Dinosaur Island


Dinosaur Island is the name of multiple locales which have appeared in various comic book series published by DC Comics.

Publication history

The first Dinosaur Island appeared in only one issue, Batman #35, from June 1946. The story by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, involved a "Dinosaur Island" amusement park that contained realistic-looking and functioning robotic dinosaurs.
The second and definitive version of Dinosaur Island first appeared in the Spring 1960 issue of Star-Spangled War Stories #90. Created by Robert Kanigher and featuring early art from Ross Andru, this began an ongoing feature known as The War That Time Forgot. Located in the South Pacific of DC's main shared universe, it is an island populated by living dinosaurs and other various prehistoric creatures. Most of these dinosaurs were much larger than their real life counterparts, as a Pteranodon was big enough to be able to tear apart a jet, while a Brontosaurus would be big enough to overturn an aircraft carrier. The stories were set in the 1940s during World War II, and periodically American and Japanese soldiers would stumble upon the island during battle encountering the creatures there. After its debut in Star Spangled War Stories #90, the feature would return in #92 and was an ongoing series until #137 in 1968. Afterwards the feature would appear sporadically in the pages of G.I. Combat, Weird War Tales, and other DC comic books.

Fictional history

First Dinosaur Island

The first Dinosaur Island is a newly constructed amusement park run by Murray Wilson Hunt. At this park, Batman and Robin agree to be part of a mock big-game hunt held by Mr. Breach. During the hunt, Murray is knocked out by a criminal named Stephen Chase who takes control of Dinosaur Island, having the mechanical dinosaurs and cavemen attack Batman. Eventually, Batman and Robin are able to turn the tide on Mr. Breach and capture Stephen Chase. Afterward, Batman gains a mechanical Tyrannosaurus as a trophy and places it in the Batcave.

Second Dinosaur Island

The second locale named Dinosaur Island is an uncharted Pacific island which seems to have first been discovered by Enemy Ace in 1927 when he flew Bat Lash, Biff Bradley, General Joseph Stilwell, and "Chop-Chop" to the island on a mission for Chiang Kai-shek. The island had long been a legend to the Chinese people and was believed to hold the mystical Swords of Fan. During this mission, the adventurers encounter Vandal Savage and Miss Fear, in addition to the dangerous dinosaurs. This tale appeared in the Guns of the Dragon mini-series.
During World War II, several United States submarines seemingly disappear after encountering an area of seismic disturbances. Marines land on a nearby island hoping to find survivors, but instead, find that the earthquakes has awakened the remote island's resident dinosaur population. The prehistoric beasts had been preserved via suspended animation for centuries. With their weapons essentially useless, the squad of Marines barely escapes to tell the tale.
Despite the presence of dinosaurs, the U.S. government consider the island a valuable strategic location in its war against Japan. Several expeditions and operations take place at the island. The island is also used as a proving ground for the automated soldiers designated G.I. Robot, which prove to be no match for the dinosaurs' ferocious might. The Creature Commandos, the Flying Boots, and the original Suicide Squad all take part in missions on the island during World War II.
Post-War expeditions have theorized that the island exists in a state of temporal flux. Black Canary of the Birds of Prey lands on the island in modern times only to find it still inhabited by Japanese soldiers who are keeping Gunner and Sarge of "The Losers" in a P.O.W. camp.
The Suicide Squad series reveals that a post-War mission to the island by Sgt. Rock and Bulldozer explains why they haven't aged as much since World War II due to temporal fluctuations. The veracity of this story may be in dispute, as Bulldozer later cryptically announces that Sgt. Rock died in World War II.
In 2008, the Island was featured in the twelve-part series The War That Time Forgot.
In 2016, Superman, his son Superboy, and Krypto were transported to the Island where they fought dinosaurs and found the remains of the Losers.

Other versions

DC: The New Frontier

Writer/artist Darwyn Cooke uses the island in his out-of-continuity series ', where he connects the island with the dawn of the Silver Age. In this series, the island is portrayed as the main antagonist, a sentient being called the Centre''' which has existed on the Earth since before the dawn of the human race. Feeling threatened by humanity's development of nuclear weapons, the Centre decides to end all life on Earth. In New Frontier, the Centre is portrayed as a living island with the ability to hover over great distances and spawn grotesque mutant dinosaurs to attack or defend itself.

In other media

Television