Iconic+Superheroes

toc =Iconic Comic Book Heroes=

A certain type of mystique or aura, if you will, has always surrounded comic book heroes. Even though they are fictional characters, we have always looked toward them as role models when we need hope and inspiration. Some of these characters have even been elevated to iconic staus. This page of the wikispace is a dedicated look at those book heroes.

=Batman= Batman or the “Dark Knight” who first appeared in 1939 is a fictional character in the DC universe. Batman was created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger after the success of Superman, which caused DC comics to put out a request for my comic book heroes from writers and artists.

Bill Finger and Bob Kane created Batman as a character who would wear a cowl instead of a full mask, a cape instead of wings, and gloves instead having bare hands. Batman was also created as a superhero who has no superhuman abilities. Instead Batman has to rely on gadgets, his brain, his physical human capabilities and his immense wealth to fight evil.

Bruce Wayne, whose alter ego is Batman, was born into Gotham city’s richest family – the Waynes. Bruce takes up the fight against evil after his parents, Dr. Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne are murdered by a mugger. Nothing is more traumatic than seeing your parents murdered, as a result, Batman is much darker than other superheroes.

Originally Batman was portrayed as a detective in a detective series and even killed his enemies. Later on he evolved into a campy character near the 60's-70's era. However, after Frank Miller's portrayal of Batman as a cranky old man in "The Dark Knight Returns", his image has become noticeably darker and approved of. Now, his image is a dark character fuled by his quest to rid the world of evil but never stooping down to their level...although coming close numerous times. Batman is an iconic superhero and perhaps the most popular one of them all. Even without superpower, Batman stands on top as one of the premiere heroes saving this world (in comics at least...).

=Superman= Superman was created by Jerry Sigel and Joel Shuster in 1932, while they were living in Cleveland, Ohio. They eventually sold the character to Detective Comics in 1938(DC), which is also the year that Superman made his debut in Action Comics #1. Since then Superman has appeared in numerous other comics, motion pictures, and TV-shows.

Originally Superman was conceived as a bald-headed villain determined to take over the world, when he first appeared in a Science Fiction “Fanzine” produced by Jerry Siegel. In 1933 the character overhauled and became the “Man of Steel” heroic version of Superman we all know today. In comparison the original Superman which only had strong mental abilities, the overhauled “Man of Steel”, had numerous superhuman physical capabilities.

Superman is the last son of the planet Krypton, who is rocketed to Earth by his scientist father Jor-El, just as Krypton is about to explode. Superman eventually crash lands on Earth in Smallville, Kansas where he is found and raised as Clark by Jonathan and Martha Kent. While in growing up in Smallville, Clark realizes his superhuman capabilities and decides to use them help others. In time, in order to protect his human identity, Clark adopts the blue shirt, red underwear, red cape and stylized “S”, we all know to be Superman’s costume today. Also to protect his identity when not fighting evil, Clark takes on a job as a journalist at the Daily Planet.

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=Spider-Man= Spider-Man aka Peter Parker, a comic book superhero was created by Stan Lee who first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15. Spiderman has since gone on to become one of the most popular and recognized superheroes in the world. In the 1960s when Spiderman was first published it was considered groundbreaking because the hero was a teenager. At the time teenagers in comics were usually sidekicks to older characters. The introduction of Spiderman changed that trend. These days Spiderman has evolved into a married professional.

According to Stan Lee’s account, Spiderman was created to meet a surge in demand from teenagers for comic books and what better way to meet that demand than to create a teenage character. Lee also notes that idea the Spider is derived from him witnessing a spider climb up a wall. However, to add a grain of salt to this, Lee claims to have told the story so many times that he does not remember what is and what is not true.

Peter Benjamin Parker is the son of Richard and Mary Parker, who are killed and leave him in the custody of his loving Uncle Ben and Aunt May who live in Forest Hill Queens, New York. Peter Parker grows up as lonely but exceptionally bright teen, who is more interested in school than any form of social interaction with others. This leads to Peter being the butt of jokes made by the more popular star athlete Flash Thompson. Ultimately, Peter is bitten by radioactive spider that gives him his tremendous power. Seeking to exploit this power to his advantage, Peter joins a wrestling syndicate to become somewhat of a minor celebrity. However, after a show where he is not paid, he allows a thief to escape justifying in his mind by him not being paid. This thief would kill his Uncle Ben in a carjacking, where he was waiting for Peter. Uncle Ben’s last words to Peter, “With great power comes great responsibility” are words that have driven Peter ever since.

X-Men


The X-Men are a team of mutants created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. The first issue was published in 1963. Mutants are considered homo superior because they possess superhuman abilities and are feared by the regular human population. The X-Men are leaded by Professor Charles Xavier (aka Professor X) to help defend humans against the evil mutants despite the society's fear of both groups. Professor X runs a school which takes in mutants to teach them to protect themselves against evil mutants, control their abilities and live in society.

The X-men consists of Cyclops, Wolverine, Jean Grey, Gambit, Beast, Rogue, Storm and Iceman as their core members. Other mutants join the team as well such as Nightcrawler and Collosus. Many different teams of X-Men have been formed throughout Marvel history, however this team was consistent on television and the movie.

Sources http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiderman http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xmen