The year 1940 saw the dawn of superhero teams, with the debut of the Justice Society of America. For the next decade, they would be the standard bearers that would imspire other such teams. On their Earth-Two these included Law's Legionnaires or Seven Soldiers of Victory, the Blue Boys, All-Star Squadron, Freedom Fighters, among others.
Their stories would be relayed on other Earths in the form of comicbooks, with writers of those worlds having their minds "attuned" to the frequencies of the Multiverse which provided them the material to chronicle these adventures. On Earth-One especially, several heroes debuted there having adopted alter egos of Justice Society members. Perhaps most notable was police scientist Barry Allen, who after gaining the power of superspeed, decided to live out his boyhood dream and imitate the JSA member known as the Flash, aka police scientist Jay Garrick. Just prior to their historic meeting, Barry-Flash joined other heroes to form the Justice League of America.
And so, various other masked men also appeared to be the next generation of superheroes, carrying on the traditions of the originals. Such ones as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Atom, Hawkman, Hawkgirl... each new version mirrored the first version years earlier.
However, on Earth-Two, a new generation of heroes was already appearing in the mid-1950s. The first to appear was Tornado Tot, secretly the infant pair of aspiring heroes known as Sugar Plumm and Cecil "Spike" Wilson, who borrowed a flying costume created by a neighborhood kid. They were of course inspired by the wanna-be Justice Society member, Ma Hunkle aka Red Tornado. Within a year after the Tot had their first, and last, case... yet another Red Tornado appeared. This one, however, was an android created by criminal mastermind T.O. Morrow with the intent of sabotaging the Justice Society from within. Thankfully, this android Tornado proved honorable, and helped them defeat his creator and join their ranks. After a few years, Tornado moved to Earth-One to join the Justice League.
The next legacy hero to appear did so secretly at first. This occured in 1969 after a tragic tale involving the death of Dinah and Larry Lance, as they alongside the Justice Society and Justice League defeated the cosmic being known as Aquarius. As Dinah, also known as Black Canary, was dying from extensive radiation exposure, she recalled a daughter kept in suspended animation within the Thunderbolt Dimension for decades. This child had been given a dangerous sonic power, which unlike the girl's counterpart Silver Swan who gained this ability as an adult, was unable to master as such as young age. With Johnny Thunder and Superman's help, the mother's memories were implanted into those of her sleeping daughter, now an adult... and this younger Dinah became the new Black Canary. Joining the Justice League's membership on Earth-One, she honored her mother's legacy.
Soon after this, another blonde bombshell arrived on Earth-Two after the previous one had departed. This lass was Kara Zor-L, the long-lost cousin of Kal-L aka Superman, who had been traveling through space for several decades while slumbering within her Symbioship as she experience a virtual reality Kryptonian existence. She would be welcomed into her cousin Kal/Clark Kent's home, and would form a strong bond with Clark's wife Lois Lane Kent. However, unlike her counterpart of Earth-One Kara Zor-El, she did not adopt a legacy alias of Supergirl. Instead, she broke the mold and named herself Power Girl, years later joining the Justice Society and becoming a key member.
Others included: Hawkman and Hawkgirl's son Hector "Silver Scarab" Hall, Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor's daughter Lyta "Fury" Trevor, Green Lantern's children Jennie Lynn "Jade" Hayden and Todd "Obsidian" Rice, and the godsons of Atom and Hawkman in Albert "Nuklon" Rothstein" and Norda "Northwind" Cantrell, as well as Hourman’s son Rick Tyler.
Alongside these original members of Infinity, Inc., additional members such as Hourman's son Rick Tyler, Wildcat's goddaughter Yolanda Montez, and Doctor Mid-Nite's protegee Beth Chapel each adopted the alter egos of their mentors somewhat later. They would mirror the New Teen Titans, led by Dick "Robin" Grayson who like his Earth-Two counterpart was the first such legacy hero.
However, the Titans were composed more of sidekicks such as Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, Aqualad, and Speedy... which were also present on Infinity Inc.'s world and were their own distinct type of legacy hero. While the golden age Holliday Girl Donna Troy, Johnny "Johnny Quick" Chambers and Neptune Perkins were less connected to their world's Wonder Woman, Flash, and Aquaman, they were still carrying on the torch of these legends with their own heroic spirit in the face of danger.
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