In the world of comics, there are two brands that rule over the rest. Those being Marvel and DC. The easiest way to tell these two brands apart (aside from the logos) are by their heroes and villains. In the Marvel Universe, there are several groups that make up the greatest heroes. Some of these are The Avengers, The X-Men, and The Fantastic 4. In the DC Multiverse, however, the greatest group of heroes are of course the Super Friends, or, as it evolved into, the Justice League of America.
In these superpowered teams, there are several components: the powerhouses, the leaders, the geniuses, the comic relief, and the miscellanious characters that more or less add to the story. In the Avengers, those spots are filled by Captain America (the leader), The Incredible Hulk and Thor (the powerhouses), Iron Man, who fills both comic relief and genius, Black Widow and Hawkeye, who are often overlooked, and many others not featured in the recent movie. In the Justice League, however, they have Superman (the leader and powerhouse), Batman and J’onn J’onnes (the geniuses), Green Lantern, and The Flash (the comic relief).
In these comic book worlds, these heroes are the focal point. But the greatest heroes of them are most likely the most powerful or charismatic. Those being Superman for DC and for Marvel, either Captain America or Captain Marvel. These characters are powerful, charismatic, and in some cases, quite tragic.
Superman is known as the last son of Krypton, his home planet that was destroyed and he was sent to earth as an infant. Under the ultraviolet rays of our yellow sun, his Kryptonian body was enhanced and he gained superhuman strength beyond measure, speed that was quoted as “faster than a speeding bullet”, x-ray and heat vision, and he became almost entirely invulnerable to harm, unaffected by bullets, blades, and even the heat of lightning. Thus his nickname, “The Man of Steel”. Raised on a little farm in Kansas, he grw up to be a humble, kind-hearted man. He is always depicted as selfless, noble, and someone who always defends the rights and saftely of those less powerful than him. That being, the entire planet Earth. He is a stranger on this planet and always had to take great care to control his powers and retain his good nature spirit despite the fact that he was the last of his race, all the while being too afraid to tell his human identity to the love of his life, Lois Lane.
Captain America, however, was born a regular man named Steve Rodgers. A scrawny, sickly man who, despite his physical limitations, wanted nothing more than to help other people. He was a wanna’-be soldier during World War II and was made into Captain America after being having an experimental serum injected into his body called the Super Soldier Formula. With this formula, Steve Rodgers grew into a muscular, super-strong, incredibly fast he-man with heightened senses and a healing ability to rival that of another Marvel legend, Wolverine. A healing factor so powerful that he could recover from nearly any injury and would in fact, cease noticeable aging and even prevent him from becoming intoxicated. Unfortunately, he was frozen in time for close to seventy years while in battle with another Super Soldier, his nemesis the Red Skull. He had fought for the innocent, sacrificed everything, watched his best friend Bucky die, all to be frozen in time and wake up in a world where all his friends and loved ones were gone.
Captain Marvel, unlike the aforementioned Superman and Captain America, was a royal soldier in the Kree Army named Mar’Vel. He was also the only Kree with the ability to fly. The Kree being an alien race with blue skin and super-strength, which aided them in their never-ending war with another alien race known as the Skrulls. He fell in love with the Skrull princess and together, they escaped to Earth. There, he was declared a superhero because of his abilities and desire to help others. His story, however, ended tragically with his contracting cancer and dying. His son, however, later continued his legacy, but that’s another story.
These three great heroes were the crown jewels of the comic book world. Strong-willed, kind-hearted, and heroic. They all lead tragic lives, but that never stopped them from being heroes in every sense of the word. They fought, bled, and in some cases (more than one in Superman’s case), died in their fight for the defense of the weak and what is right.
No comments:
Post a Comment