The Kingdom is a story arc spanning two issues of a self-titled comic book limited series , and multiple one-shot comics published by DC Comics in 1999. The story was written by Mark Waid and illustrated by Ariel Olivetti and Mike Zeck . It is both a sequel and in some ways a prequel to Kingdom Come , which Waid co-wrote with Alex Ross . Both books form an Elseworlds saga, as they are abstracted from official DC Comics continuity.
151-588: Damian Wayne is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics , created by Grant Morrison and Andy Kubert , commonly in association with Batman . Damian Wayne is the biological son of Bruce Wayne/Batman. His mother is Batman's love interest Talia , and his grandfather is the Batman villain Ra's al Ghul . With the al Ghuls citing Bruce Wayne as the optimal successor to their empire, after faking
302-595: A successful franchise which pioneered the Kyodai Hero subgenre where the superheroes would be as big as giant monsters ( kaiju ) that they fought. The kaiju monster Godzilla , originally a villain, began being portrayed as a radioactive superhero in the Godzilla films , starting with Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964). By the 1970s, Godzilla came to be viewed as a superhero, with
453-513: A DNA test on Damian. Alfred says Bruce intended to tell him the results when the time was right. At this, Tim realizes that Damian is indeed Bruce's son, and exclaims "The son of Satan is my brother?" Prior to the start of Grant Morrison's "Batman R.I.P." story arc in Batman #675, Damian senses that someone is out to get Batman. In response to this, Talia begins formulating a plan involving Commissioner James Gordon , whom Talia and Damian rescue from
604-527: A Lazarus Pit, leaving Batman in dread of Damian's fate. The resurrections fail, leaving Ra's to realize his arrogance for allowing the Heretic to kill his grandson and regret allowing Talia to clone Damian. After defeating Ra's in combat, Batman reclaims Damian's body and threatens his son's maternal grandfather that if he steals his son's body again, he will kill him in retaliation. They later encounter Darkseid 's elite member Glorious Godfrey , setting in motion
755-556: A booby-trapped Wayne Manor while in search of Batman, who is insane and has gone missing. Damian and Alfred race to aid Batman against the Black Glove in a commandeered Batmobile . Damian, who is driving, knocks an ambulance off a bridge without any sign of remorse or even concern. When Alfred reprimands him, Damian retorts with a backhanded threat. The only occupant of the ambulance was the Joker . In Nightwing #153 (2009), Damian
906-705: A book entitled Business Zero to Superhero . In 2014, he received a cease and desist from DC and Marvel who claimed that his use of the term superhero would cause confusion and dilute their brands. He was offered a few thousand dollars in settlement to change the name of his book, but he did not concede. A few days prior to the scheduled hearing at the Intellectual Property Office in London, the companies backed down. A similar scenario occurred when comic book creator Ray Felix attempted to register his comic book series A World Without Superheroes with
1057-496: A burden that prevents Batman from being the best foe for Joker. Joker tells Damian that his and Batman's greatest fear is being responsible for the other's death. Joker then presents Damian with Batman in Joker makeup, and states that Damian must kill Batman before Batman kills him. Unwilling to kill his father, Damian chooses death, but the Joker kills Batman before he can deal a fatal blow. Damian passes out from Joker venom and Batman
1208-693: A decorated officer in the United States Air Force who would become a costumed superheroine herself years later. In 1975 Shotaro Ishinomori 's Himitsu Sentai Gorenger debuted on what is now TV Asahi, it brought the concepts of multi-colored teams and supporting vehicles that debuted in Gatchaman into live-action, and began the Super Sentai franchise (later adapted into the American Power Rangers series in
1359-585: A full recovery. Beginning in Batman Annual #26 ("Head of the Demon") , Talia takes Damian to the Australian Outback , where he is tutored in the secret history of his grandfather Ra's al Ghul. Talia is unaware that White Ghost, a former servant of Ra's, plans to use him to resurrect Ra's, which would kill him in the process. Talia is able to save her son from his fate at the last minute. Ra's
1510-571: A globe-spanning journey to forge his own destiny and make amends for all of his wrongdoings in his own series, titled Robin: Son of Batman . Along his journey, he crosses paths with Ra's and Talia al Ghul, Deathstroke, and a new character named Maya Ducard, daughter of the late villain, Nobody. Damian plays a particular role in Batman and Robin Eternal when the Bat-Family is pitted against Mother,
1661-481: A grudging truce for the remainder of Damian's appearances in the series. Dick suggests changing the hit list password to Cousin Oliver , as Damian has little to no interest in pop culture references and would never guess it. Dick notes that his name is not on the list and Tim asserts it is because Dick is the only one who Tim trusts implicitly. After Bruce's skull was taken from his grave, Damian and Dick decide to bring
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#17327802010451812-491: A larger force to attack later and destroy the city, so he comes to the extreme decision that the only solution possible is for Damian to return to his mother, a decision that causes an emotional reaction from Damian like never before. Damian is killed battling a brutal enemy, the Heretic (an adult Damian clone) in issue #8 of the second volume of the Batman, Inc. comic book, which went on sale February 27, 2013. According to
1963-537: A larger one. Another important event was the debut of Mazinger Z by Go Nagai, creating the Super Robot genre. Go Nagai also wrote the manga Cutey Honey in 1973; although the Magical Girl genre already existed, Nagai's manga introduced Transformation sequences that would become a staple of Magical Girl media. The 1970s would see more anti-heroes introduced into Superhero fiction such examples included
2114-449: A letter column of the pulp magazine Thrilling Wonder Stories , the word superhero was used to define the title character of the comic strip Zarnak , by Max Plaisted. In the 1930s, the trends converged in some of the earliest superpowered costumed heroes, such as Japan's Ōgon Bat (1931) and Prince of Gamma (early 1930s), who first appeared in kamishibai (a kind of hybrid media combining pictures with live storytelling), Mandrake
2265-632: A miscarriage to his father and calling off their marriage, Talia has kept his existence hidden from Batman until Batman #656 (2006). In turn, the character is revealed to have originally been intended to "kill and replace his famous father," as well as serving as a host body for Ra's al Ghul, thus, in theory, unifying the Wayne and Demon factions as intended by the al Ghuls. Damian is Bruce's youngest and only biological child in mainline DC continuity, with him having four older adopted siblings: Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, and Cassandra Cain. A prototype of
2416-523: A multimedia franchise that used footage from Super Sentai . Internationally, the Japanese comic book character , Sailor Moon , is recognized as one of the most important and popular female superheroes ever created. The first use of the word "super hero" dates back to 1917. At the time, the word was merely used to describe a "public figure of great accomplishments." However, in 1967, Ben Cooper, Inc., an American Halloween costume manufacturer, became
2567-475: A murderous figure appears stating that he is Batman (later revealed to be Jason Todd). Although shot by Todd, Damian recovers and saves Tim Drake from falling to death inside Jason's Batcave. When Grayson hangs up his Nightwing mantle to become the newest Batman, he chooses Damian to assume the mantle of Robin by his side. Despite becoming Robin to Grayson's Batman, Damian reveals that he cares little for his older brother and has no respect for him as Batman and that
2718-495: A normal life) and the fact that several characters that he intended to have been killed in the first series were alive in The Kingdom , such as Zatara, Hawkman, and Kid Flash. In addition to Ross's criticisms, The Kingdom was also criticized by some for its artwork. Others praised Hypertime, a concept introduced in the story as a metaphor for reader response and canonicity. Despite its mixed reviews, The Kingdom has remained
2869-545: A path that defies her so blatantly, and he is therefore no longer welcome and will be considered an enemy of the House of al Ghul. Damian defiantly replies that he hopes to be a worthy one. Damian (as Robin) is then seen teaming up with Dick and Alfred to begin their own search for Bruce Wayne. During a confrontation with a returned minor villain, the Getaway Genius, Damian is initially angry that Grayson failed to capture
3020-601: A person, and admits that there was more to him than Batman. After Grayson's confidant, Oberon Sexton, is revealed to be the Joker in disguise, Damian tortures the villain by savagely beating him with a crowbar to get information, considering it to be self-defense since the Joker planned to attack him. However, the Clown Prince of Crime's apparent helplessness is revealed to be another ruse and he incapacitates Damian with his hidden Joker venom. The villain intends to use Damian and Dick in his fight against their common enemies:
3171-596: A possible future to the canon of the time, this child of Batman and Talia is named Ibn al Xu'ffasch ( Arabic : ابن الخفّاش), literally "Son of the Bat", and is a member of Lex Luthor 's inner circle. He works as a double agent for Batman in Luthor's organization, and thus aligned with his father instead of his maternal grandfather. In the Elliot S! Maggin novelization of Kingdom Come , al Xu'ffasch tells Bruce that his mother Talia
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#17327802010453322-537: A prequel that would bridge the gap between the mainstream DC Universe and the one portrayed in Kingdom Come . Artist and co-writer Alex Ross left the project, and writer Mark Waid revised the story into what was eventually published. Ross later criticized several aspects of the story in a Wizard magazine special, including the decision to make the birth of Superman and Wonder Woman's child a major world event (Ross believed they would keep it secret to give their child
3473-423: A profound effect on Japanese television . 1958 saw the debut of superhero Moonlight Mask on Japanese television. It was the first of numerous televised superhero dramas that would make up the tokusatsu superhero genre. Created by Kōhan Kawauchi , he followed up its success with the tokusatsu superhero shows Seven Color Mask (1959) and Messenger of Allah (1960), both starring a young Sonny Chiba . It
3624-505: A promiscuous manner. Through the overdeveloped bodies of the heroes or the seductive mannerisms of the villains, women in comic books are used as subordinates to their male counterparts, regardless of their strength or power. Wonder Woman has been subject to a long history of suppression as a result of her strength and power, including American culture's undoing of the Lynda Carter television series. In 2017's Wonder Woman , she had
3775-577: A publishing agreement with DC Comics that allowed them to introduce a line of comics that included characters of many ethnic minorities. Milestone's initial run lasted four years, during which it introduced Static , a character adapted into the WB Network animated series Static Shock . In addition to the creation of new minority heroes, publishers have filled the identities and roles of once-Caucasian heroes with new characters from minority backgrounds. The African-American John Stewart appeared in
3926-519: A robotic duplicate of the Calculator attempts to murder his close friend, Tam Fox , and decides to rejoin the team once the mission is completed. Damian chooses to leave the team upon Drake's return, reasoning that the Teen Titans do not need two Robins, and realizing that his teammates prefer to work with Tim. Upon returning to Gotham, Damian tells Dick that even though he had been brought to
4077-411: A ruthless woman who believes that she can make her 'children' stronger by putting them through intense trauma. Returning to assist his fellow Robins as the crisis reaches its conclusion, Damian helps Dick, Jason, and Tim regain confidence in themselves after Mother decimates their initial efforts against her by recalling a conversation he had with Bruce where Bruce noted that he is proud of how all three of
4228-757: A secondary character of the Green Hornet media franchise series since its inception in the 1930s. ). Kitty Pryde , a member of the X-Men, was an openly Jewish superhero in mainstream American comic books as early as 1978. Comic-book companies were in the early stages of cultural expansion and many of these characters played to specific stereotypes ; Cage and many of his contemporaries often employed lingo similar to that of blaxploitation films, Native Americans were often associated with shamanism and wild animals , and Asian Americans were often portrayed as kung fu martial artists . Subsequent minority heroes, such as
4379-439: A secret. When Batman and Nightwing finally re-confront Heretic, they overpower him, and the clone suffers a brutal beating from both in retaliation for Damian's death. Batman, despite desiring to kill his son's murderer more than anything and Nightwing making no attempts of stopping his mentor, spares the villain's life after seeing his resemblance to Damian, realizing the clone is what is left of his son. However, Talia later kills
4530-474: A series of cases in Gotham, Batman begins his attempt to reclaim Damian's body despite Ra's claim that he wishes to resurrect his daughter and grandson. Batman continues his pursuit out of his distrust towards Ra's. After defeating Damian's half-aquatic clones with Aquaman , Batman seeks Wonder Woman 's help in chasing Ra's to Themyscira . Though Ra's attempts to resurrect Damian alongside Talia in what he thought
4681-529: A shadowed figure who resembles the Phantom Stranger opposes Gog's actions. This figure plans to recruit his agent to stop Gog, leading to a crisis. As Gog travels closer to the modern DC Universe , the Linear Men panic when they see that their ordered index of time is unraveling. Rip Hunter is tasked by the shadowed figure with stopping Gog, and he recruits Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman from
Damian Wayne - Misplaced Pages Continue
4832-406: A single source." DC and Marvel have continued to expand their commercialization of the "superhero" mark to categories beyond comic books. Now, the two publishers jointly own numerous trademarks for figurines (see Spider-Man, Batman), movies, TV shows, magazines, merchandise, cardboard stand-up figures, playing cards , erasers , pencils , notebooks , cartoons , and many more. For instance,
4983-513: A skull-faced creature with superpowers to fight evil; she debuted in Fiction House 's Jungle Comic #2 (Feb. 1940), credited to the pseudonymous "Barclay Flagg". The Invisible Scarlet O'Neil , a non-costumed character who fought crime and wartime saboteurs using the superpower of invisibility created by Russell Stamm, would debut in the eponymous syndicated newspaper comic strip a few months later on June 3, 1940. In 1940, Maximo
5134-410: A stakeout mission, Damian severs Tim's line, causing him to fall from a great height. He survives, and Tim pulls Damian into an all-out brawl that begins with their quarry escaping and ends in front of the theater where Bruce Wayne's parents were killed. The two are stopped by Dick Grayson as Batman, who chastises them both for fighting in front of the theater where Batman was born. The two then enter into
5285-406: A suit not unlike the swimsuits in the T.V. show Baywatch . The sexualization of women in comic books can be explained mainly by the fact that the majority of writers are male. Not only are the writers mostly male, but the audience is mostly male as well. Therefore, writers are designing characters to appeal to a mostly male audience. The super hero characters illustrate a sociological idea called
5436-499: A villain called Professor Pyg , who has created an army called Dollotrons. Dick and Damian take the entire army down and begin to form a brotherly relationship. Damian blames himself for being unable to save a single Dollotron, a girl named Sasha, but unbeknownst to him, the girl is taken in by Jason Todd, who had shot Damian. She therefore becomes the new Robin's opposite in Red Hood's no-holds-barred war against crime (Red Hood's maxim
5587-476: A wide array of different backgrounds and origins. Some superheroes (such as Spider-Man and Superman ) possess non-human or superhuman biology or use and practice magic to achieve their abilities (such as Doctor Strange and Captain Marvel ) while others (for example, Iron Man and Batman ) derive their status from advanced technology they create and use. The Dictionary.com definition of "superhero"
5738-569: Is Nick Fury , who is reinterpreted as African-American both in the Ultimate Marvel as well as the Marvel Cinematic Universe continuities. The Kingdom (comics) The storyline extended into one-shot books entitled New Year's Evil: Gog , The Kingdom: Kid Flash , The Kingdom: Nightstar , The Kingdom: Offspring , The Kingdom: Planet Krypton and The Kingdom: Son of the Bat . The entire storyline
5889-512: Is "a figure, especially in a comic strip or cartoon , endowed with superhuman powers and usually portrayed as fighting evil or crime", and the Merriam-Webster dictionary gives the definition as "a fictional hero having extraordinary or superhuman powers; also: an exceptionally skillful or successful person." Terms such as masked crime fighters, costumed adventurers or masked vigilantes are sometimes used to refer to characters such as
6040-503: Is "let the punishment fit the crime"). Damian and Dick then attack Firefly, who is attempting to kill Black Mask. Victor Zsasz defeats Robin and rescues Black Mask while Dick takes down Firefly. These events cause Hush to escape, causing Damian to grow a further hatred for the criminal. Damian is present when Dick is inducted into the JLA; upon hearing this, Damian demands to be inducted along with Dick but his demands are promptly ignored. Damian
6191-421: Is a motorcycle-riding hero in an insect-like costume, who shouts Henshin (Metamorphosis) to don his costume and gain superhuman powers. The ideas of second-wave feminism , which spread through the 1960s into the 1970s, greatly influenced the way comic book companies would depict as well as market their female characters: Wonder Woman was for a time revamped as a mod-dressing martial artist directly inspired by
Damian Wayne - Misplaced Pages Continue
6342-544: Is a website satirizing the sexualized portrayal of women in comics by recreating the same poses using male superheroes, especially Marvel's Hawkeye . In 1966, Marvel introduced the Black Panther , an African monarch who became the first non- caricatured black superhero. The first African-American superhero, the Falcon , followed in 1969, and three years later, Luke Cage , a self-styled "hero-for-hire" , became
6493-532: Is arguable that the Marvel Comics teams of the early 1960s brought the biggest assortment of superheroes ever at one time into permanent publication, the likes of Spider-Man (1962), The Hulk , Iron Man , Daredevil , Nick Fury , The Mighty Thor , The Avengers (featuring a rebooted Captain America , Thor, Hulk, Ant-Man , Quicksilver ), and many others were given their own monthly titles. Typically
6644-474: Is attacked by Tim, who perceives Damian's attempt to help a tripping Alfred as an attack, and renews their battle. As they fight, members of the League of Assassins approach the manor with the intention of killing everyone within and bringing Damian back to Ra's alive. Damian and Tim fight side by side against Ra's and his minions. Their collaboration is hindered by their very different philosophies of battle. Damian
6795-557: Is once again saved by Dick, with the assistance of Azrael, after a man named Amon tries to sacrifice him. Sasha, now dubbed Scarlet by Todd, returns and attacks Robin, as Jason attacks Dick. The two duos battle it out until the arrival of the Flamingo, who temporarily paralyzes Damian by shooting his back. Talia replaces Damian's spine, but puts in a monitor connected to his brain allowing her to control his every movement. As Dick and Damian go through various events together, such as against
6946-464: Is revealed to be a fake; as Damian recovers from the toxin, the Joker presents him with a cloche. The Joker is eventually defeated by Batman, but the trust between Batman and the Batman Family is shattered. During the " Leviathan " story arc, when his mother Talia puts a price on his head and is targeted by the most dangerous and skilled assassins, Bruce fakes Damian's death and secluded him in
7097-527: Is shown being left in Alfred's care and trained by Dick Grayson (alias Nightwing). Upon the start of Batman: Battle for the Cowl , it appears that Damian is now residing in Gotham, and living under the command of Nightwing (to an extent). Where before Damian portrayed an arrogant and vicious personality, it appears the "death" of his father has regressed him to a more childlike mindset, as demonstrated when he takes
7248-442: Is still able to return, but as a rotting, undead corpse, still needing Damian to stabilize his form. Damian flees to alert Batman but is pursued by his evil grandfather. Upon entering Wayne Manor , Damian attempts to relay to Tim Drake the fact that Ra's has returned. Tim, suspicious of Damian's intentions, does not believe his story and begins a fistfight. Damian flees and encounters Alfred. Before he can effectively relay his news, he
7399-593: Is still alive and working as a Mother Superior in Cairo, one of Mother Teresa 's successors. al Xu'ffasch reappears in Waid's 1999 sequel The Kingdom . The Kingdom: Son of the Bat shows flashbacks that shed new insights into Ibn al Xu'ffasch's history: that he was reared by Ra's al Ghul to be the heir to his empire, that he eventually murdered his grandfather (cutting off his head to prevent yet another regeneration), and that he sought therapy from psychiatrist Dr. Gibson. He
7550-506: Is uncommon, the USPTO will grant joint ownership in a mark. For example, in the case Arrow Trading Co., Inc. v. Victorinox A.G. and Wegner S.A. , Opposition No. 103315 (TTAB June 27, 2003), the TTAB held that when "two entities have a long-standing relationship and rely on each other for quality control, it may be found, in appropriate circumstances, that the parties, as joint owners, do represent
7701-511: Is visiting him behind the Bat-family's back, Damian shrugs it off as a desire to keep Elliot company. Elliot surmises that Damian is rather using the resemblance to Bruce to "spend time with [his] old man". Later, Tim—who has been keeping a hit list of criminals and tasks—attracts Damian's fury when the latter hacks the hit list and discovers a hidden layer of allies to the Bat-family considered potential threats by Tim, including Damian. During
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#17327802010457852-425: Is willing to betray Tim at any moment for his own safety. Ra's captures the two and tells Batman that he will use one of them for his own body. Batman offers his own body instead. Ra's refuses the offer, feeling that he needs someone of a younger age. The choices are Tim or Damian. Batman offers a third alternative: the "Fountain of Essence" which contains the qualities of a Lazarus Pit. Batman and Ra's go in search of
8003-668: The Black Canary , introduced in Flash Comics #86 (Aug. 1947) as a supporting character. The most iconic comic book superheroine, who debuted during the Golden Age, is Wonder Woman . Modeled from the myth of the Amazons of Greek mythology , she was created by psychologist William Moulton Marston , with help and inspiration from his wife Elizabeth and their mutual lover Olive Byrne. Wonder Woman's first appearance
8154-535: The Emma Peel character from the British television series The Avengers (no relation to the superhero team of the same name), but later reverted to Marston's original concept after the editors of Ms. magazine publicly disapproved of the character being depowered and without her traditional costume; Supergirl was moved from being a secondary feature on Action Comics to headline Adventure Comics in 1969;
8305-527: The Lady Liberators appeared in an issue of The Avengers as a group of mind-controlled superheroines led by Valkyrie (actually a disguised supervillainess ) and were meant to be a caricatured parody of feminist activists; and Jean Grey became the embodiment of a cosmic being known as the Phoenix Force with seemingly unlimited power in the late 1970s, a stark contrast from her depiction as
8456-706: The New York Times and The Colbert Report , and embraced by anti- Islamophobia campaigners in San Francisco who plastered over anti-Muslim bus adverts with Kamala stickers. Other such successor-heroes of color include James "Rhodey" Rhodes as Iron Man and to a lesser extent Riri "Ironheart" Williams , Ryan Choi as the Atom , Jaime Reyes as Blue Beetle and Amadeus Cho as Hulk . Certain established characters have had their ethnicity changed when adapted to another continuity or media. A notable example
8607-525: The Robin Rises story arc. Later, Godfrey's reason for coming to Earth is revealed; to retrieve the Chaos Shard, a powerful crystal that once belonged to Darkseid which Ra's revealed was hidden inside the sarcophagus he crafted for Damian. After detecting a trace signature of the shard coming from inside Damian's body, Godfrey escapes with Damian's corpse back to Apokolips , despite assistance from
8758-593: The Son of the Demon storyline as part of a remodeling of Batman's personality after the events of Infinite Crisis . In Morrison's version, the child Damian Wayne is the result of a tryst between Batman and Talia, during which the Dark Knight claims he was drugged when they were at the Tropic of Cancer , though Morrison later admitted the claim of drugging was a canonical error on their part. Since then however in issues of
8909-671: The X-Men 's Storm and the Teen Titans ' Cyborg avoided such conventions; they were both part of ensemble teams, which became increasingly diverse in subsequent years. The X-Men, in particular, were revived in 1975 with a line-up of characters drawn from several nations, including the Kenyan Storm, German Nightcrawler , Soviet / Russian Colossus , Irish Banshee , and Japanese Sunfire . In 1993, Milestone Comics , an African-American-owned media/publishing company entered into
9060-565: The world become a better place , or dedicating themselves to protecting the public and fighting crime . Superhero fiction is the genre of fiction that is centered on such characters, especially, since the 1930s, in American comic books (and later in Hollywood films , film serials, television and video games ), as well as in Japanese media (including kamishibai , tokusatsu , manga , anime and video games). Superheroes come from
9211-505: The " Flashpoint " story arc, Bruce Wayne was returned by writers as being the only Batman in 2011's the New 52 relaunch of DC Comics. Dick Grayson was returned to his previous role as Nightwing , and Damian still serves as his father's vigilante partner Robin . After reading the letter written by his father from an alternate timeline, the Dark Knight decides that it is time to take steps to put his past behind him. He tries to teach Damian
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#17327802010459362-489: The " Batman and Son " story arc. Damian Wayne is the fifth character to assume the role of Robin , Batman's vigilante partner. Damian, as a preadolescent, was left by his mother in the care of his father, who had been unaware of his existence. He is violent, self-important, and was trained by the League of Assassins , learning to kill at a young age, which troubles the relationship with his father who refuses to kill. However,
9513-399: The " male gaze " which is media created from the viewpoint of a normative heterosexual male. The female characters in comic books are used to satisfy male desire for the "ideal" woman (small waist, large breasts, toned, athletic body). These characters have god-like power, but the most easily identifiable feature is their hyper sexualized bodies: they are designed to be sexually pleasing to
9664-568: The 1970s as an alternate for Earth's Green Lantern Hal Jordan , and would become a regular member of the Green Lantern Corps from the 1980s onward. The creators of the 2000s-era Justice League animated series selected Stewart as the show's Green Lantern. In the Ultimate Marvel universe, Miles Morales , a youth of Puerto Rican and African-American ancestry who was also bitten by a genetically-altered spider, debuted as
9815-458: The 1980s, superhero fiction centered on cultural, ethnic, national, racial and language minority groups (from the perspective of US demographics ) began to be produced. This began with depiction of black superheroes in the 1960s, followed in the 1970s with a number of other ethnic-minority superheroes. In keeping with the political mood of the time, cultural diversity and inclusivism would be an important part of superhero groups starting from
9966-409: The 1980s. In the 1990s, this was further augmented by the first depictions of superheroes as homosexual. In 2017, Sign Gene emerged, the first group of deaf superheroes with superpowers through the use of sign language . Female super heroes—and villains—have been around since the early years of comic books dating back to the 1940s. The representation of women in comic books has been questioned in
10117-561: The 1990s). In 1978, Toei adapted Spider-Man into a live-action Japanese television series . In this continuity, Spider-Man had a vehicle called Marveller that could transform into a giant and powerful robot called Leopardon, this idea would be carried over to Toei's Battle Fever J (also co-produced with Marvel) and now multi-colored teams not only had support vehicles but giant robots to fight giant monsters with. In subsequent decades, popular characters like Dazzler , She-Hulk , Elektra , Catwoman , Witchblade , Spider-Girl , Batgirl and
10268-604: The Amazing Superman debut in Big Little Book series , by Russell R. Winterbotham (text), Henry E. Vallely and Erwin L. Hess (art). Captain America also appeared for the first time in print in December 1940, a year prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese government, when America was still in isolationism . Created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby , the superhero was the physical embodiment of
10419-856: The American spirit during World War II. One superpowered character was portrayed as an antiheroine , a rarity for its time: the Black Widow , a costumed emissary of Satan who killed evildoers in order to send them to Hell —debuted in Mystic Comics #4 (Aug. 1940), from Timely Comics , the 1940s predecessor of Marvel Comics . Most of the other female costumed crime fighters during this era lacked superpowers. Notable characters include The Woman in Red , introduced in Standard Comics ' Thrilling Comics #2 (March 1940); Lady Luck , debuting in
10570-422: The Avengers) with her brother, Quicksilver. In 1963, Astro Boy was adapted into a highly influential anime television series. Phantom Agents in 1964 focused on ninjas working for the Japanese government and would be the foundation for Sentai -type series. 1966 saw the debut of the sci-fi/horror series Ultra Q created by Eiji Tsuburaya this would eventually lead to the sequel Ultraman , spawning
10721-406: The Bat features a future in which Ra's al Ghul discovers the Batcave following Bruce Wayne 's death, and outfits the League of Assassins in variant Batman costumes based on Wayne's rejected designs . Talia and Bruce's son joins the Brotherhood in his father's costume, to destroy it from within. In another Elseworlds story, Kingdom Come (1996) by Mark Waid and Alex Ross , which functioned as
10872-417: The Bat-Family. Damian finally stands up for his Robin mantle, telling Talia that being Robin was the best thing that he had ever done, and Talia does not need to save him from something he chooses to be. Talia then shows Damian a cloned version of himself, whom she sees as Damian's younger brother. Talia admits to Damian that even though she loves him, she is too much of a perfectionist to admire him for choosing
11023-460: The Batcave to protect him while he goes undercover to confront Talia and her minions. But against his father's wishes, Damian escapes, donning a new costume under the name of Redbird. Along with the mysterious Wingman and most of the Bat-family, Damian manages to rescue his father and defeat most of the League of Shadows. However, Batman explains that the temporary defeat of the League will not stop
11174-456: The Batmobile joy-riding with an older girl. This is discovered by Oracle , who ejects the girl and takes control of the Batmobile, intent on taking Damian home. The car is blindsided by Killer Croc and Poison Ivy , who prepares to kill Damian. The older girl (Damian's companion) is later eaten by Killer Croc. Damian is saved by Nightwing who ends up being cornered by Black Mask 's men until
11325-639: The Birds of Prey became stars of long-running eponymous titles. Female characters began assuming leadership roles in many ensemble superhero teams; the Uncanny X-Men series and its related spin-off titles in particular have included many female characters in pivotal roles since the 1970s. Volume 4 of the X-Men comic book series featured an all-female team as part of the Marvel NOW! branding initiative in 2013. Superpowered female characters like Buffy
11476-562: The Black Glove. Help arrives in the form of the original Batman. After Bruce Wayne helps Dick and Damian defeat the Black Glove and the Joker, Wayne accepts his son in addition to his role as Robin. Despite Bruce's parental responsibilities to Damian, he decides that he prefers Damian to continue working with Dick (who maintains the Batman mantle and whom Bruce sees as a positive role model for his son) rather than being with himself primarily, due to his plans with Batman Inc. Damian joins
11627-645: The Black Lanterns' assault on Gotham. After raiding the Army Reserve National Guard Armory, Dick, Damian, and the arriving Tim Drake, are able to save Commissioner Gordon, Oracle, and the surviving police officers at Gotham Central from the reanimated versions of the original Dark Knight's deceased rogues gallery members. However, they then find themselves in a horrific encounter with the parents of Dick Grayson and Tim Drake reanimated as Black Lanterns. Dick and Tim send Damian with
11778-556: The Black Mask, the Blackest Night, and a rogue Batman clone-corpse, the two bond even more, prompting Talia to give over control of the monitor to Deathstroke , who tries to use it to kill Dick. Working together, Dick and Damian manage to stop Deathstroke. As Dick cares little for the financial problems of Wayne Enterprises despite inheriting it from Bruce along with Tim, Damian decides to involve himself and manages to impress
11929-680: The Boom Tube and then closes the portal. Damian then reunites with his father and his family team. In the aftermath, Damian is tested by Batman on how to control his new power abilities before Damian returns to the role as Robin. With help from the Justice League, Batman discovers that Damian's new powers do not last, and he eventually relies on his natural abilities once more. After the events of Batman: Endgame that resulted in Bruce Wayne's disappearance, Damian, as Robin, sets out on
12080-443: The Boom Tube directly to the Batcave after successfully escaping the clutches of Darkseid and his Parademons. After this, Batman uses the Chaos Shard on his son's corpse, which has been infused with Darkseid's Omega Sanction. With Batman facing two choices of whether to resurrect Damian or his parents, he chooses his son, granting Damian's true resurrection. As Damian and Batman embrace, Batman collapses from exhaustion. However, before
12231-533: The Dark Knight does care for his lost progeny. After the events of Batman R.I.P. and Batman: Battle for the Cowl , he takes the role of Robin at ten years of age, becoming the fifth person to use the Robin persona. He first worked with Dick Grayson before going to work alongside his father, upon the original's return to the role of Batman. Damian appears in the 2023 Christmas-themed animated film, Merry Little Batman , voiced by Yonas Kibreab; and will return in
12382-543: The Gordons to their underground base while they battle the Black Lanterns. Dick eventually orders Damian through their comm-links to send one of his Wingers with Mr. Freeze 's gun. Grayson uses the weapon to cryogenically suspend himself and Tim, forcing the Black Lanterns to retreat as they are unable to read any sign of life of them. Deadman later revives the former Boy Wonders. Talia begins to clone Damian as she realizes that her son has completely sided with Dick Grayson and
12533-453: The Heretic eventually gains the upper hand and impales Damian through the chest, the sword piercing Damian's heart and resulting in Damian dying almost instantly. Minutes after Damian's death, Batman arrives and sees Damian's dead body. Angered, he and a revived Nightwing battle the Heretic, but are eventually forced to retreat with Red Robin and Damian's body. After holding a private funeral for
12684-521: The Heretic for his failure to kill Batman and challenges Batman to a duel to the death in the Batcave. But Talia is killed following the duel by Kathy Webb , and it is later revealed that Damian's body was stolen from the Manor cemetery by the League of Assassins along with Talia's for plans against Batman in addition to making their resurrections. It has also been shown that Ra's al Ghul has begun to engineer more clones of Damian. After being preoccupied with
12835-577: The Ibn al Xu'ffasch version of Bruce and Talia's son part of the DC Multiverse . Justice Society of America vol. 3 #22 (2009) reveals that he would eventually marry Nightstar with whom he would have a daughter and son, and his family has inherited the Wayne Estates after Batman's death. Damian's origin was unknown to Batman. Damian was genetically perfected and grown in an artificial womb to be
12986-488: The Joker and repeatedly assumes that bad things happening in Gotham are related to the Joker in some way, in hopeful anticipation of an encounter with him. In Batman and Robin vol. 2, #15, Damian defies his father's orders to remain in the Batcave and investigates Alfred's kidnapping. The investigation leads to Gotham Zoo where Damian is captured by Joker. Joker accuses Damian and the other members of Batman's family of being
13137-600: The Justice League. Angered, Batman once again vows to retrieve his son's corpse. Batman enters and accesses the Justice League Watchtower to use his unstable exosuit known as the Hellbat armor designed by Batman himself and the Justice League members to engage large-scale threats. He then activates the Boom Tube to Darkseid's homeworld, Apokolips, to retrieve Damian's corpse. Batman successfully retrieve his son's corpse as he and his team return to Earth via
13288-481: The Kingdom Come era to help. Meanwhile, four young heroes – Kid Flash, Offspring, Nightstar, and Ibn al Xu'ffasch – try to stop Gog on their own and are eventually recruited to assist Rip Hunter's plan. During the battle, the future Wonder Woman reveals to the present Superman why Gog kept hunting and killing him. After defeating Gog, Hyperman reveals himself and explains that he was hidden by his infant self within
13439-529: The Magician (1934), Olga Mesmer (1937) and then Superman (1938) and Captain Marvel (1939) at the beginning of the Golden Age of Comic Books , whose span, though disputed, is generally agreed to have started with Superman's launch. Superman has remained one of the most recognizable superheroes, and his success spawned a new archetype of characters with secret identities and superhuman powers. At
13590-516: The Morrison penned Batman Incorporated , the drugging is reaffirmed and is once again part of Damian's origin. However, Batman and Talia's tryst was later shown as consensual in Peter J. Tomasi 's Batman and Robin , thus the circumstances of Damian's conception can vary depending on the writers. The final issue of 52 (2008) designates the Kingdom Come alternate universe as Earth-22, thus making
13741-514: The Spirit , who may not be explicitly referred to as superheroes but nevertheless share similar traits. Some superheroes use their powers to help fight daily crime while also combating threats against humanity from supervillains , who are their criminal counterparts. Often at least one of these supervillains will be the superhero's archenemy or nemesis . Some popular supervillains become recurring characters in their own right. Antecedents of
13892-827: The Sunday- newspaper comic-book insert The Spirit Section June 2, 1940; the comedic character Red Tornado , debuting in All-American Comics #20 (Nov 1940); Miss Fury , debuting in the eponymous comic strip by female cartoonist Tarpé Mills on April 6, 1941; the Phantom Lady , introduced in Quality Comics Police Comics #1 (Aug. 1941); the Black Cat , introduced in Harvey Comics ' Pocket Comics #1 (also Aug. 1941); and
14043-474: The Teen Titans when Dick Grayson concludes that the team needs a Robin, while also feeling that Damian would benefit from the friendship of other heroes, having progressed to the point where he can be trusted not to kill if left 'unsupervised'. Although Wonder Girl objects to this decision, Grayson convinces her to let Damian stay on the team as he needs Damian to learn that he can trust others not to betray him, only for his temper to jeopardize his first mission with
14194-544: The Titans to find friends, he did not need to, as he already had one, Grayson himself. When Black Bat , Stephanie Brown 's predecessor, returns to Gotham, she and Damian are partnered together during a stake-out to catch the Architect, a new villain obsessed with destroying Gotham landmarks. Damian berates Black Bat and mocks her for being sent to Hong Kong by his father, but she ultimately saves his life by rescuing him from
14345-408: The USPTO. Felix is one of many who argue that the term "superhero" has become generic (see discussion below). Felix's mark is currently abandoned, but he has stated that he intends to fight against DC and Marvel for use of the term. In 2024, Superbabies Limited managed to obtain a default judgement and cancel the "super heroes" trademarks as genericized, except for the animation pictures mark. This
14496-540: The Vampire Slayer and Darna have a tremendous influence on popular culture in their respective countries of origin. With more and more anime , manga and tokusatsu being translated or adapted, Western audiences were beginning to experience the Japanese styles of superhero fiction more than they were able to before. Saban 's Mighty Morphin Power Rangers , an adaptation of Zyuranger , created
14647-529: The West as Astro Boy , was published. The series focused upon a robot boy built by a scientist to replace his deceased son. Being built from an incomplete robot originally intended for military purposes, Astro Boy possessed amazing powers such as flight through thrusters in his feet and the incredible mechanical strength of his limbs. The 1950s saw the Silver Age of Comics . During this era DC introduced
14798-512: The archetype include mythological characters such as Gilgamesh , Hanuman , Perseus , Odysseus , David , and demigods like Heracles , all of whom were blessed with extraordinary abilities, which later inspired the superpowers that became a fundamental aspect of modern-day superheroes. The distinct clothing and costumes of individuals from English folklore , like Robin Hood and Spring-Heeled Jack , also became inspirations. The dark costume of
14949-482: The archetypical hero stock character in 1930s American comics, superheroes are predominantly depicted as White American middle- or upper-class young adult males and females who are typically tall, athletic, educated, physically attractive and in perfect health. Beginning in the 1960s with the civil rights movement in the United States, and increasingly with the rising concern over political correctness in
15100-570: The board of directors. While he does not file a lawsuit against Dick, due to Grayson not being named the heir of Wayne Enterprises but rather a high-ranking member, he does against Tim, who was named the heir to Wayne Enterprises. In a flashback, Damian mocks Tim Drake (now Red Robin) after Dick has taken the role of Robin from Tim and given it to Damian. This prompts Tim to attack Damian, only to be stopped by Dick. After Tim leaves, Damian starts engaging in chess games with Hush , visiting him secretly against Dick's orders. When Elliot asked why Damian
15251-413: The character originally appeared as an unnamed infant in the 1987 story Batman: Son of the Demon , which at the time was not considered canon . Following this, various alternate universe stories dealt with the character's life, giving him various names. In 2006, the character was reinterpreted as Damian Wayne by Grant Morrison, and introduced into the main continuity in Batman #655, the first issue of
15402-413: The comic-strip characters Patoruzú (1928) and Popeye (1929) and novelist Philip Wylie 's character Hugo Danner (1930). Another early example was Sarutobi Sasuke , a Japanese superhero ninja from children's novels in the 1910s; by 1914, he had a number of superhuman powers and abilities. The French character L'Oiselle , created in 1909, can be classed as a superheroine. In August 1937, in
15553-534: The companies filed a trademark application as joint owners for the mark "SUPER HEROES" for a series of animated motion pictures in 2009 (Reg. No. 5613972). Both DC and Marvel also individually owned trademarks involving the "super hero" mark. Notably, DC owns the mark " Legion of Super-Heroes " for comic magazines and Marvel owns the mark "Marvel Super Hero Island" for story books, fiction books, and children’s activity books. DC and Marvel have become known for aggressively protecting their registered marks. In 2019,
15704-552: The companies pursued a British law student named Graham Jules who was attempting to publish a self-help book titled Business Zero to Superhero . Much academic debate exists about whether the "super hero" mark has become generic and whether DC and Marvel have created a duopoly over the "super hero" mark. Conversely, DC and Marvel hold that they are merely exercising their right and duty to protect their registered marks. The following trademarks were or are registered jointly with MARVEL CHARACTERS, INC. and DC COMICS: As mentioned,
15855-477: The debut of Shotaro Ishinomori 's Skull Man (the basis for his later Kamen Rider ) in 1970, Go Nagai's Devilman in 1972 and Gerry Conway and John Romita's Punisher in 1974. The dark Skull Man manga would later get a television adaptation and underwent drastic changes. The character was redesigned to resemble a grasshopper, becoming the renowned first masked hero of the Kamen Rider series. Kamen Rider
16006-401: The end of the decade, in 1939, Batman was created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger . During the 1940s there were many superheroes: The Flash , Green Lantern and Blue Beetle debuted in this era. This era saw the debut of one of the earliest female superheroes, writer-artist Fletcher Hanks 's character Fantomah , an ageless ancient Egyptian woman in the modern day who could transform into
16157-550: The events of Kingdom Come , a man who survived the Kansas disaster is granted power by four members of the Quintessence, including Shazam, Ganthet, Zeus, Izaya Highfather, and dubbed Gog. However, the power drives him mad and he takes his anger out on Superman, killing him multiple times by traveling back in time. The other four members of the Quintessence are prepared to let things unfold, hoping to achieve their own goals but
16308-482: The exploding Iceberg Lounge . Afterward, the two work together to stop the bomber from destroying a massive bridge, saving dozens of lives in the process. Robin and a group of other ex-Titans later head to Titans Tower to help the team during a battle against Superboy-Prime and the Legion of Doom . During the battle, Robin destroys one of Prime's evil Superboy doppelgängers by using a Kryptonite blade. Following
16459-412: The fallen Boy Wonder, Bruce vows to avenge his son's death. The later storyline, Requiem , deals with the aftermath of Damian's death and Batman's thirst for revenge against Talia as well as his own increasingly unbalanced mental state resulting from this loss. He is buried next to Bruce Wayne's parents, Damian's paternal grandparents. Batman is also unwilling to accept his son's death, and begins seeking
16610-515: The first black superhero to star in his own series . In 1989, the Monica Rambeau incarnation of Captain Marvel was the first female black superhero from a major publisher to get her own title in a special one-shot issue. In 1971, Red Wolf became the first Native American in the superheroic tradition to headline a series. In 1973, Shang-Chi became the first prominent Asian superhero to star in an American comic book ( Kato had been
16761-454: The first entity to commercialize the phrase "super hero" when it registered the mark in connection with Halloween costumes. In 1972, Mego Corporation , an American toy company, attempted to register the mark "World's Greatest Superheroes" in connection with its line of action figures. Mego Corporation’s attempted registration led Ben Cooper, Inc. to sue Mego Corporation for trademark infringement. Due to its financial struggles, Mego Corporation
16912-457: The foe – as well as the implication that his father failed as well during the Genius' original run back when Grayson was Robin – but when Dick explains to him that Bruce let the Genius go because he discovered that the Genius' robberies were only him stealing medicines that he needed so that he could live long enough to see his daughter grow up, Damian realizes that he never really knew his father as
17063-451: The fountain, leaving Tim, Damian, Nightwing , Alfred, and Talia to battle the Sensei . Damian leaves his mother and Tim to an unknown fate, while he goes off to be with his father. He ends up captured by Ra's and is nearly killed. Batman and the others manage to save him, and Talia takes her son and escapes. A subsequent conversation between Tim and Alfred implies that Batman has carried out
17214-479: The hypothetical heteronormative male audience. Villains, such as Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy , use their sexuality to take advantage of their male victims. In the film versions of these characters, their sexuality and seductive methods are highlighted. Poison Ivy uses seduction through poison to take over the minds of her victims as seen in the 1997 film Batman and Robin . Harley Quinn in 2016's Suicide Squad uses her sexuality to her advantage, acting in
17365-470: The idea of a masked avenger and the superhero trope of a secret identity . Over the next few decades, masked and costumed pulp fiction characters such as Jimmie Dale/The Grey Seal (1914), Zorro (1919), Buck Rogers (1928), The Shadow (1930), and Flash Gordon (1934), and comic strip heroes such as the Phantom (1936), began appearing, as did non-costumed characters with super strength , including
17516-473: The incident by beginning to actively understand and respect one another as father and son. Bruce goes so far as to conceal the event from Dick and Tim, leading Alfred to comment to Bruce that he has become "quite the overprotective parent". In Batman-related issues of the New 52 taking place after Batman issue #14 ( the Joker 's return to comics), Damian was portrayed as being very interested in fighting his father's arch-foe. He seemed to always be eager to take on
17667-412: The latter would have to earn it. In an act of defiance, Damian decides to make the Robin mantle independent from that of Batman and decides to stop Dr. Phosphorus from breaking into Project Cadmus , but fails miserably and is saved by Dick. Dick then begins to train Damian as to how to properly become the new Robin and the two develop their own unique crime-fighting style. Dick and Damian soon encounter
17818-467: The latter, complete with a domino mask and a cape, became influential for the myriad of masked rogues in penny dreadfuls and dime novels . The vigilantes of the American Old West also became an influence to the superhero. Several vigilantes during this time period hid their identities using masks. In frontier communities where de jure law was not yet matured, people sometimes took
17969-606: The law into their own hands with makeshift masks made out of sacks . Vigilante mobs and gangs like the San Diego Vigilantes and the Bald Knobbers became infamous throughout that Old West era. Such masked vigilantism later inspired fictional masked crimefighters in American story-telling, beginning with the character Deadwood Dick in 1877. The word superhero dates back to 1899. The 1903 British play The Scarlet Pimpernel and its spinoffs popularized
18120-478: The likes of Batwoman in 1956, Supergirl , Miss Arrowette , and Bat-Girl ; all female derivatives of established male superheroes. In 1957 Japan, Shintoho produced the first film serial featuring the superhero character Super Giant , signaling a shift in Japanese popular culture towards tokusatsu masked superheroes over kaiju giant monsters. Along with Astro Boy , the Super Giant serials had
18271-764: The magazine King of the Monsters in 1977 describing Godzilla as "Superhero of the '70s." In 1971, Kamen Rider launched the "Henshin Boom" on Japanese television in the early 1970s, greatly impacting the tokusatsu superhero genre in Japan. In 1972, the Science Ninja Team Gatchaman anime debuted, which built upon the superhero team idea of the live-action Phantom Agents as well as introducing different colors for team members and special vehicles to support them, said vehicles could also combine into
18422-470: The mark in connection with comic books, and were granted the mark by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in 1981. In the years leading up to the assignment of the mark, both DC and Marvel battled to register various trademarks involving the phrase “superhero.” However, DC and Marvel quickly discovered that they could only register marks involving the phrase "superhero" if
18573-464: The means to resurrect Damian at the cost of his relationships with his friends and allies, and keeps his death a secret from the public in anticipation that his resurrection would succeed. Damian's absence has also been causing a conflict between his father and his acting instructor, Carrie Kelley , who is determined to find out what has happened to him, leading her to realize that the Waynes are harboring
18724-432: The new Spider-Man after the apparent death of the original Spider-Man, Peter Parker . Kamala Khan , a Pakistani-American Muslim teenager who is revealed to have Inhuman lineage after her shapeshifting powers manifested, takes on the identity of Ms. Marvel in 2014 after Carol Danvers had become Captain Marvel. Her self-titled comic book series became a cultural phenomenon, with extensive media coverage by CNN ,
18875-423: The other Robins have different strengths, Bruce wanting his partners to find their own paths rather than blindly follow his own example. Superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses superpowers or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero ; typically using their powers to help
19026-623: The pages of several popular superhero titles from the late 1950s onward: Hal Jordan 's love interest Carol Ferris was introduced as the Vice-President of Ferris Aircraft and later took over the company from her father; Medusa , who was first introduced in the Fantastic Four series, is a member of the Inhuman Royal Family and a prominent statesperson within her people's quasi-feudal society; and Carol Danvers ,
19177-420: The past decade following the rise of comic book characters in the film industry (Marvel/DC movies). Women are presented differently than their male counterparts, typically wearing revealing clothing that showcases their curves and cleavage and showing a lot of skin in some cases. Heroes like Power Girl and Wonder Woman are portrayed wearing little clothing and showing cleavage. Power Girl is portrayed as wearing
19328-407: The perfect warrior. He is raised by his mother Talia al Ghul and the League of Assassins. He becomes a talented martial artist before his teenage years, at which time Talia reveals Damian's existence to Bruce Wayne and leaves him in his custody in an effort to disrupt his work. Precocious, spoiled, and violent, Damian battles Tim Drake , whom he wants to replace as Robin , and sucker punches Tim off
19479-406: The phrase referenced their own company or a character associated with their company. As a result, DC and Marvel decided to become joint owners of the "superhero" trademark. Although many consumers likely see DC and Marvel as competitors, the two comic book publishing giants are allies when it comes to protecting the trademark "superhero" and variants thereof. Although joint ownership in a trademark
19630-419: The power of a god, but was still drawn to a much weaker, mortal male character. This can be explained by the sociological concept "feminine apologetic," which reinforces a woman's femininity to account for her masculine attributes (strength, individualism, toughness, aggressiveness, bravery). Women in comic books are considered to be misrepresented due to being created by men, for men. The Hawkeye Initiative
19781-520: The public, and policing unauthorized uses. However, misuse by the public alone does not necessarily cause a trademark to become generic if the primary significance of the term is still to indicate a particular source. Some legal experts argue that, like the once-trademarked terms "aspirin" and "yo-yo," the term "superhero" now primarily refers to a general type of character with extraordinary abilities, rather than characters originating from specific publishers. In keeping with their origins as representing
19932-506: The rest of his skeleton, along with those of Damian's paternal grandparents, to their base beneath Wayne Tower. Damian is quite shaken by the sight of the bones of his family. On the way to the cave, Dick's body is possessed by Deadman , at whom Damian lashes out in confusion. Deadman then possesses and leaves Damian's body, subsequently passing his knowledge of the attack of the Black Lanterns onto him. The two heroes then prepare for
20083-547: The same values his parents have instilled within him as he finally assumes his role as a father. However, despite Bruce's attempts to build a relationship with his son, Damian remains distant from him, which Alfred worries about. Although this relationship is further strained when Damian seemingly leaves Wayne Manor to join the villain Nobody , it turns out this was a ruse by Damian to bring him down. Although Damian eventually kills Nobody in front of Bruce, they are able to work through
20234-443: The story's writer, Grant Morrison : "He saves the world. He does his job as Robin. He dies an absolute hero". In the comic, Damian is fighting hordes of Leviathan henchmen in the lobby of Wayne Tower when Nightwing comes to rescue him. Behind cover, the two briefly reminisce about their time together as Batman and Robin before resuming the defense. When the Heretic arrives and knocks Nightwing out, Damian bravely fights him. However,
20385-405: The stream of Hypertime upon being rescued from Gog, and Rip Hunter explains the existence of timelines. In Infinite Crisis , it is retroactively established that Superboy-Prime is responsible for the creation of Hypertime when he fractures the timeline from the pocket dimension he was trapped in. The Kingdom received mixed reviews upon its publication. Initially, the project was meant to be
20536-411: The stuffed Tyrannosaurus in the Batcave when Tim stops fighting to help him. Damian then escapes, dons a variant Robin costume made of Jason Todd 's old tunic and mask and assorted League of Assassin gear, and fights and kills the villainous Spook. Although misguided, Damian seems to genuinely want to aid Bruce's war on crime as he is Bruce's son and wants his approval. Unfortunately, because of how he
20687-612: The superhero supergroups featured at least one (and often the only) female member, much like DC's flagship superhero team the Justice League of America (whose initial roster included Wonder Woman as the token female ); examples include the Fantastic Four 's Invisible Girl , the X-Men 's Jean Grey (originally known as Marvel Girl ), the Avengers ' Wasp , and the Brotherhood of Mutants ' Scarlet Witch (who later joined
20838-515: The team can celebrate, the Boom Tube used to return to Earth was not closed and Darkseid's son Kalibak arrives and attacks the team. During the fight, Kalibak beats the team nearly to death, when suddenly Damian knocks out Kalibak with a powerful uppercut, discovering that due to the Chaos Shard he has gained superhuman abilities. While Damian fights Kalibak, Batman remotely controls the Batwing and sends it crashing into Kalibak, sending him back through
20989-409: The team when he attacks an opponent just after Raven had convinced him to calm down, provoking their new foe into starting his wave of destruction again. Robin eventually begins to develop a friendship with Ravager , who initially reaches out to Damian due to their similar upbringings (Ravager's father being the notorious assassin, Deathstroke ). Tim Drake eventually comes to the Titans for help after
21140-410: The term "SUPER HERO" trademark is at risk of becoming generic. Courts have noted that determining whether a term has become generic is a highly factual inquiry not suitable for resolution without considering evidence like dictionary definitions, media usage, and consumer surveys. Trademark owners can take steps to prevent genericide , such as using the trademark with the generic product name, educating
21291-421: The two companies also own a variety of other superhero-related marks. For instance, DC owns "Legion of Super-Heroes" and " DC Super Hero Girls " and Marvel owns “Marvel Super Hero Island" and "Marvel Super Hero Adventures." DC and Marvel have garnered a reputation for zealously protecting their superhero marks. As noted above, one of these instances included a man by the name of Graham Jules, who sought to publish
21442-590: The upcoming TV series, Bat-Family, with Kibreab reprising his role. He is also slated to make his live-action debut in the film The Brave and the Bold , produced by DC Studios . The child from Son of the Demon was used as a backup character in various stories before appearing as Damian Wayne. In the Elseworlds story, The Brotherhood of the Bat (1995), a version named Tallant Wayne appears, who crusades against his grandfather Ra's al Ghul. Brotherhood of
21593-611: The weakest member of her team a decade ago. Both major American publishers began introducing new superheroines with a more distinct feminist theme as part of their origin stories or character development. Examples include Big Barda , Power Girl , and the Huntress by DC comics; and from Marvel, the second Black Widow , Shanna the She-Devil , and The Cat . Female supporting characters who were successful professionals or hold positions of authority in their own right also debuted in
21744-458: Was a Lazarus Pit in the island, in addition, to brainwash his grandson into joining him afterward, instead Ra's discovers that it is a portal to a netherworld in the Pit's former location, of which both Wonder Woman and Batman were already aware. Ra's flees with the bodies afterward. After Batman and Frankenstein locate Ra's and the bodies, they are too late as Ra's has successfully had them placed in
21895-527: Was al Ghul's legacy. During the battle, Tallant discovers that his grandfather is the one who murdered his father and then cloned him. Ra's even sent the clone to murder his own daughter. Because of the deaths of his parents at Ra's's hands, Tallant has completed following his father's tragic path as Batman. The new Dark Knight desires justice for his parents along with trying to stop his grandfather while having to battle his father's murderous double. Grant Morrison's story titled Batman and Son (2006) expands upon
22046-462: Was eventually recruited by Rip Hunter to try to stop a madman named Gog from altering his history. He works with several other heroes of his generation – Kid Flash , the daughter of the Flash ( Wally West ); Nightstar and Offspring , the son of Plastic Man . In League of Batmen (2001), the sequel to Brotherhood of the Bat , Tallant leads his own team of variant Batmen to combat the plague that
22197-609: Was in All Star Comics #8 (Dec. 1941), published by All-American Publications , one of two companies that would merge to form DC Comics in 1944. Pérák was an urban legend originating from the city of Prague during the German occupation of Czechoslovakia in the midst of World War II . In the decades following the war, Pérák has also been portrayed as the only Czech superhero in film and comics. In 1952, Osamu Tezuka 's manga Tetsuwan Atom , more popularly known in
22348-415: Was later collected into a trade paperback. Unlike Kingdom Come , which features artwork by Alex Ross, The Kingdom has a different visual style. The story directly expands upon the original storyline, exploring areas of the future that were not covered in the original miniseries. While Kingdom Come can stand alone, The Kingdom is a continuation and is not a complete story in itself. Twenty years after
22499-665: Was raised, Damian lacks any sort of common sense in regards to social behavior and believes that to be accepted by his father, he must kill any rivals, which included Tim Drake. This troubles his relationship with Batman, who vows never to kill. However, because of his possible paternity to Damian, Batman, on some levels, is optimistic about the chance of fatherhood. Eventually, Batman confronts Talia to confirm Damian's true identity, but both Talia and Damian are soon caught in an explosion which they survive. However, Damian's badly injured body requires transplants of harvested organs, which his mother orders her physicians to carry out. Damian makes
22650-404: Was unexpected as Marvel and DC had filed a motion to extend time to answer. There is an ongoing debate among legal scholars and in the courts about whether the term "superhero" has become genericized due to its widespread use in popular culture, similar to terms like "aspirin" or "escalator" which lost their trademark protection and became generic terms for their respective products. Some argue
22801-467: Was unwilling to defend itself against Ben Cooper Inc.'s suit. As a result, in 1977, Mego Corporation jointly assigned its interest in the trademark to DC Comics , Inc. ("DC") and Marvel Comics ("Marvel"). Due to the financial prowess of DC and Marvel, Ben Cooper, Inc. decided to withdraw its trademark opposition and jointly assigned its interest in the "World's Greatest Super Heroes" mark to DC and Marvel. Two years later in 1979, DC and Marvel applied for
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