Iron Man Marvel Superhero Store and Stories » Other Superheroes

The Faces of Madness: Gotham’s Rogues

ironman — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 10:55:41 +0000

For many years, The Batman has tackled some truly dangerous criminals in his native city. It is interesting to note that villains that fight The Batman are of a starkly different flavor from the villains that other superheroes face. Unlike the villains of other heroes, such as Superman and Spider-man, The Batman's collection of [tag]villains[/tag] are less known for their superhuman abilities and more for being reflections of a variety of mental health disorders. In this vein, they echo The Batman himself. By his own admission, The Batman has “issues, lots of issues.” Indeed, aside from a few notable exceptions, they're all fairly regular human beings. Once one gets past the fractured state of mental health, at least. Some of these characters, albeit being fictional, make for excellent studies into both the criminal psyche and how people with mental health disorders might act in some circumstances.

Superman: Smallville Seasons 1-8 Boxset

ironman — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 18:55:59 +0000

The numerous miraculous rescues by the local wonder boy Clark have aroused suspicions amongst colonials of Smallville. Interestingly, the boy has managed to downplay his acts of various heroic egresses in the past. They say he's either too fast or has a penchant for finding trouble. He was found by Martha and Jonathan Kent on the day of the Meteor Shower, and subsequently adopted. Clark's friend Lex Luthor, the only heir of Luthorcorp, has been secretly investigating grounds for Clark's outlandish valor. However, on the face of it, Clark just seems a normal boy who's slightly more secretive than usual.

Civil War: Spiderman Unmasked

ironman — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 22:11:41 +0000

In the massive universe-wide crossover civil war spiderman played a major role. In fact, the events of issue #2 of the main civil war mini-series involving the wall-crawler set the tone for the entire crossover. In that issue of civil war spiderman unmasked at a press conference for the entire world to see. Civil war was initiated by the Superhuman Registration Act, which required all super-humans, good or evil, to register with the government, thus unmasking and making their secret identities known. In a show of good faith during civil war spiderman took his mask off in public to show his support for the act.

The Greatest Villains In Marvel Comics

ironman — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 09:13:42 +0000

Next we have the Kingpin, Wilson Fisk. All the man boasts is enormous girth, intense strength and a ton of money, which adds many minions to his call. A thorn in the sides of the likes of Spider-Man and Daredevil, the Kingpin was at one time one of the most ruthless villains in marvel comics. He had no regard for life and didn't care who he hurt. He was on top of the world and had the world fooled for a long time while he acted as the head of the criminal underworld. Had Daredevil not finally taken the big man down he'd still be sitting on his empire, an empire worthy of one of the greatest villains in marvel comics.

Then there's Ultron, the creation of Henry Pym that went on to terrorize and nearly destroy the Avengers on more than one occasion. This super-intelligent and possibly sentient robot is one of the greatest villains in marvel comics simply because he's not human. He doesn't have a heart or a mind, and thus everything he does is cold, calculated and despicable. His sole goal is to rid the world of the Avengers and anyone else who stands in his way.

Marvel Comic Books: The Industry Standard?

ironman — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 08:50:59 +0000

It's no secret that Marvel comic books are the best selling comic books in the American market. Marvel holds the highest percentage of the market share as it has for many years, just above main rival, DC Comics. But does this really mean that Marvel comic books are the standard for the industry? Are they the best written and best illustrated? Are they diverse and varied enough? Do they really captivate readers that much, or is it mainly due to die hard fans of their characters or creators buying up books just for that reason alone?

Of course, that's not something that can be easily discerned, if it even can at all. Things like this are largely subjective, and no study in the world could possibly gauge the reasons behind all the buyers of Marvel comic books purchasing the books. But one can look at the market, and look at the books being produced by Marvel and by other companies and develop their own opinion.

Naturally, though, opinions are completely polarized between fans of Marvel comic books and fans of DC comic books, each despising the other.