Exploring The Fascinating Origin Of Superheroes
It must be the fantasy, right along with the action and the science fiction concepts, which has created a vast love of our superheroes. The admiration stems back decades. Those superhuman abilities are admired and even coveted, although how to obtain such powers is well beyond our means at this time, unfortunately.
All superheroes originated within the mind of some creative person, wishing to help others escape from a humdrum existence - just like they did when imagining their superheroes’ feats and accomplishments.
But then how did they communicate their story? For us older folk, we have no problem remembering the comic books, read quietly in a corner on a late afternoon. We recall the old Saturday Movies with the thrill and adventure of our heroes saving the day.
But the younger crew may not have had the pleasure to crack open these colorful magazines, experiencing the adventure from the pages of a well-worn comic book. They didn’t sit back enjoying the black and white, but still exciting, action on a small screen with scratchy sound. Many times their introduction was at a comfortable theater with brilliant color, special effects and surround sound.
Where did some of our favorites have their beginnings? First we look at The Adventures of Captain Marvel. Captain Marvel came to life first as a comic book character in Fawcett Comics. In 1941 the comic was adapted into a Saturday movie serial for kids, the first superhero to have such an honor. Then other superheroes followed suit, coming to the big screen and bringing their bravery to life. In 1967, Marvel Comics developed their very own Captain Marvel.
Superman first appeared as a comic book character in June 1938 in Action Comics #1. He went on to appear in radio serials, television programs and films. A true leader for other superheroes, he paved the way to success. Eventually the television series began, the famous ‘Adventures of Superman’ starring George Reeves. Then in 1978 came the first epic superhero feature film, ‘Superman’. The sequels followed, and who would ever fail to catch each one in the theater!
We can’t forget Spider-Man, of course. First appearing in Marvel Comics in the Amazing Fantasy issue 15, he showed character to which young readers could identify. Peter Parker (a.k.a. Spider-Man) was particularly lonely and often felt inadequate and rejected, and the teen readers could understand and relate to him. From the 1990s to the present, the films of Spider-Man are blockbusters.
So, as these were born of the comic book world, there were many more: Batman, Iron Man, the Incredible Hulk, X-Men and the Fantastic Four. The list goes on. All these began with comics in book form, finally coming to life in action films that opened on the screen with huge profits. And of course, more to come.
The popularity of the superhero genre has spawned more superheroes, notable beings that have come to entertain and engage. Many of these have been born on the screen, never touching the pages of the comics. Some examples are RoboCop, the Incredibles and yes, even Hancock.
The superhero genre is so popular, such an escape from our sometimes very down-to-earth lives where strength of character and heroism are all too often absent, that the superhero is a concept that will never die out. The more the merrier! Bring them on!
The author is the Admin of www.Herobits.com, where you can read about super heroes and buy the latest toys, videos, comics, and games. This article can also be found on our Heroes Blog.