| Wonder Boy | |
|---|---|
 Quality Comics' Wonder Boy | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Quality Comics, nowDC Comics |
| First appearance | I:National Comics #1 (1940) II:Team Titans #19 |
| Created by | I: Jerry Maxwell II: Jeff Jensen,Phil Jiminez |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Bobby Barnes Donald Troy |
| Team affiliations | II:Team Titans |
| Abilities | Superhuman strength and stamina |
Wonder Boy is the name of two fictional characters who have appeared assuperheroes in comics published byQuality Comics andDC Comics. The original was an alien who appeared inNational Comics.[1] The second was a time-traveler from an alternate future who appeared inTeam Titans.
Most of the stories in which he appeared were only six pages long, so little was revealed about him other than that he was known for: having the strength of a thousand men, a girlfriend named Sally Benson and a tendency for bombastic speeches.[2]
He decided to help the people of Earth fight crime and evil (most specificallyAdolf Hitler). Shortly after exiting the meteor and hearing about Hitler, he swam to Europe and bashed some fascists. He was soon called Wonder Boy by the public at large. Otherwise, he had no other name or a secret identity, and seemed to only wear the costume he was "born" wearing.
Wonder Boy was a fictionalQuality Comics character andsuperhero who first appeared inNational Comics #1 (July 1940), in the story "The Boy from the Meteor". The character was created by writerToni Blum and artistJohn Celardo.[3]
With "the strength of a hundred full grown men", the nameless WonderBoy fell to Earth from the planet Viro, destroyed when it "collided" with a star.[4] Finding himself inChicago,Illinois, he joined forces with Sgt. Crane of theArmy Air Corps and began using his superhuman abilities to fight theNazis,Axis spies and big-city crime. Cheering him on from the sidelines was sweetheart Sally Benson.
Wonder Boy last appeared under the Quality Comics banner inNational Comics #26 (November 1942), in an untitled story.[5] The character reappeared two years later in Elliot Publishing Co'sBomber Comics (along with several other characters that originally appeared inNational Comics). The circumstances behind the move are unclear. In 1955, he was one of the characters to be used byAjax-Farrell Comics inTerrific Comics #16 andWonder Boy #17 and 18.[6] The character wouldn’t reappear again until 2025 inNightwing Annual 2025, as a fictional character from ametafictional comic book seriesGray Ghost and Wonder Boy as an allusion toRobin the Boy Wonder.[7] Another refugee from theGolden Age of Comic Books to turn up inWonder Boy #17 wasPhantom Lady.[8]
The secondWonder Boy debuted inTeam Titans #19 (April 1994), in the past along with several other Titans from an alternate future. They assisted the Team Titans on a mission, and afterwards the group decided to remain in the past. Shortly after the mission,Donna Troy addressed theJustice League assembly (led byWonder Woman) and announced the United States government made a deal to allow the future Titans to remain in the past and act as paranormal operatives led by a government-appointed supervisor. During his next mission with the Titans, Wonder Boy teamed withAqualad,Terra,Mirage, and other Titans for an undersea mission.[9]
During the 1994Zero Hour storyline, the alternate future where the Team Titans originated from is erased from continuity, and all the characters from the alternate future are erased from existence.
InWonder Woman #188, writerPhil Jiminez introduces a non-superpowered character, Bobby Barnes, nephew of Princess Diana's then-love interest Trevor Barnes. Bobby is a fan of Wonder Woman and follows her around for a day. At the end of the story, Wonder Woman presented him with a Wonder Boy t-shirt and invites him toThemyscira for a celebration.
Donald Troy, also known as Wonderous Boy, is a member of theEarth-11's Teen Justice. The mentee ofWonder Man, he is the male version ofDonna Troy/Wonder Girl and was created by Ivan Cohen and Eleonora Carlini, first appearing inDC's Very Merry Multiverse #1 (February 2021). In the gender-reversed reality of Earth-11, Troy is in a romantic relationship with the male version ofRaven.[10] His origin is apparently confusing, a nod to his female counterpart's infamous convoluted history, as even the world's greatest detective Batwoman (female version ofBatman) is unable to make sense of it and Donald's own memories are fuzzy.[11]
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