121-401: (Etrigan) Etrigan the Demon is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics . Created by Jack Kirby , Etrigan is a demon from Hell who, despite his violent tendencies, usually finds himself allied with the forces of good, mainly because of the alliance between the heroic characters of the DC Universe and Jason Blood , a human to whom Etrigan is bound. Etrigan
242-575: 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
363-689: 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
484-605: A character he created for the New Adventures , Professor Bernice Summerfield , and whom he later licensed to Big Finish Productions. He has also co-authored (often working with Keith Topping and Martin Day ) several non-fiction books on television, including The Guinness Book of Classic British TV , X-treme Possibilities (a guide to The X-Files ), and The Discontinuity Guide (a humorous guide to Doctor Who ). (Topping and Day's Doctor Who novel The Devil Goblins from Neptune
605-662: 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
726-583: A demonic character. Evanier said that he was with Kirby and several others during a dinner at a restaurant, and Kirby came up with Etrigan's name, back story, and motivations on the spot. Kirby intended to create the character but pass him off to others to write and draw. However, Infantino convinced him to make the first issue, suspended Kirby's Fourth World comics series, and moved Kirby to the Etrigan comics. Etrigan first appeared in The Demon #1 (September 1972) and
847-525: 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
968-449: 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
1089-518: 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
1210-484: A new series featuring Etrigan titled Demon Knights , which debuted on September 14, 2011. It was written by Paul Cornell and drawn by Diógenes Neves. Etrigan, son of the demon Belial , is summoned by the wizard Merlin , his half-brother. Unable to gain the creature's secrets, he bonds the demon with Jason Blood, a knight in King Arthur 's Camelot . This renders Jason immortal, which he alternately considers either
1331-465: A penance or a curse. In modern times, Jason Blood resurfaces as a prominent demonologist in Gotham City . Jason is called to the crypt of Merlin and discovers a poem that causes him to switch places with Etrigan (appearing to transform him into Etrigan). To his misfortune, he is followed by the long-lived Morgaine le Fey , who lusts for Merlin's secrets. That leads to Etrigan's first major battle. Over
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#17330933212761452-423: 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
1573-499: 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
1694-571: 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
1815-657: A scribe to Merlin and was growing frustrated with life, believing he was meant for greater things and suffering from rages. A prophecy showed that if Jason did not have some sort of quest to force him to heal himself, his rage would grow and cause him to kill his love, Madame Xanadu . During the fall of Camelot, Merlin bonded Etrigan to Jason in an attempt to provide this quest. Now immortal, Jason and Etrigan came to an agreement and shared their existence. Madame Xanadu began traveling with Jason, only to find Etrigan had now begun falling for her as well and would slaughter innocents if he thought she and Jason were happy together. To placate
1936-747: 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
2057-419: A short stint on Coronation Street , he began working for other production companies, including contributing an episode in 1999 to Red Production Company 's anthology drama series Love in the 21st Century for Channel 4. His episode, entitled Masturbation , starred Ioan Gruffudd as Jack. He was due to be one of the writers on Red Production Company's planned Queer as Folk spin-off series Misfits , but
2178-406: 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,
2299-506: 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
2420-501: A son now ten years old. In 2010, he appeared as a contestant on an episode of the BBC Four quiz show Only Connect . He has written novels, non-fiction, audio plays and comic scripts. The following three novels in the series have been published by Tor Books , with two further novels remaining unpublished. About an out-of-uniform soldier in a parallel world where the ‘great game’ of European espionage continues into space. Some of
2541-406: A suit not unlike the swimsuits in the T.V. show Baywatch . The sexualization of women in comic books can be explained mainly by the fact that the majority of writers are male. Not only are the writers mostly male, but the audience is mostly male as well. Therefore, writers are designing characters to appeal to a mostly male audience. The super hero characters illustrate a sociological idea called
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#17330933212762662-472: 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"
2783-863: Is Nick Fury , who is reinterpreted as African-American both in the Ultimate Marvel as well as the Marvel Cinematic Universe continuities. Paul Cornell Paul Douglas Cornell (born 18 July 1967) is a British writer. He is best known for his work in television drama as well as Doctor Who fiction, being the creator of one of the Doctor's spin-off companions, Bernice Summerfield . As well as Doctor Who , other British television dramas for which he has written include Robin Hood , Primeval , Casualty , Holby City and Coronation Street . For American television, he has contributed an episode to
2904-505: 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
3025-421: 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
3146-533: 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
3267-422: Is among the superheroes who feel the disturbance in the magical plane when Shazam picks up Pandora's Box. In the timeline of The New 52: Futures End , Zatanna is romantically involved with Etrigan. To transform into Etrigan, Blood must recite the poem from Merlin's crypt (though usually he only recites the last two lines). The poem does not have to be spoken for it to work. For instance, in one adventure, Blood
3388-520: 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
3509-578: Is chosen as a political candidate for President of the United States and nearly succeeds in securing the Republican nomination from George H. W. Bush . During his political run, he attempts to gain Superman 's endorsement, but is denied. Blood and Mark later have a daughter named Kathryn. He decides to destroy Etrigan and hires hitman Tommy Monaghan to help him. After a battle against both Merlin and Etrigan,
3630-403: Is commonly depicted as a muscular humanoid creature with orange or yellow skin, horns, red eyes, and pointed, webbed ears, who frequently speaks in rhymes. The character was originally based in Gotham City , leading to numerous team-ups with Batman . Since his conception, Etrigan has been adapted into several forms of media outside of comics, including animated series, films, and video games. He
3751-726: 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
Etrigan the Demon - Misplaced Pages Continue
3872-546: Is magically transformed into a fly by the warlock Shahn-Zi. Unable to speak, Blood triggers the change by writing out the poem in the dust. Change! Change! O form of man! Free the prince forever damned! Free the might from fleshy mire! Boil the blood in the heart for fire! Gone! Gone! O form of man [And] rise the demon Etrigan!! To return to human form, a couplet must be recited, either by Etrigan or someone else in his hearing, but there are several versions of it: Begone, begone, O Etrigan Resume once more
3993-472: Is technically immortal due to his connection to the demon Etrigan. He has the combined experiences of Etrigan since he was bonded to the demon. Jason Blood shares all of Etrigan's weaknesses. Etrigan has all the limitations usually associated with a demon, including a weakness towards holy powers, holy water and iron. While his command of magic is strong, it is considered to be less than his father, Belial , and half-brother, Merlin . Additionally, Belial granted
4114-498: 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
4235-721: Is voiced by Michael T. Weiss in the DC Animated Universe , Dee Bradley Baker in Batman: The Brave and the Bold , Patrick Seitz in Justice League Action , and Ray Chase in the DC Animated Movie Universe . Kirby's former assistant, Mark Evanier , said that Carmine Infantino asked Jack Kirby to create a new monster hero. Kirby or Infantino mentioned a demon, and Kirby from that point worked on creating
4356-645: 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
4477-773: The Black Lanterns . Etrigan briefly appears in the prelude to the JLA / JSA crossover during the Brightest Day event. Etrigan travels to Germany to find a crashed meteorite that contains an unconscious Jade and confronts the Justice League after attacking a squad of German superheroes. He mocks the League by claiming they are an inferior team of substitutes, but is ultimately defeated when Donna Troy uses her Lasso of Persuasion to force him back into his Jason Blood form. Jason apologizes for
4598-680: The CBS Sherlock Holmes series Elementary . In 2018, he started co-hosting (with Lizbeth Myles from the Verity! podcast) a podcast reviewing horror films made by Hammer Film Productions entitled Hammer House of Podcast. In an interview on the Doctor Who: DWO Whocast , Cornell stated that this entry in Misplaced Pages described him as "both a Christian and a pagan ", which he has chosen not to correct as it illustrates his sympathies for
4719-525: 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;
4840-513: 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
4961-688: 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
Etrigan the Demon - Misplaced Pages Continue
5082-655: 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
5203-614: The pagan world. He then goes on to state that he is an Anglican but is very " Low Church , almost a Calvinist " and this is partly because he doesn't enjoy hymns . Spiritual themes are not uncommon in his work (for example, his novel Something More ). Other frequent references in his work include owls . Cornell is married to Caroline Symcox, currently the Vicar of St Mary's Church, Fairford , who also has written Doctor Who -based audio plays for Big Finish Productions on her own and with Cornell. In 2021 Paul said that he and Caroline have
5324-399: 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
5445-536: The "power of Etrigan" to both Merlin and another son, Lord Scapegoat. He is also helpless against those with magic strong enough to control him, such as Morgaine le Fey. He is also said to have a strong frailty for certain sounds as well. Jason Blood / Etrigan appears in TV series set in the DC Animated Universe (DCAU): Superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses superpowers or abilities beyond those of ordinary people,
5566-552: 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
5687-458: 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
5808-409: 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
5929-561: 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
6050-584: 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
6171-649: The Amazon Exoristos ( The Exile in Greek). They first fought Mordru and the Questing Queen's army to a standstill before being tasked by the city of Alba Sarum to return Merlin to life at Avalon. Etrigan plotted to betray his teammates' souls and Avalon itself to Lucifer to curry his favour. While he successfully manipulated the Knights into letting Hell invade Avalon (and secretly felt guilty about his treatment of Xanadu), he
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#17330933212766292-828: 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
6413-473: 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
6534-622: 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
6655-537: The Fourth World titles before he was done with them. Etrigan returned for a four-issue miniseries in 1987, written and illustrated by Matt Wagner . Alan Grant followed this with an Etrigan feature in Action Comics Weekly #636-641 and a second ongoing title in 1990. The 1990 series lasted 58 issues, two Annual s and one #0 issue. Garth Ennis took over the title beginning with issue #40. Ennis' run included
6776-518: 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
6897-510: 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
7018-784: 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
7139-418: The Supermen . Cornell signed with DC Comics exclusively in 2010 as part of writing for Action Comics . His 16-issue run on the series included number 900. In late 2010 and early 2011, Cornell completed nine issues set in Batman's world: Knight & Squire , a six-issue miniseries, and a three-issue run in Batman & Robin , #17–19. In September 2011, as part of DC's The New 52 relaunch, Cornell became
7260-408: 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
7381-413: The Vampire Slayer and Darna have a tremendous influence on popular culture in their respective countries of origin. With more and more anime , manga and tokusatsu being translated or adapted, Western audiences were beginning to experience the Japanese styles of superhero fiction more than they were able to before. Saban 's Mighty Morphin Power Rangers , an adaptation of Zyuranger , created
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#17330933212767502-420: The West as Astro Boy , was published. The series focused upon a robot boy built by a scientist to replace his deceased son. Being built from an incomplete robot originally intended for military purposes, Astro Boy possessed amazing powers such as flight through thrusters in his feet and the incredible mechanical strength of his limbs. The 1950s saw the Silver Age of Comics . During this era DC introduced
7623-461: The archetype include mythological characters such as Gilgamesh , Hanuman , Perseus , Odysseus , David , and demigods like Heracles , all of whom were blessed with extraordinary abilities, which later inspired the superpowers that became a fundamental aspect of modern-day superheroes. The distinct clothing and costumes of individuals from English folklore , like Robin Hood and Spring-Heeled Jack , also became inspirations. The dark costume of
7744-419: 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
7865-412: The attempt. His high rank would also see him guide Dream of the Endless from Hell's gates to Lucifer. Some time after this, Jason Blood and Glenda Mark attempt to separate him and Etrigan, an event which leads to Belial transforming Blood's ally Harry Matthews into a pillow. The two are successfully separated, but lose their immortality and age rapidly before being reunited in Cosmic Odyssey . After
7986-509: The award-winning Human Nature . Cornell then began working for Granada Television , where he wrote for the popular children's medical drama Children's Ward and created his own children's series Wavelength for Yorkshire Television , which ran for two series. He made the crossover to working in adult television full-time in 1996, when he was one of the main contributors to Granada's supernatural soap opera Springhill , which ran for two years on Sky One and later on Channel 4 . After
8107-420: The cancellation of the New Excalibur title and Cornell's new project was announced as being titled Captain Britain and MI: 13 . The third trade paperback , Vampire State , was nominated for the 2010 " Best Graphic Story " Hugo Award . Cornell has also written Young Avengers Presents No. 4 (April 2008) and a Fantastic Four mini-series comic, True Story , which started in July 2008, which featured
8228-413: 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
8349-534: 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,
8470-552: 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,
8591-418: The debut of Shotaro Ishinomori 's Skull Man (the basis for his later Kamen Rider ) in 1970, Go Nagai's Devilman in 1972 and Gerry Conway and John Romita's Punisher in 1974. The dark Skull Man manga would later get a television adaptation and underwent drastic changes. The character was redesigned to resemble a grasshopper, becoming the renowned first masked hero of the Kamen Rider series. Kamen Rider
8712-498: The degree that he can stand against other powerhouses such as Superman , Wonder Woman , and Lobo . He has a high degree of resistance to injury and can project hellfire from his body, usually from his mouth. He has a very high command of magic. Other powers include mystically enhanced fangs and claws, enhanced senses, super speed, agility, telepathy, energy blasts, and precognition. His sadomasochistic nature allows him to enjoy pain as if it were pleasure, making him generally fearless in
8833-617: The demon, she pretended to be in love with him and cuckolding Jason. Over the centuries, Jason became known as Jason o' the Blood and Etrigan continued to practice his rhymes. By the Dark Ages, he and Etrigan became the centre of a rag-tag team of adventurers, the "Demon Knights": Jason/Etrigan, Xanadu, Vandal Savage , Shining Knight , the Horsewoman, Saracen inventor Al Jabr ( The Numbers in Arabic) and
8954-401: 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
9075-542: The episode " Father's Day ". The episode was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form in 2006 and came third in terms of votes for its category. Cornell later wrote a two-part story for Doctor Who' s 2007 series, based on his 1995 Virgin New Adventures novel Human Nature . The title of the first episode was also " Human Nature ", while the second was titled " The Family of Blood ". In 2008,
9196-509: The face of combat and torture. His healing factor can handle an incredible amount of damage, allowing him to recover from wounds that have removed large sections of his body. He also has pyrokinesis and cryokinesis enabling him to manipulate fire and ice. Jason Blood is a highly skilled hand-to-hand combatant, including mastery in swordsmanship. Jason is adept at magic, and is often called upon to act as an advisor or investigator in occult matters. He has limited precognition and telepathy . Jason
9317-508: 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
9438-865: The first appearance of his character Hitman . This series was followed by a miniseries, Driven Out . Following this, John Byrne 's Blood of the Demon lasted 17 issues, and ignored much of the continuity that took place after Kirby's initial run. While his first monthly comic book series was short-lived, and his second was canceled after five years, Etrigan remains a popular supporting character with occasional additional miniseries. Series in which Etrigan has appeared include Alan Moore 's Swamp Thing , Neil Gaiman 's The Sandman , Kevin Smith 's Green Arrow and Batman: The Widening Gyre , Garth Ennis's Hitman , and Cosmic Odyssey by Jim Starlin and Mike Mignola . In The New 52 rebooted continuity, DC Comics launched
9559-454: 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
9680-550: The first series. His first episode, " Who Shot the Sheriff? ", aired on BBC One on 21 October 2006. His second, " A Thing or Two About Loyalty ", followed on 2 December 2006. He also wrote an episode for the second season of another Saturday evening family adventure programme, the ITV science-fiction series Primeval , transmitted in February 2008. He also wrote the one-off pilot Pulse , which
9801-399: The form of man! Gone now, O Etrigan And rise again (or rise once more ) the form of man! In other media such as Justice League Dark , a different poem is used to return Etrigan to human form: Since the battle's fought and won . Jason Blood with me is done . Even among demons, Etrigan is considered to be extremely powerful. He has mystically enhanced superhuman strength, to
9922-479: 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
10043-465: 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
10164-560: The incident has resulted in Blood being able to exert some will over Etrigan's violent nature, whereas previously the two remained separate. Blood of the Demon ended with issue #17 in July 2006. Etrigan later attempts to use the Trident of Lucifer to take control of Hell. A makeshift Shadowpact team successfully takes the Trident from him and flees to the Oblivion Bar. Etrigan follows and battles
10285-459: 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
10406-590: 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
10527-472: 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
10648-739: 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
10769-461: 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
10890-474: The modern-day set Sherlock Holmes series Elementary . Cornell has also written for a number of British comics, as well as Marvel Comics and DC Comics in the United States, and has had six original novels published. He is one of only two people to be nominated for Hugo Awards in prose, comics and TV. Already known in Doctor Who fan circles, Cornell's professional writing career began in 1990 when he
11011-432: 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 ,
11132-600: 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 ,
11253-420: 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
11374-511: The past. He later leaves the group and passes his position as a magic specialist to Manitou Raven . The series Blood of the Demon , plotted and drawn by John Byrne and scripted by Will Pfeifer , began in May 2005. Etrigan apparently loses the restrictions imposed upon him by the wizard Merlin which turned him from evil, caused by his "murder" at the exact moment he was transforming from his human self, Jason Blood, into his demon self. It turns out that
11495-406: 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
11616-419: 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
11737-427: The present, Etrigan's body lies buried in London; it is explained that he was sealed there by his own friends because of his betrayal of them, but magic emanating from it is able to possess persons above, eventually freeing the demon, who promptly attacks Midnighter and Apollo . The entire Stormwatch then battles Etrigan, but after being defeated, he is able to possess a host and flees. During Trinity War , Etrigan
11858-520: 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
11979-519: The remerging, the relationship between Blood and Etrigan becomes even more contentious. Drawn to Hell by the Archfiend Asteroth , Etrigan stops Asteroth's attempt to sacrifice Glenda Mark, Randu Singh, Merlin and Blood himself (in Hell, Blood and Etrigan were, at the time, separated). Etrigan followed these events by overthrowing the triumvirate of leaders in Hell (Lucifer, Belial and Beezlebub) and taking
12100-476: The series was never made, being abruptly cancelled by Channel 4. In the 21st century he has written mainly for the BBC , contributing episodes to all three of their regular medical dramas: Casualty , Holby City and the daytime soap opera Doctors . He also contributed to the 1950s-set Sunday evening prime time drama series Born and Bred and was one of the writers of the 2005 series revival of Doctor Who , writing
12221-594: 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
12342-670: The symbol of authority in Hell, the Crown of Horns, for himself. He battles Lobo , Klarion the Witch Boy and his gang and is drawn into the Realm Beyond, where he meets the Thing-That-Cannot-Die and reunites with his older brother, Lord Scapegoat. Upon escape from the Realm Beyond, Etrigan and Blood agree to work together and team with Batman and Robin against the Howler. Soon after, Etrigan
12463-561: The team encountering characters from the pages of literary classics. In 2008, he wrote a comic which featured on the Doctor Who website. He has also written the Young Avengers limited series that ties into Dark Reign and Black Widow : Deadly Origin a mini-series that ties into the character's appearance in Iron Man 2 . Cornell became the next Action Comics writer after War of
12584-556: The team inside the bar. He is petrified with magical pistols and used as a hat rack before being returned to normal by sunrise. Etrigan takes part in the war for control of Hell on behalf of Neron , duelling Blue Devil . Later, due to the effects of a magical drug Satanus had infested Hell with, he was transformed into a soulless physical human, a perfect duplicate of Jason Blood. Blood, meanwhile, has taken steps as to interfere with any possible attempts of Etrigan's to re-merge. In Blackest Night , Deadman possesses Etrigan to battle
12705-410: 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
12826-520: The trouble he caused and departs from the scene, but not before warning Batman and his teammates that the meteorite possesses supernatural qualities. The meteor is later revealed to be the Starheart, a legendary entity that has the power to possess metahumans with magical or elemental abilities. Etrigan is shown aiding the JLA during their mission into Hell, where he helps Hawkman defeat a demonic beast. He also
12947-421: 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
13068-481: The two episodes were nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form . In February 2006, Cornell announced in a post on his weblog that he would be writing an episode for the BBC's forthcoming Robin Hood , produced by Tiger Aspect Productions for the same Saturday evening family slot as Doctor Who . He later announced on his blog that he was also writing a second Robin Hood episode for later in
13189-501: The two rescue Kathryn and Blood steals Etrigan's heart, which enables him to control him. Monaghan cons Blood into returning to Gotham and using Etrigan to retrieve the Ace of Winchesters, an anti-demon rifle, from Hell. Despite the risk of Etrigan killing him, Monahgan trades him his heart for the Ace of Winchesters. Jason Blood later joins a substitute Justice League group after the main group vanishes during an attempt to rescue Aquaman from
13310-601: 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
13431-628: The writer for the DC Comics titles Demon Knights and Stormwatch . Cornell's last DC work was the 14-issue science fiction series Saucer Country , which ended with the June 2013 issue. Cornell is part of the regular panel of the podcast SF Squeecast , which won the 2012 and 2013 Hugo Award for best fancast. In January 2016, Cornell announced his return to television drama work when he told followers on his Twitter feed that he had written his first script for US television, contributing an episode to
13552-553: The years, Etrigan both clashes with and occasionally aids Earth's heroes, guided by his own whims and Blood's attempts to use his power for good. Some time after his first appearance, Etrigan begins speaking in rhyme due to a promotion in Hell , though he is not limited to rhyme. He leads the forces of Hell in a battle against the Great Evil Beast and is in brief contact with the entity in its questions about its nature - he barely survives
13673-486: Was a winner in a young writers' competition and his entry, Kingdom Come , was produced and screened on BBC Two . Soon after, he wrote Timewyrm: Revelation , a novel for the Virgin New Adventures series of Doctor Who novels. Timewyrm: Revelation was a reworking of a serialised fan fiction piece Cornell had penned previously for the fanzine Queen Bat . Several other Doctor Who novels followed, including
13794-544: Was also based on an original idea with Cornell.) He has also written comics, both for Doctor Who Magazine and the 2000 AD spin-off Judge Dredd Megazine . He has written Wisdom , a 6-issue limited series for Marvel Comics ' MAX imprint, featuring the character Peter Wisdom , with art by Trevor Hairsine and Manuel Garcia . It was announced at the 2007 Wizard World Chicago comic book convention that Cornell would be following Chris Claremont on Marvel's New Excalibur . Plans were subsequently changed with
13915-484: Was created by Jack Kirby . He created him at the behest of DC, who saw it as likely to be more commercially successful than the Fourth World and cancelled New Gods and Forever People to facilitate work on the new title. According to Evanier, Kirby had no interest in horror comics, but created Etrigan in response to DC's demand for a horror character. Kirby was annoyed that Etrigan's popularity forced him to abandon
14036-422: Was himself captured and used by the Questing Queen to gain access as well. Lucifer believed Etrigan had done this deliberately and condemned him; outraged, the demon refused to serve anyone again. At the end of the battle, Jason was tasked as a member of Avalon's Stormwatch , but neither he nor Xanadu wanted to serve Merlin after having Etrigan forced on them again. Jason vowed to not let the demon out so often. In
14157-598: 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
14278-763: Was shown on BBC Three in early June 2010. Outside of television, he has been active in various other media, having written six Doctor Who novels for Virgin Publishing and BBC Books during the 1990s, three Doctor Who audio dramas for Big Finish Productions and a fully animated internet-broadcast Doctor Who adventure, Scream of the Shalka (starring Richard E. Grant as the Doctor) for bbc.co.uk in 2003. He has also written two mainstream science-fiction novels, Something More and British Summertime for Gollancz , and various novels, short stories and audio dramas based around
14399-563: Was the guide to the Secret Six in their trip to Hell and led Catman to see the fate of his father, all the while amused by the confusion and pain they were suffering as a result of their visit. In The New 52 , the 2011 reboot of the DC Comics universe , his past and origins are largely changed. Before the Dark Ages, Etrigan was a Rhyming Demon who served Lucifer before leading a rebellion against him. Jason of Norwich had been sent to Camelot as
14520-404: 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
14641-467: 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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