THE GREATEST AMERICAN HERO

I have been a big fan of comic books since I was in high school. I can always remember the 1990's when I decided to collect and read them as a hobby. They became a source of entertainment and learning for me.
For some kids, it's TV or computer games, but for me, it's comic books.

The hobby was an on/off hobby for me due to financial and personal reasons. My collection and accumulation amassed and there are stuff that I like and don't like. There are also characters that I felt stood out and those that are lame ducks. Which now leads me to writing this article.

Though I have been a Marvel fan, Batman has to be the most popular comic book character of all time. I myself fell in love with the character after I bought what is considered his best work, "The Dark Knight Returns" by Frank Miller. This story, though not in continuity, made me fall in love with the character. I bought other Batman comics at that time. At the same period in the 1990's, the same author teamed up with then superstar artist John Romita Jr. to work on Daredevil: The Man Without Fear. The mini-series chronicles a rewriting of Daredevil's origin by Miller and Romita Jr. I considered this one of the best comics I've read and became a very big fan of the character until now.But he's not the one I have in mind.

Most of us will have to say that the greatest American hero will be from the dawn of the heroes, mainly the Golden Age of comics:Superman, Batman, Captain America, and maybe even Wonder Woman. But none of them compares with the hero I consider to be the greatest:SPIDER-MAN.

Yup, ol' webhead. see, I didn't own a lot of Spider-man comics. The only time this character got into my radar was when he was drawn by a guy by the name of Todd McFarlane. He was considered as one of the best artists in Spider-man history, as well as my favorite artists at that time. He breathed new life into this character. When he left, other artists like Erik Larsen and Mark Bagley followed, but they never captured the magic that McFarlane made of the character. But as I matured in my comic book reading, Spider-man came off the radar. The only time he became relevant again was the set of Spider-Man movies by director Sam Raimi and lead actor Tobey Maguire in the early 2000's. Then he went into limbo again, only resurfacing just recently. But what makes him the greatest, better than the Man of Steel or the Dark Knight, two icons that define American superhero comics?

1.) "People don't like spiders"-That's what Publisher Martin Goodman told then writer Stan Lee about his concept. I mean, imagine a superhero named after an insect? Imagine spiders creeping up and down the ceiling. Gives you the chills right? At that time Goodman thinks that Stan lost his marbles.

2.) He's a teenager-Come on, a teenager? Really? Ain't teenagers supposed to be sidekicks? I mean like Robin, Bucky and Toro? Ok, Johnny Storm (The Human Torch of the Fantastic Four) wasn't one, but he was in fact part of a larger group. I mean, he goes solo. A sixteen year old? and Spider-man? How about Spider-boy? That's also one of the reasons why he wears a full mask.It hides his boyish features, and also it muffled his voice so he's not easily recognized.

3.) The comic issue where he made his debut was about to be axed- As crazy a concept is Spider-man, Publisher Martin Goodman gave a green light to have the story published in the final issue of Amazing Fantasy#15. Even if the fans didn't like it, it was just fine since the magazine is going to be axed anyway. So, there's no problem there. He gave it a go. And we know the rest is history.

4.)"With great power comes great responsibility"-Having let the burglar escape when he would have stopped him, this same man killed his Uncle Ben. It was then that young Peter Parker knew what he would have to do with his new found powers. Instead of using it to gain wealth, he used these powers to help those people who can't defend themselves. He knew this at a tender age of sixteen. This has been the reason why he wore the mask until now.         

Also, for longtime readers of Spider-man's adventures, you probably know about the villains, supporting casts, loves of his life, his titanic team-ups with other great heroes as well as the wealth of stories famous creators like Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, John Romita Sr., Gerry Conway, Gil Kane, Roger Stern, John Romita Jr., and others wrote about him. Right now, we can read them in trade paperbacks that collect all that wealth of stories for him.

He still remained the best character ever created for pop culture. It is not to say that he has his share of bad stories and all, but at the core of him is a hero that defied certain expectations, and gave us a hero of whom we call as an "ordinary guy". We are Spider-man.

BRIAN LUCIANO
AUGUST 7,2019                           

HOW BRIGHTBURN SHOWS US A DIFFERENT VIEW ON SUPERHEROES

The year 2019 is again taken by storm by superhero movies, Captain Marvel (March), Shazam (April 5) and and the Big Daddy of them all, Avengers:Endgame (April 29). These big movies gave us a view that these beings of great power have come to save the world from big threats. They can range from power hungry aliens to mad scientists. But what would happen if these so called heroes of ours use their powers instead on us? Enter this movie: BRIGHTBURN

The movie produced by James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy), and tells of a Superman like story of a young boy named Brandon Breyer. He was adopted by a loving couple that raised him as their own child. However, as he grows up, he notices that he is special and different from other people. He now learns the secret: he came from another planet. With this knowledge however, he does not use his abilities to help mankind, but to suppress them. He knows that he is superior to them. He also has voices in his head saying, "TAKE THE WORLD". Then he turns on the people that raised him, and begins his plans for world conquest.

This movie offers us an opposite view of the heroes that we love. Instead of the loving and caring heroes that are willing to sacrifice their lives for a common good, they are not hesitant in actually taking lives. I also forgot to state that the antagonist/protagonist of the film is a 12 year old boy.
He's almost the same age as the character in the movie Shazam (Billy Batson) and a little younger than Peter Parker (MCU Spider-man). But while these characters act their age, Brandon is different. He already has a view of what he wants. In one scene, his mother found softcore porn pictures and clippings on human anatomy. Because of his intelligence, he already knows and studies as even at that age. Another thing is that he is not hesitant to take the lives of people. There are very grotesque deaths that occurred in the movie. As movie ends, he ends up killing more people than he ever could. This maybe just the beginning.

Brightburn deconstructs the way we view our beloved heroes. This is considered possibly a hate letter to Superman, a beloved comic book character. But the thing is, there is more of an underlying tone in here. Some people see Superman as a hero, a model of heroism. But the truth is, this movie just exposes who he really is.Note that unless you are living under a rock, we are now living in the Last Days. Movies like this would tell much more about the man of sin, of the great wonders and signs that he would do. He will deceive many people, and will go on to make war with the saints. This movie exposes and gives us a view of this great and powerful being which will be Satan's masterpiece o the Earth. The concept of a Superman has been around since olden times. And yes, Superman is not a being of heroism, but of evil. This movie just lifts the veil of who he really is.

In closing, this movie strips away the tropes that inhabit our current comic book heroes. Bright costumes, great smiles, stories of sacrifice, destroying evil, saving lives. Here, even if the main character was raised in love and kindness, he still embraced what he is: A conqueror and a taker of life. I hope this will reveal more about the heroes that we all love and adore, and not everyone makes a sacrifice, but sacrifices the lives of innocent people.

BRIAN LUCIANO
MAY 30, 2019