Tales of the Iron Man: An Enduring Character

April 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Iron Man is a fictional superhero character from Marvel Comics who first appeared in 1963 in Tales of Suspense. He was a creative product by the famous writer-editor Stan Lee, scriptwriter Larry Lieber, and artists Jack Kirby and Don Heck. Stan Lee wanted to write the stories himself initially, but finally decided to give the task to Larry Lieber. Jack Kirby and Don Heck looked after the artwork, with Kirby designing the costume.

Heck did well with the appearance of the characters, including Tony Stark and his secretary Pepper Potts. Kirby was responsible for the cover, and is why he took over the task of designing Iron Man’s costume since the covers are always designed first. The original costume was a bulky gray armored suit which was used in his first appearance in Tales of Suspense. In the second story, the costume was replaced with a golden version. Still later, Iron Man donned a sleek, red-and-golden armor outfit.

Iron Man is known to the public as Anthony Edward “Tony” Stark, the billionaire playboy, industrialist, and engineer. While being held by his kidnappers, Stark suffered a severe heart injury. He was forced by his abductors to build a weapon of mass destruction, but he instead created a “powered suit of armor” that he used to protect himself and to escape from his captors. Later, he used the same suit to protect the world, calling himself the Iron Man.

Anthony Stark was born in Long Island, the son of Howard and Maria Stark. Howard is a wealthy industrialist, the head of Stark Industries. The couple died in a car accident, leaving Tony to inherit his father’s company. Tony had showed his genius since boyhood and studied electrical engineering and computer science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) at age 15.

Stark used the resources of his own Stark Industries to create military weapons, and also used his ingenuity to integrate special devices into his suit enabling him to fight crime using advanced technology. He could build specialized weapons intended for use for stealth and also space travel.

The initial themes of the Iron Man stories revolved around the Cold War. This was Stan Lee’s own way of bringing to the forefront how American technology and business play a role in combating communism. This went on for some time but later shifted to more contemporary issues such as terrorism and corporate crime.

Iron Man has appeared in a variety of different media – in comic books, animated TV shows, films, etc., where most publications presented him as a regular member of the Avengers. His stories ran from 1964 to 1968, although though the book titles were changed from time to time. For example, when he appeared in Tales of Suspense, the publication became known as Captain America when the latter character was at his peak of popularity.

Nevertheless, Iron Man stories continued to appear in the magazine until his solo debut The Invincible Iron Man # 1 in 1968. At one time, Lee commented that comparatively speaking, Iron Man has more female than male fans. Surprisingly, fan mail sent to the Captain America publication by females was usually addressed to Iron Man.

Stan Lee always appeared to succeed in introducing a different superhero character during the Cold War era. Lee told about his idea of presenting a character that would stir “antagonism” among the readers of Marvel. He considered that during this period the younger readers disliked war and the military, largely because of the Cold War. Then here comes Iron Man, a weapons manufacturer, rich, an industrialist, and weapons supplier – one that readers should not like. Yet Lee had this way of shoving the character down the readers’ throats and forcing them to like him – and that’s exactly what happened.

Iron Man became the new popular character – wealthy and glamorous on the outside, but plagued and tormented on the inside. Gerry Conway aptly describes Iron Man’s character as &#8216an invulnerable figure&#8217, one that can’t be touched, but heavily wounded inside. Stark has by this time developed a serious dependency on alcohol that started when he discovered that S.H.I.E.L.D., a national security agency, showed too much interest in his company. He learned that the agency wanted him to continuously develop weapons for them.

The focus of Iron Man stories changed from different issues and series. At first he was characterized as an anti-communist hero. This theme served as the reflection of the Vietnam War back to back with America’s role. Lee eventually realized that in order to retain interest he would have to change themes, which led him to redirect his attention to technological advancement and national defense.

This was when the Iron Man displayed his technological prowess which was initially his basic identity. The more recent themes displayed Stark’s wounded character and other personal difficulties. He once saved a US Marine pilot Jim Rhodes who was to become his personal pilot and confidant, and later the superhero War Machine. During Stark’s alcoholic period, Jim Rhodes became Iron Man for quite a lengthy period, and Stark had to eventually overcome his problem to regain his rightful identity.

Tony Stark possesses expertise in various fields, such as physics, mathematics, computers and chemistry. His skills in engineering could surpass even those of Reed Richards, Hank Pym and Bruce Banner. He has earned the reputation as being one of the smartest characters that Marvel ever had. He earned an advance degree in physics and engineering from MIT at the age of 21. He also enhanced further his knowledge in other fields like artificial intelligence and quantum mechanics.

Tony also showed his ingenuity in his corporate life, and he is well-respected in the business world. He is able to get people’s attention every time he talks about economic topics. The fact that he was able to build a fortune out of nothing is sufficient reason for him to be regarded as an authority on financial matters. He has the personality that both commands and earns loyalty. His business ethic is indisputable, and he has a deep concern for the environment, and in so doing displays his ability to bend with the times from era to era: the true requirement for an enduring comic character.

Some of the recent appearances of Iron Man were portrayed by Robert Downey, Jr. in the film Iron Man in 2008 which did well in the box office. The next one, still by Downey, was the sequel Iron Man 2 in 2010. Iron Man also appeared in a cameo role in The Incredible Hulk in 2008. Downey continues to be selected to portray the character in the upcoming Iron Man appearance in The Avengers in 2012 and possibly in Iron Man 3 in 2013.

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The Martian Manhunter – The Green-skinned Superhero

April 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The fictional character Martian Manhunter is one of the members of the Justice League that appears in DC Comics publications, although he made his first appearance in Detective Comics #225 in November 1955. His creators, writer Joseph Samachson and artist Joe Certa, collaborated in conceiving this superhero creature from Mars.

The Martian Manhunter is also known as J’onn J’onzz, and is described as a green-skinned extraterrestrial humanoid – the Green Martian – who was accidentally pulled down to earth. An experimental team headed by Dr. Erdel was working on a certain communication device when it sucked him through a form of teleportation beam. Dr. Erdel was not able to contain the impact of his “successful” invention and he died, thus leaving J’onn helpless and unable to return home to Mars.

It took some time for J’onn to accept that he was fated to remain permanently on Earth, and having no other choice, finally decided to live as a “normal human being”. He takes on the identity of detective John Jones, living in Middletown, U.S.A., where he spent his life fighting crime while awaiting rescue from Mars. He realized that it would take a long time for Martian technology to advance sufficiently to bring about his rescue.

The earlier version of the superhero differs from its modern presentation. Initially, the powers that he was able to use were not precisely defined, but appeared to be created as and when needed. There were times when he would demonstrate powers that were beyond the capacity he had previously displayed. Some of these included precognitive abilities, telepathy, flight, super hearing, “Atomic Vision”, and many others. He was known to be helpless to resist fire when he was in his native Martian form.

The Martian Manhunter then revealed himself to the world as a superhero and became a member of the Justice League. Aside from his regular stint in the league, he often pitched in for Superman in some stories. It is a usual practice for DC Comics to use this strategy, just as Green Arrow used to alternate for Batman. DC believed that it is advantageous not to overexpose their characters and maintain their popularity. The Brave and the Bold marked the start of the team-up of the Green Martian and the Archer, and at times he also appeared with another Justice League member, The Flash.

As the characters of Superman and Batman appeared to continuously have an increasing numbers of fans, DC decided to reduce J’onzz’s appearances. His solo appearance was finally discontinued in 1968 after his last appearance in a mission as a member of the League. His disappearance was explained by his Martian family rescuing him and taking him back to Mars where he led the New Mars.

Fifteen years later, he reappeared in a number of DC Comics titles. There were stories that paired him with Superman in Mars and others with Batman, the two settings for the various stories being Mars or Earth. These sporadic appearances continued until he was given the slot in the Justice League when some of its members resigned. In 1984, the Martian Manhunter permanently resurfaced, together with the John Jones identity, presenting himself as a private detective.

DC’s efforts to save the then dwindling popularity of the Justice League of America series Prompted the decision to launch the title Justice League International. The partnership of writer Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis with artists Kevin Maguire and Adam Hughes added a touch of humor to the stories. The Green Martian appeared from the first issue as the straight man amid a number of comical characters and situations.

During the 90s his character joined the Justice League of America and its various versions. In 1992, writer Gerard Jones and artist Eduardo Barreto worked for the miniseries ‘American Secrets.’ Here, the Martian Manhunter was drawn into a murder mystery, paranoia, and alien invasion. The setting of these stories presents the backdrop of a changing America during the 1950s.

In 1998, the Martian Manhunter series began with writer John Ostrander and illustrator Tom Mandrake. The series struggled to gain market acceptance, but had to stop through a drop in sales after churning out 36 issues. Ostrander tried to revise J’onn’s character as the hero of the Southern Hemisphere with several secret identities. However, he later focused on the original idea of the hero’s identity as the Green Martian.

The Martian Manhunter has many superhuman abilities and powers. He is known to possess super strength, flight, super-breath, invulnerability, and “Martian vision”. He can see through solid objects and can project beams of energy from his eyes. There are many similarities between his powers and that of Superman. In addition, he can change his appearance, a form of shape-shifting. He could appear as a human or a monster, lengthen his limbs, increase to a huge size, even change the chemical make-up of his body among many other super-powers.

He can choose to be invisible and intangible, which enables him to pass through solid objects. He can also read minds and project his own thoughts to others, a power he uses effectively as a member of the Justice League. In fact, his mind occasionally acts as the coordinating center for the members of the Justice League.

As mentioned earlier, the Martian Manhunter is vulnerable to flame. However, this weakness was not a consistent one, and there have been several other inconsistencies since his first appearance. One explanation was that this weakness is inherent to all Martians, while another explained it as a personal psychosomatic disorder. There was also a discrepancy in portraying the extent of this weakness, and there are times when exposure to flame could kill him while at other times it could only inflict pain on him but not physical harm.

Just like the other Justice League members, the Martian Manhunter as J’onn J’onnz has been featured in many products that were endorsed by DC Comics. These include TV series, video games, animated films and consumer products such as trading cards and action figures.

The long history of the Martian Manhunter’s adventures has covered the span of more than five decades. He has gone solo as well as being a member of the Justice League, but he has established his own identity as the green-skinned superhero &#8211 the Green Martian, or the Martian Manhunter known to humans as John Jones, but to Martians as J’onn J’onnz.

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Superman – Getting to Know the Hero

April 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment

What kid, or even adult, in the Western world has not heard of Superman, the archetypal Superhero of the 20th century who has appeared in so many comics, books and movies? The fictional character and comic book superhero Superman was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in 1932, taking Samson and Hercules as a basis for the character. Their creation appeared in the Action Comics publications by DC Comics.

Superman’s character became very popular in a very short period of time, after which he and his alter ego Clark Kent appeared in radio, TV, films, newspapers and video games after its first appearance in Action Comics #1 in 1938. He later established his own identity as an American cultural icon, and his popularity generated a new superhero genre in the American comic book.

Superman was the first ever action hero, since the prior comic book heroes Doctor Occult and Sheena of the Jungle were not in the same league. In fact, Doctor Occult was Siegel and Shuster’s first foray into popular comic book characters , but he faded into insignificance in comparison with Superman who, in accordance with most American Superheroes of the 1930s and 40s was in reality a middle-class suited All-American guy.

Resurrecting the story of his origin, it relates that Superman is Kal-El, originating from the planet Krypton and the son of the scientist Jor-El. He was an infant when Jor-El had to “send” him to Earth, moments before the destruction of the planet Krypton. Consequently, a couple from Kansas found and took care of him who gave him the name Clark Kent, a man with good character. Even while still a child he was displaying his superhuman abilities, and as he grew to maturity he promised to use his powers for the good of humanity.

He was given other nicknames such as “The Man of Steel”, “The Last Son of Krypton”, and “The Man of Tomorrow”. His alter ego is a reporter for the Daily Planet where he met and formed a romantic attachment to his co-reporter Lois Lane. This relationship helped to make him popular, showing as it did a human trait that most readers found endearing.

Many wished him to marry Lois, but also wanted him to continue to save the world. It was this human aspect of his character, and the perceived romance with Lois, that helped add to his popularity and has enabled him to endure into the 21st century. The same romantic undertone helped DC Comics to remain in business after the Great Depression and during World War 2.

In 1960, DC Comics introduced The Justice League in ‘The Brave and the Bold&#8217 #28, debuting with Superman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Aquaman and the Martian Manhunter. Named because of the popularity of the NFL and Major League Baseball, The Justice League was team of superheroes with a rotating membership that had a number of incarnations as the JLA and The Justice League of America, Superman appearing in each of them.

In order to expand the scope of the character himself, DC Comics introduced new heroes and villains to combat and also to support Superman’s “identity”. There was a degree of enhancement added to his powers to suit new situations and circumstances. Tales involving Superboy were introduced, depicting the adventures of the young superhero. Others involved some other survivors of the planet Krypton, such as Supergirl and Krypto the Superdog that also became popular even though the appeared contrived.

Superman became so popular that the character was licensed and adapted to different media such as radio, TV and film. In 1978, &#8216Superman: The Movie&#8217 became a big hit with Christopher Reeve portraying the character. Reeve’s portrayal was rightly regarded as being the most notable, with Richard Donner giving him the perfect formula for success. The sequel, still with Donner in 1981, titled &#8216Superman II’, was also successful.

Both Superman films put Warner Bros. in line for the most successful feature films of that era, although developments in special effects certainly had a lot to do with the success of the movies. Two other Superman sequels released later, ‘Superman III’ and ‘Superman IV: The Quest for Peace&#8217 did relatively poorly commercially, perhaps because the public were by then used to special effects, and the movies did not have the same impact: more of the same rarely works well.

In 2006, the movie &#8216Superman Returns’ performed better in the box office, particularly internationally, possibly because it was a generation on from the original two successful movies. Although it was still not well received in the USA, this movie belied critics’ forecasts that the movie would end up a flop just as the two previous releases were. It was far from that!

The name Clark Kent was taken from actors Clark Gable and Kent Taylor (neither of whom appeared in the movies). Clark Kent is Superman’s secret identity, although occasionally some of the tales imply that Clark Kent also pretends to be Superman. In Clark’s life as a newspaper reporter, he is known to be a mild mannered person trying hard to retain his secret identity. During the 1980s, Clark&#8217s character was presented by John Byrne as being more aggressive, but recognizing that the mild-mannered version was more acceptable to fans, his original characterization was restored.

Superman is associated with several characters that are involved in his personal and public life, the first being his adoptive parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent. The most popular, however, is Lois Lane, portrayed as his love interest, colleague, wife, and at times, competitor. There is also his Daily Planet family, including the editor Perry White and photographer Jimmy Olsen. The less popular include his childhood sweetheart Lana Lang, his best friend Pete Ross and past love interest while at college, Lori Lemaris.

It is possibly this &#8216human&#8217 side to his character than has enabled Superman to endure while others have lost popularity and faded from the public scene. Superman has a sensitive side to him that others did not, and seemed almost reluctant to use his powers to destroy his enemies while others would kill without a second thought.

His best-known enemy is Lex Luthor, depicted as a rogue scientific genius or as the corrupt CEO of LexCorp. As a scientist, Luthor tries to wreak personal vengeance against Superman, and as a businessman he sees Superman as a “hero” trying to hinder human progress. In later years, Luthor was presented as President of the U.S.A., indicating that he was once Clark Kent’s childhood friend. Lex first appeared in the DC Comics publication Action Comics #43 in 1940, and has also come across Batman

Superman’s next well-known enemy is the alien android Brainiac. Some other enemies include the monster Doomsday who actually killed him, Darkseid, Mister Mxyzptik, Bizarro, General Zod, and many others who appeared in later issues of DC Comics – likely to avoid any possible monotony associated with portraying the same protagonists time after time.

Superman’s power has also its own story to tell. In the beginning he was aptly described as one who can lift a car over his head, run at amazing speeds, and leap tall buildings in a single bound. He also has a body that is so dense that it would need an exploding artillery shell to pierce it. In 1941, his ability to fly was added which enabled him to fly outside the Earth’s atmosphere into other worlds. From time to time, his powers and abilities were revised, sometimes with limits set on them to suggest he might at times be taxed to achieve his task.

The source of his powers was originally attributed to his home planet Krypton. Two versions were hypothesized: his Kryptonian heritage and Krypton’s gravity. On one hand it was suggested that being of Kryptonian descent was the ultimate source of his powers, while on the other hand it was explained that it was Krypton’s stronger gravity than the Earth that gave him such powers. Even then, writers have a hard time to explain the validity of these assumptions, even to the extent that arguments raged as though he were real!

Superman’s only weakness appears to be exposure to green Kryptonite and it was shown that this radioactive material could nullify his powers, making him totally helpless. Prolonged and continuous exposure to it would kill him. As with regular radioactive substances, only lead can protect him from Kryptonite which was also the same substance that could block his x-ray vision.

Recent news regarding a new Superman film has been confirmed. The main character will be played by Henry Cavill, and after 70 years portrayal in just about every medium Superman will once more show his powers and abilities. The new movie might present updates on the character and perhaps even some new powers, though let’s hope that it doesn’t stray too far from the original character.

Superman is one of the most loved fictional characters that will almost certainly capture the hearts of the public when they once more see that “S” on his chest, aptly symbolizing his heroic character. Bring it on – we all love you Superman. Who dares to say different other than Lex Luthor?

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The Marvelous Thor: Marvel’s Norse God of Thunder

April 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Thor is a fictional character created by Stan Lee (born Lieber), his brother Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby. He is one of Marvel Comics’ most popular superhero characters who officially joined the superhero collection of characters in 1962. His first appearance, in ‘Journey into Mystery’ #83 in August 1962, marked the beginning of the journey of a character that was based on Norse Mythology where Thor is the God of thunder and lightning.

Thor became a regular member of the Avengers superhero team for four volumes, apart from which he has helped Marvel’s marketing profits appearing in several products such as animated TV series, toys, clothing, video games and all the usual suspects of ‘Superhero marketing.’

Stan Lee once related a story about how he conceived Thor’s character, and how he was able to create a character different from the usual superhero prototypes. His idea was to create a god, one that he described as “stronger than the strongest person”. He did not choose Greek or Roman gods because he believed they were too well known, with preconceptions in the eyes of comic book readers.

He decided to go for the Old Norse legends, and so Thor was born. He could equally have chosen Odin, the Norse God of War, but Thor and his Hammer were better known and had a better ring to the name, even though Odin was the chief of the Norse Gods and ruler of Asgard. However, Odin was also to become one of Marvel&#8217s Superheroes appearing in Journey into Mystery #85 in October, 1962, two months after Thor. It was inevitable that where Thor went, Odin also had to appear.

After compiling the draft and basic concept of the stories and completing the nature of the characters in principle, Stan Lee asked his brother Larry to write the script. According to him, the next step – the sketching of the characters – would be carried out by Jack Kirby. Stan and Larry&#8217s partnership continued as Thor’s character proved to be “a shot in the arm” for Marvel.

It was decided that Thor would join the science fiction/fantasy anthology group in &#8216Journey into Mystery.’ The character now known as The Mighty Thor was consistently maintained by Lee with either Larry or Robert Bernstein (a.k.a. R. Berns) as scriptwriters. Jack Kirby did most of the penciling, but others also took the work including Joe Sinnott, Al Hartley, and Don Heck. Later, the series was re-titled Thor, known as &#8216The Mighty Thor&#8217 in the #179 issue in August 1970.

Neal Adams took over after Jack Kirby left, penciling issues #180-181 for September and October 1970. John Buscema then came in and became the regular artist. Buscema penciled all the issues that ran until issue #278 in December 1978. Lee left after his brother stopped working on Thor.

Gerry Conway, Roy Thomas and Len Wein took turns in writing the stories for the books, mostly during Buscema’s time. Buscema eventually left the team leaving Roy Thomas who continued writing, later collaborating with artist Keith Pollard. Roy also carried out some major revisions by integrating traditional Norse mythology into the stories. He even went as far as translating traditional Norse &#8216sagas&#8217 into a graphical comic format.

Walt Simonson then came onto the scene, becoming involved in the writing and drawing of the Thor series beginning with issue #337 in November 1983. He worked on this continuously until issue #367 in May 1986, after which he focused on the writing until issue #382 in August 1987. It was during Simonson’s stint that the character Beta Ray Bill was introduced, although Walt Simonson eventually left, Tom De Falco, Marvel’s editor-in-chief, taking over the reins as writer until issue #459 in February 1993.

As a creature from Asgard, Thor is the son of Odin and the elder goddess Gaea. He is known to be the strongest of all the Norse heroes, being practically invulnerable with a very high resistance to physical damage. His senses are so keen that he can track objects that move faster than light. He can travel through time, and hear cries from very distant places. When wounded, he can regenerate entire organs or limbs. He can deflect speeding bullets using his hammer combined with his agility and reflexes. While on Earth, Thor is immune to all diseases.

He can use the hammer (named true to Norse mythology as Mjolnir) to enhance his ability as the Norse god of Thunder. He can call the lightning, rain, wind, and snow so that he can create different weather effects at will. Using the hammer, he is known to have the ability to destroy entire buildings or to lift huge structures using the wind. This ability to control the earth could be attributed to his being the son of the Earth goddess, Gaea.

Apart from his mystical hammer Mjolnir, Thor wears the enhanced ‘Belt of Strength&#8217 which he also uses to assist him in combat, doubling his strength and endurance. The hammer is used to control all his other powers and combat abilities. Thor is skillful in both hand-to-hand and armed combat, and is an exponent of the war hammer, mace, and sword. He can use Mjolnir to travel faster than sound in the earth’s atmosphere, and faster than light in space. He has two mystical goats to pull his war chariot, named Toothgnasher and Toothgrinder.

Thor inherited the power of the Odinforce after his father’s death, which enhanced his powers even more. He could already reconstruct the Earth’s moon, throw away the Asgardian monster Mangog just by mental concentration, and decapitate a Desak-occupied Destroyer by giving his full power to a hammer throw.

There came a time when Thor had to give up the Odinforce in order to restore the damaged Mjolnir. Doctor Strange claimed that the Odinforce was needed to restore the hammer’s power. Doctor Strange transferred the Odinforce from Thor to Mjolnir, and the hammer’s power was restored although Thor’s life was already bound to it. This meant that Thor may die if Mjolnir was ever damaged again.

The superhero’s popularity has taken its roller coaster ride in time with other heroes of his league. Debuting in the so-called Silver Age, Thor has gained at least three generations of fans and followers. After almost five decades, revisions were made to the character and to his life history in order to connect and reconnect him to the present while keeping his origins intact.

May 2011 is the scheduled release of the film that is based on both the character and the comic. In anticipation of this Thor event, Marvel released a number of limited series in mid-2010. Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning teamed up to write an Iron Man/Thor limited series, for publication by the end of 2010. Kenneth Branagh will direct the May 2011 Thor film, with Chris Hemsworth portraying the superhero. The actor has also been penciled in to portray the same character in the 2012 film of the Avengers.

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