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 sidekick or wannabe, and even the far-flung future heroes of the Legion get flack for their characteristic idealism and impulsiveness, but that hasn’t stopped the likes of the New Warriors, the Teen Titans, and even Generation X from fighting their respective good fights. So it was, some years ago, that a headstrong young man assembled his own league of justice in the hopes of overcoming evil and maybe getting famous along the way. As with many things in the 90s, they never quite lived up to their potential, but like the man said, it’s better to burn out than fade away. This, then, is your Major Spoilers Hero History of Bonfire, Frostbite, Hard Drive, Junior, Monstergirl, Off-Ramp, Thunderhead and Zip-Kid, collectively known as… The Young Heroes!
Category Archives: Hero History
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 legend of Spider-Man, a colorful hero whose battles against foes large and small taught everyone a lesson involving the responsibilities of having super-powers. About a century later (depending on comic-book time, of course) a new hero rose, taking his name as a tribute to the old and heralding, like his predecessor, a new heroic age. And, like Peter Parker, he was considered an unlikely hero, but one who quickly came to embody the best that his generation had to offer. This, then, is your Major Spoilers Hero History of Miguel O’Hara of the year 2099, who took up the mantle of a fallen legend to become Spider-Man 2099!
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. After years of nearly no super-heroic representation of anyone who wasn’t Caucasian (and even that one green kid had blonde hair) the streets of Metropolis gave birth to a hero whose mettle and courage are the equal of any who came before, and whose feats of power quickly made him one of the most respected heroes around. An multiple-time Olympic champion as well as a teacher, he has trained both mind and body to peak of perfection, and you can’t begrudge the man his unique style. This, then, is your Major Spoilers Hero History of Jefferson Pierce, Olympic Gold Medalist and all-around badass, known to the world as… BLACK LIGHTNING!
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 again and again. Whether a historical war (such as the long-running Tomahawk), an alien perspective (like Luke Skywalker), or something entirely different, there’s a lot of mileage to be had out of the story of one man against a corrupt system. So much so, that sometimes you can cut-and-paste that story into an entirely different world and continuity, with only the slightest changes in art necessary to redefine the world. But, as a wise man said, it is the tale, not he who tells it, and the names are often changed to protect the innocent (as well as those who might be held culpable in court of law.) This, then is your Major Spoilers Hero History of Jonathan Dozer, raised in a world where apes evolved from men, but took up arms against the bastards who finally did it, known to his simian overlords as Apeslayer!
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 annihilated by alien space bugs. Even back in the day, before the X-Men outnumbered the combined population of every town I lived in before the age of 17, it was a difficult place to live, where a random prison guard with a grudge could change your life forever (and that’s AFTER you were betrayed by your oldest friend and your first love murdered before your eyes.) Not everyone could bounce back from that kind of tragedy. Coming back from a situation that untenable takes the kind of person with steel-hard resolve to keep punching, to fight for justice even when everything falls apart around you. This, then, is your Major Spoilers Hero History of Carl Lucas, known to some as the Hero For Hire, to others as Power Man, but best known as… LUKE CAGE!
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 until the 1970s. Though today’s Hero History entrant wasn’t the first black superhero (that place is held by The Black Panther, circa 1966) nor the first African-American character to headline his own book (that honor goes to Dell Comics’ Lobo, a cowboy type who will probably make for a fine Retro Review soon enough), but John Stewart predates either Luke Cage or Black Lightning, and his backstory is considerably less embarrassing than that of The Falcon. Chosen for his strength of will, his fearlessness, his honesty and character, he also brought a new attitude to the role of Earth’s protector, and never failed to do the right thing, regardless of what anyone thought of his methods. Indeed, his heroic example eventually led the immortal Guardians of the Universe (not known for changing their minds) to alter their “one Lantern per sector” rule for the first time in eons, and overcame one of the greatest tragedies that any superhero has ever had to bear. This, then, is your Major Spoilers Hero History of John Stewart of Earth, the third man from his world to patrol sector 2814 as Earth’s Green Lantern!
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 in our comics (though their adventures were often tonally different) and buy the appropriate tie-in toys at the local TG&Y store when we were done. Of course, this isn’t a Facebook post about how things were better when we were younger, this is all about the comics. When evil rears its ugly head, sometimes you need a hero with versatility, one who isn’t merely one man with a mission. In some extreme cases, you need a man who is actually more than a dozen heroes all at the same time! This, then, is your Major Spoilers hero history of Doctor Clive Arno, Captain Miles Drake and Cole Drake, each known in turn as… CAPTAIN ACTION!
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 inclined.) DC’s pedigree goes back to the dawn of comics Golden Age, while Marvel was kinda-sorta there, in spirit. But in those heady days, hundreds of other companies came and went, with names like Standard, Fawcett, Nedor, Fox Features, Quality, Chesler, Frog and the far-flung Isles of Langerhans! But publishing is a mug’s game, one that just as often leads to a late night exodus with your $#!+ in the trunk and the creditor’s on your tail, and many of those companies (as well as countless others) have come and gone in the ensuing 7 decades. Today’s Hero History entrant carries the somewhat dubious honor of outlasting many a publisher, and stretching the length and breadth of the history of comics (and the inner mind.) Born out of obscurity, eventually rising to slightly-less-obscure obscurity, his name has become synonymous with ‘multi-syllabic placeholder word.’ With hammering fists of justice, and the wind of truth at his back, he never falters from battle, never cowers from combat, never forgets the rule of three!!! This, then, is your Major Spoilers Hero History of Ulysses Montgomery Bronson, also called Balam-Uss of the lost planet Omicron XII, known to the masses as… KABLAMMAKUS!
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 regularly have been doing their thing for three-quarters of a century. During those years, many revamps, relaunches and rejiggers have taken place to try and keep the characters relevant. Batman has gone from gun-toting vigilante to square-jawed smiling sentinel to dark night detective to father-figures, while Superman’s power levels have been up and down like the proverbial whore’s drawers. In retrospect, it’s clear lot of those re-imaginings haven’t taken root at all: Witness Stephen Strange’s early-70′s run as a masked superhero in light-blue tights, or the controversial ‘New X-Men’ run under Grant Morrison or my own beloved Five-Year-Gap grown-up Legion of Super-Heroes. For all those (arguable) misfires, though, none has been as lambasted as today’s Hero History entrants. Seldom have characters been taken so far from their origins and comfort zones, and seldom have the results been so ridiculous. Still, as a connoisseur of questionable comics, I have to admit there’s a lot of joie de vivre and fun to be had (as well as fun to be made) if you can get past the goofiness of the surface. This, then, is your Hero History of Andre Blanc-Dumont of France; Olaf Bjornson of Sweden and/or possibly Norway; Chuck Wilson of Texas; Hans Hendrickson of the Netherlands; Stanislaus (first name unknown) of Poland; Liu Hang and/or possibly Wu Cheng of China; Zinda Blake of the United States, and their mysterious leader who may or may not be Bart Hawk: THE BLACKHAWKS (VERSION 2.0!)
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, trying to boil down a character to their essence (or, in some cases, their various differentiated essences) and find what makes them really tick, in my subjective opinion. When a particularly busy character comes along, it gets doubly annoying. This week’s Hero History entrant initially appeared as a mystery, his backstory unplumbed, and we only learned about him in fits and starts as his teammates pried whatever truths they could out of him. Contradictions abounded, but during his tenure as a hero and his training under Professor X, the mysterious badass clearly established himself as the star of his team and a force to be reckoned with. This, then, is your Major Spoilers Hero History of the greatest mutant in Marvel Comics history…
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 of companies, ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous. For ever Batman, you have Skateman. For every Green Lantern, you have a Blue Rajah. For every Marvel Girl, you have a Great And Powerful Turtle. And for every Captain Marvel, you have… another Captain Marvel. My rather limited research strongly implies that the first hero to stick a military rank in front of a random word was a Captain Marvel, giving the name serious Golden Age cache. Given that there are roughly ninety-seven different Captain Marvels extant, though, the question becomes: WHICH CAPTAIN GETS THE NOD?
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 we’re about two weeks short of Christmas, you can see how well that worked. Nonethless, I think we’re still holiday appropriate, seein’ as how we’re working with a hero who wears red and green (or atleast wears red and IS green.) Though a product of possibly evil intentions, he nonetheless overcame his creation to transform into something strongly resembling Superman. Like the original Man of Steel, the Man of Science (SCIENCE!) was not himself human, but still strove to protect the weak from natural disasters, crazed lunatics and the occasional killer gorilla. Striding forth out of his castle to fight crime in all it’s forms, today’s entrant had a short career at a time where superheroes were crawling out of the woodwork, and his uniqueness added to his legend. This, then, is your Major Spoiler Hero History of the creature who called himself Frank Stone, known publically by the name of his “father…” FRANKENSTEIN!
