[kidterror]

I know the JSA is the first superhero team, but did any other characters team up before this?

[phabox]

Well of course there's the first metting of the Human Torch and Sub-Mariner in Marvel Mystery comics_008 in June 1940 although it was hardly what you would call a 'Team -Up' more a battle royal.

I think a few MLJ heroes worked together now and again and then of course there was that big team up of most of the Prize Comics heroes against Frankenstein's Monster but that was about 1943.

There was also a couple of Fawcett cross overs, Captain Marvel and a brainwashed  Spy Smasher fought a long running battle across a number of Whiz Comics Issues.

I also seem to recall a fledgling Captain Marvel Jnr being helped by Bulletman against Captain Nazi in Master Comics.

All this is from memory, I'd really need to check for facts and figures to give more detailed information.

-Nigel

[darkmark]

Torch and Subby would probably be the first crossover, since it happened in 1940.  The Wizard and the Shield got together in a true crossover story (it happened in both of their respective stories) in PEP COMICS and (I think) TOP-NOTCH COMICS.  But of course the JSA first assembled in 1940, so they probably have the palm for super-teams.

[CortezTod]

Are there any more teams?

[SuperScrounge]

DC had the Seven Soldiers of Victory.

Marvel had the All-Winners Squad and some team of kids featuring Bucky and Toro (can't remember the name).

Can't recall any other Golden Age teams besides these and the already mentioned JSA.

[John Kerry]

Young Allies was the name of Bucky and Toro's group. Several Fawcett heroes were shown having a meeting in a Minute Man story.

[paw broon]

This is a bit obscure, however 2 of the British detectives, Sexton Blake and Nelson Lee teamed up in a couple of stories.  This one from 1918:-
https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=33511
and this one:-
https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=33512
You'll find a couple more in the same section.
Blake and Lee were, at the time, two of the most popular detectives in British pulp fiction.
Later, Blake would battle Waldo The Wonder Man, and occasionally team up with him.
You did mention "characters"

[darkmark]

The Harvey heroes did team up in one Black Cat story, and then were featured in "Stories Behind the Cover" as America's Star Heroes in SPEED COMICS.

Also, all the PRIZE COMICS heroes teamed up to battle Frankenstein in one story.

Plus there were lots of hero cameos in Fawcett, particularly in Captain Marvel stories.

[The Australian Panther]

Question.

What was the first known heroes teamup?

I'm thinking maybe even precomic book. Did any of the Pulp heroes ever team up? 

[darkmark]

In H. Rider Haggard's SHE AND ALLAN, Ayesha, Umslopogaas, and Allan Quatermain teamed up against Rezu.  I could probably find more.

[SuperScrounge]

What was the first known heroes teamup?

That could take us back to Greek myths, if not earlier. 

I guess that would make the Argonauts the first hero team?

[matchlessman]

As far as DC is concerned, apart from world's finest where you had superman, batman and robin,
DC's  next team up comic was the Brave and the Bold issue No 50 which featured for the first time  Green
Arrow and the manhunter from mars. As a boy in the early sixties i was fascinated by the team up
stories.  I enjoyed Brave and the bold more than JLA stories

[EmmetEarwax]

I recall in modern Marvel. The Hulk and Thing had the first team-up. The meeting in FF #12 was hardly auspicious: Dialogue: Hulk "I'll crush you like a flea !".

BTW, where were the FF before ? In Hulk #1 ,they hardly could have noticed two Russian spies stamping around in the west (Igor and the Gargoyle), BUT they SHOULD have noticed the Toad Men invasion in #2, and in #5 General Fang was threatening all-out WWIII. The Metal Master SHOULD have come to their attention in Hulk #6.

As to whether FF#12 came before Hulk #6 or after.is debatable. We DO know that at the end of #6, Banner had decided to retire the Hulk (tho he had not dismantled the machine that changed him back & forth). We do know that, for reasons never stated, Hulk was running wild in Avengers #1 & 2, and lost control of his changes in #3 ,and also became a murderous menace.

[paw broon]

Emmet, I have to go back and re-read those Hulk issues.

[darkmark]

Well, the FF were in New York and I think Hulk was out in the Nevada desert, so they had an excuse.

[EmmetEarwax]

The Brave & the Bold team-up stories, I can not see as canon. They took liberties with the established continuity, or logic. I go by the hard-cover reprints. Eventually it evolved into Batman team-ups from which it was natural to replace it with Outsiders, a team forged by Batman AFTER he quit the JLA (part of a slow disintegration of the JLA and its resurrection as a try-out team.(Annual #2,1984). Giraffneck,Aquaman, Zatanna & Martian Manhandler.

[EmmetEarwax]

Well, these menaces were worldwide ! The Toad Men were causing earthquakes all over and Hulk was busy having a causeless war with the soldiers. Even tried to KILL his sidekick. When dawn came, he reverted back to Banner , ran to his gamma cannon, and blew the toad men out of the solar system !

The Metal Master had messed up all the metal on earth. Hulk fought him, but was defeated. It took a ruse by Banner to defeat the Metal Master, make him fix all the metal and then leave for good ! Banner then retired the Hulk as side effects were getting out of hand. THAT was ignored when Hulk showed up in Avengers #1 .

[jrasicmark]

Young Allies was the name of Bucky and Toro's group. Several Fawcett heroes were shown having a meeting in a Minute Man story.

That meeting of Fawcett heroes was the Crime Crusaders Club, which appeared to be (like the Justice Society at first) a social club for super heroes. The only members shown were Minute Man, Captain Marvel Jr, Bulletman, and Bulletgirl (all features in Master Comics). As I recall, Minute Man was challenged to some kind of cross country race by some kind of criminal organization; the heroes knew it was a trap, so Junior and the Bullets each followed to keep watch for the crooks during different parts of the race to let Minute Man focus on winning the race. Frustratingly, we never got to see the Crime Crusaders Club again.
Years later, when DC was brought the Fawcett heroes together for a JLA/JSA crossover, they went to a different Fawcett team for a name for the group; Shazam's Squadron of Justice was named after the name given to Captain Marvel and his Three Lieutenant Marvels (on Fawcet covers only), the Squadron of Justice.

[Robb_K]

What was the first known heroes teamup?

That could take us back to Greek myths, if not earlier. 

I guess that would make the Argonauts the first hero team?

The "Iliad" and "Odyssey" were first written down by the various "Homers" between 825 and 780 BCE, while The Myth of Jason and The Argonauts was first written by Hesiod in about 700 BC.  Both are much older, and were told by word of mouth for several hundred years before.  But, it is most likely that "The Iliad is the oldest.  And it certainly had superheroes teaming up, as Achilles' skin was impregnable other than around his left ankle, and others of The Greek heroes who teamed up against The Trojans had super strength or combat skills from being favoured by one god or another.  There were similar combatants teaming up on The Trojan side, as well.

What about Superman and Superboy?  When did they first team up?

Captain Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr.?

Captain Marvel and Mary Marvel?

All three of them together?

Captain Marvel and Hoppy, The Marvel Bunny?

I'm sure there must have been some weird superhero pairings in parody stories in EC's comic book series "Tales Calculated To Drive You ....Mad", and also in "Mad Magazine".

I think Atomic Mouse and Atomic Rabbit teamed up at least once.  I wonder if Atom The Cat ever joined them? 

I know that Fox's Marvel Mutt, Cosmo Catt, and Pussy Katnip never teamed up!

[The Australian Panther]

I recall in modern Marvel. The Hulk and Thing had the first team-up. The meeting in FF #12 was hardly auspicious: Dialogue: Hulk "I'll crush you like a flea !".

BTW, where were the FF before ? 

Emmett, That FF/Hulk story was a landmark, not only was it the first marvel team-up, it was the first continued story, going across two books, It was also one of the first - Hero fights hero stories - I think the re-introduction of the sub-mariner was the first. It became a marvel trope - two heroes meet for the first time, mistake each other for villains and beat the crap out of each other before making up.  Must have saved Stan a lot of thinking time in finding plots. That and the never-ending clones, superadaptoids, 'Mimics' and villains with the same powers. So Iron Man had 2 different guys in metal suits to fight. And so on.Stan was very good at recycling!

  BTW, where were the FF before ? In Hulk #1 ,they hardly could have noticed two Russian spies stamping around in the west (Igor and the Gargoyle) 

Also, if you look at the first year or so of Marvel's superheroes, its clear there was a transition going on, many of the stories are indistinguishable from those in the 'Monster - tales from' books that Marvel had then been doing for years, they were written as standalone and there was no attempt at continuity, the idea of 'the marvel universe' had not yet been born.   
What were the first team-ups?
Frabig can help me out here, but I think there were a couple of MLJ team-ups in the golden age.

Captain Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr.?

Captain Marvel and Mary Marvel?

All three of them together?

Captain Marvel and Hoppy, The Marvel Bunny?
 

The Fawcett writers saw these characters as a 'family' group and often had them together.
Possibly initiated the idea of 'family superheroes' before some of the Fawcett people went over to DC and we got Superboy, Supergirl, superhorse, supermonkey, supercat and superdog [ these now featuring in a movie - an obvious move, if you think about it. Watch for Disney now to do a movie with the Marvel superanimals, who have already had a couple of miniseries.]   
No, there were no Superman/Superboy team-ups till the modern era. I'm happy to be proved wrong, tho.     

DC had the Seven Soldiers of Victory.

Marvel had the All-Winners Squad 

These, and the original JSA stories weren't really team-ups, they were originally books with individual stories of many heroes, then in later issues, they would meet,define a villain or a group of villains or a problem then go off and have separate adventures and re-unite at the end of the book, Gardner Fox also did this with the first JLA stories.

In H. Rider Haggard's SHE AND ALLAN, Ayesha, Umslopogaas, and Allan Quatermain teamed up against Rezu.  I could probably find more.

Yes, most people only know the book,SHE, but Haggard brought those characters back quite a few times.
Now that I think about it, John Buchan brought back Hannay - from 39 steps, about 4 times teaming him up with a group of 'upperclass chaps' for adventures. They are worth seeking out.
Pity Verne never teamed up Robur and Nemo! That's an idea for you -reuse PD characters out there!
When did Donald Duck and Micky Mouse first meet? I think it was fairly early on in their careers. In the animated cartoons or the newspaper strip?

Did any of the Pulp heroes ever team up?   

To answer my own question, Dynamite teamed them up recently, disappointingly, but I still don't know if it happened in any of the pulp magazines.
Cheers!         

[crashryan]

The Hulk and Thing had the first team-up. The meeting in FF #12 was hardly auspicious: Dialogue: Hulk "I'll crush you like a flea !"

I remember that in an early issue of Marvel Team-Up The Hulk and The Thing had a rematch played mostly for laughs. I recall one memorable exchange (described from memory; I don't have the comic). H and T are fighting by an abandoned mine. The Hulk clobbers The Thing, who yells, "That does it! Now you're cruisin' for a bruisin'!" Hulk: "Cruising? But Hulk is not going anywhere." Thing: "Oh, yes you are!" and he punches Hulk out of the panel.

Edited to add: I just checked the Grand database and discovered it wasn't Marvel Team-Up. So I don't know where the story appeared.

[Robb_K]

When did Donald Duck and Micky Mouse first meet? I think it was fairly early on in their careers. In the animated cartoons or the newspaper strip?

Cheers!       

In animation, there was an early appearance of a duck called "Donald Duck" in a Mickey Mouse 7 minute short cartoon between 1929 and 1931.  I think it was "Mickey's Follies" in 1929.  But Donald was just a member of the audience in the grandstands.  And the two of them didn't react to each other.  Donald just quacked his approval to the barnyard talent show.  If what I describe was not that film, it was another about a musical show in Mickey's barnyard.

According to The official Walt Disney Archives' website, in the Mickey Mouse Daily Newspaper Strip on March 14th, 1935, Mickey first met Donald, when the latter was a street corner newspaper salesboy.  Donald had already appeared in Disney's "Silly Symphonies" newspaper strip in Spring, 1934.

[SuperScrounge]

What about Superman and Superboy?  When did they first team up?

I think that was Superboy #47 "Superboy Meets Superman" It was a time travel tale since Superboy is Superman as a teenager.

Captain Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr.?

Captain Marvel Jr. was created in a three part crossover starting in Master Comics #21 https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=15622, moving to Whiz Comics #25 https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=72028 (where CMJ is created), and finishing up in Master Comics #22 https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=27591.

Captain Marvel and Mary Marvel?

All three of them together?

Both happened in Captain Marvel Adventures #18 https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=15858

Captain Marvel and Hoppy, The Marvel Bunny?

No idea.

[Robb_K]

Have The Green Hornet, The Green Lantern, The Green Arrow, and The Green Lama ever fought together on the same side, against the same villains or villain?  They could be called "The Gang Green".   

[paw broon]

OOOOOOHHH! Nice one Robb. Corny but nice.