Lucas "Snapper" Carr is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Gardner Fox and penciller Mike Sekowsky, and first appeared in The Brave and the Bold in February 1960. From 1960 to 1969, Snapper Carr appeared as a supporting character to the Justice League of America. The character occasionally appeared in comics featuring the Justice League from 1969 to 1989, when the Invasion! limited-series comic book gave him superpowers.
Snapper was associated with a new superhero team, The Blasters, in various comics until 1993, when he lost his powers and became a main character in the Hourman comic book, beginning in 1999. After the cancellation of Hourman in April 2001, he became a main character in the Young Justice comic book beginning in December 2001. Young Justice was cancelled in May 2003, and he became associated with the governmental organization Checkmate, a role revealed when the character played a small but important role in the 2007-2008 limited series comic book 52 Aftermath: The Four Horsemen. The character made major appearances in Final Crisis: Resist in December 2008 and Justice League of America 80-Page Giant in November 2009.
Creation and early characterization
In 1959, after the successful revival of Flash and Green Lantern, DC Comics editor Julius Schwartz decided to update the Justice Society of America using a new group of heroes under the name Justice League of America (JLA). According to Schwartz, DC Comics Executive Editor Whitney Ellsworth not only insisted that a teenager be a member of the Justice League but also that this teenager be hip. Ellsworth wanted the new superhero team to tap into the emerging and economically powerful youth culture, and specifically told Schwartz to have the character emulate the hip-talking, leather jacket-wearing, finger-snapping "Kookie" Kookson character on the popular television series 77 Sunset Strip. The teenager had to be a "civilian" (i.e., non-superhero). A hip version of an existing teenage superhero, such as Robin, Supergirl, or existing teenage "civilian" such as Jimmy Olsen was ruled out, as these characters would tend to over-emphasize the hero with whom they were already associated. To preserve the "team" nature of the new comic book, therefore, a "neutral" civilian character had to be created.
Ellsworth specifically coined the name "Snapper Carr", the character's first name indicating his habit of snapping his fingers when excited or making a point. Snapper's given name of Lucas was not revealed until 1978.
Snapper Carr made his first appearance, alongside the first appearance of the JLA, in the comic book The Brave and the Bold #28, released on December 29, 1959, but with a cover date of February–March 1960.
Snapper Carr was not intended to be a superhero, but rather a supporting character for the Justice League. Because of the critical role he played in the League's first adventure, he was formally made an "honorary member" of the JLA, and was often referred to as the team's mascot. At the end of the first adventure, Snapper received a belt with a signal device embedded in the buckle, with which he can summon members of the JLA. In keeping with his "hip" character, Justice League members later rebuilt a hot rod car so that it could fly and whisk Snapper to JLA meetings.
As written by Gardner Fox, Snapper Carr had the most distinctive personality of all the members of the Justice League. Snapper not only had the most distinctive means of speaking (with his extreme hipster slang), but he had the most clearly written and individualist character of all the recurring characters in the comic book. Within a few years, Fox got rid of the hipster slang and had Snapper speak in a more mainstream way.
Snapper's parents are identified in The Brave and the Bold #28 as Mr. and Mrs. John Carr. Two years later, readers learn in 1961 that he has a younger brother, Jimmy Carr. Snapper Carr was given a girlfriend, Midge, in Justice League of America #7 (November 1961). Snapper was also shown in 1974 to have a sister, Janet. In 1998, readers learned that Snapper had an uncle, Simon Carr, who played a major role in the founding of the Justice League. A year later, Snapper mentioned in Hourman #1 that he has a brother nicknamed "Spitter" Carr (for his habit of spitting). It is unclear if Spitter and Jimmy are the same person, or if Snapper was merely being sarcastic.