Powergirl Parallels

Of all the Rutland Halloween Parade tie-in comics during the Seventies, the most prophetic was Thor #207 (Jan. 1974). The story's splash page depicted a parade float carrying two men dressed as Superman and Batman (illustrating an awareness of DC characters within the world of Marvel Comics). As with some other Rutland stories, Thor #207 featured guest appearances of Marvel staff, including colorist Glenys Wein (née Glynis Oliver). One panel spotlighted Glenys wearing a Superman-inspired Halloween costume with the insignia G. Her husband at the time of the story, Len Wein, mentioned that she was dressed as Powergirl.

This scene becomes historically intriguing when considering that the DC character Power Girl would make her debut two years later in All-Star Comics #58 (Feb. 1976). Introduced as Superman's cousin on Earth 2, Power Girl wore a unique costume absent of any insignia. Gerry Conway, who scripted Thor #207, also wrote All-Star Comics #58, making it all the more noteworthy to see a Powergirl costume that visually resembled Superman before the creation of a Power Girl character with familial ties to the hero.

Glynis Wein (pictured below in Powergirl costume) was the colorist on Thor #207. The panel also shows Len Wein and Gerry Conway. John Buscema illustrated this issue.