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.
123-426: SuperTed is a Welsh superhero animated television series about an anthropomorphic teddy bear with superpowers, created by writer and animator Mike Young . Originally created by him as a series of stories to help his son overcome his fear of the dark, SuperTed became a popular series of books and led to an animated series produced from 1982 to 1986. An American-produced series, The Further Adventures of SuperTed ,
246-520: 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
369-494: 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
492-472: 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
615-435: A fat guy who had jokes made about his weight. And all these things you just wouldn't do today. But you can still write the show in a funny, entertaining way." He also added that he wants to avoid making the reboot look too slick and lose some of its original charm like some other rebooted franchises, with hopes Derek Griffiths will return as the voice of SuperTed. In February 2016 Mike Young announced SuperTed would return towards
738-555: 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
861-425: A large, interactive public artwork as its centrepiece called Alliance , a 25 metres (82 ft) high sculpture consisting of a large stainless steel and enamelled metal ring and an arrow column, which was initially meant to feature lights that would rise and fall with the tide. Caroline Street is a pedestrianised link between St Mary Street and The Hayes. The street has been a host to all kinds of stores but has seen
984-460: 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
1107-422: A magic word which gives him superpowers and transforms him into SuperTed. His early attempts were unsuccessful, until he made some adjustments with the help of a local printer and was finally able to get his stories published. This led Young to write and publish over 100 SuperTed books, with illustrations done by Philip Watkins, until 1990. Just after his first book was published, his wife suggested he should produce
1230-616: 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,
1353-529: 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
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#17331061862751476-409: 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
1599-428: 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
1722-463: A number of redevelopment projects, including St. David's 2 , which extended the shopping district southwards, creating 100 new stores and a flagship John Lewis , the only branch in Wales and the largest outside London . Compared to nearby cities, the new St David's Centre has more retail space than the whole of Newport or Swansea . In 2008–9, the annual footfall of shoppers was 55 million, and
1845-553: 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
1968-598: 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
2091-523: A storeroom. By chance, he is discovered by Spotty, a visiting alien from the Planet Spot, who decides to bring the bear to life using his cosmic dust . Spotty then brings the now living teddy bear to Mother Nature , who gives the bear special powers, transforming him into SuperTed. Whenever trouble arises, SuperTed whispers his "secret magic word" and transforms into a superhero adorned with a red suit, cape and rocket boots. As SuperTed and Spotty travel across
2214-755: A stuffed toy version of SuperTed, which was done in 1980. Young was determined to keep SuperTed Welsh, as he wanted to help create local jobs and prove that places outside London had talent. In 1982, S4C enquired about making SuperTed into animations, but Young decided to create Siriol Productions to produce the series himself. Siriol management wished to create SuperTed in a way which their own children could be proud of, free from facile plots and hard-line violence. This concept continued to be adopted in all series made by Siriol, which proves that "soft edge and quality animation can be more appealing to children than any amount of violence". By November 1982 it had been sold to over 30 countries. In 1989 Mike Young partly sold off
2337-406: 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
2460-584: 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
2583-504: A surge in chip and kebab shops, and as such is commonly known as Chip Lane or Chip Alley . Around 2003, the north side of the street was redeveloped after the demolition of the old Brains Brewery. In its place were luxury flats encircling the Old Brewery Quarter , where new shops, bars and restaurants were erected. The pavement on the street was re‑tiled as part of this development. This development, built in 1999, extends
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#17331061862752706-514: 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
2829-502: 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
2952-570: Is Cardiff's Grade II* listed Old Library building (location of the Cardiff Story people's museum). The Hayes used to be home to David Morgan department store , an historic local landmark that dominated the shop fronts on the western side of The Hayes. Since its closure in 2005, the Grade ;I‑listed David Morgan Buildings have been subdivided into several retail units, and the upper floors converted into 56 luxury apartments. The exterior of
3075-455: Is expected to have risen to 66 million by 2009–10. Cardiff is the sixth most successful shopping destination in the United Kingdom – behind London, Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool. Cardiff was granted city status by Edward VII in 1905. In the 1960s, planners described Cardiff city centre as "worn out, inconvenient, drab and dangerous". The centre had escaped
3198-636: 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 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
3321-551: Is named after the 11th century church of St. Mary, the largest in Cardiff until it was destroyed by the Bristol Channel floods of 1607. Today the stretch of road is the home of a number of bars , night clubs and restaurants , as well as branches of many major banks . Also fronting onto the street is Howells department store, which stretches from just after Cardiff Central Market to the corner of Wharton Street. From August 2007
3444-430: 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
3567-630: Is sometimes called a superheroine (also rendered super-heroine or super heroine). In the United States, 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
3690-536: Is the New Theatre , a local landmark is Principality House, head office of the Principality Building Society . To the north running parallel is Greyfriars Road, referring to the site of an old monastery, a traditional office location that has recently seen conversion to bars, apartments and hotels as offices move to the new business parks on the edge of the city, or to the better connected southern end of
3813-567: Is the main thoroughfare in the city, now wholly pedestrianised. Most of Queen Street, from the castle moat to Dumfries Place, used to be called Crockherbtown (Crockherbtown Lane can still be found off Park Place), but the street was renamed in honour of Queen Victoria in 1886. Queen Street was pedestrianised in 1974 and is served by Cardiff Queen Street railway station on Station Terrace. It meets Dumfries Place/Newport Road at its eastern end, Duke Street/Castle Street at its western, and Park Place approximately halfway along. Further down Park Place
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3936-665: Is tightly bound by the River Taff to the west, the Civic Centre to the north and railway lines and two railway stations – Central and Queen Street – to the south and east respectively. Cardiff became a city in 1905. The city centre in Cardiff consists of principal shopping streets: Queen Street, St. Mary's Street and the Hayes, as well as large shopping centres , and numerous arcades and lanes that house some smaller, specialized shops and boutiques. The city centre has undergone
4059-861: The A4232 at Cardiff Bay , leading to Culverhouse Cross and the M4 motorway , and also meets the A48 Carmarthen–;Gloucester road at Gabalfa , north of the centre. Some city centre taxis can be hailed. They are usually, but not always, black with a white bonnet or hackney carriages. The Cardiff Waterbus has stops at Cardiff Castle and Taff Mead Embankment, next to the Millennium Stadium , with services to Cardiff Bay . A cycle hire system, similar to those in other large cities, launched in September 2009, and included 70 bikes and 35 hire points (initially 7) around
4182-582: The Driving Standards Agency , former British Gas offices in Helmont House (now a Premier Inn ), and an Ibis Hotel are located on this street. The Cardiff office of the DSA subsequently closed. Cardiff Masonic Hall occupies a major site on the corner of Guildford Street, adjacent to Churchill Way. Wood Street is the main access point for Cardiff Central railway and Central bus stations, with
4305-617: The John Lewis department store and the new Cardiff Central Library , which opened in March 2009. The previous Central Library closed in 2006 to make way for the construction of the St. David's 2 shopping centre and was located a few hundred yards north-east on Bridge Street. As part of the St Davids 2 development, the Hayes was pedestrianised and repaved. A new public square was created at its southern end with
4428-514: The Marquis of Bute 's eldest son. Newport Road , the major road leading east from Queen Street towards the neighbouring city of Newport , has been one of the prime office locations of central Cardiff since the 1960s. Some of the original buildings have been converted from office use to residential (e.g. The Aspect, Admiral House or hotel use including the Mercure Holland House . Occupancy of
4551-626: The Meridian Gate development (consisting of an 11‑storey apartment block and a 21‑storey Radisson SAS Hotel); a new John Lewis department store as part of the St. David's 2 shopping expansion; Harlech Court (consisting of apartments and a rooftop restaurant); the University of South Wales 's ATRiuM campus (which opened in 2007) along with the 21‑storey Tŷ Pont Haearn student halls; and 3 further residential towers (of up to 13 storeys) with lower floor retail and commercial use. From
4674-506: The Millennium Stadium dominate its western side, whereas pubs and bars and hotels dominate its eastern side, with the Angel Hotel at the north end and the Royal Hotel to the south. The Hayes ( Welsh : Yr Ais ) is where the department store Howells , Bwyty Hayes Island Snack Bar , Spillers Records , St David's Hall , and elegant Victorian arcades are found. At the northern end
4797-526: 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
4920-631: 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
5043-511: 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 ,
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5166-518: 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
5289-419: 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
5412-588: 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
5535-581: 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
5658-424: 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
5781-433: 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
5904-420: 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
6027-528: The 1970s it became the home of the Welsh Arts Council 's Oriel gallery. It is also the location of St Davids Catholic Cathedral . Cathays Park is the civic centre of Cardiff. The Edwardian architecture of Cardiff City Hall , National Museum and Gallery of Wales , Cardiff University , Cardiff Crown Court , and the administrative headquarters of the Welsh Government dominate the area. Behind
6150-575: 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
6273-610: 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
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#17331061862756396-517: The Cardiff offices for the Armed Forces). Central Square is a large public space between Wood Street and Cardiff Central railway station. It includes Cardiff bus station. In 2012 plans were announced to redevelop the square and rename it 'Capital Square'. Westgate Street runs parallel just west of St Marys Street for about half of the latter's length, linked by several alleys and lanes. Linking Castle Street and Wood Street, Cardiff Arms Park and
6519-651: 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. Cardiff city centre Cardiff city centre ( Welsh : Canol Dinas Caerdydd ) is the city centre and central business district of Cardiff , Wales . The area
6642-599: The City Hall is the Welsh National War Memorial . Bute Park also dominates the northwest of the area, running behind Cardiff Castle along the River Taff southward to Westgate Street and northward to Gabalfa . Cardiff's Winter Wonderland ice rink and fairground returns to the front lawn of the City Hall every winter. Boulevard de Nantes and Stuttgarter Strasse, named after Cardiff's twin cities, run through
6765-804: 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
6888-590: 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
7011-583: The Marriott) and World Trade Centre (now the Cardiff International Arena), which gave a fillip to the city's conference and exhibition business. In the mid–1980s developers returned to Queen Street, creating three medium‑sized malls, helping it to become one of the best performing shopping streets in the country in terms of footfall and rental levels. In the 1990s the Mill Lane cafe quarter
7134-554: The United Kingdom, focusing on mainline services. Central railway station is located next to Central bus station forming an interchange. Cathays railway station , Grangetown railway station and Ninian Park railway station are all within 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of the centre serving edges of the city centre. The A470 bypasses the centre to the east running southbound to Cardiff Bay and northbound to North Cardiff , Pontypridd , Merthyr Tydfil and Brecon . The A470 road meets
7257-514: 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
7380-464: The area began in February 2010 and is expected to be completed by July 2011. Cardiff Council says that work to create the Castle Quarter as a pedestrian friendly environment for High Street and St Mary Street is designed to enhance the city centre. Castle Street follows on from Cowbridge Road East from Canton and begins after Cardiff Bridge, over the River Taff . It becomes Duke Street after
7503-549: 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
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#17331061862757626-461: The building received a comprehensive refurbishment, with the street clock being reinstated and the façade being restored to its original design, following many alterations since its construction in the late 1800s. The eastern side of the Hayes is fronted by the new St. Davids 2 shopping centre. Prior to this it was home to Oxford Arcade, a post war construction that dated quickly and was underused given its central location. The southern end features
7749-691: 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
7872-473: 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
7995-412: The central business district south of the mainline railway. Eventually the main development will include approximately 850,000 square feet (77,000 m ) of office space and other uses, of which approximately 350,000 square feet (33,000 m ) is complete (with the largest occupiers being Eversheds and British Gas). Further phases are unlikely to be built on a speculative basis. The initial masterplan suggest that
8118-442: The city centre (except St Mary Street and Working Street) demolished, replaced by modernist office towers of up to 21 storeys and pedestrianised decks linking multi‑storey car parks to covered shopping malls. By the time the legal agreement to implement 'Centreplan 70' was signed, the 1973 property crash had made it unviable. However, one legacy of the scheme was the future segregation of office and retail development, with
8241-453: The city centre every 10 minutes before continuing to Cardiff Bay . The city centre is served by two railway stations. Cardiff Queen Street is in the east of the centre and is the city's main hub for urban services to the rest of Cardiff, its valleys and the Vale of Glamorgan . Cardiff Central , located in the south of the city centre, is the largest station in the city and one of the busiest in
8364-409: The city centre. Charles Street , named after the landowner (and twice Cardiff mayor) Charles Vachell , was originally built in the 1840s as luxury housing. When Cardiff's new drainage was being devised, in 1849, Charles Street was described as Cardiff's "principal street". It joins the north side of Queen Street about halfway along its length. The street became more commercial later in the 1800s. In
8487-553: 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
8610-410: 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
8733-540: The end of 2016, but admitted "SuperTed and his rivals Texas Pete, Bulk and Skeleton may have to change their ways to fit in with the expectations of a modern audience." In March 2021, it was announced work had begun on new episodes, with a view to relaunch the show by 2023. As Young was determined to keep SuperTed Welsh, he entered into partnership with S4C (the newly formed Welsh television channel) in 1981 who approached him about producing an animated series of SuperTed. He set up Siriol Animation with his wife, to produce
8856-437: The extensive wartime bomb damage inflicted on other cities, so little redevelopment took place in the 1950s and 1960s. The Buchanan Plan of 1964 envisaged a highly ambitious extended city centre, crossed with urban motorways. The council scrapped the proposed motorway network and focused on the small commercial core of the city; its proposed redevelopment scheme, in partnership with a private developer, would have seen almost all of
8979-467: 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
9102-520: The final phase, yet to be commenced, will also include hotel and residential use. Nearby offices on Tresillian Way (housing The AA, and Lloyds TSB Black Horse finance amongst others) plus further potential developments have turned the area relatively quickly into one of the largest office locations in Central Cardiff. Within a few years total office space in the area will exceed 1 million square feet (90,000 m ). These two roads have traditionally formed
9225-518: 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
9348-480: 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,
9471-632: The junction with High Street before turning north and becoming Kingsway , leading to Cardiff Civic Centre . From west to east, streets that begin from the southern side of this stretch are Westgate Street, Womanby Street, High Street (St Marys Street), St Johns Street (The Hayes), Queen Street and Greyfriars Road. Cardiff Castle and Bute Park dominate the northern side of the street. On the southern side are pubs, bars, retail and hotel units. Castle Arcade and Duke Street Arcades begin from this stretch. St. Mary Street ( Welsh : Heol Eglwys Fair ) and High Street ( Welsh : Heol Fawr ). The former street
9594-437: The junction with Wood Street, which leads to Central Station. At the northern end of the street is Castle Street and Cardiff Castle . To the south is Callaghan Square. Womanby Street is one of Cardiff's oldest streets. It is known for its small, independent live music venues and is home to Clwb Ifor Bach . It is accessed from Castle Street, between Westgate Street and High Street. Queen Street ( Welsh : Heol y Frenhines )
9717-556: The latter undergoing reconstruction since early 2008. The street also had bus stands running along the length of the street as well. St David's House, which ran most of its length, was demolished in 2019. Travelling westwards along this street are the Millennium Stadium , Millennium Plaza (with bars, night clubs, comedy clubs and a Vue cinema ), Stadium House , Media Wales (offices of the South Wales Echo and Western Mail ) and Southgate House, (which houses among other organisations
9840-687: 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
9963-524: The main A&;E service for Cardiff before the University Hospital of Wales took over these functions. Churchill Way runs parallel to the west of Station Terrace (Cardiff Queen Street station) and joins Queen Street in the north and Bute Terrace in the south. The Capitol Centre is on the corner with Queen Street. Further along this road are office and modern apartment developments. The Cardiff office of
10086-400: 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
10209-503: 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
10332-495: The north along North Road or Newport Road, from the east along Newport Road and from the south along Callaghan Square. Most services circle the city centre, creating a "bus box". Some terminate or pass through Cardiff Central bus station , off Wood Street, which is currently being redeveloped. Other major interchanges include The Hayes, Dumfries Place, Westgate Street, Greyfriars Road and St. Mary Street, with taxi stands being located next to most of these. The Baycar service circles
10455-406: The north, North Road (A470) meets the city centre at the junction with Castle Street and Boulevard de Nantes, with the latter route forming a northern and eastern by‑pass, meeting Newport Road (A4161) and then Callaghan Square, just south of the city centre. From the west, the centre is accessed from Castle Street (A4161), Wood Street and Penarth Road (A4160), with St. Mary's Street connecting
10578-416: 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),
10701-413: 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
10824-620: 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
10947-549: 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
11070-587: The production of a line of vitamin supplements for children. The series was reportedly sold to 128 countries and dubbed in 32 languages. SuperTed aired in Australia on ABC (where it was shown many times twice, starting from 3 May 1986 on Saturday mornings and then on weekday afternoons on 27 April 1987 and continued airing along with its American sequel until 13 May 1997), NTA in Nigeria, Channel 5 in Singapore (where it
11193-489: 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
11316-426: 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
11439-413: 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
11562-570: The remaining commercial property has increased, reflecting a shortage of office space in the city and there is now little scope for further conversion. Newport Road is also home to several buildings owned by Cardiff University , and Shand House, occupied by Cardiff Institute for the Blind . Newport Road is also the site for the Cardiff Royal Infirmary , now providing long-term care and rehabilitation. The hospital once housed 500 beds and provided
11685-476: 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
11808-482: The rights to the series, with a 75% stake in SuperTed being acquired by the newly formed Abbey Home Entertainment with Young retaining the other 25%. Following the closure of Abbey Home Media in 2020, Mike Young purchased back that 75% stake of the series under his own company Splash Entertainment . The story follows an ordinary teddy bear who, upon his creation at a toy factory, was deemed defective and thrown away into
11931-400: 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
12054-421: The road safely after he nearly gets killed by recklessly rushing across the road on the planet Spot (his home), to talk to his sister. It was included in two episode compilation videos: Magic of SuperTed (1986) and The Biggest Ever SuperTed Video (1994). SuperTed proceeds during the animation to teach Spotty the right way to cross the road, including not running, not standing behind vehicles, etc. He then warns
12177-557: The series locally, which first aired on 1 November 1982 on S4C in Welsh . The following year, it was dubbed into English and broadcast all over the United Kingdom on BBC1, from 4 October 1983. Unlike the books, the television series was written by Robin Lyons and director Dave Edwards, who were also Directors of Siriol Animation, and between 1983 and 1986, three series, consisting of 12 episodes each, were made: Superhero fiction A superhero
12300-483: 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
12423-403: 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
12546-482: The southern and southeastern boundaries of the central business district of Cardiff, and in the 2000s have seen a great deal of new development. Recent developments such as the 23‑storey Altolusso apartment complex, and the Big Sleep Hotel were set to be joined by (from west to east), a new 11‑storey office building (on the site of the 120-year-old Central Hotel – destroyed by fire in early 2003;
12669-559: The southern end and act as a northern bypass of parallel Queen Street for the A4161. To the west, it is connected to Kingsway (leading to Castle Street and St Mary Street), and Dumfries Place/ Newport Road to the east. Park Place runs north to south through the area, linking it to the A470 in the north and Queen Street in the south Dumfries Place is named after the Earl of Dumfries , a courtesy title given to
12792-410: 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
12915-442: The street was closed to private vehicles, leaving only buses, cycles and taxis allowed to access the whole street. The street is usually closed to all traffic every Friday and Saturday night to allow the efflux from night clubs and pubs located in that part of the street to clear. It is also closed when major events take place such as at the Millennium Stadium . The Prince Of Wales is a prominent J D Wetherspoon establishment at
13038-418: 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
13161-458: 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
13284-495: 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,
13407-474: The three, but is restricted to no‑car traffic. Penarth Road terminates at Callaghan Square. From the south, Lloyd George Avenue (A470), Bute Street and the Central Link (A4234) originate from Cardiff Bay and meet the city centre at Callaghan Square. The vast majority of Cardiff Bus services run to or through the city centre, approaching from the west along either Tudor Street or Westgate Street, from
13530-527: 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
13653-613: The viewer: "Remember, I can't be there to save you, especially on the planet Earth". The animated "setting" for the film was based on Castle Street in Cardiff city centre , Wales with Cardiff Castle as a backdrop. This SuperTed public information film was first broadcast on BBC on 26 March 1986 and was later rebroadcast and edited as a short commercial. SuperTed was also turned into a stage show. Jon Pertwee, Victor Spinetti and Melvyn Hayes reprised their roles, but other parts were taken by other actors. SuperTed 's popularity even led to
13776-418: 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,
13899-465: The west end of Newport Road as the principal office area with secondary concentrations on Churchill Way, Greyfriars Road and Westgate Street. Development in the 1970s and 80s was more piecemeal than envisaged in Centreplan, with the building of the St. David's Centre and St David's Hall, new multi‑storey car parks, and the grant‑supported construction of the 14‑storey Holiday Inn (now
14022-442: The world, and sometimes even space, to help others in need, they find themselves up against the nefarious and greedy cowboy, Texas Pete, and his two henchmen; the overweight and bumbling Bulk and the cowardly and effeminate Skeleton, as he seeks to either rule the world or increase his own wealth. The Further Adventures of SuperTed is a British - American-produced series, produced by Hanna-Barbera and broadcast in 1989. The revival
14145-544: 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
14268-410: 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
14391-601: 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
14514-419: 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
14637-810: Was developed in partnership with the Welsh Development Agency , a pedestrian forecourt was created for the refurbished Central railway station, a new walkway was constructed alongside the Taff and the Millennium Stadium was built on the site of the National Stadium and Empire Pool . The latter became, according to official publicists, one of the icons of Cardiff's new image. The Castle Quarter includes some of Cardiff's Victorian and Edwardian arcades : Castle Arcade, High Street Arcade and Duke Street Arcade, and principal shopping streets: St Mary Street, High Street , Castle Street and Duke Street. Development of
14760-453: Was developing a brand new series of SuperTed with Abbey Home Media. The series, which will consist of 26 half-hour episodes, was pitched at trade shows in Autumn 2014. In an interview with Radio Times magazine, Young mentioned that certain aspects of the series would have to be changed for modern audiences. He stated, "In SuperTed , we had a gun-slinging cowboy, a flamboyantly gay skeleton and
14883-570: Was one of four series aired as part of The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera syndicated animation block. SuperTed, along with Spotty and his sister Blotch, appeared in a Public Information Film sponsored by the Green Cross Code in 1986. The film, commissioned by the Central Office of Information , was entitled "Super Safe with SuperTed", and featured the three characters being flown to Earth by SuperTed, in order to teach Spotty how to cross
15006-400: Was produced by Hanna-Barbera in 1989. The series was the first British animation acquired by the American based Disney Channel . The character was created by Mike Young in 1978 for his son to help him overcome his fear of darkness. Later Young decided to put the stories into book form, originally as a bear from the woods who was also afraid of the dark, until one day Mother Nature gave him
15129-1121: Was reedited into two episodes), ZBC in Zimbabwe, Kabel 1 in Germany, Rai 3 in Italy, SVT in Sweden, The Disney Channel and now Kabillion in the United States, NRK in Norway, TF1 and Canal J in France, RTÉ1 , RTÉ2 and TG4 in Ireland (where it was dubbed into the Irish language), TV One and TV2 in New Zealand, Dubai 33 in the United Arab Emirates, Kolmoskanava and MTV3 in Finland and Sjónvarpið in Iceland. In July 2014, SuperTed co-creator Mike Young announced that he
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