Air Wave is the name of three

superheroes A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

appearing in

American comic books An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

published by

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

. The first two were active in the

Golden Age of Comic Books The Golden Age of Comic Books describes an era in the history of American comic books from 1938 to 1956. During this time, modern comic books were first published and rapidly increased in popularity. The superhero archetype was created and ma ...

(albeit the second Air Wave had only one appearance). The third appears in comics in the 21st century.

Publication history

The original Air Wave (Larry Jordan) debuted during the period fans and historians call the

. His first appearance was in ''Detective Comics'' #60 (December 1942) by artist Harris Levey, who signed his work under the

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

" Lee Harris", and a writer tentatively identified as either

Mort Weisinger Mortimer Weisinger (; April 25, 1915 – May 7, 1978) was an American magazine and comic book editor best known for editing DC Comics' ''Superman'' during the mid-1950s to 1960s, in the Silver Age of comic books. He also co-created such features ...

Murray Boltinoff Murray Boltinoff (January 3, 1911 – May 6, 1994) was an American writer and editor of comic books who worked for DC Comics from the 1940s to the 1980s, in which role he edited over 50 different comic book series. Biography A graduate of Ne ...

.Air Wave (1942)
at

Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

Archived
from the original on March 15, 2012] Harris Levey (aka Lee Harris) drew the character's seven- to eight-page adventures from ''Detective Comics'' #60 (February 1942) to at least #74 (April 1943), and then following

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in ''Detective Comics'' #114-137 (August 1946 - July 1948). In September 1942, Levey (aka Lee Harris) left the series to join the US Army Airforce (UAAF) as a Photographer for the 15th Tactical Reconnaissance Photo Unit, turning the artwork over to his friend

George Roussos George Roussos (; August 20, 1915 – February 19, 2000), also known under the pseudonym George Bell, was an American comic book artist best known as one of Jack Kirby's Silver Age of comic books, Silver Age inkers, including on landmark early is ...

for the 1943-46 issues. Levey returned to DC and resumed illustrating the Air Wave (July 1946, #113) and left DC and his Air Wave drawing duties in 1948 to pursue a career in advertising.

Fictional character biographies

Larry Jordan

Lawrence "Larry" Jordan is a

law clerk A law clerk, judicial clerk, or judicial assistant is a person, often a lawyer, who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by Legal research, researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial ...

and intern who battles crime using radio-based technology. He is accompanied by the parrot Static, who occasionally aids him in battle. Larry later retires and is killed by escaped convict Joe Parsons, with his wife Helen temporarily becoming Air Wave to capture him. In '' Dark Nights: Death Metal'', Air Wave is among the superheroes who

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

resurrects using a

Black Lantern The Black Lantern Corps is a fictional organization of wikt:corporeal, corporeal revenants (resembling intelligent zombies or jiangshi) appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, related to the emotional spectrum. The group is composed of d ...

ring.

Harold Jordan

Harold Jordan is Larry Jordan's son and successor, who possesses innate powers. Furthermore, he is a cousin of

Green Lantern Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...

Hal Jordan Harold "Hal" Jordan, one of the characters known as Green Lantern, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created in 1959 by writer John Broome (writer), John Broome and artist Gil Kane, and f ...

, with whom he shares his name. After Doctor Moon genetically modifies him, Air Wave briefly becomes Maser and joins the Captains of Industry. Air Wave is later killed in ''

Infinite Crisis "Infinite Crisis" is a 2005–2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, ...

'' and temporarily resurrected as a Black Lantern in ''

Blackest Night "Blackest Night" is a 2009–10 American comic book Fictional crossover, crossover storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous central miniseries, written by Geoff Johns and penciled by Ivan Reis, along with a number of tie-in i ...

''. In ''

DC Rebirth DC Rebirth is a 2016 relaunch by the American comic book publisher DC Comics of its entire Line (comics), line of ongoing monthly superhero comic book titles. Using the end of The New 52 (2011–2016) initiative in May 2016 as its launching point ...

'', Air Wave is permanently resurrected and joins the

Justice League The Justice League, or Justice League of America (JLA), is a group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). Writer Gardner Fox conceived the ...

Powers and abilities

All three incarnations of Air Wave wield helmets that enable them to manipulate radio signals and transform into energy. The Larry Jordan incarnation travels via collapsible skates, whereas the Helen Jordan and Harold Jordan incarnations can fly.''The Green Lantern'' Annual #1 (2019)

Enemies

His enemies were mostly Nazis and criminals, but he also fought some sound-based supervillains: * Dr. Silence * Parrot * Talker

In other media

The Larry and Harold Jordan incarnations of Air Wave appear as character summons in '' Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure''.

References

External links

Archived
from the original on March 15, 2012.
Info from DCUGuide.com
* {{GoldenAge Characters created by Dennis O'Neil Characters created by Mort Weisinger Comics characters introduced in 1942 Comics characters introduced in 1978 Comics characters introduced in 1981 DC Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds DC Comics American superheroes DC Comics LGBTQ superheroes DC Comics male superheroes DC Comics metahumans Fictional characters with energy-manipulation abilities Fictional characters with elemental transmutation abilities Fictional gay men Gay superheroes Golden Age superheroes