137-459: Marvel: Future Fight is a 2015 superhero -themed mobile video game developed by Netmarble Games . Players assemble a team of iconic Marvel heroes and villains to engage in thrilling battles. The gameplay revolves around completing missions and quests across various storylines, battling against waves of enemies in real-time combat. Players can control their characters' movements and unleash powerful attacks using touch controls. The game features
274-570: A New York Times bestseller in its first week of release. In April 2017, following the conclusion of the Spider-Man storyline " Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy ", which saw the return of Ben Reilly , Marvel premiered the monthly series Ben Reilly: The Scarlet Spider , with David as writer. David explained to Syfy Wire that when Marvel offered him the job, he was initially ambivalent, as Ben Reilly had never been his favorite incarnation of Spider-Man, and given Reilly's recent emergence as
411-595: 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
548-556: A 2011 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book for his work on the title. On February 11, 2006, David announced at the WonderCon convention in California in that he had signed an exclusive contract with Marvel Comics. Fallen Angel , Soulsearchers and Company and David's Spike miniseries were "grandfathered" into the contract, so as to not be affected by it. The first new project undertaken by David after entering into
685-485: A 7.5 out of 10 rating at the review aggregator Comic Book Roundup, and the 2020 follow-up miniseries Symbiote Spider-Man: Alien Reality , which holds a 7.6 rating at Comic Book Roundup. David's career as a novelist developed concurrently with his comic-book writing career. David had been working at a publisher that went out of business, and a former coworker from that publisher became his agent, through whom he sold his first novel, Knight Life , to Ace Books . Although
822-451: A Mockingbird , Tarzan of the Apes , The Princess Bride , The Essential Ellison , A Confederacy of Dunces , Adams Versus Jefferson , and Don Quixote . David has singled out Ellison in particular as a writer whom he has tried to emulate. David attended New York University , where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism. David's first professional assignment
959-705: 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
1096-698: A brother Wally, seven years his junior, who works as an IT Systems Administrator in the financial sector, and a younger sister named Beth. David first became interested in comics when he was about five years old, reading copies of Harvey Comics ' Casper and Wendy in a barbershop. He became interested in superheroes through the Adventures of Superman TV series. Although David's parents approved of his reading Harvey Comics and comics featuring Disney characters , they did not approve of superhero books, especially those published by Marvel Comics , feeling that characters that looked like monsters, such as
1233-782: A career in writing and came to work in book publishing. His first publishing job was for the E.P. Dutton imprint Elsevier/Nelson, where he worked mainly as an assistant to the editor-in-chief. He later worked in sales and distribution for Playboy Paperbacks. He subsequently worked for five years in Marvel Comics ' Sales Department, first as Assistant Direct Sales Manager under Carol Kalish , who hired him, and then succeeding Kalish as Sales Manager. During this time he made some cursory attempts to sell stories, including submission of some Moon Knight plots to Dennis O'Neil , but his efforts were unfruitful. Three years into David's tenure as Direct Sales Manager, Jim Owsley became editor of
1370-693: 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
1507-758: A detective agency of that name. David's work on the title garnered praise from Ain't it Cool News , and David has stated that the opt in/opt out policy and greater planning with which Marvel now executes crossover storylines has made his second stint on the title far easier. His decision to explicitly establish male characters Shatterstar and Rictor as sharing a sexual attraction to one another (a confirmation of clues that had been established in X-Force years earlier in issues such as X-Force #25, 34, 43, 49, 56 and X-Force '99 Annual ), drew criticism from Shatterstar's co-creator, Rob Liefeld , though Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada supported David's story. David eventually won
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#17327807854911644-663: A diverse roster of over 272 Marvel characters, each with unique abilities and skills that can be upgraded and customized. Additionally, players can join alliances, participate in PvP battles, and compete in special events to earn rewards and strengthen their team. The collapse of several dimensions prompts investigations from Thor , Black Bolt , and Black Panther . After battling alternative versions of themselves, they inform Nick Fury . Meanwhile, Captain America , Black Widow , and Iron Man defend Stark Tower from an attack by Ultron . In
1781-404: A four-issue miniseries of The Phantom by editor Mike Gold , David quit his sales position to write full-time. David had a brief tenure writing Green Lantern when the character was exclusive to the short-lived anthology series Action Comics Weekly from issues #608–620 in 1988. David took over Dreadstar during its First Comics run, with issue #41 (March 1989) after Jim Starlin left
1918-537: 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
2055-449: 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
2192-523: 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
2329-510: A part of the All-New Marvel NOW! initiative announced at the 2013 New York Comic Con . The opening storyline, which continues events from issue #260 of the previous series, establishes the new corporate-sponsored version of the team, and includes Polaris , Quicksilver , and Gambit . In July 2014, David returned to Spider-Man 2099, writing the second volume of Spider-Man 2099 with artist Will Sliney . With this series, David
2466-464: A particular title, he always does so with a particular person or group of people in mind to which he dedicates it, explaining that he wrote Supergirl for his daughters, Young Justice for a son he might one day have and The Incredible Hulk for his first wife, Myra, who first urged him to accept the job of writing that book. David has further explained that the events of his own life are sometimes reflected in his work, as when, for example, following
2603-423: 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
2740-505: 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
2877-577: 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
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#17327807854913014-432: A relaunched Teen Titans monthly. David's work for Dark Horse Comics has included the teen spy adventure SpyBoy , which appeared in a series and a number of miniseries between 1999 and 2004, and the 2007 miniseries The Scream . Other 1990s work includes the 1997 miniseries Heroes Reborn : The Return , for Marvel, and two creator-owned properties: Soulsearchers and Company , published by Claypool Comics , and
3151-757: 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
3288-406: 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,
3425-513: 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
3562-406: 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
3699-434: A violent murder mystery darker in tone than the usually lighter Spider-Man stories that ran in issues #107–110 (October 1985 – January 1986) of that title. Responding to charges of conflict of interest, David made a point of not discussing editorial matters with anyone during his 9-to-5 hours as Direct Sales Manager, and decided not to exploit his position as Sales Manager by promoting the title. Although David attributes
3836-850: Is Nick Fury , who is reinterpreted as African-American both in the Ultimate Marvel as well as the Marvel Cinematic Universe continuities. Peter David Peter Allen David (born September 23, 1956), often abbreviated PAD , is an American writer of comic books, novels, television, films, and video games. His notable comic book work includes an award-winning 12-year run on The Incredible Hulk , as well as runs on Aquaman , Young Justice , SpyBoy , Supergirl , Fallen Angel , Spider-Man , Spider-Man 2099 , Captain Marvel , and X-Factor . His Star Trek work includes comic books and novels such as
3973-512: 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
4110-421: 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
4247-579: Is a re-imagining of Peter Pan with a mix of new and old characters, told as a Victorian bedtime story, much like the classic tale. It was praised by Ain't It Cool News , and honored by the School Library Journal as one of 2008's Best Adult Books for High School Students. His Sir Apropos of Nothing fantasy trilogy, Sir Apropos of Nothing , The Woad to Wuin and Tong Lashing , features characters and settings completely of David's own creation, as does his 2007 fantasy novel, Darkness of
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4384-544: 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
4521-415: 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
4658-481: Is noted for his prolific writing, characterized by its mingling of real-world issues with humor and references to popular culture, as well as elements of metafiction and self-reference . David has earned multiple awards for his work, including a 1992 Eisner Award , a 1993 Wizard Fan Award, a 1996 Haxtur Award , a 2007 Julie Award and a 2011 GLAAD Media Award . Peter David's paternal grandparents, Martin and Hela David, and his father, Gunter, emigrated to
4795-506: 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
4932-618: Is working on the device to seal the dimension rifts. Suddenly they realize that the Triskelion has gone in full lockdown. Anti-Man and another dangerous inmate, detained by the Ultimates had escaped containment. At this point the team is curious to know who the other inmate is, demanding answers they find it is Thanos , the Mad Titan. With the help of Jemma Simmons, the team comes up with a means to track Thanos's chronal signature. With
5069-540: The New Frontier book series. His other novels include film adaptations, media tie-ins, and original works, such as the Apropos of Nothing and Knight Life series. His television work includes series such as Babylon 5 , Young Justice , Ben 10: Alien Force and Nickelodeon 's Space Cases , which he co-created with Bill Mumy . David often jokingly describes his occupation as "Writer of Stuff", and he
5206-711: The Spike vs. Dracula mini-series, both based on the character from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel television series. In 2005, David briefly returned to The Incredible Hulk , though he left after only 11 issues because of his workload. He started a new series, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man , beginning with a twelve-part crossover storyline called " The Other ", which, along with J. Michael Straczynski 's run on The Amazing Spider-Man , and Reginald Hudlin 's run on Marvel Knights Spider-Man , depicted
5343-413: The 2003 feature film adaptation by screenwriter Michael France and director Ang Lee . Comic Book Resources credits David with making the formerly poor-selling book "a must-read mega-hit". David collaborated with a number of artists who became fan-favorites on the series, including Todd McFarlane , Dale Keown and Gary Frank . Among the new characters he created during his run on the series were
5480-668: 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
5617-535: 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;
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5754-785: The Epic Comics title Sachs and Violens , which he produced with co-creator/artist George Pérez . David's early 2000s work includes runs on two volumes of Captain Marvel as well as the Before the Fantastic Four: Reed Richards limited series. David and his second wife, Kathleen, wrote the final English-language text for the first four volumes of the manga series Negima for Del Rey Manga . In 2003, David began writing another creator-owned comic, Fallen Angel , for DC Comics, which he created in order to make use of plans he had devised for Supergirl after
5891-527: 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
6028-706: 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
6165-649: The Riot Squad and the Pantheon . David wrote the first appearance of the Thunderbolts , a team created by Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley , in The Incredible Hulk #449 (January 1997). It was after he had been freelancing for a year, and into his run on Hulk , that David felt that his writing career had cemented. After putting out feelers at DC Comics , and being offered the job of writing
6302-662: The Spider-Man titles. Although crossing over from sales into editorial was considered a conflict of interest in the Marvel offices, Owsley, whom David describes as a "maverick," was impressed with how David had not previously hesitated to work with him when Owsley was an assistant editor under Larry Hama . When Owsley became an editor, he purchased a Spider-Man story from David, which appeared in The Spectacular Spider-Man #103 (June 1985). Owsley subsequently purchased from David " The Death of Jean DeWolff ",
6439-561: The Star Trek comic book for DC from 1988 to 1991, when that company held the licensing rights to the property, though he has opined that novels are better suited to Star Trek , whose stories are not highly visual. He and Ron Marz cowrote the DC vs. Marvel intercompany crossover in 1996. David enjoyed considerable runs on Supergirl and Young Justice , the latter eventually being canceled so that DC could use that book's characters in
6576-696: The Thing or the Hulk , or who wore bug-eyed costumes, like Spider-Man , did not appear heroic. As a result, David read those comics in secret, beginning with his first Marvel book, Fantastic Four Annual #3 (November 1965), which saw the wedding of Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman . His parents eventually allowed him to start reading superhero titles, his favorite of which was Superman . He cites John Buscema as his favorite pre-1970s artist. David attended his first comic book convention around
6713-671: 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
6850-399: 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
6987-418: The "Many Happy Returns" storyline, but which were derailed by that series' cancellation. That same year, he wrote a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series for Dreamwave that tied into the animated television series broadcast that year. DC canceled Fallen Angel after 20 issues, but David restarted the title at IDW Publishing at the end of 2005. Other IDW work included a Spike: Old Times one-shot and
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#17327807854917124-532: The "house name" David Peters, over David's objections. David updated Knight Life years later when Penguin Putnam brought it back into print in 2003, and made it a trilogy with the sequels One Knight Only and Fall of Knight , which were published in 2004 and 2007, respectively. Penguin rereleased Howling Mad and the Psi-Man books under David's actual name. David first began writing Star Trek novels at
7261-568: 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
7398-458: 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
7535-409: 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
7672-561: 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
7809-660: 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
7946-856: 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
8083-478: 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
8220-639: 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
8357-591: The DVD release of The Avengers . On November 24, 2011, David was one of the balloon handlers who pulled the Spider-Man balloon during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade . In October 2013, X-Factor ended its run with issue #262, concluding the X-Factor Investigations incarnation of the series. The book was then relaunched as All-New X-Factor , a new series with artist Carmine Di Giandomenico , as
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#17327807854918494-647: The Light , which is the first in a new trilogy of novels titled The Hidden Earth . The second installment, The Highness of the Low , was scheduled to be published in September 2009, but David has related on his blog that it has been delayed until the winter of 2012. David's 2010 novel work includes Year of the Black Rainbow , a novel cowritten with musician Claudio Sanchez of the band Coheed and Cambria , that
8631-529: 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
8768-500: The Middle East. As of May 2018, the game had over 70 million players. 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 the world become a better place , or dedicating themselves to protecting
8905-514: 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
9042-445: 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
9179-463: The U.S.) and Everybody's Marble . Marvel worked closely with Netmarble to establish the various character backgrounds, appearances and traits. The storyline for the game was penned by best-selling Marvel comics writer Peter David . Marvel: Future Fight surpassed 50 million downloads two years after it first launched. 20 million of these downloads came from Asia, 10 million from North America and Europe, 6 million from South America and 2.9 million in
9316-408: 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
9453-438: The United States in the 1930s after the antisemitism in Nazi Germany progressed to the point that Martin's Berlin shoestore became the target of vandalism. David was born September 23, 1956, in Fort Meade, Maryland , to Gunter and Dalia David (née Rojansky), an Israeli Jewish mother who had worked with DNA mappers James Watson and Francis Crick and to whom David credits his sense of humor. He has two siblings,
9590-413: 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
9727-420: 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
9864-512: The addition of Carol Danvers, heroes pursue Thanos, but they are greeted by Anti-Man. Hearing Thanos's false promises to Anti-Man for a better future, Tony and Adam Brashear are able to piece together Thanos' true intentions. In order to please Death , he intends to use the convergence device to open a rift to the future and destroy reality using the unstable Anti-Man. The heroes are able to defeat and reason with Anti-Man, bringing him back under control. They then proceed to stop Thanos from opening
10001-512: 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
10138-482: 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
10275-435: The attack, it is revealed that Stark Industries employee Jemma Simmons is kidnapped by Advanced Idea Mechanics (AIM). After she is saved, the heroes encounter alternative versions of many heroes and villains on a search for MODOK . They conclude A.I.M. has built a device to send people between dimensions. MODOK is defeated and reveals he was researching Ultron by summoning his dimensional alternates before Red Skull stole
10412-499: The book's second issue, Aquaman lost a hand, which was then replaced with a harpoon , a feature of the character that endured for the duration of David's run on the book. More broadly, his run recast the character as an aggressive man of action, one deserving of greater respect, in contrast to the "fish-talking punch line" into which the TV series Super Friends had rendered him. David quit that book over creative differences. David wrote
10549-506: The breakup of his first marriage, the direction of The Incredible Hulk faltered, with the Hulk wandering the world aimlessly, hopelessly looking to be loved. David has stated that his favorite female character of his own creation is Lee, the protagonist of Fallen Angel , which he says is derived from the positive female fan reaction to that character. Characters that David has not written but which he has expressed an interest in writing for
10686-413: 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
10823-632: The comics medium include Batman , Tarzan , Doc Savage , the Dragonriders of Pern , the Steed / Peel Avengers , and Dracula . He has specifically mentioned interest in writing a Tarzan vs. the Phantom story. David has written for several television series and video games. He wrote two scripts for Babylon 5 (the second-season episodes " Soul Mates " and " There All the Honor Lies "), and
10960-534: 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,
11097-552: 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,
11234-452: The contract, which he announced on April 5, 2006, was writing the dialogue for The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born , the comic book spin-off of Stephen King 's The Dark Tower novels, which was to be illustrated by Jae Lee , as well as scripting the subsequent Dark Tower comics . David took over Marvel's She-Hulk after writer Dan Slott 's departure, beginning with issue #22. His run, which won praise, ended with issue #38, when
11371-572: The convergence device lost in the battle against Ultron. The team believes that it is the Ultimates working to solve the problem of the dimensions collapsing. When they arrive at the Ultimates HQ - The Triskellion, they are confronted by the defense systems drones and a skeptical Black Panther who believes they are from another dimension. After overpowering Black Panther and assuring him of their identity they proceed on to meet Blue Marvel who
11508-622: The cover of The Incredible Hulk #340, featuring Wolverine , which McFarlane gave to David as a gift, hangs in David's office. David previously wrote his comic book scripts using the Marvel Method , but due to his tendency to overplot, as during his collaboration with McFarlane on The Incredible Hulk , he switched to the full script method, which he continues to use as of 2003 . He has stated that he prefers to plot his comics stories in six-month arcs. He has stated that when he works on
11645-477: 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
11782-555: The dimension transporter. After this event, SHIELD agents begin to be attacked by thugs with advanced weaponry. The group of heroes fight them off and chase after Red Skull and Hydra , who is defeated alongside Ultron. An interdimensional transference device opens between time, and the future versions of themselves appear. They too are defeated, and a dimensional split occurs. After that heroes defeat Inhumans and Loki and proceed on to meet Dr. Simmons. Doctor Strange explains that Dr. Simmons and he have homed in on an energy signal similar to
11919-486: The emotionally disturbed sentient computer in the series finale "A Friend in Need". David has written and co-produced several films for Full Moon Entertainment and has made cameo appearances in some of the films as well. David wrote an unproduced script for the fifth season of Babylon 5 called "Gut Reactions", which he wrote with Bill Mumy. David wrote "In Charm's Way", an episode of Ben 10: Alien Force . The script
12056-401: 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
12193-481: The episode " Ruling from the Tomb " for its sequel series, Crusade . With actor/writer Bill Mumy , he is co-creator of the television series Space Cases , which ran for two seasons on Nickelodeon , and which proved to be his most lucrative work. David himself appeared as Ben, the father of series regular Bova, in the second-season episode "Long Distance Calls". David's oldest daughter, Shana, later appeared as Pezu,
12330-427: The establishment of a "totem" from which his powers are derived. David's final issue of that title was #23. David wrote a MadroX miniseries that year, whose success led to a relaunch of a monthly X-Factor volume 3 written by him. This was a revamped version of the title starring both Madrox and other members of the former X-Factor title that David had written in the early 1990s, now working as investigators in
12467-515: 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
12604-667: The first comics he had purchased in years. A seminal moment in the course of his aspirations occurred when he met writer Stephen King at a book signing, and told him that he was an aspiring writer. King signed David's copy of Danse Macabre with the inscription, "Good luck with your writing career.", which David now inscribes himself onto books presented to him by fans who tell him the same thing. Other authors that David cites as influences include Harlan Ellison , Arthur Conan Doyle , Robert B. Parker , Neil Gaiman , Terry Pratchett , Robert Crais and Edgar Rice Burroughs . Specific books he has mentioned as favorites include To Kill
12741-454: 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
12878-768: The first of which would be David's Arthurian story, The Camelot Papers . David explained that the second book in his "Hidden Earth" trilogy would be published through Crazy Eight. In September 2013, David acknowledged that books published through Crazy Eight are not as lucrative for him as those for publishers that pay him advances, and announced that his then-impending novel, ARTFUL: Being the Heretofore Secret History of that Unique Individual, The Artful Dodger, Hunter of Vampyres (Amongst Other Things.) , would be published by Amazon.com . David has stated that he tries to block out different days and different times to work on different projects. He usually works in
13015-410: The history of Aquaman's home of Atlantis , which David has referred to as among the written works of which he is most proud, and his first time writing in the full script format. He later wrote a 1994 Aquaman miniseries, Aquaman: Time and Tide , which led to a relaunched monthly Aquaman series, the first 46 issues of which he wrote from 1994 to 1998. His run on Aquaman gained notoriety, for in
13152-612: The home location of villain Morgan le Fay in his novel Knight Life , and has often discussed his progressive views on LGBT issues in his column and on his blog. David's interest in comics was rekindled when he saw a copy of Superman vs. Muhammad Ali (1978) while passing a newsstand, and later, X-Men #95 (October 1975), and discovered in that latter book the "All-New, All-Different" team that had first appeared in Giant-Size X-Men #1 (May 1975). These two books were
13289-479: 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
13426-470: 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
13563-467: 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
13700-606: 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
13837-478: 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
13974-764: 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
14111-470: 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
14248-420: The more rageful and less intelligent Green Hulk and the more streetwise, cerebral Gray Hulk, and of being a journeyman hero, which were inspired by The Incredible Hulk #312 (October 1985), in which writer Bill Mantlo (and possibly, according to David, Barry Windsor-Smith ) had first established that Banner had suffered childhood abuse at the hands of his father. These aspects of the character were later used in
14385-493: The morning, for example, on novels, and does comics-related work in the afternoon. Having previously used Smith Corona typewriters, he writes on a Sony Vaio desktop computer, using Microsoft Word for his comics and novel work, and Final Draft for his screenplays. When writing novels, he sometimes outlines the story, and sometimes improvises as he is writing. Following his stroke in December 2012, David began using DragonDictate to write. Todd McFarlane 's original art for
14522-432: 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 ,
14659-668: The newspaper's office, David wrote his own, portions of which sometimes found their way into Gunter's published reviews. David began to entertain the notion of becoming a professional writer at age twelve, buying a copy of The Guide to the Writer's Market , and subscribing to similar-themed magazines, in the hopes of becoming a reporter. David lived in Bloomfield, New Jersey , in a small house at 11 Albert Terrace, and attended Demarest Elementary School . His family later moved to Verona, New Jersey , where he spent his adolescence. By
14796-623: 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 ,
14933-420: 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
15070-406: 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
15207-419: 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
15344-913: 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 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"
15481-520: 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
15618-825: The publication of the third part of the digital novel, The Returned , the final New Frontier novel to date. David's other science fiction tie-in novels include writing five Babylon 5 novels, three of which were originals, and two of which were adaptations of the TV movies Thirdspace and In the Beginning . His other novel adaptations include those of the movies The Return of Swamp Thing , The Rocketeer , Batman Forever , Spider-Man , Spider-Man 2 , Spider-Man 3 , Hulk , The Incredible Hulk , Fantastic Four , and Iron Man . He wrote an original Hulk novel, The Incredible Hulk: What Savage Beast , and an adaptation of an unused Alien Nation television script, "Body and Soul". David's 2009 novel Tigerheart
15755-506: The request of Pocket Books editor Dave Stern, who was a fan of David's Star Trek comic book work. His Star Trek novels are among those for which he is best known, including Q-in-Law ; I, Q ; Vendetta ; Q-Squared ; and Imzadi , one of the best-selling Star Trek novels of all time. He created the ongoing novel series, Star Trek: New Frontier , a spin-off from Star Trek: The Next Generation , with John J. Ordover in 1997. New Frontier continued until September 2015, with
15892-457: The resentment stirred by Owsley's purchase of his stories may have permanently damaged Owsley's career. Months later, Bob Harras offered David The Incredible Hulk , as it was a struggling title that no one else wanted to write, which gave David free rein to do whatever he wanted with the character. During his 12-year run on Hulk , David explored the recurring themes of the Hulk's multiple personality disorder , his periodic changes between
16029-420: The rift. A battle ensues and as they are about to beat Thanos, he manages to slip through the rift into an unknown point in the future. The team is forced to follow to stop Thanos from destroying the future. Marvel: Future Fight was released on April 30, 2015, for iOS and Android. It was developed by Netmarble Games , creators of titles such as Star Wars: Force Arena , Seven Knights , Raven ( Evilbane in
16166-477: The sale was made before he wrote any comic books, the novel was not published until eighteen months later, in 1987. The novel depicts the reappearance of King Arthur in modern-day New York City. Another early novel of his, Howling Mad , is about a wolf that turns into a human being after being bitten by a werewolf . Ace Books hired David to write the Photon and Psi-Man novels, though they published them under
16303-588: The series was canceled. He wrote a 2008–09 Sir Apropos of Nothing miniseries, based on the character from his novels, which was published by IDW Publishing. David's other 2000s comics based on licensed or adapted properties include Halo: Helljumper , a 2009 miniseries based on the Halo video game, a 2009 Ben 10: Alien Force manga book published by Del Rey, Ben Folds Four , a " Little Mermaid " story in Jim Valentino 's Fractured Fables anthology that
16440-407: The story's poor sales to this decision, he asserts that such crossing over from Sales to Editorial is now common. In the Marvel offices, a rumor circulated that it was actually Owsley who was writing the stories attributed to David. Nonetheless, David says he was fired from Spectacular Spider-Man by Owsley due to editorial pressure by Marvel's Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter , and he has commented that
16577-612: 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
16714-410: 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
16851-539: The time he entered his teens, he had lost interest in comic books, feeling he had outgrown them. David's best friend in junior high and first year in high school, Keith, was gay, and David has described how both of them were targets of ostracism and harassment from homophobes . Although his family eventually moved to Pennsylvania , his experiences in Verona soured him on that town and shaped his liberal sociopolitical positions regarding LGBT issues. He later made Verona
16988-499: The time that Jack Kirby 's New Gods premiered, after asking his father to take him to one of Phil Seuling 's shows in New York, where David obtained Kirby's autograph, his first encounter with a comics professional. David's earliest interest in writing came through the journalism work of his father, Gunter, who sometimes reviewed movies and took young Peter along (if it was age-appropriate). While Gunter wrote his reviews back at
17125-406: The title character of which David co-created. David left X-Factor after 19 issues, and he wrote the first 44 issues of Spider-Man 2099 before quitting that book to protest the firing of editor Joey Cavalieri . The book was cancelled two issues later, along with the entire 2099 line. In 1990, David wrote a seven-issue Aquaman miniseries , The Atlantis Chronicles , for DC Comics , about
17262-459: The title, and remained on it until issue #64 (March 1991), the final issue of that run. David's other Marvel Comics work in the late 1980s and 1990s includes runs on Wolverine , the New Universe series Mark Hazzard: Merc and Justice , a run on the original X-Factor , and the futuristic series Spider-Man 2099 , about a man in the year 2099 who takes up the mantle of Spider-Man,
17399-421: 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
17536-433: The villainous Jackal . However, David gave further consideration to the fact that a book whose main character had a skewed, villainous worldview was not something Marvel had historically done much of, and decided that the premise presented itself with opportunities that intrigued him enough to accept the job. His other Spider-Man work during this decade included a 2019 five-issue miniseries Symbiote Spider-Man , which holds
17673-611: 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
17810-415: The webslinger as he discovered he was dying, lost an eye during a traumatic fight with Morlun , underwent a metamorphosis and emerged with new abilities and insights into his powers. As tends to be the case when fundamental changes are introduced to long-standing classic comics characters, the storyline caused some controversy among readers for its introduction of retractable stingers in Spider-Man's arms, and
17947-640: Was again writing two series, X-Factor and Spider-Man 2099 , after having previously done so decades prior, a coincidence that prompted him to joke at the June 2014 Special Edition NYC convention, "I don't know whether to be proud of that or if I'm in a rut!" In 2014 David wrote a six-part story-arc for The Phantom for publishing company Hermes Press , a story that David, reportedly had wanted to write for many years. In 2015, Simon and Schuster published Stan Lee 's autobiographical graphic novel, Amazing Fantastic Incredible , which David co-wrote, and which became
18084-735: Was covering the World Science Fiction Convention held in Washington in 1974 for the Philadelphia Bulletin . David eventually gravitated towards fiction after his attempts at journalism did not meet with success. His first published fiction appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction in 1980. He sold an op-ed piece to The New York Times , but overall his submissions that met with rejection far outnumbered those accepted. David eventually gave up on
18221-609: 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
18358-443: Was praised by Ain't It Cool News , an adaptation of the 1982 film Tron that was released to tie in with that film's 2010 sequel , and a John Carter of Mars prequel to the 2012 feature film . In 2010, he co-wrote The Spider-Man Vault: A Museum-in-a-Book with Rare Collectibles Spun from Marvel's Web with Robert Greenberger . David wrote the script for Avengers: Season One , an original graphic novel published to promote
18495-454: Was released with the band's album of the same name, and a Fable original novel The Balverine Order , set between the events of Fable II and Fable III . In April 2011, David announced that, in addition to another Fable novel, he and a number of other writers, including Glenn Hauman , Mike Friedman and Bob Greenberger , were assembling an electronic publishing endeavor called Crazy Eight Press to publish e-books directly to fans,
18632-404: 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
18769-467: 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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