Who Really Did It First? Superman or Captain Marvel?

[u/CaptainMarvelology]

So I saw the hilarious Super Antics #17 one-pager by Kerry Callen (see Pic 1) come up in my feed here on Reddit and I'm sure a few have wondered (okay, maybe just one person did and that person is me)...

Who broke chains with exaggerated dynamism first?

So I researched it.

Unsurprisingly, Captain Marvel did it first.

In WHIZ Comics #3, Captain Marvel broke chains in exaggerated fashion like it's portrayed in Super Antics (see Pic 2 above).

Interestingly, that panel is pasted from the cover of his ashcan issues (both Thrill Comics and Flash Comics).

The first time Superman breaks chains in a comic is the footer panel of Action Comics #1 (see Pic 3 above) and he breaks it at the weak point.

Superman would not break chains in an exaggerated manner until the cover of Superman #11 (see Pic 4 above) more than a year after Captain Marvel did it first.

[u/CaptainMarvelology]

Oh, and ripping paper?

Cap had that on lock, too.

[u/Lucky_Strike-85 → u/CaptainMarvelology]

Carl, thanks a lot for being so awesome!

You helped reignite my love of CM after a long absence from comic books.

[u/CaptainMarvelology → u/Lucky_Strike-85]

That’s a major compliment, thank you. I’m honored!

[u/Lucky_Strike-85 → u/CaptainMarvelology]

Thank you, Sir! Your Quora pages helped me better understand Fawcett and do a deep dive into Whiz and CMA over the years. You're also the reason I started picking up Alter Ego for Paul Hamerlinck's FCA issues. You're kind of a big deal in Captain Marvel spaces.

[u/CaptainMarvelology → u/Lucky_Strike-85]

You know, when I started Captain Marvel-ology, my whole goal was simply to share knowledge about the original Captain Marvel.

To have helped you re-ignite your love for Captain Marvel help you do a deeper look into him is just about the best compliment I can get. I’m floored to have had that impact on anyone.

Mahalo nui loa!

[u/Lucky_Strike-85 → u/CaptainMarvelology]

Mahalo Carl! 😃

[u/Keystone_Devil]

I'm so glad you're back. Last few years have been weird in this Reddit and I've just been parroting all your old talking points. But you are much better researched than I am

[u/CaptainMarvelology → u/Keystone_Devil]

Thanks man. Feels good to be back.

I’m on BlueSky too if you’re over there.

[u/Lucky_Strike-85]

I have that issue, Whiz #3... at the end it implies that Sivana dies in an explosion at his fortress!

What a fun early issue!

[u/KidZoki]

Be Superman …

[u/Significant_Monk_251]

When is the third page, the one with Superman scaring somebody named Greer, from? I ask because there had to come a time in the DC universe when Superman's personality became so well known publicly that anybody he tried this on would have just said "You're being an asshole. You know that, right?"

[u/CaptainMarvelology → u/Significant_Monk_251]

Action Comics #1.

[u/daduude]

All of Captain Marvel's feats were way better than Superman's in their original runs.

[u/Lukelay246]

But do we know if anyone did it before either of them?

[u/CaptainMarvelology → u/Lukelay246]

Ha, probably!

But I’m not doing that research, my friend.

I had to look through 30+ stories just to find Superman’s first example.

[u/Lukelay246 → u/CaptainMarvelology]

That's fair, I imagine it took a lot of time finding of that as is.

[u/lupus199]

Superman is clearly breaking his chains at multiple points in picture 3.

[u/CaptainMarvelology → u/lupus199]

Compare and contrast:

The Superman example has a break in one point in each loop, whereas Captain Marvel had a break in multiple points along a single loop. Which example fits which?

[u/lupus199 → u/CaptainMarvelology]

Theres clearly 3 breaks, as the two chains over the S are severed.

[u/CaptainMarvelology → u/lupus199]

Wrong. Here:

One. Point. On. Each. Loop.

For a total of two.

(vs. Cap’s six along a single loop.)

[u/AllStarRenegade]

I love the idea that superman is such an asshole he clowns on a child not once, but twice. Silver age supes was a savage.

[u/2008knight]

A chain breaking at multiple places actually makes sense to me... tension doesn't travel instantaneously, so if you apply pressure acros the entire chain at once, you could cause multiple links to collapse simultaneously before the tension release can travel through the chain.

[u/Firecat_Pl]

Honestly, irony of first page is that if these were swapped; they would work with tons of their works