The Silver-Age of Comics, spanning roughly 1956 to 1970, saw the debut of hundreds of new characters in the ever-growing DC Universe. During the 1960s, titles like The Brave and the Bold and Showcase would introduce readers to brand new heroes, including the Atom and Hawkman, almost every month.

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Unfortunately, for every hero who would go on to become a major player in the sprawling DCU, there were just as many who never made much of a splash after the fanfare of their first appearance or who became gradually less prominent each decade. However, just because a character has been largely forgotten doesn't mean that they don't deserve a spotlight of their own.

10 GI Robot

"Joe," a combat android prototype, first appeared in Star Spangled War Stories #101 in 1962. He was assigned to a human soldier, a Corporal named Mac, who was designated as his handler. Unfortunately for the two, the site of Joe's field test was Dinosaur Island, the setting of the long-running "The War the Time Forgot" feature.

Several models of the GI Robot have appeared in various DC Comics over the years, especially in a number of issues of Weird War Tales. One version of GI Robot even became a member of the Suicide Squad at one point.

9 Anthro

Anthro, created by Howie Post, first appeared in Showcase #74. He was the first Cro-magnon child born in the DC Universe, essentially acting as the father of the human race. After his first appearance in Showcase, he graduated to his own title which lasted for six issues.

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He has popped up several times over the years, usually in stories that involve the origins of mankind or have sequences set during the Stone Age such as a prominent cameo in Final Crisis Anthro was even given a shoutout in an episode of CW's The Flash in 2019.

8 Dolphin

After a young unnamed girl fell overboard on a cruise ship, she was abducted by a strange race of aliens and subjected to a series of experiments. Developing the ability to breathe underwater, along with super strength, the girl escaped after the aliens abandoned their deep-sea base.  After she was discovered by a team of oceanographers, she was named "Dolphin."

Originally appearing in Showcase #79, she only made several subsequent appearances before she became a supporting character in Aquaman in the 1990s. She has since played a recurring role in that character's various series, eventually marrying his former sidekick Tempest.

7 The Haunted Tank

The Haunted Tank, first appearing GI Combat #87, was an M3 Tank commanded by Sergeant Jeb Stuart and manned by his childhood friends. Fighting in the North Africa campaign during the Second World War, Sergeant Stuart found his tank was haunted by the ghost of his ancestor Confederate General Jeb Stuart. With his ghostly relative as his guardian angel, Sgt. Stuart and his men were featured numerous times throughout the run of GI Combat.

Due to the problematic aspects of the characters' premise (the tank flew a Confederate flag instead of an American one...), the Haunted Tank has had a limited role in the DC Universe following the cancellation of GI Combat.  It has since appeared in its own miniseries in 2008, updating the story's setting to the Iraq War, and has made a humorous appearance in an episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold

6 Cave Carson

Expert geologist and spelunker Cave Carson was one of several DC adventurer heroes introduced in the early Silver Age, along with the Challengers of the Unknown and the Sea Devils. Carson made his first appearance in The Brave and the Bold #31 and had a variety of adventures under the earth's surface. Fighting underground creatures and extraterrestrials, Carson featured in several stories in The Brave and the Bold and Showcase in the early '60s.

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Largely forgotten in later years, Carson was reintroduced as a member of the super-team the Forgotten Heroes, and more recently had his own series penned by Gerard Way Cave Carson Has a Cybernetic Eye as part of DC's Young Animal imprint.

5 B'Wana Beast

B'Wana Beast was originally Mike Maxwell, a ranger working in a Zambezi animal preserve. After discovering a magical helmet (and uh... battling a mutant ape) while stranded at the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro, Maxwell gained increased strength, and not only the ability to communicate with animals but the power to merge them into a chimera.

After his first story in Showcase #66, he would reappear as a supporting character in Grant Morrison's Animal ManMore recently he has been featured as a guest star on several of DC's animated series, including Justice League Unlimited and Batman: The Brave and the Bold. 

4 Enemy Ace

Originally seen as a backup feature in Our Army At Warthe WWI era adventures of Baron Von Hammer, "The Enemy Ace" soon became popular enough to make him a prominent character appearing in several of DC's war-themed titles.

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Billed as a glimpse into the "enemy's" side of the war, Von Hammer was a stoic but honorable fighter ace who became increasingly haunted by his experiences during the conflict. After the cancellation of Our Army at War and Star Spangled War Stories, he has made several prominent appearances in various titles including his own miniseries by Garth Ennis.

3 Jonny Double

Created by Len Wein and Marv Wolfman, Jonny Double made his debut appearance in Showcase #78. An ex-cop turned detective operating in San Francisco, Double considered himself a champion of the downtrodden, making up for his sometimes dodgy detective skills with his dedication and zeal for justice.

He made two appearances in Showcase, before becoming a prominent guest star in several issues of Wonder Womanwhere he aided the titular character during the period when she had lost her powers and become more of a street-level character. After the 1960s, he's made sporadic appearances including his own mini-series in the 1990s and a cameo in Scooby-Doo! Team-Up

2 Bat Lash

"Will he save the west, or RUIN it?" was the tagline for Bat Lash, the western hero who first appeared in Showcase #76.  He was a gentle and charming gambler who hated violence, despite the fact that he was very, very, good at it.

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He maintained his own series for several issues before its cancellation, after which he was relegated to guest spots and back-up features in Weird Western Tales. Despite never gaining the popularity of his contemporary Jonah Hex, Bat Lash is frequently seen playing a supporting part in DC Stories revolving around the old west.

1 Nightshade

Originally published in the Charlton Comics line of superheroes, Nightshade debuted as a supporting character in Captain Atom #86. Created by Steve Ditko, she originally had no origin story other than the fact she was the daughter of a U.S. Senator.

After DC acquired the Charlton heroes, including Blue Beetle and the Question, in the 1980s, a revamped version of Nightshade was introduced working for the U.S. Government. This time, she was an otherworldly super-agent who was frequently involved with the Suicide Squad. She continues to appear today, usually in small but crucial roles in the pages of Blue Beetle and Deathstroke

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