Superhero

A superhero is a fictional character who is noted for feats of courage and nobility, who usually has colorful name and costume and abilities beyond those of normal human beings.

History of superheroes in comic books

Predecessors

The origins of superheroes can be found in several prior forms of fiction. Many share traits with protagonists of later Victorian literature, such as The Scarlet Pimpernel and Sherlock Holmes. The dime novel stories of Zorro and Tarzan also influenced superheroes. Pulp magazine crime fighters, such as Doc Savage, The Shadow and The Spider and comic strip characters, such as Dick Tracy and The Phantom, were probably the most direct influences.

Related Topics:
Protagonist - Victorian literature - The Scarlet Pimpernel - Sherlock Holmes - Dime novel - Zorro - Tarzan - Pulp magazine - Doc Savage - The Shadow - The Spider - Comic strip - Dick Tracy - The Phantom

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By modern standards, characters like Doc Savage and The Phantom could be considered superheroes in their own right, but the first appearance of Superman is widely considered the point at which the superhero genre truly began. Philip Wylie's 1930 novel Gladiator has recently gained attention as an earlier example not only of the "classic" superhero type, but also of its deconstruction. http://www.scifi.com/sfw/issue372/classic.html

Related Topics:
Superman - Philip Wylie - 1930 - Novel - ''Gladiator'' - Deconstruction

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Golden Age

In 1938, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster introduced Superman, who possessed many of the characteristics that have come to define the superhero, 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."

Related Topics:
1938 - Jerry Siegel - Joe Shuster - Superman - Secret identity

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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 such superheroes as Batman and his sidekick Robin, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Aquaman, Hawkman and Green Arrow. The first team of superheroes was DC's Justice Society of America, featuring most of the aforementioned characters.

Related Topics:
DC Comics - Batman - Robin - Wonder Woman - Green Lantern - The Flash - Aquaman - Hawkman - Green Arrow - Justice Society of America

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Although DC dominated the superhero market at this time, companies large and small created hundreds of superheroes. Marvel Comics? the Human Torch and Sub-Mariner, Quality Comics? Plastic Man and Phantom Lady, and Will Eisner's The Spirit (featured in a newspaper insert) were also hits. The era's most popular superhero, however, was Fawcett Comics' Captain Marvel, who outsold Superman during the 1940s.

Related Topics:
Marvel Comics - Human Torch - Sub-Mariner - Quality Comics - Plastic Man - Phantom Lady - Will Eisner - The Spirit - Newspaper insert - Fawcett Comics - Captain Marvel - 1940s

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During World War II, superheroes grew in popularity, surviving paper rationing and the loss of many writers and illustrators to service in the armed forces. The need for simple tales of good triumphing over evil may explain the wartime 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.

Related Topics:
World War II - Axis Powers - Captain America

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After the war, superheroes lost popularity. This led to the rise of other genres, especially horror and crime. The lurid nature of these comic books sparked a moral crusade in which comics were blamed for juvenile delinquency. The movement was spearheaded by psychiatrist Fredric Wertham, who argued, among other things, that "deviant" sexual undertones ran rampant in superhero comics. http://art-bin.com/art/awertham.html

Related Topics:
Horror - Crime - Juvenile delinquency - Fredric Wertham

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In response, the comic book industry adopted the stringent Comics Code. By the mid-1950s, only Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman retained a sliver of their prior popularity, despite (or perhaps because of) an effort towards complete inoffensiveness that made their stories absurd by modern standards. This ended what historians have called the Golden Age of comic books.

Related Topics:
Comics Code - 1950s - Golden Age of comic books

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Silver Age

In the 1950s, DC Comics, under the editorship of Julius Schwartz, recreated many popular 1940s heroes, launching an era later deemed the Silver Age of comic books. The Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman and several others were revived with new origin stories. While past superheroes resembled mythological heroes in their origins and abilities, these heroes were inspired by contemporary science fiction. In 1960, DC banded its most popular heroes together in the Justice League of America, which became a sales phenomenon.

Related Topics:
1950s - DC Comics - Julius Schwartz - 1940s - Silver Age of comic books - The Flash - Green Lantern - Hawkman - Myth - Science fiction - 1960 - Justice League of America

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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 launched a new line of superhero comic books, beginning with The Fantastic Four in 1961. These comics continued DC?s emphasis on science fiction concepts (radiation was a common source of superpowers) but placed greater emphasis on personal conflict and character development. This led to many superheroes that differed greatly from their predecessors with more dramatic potential. Some examples:

Related Topics:
Marvel Comics - Stan Lee - Jack Kirby - Steve Ditko - The Fantastic Four - 1961 - Radiation

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• The Thing, 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.
• The Incredible Hulk shared a Jekyll/Hyde-like relationship with his alter ego and was driven by rage.
• The X-Men were "mutants" who gained their powers through genetic mutation and who were hated and feared by the society they sought to protect.

By the early 1970s, the return of the superhero genre, the rise of television as the top medium for light entertainment and the Comics Code Authority?s effect on grittier genres obliterated western, romance, horror, war and crime comics. In the coming decades, non-superhero comic book series would occasionally rise to popularity but superheroes and comic books would be forever intertwined in the eyes of the American public.

Related Topics:
1970s - Television - Comics Code Authority - Western - Romance - Horror - War - Crime

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Deconstruction of the superhero

In the 1970s, DC returned Batman to his roots as a dubious vigilante and Marvel introduced several popular anti-heroes, including The Punisher, Wolverine and writer/artist Frank Miller's darker version of Daredevil. These characters were deeply troubled from within. Batman, The Punisher and Daredevil were driven by the crime-related deaths of family members and were continually exposed to slum life. The X-Men?s Wolverine, on the other hand, was a mysterious character who was at odds with his own savage nature.

Related Topics:
1970s - DC - Batman - Marvel - Anti-hero - The Punisher - Wolverine - Frank Miller - Daredevil - X-Men

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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.

Related Topics:
1986 - Mini-series - Watchmen - Alan Moore - Dave Gibbons - DC Universe

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Another story, The Dark Knight Returns (1985-1986) continued Batman?s renovation. This mini-series, written and illustrated by Frank Miller, featured a future Batman returning from retirement. The series portrayed the hero as a madman on a brutal quest to mold society to his will.

Related Topics:
The Dark Knight Returns - 1985 - 1986

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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 acclaimed for their artistic ambitiousness and psychological depth and led to numerous imitations.

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In addition, cartoonists have begun creating characters mocking the clichés of the superhero genre. Gotlib's Super Dupont, for instance, is a super hero version of a caricatural Frenchman aiming at saving France from the mysterious organization "the anti-France".

Related Topics:
Cliché - Gotlib - Super Dupont

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Struggles of the 1990s

By the early 1990s, anti-heroes had become the rule rather than the exception. (This was partly the result of attempts to imitate Watchmen and the Dark Knight Rerturns, as the grimmer Batman and Watchmens Rorsasch became very popular in the wake of these releases.) The X-Men?s Bishop, X-Force?s Cable, Spider-Man adversary Venom, and Todd McFarlane's Spawn became some of the most popular and imitated new characters of the early 1990s.

Related Topics:
1990s - X-Men - Bishop - X-Force - Cable - Spider-Man - Venom

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In 1992, Marvel illustrators Jim Lee, Todd McFarlane and Rob Liefeld - all of whom helped popularize anti-heroes in the Spider-Man and X-Men franchises - left the company and founded Image Comics. Image became a haven for creator-owned characters and the biggest challenger ever to Marvel and DC's 30 years of co-dominance. Image heroes, such as Lee?s WildC.A.Ts and Gen 13, Leifeld?s Youngblood and McFarlane?s Spawn were wildly popular but were criticized as over-muscled, excessively violent and lacking in unique personality. A boom in the comic book industry lead to a glut of new titles, from companies large and small, and many followed the trend of gritty anti-heroes.

Related Topics:
1992 - Jim Lee - Todd McFarlane - Rob Liefeld - Image Comics - WildC.A.Ts - Gen 13 - Youngblood - Spawn

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To keep ahead of new competitors, Marvel and DC made drastic changes to beloved characters. The hugely successful "Death of Superman" found the hero killed and resurrected, Batman was physically crippled in the "KnightSaga" storyline, and a clone of Spider-Man vied with the original for the title. In X-Men, Magneto became less of an outright villain and more of a tragic anti hero, and the series became darker in tone with the events of the Fatal Attractions storyline. While these stories drummed up publicity, often in the mainstream media, fans complained that the essential elements of the franchises had been diluted and they ultimately lost interest.

Related Topics:
Death of Superman - KnightSaga - Clone of Spider-Man

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Throughout the 1990s, several creators deviated from the trends of violent anti-heroes and sensational, large-scale storylines. Notable talents like Kurt Busiek and Alan Moore, himself, tried to reconstruct the superhero genre with acclaimed titles like Busiek?s Astro City and Moore's Tom Strong, which combined artistic sophistication and idealism into a superheroic version of retro-futurism. Painter Alex Ross became wildly popular for his photorealistic work on mini-series, such as Marvel Comics? Marvels (written by Busiek) and DC?s Kingdom Come, which examined the classic superhero in a more literary context, as well as satirizing the anti-heroes that had grown so much in popularity. (One of the main antagonists in Kingdom Come, Magog, is an obvious Cable parody.)

Related Topics:
1990s - Kurt Busiek - Alan Moore - Astro City - Tom Strong - Retro-futurism - Alex Ross - Photorealistic - Mini-series - Marvels - Kingdom Come

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By the beginning of the 2000s, a majority of classic superheroes had returned to their roots. However, the comic book industry?s most acclaimed writers could make drastic changes and gain general fan approval, as was the case with Grant Morrison?s New X-Men series and Brian Michael Bendis?s ?Avengers Disassembled? story arc.

Related Topics:
2000s - Grant Morrison - New X-Men - Brian Michael Bendis - Avengers Disassembled

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As of 2005, a decline in the comic book industry has cut the surplus of anti-heroes, but a revival of superhero films and a rise in the sale of trade paperbacks have kept the superhero genre healthy.

Related Topics:
As of 2005 - Superhero films - Trade paperback

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Growth in diversity

Female characters

From their birth until the early 1960s, 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. An important exception was DC Comics?s Wonder Woman. Introduced in 1941, she was the first female superhero and is arguably still the most famous.

Related Topics:
1960s - 20th century - DC Comics - Wonder Woman - 1941

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In the late 1950s and early 1960s, DC debuted female versions of their most prominent male superheroes, such as Supergirl, Batgirl and Hawkgirl, as well as female supporting characters that were successful professionals, such as Superman?s love interest, Lois Lane, who starred in a spin-off series aimed at young female readers.

Related Topics:
1950s - 1960s - Supergirl - Batgirl - Hawkgirl - Supporting character - Superman - Lois Lane - Spin-off

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Meanwhile, Marvel Comics introduced The Fantastic Four's Invisible Girl and the X-Men's Marvel Girl, but these characters were physically weak and were portrayed primarily as romantic interests of their teammates. The 1970s saw these characters become more confident and assertive and the launch of several series starring female heroes, including Spider-Woman and Ms. Marvel. Initially, some characters were preachy feminist stereotypes, like Ms. Marvel and DC's Power Girl, until writers grew more accustomed with society's changing attitudes. In subsequent decades, Elektra, Catwoman, Witchblade and Spider-Girl became stars of popular series.

Related Topics:
Marvel Comics - The Fantastic Four - Invisible Girl - X-Men - Marvel Girl - 1970s - Spider-Woman - Ms. Marvel - Feminist - Power Girl - Elektra - Catwoman - Witchblade - Spider-Girl

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Non-caucasian characters

In the late 1960s, superheroes of other racial groups began to appear in Marvel Comics. In 1966, the company introduced the Black Panther, the first serious black superhero. In 1972, Luke Cage, an African-American "hero-for-hire," became the first black superhero to star in his own series and, in 1974, , a martial arts hero, became the first Asian. Comic book companies were in the early stages of cultural expansion and many of these characters played to specific stereotypes; Cage often employed lingo similar to that of blaxploitation films and Asians were often portrayed as martial artists. Subsequent minority heroes, such as DC's Cyborg, would be created with an effort to avoid the patronizing nature of the earlier characters, as the comics industry became more mature and diverse.

Related Topics:
1960s - 1966 - Black Panther - 1972 - Luke Cage - African-American - 1974 - Martial arts - Asian - Stereotype - Blaxploitation - Cyborg

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In 1993, Milestone Comics, an African-American-owned imprint of DC, introduced a line of series that included characters of many ethnic minorities, including several black headliners. Although the comics survived for only four years, they introduced Static, a character adapted into the popular Cartoon Network series Static Shock.

Related Topics:
1993 - Milestone Comics - Imprint - Static - Cartoon Network - Static Shock

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Sexual orientation minorities

In 1992, Marvel braved a fair amount of controversy by revealing that Northstar, a member of Alpha Flight, was homosexual after years of implication. Although some secondary characters in Watchmen were gay, Northstar was the first gay superhero to have a permanent presence in a continuing, mainstream series. Since then, a few other semi-prominent gay superheroes have emerged, such as Gen13's Rainmaker, The New Mutants? Karma and The Authority's gay couple Apollo and Midnighter.

Related Topics:
1992 - Northstar - Alpha Flight - Homosexual - Watchmen - Gen13 - Rainmaker - New Mutants - Karma - The Authority - Apollo - Midnighter

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Diversified team compositions

In 1975, Marvel revived the X-Men, introducing a new team with members culled from several different nations, including the German Nightcrawler, the Russian Colossus, the Canadian Wolverine and the Kenyan Storm (the first black, female superhero). The X-Men, which became comic books? most successful franchise in the coming decade, continued to have a radically diverse roster and an underlining message of tolerance and unity. Ethnic diversity would be an important part of subsequent X-Men-related groups, as well as series that attempted to mimic the X-Men?s success, such as DC?s Legion of Superheroes and Teen Titans.

Related Topics:
1975 - German - Nightcrawler - Russia - Colossus - Canadian - Wolverine - Kenya - Storm - Legion of Superheroes - Teen Titans

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