Super Bowl

Bud Grant coached four Vikings losses in the 1970s, Marv Levy coached four consecutive losses with the Buffalo Bills in the 1990s, and Dan Reeves coached four losses between two teams (three with the Denver Broncos and one with the Atlanta Falcons). On October 22, 2005, a sequel was announced, tentatively directed by Tim Story and written by Mark Frost. Don Shula, Bill Parcells, Dan Reeves, Dick Vermeil, and Mike Holmgren all took more than one team to the Super Bowl. It stars Ioan Gruffudd as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Jessica Alba as Susan Storm/Invisible Woman, Chris Evans as Johnny Storm/Human Torch, Michael Chiklis as Ben Grimm/The Thing and Julian McMahon as Victor Von Doom, with Stan Lee making a cameo appearance as Willie Lumpkin, the mailman. And recently, Bill Belichick won three with the Patriots. Fantastic Four opened in approximately 3600 Theaters and despite predominantly poor reviews grossed US$156M in North America and a total of $329M worldwide, weighed against a production budget of $100M and an officially undisclosed marketing budget. Joe Gibbs also won three Super Bowls with the Washington Redskins. Another feature film adaptation of The Fantastic Four was released July 8, 2005 by Sony, and directed by Tim Story.

Bill Walsh won three with the San Francisco 49ers. It was only made because the studio who owned the movie rights to the Fantastic Four would have lost them if it had not begun production by a certain deadline date (a tactic known as creating an ashcan copy). Chuck Noll won four in the 1970's with the Pittsburgh Steelers. It was ultimately revealed by Stan Lee that unbeknownst to the cast and crew, this movie was never intended to be released in the first place. Tom Landry also coached two winners and three losers with the Dallas Cowboys. The film was made on a shoestring budget and is largely mocked by fans of the comic book foursome for what they see as poor acting and disappointing special effects (at one point, The Human Torch — played by a human actor — turns into an obvious cartoon upon "flaming-on"). Don Shula coached two different teams: a loss with the Baltimore Colts and two wins and three losses with the Miami Dolphins. While this movie was never released to theaters or video, it has been made available from various bootleg video distributors.

Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers won the first two. A movie adaptation of The Fantastic Four was completed in 1994 by famed b-movie director/producer Roger Corman. Super Bowl wins and losses tend to cluster around a few head coaches. The Fantastic Four also appeared in the Super NES and Sega Genesis video games based on the 1990's Spider-Man animated series, and inevitably, they starred in their own multi-platform games based on the 2005 movie. The most recent is the Philadelphia Eagles, who lost Super Bowl XXXIX to the New England Patriots in the 2004 season (played on February 6, 2005), who posted a 6 wins, 10 losses, no ties record in the 2005 season. The game was widely panned by critics for having weak storyline and handling of the characters' powers. There are notable exceptions to this pattern, such as the Buffalo Bills who went to the Super Bowl and lost four years in a row, from XXV to XXVIII. In the game you and a friend could pick among the Fantastic Four characters (along with the She-Hulk), and battle your way through various levels until you faced Doctor Doom.

This effect can be traced to the loss of momentum a team has built up, accumulating injuries, losing successful free agents between seasons, and the aging of talented players. In 1998 a side-scrolling video game was released for the Sony PlayStation home video game system / platform, based on the Fantastic Four characters. The season after a Super Bowl loss, a team usually returns with a losing, or mediocre at best, record. The Fantastic Four also guest-starred in the "Secret Wars" story arc of the 1990s Spider-Man animated series. Commentators and sports analysts note a tendency for teams that have made it to the Super Bowl and lost, to collapse the following season. There have been three Fantastic Four animated TV series and two feature films (though one of the movies went unreleased, and is only available in a widely circulated bootleg). With the new television contracts beginning in 2006, NBC, which last telecast Super Bowl XXXII in 1998, will take ABC's place in the network rotation starting with Super Bowl XLIII in 2009. Marvels Comics: Fantastic Four (2000) was a mock-up of what the comic book published in the Marvel Universe might have looked like, and was (within the fictional context of the story) produced with the official approval of "Fantastic Four, Inc.".

Super Bowl XXXVIII was shown on CBS, Super Bowl XXXIX was shown on FOX, and Super Bowl XL will be shown on ABC, which will be the final NFL game broadcast on that network for the foreseeable future. Byrne made use of this comic-within-the-comic notion in his 1990s Senasational She-Hulk run. In the United States it is currently shared among three of the four major television networks: ABC, CBS, and FOX. At the end of the issue, Byrne submitted his story. The television network showing the game changes from year to year. He was about to make up a story when the Watcher whisked him away to take part in the FF's latest adventure. While most home teams in the Super Bowl choose to wear their colored jerseys, only the Cowboys in XIII and XXVII, the Washington Redskins in XVII, and the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XL have worn white as the home team. Byrne explained he had been unable to contact the Fantastic Four for the latest story, since they were away.

The Dallas Cowboys wore their rarely used blue uniform tops in Super Bowl V, and lost to the then-Baltimore Colts, which has led to the widely held belief that the Cowboys do not play well in their blue shirts. 1984), which depicted writer-artist John Byrne being asked by editor Michael Higgins for the latest issue, since it was almost late. Prior to that, the home team always wore the dark jerseys. This conceit was again used in #262 (Jan. The home team is given the choice of either wearing their colored jerseys or their white ones; this started with Super Bowl XIII. Lee, Kirby, writer Thomas, issue artists George Perez and Joe Sinnott, and Marvel staffers Gerry Conway, Archie Goodwin, Marie Severin, Marv Wolfman, and John Verpoorten all made cameo appearances. The designated "home team" alternates between the NFC team in odd-numbered years (the Philadelphia Eagles in 2005), and the AFC team in even-numbered years (the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2006). 1976), "Improbable As It May Seem — The Impossible Man Is Back In Town!" Here he invaded the Marvel offices demanding to have his own comic.

Neither of these stadiums has ever been a home to an NFL team. The second story marked the introduction of the impish Impossible Man, who starred in writer Roy Thomas' self-referential update in Fantastic Four #176 (Nov. However, Super Bowl XIV (which involved the then-Los Angeles Rams) was played at nearby Pasadena's Rose Bowl stadium; and Super Bowl XIX (which involved the San Francisco 49ers) was played at the nearby Stanford Stadium on the Stanford University campus in Palo Alto. 1963). Coincidentally, no NFL team has ever played the Super Bowl on its own home turf. This was in "A Visit with the Fantastic Four", the first of two stories in issue #11 (Feb. Louis, Missouri. The following issue reinforced this notion of "real-world superheroes" by having the Fantastic Four, in civilian clothes, stroll to a newstand hopeing to pick up the latest comic book.

The last time the Los Angeles area hosted the game was Super Bowl XXVII in 1993; the area is currently not considered a possible venue after the league's two teams vacated the city in 1995: the Raiders moved back to Oakland, California, and the Rams moved to St. Sharp-eyed fans would later note that this "real-world" Marvel was even more fictional than it seemed: Not only was penciler Jack Kirby working at a drawing table there, rather than at home per his wont, but the office door was labeled "Lee and Kirby" — suggesting the kind of comradely partnership fans wanted and expected. After Hurricane Katrina damaged the Louisiana Superdome and the city, the game might never return to New Orleans. In this issue, Doctor Doom himself came to Marvel's Madison Avenue offices. Miami has been selected to host two future games: Super Bowl XLI in 2007 and Super Bowl XLIV in 2010. 1963) established the conceit that the Fantastic Four (and by extenstion the rest of the Marvel universe) existed in the same world as Marvel Comics; the team-members, it was explained, had licensed their names and likenesses to the company, and the rights to adapt their "real-life" adventures. Over half of the Super Bowls have been played in one of the following three cities: New Orleans, Louisiana (9 times), Miami, Florida (8 times) and the Greater Los Angeles Area (7 total, 5 times at Pasadena's Rose Bowl stadium and twice at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum). Issue #10 (Jan.

The only three cold-winter-climate cities to have hosted the Super Bowl are Pontiac, Michigan, Detroit, Michigan and Minneapolis, Minnesota. Franklin Richards(son) Valeria Richards (daughter). To this date, Super Bowls have either been played in cities with mildly warm winter climates, or in domed stadiums where weather is not an issue. For a list including one-shots, miniseries, graphic novels, and trade paperback collections, see Thing Bibliography. Cities compete to host the game in a selection bidding process similar to ones used by the Olympic Games and soccer's World Cup. Another ongoing solo series, also titled The Thing, debuted with a premiere issue cover-dated January 2006. The location of the Super Bowl is chosen by the NFL well in advance, usually 3 to 5 years before the game. 1974 - June 1983), with seven summer annuals (1976–1982), and was immediately followed by the solo title The Thing #1-36 (July 1983 – June 1986).

This also led to the FCC cracking down on indecency and fining CBS $225,000 for the incident, as well as fining each of CBS's then twenty owned and operated stations. The series ran 100 issues (Jan. The NFL, embarrassed from the incident, permanently banned MTV from doing another halftime show in any capacity. The "ever-lovin', blue-eyed Thing", as Ben Grimm sometimes refers to himself, appeared in the team-up title Marvel Two-in-One, co-starring with Marvel heroes not only in the present day but occassionally in other time periods (fighting alongside the Liberty Legion in #20 and Doc Savage in #21, for example) and in alternate realities. It also didn't help matters that the game was airing on CBS, and their then-corporate sister company within Viacom, MTV, produced the halftime show. "The Human Torch" shared the "split book" Strange Tales with fellow feature "Doctor Strange" for the majority of its run, before finally flaming off with issue #134 (July 1965), replaced the following month by "Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.". Many conspiracy theorists think that this was done intentionally to get everyone's attention, possibly so that Janet could get the attention away from her brother Michael Jackson, who was facing child molestation charges at the time. 1964).

In 2004, it was during halftime at Super Bowl XXXVIII that Janet Jackson had her now-infamous wardrobe malfunction after Justin Timberlake "accidentally" ripped off a piece of her top, exposing her right breast with a star-like ring surrounding the nipple. The FF made occasional cameo appearances, and the Thing became a co-star with #123 (Aug. John will perform the national anthem; and The Rolling Stones will play during the halftime show. (She was seen again in a 1970s issue of Fantastic Four, having become a heavyset but cheerful wife and mother.) Ayers took over the penciling after 10 issues, later followed by original Golden Age Human Torch creator Carl Burgos and others. Super Bowl XL in 2006 is scheduled to feature Stevie Wonder, Joss Stone, and John Legend during the pregame ceremonies; Aaron Neville, Aretha Franklin, and Dr. Supporting characters included Johnny's girlfriend, Doris Evans, usually seen only in consternation as Johnny cheerfully flew off to battle bad guys. Because of the large number of viewers that the Super Bowl generates, a number of popular singers and musicians have performed during its pregame ceremonies, the halftime show, or even just singing the national anthem of the United States, "The Star-Spangled Banner". (Decades later, a retcon revealed that his friends and neighbors knew of his dual identity all along, from Fantastic Four news reports, but had humored him).

[5]. Here Johnny was seen living with his elder sister, Susan, in fictional Glenview, Long Island, New York, where he continued to attend high school and, with youthful naivete, attempted to maintain his "secret identity". If the television show Las Vegas stays on the air when NBC gets their next Super Bowl Broadcast (which will be Super Bowl XLIII in 2009), they may not be allowed to promote the series during the entire block of programming. 1962), in 12- to 14-page stories plotted by Lee and initially scripted by his brother, Larry Lieber, and drawn by penciler Kirby and inker Dick Ayers. Many groups are denied the chance to run Super Bowl ads on various grounds, but Las Vegas is the only city to be denied in such a fashion; the NFL has stated that it does not want the Super Bowl to be associated with the perception of Las Vegas as a gambling mecca. Johnny Storm starred in a early Silver Age solo series beginning in Strange Tales #101 (Oct. The ban includes the game, as well as the pre-game and post-game shows. Recent issues have revealed that this is a deliberate move by Reed Richards, who works to keep the team highly visible and well-regarded out of guilt for causing their mutations.

In recent years, the NFL has denied the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority the opportunity to run Super Bowl ads for the city as a tourist destination. Unlike most superheroes, the Fantastic Four's identities are not secret and they maintain a high public profile, enjoying celebrity status for their scientific and heroic contributions to society. Many people tune in to the Super Bowl solely to watch the very creative commercials. The children of Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman, Franklin Richards and Valeria Richards, are also regulars in the series. Prices have increased each year, with reports citing a record $2.5 million (US) for a 30 second spot during Super Bowl XL in 2006. Although not strictly related, The Thing's role is that of the beloved Dutch uncle, and his relationship with Mister Fantastic and the Human Torch is nonetheless quite sibling-like. Famous commercial campaigns include the Budweiser "Bud Bowl" campaign, and the 1999 and 2000 dot-com ads. Three of the four members are directly related, with The Thing being the exception.

Following Apple Computer's 1984 commercial introducing the Apple Macintosh computer, directed by Ridley Scott, the broadcast of the Super Bowl became the premier showcase for high concept or simply extravagantly expensive commercials. The comic has typically emphasized that the Fantastic Four, unlike most superhero teams, are truly a family. [4] Although the proliferation of cable and satellite television has undercut broadcast ratings somewhat in recent years, the game is still so popular that a number of networks actually schedule original programming, such as independently produced halftime entertainment, during the game, simply to take advantage of a large audience already in front of the television. In the mid-2000s, an orbiting satellite version of the Baxter Building has been used. Super Bowl XVI is #4 on Nielsen's list of top-rated programs of all time, and 3 other Super Bowls (XII, XVII, XX) made the top 10. Pier 4, a warehouse on the New York waterfront, served as a temporary headquarters for the group after Four Freedoms Plaza was condemned, due to the actions of another superhero team, the Thunderbolts. The highest rated game according to Nielsen was Super Bowl XVI in 1982 which was watched in 49.1% of households (73 share) or 40,020,000 households at the time. Fantastic) Doctor Doom.

[3]. The Baxter Building was replaced by Four Freedoms Plaza, built at the same location, after the Baxter Building's destruction at the hands of Kristoff Vernard, adopted son of the Fantastic Four's seminal villain (and rumored half-brother of Mr. Approximately half of the remaining 2 million worldwide viewers watched from the United Kingdom. They have had a number of headquarters, most notably the Baxter Building in New York City. In actual fact, Super Bowl XXXIX in 2005 was watched by 93 million viewers in total, of which 98 percent were in North America [2]. Propelled mainly by Richards' innate scientific curiosity, the team have explored space, the Negative Zone, the Microverse, other dimensions and nearly every hidden valley, nation and lost civilization on the planet. There is a popular urban myth regarding the Super Bowl — that the game is watched in 234 countries by 1 billion people [1], a fact unlikely to be true considering the time of the event, and the lack of popularity American Football has outside of the United States. The team of adventurers have used their fantastic abilities to protect humanity, the Earth and the universe from a number of threats.

It is also estimated that 130-140 million tune into some part of the game. They also appear to be inspired by co-creator Kirby's similarly unmasked though non-superpowered DC Comics quartet the Challengers of the Unknown. This means that on average, 80 to 90 million Americans are tuned into the Super Bowl at any given moment. Fantastic). households, and 60 percent of all homes tuned into television during the game). The four characters were modeled after the four classical Greek elements: earth (The Thing), fire (The Human Torch), wind (The Invisible Girl) and water (the pliable and ductile Mr. The game tends to have high Nielsen television ratings which usually come in around a 40 rating and 60 share (i.e., on average, 40 percent of all U.S. Filled with anger, self-loathing and self-pity over his new existance, he dubbed himself the Thing, the term Susan used in her initial, startled reaction to his transformation.

By any measure, the Super Bowl is one of the most watched television programs of the year. and a nearly invulnerable hide. Following his death in September 1970, the trophy was named the Vince Lombardi Trophy, first awarded at Super Bowl V in Miami. Finally, pilot Ben Grimm was transformed into a monstrous, craggy, humanoid with orange, rock-like skin, incredible strength. The winning team gets the Vince Lombardi Trophy, named for the coach of the Green Bay Packers, who won the first two Super Bowl games. Her younger brother, Johnny Storm, possessed the incendiary powers of the Human Torch, enabling him to control fire, project burning bolts of flame from his body, and fly. The game remains his crowning achievement and was an important factor in him being selected by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most important people of the 20th century. She later developed the ability to project force fields, create invisible objects, and turn other objects visible or invisible.

His leadership guided them into the merger agreement and cemented the preeminence of the Super Bowl. His fiancée, Susan Storm, gained the ability to become invisible at will and named herself the Invisible Girl (later the Invisible Woman). The NFL commissioner at that time, Pete Rozelle, is often considered the mastermind of both the merger and the Super Bowl. Richards, who took the name Mister Fantastic, was now able to stretch his body into nearly any shape he could imagine (similar to Timely Comics' Thin Man and Quality Comics' celebrated Plastic Man). As of December 2005, former AFL teams have won 10 Super Bowls, pre-1970 NFL teams have won 23 games, and two games have been won by teams created after 1970. Upon crash landing back on Earth, the four impromptu astronauts found themselves transformed and possessed of bizarre new abilities. Since then, the Super Bowl has featured the champions of the AFC and NFC. The Fantastic Four acquired superhuman abilities after an experimental rocket ship designed by scientist Reed Richards passed through a storm of cosmic rays on its test flight to outer space.

When the NFL and AFL merged into one combined league for the 1970 season, three NFL teams joined the 10 AFL teams to form the American Football Conference (AFC), and the other 13 teams became the National Football Conference (NFC). Other ongoing-title spinoffs have included the 1970s quarterly title Giant-Size Fantastic Four and the 1990s Fantastic Four Unlimited, and there have been numerous miniseries. One year later, the American Football League's Kansas City Chiefs defeated the NFL Minnesota Vikings 23-7 and won Super Bowl IV in New Orleans, the last World Championship game played between the champions of two leagues. Additionally, Marvel launched Marvel Knights 4, a spinoff Fantastic Four series, in April 2004. That all changed with perhaps the biggest upset in American sports history, the AFL's New York Jets defeat of the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III in Miami. In February 2004, Marvel launched the series Ultimate Fantastic Four, a version of the group in the "Ultimate" alternate universe. After the NFL's Green Bay Packers convincingly won the first two Super Bowls, some team owners feared for the future of the merger, since many doubted that AFL teams could compete with their NFL counterparts. Byrne also staked bold directions in the characters' personal lives, having the married Sue and Reed Richards suffer a miscarriage — as well as a separation that seemed headed for divorce.

Starting with the third contest in January 1969, the name "Super Bowl" became official. His key contribution was the modernization of the Invisible Girl into the Invisible Woman — a self-confident and dynamic character whose newfound control of her abilities made her the most powerful member of the team. Not surprisingly, fans and media tended to use the shorter, unofficial name. Then, with issue #232 (July 1981), the aptly titled "Back to the Basics", Byrne began his triple-threat run as writer, penciller, and (initially under the pseudonym Bjorn Heyn) inker on the celebrated title. Not having thought of one, the owners named the contest the AFL-NFL World Championship Game. 1980) before writer Doug Moench and penciler Bill Sienkiewicz took over for 10 issues. Hunt only meant his suggested name to be a stopgap until a better one could be found. Byrne then scripted two tales as well (#220-221, July-Aug.

The name was feasible because postseason college football games had long been known as "bowl games" (the term originates from the Rose Bowl Game, which was in turn named for the bowl-shaped stadium in which it is played). 1979), doing pencil breakdowns for Sinnott to finish. The ball is now on display at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. He started on the title with issue #209 (Aug. During the discussions to iron out the details, AFL founder and Kansas City Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt had jokingly referred to the proposed interleague championship as the "Super Bowl." Hunt thought of the name after seeing his daughter playing with a toy called a Super Ball. In the 1980s, John Byrne created what many critics call the series' best run since Lee & Kirby's. One of the conditions of the AFL-NFL Merger was that the winners of each league's championship game would meet in a contest to determine the "world champion of football". Jim Steranko contributed a handful of covers.

The intense competitive war for players and fans led to serious merger talks between the two leagues in 1966. After Kirby's departure from Marvel in 1970, Fantastic Four continued with Lee, Roy Thomas, Gerry Conway, and Marv Wolfman as its consecutive regular writers, working with artists including John Romita, Sr., John Buscema, Rich Buckler, and George Perez, with longtime inker Joe Sinnott helping to provide some visual continuity. After its inception in 1920, the NFL fended off several rival leagues before the AFL began play in 1960. In the book's most groundbreaking yet utterly natural development, Fantastic Four presented superhero comics' first pregnancy, culminating with the birth of a superhero family's first child, Franklin Benjamin Richards, in Fantastic Four Annual #5 (1968). The Super Bowl was created as part of the merger agreement between the National Football League (NFL) and its rival, the American Football League (AFL). As well, the daring duo of Lee & Kirby, who eventually shared credited as co-plotting collaborators, introduced such concepts as the Negative Zone and unstable molecules, two core elements of the Marvel mythos. . Through its creators' lengthy run, the series produced many acclaimed stories and characters that have become central to Marvel, including Doctor Doom; the Silver Surfer; Galactus; the Watcher; the The Inhumans; the Black Panther; the rival alien Kree and Skrull races; and Him, who would become Adam Warlock.

food consumption day next to Thanksgiving. Lee's intended swan song became unexpectedly and phenomenally successful; Lee and Kirby stayed together on the book and began launching other titles from which the vaunted "Marvel Universe" of additional interrelated titles and characters grew. This is the largest U.S. To forestall possibly upsetting DC^{[citation needed]} (which, in addition to being a competing publisher, was also the distributor of Marvel's limited line of comics), Lee and Kirby deliberately avoided making the new book look like a competing superhero comic; the new characters appeared on the cover without costumes and had no secret identities. In addition, many popular singers and musicians have performed during the Super Bowl's pre-game and halftime ceremonies. And the characters would be the kind of characters i could personally relate to: they'd be flesh and flood, they'd have their faults and foibles, they'd be fallible and feisty, and — most important of all — inside their colorful, costumed booties they'd still have feet of clay".³. The last true day game (which ended before local sunset) of the series was Super Bowl XI in January 1977. "For just this once", Lee wrote, "I would do the type of story I myself would enjoy reading...

This has caused the starting time of the game to be pushed back later and later, to ensure the Sunday night prime time audience on the East Coast. Lee teamed with artist Jack Kirby to produce a groundbreaking series featuring a family of superheroes who were fallible and more naturalistically human than virtually anything seen in superhero comics to that time. The Super Bowl is one of the most-watched American television broadcasts of the year, attracting many companies to spend millions of dollars on commercials. ...[H]er little dissertation made me suddenly realize that it was time to start concentrating on what I was doing — to carve a real career for myself in the nowhere world of comic books".². Since then, the game has been played annually on a Sunday following the playoffs, originally early to mid-January, then late January, and in 2002, the first Sunday in February. She wondered why I didn't put as much effort and creativity into the comics as I seemed to be putting into my other freelance endeavors. After both leagues merged in 1970, the Super Bowl became the NFL's championship game. "[My wife] Joan was commenting about the fact that after 20 years of producing comics I was still writing television material, advertising copy and newspaper features in my spare time.

The game began in January 1967 as the AFL-NFL World Championship Game in which the NFL championship team played against the champion of the younger, rival American Football League (AFL) for the "World Championship of Professional Football". Lee, who'd served as editor-in-chief and art director of Marvel and its predecessor companies, Timely Comics and Atlas Comics, for two decades, had by now found the medium restrictive. The game and its ancillary festivities constitute Super Bowl Sunday (sometimes "Super Sunday"), which over the years has almost become a de facto American national holiday. ' If the Justice League is selling ', spake he, ' why don't we put out a comic book that features a team of superheroes?' "¹. In professional American football, the Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League (NFL) in the United States. .. New Orleans Saints. "It was a book called The [sic] Justice League of America and it was composed of a team of superheroes.

Jacksonville Jaguars. "Martin mentioned that he had noticed one of the titles published by National Comics seemed to be selling better than most", recalled Lee in 1974. Houston Texans. Whether or not this mythic meeting actually occurred, Goodman, a publishing trend-follower aware of the JLA's strong sales, directed his comics editor, Stan Lee, to begin publishing a comic-book series about a team of superheroes. Detroit Lions - NFL championship in 1935, 1952, 1953, and 1957. 1960). Cleveland Browns - NFL championship in 1950, 1954, 1955, and 1964
(This refers to the team that the league officially views as one continuous franchise that began in 1946 but suspended operations from 1996-1998, and resumed play in 1999.). 1960) before going on to its own hit title (premiere cover-date: Nov.

Arizona Cardinals - NFL champions in 1925 and 1947. Liebowitz, according to the story, bragged about DC's success with the superhero team the Justice League of America, which had debuted in The Brave and the Bold #28 (Feb. NFL league champions prior to Super Bowl I