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I saw this T-shirt in store yesterday, and realized I couldn't recognize a good number of the villains, and a couple heroes. They're too early in comic history for me to be familiar with them.

enter image description here

Who are they, and from what comic line are they known for (if not their own)?
If it helps, these characters all seem to have appeared in the early 1980s (such as Cyborg) or earlier. As of yet, I've seen nothing later than Cyborg.

Update: I've found some, and posted them in an answer. Those now circled I'm unable to find or even know where to start looking.

These are those I know, left to right starting from the top:

  • Red Tornado
  • Robin
  • Captain Marvel
  • Mister Mxyzpltk
  • The Riddler
  • The Penguin
  • Martian Manhunter
  • Lex Luthor (in armor)
  • Kid Flash
  • The Joker
  • Hawkman
  • Green Arrow
  • Cyborg
  • Darkseid
  • Elongated Man
  • Dr. Fate
  • Aquaman
  • Firestorm
  • Batman
  • Beast Boy
  • Superman
  • The Flash
  • Green Lantern
  • Top row, third from left is Captain Marvel Junior. – user14111 Mar 05 '16 at 21:48
  • Right side, third from the front, bald guy with glasses and white coat, is Captain Marvel's archenemy, Dr. Sivana. – user14111 Mar 05 '16 at 22:09
  • On the left side, second and third from the bottom: is that… Xena and… Robin Hood?!? (Also -1 for missing hand-drawn circles! :-p) – Janus Bahs Jacquet Mar 05 '16 at 23:52
  • Among the ones you can't recognize, how do you know which ones are villains and which are heroes? – user14111 Mar 06 '16 at 02:56
  • @user14111 Speculation based on classic design elements used for good guys and bad guys. There's a few I really have no idea about. Also, some of what I believe are good guys are smiling, such as the guy above Aquaman. –  Mar 06 '16 at 03:05
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    @JanusBahsJacquet Well, now I've got some Paint-drawn circles! –  Mar 06 '16 at 08:30
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    Nightwing - http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/marvel_dc/images/d/d3/Nightwing_0010.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20111009075846 – David Banner Mar 06 '16 at 09:01
  • To clarify @DavidBanner's comment, the guy with the face mask between The Penguin and the armored Lex Luther is Nightwing, in his original costume, from when he first changed from being Robin (Dick Grayson). – Kaine Mar 06 '16 at 15:15
  • @Kaine That's a parademon. Luthor's on the left. –  Mar 06 '16 at 15:17
  • I wonder if the police officer is supposed to be Blackhawk. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackhawk_(DC_Comics) – TenthJustice Mar 06 '16 at 16:28

2 Answers2

14

Those are all characters from the Super Powers cartoon series. I found a clearer image at Target.com, so here's everyone on the shirt.

enter image description here

And who they are:

  1. Tyr
  2. Steppenwolf
  3. Captain Marvel Jr.
  4. Red Tornado
  5. Robin
  6. General Zod
  7. Orion
  8. Samurai
  9. Mantis
  10. Nightwing
  11. Martian Manhunter
  12. Mister Miracle
  13. Mr. Mxyzptlk
  14. Captain Marvel
  15. Riddler
  16. Parademon
  17. Penguin
  18. Golden Pharaoh
  19. Brainiac
  20. Robotman
  21. Elongated Man
  22. Hawkman
  23. Joker
  24. Kid Flash
  25. Kalibak
  26. Lex Luthor
  27. Green Arrow
  28. Mr Freeze
  29. Cyborg
  30. Changeling
  31. Darkseid
  32. Dr Fate
  33. Dr Sivana
  34. DeSaad
  35. Cyclotron (holding his detachable face)
  36. Green Lantern
  37. Flash
  38. Superman
  39. Batman
  40. Firestorm
  41. El Dorado
  42. Aquaman
Patrick Wynne
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  • Interesting! The Mantis is called a green Parademon in other stuff I found. Any explanation? –  Mar 06 '16 at 19:41
  • I'd never heard of this cartoon, so thanks for the find. –  Mar 06 '16 at 20:00
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    @CreationEdge, all of the images I can find for "green parademon" aren't actually the same character, though there are similarities. This is definitely Mantis, though. See here: http://www.kennersuperpowers.com/spfigures/mantis.html – Patrick Wynne Mar 07 '16 at 02:31
  • Tyr (#1) actually originated as a character in the Legion of Super-Heroes comic. If anyone's wondering why many of the New Gods characters don't resemble their typical appearances as seen in DC comic books, it's because Mattel paid Jack Kirby a designer's commission to re-design his characters for action figures. This was many years after Kirby had first designed those characters for comic books. Some of the characters (Mr. Miracle, Darkseid) were hardly changed at all, but some (like Mantis and the Parademon) were more radically revised. – Dennis Roy Dec 02 '23 at 14:13
4

Here's the start of an answer, thanks so far to @user14111

  • Steppenwolf (Tracked him down because I remember seeing the toy) - See below

  • Captain Marvel Junior (user14111) - Captain Marvel

  • Dr. Sivana Sr (user14111) - Captain Marvel

  • Brainiac (the silver robot, middle of the rightmost column) - Superman

  • Robotman

    Finding Steppenwolf led me to the New Gods of Apokolips:

enter image description here

  • Darkseid (already known)
  • Steppenwolf
  • Parademon (Green)
  • Parademon (Red, looks bat-faced)
  • Desaad (purple robe here, but red on the T-shirt)
  • Kalibak (guy with crazy hair)
  • Mr. Freeze!
  • Tyr

Finding these guys lead me to Death of the New Gods, revealing:

  • Mister Miracle:
    enter image description here

And that's where I hit a wall, although I've ruled out anyone else in the Legion of Superheroes

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