This is a nice comment on the fact that Clark Kent's and Bruce Wayne's mothers have the same name. I have long noticed it, and I used to think that this was another rip-off of the Superman mythos and of Siegel and Shuster's success from 1938. So many comic book girl friends are rip-offs of Lois Lane, for example. There is Lana Lang (Lois Lane), Iris West - girlfriend of Barry Allen, the Flash - (Lois Lane) and Mary Jane - rhymes with Lois Lane. (So don't you ever tell me that Lana Lang was Clark Kent's first love or even crush, because Superman existed before Superboy and he knew Lois Lane before Superboy knew Lana Lang!)

Other things are rip-offs of Superman, too. The most obvious example is Captain Marvel, a product of Marvel Comics, who according to a court decision infringed on the copyright of Superman, owned by DC comics, so much that the court actually declared Captain Marvel to be the property of DC Comics! Fancy that!

[Linked Image]

Batman is, in his own way, a bit of a rip-off of Superman, too. After all, he has a double identity, he wears a cape, he wears a symbol on his chest, his boots resembles Superman's and he wears his underwear over the rest of his clothes (or he used to).

Underwear Batman

So when I noticed that Clark Kent's and Bruce Wayne's mothers had the same name, I assumed that this was another rip-off of Superman. But maybe not. When Siegel and Shuster first created Superman, they named his foster parents Mary and Ebenezer Kent. I've tried to find out when Mary Kent became Martha Kent, but I haven't been successful. Apparently Ebenezer became John or Jonathan before Mary became Martha, however. So maybe Martha Wayne is the original Martha?

Anyway, this was a nice and original way to make use of the fact that the current Superman and Batman mythologies do say that the mothers of these two heroes have the same name!

Ann