The Superhero : An Introduction

Typically, when thinking of comic books Marvel comics and its ‘rival’ DC comics come to mind. Of course, Marvel and DC aren’t the only publishers of comic books, there are many independents but, as joint copyright owners of the word "superhero", Marvel and DC clearly dominate the market. Comics, more the strip form as opposed to the monthly magazine format, have been around before either of the above names, DC and Marvel simply popularized them from the 1930’s onwards - when we were introduced to the first superhero, Superman, and the first Mystery Man, Batman, and of course, the ever patriotic Captain America.

The word superhero, as given away in the name, is used to describe a do-gooder who possesses some kind of supernatural ability which they use to better society. Of course, the term has broadened in recent times to accommodate what were referred to as mystery men. Mystery Men was the name given to your everyday vigilante, Batman, was a pioneering Mystery Man having essentially built himself into being a hero. Of course, both have their alter-versions, as its pretty much expected that superheroes have an arch enemy. Similarly to superheroes and Mystery Men, they can possess supernatural abilities much like Red Skull (who, in Marvel’s Ultimate Universe inherited his father’s genetically engineered abilities) or they can be your everyday criminal gone wild; one of the most brilliant, and arguably the most famous supervillain who doesn’t possess any supernatural powers would be the Joker. Then we have the characters that don/t quite fit either bill, the wonderful anti-heroes such as Watchmen’s Rorschach or the Hulk, characters which can either have a strange set of morals that are almost as sinister as a villains or those who lose control and cannot help their actions despite having them held against them.

Moving away from definitions, much like everything else in society, comic book characters are subject to stereotypes. Most likely an influence of when they were created, the superhero is typically associated with males who live a life with varying levels of success. Since their origination there have been characters, Wonder Woman and Sue Storm being examples, who have broken these stereotypes, yet still, they fall under the stereotype that superheroes are attractive. Similarly, its not uncommon for supervillains to be deformed or disfigured, much like Harvey Dent, or for the bad guy to just be damn unattractive much like Whiplash. This of course, is another example of a long running stereotype present in pretty much everything from Cinderella to the Wizard of Oz. Though, the Thing from the Fantastic Four comics is one of the existing anti-stereotypes, which in away reflect the falseness of stereotypes in our society.

In terms of history, comic books are usually discussed as having what could be classed as eras. The first comic book age, the Platinum Age, is predictably the forerunner of the comic book medium and were essentially comical stories. The Superhero first appears in the Golden Age, the first being Superman in June 1938 who was shortly followed by Captain America, Batman and Wonder Woman. However, following World War II the public wants for superheroes dwindled and it wasn’t until the 1950’s with the Silver Age were they restored to their former glory. It was at this time the Fantastic Four were born. The Bronze Age soon followed which was then followed by the Modern Age. It was here that the ever popular Watchmen, The Dark Knight Returns and The Killing Joke were published. In more recent times we’ve seen Dick Grayson, the first Robin and later Nightwing, take on the title of Batman and of course, there’s been the many comic book movies which have introduced formerly less known characters such as Iron Man into a wider audience.

Of course, this is only a brief overview of superheroes in the comic book genre. Honestly, brief may not be the word that describes it, yet it acts as a brief insight into the long running popularity and the changes of the comic book medium.