Marvel, a name known in the comic-book world and throughout the entire world. It is a name recognized by the young and old, men and women, and people of all ethnic groups. Whether in comics, movies, toys, the Internet or any other sort of media, Marvel is known on a global scale. Most of all it is a brand name recognized by many in the United States. But just because it is popular, does it make it appropriate to purchase their products? Just because Marvel is a big name, does it make a name Americans should associate themselves with? Marvel is an economic value to America with its business stretching across the world as well as a representative of the American dream. What makes the brand most unique is that its main product establishes a constructive and decent impact on American consumers.
Many would think a name this well known would have started big in order to become big, however that was not the situation. Marvel actually struggled with its creation, but managed to pull through to become the big success that it is today. The recognized name was at first what one would call a copycat; whatever stories were selling Marvel would sell, too. As a founder of the company put it “whatever other people were selling, we would do the same thing… I liked to come up with my own stuff, but I was getting paid”(qtd. in Lacter). If originality was not a conflict, competition certainly was. During the 1940’s DC Comics was America’s top mark in the comic industry with the creation of original superheroes and plots, such as Superman. However Marvel was not so easily crushed, thanks to one man’s dream of creating his own characters. Stan Lee was born during the Depression, a time in which many were struggling to pull through. “My earliest recoll...
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...he most durable of men, but was the most caring and courageous. Like the plot of the X-Men; those with the mutant gene had special abilities and were seen as inhuman and therefore were discriminated by fellow human beings. This story was told through the eyes of mutant characters such as Wolverine or Strom, who were in fact as human as can be, giving a moral that one should not be judged on what they are, but on who they are. A moral influenced by America’s diversity in ethnic groups, religions and beliefs. Marvel also shows that no one is truly perfect and no one is truly corrupt such as with the mighty Thor and his brother Loki, a scenario in which the hero is flawed and the villain is heroic. Thor is the hero but has a fault of being too proud, while Loki, despite being the villain, is not truly evil but simply choose to win attention using the wrong methods.
...e Siegfried and Gunnar. These two characters both share many of the same qualities, including physical strength, powerful weapons, good looks, attractive wives, and most importantly, arrogance and pride. As the strong male figures in their respective stories, Siegfried and Gunnar both appear to be heroes. Even with their heroic qualities and powerful weapons, they both fall prey to their hubris and fail to fulfill their potential as heroes of their stories. In stories such as The Nibelungenlied and Njal’s Saga, the identities of the heroes and villains are not always clear. This is relevant because in modern society, good and bad often depend what side you are rooting for. An attack on the World Trade Center towers can be considered terrorism or martyrdom, depending on your perspective. Heroes and villains, good and bad, always depend on whoever is observing them.
One way he influenced the comic book world was by revolutionizing the way characters behaved in his stories. Many of the characters in the older comic books were given makeovers to make the audiences like them more because they were flat and lacked emotion. This was called the Silver Age of Comics. The older characters lacked a personality. Stan Lee was an office assistant at Timely Comics in 1939 and soon after that he became an interim editor in the 1940s (Stan). When Martin Goodman, the publisher of Marvel Comics, Timely Comic’s new name, since 1939, asked Stan Lee to create a team of superheroes better than the Justice League of America, their rival in comic books, Stan Lee had his doubts. Mr. Goodman thought that comic books should be dumbed down because they were for “stupid children.” Stan Lee did not agree with Martin Goodman’s idea. Stan Lee already wanted to quit, so his wife advised him to go ahead and write the story the way he wanted to write it. If Goodman fired him it would be okay since he already was contemplating quitting. Lee decided to write a story about four people who got superpowers after an accident in space. They were completely different from other superheroes because they did not wear costumes. The story was also based in New York City instead of Metropolises or Gotham City like Superman and Batman. These characters also had a real personality along with a real job, no secret identity, or alter egos. This story was known as the Fantastic Four. It was extremely different than many other comic books. (Garcia)
In April of 1861, the American Civil War broke out. In June of 2006, the Marvel Civil War broke out. 145 years of separation still bind these two seemingly unrelated events. The nonfiction and fiction worlds may come across as totally different. One involves actual American heroes fighting over abolition versus slavery and federal versus states’ rights while the other involves fictional American superheroes fighting over freedom versus security, individual rights versus the need for regulation. More specifically, the Marvel Civil War was caused by a controversial Superhero Registration Act that required all superheroes to register themselves under the government as government agents.
Let’s discuss a little bit of comic book history for starters. The most iconic superhero in all of American comic book history has got to be Superman. He was created near the beginning of superhero comic books and debuted in Action Comics #1 in 1938[1]. He would remain as the blueprint for many superheroes for years to come as the atypical white American male. But as the years go by there were comic book heroes that came out that go against this archetype such as Wonder
... is not simply defined by his/her strength or looks; it is also their inner strength and beauty that is truly important. A hero can have many qualities but when they show true understanding for something even without proper education, they are accepting of those around them, and breaking rules when the time is at its most important. While there are true heroes, there are also anti-heroes which have the opposite qualities that of the true hero. Furthermore, there are many kinds of heroes but a true hero is defined by inner qualities that of outer qualities.
In the world of comics, two main publishers dominate: DC Comics and Marvel Comics. DC Comics promotes superheroes such as Batman, a vigilante who began fighting crime solely to avenge the untimely death of his parents. He possesses no unique superhuman ability, other than a substantial fortune inherited from his late parents. Yet, the public in the Batman comics still adore their hero. In contrast, Marvel Comics promotes superheroes such as the X-Men, a team of superheroes who possess the X-Gene, a DNA mutation that gives each member a different ability. Under the leadership of Professor X, this team fights to protect their world from evil. Despite the many accomplishments of the X-Men, society persecutes them. In fact, when the X-Men first try to recruit Wolverine, he refuses: "Be an X-Men? Who the hell do you think you are? You're a mutant. The world out there is full of people who hate and fear you and you're wasting your time trying to protect them?" (Housel 140) Because the people view the X-Men as mutants, not humans, they refuse to treat them as equals. Consequently, Marvel's comic series X-Men discusses the philosophical dichotomy of equal human rights versus discrimination, revealing that everyone deserves human rights even if they are different.
Marvel started in 1939 as Timely Publications, and by the early 1950s had generally become known as Atlas Comics. Marvel 's modern name dates from 1961, the year that the company launched The Fantastic Four and other superhero titles created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and many others. Marvel includes well-known characters such as Spider-Man, Wolverine, Iron Man, Captain America, the Hulk, Thor, the Silver Surfer, She-Hulk, Daredevil and Ghost Rider, such teams as the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, the Guardians of the Galaxy and the X-Men, and villians such as Doctor Octopus, Green Goblin, Kingpin, Magneto, Doctor Doom, Loki, Thanos, Hydra and the Red Skull. Most of Marvel 's fictional characters operate in a single reality known as the Marvel Universe, with locations that mirror real-life cities. Characters such as Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, Daredevil and Dr. Strange are based in New York City,
In 1941, Stan Lee, the creator of the Marvel universe, released his firs comic book about the patriotic hero Captain America. This comic was released during World War 2 to give the Americans a sense of hope and to let people know that we’re not alone. Marvel does a good job with its comics because they want to show you that even when times get tough, as long as you have hope things will get better. A good example of this would be Spiderman. When his Uncle Ben died, his last words to Peter were, “With great power, comes great responsibility.” Spiderman goes on to
“The precise era of the Golden Age is disputed, though most agree that it was born with the launch of Superman in 1938.” (PBS) The tremendous success that Superman had created many spinoff superheroes such as Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Flash, who had superpowers and secret identities. One of these spinoffs was Captain America. Part of Timely Comics and created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, Captain America ended up being arguably the most popular superhero during the Golden Age.
Every child in the United States has heard or read the Marvel and DC comics books. If you have not then you have probably have heard of their characters like the famous star spangled hero, Captain America, or the Dark Knight himself, Batman. Both Marvel and DC has influenced the children and adults of American in its darkest times. The great wars affected many by its poisonous grasps, and its victims sought comfort with the antidote provided by the marvelous illustrators and writers of comic books. Now their cinematic counterparts are here to inspire the 21st century. The Marvel and DC cinematic universes have similar content, they both have unique characteristics that set them apart.
Being a hero means that one can show courage when it comes to facing a problem. It is a person who helps others in many ways, such as a person in danger. In the modern era, the creation of superheroes have become popular when it comes to producing films. Viewers can choose their favorite heroes due to the idea that there a many of them. However, most fans argue which superheroes are better. Two of the most popular superheroes are DC’s Batman and Marvel’s Iron Man. Although Batman and Iron Man are loved by many viewers because of how they help people in danger, they still demonstrate imperfections which can cause viewers to dislike them. However, both superheroes share similarities and differences between themselves. Batman and Iron Man have
However, this popularity has fluctuated throughout history. In the past few decades, demand for comics in the print media had been falling, in part due to the successes of other children 's media, such as cartoons. “Our biggest fear was that that audience was going to get to a point where we weren 't able to build it up again,” says Dan DiDio, co-publisher of DC Comics, “and a lot of what we do would be branded lost because there was nobody out there reading it" (Martin 14). Luckily, comic creators realized that the stories were perfect for screen adaptations: "they 're full of spectacle [and] adventure with an emotional arc for the hero. That 's what movies have always been about” (Humphries). The promise of lucrative merchandise sales and cross-promotion undoubtedly encouraged production, as well. Comic books were first adapted for television in the 40s and 50s, and met with huge success. Thus, superhero television programs set the stage for the inevitable point when comics took to the big screen with the first Superman movie in 1978 (Humphries). This cinematic moment ushered in a tricking of other superhero feature films, which eventually became the flood of superhero films that is taking place in the 21st
When students learn how to read in elementary school, teachers would teach students how to read comic books and as students we see that the comics would give the animals multiple human traits. Many comic books substitute animals and give them human-like characteristics, such as the ability to talk and walk upright. However, the debate rages on as to what type of animal makes a good character and what type of animal makes a bad character. Comic writers would often use different types of animals that are naturally seen in the real world and they would determine what type of role they would have in the comic book. Also the cartoonist would determine who should prevail, who should not, and their emotions towards one another.
As the depression cast a dark curtain over America in the 1930s, no one had much time for comics. The American economy had fallen into disrepair and the unemployment rate was at an all time high. Just as FDR set forth his New Deal plan to aid America, the second World War was soon upon the country, drafting hundreds of thousands of men into the army to fight the Axis Powers. Boys were sent to the training camps and mature men returned in their place. These soldiers came back and wanted to enjoy the simpler things of life. As the economy picked up, more people were captivated by the entertainment industry. Comic books and comic strips began to regain popularity. Thus, America was launched into what is now known as the Golden Age of Comics—a time period when comic books were first seriously published at high demand and when their popularity soared.