Character Appearances

Universal Rules

• Optional
• This field records the appearance of any characters in the story who the indexer thinks are worth indexing, along with brief notes about them.
• Characters should be separated with a semi-colon (;).
• Many of the more specific rules regarding how to record information in this field are superhero-centric and do not apply to most other genres.
• Square brackets should be used for aliases, secret identities and "also-known-as" information which clarify which character if it's ambiguous ("Flash [Barry Allen]" and "Flash [Jay Garrick]"). Roman numerals ("Flash I" and "Flash II") should not be used.
• For characters that have changed over time due to re-boots or changes or multiple realities, the general rule is to index them as they are described in the comic at the time it was published. For instance Superman in Action #1 (1938) is indexed simply as Superman not Superman (Earth-2). If it is obvious from context or explicitly stated that the character is from another earth, this information can be included in parentheses. There is also information about how to index characters from multiple earths or timelines at Indexing Variant Characters.
• The older form where different versions of a character were numbered - Wildcat II - is not allowed and should be corrected to the named form - Wildcat [Yolanda Montez]

Standard Format for Groups and Notes

• Parentheses (round brackets) should be used for notes about the character's role in the story ("Superman (origin)"). Common notes about character roles are origin, introduction, death, cameo, guest-star and villain. Abbreviations, such as O for Origin, should not be used.
• Square brackets are also also used to show members of a group. The groups name is listed, then an open square bracket, then the characters, then a close square bracket. Note that many comics currently in the database (including those from Norway) do not follow this convention but use round parentheses instead. Unless an indexer has specifically been told by the Senior Editors that they can use parentheses, square brackets must be used.

Alternate Format for Groups and Notes

• An alternate format is also allowed. In it the main characters (feature characters) are listed, then one of the following terms is put in (in all capital letters), followed by a colon and a list of the characters that that term applies to. The allowed terms are "VILLAIN","GUEST","CAMEO", "CAMEO FLASHBACK". The term is put in plural if there is more than one character to whom the term applies. The names of the characters are still separated by semi-colons and the rules about using [] for alternate identities apply. Team names can be included by putting the team name followed by a double dash, then the character names.
• Characters that do not fit within any term or group must be placed before all terms to avoid appearing to be part of the last term.

Rules Regarding Usage of Standard vs Alternate Form

• Please use the same form within any given index.
• Changing an index from one format to another for no reason is considered "bad form".

Examples:

* Sam Zabel; Mr. Lupicinus; Cynthia; Moxie; Toxie; Tisco
* Jimmy Olsen 
* Jimmy Olsen (origin, death) 
* Red Tornado [Ma Hunkel] (cameo) 
* Green Lantern [Hal Jordan]; Green Lantern [Alan Scott] (cameo)

Standard Form

Justice League of America [Green Lantern [Hal Jordan] (origin); Superman [Clark Kent] (Earth-1)];
Justice Society of America [Superman [Clark Kent] (Earth-2); Flash [Jay Garrick] (cameo)]

Alternate Form

X-Men--Jean Grey; Rogue; Beast; Nightcrawler; Kitty Pryde; GUESTS: Nick Fury; SHIELD;
Agent Daisy Caruthers [Dugan]; VILLAINS: Sentinels; Zigfried Trask; CAMEOS: The Consortium;
CAMEO FLASHBACK: Dietrich Trask; Wolverine; Cyclops; Iceman; Angel; Storm; Gambit

(end of definition)

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