Deconstruction

Deconstruction

In the 1970s, DC Comics paired Green Arrow with Green Lantern in a team-up series. Writer Dennis O'Neil portrayed Green Arrow as an angry, street-smart populist and Green Lantern as good-natured but short-sighted authority figure. This is the first instance in which superheroes were classified into two distinct groups, the "classic" superhero and the more brazen anti-hero. In the 1970s, DC returned Batman to his roots as a dubious vigilante, and Marvel introduced several popular antiheroes, including The Punisher, Wolverine, and writer/artist Frank Miller's dark version of the longtime hero Daredevil. Batman, The Punisher, and Daredevil were driven by the crime-related deaths of family members and continual exposure to slum life, while X-Men's Wolverine was tormented by barely controllable savage instincts and Iron Man struggled with debilitating alcoholism. The trend was also seen in the 1986 miniseries Watchmen by writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons, which was published by DC but took place outside the "DC Universe" with new characters. Some of the superheroes of Watchmen were emotionally unsatisfied, psychologically withdrawn, sexually confused, and even sociopathic. Watchmen also examined perceived flaws in the superhero mythos such as the inculpability of vigilantism, and the supposed ultimate irrelevance of fighting crime in a world threatened by nuclear holocaust.

Another story, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (1985–1986), continued Batman’s renovation/reinterpretation. This miniseries, written and illustrated by Frank Miller, featured a Batman from an alternate/non-continuity future returning from retirement. The series portrayed the hero as an obsessed vigilante, necessarily at odds with official social authority figures, illustrated both by the relationship between Batman and retiring police commissioner James Gordon, and by the symbolic slugfest between the Dark Knight and Superman, now an agent/secret weapon of the U.S government.

Miller continued his treatment of the Batman character with 1987's Batman: Year One (Batman issues #404-407) and 2001's The Dark Knight Strikes Again (also known as DK2). DK2, the long-awaited follow-up to The Dark Knight Returns, contrasts the traditional superhero-crimefighter character with the politicized characters that evolved during the 1990s (perhaps epitomized by The Authority and Planetary, both written by British author Warren Ellis). In DK2, Superman's nemesis Lex Luthor is the power behind the throne, controlling a tyrannical American government, as well as Superman himself. Superman's submission to Luthor's twisted power structure, in the name of saving lives is contrasted with Batman's determined attack against corrupted institutions of government; the message perhaps that crime can occur at all levels of society, and that heroes are responsible for fighting both symptoms and causes of societal dysfunction and corruption.

Silver Age

Silver Age

Main article: Silver Age of Comic Books

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 recreated 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.

Empowered by the return of the superhero at DC, Marvel Comics editor/writer Stan Lee and the artists/co-writers Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and Bill Everett launched a new line of superhero comic books, beginning with The Fantastic Four in 1961 and continuing with the Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Thor, the X-Men, and Daredevil. These comics continued DC’s use of 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 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.

While the superhero form underwent a revival, the rise of television as the top medium for light entertainment and the effects of Comics Code Authority obliterated genres such as westerns, romance, horror, war and crime . In the coming decades, non-superhero comics series would occasionally rise to popularity, but superheroes and comic books would be forever intertwined in the eyes of the American public.

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Golden Age

Golden Age

Main article: Golden Age of Comic Books

In 1938, writer Jerry Siegel and illustrator Joe Shuster, who had previously worked in pulp science fiction magazines, introduced Superman. The character possessed many of the traits that have come to define the superhero: a secret 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 called "mystery men" or "masked heroes".

DC Comics, which published under the names National and All-American at the time, received an overwhelming response to Superman and, in the years that followed, introduced Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Hawkman, Aquaman and Green Arrow. The first team of superheroes was DC's Justice 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 and Sub-Mariner from Marvel Comics (then called Timely Comics) and Plastic Man and Phantom Lady from Quality Comics were also hits. Will Eisner's The Spirit, featured in a comic strip, would become a considerable artistic inspiration to later comic book creators. The era's most popular superhero, however, was Fawcett Comics' Captain Marvel, whose exploits regularly outsold those of Superman during the 1940s.

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 patriotically themed superheroes, most notably Marvel's Captain America as well as DC's Wonder Woman.

Like other pop-culture figures of the time, Superheroes were used to promote domestic propaganda during wartime, ranging from the purchasing of war bonds^{[citation needed]} to racist caricatures of the Japanese.^{[citation needed]}

Following superheroes' popularity during this time, those characters' appeal began to dwindle in the post-war era.^[16] Comic-book publishers, casting about for new subjects and genres, found success in, particularly crime fiction, the most prominent comic of which was Lev Gleason Publications' Crime Does Not Pay,^[17] and horror.^{[citation needed]} The lurid nature of these genres sparked a moral crusade in which comics were blamed for juvenile delinquency and the United States Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency began. The movement was spearheaded by psychiatrist Fredric Wertham, who famously argued that "deviant" sexual undertones ran rampant in superhero comics.^[18]

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, although effort towards complete inoffensiveness led to stories that many consider silly, especially by modern standards. This ended what historians have called the Golden Age of comic books.

In superhero role-playing games, such as Hero Games' Champions, Green Ronin

Types of superheroes

In superhero role-playing games, such as Hero Games' Champions, Green Ronin Publishing's Mutants and Masterminds, Cryptic Studios' MMORPG City of Heroes and Champions Online, superheroes are formally organized into categories or archetypes based on their skills and abilities. Since comic book and role-playing fandom often overlap, these labels have carried over into discussions of superheroes outside the context of games:^{[citation needed]}

Plastic Man's shapeshifting abilities have often been used for humorous effect. Plastic Man #17 (May 1949). Cover art by Jack Cole.

• Armored hero: A gadgeteer whose powers are derived from a suit of powered armor; e.g., Iron Man and Steel.
• Blaster: A hero whose main power is a distance attack, usually an "energy blast"; e.g., Cyclops, Starfire, and Static.
• Brick/tank: A character with a superhuman degree of strength and endurance and usually an oversized muscular body; e.g., The Hulk, The Thing, Colossus and Citizen Steel. Almost every superhero team has one member of this variety, a point X-Factor's Guido Carosella noted when he took the codename "Strong Guy" at a reporter's suggestion that this was his role in the team.
• Elementalist: A hero who controls some natural element or part of the natural world; e.g., Storm (weather), Magneto (magnetism), Swamp Thing (vegetation), the Human Torch (fire), Iceman (ice).
• Gadgeteer: A hero who invents special equipment that often imitates superpowers; e.g., Nite Owl, Batman, and Iron Man.
• Healer: A hero who is able to quickly recover from serious injury; e.g., Lobo, Wolverine, Deadpool. This may also be a hero whose primary ability is to heal others; e.g., Elixir.
• Mage: A hero who is trained in the use of magic; e.g., Doctor Fate, Doctor Strange, Zatanna.
• Marksman: A hero who uses projectile weapons, typically guns, bows and arrows or throwing blades; e.g., Green Arrow, Hawkeye and The Punisher.
• Martial artist: A hero whose physical abilities are mostly human rather than superhuman but whose hand-to-hand combat skills are phenomenal. Some of these characters are actually superhuman (Iron Fist, and Daredevil), while others are human beings who are extremely skilled and athletic (Batman and related characters, Elektra, and Shang Chi).
• Mecha/robot pilot: A hero who controls a giant robot, a subtype common in Japanese superhero and science fiction media; e.g., Megas XLR, Big Guy.
• Mentalist: A hero who possesses psionic abilities, such as telekinesis, telepathy and extra-sensory perception; e.g., Professor X, Jean Grey, and Raven.
• Paragon: A hero who possesses the basic powers of super-strength, flight and invulnerability. They are considered to be one of the most powerful of the superhero types: consisting of such heroes as the extraterrestrials Superman and Martian Manhunter; the magically-fuelled Captain Marvel; or the relatively unknown Hancock.
• Possessed: A hero who harbors an entity inside of him/herself; e.g., Etrigan the Demon, Ghost Rider, Spectre.
• Rider: A hero who rides either a powerful vehicle, like Ghost Rider; or rides a very unique creature, like Shining Knight.
• Shapeshifter: A hero who can manipulate his/her own body to suit his/her needs, such as stretching (Plastic Man, Mister Fantastic, Elongated Man), or disguise (Changeling/Morph, Mystique). Other such shapeshifters can transform into animals (Beast Boy) or inorganic materials (Metamorpho).
• Size changer: A hero who can alter his/her size; e.g., the Atom (shrinking only), Colossal Boy, Giganta (growth only), Hank Pym (both).
• Slasher: A hero whose main power is some form of hand-to-hand cutting weapon—either devices, such as knives or swords, (Elektra, Katana) or natural, such as claws (Wolverine).
• Speedster: A hero possessing superhuman speed and reflexes; e.g., The Flash, and Quicksilver.
• Mastermind/super genius: A hero possessing superhuman intelligence or intellect; e.g., Professor X, Forge, Brainiac 5.
• Teleporter: A hero who is able to teleport from point A to point B to point C, etc; e.g., some teleport due to their own body chemistry, Nightcrawler, others teleport via telekinetic energy Mysterio.

These categories often overlap. For instance, Batman is both a skilled martial artist and gadgeteer, and Hellboy has the strength and durability of a brick and some mystic abilities or powers, similar to a mage. Wolverine fits into both the slasher and healing categories. Very powerful characters—such as Superman, Thor, Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel, Dr. Manhattan, and the Silver Surfer—can be listed in many categories. Flying, super-strong, invulnerable heroes such as Superman and Captain Marvel are sometimes in a category all their own, known as "Paragons" or "Originals" (as they were some of the earliest heroes in comics). Another possibility is that Superman is a "Paragon" and a "Blaster" (heat vision and super-breath), Captain Marvel is a "Paragon" and a "Mage" (the Power of Shazam), and Hancock is a "Paragon" and a "Healer" (immortality).

Superheroes outside the United States

Superheroes outside the United States

Kamen Rider 1 was the hero of the original Kamen Rider series in 1971. This statue stands outside of Bandai's Tokyo headquarters.

There have been successful superheroes in other countries most of whom share the conventions of the American model. Examples include Cybersix from Argentina, Captain Canuck from Canada, and the heroes of AK Comics from Egypt. Japan is the only country that nears the US in output of superheroes.^{[citation needed]} The earlier of these wore scarves either in addition to or as a substitute for capes and many wear helmets instead of masks. Moonlight Mask, Ultraman, Kamen Rider, Super Sentai (the basis for Power Rangers), Metal Hero Series and Kikaider have become popular in Japanese tokusatsu live-action shows, and Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, Casshern, The Guyver, and Sailor Moon are staples of Japanese anime and manga. However, most Japanese superheroes are shorter-lived. While American entertainment companies update and reinvent superheroes, hoping to keep them popular for decades, Japanese companies retire and introduce superheroes more quickly, usually on an annual basis, in order to shorten merchandise lines.^{[citation needed]} In addition, Japanese manga often targets female readers, unlike U.S. comics, and has created such varieties as "magical girl" (e.g. Cardcaptor Sakura) for this audience. .

In 1947, Filipino writer/cartoonist Mars Ravelo introduced the first Asian superheroine^{[citation needed]}, Darna, 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 was the first solo superheroine in the world to get her own feature-length motion picture^{[citation needed]} in 1951 and has become a cultural institution in the Philippines.

British superheroes began appearing in the Golden Age shortly after the first American heroes became popular in the UK.^[5] Most original British heroes were confined to anthology comics magazines such as Lion, Valiant, Warrior, and 2000AD. Marvelman, known as Miracleman in North America, is probably the most well known original British superhero (although he was based heavily on Captain Marvel). Popular in the 1960s, British readers grew fond of him and contemporary UK comics writers Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman revived Marvelman in series that reinvented the characters in a more serious vein, an attitude prevalent in newer British heroes, such as Zenith.

In France, where comics are known as bande dessinée (literally "drawn strip") and regarded as a proper art form, Editions Lug began 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 the S.H.I.E.L.D.-esque saga of C.L.A.S.H.), while others included the shape-changing alien Wampus. Many were short-lived, while others rivaled their inspirations in longevity and have been the subject of reprints and revivals, such as Photonik.

In India, Raj Comics, founded in 1984, owns a number of superheroes, such as Nagraj, Doga and Super Commando Dhruva, that carry Hindu ideas of morality and incorporate Indian myths. Some of the Indian / Hindi superhero movies include Mr. India^{[citation needed]}, Shiva^{[citation needed]}, Shehenshah, Ajooba, Toofaan^{[citation needed]}, and Krrish.^{[citation needed]}

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

Malaysia also create several recognized superheroes such as Kapten Malaysia (which resembles Superman and appeared in kids magazines), Keluang Man (which resembles Batman and appeared in animation), & Cicak-Man (which had appear in his two successful comedic superhero films).