Golden Age characters' ages - what's this thing called consistency?

[burntcopper]

Has anyone got explanations for these? They're all supposed to have been in their twenties/early thirties during World War 2, and I'm listing how old they appeared to be when I last read an appearance. Some also have kids. Most of whom are in their early thirties/late twenties.

Ted Grant (Wildcat) - early fifties
Diana Drake-Lance (Black Canary) - early sixties before she died of cancer.
Libby Lawrence (Liberty Belle) - sixties
Ted Knight (Starman) - sixties
Sandra Knight (phantom Lady) - eighties, but she's Ted's *younger* cousin. wtf?
Al Pratt (Atom) - sixties
Wesley Dodds (Sandman) - eighties before he died.
Johnny Quick - fifties before he died
Alan Scott (Green Lantern) - thirties, but been de-aged at least three times.
Mr Terrific - eighties
Johnny Thunder - eighties before he died
Dr Mid-Nite - eighties
Speed Saunders - sixties
Carter Hall (Hawkman) - thirties, but reincarnated at least six times.
Jay Garrett (The Flash) - sixties

Does anyone have explanations? At least the ones comics have given us, like being in alternate dimensions? I remember a lot of the JSA were in an alternate dimension where they didn't age for a while, but they had their true ages restored in Zero Hour and most seem to have got younger since then. This also *really* doesn't explain the ones with kids.

Wildcat's age confuses the *fuck* out of me. Famous ex-boxer, still got lots of fans who come up to him and buy him a beer for when they saw him fight, which intimates that he's in his fifties. Yet he should be at least Henry Cooper/Mohammad Ali's age, at the very least.

Comments

[jamjar.livejournal.com]

Doesn't Wildcat have some nine-lives thing going on? Liberty Belle, it's explicitly stated that her abilities keep her looking younger- her body being more resiliant, tougher, faster healing, etc.

Also, Jay was deaged once as well, which I think had something to do with the time he switched bodies with Allen.

[burntcopper.livejournal.com]

one wonders how this explains her hubby. or maybe it's a new rule that speedsters age a lot slower.