In
this thread Bepppo writes:
The rules are not something I came up with on my own, but something we all decided. All the threads are still here if anyone wants to read them.
The only other thread I've been able to find that mentions the Earth-1/Earth-2 issue is
this one. In it, Telle writes:
Managing these various parallel versions of the canonical characters is shaping up to be a Crisis of Multiversal proportions.
I can't remember having a specific discussion on the issue of Earth-1/Earth-2 redundancy. The original author of the Great Superman Book never acknowledged the concept of Earth-2 as canonical references to it came relatively late in his project.
For the most part, the majority of "redundant" Earth-2 (and other) entries are just that: unless they differ in some essential way from their E-1 counterparts, it is hard to justify separate entries. Of course, even very minor players in the canon will eventually receive entries (if they haven't already), so efforts to police these will prove hopeless. Some E-2 entries already link to E-1 articles.
The difference between some E-1 and 2 characters is cut and dried (the E-1 Planet staff is the E-2 Star staff). As for the villains, Ultra encounters a Superman who works for the Star in the 1930s (his last appearance is Act 21, 1940 whereas the last mention of the Star is Act 22) and so may be said to be strictly an Earth-2 phenomenon if not for the musings in the Planet and Star (and on their employees) entries by Fleisher. Tough call but I would be willing to exile Ultra to Earth-2 and eliminate any entry for an E-1 Ultra. Other villains who made intitial Golden Age appearances outside of the Canon, like the Wizard, are even harder. Detective 27 is extra-canonical but rates a reference as the first app of E-1 Batman. By that logic, the Wizard is an E-1 villain with no analogue in the canon except as an E-2 villain.
These are the paradoxes that the Mr and Mrs Superman authors enjoyed playing with and I think they were very careful and selective in their use of villains, restricting them mainly to the period before Act 22.
Tough questions! No easy answers that I can see.
But to review, here is a FAQ if you will:
Who is the Golden Age Superman?
He is the Earth-1 Superman from 1938 to 1955.
Is he different from the Silver Age (1956-1970) or the Bronze Age (1971-1986) Superman?
No they are all the same person and all of their stories take place on Earth-1 as stated in the Comics and in TGSB
I agree that they are all one person in the comics and in TGSB - but I don't think that that one person is called the "Earth-1 Superman". I think that Superman was first referred to as the "Earth-1 Superman" at some point in the 1970s - but before that, he was just "Superman." I don't think the Golden Age Superman can be retconned into being either the Earth-2 Superman nor the Earth-1 Superman.
What is Earth-2?
Earth-2 was first encountered by the Flash in The Flash No. 123, Sep 1961: "Flash of Two Worlds!". It is a Parallel World. It is based on the comics of the Golden Age.
So does that mean that all the Golden Age comics happen on Earth-2?
No, it is only based on the Golden Age, it is not the actual Golden Age. Many of the real life Golden Age Superman stories and facts are contradicted in many Earth-2 Stories. For example, Lex Luthor lost his hair pretty early on during the Golden Age but he never did on Earth-2. The Daily Planet appears on 1940 until 1986. But on Earth-2, it doesn't exist, but rather in its place the Daily Star. His name was Kal-El, but on Earth-2 his name is Kal-L There are many more examples.
So the Earth-2 Superman is not the same person as the Golden Age Superman?
No, the real Golden Age happen during the years 1938 to 1955. The Earth-2 Superman doesn't appear in any comic book until 1977, in our Bronze Age!
Agreed.
But, what about this Earth-1 you keep referring to, that didn't appear until the Silver Age!
No, this is wrong. Only the name didn't appear until this time, but the world itself existed since 1938 (in our world). It doesn't make sense to call something Earth-1 if there are not other Earths to compare it too.
In this case I agree with the questioner.
Ok, but how can I tell if something took place on Earth-2 or not?
ALL Earth-2 stories always label themselves as Earth-2 stories, so you are in luck, if the story doesn't claim to take place on Earth-2, then it doesn't take place on Earth-2. Pretty easy huh?
But, wait a second, sometimes DC referred to the Earth-2 Superman as the Golden Age Superman! I mean, LOOK at this monkey boy! In ya face sucker!!!
http://superman.nu/tales2/e2-origin/Is that comics listed here:
http://superman.nu/wiki/index.php/Canonical_sources ?
Yeah, I didn't think so, nice try though.
Once again, TGSB just like DC Comics treats the Golden, Silver and Bronze Age Superman as the same person and thus so do we.
Agreed.