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109-455: Marvel Trading Card Game is a virtual card game in which the player chooses to be either a superhero or supervillain in single-player mode. Multiplayer modes are also available. The game follows the rules laid out in Upper Deck's VS System , used in card games across several franchises including Marvel, DC Comics , and Hellboy . The game received mixed reviews from critics. It

218-530: A limited edition . Online matchmaking and the card store were opened in tandem with the PSP version's North American release. PC players used the same services when their version was released. The matchmaking service, the website, store, and other online features were maintained by Agora Games , a gaming company that specializes in online communities. Konami offered players sanctioned tournaments and downloadable card packs. On March 12, 2008, Konami announced that it

327-595: 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

436-452: A benefit to the player or to attack the opponent. Types of cards include characters, such as Onslaught and Namor ; each character has an attack and defense rating that represents how much damage they can inflict and sustain. Other cards include locations and equipment, which can be used to boost the statistics and abilities of characters, and "plot twists" which encompass a wide range of effects, such as forcing an opponent to forfeit some of

545-705: 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

654-423: A card is, the more resource points are required to play it. Resource points are gained by specifically assigning any card in the hand to a resource row, and only one card can be made into a resource each turn. More powerful cards, such as Magneto , require a higher available pool of resources and so can only be played in later turns in a match. Once put into play from the player's hand, a card can be used to provide

763-693: 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

872-804: A five-card booster pack. The game includes a deck editor that allows players to create and modify decks as they see fit. Marvel Trading Card Game was released for the PSP on February 27, 2007 in North America , June 8 in Europe , and July 6 in Australia . The DS version was released on May 22 in North America, July 25 in Europe, and on August 3 in Australia. The PC version was released on June 8 in Europe and July 3 in North America, and included

981-520: A fleet of the old Sentinel models. A new breed of Sentinel robots, created by Trask under the Fenris twins' orders, was later created. After the events of the Ultimatum Wave , Nimrod Sentinels was deployed to hunt, capture or kill mutants that refused to turn themselves in. William Stryker, Jr. , using Sentinel tech, later displayed an ability to summon a fleet of Sentinels after being attacked by

1090-482: A handful are self-aware . Sentinels are technologically advanced, and have exhibited a wide variety of abilities. They are armed (primarily with energy weapons and restraining devices), capable of flight, and can detect mutants at long range. They possess vast physical strength, and their bodies are highly resistant to damage. Some are able to alter their physical forms or re-assemble and reactivate themselves after they have been destroyed. Some Sentinel variants have

1199-484: A handful of in-game tutorials, they aren't entirely utilised efficiently as they're basically just a big slab of text making the game less friendly towards a wider audience." GamesRadar's Eric Bratcher said "If you aren't familiar with the source, get ready for a very steep learning curve." One X-Play reviewer commented that the game's tutorial "might go down in history as the worst in-game tutorial ever created," and another said that gamers who would be most interested in

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1308-537: 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

1417-449: 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

1526-523: 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

1635-423: 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

1744-505: 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

1853-577: 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

1962-757: 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

2071-406: 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,

2180-513: 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

2289-485: A strong desire for it from the community. Reception of Marvel Trading Card Game across all three platforms was mixed. The game was compared to other collectible card games such as Pokémon , Magic , and Munchkin . Reviewers were pleased with the game's representation of the VS System rules, but felt that it was less accessible to players who weren't familiar with the physical version. Several reviews referred to

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2398-406: 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

2507-476: 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"

2616-776: Is Nick Fury , who is reinterpreted as African-American both in the Ultimate Marvel as well as the Marvel Cinematic Universe continuities. Sentinel (comics) The Sentinels are a group of mutant -hunting robots appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . They are typically depicted as antagonists to the X-Men . The Sentinels played a large role in several X-Men animated series, and have been featured in several X-Men video games . The Sentinels are featured prominently in

2725-512: 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

2834-421: 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

2943-544: 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

3052-532: 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

3161-506: 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

3270-504: The House of M storyline, Magneto is victorious in a mutant/human war. The Sentinels are adapted by Sebastian Shaw , now the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. , to serve a reverse purpose, and now aid in the hunting of sapien rebels. In the MC2 timeline, Wild Thing encounters a Prime Sentinel that has accidentally been activated by a faulty microwave. In the alternate reality of X-Men: Ronin ,

3379-855: The Yu-Gi-Oh! series . Marvel Trading Card Game was formally announced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) video game convention in May 2006. Konami explained that the game would use Upper Deck's "VS System" rules and would be available for the DS, PSP, and PC consoles. It was to have both single-player and multiplayer modes for all three systems, and the PC and PSP versions would be cross-compatible. Konami promised that it would host online tournaments, complete with prizes. The PSP and PC versions were developed by Vicious Cycle Software , and

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3488-668: 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

3597-535: 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;

3706-527: 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

3815-706: 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

3924-620: 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

4033-565: 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

4142-822: The " Days of Future Past " timeline, in which the Sentinels have merged with the Borg . The Ultimate Marvel version of Sentinels were created by Bolivar Trask, were already in action in the Ultimate X-Men story arc, hunting down and killing mutants on the streets, in a program apparently openly and publicly acknowledged by the U.S. government. Later on, there were also the New Sentinels that were sixty of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top agents in Sentinel battle armor and they were described to have enough hardware to take on

4251-399: 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

4360-715: The "Omega Sentinels" have advanced technologically and become the de facto rulers of the United States . The most powerful among them is Nimrod . In the joke comic Fred Hembeck Destroys the Marvel Universe , the X-Men are killed by silent, black, man-sized " Ninja Sentinels". In the Here Comes Tomorrow future timeline, a Sentinel named Rover is Tom Skylark's companion and protector. After more than 150 years of being active, Rover has become self-aware and, possibly, capable of emotion. In

4469-568: 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

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4578-458: 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

4687-409: 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

4796-561: 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

4905-584: The 2014 film X-Men: Days of Future Past , and made brief appearances in the 2006 film X-Men: The Last Stand and the 2016 film X-Men: Apocalypse . In 2009, The Sentinels were ranked in IGN as the 38th Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby , they first appeared in The X-Men #14 (Nov. 1965). Sentinels are programmed to locate mutants and capture or kill them. Though several types of Sentinels have been introduced,

5014-604: 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

5123-856: 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

5232-478: 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

5341-639: 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

5450-413: The DS version was outsourced to New York-based designer 1st Playable Productions . From the beginning of development, Vicious Cycle wanted players on all three consoles to be able to play against each other online. This option was ultimately not implemented for the DS. Lead designer Dave Ellis said "...development time and platform limitations didn't permit our DS developers to pursue that option, so

5559-403: The DS version was ultimately limited to Wi-Fi and online play with other DS players." The PSP and PC versions allow players to use the same matchmaking system, and the game's code is linked so that if one platform is patched, the other must be as well. Players with a PC can download and use the online component of the game for free. The plot in the single-player mode of Marvel Trading Card Game

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5668-529: 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

5777-514: The Sentinels with his wife Moira . These Sentinels are equipped with several body-mounted gun turrets, and their primary directive is to protect humans rather than to hunt mutants. They are capable of cooperating with mutants to further this mission. Later, the Sentinels are adapted by Weapon Omega to serve a reverse purpose, and now aid in the hunting of the human race. In the Days of Future Past timeline, which takes place in an alternate future,

5886-514: 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

5995-827: 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

6104-408: 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

6213-540: 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

6322-529: 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

6431-467: The X-Men known as Sentinels, was created because in real life, competitive play in the Marvel card game community was focused on Sentinel decks around the time of Marvel Trading Card Game's development. Around 300 separate decks were created by the design team for the single-player mode, and AI opponents use a more challenging deck if they are played against more than once. The game contains over 1,100 cards, and includes cards from select expansion sets in

6540-421: The ability to learn from their experiences, developing their defenses during an engagement. Several groups of Sentinels have been created or led by a single massive Sentinel called Master Mold . Some Sentinels are also equipped with an inconspicuous logic loop in case they should go rogue to convince them that they are mutants. Because of their power, sophistication, and high mass production, Sentinels are sold on

6649-461: 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

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6758-419: 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

6867-450: The black market. Entities obtain them—often in poor condition—for their own purposes (not necessarily mutant-related). During the " Iron Man 2020 " event, a Sentinel appears as a member of the A.I. Army . There are different types of Sentinels that appear in the comics: The following are alternative versions of the Sentinels, which appear outside of regular Marvel canon . In the Age of Apocalypse timeline, Bolivar Trask created

6976-413: The cards in their hand. Each player has a life bar that is depleted with each successful attack by an opponent, and a player loses the match when their life bar is empty. Whenever a card in play is activated or otherwise used, such as resources, it is referred to as " tapped " and is generally unavailable for further use until the next turn. Unlike Magic , however, characters can attack and defend in

7085-413: 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

7194-534: 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,

7303-552: 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,

7412-613: The console's local wireless "ad-hoc" mode or online against other PSP and PC players. The DS version can be used for both local- and internet-based two-player games , but is incompatible for tournament use. Cards earned in the single-player campaign cannot be used in multiplayer games, but they were available for purchase with actual money in an online store until Konami suspended the service. In August 2005, video game publisher Konami acquired an exclusive license to make games based on Upper Deck's Marvel collectible card game. Konami had published previous titles based on card games, such as

7521-418: 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

7630-401: 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

7739-452: 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

7848-454: 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

7957-500: The gameplay as addictive; IGN's Hilary Goldstein said "I have to admit, I am somewhat addicted to the Marvel Trading Card Game. It's not a great game by any measure, but it does an excellent job of tapping into the collector's mentality of comic-book fans." The game's difficulty, especially the complexity of the VS System ruleset, was described as a potential barrier for gamers. PALGN said "Even though there are

8066-479: 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

8175-470: 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

8284-401: The infrastructure online mode that you can access the aspects of MTCG that make it worth the $ 30 purchase." 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

8393-467: 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

8502-606: 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

8611-478: 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

8720-764: 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

8829-470: 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

8938-432: 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 ,

9047-616: The opponent must possess a projectile weapon or the ability to fly, for instance. Adjacent characters with a matching team affiliation within the Marvel universe can also reinforce one another's attack and defense, such as the Spider Friends and X-Men . Cards activating an ability can be countered by the opponent, and these abilities and counters combine to form a "chain" that dictates the order in which their effects are applied. Marvel Trading Card Game's single-player mode allows

9156-415: The opponent. Matches are formatted into segmented turns during which players can act. Each turn a player draws two cards to add to their hand, and cards in a hand can be put onto the playing field. The playing field is made of up individual rows where cards can be placed; there are six rows for each player. Cards are played by spending "resource points" which act as a form of energy . The more powerful

9265-623: 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 ,

9374-420: 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

9483-406: 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

9592-460: The physical version, like the Avengers and the Fantastic Four . PC and PSP owners can download the X-Men expansion set online for free. Over four hundred characters are represented, with over a hundred as specific entries in the story mode. Artwork for cards was provided by artists such as Alex Garner and Adam Kubert . Whenever a player completes a chapter in the story mode, they are awarded

9701-439: The player booster packs and virtual money that can be used to purchase additional cards in the in-game card shop. Each version of the game offers multiplayer support. The PC version allows players to play over the internet or a local area network . Players can trade cards among one another and participate in matches and tournaments, some of which were sponsored by Konami. PSP owners can play Marvel Trading Card Game with

9810-518: The player to choose one of two different campaigns; one for heroes and one for villains . Both campaigns are based around the Sentinels . Each campaign contains six chapters, with each chapter represented by a series of card matches. The chapters are different for heroes and villains with the exception of the final chapter. Some matches have additional requirements for victory beyond reducing an opponent's health to zero. Completing missions awards

9919-419: 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

10028-520: 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

10137-423: The same turn, unless they are "stunned" in combat. Damage is calculated by adding the difference between an attacking character's attack and the defending character's defense, plus the resource cost of the card. Any damage not absorbed by a defending character is applied to the player's life total. The location of a card on the playing field can affect its statistics; in order to attack, characters further away from

10246-446: The small screens for the playing field of a match. IGN referred to the presentation and visuals as "abysmal". GameSpot described the game's portrayal of plot twist chains as "an alien tax return". The text on individual cards on the PSP version was considered difficult to read, but the DS format of holding the console sideways to play was praised. Reviewers praised the gameplay options available to players, although GameZone described

10355-647: The story is played out in Japan. A police unit called "Sentinel Force" designs, builds and pilots the robots. These are aesthetically similar to regular Sentinels, but each is subtly different from the others. In the comic crossover X-Men / Star Trek : Second Contact , the X-Men work with the crew of the Enterprise -E to battle Kang the Conqueror . An away team composed of Captain Picard , Deanna Troi , Nightcrawler and Colossus encounter an approximation of

10464-403: The story mode as "bland" and IGN called it "too long for its own good". Multiplayer gameplay was well received. GameSpot called the multiplayer "surprisingly solid" and Pocket Gamer described the choice of online modes as "a raft of pleasing multiplayer options." IGN said of the PSP version "Though MTCG's single-player is fairly deep and enjoyable, the focus is on multiplayer ... It's only through

10573-557: 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

10682-410: 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

10791-421: 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

10900-520: The typical Sentinel is three stories tall, is capable of flight , projects energy blasts, and can detect mutants. Pursuing genocide as the means of dealing with a threat has made the Sentinels an analogy for racial hatred and other negative types of fanaticism in Marvel stories, represent the horrific consequences of humanity's actions based on hate and ignorance, along with a caution of the risks of AI takeover . Sentinels are designed to hunt mutants. While many are capable of tactical thought , only

11009-491: The video game would already be avid players of the physical version. Overall, while Marvel Trading Card Game for the Nintendo DS does a reasonable job of recreating the real life game, the experience is slightly hampered by a cramped layout. —Joseph Rositano, PALGN On the handheld versions, many reviewers complained that Marvel Trading Card Game's layout made it difficult to play, as there wasn't enough room on

11118-611: 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

11227-401: Was closing down the website's forums and the online store. Matchmaking and online play would continue to be available to the public, but all cards would be made available for free to all accounts. As we pass our one year anniversary, Konami has decided to transition the site to a free service. All cards in all accounts will be made available, and we will continue the service as long as there is

11336-421: Was composed by Marvel writer John Layman , and the cutscenes were drawn by comic artists like Keron Grant and Pat Olliffe . Early in the development process, the design team had considered portraying the player's avatar as a character within the game's story, but this idea was eventually discarded, and the game does not explain the player's role. The plot, which revolves around the group of robotic enemies of

11445-403: Was considered faithful to the physical version, but reviewers commented that it was not accessible to players who weren't already fans of collectible card games. The handheld versions were criticized for presenting a visual format inappropriate for small screens. Marvel Trading Card Game is a collectible card game with similarities to other card games, like Magic: The Gathering . The game

11554-476: Was designed to portray the VS System rules exactly the same as the physical version, created by baseball card manufacturer Upper Deck Entertainment . Players start each match with a premade deck of cards , from which they draw a number of cards to form a hand. Cards in the hand can be subsequently put into play, and each card represents a character or ability that is played against similar cards possessed by

11663-609: 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

11772-404: 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

11881-467: 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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