Jordan T. Maxwell
Jul 25, 2008, 12:33 pm
<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/comixfanpresents.gif" align=left border=0 hspace=10 alt="Comixfan Presents logo">Summer of Superman: Top Ten Homages
By: Nick Costanzo, Anthony Devlin, Jon Hancock, Jordan T. Maxwell
Editor: Jordan T. Maxwell
70 years ago, in the summer of 1938, two kids from Cleveland, Ohio changed the world forever. From their collaborative imagination sprang a hero who has endured for seven decades, transcending his home in comic books to conquer almost every other medium of art and entertainment and catalyzing the creation of an entire genre. He is more than just a fictional superhero. He is an icon (not a bird). He is an ideal (not a plane). He is...SUPERMAN!
To celebrate the Man of Steel's 70th anniversary, Comixfan is proud to bring you a series of features over the course of this summer. For the next seven weeks, we'll be bringing you a unique Top Ten list focusing on different facets of Superman's mythology, history and influence, showcasing 70 reasons why we love the Man of Tomorrow so much.
They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If that is the case, then Superman is the most flattered character in all of pop culture. An iconic archetype in and of himself, almost since the moment of his creation Superman has been copied, emulated, homaged, parodied and satirized. Sometimes as an honest love letter to the character, sometimes as a skewering of the very genre he embodies...but almost always with a sense of respect and admiration that we feel is worthy of acknowledgement in its turn. And so, without further ado, we present to you...the Top Ten Superman Homages!
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<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/superman70/homages/clarkhomages.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/superman70/homages/clarkhomages.jpg" align=left border=0 hspace=10 height=200 alt="Caped Wonder"></a>#10 Caped Wonder
First Appearance: The Tick #1 (New England Comics)
Created by: Ben Edlund
There are few works that so brilliantly parody the superhero genre so brilliantly as Ben Edlund's masterpiece of goofiness, The Tick. So it's quite fitting that the big blue Spoon-master's inaugural adventure so directly lampoons the Man of Steel's mythology in the character of Clark Oppenheimer, aka: the Caped Wonder. Sending up both the comics (Clark works for a major metropolitan newspaper, complete with its own Perry White and overly paranoid Jimmy Olsen analogues; Clark's glasses, once broken, no longer disguise his identity) and the movies (Clark references flying around the planet to reverse time; his alien father resembles Marlon Brando so closely that the Tick praises him for his work in Last Tango in Paris). Naturally, the Tick's absurdist antics rile Clark up, representing the anarchistic wit of the comic itself upsetting the comfy status quo of superhero comics. But the Tick has nothing but almost stalker-esque adulation for the Caped Wonder. He both adores the first, the best, the original...and also can't help but irritate him. Of course, one would hope the actual Superman would have a better sense of humor about these things...and perhaps not share such an irrational hatred of Woody Woodpecker.
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#9 Moleculo: The Molecular Man!
First Appearance: Saturday Night Live (airdate: March 10, 2001)
Created by: Conan O'Brien
Its just a one-off, four minute Saturday Night Live sketch that features a silly Superman parody (played by Conan O'Brien of all people). Still, it's one of the funniest Superman homages this staff has ever seen. Moleculo (THE MOLECULAR MAN!) has all of the powers of the Man of Steel, and shares the hero's love of the people and admiration for the press as he also works as a mild mannered reporter. Moleculo (THE MOLECULAR MAN!) just happens to be a bit more... excited, than his inspiration. And that excitement might just be enough to blow Moleculo's (THE MOLECULAR MAN!'s) cover...in more than one language, at that. Humorously, Conan himself noted on his show that this sketch garnered more recognition on the street than he'd received in eight years of late night TV. It just goes to show Superman's influence on pop culture. No wonder Moleculo (THE MOLECULAR MAN!) is so excited.
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#8 Bicycle Repairman
First Appearance: Monty Python's Flying Circus (episode 3: How to recognize different types of trees from quite a long way away)
Created by: Monty Python (Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin)
Long before John Cleese's take on the character in the True Brit graphic novel, he and his silly brethren in visionary sketch troupe Monty Python subverted the character in a scene where the entire world is populated by Supermen, barrel chested square jawed men of might, walking down the street, getting their hair cut and utilizing public transit (and the sight of American icon Superman hopping on a double decker bus is a lovely subversion in and of itself). But of course, even in this world of superheroes, things are bound to go wrong...and men of steel are hardly equipped to deal with problems of the mundane world. And that is when Mr. F.G. Superman must save the day in his alter ego...the drably dressed but impressively skilled Bicycle Repairman! Of course, in this world of inverted priorities and talents, Michael Palin expertly turns his strident and stereotypically basso Superman into a somewhat timid and humble civil servant with a Cockney accent. A glorious send up, providing a uniquely British perspective on an American hero, it truly is a job for Bicycle Repairman. And now...the larch. The larch.
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<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/superman70/homages/sentryhomages.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/superman70/homages/sentryhomages.jpg" align=left border=0 hspace=10 height=200 alt="The Sentry"></a> #7 The Sentry
First Appearance: The Sentry #1 (Marvel)
Created by: Paul Jenkins/Jae Lee
Introduced in a mini series event by Paul Jenkins and Jae Lee (though they cleverly brought Stan Lee on board as part of a marketing hoax to claim that the character had been created decades before and just forgotten about), the Sentry is an extreme example of adapting the Superman archetype through the Marvel filter of character fallibility. Instead of a stalwart hero and inspiration to the world, the Sentry is a schizophrenic agoraphobe (Fortress of Solitude, indeed...er, CLOC. I meant to say CLOC.) who gained his incredible powers as a junkie who happened upon the serum while looking for a fix, only to have his memories stripped away and manipulated and who once had to make the entire world forget he existed because he can externally manifest as his own villain, the Void. Played straightly, the level of convolution is almost laughable...but in the deft hands of Jenkins and now New Avengers writer Brian Michael Bendis, the Sentry straddles a line between dangerous and sympathetic, strangely satirizing at once the Superman character, Marvel's own superheroic tropes and the deconstructionist tendencies of superhero comics in the 80s and 90s (famously self-mocked by Alan Moore on The Simpsons: "Oh, you LIKE that I turned your favorite superhero into a heroin addicted jazz critic who ISN'T radioactive?")...the Sentry is a deconstruction, reconstruction, homage, parody and his own uniquely and wonderfully deranged character, rolled into one.
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<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/superman70/homages/mightymousehomages.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/superman70/homages/mightymousehomages.jpg" align=left border=0 hspace=10 height=200 alt="Mighty Mouse"></a> #6 Mighty Mouse
First Appearance: The Mouse of Tomorrow (Terrytoons/20th Century Fox)
Created by: Izzy Klein (initial concept), Paul Terry (changed it from a fly to a mouse)
Originally envisioned as a super powered fly (good thing for Curtis Mayfield they went in another direction), Mighty Mouse flew on to the matinee and television screens of America, setting the trend for super powered cartoon animals (both Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck have both taken their turns at playing Superman). With his puffed out chest, flowing cape, flight and super strength, it's not too hard to hazard a guess from whom he draws his inspiration (originally going so far as to emulate Superman's own colors in his costume before changing to his now more famous yellow and red combination). Yet he wasn't that huge a success in the cinema. It wasn't until he came to the smaller screens that he really achieved the iconic status he's enjoyed for the last few decades. Incredibly so when you consider how few of his adventures were actually produced. Only a handful were made for his first run in the 50s, but he proved so memorable that he was brought back twice in the 70s and 80s (this writer fondly remembers watching the hilarious and somewhat subversively edged Ralph Bakshi version in his childhood). Of course, in the end, Mighty Mouse's popularity is really owed to two men. One is the iconic superhero he was based upon, the Man of Steel himself. And as for the second...well...I'll let the genius speak for itself...
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<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/superman70/homages/samaritanhomages.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/superman70/homages/ssamaritanhomages.jpg" align=left border=0 hspace=10 height=200 alt="The Sentry"></a>#5 Samaritan
First Appearance: Astro City #1 (Wildstorm)
Created by: Kurt Busiek/Alex Ross, Brent Anderson
The core genius of Astro City is its presentation of familiar superhero tropes from unique and often mundane perspectives. The first of those perspectives we were introduced to was that of the Samaritan, a standard Superman analogue...yet through his character, we are shown aspects and facets of Superman that we hadn't thought about before. Even though he spends the majority of his time flying and performing incredible feats, he never has time to enjoy himself. And so, for the short time he allows himself to sleep, he dreams of flying...just for the joy of it. He is socially isolated, similar to Superman in that he is the last remnant of a dead world. But in Samaritan's case, it is not a long since dead planet, but the dystopian future of our own world. His powers come not from our sun, but from the raw energies of time itself. And in a nice subversion of the original Superman, the crystals he brings with him from his own world are not his weakness, but form the matrix of his supercomputer that allows him to know where and when danger will strike. In coming back to our time to alter his future world (by saving the Challenger, mirroring Superman's own post-Crisis shuttle rescue in John Byrne's Man of Steel), he both saves our world...and destroys his, as his timeline no longer exists, the newly forged future not even having his parents in it. He is alone, but he perseveres to help us all because he is one of the few who can. As any good Samaritan would.
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<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/superman70/homages/majestichomages.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/superman70/homages/majestichomages.jpg" align=left border=0 hspace=10 height=200 alt="Mr. Majestic"></a>#4 Mr. Majestic
First Appearance: WildC.A.T.s #12 (Wildstorm)
Created by: H.K. Proger/Jim Lee
Majestic is clearly Wildstorm's answer to Superman. The similarities scream out not only from an aesthetic standpoint, but their array of abilities are also almost exact, with only a few notable differences (Majestic having no apparent weakness to little green rocks, for instance). But this is the Wildstorm Universe, and while Majestic bears a deliberate resemblance to Superman, he is also a reflection of the frustration that heroes who wield such great power often seem reluctant to use it to accomplish their long-term goals. Majestic is the flip side of the Superman coin: as a Kheran warlord, he has militant views on tackling problems and has no issues with killing to achieve the absolute end goal. All the same, writers such as Joe Casey and Alan Moore have used Majestic as a stand in for the kinds of stories that could only be told with Superman, though usually with the usual skewed perspective of Wildstorm Comics. In a rare comic book moment, DC actually allowed Majestic to replace Superman for a short period of time when he found himself stuck on Superman’s Earth. Superman returned, of course, and while initially grateful to Majestic for his assistance, took issue with the no-nonsense methods he applied in his absence. It was a fascinating moment of a character directly addressing his own homage, but perfectly juxtaposed them against each other. Both aliens, one a protector, the other a conqueror. And both, for the sake of all of us, true heroes.
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<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/superman70/homages/apollohomages.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/superman70/homages/apollohomages.jpg" align=left border=0 hspace=10 height=200 alt="Apollo"></a>#3 Apollo
First Appearance: StormWatch (vol. 2) #4 (Wildstorm)
Created by: Warren Ellis/Bryan Hitch
What started as a clear swipe at not only the man himself but also his relationship with a certain someone with a fetish for bats has evolved far beyond just a mere cheeky pastiche. Apollo is to the Authority what Superman is to the JLA, except that’s really where the similarities begin and end. Apollo was bio-engineered by Henry Bendix with similar abilities including super-strength, heat vision, and a high degree of invulnerability, but his powers have expanded over the years and he is now able to release a discharge of near nuclear proportions. Unlike Superman, he kills...a lot...and more significantly, he is gay. While his sexuality isn't his defining trait, it is the one he has become most associated with. Until Apollo came along, most gay characters in the mainstream suffered due to writers not being able to write them without doing so in a stereotypical manner, or simply pushing them to background and not exploring what exactly it means to be gay and a superhero. Apollo is gay, married to the most dangerous man in the Wildstorm Universe (Midnighter) and is the surrogate father to arguably the most powerful person in the world (Jenny Quantum). So, y'know...imagine that Superman and Batman hooked up and adopted a god. And that they occasionally took over the world for its own good. It's clear to see that Apollo is as much a pioneer as the original himself.
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<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/superman70/homages/hyperionhomages.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/superman70/homages/hyperionhomages.jpg" align=left border=0 hspace=10 height=200 alt="Hyperion"></a> #2 Hyperion (Supreme Power)
First Appearance: Supreme Power #1 (Marvel, based on a character introduced in Avengers #69)
Created by: J. Michael Straczynski/Gary Frank (based on a character created by Roy Thomas and John Buscema)
The story begins with some familiarity. A spacecraft of unknown origin crash lands in the middle of America. A simple farmer and his wife come across the wreckage. They find a beautiful baby boy inside...only to have the scene immediately quarantined by the United States government. He is given an all-American name (Mark Milton), provided with the best family and friends money can buy, with every aspect of his childhood carefully controlled. The boy grows, becomes stronger, faster, more extraordinary than any human could ever know. His superpowers apparent, he's bred to become America's secret weapon in the war on...whatever they please. All the while, the isolation and lack of freedom slowly weighs Mark down, leaving the most powerful being on the planet perpetually confused as to his place in the world. Hyperion is the driving force in the Supreme Power universe. Nearly every other superbeing seen thus far appears to have been a result of his arrival, and every major story revolves around his exploits. And though he shares Superman's powers, he lacks the upbringing and love that shaped the Man of Steel's beliefs, being raised by the military-industrial complex instead of nurturing Kansas farmers. It doesn't make Hyperion an evil man by any means, just deeply confused and alone. For all his power and even his moments of genuine heroism, he only becomes further isolated from humanity. This direct homage of the Man of Steel portrays a hauntingly realistic portrait of what such a man of power would become in our own world, skating the line of moral ambiguity...quite fitting, when you consider the original Hyperion was introduced as a villain and the original Mark Gruenwald take on the character in a "real world" environment. Only time will tell if he is truly a hero or merely the product of his conditioning...and may revert to his more nefarious origins.
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<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/superman70/homages/marvelhomages.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/superman70/homages/marvelhomages.jpg" align=left border=0 hspace=10 height=200 alt="Captain Marvel"></a> #1 Captain Marvel
First appearance: Whiz Comics #2 (Fawcett)
Created by: Bill Parker/C.C. Beck
The world's mightiest mortal. The Big Red Cheese. Captain Whitebread. Call him what you will, but there is no character more directly linked to Superman than Captain Marvel. Marvel first appeared less than two years after Superman and caused mass controversy as many saw his creation as direct plagiarism. Certainly the cover of Whiz Comics #2 showing Marvel throwing a car full of criminals into a wall seems eerily reminiscent of Action Comics #1. But Marvel isn't that similar to Superman in origin or surroundings. His powers were magical in nature, inspired by various Greek, Roman and Hebrew heroes and gods. His alter ego was that of a child. He was the first to have a female and junior equivalent. His friends were talking tigers and his enemies genius worms (though he did also have a bald mad scientist...). Captain Marvel deserves to be the number one homage, though, because of his longevity. What may or may not have originally been a stolen idea became a character in his own right whose paths crossed with Superman regularly in the post-Crisis DC Universe. Whether he was Superman's replacement in the Justice League International and the new Justice Society of America or his foil in Kingdom Come, Marvel's memorable moments all seem to have something to do with his more famous counterpart. And what honor is there for an homage than to get to fight side by side (or, occasionally, head on) with his original inspiration? Sorry..."alleged" original inspiration.
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So there you have it! We hope you gained some knowledge or at the very least a few laughs from the above list. But did your favorite make the list? Did the High come in too low for you? Is the Iron Giant's noble sacrifice woefully unacknowledged? Or do you just like Mr. Show more than Monty Python? Let the debate rage on below! And remember that the adventures of almost all of the characters listed above can be found in your local comic book shop! See you next week!
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Hyperion, Moleculo: The Molecular Man!: Nick Costanzo
Apollo, Mr. Majestic: Anthony Devlin
Captain Marvel: Jon Hancock
Bicycle Repair Man, Caped Wonder, Mighty Mouse, Samaritan, The Sentry: Jordan T. Maxwell
Contributors: Chris Eight, James Groves, John H, Stephanie Kay, Greg Reeves, Michael Regan, Kevin Sutton, Eric Travis
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The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writers involved, and are not reflective of Comixfan or its other staff in general.
By: Nick Costanzo, Anthony Devlin, Jon Hancock, Jordan T. Maxwell
Editor: Jordan T. Maxwell
70 years ago, in the summer of 1938, two kids from Cleveland, Ohio changed the world forever. From their collaborative imagination sprang a hero who has endured for seven decades, transcending his home in comic books to conquer almost every other medium of art and entertainment and catalyzing the creation of an entire genre. He is more than just a fictional superhero. He is an icon (not a bird). He is an ideal (not a plane). He is...SUPERMAN!
To celebrate the Man of Steel's 70th anniversary, Comixfan is proud to bring you a series of features over the course of this summer. For the next seven weeks, we'll be bringing you a unique Top Ten list focusing on different facets of Superman's mythology, history and influence, showcasing 70 reasons why we love the Man of Tomorrow so much.
They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If that is the case, then Superman is the most flattered character in all of pop culture. An iconic archetype in and of himself, almost since the moment of his creation Superman has been copied, emulated, homaged, parodied and satirized. Sometimes as an honest love letter to the character, sometimes as a skewering of the very genre he embodies...but almost always with a sense of respect and admiration that we feel is worthy of acknowledgement in its turn. And so, without further ado, we present to you...the Top Ten Superman Homages!
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<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/superman70/homages/clarkhomages.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/superman70/homages/clarkhomages.jpg" align=left border=0 hspace=10 height=200 alt="Caped Wonder"></a>#10 Caped Wonder
First Appearance: The Tick #1 (New England Comics)
Created by: Ben Edlund
There are few works that so brilliantly parody the superhero genre so brilliantly as Ben Edlund's masterpiece of goofiness, The Tick. So it's quite fitting that the big blue Spoon-master's inaugural adventure so directly lampoons the Man of Steel's mythology in the character of Clark Oppenheimer, aka: the Caped Wonder. Sending up both the comics (Clark works for a major metropolitan newspaper, complete with its own Perry White and overly paranoid Jimmy Olsen analogues; Clark's glasses, once broken, no longer disguise his identity) and the movies (Clark references flying around the planet to reverse time; his alien father resembles Marlon Brando so closely that the Tick praises him for his work in Last Tango in Paris). Naturally, the Tick's absurdist antics rile Clark up, representing the anarchistic wit of the comic itself upsetting the comfy status quo of superhero comics. But the Tick has nothing but almost stalker-esque adulation for the Caped Wonder. He both adores the first, the best, the original...and also can't help but irritate him. Of course, one would hope the actual Superman would have a better sense of humor about these things...and perhaps not share such an irrational hatred of Woody Woodpecker.
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#9 Moleculo: The Molecular Man!
First Appearance: Saturday Night Live (airdate: March 10, 2001)
Created by: Conan O'Brien
Its just a one-off, four minute Saturday Night Live sketch that features a silly Superman parody (played by Conan O'Brien of all people). Still, it's one of the funniest Superman homages this staff has ever seen. Moleculo (THE MOLECULAR MAN!) has all of the powers of the Man of Steel, and shares the hero's love of the people and admiration for the press as he also works as a mild mannered reporter. Moleculo (THE MOLECULAR MAN!) just happens to be a bit more... excited, than his inspiration. And that excitement might just be enough to blow Moleculo's (THE MOLECULAR MAN!'s) cover...in more than one language, at that. Humorously, Conan himself noted on his show that this sketch garnered more recognition on the street than he'd received in eight years of late night TV. It just goes to show Superman's influence on pop culture. No wonder Moleculo (THE MOLECULAR MAN!) is so excited.
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#8 Bicycle Repairman
First Appearance: Monty Python's Flying Circus (episode 3: How to recognize different types of trees from quite a long way away)
Created by: Monty Python (Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin)
Long before John Cleese's take on the character in the True Brit graphic novel, he and his silly brethren in visionary sketch troupe Monty Python subverted the character in a scene where the entire world is populated by Supermen, barrel chested square jawed men of might, walking down the street, getting their hair cut and utilizing public transit (and the sight of American icon Superman hopping on a double decker bus is a lovely subversion in and of itself). But of course, even in this world of superheroes, things are bound to go wrong...and men of steel are hardly equipped to deal with problems of the mundane world. And that is when Mr. F.G. Superman must save the day in his alter ego...the drably dressed but impressively skilled Bicycle Repairman! Of course, in this world of inverted priorities and talents, Michael Palin expertly turns his strident and stereotypically basso Superman into a somewhat timid and humble civil servant with a Cockney accent. A glorious send up, providing a uniquely British perspective on an American hero, it truly is a job for Bicycle Repairman. And now...the larch. The larch.
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<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/superman70/homages/sentryhomages.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/superman70/homages/sentryhomages.jpg" align=left border=0 hspace=10 height=200 alt="The Sentry"></a> #7 The Sentry
First Appearance: The Sentry #1 (Marvel)
Created by: Paul Jenkins/Jae Lee
Introduced in a mini series event by Paul Jenkins and Jae Lee (though they cleverly brought Stan Lee on board as part of a marketing hoax to claim that the character had been created decades before and just forgotten about), the Sentry is an extreme example of adapting the Superman archetype through the Marvel filter of character fallibility. Instead of a stalwart hero and inspiration to the world, the Sentry is a schizophrenic agoraphobe (Fortress of Solitude, indeed...er, CLOC. I meant to say CLOC.) who gained his incredible powers as a junkie who happened upon the serum while looking for a fix, only to have his memories stripped away and manipulated and who once had to make the entire world forget he existed because he can externally manifest as his own villain, the Void. Played straightly, the level of convolution is almost laughable...but in the deft hands of Jenkins and now New Avengers writer Brian Michael Bendis, the Sentry straddles a line between dangerous and sympathetic, strangely satirizing at once the Superman character, Marvel's own superheroic tropes and the deconstructionist tendencies of superhero comics in the 80s and 90s (famously self-mocked by Alan Moore on The Simpsons: "Oh, you LIKE that I turned your favorite superhero into a heroin addicted jazz critic who ISN'T radioactive?")...the Sentry is a deconstruction, reconstruction, homage, parody and his own uniquely and wonderfully deranged character, rolled into one.
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<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/superman70/homages/mightymousehomages.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/superman70/homages/mightymousehomages.jpg" align=left border=0 hspace=10 height=200 alt="Mighty Mouse"></a> #6 Mighty Mouse
First Appearance: The Mouse of Tomorrow (Terrytoons/20th Century Fox)
Created by: Izzy Klein (initial concept), Paul Terry (changed it from a fly to a mouse)
Originally envisioned as a super powered fly (good thing for Curtis Mayfield they went in another direction), Mighty Mouse flew on to the matinee and television screens of America, setting the trend for super powered cartoon animals (both Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck have both taken their turns at playing Superman). With his puffed out chest, flowing cape, flight and super strength, it's not too hard to hazard a guess from whom he draws his inspiration (originally going so far as to emulate Superman's own colors in his costume before changing to his now more famous yellow and red combination). Yet he wasn't that huge a success in the cinema. It wasn't until he came to the smaller screens that he really achieved the iconic status he's enjoyed for the last few decades. Incredibly so when you consider how few of his adventures were actually produced. Only a handful were made for his first run in the 50s, but he proved so memorable that he was brought back twice in the 70s and 80s (this writer fondly remembers watching the hilarious and somewhat subversively edged Ralph Bakshi version in his childhood). Of course, in the end, Mighty Mouse's popularity is really owed to two men. One is the iconic superhero he was based upon, the Man of Steel himself. And as for the second...well...I'll let the genius speak for itself...
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<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/superman70/homages/samaritanhomages.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/superman70/homages/ssamaritanhomages.jpg" align=left border=0 hspace=10 height=200 alt="The Sentry"></a>#5 Samaritan
First Appearance: Astro City #1 (Wildstorm)
Created by: Kurt Busiek/Alex Ross, Brent Anderson
The core genius of Astro City is its presentation of familiar superhero tropes from unique and often mundane perspectives. The first of those perspectives we were introduced to was that of the Samaritan, a standard Superman analogue...yet through his character, we are shown aspects and facets of Superman that we hadn't thought about before. Even though he spends the majority of his time flying and performing incredible feats, he never has time to enjoy himself. And so, for the short time he allows himself to sleep, he dreams of flying...just for the joy of it. He is socially isolated, similar to Superman in that he is the last remnant of a dead world. But in Samaritan's case, it is not a long since dead planet, but the dystopian future of our own world. His powers come not from our sun, but from the raw energies of time itself. And in a nice subversion of the original Superman, the crystals he brings with him from his own world are not his weakness, but form the matrix of his supercomputer that allows him to know where and when danger will strike. In coming back to our time to alter his future world (by saving the Challenger, mirroring Superman's own post-Crisis shuttle rescue in John Byrne's Man of Steel), he both saves our world...and destroys his, as his timeline no longer exists, the newly forged future not even having his parents in it. He is alone, but he perseveres to help us all because he is one of the few who can. As any good Samaritan would.
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<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/superman70/homages/majestichomages.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/superman70/homages/majestichomages.jpg" align=left border=0 hspace=10 height=200 alt="Mr. Majestic"></a>#4 Mr. Majestic
First Appearance: WildC.A.T.s #12 (Wildstorm)
Created by: H.K. Proger/Jim Lee
Majestic is clearly Wildstorm's answer to Superman. The similarities scream out not only from an aesthetic standpoint, but their array of abilities are also almost exact, with only a few notable differences (Majestic having no apparent weakness to little green rocks, for instance). But this is the Wildstorm Universe, and while Majestic bears a deliberate resemblance to Superman, he is also a reflection of the frustration that heroes who wield such great power often seem reluctant to use it to accomplish their long-term goals. Majestic is the flip side of the Superman coin: as a Kheran warlord, he has militant views on tackling problems and has no issues with killing to achieve the absolute end goal. All the same, writers such as Joe Casey and Alan Moore have used Majestic as a stand in for the kinds of stories that could only be told with Superman, though usually with the usual skewed perspective of Wildstorm Comics. In a rare comic book moment, DC actually allowed Majestic to replace Superman for a short period of time when he found himself stuck on Superman’s Earth. Superman returned, of course, and while initially grateful to Majestic for his assistance, took issue with the no-nonsense methods he applied in his absence. It was a fascinating moment of a character directly addressing his own homage, but perfectly juxtaposed them against each other. Both aliens, one a protector, the other a conqueror. And both, for the sake of all of us, true heroes.
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<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/superman70/homages/apollohomages.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/superman70/homages/apollohomages.jpg" align=left border=0 hspace=10 height=200 alt="Apollo"></a>#3 Apollo
First Appearance: StormWatch (vol. 2) #4 (Wildstorm)
Created by: Warren Ellis/Bryan Hitch
What started as a clear swipe at not only the man himself but also his relationship with a certain someone with a fetish for bats has evolved far beyond just a mere cheeky pastiche. Apollo is to the Authority what Superman is to the JLA, except that’s really where the similarities begin and end. Apollo was bio-engineered by Henry Bendix with similar abilities including super-strength, heat vision, and a high degree of invulnerability, but his powers have expanded over the years and he is now able to release a discharge of near nuclear proportions. Unlike Superman, he kills...a lot...and more significantly, he is gay. While his sexuality isn't his defining trait, it is the one he has become most associated with. Until Apollo came along, most gay characters in the mainstream suffered due to writers not being able to write them without doing so in a stereotypical manner, or simply pushing them to background and not exploring what exactly it means to be gay and a superhero. Apollo is gay, married to the most dangerous man in the Wildstorm Universe (Midnighter) and is the surrogate father to arguably the most powerful person in the world (Jenny Quantum). So, y'know...imagine that Superman and Batman hooked up and adopted a god. And that they occasionally took over the world for its own good. It's clear to see that Apollo is as much a pioneer as the original himself.
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<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/superman70/homages/hyperionhomages.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/superman70/homages/hyperionhomages.jpg" align=left border=0 hspace=10 height=200 alt="Hyperion"></a> #2 Hyperion (Supreme Power)
First Appearance: Supreme Power #1 (Marvel, based on a character introduced in Avengers #69)
Created by: J. Michael Straczynski/Gary Frank (based on a character created by Roy Thomas and John Buscema)
The story begins with some familiarity. A spacecraft of unknown origin crash lands in the middle of America. A simple farmer and his wife come across the wreckage. They find a beautiful baby boy inside...only to have the scene immediately quarantined by the United States government. He is given an all-American name (Mark Milton), provided with the best family and friends money can buy, with every aspect of his childhood carefully controlled. The boy grows, becomes stronger, faster, more extraordinary than any human could ever know. His superpowers apparent, he's bred to become America's secret weapon in the war on...whatever they please. All the while, the isolation and lack of freedom slowly weighs Mark down, leaving the most powerful being on the planet perpetually confused as to his place in the world. Hyperion is the driving force in the Supreme Power universe. Nearly every other superbeing seen thus far appears to have been a result of his arrival, and every major story revolves around his exploits. And though he shares Superman's powers, he lacks the upbringing and love that shaped the Man of Steel's beliefs, being raised by the military-industrial complex instead of nurturing Kansas farmers. It doesn't make Hyperion an evil man by any means, just deeply confused and alone. For all his power and even his moments of genuine heroism, he only becomes further isolated from humanity. This direct homage of the Man of Steel portrays a hauntingly realistic portrait of what such a man of power would become in our own world, skating the line of moral ambiguity...quite fitting, when you consider the original Hyperion was introduced as a villain and the original Mark Gruenwald take on the character in a "real world" environment. Only time will tell if he is truly a hero or merely the product of his conditioning...and may revert to his more nefarious origins.
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<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/superman70/homages/marvelhomages.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/superman70/homages/marvelhomages.jpg" align=left border=0 hspace=10 height=200 alt="Captain Marvel"></a> #1 Captain Marvel
First appearance: Whiz Comics #2 (Fawcett)
Created by: Bill Parker/C.C. Beck
The world's mightiest mortal. The Big Red Cheese. Captain Whitebread. Call him what you will, but there is no character more directly linked to Superman than Captain Marvel. Marvel first appeared less than two years after Superman and caused mass controversy as many saw his creation as direct plagiarism. Certainly the cover of Whiz Comics #2 showing Marvel throwing a car full of criminals into a wall seems eerily reminiscent of Action Comics #1. But Marvel isn't that similar to Superman in origin or surroundings. His powers were magical in nature, inspired by various Greek, Roman and Hebrew heroes and gods. His alter ego was that of a child. He was the first to have a female and junior equivalent. His friends were talking tigers and his enemies genius worms (though he did also have a bald mad scientist...). Captain Marvel deserves to be the number one homage, though, because of his longevity. What may or may not have originally been a stolen idea became a character in his own right whose paths crossed with Superman regularly in the post-Crisis DC Universe. Whether he was Superman's replacement in the Justice League International and the new Justice Society of America or his foil in Kingdom Come, Marvel's memorable moments all seem to have something to do with his more famous counterpart. And what honor is there for an homage than to get to fight side by side (or, occasionally, head on) with his original inspiration? Sorry..."alleged" original inspiration.
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So there you have it! We hope you gained some knowledge or at the very least a few laughs from the above list. But did your favorite make the list? Did the High come in too low for you? Is the Iron Giant's noble sacrifice woefully unacknowledged? Or do you just like Mr. Show more than Monty Python? Let the debate rage on below! And remember that the adventures of almost all of the characters listed above can be found in your local comic book shop! See you next week!
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Hyperion, Moleculo: The Molecular Man!: Nick Costanzo
Apollo, Mr. Majestic: Anthony Devlin
Captain Marvel: Jon Hancock
Bicycle Repair Man, Caped Wonder, Mighty Mouse, Samaritan, The Sentry: Jordan T. Maxwell
Contributors: Chris Eight, James Groves, John H, Stephanie Kay, Greg Reeves, Michael Regan, Kevin Sutton, Eric Travis
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The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writers involved, and are not reflective of Comixfan or its other staff in general.