Sunday 30 September 2012

Supernan



The origin of Superman is the story that relates Superman's arrival on Earth and the beginnings of his career as a superhero. The story has been through many revisions through decades of publication in comic books and radio, television and film adaptations.
The original story was written by Jerome "Jerry" Siegel and illustrated by Joseph "Joe" Shuster, and it was published as a part of the character's first appearance in Action Comics #1 (June 1938). As more stories were published, more details about the original story were established. These stories explored individual details, such as the planet Krypton, the source of Superman's powers and his relationship with supporting characters. Because continuity was looser during the Golden Age and the Silver Age, many of these stories would contradict each other.
As Superman was adapted into other media, his origin story has been frequently retold. These origin stories adhere to the basic framework created by Siegel and Shuster, with minor variations made to serve the plot or to appeal to contemporary audiences. Some of the details created for these adaptations would later influence the origin story in the mainstream comic series.
In more recent years, the origin story has been revamped in the comic books several times. In 1985, DC Comics published Crisis on Infinite Earths, which created the opportunity to definitively revise the history of the DC Universe. Superman's origin was subsequently retold in the 1986 The Man of Steel limited series written and drawn by John Byrne. The story would later be removed from continuity and replaced with the Superman: Birthright limited series in 2003 and 2004, written by Mark Waid and drawn by Leinil Francis Yu, as Superman's official origin. After the Infinite Crisis limited series in 2005 and 2006, Superman's origin was revised yet again, unfolding throughout Superman's regular publications and the Superman: Secret Origin mini-series in 2009 and 2010.




"Live as one of them, Kal-El, to discover where your strength and your power are needed. Always hold in your heart the pride of your special heritage. They can be a great people, Kal-El, they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you... my only son."





This basic origin is the one with which most people are familiar. While the individual details vary, certain key elements have remained consistent in almost all retellings.
Superman is born Kal-El on the alien planet Krypton. His parents, Jor-El and Lara become aware of Krypton's impending destruction and Jor-El begins constructing a spacecraft that would carry Kal-El to Earth. During Krypton's last moments, Jor-El places young Kal-El in the spacecraft and launches it. Jor-El and Lara die as the spacecraft barely escapes Krypton's fate. The explosion transforms planetary debris into kryptonite, a radioactive substance that is lethal to superpowered (as by Earth's yellow sun) Kryptonians.
The spacecraft lands in the rural United States, where it is found by a passing motorist. Jonathan and Martha Kent adopt Kal-El and name him Clark Kent. As Clark grows up on Earth, he and his adoptive parents discover that he has superhuman powers. The Kents teach Clark to use these powers responsibly to help others and fight crime.
Clark keeps his powers secret in order to protect his family and friends, who might be endangered by his criminal enemies. In order to use his powers to help humanity, Clark creates the alter ego of Superman. A number of elements are added to each identity to keep them distinct enough to prevent the casual observer from matching them. Superman wears a characteristic red and blue costume with a letter "S" emblem and a cape. Clark Kent takes to wearing glasses, styling his hair differently, changing his body language, significantly altering his voice, and wearing looser clothing and suits that hide his physique.
Clark Kent moves to Metropolis and takes a job as a reporter at the Daily Planet, where he meets his friends and co-workers, Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen and Editor Perry White. Superman becomes the subject of frequent headline stories written by Lois, and the two become romantically attracted to each other.


















Common variations
Superman's public debut has differed throughout decades of publication. Originally, he first donned the costume and began fighting crime as an adult. Later, he was shown to have begun his heroic career as Superboy, changing his name to Superman after he grew up. The character's history as Superboy was retroactively erased from continuity in the The Man of Steel retelling of the origin. In current continuity, Clark used his powers to aid others while still a youth, operating as "a rarely-glimpsed American myth - the mysterious 'Super-Boy'".

Influences
Superman's origin was influenced by the science fiction stories appearing in pulp magazines that Siegel and Shuster were fond of and by a variety of social and religious themes.
Siegel and Shuster created three different characters named Superman. The first was a villain with telepathic powers, published in the short story "The Reign of the Super-Man." The second version, which was unpublished, was a crime fighter without any superhuman abilities, which Siegel and Shuster compare to another of their creations, Slam Bradley. They felt that a virtuous character originating from Earth to possess superhuman powers would make the character and stories seem less serious, inviting comparisons to humorous strongmen like Popeye. So they decided to make the third version a visitor from another planet.
Siegel has cited the John Carter of Mars stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs as an influence on the source of Superman's strength and leaping ability being the lesser gravity of a smaller planet. Jack Williamson once remarked that Superman's origin had strong similarities to a story he had written and published early in his career, where a Martian scientist sent his infant daughter into space to save her from their planet's destruction.
Superman carries some similarities to Hugo Danner, the main character in the novel Gladiator by Philip Wylie. Danner's great strength comes from a serum injected into him by his father while still a fetus which gave him the proportional strength of an insect. The scientific explanation for the source of Superman's powers published in Action Comics #1 also compared Superman's great strength to an ant's ability to carry hundreds of times its own weight and a grasshopper's ability to leap great distances.Wylie would later threaten to sue National Comics for plagiarism. Siegel would sign an affidavit that claimed Superman was not influenced by Gladiator, though he had reviewed the novel for his fanzine Science Fiction in 1932.
Because Siegel and Shuster were both Jewish, some religious commentators and pop-culture scholars such as Rabbi Simcha Weinstein and British novelist Howard Jacobson suggest that Superman's creation was partly influenced by Moses and other Jewish elements. However, Siegel and Shuster claim that having Superman drop out of the sky just seemed like a good idea.

Pre-Crisis
Superman's origin took more than twenty years to unfold into the narrative we are familiar with today. During the Golden Age of Comics (1935-1953), Krypton and the Kents were almost incidental, seldom being referred to in the comic book stories. The Superman mythology expanded during the Silver Age of Comics (1953-1970) and was refined during the Bronze Age (1970-1986.


Golden Age
Siegel created, and Shuster designed, the character Superman in 1934 and intended to sell the character as a daily newspaper comic strip. They told Superman's origin over the course of twelve strips, ten of which detailed the planet Krypton.

Action Comics #1 (June 1938), the debut of Superman. Cover art by Joe Shuster


 
In 1938, DC Comics published Superman's debut in Action Comics #1, Siegel and Shuster were required to cut the story down to thirteen pages, and so the origin story was reduced to a single page. The story described a scientist on an unnamed doomed planet placing his infant son into a hastily designed spaceship and launching it toward Earth. When the spaceship lands, a passing motorist finds it and turns the child over to a local orphanage, where the staff is astounded by the child's feats of strength. As the child matures, he discovers more of his abilities and decides to use them for the benefit of mankind as Superman. The last panel of this origin is captioned "A Scientific Explanation of Clark Kent's Amazing Strength," explaining he "had come from a planet whose inhabitants' physical structure was millions of years advanced of our own." Kent's strength is then compared with ants' and grasshoppers' abilities to lift many times their body weight and leap great distances.
Starting on January 16, 1939, Siegel's original stories and Shuster's original art work appeared in a daily newspaper comic strip through the McClure Syndicate. The first days of the Superman daily newspaper strip retold the origin in greater detail, focusing on his departure from Krypton. In this retelling, the planet Krypton and Superman's biological parents, Jor-L and Lara, are called by name for the first time.
The first issue of Superman, published in 1939, also featured the origin story. Max Gaines had written to Siegel and Shuster and asked them to expand the origin sequence to two pages, and to include four pages that detailed how Clark Kent became a journalist as well as a full page feature that expanded on the scientific explanation for Superman's powers. In this issue, the passing motorists are revealed to be the Kents, who leave him at the local orphan asylum but later return to adopt him. The Kents teach Clark that he must keep his powers a secret but that he will someday use them to assist humanity. Clark becomes Superman after the Kents pass away and wins his job as a reporter for the Daily Star by delivering information he had gathered as Superman about a lynch mob at the county jail. The feature on Superman's powers asserts again that Kryptonians had evolved to physical perfection, but also reveals that because Earth is a smaller planet than Krypton, the lighter gravitational pull further enhanced Superman's strength.
In 1945, More Fun Comics #101 introduced the concept of Superboy, establishing that Superman began his superhero career as a child. This issue shows Krypton in much greater detail than before, as a scientifically advanced world. Kryptonians do not appear to possess superhuman strength on Krypton but are aware that a Kryptonian on Earth would. In this story, Superman's biological parents are named Jor-El and Lara. Jor-El attempts to convince the Supreme Council that their world is doomed and that they must take action. The Council scoffs at Jor-El's warnings, so he returns home to save his family, if nobody else. But Jor-El is only able to save his son.
For the tenth anniversary in 1948 of Superman's debut, Superman #53 retold the origin story, compiling and expanding upon previous versions, though the story does not acknowledge the adventures of Superboy. This story establishes the Kents as farmers and that "Clark" is a family name. Before Clark's adopted father dies, he tells Clark that he must use his powers to become a force for good. Clark's father calls Clark a "Super-Man," inspiring Clark to use the name. Superman discovered his alien origins for the first time in Superman #61.Action Comics #158 retold the origin again, this time acknowledging the adventures of Superboy.

 
Smallville



A slightly older Kal-El just out of his Kryptonian ship in the pilot episode of Smallville









A series that from 2001 - 2011 fellow superman teenage years growing up to be come the legend.
The television series Smallville is a reimagining of the Superman mythology, starting from Clark Kent's teenage years. The series is named after Clark Kent's home town and focuses on the challenges he faces growing up in the rural midwest, while also discovering his super powers and the details of his alien origins. The series creators and cast have specified that the series is about Clark Kent and not Superman, and that the character will not appear in costume or fly in the series.
The series begins with the arrival of Kal-El's spacecraft in Smallville during a massive meteor shower that would affect the rural town for years to come. Jonathan and Martha Kent find the child and adopt him with the help of Lionel Luthor. The Kents raise Clark and instruct him that he must not reveal his powers to anyone. Clark initially becomes friends with Lex Luthor, but Lex's obsession with learning Clark's secret drives them to become enemies.
Clark is aware of his super-speed, super-strength and invulnerability in the series pilot. In subsequent episodes and seasons, he discovers other abilities, including x-ray vision, heat vision, super hearing and super breath. Clark has demonstrated his ability to fly while under Jor-El's control, but does not know how to use this ability at will.
Details about the planet Krypton are revealed slowly over the course of the series.Clark learns of the planet and his alien origins from Dr. Virgil Swann played by the late christopter reeve. He later discovers that Jor-El had programmed his memory and will into the spacecraft that carried Clark to Earth. Through Jor-El, Clark learns that Zod's ambition to conquer Krypton led to the planet's destruction.

Superman Returns




 













Director Bryan Singer felt that most people were familiar with Superman's origin and wanted to make Superman Returns as a semi-sequel to Richard Donner's Superman, with the two films sharing the same origin story. The movie opens with a very brief summary of the origin story that reads, "On the doomed planet Krypton, a wise scientist placed his infant son into a spacecraft and launched him to Earth. Raised by a kind farmer and his wife, the boy grew up to become our greatest protector...Superman." Otherwise, the film portrays only a few scenes related to Superman's origin. The destruction of Krypton is seen before the opening credits, Lex Luthor invades the Fortress of Solitude and views the recordings that Jor-El had sent to Earth with Kal-El, and Clark Kent discovers his ability to fly in a flashback.
Superman Returns utilized footage of Marlon Brando as Jor-El, and nearly identical set design for Kryptonian structures as the 1978 film. Subtle similarities were also purposefully created, such as modeling the "new" Kent farmhouse after the "old" one, and having Eva Marie Saint's Martha Kent drive the same make and color of pickup truck as driven by the Kents in the original film. Certain scenes in the Kent farm also showed pictures of Brandon Routh's Clark Kent inserted into photos with Glenn Ford's Jonathan Kent.


Man of Steel
In 2010, Warner Bros announced that Christopher Nolan, who had previously directed Batman's origin story in Batman Begins, would be the producer on a reboot of the Superman film franchise. Director Zack Snyder stated that the film would focus on Superman's early days and would not be based on any particular comic book. Film is set for release june 14th 2013.


                                  


The new superman suit for Henry Cavil
2013













                                                                 Fan Made Film
 
2013 COMIC CON Trailer for the man of steel


Lois & Clark














In the 1990s television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, more inspiration was taken from Byrne's work on Man of Steel. Feeling it was a more relatable version of the story, the show's producers and main developer also kept around Superman's adoptive parents as regular cast members, giving the main protagonist people to confide in. The series pilot begins with Clark's arrival in Metropolis. Clark and his mother develop his uniform in a musical montage set against Bonnie Tyler's single "Holding Out for a Hero." Superman makes his public debut saving a space station mission from sabotage by Lex Luthor, who is initially portrayed in his corporate tycoon incarnation.
Clark's adoptive parents explain how they found him in a spacecraft in the second episode "Strange Visitor (From Another Planet)" and how they initially believed that he was part of an experiment when investigators ask them about debris from a Russian space station. Clark later learns that he is from Krypton after finding the spacecraft in the custody of the secret government agency Bureau 39. Clark questions why he was abandoned, but later learns of Krypton's destruction through a series of messages left for him by Jor-El in the episode "Foundling." The series explored more of the history and culture of Krypton in a story arc that spanned the final episodes of the third season and the first episodes of the fourth.

Superman: The Animated Series
Superman: The Animated Series premiered with a three-part episode titled "The Last Son of Krypton." The series creators felt that focusing on the alien civilization of Krypton in the premiere episode would help differentiate the series from their earlier work Batman: The Animated Series. They intended to mirror the structure of the origin presented in the 1978 film, but they felt that it would seem stale unless they added some new dimension to it.
This version's major difference is Brainiac's role in Krypton's destruction. Brainiac is portrayed as the supercomputer that monitors Krypton and advises the planetary council on scientific matters. He senses the imminent destruction of the planet, but denies this fact so he can avoid the council's order to organize the planet's evacuation and instead focus on saving himself. Brainiac reasons that the loss of the planet itself and all its living inhabitants is part of the natural order, but his own survival would ensure the preservation of Krypton's history and achievements. Because he goes against Brainiac and the Kryptonian Council, Jor-El becomes an outlaw in their eyes as he works to save his son. After the destruction of Krypton and Kal-El's arrival on Earth, Brainiac eventually becomes an enemy of Superman




The Hulk
















The Hulk is a fictional character, a superhero who appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 (May 1962). He is a gigantic, green, irradiated, mutated humanoid monster with incredible strength and an inability to control his rage. The Hulk is sometimes characterized as hyper-aggressive and brutal, other times as cunning, brilliant, and scheming. He is often portrayed as an antihero. The Hulk is cast as the emotional and impulsive alter ego of the withdrawn and reserved physicist Dr. Bruce Banner; Banner first transforms into the Hulk shortly after he is accidentally exposed to the blast of a test detonation of a gamma bomb he invented. Subsequently, Banner will involuntarily transform into the Hulk whenever he gets too angry or if his life is in danger, leading to extreme complications in Banner's life. Lee said the Hulk's creation was inspired by a combination of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Frankenstein.
Although the Hulk's coloration has varied throughout the character's publication history, the most consistent shade is green. As the Hulk, Banner is capable of significant feats of strength, the magnitude of which increase in direct proportion to the character's anger. As the character himself puts it, "The madder Hulk gets, the stronger Hulk gets!" Strong emotions such as anger, terror and grief are also triggers for forcing Banner's transformation into the Hulk. As a child, Banner's father Brian Banner often got mad and physically abused his mother, creating the psychological complex of fear, anger, and the fear of anger and the destruction it can cause that underlies the character. A common storyline is the pursuit of both Banner and the Hulk by the U.S. armed forces, because of all the destruction that he causes. He has two main catchphrases: "Hulk is strongest there is!" and the better-known "HULK SMASH!", which has founded the basis for a number of pop culture memes.
The Hulk has been depicted in various other media, most notably by Bill Bixby as Dr. David Banner and Lou Ferrigno as the Hulk in the live-action television series and five made-for-television movies, and by Eric Bana, Edward Norton and later Mark Ruffalo in the most recent Marvel film adaptations. Other depictions include multiple animated series, through the use of CGI in Hulk (2003) and The Incredible Hulk (2008), and various video games. The most recent CGI portrayal is in the 2012 film The Avengers

Promotional art for The Incredible Hulk vol. 3, #92 (April 2006)
by Bryan Hitch






































Concept and creation
The Hulk first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 (May 1962), written by writer-editor Stan Lee, and penciller and co-plotter Jack Kirby, and inked by Paul Reinman. Lee cites influence from Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in the Hulk's creation:
"I combined Jekyll and Hyde with Frankenstein," he explains, "and I got myself the monster I wanted, who was really good, but nobody knew it. He was also somebody who could change from a normal man into a monster, and lo, a legend was born."[ Lee remembers, "I had always loved the old movie Frankenstein. And it seemed to me that the monster, played by Boris Karloff, wasn't really a bad guy. He was the good guy. He didn't want to hurt anybody. It's just those idiots with torches kept running up and down the mountains, chasing him and getting him angry. And I thought, 'Wouldn't it be fun to create a monster and make him the good guy?'
Lee also compared Hulk to the Golem of Jewish myth. In The Science of Superheroes, Gresh and Weinberg see the Hulk as a reaction to the Cold War and the threat of nuclear attack, an interpretation shared by Weinstein in Up, Up and Oy Vey. This interpretation corresponds well when taken into account alongside other popularized fictional media created during this time period, which took advantage of the prevailing sense among Americans that nuclear power could produce monsters and mutants. Kaplan calls Hulk "schizophrenic." Jack Kirby has also commented upon his influences in drawing the character, recalling as inspiration the tale of a mother who rescues her child who is trapped beneath a car.




The Incredible Hulk #1 (May 1962). Cover art by Jack Kirby and Paul Reinman




















Debut and first series.
In the debut, Lee chose gray for the Hulk because he wanted a color that did not suggest any particular ethnic group. Colorist Stan Goldberg, however, had problems with the gray coloring, resulting in different shades of gray, and even green, in the issue. After seeing the first published issue, Lee chose to change the skin color to green. Green was used in retellings of the origin, with even reprints of the original story being recolored for the next two decades, until The Incredible Hulk vol. 2, #302 (December 1984) reintroduced the gray Hulk in flashbacks set close to the origin story. Since then, reprints of the first issue have displayed the original gray coloring, with the fictional canon specifying that the Hulk's skin had initially been gray. [An exception is the early trade paperback, Origins of Marvel Comics, from 1974, which explains the difficulties in keeping the gray color consistent in a Stan Lee written prologue, and reprints the origin story keeping the gray coloration.]
The original series was canceled with issue #6 (March 1963). Lee had written each story, with Kirby penciling the first five issues and Steve Ditko penciling and inking the sixth. The character immediately guest-starred in The Fantastic Four #12 (March 1963), and months later became a founding member of the superhero team the Avengers, appearing in the first two issues of the team's eponymous series (September & November 1963), and returning as an antagonist in issue #3 and as an ally in #5 (January–May 1964). He then guest-starred in Fantastic Four #25–26 (April–May 1964), which revealed Banner's full name as "Robert Bruce Banner," and The Amazing Spider-Man #14 (July 1964).
Around this time, co-creator Kirby received a letter from a college dormitory stating the Hulk had been chosen as its official mascot. Kirby and Lee realized their character had found an audience in college-age readers.


 


Tales to Astonish #60 (October 1964). Cover art by Jack Kirby and Sol Brodsky
















Tales to Astonish
 
A year and a half after the series was canceled, the Hulk became one of two features in Tales to Astonish, beginning in issue #60 (October 1964). In the previous issue, he had appeared as an antagonist for Giant-Man, whose feature under various superhero guises had run in the title since issue #35. This phase also introduced the concept of Banner's transformations being caused by extreme emotional stress, which would become central to the character's status as an iconic figure of runaway emotion. It was also during this time that the Hulk developed a more savage and childlike personality, shifting from the brutish figure who spoke in complete sentences.
This new Hulk feature was initially scripted by writer-editor Lee and illustrated by the team of penciller Steve Ditko and inker George Roussos. Other artists later in this run included Jack Kirby from #68–87 (June 1965 – October 1966), doing full pencils or, more often, layouts for other artists; Gil Kane, credited as "Scott Edwards", in #76 (February 1966), his first Marvel Comics work; Bill Everett inking Kirby in #78–84 (April–October 1966); and John Buscema penciling Kirby's layouts in #85-87. The Tales to Astonish run introduced the super-villains the Leader, who would become the Hulk's archnemesis, and the Abomination, another gamma-irradiated being. In issue #77 (March 1966), Bruce Banner's and the Hulk's dual identity became publicly known, thus making Banner often a wanted fugitive from the authorities. Marie Severin finished out the Hulk's run in Tales to Astonish. Beginning with issue #102 (April 1968) the book was retitled The Incredible Hulk vol. 2, and ran until March 1999, when Marvel canceled the series and restarted the title with a new issue #1.

1970s
The Incredible Hulk vol. 2 was published through the 1970s, and the character also made guest appearances in other titles. Writers introduced Banner’s cousin Jennifer Walters, the She-Hulk, in a title of her own. In the first issue of the She-Hulk comic, Banner gave some of his blood to Walters in a transfusion. She seemed fine at first, but when she later suffered stress it caused a transformation into the She-Hulk. Unlike her cousin, she maintained her intellect and personality, although her inhibitions were noticeably lowered. She later appeared in the Hulk comic proper, as well as other Marvel titles. Banner’s guilt about causing her change became another part of his character, although Jennifer grew to prefer her She-Hulk state.
Writers changed numerous times during the decade. At times, the creative staff included Archie Goodwin, Chris Claremont, and Tony Isabella, Len Wein handled many of the stories through the 1970s, working first with Herb Trimpe, then, in 1975, with Sal Buscema, who was the regular artist for ten years. Harlan Ellison plotted a story, scripted by Roy Thomas, for issue #140 (June 1971), "The Brute that Shouted Love at the Heart of the Atom". Issues #180–181 (October–November 1974) introduced the character Wolverine, who would go on to become one of Marvel Comics' most popular.
In 1977, Marvel (under its Curtis Magazines imprint) launched a second title, The Rampaging Hulk, a black-and-white comics magazine. Originally, the series was conceived as a flashback series, set between the end of his original, short-lived solo title and the beginning of his feature in Tales to Astonish. After nine issues, the magazine was retitled The Hulk! and printed in full color. Near the end of the magazine's run, it went back to black-and-white.Back-up features included Bloodstone, Man-Thing, and Shanna the She-Devil during the Rampaging Hulk issues, and later Moon Knight and Dominic Fortune. Ultimately, the stories from both incarnations of the magazine were quietly retconned as "movies" based upon the Hulk for alien audiences

1980s and 1990s
Following Roger Stern, Bill Mantlo took over the writing with issue #245 (March 1980). His "Crossroads of Eternity" stories, which ran through issues #300–313 (October 1984 – November 1985), explored the idea that Banner had suffered child abuse. Greg Pak, a later writer on The Incredible Hulk vol. 2, called Mantlo's "Crossroads" stories one of his biggest influences on approaching the character. After five years, Mantlo and artist Mike Mignola left the title for Alpha Flight, and Alpha Flight writer John Byrne took over the series and left it after six issues, claiming, "I took on the Hulk after a discussion with editor-in-chief Jim Shooter, in which I mentioned some of the things I would like to do with that character, given the chance. He told me to do whatever was necessary to get on the book, he liked my ideas so much. I did, and once installed he immediately changed his mind - 'You can't do this!' Six issues was as much as I could take."Byrne was followed briefly by Al Milgrom, before new regular writer Peter David took over.
David became the writer of the series with issue #331 (May 1987), marking the start of a 12-year tenure. David's run altered Banner's pre-Hulk characterization and the nature of the relationship between Banner and the Hulk. David returned to the Stern and Mantlo abuse storyline, expanding the damage caused, and depicting Banner as suffering dissociative identity disorder (DID). David's stories showed that Banner had serious mental problems long before he became the Hulk. David revamped the personality significantly, giving the gray Hulk the alias "Joe Fixit," and setting him up as a morally ambiguous Las Vegas enforcer and tough guy. David worked with numerous artists over his run on the series, including Dale Keown, Todd McFarlane, Sam Kieth, Gary Frank, Liam Sharp, Terry Dodson, Mike Deodato, George Pérez, and Adam Kubert.
In issue #377 (January 1991), David revamped the Hulk again, using a storyline involving hypnosis to have the splintered personalities of Banner, Joe Fixit and the savage green Hulk synthesize into a new Hulk, who has the vast power of the Savage Hulk, the cunning of the gray Hulk, and the intelligence of Bruce Banner.
In the 1993 Future Imperfect miniseries, writer David and penciller George Pérez introduced readers to the Hulk of a dystopian future. Calling himself the Maestro, the Hulk rules over a world where most of the heroes have been killed, and only Rick Jones and a small band of rebels fight against the Maestro’s rule. Although the Maestro seemed to be destroyed by the end, he returned in The Incredible Hulk vol. 2, #460 (January 1998), also written by David.
In 1998, David followed editor Bobbie Chase's suggestion to kill Betty Ross. In the introduction to the Hulk trade paperback Beauty and the Behemoth, David said that his wife had recently left him, providing inspiration for the storyline. Marvel executives used Ross' death as an opportunity to push the idea of bringing back the Savage Hulk. David disagreed, leading to his parting ways with Marvel. His last issue of Hulk was #467 (August 1998), his 137th.
Also in 1998, Marvel relaunched The Rampaging Hulk as a standard comic book rather than as a comics magazine.



































Bruce Banner
The core of the Hulk, Bruce Banner has been portrayed differently by different writers, but common themes persist. Banner, a physicist, is sarcastic and seemingly very self-assured when he first appears in Incredible Hulk #1, but is also emotionally withdrawn in most fashions. Banner designed the gamma bomb which caused his affliction, and the ironic twist of his self-inflicted fate has been one of the most persistent common themes. Arie Kaplan describes the character thus: "Bruce Banner lives in a constant state of panic, always wary that the monster inside him will erupt, and therefore he can’t form meaningful bonds with anyone."
Throughout the Hulk's published history, writers have continued to frame Bruce Banner in these themes. Under different writers, his fractured personality led to transformations into different versions of the Hulk. These transformations are usually involuntary, and often writers have tied the transformation to emotional triggers, such as rage and fear. As the series has progressed, different writers have adapted the Hulk, changing Hulk's personality to reflect changes in Banner's physiology or psyche. Writers have also refined and changed some aspects of Banner's personality, showing him as emotionally repressed, but capable of deep love for Betty Ross, and for solving problems posed to him. Under the writing of Paul Jenkins, Banner was shown to be a capable fugitive, applying deductive reasoning and observation to figure out the events transpiring around him. On the occasions that Banner has controlled the Hulk's body, he has applied principles of physics to problems and challenges and used deductive reasoning. It was shown after his ability to turn into the Hulk was taken away by the Red Hulk that Banner has been extremely versatile as well as cunning when dealing with the many situations that followed. When he was briefly separated from the Hulk by Doom, Banner became criminally insane, driven by his desire to regain the power of the Hulk, but once the two recombined he came to accept that he was a better person with the Hulk to provide something for him to focus on controlling rather than allowing his intellect to run without restraint against the world.




































The Hulk
During the experimental detonation of a gamma bomb, scientist Bruce Banner rushes to save a teenager who has driven onto the testing field. Pushing the teen, Rick Jones, into a trench, Banner himself is caught in the blast, absorbing massive amounts of radiation. He awakens later in an infirmary, seeming relatively unscathed, but that night transforms into a lumbering gray form that breaks through the wall and escapes. A soldier in the ensuing search party dubs the otherwise unidentified creature a "hulk".
The original version of the Hulk was often shown as simple and quick to anger. His first transformations were triggered by sundown, and his return to Banner by dawn. However, in Incredible Hulk #4, Banner started using a gamma-ray device to transform at will. In more recent Hulk stories, emotions trigger the change. Although gray in his debut, difficulties for the printer led to a change in his color to green. In the original tale, the Hulk divorces his identity from Banner’s, decrying Banner as "that puny weakling in the picture." From his earliest stories, the Hulk has been concerned with finding sanctuary and quiet and often is shown reacting emotionally to situations quickly. Grest and Weinberg call Hulk the "dark, primordial side of [Banner's] psyche." Even in the earliest appearances, Hulk spoke in the third person. The Hulk retains a modest intelligence, thinking and talking in full sentences, and Lee even gives the Hulk expository dialogue in issue six, allowing readers to learn just what capabilities the Hulk has, when the Hulk says, "But these muscles ain't just for show! All I gotta do is spring up and just keep goin'!" In Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World's Greatest Comics, Les Daniels addresses the Hulk as an embodiment of cultural fears of radiation and nuclear science. He quotes Jack Kirby thus: "As long as we're experimenting with radioactivity, there's no telling what may happen, or how much our advancements may cost us." Daniels continues, "The Hulk became Marvel's most disturbing embodiment of the perils inherent in the atomic age."
Though usually a loner, the Hulk helped to form both the Avengers and the Defenders. He was able to determine that the changes were now triggered by emotional stress.
The Fantastic Four #12 (March 1963), featured the Hulk's first battle with the Thing. Although many early Hulk stories involve General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross trying to capture or destroy the Hulk, the main villain is often, like Hulk, a radiation-based character, like the Gargoyle or the Leader, along with other foes such as the Toad Men, or Asian warlord General Fang. Ross' daughter, Betty, loves Banner and criticizes her father for pursuing the Hulk. General Ross' right-hand man, Major Glenn Talbot, also loves Betty and is torn between pursuing the Hulk and trying to gain Betty's love more honorably. Rick Jones serves as the Hulk's friend and sidekick in these early tales.
In the 1970s, Hulk was shown as more prone to anger and rage, and less talkative. Writers played with the nature of his transformations, briefly giving Banner control over the change, and the ability to maintain control of his Hulk form.
Hulk stories began to involve other dimensions, and in one, Hulk met the empress Jarella. Jarella used magic to bring Banner’s intelligence to Hulk, and came to love him, asking him to become her mate. Though Hulk returned to Earth before he could become her king, he would return to Jarella's kingdom of K'ai again.
When Bill Mantlo took on writing duties, he led the character into the arena of political commentary when Hulk traveled to Tel Aviv, Israel, encountering both the violence of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, and the Jewish Israeli heroine Sabra. Soon after, Hulk encountered the Arabian Knight, a Bedouin superhero.
Under Mantlo's writing, a mindless Hulk was sent to the "Crossroads of Eternity", where Banner was revealed to have suffered childhood traumas which engendered Bruce's repressed rage.
Having come to terms with his issues, at least for a time, Hulk and Banner physically separated under John Byrne's writing. Separated from the Hulk by Doc Samson Banner was recruited by the U.S. government to create the Hulkbusters, a government team dedicated to catching Hulk. Banner and Ross married, but Byrne's change in the character was reversed by Al Milgrom, who reunited the two personas, and with issue #324, returned the Hulk to his gray coloration, with the changes occurring at night, regardless of Banner's emotional state. The Hulk appeared to perish in a gamma bomb explosion, but was instead sent to Jarella's home dimension of K'ai.
Shortly after returning to Earth, Hulk took on the identity of "Joe Fixit," a shadowy behind the scenes figure, working in Las Vegas on behalf of a casino owner, Michael Berengetti For months, Banner was repressed in Hulk’s mind, but slowly began to reappear. Hulk and Banner began to change back and forth again at dusk and dawn, as the character initially had, but this time, they worked together to advance both their goals, using written notes as communication as well as meeting on a mental plane to have conversations. In The Incredible Hulk #333, the Leader describes the gray Hulk persona as strongest during the night of the new moon and weakest during the full moon. Eventually, the Green Hulk began to reemerge.
In issue #377, David revamped the Hulk again; Doctor Leonard Samson engages the Ringmaster's services to hypnotize Bruce Banner and force him, the Savage Hulk (Green Hulk) and Mr. Fixit (Gray Hulk) to confront Banner's past abuse at the hands of his father Brian Banner. During the session, the three identities confront a "Guilt Hulk," which sadistically torments the three with the abuse of Banner’s father. Facing down this abuse, a new larger and smarter Hulk emerges and completely replaces the "human" Bruce Banner and Hulk personae. This Hulk is a culmination of the three aspects of Banner. He has the vast power of the Savage Hulk, the cunning of the gray Hulk, and the intelligence of Bruce Banner.
Hulk: Future Imperfect #2 (January 1993) depicting the Maestro. Cover art by George Pérez.
Peter David then introduces the Hulk to the Pantheon, a secretive organization built around an extended family of superpowered people. The family members, mostly distant cousins to each other, had codenames based in the mythos of the Trojan War, and were descendants of the founder of the group, Agamemnon. When Agamemnon leaves, he puts the Hulk in charge of the organization. The storyline ends when it is revealed Agamemnon has traded his offspring to an alien race to gain power. The Hulk leads the Pantheon against the aliens, and then moves on. During his leadership of the Pantheon, Hulk encounters a depraved version of himself from the future called Maestro, who Delphi saw in a vision back in The Incredible Hulk vol. 2, #401 with part of the events occurring concurrently in The Incredible Hulk vol. 2, #415.
Thrown into the future, Hulk finds himself allied with Rick Jones, now an old man, in an effort to destroy the tyrant Maestro. Unable to stop him in any other manner, Hulk uses the time machine that brought him to the future to send the Maestro back into the heart of the very Gamma Bomb test that spawned the Hulk.
Artistically, the character has been depicted as progressively more muscular in the years since his debut

The Flash

In 1940, writer Gardner Fox (1911–1986) and artist Harry Lampert (1916–2004) created the Flash for All-American Comics, which published under the DC Comics label. With powers and costume inspired by the Greek/Roman god Mercury, Jay Garrick made his debut in Flash Comics #1. Edited by Sheldon Mayer (1917–1991), the series featured the Flash, Hawk man, and a rotating cast of other heroes.

The flash is know for his lighting speed & to be able to run faster than superman himself. He was first know to battle against racketeers, kidnappers, or thieves until he joined the justice league with the other superheroes.The Flash proved so popular he gained a series of his own, All-Flash Quarterly in 1941 (soon shortened to just All-Flash), and a regular spot in Comic Cavalcade in 1942.

He was portrayed in smallville TV series Code name: impulse aka the flash - Bart Allen in smallville 2004 episode “Run. Member of the justice league. Hit by lighting when born gave him the power to run at incredible speeds which got him in to trouble & the wrong side of the law when he was younger until he meant Clark Kent aka superman.Soon after making a new friend Bart join up with Oliver queen aka green arrow to fight against injustice & corruption in the world,made a name for his self in the justice league.

Most of the game's & other films portray him a police crimal sciencist, that one night in the lab got struck by lighting & with the chemicals fused to he's body geneticlly changing he's body to be-able to run at the speed of sound.

The Flash’s Powers

The key ability all Flashes share is speed: running fast, thinking fast, kicking and punching fast. They can create whirlwinds with their arms or drill through the ground. They can move back and forth so quickly they become invisible. They can run up the side of a building faster than the pull of gravity, or across water before their feet have time to break the surface. Most of them have complete control over their molecules, and can vibrate through solid objects. The third Flash, Wally West, can lend speed to moving objects or steal it from them, slowing them to a stop.
[The Cosmic Treadmill]The second Flash, Barry Allen, learned how to travel through time using his control over his molecular vibrations. On his own it was hit-and-miss, so he built the “cosmic treadmill” to help pinpoint destinations. By running on the treadmill, any Flash can set up the right vibrations to travel through time. Wally West is the only Flash (so far) to master time travel without the treadmill, though he avoids it whenever possible.

Secret Origins


Secret Origins is the title of three American comic book series published by DC Comics.
The title began in 1961 and for one issue, all reprints. The title Secret Origins of Super Heroes (or Super Villains) went onto a second series, also reprints, which ran for seven issues from 1973-1974. Its most well-known incarnation was a 50-issue series (plus three annuals and a special) that ran from 1986 to 1990. Typically, an issue would be given over to clarifying the post-Crisis origins of a number of characters, usually two (as most of the issues were 'double-sized', i.e. 48 pages, plus ads). Roy Thomas was the initial writer/editorial consultant on the series; later issues were overseen by Mark Waid. Three more specials followed in 1998-1999. In 2004, it returned to the all-reprint format with a "Weird" special featuring Doctor Fate, The Spectre, Animal Man, Enchantress, Metamorpho, Congorilla, El Diablo, and Bizarro World.

Characters featured in the 1980s/1990s series
Issue 1: The Golden Age Superman; this was intended as a tribute to the original version of the character, as the latter-day version of Superman was being concurrently introduced by John Byrne in the Man Of Steel miniseries; art by Golden Age Superman artist Wayne Boring. (See also Kal-L.)
Issue 2: The Blue Beetle, both the Dan Garrett and Ted Kord versions; art by Gil Kane
Issue 3: Captain Marvel (credited by the Shazam! title); a retelling of the story from WHIZ Comics #2, albeit updated to modern day. Much of this was changed in the Legends crossover and Thomas himself would retcon this some months later in SHAZAM! The New Beginning, and all of which was changed by Jerry Ordway in his graphic novel The Power of Shazam!.
Issue 4: Firestorm (Ronnie Raymond)
Issue 5: the original Crimson Avenger; art by Gene Colan.
Issue 6: Halo of the Outsiders; the Golden Age Batman. This was the first double-sized issue.
Issue 7: Green Lantern Guy Gardner; the Golden Age Sandman (this story was later subtly retconned in Sandman Mystery Theatre.)
Issue 8: Shadow Lass; Doll Man.
Issue 9: The original Star-Spangled Kid (Skyman) and Stripesy; the Flash (Jay Garrick).
Issue 10: The Phantom Stranger. This was a Legends tie-in that related four possible origins for the character; one was by Mike Barr and Jim Aparo (a variation on the Wandering Jew myth), another by Alan Moore and Joe Orlando (which postulated that the Stranger was a fallen angel).
Issue 11: the Golden Age Hawkman; Power Girl. Again, both stories presented have been retconned, with Power Girl's backstory having been recently redefined by Geoff Johns in the pages of JSA Classified (which served as part of the buildup to Infinite Crisis).
Issue 12: The Challengers of the Unknown; Fury.
Issue 13: Nightwing (art by Erik Larsen); Johnny Thunder and his Thunderbolt; the Whip.
Issue 14: Suicide Squad. Another Legends tie-in, it served as a prequel to the later series, and was penned by that series' writer, John Ostrander.
Issue 15: The Spectre; Deadman.
Issue 16: Hourman; the Warlord; 'Mazing Man.
Issue 17: Adam Strange; Doctor Occult.
Issue 18: Green Lantern Alan Scott; the Creeper.
Issue 19: Uncle Sam; the Guardian.
Issue 20: Batgirl (Barbara Gordon); Doctor Mid-Nite.
Issue 21: Jonah Hex; the Black Condor.
Issue 22: the Manhunters. This was a tie-in with Millennium (as was the subsequent issue), and aligned the various histories of the characters with the Manhunter name together.
Issue 23: the Guardians of the Universe (written by Todd Klein); the Floronic Man (written by Rick Veitch).
Issue 24: Doctor Fate; Blue Devil. Mark Waid began editorial duties with this issue.
Issue 25: the Legion of Super-Heroes (now apocryphal); the Golden Age Atom.
Issue 26: Black Lightning; Miss America.
Issue 27: Zatanna her father Zatara, and Doctor Mist.
Issue 28: Midnight (art by Gil Kane); Nightshade (art by Rob Liefeld). Nightshade's origin doubled as an introduction/backdrop to a three-issue Suicide Squad (of which she was a member) arc where she returned to her place of origin to save her brother.
Issue 29: The Atom (Ray Palmer); the Red Tornado (Ma Hunkel; this was Sheldon Mayer's last comics story); Mr. America (aka the Americommando).
Issue 30: Plastic Man; the Elongated Man.
Issue 31: the Justice Society. A full-length story, and Roy Thomas' last contribution to the series (excluding the Grim Ghost story in Issue 42).
Issue 32: the Justice League. In a full-length story by Keith Giffen and Peter David, the league is formed by Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), the Flash (Barry Allen), Aquaman, the Martian Manhunter and Black Canary. Superman and Batman were not founding members, and Wonder Woman's revised continuity precluded her from same. The events depicted were later expanded upon in JLA: Year One and JLA: Incarnations.
Issue 33: Fire, Ice and Mister Miracle. This and the subsequent two issues dealt with members of Justice League International.
Issue 34: Captain Atom, G'nort and Rocket Red.
Issue 35: Booster Gold, Maxwell Lord, and the Martian Manhunter (rendered apocryphal by events & revelations in J'onn J'onnz' later solo series).
Issue 36: Green Lantern Hal Jordan (story by Jim Owsley); Poison Ivy (story by Neil Gaiman).
Issue 37: The Legion of Substitute Heroes; the first (villainous) Doctor Light.
Issue 38: Green Arrow and Speedy (Roy Harper/Arsenal).
Issue 39: Animal Man (story by Grant Morrison); Man-Bat.
Issue 40: the all-gorilla issue, spotlighting the likes of Congorilla, Detective Chimp, and Gorilla Grodd.
Issue 41: the Flash Rogues Gallery - Weather Wizard, Heat Wave, the Trickster, the Pied Piper, Grodd, and Captain Cold.
Issue 42: Phantom Girl; the Gay Ghost/Grim Ghost.
Issue 43: the original Hawk and Dove; Cave Carson; Chris KL-99.
Issue 44: Clayface I, II & III. This issue gave background information for an arc that appeared in Detective Comics issues 604 through 607, entitled "The Mud Pack".
Issue 45: Blackhawk; El Diablo
Issue 46: the headquarters of the Silver Age Justice League (story by Grant Morrison), the New Titans' Titans Tower, and the 'rocketship clubhouse' of the Legion of Super Heroes. Arm Fall Off Boy makes his first appearance.
Issue 47: deceased Legionnaires Ferro Lad, Karate Kid and Chemical King
Issue 48: Ambush Bug, Stanley and His Monster, Rex the Wonder Dog, and the Trigger Twins.
Issue 49: Bouncing Boy, the Newsboy Legion, and the Silent Knight.

Issue 50: a 96-page last issue. This consisted of a prose retelling of Dick Grayson's first encounter with Batman (by Dennis O'Neil and George Pérez); the first meeting of the Golden and Silver Age Flashes (story by Grant Morrison); how Johnny Thunder (the western hero) came to be; the definitive history of the Black Canary; and the stories behind Dolphin and the Space Museum.

Annuals and specials

Annual 1: the Doom Patrol (art by John Byrne); Captain Comet.
Annual 2: The second and third Flashes (Barry Allen & Wally West).
Annual 3: the Teen Titans. This was an anniversary tribute with contributions from George Pérez, Tom Grummett, Irv Novick, Dave Cockrum, Kevin Maguire, and Colleen Doran.
Special 1: the Penguin (by Alan Grant and Sam Kieth), the Riddler (by Neil Gaiman, Matt Wagner and Bernie Mireault), and Two-Face (by Mark Verheiden and Pat Broderick).
Additionally, there was a belated Secret Origins 80 Page Giant issued in 1998, that focused on the members of Young Justice. In a sense, this was bringing the concept full circle, since Secret Origins had begun as an 80-page reprint collection in 1961 (which was itself reissued in 1998).

Collected editions

Some of the series was collected in a trade paperback along with other material and some original work in 1989, the title is sometimes given as Secret Origins Of The World's Greatest Super-Heroes . The focus was on DC's major characters: the Flash (Barry Allen, from Secret Origins Annual #2); Green Lantern (Hal Jordan, from #36); J'onn J'onnz, the Martian Manhunter (from #35); and Superman (from The Man of Steel #6). There was also an all-new retelling of Batman's origins, Batman: The Man Who Falls, by Dennis O'Neil and Dick Giordano; this story later served as a cited inspiration for the 2005 film Batman Begins.

JUSTICE LEAGUE FILM RUMOUR FOR 2015


A recent report is stating that Warner Brothers is looking to push forward with a Justice League project that will happen after sequels for Man of Steel and Green Lantern
Read more a
t http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/JakeLester/news/?a=49700#BoL5qLwJIyoUfaA8.99

Now take this with a huge grain of salt, but the people over at Cosmic Book News seem to have some information regarding Warner Brothers plans to do a Justice League movie. According to their information the Justice League movie would happen after sequels for Zack Snyder's Man Of Steel and Martian Campbell's Green Lantern. WB is wanting Christopher Nolan to be involved with the project some how, with Geoff Johns to write a treatment for the film. After Johns does his treatment the hope is that they can bring in David Goyer to pen the final screen play. The plan is for Henry Cavill and Ryan Reynolds to reprise their roles of Superman and Green Lantern respectively. As of right now there is now plan for Christen Bale to reprise his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman for the film as well.

Here is the full report from Cosmic Book News:
Plans are being put together for Justice League movie for either a 2015 or 2016 release.

DC Entertainment will be spearheading the
film, and it will be distributed by Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures.

Geoff Johns, DC Comics Chief Creative Officer and Co-Producer on the Green Lantern
movie, will be on the Justice League movie as an Executive Producer, and will be doing the initial treatment for the film before a writer is brought on to pen the screenplay.

David Goyer (screenwriter on Man of Steel) is said to be the initial favorite for the screenplay.

As Johns hasn't started work on the treatment yet, story details will not be made known, just production details within the next few months as to what it will hold.

The reason for the later release date is to get the
movie right and do it proper.

They want Christopher Nolan and wife, Emma Thomas, to be involved in the film in some capacity, most likely as producers. Don't expect Christian Bale as Batman; it will be a new actor in the role.
However, Henry Cavill and Ryan Reynolds could appear as their respective characters, Superman and Green Lantern -- but it is too early to tell.

There is a strong indication that the Justice League
movie will be part of a shared universe.

WB wants another Superman movie released before Justice League; however, don't expect that story to be compromised for Justice League, as the next Superman
film will still be treated as a stand alone film.

Another Green Lantern film before Justice League is also a possibility. It's being said the Green Lantern sequel will definitely be better than the first as Sinestro will be the villain, and also that the sequel will act as the first step towards a joint universe in which hints towards other heroes can be intergrated more easily (than lets say a Superman sequel).

 
NOW WEATHER THIS FILM WILL BE GOING HEAD I DONT KNOW,THERE ARE RUMOUR AT THE MOMENT THAT A STORY IS BEING WRITEN FOR THE FILM BUT THESE ARE JUST RUMOURS AT THE MOMENT, ATTENDED REALISE IS SAID TO BE AROUND MAY BE 2014 OR 2015 ,SO WE WILL HAVE TO KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR ANY NEWS THAT THIS FILM MITE BE GIVEN THE GO AHEAD.

Christopter Reeve would of been 60 on 25th 2012

Christopher Reeve the legend that made us believe a man could fly, he would of been 60 on Tuesday 25Th September 2012, This video is a tribute to the family man he was & the man that never gave up until he sadly pasted away on october 10th 2004 to find a cure for spinal injuries, this was he's legacy that still carry on today. He will always be one of the greatest men to live that took time even tho he was ill to help others, may he rest in peace.

The legend That is Superman

Every one need a hero to look up to,to make us hold on for that one second for them to save us.One man above all superheroes that inspires hope,The one man that became a legend
superman