137-545: The Liberty Legion is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . The team was first created in 1976 and set during World War II . Composed of existing heroes from Marvel's 1940s Golden Age of Comic Books predecessor, Timely Comics , the team was assembled and named by writer Roy Thomas in a story arc running through The Invaders #5–6 (March & May 1976) and Marvel Premiere #29–30 (April & June 1976). Inspired by
274-595: 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
411-593: A Blue team headlining the adjectiveless X-Men title, while the Gold team, consisting of Warren Worthington III/Archangel, Piotr "Peter" Rasputin/Colossus, Jean Grey, Robert "Bobby" Drake/the Iceman and Ororo Munroe/Storm, appeared in Uncanny . This roster was later joined by Lucas Bishop , another refugee from the future. After Claremont's departure, Jim Lee continued as plotter, while John Byrne scripted from #281–286. Byrne
548-488: A Native American. The original plan was to continue Giant-Size X-Men as a quarterly, but instead original stories were printed in the book, again initially bimonthly. Chris Claremont 's first issue as writer, #94, featured all the original X-Men leaving the team with the exception of Cyclops. Sunfire also left, having agreed to assist the X-Men on one successful mission only. Thunderbird was killed in #95. Moira MacTaggert ,
685-626: A battle with the Hulk, seek out the help of Captain America and the Falcon. This led to the first "Secret Empire" storyline, which ran in Captain America #172–175 (April–July 1974), also written by Steve Englehart. Professor Xavier made a few brief appearances of his own without the X-Men during this time. In The Avengers #88 (May 1971), written by Roy Thomas and Harlan Ellison , he made
822-705: 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
959-643: A brief appearance. The Beast starred in his own series in Amazing Adventures #11–17 (March 1972 – March 1973) after accepting a position with the Brand Corporation , and decides to leave the X-Men for good. The original team appeared briefly in a flashback in #11 (March 1972) and in a present-day cameo appearance in #15 (November 1972). Professor Xavier and Marvel Girl briefly appeared in Amazing Adventures #12 (May 1972), and
1096-482: A brief return from #381 (June 2000) to #389, at which point he transferred to the new X-Treme X-Men title, as Grant Morrison took over X-Men (vol. 2) and that became the flagship X-Men title. From 2001, Lobdell made a short return, and then Joe Casey and Chuck Austen wrote runs into 2004. The title became bimonthly from 2003 to 2004. The X-Men: Reload reshuffle of titles in 2004 led to Claremont returning to Uncanny with issue #444. The stories addressed
1233-577: A cameo appearance assisting Reed Richards and General Thunderbolt Ross in containing the Hulk, and later appeared briefly onscreen in Shanna the She-Devil #5 (Aug. 1973) to warn Shanna of an unknown mutant threat, Nekra . In The Defenders #15–16 (Sept–Oct. 1974), written by Len Wein , Xavier teamed up with the Defenders to battle against Magneto and his reformed Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. It
1370-693: A decorated officer in the United States Air Force who would become a costumed superheroine herself years later. In 1975 Shotaro Ishinomori 's Himitsu Sentai Gorenger debuted on what is now TV Asahi, it brought the concepts of multi-colored teams and supporting vehicles that debuted in Gatchaman into live-action, and began the Super Sentai franchise (later adapted into the American Power Rangers series in
1507-530: A disco-singing, roller-skating mutant, was introduced in #130 (Feb. 1980), but did not join the team, instead having a solo title. A new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, led by Mystique , was introduced in the " Days of Future Past " storyline (#141–142, Jan–Feb 1981) in which a time-travelling Katherine Anne "Kitty" Pryde/Shadowcat tried to avert a dystopian future caused by the Brotherhood assassinating Presidential candidate Senator Robert Kelly . Byrne plotted
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#17327869193581644-422: A group of disfigured mutants living underneath New York City , were introduced in #169 (May 1983). Storm became their leader in #170. She was de-powered accidentally by government forces aiming for Anna Marie LeBeau/Rogue, and met Forge , a mutant with the power of invention. After Storm left the team temporarily to return to her native Africa, Nightcrawler became field leader. The character Rachel Summers from
1781-649: A guest appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #92 (Jan. 1971), where he battles Spider-Man after mistakenly assuming he abducted Gwen Stacy. Later, after realizing his error, they team up against corrupt politician, Sam Bullitt. Iceman appears alone once again in Marvel Team-Up #23 (July 1974), where he teams up with the Human Torch to battle the Equinox . Cyclops, Marvel Girl, and Angel also make
1918-448: A human ally of the X-Men, and later to be established as a former fiancé of Xavier, debuted in #96. Marvel Girl became Phoenix in issue #101. This was followed by the first Shi'ar space opera story. Cockrum was replaced as penciller by John Byrne as of #108. Byrne became co-plotter, and during his run the series became a monthly title again. The series title was changed to The Uncanny X-Men with issue #114 (October 1978). For
2055-537: 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
2192-449: 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
2329-564: A long association with the team by drawing The Uncanny X-Men Annual #9 (1985) and would serve as the artist on several of the Annuals in the next few years. The end of 1986 saw the first crossover between X-Men titles, the " Mutant Massacre ", which saw a large number of Morlocks killed by the Marauders , acting under orders from the mysterious Nathaniel Essex/Mister Sinister The late 1980s saw several other crossovers: 1988's " Fall of
2466-523: 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
2603-641: A new, international team consisting of Scott Summers (Cyclops) of the United States, Ireland 's Sean Cassidy (Banshee) , the Japanese mutant Shiro Yoshida (Sunfire) , and James "Logan" Howlett (Wolverine) from Canada , along with new characters Ororo Munroe (Storm) out of Kenya , the German Kurt Wagner (Nightcrawler) , Piotr "Peter" Rasputin (Colossus) from Russia in The Soviet Union , and John Proudstar (Thunderbird) ,
2740-400: A present-day appearance in the same issue, they encounter and battle the Hulk, who mistakes Polaris for his former lover Jarella , and a biker gang. As a team, the X-Men assisted Spider-Man in capturing Michael Morbius in Marvel Team-Up #4 (Sept. 1972), written by Gerry Conway , after one of Xavier's colleagues is abducted by the vampire. In Adventure into Fear #20 (Feb. 1974), it
2877-423: 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
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#17327869193583014-505: 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
3151-577: 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
3288-705: 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
3425-406: 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,
3562-513: 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
3699-406: 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
3836-567: A weekly run in July 2019 and concluded on October of the same year. Shortly after those were completed, the X-Men series relaunched with X-Men #1, accompanied by the other related teams' regular series, such as Marauders , X-Force , Excalibur , New Mutants , X-Corp , Wolverine , X-Men: Giant Size , and reviving 1987's Fallen Angels ; all part of the 2019 story arc " Dawn of X ", which searches to unite all mutantdom and settle down as
3973-588: A whole species. It was announced that a new Uncanny X-Men series would return. The first issue is scheduled to be released on August 7, 2024, cover-dated October 2024, and will be written by Gail Simone and penciled by David Marquez . The members of this team will be: Wolverine, Gambit, Jubilee, Rogue, and Nightcrawler. Like many comic book series, Uncanny X-Men had an associated double-sized Annual series, once in both 1970 and 1971, then regularly from 1979 to 2001. A second series of Uncanny X-Men Annuals began in 2006 as volume 2 issue #1. Note: Despite
4110-476: 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"
4247-555: Is Nick Fury , who is reinterpreted as African-American both in the Ultimate Marvel as well as the Marvel Cinematic Universe continuities. Uncanny X-Men Uncanny X-Men , originally published as The X-Men , is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics since 1963, and is the longest-running series in the X-Men comics franchise . It features a team of superheroes called
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4384-512: 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
4521-421: 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
4658-544: 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
4795-477: 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
4932-686: 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
5069-587: Is recounted in a flashback how Morbius escaped from the X-Men's mansion. Professor Xavier and Cyclops appeared in a brief cameo. They appeared in The Avengers #110–111 (April–May 1973), written by Steve Englehart , where Professor Xavier and the X-Men are abducted by Magneto after an ambush at Xavier's mansion, and later rescued by the Avengers, Daredevil, and the Black Widow. Soon after, members of
5206-506: 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
5343-763: The Extermination miniseries. This incarnation of the team features Lucas Bishop , Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler , Jean Grey , Ororo Munroe/Storm , Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock/Psylocke , Jean-Paul Beaubier/Northstar , Robert "Bobby" Drake/the Iceman , Hank McCoy/the Beast , Laura Kinney/X-23 , Lorna Dane/Polaris , Jubilation Lee/Jubilee , Katherine Anne "Kitty" Pryde/Shadowcat and Sam Guthrie/Cannonball as well as trainee X-Men Hisako Ichiki/Armor , Victor Borkowski/Anole , Megan Gwynn/Pixie , Idie Okonkwo/Oya , Robert Herman/the Glob , Santo Vaccarro/Rockslide . Following
5480-596: The Australian outback . The " X-Tinction Agenda " crossover, in which the X-Men, X-Factor and the New Mutants fight against the government of Genosha for mutant rights, was published in the fall of 1990. The title became twice-monthly from 1988 to 1990 every summer, and helped to launch the careers of artists Marc Silvestri and Jim Lee . In 1991 another X-Men title was launched, titled simply X-Men ; both titles were now published monthly. Claremont wrote
5617-668: 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
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5754-535: 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;
5891-527: The Lady Liberators appeared in an issue of The Avengers as a group of mind-controlled superheroines led by Valkyrie (actually a disguised supervillainess ) and were meant to be a caricatured parody of feminist activists; and Jean Grey became the embodiment of a cosmic being known as the Phoenix Force with seemingly unlimited power in the late 1970s, a stark contrast from her depiction as
6028-900: The Liberty Legion , a second fictional team called the Liberteens was published in 2007 as part of the Avengers Initiative . The genesis of the Marvel Comics superhero team the Liberty Legion came in the 1970s' World War II -set The Invaders , starring a team composed of Captain America , the Sub-Mariner , and the original Human Torch , plus sidekicks Bucky and Toro , all characters that had appeared in Marvel's 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics . The Invaders #5 ( cover-dated March 1976) featured cameo appearances by fellow Timely characters Miss America ,
6165-510: The Magneto solo series. The series will deal with threats that arise as a result of a new, more dangerous world post- Secret Wars . Summing up the team, Bunn states "They're upholding Xavier's dream, but they have no right to do so." Announced in August 2018, Uncanny X-Men (vol. 5) debuted November 14, 2018, with the weekly 10-part "X-Men: Disassembled" arc and follows on from the events of
6302-706: 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
6439-996: The Patriot , and the Whizzer , who would go on to the Liberty Legion, and the Fin , who would not. The team was formally assembled and named the following month in Marvel Premiere #29 (April 1976), with additional Timely superheroes the Blue Diamond , Jack Frost , the Red Raven and the Thin Man joining. The team went on to star in two more installments of this four-story arc, in The Invaders #6 and Marvel Premiere #30 (June 1976), all written by Roy Thomas and illustrated by various artists. A new, unrelated version of
6576-838: The Phalanx . Legion Quest crossover (#320–321) The series was replaced with Astonishing X-Men for four months during the event. It featured Clarice Ferguson/Blink, Kevin Sydney/Morph , Anna Marie Lehnsherr/Rogue, Victor Creed/Sabretooth, Shiro Yoshida/Sunfire, and Kyle Gibney/Wild Child . Scott Summers/Cyclops, Hank McCoy/the Beast, James "Logan" Howlett/Wolverine, Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock/Psylocke, Anna Marie LeBeau/Rogue, Remy LeBeau/Gambit, Ororo Munroe/Storm, Jean Grey, Warren Worthington III/the Archangel, Robert "Bobby" Drake/the Iceman, Lucas Bishop, Sam Guthrie/Cannonball, Joseph After Charles Xavier/Professor X briefly disbands
6713-891: The Serpent summoned to Earth. Ms. America, 2-D, Hope, and the Iceberg later leave the Liberteens and come together as the Fantastix after the Fantastic Four disbanded following the Secret Wars storyline. While Ms. America took up the name of Ms. Fantastix, they also gained ownership of the Baxter Building . The Fantastix' first mission sees them thwarting the Wrecking Crew 's jewelry store robbery. When
6850-698: The Skrull Kill Krew to identify and defeat the Skrulls within their own ranks, the Revolutionary among them. Afterward, the Whiz Kid saves her fellow Initiative members from the Skrulls' poisonous gas, before succumbing to it herself. During the " Fear Itself " storyline, representative of the Liberteens are called by Prodigy when the Initiative is restarted and briefed on the hammers that
6987-405: The Sub-Mariner , and the original Human Torch , and their sidekicks. The Liberty Legion, indeed, included only two of even the company's secondary tier – the Whizzer and Miss America , who in late-1940s comics were members of Timely's first super-team, the All-Winners Squad . In the team's modern-day retcon origin, the Liberty Legion was assembled in 1942 by Captain America sidekick Bucky ,
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#17327869193587124-501: 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
7261-515: The X-Men , a group of mutants with superhuman abilities led and taught by Professor X . The title was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby , met with a lukewarm reception, and eventually became a reprints-only book in 1970. Interest was rekindled with 1975's Giant-Size X-Men #1 and the debut of a new, international team. Initially under the guidance of artist David Cockrum , writer Len Wein, and especially writer Chris Claremont whose 16-year stint began with August 1975's Uncanny X-Men #94 ,
7398-399: 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
7535-449: The "Top 10 1970s Marvels". The " Dark Phoenix Saga " in 1980 led to a change in the line-up of the team, with the death of Phoenix (Jean Grey), and Cyclops leaving the team to mourn her. Comics writers and historians Roy Thomas and Peter Sanderson observed that "'The Dark Phoenix Saga' is to Claremont and Byrne what ' the Galactus Trilogy ' is to Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. It is a landmark in Marvel history, showcasing its creators' work at
7672-471: The 10th issue, the series began focusing on a new team of X-Men featuring Scott Summers/Cyclops , James "Logan" Howlett/Wolverine , Alex Summers/Havok , Jamie Madrox/the Multiple Man , Rahne Sinclair/Wolfsbane , Illyana Rasputin/Magik , Danielle Moonstar/Mirage , Xi'an Coy Minh/Karma . After this volume, all X-Men titles were cancelled and two intertwining six-issue miniseries written by Jonathan Hickman , called " House of X " and " Powers of X ", began
7809-434: 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
7946-458: 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
8083-409: 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
8220-561: 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
8357-417: 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
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#17327869193588494-567: 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
8631-424: The Angel helped the Beast defeat the Griffin in Amazing Adventures #15. After his run on that series ended, the Beast battled against the Hulk alone in Incredible Hulk #161 (March 1973), concluding a storyline which began in Amazing Adventures . Havok and Polaris, as recounted in a flashback in Incredible Hulk #150 (April 1972), leave the X-Men after a bitter quarrel with Iceman and move to New Mexico. In
8768-434: The Archangel, M, Mystique, Fantomex and Sabretooth, while a different team led by Storm will be called the Extraordinary X-Men . Cyclops's fate after Battleworld is shown to us in the Death of X miniseries (Cyclops was exposed to the Terrigen Mist and died from M-Pox). The tagline for the relaunched series is "Bigger threats require more threatening X-Men", and is considered to be a continuation of Bunn's previous work on
8905-422: The Avengers) with her brother, Quicksilver. In 1963, Astro Boy was adapted into a highly influential anime television series. Phantom Agents in 1964 focused on ninjas working for the Japanese government and would be the foundation for Sentai -type series. 1966 saw the debut of the sci-fi/horror series Ultra Q created by Eiji Tsuburaya this would eventually lead to the sequel Ultraman , spawning
9042-468: 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
9179-426: The Fantastic Four return, they revealed that the Wrecking Crew's robbery was staged by their manager/publicist Brenda Bannicheck as part of a plan to boost their popularity. The Fantastix got the Fantastic Four's blessing to continue using the Baxter Building. Superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses superpowers or abilities beyond those of ordinary people,
9316-468: The Golden Age. Unofficial team leader the Patriot had appeared as a simulacrum projected from the mind of Rick Jones in The Avengers #97 (March 1972), but was otherwise reintroduced here. The winged Red Raven, who had starred in the single issue of a namesake title in 1940, had re-entered the modern Marvel universe with The X-Men #44 (May 1968). The Whizzer had returned as an older character in Giant-Size Avengers #1 (Aug. 1974), relating how he and
9453-495: The Liberty Legion, known as the Liberteens, based in modern-day Pennsylvania , debuted in Avengers: The Initiative Annual #1 (2008). "America's Homefront Heroes of World War II", the Liberty Legion differed from the Invaders by confronting Axis plots and influence in and around the United States as well as fifth columnists , rather than in the overseas theaters of war. It also differed by consisting of mostly obscure Timely Comics superheroes, rather than stars Captain America ,
9590-415: 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
9727-597: The Mutants " and 1989's " Inferno ", which resolved the issue of Madelyne Pryor by revealing her to have been a clone of Jean Grey created by Sinister. The cast was shaken up, with the addition of Psylocke , the Dazzler, Longshot and Havok in early 1987, as well as the first appearances of NPR-TV reporter Manoli Wetherell in #226 (1988), new teenage mutant Jubilation Lee/Jubilee in #244 (1989), and Remy LeBeau/Gambit in Uncanny X-Men #266 (1990). The X-Men left their traditional residence in Westchester County, New York , and lived variously on Alcatraz , Muir Island and in
9864-514: 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
10001-747: The Sub-Mariner in #6 and the Avengers in #9. The jungle adventure hero Kevin Plunder/Ka-Zar and the Savage Land were introduced in issue #10. Roy Thomas wrote the series from #20–43 (May 1966 – April 1968). Thomas and artist Werner Roth created Sean Cassidy/the Banshee in #28 (Jan. 1967). The X-Men #45 (June 1968) featured a crossover with The Avengers #53 (June 1968). After brief runs by Gary Friedrich and Arnold Drake –
10138-827: 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
10275-408: 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
10412-540: 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
10549-529: 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
10686-411: The X-Men battle Magneto again, and the " Phalanx Covenant " story of 1994 focused mostly on the techno-organic Phalanx . Uncanny X-Men briefly ceased publication during the " Age of Apocalypse " storyline in 1995, which dealt with an alternative present created by a time-travelling assassin killing Xavier; it was replaced by Astonishing X-Men . Lobdell was writing X-Men as well from 1995. Lobdell
10823-461: The X-Men, including Iceman, Angel, Beast, Havok and Polaris, and members of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants are secretly being abducted by a group of hooded figures known as the Secret Empire . At this point, only Professor Xavier, Cyclops and Marvel Girl remain active, and, after a brief cameo at the end of Incredible Hulk #172 (Feb. 1974), where they discover an unconscious Juggernaut after
10960-512: The archetype include mythological characters such as Gilgamesh , Hanuman , Perseus , Odysseus , David , and demigods like Heracles , all of whom were blessed with extraordinary abilities, which later inspired the superpowers that became a fundamental aspect of modern-day superheroes. The distinct clothing and costumes of individuals from English folklore , like Robin Hood and Spring-Heeled Jack , also became inspirations. The dark costume of
11097-419: 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
11234-413: 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
11371-534: 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,
11508-552: 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,
11645-439: The concept of the series emulated his own earlier series for National Periodical Publications 's (now DC Comics ) The Doom Patrol , in many respects. However, National's editorial staff did not support Drake's concerns. Initially published bimonthly, it became a monthly with issue #14 (November 1965). Lee's run lasted 19 issues, and featured the X-Men battling villains such as Magneto's Brotherhood of Mutants (which included
11782-477: 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
11919-401: 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
12056-515: 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
12193-454: 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
12330-471: The first three issue of this series, in which the X-Factor and X-Men teams reunited with Professor Xavier at the school. Claremont left Marvel after disputes with Bob Harras and artist Jim Lee (of X-Men ). Claremont's final issue of Uncanny X-Men was #279, during the " Muir Island Saga ", which is set before those events. After Claremont's run, the X-Men were divided into two color-coded squads, with
12467-485: The future dystopia presented in "Days of Future Past" had been shown to arrive in the present day in New Mutants #18, and then made appearances in Uncanny X-Men from #184 on and was revealed to be Cyclops' daughter. Claremont attempted to write Scott Summers/Cyclops out of the series, by having him marry Madelyne Pryor in #175 (Nov. 1983); she gave birth to his son in #201 (Jan. 1986). The X-Factor series
12604-401: The government-backed Freedom Force in #199. Their first action was to capture Erik Magnus Lehnsherr/Magneto, who had begun associating with the X-Men during the " Secret Wars II " crossover. Erik Magnus Lehnsherr/Magneto surrenders himself, but escapes after his trial is abandoned, he takes over the headmastership of the school after Xavier leaves for space in #200 (Dec. 1985). The Morlocks ,
12741-415: The group is shown celebrating victory with debauchery, with the exception of the seemingly straitlaced leader, the Revolutionary, who is revealed to be a Skrull sleeper agent involved in preparations for that shape-shifting alien race's Secret Invasion . During the invasion, upon the beginning of overt hostilities, a loosely organized band of Initiative members, including the Liberteens, join forces with
12878-853: The group soon after, due to a dispute between Havok and Iceman over Polaris, and moved to New Mexico. It is unknown whether they rejoined the team following the "Secret Empire" storyline in Captain America #172–175 (April–July 1974) and prior to being captured by Krakoa in Giant-Size X-Men #1 (May 1975). X-Cutioner's Song crossover (#294–296) Fatal Attractions crossover (#304) Generation X forms as Sean Cassidy/the Banshee, Emma Frost/the White Queen , Jubilation Lee/Jubilee, and Victor Creed/Sabretooth protect Clarice Ferguson/Blink , Monet St. Cross/M , Paige Guthrie/Husk , Everett Thomas/Synch , and Angelo Espinoza/Skin from
13015-557: The height of their abilities." The storyline also saw the introduction of recurring antagonists the Hellfire Club , and its Inner Circle consisting of Sebastian Shaw , Emma Frost , Harry Leland , Donald Pierce , along with Mastermind , previously a member of Magneto's Brotherhood. Teenage mutant Katherine Anne "Kitty" Pryde/Shadowcat was introduced in #129 (Jan. 1980) and joined the X-Men in #139. Alison Blaire/the Dazzler ,
13152-570: The humans, who see Cyclops as a terrorist's due to his actions in Avengers Vs. X-Men . Eventually, Kitty Pryde and the time-displaced X-Men join his cause after facing a team of X-Men from a dystopian future. It lasted 36 issues, with the final issue reverting to the legacy numbering of Uncanny X-Men #600. As part of All-New, All-Different Marvel , Uncanny X-Men was relaunched, written by Cullen Bunn with art by Greg Land . The relaunched Uncanny X-Men team features Magneto leading Psylocke,
13289-479: The hypothetical heteronormative male audience. Villains, such as Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy , use their sexuality to take advantage of their male victims. In the film versions of these characters, their sexuality and seductive methods are highlighted. Poison Ivy uses seduction through poison to take over the minds of her victims as seen in the 1997 film Batman and Robin . Harley Quinn in 2016's Suicide Squad uses her sexuality to her advantage, acting in
13426-470: The idea of a masked avenger and the superhero trope of a secret identity . Over the next few decades, masked and costumed pulp fiction characters such as Jimmie Dale/The Grey Seal (1914), Zorro (1919), Buck Rogers (1928), The Shadow (1930), and Flash Gordon (1934), and comic strip heroes such as the Phantom (1936), began appearing, as did non-costumed characters with super strength , including
13563-540: The latter of whom introduced the new X-Men Lorna Dane/Polaris and Alex Summers/Havok , and during which the series adopted a new logo designed by Jim Steranko – Thomas returned to the series with issue #55 and was joined by artist Neal Adams the following issue for an acclaimed run of stories. After a battle with the Hulk in issue #66 (March 1970), the title ceased publishing original material and featured reprints in issues #67–93 (December 1970 – April 1975). Despite
13700-467: 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
13837-662: 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
13974-478: 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
14111-764: 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
14248-470: 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
14385-519: The mutant race's survival. Gillen's run led into, and crossed over with, the Avengers vs. X-Men storyline and finished with issue #20 in October 2012. The volume ended with Cyclops, who had become increasingly hardline during Gillen's run, in prison for his actions during that storyline. Gillen wrote a five-part epilogue, AvX: Consequences . As part of Marvel NOW! , a new volume of Uncanny X-Men
14522-432: The new Spider-Man after the apparent death of the original Spider-Man, Peter Parker . Kamala Khan , a Pakistani-American Muslim teenager who is revealed to have Inhuman lineage after her shapeshifting powers manifested, takes on the identity of Ms. Marvel in 2014 after Carol Danvers had become Captain Marvel. Her self-titled comic book series became a cultural phenomenon, with extensive media coverage by CNN ,
14659-515: The new status quo established by Morrison. Claremont remained until #473. His final story was " End of the Greys " in 2006, as part of the " Decimation " storyline, where the vast majority of mutants had lost their powers. He was replaced by Ed Brubaker , who wrote a 12-part epic space opera story "The Rise and Fall of the Shi'ar Empire", as a follow-up to his miniseries X-Men: Deadly Genesis . After this,
14796-522: The only Invaders member to escape a brainwashing trap by the Red Skull . To rescue his teammates, he gathered: The Blue Diamond (a super-strong, superhumanly durable anthropologist), Jack Frost (the mythological spirit of winter), and the Thin Man (comics' first stretching hero, predating Plastic Man by just over a year) were here reintroduced into Marvel continuity, appearing for the first time since
14933-560: 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 ,
15070-420: 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
15207-406: 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
15344-419: 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
15481-520: The public, and policing unauthorized uses. However, misuse by the public alone does not necessarily cause a trademark to become generic if the primary significance of the term is still to indicate a particular source. Some legal experts argue that, like the once-trademarked terms "aspirin" and "yo-yo," the term "superhero" now primarily refers to a general type of character with extraordinary abilities, rather than characters originating from specific publishers. In keeping with their origins as representing
15618-747: The remainder of the decade, the X-Men fought enemies such as Stephen Lang and his Sentinels, Magneto, Banshee's cousin Black Tom Cassidy and Cain Marko/the Juggernaut, the Shi'ar Erik the Red and the Imperial Guard , Arcade , Wolverine's former colleagues, the Canadian superhero team Alpha Flight , and MacTaggert's son Proteus . In 2010, Comics Bulletin ranked Claremont and Byrne's run on The X-Men second on its list of
15755-625: The return of the re-powered Magneto, and him coming to Utopia. The Second Coming crossover saw the return of Hope Summers , the baby from the "Messiah Complex" arc, to the present day, as a young adult; and the emergence of the "Five Lights", the first new mutants to have arisen (apart from Hope) since the Decimation. Nightcrawler was killed during this storyline and the Beast left in protest after his discovery of Cyclops' secret death squad X-Force . Kieron Gillen took over co-authorship of
15892-557: The series being in reprints during this time, the X-Men continued to appear as guest-stars in other Marvel titles. In Amazing Adventures #11 (March 1972), it was revealed in a flashback that Hank McCoy/Beast had left the group sometime before and accepted a position with the Brand Corporation. In another flashback recounted in Incredible Hulk #150 (April 1972), Alex Summers/Havok and Lorna Dane/Polaris also left
16029-463: The series grew in popularity worldwide, eventually spawning a franchise with numerous spin-off "X-books" including New Mutants , X-Factor , Excalibur , X-Force , Generation X , and other flagship titles like the simply titled X-Men (later New X-Men and X-Men Legacy ), Astonishing X-Men , All-New X-Men , Amazing X-Men , Extraordinary X-Men and X-Men Gold . Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby ,
16166-586: The series launched in September 1963, introducing in its first issue the original five X-Men ( Warren Worthington III/Angel , Hank McCoy/Beast , Scott Summers/Cyclops , Robert "Bobby" Drake/Iceman , and Jean Grey/Marvel Girl ) and their teacher, Charles Xavier/Professor X as well as their nemesis, the supervillain Erik Magnus Lehnsherr/Magneto . Although Lee would deny it, it was noticed by contemporary writer Arnold Drake , that
16303-534: The series with #531, and became sole writer from #534.1. The original series ended with #544 and relaunched as a new volume after the events of the X-Men: Schism miniseries, wherein half the X-Men, led by Wolverine, returned to New York, to found a new school. The new volume featured the Extinction Team, containing members of the X-Men whom Cyclops had retained to deal with potential threats to
16440-588: The siblings Wanda Maximoff/the Scarlet Witch and Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver ); the Sentinels , giant robots programmed to destroy all mutants, and their creator Bolivar Trask ; and Cain Marko/the Juggernaut , Xavier's stepbrother transformed by a mystical gem and seeking revenge on Xavier. The series was placed firmly in the Marvel Universe , with guest appearances by Namor MacKenzie/Namor
16577-598: The since-deceased Miss America had married each other years before. The Liberteens, whose name is a homophone of " libertine ", is a young group of superhumans inspired by the Liberty Legion and formed as part of the Fifty State Initiative of government-sanctioned superhero teams. The group is first seen as the Pennsylvania -based Initiative team. The team consists of: In public, the Liberteens use "liberty"- and "America"-based puns. In private,
16714-544: The story wanting to depict the Sentinels as a genuine threat to the existence of the mutant race. He then left the series after #143, being replaced by a returning Cockrum, who in turn was succeeded by Paul Smith and John Romita Jr. By the mid-1980s, The Uncanny X-Men had become one of the best-selling American comic books , turning many of the writers and illustrators into industry stars and leading to numerous spin-offs and miniseries . Erik Magnus Lehnsherr/Magneto
16851-557: 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
16988-410: 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
17125-551: The title going into reprints for the next five years between #67–93, the X-Men continued to appear in other Marvel titles throughout this period in a guest-starring capacity or cameo appearance, either as a team or in solo adventures. The Angel appeared without the X-Men in a three-part story involving the murder of his father at the hands of his uncle, Burt Worthington, a.k.a. the Dazzler, in Ka-Zar #2 (Dec. 1970) and #3 (March 1971), and Marvel Tales #30 (April 1971). Iceman made
17262-482: The title led into the " Messiah Complex " crossover event, dealing with the first mutant birth since the Decimation. Matt Fraction became co-author from #500, and sole author from #504. The entire X-Men team relocated to San Francisco – first to the city, and then, after the " Utopia " crossover with Dark Avengers , to an island named Utopia in San Francisco Bay . The Nation X storyline focused on
17399-421: The two companies also own a variety of other superhero-related marks. For instance, DC owns "Legion of Super-Heroes" and " DC Super Hero Girls " and Marvel owns “Marvel Super Hero Island" and "Marvel Super Hero Adventures." DC and Marvel have garnered a reputation for zealously protecting their superhero marks. As noted above, one of these instances included a man by the name of Graham Jules, who sought to publish
17536-554: 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
17673-524: Was gradually revealed to be more complex: #150 established that he was a survivor of the Holocaust , and in #161 it is shown that Erik Magnus Lehnsherr/Magneto and Professor Charles Xavier had known each other before Xavier had founded the X-Men. Anna Marie LeBeau/Rogue , a member of Raven Darkholme/Mystique 's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, defected to the X-Men in #171 (July 1983). Raven Darkholme/Mystique's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants changed sides and became
17810-609: 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
17947-735: Was in this battle that Magneto and the Brotherhood were reduced to infancy by Alpha, the Ultimate Mutant . Xavier made one final solo appearance during this period in Giant-Size Fantastic Four #4 (Feb. 1975), where he assisted the Fantastic Four in subduing Jamie Madrox, the Multiple Man . X-Men was relaunched in May 1975 with Giant-Size X-Men #1, by Len Wein and Dave Cockrum . The title featured
18084-595: Was launched in February 2013 with an April 2013 cover date, written by Brian Michael Bendis, who is also writing another X-Men title, All-New X-Men , and drawn by Chris Bachalo. It features Cyclops and remnants of his Extinction Team recruiting new mutants to help them prepare for what Cyclops believes to be an inevitable revolution, coinciding events of the first All-New X-Men story arc. This volume saw Cyclops leading his team to an abandoned Weapon X facility to train new recruits and prepare for impending war against
18221-405: Was launched two months later and featured the original five X-Men. This meant the resurrection of Jean Grey (performed by retcon , the character appearing from #101 having never really been her), and having Scott Summers/Cyclops abandon his wife and child. Claremont strongly objected to the latter, and was hostile towards the title until Louise Simonson became writer. Artist Arthur Adams began
18358-451: Was replaced as scripter from #287 by Scott Lobdell , who was fully credited as writer from #289. The " X-Cutioner's Song " crossover was released in the fall of 1992 and resulted in the outbreak of the Legacy virus , a mutant-specific plague which continued as a story element in X-Men comics until 2001. Crossovers continued through the 1990s. The " Fatal Attractions " crossover of 1993 saw
18495-518: Was replaced by Steven T. Seagle with issue #350 (Dec. 1997). He was replaced in turn with Alan Davis , as plotter, from issue #366 (Mar. 1999) to #380. Davis's run included " the Twelve " crossover from #370–375, in which Apocalypse sought the only 12 mutants, which also ran in his X-Men title, again being treated as a biweekly publication. As part of the Revolution relaunch, Chris Claremont made
18632-404: Was unexpected as Marvel and DC had filed a motion to extend time to answer. There is an ongoing debate among legal scholars and in the courts about whether the term "superhero" has become genericized due to its widespread use in popular culture, similar to terms like "aspirin" or "escalator" which lost their trademark protection and became generic terms for their respective products. Some argue
18769-467: Was unwilling to defend itself against Ben Cooper Inc.'s suit. As a result, in 1977, Mego Corporation jointly assigned its interest in the trademark to DC Comics , Inc. ("DC") and Marvel Comics ("Marvel"). Due to the financial prowess of DC and Marvel, Ben Cooper, Inc. decided to withdraw its trademark opposition and jointly assigned its interest in the "World's Greatest Super Heroes" mark to DC and Marvel. Two years later in 1979, DC and Marvel applied for
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