Editing First appearance (section)

==Ambiguous cases==
While seemingly a simple concept, determining the first appearance may be complex. The following are instances in which a character's first appearance may be difficult to determine:
*Those unfamiliar to comics may assume that [[Iron Man]]'s first appearance is ''The Invincible Iron Man'' #1 (May 1968). However, in the [[Golden Age of Comic Books|golden]] and early [[Silver Age of Comic Books|silver]] ages of comic books, few superheroes debuted in magazines carrying their names. More often a character first appeared in a generically titled [[anthology]] series. If the character proved popular, a new series was launched. For example, Iron Man first appeared in ''[[Tales of Suspense]]'' #39 (March 1963) and appeared regularly in that series for five years before Marvel launched a series properly named ''Iron Man''. [[Wonder Woman]], [[Spider-Man]], [[Thor (Marvel Comics)|Thor]], and many others also first appeared in anthology series.
*The first appearance of "all-star" teams is given as the first instance in which that team banded together regardless of whether or not it consists of previously existing characters. The first appearance of The [[Justice League of America]] is considered ''[[The Brave and the Bold]]'' #28 (May 1960), the issue in which they first operated as a group, although none of its members first appeared in that issue. Alternatively, ''[[Uncanny X-Men|X-Men]]'' #1 (September 1963) is both the first appearance of the [[X-Men]] and its original members.
*Sometimes a character first appears in the last page of an issue, [[foreshadowing]] his or her greater role in the next issue. Arguments can ensue over whether the first appearance is the issue containing the final page [[Cameo appearance|cameo]] or the subsequent issue which more adequately introduced the character. [[Wolverine (character)|Wolverine]] was first seen in the last page of ''[[The Incredible Hulk (comic book)|The Incredible Hulk]]'' #180 (October 1974) but makes a more full appearance in issue #181 (November 1974). Stricter fans may consider ''The Incredible Hulk'' #180 Wolverine's first appearance but most consider it #181. ComicsPriceGuide.com lists a copy of issue #180, rated very fine, at $149 and #181 at $2,075. Comparatively, ''The Incredible Hulk'' #179 (September 1974), which has no special importance, is listed at $11, so both types of first appearance add value to a comic book.
*[[Retconning]] can also complicate first appearances. Initially, [[Cable (character)|Cable]] was portrayed as a wholly new character, first appearing in ''The [[New Mutants]]'' #87 (March 1990). However, writers later changed his background, stating that Cable is an adult, [[Time travel|time-travel]]ing Nathan Summers, the son of [[Cyclops (Marvel Comics)|Cyclops]] and [[Madelyne Pryor]], first seen in ''[[Uncanny X-Men]]'' #201 (January 1986). Both issues could be given as the first appearance of Cable. Further complicating the matter, Cable was seen in a cameo at the end of ''The New Mutants'' #86 (February 1990).
*Some superhero identities are used by more than one character. The [[Alan Scott|original Green Lantern]] first appeared in ''[[All-American Comics]]'' #16 (April 1940). During the Silver Age, [[Green Lantern]], like many [[DC Comics|DC]] heroes, was [[Reboot (continuity)|reboot]]ed with a totally new identity. The second Green Lantern, [[Hal Jordan]], debuted in ''[[Showcase (comic book)|Showcase]]'' #22 (October 1959). ''All-American Comics'' #16 is still considered the first appearance of Green Lantern, both of the original title-bearer and the superhero identity itself. To avoid confusion, ''Showcase'' #22 is called the first appearance of Hal Jordan, of Green Lantern II or of the Silver Age Green Lantern.
*Occasionally, a character will appear in the background of a comic book before fully introduced. Spider-Man's early love interest [[Liz Allan]] is first addressed by name in ''Amazing Spider-Man'' #4 (September 1963). However, an unnamed character in ''Amazing Spider-Man'' #1 (March 1963) is, based on her appearance and dialogue, probably Allan. Plus, ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962), shows an unnamed, unspeaking character who looks exactly like Allan. Thus Allan's first appearance may be given as any of the three.
*Some characters appear in more than one [[continuity (fiction)|continuity]]. While the first appearance of [[Nightcrawler (character)|Nightcrawler]] is ''Giant-Size X-Men'' #1 (May 1975), the first appearance of [[Nightcrawler (character)#Ultimate Nightcrawler|"Ultimate Nightcrawler]]" (Nightcrawler in the alternate [[Ultimate Marvel]] universe) is ''[[Ultimate X-Men]]'' #6 (August 2001).
*Sometimes new characters are created for [[television]] or [[movie|film]] adaptations of a franchise and are later added to the comic book continuity. The [[Batman]] adversary [[Harley Quinn]] debuted in the 1992 ''[[Batman: The Animated Series]]'' episode "[[Joker's Favor]]". Her first appearance in [[comic]] format was the [[graphic novel]] ''[[The Batman Adventures|The Batman Adventures #12]]'', which took place in the continuity of ''Batman: The Animated Series''. Her first appearance in the regular "[[DC Universe]]" was the 1999 [[one shot (comic)|one-shot]] ''Batman: Harley Quinn''. Thus, her first appearance is technically "Joker's Favor", her first appearance in a comic book was ''The Batman Adventures #12'' and her first appearance in the regular [[DC Comics]] continuity was ''Batman: Harley Quinn''. Similarly, [[Firestar (Marvel Comics)|Firestar]] first appeared in ''[[Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends]]'' #1, which adapted the first episode of the TV series. Her first [[Earth-616]] appearance was in ''[[The Uncanny X-Men]]'' #193.
*Rarely, a character debuts in a publisher's foreign branch and then appears in a domestic series. [[Betsy Braddock|Psylocke]] first appeared in ''[[Captain Britain]]'' #8 (December 1976), an original series of [[Marvel UK]] not widely available outside [[Great Britain]]. Her debut in an [[United States|American]] series was ''The New Mutants Annual'' #2 (1986). Her first appearance is sometimes given as either but more correctly it is ''Captain Britain'' #8 while ''The New Mutants Annual'' #2 is her first US appearance.
*Some characters appear first in a normal supporting role before becoming a superhero or villain. For example, Roderick Kingsley first appeared as a minor supporting character in ''[[The Spectacular Spider-Man]]'' #43 (June 1980). However, he would later take on the villainous role of the [[Hobgoblin (comics)|Hobgoblin]] in ''[[The Amazing Spider-Man]]'' #238 (March 1983), becoming one of Spider-Man's most dangerous foes. The latter issue, featuring his first appearance as the Hobgoblin, is worth quite more than his original debut.