Hero History Archives - Major Spoilers - Comic Book Reviews and News

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...

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...

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. ...

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 ...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 ...

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...

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...

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...

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 ...

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...

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...

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...

HERO HISTORY: T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agent NoMan

Or – “Hero Of Many Roles: Scientist… Superspy… Android… Island…” The history of the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents began with a scientist murdered in his lab, but Emil Jenkins wasn’t alone in his development of super-weapons for the...

HERO HISTORY: The T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Squad

Or – “Think “Mission: Impossible” Only With Awesome Red Blazers and No Peter Graves…” The various inventions of Professor Emil Jennings allowed The Higher United Nations Defense Enforement Reserves to empower their agents wi...

HERO HISTORY: U.N.D.E.R.S.E.A. Agent

Or “He Needs Either A Tambourine Or A Locker!” The one universal truth about government agencies is that there are always subdivisions, sub-contractors and related departments whose jobs remain unexplained to all but the most k...