Thor

Thor is a god among men, literally. Thor has been a hallmark character for Marvel comics for so long that he was voted the superhero with the most longevity in 2009. Thor's comics are often written off as being far to fantasy based for the readers of today, but I dont believe that. Most of Thor's comics are based around universal themes of love and acceptance. Thor proved that he was still applicable in today's society with his first big screen appearance Thor.
     Though the movie greatly deviated from the comics it still proved that character was loved by fans. The movie made thousands of new fans for Thor and his counter-parts. After the movie, the Norse god's success continued when he was featured in the Avengers movie and even got himself a second movie, Thor: The Dark World. Thor has grown in to one of the most essential

Marvel characters ever created.

Spiderman

Spider-man is by far the most iconic American super hero. He is the perfect combination of American human and bravery. These qualities have resulted in one of the largest superhero fan followings of all time. Despite being left out of the Avengers movie, Spider-man has stayed one of the top rated superheroes. Spider-man can be found throughout almost every American's life. Even I spent a good majority of my life addicted to the adventures of the Amazing Spider-man. Despite a strange assortment of powers, almost any reader can find something in Spider man they can relate to. Peter Parker's personality is one of the easiest in comics to relate to. He has all the flaws most Americans have to endure, and yet he is still a hero. 

     From his start, Peter Parker has always been simply defined as the wise-cracking nerd from Queens New York. Unlike most of the superheroes of the DC comic universe, Peter Park grew up poor. In relation to the rest of his Marvel counter parts, he was the most accessible for the comic book reader. No reader could ever be Thor, or would ever have enough money to be Iron-man, but if you hung around radioactive spiders long enough, you could just be Spider-man. The iconic hero swung from the comic book pages into our hearts in the mid 1940s and has refused to leave. 

     Every year is full of people say that Spider-man comics will be dull, but every year he manages to entertain and amaze as he always. Spider-man is one of the most long living, and in my opinion, exiting, superheroes in the Marvel universe. 

The comic book world would be nothing with out our red and blue hero. 

Rorschach

The king of the Watchmen characters is here. Rorschach is the most iconic and beloved character throughout the Watchmen universe. Rorschach is an actual redheaded step child. Born to an abusive family, Rorschach grew up shy and was often the target of bullying. When Rorschach was a teenager he entered the world of drugs and worked his way up the criminal hierarchy. Strange beginning for a hero, I know. Once Rorschach reached adulthood he donned costume like no other. He began to wear an mask of ink spots that were constantly moving and changing... like a Rorschach picture.

 Rorschach goes on to play the defining line of right and wrong in the classic graphic novel Watchmen. He is also the voice of the series serving as the narrator. Rorschach's character has influenced comic storytelling every since. Ever since Rorschach made his impact superheroes began to take on a more realistic and human portrayal.

Watchmen

Watchmen!!! I will finally be covering the controversial heroes. Now, as a simple disclaimer, any Watchmen character is controversial and many of the 'heroes' are borderline villainous. So I thought as a great way to break the ice I would talk about two of the most wicked creations of Alan Moore. Now, a brief history on Watchmen for those who are unfamiliar.
         Watchmen is the brain-child of the great comic revolutionary, Alan Moore. Alan Moore pioneered England's invasion into the comic book industry in the late 70's with such classics as V for Vendetta and From Hell. However, none of these hailed in comparison to the all might Watchmen. The graphic novel was originally released as a short series. Twelve issues of the series were released, and buy the forth issues release date the comic world was hooked. The series followed the lives of retired heroes through a sex, drug, and rock & roll based society. Once the series was released as a collected graphic novel Times praised the graphic novel as a "masterpiece." Unfortunately, Alan Moore passed away before completing his newest work Before Watchmen which was said to be a prologue to Watchmen.
       Now, to the fun part. The first hero/villain I will cover is the Comedian. The Comedian was part of the Minutemen, a crime fighting group in the early 50's, and also served as a solo hero for almost twenty years. The Comedian, or Edward Blake, served as one of the few government sanctioned heroes in New York when the events of Watchmen take place. Blake is amoral and vile as a man, but serves a purpose. Blake shoes that the line between good and evil can be almost impossible to define sometimes.
       Blake makes an impact from the second he appears to the second he leaves and despite all of his problems he is still one of the most beloved heroes of Watchmen

green lantern

So this next superhero is one very dear to my heart, Hal Jordan. I came upon the great Green Lantern when I was young and lonely and his adventures have accompanied me as I went through my own adventures. I came upon the series when I was six years old and have been hooked ever since. Hal Jordan is only one of many to wear the Green Lantern ring of power, but to me he is the best.
   No man has ever worn the Green Lantern uniform better than Hal Jordan. Hal Jordan manages to perfectly exemplify the Green Lantern mantra of "No Fear." While Hal Jordan does have fear he never shows it to his foes. That being said, Hal Jordan has been through some pretty tough times. Hal Jordan went through a decade long blackout faze where he disappeared from comics all-together. He returned as the brain-child of Geoff Johns. Geoff Johns reinvented Hal after his dramatic death in the Final Night comic book arc. Hal returned without a ring and a severe drug addiction that he would have to overcome to earn back his spot on the corps. Once he returned to the corps he made what is known as the greatest comebacks of comic history. The peek of his success came with the 34 comic story arc Blackest Night. Hal Jordan may be running quickly back into obscurity but he is still making history as the longest and most beloved Green Lantern of all time.
    Many comic book fans either love or hate Hal due to his disregard of Batman's, "My way or the highway crap." Very few men would challenge the caped crusader and even fewer would win. To this day Batman and Hal do not get along, but they enjoy peaceful and calm relations or none at all if they can help it. Hal stands as the anti-dark knight. Superman even once touched on this with a short comment, calling Hal, "The man with no fear, the bright knight."

Lex Luthor

Lex Luthor 

Superman is certainly the blueprint for the modern day comic book superhero. He was created to show the world the universal good in all of us. Superman is the beacon of light, so-to-speak, when everything becomes dark. He is one of the few heroes that does not falter in the face of evil. Such a symbol of piece and justice needs a worthy antagonist. The Man of Steel finds his perfect match in the iconic villain, Lex Luthor. Lex Luthor isn't just some creature of darkness like many of Superman's enemies, (Doomsday!) which in essence is what makes Lex Luthor the best of them all. Luthor is a becomes more and more fantastic with each page you read all because of one thing, his perspective on the world in which he lives. A world full of heroes would be a hard place for anyone to live when you think of all the logistics and the large amount of trust we would have to put in people we would likely never even meet face-to-face. Lex Luthor is never trying for world domination or for mutant domination, (Magneto!) in his eyes he is saving us.         

         Luthor honestly believes that he is saving us from the unwieldy, back-breaking rule of a super alien from an unknown barbaric world known as Krypton. Taking a second to admire perspective can, at points, almost have you on Luthor's side. Luthor, in all honesty, is jealous of Clark Kent. Lex desperately wants to be the world's savior, the hero that Clark is. However, he has deluded himself into believing that it is his "birthright" to be the world's savior, and to have the very ground he walks on worshiped. 

         Luthor has one of the largest disadvantages of any of the comic villains when it comes to physical strength. He makes up for this by constantly outsmarting his opponents. He relies heavily on his resources and political power to slowly tear down the King of Heroes. Luthor is constantly trying to reshape the world and change the peoples ideals to match his. He believes that the world should banish heroes, not be accepting. Many readers often speculate how great the world could be if the Man in Tights and the Luthor teamed up, this idea was eventually explored in the hit comic/television event Smallville. In the show and prequel comics it describes a friendship, an almost brotherhood, between the two that was mutually beneficial. Eventually the two grew apart due to Clark's inability to share his secret with Luthor. Luthor is the all-encompassing villain template for modern comic book villains.

Superman

Superman 

Superman stands out as the top of the top when it comes to superheroes because he was in many ways the original superhero. The Kryptonian we know and love today is a far different one as apposed to what Clark Kent started as. The original Superman was the brain child of comic book writer Jerry Siegel and comic book artist Joe Shuster. They joined forces in a high school in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1933. The character made it's debut in a Detective Comics. Superman soon blossomed into an American cultural icon. Off of the success of such hits as Superman and Batman, Detective Comics spread into the comic empire now known as DC Comics. Superman's appearance has become iconic; donning a blue costume with a red cape, and a large red and yellow S on his chest. Superman's logo has become synonymous with superheroes. Superman first appeared in the first issue of the Detective Comics production Action Comics. (June 1938) He soon became so popular he made various appearances in radio serials, television programs, films, newspaper strips, and video games. Superman played in enormous role in establishing the popularity of the American Comic Book.
                     Superman was born Kal-El of Krypton. After a catastrophe befell Krypton he was rocketed to Earth by his father Jor-El. Superman crash landed in Smallville, Kansas and was adopted by a farmer named Jonathan Kent and his wife. The child was raised Clark Kent, and taught wrong from right and developed a strong morale compass. He started to display superhuman abilities at a young age. He made the choice to use is superhuman abilities to benefit the world he grew to call home. Superman decided to make the sprawling city of Metropolis is home base on Earth. Superman spends his time as a news reporter so he can stay close to the crime world without revealing his secret identity. He works for the Daily Planet, the main newspaper in Metropolis. Superman's list of enemies grows fast but one stands above them all, Lex Luthor.

Next week I will tell the story of Lex Luthor next week.

Introduction

Welcome to the Comic Book Heroes & Villains blog. This blog will talk about the history and influence of certain DC, Marvel, Vertigo, and Dark Horse heroes and villains. Many comic book characters have had large effects on North American and European culture. I am going to try to dive into the reasons why these heroes and villains have so much appeal. I am also going to try to teach a large amount of certain heroes and villains rich history. I will not be writing about major story arcs or the progression of characters plots as there is too much content to try to cover.  I will cover the most important heroes like Batman, Iron Man, Spider Man, Superman, and Green Lantern. I will also include their counterparts such as; The Joker, Whiplash, Venom, Lex Luthor, and Sinestro. Hopefully any comic book fan boys won’t get to upset if I leave some of the less important details out. Hopefully if anyone anywhere reads this they will at least find it informative. And if I’m lucky, a tad bit enjoyable.