Today is National Superhero Day. 10 things you might not know about superheroes:
- You might think superheroes are a modern phenomenon, but in fact, the word dates back to 1899, and the idea of characters with supernatural powers fighting evil goes back way further than that. Think of Greek myths and characters like Hercules, or Gilgamesh in ancient Mesopotamian mythology. Then Robin Hood, wearing a Green costume and taking from the rich to give to the poor. And the Scarlet Pimpernel, a character in a 1903 play, which popularised the idea of a superhero with a secret identity.
- This didn’t stop the “Big Comic” companies, DC and Marvel, from slapping a trademark on the word and any variation of it in the 1960s, even though there’s dispute over whether "Super Hero" meets the legal standard for trademark protection in the United States. That said, at time of writing, no dispute involving the trademark "Super Hero" has ever been to trial except for a failed trademark removal action brought in 2016 against DC Comics' and Marvel Comics' United Kingdom registration. (Which is why the characters in my books are referred to as “Ultraheroes”. To be on the safe side.)
- The first superhero as we know them today was The Phantom, a kid called Kit Walker who dons a mask to become a walking ghost. He dates back to a newspaper comic strip which began in 1936.
- Female superheroes came along a bit later, in the 1940s. The first was Fantomah, an ancient Egyptian woman who could transform into a skull-faced creature with superpowers to fight evil.
- Many of today’s superhero characters were based on characters from mythology. Thor is a pretty obvious one. Other examples are The Flash, initially based on the Roman god Mercury; Aquaman and Namor are based on the Atlantis civilization as described by the Greek philosopher Plato. Wonder Woman was inspired by the Greek legend of the Amazon warriors. Others are based on real people. Iron Man was based on the US billionaire Howard Hughes; Professor X, the leader of The X-Men, was inspired by the activist and preacher Martin Luther King Jr in terms of personality and mission and actor Yul Brynner in terms of what he looks like. Nick Fury, the founder of the Avengers and director of the S.H.I.E.L.D. was based on the actor Samuel L. Jackson, who went on to play him in the films. Villains can be based on real people, too. Darkseid, one of the most powerful villains in the DC stories, is based on Adolph Hitler.
- You can even study superheroes at university or on online courses. Since 2015, the Smithsonian Institution has offered an online course on superheroes called “The Rise of Superheroes and Their Impact On Pop Culture” which covers the history of the superhero genre from 1938 to the present day. The University of Oregon has a course entitled “Comic Studies.” It focuses on the technical aspects of comics, such as the drawings and storytelling. The University of Minnesota has a course on “the physics of superheroes”, meaning the scientific facts writers use to explain their characters’ powers.
- Life can imitate art, too. There are a number of self-styled superheroes around the world, ordinary people who don costumes and become forces for good. Examples include Superbarrio Gómez in Mexico City, who wore Red tights and a red and Yellow wrestler's mask. He organised labour rallies, protest, and helped prevent families from being evicted. The Black Rat of Sydney carries a utility belt and backpack containing a fire blanket, fire extinguisher, first aid kit and drinking water. He has campaigned for better lighting in the streets. In China there is Redbug Woman, who wears Black tights and a Blue mask, and hands out food and warm clothing to the homeless in Beijing. In the UK, there is Angle-Grinder Man, the "wheel-clamp superhero" who claims to use an angle grinder to illegally cut wheel clamps off vehicles which have been clamped in by police and parking officials. A vigilante known as the Bromley Batman has been seen by several witnesses to have saved people from knife-wielding gangs and muggers in South London. Needless to say, the police aren’t generally enamoured with these people. An article from The Globe and Mail reports that the police "fear for the safety of these 'superheroes' and argue that sometimes they can get in the way of police work and become a liability".
- Even North Korea has superheroes. In Korea, there’s an ancient hero named Hong Gildong, basically a Korean version of Robin Hood. In 1986, North Korea released a film about the character set in feudal Korea. Blizzard in the Jungle is a comic book character from 2001, a doctor named Kim Yeong-hwan who uses the wisdom of his leader Kim, and the power conferred by a plant grown in Korea to help the survivors of a plane crash. In 2014 images were leaked of a new North Korean superhero wearing a military uniform, riding a winged horse, and using a torch as a weapon. The “bad guys” this one fights are the Americans and capitalism. He throws their gold into the sea.
- In the early days, superheroes were pretty much exclusively white, male, heterosexual and physically fit, but over time heroes who are female, from ethnic minorities, gay and with disabilities have appeared. A recent addition is Sign Gene, the first group of deaf superheroes whose superpowers emerge through the use of sign language.
- Knowing the potential to superhero characters have to influence people, governments have used them to motivate the population to take action and fight for their country. Captain America is a case in point. Created during World War II, he’s an American super soldier dressed in the American flag who can fight Nazis with his bare hands. Incidentally, Captain America’s creator Joe Simon initially named his hero Super American, but decided to change it, because the world of superheroes had too many 'supers.”
Character birthday
Raiders Trilogy
Secrets and Skies
Jack Ward, President of Innovia, owes his life twice over to the enigmatic superhero, dubbed Power Blaster by the press. No-one knows who Power Blaster is or where he comes from - and he wants it to stay that way.
Scientist Desi Troyes has developed a nuclear bomb to counter the ever present threat of an asteroid hitting the planet. When Ward signs the order giving the go ahead for a nuclear test on the remote Bird Island, he has no inkling of Troyes' real agenda, and that he has signed the death warrants of millions of people.
Although the island should have been evacuated, there are people still there: some from the distant continent of Classica; protesters opposed to the bomb test; and Innovians who will not, or cannot, use their communication devices.
Power Blaster knows he must stop the bomb from hitting the island. He also knows it may be the last thing he ever does.
Meanwhile in Innovia, Ward and his staff gather to watch the broadcast of the test. Nobody, not even Troyes himself, has any idea what is about to happen.
Jack Ward, President of Innovia, owes his life twice over to the enigmatic superhero, dubbed Power Blaster by the press. No-one knows who Power Blaster is or where he comes from - and he wants it to stay that way.
Scientist Desi Troyes has developed a nuclear bomb to counter the ever present threat of an asteroid hitting the planet. When Ward signs the order giving the go ahead for a nuclear test on the remote Bird Island, he has no inkling of Troyes' real agenda, and that he has signed the death warrants of millions of people.
Although the island should have been evacuated, there are people still there: some from the distant continent of Classica; protesters opposed to the bomb test; and Innovians who will not, or cannot, use their communication devices.
Power Blaster knows he must stop the bomb from hitting the island. He also knows it may be the last thing he ever does.
Meanwhile in Innovia, Ward and his staff gather to watch the broadcast of the test. Nobody, not even Troyes himself, has any idea what is about to happen.
Available from Amazon or Amazon Kindle
Over the Rainbow
'We're not in Trinity anymore,' says Leonard Marx, quoting a line from an old Innovian movie. The moon is different; the planes flying overhead are different. Nobody has any idea where they are or if it's possible to get home.
In this strange new world, people from the highly technical Innovia and the less advanced Classica must co-operate in order to survive. In addition, travel through the inter-dimensional wormhole has given some people unusual and unexpected powers.
Innovia mourns the loss of its superhero, Power Blaster, last seen carrying a nuclear bomb to the upper atmosphere away from the inhabited Bird Island. They don't believe he could possibly have survived. Power Blaster has survived, but is close to death and stranded in the new dimension. He is nursed back to health by a Classican woman, Elena. She has no idea who he is, only that she is falling in love with the handsome stranger.
Shanna sets out to discover what happened to Nathan Tate, who didn't return from his hiking holiday, not knowing her life is about to be turned inside out and upside down.
Meanwhile, Desi Troyes, the man responsible for the catastrophe, is at large on the new world, plotting how he can transfer his plans for world domination to the planet he now finds himself on - Earth.
Available from Amazon and Amazon Kindle
Closing the Circle
A stable wormhole has been established between Earth and Infinitus. Power Blaster and his friends can finally go home.
Desi Troyes is still at large on Earth - Power Blaster has vowed to bring him to justice. His wedding to Shanna is under threat as the Desperadoes launch an attempt to rescue their leader. Someone from Power Blaster's past plays an unexpected and significant role in capturing Troyes.
The return home brings its own challenges. Not everyone can return to the life they left behind, and for some, there is unfinished business to be dealt with before they can start anew.
Ben Cole in particular cannot resume his old life as a surgeon because technology no longer works around him. He plans a new life in Classica, away from technology. Shanna hears that there could be a way to reverse his condition and sets out to find it, putting herself in great danger. She doesn't know that she is about to uncover the secret of Power Blaster's mysterious past.
Available from:
Amazon (Paperback)
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