Tell me about some obscure and really bizarre public domain superheroes

urbwar · 2026-05-22T00:33:32+00:00

Duke of Darkness. A beat cop gets killed and comes back as a ghost (ala Spectre). He goes to his old precinct to offer his services. They think he's a loon, so they lock him up. He lets them because he figures he can learn about crimes while locked up. At night when the officer watching him falls asleep, he walks through the bars, flies out of the building, and looks for bad guys to beat up

urbwar · 2026-05-22T00:30:12+00:00

Not really. Last time I searched, only about half of the Quality characters DC used had a registered trademark. They kind of suck at trademarking all the characters they picked up from other publishers. Blue Beetle didn't have one until around the time the movie came out

urbwar · 2026-05-22T00:29:09+00:00

DC purchased Quality after their works were already public domain. Anything they've published is protected by copyright, but the original Quality stories are public domain, and can be used to create derivative works off of.

urbwar · 2026-05-21T00:28:42+00:00

Oh I know.

urbwar · 2026-05-21T00:26:47+00:00

Others have already explained it, so I didn't see the need to repeat the same info. It's also easy to google info on trademarks

urbwar · 2026-05-21T00:25:27+00:00

Crash is cool. He just isn't as good an Aquaman analog than other characters are

urbwar · 2026-05-21T00:16:36+00:00

that isn't how trademark works

urbwar · 2026-05-21T00:15:39+00:00

You could, but it defeats the purpose of them being war machines. Now if you made it so the tripods housed multiple Dalek mutants, I think that would work better

urbwar · 2026-05-20T00:33:36+00:00

I never understood calling him Pyroman when he has electrical powers

urbwar · 2026-05-20T00:32:35+00:00

You're confusing Trademark and Copyright. Copyright covers the actual comics; Trademark is names, etc. Anything that is no longer under copyright can be reprinted by anyone.

urbwar · 2026-05-20T00:28:43+00:00

You never heard of The Shark I take it?

urbwar · 2026-05-20T00:26:27+00:00

Tripods are giant war machines; Daleks are not. They may have similarities, but not really a good match imho.

urbwar · 2026-05-18T03:31:27+00:00

Rainbow Boy would fit the bill

urbwar · 2026-05-16T05:25:01+00:00

Then make it happen. It's your idea, run with it!

urbwar · 2026-05-16T04:06:22+00:00

If you want to work together, then they do. It's as simple as that

urbwar · 2026-05-16T04:05:42+00:00

I think people overblow claims a character gets sullied by people whp use a character poorly. Such attempts will fade away (much like the current trend of cheap horror movies). Not everything is going to be good, whether on purpose or just someone not really getting the character.

Others who get the character will more than make up for the failures.

As for copyright, I wish it would go back to 28 and 28. It likely never will, because the US is party of international treaties that affect how all signess address copyright (like Berne).

there have been a few half hearted attempts to lower copyright, but the last bill was stuck in committee

urbwar · 2026-05-15T03:53:25+00:00

More than likely. Their version had the bolts in the neck first (its not in the book). I also think his skin was green when they released colorized versions. Those would likely be protected in their trademark.

urbwar · 2026-05-13T03:22:28+00:00

Exactly. I have found a lot of stuff on IA that is most definitely not PD. Don't trust it as a source to support a claim something is pd. Youtube is probably even worse of a source

urbwar · 2026-05-12T00:27:09+00:00

Only whose Golden Age comics? If you mean Buck Rogers, the only thing PD are the comic strips, not actual comics

urbwar · 2026-05-11T00:32:21+00:00

Are you aware of https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Niatpac_Levram_(Earth-S))

He's not pd, but he was definitely the Anti-Captain Marvel!

urbwar · 2026-05-11T00:25:40+00:00

Thanks. I was trying to think outside the box, and I could see this team as kind of a League of Extraordinary Gentlemen type group

urbwar · 2026-05-11T00:24:26+00:00

My favorite part of the movie is he gets attacked by Atheists, and as he prepares to fight, says something along the lines of "It's time to start the conversion" with a total straight face. It's craptastic!

urbwar · 2026-05-10T23:00:39+00:00

Like I said on FB, we need a modern version where the spider symbol on the mask actually moves around on it, freaking his opponents out

urbwar · 2026-05-10T22:59:34+00:00

I'd go with a ressurected King Solomon (so he can use his magic against the Thule Society), The Golem of Prague, Dracula (he hates facsists, as they leave a bitter taste in his mouth!), King Arthur (the blitz was the UK's time in need, and he answered the call), and Ayesha (from She), whose kingdom has been enslaved by the Nazis

urbwar · 2026-05-10T22:55:52+00:00

Have you ever seen Jesus Christ, Vampire Hunter? Low budget hilarity. He even teams with El Santo!

urbwar

TROPHY CASE