History ComicBook / CaptainCarrotAndHisAmazingZooCrew

In their origin story, it was explained that fragments from a strange meteor (which had been shattered by ComicBook/{{Superman}} before it could hit Earth) were somehow transported to the AlternateUniverse called Earth-C, which was inhabited by HumanoidAnimals instead of humans (specifically, it's the setting of all the FunnyAnimal comics DC published back in {{UsefulNotes/the Golden Age|OfComicBooks}}). The fragments gave superpowers to various animals, who decided to join together and form their own superhero team, the Zoo Crew. They are:

After the series was canceled, the characters reappeared in, of all places, "The [[Literature/LandOfOz Oz]] / [[Literature/AliceInWonderland Wonderland]] War" miniseries, which was ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. Decades later in the 2000s, they reappeared in an issue of ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'' (as part of a comic book Eddie Bloomberg/Kid Devil was reading) in a story that parodied the "[[UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks Dark Age]]" style of modern comics: The team had disbanded after Little Cheese's death, whose murderer (seemingly) turned out to be Alley-Kat-Abra! This was followed by a 2007 miniseries, ''Captain Carrot and the Final Ark'', where the team was reunited and Abra was cleared of the murder (it was her EvilTwin). They were joined by a new member, the non-powered crimefighter '''American Eagle''', secretly right-wing talk show host Johnny Jingo. However, Earth-C was flooded as a result of a war between aquatic and non-aquatic animals, and the heroes had to evacuate it on a "Space Ark." They ended up on the main Earth of TheMultiverse, but found themselves changed into normal animals while there. However, they were changed back to their true forms in the last issue of the ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis'' CrisisCrossover.

* MutuallyFictional: The Zoo Crew and Just'a Lotta Animals both considered the other to be fictional before they met up. Lampshaded by a visit to the Earth-C version of Gardner Fox to help explain the concept.

* ButHeSoundsHandsome: Rubberduck and Yankee Poodle will frequently plug their secret identities, movie star Byrd Rentals and gossip columnist Rova Barkitt. Even Captain Carrot would praise the work of Roger Rodney Rabbit.

* InterspeciesRomance: Cap and Alley-Kat-Abra were never officially a couple, but they did have a lot of mutual ShipTease. The species gap seems to be what kept them from committing, since Cap immediately focused on Wonder Wabbit after meeting her and they were only able to express their feelings after Abra temporarily turned him into a cat.

* {{Bizarrchitecture}}: The Crew's home base, the "Z-Building", which [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin is shaped like the letter "Z"]]. This is an AffectionateParody of the ComicBook/TeenTitans' H.Q., as their series was at the height of its popularity at the time.
* BoisterousBruiser: Pig-Iron.

%%* CityMouse: Yankee Poodle.

* ShoutOut: The Zoo Crew is a popular cartoon in the main Franchise/DCUniverse. The uniform of Stargirl of the ''ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica'' was partly inspired by Yankee Poodle; Yankee Poodle is Stargirl's favorite character, which explains the costume. Christopher Kent in ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'' had a Pig-Iron wristwatch.

In their origin story, it was explained that fragments from a strange meteor (which had been shattered by Franchise/{{Superman}} before it could hit Earth) were somehow transported to the AlternateUniverse called Earth-C, which was inhabited by HumanoidAnimals instead of humans (specifically, it's the setting of all the FunnyAnimal comics DC published back in {{UsefulNotes/the Golden Age|OfComicBooks}}). The fragments gave superpowers to various animals, who decided to join together and form their own superhero team, the Zoo Crew. They are:

The Zoo Crew battled both their own villains and ones from the main DC Universe (Starro, the Starfish Conqueror, an old Franchise/{{Justice League|of America}} alien enemy, in their first issue; Gorilla Grodd in their last.) They also met the "Just'a Lotta Animals" ("JLA") a team of heroes from the similar "Earth C-minus" whose heroes were {{Expies}} of DC's main heroes.

Captain Carrot has now reappeared in the pages of ''ComicBook/TheMultiversity'', while both he and Fastback are significant characters in several tie-ins of ''Comicbook/{{Convergence}}''. Captain Carrot later went on to join the ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueIncarnate''.

* AffectionateParody: ''Zoo Crew'' is a gentle ribbing of superhero comics in general. Some of the parodies included recognizable elements from mainstream DC comics; Zoo Crew headquarters was based on [[Franchise/TeenTitans Titans Tower]] (only shaped like a Z instead of a T), one villain was a ComicBook/SwampThing-like MuckMonster, and one issue saw the team fighting the Screeching Tire, a spoof of ''ComicBook/{{Blackhawk}}'''s [[MonowheelMayhem War Wheel]]. FunnyAnimal versions of Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian and Franchise/IndianaJones also showed up.

* DarkerAndEdgier: The revival [[ShowWithinAShow Comic Within A Comic]] from ''Comicbook/TeenTitans'' #30 & #31. The team split apart, [[FantasticRacism Fantastic Speciesism]] running rampant, team members dead or missing, the SuperRegistrationAct, Rodney Rabbit in the middle of a HeroicBSOD (and a bottle)... and, of course, Alley-Kat-Abra (seemingly) turning evil.

* DistaffCounterpart: Carrie Carrot, for Captain Carrot. She was introduced as a PosthumousCharacter in the 2000's ''Comicbook/TeenTitans'' story -- [[StuffedInAFridge her death mainly served to justify Rodney's Heroic BSOD, as well as someone whose name American Eagle could invoke to get Captain Carrot back in the game]].

** The Zoo Crew's fate at the end of ''The Final Ark'' seemed needlessly cruel and left a bad taste in a lot of long-time fans' mouths. Thankfully, this may have been a BrickJoke, resolved in ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis''; fan speculation has it that Creator/GrantMorrison used ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis'' to undo what he saw as obnoxious ExecutiveMeddling. (It has also been speculated that ''Final Ark'' ended the way it did ''because'' Morrison wanted to do a scene of them transforming back, but that would imply more co-ordination than any other ''Comicbook/CountdownToFinalCrisis'' tie-in displayed.) Morrison later used Captain Carrot as a character in ''ComicBook/TheMultiversity'', where he knocked out a CaptainErsatz of ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk--[[SugarWiki/AwesomeMoments with one punch]].

* RecursiveCanon: Earth-C is an alternate Earth-Prime. Earth-C-Minus is an alternate DC Universe. Rodney Rabbit draws ''[[Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica Justa Lotta Animals]]'', who are real superheroes on Earth-C-Minus who end up suing Wombat Communications (a take off on [[Creator/WarnerBros Warner]] Communications, DC's then-parent company) for trademark violation.

* ShoutOut: The Zoo Crew is a popular cartoon in the main Franchise/DCUniverse. The uniform of Stargirl of the ''ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica'' was partly inspired by Yankee Poodle; Yankee Poodle is Stargirl's favorite character, which explains the costume. Christopher Kent in ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' had a Pig-Iron wristwatch.

* StarfishAliens: Literally, with old [[Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica JLA]] foe Starro the Conqueror -- a giant alien starfish -- as the StarterVillain of the series that the team gathers to battle.
* UnanthropomorphicTransformation: At the end of ''Captain Carrot and the Final Ark'', the Zoo Crew emerge on Earth-0, where they've become normal animals. This gets reversed by Nix Uotan in ''Comicbook/FinalCrisis''. This happens to Cap again in the ''Comicbook/SupermanRebirth'' storyline "Multiplicity", although he still has his mask and cape, unlike the previous event.

* AnimalSuperheroes

** Peter Porkchops used to be a regular funny animal which was reused in this series, and in the early Peter Porkchops strips, his wolf neighbour actually wanted to eat him. This is referenced in the comic with Wolfie seeking psychiatric treatment, because he is having cannibal fantasies and it worries him. It ends badly despite his good intentions.

* CountryMouse: Fastback.

* InsistentTerminology: Rova Barkitt insists that she is not a gossip columnist, but a celebrity interviewer.

%%* RubberMan: Rubberduck.

%%* StarfishAliens: Literally, with old [[Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica JLA]] foe Starro the Conqueror.

%%* TwoGirlsToATeam

%%* WorldOfFunnyAnimals

** The second issue of that miniseries upped the ante when the Nome King accidentally summoned Wonder Wabbit, [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Hoppy the Marvel Bunny and his girlfriend Millie]], the March Hare, the Easter Bunny, Wonderland's White Rabbit, and Bo Bunny from one of DC's old FunnyAnimal comics, along with his original target, a depowered Captain Carrot. The plan was to trap them all with a QuirkyMinibossSquad of Nomes turned into Franchise/FantasticFour {{parodies}}, but it goes so wrong[[note]]The trapped rabbits realize the canon WeaksauceWeakness of Nomes to eggs -- including the ''Easter Bunny''.[[/note]] the Nome King has to literally wish he never thought of the plan to keep them from ending the miniseries early.

* IntercontinuityCrossover: ''The [[Literature/LandOfOz Oz]][=/=][[Literature/AliceInWonderland Wonderland]] War''.

* ExcitedShowTitle

* TurtlePower: Fastback and his uncle ([[LegacyCharacter also an old DC Animal Superhero]], The Terrific Whatzit.)

''Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew!'' is a team of [[AnimalSuperheroes Superhero Funny Animal]] characters owned by Creator/DCComics. They were first published in their own comic book series in the early 1980's, though it didn't last very long. Created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Scott Shaw, this was the first team of FunnyAnimal characters to be specifically recognized as being part of the Franchise/DCUniverse.

** The Zoo Crew's fate at the end of ''The Final Ark'' seemed needlessly cruel and left a bad taste in a lot of long-time fans' mouths. Thankfully, this may have been a BrickJoke, resolved in ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis''; fan speculation has it that Creator/GrantMorrison used ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis'' to undo what he saw as obnoxious ExecutiveMeddling. Morrison later used Captain Carrot as a character in ''ComicBook/TheMultiversity'', where he knocked out a CaptainErsatz of ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk--[[SugarWiki/AwesomeMoments with one punch]].

Captain Carrot has now reappeared in the pages of ''ComicBook/TheMultiversity'', while both he and Fastback are significant characters in several tie-ins of ''Comicbook/{{Convergence}}''.