THE DC TWINS TOUR

Twins have long been the subject of fascination for the majority of folk who aren't one!  DC Comics has had its fair share of twin characters.  In this tour, we'll examine DC twins focusing on those where each twin is a costumed character of some sort.

These DC twins will be rolled out in no particular order!  Enjoy!

1)  Garth Ranzz and Ayla Ranzz

Garth was introduced in 1958 as a member of the future superteam, the Legion of Super-Heroes. His twin sister Ayla was introduced in 1963. She, too, served as a member of the same team.  

In Garth's first appearance, he stated his code name was Lightning Boy. But from his second appearance onward, he was known as Lightning Lad. In alternate futures, he's also used the codename Live Wire. Ayla has had many more codenames. Originally, she was Lightning Lass, but over the years (thanks to retcons and power alterations), she's also gone by Light Lass, Live Wire, Gossamer, Spark, and Pulse.

They were born on the planet Winath, where twins are the norm and singles are a rarity.

2)  Kate Kane and Beth Kane

Following DC's Infinite Crisis reboot, Kate Kane is the cousin of Bruce Wayne, and she operates as DC's second iteration of Batwoman. Kate's twin sister is Beth, who was kidnapped as a child and, during her abduction, began to take on an alternate persona known as Alice. As Alice, Beth became the High Madame of the Religion of Crime and became one of Batwoman's primary enemies (Beth was later rehabilitated and went by Red Alice). Kate first appeared in 2006, while Beth made her debut in 2009.

3) Constance D'Aramis and Vivian D'Aramis The D'Aramis twins (introduced in 1989) pretend they are one individual. In order to avenge the deaths of their parents, they staged the death of Constance. After that, the two of them shared the roles of Vivian and the Crimson Fox. The Crimson Fox was a long-standing member of the Justice League International.

Constance was killed in 1995, while Vivian was killed in 1998.

4) Gan Williams and Tavis Williams

Created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez during the height of their popular run with The New Teen Titans, Gan and Tavis, made their first appearance in 1983. They have a mental bond that allows them to communicate telepathically. Gan, as Thunder, possesses super strength and can control the rumbling noises of thunder, and Tavis, as Lightning, can harness and release electrical energy. Though the two were never members of the Teen Titans, they were long-time allies.

5) Zan and Jayna Zan and Jayna (The Wonder Twins) were created by the Hanna-Barbera Studios for the animated Super Friends television series in 1977. They arrived in the second iteration of Super Friends, replacing the non-powered teen duo of Wendy and Marvin.

Zan can morph into various forms of water, and Jayna can shapeshift into limitless animals. Physical contact between the two was required to activate their powers. The duo were added to the Super Friends comic book the same year they debuted on television.

6) Dawn Allen and Don Allen Don and his sister Dawn are the twin children of Barry (Flash) Allen and Iris West Allen. They were born and raised in the 30th century. There, they operated as superheroes known as the Tornado Twins. Their first appearance had them meeting and eventually teaming up with the Legion of Super-Heroes. This tale was published in 1968. Both twins inherited super-speed from their father.

Dawn eventually married Jeven Ognats, and they had a daughter they named Jenni. In the post-Zero Hour continuity, Jenni joined the Legion of Super-Heroes as the hero known as XS. Don married Meloni Thawne, and they had a son named Bart. Bart eventually traveled back in time and operated as the hero originally known as Impulse.

7) Mera and Hila Mera is Aquaman's wife, and she has served as a member of the Justice League of America. She first appeared in 1963. Her twin sister Hila (who sometimes goes by the name Siren) is the black sheep of their family and operates as a criminal. It's recently been revealed that Hila is the mother of the current Aqualad, Jackson Hyde. Hila made her debut in 1965.

8) Diana and Jason

Following the 2011 DC rollout of The New 52 continuity, the origin of Diana (Wonder Woman) of Themyscira was revamped. Rather than being formed from clay and brought to life by gods, she was now the biological daughter of Hippolyta and Zeus. As an adult (following the events of DC's Rebirth), she learned that she was actually a twin and that her brother Jason had been raised secretly, away from the Amazon's island home. Jason possessed superpowers like Diana and also had some unique powers of his own, including control of the weather and the ability to adjust his physical density. Wonder Woman first appeared in 1941. Jason was created and introduced in 2016.

9) Jor-El and Nim-El In DC's original pre-Crisis continuity, Superman's Kryptonian father, Jor-El, had a twin brother named Nim-El. Jor-El first appeared in 1939. Nim-El was first seen in 1963 and his final appearance would be in 1979. Following the events of the Crisis on Infinite Earths, Jor-El had no twin brother.

10) Iris West and Jai West Iris and Jai West are the twin children of Wally West (Flash) and Linda (Park) West. They inherited speed-related abilities from their father. Jai recently adopted the hero codename Surge, and Iris has taken over the hero codename Impulse. Both characters debuted in 2019.

11) Boston Brand and Cleveland Brand Both men worked as circus aerialists with Hill's Circus. Cleveland took over the act after learning that his brother, Boston, had been murdered. Cleveland eventually learned of his brother's ghostly yet heroic afterlife as the superhero known as Deadman. Sadly, a few years later, Cleveland was murdered as well. Boston (Deadman) Brand debuted in 1967. His brother Cleveland was introduced to readers the following year.

12) Andrew Nolan and Douglas Nolan

Born 1000 years in the future, Andrew and Douglas were hideously disfigured at birth and spent their entire lives in clothing and masks that hid their appearance from the outside world. They also both had the ability to turn their bodies into living iron with super strength. Andrew (introduced in 1966) joined the Legion of Super-Heroes under the heroic mantle of Ferro-Lad, ultimately sacrificing his life in the line of duty. His death left a lasting wound on his brother, Douglas (introduced in 1967), who harbored resentment toward the Legion for a time. However, as years passed, Douglas came to understand the depth of Andrew's sacrifice and the true nature of his heroism. Eventually, Douglas's journey took an unexpected turn when he merged with the Douglas Nolan from an alternate Earth. There, he took his brother's place, joining that world's Legion of Super-Heroes as a new member, honoring Andrew’s legacy while forging his own path.

13) J'onn J'onzz and Ma'alefa'ak J'onzz These twin brothers were born on Mars. Ma'alafa'ak was responsible for H'ronmeer's Plague which wiped out almost the entire race of green Martians. J'onn was a Martian police officer who later became a resident of Earth and operated as the Martian Manhunter. He was a frequent member of various incarnations of the Justice League. The two were bitter rivals up to the end of Ma'alafa'ak's physical existence. Martian Manhunter first appeared in 1955. He's considered one of the first heroes to usher in DC's Silver Age. His twin brother Ma'alafa'ak first appeared in 1998.

14) Carrie Levine and Jonathan Levine

These meta-human twins were from a possible future timeline. Carrie operated as Redwing and Jonathan could interface with all technology and used the codename Prestor Jon. They both traveled to their past (our present) as members of the Team Titans. They first appeared in 1991.

Following the events of Zero Hour, both characters were erased from existence.

15) Michael Gallant and Lance Gallant After Michael died, Lance discovered that he could summon Michael's ghost and have it inhabit his body. When combined, they would become the superhero Captain Triumph. As Captain Triumph, they had super strength, super speed, flight, and the ability to turn invisible. Captain Triumph debuted in 1943 and was originally published by Quality Comics. When Quality Comics eventually closed their doors, they sold most of their characters to DC Comics. DC later integrated Captain Truimph as a short-term member of the World War-Two superteam The All-Star Squadron.

16) Barry Allen and Malcolm Thawne Two women gave birth on the same evening in the same facility. One of them (Nora Allen) gave birth to twins. The other (Charlene Thawne) had her child accidently murdered by the drunken doctor on duty. The doctor opted to give one of Nora Allen's twins to the Thawne family and claim that one of the Allen twins died during birth. This way, both families would have at least one child.

Barry debuted in 1956 and became the hero known as Flash. Malcolm made his first appearance in 1997 and became the villain known as Cobalt Blue.

17) Mas y Menos These twins are from Guatemala and possess superspeed, but only when touching or using a shared conduit (like a rope or wire). They originated on the Teen Titans animated series in season 3 in 2004. They crossed to DC comics during the "missing year" arc following the Infinite Crisis. They joined and then left the Teen Titans team during that one-year arc.

18) Jennifer-Lynn Hayden and Todd Rice These twins were founding members of Infinity Inc. They are the biological children of Alan Scott (the original Green Lantern) and Rose Canton (the former villainess Thorn). The two were put up for adoption as enfants, each adopted by different families and raised apart. They discovered each other and that they were twins in their late teens. Jennie-Lynn became the hero known as Jade, she was also once a member of the Green Lantern Corps. Todd became the hero named Obsidian. Both characters first appeared in 1983.

That's it for now. All the superpowered twins I could find from DC up through 2023! It's time to bring this tour to a close... unless, of course, there are characters I missed! As always, let me know, and I can work on some updates! I hope you enjoyed the ride! All characters, names, and elements and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of DC Comics, Inc.