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

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

Secret Identity:

“A secret identity is an element of fiction wherein a character develops a separate persona (usually adopting a pseudonym), while keeping their true identity hidden. The character also may wear a disguise (ranging from makeup or a mask, to a complete costume). A character may have several types of secret identities simultaneously (such as adopted names, pen names, undercover identities, and crime fighting codenames).”

Now one of my BIGGEST gripes when I was younger was about superheroes identities and why no one noticed that the likes of Clark Kent was Superman and that Bruce Wayne was Batman.

Now that I have thought about it a bit more for this article I now accept it and feel I can understand why they get away with it.

Obviously, first and foremost, it comes down to suspension of belief and if you are reading a comic or watching a superhero film then you like to escape to a fantasy realm and believe that for instance some humans can defy the rules of gravity and nature or that aliens can come down to earth to help protect it by using superpowers.

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BEWARE: SPOILERS FOR STORMWATCH #1!

Last week saw the release of Stormwatch #1 from DC, written by Paul Cornell and with art by Miguel Sepulveda. More importantly, it features the return, or perhaps more accurately the introduction, of Apollo and Midnighter; two of comics most renowned homosexual characters.

As you may recall from earlier editions of Tales, I wondered how we might find these characters represented, what this would mean for LGBTQ representation in comics as a whole, and also how this marries up with DC’s claims of a broader, more diverse and inclusive universe.

With the issue finally out, I felt I should say something about it. However, I admit this is proving the hardest entry to write…because there’s not an awful lot to say. Maybe that in itself is worth exploring.

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Before I start this article I would like to say that these views are me Alex ‘Muldwych’ Giles and not those of the Sidekick Website.

I am not a religious person anymore but growing up I did go to church and was a member of the Boys Brigade as well as attending Sunday School more times than I care to remember, even winning a leather clad bible with my initials engraved on it for ‘biblical knowledge’ and I have no problem telling you all as an adult I did some soul searching into why we are here and the bigger questions in life before after my 2 year voyage of discovery realising that it was a load of nonsense and becoming a ‘Humanist Atheist’.

So when it comes to believing and worshiping a higher power I think I know a little bit about it, so when I read an article on the blog The Kobayashi Maru(e) about how Superman is easily the most misunderstood fictional figure in modern popular culture and how he would like to be more like Superman as he grows up, it struck a nerve with me.

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Superman is the greatest and most powerful superhero in the DC Universe. You all know the drill, faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. And yet, his greatest enemy, the one man he can never truly defeat, is a megalomaniacal bald bloke with a penchant for nice suits.

Lex Luthor is the archetypal supervillain, the polar opposite of his nemesis. Where Superman is physically powerful, Luthor’s greatest asset is his mind. Superman is decent, upstanding and completely selfless, Luthor is shallow, nasty and thinks of nobody but himself. But what sets Luthor apart from other supervillains are his goals. While he’s never going to stop seeking more money and power, his ultimate goal is simple. He wants to kill Superman. Luthor can’t stand that there’s someone in Metropolis who is more powerful, and more loved, than he is. That’s it. Pure, simple, jealousy. Everything Luthor does is ultimately about destroying the Man of Steel, and he takes everything Superman does personally. There’s a short speech from Luthor in JLA #11, written by Grant Morrison, which sums up his relationship with Superman perfectly:-

“There have been ‘Justice Leagues’ before, of course. I’ve indulged their existence. Let them conduct their colourful public brawls, like drunken sailors with a Hollywood budget. Let them play their games. I could have destroyed any of those organizations at any time. I chose not to. Until now. Until Superman. I would have overlooked this latest media-friendly pantomime by creatures whose very existence makes a mockery of human achievement. I would even have been prepared to indulge the astonishing arrogance of their lunar clubhouse. But for Superman. I take his leadership of this preposterous team of alpha males as a direct challenge, a throwing down of the gauntlet, a clear escalation of hostilities between us. I intend to utterly destroy Superman’s private army, and to do so I have assembled the perfect weapons…”

Superman takes up leadership of the League, never even giving Luthor a second thought, and Luthor genuinely believes that it’s all about him. This is why he’s such a good adversary for the Last Son of Krypton. He doesn’t know how to be anything else.

Luthor on screen has been tackled by a lot of different actors, many of whom have gotten it shockingly wrong. There seems to be a propensity to portray Luthor as a cackling, pantomime villain, ignoring any of the quieter moments which make the character so menacing and launching into full on over the top histrionics *cough* Kevin Spacey *cough*. But, there have also been a few actors who just get Luthor.

I was quite surprised at the results of your votes for the best Luthor of all time, which was won by Smallville’s Michael Rosenbaum. I was genuinely expecting Gene Hackman to clinch the top spot. But who features on my list of great Luthors? Let’s find out...

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Choosing which comics to have in your pull list can be a strenuous thing given the sheer amount of comic books released on a weekly basis and coupled with the price means you can pretty much bankrupt yourself if you are not careful.

From discussions on the interweb and in forums its clear to be seen that very few people can get every comic they want which leaves us all with the age old comic book collector question, to pull or not to pull?

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The first half of this book is a stylish and entertaining history of comics.. I was already familiar with the history of comics but Grant Morrison brings an intelligent and insightful perspective to it. At around the half way mark the history of comics catches up with his own life story which then proceeds to engulf the narrative.

I would never have bought an autobiography of Grant Morrison but that is essentially what the book is. It's filled with self-indulgent details about his life. At one point he tells us about what he used to have for breakfast in 1986. He has a tendency to write himself in to his fictional works and he could not help but put himself at centre stage again.

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So recently I have been getting back into comics, which if you read my article here you will already know. It has been around 7-10 weeks now since I started my standing order (pull list) and since then I got my hands on some back issues for Batman Incorporated and am trying to snap up some All-Star Superman as well.

Since returning to comics I have come across a couple of things I’ve noticed that weren’t apparent in the industry when I was previously collecting. The first, which I’d like to discuss now, is the over use of superheroes and the amount of comics they appear in each month.

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Ok, I’m out of my comfort zone this week, and have been asking for your views on the 10 best DC crossovers/events. This is your list, so, if there’s something missing, then it’s your fault. In my opinion there are some glaring omissions from list, which I will address at the end of the top ten.

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