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Hero History

HERO HISTORY: The Young Heroes

They say youth is wasted on the young, and that’s never more true than when it comes to superhuman powers. With a few rare exceptions (like that Parker kid), a teenager with super-powers tends to get sidelined as a sidek...

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HERO HISTORY: Spider-Man 2099

Or – “Power And Responsibility Transcending Time And Space…” The modern Heroic Age of the modern universe gave rise to legends that have endured for decades, both in-universe and out. Among those is the...

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HERO HISTORY: Black Lightning

It’s a strange thing to be first. Many times, the first iteration of something isn’t the most iconic, the best or even the most well-known, but today’s Hero History entrant puts the lie to that expectation. ...

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HERO HISTORY: Apeslayer

Or – “Before You Ask, No, I Didn’t Make This One Up…” The worlds of fiction are many and varied, and the tale of the young freedom fighter with the odds against him is a compelling one, turning up ...

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HERO HISTORY: Luke Cage

Or – “SWEEET CHRISTMAS!” The Marvel Universe is a strange and occasionally terrible place. At any moment, a building could collapse because of rogue Hulks, or your entire neighborhood could get utterly annihi...

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HERO HISTORY: Green Lantern John Stewart

Or – “It Takes A Real Man To Be A Superhero AND Host The Daily Show!” In a way, it’s kind of astonishing that in an industry that started in the mid-1930s, there were virtually no superheroes of color un...

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HERO HISTORY: Captain Action

Or – “The Amazing 9-In-1 Superhero!” When I was a kid, there was no filter between toys, cartoons, comics and movies, nor would we have wanted one. We could watch the cartoon adventures of the same characters...

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HERO HISTORY: KABLAMMAKUS!

Or – “An Epic Hero’s Journey Through Time, Space & Dimension!” These days, it’s kind of hard to remember that there were companies other than the Big Two (or Big Four, if you’re so inclin...

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HERO HISTORY: The Junk-Heap Heroes!

Or – “Why ‘New And Different’ Doesn’t Always Equal ‘Better.’ “ Comic books as an art form have been around for over a century now, and many of the characters we read about regular...

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HERO HISTORY: Marvel’s Greatest Mutant!!

Or – “The Best There Is At What He Does!!!” May I just start by saying that, MAN, these Hero Histories take forever. On average, I’m dealing with a couple hundred issues, sometimes spanning decades, try...

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HERO HISTORY: Captain Marvel

Or – “Bahamut says ‘WHAT?’ “ In the 8 or so decades since Siegel and Shuster got shafted over the rights for the guy in the blue tights, there have been literally THOUSANDS of heroes from hundreds ...

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HERO HISTORY: Frankenstein

Or – “Fire BAD!!” During the month of October, I set off on a plan to do weekly Hero Histories on Halloween-appropriate heroes, starting with Dracula, and ending with a secret character. Seein’ as how w...

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HERO HISTORY: Dracula

Or – “He Doesn’t Even Drink… Wine.” In the years since 1938 (technically even earlier, given the existence of The Scarlet Pimpernel, Zorro, the Green Hornet and others who predate the technical er...

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HERO HISTORY: The Sons Of The Tiger

Or – “It’s An Old-School Hero History! That Is To Say, Several Weeks Later Than I Intended To Put It Up…” As with any project, there are inherent problems when one undertakes a Hero History. The ut...

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HERO HISTORY: Howard The Duck

Or – “WAAAUUUUUGH!” Of all the heroes of the various comic book universes, I find myself drawn to those who are the most human in their makeup. I’m not talking about “Batman Doesn’t Have Any...

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HERO HISTORY: The Secret Six

Or – “Okay, This Time It’s CLEARLY A Protagonist History…” It’s a proven fact that comic book names are recycled with regularity, as Ms. Marvel becomes Warbird becomes Captain Marvel becomes ...

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HERO HISTORY: Uncle Sam

Or – “The Capstone To Our Major Spoilers Star-Spangled Weekend™!” The Hero History project is a strange and nebulous beastie, and has plumbed the depths of several corners of the Silver, Bronze and modern ages...

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HERO HISTORY: Nexus

Or – “Maybe This One Is More Of A Protagonist History?” Many years ago, I gathered all my belongings into a Pontiac Gran Prix (borrowed from my mom, mind you) and took off for the wilds of Western Kansas for c...

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HERO HISTORY: Machine Man

Or – “Is The Man Half-Machine, Or Is The Machine Half-Man?” There have been literally thousands of heroes created since Jerry and Joe had their brainstorm in the late 30′s, from the ridiculous to the sub...

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