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Best Marvel Hero
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Who is the best Marvel Comic super hero?
Marvel Comics was first founded as Timely Productions in the historically influential year of 1939. With strongly patriotic themes and stories featuring the greatest evil of the decade - the Nazis - Marvel Comics prospered, even flourished in the desperate war time years. The stories gave hope to a populace fighting a hard won conflict; children imagining fathers fighting alongside such iconic figures as Captain America.
Today Marvel Comics has a fan base in the millions and a fan press that has affectionately named it “The House of Ideas”. Marvel Comic’s history proves it has earned this title well.
With bankruptcy a very real threat through-out large portions of its history, Marvel Comics has diversified time and time again in a survival story even more dramatic then some of its tensest set pieces. With the rollercoaster like public demand for superheroes, Marvel Comics has been forced to create, reinvent and diversify its fiction more times then a failing politician. B-Movie monsters, space adventures, jungle prison breaks, girl-humour and swim suit competitions are some of the interesting fictional twists that Marvel has chosen to follow through the years. Some people may even say that it was the humble trading card which saved the company in the early 90's.
The company created Marvel Studio in the mid 90’s, whose sole purpose it was to bring their most successful universes to screens both big and small. The exceptional box office successes of the X-Men and Spider-man productions is a testimony’s to a wartime spirit that refuses to die.
Through-out it's long and interesting history Marvel has always kept a certain group of people very close to their inventive hearts. Despite popularity rising and falling like the Lady Guillotine, Marvel has time and time again relied on its most prominent of fictional creations. Though many have fallen by the way side, Marvel’s biggest asset is still its heroes.
Every member of Marvel Comics extensive fan base has their own favourite hero. Comic book readers liked The Human Torch so much in 1939 that the first edition of Marvel’s Comic sold out of its 80,000 original prints and continued to sell through 800,000 further copies in the following months.
Launching into a torrent of success; the original Human Torch was an android whose skin erupted into flames on contact with oxygen. Originally portrayed as a Frankensteinish science fiction monster, The Human Torch learnt how to control his powers after decimating large portions of New York. The now heroic automaton vowed to forever protect the human race.
Featuring in the first major character crossover, with the aquatic Sub-Mariner, The Human Torch struggled with the laws of nature in an epic battle of fire and water. This flag ship of Marvel Comics was also accredited with the death of Hitler and The Torch continued on later to battle with friends against the threat of the Soviet Union.
Reinvented into Johnny Storm of the Fantastic Four the Human Torch is enjoying a brand new wave of popularity in the recent Fantastic Four films. Chris Evans characterisation of Johnny Storm brings the wanton heroics of the young firebrand to a new generation of superhero fanatics.
The next of Marvels big heroes made his first appearance in December 1940, a year before the bombing of Pearl Harbour.
At the very beginning of his patriotic career, Captain America can be seen on the front cover of Captain America Comics #1 delivering a solid right hook to the jaw of Nazi Hitler. Dressed in the full stars and stripes of the US’ star spangled banner, Captain America still stands as possibly one of the most distinctive and memorable superheroes of all time.
The willing product of a military experiment, Joseph Rogers aka Captain America assumes the identity of a dawky private at Camp Lehigh. Equipped with a bullet proof shield and side arm, Captain America is a counter intelligence operative and propaganda tool used extensively against the Nazis and later the Soviet Union. Blasted into the North Atlantic Sea in the closing stages of World War II there are three further incarnations of Captain America before Joseph Rogers returns to sling shields again, having been preserved in an ice burgh for 20 years. Despite being presumed dead over 12 times, Captain America is still being featured in comic books to this day. A movie has been dedicated to the masked crusader and is scheduled for release in 2009.
Through his long career Captain America, with the help of his faithful sidekick Bucky, has managed to fight in just about every major conflict America has fought in for the past 65 years. Captain America alone represented an extremely patriotic American view which was only dampened when the states lost its innocence in the years surrounding and following the Vietnam War.
Some may question whether Captain America has become a propaganda tool outside of the fictional world in which he lives; but when it comes down to ideals and intentions, it is hard to argue against a man that slings shields for liberty and the American way of life.
In the years following the Vietnam war public opinion in America changed and gave birth to a new kind of hero, the despondent youth of the era began to identify with sulking anti hero’s and this gave birth to one of Marvels greatest creations.
Today, it is doubtful that there are many people who are unaware of the begrudged feral warrior that is Wolverine. One of the most popular Anti Heroes of all time, Wolverine first emerged in 1974 in Hulk #180.
Wolverine or Logan, as he is known to his fellow X-Men, is a mutant invested with the power of regeneration and gifted with a pair of three pronged claws. His regenerative abilities led to him being involved in the secret weapons program, Weapon X, in which his bones were replaced with adamantium counterparts, making the witty mutant nigh on invincible.
Having fought his way through both world wars, Wolverine brings a darker side to the Marvel Comic franchise, offering to the world a mutant who simply always seems to end up in the wrong place at the wrong time.
In the recent movies Wolverine has been brought to life, in a slightly less garish costume, by Hugh Jackman. Wolverine’s wit and presence adds comic relief to these productions and the character himself is always finds himself as a fundamental part of any plan of action.
In life there are always winners. Someone inevitably has to come out on top; and there is no difference for superheroes. A staple argument for thousands of school children, and school boys old enough to sit engaged in the pros and cons over a pint in the local, will always be “But who is best?”
Such arguments will generally evolve around a given heroes abilities and attitude towards life. Lets face it, Captain America has the full backing of the American army and has a number of second lives equating to a small family of cats, but what good is a bullet proof shield against a man who refuses to use guns, could chop the silly patriotic symbol in half and has more endurance then Rocky Balboa? Sure Wolverine is made of steel and can soak up bullets better then your average Challenger II tank but The Human Torch can fly and melt his puny metal bones until he ends up as a pile of regenerative slop on the side walk. Surely however Captain America could catch the burning humanoid with a well placed shield lob and knock him out cold leaving at the mercy of a borrowed fire hose?
It’s quite clear that the question can’t simply be addressed as “Who is left standing?” as superheroes will always rise to fight another day. Tenuous plot lines and dramatic reincarnations are a staple diet of a company constantly trying to meet public demand. Maybe a better way to address this problem of superiority is to pose the question “Who will survive to be published again?” after all, the only real immortality and power superhero can be assured of is given to him by way of an artist’s pen.
When it comes to sales ratings and long standing appeal one character stands head and shoulders above the rest. In 1965 an Esquire report on college campuses found that students held this individual with the same esteem as influential greats such as Bob Dylan and Che Guevara. Born in the heart of New York, it is easy to imagine the team at Marvel Comics looking out of the windows of their tower block and imagining Spider-man slinging and swinging his way through the metropolitan sky line.
First appearing in 1962 in Amazing Fantasy #15, Spidey was a knock out success. The edition sold more copies then any other edition in the series and lead to the creation of a solo project, The Amazing Spider-man.
Defying convention, The Amazing Spider-man featured teenage Peter Parker as the protagonist of the piece, an unusual decision in a world filled only with teenage sidekicks. The adolescent, to whose "self-obsessions with rejection, inadequacy, and loneliness" young readers could relate received high praise from the new wave of teenage comic book readers. One interviewee in the Esquire report selected Spider-Man because he was "beset by woes, money problems, and the question of existence. In short, he is one of us"
Even to this day Spider-man remains relatively unchanged from his original conception, not something a lot of superhero’s can say. Having recently been aired for the third time on the silver screen; the latest cinematic incarnation of the adventures of Spidey made a new opening day box office record of $117 million.
Time and time again Spider-Man has proved to be one of Marvels Biggest assets. He has become Marvel's flagship character, and is often used as the company mascot. When Marvel became the first comic book company to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1991, the Wall Street Journal announced "Spider-man is coming to Wall Street".
In light of such pressing public opinions and economical rewards for a time we have found our winner; if there is a Hero of Marvel Comics, then Spider-Man is that man.
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