Comic Book Superheroes
What makes a superhero so super? Apart from their superpowers, it is the consistency that they have shown in defeating the forces of evil and upholding justice. And they have been upholding this justice for nearly 3 generations now! The first generation read the path-breaking comics made by Marvel and DC, the next generation saw it on TV and ours is now witnessing some heart-stopping stunts performed by these superheroes on the big screen! Superheroes have their way of reinventing themselves and making the same old charade of beating the perpetrators of crime look so fascinating. This, for me, is what makes a superhero so super!
Top Comic Superheroes
Superman: Perhaps the first comic book superhero to burst on to save the world, Superman was first released in 1938. The concept of Superman was quite simple. The creators of Superman, Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster thought, what are the two qualities humans don't have and would like the most? Flying and practically infinite physical strength. And bang! Superman was born. Superman was born on Krypton as Kal-El, but was ejected off the planet by his father, moments before it was destroyed. The baby Kal-El was then found on Earth and raised as Clark Kent and the rest as they say, is history. He used his powers to fight human and extra-terrestrial criminals and uphold justice and peace. Certainly one of the greatest male superheroes!
Batman: If superman wasn't enough, Batman was born the very next year in 1939. Batman was created by Rob Kane. For the first time, the concept of a superhero with slightly darker undertones was introduced. Batman is actually the secret identity of a millionaire playboy named Bruce Wayne. Bruce endured an emotional setback during his childhood as his parents were murdered right before his eyes. This gave young Bruce Wayne an objective in life: To fight crime in his hometown, Gotham City, and do it as menacingly as he possibly could. Scarred in his youth, Batman would be very severe on the perpetrators of crime and deal with them in the most brutal way. Unlike other superheroes, Batman had no super powers. He was just a normal human being, but with a mass of wealth that funded his hi-tech equipment. He was also well-trained in martial arts and physically quite strong. Batman was recently portrayed by Christian Bale in the movie Dark Knight.
Spider-man: Spider-man was created in 1962 by Stan Lee and was published by Marvel Comics. With Spider-man, Stan Lee too experimented with a new concept. Spider-man was born in a generation where nerds and geeks were troubled, and had to deal with rejection and loneliness because they were not 'cool'. Peter Parker was one such boy whose only dream was to woo the one woman he loved, Mary Jane. But due to lack of self-assuredness, he wasn't able to. One day, he was bitten by a poisonous spider and consequently Peter acquired all the powers of a Spider, being able to create and throw webs and super-human agility and flexibility. Spider-man gained popularity as a good natured superhero with a conscience and someone who would never use his powers spitefully.
Wolverine: When I say 'wolverine', one can't help but think of Hugh Jackman. But Wolverine was born long time ago, in 1974. Wolverine was created by Lee Wein. James Howlett, or Logan, got mutated and acquired superpowers to become Wolverine. Wolverine is most commonly identified by his retractable bone claws. His other gifts included a special healing power due to which he could never be incapacitated for too long. This also enabled him to live a longer life. He is also from the Marvel Comics stable and debuted with The Incredible Hulk before joining other mutants in X-men.
Wonder Woman: There haven't been too many comic book female superheroes, but the one name that comes to our mind quite strongly while thinking about a female superhero is Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman was created in 1941 by William Marston. The legend goes that Wonder Woman belongs to the fabled tribe of female Greek warriors, the Amazon. The Amazon were a warrior tribe and hence Wonder Woman too has inherited several key qualities of Amazon such as speed, strength and stamina. Her goal was to imbibe the qualities stressed upon by the Amazon tribes such as sexual equality, peace and love into the world. Among her weapons, there is a Lasso of Truth, which when Wonder Woman throws around a villain, he is forced to speak the truth. She also has a pair of indestructible bracelets and an invisible plane. Wonder Woman is said to be a path-breaking concept, as for the first time, a woman entered a bastion that was assumed to be predominantly male!
Of course there are many more, that need a mention like the Incredible Hulk, Phantom and the Green Lantern!
