Superhero fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction examining the adventures , personalities and ethics of costumed crime fighters known as superheroes , who often possess superhuman powers and battle similarly powered criminals known as supervillains . The genre primarily falls between hard fantasy and soft science fiction in the spectrum of scientific realism. It is most commonly associated with American comic books , though it has expanded into other media through adaptations and original works.
170-562: Batman Beyond (titled Batman of the Future in European territories) is an American superhero animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman . Created and developed by Paul Dini , Bruce Timm , and Alan Burnett and produced by Warner Bros. Television Animation , the series began airing on January 10, 1999 on Kids' WB , and ended on December 18, 2001 on Cartoon Network . In
340-647: A Batman Beyond Toyline with sub-lines, In 2000, Burger King included Batman Beyond toys in their kids' meals. A direct-to-video feature film, Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker , was released on December 12, 2000. The original release was censored for elements of violence and death following the Columbine High School massacre , though a second, uncensored version was later released. Nevertheless, it received critical acclaim for its story, voice acting, animation and score. A second Batman Beyond film, focusing on
510-410: A biological agent , such as plague . Essentially, EW exists in three varieties. One type of EW involves infecting insects with a pathogen and then dispersing the insects over target areas. The insects then act as a vector , infecting any person or animal they might bite. Another type of EW is a direct insect attack against crops; the insect may not be infected with any pathogen but instead represents
680-425: A nanotech solution was injected into Warren McGinnis to rewrite his reproductive material with that of Bruce. The eventual result was his wife Mary McGinnis giving birth to Terry, a child sharing the genetic traits of his mother and Bruce Wayne. When Terry was eight years old, Waller employed an elderly Andrea Beaumont in her Phantasm alias as an assassin to kill Terry's family, hoping the trauma would put him on
850-520: A space opera story where the team goes to another planet to oppose the imperial forces of Blackfire and then return to Earth only to get involved in a relatively realistic urban crime story about runaways . The mythologies of many ancient civilizations feature pantheons of gods and goddesses with superhuman powers, as well as heroes such as Hanuman , Gilgamesh , Perseus , Odysseus and David and demigods like Heracles . Real life inspirations behind costumed superheroes can be traced back to
1020-494: A " rogues gallery " of such enemies. One of these supervillains might be the superhero's archenemy. Superheroes will sometimes combat other threats such as aliens, magical/fantasy entities, natural disasters, political ideologies such as Nazism or communism (and their proponents), and godlike or demonic creatures. Some superhero fiction portrays discrimination against superheroes, such as by the way of "Registration Acts" that mandate registration of superpowered individuals with
1190-472: A "Superhero Registration Act" is passed, that requires superpowered individuals to not only register with the government, but to make themselves available to be drafted to respond to emergencies. The backlash against superheroes and metahumans in JLA: The Nail series has been compared to the real-life moral campaign against comic book superheroes in the mid-1950s. In an essay Ethan Faust argued that
1360-552: A Batman android (resembling the design from The New Batman Adventures ) in the Batcave with help from the elderly Bruce Wayne and the Batmobile (resembling the design from Batman: The Animated Series ). Once defeated, Batman and Bruce look out to see and prepare to fight seven additional invading androids resembling the designs from Beware the Batman , The Batman , Batman: The Brave and
1530-535: A DNA sequence is cut off and replaced with a new sequence, e.g. one that codes for a particular protein, with the intent of modifying an organism's traits. Concerns have emerged regarding do-it-yourself biology research organizations due to their associated risk that a rogue amateur DIY researcher could attempt to develop dangerous bioweapons using genome editing technology. In 2002, when CNN went through Al-Qaeda's (AQ's) experiments with crude poisons, they found out that AQ had begun planning ricin and cyanide attacks with
1700-463: A biological warfare operation codenamed Operation Cast Thy Bread during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War . The Haganah initially used typhoid bacteria to contaminate water wells in newly cleared Arab villages to prevent the population including militiamen from returning. Later, the biological warfare campaign expanded to include Jewish settlements that were in imminent danger of being captured by Arab troops and inhabited Arab towns not slated for capture. There
1870-632: A bioweapon such as anthrax, smallpox, and various other vaccines depending on the Area of Operations of the individual military units and commands. Most classical and modern biological weapons' pathogens can be obtained from a plant or an animal which is naturally infected. In the largest biological weapons accident known—the anthrax outbreak in Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg ) in the Soviet Union in 1979—sheep became ill with anthrax as far as 200 kilometers from
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#17328526903612040-446: A credible threat of mass casualty has the ability to alter the terms under which other nations or groups interact with it. When indexed to weapon mass and cost of development and storage, biological weapons possess destructive potential and loss of life far in excess of nuclear, chemical or conventional weapons. Accordingly, biological agents are potentially useful as strategic deterrents, in addition to their utility as offensive weapons on
2210-552: A criminal gang called the Jokerz , who have seemingly modeled themselves after the original Batman's archenemy, the Joker . A high-speed motorcycle chase between him and the Jokerz ends in the grounds of Wayne Manor, where they run into Bruce Wayne. Bruce and Terry fend off the gang side-by-side, but the exertion aggravates Bruce's heart condition. Terry helps him back to the manor and, while exploring
2380-424: A fatality rate that is 90% or higher in untreated patients. Finally, friendly personnel and civilians can be protected with suitable antibiotics . Agents considered for weaponization, or known to be weaponized, include bacteria such as Bacillus anthracis , Brucella spp., Burkholderia mallei , Burkholderia pseudomallei , Chlamydophila psittaci , Coxiella burnetii , Francisella tularensis , some of
2550-548: A film adaptation but have put emphasis on other projects. Actor Tyler Posey has expressed interest in playing Terry McGinnis in the possible film adaptation. In June 2020, Michael Keaton entered talks to play an elderly Bruce Wayne, reprising his role from Tim Burton 's Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992), in the DCEU film, The Flash , which was set for release in 2023. According to The Hollywood Reporter , Warner Bros. hopes for Keaton to return for multiple DCEU films in
2720-508: A future incarnation of the Justice League (Kai-Ro/Green Lantern, Aquagirl, Warhawk and Big Barda ) and helps them fight an alien threat , although he does not join the group until years later where he presumably only operates as a part-timer like his mentor. In the far future, Terry discovers that via genetic research, he is actually Bruce's biological son, having realized this when Bruce's kidneys were failing and Terry's DNA exposed him as
2890-548: A futuristic version of Gotham City, a megalopolis featuring staggering high rises and flying vehicles driven by upper class society. Bruce is now a man in his 70s, living in solitary isolation in Wayne Manor , with no other companion but his guard dog Ace . It is implied by his virtue of continuing to fight crime for as long as possible and ignoring his aging and deteriorating health (he had retained his former partner's costumes) in addition to his obsessiveness that he had suffered
3060-555: A global audience. The first original major shared superhero universe to develop on the Internet was Superguy , which first appeared on a UMNEWS mailing list in 1989. In 1992, a cascade on the USENET newsgroup rec.arts.comics would give birth to the Legion of Net. Heroes shared universe. In 1994, LNH writers contributed to the creation of the newsgroup rec.arts.comics.creative , which spawned
3230-460: 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. Historians point to the first appearance of Superman , created by Jerome "Jerry" Siegel and designed by Joseph "Joe" Shuster , in Action Comics #1 (June 1938) as the debut of the comic-book archetype of the superhero. Outside
3400-892: A mild heart attack and at risk of being beaten to death by one of the kidnappers, is forced to use a gun to fend him off. Despite not killing the man, Bruce is ashamed and, knowing his frailty and fearing that he will eventually succumb to his murderous temptation if he continues his crime-fighting, decides to retire from being Batman for good. By this point in his life, his butler Alfred Pennyworth has died and his close allies have all either retired or died of natural causes. His crime-fighting partners are still alive, but estranged from him following their retirements from their alter-egos and possible falling outs with him. His rogues' gallery are all either in prison, institutionalized, reformed or deceased. He has also severed his ties with other superheroes. The story moves ahead 20 years later in Neo-Gotham ,
3570-616: A moral crusade in which comics were blamed for juvenile delinquency and the United States Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency began. The movement was spearheaded by psychiatrist Fredric Wertham , who argued in Seduction of the Innocent , that "deviant" sexual undertones ran rampant in superhero comics . In 2012, his methodology was reviewed and his results were found to be misleading if not falsified. In response,
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#17328526903613740-529: A more somber tone. Superboy ran from 1988 to 1992 in syndication. In the 1990s, the Power Rangers , adapted from the Japanese Super Sentai , became popular. Other shows targeting teenage and young adult audiences that decade included Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman . In 2001, Smallville retooled Superman 's origin as a teen drama. The 2006 NBC series Heroes tells
3910-825: A nation-state uses it clandestinely , it may also be considered bioterrorism . Biological warfare and chemical warfare overlap to an extent, as the use of toxins produced by some living organisms is considered under the provisions of both the BWC and the Chemical Weapons Convention . Toxins and psychochemical weapons are often referred to as midspectrum agents . Unlike bioweapons, these midspectrum agents do not reproduce in their host and are typically characterized by shorter incubation periods. A biological attack could conceivably result in large numbers of civilian casualties and cause severe disruption to economic and societal infrastructure. A nation or group that can pose
4080-483: A new level of sophistication to the techniques for possible use of bio-agents in war. Biological sabotage in the form of anthrax and glanders was undertaken on behalf of the Imperial German government during World War I (1914–1918), with indifferent results. The Geneva Protocol of 1925 prohibited the first use of chemical and biological weapons against enemy nationals in international armed conflicts. With
4250-409: A nostalgic treatment in the 2004 Disney / Pixar release The Incredibles , which utilized computer animation . Original superheroes with basis in older trends have also been made for television, such as Disney's Gargoyles by Greg Weisman and Cartoon Network 's Ben 10 franchise and Nickelodeon 's Danny Phantom . Beginning 1940s, the radio serial Superman starred Bud Collyer as
4420-428: A number of original superhero shared universes. Magazine-style websites that publish superhero fiction include Metahuman Press , active since 2005, and Freedom Fiction Journal . Superhuman fiction has also appeared in general science fiction / speculative fiction web publications, such as the weekly Strange Horizons , a publication that pays its contributors. Two examples there are Paul Melko's "Doctor Mighty and
4590-463: A party and depositary to the BWC, the Soviet Union continued and expanded its massive offensive biological weapons program , under the leadership of the allegedly civilian institution Biopreparat . The Soviet Union attracted international suspicion after the 1979 Sverdlovsk anthrax leak killed approximately 65 to 100 people. According to historians Benny Morris and Benjamin Kedar , Israel conducted
4760-534: A perfect match as a donor. While contemplating confronting Bruce, leaving Dana and abandoning the Justice League for good, Terry confronts the one responsible, Amanda Waller , an enemy-turned-ally of Bruce during his years in the League. Waller admits her participation in replacing Warren McGinnis's DNA with Bruce's as part of her Project Batman Beyond to ensure that Batman would have a successor, and emphasizes that Terry
4930-558: A poster of the Batman Beyond Batman can be seen, indicating that Nightwing admires this incarnation of Batman. Superhero fiction A superhero is most often the protagonist of superhero fiction. However, some titles, such as Marvels by Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross , use superheroes as secondary characters . A superhero (sometimes rendered super-hero or super hero) is a type of stock character possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers" and dedicated to protecting
5100-553: A relatively minor Marvel Comics character that premiered at over $ 100 million in February, a time of year generally considered poor for movie audience interest . It was an observation further confirmed in 2018 when Black Panther was an even grander success with a $ 235 million debut in the same time of year, and later became the first superhero film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture . Avengers: Endgame became
5270-598: A secret identity; such characters as the Green Hornet and the Scarecrow of Romney Marsh , would follow. Likewise, the science-fiction heroes John Carter of Mars , Buck Rogers , and Flash Gordon , with their futuristic weapons and gadgets; Tarzan , with his high degree of athleticism and strength, and his ability to communicate with animals; Robert E. Howard 's Conan the Barbarian and the biologically modified Hugo Danner of
Batman Beyond - Misplaced Pages Continue
5440-428: A security clearance. Entomological warfare (EW) is a type of biological warfare that uses insects to attack the enemy. The concept has existed for centuries and research and development have continued into the modern era. EW has been used in battle by Japan and several other nations have developed and been accused of using an entomological warfare program. EW may employ insects in a direct attack or as vectors to deliver
5610-518: A series of extensive tests for the next 56 years. Although the UK never offensively used the biological weapons it developed, its program was the first to successfully weaponize a variety of deadly pathogens and bring them into industrial production. Other nations, notably France and Japan, had begun their own biological weapons programs. When the United States entered the war, Allied resources were pooled at
5780-472: A similar manner as biotoxins or bioregulators. The Army Biological Laboratory tested each agent and the Army's Technical Escort Unit was responsible for the transport of all chemical, biological, radiological (nuclear) materials. Biological warfare can also specifically target plants to destroy crops or defoliate vegetation. The United States and Britain discovered plant growth regulators (i.e., herbicides ) during
5950-406: A supernatural weapon, Penny dreadfuls , shilling shockers , dime novels , radio programs , and other popular fiction of the late 19th and early 20th centuries featured mysterious, swashbuckling heroes with distinct costumes, unusual abilities and altruistic missions. The 1903 play The Scarlet Pimpernel and its spinoffs further popularized the idea of a masked avenger and the superhero trope of
6120-584: A supervillain to advance the plot. Comic book writer Gail Simone has coined the term " Women in Refrigerators " (named after an incident in Green Lantern #54 where Kyle Rayner 's girlfriend Alex DeWitt is murdered by the supervillain Major Force and stuffed into Rayner's refrigerator ) to refer to this practice. Many works of superhero fiction occur in a shared fictional universe , sometimes (as in
6290-474: A threat to agriculture. The final method uses uninfected insects, such as bees or wasps, to directly attack the enemy. Theoretically, novel approaches in biotechnology, such as synthetic biology could be used in the future to design novel types of biological warfare agents. Most of the biosecurity concerns in synthetic biology are focused on the role of DNA synthesis and the risk of producing genetic material of lethal viruses (e.g. 1918 Spanish flu, polio) in
6460-484: A tragic event years prior to his retirement, which is revealed in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker . Terry McGinnis is an athletic 16-year-old high school student and reformed juvenile delinquent with a deeply ingrained sense of personal justice. Living on difficult terms with his divorced father Warren McGinnis, Terry disobeys his curfew one night to meet up with his girlfriend Dana Tan, only to be harassed by
6630-595: A way "akin to the role played by Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury in the Marvel Cinematic Universe , something of a mentor or guide or even string-puller". Keaton was officially confirmed to return in August of the same year. In December 2022, it was announced that Christina Hodson , writer of The Flash and the cancelled Batgirl film, had been hired to write a script for a live-action Batman Beyond film. The plot would have involved an aged Bruce Wayne, continuing
6800-413: A weapon could "escape" the laboratory where it was developed, even if there was no intent to use it – for example by infecting a researcher who then transmits it to the outside world before realizing that they were infected. Several cases are known of researchers becoming infected and dying of Ebola , which they had been working with in the lab (though nobody else was infected in those cases) – while there
6970-514: A wide variety of story genres such as Fantasy , Science fiction , Mystery , Horror , Crime fiction etc. that put superhero characters in a vast variety and combinations of story settings and fiction tropes with their presence the major common element. As such, it has become an expected element to superhero fiction for the heroic characters to be placed in nearly any story situation, including relatively down-to-Earth drama with their personal lives out of costume. For instance, The New Teen Titans
Batman Beyond - Misplaced Pages Continue
7140-502: Is Sarutobi Sasuke , a superhero ninja from children's novels in the 1910s. By 1914, his abilities included superhuman strength, chanting incantations, appearing and disappearing, jumping to the top of the highest trees, riding on clouds, conjuring the elements (water, fire and wind), and transforming into other people or animals. In 1938, writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster , who had previously worked in pulp science fiction magazines, introduced Superman . (Siegel, as
7310-462: Is Bruce's son, not his clone, and that, despite the circumstances of his existence, he still has free will to live out his own life; Although not his clone she later tells Terry how he is not even close to as smart as Bruce Wayne but he does have his heart. Terry comes to terms with his revelations, and continues in being Batman. With a new sense of purpose, Terry plans to propose to Dana, while continuing his life of crimefighting. In order to complete
7480-425: Is a war crime under the 1925 Geneva Protocol and several international humanitarian law treaties . In particular, the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) bans the development, production, acquisition, transfer, stockpiling and use of biological weapons. In contrast, defensive biological research for prophylactic, protective or other peaceful purposes is not prohibited by the BWC. Biological warfare
7650-403: Is considered an effective agent for several reasons. First, it forms hardy spores , perfect for dispersal aerosols. Second, this organism is not considered transmissible from person to person, and thus rarely if ever causes secondary infections. A pulmonary anthrax infection starts with ordinary influenza -like symptoms and progresses to a lethal hemorrhagic mediastinitis within 3–7 days, with
7820-408: Is distinct from warfare involving other types of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), including nuclear warfare , chemical warfare , and radiological warfare . None of these are considered conventional weapons , which are deployed primarily for their explosive , kinetic , or incendiary potential. Biological weapons may be employed in various ways to gain a strategic or tactical advantage over
7990-509: Is no evidence that their work was directed towards biological warfare, it demonstrates the potential for accidental infection even of careful researchers fully aware of the dangers. While containment of biological warfare is less of a concern for certain criminal or terrorist organizations, it remains a significant concern for the military and civilian populations of virtually all nations. Rudimentary forms of biological warfare have been practiced since antiquity. The earliest documented incident of
8160-639: Is not Bruce's clone but his biological son and free to make different life choices to the ones Bruce made. Finding peace with himself, Terry reconciles with Bruce and the League, and plans to propose to Dana while continuing as Batman. The third season of Batman Beyond featured the two-part episode "The Call" with (for the first time) a futuristic Justice League , a springboard for the Justice League animated series. The setting and characters of Batman Beyond were also briefly revived in Static Shock during
8330-734: Is now being used as slap on patches by corrupt athletes, the longevous Ra's al Ghul , and somewhat inevitably, the Joker himself, reborn via a microchip he inserted into the brain of Batman's former partner, Tim Drake. Terry also makes allies in Neo-Gotham, including computer genius Max Gibson , who discovers Batman's secret identity and becomes his sidekick. Police Commissioner Barbara Gordon, Bruce's former partner Batgirl, also occasionally works with Terry. Though initially unhappy about another person following in Bruce's dangerous footsteps and at first vehemently opposed to his efforts to help, she admits that
8500-430: Is rarely permanent, as characters who die are often brought back to life through supernatural means or via retcons (retroactive changes to the continuity), the alteration of previously established facts in the continuity of a fictional work. Fans have termed the practice of bringing back dead characters " comic book death ". Another common trait of superhero fiction is the killing off of a superhero's significant other by
8670-497: Is that they can easily escape before the government agencies or secret agencies have even started their investigation. This is because the potential organism has an incubation period of 3 to 7 days, after which the results begin to appear, thereby giving terrorists a lead. A technique called Clustered, Regularly Interspaced, Short Palindromic Repeat ( CRISPR-Cas9 ) is now so cheap and widely available that scientists fear that amateurs will start experimenting with them. In this technique,
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#17328526903618840-596: Is the most uneven series of the main DC Animated Universe shows, particular in regards to the latter two seasons. Greg Weisman commented that while the series was well made, it felt more like a Spider-Man series and much less like Batman. Batman Beyond was even cited by young actor Jacob Bertrand , of Cobrai Kai fame, who would go on to voice-portray Bam the Batmobile in the early-2020's children's animated TV series, Batwheels , as Beyond' s what got him into
9010-617: The Australia Group was established, a multilateral export control regime of 43 countries aiming to prevent the proliferation of chemical and biological weapons. In 2004, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1540 , which obligates all UN Member States to develop and enforce appropriate legal and regulatory measures against the proliferation of chemical , biological, radiological , and nuclear weapons and their means of delivery, in particular, to prevent
9180-474: The Batman franchise in the first place. Some episodes of the series were released on VHS from 1999 to 2000, including the series' premiere (as Batman Beyond: The Movie ), and select episodes as five VHS volumes containing three episodes per tape (the same contents as the individual DVD volume releases, see below), and the direct-to-video film Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (edited version). Batman Beyond
9350-546: The Batman Beyond Batsuit for Batman: Arkham Knight as a pre-order bonus along with The Dark Knight Returns Batsuit titled "Gotham's Future Pack". Batman Beyond appears in the mobile games Teeny Titans! And Teen Titans Go! Figures. In April 2014, a Batman Beyond short by Darwyn Cooke premiered at WonderCon . The short, which saw Will Friedle and Kevin Conroy reprise their roles, sees Batman (Terry McGinnis) battle
9520-631: The Batman Beyond episode "Zeta". Batman would guest star in the episode "Shadows". The super villain Stalker was to have appeared in The Zeta Project episode "Taffy Time", but ultimately did not do so. The second-season episode "Ro's Gift" has an appearance by the Brain Trust from the Batman Beyond episode "Mind Games". Terry McGinnis/Batman was originally slated to appear in this episode as well, but
9690-587: The Cold War that used plant diseases ( bioherbicides , or mycoherbicides ) for destroying enemy agriculture. Biological weapons also target fisheries as well as water-based vegetation. It was believed that the destruction of enemy agriculture on a strategic scale could thwart Sino-Soviet aggression in a general war. Diseases such as wheat blast and rice blast were weaponized in aerial spray tanks and cluster bombs for delivery to enemy watersheds in agricultural regions to initiate epiphytotic (epidemics among plants). On
9860-522: The Continental Congress that he had heard a rumor from a sailor that his opponent during the Siege of Boston , General William Howe , had deliberately sent civilians out of the city in the hopes of spreading the ongoing smallpox epidemic to American lines; Washington, remaining unconvinced, wrote that he "could hardly give credit to" the claim. Washington had already inoculated his soldiers, diminishing
10030-721: The Eelam War against Tamil insurgents. During World War I, German saboteurs used anthrax and glanders to sicken cavalry horses in U.S. and France, sheep in Romania, and livestock in Argentina intended for the Entente forces . One of these German saboteurs was Anton Dilger . Also, Germany itself became a victim of similar attacks – horses bound for Germany were infected with Burkholderia by French operatives in Switzerland. During World War II,
10200-551: The French and Indian War , in June 1763 a group of Native Americans laid siege to British-held Fort Pitt . Following instructions of his superior, Colonel Henry Bouquet , the commander of Fort Pitt, Swiss-born Captain Simeon Ecuyer, ordered his men to take smallpox-infested blankets from the infirmary and give it to a Lenape delegation during the siege. A reported outbreak that began
10370-555: The PG-13 film the studio wanted. In January 2019, rumors began to circulate that Warner Animation Group was developing an animated Batman Beyond film following the critical and commercial success of Sony Pictures Animation 's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse , but was later reported that no such film was in the works. In the later August interview with DC Universe , Paul Dini revealed that Warner Bros. continues to express interest in
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#173285269036110540-855: The Rickettsiaceae (especially Rickettsia prowazekii and Rickettsia rickettsii ), Shigella spp., Vibrio cholerae , and Yersinia pestis . Many viral agents have been studied and/or weaponized, including some of the Bunyaviridae (especially Rift Valley fever virus ), Ebolavirus , many of the Flaviviridae (especially Japanese encephalitis virus ), Machupo virus , Coronaviruses , Marburg virus , Variola virus, and yellow fever virus . Fungal agents that have been studied include Coccidioides spp. Toxins that can be used as weapons include ricin , staphylococcal enterotoxin B , botulinum toxin , saxitoxin , and many mycotoxins . These toxins and
10710-470: The Silver Age of comic books . The Flash , Green Lantern , Hawkman and several others were recreated with new origin stories. While past superheroes resembled mythological heroes in their origins and abilities, these heroes were inspired by contemporary science fiction . In 1960, DC banded its most popular heroes together in the Justice League of America , which became a sales phenomenon. Empowered by
10880-631: The X-Men , and the Justice League , have been published, often marketed in association with TV series , as have Big Little Books starring the Fantastic Four and others. In the 1990s and 2000s, Marvel and DC released novels adapting such story arcs as " The Death of Superman ", " Planet Hulk ", " Wonder Woman: Earth One ", " Spider-Man: Birth of Venom " and Batman 's " No Man's Land ". Original superhero or superhuman fiction has appeared in both novel and short story print forms unrelated to adaptations from
11050-533: The Zhejiang-Jiangxi Campaign in 1942, around 1,700 Japanese troops died out of a total 10,000 Japanese soldiers who fell ill with disease when their own biological weapons attack rebounded on their own forces. During the final months of World War II, Japan planned to use plague as a biological weapon against U.S. civilians in San Diego , California , during Operation Cherry Blossoms at Night . The plan
11220-511: The comic-strip hero The Phantom , starting with 1943's Son of the Phantom . The character likewise returned in 1970s books, with a 15-installment series from Avon Books beginning in 1972, written by Phantom creator Lee Falk , Ron Goulart , and others. Also during the 1970s, Pocket Books published 11 novels based on Marvel Comics characters. Juvenile novels featuring Marvel Comics and DC Comics characters including Batman , Spider-Man ,
11390-518: The government , or laws that regulate extra-legal vigilante activity. For example, in the alternate universe of the Watchmen , first published in 1986, a backlash against superheroes leads to the passage of the "Keene Act", a federal law that prohibits "costumed adventuring" except by superheroes working for the government. A similar device was used in the Marvel Comics universe in the mid-2000s, where
11560-419: The highest-grossing film of all time . In 2017, the film Sign Gene featured about deaf superheroes who use sign language . Several live-action superhero programs aired from the early 1950s until the late 1970s. These included Adventures of Superman starring George Reeves , the action-comedy Batman series of the 1960s (often interpreted as being campy ) starring Adam West and Burt Ward . In
11730-800: The offensive biological weapons program of the US , allowing only scientific research for defensive measures. This decision increased the momentum of the negotiations for a ban on biological warfare, which took place from 1969 to 1972 in the United Nation's Conference of the Committee on Disarmament in Geneva. These negotiations resulted in the Biological Weapons Convention , which was opened for signature on 10 April 1972 and entered into force on 26 March 1975 after its ratification by 22 states. Despite being
11900-520: The sound weaponizer Shriek; the deadly assassin Curaré; the insane terrorist Mad Stan; the cybernetically enhanced African big-game hunter Stalker; nerdy psychokinetic Willie Watt; and a new version of the Royal Flush Gang . Terry often also clashes with some of his mentor's old foes, such as a rejuvenated Mr. Freeze , Bane , who has become a shell of his former self due to his overuse of venom, which
12070-588: The " masked vigilantes " of the American Old West such as the San Diego Vigilantes and the Bald Knobbers who fought and killed outlaws while wearing masks. The character of Spring Heeled Jack , who first emerged as an urban legend of the early 19th century, was re-conceived as a masked and costumed adventurer during the 1890s. The hero's journey is a well-known archetypal story type in which
12240-581: The 1940s with the first film adaptation of a comic book superhero being The Adventures of Captain Marvel in 1941. The decline of these serials meant the death of superhero films until the release of 1978's Superman , a critical and commercial success. Several sequels followed in the 1980s. 1989's Batman was also highly successful and followed by several sequels in the 1990s. Yet while both franchises were initially successful, later sequels in both series fared poorly both artistically and financially, stunting
12410-424: The 1940s. When Fawcett Comics went out of business as such, DC Comics, which had been embroiled in a bitter copyright dispute with Fawcett Comics over Captain Marvel, bought out the copyright to not only the character but also his ancillary "Marvel Family" of heroes and villains. During World War II , superheroes grew in popularity, surviving paper rationing and the loss of many writers and illustrators to service in
12580-433: The 1960s, superhero cartoons have been a staple of children's television, particularly in the U.S.. However, by the early 1970s, US broadcasting restrictions on violence in children's entertainment led to series that were extremely tame, a trend exemplified by the series Super Friends . Meanwhile, Japan's anime industry successfully contributed its own style of superhero series, such as Science Ninja Team Gatchaman . In
12750-420: The 1970s however, the genre would find a newfound credibility in the medium with the original series, The Six Million Dollar Man and its spinoff, The Bionic Woman , being sustained successes. This led to direct adaptations of comic-book superheroes such as ABC / CBS drama series Wonder Woman of the 1970s starring Lynda Carter . The Incredible Hulk of the late 1970s and early 1980s, however, had
12920-575: The 1980s, the Saturday morning cartoon Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends brought together Spider-Man , Iceman , and Firestar . The following decade, Batman: The Animated Series , which was aimed at somewhat older audiences, found critical success in mainstream publications. This series led to the successful DC Animated Universe franchise and other adaptations such as Teen Titans , which Marvel emulated with X-Men and Spider-Man: The Animated Series . Comics' superhero mythos itself received
13090-610: The American comics industry, superpowered, costumed superheroes, such as Ōgon Bat (1931) and the Prince of Gamma ( ガンマ王子 ) (early 1930s), were visualized in painted panels used by kamishibai oral storytellers in Japan. They both anticipated elements of Superman and Batman. Prince of Gamma, for example, had an extraterrestrial origin story and a secret identity (his alter ego was a street urchin ), much like Superman. An earlier example from Japan
13260-554: The Bold , The Dark Knight Returns , Batman (1989 film) , Batman (1960s TV series) , and the original design by Bill Finger . Though the androids' source is unstated, they are reminiscent of the story arc from Batman: The Animated Series involving the computer program HARDAC . Batman Beyond is alluded in Teen Titans Go! In the episode "Sandwich Thief", Robin travels to the future to his father Nightwing 's apartment where
13430-675: The Case of Ennui" and Saladin Ahmed's "Doctor Diablo Goes Through the Motions". The web serial Worm began publication in 2011 and completed in 2013 while its sequel, Ward , began in November 2017 and completed in May 2020. Biological warfare Biological warfare , also known as germ warfare , is the use of biological toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria , viruses , insects , and fungi with
13600-804: The Coast Discoveries imprint, 2008); Austin Grossman's Soon I Will Be Invincible ( Pantheon Books , 2007); Lavie Tidhar 's The Violent Century (Hodder & Stoughton, 2013), David J. Schwartz's Superpowers: A Novel ( Three Rivers Press , 2008); Matthew Cody's Powerless ( Knopf , 2009); Van Allen Plexico 's Sentinels series of superhero novels (Swarm/Permuted Press, beginning in 2008); and Marissa Meyer 's Renegades trilogy. Collections of superhuman short stories include Who Can Save Us Now?: Brand-New Superheroes and Their Amazing (Short) Stories , edited by Owen King and John McNally (Free Press, 2008), and Masked , edited by Lou Anders (Gallery, 2010). With
13770-590: The Golden Age and the Sub-Mariner , from Marvel Comics (then called Timely Comics and later re-branded Atlas Comics ), and Plastic Man and Phantom Lady from Quality Comics were also hits. Will Eisner 's The Spirit , featured in a comic strip , would become a considerable artistic inspiration to later comic book creators. The era's most popular superhero, however, was Fawcett Comics 's Captain Marvel , whose exploits regularly outsold those of Superman during
13940-646: The Japanese effort lacked the technological sophistication of the American or British programs, it far outstripped them in its widespread application and indiscriminate brutality. Biological weapons were used against Chinese soldiers and civilians in several military campaigns. In 1940, the Japanese Army Air Force bombed Ningbo with ceramic bombs full of fleas carrying the bubonic plague. Many of these operations were ineffective due to inefficient delivery systems, although up to 400,000 people may have died. During
14110-705: The Second World War, which were then used by the UK in the counterinsurgency operations of the Malayan Emergency . Inspired by the use in Malaysia, the US military effort in the Vietnam War included a mass dispersal of a variety of herbicides , famously Agent Orange , with the aim of destroying farmland and defoliating forests used as cover by the Viet Cong . Sri Lanka deployed military defoliants in its prosecution of
14280-447: The U.S. and Canada secretly investigated the use of rinderpest , a highly lethal disease of cattle, as a bioweapon. In the 1980s Soviet Ministry of Agriculture had successfully developed variants of foot-and-mouth disease , and rinderpest against cows, African swine fever for pigs, and psittacosis for chickens. These agents were prepared to spray them down from tanks attached to airplanes over hundreds of miles. The secret program
14450-557: The US were described by the annual report of the Federal Select Agent Program. Though a verification system can reduce bioterrorism, an employee, or a lone terrorist having adequate knowledge of a bio-technology company's facilities, can cause potential danger by utilizing, without proper oversight and supervision, that company's resources. Moreover, it has been found that about 95% of accidents that have occurred due to low security have been done by employees or those who had
14620-460: The United Kingdom, it began airing on September 4, 2000. After 52 episodes spanning three seasons and one direct-to-video feature film , the series was brought to an end in favor of the Justice League animated series. Depicting a teenaged Batman (Terry McGinnis) in a futuristic Gotham City under the tutelage of an elderly Bruce Wayne , Batman Beyond is the third series (chronologically
14790-514: The Vampire Slayer , Angel , The Phantom Captain Nice , Mr. Terrific , The Green Hornet , Electra Woman and Dyna Girl , The Greatest American Hero , Dark Angel , No Ordinary Family and Alias . In the 1940s, Fleischer / Famous Studios produced a number of groundbreaking Superman cartoons, which became the first examples of superheroes in animation . Since
14960-549: The armed forces. The need for simple tales of good triumphing over evil may explain the wartime popularity of superheroes. Publishers responded with stories in which superheroes battled the Axis Powers and the patriotically themed superheroes, most notably Marvel's Captain America as well as DC's Wonder Woman . Like other pop-culture figures of the time, Superheroes were used to promote domestic propaganda during wartime, ranging from
15130-535: The battlefield. As a tactical weapon for military use, a significant problem with biological warfare is that it would take days to be effective, and therefore might not immediately stop an opposing force. Some biological agents ( smallpox , pneumonic plague ) have the capability of person-to-person transmission via aerosolized respiratory droplets . This feature can be undesirable, as the agent(s) may be transmitted by this mechanism to unintended populations, including neutral or even friendly forces. Worse still, such
15300-509: The best episodes of the series, wrote that "Batman Beyond's first year on the air represents the show at its most realized form. It's the only season of the show that's written at the same level of quality as Batman: The Animated Series . Not to say that later seasons don't have their moments, but it seemed like the writers approached Beyond as a Saturday morning cartoon during seasons two and three, whereas during season one, they most certainly did not." Creator Bruce Timm has stated Batman Beyond
15470-451: The biohacking space. Ideal characteristics of a biological agent to be used as a weapon against humans are high infectivity , high virulence , non-availability of vaccines and availability of an effective and efficient delivery system . Stability of the weaponized agent (the ability of the agent to retain its infectivity and virulence after a prolonged period of storage) may also be desirable, particularly for military applications, and
15640-534: The bodies of Mongol warriors of the Golden Horde who had died of plague were thrown over the walls of the besieged Crimean city of Kaffa . Specialists disagree about whether this operation was responsible for the spread of the Black Death into Europe, Near East and North Africa, resulting in the deaths of approximately 25 million Europeans. Biological agents were extensively used in many parts of Africa from
15810-691: The bulk of their properties to the copyright owner's, Disney , to its own streaming service, Disney+ . DC series include Shazam! , The Secrets of Isis , The Flash (1990 TV series) , Birds of Prey and Gotham . Arrowverse series include The Flash (2014 TV series) , Supergirl , Legends of Tomorrow and Constantine . Marvel series include The Amazing Spider-Man , Spidey Super Stories and Mutant X . Netflix series include Daredevil , Jessica Jones , Luke Cage , Iron Fist and The Defenders . Japanese tokusatsu series include Ultraman , Spectreman and Kamen Rider . Other series include- Buffy
15980-473: The cases of the DC and Marvel Universes ) establishing a fictional continuity of thousands of works spread over many decades. Changes to continuity are also common, ranging from small changes to established continuity, commonly called retcons , to full reboots , erasing all previous continuity. It is also common for works of superhero fiction to contain established characters and setting while occurring outside of
16150-418: The chance to assume the role of Batman, with Bruce himself mentoring Terry while also serving as a surrogate father-figure to the young teen in addition to working as Bruce's chauffeur and assistant so that Terry can support his surviving family. The new Batman soon develops his own rogues gallery, such as Powers himself who adopts the name Blight; the seductive shapeshifter Inque ; the hypnotist Spellbinder ;
16320-500: The city needs Batman, but neither uses the Bat-Signal nor has a very close working relationship with him, unlike her father during Bruce's time as Batman. He also has a brief relationship with Melanie Walker, who was forced to do the bidding of her family, the new Royal Flush Gang, under the codename Ten. Bruce sympathizes with Terry and tells him of his own relationship with Selina Kyle/Catwoman. Terry also later encounters Superman and
16490-553: The comic book industry adopted the stringent Comics Code . By the mid-1950s, only Superman , Batman and Wonder Woman retained a sliver of their prior popularity, although effort towards complete inoffensiveness led to stories that many consider silly, especially by modern standards. This ended what historians have called the Golden Age of comic books . In the 1950s, DC Comics , under the editorship of Julius Schwartz , recreated many popular 1940s heroes, launching an era later deemed
16660-410: The depiction of superheroes in the 2004 film The Incredibles is used to examine societal attitudes towards those with disabilities, first by showing them through the prism of ableism in providing unwanted help to people they view as unable to help themselves and later as those forced to hide their differences that are now an object of discrimination. A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of
16830-464: The ease of creating one is often considered. Control of the spread of the agent may be another desired characteristic. The primary difficulty is not the production of the biological agent, as many biological agents used in weapons can be manufactured relatively quickly, cheaply and easily. Rather, it is the weaponization, storage, and delivery in an effective vehicle to a vulnerable target that pose significant problems. For example, Bacillus anthracis
17000-593: The effect of the epidemic. Some historians have claimed that a detachment of the Corps of Royal Marines stationed in New South Wales , Australia, deliberately used smallpox there in 1789. Dr Seth Carus states: "Ultimately, we have a strong circumstantial case supporting the theory that someone deliberately introduced smallpox in the Aboriginal population." By 1900 the germ theory and advances in bacteriology brought
17170-418: The enemy, either by threats or by actual deployments. Like some chemical weapons , biological weapons may also be useful as area denial weapons . These agents may be lethal or non-lethal , and may be targeted against a single individual, a group of people, or even an entire population. They may be developed, acquired, stockpiled or deployed by nation states or by non-national groups. In the latter case, or if
17340-466: The episode " Future Shock " in which Static is accidentally transported 40 years into the future. Justice League Unlimited revisited the Batman Beyond world twice in 2005. The first was in " The Once and Future Thing " (Part 2), which featured Batman , Wonder Woman and Green Lantern transported 50 years into the future to stop a time-travelling villain with the help of the future Justice League (Batman II, Static and Warhawk). The second time
17510-467: The few to also publish superhero poetry, ceasing to do so as of 2011. Superhero poems there included Philip L. Tite's "Brittle Lives", Mark Floyd's "Nemeses", and Jay Macleod's "All Our Children". Novels with original superhuman stories include Robert Mayer's Superfolks ( St. Martin's Griffin , March 9, 2005); James Maxey's Nobody Gets the Girl ( Phobos Books , 2003); Rob Rogers's Devil's Cape ( Wizards of
17680-465: The final series) of the DC Animated Universe , and serves as the sequel to both Batman: The Animated Series and The New Batman Adventures . Though the initial announcement of the series were mixed, Batman Beyond received critical acclaim and gained a cult following . Despite being conceived as a kid-friendly Batman series by Warner Bros. Animation, it ended up being darker than its predecessor Batman: The Animated Series. The story begins in
17850-518: The game. This has changed due to popular franchises: The Silver Age -inspired Freedom Force (2002), City of Heroes (2004), Infamous series and Champions Online (2009), a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (or MMORPG), all of which allow players to create their own superheroes and/or villains. In the 1980s and 1990s, the Internet allowed a worldwide community of fans and amateur writers to bring their own superhero creations to
18020-432: The growth of superhero films for a time. Hit films such as 1998's Blade , 2000's X-Men and Unbreakable , and 2002's Spider-Man have led to sequel installments as well as encouraging the development of numerous superhero film franchises in the 21st century, both successful (such as 2005's Batman Begins , a reboot of the Batman film series ) and unsuccessful (such as 2004's Catwoman ). With that resurgence,
18190-466: The help of a loose association of terrorist cells. The associates had infiltrated many countries like Turkey, Italy, Spain, France and others. In 2015, to combat the threat of bioterrorism, a National Blueprint for Biodefense was issued by the Blue-Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense. Also, 233 potential exposures of select biological agents outside of the primary barriers of the biocontainment in
18360-552: The idea of either Bruce retiring or being killed at some point. Finding the idea of a world without Batman unacceptable, Waller used her Project Cadmus connections to gather the technology for "Project Batman Beyond", whose goal was to physically create a new Batman, starting with a secretly collected sample of Bruce Wayne's DNA. Some years after Bruce retired, Waller found a young Neo-Gotham couple—the McGinnises—with psychological profiles nearly identical to those of Bruce's parents,
18530-497: The intent to kill, harm or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an act of war . Biological weapons (often termed "bio-weapons", "biological threat agents", or "bio-agents") are living organisms or replicating entities (i.e. viruses , which are not universally considered "alive"). Entomological (insect) warfare is a subtype of biological warfare. Biological warfare is subject to a forceful normative prohibition. Offensive biological warfare in international armed conflicts
18700-509: The intention to use biological weapons is recorded in Hittite texts of 1500–1200 BCE, in which victims of an unknown plague (possibly tularemia ) were driven into enemy lands, causing an epidemic. The Assyrians poisoned enemy wells with the fungus ergot , though with unknown results. Scythian archers dipped their arrows and Roman soldiers their swords into excrements and cadavers – victims were commonly infected by tetanus as result. In 1346,
18870-499: The lab. Recently, the CRISPR/Cas system has emerged as a promising technique for gene editing. It was hailed by The Washington Post as "the most important innovation in the synthetic biology space in nearly 30 years." While other methods take months or years to edit gene sequences, CRISPR speeds that time up to weeks. Due to its ease of use and accessibility, it has raised a number of ethical concerns, especially surrounding its use in
19040-477: The live action films proposed between the critical failure of Batman & Robin and the reboot of the Batman franchise was Batman Beyond . In August 2000, Warner Bros. announced that it was developing a live-action film adaptation with Boaz Yakin attached to co-write and direct. The TV series' creators, Dini and Alan Burnett , were hired to write a screenplay for the feature film, with Neal Stephenson as consultant. Yakin hoped to cast Clint Eastwood as
19210-687: The main canon for those characters. Crossovers often occur between characters of different works of superhero fiction. In comic books, highly publicized "events" are published featuring crossovers between many characters. In previous eras, especially in the Bronze Age of Comic Books , Marvel and DC had dedicated series in which their marquee characters such as Spider-Man and Superman would meet various characters in single stories such as Marvel Team-Up and DC Comics Presents . However, that publishing fashion has fallen away in favor of occasional limited series and guest appearances in regular series when
19380-400: The major comic-book companies. It has also appeared in poetry. Print magazines devoted to such stories include A Thousand Faces: A Quarterly Journal of Superhuman Fiction , published since 2007 in print and electronic form, and online only as of 2011 and This Mutant Life: Superhero Fiction , a bimonthly print publication from Australia , published since 2010. The latter magazine was one of
19550-510: The man actually responsible for his father's murder is Powers' personal assistant/bodyguard Mr. Fixx. Terry goes to Bruce who tells Terry to take the evidence to Barbara Gordon, the current Police Commissioner. After the evidence of the illegal weapon production is forcibly taken from Terry by Derek Powers, Terry subsequently steals the Batsuit, intending to bring Powers to justice. Bruce initially opposes all of Terry's efforts and demands that he return
19720-420: The mansion, stumbles upon the entrance to the Batcave and thus discovers Bruce's secrets, only to be chased out by an angered Bruce. Terry returns home to discover that his father has been murdered, apparently by the vengeful Jokerz. Soon after moving in with his mother Mary and younger brother Matt, he discovers that his father had uncovered the production of illegal chemical weapons by Derek Powers , and that
19890-503: The names National and All-American at the time, received an overwhelming response to Superman and, in the years that followed, introduced Batman , Wonder Woman , The Green Lantern , The Flash , The Hawkman , Aquaman , and The Green Arrow . The first team of superheroes was DC's Justice Society of America , featuring most of the aforementioned characters. Although DC dominated the superhero market at this time, companies large and small created hundreds of superheroes. The Human Torch of
20060-416: The novel Gladiator , were heroes with unusual abilities who fought sometimes larger-than-life foes. The word " superhero " itself dates to at least 1917. The most direct antecedents are pulp magazine crime fighters such as the masked and caped Zorro (introduced by Johnston M. McCulley in 1919 with The Curse of Capistrano ) with his trademark "Z", the technologically advanced "Black Sapper" (1929),
20230-413: The only difference between the two is that the hero uses his extraordinary powers to help others, while the villain uses his powers for selfish, destructive or ruthless purposes. Both superheroes and supervillains often use alter egos while in action. While sometimes the character's real name is publicly known, alter egos are most often used to hide the character's secret identity from their enemies and
20400-574: The onset of World War II , the Ministry of Supply in the United Kingdom established a biological warfare program at Porton Down , headed by the microbiologist Paul Fildes . The research was championed by Winston Churchill and soon tularemia , anthrax , brucellosis , and botulism toxins had been effectively weaponized. In particular, Gruinard Island in Scotland, was contaminated with anthrax during
20570-704: The organisms that produce them are sometimes referred to as select agents . In the United States, their possession, use, and transfer are regulated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 's Select Agent Program. The former US biological warfare program categorized its weaponized anti-personnel bio-agents as either Lethal Agents ( Bacillus anthracis , Francisella tularensis , Botulinum toxin) or Incapacitating Agents ( Brucella suis , Coxiella burnetii , Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus, Staphylococcal enterotoxin B). The United States developed an anti-crop capability during
20740-445: The origins of Terry McGinnis, multiple clones of Bruce Wayne and the appearance of an elderly Selina Kyle , was planned by Bruce Timm and Glen Murakami , though it was never scripted, as it never went beyond a 45-minute impromptu plotting session between the two. The project was scrapped due to the dark tones and controversies surrounding Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker . Despite this, the plot elements were eventually reworked into
20910-463: The other hand, some sources report that these agents were stockpiled but never weaponized . When the United States renounced its offensive biological warfare program in 1969 and 1970, the vast majority of its biological arsenal was composed of these plant diseases. Enterotoxins and Mycotoxins were not affected by Nixon's order. Though herbicides are chemicals, they are often grouped with biological warfare and chemical warfare because they may work in
21080-494: The path to becoming Batman. However, Beaumont could not commit the act, arguing that she would be doing something against what Bruce stood for. Waller eventually conceded that Beaumont had been right and abolished the project altogether. Eight years afterward, Warren would be murdered because of Derek Powers, and Terry would meet Bruce by happenstance—resulting in Terry becoming Batman's successor. Waller concludes by reminding Terry that he
21250-466: The plot threads from his appearance in The Flash , and would have included the return of Michelle Pfeiffer 's Catwoman. Development on the film was shelved after James Gunn and Peter Safran were appointed as co-heads of DC Studios. In January 2023, Gunn and Safran stated that there is potential for a future multiverse project in which they may incorporate Keaton's incarnation of Batman. In March 2023 it
21420-620: The preternaturally mesmeric The Shadow (1930), the "peak human" Doc Savage (1933), and The Spider (1933), and comic strip characters such as Hugo Hercules (1902), Popeye (1929), the Phantom (1936) and Olga Mesmer (1937). The first masked crime-fighter created for comic books was writer-artist George Brenner 's non-superpowered detective the Clock , who debuted in Centaur Publications ' Funny Pages #6 (Nov. 1936). In August 1937, in
21590-549: The price of keeping such a secret. In addition, this narrative trope can allow fantasy characters to be in occasional realistic stories without the fantasy element of the sub-genre appearing. With supervillains, by contrast, the duality of their identities is kept a secret and closely guarded to conceal their crimes from the general public, so that they may inflict greater harm on the general public, and to enable them to act freely, and hence illegally, without risk of arrest by law-enforcement authorities. Death in superhero fiction
21760-489: The protagonist undertakes a quest to achieve both material advantage and psychological and ethical maturity, and is generally considered to function as a metaphor and guide for children transitioning to adulthood or from egoism to altruism as the core concept of the self . Antecedents of the superhero archetype include such folkloric heroes as Robin Hood , who adventured in distinctive clothing, and King Arthur , who possessed
21930-426: The public. With superheroes, the duality of their identities is kept a secret and closely guarded to protect those close to them from being harmed and to prevent them from being called upon constantly, even for problems not serious enough to require their attention. This can be a source of drama with the superhero being forced to devise means of getting out of sight to change without revealing their identity, or bearing
22100-407: The public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes—ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas—have dominated American comic books and crossed over into other media. The word itself dates to at least 1917. A female superhero is sometimes called a superheroine (also rendered super-heroine or super heroine). In the United States,
22270-413: The purchasing of war bonds . Following superheroes's popularity during this time, those characters' appeal began to dwindle in the post-war era. Comic-book publishers, casting about for new subjects and genres, found success in, particularly, crime fiction , the most prominent comic of which was Lev Gleason Publications 's Crime Does Not Pay , and horror . The lurid nature of these genres sparked
22440-578: The request of the British. The U.S. then established a large research program and industrial complex at Fort Detrick, Maryland , in 1942 under the direction of George W. Merck . The biological and chemical weapons developed during that period were tested at the Dugway Proving Grounds in Utah . Soon there were facilities for the mass production of anthrax spores, brucellosis , and botulism toxins, although
22610-399: The retired Batman. By July 2001, a first draft was turned in to the studio, and the writers were waiting to see if a rewrite would be needed. The studio, also exploring other takes of Batman in development eventually placed Batman Beyond on hold in August 2001, but ultimately canceled the proposal. Yakin reportedly wanted the film to be dark, nihilistic, and with swearing and violence, and not
22780-476: The return of the superhero at DC, Marvel Comics editor/writer Stan Lee and the artists/co-writers Jack Kirby , Steve Ditko and Bill Everett launched a new line of superhero comic books, beginning with the Fantastic Four in 1961 and continuing with the Incredible Hulk , Spider-Man , Iron Man , Thor , the X-Men , and Daredevil . These comics continued DC's use of science fiction concepts ( radiation
22950-400: The rise of e-book readers like Kindle and Nook, a host of superhero stories have been self-published, including R. R. Haywood's Extracted (2017), R. T. Leone's Invinciman (2017), and Mike Vago's Selfdestructible (2018). While many popular superheroes have been featured in licensed video games, up until recently there have been few that have revolved around heroes created specifically for
23120-513: The same composers who worked on the previous animated Batman shows. The music style is more industrial , with some metal influence, to tie in with the show's futuristic cyberpunk genre. While the idea of Batman Beyond seemed as if it were "not a proper continuation of the legacy of the Dark Knight", the series received critical acclaim and a cult following after its release. It has been praised for its dark and cyberpunk storytelling. The show
23290-412: The second-season finale of Justice League Unlimited titled "Epilogue" (which was intended to be the series finale until the show was renewed for a third and final season) where Terry discovers his genetic origins. Amanda Waller planted Bruce Wayne's DNA into Warren McGinnis through his routine flu shot and later helps create a copy of Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle is briefly mentioned in passing. Among
23460-571: The series, Warner Bros. Animation outsourced Batman Beyond to Dong Yang Animation , Koko Enterprises and Seoul Movie (a subsidiary of TMS) in Seoul, South Korea. While the South Korean studios animated the series' episodes, the feature film Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker was animated by TMS Entertainment in Tokyo, Japan. Released on August 31, 1999, the soundtrack to Batman Beyond features many of
23630-483: The short-lived action comedy, Misfits of Science . In the 2010s, Warner Brothers created a successful adaptation of the Green Arrow , Arrow , that began the successful Arrowverse television franchise. Marvel meanwhile had a successful television spin-off of their Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. , while creating a number of series on the streaming service Netflix , before moving
23800-434: The sixteenth century AD, most of the time in the form of poisoned arrows, or powder spread on the war front as well as poisoning of horses and water supply of the enemy forces. In Borgu, there were specific mixtures to kill, hypnotize , make the enemy bold, and to act as an antidote against the poison of the enemy as well. The creation of biologicals was reserved for a specific and professional class of medicine-men. During
23970-403: The so-called Golden Age of Comic Books to distinguish them from characters with super-powers. Normally, superheroes use their powers to counter day-to-day crime while also combating threats against humanity by their criminal counterparts, supervillains. Long-running superheroes such as DC's Batman , Superman and Wonder Woman and Marvel's Spider-Man , Captain America and Iron Man have
24140-622: The spread of weapons of mass destruction to non-state actors . Biological weapons are difficult to detect, economical and easy to use, making them appealing to terrorists. The cost of a biological weapon is estimated to be about 0.05 percent the cost of a conventional weapon in order to produce similar numbers of mass casualties per kilometer square. Moreover, their production is very easy as common technology can be used to produce biological warfare agents, like that used in production of vaccines, foods, spray devices, beverages and antibiotics. A major factor in biological warfare that attracts terrorists
24310-711: The spring before left as many as one hundred Native Americans dead in Ohio Country from 1763 to 1764. It is not clear whether the smallpox was a result of the Fort Pitt incident or the virus was already present among the Delaware people as outbreaks happened on their own every dozen or so years and the delegates were met again later and seemingly had not contracted smallpox. During the American Revolutionary War , Continental Army officer George Washington mentioned to
24480-410: The story of several ordinary people who each suddenly find themselves with a superpower. The British series Misfits incorporates super-human abilities to undesirables in society. In this case, young offenders put on community service all have super powers and each use them to battle villains of sorts. In the 1980s, an unsuccessful attempt was made to realize this last concept in the United States with
24650-418: The subgenre has become a major element of mainstream film production with outstanding successes like 2008's The Dark Knight , 2012's The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises , 2013's Iron Man 3 , and 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron attracting major revenue and critical plaudits. This trend was reinforced in 2016 with the outstanding success of the critically lauded Deadpool , a film adaptation of
24820-492: The suit, but Terry convinces Bruce to let him take on the Batman mantle and subsequently defeats Mr. Fixx. During the battle, Powers is exposed to the chemical and forced to flee into hiding to receive treatment, which subsequently mutates him into a radiation-emitting entity, though he uses artificial skin to hide the accident. Realizing that crime and corruption are running rampant in Gotham without Batman's presence, Bruce offers Terry
24990-458: The superhero archetype. Superheroes occasionally have been adapted into prose fiction , starting with Random House 's 1942 novel The Adventures of Superman by George Lowther . In the 1970s, Elliot S! Maggin wrote the Superman novels, Last Son of Krypton (1978) and Miracle Monday , coinciding with but not adapting the movie Superman . Other early adaptations include novels starring
25160-495: The supervillain often possesses a genius intellect that allows him to draft complex schemes or create fantastic devices. Another common trait is possession of considerable resources to help further his aims. Many supervillains share some typical characteristics of real-world dictators, mobsters, and terrorists and often have aspirations of world domination or universal leadership. Superheroes and supervillains often mirror each other in their powers, abilities, or origins. In some cases,
25330-467: The term "SUPER HEROES" is a registered trademark co-owned by DC Comics and Marvel Comics . By most definitions, characters do not strictly require actual superhuman powers to be deemed superheroes, although terms such as costumed crime fighters or masked vigilantes are sometimes used to refer to those such as Batman and Green Arrow without such powers who share other common superhero traits. Such characters were generally referred to as "mystery men" in
25500-400: The then-distant year of 2019. An aging Bruce Wayne , despite being in his 50s, continues to fight crime as Batman in a new high-tech Batsuit , although he has increased difficulty in handling criminals he could once subdue with finesse and they are no longer afraid of him as he has lost his mystique. In what was supposed to be a routine mission, the rescue of a kidnapped heiress, Batman suffers
25670-527: The titular hero. Fellow DC Comics stars Batman and Robin made occasional guest appearances. Other superhero radio programs starred characters including the costumed but not superpowered Blue Beetle , and the non-costumed, superpowered Popeye . Also appearing on radio were such characters as the Green Hornet , the Green Lama , Doc Savage , and the Lone Ranger , a Western hero who relied on many conventions of
25840-413: The treaty . The BWC is considered to have established a strong global norm against biological weapons, which is reflected in the treaty's preamble, stating that the use of biological weapons would be "repugnant to the conscience of mankind". The BWC's effectiveness has been limited due to insufficient institutional support and the absence of any formal verification regime to monitor compliance. In 1985,
26010-418: The villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies, and science fiction in various media. They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other heroes. Whereas superheroes often wield fantastic powers, the supervillain possesses commensurate powers and abilities so that he can present a daunting challenge to the hero. Even without actual physical, mystical, superhuman or superalien powers,
26180-479: The war was over before these weapons could be of much operational use. The most notorious program of the period was run by the secret Imperial Japanese Army Unit 731 during the war , based at Pingfan in Manchuria and commanded by Lieutenant General Shirō Ishii . This biological warfare research unit conducted often fatal human experiments on prisoners, and produced biological weapons for combat use. Although
26350-544: The writer, actually created the central and supporting characters; Shuster, as the artist, designed these characters, and gave Superman the first version of his now-iconic uniform.) The character possessed many of the traits that have come to define the superhero: a secret identity , superhuman powers and a colorful costume including a symbol and cape. His name is also the source of the term "superhero", although early comic book heroes were sometimes also called mystery men or masked heroes . DC Comics , which published under
26520-410: The writers felt the character's presence was justified. Intercompany crossovers , between characters of different continuity, are also common. Over the history of the comic book genre, writers for major characters' series were required to produce material to strict regular publishing schedules that often ran for years. As such to fulfill this strenuous creative requirement, superhero stories have used
26690-601: Was a common source of superpowers) but placed greater emphasis on personal conflict and character development. This led to many superheroes that differed from predecessors with more dramatic potential. For example, the Fantastic Four were a superhero family of sorts, who squabbled and even held some unresolved acrimony towards one another, and Spider-Man was a teenager who struggled to earn money and maintain his social life in addition to his costumed exploits. Superhero films began as Saturday movie serials aimed at children during
26860-419: Was a mainstream superhero series which had characters that were a mix of fantasy ( Raven , Wonder Girl ), science fiction ( Cyborg , Starfire , Changeling , Kid Flash ) and crime fiction ( Robin ). Furthermore, their series had such a variety of stories, such as in a year-long period of 1982-3 where in rapid succession, the team would face Brother Blood , a costumed supervillain cult leader, then promptly have
27030-591: Was also plans to expand the biological warfare campaign into other Arab states including Egypt, Lebanon and Syria, but they were not carried out. International restrictions on biological warfare began with the 1925 Geneva Protocol , which prohibits the use but not the possession or development of biological and chemical weapons in international armed conflicts. Upon ratification of the Geneva Protocol, several countries made reservations regarding its applicability and use in retaliation. Due to these reservations, it
27200-826: Was code-named "Ecology". During the Mau Mau Uprising in 1952, the poisonous latex of the African milk bush was used to kill cattle. In 2010 at The Meeting of the States Parties to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and Their Destruction in Geneva the sanitary epidemiological reconnaissance
27370-560: Was cut since Bruce Timm and company were working on Justice League . Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker , a novelization of the feature film written by Michael Teitelbaum, was released on November 1, 2000. Two Batman Beyond books for young readers were released on November 14, 2000: Batman Beyond: New Hero in Town and Batman Beyond: No Place Like Home , followed by two more, released on May 28, 2002: Batman Beyond: Hear No Evil and Batman Beyond: Grounded . In 1999, Hasbro had released
27540-469: Was in practice a " no-first-use " agreement only. The 1972 Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) supplements the Geneva Protocol by prohibiting the development, production, acquisition, transfer, stockpiling and use of biological weapons. Having entered into force on 26 March 1975, the BWC was the first multilateral disarmament treaty to ban the production of an entire category of weapons of mass destruction. As of March 2021, 183 states have become party to
27710-465: Was included in the third Lego Batman video game. A "Batman of the Future" character pack featuring the Terry McGinnis Batman with all its trademark gadgets (such as the flying suit and the ability to turn invisible) and other Batman Beyond -era characters were revealed to be PS3 / PS4 -exclusive DLC for Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham . Rocksteady Studios created their own unique take on
27880-461: Was meant to be the de facto series finale for Batman Beyond : the episode " Epilogue " reveals that Bruce Wayne is actually Terry McGinnis's biological father. The story, set 15 years after Batman Beyond , centers on Terry (now in his early 30s) tracking down an elderly Amanda Waller . She explains through flashbacks that, even though she grew to trust and respect Batman, she was aware of him aging, getting slower, and getting weaker, thus accepting
28050-403: Was nominated for four Daytime Emmy Awards , two of which it won in 2001 for Outstanding Special Class Animated Program and Outstanding Music Direction and Composition. In addition, the show was nominated for five Annie Awards and won two of those nominations in 1999 and 2001. In 2009, IGN .com named Batman Beyond the 40th-best animated television series of all time. Den of Geek, when listing
28220-410: Was released on Blu-ray on October 29, 2019. The four-disc set includes all 52 episodes and the uncut version of Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker . Forty-one of the episodes and Return of the Joker were remastered. The remaining 11 episodes were an upconversion . A spin-off from Batman Beyond , an animated series called The Zeta Project , featured a revamped version of the synthoid Zeta from
28390-474: Was reported that an animated Batman Beyond film had been put into development, written by Daniel Casey and serving as WB's answer to Spider-Man : Into the Spider-Verse . However, the project was put into commission under the leadership of Walter Hamada , who served as DC Films president from 2018 to 2022, and it is currently unknown if it is still happening under Gunn and Safran's direction, though Jeff Sneider of The Hollywood Reporter noted that nobody who
28560-522: Was set to launch on 22 September 1945, but it was not executed because of Japan's surrender on 15 August 1945. In Britain, the 1950s saw the weaponization of plague , brucellosis , tularemia and later equine encephalomyelitis and vaccinia viruses, but the programme was unilaterally cancelled in 1956. The United States Army Biological Warfare Laboratories weaponized anthrax , tularemia , brucellosis , Q-fever and others. In 1969, US President Richard Nixon decided to unilaterally terminate
28730-586: Was suggested as well-tested means for enhancing the monitoring of infections and parasitic agents, for the practical implementation of the International Health Regulations (2005). The aim was to prevent and minimize the consequences of natural outbreaks of dangerous infectious diseases as well as the threat of alleged use of biological weapons against BTWC States Parties. Many countries require their active-duty military personnel to get vaccinated for certain diseases that may potentially be used as
28900-677: Was working on the project was told it was cancelled. The first appearance of the Terry McGinnis version of Batman in a video game is in the Nintendo 64 , PlayStation , and Game Boy Color video game Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker . The Batman Beyond Batsuit appears as an alternate costume in Justice League Heroes and as downloadable content in Batman: Arkham City and Injustice: Gods Among Us . A Batman Beyond DLC
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