For as long as I can remember I have been using the term “Superhero” when speaking about a goody comic book character and in that time I have never really thought to myself ‘What defines a Superhero?’.

With the question ‘What defines a Superhero?, what I am asking is what makes a Superhero different from just a hero and what defines them, especially in the comic book world, what makes a Superhero different from all the others in a costume with a secret identity?

Here are entries for Superhero from the first two dictionaries I checked online.

Superhero:

“A fictional hero having extraordinary or superhuman powers; also: an exceptionally skilful or successful person”

And

“A benevolent fictional character with superhuman powers, such as Superman”

This doesn’t really give me enough to answer the question and is where I start to get confused. For instance when we talk about guys in the mould of Ghost Rider and The Punisher who are quite happy to kill for the great of good are they Superheroes? And what about like Magneto and people like him because when he turned all good and joined the X-Men team do we now call him a superhero even though he has killed so many people in the past because he WAS a Supervillain but then turned good?

I have been thinking about the question now for five days or so because I wrote the above last week before work got a hold of me.

I have managed (I think) to define what I would class as a ‘Superhero’, It may not be the ‘official’ view of what a Superhero is and I would highly imagine the definition of Superhero differs from each person to the next but here is what I broke mine into and what from now on I will use it to define a Superhero.

The first thing to take into account is that Superheroes don't necessarily have to have superpowers. Batman, Green Arrow, Nightwing to name just three don’t have superpowers, yes the all have amazing talents but no ‘actual’ superpowers and yet I would class all three as Superhero’s.

People like Punisher, Ghost Rider, and Magneto like I mentioned before do not in my eyes class as a Superhero because there are a few rules one has to have to get ‘Super’ added to that Hero part in my eyes.

The rules I am talking about are not many but I believe needed to define and help separate the Superhero from the hero.

First up and MOST importantly is the moral code and what they live by, when out fighting crime and doing the greater good, which options do they chose?
Sometimes the most honourable or heroes may have to be non heroic and walk away, they may have to chose an option they don’t want too and don’t like but for them It’s about doing the right thing no matter how much vengeance or revenge is there, no matter who it is every life is equal.

Second and last rule is that they have to have either a superpower or a special talent and use it to fight a good fight, use the power/talent to try and make earth and which ever other planets they are on a better place. Fight for Truth, Justice and Honour.

I could go on and define each of my two rules more but the article is getting on a bit and we all know I can waffle so ill stop it there.

I will finish by saying the list of people I used to call a superhero has about halved.

Regards

Muldwych

The misses and I took our kids to a Halloween party on Saturday where I got my picture taken with a pregnant Batman (see image, that's me on the left).

This image led on to a conversation at work today which I found quite fascinating and led me to a few questions which I thought I would share as an article with you.

My work colleague said after seeing the picture “Well it can’t really be Batman as they are pregnant and Bruce Wayne being a guy is not going to fall pregnant is he?”

I could see where they were coming from BUT I then felt compelled to start explaining the multiverse concept to them whilst simultaneously explaining Flashpoint too.

I was explaining that in flashpoint ‘The Flash (Barry Allen)’ in his attempt at saving his mother's life went back in time to stop the killer which in avertedly alters the entire course of history in the DC Universe, it changes Batman to become Thomas Wayne and not his son Bruce, it also changes The Joker to become Martha Wayne and not the guy we have known for so long, not to mention what happens to everyone else in the DC Universe like Kal-El, Aquaman, Hal and Wonder Woman to name just a few whose lives were altered by Flashpoint.

Take this into account with the multiverse (or meta-universe, metaverse) which is the hypothetical set of multiple possible universes (including the historical universe we consistently experience and mainly read about in the DC comics) that together comprise everything that exists and can exist: the entirety of space, time, matter, and energy as well as the physical laws and constants that describe them, then I think that the possibility for a pregnant Batman is there or thereabout.

The DC Multiverse consists of numerous worlds, most of them outside DC's main continuity or the DC universe where our main DC hero’s live. The first time DC used this was way back in 1953 where Wonder Woman fell through a space-time warp and encountered her other self, so tell me why couldn’t a flashpoint type scenario have happened on one of the multiverse universes, its earth 1, 2, 3, or whatever???

NOW taking all this into account AND the fact there is already a guy who gave birth to children (Thomas Beatie), granted he used to be a woman but lives his life as a man and gave birth to the children as a man (if you haven’t seen before please check Google) this leaves me with a few questions.

Could a multiverse Batman who has gone through a Flashpoint event become pregnant?

Could Batman go though a possible transgender operation on a multiverse which turns him from a man into a female that can give birth?

Could this Flashpoint type event have altered Thomas and Martha’s pregnancy which in turn then makes Bruce Wayne a she who could then become a man and give birth?

Could multiverse Bat's get a woman's womb implanted into him to carry a child?

So many questions/theories my head may explode!!!!!!!!

Time for me to finish for the week but before I go I will tell you that YES!!!! This is the stuff that goes through my head on a daily basis, so if you ever speak to my misses please say well done as she has to put up with this type of conversations on a daily basis.

Regards

Muldwych

A little while ago, I covered the upcoming addition of Bunker to the Teen Titans team in this column. Now, as part of that, I mentioned how I thought it was a shame that they wouldn’t be focusing on people having negative reactions to him and his sexuality in the book, especially not from his fellow team mates.

Now, it has been asked of me why I think that’s a shame, and isn’t it better that a state of total acceptance is shown. And yes, that would be lovely in the real world, certainly. And when we get to that stage when it is the norm, then yes, we should definitely only have sexuality in comics handled as such. But sadly, that isn’t how it is in the real world. This is fiction we are talking about too, but sometimes fiction bears some powerful responsibilities in the context of the real world it’s released into.

My thoughts on this are maybe a little complicated, and I myself have been struggling to clarify it, so bear with me.

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Whatever you want to call him, there’s no doubting that Frankenstein’s Creature is one of the most iconic creations of all time, and yet it’s hard to say what the definitive image of the Creature should be. If you turn to Mary Shelley’s original novel, the Creature within is an eloquent, intelligent being, who genuinely cares for the people he considers his family, but is also full of rage and loneliness, and is capable of acts of great evil, such as the murder of Frankenstein’s young son and wife. He is described in the book as being eight feet tall, with translucent yellow skin, watery eyes, black hair and white teeth. However, when it comes to Frankenstein’s Creature on screen, there have been so many different, wildly varying versions, both in terms of the physicality of the Creature and the way in which he is portrayed as a character, that picking the five best is a tough challenge.

Yes, when you mention Frankenstein’s Creature, the image which pops into most people’s heads is that of Boris Karloff in the classic Universal Frankenstein films of the nineteen-thirties, a fact reflected in the public vote for this week, which Karloff walked (or lumbered) away with by a mile. But Karloff’s is only one interpretation of a character who has been portrayed in almost any way you care to think of. What follows here, moreso than last week’s column on Doctor Frankenstein himself, is, rather than anything claiming to be the definitive top five, merely a choice selection of five Creatures, each completely different from the last, from the funny, to the sympathetic, to the calculating, to the monstrous, to the downright bizarre.

If you read last weeks column, then many of these choices won’t come as any great surprise, but I think there may be one entry here which you won’t have seen coming.

Also, special mentions to some of the actors who were considered for the list, but didn’t quite make the cut. Dave Prowse’s turn from The Horror of Frankenstein was strongly considered for a good long while, though I surprised myself by never really giving Lon Chaney Jr or Bela Lugosi, who both played the Creature at one point or another for Universal, a shot at the top five, as their performances as the Creature, especially for two such highly regarded actors of the genre, were ultimately quite disappointing.

So, who is on the list? There’s an easy way to find out.

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There have been so many good comic book adaptation movie's released in recent years like the Ironman, Spiderman and Batman movies with more recently Green Lantern (yes I liked this film), X-Men: First Class, Captain America not to mention movies coming to our screens very soon that I am excited about like the Batman sequel ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ (2012), Spider-Man reboot ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ (2012) and the next Superman instalment Man of Steel (2013).

Along with the movies there is has been and still are some great TV shows both Animated and Live action for example Smallville, Avengers: Earths Mightiest Heroes, Batman: Brave and the Bold and not to mention the totally brilliant Walking Dead from Robert Kirkman along with the soon to come Green Lantern Animated series.

This is fantastic for comic book fans like you and I. This got me thinking, what if I could choose which was to be made next what would I pick?

After thinking about this for a while I have chosen four that I would love to see. It would be far to big a column if I chose script writers, directors and the like so all I have done is choose the medium, the comic I would like seen transformed and lastly the main actor/actress role and who I would like to see play them.

If you have any ideas as to what you would like to see please leave a comment telling me or hit me up on twitter and let me know.

Witch Doctor - Dr Vincent Morrow played by Michael Sheen

First up is my beloved Witch Doctor, I would ABSOLUTLY LOVE this comic to be given a TV deal in the same way as Walking Dead has. Brandon Seifert could help with the writing as Kirkman has done with walking dead, it would be amazing. In the lead role of Dr Vincent Morrow I could only see one person and that one person just happens to be my favourite actor in the world Michael Sheen. He not only looks a bit like Dr Morrow but he would bring that depth to the character we see in the comic to screen so well and I think it would be a smash hit.

Aquaman – Arthur Curry played by Daniel Craig

Three films ive chosen now the first of which is Aquaman, this has been the surprise smash hit of the DC new 52 titles,I think with the right direction and making him more gritty and less comedy that the film would be amazing. Ive put Daniel Craig in the role here as I think for a less comedy approach he would be great.

Animal Man – Bernhard "Buddy" Baker played by Ewan McGregor

Another DC new title here and another male, Animal Man has been one of the best received comics of the relaunch and if there was ever a time to capitalise on this with a movie its now. Ive chosen a Welshman for Witchdoctor, an Englishman for Aquaman and now a Scotsman for Animal Man, step forward Ewan McGregor, not only an amazing actor but a Jedi too how could this possibly fail.

Suicide Squad – Harley Quinn played by Zooey Deschanel

Ok lastly is another DC title and to be perfectly honest ive chosen suicide squad with Zooey Deschanel just because I would love to see her in the new Harley Quinn outfit, I am a red blooded straight male what can I say. I do though, firmly believe that she would great in the role, she has a real cheekiness about her and is not a waif like so many actresses that I could totally see her in the sexy uniform swinging a big hammer about.

This may not seem entirely comics related, but hey, it’s my column, so shut up, bear with me, and we’ll see where this goes.

This week sees Heroes and Star Trek actor Zachary Quinto come out of a frankly transparent closet and announce to the world that yes, he is gay after all; to which the world replied with a collective “Well, duh, but thanks for finally being open with us anyway.” Now, I by no means mean to belittle his statements, nor do I feel any ire at him for taking so long. I can understand the situation he was in. However, I do heartily commend him on making this move of being open and letting the world know another member of the LGBTQ community is out there, and is someone they’ve welcomed into their homes and Cineplex’s with joy.

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So it started back in August, the 31st to be precise,
Some people were so hot for it and others cold as ice,
Some people saying that DC had destroyed and sold its soul,
For me comics is my music and DC my new rock and roll,

How can it be a bad thing with so many titles sold out?
The buzz it’s created for comics in the whole wide world throughout,
I don’t think that all are amazing but I still wouldn’t call them a waste,
I put it down to different people, who all have a different taste,

Ive stayed with all my favourites and have added new as well,
Would I call it a massive success? I suppose really only time can tell,
The Batman family comics in my pull list come to nine,
Of my 21 DC comic’s I call these lot here my spine,

All four Superman titles I am reading, so please add these to my list,
Green Lantern’s there, all of them too, because I couldn’t just resist,
I could go on but you get the gist about what this all means to me,
Quality writing and fantastic art on most you can guarantee,

Reservations, there were loads but I really shouldn’t have had a worry,
Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne, Barry Allan still rock and even now Arthur Curry,
To top that off, hot chicks there’s loads most showing lots of skin,
Ill admit I am getting suicide squad, but only to see Harley Quinn,

Two months in now I still feel the same and I am even getting two mini series,
The mystery woman who the hell is she? Ive now read so many theories,
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed as its time for me to conclude,
But one last thing I want to say FFS CATWOMAN WAS NOT TOO RUDE.

Alex Muldwych Giles

For a while now, I’ve been toying with branching out with my Behind the Masks column, and looking at characters who didn’t start out in the world of comics. Not to say they haven’t appeared in comics at all, of course, as you’d be hard pressed these days to find a character who hasn’t, but certainly the characters we’ll be looking at over the next three weeks are more famous for their appearances in films and novels than for the comics. With Halloween fast approaching, we’ll be taking a gander at three characters who can easily be labelled icons of horror, starting with arguably the original (and best) mad scientist, Doctor Victor Frankenstein.

This column presented a challenge for two fundamental reasons. The first reason, which is also shared by the next two columns I’ll be tackling, is that there have simply been so many versions of Frankenstein in film and TV that it’s hard to pick just five versions to hold up as the best. Especially since, with the sheer number of Frankensteins available, I haven’t actually seen each and every one out there. So instead of a definitive list (which all my other columns clearly have been), consider this simply a choice selection from a range of Frankesteins, though by no means all of them. That said, anyone who disagrees with the number one choice is a wrong person.

The second problem is, which performances do I consider? When I threw the voting open to you, my lovely readers (and you are lovely), there were votes coming in for Gene Wilder, Basil Rathbone and Boris Karloff. Now, while all three have played characters named Frankenstein, they weren’t technically playing the original Doctor Victor Frankenstein, but instead one of his descendents. So could they be considered eligible? I wrestled with this for a while, and in the end, decided that yes, they could. While they’re not playing the same Frankenstein, the character they do play fits the same purpose within the confines of the story they appeared in, reflecting certain aspects of the character of Victor Frankenstein who appeared in the original novel and displaying a very similar relationship to his creature as their forefather. So, votes for these actors were counted, and one or two of them may appear in the list which follows.

However you count it though, your favourite Doctor Frankenstein was the legendary Peter Cushing, and who could argue with that? Well, those of you who voted Colin Clive into a close second, probably. But which side will Behind the Masks fall on?

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Since I’ve been writing this column, it’s been all about the male superheroes and villains. There have been pictures of actors such as James Marsters, Chris Hemsworth and Michael Rosenbaum for the ladies (and fellow Sidekick, Joe Glass) to swoon over. Many of the votes I’ve received from female fans for their favourite actors to play the characters I’ve covered have ended with words to the effect of “because he’s hot.” Sorry ladies, it’s true.

Well, this week, it’s the mens turn, as I turn Behind the Masks to possibly the sexiest lady to ever grace the printed page, and take a look at the actresses who have portrayed Catwoman.

This column was probably the toughest one for me to write yet. It turns out there have been a lot of great Catwomen over the years, and there are some shocking omissions from this list. Those who know me well enough will be surprised at the absence of Eliza Dushku, but with Batman: Year One not having been released yet, I couldn’t really include her by my own rules. Gina Gershon’s turn in The Batman was out of the running fairly early on, but it was only as I started actually writing that I dropped Eartha Kitt from the list. Likewise, the top five itself kept on changing, with my top two constantly swapping positions, even halfway through writing the entry for them, as did my three and four. Obviously, Halle Berry’s awful, awful version did not make the cut.

The votes for your favourite Catwoman were also close, which wasn’t much help for me, but in the end Michelle Pfeiffer just (by one vote) edged out Julie Newmar for the top spot, with one vote telling me that “Michelle Pfeiffer is how you spell M’rowr”. So, who tops my list?

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Recently, it’s been announced that Teen Titans, as part of its New 52 reboot/relaunch, will be seeing a new gay member, in the form of the awkwardly named Bunker:

Bunker, real name Miguel Jose Barragan, is also Mexican, Catholic and camper than a row of tents (at least visually, as we have yet to see him in the pages on the comic actually speaking). He creates some kind of weird purple energy/telekinetic barriers, and his homosexuality is apparently a fundamental part of his character, so it will be focused on and dealt with, whilst still showing that he is heroic and a badass new member to the team.

But wait, what was that one word I used to describe him?

Camp, flamboyant, a flamer, queeny, gayer than the day is long, out and proud and throwing his hands around in such a fashion that there’s a genuine danger they could fling off him and cause a major traffic accident.

Hell, we can see it in one of the first images shared by artist Brett Booth, where Miguel appears to dress when out of his costume in a style of fashion not a million miles away from current famous gay teen, Kurt Hummel of Glee.

Bright, colourful, and a definite statement, it’s still an improvement on his rather garish superhero costume.

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