
A superhero is a fictional character who is noted for feats of courage and nobility and who usually has a colorful name and costume and abilities beyond those of normal human beings. Since the definitive superhero, Superman, debuted in 1938, the stories of superheroes - ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long Norse sagas - have become an entire genre of fiction, one that has dominated American comic books and crossed over into other media. ==Common superhero traits== [[Image:superman14.jpg|thumb|right|175px|The definitive superhero, Superman. Art by Fred Ray.]] [[Image:BatmanComicIssue1,1940.gif|thumb|right|175px|Batman and his sidekick Robin (comics), illustrated by Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson]] There are a range of attributes that are commonly part of a superhero's make up, although they are by no means definitive (see Superhero#Divergent_character_examples). Most superheroes have a few of the following features: *Extraordinary powers and abilities, mastery of relevant skills, and/or advanced equipment. Although superhero powers vary, the ability to fly, superhuman strength, superhuman agility, and enhanced versions of any of the five senses are common superpowers. Many superheroes, such as Batman and The Green Hornet, possess no superpowers but have mastered skills such as martial arts and forensic sciences. Others have access to advanced equipment that imitates superpowers such as Iron Man's various suits of powered armor or Green Lantern's power ring. *A willingness to risk one's own safety in the service of good, without expectation of reward. *A special motivation, such as revenge (e.g. The Punisher), a sense of responsibility (e.g. Spider-Man), a formal calling (e.g. Green Lantern), or childhood emotional trauma (e.g. Batman). *A moral code that is more advanced and strict than that of most people and a tendency to take personal lapses to it very hard. *A secret identity *A flamboyant and distinctive costume that usually hides the secret identity. It often has a symbol, such as a stylized letter or visual icon, on the chest. Costumes often reflect the superhero's name and theme, for example Batman resembles a large bat and the design of Captain America's costume echoes that of the American flag. *An arch enemy and/or a collection of regular enemies that s/he fights repeatedly. *Is either independently wealthy (eg. Batman) or has an occupation that allows for minimal supervision so their whereabouts do not have to be strictly accounted for (e.g. Superman's civilian job as a reporter or Spider-Man's job as a photojournalist). *A secret headquarters or base *A backstory, called an "origin story," which explains the circumstances of the character acquiring his/her abilities, as well as his/her motivation for fighting evil. [[Image:Fantastic_four_by_jack_kirby.JPG|thumb|left|230px|The Fantastic Four, from left: Mr. Fantastic, The Invisible Woman, The Thing, The Human Torch. Art by Jack Kirby.]] Although most superheroes usually work independently, many also work in teams. Some, such as The Fantastic Four and X-Men, have common origins and usually operate as a group. Others, such as the Justice League and Avengers (comics), are "all-star" groups consisting of heroes of separate origins who also operate individually. Many superheroes, especially those introduced in the 1940s, work with a child or teen sidekick (e.g. Batman and Robin (comics)). This has become less common since the Silver Age of comic books, as more sophisticated writing and older audiences have lessened the need for special characters for the reader to identify with, and made such obvious child endangerment seem less plausible. Superheroes most often appear in comic books, and superhero stories are the dominant genre of American comic books to the point that "superhero" and "comic book character" are often used synonymously. Superheroes have also been featured in comic strips, radios, novel, TV series, movies, and other media. Most of the superheroes that appear in these other media are adapted from comic books, but there are exceptions. Marvel Comics and DC Comics share ownership of the United States trademark for the phrase "Super Heroes" as it applies to comics, and almost all of the world's most famous superheroes are owned by these two American companies. For example, DC owns Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, and Marvel owns Spider-Man, Captain America, and the X-Men. However, throughout comic book history, there have been significant superheroes owned by others, such as Captain Marvel (DC Comics), owned by Fawcett Comics (but later acquired by DC) and Spawn (comics) owned by creator Todd McFarlane. Superheroes are largely an American creation, but there have been successful superheroes in other countries, most of which share many of the conventions of the American model. The most notable examples include Cybersix from Argentina, Marvelman from the United Kingdom, and Japanese tokusatsu series like ''Ultraman'' and ''Kamen Rider'' as well as anime and manga series like ''Science Ninja Team Gatchaman'' and ''Sailor Moon''. Although superhero fiction is considered a subgenre of fantasy/science-fiction, it crosses into many other genres. Many superhero franchises contain aspects of crime fiction (Batman, Daredevil), others horror fiction (Spawn, Hellboy) and many are similar to "hard" science fiction (X-Men, Green Lantern). But because the fantastic nature of the superhero milieu allows almost anything to happen, some superhero series cross over into a variety of vastly different genres. For example, in the 1980s series, ''Teen Titans'', the Titans faced off against a super villain who controlled a cult in one story, then went off to another galaxy to participate in a space war in the following story, then returned to Earth and became involved in a gritty urban crime drama involving young runaways. The content of each of these stories is quite different, yet the same principle characters are involved throughout the series. ==Character subtypes== In superhero role-playing games (particularly Champions (role-playing game)), superheroes are informally organized into categories based on their skills and abilities: *"Brick": A character with a superhuman degree of strength and endurance and usually an oversized, muscular body, named after the rocky shape of Thing (comics), e.g. Hulk (comics), Colossus (comics), Beast (comics). *"Blaster": A hero whose main power is a distance attack, e.g. Cyclops (comics), Havok, Starfire. **"Archer": A subvariant of this type who uses archery-like weapons that have a variety of specialized functions like explosives, glue, nets, rotary drill, etc., e.g. Green Arrow, Hawkeye (comics). **"Mage": A subvariant of this type that is trained in the use of magic (paranormal), which partially or wholly involves ranged attacks., e.g. Doctor Strange, Doctor Fate *"Martial Artist": A hero whose physical abilities are mostly human rather than superhuman, but whose combat skills are phenomenal, e.g. Daredevil, Captain America. **"Super normal": A hero with no innate supernatural power whose abilities are due to training, determination, and natural talent alone, e.g. Batman, Robin (Batman). *"Gadgeteer": A hero who invents special equipment that often imitates superpowers and who has the technical skills to use it to his or her best advantage, e.g. Forge (comics), Nite Owl **"Armored Hero": A gadgeteer whose powers are derived from a suit of powered armor, e.g. Iron Man, Steel (comics) **"Dominus": A hero that uses a Giant Robot to combat villains, e.g. Roger Smith of Big O, Super Sentai (the Power Rangers) *"Speedster": A hero possessing superhuman speed and reflexes, e.g. The Flash, Quicksilver (comics). *"Mentalist": A hero whose main abilities are parapsychology in nature such as telekinesis, telepathy and extra-sensory perception, e.g. Professor X and Jean Grey of the X-Men, Saturn Girl of the Legion of Super-Heroes. *"Shapechanger": A hero who can manipulate his/her own body to suit his/her needs such as stretching, e.g. Mister Fantastic, Plastic Man or disguise, e.g. Changeling (comics), Ela Vista. **"Substance oriented Bodychanger - A shapechanger who can change his/her body into the equivalent of a mass of a substance that can have variable density such as sand or water. e.g. Sand (comics), Husk (comics). **"Sizechanger": A shapechanger who can alter his/her size, e.g. the Atom (comics) (shrinking only), Colossal Boy (growth only), Hank Pym (both). These categories often overlap. For instance, Batman is a martial artist and a gadgeteer, and Superman is extremely strong and damage resistant like a brick and also has ranged attacks (heat vision, superbreath) like an energy blaster and can move quickly like a speedster. ==Divergent character examples== [[Image:Wolverine-limited-series-001.jpe|thumb|right|175px|Wolverine, one of many anti-heroes tougher and grittier than the classic superhero. Art by Frank Miller]] While the typical superhero is described above, many break the mold. For example: *Wolverine (comics) of the X-Men has shown a willingness to kill and behave anti-socially. Wolverine belongs to an entire underclass of superhero anti-heroes who are grittier and more violent than classic superheroes, often putting members of the two groups at odds. Others include Rorschach (superhero), Daredevil (comics), The Punisher, Green Arrow and, in some incarnations, Batman. *Spider-Man has been portrayed as an every-man hero, often showing poor judgment and being overwhelmed by the responsibilities of both costumed crime fighting and civilian life. After Spider-Man became popular, superheroes generally became more human and troubled so whether or not this makes Spider-Man a divergent character is questionable. *Hulk (comics) is usually defined as a superhero, but he has little self-control and his actions have often either inadvertently or deliberately caused great destruction. As a result, he has been hunted by the military and by other superheroes. *Luke Cage (AKA Power Man) and his partner, Iron Fist, operated a business called Heroes for Hire which charged a fee for their services, though it was occasionally waived in certain circumstances. *Many superheroes have never had a secret identity, such as Wonder Woman (in her current version) and the members of The Fantastic Four. Others that once had a secret identity, like Steel (comics) or Captain America have later made their true identity public. *Some superheroes have been created and employed by national governments to serve their interests and defend the nation. Examples include Captain America, who was outfitted by and worked for the United States Army during World War II, and Alpha Flight, a superhero team that was created and is usually run by the Canada federal government. *Spawn (comics), The Demon (comics) and Ghost Rider are actual demons, who find themselves manipulated by circumstance to be allies for the forces of good. Hellboy, on the other hand, is a demon who is virtuous on his own accord. *Alternatively, The Mighty Thor and Hercules (comics) are gods of ancient mythology reinterpreted as superheroes. Wonder Woman, while not a goddess, is a member of the Amazons of Greek mythology. *Emma Frost, a member of the X-Men, was a supervillain for several years before she turned to the side of good. Other characters who have treaded the line between superhero and villain include Catwoman, Elektra Natchios, Rogue (comics), Venom (comics) and Juggernaut (comics). *Superheros may hide their powers from the public at large whilst not adopting a superhero identity through way of a costume, examples include the television characters Clark Kent in Smallville, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and later incarnations of Starman. In addition, some parody super heroes have been introduced. While they keep some of the stereotypical attributes of "classical" super heroes, they introduce features that make them anti-heroes. * Super Dupont is a super-hero with all the stereotypical supposed characteristics of the typical France (including a beret) * Super Liar is a caricature of French president Jacques Chirac turning into a super hero to be able to lie more effectively. ==History and evolution of the character type== ===Predecessors=== The origins of superheroes can be found in several prior forms of fiction. Many of their traits are shared with protagonists of later Victorian literature, such as The Scarlet Pimpernel, Arthur Conan Doyle detective Sherlock Holmes and H. Rider Haggard's adventurer Alan Quatermain. The penny dreadful and dime novel stories of Spring Heeled Jack, Buffalo Bill, Zorro and Tarzan also influenced superheroes. Pulp magazine crime fighters, such as Doc Savage, The Shadow and The Spider, were probably the most direct influence. By modern standards, characters like Doc Savage could well be considered superheroes in their own right, but the appearance of Superman is generally considered to be the point at which the superhero genre truly began. [[Image:Action1.JPG|thumb|right|175px|''Action Comics #1'', the first appearance of Superman. Art by Joe Shuster.]] ===The rise and fall of the Golden Age of comic books=== In 1938, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster introduced Superman in ''Action Comics'' #1. Although the character was preceded by the costumed crime fighter The Phantom, featured in comic strips, Superman is still considered the first superhero, introducing many of the conventions that have come to define the term including a secret identity, superhuman powers and a colorful costume including a symbol and cape. His name is also the source of the term "superhero." DC Comics (which published under the names National and All-American at the time) received an overwhelming response to Superman and, in the months that followed, introduced Aquaman, Hawkman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Batman, his sidekick Robin (Batman), and Wonder Woman, the first female superhero and the only significant one for quite some time. [[Image:Whiz2.JPG|thumb|left|175px|Captain Marvel, the most popular superhero of the 1940s. Art by C.C. Beck.]] Although DC dominated the superhero market at this time, hundreds of superheroes were created by companies large and small. Marvel Comics, then called Timely, found success with the Human Torch and Sub-Mariner. Cartoonist Will Eisner's The Spirit, featured in a newspaper insert, was also a hit. Quality Comics also found its own niche with its own characters, most notably with the surreal humor of Jack Cole (artist)'s Plastic Man. The era's most popular superhero, however, was Fawcett Comics' Captain Marvel (DC Comics), who even outsold Superman during the 1940s. At this time, superheroes largely conformed to the model of lead characters in American popular fiction in the first half of the 20th century. Hence, the typical superhero was a white, middle to upper class, heterosexual, professional, young-to-middle-aged man. During World War II, superheroes grew in popularity, surviving paper rationing and the loss of many of their creators to service in the armed forces. The need for simple tales of good triumphing over evil may explain the war-time popularity of superheroes. Publishers responded with stories in which superheroes battled the Axis Powers and the introduction of patriotically themed superheroes, most notably Marvel's Captain America. After the war, superheroes lost popularity. Part of the reason was that the genre at that time was highly formulaic and the reading public began to tire of it outside of the major stars like Wonder Woman, Batman, Superman, and Plastic Man. This shift led to the rise of other genres, especially horror fiction and crime fiction. The lurid nature of this material sparked a moral crusade which blamed comic books for juvenile delinquency. The movement was spearheaded by Fredric Wertham who argued, among other things, that "deviant" sexual undertones ran rampant in superhero comics. In response, the comic book industry adopted the Comics Code, which allowed for only the tamest superhero stories as originally conceived. ===The Silver Age and the beginning of ethnic and gender diversity=== In 1956, DC Comics, under the editorship of Julius Schwartz, decided to see if the superhero genre in a modernized science fiction format could be viable. So a new version of The Flash was introduced which became an immediate success. This led the company to revive Hawkman, Green Lantern, and several others - usually with a more modern, science-fiction angle - and to launch the all-star team the Justice League. [[Image:AmazingFantasy15.jpg|right|175px|thumb|''Amazing Fantasy'' #15, the first appearance of Spider-Man, one of a new breed of superhero. Art by Jack Kirby]] Empowered by the return of the superhero at DC, Marvel Comics editor/writer Stan Lee and the artists/co-writers Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, and other illustrators launched a line of superhero comic books, beginning with ''The Fantastic Four'' in 1961, which stressed personal conflict and character development as much as action and adventure. This led to many superheroes that differed greatly from the standards created in the 1940s with considerably more dramatic potential. Some examples: * Thing (comics), a member of The Fantastic Four, was a super strong, but monstrous creature with rock-like skin, whose appearance filled him with self pity. * Spider-Man was a teenager who struggled to earn money and maintain his social life in addition to his costumed exploits. * Hulk (comics) shared a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde-like relationship with his alter ego and was driven by rage. * X-Men were "mutant (fictional)" who gained their powers through genetic mutation and who were hated and feared by the society they sought to protect. By the late 1960s and early 1970s, superheroes of other racial groups began to appear in Marvel Comics, including Black Panther (comics), monarch of a fictional African nation, Luke Cage, an African-American "hero-for-hire," and Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu, an Asian martial arts hero. Comic book companies were in the early stages of cultural expansion and many of these characters played to specific stereotypes. For example, Cage often employed lingo similar to that of blaxploitation films and Asians were often portrayed as master martial artists. Strong female characters also gained prominence, beginning in a low key manner with Julius Schwartz's comics having female supporting characters who were successful professionals, although Hawkgirl was largely the only new female superhero as a confident partner for Hawkman. In the early 1960s Marvel introduced The Fantastic Four's Invisible Girl and The X-Men's Marvel Girl as well as Wasp (comics), but these characters were physically weak and were portrayed primarily as romantic interests of other team members. The 1970s saw these characters become more confident and assertive and the introduction of popular new female heroes, such as Spider-Woman and Storm (comics) of the newly revived X-Men. Initially, some characters were preachy radical feminist stereotypes like Marvel's Ms. Marvel and DC's Power Girl until writers grew more accustomed with society's changing attitudes. ===1980s "deconstruction" of the superhero and its aftereffects=== By the early 1980s, Marvel Comics had introduced several popular anti-heroes including The Punisher, Wolverine (comics) and writer/artist Frank Miller's darker version of Daredevil (comics). These characters were deeply troubled from within, tormented by experiences such as the mob-related slaughter of The Punisher's family, Wolverine's battle with mutant (fictional) animal instincts and Daredevil's rough childhood and continual exposure to slum life. The trend was taken to a new extreme in the successful 1986 mini-series ''Watchmen'' by writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons, which was published by DC, but took place outside the "DC Universe" with new characters. The superheroes of ''Watchmen'' were emotionally unsatisfied, psychologically withdrawn, and even sociopathic. Another story, ''The Dark Knight Returns'' (1985-1986) adapted the trend to a familiar character. The mini-series, written and illustrated by Frank Miller, featured a future Batman returning from retirement. The series portrayed the hero as a madman who takes out his inner rage, drawn from the childhood murder of his parents, in a violent quest to mold society to his will. Some critics believe that this trend is tied to the cynicism of the 1980s, when the idea of a person selflessly using his extraordinary abilities on a quest for good was no longer believable, but a person with a deep psychological impulse to destroy criminals was. Regardless, both series were heavily acclaimed for their artistic ambitiousness and psychological depth, and led to numerous imitations. Critic Geoff Klock associates the emergence of these anti-heroes specifically with Alan Moore and Frank Miller's examinations of a previously uniterrogated and fascistic will to order and moral certainty that informs the behaviour and actions of characters in the superhero tradition. As such, Moore and Miller's characters are as much pop philosophers as they are hero or anti-hero, and lack the 'a priori' ethical code and morally absolute motivations of their predecessors. But despite these complex literary conceits and deep psychological ambiguities, most artists following in the vein of "DKR" and "Watchmen" specifically emulated the visual style and ultra-violence of the texts without critically addressing their underlying politics and problematic behaviour. By the early 1990s, anti-heroes had become the rule rather than the exception. Wolverine (comics), The Punisher and Batman were joined by X-Force’s Cable (comics), the X-Men’s Bishop (comics), the Spider-Man adversary Venom (comics), DC Comics’ Lobo (comics) and countless others. Many critics complained these characters missed the essential artistic elements of redemption and tragedy of their inspirations, and were generic and psychologically paper-thin. ===The struggles of the 1990s=== In 1992, several former Marvel illustrators founded Image Comics, which featured creator-owned characters and became the biggest challenger ever to Marvel and DC's 30 years of co-dominance. Image introduced many popular, new heroes including Savage Dragon, Spawn (comics) and Witchblade and teams such as WildC.A.Ts, Gen 13 and The Authority. Many critics complained that the dominance of illustrators at Image made for superficial characters that, while sharing little with the long outdated 1940s model, were not overly complex or innovative and added to the glut of generic anti-heroes. In 1990s, a counter-trend to that excess occurred where notable talents like Kurt Busiek and Moore, himself, tried to reconstruct the superhero genre with titles like Busiek's ''Astro City'' and Moore's ''Tom Strong'' that combined artistic sophistication and idealism into a superheroic version of retro-futurism. While nostalgia features prominently in both works, Busiek's title expresses an unambiguous form that yearns for a golden age in which superheroes are wholly altruistic and the world basically good, whereas Moore's title extends his superhero-as-fascist metaphor to encompass the contemporary 'retro' trend. Despite this, Moore is not entirely cynical about the superhero genre, leaving his own progressive take on superhero comics to the feminism-inspired ''Promethea'' and its invocation of the non-linear and anti-masculinist tradition of Écriture féminine. [[Image:superman75.jpg|thumb|right|175px|thumb|''Superman'' #75, which marked the “death” of Superman. Such big events were common in superhero comics of the 1990s. Art by Dan Jurgens.]] To keep ahead, Marvel and DC made drastic changes to beloved characters. The hugely successful "Death of Superman" found the hero killed and resurrected, a new villain broke Batman's back leading to a replacement Batman, and a clone of Spider-Man vied with Peter Parker for the title. While these stories drummed up publicity, often in the mainstream media, fans began to complain and lose interest. By the beginning of the 2000s, a majority of classic superheroes had returned to their roots. By the 1990s, ethnic and gender diversity among superheroes was greater than ever before. Many characters in the X-Men, the most widely successful franchise of the time, were female, such as Storm (comics) and Rogue (comics), or minorities, such as the Cajun Gambit (comics) and the African-American Bishop. There were also a few prominent gay superheroes, such as Alpha Flight's Northstar (comics), Gen 13's Rainmaker and The Authority's gay couple Apollo (comics) and The Midnighter. ==The genre's dominance in American comic books== The superhero genre has dominated American comic books for half a century. Before the 1960s, there were popular comics in many genres, including funny animal comics, western fictions, romance novel, horror fiction, war stories, and crime fiction, with dozens of publishers small and large. This diversity disappeared rapidly in the 1950s, due to two factors. The first was a series of highly publicized campaigns against "unwholesome" children's comics, leading to the establishment of the highly restrictive Comics Code Authority. Although the Code severely constrained superhero comics, it completely banned the grittier genres. This wiped out many small publishers, but left the large superhero companies intact. Secondly, television drew away much of the audience for light entertainment in the late 1950s and early 1960s. By the time publishers moved away from the Comics Code and produced something other than light entertainment, television and film were far more profitable. However, comics were still able to depict outlandish action-oriented adventures such as superhero tales without expensive special effects and in a higher volume than the movie industry. ==Treatment in other media== ===Television=== ====Animated series==== With the rise of television in the 1960s, superheroes have found success in animation series geared towards children. The late-1960s saw the rise of Filmation's ''Superman-Batman Adventure Hour'', and several attempts at series based on Marvel characters, the most successful of which was Grantray-Lawrence Animation's ''Spider-Man (1960s animation),'' featuring the "does whatever a spider can" theme song. In 1970s Japan, there were anime attempts to emulate the American genre. By far the most successful was ''Kagaku ninja tai Gatchaman'' (''Science Ninja Team Gatchaman'') which produced 3 separate series. The series also established an action idiom of the five member team of specific builds and temperament which was emulated by the live action sentai genre. In 1970s and 1980s American television broadcasting, superhero animated series were constrained by the broadcasting restrictions that activist groups like Action for Children's Television successfully lobbied for. The most popular series in this period, ''Super Friends,'' an adaptation of DC's ''Justice League of America'' was designed to be as nonviolent and inoffensive as possible. ''The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show'' and ''Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends'' were similarly tame and ''Kagaku ninja tai Gatchaman'' was severely edited for violence in the translation called ''Battle of the Planets''. Starting with ''Batman: The Animated Series'', which debuted on the Fox Network in 1992, superhero animated series gained a new maturity and respect for the comic books on which they were based. This continued with Fox's ''X-Men animated series,'' and ''Spider-Man'' series as well as the original series ''Gargoyles (animated series)'', which, like ''Batman'' were geared towards older audiences but accessible to children. The widely successful ''Batman: the Animated Series'' also had a significant influence on American animation. The show featured simple graphics but lavish animation, a style that was replicated in the sequel ''Batman Beyond'', ''Static Shock'' and in Cartoon Network’s successful adaptations of DC's all-star ''Justice League (animated series)'' and ''Teen Titans.'' ====Live-Action series==== [[Image:Reevessuperman.JPG|thumb|right|200px|George Reeves as Superman (1951)]] While animated series found immediate success, live action series were often hampered by limited budgets and goofy writing. The 1950s ''The Adventures of Superman'' series starring George Reeves - an extension of the popular movie serials - featured very limited and unconvincing special effects. It was, however, hugely popular. Reeves made up for the lack of sophistication in special effects by injecting realism into the fight sequences, using his boxing skills. The live action ''Batman (1960s TV series)'' series of the late 1960s, starring Adam West and Burt Ward, was a ratings phenomenon. The psychedelically-colored series helped sell color televisions and introduced the characters to millions of viewers, but it was extremely campy and goofy and many comic book experts agree that it had a mostly negative effect on the public's perceptions of superheroes. ''Batman'' led to imitators like ''Captain Nice'' and ''Mister Terrific (television series)'' but only ''The Green Hornet'' starring Van Williams as the Hornet and a young Bruce Lee as his sidekick Kato (The Green Hornet) approached the popularity of ''Batman.'' Over in Japan, TV shows like ''Ultraman'' (1966) and ''Kamen Rider'' (1971) became the model superhero shows in Japan to this day, spawning countless sequels and imitations, few of which could match their successes. But unfortunately, because of rising standards against violence on American TV, only ''Ultraman'' (and a small handful of other shows) ever made it to the US, where they gained a niche following, compared to the wide audience in Japan and many other countries like Hawaii, Brazil, France, Italy and China (see tokusatsu). By the late 1970s, superhero-ish series, such as ''The Six Million Dollar Man'' and its spin-off, ''The Bionic Woman,'' found limited success. This led to series which were explicitly superhero shows such as ''Wonder Woman'' starring Lynda Carter, which, like the previous decades’ ''Batman'' was a huge hit and continues to be a cult classic, despite an overhanging campiness. Children's programming frequently featured superhero characters, such as ''Shazam! (television)'', ''Shazam! (television)'', ''Electra Woman and Dyna Girl'' and ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers'' (based on the Japanese Super Sentai series). [[Image:Ferrigno_as_Hulk.jpg|thumb|240px|right|Lou Ferrigno in the 1978 episode of ''The Incredible Hulk'', "Married"]] ''The Incredible Hulk (TV Series)'' series of the late 1970s, starring Bill Bixby as David Banner and Lou Ferrigno as the Hulk, took a more thoughtful and dramatic approach. The show focused on Banner’s nomadic lifestyle and the curse that being the Hulk had placed upon him. The series was a ratings success and has proven to be the most durable of this period. The 1980s saw the launch of various live-action superhero series that did not have their origins in comic book lore, but only ''The Greatest American Hero'', a series with a humorous yet respectful tone about a superhero who could barely control his powers, lasted for more than a few episodes. In 1993, the ABC Network had a success with ''Lois and Clark,'' which reformatted the Superman mythos as a romantic drama. This led to several non-traditional approaches to superheroes in live action television shows, such as ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'', featuring a dyed-in-the-wool idealist superhero who exists within a consciously humorous take on the horror film genre. 1993 also brought Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, a TV show about five teenagers that were chosen to become superheroes. Based on the popular Super Sentai Series in Japan, ''Power Rangers'', like Battle of the Planets, differed dramatically from its original Japanese counterparts (which were far more violent and had more challenging and complex stories). ''Smallville'' has proven very successful in reinterpreting the characters of Clark Kent and Lex Luthor in their younger years, with a greater focus on their personalities, in a narrative format more familiar to the mainstream television audience. Other recent TV superhero or superhero-ish series enjoying varying degrees of success include: ''Angel (TV series)'', ''Alias (television)'', ''Roswell'', ''Dark Angel (TV series)'', and ''Mutant X''. ===Film=== Almost immediately after superheroes rose to prominence in comic books, they were adapted into Saturday movie serials aimed at children, starting with 1941's ''The Adventures of Captain Marvel.'' Serials featuring The Phantom, Batman, Superman and Captain America followed. These films were successful despite their limited budgets, silly plotlines, dialogue, and primitive special effects. In late 1941, Superman became the first superhero to be depicted in animation, The ''Superman (1940s cartoons)'' series of groundbreaking theatrical cartoons was produced by Fleischer Studios/Famous Studios from 1941 to 1943, and featured the famous "It's a bird, it's a plane" introduction. In addition, the Superman-inspired ''Mighty Mouse'' was the flagship series of the Terrytoons company. In the coming decades, the decline of Saturday serials and turmoil in the comic book industry put an end to superhero motion pictures, an exception being 1966's ''Batman (1966 movie),'' an outgrowth of the television series. 1978's ''Superman (movie),'' directed by Richard Donner, is considered the first, and often the best, modern superhero film. Almost a biopic of the character instead of an action movie, the film won praise for its state-of-the-art special effects, Christopher Reeve's sincere performance as Superman, and John Williams (composer)'s majestic film score. ''Superman'' was an extraordinary success but its three sequels, produced throughout the 1980s, became increasingly silly and less lucrative. Nonetheless, the first two films' production values and respect for the source material influenced most later superhero films. The 1989 film ''Batman (1989 movie),'' directed by Tim Burton, was the first attempt to create a superhero film with the darker mood of recent comic books. Fantastic set designs and acclaimed performances from Michael Keaton as Batman and Jack Nicholson as Joker (comics) made the film a model for many later superhero movies. The Batman series continued throughout the 1990s, grossing millions and drawing several star actors, until the fourth film ''Batman and Robin'' (1997) became a huge critical and commercial failure. This film, along with unsuccessful movies based on DC's ''Steel (comics)'', and Todd McFarlane's ''Spawn (comics),'' made movie studios nervous about superhero movies. [[Image:Spdrmnmovie.jpg|thumb|260px|right|Tobey Maguire in 2002's ''Spider-Man'']] Nonetheless, several movies based on Marvel characters began production in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The company had a minor success with 1998's ''Blade (movie),'' but 2000's blockbuster ''X-Men (film)'' opened the door once again to highly successful superhero movies and 2002's ''Spider-Man (movie)'' broke the record for money grossed in a film's opening five days. Sequels, such as 2003's ''X2: X-Men United'' and 2004's ''Spider-Man 2'' have also been highly successful. The X-Men and Spider-Man films led to a widespread revival, which included 2003's ''Daredevil (movie)'', ''Incredible Hulk'', and ''League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'', and 2004's ''Punisher'' and ''Hellboy,'' all of which met with varying degrees of critical and commercial success. There were also productions that created original superheroes for their own dramatic purposes. For instance, ''Unbreakable'' by M. Night Shyamalan is a dark tale about a man who learns from a mysterious comic book dealer that he is destined to be a superhero complete with superhuman strength, stamina and clairvoyance. Pixar's digitally-animated ''The Incredibles'' combined a more comedic, but affectionate, approach with commentary on the superhero genre and its long history. As of 2005, anticipated superhero films include ''Batman Begins'', a new ''Batman'' movie unrelated to any of the previous ones, a new Superman film by ''X-Men'' director Bryan Singer, and a handful of additional Marvel-based films, including Fantastic Four (2005 movie). ===Prose=== Popular superheroes have occasionally been adapted into prose fiction, starting with the 1942 novel ''Superman (novel)'' by George Lowther. Elliot S! Maggin also wrote two popular Superman novels, ''Last Son of Krypton'' and ''Miracle Monday,'' in the 1970s. Juvenile novels featuring Batman, Spider-Man, the X-Men, and the Justice League, have also been published from time to time, often marketed in association with popular TV series. George R.R. Martin’s Wild Cards novels, launched in 1987, were a non-comic book-based science fiction series that dealt with super-powered heroes. In the 1990s and 2000s, Marvel and DC released novels based on important stories from their comics, such as ''The Death of Superman'' and the year-long ''No Man's Land (comics).'' Additional examples of original superhero prose can be found in zines, including both fanfic and original content by amateur writers. ==See also== *List of female superheroes *List of Jewish superheroes *List of superhero teams and groups *List of DC Comics characters *List of Marvel Comics characters *Evil genius *Top superhero (and supervillain) hide-outs and bases *:Category: Real-life Superheroes *:Category:Nedor Comics superheroes ==External links== *[http://www.sysabend.org/champions/gnborh/ The Great Net Book of Real Heroes] *[http://www.collectionscanada.ca/superheroes Guardians of the North!] a virtual museum tour through the history of Canadian superheroes, hosted by the National Library and Archives of Canada. *[http://www.superherofiction.com A site devoted to developing superhero fiction online] *[http://www.japanhero.com/ Japan Hero - A site devoted to Japanese superheroes, both tokusatsu and anime.] Superheroes Stock characters
The list of obvious superhero predecessors failed to include Dumas' Count of Monte Cristo, the obvious inspiration for Batman and many other superheroes. ----
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Superhero
A superhero is a fictional character who is noted for feats of courage and nobility and who usually has a colorful name and costume and abilities beyond those of normal human beings. Since the definitive superhero, Superman, debuted in 1938, the stories of superheroes - ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long Norse sagas - have become an entire genre of fiction, one that has dominated American comic books and crossed over into other media. ==Common superhero traits== [[Image:superman14.jpg|thumb|right|175px|The definitive superhero, Superman. Art by Fred Ray.]] [[Image:BatmanComicIssue1,1940.gif|thumb|right|175px|Batman and his sidekick Robin (comics), illustrated by Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson]] There are a range of attributes that are commonly part of a superhero's make up, although they are by no means definitive (see Superhero#Divergent_character_examples). Most superheroes have a few of the following features: *Extraordinary powers and abilities, mastery of relevant skills, and/or advanced equipment. Although superhero powers vary, the ability to fly, superhuman strength, superhuman agility, and enhanced versions of any of the five senses are common superpowers. Many superheroes, such as Batman and The Green Hornet, possess no superpowers but have mastered skills such as martial arts and forensic sciences. Others have access to advanced equipment that imitates superpowers such as Iron Man's various suits of powered armor or Green Lantern's power ring. *A willingness to risk one's own safety in the service of good, without expectation of reward. *A special motivation, such as revenge (e.g. The Punisher), a sense of responsibility (e.g. Spider-Man), a formal calling (e.g. Green Lantern), or childhood emotional trauma (e.g. Batman). *A moral code that is more advanced and strict than that of most people and a tendency to take personal lapses to it very hard. *A secret identity *A flamboyant and distinctive costume that usually hides the secret identity. It often has a symbol, such as a stylized letter or visual icon, on the chest. Costumes often reflect the superhero's name and theme, for example Batman resembles a large bat and the design of Captain America's costume echoes that of the American flag. *An arch enemy and/or a collection of regular enemies that s/he fights repeatedly. *Is either independently wealthy (eg. Batman) or has an occupation that allows for minimal supervision so their whereabouts do not have to be strictly accounted for (e.g. Superman's civilian job as a reporter or Spider-Man's job as a photojournalist). *A secret headquarters or base *A backstory, called an "origin story," which explains the circumstances of the character acquiring his/her abilities, as well as his/her motivation for fighting evil. [[Image:Fantastic_four_by_jack_kirby.JPG|thumb|left|230px|The Fantastic Four, from left: Mr. Fantastic, The Invisible Woman, The Thing, The Human Torch. Art by Jack Kirby.]] Although most superheroes usually work independently, many also work in teams. Some, such as The Fantastic Four and X-Men, have common origins and usually operate as a group. Others, such as the Justice League and Avengers (comics), are "all-star" groups consisting of heroes of separate origins who also operate individually. Many superheroes, especially those introduced in the 1940s, work with a child or teen sidekick (e.g. Batman and Robin (comics)). This has become less common since the Silver Age of comic books, as more sophisticated writing and older audiences have lessened the need for special characters for the reader to identify with, and made such obvious child endangerment seem less plausible. Superheroes most often appear in comic books, and superhero stories are the dominant genre of American comic books to the point that "superhero" and "comic book character" are often used synonymously. Superheroes have also been featured in comic strips, radios, novel, TV series, movies, and other media. Most of the superheroes that appear in these other media are adapted from comic books, but there are exceptions. Marvel Comics and DC Comics share ownership of the United States trademark for the phrase "Super Heroes" as it applies to comics, and almost all of the world's most famous superheroes are owned by these two American companies. For example, DC owns Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, and Marvel owns Spider-Man, Captain America, and the X-Men. However, throughout comic book history, there have been significant superheroes owned by others, such as Captain Marvel (DC Comics), owned by Fawcett Comics (but later acquired by DC) and Spawn (comics) owned by creator Todd McFarlane. Superheroes are largely an American creation, but there have been successful superheroes in other countries, most of which share many of the conventions of the American model. The most notable examples include Cybersix from Argentina, Marvelman from the United Kingdom, and Japanese tokusatsu series like ''Ultraman'' and ''Kamen Rider'' as well as anime and manga series like ''Science Ninja Team Gatchaman'' and ''Sailor Moon''. Although superhero fiction is considered a subgenre of fantasy/science-fiction, it crosses into many other genres. Many superhero franchises contain aspects of crime fiction (Batman, Daredevil), others horror fiction (Spawn, Hellboy) and many are similar to "hard" science fiction (X-Men, Green Lantern). But because the fantastic nature of the superhero milieu allows almost anything to happen, some superhero series cross over into a variety of vastly different genres. For example, in the 1980s series, ''Teen Titans'', the Titans faced off against a super villain who controlled a cult in one story, then went off to another galaxy to participate in a space war in the following story, then returned to Earth and became involved in a gritty urban crime drama involving young runaways. The content of each of these stories is quite different, yet the same principle characters are involved throughout the series. ==Character subtypes== In superhero role-playing games (particularly Champions (role-playing game)), superheroes are informally organized into categories based on their skills and abilities: *"Brick": A character with a superhuman degree of strength and endurance and usually an oversized, muscular body, named after the rocky shape of Thing (comics), e.g. Hulk (comics), Colossus (comics), Beast (comics). *"Blaster": A hero whose main power is a distance attack, e.g. Cyclops (comics), Havok, Starfire. **"Archer": A subvariant of this type who uses archery-like weapons that have a variety of specialized functions like explosives, glue, nets, rotary drill, etc., e.g. Green Arrow, Hawkeye (comics). **"Mage": A subvariant of this type that is trained in the use of magic (paranormal), which partially or wholly involves ranged attacks., e.g. Doctor Strange, Doctor Fate *"Martial Artist": A hero whose physical abilities are mostly human rather than superhuman, but whose combat skills are phenomenal, e.g. Daredevil, Captain America. **"Super normal": A hero with no innate supernatural power whose abilities are due to training, determination, and natural talent alone, e.g. Batman, Robin (Batman). *"Gadgeteer": A hero who invents special equipment that often imitates superpowers and who has the technical skills to use it to his or her best advantage, e.g. Forge (comics), Nite Owl **"Armored Hero": A gadgeteer whose powers are derived from a suit of powered armor, e.g. Iron Man, Steel (comics) **"Dominus": A hero that uses a Giant Robot to combat villains, e.g. Roger Smith of Big O, Super Sentai (the Power Rangers) *"Speedster": A hero possessing superhuman speed and reflexes, e.g. The Flash, Quicksilver (comics). *"Mentalist": A hero whose main abilities are parapsychology in nature such as telekinesis, telepathy and extra-sensory perception, e.g. Professor X and Jean Grey of the X-Men, Saturn Girl of the Legion of Super-Heroes. *"Shapechanger": A hero who can manipulate his/her own body to suit his/her needs such as stretching, e.g. Mister Fantastic, Plastic Man or disguise, e.g. Changeling (comics), Ela Vista. **"Substance oriented Bodychanger - A shapechanger who can change his/her body into the equivalent of a mass of a substance that can have variable density such as sand or water. e.g. Sand (comics), Husk (comics). **"Sizechanger": A shapechanger who can alter his/her size, e.g. the Atom (comics) (shrinking only), Colossal Boy (growth only), Hank Pym (both). These categories often overlap. For instance, Batman is a martial artist and a gadgeteer, and Superman is extremely strong and damage resistant like a brick and also has ranged attacks (heat vision, superbreath) like an energy blaster and can move quickly like a speedster. ==Divergent character examples== [[Image:Wolverine-limited-series-001.jpe|thumb|right|175px|Wolverine, one of many anti-heroes tougher and grittier than the classic superhero. Art by Frank Miller]] While the typical superhero is described above, many break the mold. For example: *Wolverine (comics) of the X-Men has shown a willingness to kill and behave anti-socially. Wolverine belongs to an entire underclass of superhero anti-heroes who are grittier and more violent than classic superheroes, often putting members of the two groups at odds. Others include Rorschach (superhero), Daredevil (comics), The Punisher, Green Arrow and, in some incarnations, Batman. *Spider-Man has been portrayed as an every-man hero, often showing poor judgment and being overwhelmed by the responsibilities of both costumed crime fighting and civilian life. After Spider-Man became popular, superheroes generally became more human and troubled so whether or not this makes Spider-Man a divergent character is questionable. *Hulk (comics) is usually defined as a superhero, but he has little self-control and his actions have often either inadvertently or deliberately caused great destruction. As a result, he has been hunted by the military and by other superheroes. *Luke Cage (AKA Power Man) and his partner, Iron Fist, operated a business called Heroes for Hire which charged a fee for their services, though it was occasionally waived in certain circumstances. *Many superheroes have never had a secret identity, such as Wonder Woman (in her current version) and the members of The Fantastic Four. Others that once had a secret identity, like Steel (comics) or Captain America have later made their true identity public. *Some superheroes have been created and employed by national governments to serve their interests and defend the nation. Examples include Captain America, who was outfitted by and worked for the United States Army during World War II, and Alpha Flight, a superhero team that was created and is usually run by the Canada federal government. *Spawn (comics), The Demon (comics) and Ghost Rider are actual demons, who find themselves manipulated by circumstance to be allies for the forces of good. Hellboy, on the other hand, is a demon who is virtuous on his own accord. *Alternatively, The Mighty Thor and Hercules (comics) are gods of ancient mythology reinterpreted as superheroes. Wonder Woman, while not a goddess, is a member of the Amazons of Greek mythology. *Emma Frost, a member of the X-Men, was a supervillain for several years before she turned to the side of good. Other characters who have treaded the line between superhero and villain include Catwoman, Elektra Natchios, Rogue (comics), Venom (comics) and Juggernaut (comics). *Superheros may hide their powers from the public at large whilst not adopting a superhero identity through way of a costume, examples include the television characters Clark Kent in Smallville, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and later incarnations of Starman. In addition, some parody super heroes have been introduced. While they keep some of the stereotypical attributes of "classical" super heroes, they introduce features that make them anti-heroes. * Super Dupont is a super-hero with all the stereotypical supposed characteristics of the typical France (including a beret) * Super Liar is a caricature of French president Jacques Chirac turning into a super hero to be able to lie more effectively. ==History and evolution of the character type== ===Predecessors=== The origins of superheroes can be found in several prior forms of fiction. Many of their traits are shared with protagonists of later Victorian literature, such as The Scarlet Pimpernel, Arthur Conan Doyle detective Sherlock Holmes and H. Rider Haggard's adventurer Alan Quatermain. The penny dreadful and dime novel stories of Spring Heeled Jack, Buffalo Bill, Zorro and Tarzan also influenced superheroes. Pulp magazine crime fighters, such as Doc Savage, The Shadow and The Spider, were probably the most direct influence. By modern standards, characters like Doc Savage could well be considered superheroes in their own right, but the appearance of Superman is generally considered to be the point at which the superhero genre truly began. [[Image:Action1.JPG|thumb|right|175px|''Action Comics #1'', the first appearance of Superman. Art by Joe Shuster.]] ===The rise and fall of the Golden Age of comic books=== In 1938, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster introduced Superman in ''Action Comics'' #1. Although the character was preceded by the costumed crime fighter The Phantom, featured in comic strips, Superman is still considered the first superhero, introducing many of the conventions that have come to define the term including a secret identity, superhuman powers and a colorful costume including a symbol and cape. His name is also the source of the term "superhero." DC Comics (which published under the names National and All-American at the time) received an overwhelming response to Superman and, in the months that followed, introduced Aquaman, Hawkman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Batman, his sidekick Robin (Batman), and Wonder Woman, the first female superhero and the only significant one for quite some time. [[Image:Whiz2.JPG|thumb|left|175px|Captain Marvel, the most popular superhero of the 1940s. Art by C.C. Beck.]] Although DC dominated the superhero market at this time, hundreds of superheroes were created by companies large and small. Marvel Comics, then called Timely, found success with the Human Torch and Sub-Mariner. Cartoonist Will Eisner's The Spirit, featured in a newspaper insert, was also a hit. Quality Comics also found its own niche with its own characters, most notably with the surreal humor of Jack Cole (artist)'s Plastic Man. The era's most popular superhero, however, was Fawcett Comics' Captain Marvel (DC Comics), who even outsold Superman during the 1940s. At this time, superheroes largely conformed to the model of lead characters in American popular fiction in the first half of the 20th century. Hence, the typical superhero was a white, middle to upper class, heterosexual, professional, young-to-middle-aged man. During World War II, superheroes grew in popularity, surviving paper rationing and the loss of many of their creators to service in the armed forces. The need for simple tales of good triumphing over evil may explain the war-time popularity of superheroes. Publishers responded with stories in which superheroes battled the Axis Powers and the introduction of patriotically themed superheroes, most notably Marvel's Captain America. After the war, superheroes lost popularity. Part of the reason was that the genre at that time was highly formulaic and the reading public began to tire of it outside of the major stars like Wonder Woman, Batman, Superman, and Plastic Man. This shift led to the rise of other genres, especially horror fiction and crime fiction. The lurid nature of this material sparked a moral crusade which blamed comic books for juvenile delinquency. The movement was spearheaded by Fredric Wertham who argued, among other things, that "deviant" sexual undertones ran rampant in superhero comics. In response, the comic book industry adopted the Comics Code, which allowed for only the tamest superhero stories as originally conceived. ===The Silver Age and the beginning of ethnic and gender diversity=== In 1956, DC Comics, under the editorship of Julius Schwartz, decided to see if the superhero genre in a modernized science fiction format could be viable. So a new version of The Flash was introduced which became an immediate success. This led the company to revive Hawkman, Green Lantern, and several others - usually with a more modern, science-fiction angle - and to launch the all-star team the Justice League. [[Image:AmazingFantasy15.jpg|right|175px|thumb|''Amazing Fantasy'' #15, the first appearance of Spider-Man, one of a new breed of superhero. Art by Jack Kirby]] Empowered by the return of the superhero at DC, Marvel Comics editor/writer Stan Lee and the artists/co-writers Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, and other illustrators launched a line of superhero comic books, beginning with ''The Fantastic Four'' in 1961, which stressed personal conflict and character development as much as action and adventure. This led to many superheroes that differed greatly from the standards created in the 1940s with considerably more dramatic potential. Some examples: * Thing (comics), a member of The Fantastic Four, was a super strong, but monstrous creature with rock-like skin, whose appearance filled him with self pity. * Spider-Man was a teenager who struggled to earn money and maintain his social life in addition to his costumed exploits. * Hulk (comics) shared a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde-like relationship with his alter ego and was driven by rage. * X-Men were "mutant (fictional)" who gained their powers through genetic mutation and who were hated and feared by the society they sought to protect. By the late 1960s and early 1970s, superheroes of other racial groups began to appear in Marvel Comics, including Black Panther (comics), monarch of a fictional African nation, Luke Cage, an African-American "hero-for-hire," and Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu, an Asian martial arts hero. Comic book companies were in the early stages of cultural expansion and many of these characters played to specific stereotypes. For example, Cage often employed lingo similar to that of blaxploitation films and Asians were often portrayed as master martial artists. Strong female characters also gained prominence, beginning in a low key manner with Julius Schwartz's comics having female supporting characters who were successful professionals, although Hawkgirl was largely the only new female superhero as a confident partner for Hawkman. In the early 1960s Marvel introduced The Fantastic Four's Invisible Girl and The X-Men's Marvel Girl as well as Wasp (comics), but these characters were physically weak and were portrayed primarily as romantic interests of other team members. The 1970s saw these characters become more confident and assertive and the introduction of popular new female heroes, such as Spider-Woman and Storm (comics) of the newly revived X-Men. Initially, some characters were preachy radical feminist stereotypes like Marvel's Ms. Marvel and DC's Power Girl until writers grew more accustomed with society's changing attitudes. ===1980s "deconstruction" of the superhero and its aftereffects=== By the early 1980s, Marvel Comics had introduced several popular anti-heroes including The Punisher, Wolverine (comics) and writer/artist Frank Miller's darker version of Daredevil (comics). These characters were deeply troubled from within, tormented by experiences such as the mob-related slaughter of The Punisher's family, Wolverine's battle with mutant (fictional) animal instincts and Daredevil's rough childhood and continual exposure to slum life. The trend was taken to a new extreme in the successful 1986 mini-series ''Watchmen'' by writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons, which was published by DC, but took place outside the "DC Universe" with new characters. The superheroes of ''Watchmen'' were emotionally unsatisfied, psychologically withdrawn, and even sociopathic. Another story, ''The Dark Knight Returns'' (1985-1986) adapted the trend to a familiar character. The mini-series, written and illustrated by Frank Miller, featured a future Batman returning from retirement. The series portrayed the hero as a madman who takes out his inner rage, drawn from the childhood murder of his parents, in a violent quest to mold society to his will. Some critics believe that this trend is tied to the cynicism of the 1980s, when the idea of a person selflessly using his extraordinary abilities on a quest for good was no longer believable, but a person with a deep psychological impulse to destroy criminals was. Regardless, both series were heavily acclaimed for their artistic ambitiousness and psychological depth, and led to numerous imitations. Critic Geoff Klock associates the emergence of these anti-heroes specifically with Alan Moore and Frank Miller's examinations of a previously uniterrogated and fascistic will to order and moral certainty that informs the behaviour and actions of characters in the superhero tradition. As such, Moore and Miller's characters are as much pop philosophers as they are hero or anti-hero, and lack the 'a priori' ethical code and morally absolute motivations of their predecessors. But despite these complex literary conceits and deep psychological ambiguities, most artists following in the vein of "DKR" and "Watchmen" specifically emulated the visual style and ultra-violence of the texts without critically addressing their underlying politics and problematic behaviour. By the early 1990s, anti-heroes had become the rule rather than the exception. Wolverine (comics), The Punisher and Batman were joined by X-Force’s Cable (comics), the X-Men’s Bishop (comics), the Spider-Man adversary Venom (comics), DC Comics’ Lobo (comics) and countless others. Many critics complained these characters missed the essential artistic elements of redemption and tragedy of their inspirations, and were generic and psychologically paper-thin. ===The struggles of the 1990s=== In 1992, several former Marvel illustrators founded Image Comics, which featured creator-owned characters and became the biggest challenger ever to Marvel and DC's 30 years of co-dominance. Image introduced many popular, new heroes including Savage Dragon, Spawn (comics) and Witchblade and teams such as WildC.A.Ts, Gen 13 and The Authority. Many critics complained that the dominance of illustrators at Image made for superficial characters that, while sharing little with the long outdated 1940s model, were not overly complex or innovative and added to the glut of generic anti-heroes. In 1990s, a counter-trend to that excess occurred where notable talents like Kurt Busiek and Moore, himself, tried to reconstruct the superhero genre with titles like Busiek's ''Astro City'' and Moore's ''Tom Strong'' that combined artistic sophistication and idealism into a superheroic version of retro-futurism. While nostalgia features prominently in both works, Busiek's title expresses an unambiguous form that yearns for a golden age in which superheroes are wholly altruistic and the world basically good, whereas Moore's title extends his superhero-as-fascist metaphor to encompass the contemporary 'retro' trend. Despite this, Moore is not entirely cynical about the superhero genre, leaving his own progressive take on superhero comics to the feminism-inspired ''Promethea'' and its invocation of the non-linear and anti-masculinist tradition of Écriture féminine. [[Image:superman75.jpg|thumb|right|175px|thumb|''Superman'' #75, which marked the “death” of Superman. Such big events were common in superhero comics of the 1990s. Art by Dan Jurgens.]] To keep ahead, Marvel and DC made drastic changes to beloved characters. The hugely successful "Death of Superman" found the hero killed and resurrected, a new villain broke Batman's back leading to a replacement Batman, and a clone of Spider-Man vied with Peter Parker for the title. While these stories drummed up publicity, often in the mainstream media, fans began to complain and lose interest. By the beginning of the 2000s, a majority of classic superheroes had returned to their roots. By the 1990s, ethnic and gender diversity among superheroes was greater than ever before. Many characters in the X-Men, the most widely successful franchise of the time, were female, such as Storm (comics) and Rogue (comics), or minorities, such as the Cajun Gambit (comics) and the African-American Bishop. There were also a few prominent gay superheroes, such as Alpha Flight's Northstar (comics), Gen 13's Rainmaker and The Authority's gay couple Apollo (comics) and The Midnighter. ==The genre's dominance in American comic books== The superhero genre has dominated American comic books for half a century. Before the 1960s, there were popular comics in many genres, including funny animal comics, western fictions, romance novel, horror fiction, war stories, and crime fiction, with dozens of publishers small and large. This diversity disappeared rapidly in the 1950s, due to two factors. The first was a series of highly publicized campaigns against "unwholesome" children's comics, leading to the establishment of the highly restrictive Comics Code Authority. Although the Code severely constrained superhero comics, it completely banned the grittier genres. This wiped out many small publishers, but left the large superhero companies intact. Secondly, television drew away much of the audience for light entertainment in the late 1950s and early 1960s. By the time publishers moved away from the Comics Code and produced something other than light entertainment, television and film were far more profitable. However, comics were still able to depict outlandish action-oriented adventures such as superhero tales without expensive special effects and in a higher volume than the movie industry. ==Treatment in other media== ===Television=== ====Animated series==== With the rise of television in the 1960s, superheroes have found success in animation series geared towards children. The late-1960s saw the rise of Filmation's ''Superman-Batman Adventure Hour'', and several attempts at series based on Marvel characters, the most successful of which was Grantray-Lawrence Animation's ''Spider-Man (1960s animation),'' featuring the "does whatever a spider can" theme song. In 1970s Japan, there were anime attempts to emulate the American genre. By far the most successful was ''Kagaku ninja tai Gatchaman'' (''Science Ninja Team Gatchaman'') which produced 3 separate series. The series also established an action idiom of the five member team of specific builds and temperament which was emulated by the live action sentai genre. In 1970s and 1980s American television broadcasting, superhero animated series were constrained by the broadcasting restrictions that activist groups like Action for Children's Television successfully lobbied for. The most popular series in this period, ''Super Friends,'' an adaptation of DC's ''Justice League of America'' was designed to be as nonviolent and inoffensive as possible. ''The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show'' and ''Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends'' were similarly tame and ''Kagaku ninja tai Gatchaman'' was severely edited for violence in the translation called ''Battle of the Planets''. Starting with ''Batman: The Animated Series'', which debuted on the Fox Network in 1992, superhero animated series gained a new maturity and respect for the comic books on which they were based. This continued with Fox's ''X-Men animated series,'' and ''Spider-Man'' series as well as the original series ''Gargoyles (animated series)'', which, like ''Batman'' were geared towards older audiences but accessible to children. The widely successful ''Batman: the Animated Series'' also had a significant influence on American animation. The show featured simple graphics but lavish animation, a style that was replicated in the sequel ''Batman Beyond'', ''Static Shock'' and in Cartoon Network’s successful adaptations of DC's all-star ''Justice League (animated series)'' and ''Teen Titans.'' ====Live-Action series==== [[Image:Reevessuperman.JPG|thumb|right|200px|George Reeves as Superman (1951)]] While animated series found immediate success, live action series were often hampered by limited budgets and goofy writing. The 1950s ''The Adventures of Superman'' series starring George Reeves - an extension of the popular movie serials - featured very limited and unconvincing special effects. It was, however, hugely popular. Reeves made up for the lack of sophistication in special effects by injecting realism into the fight sequences, using his boxing skills. The live action ''Batman (1960s TV series)'' series of the late 1960s, starring Adam West and Burt Ward, was a ratings phenomenon. The psychedelically-colored series helped sell color televisions and introduced the characters to millions of viewers, but it was extremely campy and goofy and many comic book experts agree that it had a mostly negative effect on the public's perceptions of superheroes. ''Batman'' led to imitators like ''Captain Nice'' and ''Mister Terrific (television series)'' but only ''The Green Hornet'' starring Van Williams as the Hornet and a young Bruce Lee as his sidekick Kato (The Green Hornet) approached the popularity of ''Batman.'' Over in Japan, TV shows like ''Ultraman'' (1966) and ''Kamen Rider'' (1971) became the model superhero shows in Japan to this day, spawning countless sequels and imitations, few of which could match their successes. But unfortunately, because of rising standards against violence on American TV, only ''Ultraman'' (and a small handful of other shows) ever made it to the US, where they gained a niche following, compared to the wide audience in Japan and many other countries like Hawaii, Brazil, France, Italy and China (see tokusatsu). By the late 1970s, superhero-ish series, such as ''The Six Million Dollar Man'' and its spin-off, ''The Bionic Woman,'' found limited success. This led to series which were explicitly superhero shows such as ''Wonder Woman'' starring Lynda Carter, which, like the previous decades’ ''Batman'' was a huge hit and continues to be a cult classic, despite an overhanging campiness. Children's programming frequently featured superhero characters, such as ''Shazam! (television)'', ''Shazam! (television)'', ''Electra Woman and Dyna Girl'' and ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers'' (based on the Japanese Super Sentai series). [[Image:Ferrigno_as_Hulk.jpg|thumb|240px|right|Lou Ferrigno in the 1978 episode of ''The Incredible Hulk'', "Married"]] ''The Incredible Hulk (TV Series)'' series of the late 1970s, starring Bill Bixby as David Banner and Lou Ferrigno as the Hulk, took a more thoughtful and dramatic approach. The show focused on Banner’s nomadic lifestyle and the curse that being the Hulk had placed upon him. The series was a ratings success and has proven to be the most durable of this period. The 1980s saw the launch of various live-action superhero series that did not have their origins in comic book lore, but only ''The Greatest American Hero'', a series with a humorous yet respectful tone about a superhero who could barely control his powers, lasted for more than a few episodes. In 1993, the ABC Network had a success with ''Lois and Clark,'' which reformatted the Superman mythos as a romantic drama. This led to several non-traditional approaches to superheroes in live action television shows, such as ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'', featuring a dyed-in-the-wool idealist superhero who exists within a consciously humorous take on the horror film genre. 1993 also brought Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, a TV show about five teenagers that were chosen to become superheroes. Based on the popular Super Sentai Series in Japan, ''Power Rangers'', like Battle of the Planets, differed dramatically from its original Japanese counterparts (which were far more violent and had more challenging and complex stories). ''Smallville'' has proven very successful in reinterpreting the characters of Clark Kent and Lex Luthor in their younger years, with a greater focus on their personalities, in a narrative format more familiar to the mainstream television audience. Other recent TV superhero or superhero-ish series enjoying varying degrees of success include: ''Angel (TV series)'', ''Alias (television)'', ''Roswell'', ''Dark Angel (TV series)'', and ''Mutant X''. ===Film=== Almost immediately after superheroes rose to prominence in comic books, they were adapted into Saturday movie serials aimed at children, starting with 1941's ''The Adventures of Captain Marvel.'' Serials featuring The Phantom, Batman, Superman and Captain America followed. These films were successful despite their limited budgets, silly plotlines, dialogue, and primitive special effects. In late 1941, Superman became the first superhero to be depicted in animation, The ''Superman (1940s cartoons)'' series of groundbreaking theatrical cartoons was produced by Fleischer Studios/Famous Studios from 1941 to 1943, and featured the famous "It's a bird, it's a plane" introduction. In addition, the Superman-inspired ''Mighty Mouse'' was the flagship series of the Terrytoons company. In the coming decades, the decline of Saturday serials and turmoil in the comic book industry put an end to superhero motion pictures, an exception being 1966's ''Batman (1966 movie),'' an outgrowth of the television series. 1978's ''Superman (movie),'' directed by Richard Donner, is considered the first, and often the best, modern superhero film. Almost a biopic of the character instead of an action movie, the film won praise for its state-of-the-art special effects, Christopher Reeve's sincere performance as Superman, and John Williams (composer)'s majestic film score. ''Superman'' was an extraordinary success but its three sequels, produced throughout the 1980s, became increasingly silly and less lucrative. Nonetheless, the first two films' production values and respect for the source material influenced most later superhero films. The 1989 film ''Batman (1989 movie),'' directed by Tim Burton, was the first attempt to create a superhero film with the darker mood of recent comic books. Fantastic set designs and acclaimed performances from Michael Keaton as Batman and Jack Nicholson as Joker (comics) made the film a model for many later superhero movies. The Batman series continued throughout the 1990s, grossing millions and drawing several star actors, until the fourth film ''Batman and Robin'' (1997) became a huge critical and commercial failure. This film, along with unsuccessful movies based on DC's ''Steel (comics)'', and Todd McFarlane's ''Spawn (comics),'' made movie studios nervous about superhero movies. [[Image:Spdrmnmovie.jpg|thumb|260px|right|Tobey Maguire in 2002's ''Spider-Man'']] Nonetheless, several movies based on Marvel characters began production in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The company had a minor success with 1998's ''Blade (movie),'' but 2000's blockbuster ''X-Men (film)'' opened the door once again to highly successful superhero movies and 2002's ''Spider-Man (movie)'' broke the record for money grossed in a film's opening five days. Sequels, such as 2003's ''X2: X-Men United'' and 2004's ''Spider-Man 2'' have also been highly successful. The X-Men and Spider-Man films led to a widespread revival, which included 2003's ''Daredevil (movie)'', ''Incredible Hulk'', and ''League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'', and 2004's ''Punisher'' and ''Hellboy,'' all of which met with varying degrees of critical and commercial success. There were also productions that created original superheroes for their own dramatic purposes. For instance, ''Unbreakable'' by M. Night Shyamalan is a dark tale about a man who learns from a mysterious comic book dealer that he is destined to be a superhero complete with superhuman strength, stamina and clairvoyance. Pixar's digitally-animated ''The Incredibles'' combined a more comedic, but affectionate, approach with commentary on the superhero genre and its long history. As of 2005, anticipated superhero films include ''Batman Begins'', a new ''Batman'' movie unrelated to any of the previous ones, a new Superman film by ''X-Men'' director Bryan Singer, and a handful of additional Marvel-based films, including Fantastic Four (2005 movie). ===Prose=== Popular superheroes have occasionally been adapted into prose fiction, starting with the 1942 novel ''Superman (novel)'' by George Lowther. Elliot S! Maggin also wrote two popular Superman novels, ''Last Son of Krypton'' and ''Miracle Monday,'' in the 1970s. Juvenile novels featuring Batman, Spider-Man, the X-Men, and the Justice League, have also been published from time to time, often marketed in association with popular TV series. George R.R. Martin’s Wild Cards novels, launched in 1987, were a non-comic book-based science fiction series that dealt with super-powered heroes. In the 1990s and 2000s, Marvel and DC released novels based on important stories from their comics, such as ''The Death of Superman'' and the year-long ''No Man's Land (comics).'' Additional examples of original superhero prose can be found in zines, including both fanfic and original content by amateur writers. ==See also== *List of female superheroes *List of Jewish superheroes *List of superhero teams and groups *List of DC Comics characters *List of Marvel Comics characters *Evil genius *Top superhero (and supervillain) hide-outs and bases *:Category: Real-life Superheroes *:Category:Nedor Comics superheroes ==External links== *[http://www.sysabend.org/champions/gnborh/ The Great Net Book of Real Heroes] *[http://www.collectionscanada.ca/superheroes Guardians of the North!] a virtual museum tour through the history of Canadian superheroes, hosted by the National Library and Archives of Canada. *[http://www.superherofiction.com A site devoted to developing superhero fiction online] *[http://www.japanhero.com/ Japan Hero - A site devoted to Japanese superheroes, both tokusatsu and anime.] Superheroes Stock characters
Superhero
The list of obvious superhero predecessors failed to include Dumas' Count of Monte Cristo, the obvious inspiration for Batman and many other superheroes. ----
The word "superhero" itself is a trademark held jointly by DC Comics and Marvel Comics.This is common wisdom, but I'm not sure if it's correct. The US Patent and Trademark Office doesn't appear to recognize it. [http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=toc&state=9tem0p.1.1&BackReference=&p_plural=yes&p_s_PARA1=&p_tagrepl%7E%3A=PARA1%24LD&expr=PARA1+AND+PARA2&p_s_PARA2=superhero&p_tagrepl%7E%3A=PARA2%24COMB&p_op_ALL=ADJ&a_default=search&a_search=Submit+Query Search for Superhero]. (If the previous link doesn't work, try starting a [http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=searchss&state=9tem0p.1.1 a nwe search here] Searching the [http://www.marvel.com/ Marvel] ([http://www.google.com/search?q=site:marvel.com+superhero+trademark example Google search]) and [http://www.dccomics.com DC Comics] ([http://www.google.com/search?q=site:dccomics.com+trademark+superhero example Google search]) web sites doesn't turn up any such claims. [http://www.dccomics.com/about/copyrights.html DC Comics copyright and trademark page] doesn't have anything about the superhero trademark. In the absence of actual evidence, I've removed the sentence. If there is evidence it should be provided and the sentence updated to clairify in which countries the trademark is valid. Listing registration numbers would be useful as well. - User:Alan De Smet 2004-01-29 :From http://www.uspto.gov/main/trademarks.htm :Word Mark SUPER HEROES :Goods and Services IC 016. US 002 005 022 023 029 037 038 050. G & S: PUBLICATIONS, PARTICULARLY COMIC BOOKS AND MAGAZINES AND STORIES IN ILLUSTRATED FORM [(( ; CARDBOARD STAND-UP FIGURES; PLAYING CARDS; PAPER IRON-ON TRANSFER; ERASERS; PENCIL SHARPENERS; PENCILS; GLUE FOR OFFICE AND HOME USE, SUCH AS IS SOLD AS STATIONERY SUPPLY;] NOTEBOOKS AND STAMP ALBUMS )). FIRST USE: 19661000. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19661000 :Mark Drawing Code (1) TYPED DRAWING :Serial Number 73222079 :Filing Date July 3, 1979 :Current Filing Basis 1A :Original Filing Basis 1A :Published for Opposition June 9, 1981 :Registration Number 1179067 :Registration Date November 24, 1981 :Owner (REGISTRANT) Cadence Industries Corporation a.k.a. Marvel Comics Group :and DC Comics Inc. CORPORATION DELAWARE 575 Madison Ave. New York NEW YORK :10022 (LAST LISTED OWNER) DC COMICS PARTNERSHIP BY ASSIGNMENT NEW YORK 1700 :BROADWAY NEW YORK NEW YORK 10019 : :(LAST LISTED OWNER) MARVEL CHARACTERS, INC. CORPORATION BY ASSIGNMENT DELAWARE 10474 SANTA MONICA BOULEVARD SUITE 206 LOS ANGELES CALIFORNIA 90025 :Assignment Recorded ASSIGNMENT RECORDED :Attorney of Record JONATHAN D. REICHMAN :Type of Mark TRADEMARK :Register PRINCIPAL :Affidavit Text SECT 15. SECT 8 (6-YR). SECTION 8(10-YR) 20020819. :Renewal 1ST RENEWAL 20020819 :Live/Dead Indicator LIVE :(Hope this helps...) -- User:Yekrats 20:46, 31 Mar 2004 (UTC) Two thing I am wondering, The first is... why would it still list Cadence Industries Corporation as the copyright owner? Cadence hasn't owned Marvel in over 20 years in fact I think they have been out of existence for quite a while. The second thing the USPTO lists Marvel Characters, Inc. with a Santa Monica, California address. Marvel's headquarters was originally at 387 Park Avenue South in New York, New York but they moved to 10 East 40th Street also in New York City after Isaac Perlmutter took over the company after Ron Perleman crashed and and burned it into bankruptcy. I could be wrong but I don't think Marvel has had any West Coast offices since it shut down it's animation studio Marvel Productions Ltd in the late 1990 User:Misterrick 03:03, 17 October 2004 (UTC). (Please don't confuse copyright with trademark; they're two different things.) The USPTO database is just an electronic copy of the original registrations as they were filed back in the day, with some info about the current status of the registrations tacked on. They don't track who subsequently buys the company or the trademark rights. It's like if you get a copy of your birth certificate it identifies the city where your parents lived at the time, not their current address or the city where you live now. As for why it lists a California address for "Marvel Characters Inc": that's what was on the registration paperwork. If they used to have an animation studio in California, why wouldn't they have had a licencing office near Hollywood? User:Tverbeek 14:39, 17 Oct 2004 (UTC) Sorry that was a typo on my part. I meant to say Trademark. User:Misterrick 23:30, 17 October 2004 (UTC). ---- The Seinfeld quotation is cute and mildly amusing, but completely irrelevent. Removed. - User:Alan De Smet 2004-01-29 ---- The "Other Media" section could use some reference to more successful TV comic book adaptations, such as Batman: The Animated Series, X-men: Evolution, Lois and Clark... If nobody else does, perhaps I will edit them in (or at least the animated ones) in the near future, but it's 3:37 AM right now. :P == ''Harper's'' article == There is a really good article (ostensibly a book review, but more of an essay) on this topic in the August 2004 issue of ''Harper's'', uner the title "Flying up and flying down". It would be very worth mining. This topic is way outside my field, but someone working on this article should have a look at it. -- User:Jmabel 05:08, Aug 11, 2004 (UTC) == Dune == Would a mention of Dune_(novel) be appropriate here? One of its major themes is the actions and consequences of superheroes. (Its protagonists throughout the 6-book series do meet the definition given here: they're fictional, and they have superhuman abilities.) (The Dune page links the word "superhero" to the "Hero" page, but I'm not sure that's correct.) Also, the discussion of "other media" seems to be only TV and movies. Here's a novel. (Even if you don't include Dune, could some other novel or other non-TV/movie medum be found?) :The ''Wild Cards'' series, for one. Several video games, most recently ''City of Heroes''. -User:Gtrmp 01:28, Sep 3, 2004 (UTC) == Is Spider-Man a divergent example or the norm? == I question whether it is appropriate for Spider-Man to be considered of a superhero diverging from the norm. What I mean is that that character has likely become one of the most influential models for superhero characters since his creation. Since his creation there have been numerable superheroes with troubled psyches, personal and personal lives. In short, far from diverging from the norm of this kind of character, he seems part of it. User:Kchishol1970 :I think the section about examples of divergent character works well as a clarify-er for the list of common characteristics, which, if taken as a whole, describes the "classic" superhero formula of the 1940s. Because Spider-Man is a clear deviation from that mold, I think it fits that he is listed under divergent character examples. If we ditch him simply because he his type has become quite common, then we should probably ditch Wolverine and the anti-hero blurb as well. :Maybe a sentence pointing out that Spider-Man/everyman-superhero mold has become common and a few examples is needed. In fact, I would be in favor of rewriting the entire Spider-Man blurb as "makes mistakes on a regular basis" seems too vague. :However, if you feel strongly about ditching Spider-Man in this section, I could accept it. :User:Rorschach567 - 9.12 ::How about we create a new section? In addition to a character types on the basis of their abilities, we could have an additional section on personality types. ::What do you think? If you like the idea, any ideas of how to elaborate on it? ::User:Kchishol1970 :::Hmmm… not necessarily a bad idea. I could see a few problems however: :::1) There are some personality characteristics covered under the list of common characteristics (moral code, willingness to risk life without reward) that seem basic to the classic superhero character and a section on personality subtypes could confuse that. :::2) While some personality traits are basic to the classic superhero or basic to larger subtypes like the anti-hero, it seems like, for personality subtypes, there could be as many as there are superheroes. I couldn’t see a definitive list of personality types as I could a list of ability types. Anti-heroes like Wolverine and Green Arrow are somewhat easy to pick out as are “bad girl” types like Witchblade and Psylocke but most other categories, such as everyman superheroes like Spider-Man or The Thing or scientists like Iron Man and Bruce Banner or boy scouts like Superman and Captain America that would seem too subjective, overlapping in the case of too many superheroes and might describe a character under some writers and not others. :::3) This article already is pretty long. :::If you would like to attempt a section like that, give me some more details on just what subtypes you would include and how you would deem who goes where and I’ll give you some more feedback. :::User:Rorschach567 ::::Branching those two sections out into a separate article on superhero archetypes would actually be quite helpful. It would be nice to have the current archetype section revised so that it wasn't quite so directly based on the ''Champions'' "character classes". -User:Gtrmp 00:42, Sep 18, 2004 (UTC) :::::I actually like the Champions motif. It lets people know that we are not just making these up as we go along. :::::- User:Rorschach567 ::::::Yes, but those particular selections and names are only directly relevant to ''Champions''. Giving the Champs themes such an exclusively prominent position in the article is pretty arbitrary. -User:Gtrmp 06:04, Jan 15, 2005 (UTC) ---- What a superb entry. This is what Wikipedia's all about. --User:Smallbone10 23:01, 17 Sep 2004 (UTC) ==Changes by User:Rorschach567== I already fixed this, but it bears stating: the trademark owned by DC and Marvel is "Super Heroes" (not "Super Hero"), as documented earlier on this very page. Please don't "correct" information like this without researching it first. I disagree with the changes to the section about the renaissance of superhero movies a few years ago, making it all about Marvel. ''Unbreakable'' was very much a superhero movie, and did at least as much as ''Blade'' to cleanse the audience's palate of the gooey badness of ''Batman & Robin'', and pave the way for the success of ''X-Men''. Granted, it wasn't marketed as a superhero movie (more of a suspense thriller), but neither was ''Blade'' (a monster/action movie). Likewise, ''Wild Cards'' is an important non-Marvel/DC example of prose superhero fiction, which should be mentioned. And DC didn't merely "attempt" to novelise the death of Superman and "No Man's Land"; they actually did it [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/055309582X] [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0671038281]. What were you thinking with that edit? User:Tverbeek 20:13, 5 Dec 2004 (UTC) :Forgive the superheroes to superhero change and the "attempted" verb. It’s a long article and it took a lot of editing so it’s not surprising to me that every bit did not come out perfect. As far as Unbreakable and Wild Cards :* Unbreakable was neither a superhero movie nor a terribly successful nor a movie to which I can see a direct link to X-Men, Spider-Man, Hulk ect. In a larger article about superhero-related films, I can see why it would have a place, but in an article simply about the concept of superheroes (especially one as large and unwieldy as this), I don’t think it deserves mention. As a horror movie, Blade could also be cut but it fits more both because it was the first of the new wave of Marvel movies and because Blade could conceivably be considered a superhero. :* Because prose fiction makes up much a small part of the superhero genre, I thought it best to keep this section as small as possible (again keeping the size of the article in mind). :Wikipedia is a shared medium and if you feel strongly about either Unbreakable or Wild Cards, I certainly won’t make a fuss about seeing them added back in. Just keep in mind the size of the article. :- Rorschach ::I'm at a complete loss to understand why you'd assert (without any justification) that ''Unbreakable'' is not a superhero movie. The protagonist matches the definition and typical characteristics in this article, point by point. (All he arguably lacks is a flamboyant costume.) And it's not as if the match were coincidental; the movie was a deliberate reconstruction of the superhero archetype... not just about a superhero, but also about ''superheroes''. What could be a more appropriate example to mention? Although it wasn't a blockbuster, it got good reviews, established the writer/director as more than a one-hit wonder, and was a step up commercially from ''Steel'' or ''Spawn''. The fact that it doesn't have a direct link to the Marvel hits was precisely my point: the Marvel-centric thesis around which you rewrote that paragraph is incorrect. ::I understand your concern about the unwieldy size of the article, but I think an article that's trying (as you say) to cover the concept of superheroes - not just the half dozen most popular ones, each of whom has a huge article of their own - should cite ''other'' examples wherever possible. ::User:Tverbeek 00:25, 6 Dec 2004 (UTC) :::I would say that for lack of a colorfully named and dressed protagonist who battles crime (in any traditional sense of the word), Unbreakable is not a superhero movie, although it is one that certainly has much to do with the concept of superheroes. ::::So I guess carrying a concealed weapon, murder, rape, kidnapping, and causing the deaths of hundreds of innocent people aren't considered "crimes"? Or that going out at night to find a crime in progress to stop (with the clear implication that he's going to keep doing that) isn't "battling"? Or he's not "traditional" enough? Whatever... rationalise it however you want. He doesn't fit ''your'' definition, but he fits the article's (even better than many other examples you left in). So it's a superhero movie. :::But, more importantly, because it did not, to the best of my knowledge, influence studios' decision to go forth with the stream of superhero movies that followed it and did not influence those films artistically, it is not important to the trend the paragraphs in question describe. :::While I admire the idea of describing someone other than Batman, Superman, Spider-Man ect. whenever possible, I just don't think someone needs to know about Unbreakable to understand the remergence of superhero films in the early 2000s. ::::Perhaps not, but it's an interesting example of superheroes' "treatment in other media" (the actual topic of that section), and it makes most sense to put it in its chronological position and write the article to accommodate it, rather than throw it out because it doesn't fit the argument you want to make there. User:Tverbeek 12:59, 6 Dec 2004 (UTC) :::::Well it's not really an argument. This movie, in fact, didn't have much to do with the others that followed it, had little influence on the genre of superhero films or subsequent cinema in general, and is not often lumped together with superhero films. An author would be inserting a POV or making an "argument" by including an unimportant movie simply because he finds it "interesting," espeacially one that would require speacial attention to "accommodate" it. :::::But, as I said earlier, I really don't care that much and accept that subsequent writers/editors will change things. I've made my point and I appriciate that you were willing to hear me out. That is I want to say. Add it back if you really feel it is needed. - R ::::::I would dispute that ''Unbreakable'' was unimportant. It's a consciously metafictional approach, if nothing else. What could be more important to a "superhero" article than a movie that explores the mythology of superheroes? As for influence... ''Daredevil'', at least, appears to have been influenced by it, in my opinion. I can see the debate, though. ::::::But ''Wild Cards''? That's a very significant series. It's probably the most widely-known superhero work in book form. Excluding it in favor of mentioning zines and fanfic seems like a disservice. Is there any reason to exclude it aside from article length? User:Shimeru 23:44, Jan 14, 2005 (UTC) == Jan 13 changes == * I took out the dictionary definition of superhero because most of it was repeated in the list of common traits. * I took out the Cybersix picture because there are two many pictures in this section, which makes it cluttered if viewed with a small text size * I took out Batman in the gadgeteer category because his status as a gadgeteer is noted below * I took out Robocop from the armored hero category because, in my opinion, a hero that wears high-tech armor is different than a cyborg * I separated the note about Gargoyles into another entry in the divergent characters example to cover freakish superheroes. * I deleted the example of The Spirit because that character is not exactly a superhero. I wanted to make sure that this article contained a history of superheroes and not American comic books in general. --User:Rorschach567 22:32, 13 Jan 2005 (UTC) :Why did you delete the piece that mentioned ''Gargoyles''? User:Kchishol1970 ::At first, I didn't think the Gargoyles characters had enough in common with Spawn, The Demon, Ghost Rider and Hellboy to be added into the same entry. There is quite a difference between looking monstrous and being an actual demon as far as character content is concerned. ::I then attempted to try an entry about monstrous-looking heroes (along with Beast, Nightcrawler and The Thing) but I am also uncertain that the Gargoyles have a lot in common with those characters who are at least human or if ugly-looking superheroes are even worth an entry. To me, it seems most in the "divergent character examples" to list important characters that have key characteristics in contrast with the common traits. ::Anyway, I'm pretty uncertain about the whole thing so if you have any suggestions on where Gargoyles fits into the divergent characters, I would like to hear them ::--User:Rorschach567 04:30, 15 Jan 2005 (UTC) How is it that The Spirit, Unbreakable and Wild Cards aren't germane to the topic at hand while characters like Shang Chi and Judge Dredd ''are''? -User:Gtrmp 06:11, Jan 15, 2005 (UTC) :::There's a school of thought that superheroes - while not limited to comics - are ''defined'' by them. So characters whose origins lie ''outside of'' comics are not "superheroes" unless they conform in every detail to how superheroes are usually portrayed ''in'' comics. And in contrast, characters which originated in comics can be "superheroes" even if they diverge greatly, simply because they're in comics. Personally, I disagree; I think medium is irrelevant. User:Tverbeek 17:18, 15 Jan 2005 (UTC) ::It's not a matter of being "germane to the topic" per se. It's a matter of avoiding wordy explanations for works that exist outside the large trends and thus are not nessescary for a reader to understand what a superhero is and how the genre has evolved in various media, espeacially given that this is a 36kb article. ::Anyway, because it seems so controversial, I'll revert the article to slip in Wild Cards. ::I would call The Spirit a superhero because he is a disguised man who fights criminals, but another user who editted the article deemed him a "character whith some superhero trapings," and I would like to avoid the complex explanation, espeacially because the series is more influential to story-telling in the comics medium than the character himself is influential to subsequent superheroes. ::I'm still not convinced that Unbreakable was not a minor movie that did not influence subsequent cinema (If anyone can get me a references stating that it influenced Daredevil, I would be thankful). Plus, the movie section is heavy on films from the last 10 years. ::But if someone else badly wants to throw either back in, as I said, I don't really care that much.--User:Rorschach567 13:53, 15 Jan 2005 (UTC) == 'First superhero'? == Doc Savage, created several years before Superman, looks an awful lot like a superhero to me. Extraordinary powers and abilities - trained from infancy, his physical and mental capabilities put him on a par with Batman's, and he has his share of super-gadgets. Heroic moral code, vast fortune, big HQ in the Empire State Building *and* a Fortress of Solitude, backstory, catchy nickname ("The Man of Bronze"), and a bunch of high-powered sidekicks to help him "right wrongs and punish evildoers". The word wasn't around in 1933, but if a character like Doc Savage appeared today we wouldn't hesitate to call him a superhero. Superman is certainly the *definitive* superhero, but is it really justifiable to claim him as the first? --User:Calair 23:17, 17 Mar 2005 (UTC) Superman is a bit like Christopher Columbus. If you look carefully, you discover that maybe he wasn't ''really'' the first, but his significance is the same as if he were. After him - and because of him - others quickly followed in his wake and everything changed. Or you could liken Doc Savage to John the Baptist: just a man preparing the way for the superman. ;) But to avoid dispute over the question, your suggestion of instead calling him the "definitive" superhero is a good one. User:Tverbeek 12:49, 18 Mar 2005 (UTC)
See other meanings of words starting from letter:
S
SB | SC | SD | SE | SF | SG | SH | SI | SJ | SK | SL | SM | SN | SO | SP | SR | SS | ST | SU | SW | SX | SY | SZ |Words begining with Superhero:
Superhero
Superhero
Superherobox
Superherobox
Superheroboxleft
Superheroes
Superheroes
Superheroes
Superheroes_by_publisher
Superheroes_by_team
Superheroinat
Superheroine
Superhero_(Stephen_Lynch)
Superhero_and_supervillain_hideouts_and_bases
Superhero_and_supervillain_hideouts_and_bases
Superhero_computer_games
Superhero_fantasy
Superhero_films
Superhero_Intern
Superhero_League_of_Hoboken
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