Origins
Superheroes
"The superhero has a mission to preserve society, not to re-invent it."13 The origin story of each superhero is vital to the overall story. The beginning explains how the superhero came about, how the powers were acquired, who the alter-ego is, and what the purpose or mission of the character may be. Knowing the origin story helps the reader understand the actions that take place and the reason behind certain decisions. Students who are seriously into comic books will likely know most origin stories of their favorite superhero. However, it is likely that many students may be familiar with a superhero or supervillain character, but not actually know the origin story. In order for students to create their own superhero or supervillain story, they must understand how the concept of the origin story is written. Some of the more well-known origin stories are included below.
In considering origin stories, the detail of costumes should be noted. There is a history with most superhero costumes that relates back to their origins. Superman's costume and cape are woven from the blanket he was swaddled in from his journey from Krypton. Iron Man's chest plate was used for aiding his damaged heart and the rest of his iron suit was an extension of that. Spiderman's costume has a direct resemblance to the spider qualities which he posses. Wonder Woman's costume is decorated with colors and stars representing her Amazon heritage. As students begin to study and understand superhero costumes they will be able to incorporate similar history into the costume of their original superhero or supervillain.
Batman - The world's greatest detective
Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in 1939. However, his origin story is told much later in The Origin of Batman, 1948. Bruce Wayne was a young boy when he witnessed the murder of his parents by a street thug. Although the Wayne family was very rich, money could not replace the loss that Bruce felt from being an orphan. Bruce Wayne vowed to wage a war on crime and clean up Gotham City. He spent most of his time training for combat and developing gadgets that would help him become a great crime fighter. This motivation is also an explanation for his unending anger and his ultimate disguise as Batman, someone who wreaks fear in others. Because of the brutal murder of his parents, Batman considers firearms "the coward's weapon".14 However, this does not mean he does not favor other weapons and means of attack. He is a genius in creating gadgets for his suit and his car. This is ultimately how he succeeds over his opponents, along with his incredible intelligence and detective skills. A key to Batman comics are the enemies. Many speak in riddles which are a way to continue the circus that surrounds Batman's existence. Instead of one enemy he has a line-up of recurring enemies such as The Joker, The Riddler, The Penguin, Two-Face, The Scarecrow, and many more.
One of the true icons of comic book culture is Batman, a superhero without super powers. The scourge of the underworld, Batman is a spectacular crime fighter with a dazzling array of weapons and gadgets. Unlike most comic book heroes who are gifted with extraordinary powers, Batman is an ordinary man who develops his skills through training and hard work. A master detective, Batman is one of the few superheroes who outthinks as well as outfights his opponents.15
Iron Man - I am Iron Man
Iron man was first released in 1963 in an issue titled Tales of Suspense #39. Tony Stark is a millionaire physicist who created micro-transistors during the time of the Vietnam War. While on a journey to check on one of his plants in Vietnam he is assaulted with shrapnel that enters close to his heart. He is captured by Wong Chu and forced to make weapons. However, Tony has a different plan. Along with the help of fellow captured scientist, Professor Yinsen, the two create a transistor plate to cover his heart and keep it beating. Together, the two scientist work tirelessly to create such a device that will keep Tony alive. In addition to creating the heart device, they also create an entire iron suit which contains some helpful features such as suction cups, magnetic turbo insulator, and buzz saw, to name a few. They succeed in the nick of time and Tony is able to escape the prison created by Wong Chu. Iron Man's story begins and thus he continues to strive to undo the damage that was caused by his inventions when they are placed in the wrong hands. Although Iron Man does not have actual powers, he does have gadgets. His suit is equipped with various weapons in order to fight off the bad guys. It is Tony's intelligence that has created this suit and these weapons, and therefore intelligence is Iron Man's superpower.
Spider-Man - With great power comes great responsibility
Peter Parker is a highly intelligent, if awkwardly social, high school student. Spider-Man's powers came about because of an accident. Although Spider-Man has numerous powers and can think quickly when danger ensues, Peter Parker would be considered the opposite personality.
Attending a public science exhibit when Peter was 15-years old, he was bitten on the hand by a radioactive spider accidentally irradiated by a particle beam, empowering Peter with the arachnid's proportional strength and agility, and the ability to cling to almost any surface. Most incredibly, he had gained a sixth sense that provided him with early warning of impending danger.16
Superman - It's a bird, it's a plane...
The planet Krypton is being destroyed by volcanic eruptions. Jor-El has tried to warn the council but they do not believe him because of lack of proof. Jor-El decides to make a space flier to save himself and his family. Unfortunately the eruption arrives sooner than expected and Jor-El has only made a small version of the space flier, one that ultimately will only hold one person. Jor-El and his wife, Lora, decide they will place their infant son Kal-L into the flier and send him to Earth. Kal-L arrives on Earth and is found by a stranger who takes him to an orphanage. It is here that the workers realize what great strength, agility and speed the young infant has. Clark Kent, as he was to be called, grew into maturity and became keenly aware of his abilities and decided "he must turn his titanic strength into channels that would benefit mankind."17 Superman's powers include the ability to fly, laser beam eyes, superhuman strength, and an uncanny ability to leap over buildings.
Wonder Woman
On the remote island of Themyscira, peace and serenity is practiced and the teachings of Gaea are upheld. Queen Hippolyta desires to have a daughter and that desire is granted by the Grecian Gods. They instruct her to mold the child from clay. The child is granted life and the powers and abilities known to the Gods. Her name was Princess Diana. As she matured and grew, her powers were realized. These included strength, speed, and human prowess. She was appointed to spread the message of Gaea to the outside world. With this, she donned a uniform "decorated with symbols representing a legendary Amazon heroine,"18 complete with a lasso that forces people to tell the truth, a boomerang tiara that can cut through diamonds, and wrist bands that can deflect bullets.
X-Men
X-men, first released in 1963, was the first of its kind. Stan Lee had begun to realize that all of his previous superheroes had come from an incident where a human was exposed to some form of radiation: gamma-rays (Hulk), bitten by a radioactive spider (Spider-Man), or exposure to cosmic rays (Fantastic Four). He decided he wanted to create a new type of superhero that was completely different than anything previously released. Thus came the X-Men. They are simply explained as mutants who each have a special power. They are born to normal parents and live a normal childhood. Once the child reaches puberty the mutant powers begin to manifest themselves. Professor Xavier sees the potential in all these mutants and wants to train them to be powerful fighters who defend the planet from evil mutants. He carefully selects students to attend his school where he trains them to harness their power and control it in very specific ways, especially ways in battle. The audience accepts the X-Men because they are half mutant, half human. Therefore, much like the superheroes mentioned above, we have a relatable element with them. And of course, their goal is to save the Earth from the control of the evil mutants, and we continually cheer for them to be successful. Plus, it is fun to watch them work together, each using his or her own special skill in combination with the others. What else is interesting about the X-Men is the seemingly endless line-up of characters. There certainly is no shortage of X-Men characters and this certainly has an advantage in keeping the readers entertained with continuous new story lines. Although today's roster of X-Men is quite baffling, there were originally five members of this team. In the original issue, Professor Xavier had recruited five teenagers into his school for the gifted. These original X-Men were Cyclops (Scott Summers) who's eyes have the power to project a radiant beam that is destructive, Iceman (Bobby Drake) who can use the moisture in the air to instantly form ice, Angel (Warren Worthington, III) who has fully feathered wings that allow him to fly and reach great speeds, Beast (Hank McCoy) who has superhuman strength and agility, and Marvel Girl (Jean Grey) who has telepathic powers that can read minds and telekinesis powers that allow her to move objects. One final note, in the movie X-Men (released in 2000) there is a segment that thoroughly explains all the powers of each mutant beyond the original five. It could be a beneficial clip for your classroom to engage the students not only in superheroes, but also in the origin and explanation. This is time clip 7:40 - 11:40.
Supervillains
"The common outcome, as far as the structure of the plot is concerned, is that villains are concerned with change and the heroes with the maintenance of the status quo."19 Supervillains are just as important to the comic book story as our beloved heroes. What would Superman be without Lex Luthor, Spider-Man without Green Goblin or Batman without The Joker? The supervillain, like him or not, helps us see our superhero in a different perspective. If the superhero never battled the bad guy how would we know the powers he or she had and how would we be sure that he or she was actually fighting for good? The supervillain's role is to provide the reader or the audience with someone to hate and gives us all the more reason to cheer on our hero. However, it could be said that there are fans out there that like and even prefer the supervillain. Perhaps this character does things that we would only think of but not actually act on. It forces us to admit that deep down there is probably a part of all of us that is sinister, though we would never admit it openly. So the supervillain allows us to secretly live vicariously through the bad guy, all the while rooting for the good guy. It's a very delicate balance and without these supervillains our comic world would be unstable and admittedly boring. This brings to mind the notion of tall tale heroes such as Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill. These larger-than-life characters are just as superhuman as the heroes discussed above. Why, then, are there not comic books, big budget movies, and marketing ploys in support of these heroes? I'm sure many answers could be had for this question, but I think the one answer that is most relevant is that Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill had no enemies. There were no super forces of evil to stand in their way and cause trouble. There is no action without the villain and where there's no action, there's no continuing story. A final note about supervillains - it is not uncommon for the supervillain to have once been associated and even friends with the superhero. A couple of examples are Lex Luthor and Clark Kent, Harry Osborn and Peter Parker, even Magneto and Professor Xavier were once associates. It leads us to wonder how two people who seemingly have a common interest can part ways and eventually become enemies. I guess all is fair is friendship and comics.
Doctor Doom - Fantastic Four
Victor Von Doom was raised by a father who was a Gypsy healer. When his father, Werner Von Doom, was taken to the Baron's wife to heal her, he is given an ultimatum that he must heal her or die. He tries his best, but she is past the point of any healing he may be able to do. As a result he must flee the village with his young son, Victor. Father and son are soon rescued by their good friend Boris. Unfortunately Werner has suffered great fatigue and bitter cold trying to keep his son alive. As a result, he dies. This was the beginning of Victor's plot of revenge on society. Having a Gypsy father and learning of his sorceress mother's abilities, Victor begins to travel the countryside tricking people into buying items from him that have magical wares, that soon fade away, leaving the customers angry. Soon Victor is pursued by law enforcement but manages to use magic to escape. Victor continues to hone his skills as a scientist. He is recruited to University where be becomes even more of a "mad scientist." This is where he first meets Reed Richards (later to become Mister Fantastic). Victor secludes himself in a private room where he continues to mix potions and conduct experiments. One of his experiments goes awry and blows up his dorm room; he is grossly disfigured and expelled from school. Victor finds solace in the remote vastness of Tibet. There he finds an order of monks who take him in. It is there that he learns the monks' ancient secrets and soon begins constructing his suit of armor. Once the suit is complete and is fitted to him, he declares himself Doctor Doom. His powers include the ability to change minds with others as well as mystical abilities. Mostly he is a genius in many scientific fields.
Green Goblin - Spider-Man
Gobby is truly the only supervillain who is also a good guy when he's not breaking up Spidey's act. He's also the only supervillain who sometimes doesn't even know who he is in his other identity. And he is for sure the only supervillain who also happens to be the doting father of our hero's best friend. If that doesn't qualify him for a permanent place in The Bad Guys' Hall of Fame, then try this on for size: he's certainly the only comicbook menace to finally reach that old rascals' resting place in the sky and then be replaced by his closest living relative back here on earth!20
Norman Osborn is the father of Harry Osborn, Peter Parker's best friend. Osborn was a ruthless business man who stole his partner's formulas. When he attempted to mix them, an explosion happened. This explosion caused him to have an altered brain, a brain that was more brilliant than anyone could imagine. With this brilliancy came greed. He set out to become "the greatest costumed criminal of all time."21 He designed the costume out of his favorite color. Once the costume was complete he had a sole focus to make his first mission to kill Spider-Man. Because of the formula, Norman attained the ability of super-human strength, incredible speed, and ability to heal.
The Joker - Batman
The Joker has no special powers, but his unique psychoses make him the most dangerous killer in the world. His chief weapon is Joker Venom, a fatal toxin that kills its victims on contact - but not before sending them into fits of sick laughter and locking their faces into a smiling death rictus.22
The Joker's appearance is a result of falling into a vat of chemical waste. This chemical caused his hair to turn green, his face to turn white and his lips to turn red, thus giving him the appearance of a clown. In addition, he now has a permanent smile across his cheeks. It is unclear exactly what caused him to fall into this vat, as there are conflicting stories. However it is assumed that he fell while being chased by Batman. Therefore The Joker now has his eyes set on destroying the peace of Gotham City that Batman loves so much.
Lex Luthor - Superman
Lex Luthor is best known for his intelligence and businesslike sense. Luthor grew up in Smallville, Kansas along with Clark Kent. He was somewhat of a loner and did not socialize much with his classmates. "Luthor is indeed the villain of all comic book supervillains; he is the ultimate mad scientist."23 In Adventure Comics #271 Luthor's story is told. Once day after saving Superboy from a kryptonite meteor that crashed, Luthor takes Superboy to his barn and shows him all the collectibles he has saved in his shrine to Superboy. Once Superboy sees Luthor's scientific laboratory he decides to thank him for saving his life by building him an even greater laboratory out of junk. Luthor begins using his laboratory to create an antidote for kryptonite. As fate would have it, Luthor spills the formula and causes a huge eruption. As Superboy comes to expel the flames he realizes that Lex Luthor's appearance has drastically changed. The once curly haired red-head is now bald and insane, though he has kept his scientific genius. At this point Luthor decides to kill Superboy, albeit a failed attempt. And thus begins the peril of the endless battle of Superman and Lex Luthor. Although Luthor does not have superpowers he does have incredible intelligence that allows him to build and create many chemicals that can potentially harm Superman.
Magneto - X-Men
We are introduced to Magneto in the very first issue of X-Men #1 which appeared in 1963. Magneto, like the other mutants, was born with his powers. He has the ability to control metal with his supernatural force of magnetism. He was once associated with Professor Xavier but parted ways when the two realized they had different agendas for use of their mutant powers. Magneto thinks that mutants are superior to humans and therefore they should rule the world with unstoppable force.
Magneto has mastered many technological fields, and is an expert on genetic manipulation and engineering, with knowledge far beyond that of contemporary science. He is considered to be a genius in these fields. He can mutate humans in order to give them superhuman powers, or create adult clones of human beings and then manipulate the genetic structures of these clones during their development.24
Comments: