| 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 Inferior Five (orI5) are aparodysuperhero team appearing in books by the American publisherDC Comics. Created by writerE. Nelson Bridwell and artistJoe Orlando, the team premiered in theDC Comics titleShowcase #62 (May-June 1966).[1]
The Five are the children of members of a superhero team called the Freedom Brigade, a parody of theJustice League of America.[2] In early appearances, the team encountered spoofs ofMarvel Comics heroes, including theMan-Mountain and theEgg's Men.[3] When the team got their own series, early issues also mocked theFantastic Four andThor.[3]
After appearing inShowcase #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 titledInferior 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, withShowcase #100 being their only new appearance during theBronze Age of Comic Books.[5] Other appearances include a cameo appearance inCrisis on Infinite Earths,Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew! in The Oz–Wonderland War #3 (March 1986), and theGrant Morrison-writtenAnimal Man series. They appear in one panel inJLA: 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.
FollowingCrisis on Infinite Earths, where the Five were seen in background cameos, the team's sole "continuity" appearance as a team was in the 1991Angel and the Ape miniseries, where it was revealed that Angel and Dumb Bunny are half-sisters. Members of theJustice 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 theBatman: The Brave and the Bold comics. The Inferior Five team up with theLegion of Substitute Heroes inThe Brave and The Bold #35 and withBat-Mite inBat-Mite #5 (Dec. 2015).
Steve Gerber proposed aVertigo 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 byKeith Giffen was initiated. It was a reinvention of the team, as the protagonists are now 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 theinvasion 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 starringPeacemaker. 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.
The Superior Five, a villainous group based on the Inferior Five, appear in the miniseriesVillains United. They consist of:
The Inferior Five appear as character summons inScribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.[11]
The series and characters have been recognized in the field, being awarded a 1966Alley Award for Best Humor Title: Costumed.
Writer E. Nelson Bridwell and artist Joe Orlando knew what was in a name when they unleashed the Inferior Five in Megalopolis.
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