primary Earth-One.
Following Crisis on Infinite Earths, where the Five were seen in background cameos, the team's sole "continuity" appearance as a team was in the 1991 Angel and the Ape miniseries, where it was revealed that Angel and the Dumb Bunny are half-sisters. Members of the Justice League of America had cameos in the series, indicating that the Inferior Five now existed on the Post-Crisis Earth.
The Inferior Five appear in issue #17 of the Batman: The Brave and the Bold comics. The Inferior Five team up with the Legion of Substitute Heroes in The Brave and The Bold #35 and with Bat-Mite in Bat-Mite #5 (Dec. 2015).
Steve Gerber proposed a Vertigo version of the Inferior Five as a send-up of the "dark 'n' gritty" comics of the period, but this was rejected.[6] Gerber later claimed that DC refused to publish anything with the title on the grounds that it would make them look "inferior" for publishing it.[citation needed]
In September 2019, a 12-issue maxi-series by Keith Giffen was initiated. It was a reinvention of the team, as the protagonists are now five children in the small town of Dangerfield, Arizona. It revolves around a mystery regarding their parents, and they are the only ones that notice something strange is going on. It takes place in 1988, where the invasion was successful on the town of Dangerfield. The aliens are in hiding, still experimenting with the metagene, and keeping a focus on the five kids. The book later reveals that the Invasion is metafictional.[7][8] The series also contains a backup feature starring Peacemaker. The number of issues was soon reduced from 12 to 6.[9] There was a fifteen month publishing hiatus between issues #4 (December 2019) and #5 (March 2021) with the last two issues released digitally.
In the miniseries Villains United, the Inferior Five were paid homage as a group of supervillains who are tentatively known as the Superior Five. Each member has the abilities of an I5 member but, aside from being evil, are serious and modern-styled characters. They consist of:
Little has been seen of these characters except for one panel in Villains United #4 and a few shots of them in the background in the same issue. They are among the imprisoned supervillains in Salvation Run. Jongleur is one of the villains sent to retrieve the Get Out of Hell Free card from the Secret Six.
The series and characters have been recognized in the field, being awarded a 1966 Alley Award for Best Humor Title: Costumed.
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
