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2017: #10-SUPERHEROES

Superheroes have not been around for more than 100 years, yet they are featured in films, tv series and their origins of comic books. Since 2008’s Iron Man, Marvel superhero films have collected from the box office more than $12.6 billion! Superheroes seem to have evolved from heroes like Robin Hood, the Scarlet Pimpernell, Zorro, the Lone Ranger, and the Shadow. These heroes all wore costumes and broke the law for higher ideals, and none of them were more than human. Tarzan is a hero but is not a superhero, especially since his costume is just a furry, ratty pair of underwear that does not exactly hide his secret identity. The Phantom is the first superhero to be depicted wearing a costume; he wore a black mask, purple body suit, and appeared in a 1936 comic strip as well as a 2006 film with Billy Zane and Patrick McGoohan (see 2017: #4-SPIES).

Superheroes are crime fighters and protectors of humanity. There are multitudes of characters who qualify as superheroes, and it would sure help to classify them. Superheroes are often divided into which comic book publisher they originated from. D.C. was founded in 1934 and is named after their Detective Comics which Batman started out in. Marvel popped up in 1938, and office assistant Stanley Lieber became Stan Lee and perhaps Marvel’s greatest force. Stan Lee is now 94 years old and is the company’s Emeritus Chairman. D.C. has created some great superheroes and films, but Marvel is clearly winning the superhero game. But we need to go beyond comic book publishers to properly classify superheroes.

One classification of superhero is for highly talented people, often with special training, but without any special powers. The most common special training is for the ninja fighting style. Batman fits into this category as does the Green Arrow. There are teams of ninja superheroes such as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the Science Ninja Team Gatchaman. Handicapped people can be superheroes too, such as Daredevil who is a highly trained, ninja-like, blind man. If a superhero does not have special training, then sometimes they have a commanding personality like Flash Gordon. Superheroes who are distinguished by special training often have useful devices or weapons, like Batman’s batarang boomerang or his utility belt. Judge Dredd is a futuristic police officer superhero in a post apocalyptic world, but he does not have ninja training. Instead, he has the Lawgiver, a futuristic gun that shoots bullets with multiple harmful effects. Some superheroes’ useful devices are precisely what makes them a superhero, such as the Green Lantern who has all of his powers, including flying in outer space, because of his ring.

A second category of superheroes is for normal people who gained special powers. The special powers are usually gained from an accident, but they can be gained other ways. The Blue Beetle originally gained his powers by taking a super special vitamin. Spider-Man fits into this category as does the Flash. Luke Cage and Jessica Jones both gained their abilities by mad scientists’ experimentation and accidents (see 2018: #5-MAD SCIENTISTS). Wolverine from the X-Men is a popular film character who gained his abilities from experimentation intentionally designed to give him superpowers. Doctor Strange gained his magical abilities by years of training (see 2016: #2-WIZARDS). One of my favorite childhood comic superheroes was Metamorpho who had a lab accident and developed the ability to turn his body or parts of his body into anything. He constantly changed his shape based on the needs of the situation and his creativity, turning his arm into a sword, or turning his body into a doorknob with his face spying on the criminals.

A third type of superhero is distinguished by having natural special powers that they were born with. This classification of superhero tends to either be aliens or divine. Superman has his super powers because he is an alien from the planet Krypton. Thor has his strength from being a Norse god. Wonder Woman has her super powers because she was created by the gods. The Sub-Mariner has his underwater abilities because he is half-human and half-Atlantean. The fact that some superheroes are born or created from gods really sheds light as to what superheroes symbolize: they are the new gods.

Another classification of superheroes exists: those with dark powers. These are superheroes who border on being monsters or really are monsters. Man-Thing and Swamp Thing are both half-plant swamp monsters. The Hulk is a very well known monster-like superhero known for his super strength and jumping for miles across the countryside (see 2013: #3-STRANGE COMIC BOOK MONSTERS). In the 1970’s there was a cornucopia of comics featuring monster superheroes. Werewolf by Night was about a werewolf superhero. Blade is a half-vampire superhero who started out in the Doctor Strange comics. The Tomb of Dracula featured Dracula as more of a supervillain than a superhero (see 2018: #12-SUPERVILLAINS). Morbius the Living Vampire was about a vampire who wore a superhero outfit. Ghostrider sold his soul to the Devil and became a flaming skeleton biker when he is after the bad guys. The Spectre was an undead ghost-like superhero who had quite surreal abilities. Superheroes with this dark edge are some of the sharpest!

There are some superheroes who are primarily comedy characters. Plastic Man was the first superhero who stretched some comedy into his comic. The Tick is a funny 1980 tv series, and the new 2017 series is equally as entertaining. The Toxic Avenger films by Troma Pictures are about a bullied boy who becomes similar to Swamp Thing. Troma also presented us with the comedy superhero film, Sgt. Kabukiman, N.Y.P.D. Frisky Dingo was a very funny animated superhero series ten years ago and was the precursor to Archer. Ant Man appears in Marvel films as partially a comedic character. The soon-to-be released Thor: Ragnarok supposed to include much comedy and may be a great film. Deadpool is a comedic, violent, and adult superhero who is known for breaking the third wall and addressing the audience. There’s even the fat-headed Powerpuff Girls cartoon and animated film.

There are quite a few superhero teams. Besides the Justice League and the Justice Society of America, there are the very popular Avengers. The Fantastic Four and the X-Men exist within the same universe. The Watchmen are more recently on the scene. The Defenders now have their own tv series on Netflix. The Suicide Squad are villains turned superheroes. The Guardians of the Galaxy are space traveling superheroes including a plant-man, Groot. The Guardians of the Galaxy are also distinguished to have an animal superhero: Rocket Raccoon. Other animal superheroes include the peculiar Howard the Duck, the pill-popping Underdog, Atom Ant, Mighty Mouse, Danger Mouse, and Secret Squirrel. There is even a worm superhero, Earthworm Jim from a cartoon and video game series. Anyone and anything can be a superhero!

Who are the superheroes with the best comics? Spider-Man is a fun comic and so is The Flash. Both have strange supervillains and often have science fiction based plot lines. The Amazing Spider-Man comic is usually lots of fun, mainly because of the cool villains and light tone. However, The Flash is usually an even lighter comic and more amusing and creative. The Flash is not a dark character like Batman, and he is rarely serious, unlike in the current tv series. The Flash has adventures in parallel worlds, on other planets, and even places like an ape city (see 2017: #9-THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES 5: RETURN OF THE RAT, THE CAT, AND THE MONKEY). I particularly like the monster superheroes, and I own the entire Werewolf By Night comic. Werewolf By Night’s Michael Ploog created incredible artwork for Man-Thing, and it would be wonderful if another Man-Thing film was made.

As for the best superhero films, 1989’s Batman is the best superhero film for me. It features the creepy Jack Palance, the crazy Jack Nicholson, the cool music of Prince, and it was directed by the creative Tim Burton. Christopher Nolan’s second two Batman films are excellent films, but they present a comic book with a bit too much stark realism. Heath Ledger was amazing in The Dark Knight, but the Batman Arkham Asylum video games really present Batman so much better and include Mark Hamill’s voice work as the Joker. Superman tends to be boring and more of a Pooperman, and the Spider-Man films really lost the fantasy element of the comic. The X-Men films have been fun, but the film franchise’s timeline has collapsed all over itself. The Avenger films have consistently been entertaining and good productions with large casts and good special effects.

There have been many superhero tv series. Most have been cartoons such as 1967’s Space Ghost in which a space Batman flies around the galaxy with his team including Blip the monkey who wisely wears a mask. Unfortunately there has not yet been a Space Ghost live action film made starring Bruce Campbell. One of the coolest superhero cartoons ever made was Ralph Bakshi’s 1967 psychedelic Spider-Man. There are few more entertaining superhero adventures than in “Vine” from that series in which Spider-Man battles a gargantuan plant monster and travels back in time. The best superhero live action tv series was Adam West’s Batman series; it finally was released on dvd. The guest stars and villain characterizations are excellent. There were a number of somewhat silly superhero series that aired in the 1970’s, and I watched them all: Wonder Woman, Isis (the Egyptian goddess), and Shazam! with Les Tremayne. The 1980’s spawned the live action Spider-Man, The Flash, and The Greatest American Hero. The Incredible Hulk series with Bill Bixby was the best superhero tv series in the 1980’s (see 2016: #4-THE DETAILS ARE IN THE DEVIL). Starting in 1999, Batman Beyond was an interesting animated series with a very old Bruce Wayne in the future training a new Batman in an upgraded high-tech bat suit. There currently are some very entertaining superhero series on the CW network: Arrow, The Flash, and the really good Legends of Tomorrow.

If the three most powerful superheroes were to fight it out, who would win? That is easy since it would be Flash. There are a few other superheroes like Superman who could catch up to Flash, but Flash could easily send them off into a parallel world against their will. Speeding to the analysis, it is indicative of the Twentieth Century that superheroes were required. Heroes were not enough. Since both D.C. and Marvel formed after WW1 and before WW2, perhaps world wars were the unconscious need for superheroes. Perhaps it was too many laws piling up and no one to cut through the red tape and save the day. That would mean that superheroes save us, often by breaking the law, because the law is really insufficient to protect us. Superheroes are so popular because of a rejection of the constraints of society. Welcome the new gods, superheroes!

#superhero #Halloween #true halloween tales #marvel #dc comics #judge dredd #Metamorpho #the spectre #the flash #batman #Man-Thing #incredible hulk #Spider-Man #legends of tomorrow

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