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Superhero fiction

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Superhero fiction
Captain Marvel,an iconic and influential example of the genre.
Stylistic originsEarly 20th century,
United States,Japan
Cultural originsGolden Age of Comic Books(America)
Kamishibai(Japan)
FeaturesFocus on adventures of heroic figures usually possessing superhuman powers and/or other abilities
vampire, face of little green man, feather pen (quill) and fire-breathing dragon – to the right of that are scripted words "Speculative (over) Fiction"
Speculative fiction
Alternate history
Fantasy fiction
Science fiction
Horror fiction
Miscellaneous
iconPortal

Superhero fictionis a subgenre ofspeculative fiction[1]examining theadventures,personalitiesandethicsof costumed crime fighters known assuperheroes,who often possesssuperhuman powersand battle similarly poweredcriminalsknown assupervillains.Thegenreprimarily falls betweenhard fantasyandsoft science fictionin the spectrum of scientific realism. It is most commonly associated withAmerican comic books,though it has expanded intoother mediathrough adaptations and original works.

Common plot elements[edit]

Superheroes[edit]

Main article:Superhero

Asuperherois most often theprotagonistof superhero fiction. However, some titles, such asMarvelsbyKurt BusiekandAlex Ross,use superheroes assecondary characters.A superhero (sometimes rendered super-hero or super hero) is a type of stock character possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers" and dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superheroSupermanin 1938, stories of superheroes—ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas—have dominated American comic books and crossed over into other media. The word itself dates to at least 1917. A female superhero is sometimes called asuperheroine(also rendered super-heroine or super heroine). In the United States, the term "SUPER HEROES" is a registered trademark co-owned byDC ComicsandMarvel Comics.

By most definitions, characters do not strictly require actual superhuman powers to be deemed superheroes, although terms such as costumed crime fighters or masked vigilantes are sometimes used to refer to those such asBatmanandGreen Arrowwithout such powers who share other common superhero traits. Such characters were generally referred to as "mystery men" in the so-called Golden Age of Comic Books to distinguish them from characters with super-powers. Normally, superheroes use their powers to counter day-to-day crime while also combating threats against humanity by their criminal counterparts, supervillains.

Long-running superheroes such asDC'sBatman,SupermanandWonder WomanandMarvel'sSpider-Man,Captain AmericaandIron Manhave a "rogues gallery"of such enemies. One of these supervillains might be the superhero's archenemy. Superheroes will sometimes combat other threats such as aliens, magical/fantasy entities, natural disasters, political ideologies such as Nazism or communism (and their proponents), and godlike or demonic creatures.

Supervillains[edit]

Main article:Supervillain

A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies, and science fiction in various media. They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other heroes. Whereas superheroes often wield fantastic powers, the supervillain possesses commensurate powers and abilities so that he can present a daunting challenge to the hero. Even without actual physical, mystical, superhuman or superalien powers, the supervillain often possesses a genius intellect that allows him to draft complex schemes or create fantastic devices.

Another common trait is possession of considerable resources to help further his aims. Many supervillains share some typical characteristics of real-world dictators, mobsters, and terrorists and often have aspirations of world domination or universal leadership. Superheroes and supervillains often mirror each other in their powers, abilities, or origins. In some cases, the only difference between the two is that the hero uses his extraordinary powers to help others, while the villain uses his powers for selfish, destructive or ruthless purposes.

Secret identities[edit]

Main articles:Secret identityandAlter ego

Both superheroes and supervillains often usealter egoswhile in action. While sometimes the character's real name is publicly known, alter egos are most often used to hide the character'ssecret identityfrom their enemies and the public.

With superheroes, the duality of their identities is kept a secret and closely guarded to protect those close to them from being harmed and to prevent them from being called upon constantly, even for problems not serious enough to require their attention. This can be a source of drama with the superhero being forced to devise means of getting out of sight to change without revealing their identity, or bearing the price of keeping such a secret. In addition, this narrative trope can allow fantasy characters to be in occasional realistic stories without the fantasy element of the sub-genre appearing.

With supervillains, by contrast, the duality of their identities is kept a secret and closely guarded to conceal their crimes from the general public, so that they may inflict greater harmonthe general public, and to enable them to act freely, and hence illegally, without risk of arrest by law-enforcement authorities.

Death[edit]

Main article:Comic book death

Death in superhero fiction is rarely permanent, as characters who die are often brought back to life through supernatural means or viaretcons(retroactive changes to the continuity), the alteration of previously established facts in the continuity of a fictional work. Fans have termed the practice of bringing back dead characters "comic book death".

Another common trait of superhero fiction is the killing off of a superhero's significant other by a supervillain to advance the plot. Comic book writerGail Simonehas coined the term "Women in Refrigerators"(named after an incident inGreen Lantern#54 whereKyle Rayner's girlfriendAlex DeWittis murdered by the supervillainMajor Forceand stuffed into Rayner'srefrigerator) to refer to this practice.[2][3]

Continuity[edit]

Main articles:Continuity (fiction)andCanon (fiction)

Many works of superhero fiction occur in asharedfictional universe,sometimes (as in the cases of theDCandMarvel Universes) establishing afictional continuityof thousands of works spread over many decades.

Changes to continuity are also common, ranging from small changes to established continuity, commonly calledretcons,to fullreboots,erasing all previous continuity.

It is also common for works of superhero fiction to contain established characters and setting while occurring outside of the maincanonfor those characters.

Crossovers[edit]

Main article:Fictional crossover
An early example of a superhero crossover:Captain MarvelandBulletmanjoin forces to battleCaptain Nazi.

Crossoversoften occur between characters of different works of superhero fiction. In comic books, highly publicized "events" are published featuring crossovers between many characters. In previous eras, especially in theBronze Age of Comic Books,Marvel and DC had dedicated series in which their marquee characters such asSpider-ManandSupermanwould meet various characters in single stories such asMarvel Team-UpandDC Comics Presents.However, that publishing fashion has fallen away in favor of occasionallimited seriesand guest appearances in regular series when the writers felt the character's presence was justified.

Intercompany crossovers,between characters of different continuity, are also common.

Genre flexibility[edit]

See also:Super heroine

Over the history of the comic book genre, writers for major characters' series were required to produce material to strict regular publishing schedules that often ran for years. As such to fulfill this strenuous creative requirement, superhero stories have used a wide variety of story genres such asFantasy,Science fiction,Mystery,Horror,Crime fictionetc. that put superhero characters in a vast variety and combinations of story settings and fiction tropes with their presence the major common element. As such, it has become an expected element to superhero fiction for the heroic characters to be placed in nearly any story situation, including relatively down-to-Earth drama with their personal lives out of costume.[4]

For instance,The New Teen Titanswas a mainstream superhero series which had characters that were a mix of fantasy (Raven,Wonder Girl), science fiction (Cyborg,Starfire,Changeling,Kid Flash) and crime fiction (Robin). Furthermore, their series had such a variety of stories, such as in a year-long period of 1982-3 where in rapid succession, the team would faceBrother Blood,a costumed supervillain cult leader, then promptly have aspace operastory where the team goes to another planet to oppose the imperial forces ofBlackfireand then return to Earth only to get involved in a relatively realistic urban crime story aboutrunaways.

History[edit]

Prototypes[edit]

The first PhantomSunday strip(May 28, 1939). Art by Ray Moore.

Themythologiesof many ancient civilizations feature pantheons of gods and goddesses with superhuman powers, as well asheroessuch asHanuman,Gilgamesh,Perseus,OdysseusandDavidanddemigodslikeHeracles.[5][6]Real life inspirations behind costumed superheroes can be traced back to the "masked vigilantes"of the AmericanOld Westsuch as the San Diego Vigilantes[7]and theBald Knobbers[8]who fought and killed outlaws while wearing masks.[9]The character ofSpring Heeled Jack,[10]who first emerged as anurban legendof the early 19th century, was re-conceived as a masked and costumed adventurer during the 1890s.

Thehero's journeyis a well-known archetypal story type in which the protagonist undertakes aquestto achieve both material advantage and psychological and ethical maturity, and is generally considered to function as a metaphor and guide for children transitioning to adulthood or fromegoismtoaltruismas the core concept of theself.Antecedents of the superhero archetype include suchfolkloricheroes asRobin Hood,who adventured in distinctive clothing, andKing Arthur,who possessed a supernatural weapon,[10]Penny dreadfuls,shilling shockers,dime novels,radio programs,and other popular fiction of the late 19th and early 20th centuries featured mysterious, swashbuckling heroes with distinct costumes, unusual abilities and altruistic missions. The 1903 playThe Scarlet Pimperneland its spinoffs further popularized the idea of a masked avenger and the superhero trope of a secret identity;[10]such characters as theGreen Hornetand theScarecrow of Romney Marsh,would follow. Likewise, the science-fiction heroesJohn Carter of Mars,Buck Rogers,andFlash Gordon,with their futuristic weapons and gadgets;Tarzan,with his high degree of athleticism and strength, and his ability to communicate with animals;Robert E. Howard'sConan the Barbarianand the biologically modifiedHugo Dannerof the novelGladiator,were heroes with unusual abilities who fought sometimes larger-than-life foes. The word "superhero"itself dates to at least 1917.[11]

The most direct antecedents arepulp magazinecrime fighters such as the masked and capedZorro(introduced byJohnston M. McCulleyin 1919 withThe Curse of Capistrano) with his trademark "Z", the technologically advanced "Black Sapper" (1929),[12]the preternaturally mesmericThe Shadow(1930), the "peak human"Doc Savage(1933), andThe Spider(1933), andcomic stripcharacters such asHugo Hercules(1902),Popeye(1929), thePhantom(1936)[13]andOlga Mesmer(1937).[14]The first masked crime-fighter created for comic books was writer-artistGeorge Brenner's non-superpowered detective theClock,[15][16]who debuted inCentaur Publications'Funny Pages#6 (Nov. 1936). In August 1937, in a letter column of the pulp magazineThrilling Wonder Stories,the word superhero was used to define the title character of the comic strip Zarnak by Max Plaisted.[17][18]Historians point to the first appearance ofSuperman,created byJerome "Jerry" Siegeland designed byJoseph "Joe" Shuster,inAction Comics#1 (June 1938) as the debut of the comic-book archetype of the superhero.[19]

Outside the American comics industry, superpowered, costumed superheroes, such asŌgon Bat(1931) and the Prince of Gamma(ガンマ vương tử)(early 1930s), were visualized in painted panels used bykamishibaioral storytellers in Japan. They both anticipated elements of Superman and Batman. Prince of Gamma, for example, had an extraterrestrialorigin storyand a secret identity (his alter ego was astreet urchin), much like Superman.[20][21]An earlier example from Japan isSarutobi Sasuke,a superheroninjafromchildren's novelsin the 1910s.[22][23][24]By 1914, his abilities included superhuman strength, chanting incantations, appearing and disappearing, jumping to the top of the highest trees, riding on clouds, conjuring theelements(water, fire and wind), and transforming into other people or animals.[22]

Golden Age[edit]

Main article:Golden Age of Comic Books

In 1938, writerJerry Siegeland artistJoe Shuster,who had previously worked inpulpscience fictionmagazines, introducedSuperman.(Siegel, as the writer, actuallycreatedthe central and supporting characters; Shuster, as the artist,designedthese characters, and gave Superman the first version of his now-iconic uniform.) The character possessed many of the traits that have come to define the superhero: asecret identity,superhuman powers and a colorful costume including a symbol and cape. His name is also the source of the term "superhero", although early comic book heroes were sometimes also calledmystery menormasked heroes.

DC Comics,which published under the names National and All-American at the time, received an overwhelming response toSupermanand, in the years that followed, introducedBatman,Wonder Woman,The Green Lantern,The Flash,The Hawkman,Aquaman,andThe Green Arrow.The first team of superheroes was DC'sJustice Society of America,featuring most of the aforementioned characters. Although DC dominated the superhero market at this time, companies large and small created hundreds of superheroes.The Human Torch of the Golden Ageandthe Sub-Mariner,fromMarvel Comics(then calledTimely Comicsand later re-brandedAtlas Comics), andPlastic ManandPhantom LadyfromQuality Comicswere also hits.Will Eisner'sThe Spirit,featured in acomic strip,would become a considerable artistic inspiration to later comic book creators. The era's most popular superhero, however, wasFawcett Comics'sCaptain Marvel,whose exploits regularly outsold those ofSupermanduring the 1940s. When Fawcett Comics went out of business as such, DC Comics, which had been embroiled in a bitter copyright dispute with Fawcett Comics over Captain Marvel, bought out the copyright to not only the character but also his ancillary "Marvel Family" of heroes and villains.

DuringWorld 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 theAxis Powersand the patriotically themed superheroes, most notably Marvel'sCaptain Americaas well as DC'sWonder Woman.

Like other pop-culture figures of the time, Superheroes were used to promote domestic propaganda during wartime, ranging from the purchasing ofwar bonds[citation needed]

Following superheroes's popularity during this time, those characters' appeal began to dwindle in the post-war era.[25]Comic-book publishers, casting about for new subjects and genres, found success in, particularly,crime fiction,the most prominent comic of which wasLev Gleason Publications'sCrime Does Not Pay,[26]andhorror.[citation needed]The lurid nature of these genres sparked a moral crusade in which comics were blamed forjuvenile delinquencyand theUnited States Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquencybegan. The movement was spearheaded by psychiatristFredric Wertham,who argued inSeduction of the Innocent,that "deviant" sexual undertones ran rampant insuperhero comics.[27]In 2012, his methodology was reviewed and his results were found to be misleading if not falsified.[28][29]

In response, the comic book industry adopted the stringentComics Code.By the mid-1950s, onlySuperman,BatmanandWonder Womanretained a sliver of their prior popularity, although effort towards complete inoffensiveness led to stories that many consider silly, especially by modern standards. This ended what historians have called theGolden Age of comic books.

Silver Age[edit]

Main article:Silver Age of Comic Books

In the 1950s,DC Comics,under the editorship ofJulius Schwartz,recreated many popular 1940s heroes, launching an era later deemed theSilver Age of comic books.The Flash,Green Lantern,Hawkmanand several others wererecreatedwith new origin stories. While past superheroes resembledmythologicalheroes in their origins and abilities, these heroes were inspired by contemporaryscience fiction.In 1960, DC banded its most popular heroes together in theJustice League of America,which became a sales phenomenon.

Empowered by the return of the superhero at DC,Marvel Comicseditor/writerStan Leeand the artists/co-writersJack Kirby,Steve DitkoandBill Everettlaunched a new line of superhero comic books, beginning with theFantastic Fourin 1961 and continuing withthe Incredible Hulk,Spider-Man,Iron Man,Thor,theX-Men,andDaredevil.These comics continued DC's use of science fiction concepts (radiationwas a common source of superpowers) but placed greater emphasis on personal conflict and character development. This led to many superheroes that differed from predecessors with more dramatic potential. For example, the Fantastic Four were a superhero family of sorts, who squabbled and even held some unresolved acrimony towards one another, and Spider-Man was a teenager who struggled to earn money and maintain his social life in addition to his costumed exploits.

In non-comics media[edit]

Film[edit]

Main article:Superhero film
The 1941 filmAdventures of Captain Marvel,Republic Pictures

Superhero films began as Saturdaymovie serialsaimed at children during the 1940s with the first film adaptation of a comic book superhero beingThe Adventures of Captain Marvelin 1941. The decline of these serials meant the death of superhero films until the release of 1978'sSuperman,a critical and commercial success. Severalsequelsfollowed in the 1980s. 1989'sBatmanwas also highly successful and followed by several sequels in the 1990s. Yet while both franchises were initially successful, latersequelsin both series fared poorly both artistically and financially, stunting the growth of superhero films for a time.

Hit films such as 1998'sBlade,2000'sX-MenandUnbreakable,and 2002'sSpider-Manhave led to sequel installments as well as encouraging the development of numerous superhero film franchises in the 21st century, both successful (such as 2005'sBatman Begins,a reboot of theBatman film series) and unsuccessful (such as 2004'sCatwoman). With that resurgence, the subgenre has become a major element of mainstream film production with outstanding successes like 2008'sThe Dark Knight,2012'sThe AvengersandThe Dark Knight Rises,2013'sIron Man 3,and 2015'sAvengers: Age of Ultronattracting major revenue and critical plaudits. This trend was reinforced in 2016 with the outstanding success of the critically laudedDeadpool,a film adaptation of a relatively minorMarvel Comics characterthat premiered at over $100 million in February,a time of year generally considered poor for movie audience interest.[30]It was an observation further confirmed in 2018 whenBlack Pantherwas an even grander success with a $235 million debut in the same time of year,[31]and later became the first superhero film to be nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Picture.Avengers: Endgamebecame thehighest-grossing film of all time.In 2017, the filmSign Genefeatured aboutdeafsuperheroes who usesign language.[32]

Live-action television series[edit]

Main article:List of superhero television series

Several live-action superhero programs aired from the early 1950s until the late 1970s. These includedAdventures of Superman[33]starringGeorge Reeves,the action-comedyBatman[33]series of the 1960s (often interpreted as beingcampy) starringAdam WestandBurt Ward.In the 1970s however, the genre would find a newfound credibility in the medium with the original series,The Six Million Dollar Man[34]and its spinoff,The Bionic Woman,[34]being sustained successes. This led to direct adaptations of comic-book superheroes such asABC/CBSdrama seriesWonder Woman[33]of the 1970s starringLynda Carter.The Incredible Hulk[33]of the late 1970s and early 1980s, however, had a more somber tone.Superboy[33]ran from 1988 to 1992 in syndication. In the 1990s, thePower Rangers,[33]adapted from the JapaneseSuper Sentai,became popular.[35]Other shows targeting teenage and young adult audiences that decade includedLois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.[33]In 2001,Smallville[33]retooledSuperman's origin as a teen drama. The 2006NBCseriesHeroes[33]tells the story of several ordinary people who each suddenly find themselves with a superpower. The British seriesMisfits[36]incorporates super-human abilities to undesirables in society. In this case, young offenders put on community service all have super powers and each use them to battle villains of sorts. In the 1980s, an unsuccessful attempt was made to realize this last concept in the United States with the short-lived action comedy,Misfits of Science.[37]In the 2010s,Warner Brotherscreated a successful adaptation of theGreen Arrow,Arrow,[33]that began the successfulArrowversetelevision franchise. Marvel meanwhile had a successful television spin-off of theirMarvel Cinematic UniversefranchiseAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,[33]while creating a number of series on the streaming serviceNetflix,before moving the bulk of their properties to the copyright owner's,Disney,to its own streaming service,Disney+.DC series includeShazam!,[33]The Secrets of Isis,[37]The Flash (1990 TV series),[33]Birds of Prey[37]andGotham.[33]Arrowverseseries includeThe Flash (2014 TV series),[33]Supergirl,[33]Legends of Tomorrow[33]andConstantine.[33]Marvel series includeThe Amazing Spider-Man,[33]Spidey Super Stories[38]andMutant X.[37]Netflixseries includeDaredevil,[33]Jessica Jones,[33]Luke Cage,[33]Iron Fist[33]andThe Defenders.[33] Japanesetokusatsuseries includeUltraman,[39]Spectreman[40]andKamen Rider.[41] Other series include-Buffy the Vampire Slayer,[42]Angel,[43]The Phantom[44]Captain Nice,[37]Mr. Terrific,[45]The Green Hornet,[33]Electra Woman and Dyna Girl,[37]The Greatest American Hero,[33]Dark Angel,[46]No Ordinary Family[37]andAlias.[47]

Animation[edit]

In the 1940s,Fleischer/Famous Studiosproduced a number of groundbreakingSupermancartoons, which became the first examples of superheroes inanimation.Since the 1960s, superhero cartoons have been a staple of children's television, particularly in the U.S.. However, by the early 1970s, US broadcasting restrictions on violence in children's entertainment led to series that were extremely tame, a trend exemplified by the seriesSuper Friends.Meanwhile, Japan's anime industry successfully contributed its own style of superhero series, such asScience Ninja Team Gatchaman.

In the 1980s, theSaturday morning cartoonSpider-Man and His Amazing Friendsbrought togetherSpider-Man,Iceman,andFirestar.The following decade,Batman: The Animated Series,which was aimed at somewhat older audiences, found critical success in mainstream publications.[48]This series led to the successfulDC Animated Universefranchise and other adaptations such asTeen Titans,which Marvel emulated withX-MenandSpider-Man: The Animated Series.

Comics' superhero mythos itself received a nostalgic treatment in the 2004Disney/PixarreleaseThe Incredibles,which utilizedcomputer animation.Original superheroes with basis in older trends have also been made for television, such as Disney'sGargoylesbyGreg WeismanandCartoon Network'sBen 10franchise andNickelodeon'sDanny Phantom.

Radio[edit]

Beginning 1940s, theradioserialSupermanstarredBud Collyeras the titular hero. Fellow DC Comics starsBatmanand Robin made occasional guest appearances. Other superhero radio programs starred characters including the costumed but not superpoweredBlue Beetle,and the non-costumed, superpoweredPopeye.Also appearing on radio were such characters as theGreen Hornet,theGreen Lama,Doc Savage,and theLone Ranger,aWesternhero who relied on many conventions of the superhero archetype.

Literature[edit]

Adaptations[edit]

Superheroes occasionally have been adapted intoprose fiction,starting withRandom House's 1942 novelThe Adventures of SupermanbyGeorge Lowther.In the 1970s,Elliot S! Magginwrote theSupermannovels,Last Son of Krypton(1978) andMiracle Monday,coinciding with but not adapting the movieSuperman.[49]Other early adaptations include novels starring thecomic-stripheroThe Phantom,starting with 1943'sSon of the Phantom.The character likewise returned in 1970s books, with a 15-installment series fromAvon Booksbeginning in 1972, written by Phantom creatorLee Falk,Ron Goulart,and others.

Also during the 1970s,Pocket Bookspublished 11 novels based onMarvel Comicscharacters.[49]Juvenile novels featuringMarvel ComicsandDC Comicscharacters includingBatman,Spider-Man,theX-Men,and theJustice League,have been published, often marketed in association withTV series,as haveBig Little Booksstarring theFantastic Fourand others.

In the 1990s and 2000s, Marvel and DC released novels adapting such story arcs as "The Death of Superman","Planet Hulk","Wonder Woman: Earth One","Spider-Man: Birth of Venom"andBatman's "No Man's Land".

Original[edit]

Original superhero or superhuman fiction has appeared in both novel andshort storyprint forms unrelated to adaptations from the major comic-book companies. It has also appeared in poetry.

Print magazines devoted to such stories includeA Thousand Faces: A Quarterly Journal of Superhuman Fiction,published since 2007 in print and electronic form, and online only as of 2011[50]andThis Mutant Life: Superhero Fiction,a bimonthly print publication fromAustralia,published since 2010.[51]The latter magazine was one of the few to also publish superhero poetry, ceasing to do so as of 2011. Superhero poems there included Philip L. Tite's "Brittle Lives", Mark Floyd's "Nemeses", and Jay Macleod's "All Our Children".

Novels with original superhuman stories include Robert Mayer'sSuperfolks(St. Martin's Griffin,March 9, 2005); James Maxey'sNobody Gets the Girl(Phobos Books,2003); Rob Rogers'sDevil's Cape(Wizards of the CoastDiscoveries imprint, 2008); Austin Grossman'sSoon I Will Be Invincible(Pantheon Books,2007);Lavie Tidhar'sThe Violent Century(Hodder & Stoughton, 2013), David J. Schwartz'sSuperpowers: A Novel(Three Rivers Press,2008); Matthew Cody'sPowerless(Knopf,2009); andVan Allen Plexico'sSentinelsseries of superhero novels (Swarm/Permuted Press, beginning in 2008). Collections of superhuman short stories includeWho Can Save Us Now?: Brand-New Superheroes and Their Amazing (Short) Stories,edited by Owen King and John McNally (Free Press, 2008), andMasked,edited by Lou Anders (Gallery, 2010). With the rise of e-book readers like Kindle and Nook, a host of superhero stories have been self-published, including R. R. Haywood'sExtracted(2017), R. T. Leone'sInvinciman(2017), and Mike Vago'sSelfdestructible(2018).

Video games[edit]

See also:Category:Superhero video games

While many popular superheroes have been featured in licensed video games, up until recently there have been few that have revolved around heroes created specifically for the game. This has changed due to popular franchises: TheSilver Age-inspiredFreedom Force(2002),City of Heroes(2004),Infamousseries andChampions Online(2009), amassively multiplayer online role-playing game(or MMORPG), all of which allow players to create their own superheroes and/or villains.

Internet[edit]

In the 1980s and 1990s, theInternetallowed a worldwide community offansand amateur writers to bring their own superhero creations to a global audience. The first[citation needed]original majorsharedsuperhero universe to develop on the Internet wasSuperguy,which first appeared on a UMNEWS mailing list in 1989.[citation needed]In 1992, a cascade on theUSENETnewsgrouprec.arts ics would give birth to theLegion of Net. Heroesshared universe.[citation needed]In 1994, LNH writers contributed to the creation of the newsgrouprec.arts ics.creative,which spawned a number of original superhero shared universes.[citation needed]

Magazine-style websites that publish superhero fiction includeMetahuman Press,active since 2005,[52]andFreedom Fiction Journal.[53]Superhuman fiction has also appeared in generalscience fiction/speculative fictionweb publications, such as the weeklyStrange Horizons,a publication that pays its contributors.[54]Two examples there are Paul Melko's "Doctor Mighty and the Case of Ennui" and Saladin Ahmed's "Doctor Diablo Goes Through the Motions".

Theweb serialWormbegan publication in 2011 and completed in 2013 while its sequel,Ward,began in November 2017 and completed in May 2020.

Outside the United States[edit]

There have been successful superhero works in other countries most of whom share the conventions of the American model. Examples includeCybersixfromArgentina,Captain CanuckfromCanada,and the heroes ofAK ComicsfromEgypt. Japan is the only country that nears the United States in output of superheroes.[citation needed]The earlier of these worescarveseither in addition to or as a substitute for capes and many wearhelmetsinstead ofmasks.

Japan[edit]

Further information:Kamishibai,Tokusatsu,Shōnen manga,Magical girl,andSuper robot

Japanese superheroes date back to the 1930s, when some of the earliest superpowered costumed heroes appeared in Japan'skamishibai,a form of street theater where scenes are visualized in painted panels used by oral storytellers. Popular examples of kamishibai superheroes includeŌgon Bat,who debuted in 1931, and Prince of Gamma, who debuted in the early 1930s. They anticipated several superhero fiction elements and superpowers that later appeared among American comic superheroes such as Superman (1938 debut) and Batman (1939 debut).[20][21]

The iconicmangaseriesAstro Boy(1952–1968) byOsamu Tezukais considered to be the first[55]superhero[56]of Japanese manga andanime,and considered to be one of the most influential works in the medium to date.[57]The character ofAstro Boy (Atom)himself is sometimes considered the manga equivalent to Superman,[58]due to the influence and popularity[59]of the character and the series.

Additionally,Moonlight Mask,Ultraman,Kamen Rider,Super Sentai(the basis forPower Rangers),Metal Hero SeriesandKikaiderhave become popular in Japanesetokusatsulive-action shows, andScience Ninja Team Gatchaman,Casshern,Devilman,Dragon Ball,[60][61]The Guyver,One-Punch Man,My Hero AcademiaandSailor Moonare popular series of Japanese anime and manga. Japanese manga that target female readers include varieties such as "magical girl"(e.g.Sailor MoonandCardcaptor Sakura).

Other countries[edit]

In 1947,Filipinowriter/cartoonistMars Ravelointroduced theAsiansuperheroineDarna,a young Filipina country girl who found a mystic talisman-pebble from another planet that allows her to transform into an adult warrior-woman. She appeared in her own feature-length motion picture in 1951 and has become a cultural institution in the Philippines.

British superheroes began appearing in theGolden Ageshortly after the first American heroes became popular in the UK.[62]Most original British heroes were confined toanthologycomics magazines such asLion,Valiant,Warrior,and2000 AD.Marvelman,known as Miracleman in North America, is an original British superhero (although he was based heavily onCaptain Marvel). Popular in the 1960s, British readers grew fond of him and contemporary UK comics writersAlan MooreandNeil Gaimanrevived Marvelman in series that reinvented the characters in a more serious vein, an attitude prevalent in newer British heroes, such asZenith.Judge Dreddis also a well known British comics character.

In France, where comics are known asbande dessinée(literally "drawn strip" ) and regarded as a proper art form,Éditions Lugbegan translating and publishing Marvel comic books in anthology magazines in 1969. Soon, Lug started presenting its own heroes alongside Marvel stories. Some closely modeled their U.S. counterparts (such as the trio of Harvard entomologists-Olympic athletes—Mikros, Saltarella and Crabb—of theS.H.I.E.L.D.-esque saga of C.L.A.S.H.), while others included theshape-changingalienWampus. Many were short-lived, while others rivaled their inspirations in longevity and have been the subject of reprints and revivals.

In the late 1980s,Raj Comicsintroduced the superhero genre inIndiaand in the process became one of the biggest comics publishing house in India. The Raj comics universe is home to many Indian superheroes, most notable among them beingNagraj,Super Commando DhruvaandDoga.Indian superheroes have also made their presence felt in other media including television and movies over the years. Notable among these areShaktimaan,Mr. India,Krrish,ChittiandG.One.

In 1954, Brazilian filmmaker Rubem Biáfora introduced Capitão 7 (Captain 7), the first Brazilian superhero (described as a mix ofSuperman,Captain Marveland a "dash" ofFlash Gordon), in a television series forTV Record,later the superhero was adapted intocomicsas well.[63]

OnMiddle EastKuwait-based companyTeshkeel Comicsafter translatingAmericancomics also published an originalsuperherocomic book series,The 99.The 99debuted in May 2006, and continued to be published until September 2013. Teshkeel publishedThe 99inEnglish,Arabic, andIndonesian,among other languages.[64]The 99was distributed inNorth AmericaviaDiamond Comic Distributors.[65]

Cat Clawis a superheroine co-created by a pair of Serbian comic artists and writers.

Biały Orzeł (White Eagle) is a Polish mainstream superhero created by brothers Adam and Maciej Kmiołek (andcoloredby Rex Lokus who also working for DC and Marvel). Earlier attempts of introduction superhero convention in Poland includesLeopold Tyrmand's novelZły- also known asThe Man With White Eyes,Andrzej Kondratiuk's parodistic movieHydrozagadkaaboutSuperman's-spoofAs(Ace),Bond-esque cosmic superspyTajfun(Typhoon) created by Tadeusz Raczkiewicz,[66]andcult followingundergroundpunkLikwidator(Liquidator) by Ryszard Dąbrowski, aboutanti-heroecoterroristanarchistvigilantecomparable toLoboandThe Punisher.[67]

Malaysia also created a few notable superheroes, such asKeluang Man(who is very similar toBatmanand appeared in his own animation series), andCicak-Man(who has appeared in two successful comedic superhero films).

In Australia, the print magazineThis Mutant Life: Superhero Fictionwas launched by editor Ben Langdon as a bi-monthly to publish prose and some poetry (it discontinued accepting poetry in 2011) of original superhuman fiction.

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External links[edit]

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