Star Publications, Inc. was a Golden Age American comic book publisher, operating during the years 1949–1954. Founded by artist/editor L. B. Cole and lawyer Gerhard Kramer, Star specialized in horror , crime , and romance comics — but also published funny animal stories. Star was originally based in New York City before relocating to Buffalo, New York .
119-471: Phantom Lady is a fictional superheroine appearing in media published by Quality Comics and DC Comics . She was created by the Eisner & Iger studio, one of the first to produce comics on demand for publishers. The character's early adventures were drawn by Arthur Peddy . As published by Fox Feature Syndicate in the late 1940s, Phantom Lady is a notable and controversial example of " good girl art ",
238-471: A doppelganger . It was believed that Senator Knight wanted to run America as a dictatorship enforced by a metahuman army shown through visions created by Uncle Sam, but it appears that the real person who wants America this way is the individual running S.H.A.D.E. This figure, a cyborg named Gonzo the Mechanical Bastard, is impersonating Senator Knight. In the second issue of Uncle Sam and
357-595: 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
476-468: A backup feature in Jungle Thrills by Star Publications , which then itself went out of business. Ajax-Farrell Publications then published four issues of the second Phantom Lady title, cover dated Dec. 1954/Jan. 1955 through June 1955. The company also published her as a backup feature in two issues of Wonder Boy . By then, Wertham's efforts had led to a Congressional investigation into
595-705: 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
714-693: 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
833-512: A four-page ashcan titled The Phantom Lady #1, on the belief that the character had lapsed into the public domain. While the announced standalone title was never released, the character continued in titles such as Fem Fantastique . Black's Phantom Lady was an even more undressed version of the Matt Baker character, and a mask and ordinary handgun were also added. When DC Comics threatened legal action, AC changed their version to " Nightveil ",
952-537: 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
1071-449: 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
1190-553: A line of coloring books in comic book format (mostly with titles like The Star Coloring Book of... ), consisting of full-page drawings with no word balloons and no narrative. Due to the grisly nature of titles like Blue Bolt Weird Tales of Terror , The Horrors , and Startling Terror Tales , Star Publications was singled out in Fredric Wertham 's 1954 book Seduction of the Innocent . Like many comic book publishers of
1309-639: A move that would later cause confusion as to who actually owned the character's copyright . The Fox version which premiered in Phantom Lady #13 (taking over the numbering of Wotalife Comics ) is better known to contemporary comic fans than the Quality version because of the " good girl art " of Matt Baker . Baker altered her costume by changing the colors to red and blue, substantially revealing her cleavage, and adding high-cut loose shorts. Fox published Phantom Lady only through issue 23 (April 1949), though
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#17327722943611428-523: 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
1547-423: 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
1666-505: 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
1785-577: 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
1904-757: 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
2023-406: 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,
2142-513: 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
2261-514: A spoiled movie star and treats her other teammates like the popular girl in high school would treat the geeks (especially the Human Bomb and Major Force ), but shows some hint of respect for the new Doll Man , hinting that they worked together for some time. Her wristbands not only project light but can bend reality. She does not maintain a secret identity. In Brave New World , a radio program names her as Stormy Knight. Like other members of
2380-613: A style of comic art depicting voluptuous female characters in provocative situations and pin-up poses that contributed to widespread criticism of the medium's effect on children. The character was ranked 49th in Comics Buyer's Guide 's "100 Sexiest Women in Comics" list. Phantom Lady first appeared in Quality 's Police Comics #1 (August 1941), an anthology title which also included the debut of characters such as Plastic Man and
2499-406: 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
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#17327722943612618-464: A super-powered troublemaker in half on live television, Black Condor takes her to the extra-dimensional Heartland, where Uncle Sam tells her she will not leave until her habit has been kicked. Stormy later slits her wrists, but is found in time by Doll Man. Miss America removes all the toxins from her systems, allowing her to recuperate better. By the end of the miniseries, Stormy decides to forgo her superhero career to pursue an acting vocation. She
2737-589: A supernaturally-themed character who was later made a member of Femforce , the first all-female superhero team; the Bill Black version of the Phantom Lady was retained as Nightveil's original superhero identity, under the name "Blue Bulleteer". AC Comics, as well as other minor publishers such as Verotik , have nonetheless published reprints of the original Quality and Fox stories without any legal action from DC Comics. When Verotik published its reprints, it
2856-476: 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"
2975-694: Is Nick Fury , who is reinterpreted as African-American both in the Ultimate Marvel as well as the Marvel Cinematic Universe continuities. Star Publications Notable creators who contributed to Star Publications titles included Nina Albright , Tex Blaisdell , Frank Frazetta , Milt Hammer, Alvin Hollingsworth , Joe Kubert , Pat Masulli , and Wally Wood . Co-owner Cole contributed many of his distinctive cover illustrations. Bruno Premiani worked as an editor at
3094-512: 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
3213-421: 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
3332-410: Is a wealthy debutante, whose father invented the "Shadow Ray Projector". Shadow Lady is not Veronica, however, but is actually a duplicate created by the projector. She has the power to become solid or intangible at will, and has her own Shadow Ray Projector she can use to blind villains. The character's costume, and the art style, are strongly based on Phantom Lady. The Fox Features Syndicate version of
3451-544: 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
3570-532: 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
3689-741: 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 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
Phantom Lady - Misplaced Pages Continue
3808-422: Is later rescued by Dane, who had become miniaturized . He gives her a special suit and gloves enabling invisibility and shadow manipulation. She then chooses to become a vigilante, known as Phantom Lady. In "The New Golden Age", Phantom Lady was mentioned by Mister Terrific to have been enlisted to take Human Bomb's sidekick Cherry Bomb and Red Bee's sidekick Ladybug under her wing so that she can hook them up with
3927-683: Is not the pre-Crisis Earth-X. New Super-Man features a character named Ghost Woman (an analog of Phantom Lady). Cobweb appeared in Tomorrow Stories , an anthology title in Alan Moore's America's Best Comics line. The character, created by Moore and Melinda Gebbe, was an eroticized homage to Phantom Lady. She is a rich society girl named Laurel Lakeland who battles crime out of sheer boredom with her chauffeur/lesbian partner, Clarice. In May 1972, Bill Black's Paragon Publications began publishing its own revival of Phantom Lady with
4046-506: 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
4165-668: 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
4284-535: 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;
4403-399: The Human Bomb . That issue established her alter ego as Sandra Knight, the daughter of U.S. Senator Henry Knight. The issue established that it was not her first appearance as the Phantom Lady, but it did not go into her origin. Stories published decades later by DC Comics would give her a proper origin, which was altered several times to give Sandra a more active role. Her skimpy costume
4522-527: 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
4641-706: 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
4760-671: 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
4879-399: 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
Phantom Lady - Misplaced Pages Continue
4998-624: The "Second Wave" of its continuity reboot and entire-line relaunch, The New 52 which begun in September 2011 following on from the Flashpoint limited series. Several years ago, Jennifer Knight witnessed the murder of her parents on Christmas Eve. Her father had been one of the best reporters on the Daily Planet's crime beat, and was close to breaking the case against crime boss Robert Bender, until Bender found out. She swore to bring
5117-568: 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
5236-458: 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
5355-409: 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
5474-572: The 1986 series Young All-Stars ). The two were paired on several missions and fought a Soviet-backed agent named The Baron, actually the German Baron Blitzkrieg , a foe both had met during World War II. Shortly after becoming pregnant, Sandra was kidnapped by The Baron who stole the fetus from her womb and left her for dead. After escaping from Communist Poland, Sandra wanted out of the spy game and turned to an old friend, Roy Lincoln . He helped her, and soon thereafter she started
5593-561: 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
5712-573: The 1994 Starman title. She joined a new version of the Freedom Fighters in the 1999 JSA series. Phantom Lady is later killed by Cheetah and Deathstroke during Infinite Crisis . In Blackest Night , she is temporarily resurrected as a Black Lantern . A new Phantom Lady was introduced in Crisis Aftermath: The Battle for Blüdhaven (2006), as one of the metahumans guarding Blüdhaven . She appears in
5831-604: 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
5950-856: 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
6069-478: 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
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#17327722943616188-461: The Bender family down and in the present tries to enact this by infiltrating the inner circle of Cyrus and Eli Bender, the heirs to Robert Bender's crime legacy. Her cover is quickly discovered forcing Jennifer to seek help from her friend, Dane Maxwell, hoping to use his genius to hack Cyrus Bender's cellphone, but Cyrus' henchmen track them down and apparently kill Dane inside his own machine. Jennifer
6307-639: 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
6426-502: The Blüdhaven team, this incarnation of Phantom Lady is a cold-blooded killer, although there are indications in issue #1 of Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters , as she finds herself defending her actions, that she may be disturbed by what she is ordered to do. Also in issue #1, her father is depicted in a more sympathetic light as a man who might disband the Blüdhaven team if elected. He is murdered on orders of Father Time and replaced by
6545-573: The Crypt , Cole shifted the Blue Bolt comic to horror, renaming it Blue Bolt Weird Tales of Terror . (The title was eventually changed again, to Ghostly Weird Stories , lasting five more issues before being canceled.) Other notable titles published by Star included All-Famous Police Cases , Frisky Animals , Shocking Mystery Cases , and the romance titles Popular Teen-Agers , Top Love Stories , and True-To-Life Romances . The company also published
6664-495: The Freedom Fighters , Stormy becomes a Freedom Fighter. She reveals that she has a degree in quantum physics and pretends to be a spoiled idiot so she won't end up like other socialites. Her wrists bands appear to be able to transport Stormy and others from the third dimension to the fourth dimension. In the second Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters series (September 2007), Stormy, still in shock over her father's death, begins to take drugs and drink heavily. After she drunkenly cuts
6783-537: The Freedom Fighters as this is seen on one of the screens. The second Silk Spectre in Watchmen by Alan Moore is based loosely upon the Phantom Lady. Alan Moore had originally intended to use Charlton Comics characters in his mini-series (until DC told him otherwise), which would imply that Silk Spectre was based on Charlton's Nightshade . Moore found the Nightshade character boring, and based Silk Spectre on
6902-417: The Freedom Fighters were relocated to a parallel world . Their particular earth was referred to as " Earth-X ". On Earth-X, Nazi Germany had won World War II . The team was later featured in its own series for 15 issues (1976–1978), in which they temporarily left Earth-X for " Earth-1 " (where most DC titles were set at the time) and Phantom Lady was given real phantom-like powers. During the final issue of
7021-529: 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
7140-508: The Phantom Lady and DC's Black Canary instead. A new Phantom Lady is shown in the Elseworlds comic Kingdom Come , who is described in the series' endnotes as a literal phantom (ghost) of the original version. Series co-creator Alex Ross used famed pin-up model Bettie Page as his model for this version of Phantom Lady. In the final issue of 52 , a new Multiverse is revealed, originally consisting of 52 identical realities. Among
7259-615: The Special Operations Strikeforce (S.O.S.) alongside her other Golden Age contemporaries, and many of Erik Larsen's original characters, where they battled subterranean demons invading the surface. Phantom Lady appears in Justice League Unlimited #17. Superhero#Female superheroes and villains A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses superpowers or abilities beyond those of ordinary people,
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#17327722943617378-514: 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
7497-767: 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
7616-408: 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
7735-769: The Universite Notre Dame Des Ombres (the University of Our Lady of the Shadows) in the hopes of making further intelligence contacts and finding her baby, but she was not successful. Phantom Lady's presence in the U.S. and her work with American Intelligence was kept a secret to most; she never reunited with her husband, and in her old age became headmistress of the school she began, now a training center for female spies in Washington, D.C. In Manhunter (vol. 3) #23 (June 2006), Phantom Lady met
7854-413: 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
7973-420: 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
8092-461: 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
8211-419: 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
8330-451: The artist through #13, with Joe Kubert drawing her feature in Police Comics #14-16; Frank Borth in #17-21; Peddy again in #22; and Rudy Palais in #23. Phantom Lady also appeared in Feature Comics #69-71 as part of a crossover with Spider Widow and the Raven. After Quality stopped publishing the adventures of Phantom Lady, what was now simply Iger Studios believed it owned the character and assigned it to Fox Feature Syndicate ,
8449-409: The character guest starred in All-Top Comics #8-17, also with art by Baker. Her rogue's gallery in these two Fox titles included the Avenging Skulls; the Fire Fiend; the Killer Clown; Kurtz, the Robbing Robot; the Subway Slayer and Vulture. Baker's cover for Phantom Lady #17 (April 1948) was reproduced in Seduction of the Innocent , the 1954 book by Dr. Fredric Wertham denouncing what he saw as
8568-542: The character made a minor appearance in Savage Dragon #141 as one of the many Golden Age characters who were released from Solar Man's prison. In the subsequent clash between Image Comics superheroes and Golden Age superheroes, Phantom Lady wound up fighting Witchblade until the misunderstanding between the two groups was resolved. The Golden Age Phantom Lady made her return in Savage Dragon #199 as part of
8687-668: The character was blonde on one cover, brunette with a brown costume on another). In 1956, DC Comics obtained the rights to the Quality Comics characters, which they believed included Phantom Lady, and reintroduced her 17 years later with a group of other former Quality heroes as the Freedom Fighters in Justice League of America #107 (October 1973). As was done with many characters DC acquired from other publishers, or that were holdovers from Golden Age titles,
8806-476: The child was Pratt's son. Knight and Munro still keep in contact, as she brought him to meet Kate and her son, Ramsey. A second Phantom Lady, Delilah "Dee" Tyler, was introduced in Action Comics Weekly #636 (January 1989) and was given a back-up feature in that title through #641 with art by Chuck Austen . The daughter of the U.S. Attorney General, Tyler was trained by the original Phantom Lady,
8925-413: 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
9044-423: The comics industry, and publishers formed the self-censoring Comics Code Authority in the fall of 1954. Some changes were consequently made to the Phantom Lady's costume, so that her cleavage was covered and shorts replaced her skirt. Farrell's assets were later acquired by Charlton Comics , and, until DC relaunched the character in the 1970s, Phantom Lady's only appearances were in reprinted Matt Baker stories in
9163-534: 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,
9282-552: 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,
9401-470: The company. In 1949, publisher Novelty Press sold its characters and artwork to Blue Bolt cover artist L. B. Cole. Using his new assets, Cole and partner Kramer began Star Publications. The company's first title was Blue Bolt , which continued the numbering of the Novelty Press title (starting with issue #102). By 1951, inspired by the popularity of horror comics like EC Comics ' Tales from
9520-411: The current Manhunter, Kate Spencer, and it was revealed that she was Spencer's grandmother. Phantom Lady and Iron Munro were revealed to have had a child before their marriage whom they gave up for adoption—Walter Pratt, Spencer's father. The Golden Age Atom , Al Pratt, had allowed Phantom Lady to use his contact information so that she could get into a home for unwed mothers, causing the belief that
9639-477: 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
9758-458: The device as a weapon. In 1981, Phantom Lady became a recurring guest star of All-Star Squadron , a superhero-team title set on " Earth-2 ", the locale for DC's World War II-era superheroes, and at a time prior to when she and the other Freedom Fighters were supposed to have left for Earth-X. Phantom Lady then appeared with the rest of DC's superheroes in Crisis on Infinite Earths , a story that
9877-401: 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
9996-515: 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
10115-454: 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
10234-479: 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
10353-470: 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
10472-451: The late 1950s and early 1960s. Israel Waldman's I.W. Publications (later Super Comics), a company that published unauthorized reprints from 1958 to 1964, included Phantom Lady reprints in issues of Great Action Comics and Daring Adventures . These comics featured new cover images of Phantom Lady that bore little visual consistency either to the Fox version of the character or each other (e.g.,
10591-467: 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
10710-606: 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
10829-478: 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
10948-410: The limited series Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters . Her name is Stormy Knight and, like the original character, her father is a U.S. Senator, though no connection to the other Knight characters has been established. She seems to know Father Time and has hinted that they have met before with him in a different guise, referring to his look as "this year's look is Colonel Sanders, Time?" She acts like
11067-764: 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
11186-470: 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
11305-414: The morally corrupting effect of comics on children. The cover, which illustrated Phantom Lady attempting to escape from ropes, was presented by Wertham with a caption that read, "sexual stimulation by combining 'headlights' with the sadist's dream of tying up a woman". In the meantime, Fox went under and its assets were acquired by other publishers, and a Phantom Lady story from All-Top was then reprinted as
11424-432: 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 ,
11543-526: The now-elderly Sandra Knight, at the exclusive [Université Notre Dame des Ombres (Our Lady of the Shadows) in France. She inherited Knight's equipment and costume. It was heavily implied in that series that she was not alone in being thus trained and equipped, as her "college roommate" Marie Saloppe also appeared in the guise of Phantom Lady in Action Comics Weekly #639. Tyler's primary ability
11662-436: The original Freedom Fighters series, the writers gave the character an origin story. One night, Sandra happened across two would-be assassins targeting her father, and stealthily thwarted them with nothing more than a rolled-up newspaper. Knight consequently developed a taste for adventure and crime-fighting, and after finding a "black light ray projector" that a family friend named Professor Davis sent to her father, she adopted
11781-623: 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 ,
11900-532: The parallel realities shown is one designated "Earth-10". As a result of Mister Mind "eating" aspects of this reality, it takes on visual aspects similar to the pre-Crisis Earth-X, including the Quality characters. The names of the characters and the team are not mentioned in the panel in which they appear, but a character visually similar to the Sandra Knight Phantom Lady appears. Based on comments by Grant Morrison , this alternate universe
12019-420: 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
12138-406: 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
12257-419: 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
12376-465: The prestigious Knight family of Opal City , a locale central to DC's Starman line of heroes. Her formative story was changed so that she overtook her father's would-be assassins with her fists instead of a newspaper. Lastly, she was given a more active role in the acquisition of her black light ray, which she no longer received from a mere family friend but instead from a scientist named Dr. Abraham Davis, who had escaped from Nazi -controlled Europe . In
12495-520: 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
12614-556: The retelling, Sandra Knight gave asylum to Davis, setting him up in a laboratory and helping him to complete his invention. Ted Knight, now established as her cousin, also aided Davis, as a result acquiring the technology that allowed him to become the first Starman . The 1994 title Damage established the post-World War II history for Phantom Lady. She was made an agent of a Cold War -era government intelligence agency called Argent, in which she met and married fellow former-All Star Squadron member Iron Munro (a character introduced in
12733-612: 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
12852-410: 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
12971-421: 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
13090-611: 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
13209-479: Was AC Comics that sued for trademark infringement, not DC Comics. Many believe these early stories to have lapsed into the public domain because the original owners failed to renew the copyright before it expired (as was required under pre- 1976 U.S. copyright law ). Shadow Lady is a character seen in Big Bang Comics , all of whose characters are parodies of DC Comics. Like Sandra Knight, Veronica Prescott
13328-444: Was an extensive knowledge of the martial art called savate , also known as French kickboxing. She also possessed a wrist-mounted blaster, and a holographic projector developed by her childhood friend and roommate Sarah that could be used to cast powerful illusions. This successor Phantom Lady never received a series of her own, but was a periodic guest star in other titles, including the 1988 Starman , Flash , and most frequently in
13447-420: Was eventually explained as a deliberate tactic to distract her usually male foes. Sandra Knight assumed the identity of Phantom Lady in a costume consisting of a green cape and the equivalent of a one-piece yellow swimsuit . She used a "black light projector", a device which allowed her to blind her enemies and make herself invisible. She drove a car whose headlights also projected black light when necessary. She
13566-609: 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
13685-484: Was intended to eliminate the confusing histories that DC had attached to its characters by retroactively merging the various parallel worlds into one. This left Phantom Lady's Earth-X days written out of her history, and the Freedom Fighters became a mere splinter group of the All-Star Squadron. DC also retconned the origin of Phantom Lady established in Quality's Police Comics , so that she now belonged to
13804-487: Was invited by Oracle to join the Birds of Prey , but ended up casually setting fire to her invitation immediately after reading it, stating that she was already on someone else's payroll. In 2012, DC Comics published a new ongoing comic book, Phantom Lady and Doll Man , featuring completely new versions of the characters, with no relation to their Freedom Fighter predecessors other than the character names. These were part of
13923-749: Was sometimes assisted by her fiance, Donald Borden, an agent of the U.S. State Department. According to Jess Nevins' Encyclopedia of Golden Age Superheroes , "she fights the cowgirl Ace of Spades, the arsonist Fire Fiend, the Killer Clown, the Robbing Robot, the woman-killer the Subway Slayer, and the cloud-seeding saboteur the Vulture". Phantom Lady ran as one of the features in Police Comics through #23. Arthur Peddy continued as
14042-404: 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
14161-467: 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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