On the eve of the opening of Avengers Assemble at UK Cinemas, I thought it appropriate to ask who your favourite Super Hero/ Super Villian is? Could be from comics but equally could be someone you knew, know or know about!
To kick off, my favourite Super Hero, from comics, is [The] Wolverine. He's everything I'm not: tough, uninhibited and, oh yes, he heals instantly and he's got big massive steel claws! One thing we do have in common is a profusion of body hair and large side-burns, so there's hope for me yet!
My favourite Super Hero collectables are the Secret Wars 1984 range of action figures, by Mattel, which I collected for a while during the 1990's. They were beautifully shaped, had great backing cards and came with an amazing fleet of accessories and vehicles like the Doom Roller[below], which they were selling off in Toys R Us in the late 1990's.
My favourite superhero from a comic was The Steel Claw from Valiant, although he came across more of an anti hero rather than a superhero.
ReplyDeleteFor those not familiar with him his name was Louis Crandell and following a lab accident he developed the power of invisibility through the manipulation of electricity.
His adventures might not have been as grand as his American counterparts but throughout his career he saved the Earth from various alien invaders, the odd superbrain, and a international terrorist organisation called F.E.A.R. He even had a brief stint when he wore a Steel Claw superhero costume which gave him the power to shoot bolts of electricity .
Well, I'm still a fan of Iron Man.
ReplyDeleteMost of the other superheroes obtained their powers by accident. Iron Man is a self-made hero.
Great topic Woodsy! I am starting to collect the 1990's line of MARVEL mini-playsets (Spiderman in particular) by Bluebird Toys. Favorite villian (and recently sometime hero) Marvel's: the RHINO! First 'met' him on 1960's television cartoon SPIDER-MAN with his head-on demolishion of a freight train and minutes later swimming right through a military submarine while shrugging off artillery shells, torpedoes, etc. Motivation: his need to build a life size gold statue of himself (made perfect sense to me back then).
ReplyDeleteCould Batman be classed as a self-made hero too? He doesn't really have any super powers either.
ReplyDeleteI think so, Woodsy. After all, he trained his body rigourously for the purpose, and used his high intelligence to fight crime. He had a mission and became, by choice (driven by loss and I suppose by anger), the person he needed to be to carry out that mission.
ReplyDeleteI never really got into the super-hero thing, sadly. So I find choices like those (Iron Man and Batman) possible choices now. I also like Mike's interesting choice of The Steel Claw.
My question is: does Buffy count as a superhero(ine)? Because she is the one I'd chose ... *laughs* see, she really IS the chosen one!
Or Spike for that matter. He's even more fascinating because he starts out bad and chooses to become good. In fact, he could count as superhero AND supervillain, depending on WHEN you pick him.
But do those count?
And what about Xena? She fits into the same pattern as Iron Man and Batman - she does what she does driven by need, and uses rigourous training and intelligence to do it. She could be either heroine or villainess, depending on when you look at her.
can I chose her? She has no superpowers as such.
They definately count Toad. I imagine they all originated in comics anyway. Do you prefer the original Buffy who appeared in the film or Sarah Michelle Geller from the series? and Xena is scarily cool, like a Bodicea, a Warrior Queen. Femme Fatales! The most memorable moments in many movies revolve around heroines being tempted or even turning to the dark side [ as many heroes do too] and two I enjoyed greatly were Galadriel being offered the Ring by Frodo, to which she replies "In the place of a Dark Lord you would have a Queen! Not dark but beautiful and terrible as the Morn! Treacherous as the Seas! Stronger than the foundations of the Earth! All shall love me and despair!" It made my blood run cold! The other great turning is the transformation of the X- Men's Jean Grey into the dark goddess-like Pheonix, who vapourised her own lover, Cyclops. Yikes!
DeleteDefinitely the SMG version, both on-screen and in comics. (Season Eight - the comics - have some good scenes, that's for sure).
DeleteI wonder if some day I should go back and give the Tolkein stuff another go. The way you talk about it, I feel I might just be missing something.
X-Men I know almost nothing about. Jean Grey sounds fascinating. Why does she kill Cyclops? Did she do it intentionally? I guess, being one-eyed, he didn't see that coming, eh? (laughs)
While I read American superhero comics as a youngster, I find I have no interest in them now. I'm not sure why, as I still have an affection for the English comics I read at the time. My favourite villain would have to be the Mekon from Dan Dare, who was still appearing in the 1960s.
ReplyDeleteOh, and something's wrong with the timer on this blog; it's 8 hours slow!
ReplyDeleteHad a look at the blog settings Andy and it's set at GMT+0Hrs. I'll keep my eye on this. Thanks for letting me know.
DeleteWhen growing up, Superman, Batman, and the Flash I s'pose were my more favorite DC heroes, while Thor, Iron Man, Spiderman, and Captain America would have been it for Marvel. Altho I haven't read comics for many years, these characters still appeal to me more when the movies get released. I find that when a movie comes out with a 'non-favorite' character I either don't go see it or end up not liking the movie! Having started blogging super hero toys has given me a little insight into the characters' personality's but I don't think it's changed who my favorites are.
ReplyDeleteFor me I would have to choose Captain Britain from Marvel (Must get the reprinted early comics) for DC it would be Green Lantern. But talking of superheroes and healing factors....you could count Captain Scarlet! and on that note, while Wolvie & Scarlet can heal injuries.....it still hurts like hell! (buttt...that by a definition I once heard suggested that is what a hero is. And as usual Toad makes a good point, What about the heroines? My choices? Rogue for Marvel & for DC Wonder Woman. And remember..."Face front true believers!" (if you remember that,You're as old as I am!)
ReplyDeleteI've often wondered about the appeal of Super Heroes. Besides being cool, action packed and super exciting, I imagine that in some way they fulfill an inert need we have to be 'saved' from events beyond our control, of which comics' true readers, children, have many: home life, school, bullying, puberty and generally the pains of growing up. Rather than there being a single super hero out there, I believe that there are millions of normal heroes around the world being kind to those around them every single day. Nowhere near as exciting as Thor or Ka-Zar and largely invisible but probably far more important when we are on the receiving end of these random acts of kindness. I still love my comics though 'cos I never really grew up!
ReplyDeleteI don't know if it aired over there, but a few weeks ago it was getting a lot of air time here in the States. A guy was pulled over for speeding in a Lamborghini Batmobile. And the driver? Dressed to the hilt as Batman. The cop car's dash-cam caught it all (it's on YouTube somewhere). Turns out the man was a rich guy who spends time at the local children's hospitable dressed as the Caped Crusader and visiting kids with very serious ailments.On this particular day he was apparently late for his next showing at the hospital. He didn't get the speeding ticket and there was quite a flurry of follow-up news by the national media. Now THAT'S a super hero!
DeleteAnd I still love my toys - as I tell the cashiers at Wal-Mart and Toys 'R' Us, I'm the tallest 12yr old in Vegas :-)
Maybe, Woodsy. I'll admit I've often wanted a hero (or heroine) who'd come in and save me. So, yes perhaps that is part of the reason superheroes abound. But I wonder if the larger reason is that they appeal most to those who aren't particularly good at coping with life, or coping with bullies? Are they perhaps a wish-fulfilment for those of us who are nerdy or mousey or shy?
DeleteMany a time I've wanted to turn on a bully and, to be frank, kick poo out of them. Not very lady-like I'll admit. But don't you just hate the thugs and the bullies.
Do you remember that glorious moment in Stargate the television series where Jack, Samantha and Daniel get superhero-like powers? They go to a restaurant, and a bunch of bullies starts taking the pee out of them. Now Jack and Samantha are used to fighting back - they are both well trained fighters. But Daniel has always had to back doen and walk away (cos of being a nerd and all). But in this case he says something like, "Not this time" ... and kicks hell out of the bullies, much to their surprise, and to Daniel's delight!
I think THAT is a part of why superheroes exist in literature.
And I completely agree with you about the REAL heroes and heroines in society. The ordinary people who do heroic things.
DeleteThe one I'd like to emulate is Jackie Robinson. He was the first professional baseball player who was black ... at a time when there was racial segregation. He was told to never fight back or respond in any way when he was called names or abused.
And he did that. He put up with all kinds of poo, and that to me is REAL heroism. He could have fought back in the usual fisty-cuff way, but he didn't. He kept his dignity and always acted better than those who tried to put him down.
I dunno what he was like as a person in private life, and I couldn't care less about baseball, but I'd love to be able to act that way with the people who feel the need to point out how I'm failing in their eyes.