60 Fun Facts About Comic Book Trivia for Kids

Superman was born on which planet before being sent to Earth as a baby?

Superman was born on Krypton; his parents Jor-El and Lara launched him toward Earth in a small rocket moments before the planet exploded, and the Kents found the baby in a Kansas field.

What is the name of the newspaper where Clark Kent works?

The Daily Planet, with the giant globe on its roof, is where Clark Kent works as a reporter; in his earliest stories the paper was called the Daily Star.

What colour is the glowing rock from Superman's home planet that makes him weak?

Green is the colour of the glowing rock that weakens Superman; its radiation cannot pass through lead, which is why he can hide behind lead walls. Red and gold varieties exist in the comics too.

Batman protects which fictional city?

Writer Bill Finger picked the name Gotham instead of New York so readers in any city could imagine it was theirs.

What is Batman's real name?

Batman is billionaire Bruce Wayne, raised by the family butler Alfred Pennyworth after his parents were murdered in an alley; he famously refuses to use guns.

Who is Batman's best-known sidekick?

Robin first appeared in 1940 as Dick Grayson, a young circus acrobat whom Batman trained as his partner; his success set off a wave of kid sidekicks across comics.

How did Peter Parker get his amazing powers?

He was bitten by a radioactive spider at a science exhibit, which gave Peter Parker wall-crawling, super strength and spider-sense; he then built his own web-shooters and sewed his own costume.

Which two relatives raised Peter Parker in Queens, New York?

Aunt May and Uncle Ben Parker raised their orphaned nephew Peter in Forest Hills, Queens; Uncle Ben was killed by a burglar Peter had earlier let run past him.

What is the name of the island where Wonder Woman and the Amazons live?

Wonder Woman's home is Themyscira, also called Paradise Island, where she is Princess Diana; in the oldest stories her mother, Queen Hippolyta, sculpted her from clay.

What kind of radiation turned scientist Bruce Banner into the Hulk?

Gamma rays from an experimental gamma bomb transformed Bruce Banner after he ran onto the test site to push teenager Rick Jones to safety; the angrier the Hulk gets, the stronger he becomes.

Which billionaire inventor builds a suit of armour and becomes Iron Man?

Tony Stark built the first Iron Man suit to escape after being captured in a war zone; Iron Man went on to be a founding member of the Avengers in 1963.

Captain America's most famous piece of equipment is what?

Captain America's nearly indestructible shield is made of a vibranium alloy; skinny Steve Rogers became a super-soldier through a special serum and was frozen in ice for decades before waking in modern times.

What is the name of Thor's enchanted hammer?

Mjolnir, Thor's enchanted hammer, lets him fly and command storms, and only those deemed worthy can lift it; his trouble-making adopted brother Loki is his greatest enemy.

Black Panther is the king of which fictional African country?

Wakanda, T'Challa's hidden kingdom, is rich in the super-strong metal vibranium, which powers its advanced technology and the Black Panther suit.

How did Barry Allen become the super-fast Flash?

A lightning strike in his laboratory doused Barry Allen in electrified chemicals and gave him super-speed; he works as a police forensic scientist and keeps his red costume squashed inside a ring.

Aquaman is the king of which underwater kingdom?

Atlantis is ruled by Aquaman, real name Arthur Curry; as the son of a lighthouse keeper and a mother from Atlantis, he belongs to both the surface world and the sea.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are named after what kind of people?

Italian Renaissance artists Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo gave the Turtles their names, though early comics misspelled the last one as 'Michaelangelo'.

What kind of animal is Splinter, who teaches the Ninja Turtles ninjutsu?

Splinter is a mutated rat who raised the four Turtles in the sewers and trained them in ninjutsu; their human friend April O'Neil is often a TV news reporter.

Who created the comic strip Peanuts, drawing every single strip himself for almost 50 years?

Charles M. Schulz wrote, drew and lettered every Peanuts strip himself from 1950 to 2000; his contract said no one else would ever draw it, so the strip ended when he retired.

In Peanuts, who always pulls the football away just as Charlie Brown tries to kick it?

Lucy van Pelt first yanked the football away in 1952 and kept doing it for decades; her creator took the gag from his own childhood, when kids could never resist pulling the ball away.

What breed of dog is Snoopy?

A beagle who naps on top of his doghouse, Snoopy was inspired by Spike, a dog his creator had as a boy; in the strip, Snoopy's desert-dwelling brother is called Spike too.

What is the name of Snoopy's best friend, a small yellow bird?

Woodstock, the small yellow bird, hung around Snoopy for years without a name; in June 1970 he was finally named after the famous 1969 music festival.

What is Garfield the cat's favourite food?

Lasagna won Garfield over as a kitten: in the strip's backstory he was born in the kitchen of an Italian restaurant, where he ate so much that the owner sent him to a pet shop.

Who created Garfield?

Jim Davis created Garfield in 1978 after deciding the comics pages had plenty of dogs but no star cats; he named the cat after his grandfather, James Garfield Davis.

In Calvin and Hobbes, what kind of animal is Hobbes?

Hobbes is a tiger, a stuffed toy to everyone else but a walking, talking best friend to six-year-old Calvin; Calvin's alter egos include Spaceman Spiff.

Who created Calvin and Hobbes and refused to let the characters become toys or cartoons?

Bill Watterson drew Calvin and Hobbes from 1985 to 1995 and turned down almost all merchandising, believing that selling the characters would undermine the strip's integrity.

Tintin is a young reporter from which country?

Belgium is home to Tintin and to his creator Georges Remi, who signed his work Hergé: the French pronunciation of his initials reversed, R.G.

What is the name of Tintin's faithful dog?

Snowy, a white wire fox terrier, is Milou in the original French; the series' creator borrowed the nickname of a girlfriend, Marie-Louise.

In the Asterix books, what gives the villagers the strength to fight off the Roman army?

The magic potion brewed by the druid Getafix gives temporary superhuman strength; Obelix fell into the cauldron as a baby, so its effects on him never wear off.

Asterix and his friends are Gauls fighting against the army of which Roman leader?

Julius Caesar's Romans occupy all of Gaul in the stories, set around 50 BC, except one small village of indomitable Gauls that keeps holding out against his legions.

Who is the author and illustrator of the Dog Man books?

Dav Pilkey first drew Dog Man and Captain Underpants as a schoolboy, in the hallway where his teachers sent him for disrupting class; the Dog Man books began in 2016.

What job does Dog Man have?

He is a police officer: doctors sewed the head of police dog Greg onto the body of Officer Knight after a bomb planted by Petey the cat injured them both.

In Captain Underpants, George and Harold turn their principal into a superhero by doing what to him?

Hypnotising him with a 3-D Hypno-Ring makes Principal Krupp believe he is the hero; a finger snap brings out Captain Underpants, and water poured on his head turns him back.

Which Kazu Kibuishi graphic novel series follows Emily in the world of Alledia?

Amulet follows Emily and her brother Navin, who find the stone amulet in their great-grandfather's house and must protect Alledia from the Elf King; the first book, The Stonekeeper, appeared in 2008.

Which Jeff Smith comic follows three lost cousins into a valley of rat creatures?

Bone follows cousins Fone Bone, Phoney Bone and Smiley Bone, run out of Boneville after Phoney's campaign for mayor goes wrong; Jeff Smith published the comic himself through his own company, Cartoon Books.

Raina Telgemeier's first graphic memoir is the true story of her needing what after a childhood accident?

Braces, headgear and a retainer with fake teeth all followed after Raina tripped one night after Girl Scouts and badly injured her two front teeth; the memoir is called Smile.

In Cece Bell's graphic novel El Deafo, all the characters are drawn as which animal?

The book is about the author's own childhood and her deafness. She chose rabbits because they are famous for their excellent hearing.

Big Nate is a comic strip about a boy in which year of school?

Sixth grade at P.S. 38 finds Nate Wright in detention as often as in class; he is sure he is destined for greatness, a view his teacher and nemesis Mrs. Godfrey does not share.

Which publisher makes the stories of Riverdale teenagers Jughead, Betty and Veronica?

Archie Comics began in 1939 as MLJ Magazines, a superhero publisher; the teenager who debuted in Pep Comics #22 in 1941 became its headliner, and in 1946 the company took his name.

Superman first appeared in 1938 in the very first issue of which comic?

Action Comics #1, cover-dated June 1938, cost 10 cents and introduced Superman; a single copy sold in 2014 for more than three million dollars.

Which comics legend helped create Spider-Man, the Hulk, Iron Man, Thor and the X-Men?

Stan Lee co-created those heroes with artists Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko at Marvel Comics in the early 1960s, and he loved making cameo appearances in superhero movies.

What is the only phrase the tree-like Guardian of the Galaxy can say?

Groot says only 'I am Groot', three words that can mean very different things depending on his tone; his best friend Rocket understands exactly what he means.

Rocket, the gadget-loving Guardian of the Galaxy, is what kind of animal?

Rocket is a genetically engineered raccoon; his name nods to the Beatles song 'Rocky Raccoon', and he is an expert with weapons and gadgets.

Miles Morales, star of the Spider-Verse films, grew up in which part of New York City?

Brooklyn is home to Miles Morales, the son of a Black father and a Puerto Rican mother, who took up the Spider-Man mask after his world's Peter Parker died.

Kamala Khan, a teenager from Jersey City who can stretch and grow her body, uses which superhero name?

Kamala Khan is Ms. Marvel, a name her idol Carol Danvers had used before becoming Captain Marvel; in 2014 Kamala became the first Muslim character to headline her own Marvel comic.

Squirrel Girl has a big fluffy tail and can do what?

Squirrel Girl, real name Doreen, can talk to squirrels and call armies of them to her aid; she has famously beaten some of the toughest villains around, including Doctor Doom.

Wolverine of the X-Men has claws that pop out of his hands and what other famous power?

Wolverine's super-fast healing mends wounds in moments and let his skeleton survive being bonded with the metal adamantium; born James Howlett in Canada, he first appeared in a Hulk comic in 1974.

Which naughty boy with a dog named Gnasher is the star of The Beano?

Dennis the Menace first appeared in The Beano in March 1951; by pure coincidence, an unrelated American comic strip with the same name began in US newspapers that same week.

Astro Boy, one of the most famous Japanese manga characters, is what?

A robot built by scientist Dr. Tenma to replace his lost son Tobio, Astro Boy was created by Osamu Tezuka and is known in Japan as Tetsuwan Atom, or Mighty Atom.

What is unusual about the looks of Doraemon, the mechanical cat from the 22nd century?

He has no ears because mice chewed them off, which is why Doraemon, a robot cat, is terrified of mice; he keeps his gadgets in a four-dimensional pocket on his tummy.

In comic books, which of these holds the lines a character speaks aloud?

Word balloons, also called speech balloons, point a tail at whoever is talking; one early newspaper star, the Yellow Kid, had his slang printed on his nightshirt instead.

Which entertainment giant bought Marvel, the publisher of Spider-Man, in 2009?

Disney completed its purchase of Marvel on the last day of 2009, which is how Big Hero 6, based on a Marvel comic, became a Disney animated film in 2014.

The letters DC in the name of Superman and Batman's publisher stand for what?

Detective Comics began in 1937 as a collection of detective stories and introduced Batman two years later; since DC already stands for Detective Comics, the name 'DC Comics' says 'comics' twice.

Which superhero, leader of Marvel's first family, can stretch his body into amazing shapes?

Mister Fantastic is Reed Richards, the stretchable leader of the Fantastic Four, whose powers came from cosmic rays that struck the team's rocket in their 1961 debut; his wife Sue is the Invisible Woman.

Which member of the Fantastic Four is made of orange, stone-like rock?

The Thing is Ben Grimm, a football star turned test pilot whose skin became orange rock after the cosmic-ray flight; attempts to turn him back for good have kept failing, and his battle cry is 'It's clobberin' time!'

What is Snoopy pretending to be when he fights the Red Baron from the top of his doghouse?

Snoopy imagines he is a World War I flying ace and his doghouse a Sopwith Camel, but the Red Baron shoots him down again and again; the fantasy began in October 1965.

Which magic word turns young Billy Batson into a grown-up superhero?

Shazam is an acronym for Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles and Mercury; shouting it turns Billy Batson into the hero originally called Captain Marvel, who debuted in 1940.

In Diary of a Wimpy Kid, what is the name of the middle-schooler who writes the diary?

Greg Heffley writes the diary, which he insists is a journal; author Jeff Kinney first posted the story online at Funbrain in 2004, three years before the first book.

Which Marvel mutant leader can read minds and uses a wheelchair?

Professor X, Charles Xavier, founded the X-Men and runs a school for young mutants in Westchester, New York; Magneto, who became his greatest enemy, began as his friend.

What is the Flash's nickname because of his bright red costume?

The Scarlet Speedster is the Flash's nickname; when Barry Allen gained his powers he took the name Flash from Jay Garrick, the hero of the comic books he loved as a boy.