DC Comics began in 1935 as National Allied Publications, founded by former Army major and pulp writer Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson. Its early anthologies carried comic strips, westerns and adventure stories rather than superheroes. The company was bought out by Harry Donenfeld and Jack Liebowitz, who reshaped it into a business that could support bigger releases. Action Comics No. 1 in 1938 introduced Superman, widely considered the first superhero comic and the start of the Golden Age. Batman followed in Detective Comics in 1939. The company's name became DC, short for Detective Comics, though it was only officially adopted in 1977.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.