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Mickey Mouse
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Mickey Mouse is an American cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime icon and mascot of the Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large shoes, and white gloves. He is often depicted alongside his girlfriend Minnie Mouse, his pet dog Pluto, his friends Donald Duck and Goofy and his nemesis Pete among others (see Mickey Mouse universe).
Mickey was created as a replacement for a prior Disney character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. The character was originally to be named "Mortimer Mouse", until Disney's wife, Lillian, suggested "Mickey". Mickey first appeared in two 1928 shorts "Plane Crazy" and "The Gallopin' Gaucho" (which were not picked up for distribution) before his public debut in "Steamboat Willie" (1928). The character went on to appear in over 130 films, mostly shorts as well as features such as "Fantasia" (1940). Since 1930, Mickey has been featured extensively in comic strips (including the "Mickey Mouse" comic strip, which ran for 45 years) and comic books (such as "Mickey Mouse"). The character has also been featured in television series such as "The Mickey Mouse Club" (1955–1996).
Inspired by such silent film personalities as Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks, Mickey is traditionally characterized as a sympathetic underdog who gets by on pluck and ingenuity in the face of challenges bigger than himself. The character's depiction as a small mouse is personified through his diminutive stature and falsetto voice, the latter of which was originally provided by Walt Disney. Though originally characterized as a cheeky lovable rogue, Mickey was rebranded over time as a more conventionally friendly protagonist, usually seen as a spirited, yet impulsive hero.
Mickey also appears in media such as video games as well as merchandising and is a meetable character at the Disney parks. He is one of the world's most recognizable and universally acclaimed fictional characters. Ten of Mickey's cartoons were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, one of which, "Lend a Paw", won the award in 1941. In 1978, Mickey became the first cartoon character to have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Creation.
Mickey Mouse was created as a replacement for Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, an earlier cartoon character that was created by the Disney studio but owned at the time by Universal Pictures. Charles Mintz served as a middleman producer between Disney and Universal through his company, Winkler Pictures, for the series of cartoons starring Oswald. In a February 1928 meeting with Mintz to renew the Oswald contract, Disney was met by a disappointing budget cut proposal, along with Mintz's revelation that several of the most important Disney animators were coming over to his studio. Among the few who stayed at the Disney studio were animator Ub Iwerks, apprentice artist Les Clark, and Wilfred Jackson.
A new character was workshopped out of necessity and in relative secret. Various myths exist of Walt Disney's inspiration for Mickey (including some which were likely ghostwritten), such as that the starving artist drew inspiration from a tame mouse (or pair of mice) at his desk at Laugh-O-Gram Studio in Kansas City, Missouri, or that he undertook a romantic search for inspiration on the train ride home from his disappointing meeting with Mintz. At Disney's behest, Iwerks sketched new character ideas based on various animals such as dogs and cats, but none of these appealed to Disney. A female cow and male horse were rejected, as was a male frog. In 1925, Hugh Harman drew some sketches of mice around a photograph of Walt Disney, reputedly based on Disney's own designs (similar to those he included on family birthday cards). These inspired Iwerks to create a new mouse character for Disney.
"Mortimer Mouse" had been Disney's original name for the character before his wife, Lillian, convinced him to change it. It has been speculated that Disney saw the name on a similarly named Performo toy. Additionally, actor Mickey Rooney claimed that during his time performing as the title character of the "Mickey McGuire" film series (1927–1934), he met Walt Disney at the Warner Bros. studio, inspiring Disney to name the character after him; however, Disney Studios was located on Hyperion Avenue at the time, with Disney conducting no business at Warner Bros.
The first feature-length movie with dialogue sequences, "The Jazz Singer" starring Al Jolson, was released on October 6, 1927. Several additional talkies followed, and movie theaters began installing the necessary equipment. Walt Disney reputedly discussed making sound cartoons in late May 1928. After composer Carl W. Stalling initially voiced Mickey for the 1929 talkie shorts "The Karnival Kid" and "Wild Waves", Disney himself provided the often-shy falsetto voice—a large part of the character's onscreen persona.
Design.
Mickey's original design strongly resembled Oswald the Rabbit, save for the ears, nose, and tail. Ub Iwerks designed Mickey's body out of circles (distinctly, the ears) to make the character easy to animate.
Upon his creation, Mickey's features shared similarities to a number of his cartoon predecessors with large eyes and mouth on a black body (e.g. Oswald and Felix the Cat). From early 1929, Mickey also wore white gloves (similar to those appearing on later characters, e.g. Bosko and Bimbo). Several sources state that this scheme evolved from blackface caricatures used in minstrel shows.
Additionally, Mickey's original black hands could not be seen if they passed in front of his torso. This limitation encouraged animators to base their poses on silhouette, much in the manner of Charlie Chaplin films.
Minnie Mouse was designed similarly to Mickey, with only superficial details being different. In the 1930s, animator Fred Moore tried giving Mickey's body more of a pear shape to increase his acting range; Walt Disney liked this adaptation and declared, "that's the way I want Mickey to be drawn from now on." Moore maintained that the character should always be drawn from a pleasing angle, ears included, as opposed to depicting Mickey as a realistic 3D character.
Mickey's eyes were originally large and white with black outlines, with the tops able to deform like eyebrows; the pupil was circular (with a triangle cut out in poster to simulate reflected light). Starting with "Steamboat Willie", the bottom portion of the black outlines was removed, often making the pupil placement look strange. The pupils began to be treated as stationary, dotlike eyes, requiring the entire head to be moved to make Mickey look around. During the production of "Fantasia" in the late 1930s, Fred Moore redesigned Mickey with small white pupilled eyes, with the redefined facial area being given a light skin color. Distinct, lined eyebrows were later added and are currently used occasionally.
Besides Mickey's gloves and shoes, he typically wears only a pair of shorts with two large buttons in the front. Before Mickey was seen regularly in color animation, Mickey's shorts were either red or a dull blue-green. With the advent of Mickey's color films, they were always red. When Mickey is not wearing his shorts, he is often still wearing red clothing. Due to budgetary limits imposed by World War II, Mickey temporarily lost his tail, e.g. in "The Little Whirlwind" (1941).
Appearances.
Film.
Debut (1928).
Mickey was first seen in a test screening of the cartoon short "Plane Crazy", on May 15, 1928, but it failed to impress the audience and Walt could not find a distributor for it. Walt went on to produce a second Mickey short, "The Gallopin' Gaucho", which was also not released for lack of a distributor.
"Steamboat Willie" was first released on November 18, 1928, in New York. It was by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. Iwerks again served as the head animator, assisted by Les Clark, Johnny Cannon, Wilfred Jackson and Dick Lundy. This short was a nod to Buster Keaton's "Steamboat Bill, Jr.", released earlier that year. Although it was the third Mickey cartoon produced, it was the first to find a distributor, and thus is considered by The Disney Company as Mickey's debut. It also featured some design refinements, and included the use of a bouncing ball on the film print to allow conductors and musicians to match the tempo of their music with the film.
The cartoon was not the first cartoon to feature a soundtrack connected to the action. Fleischer Studios, headed by brothers Dave and Max Fleischer, had already released a number of sound cartoons using the DeForest system in the mid-1920s. However, these cartoons did not keep the sound synchronized throughout the film. For "Willie", Disney had the sound recorded with a click track that kept the musicians on the beat. This precise timing is apparent during the "Turkey in the Straw" sequence when Mickey's actions exactly match the accompanying instruments. Animation historians have long debated who had served as the composer for the film's original music. This role has been variously attributed to Wilfred Jackson, Carl Stalling and Bert Lewis, but identification remains uncertain. Walt Disney himself was voice actor for both Mickey and Minnie and would remain the source of Mickey's voice through 1946 for theatrical cartoons. Jimmy MacDonald took over the role in 1946, but Walt provided Mickey's voice again from 1955 to 1959 for "The Mickey Mouse Club" television series on ABC.
Audiences at the time of "Steamboat Willie"s release were reportedly impressed by the use of sound for comedic purposes. Sound films or "talkies" were still considered innovative. Most other cartoon studios were still producing silent products and so were unable to effectively act as competition to Disney. As a result, Mickey would soon become the most prominent animated character of the time. Walt Disney soon worked on adding sound to both "Plane Crazy" and "The Gallopin' Gaucho" (which had originally been silent releases) and their new release added to Mickey's success and popularity. A fourth Mickey short, "The Barn Dance", was also put into production; however, Mickey does not actually speak until "The Karnival Kid" (1929). After "Steamboat Willie" was released, Mickey became a close competitor to Felix the Cat, and his popularity would grow as he was continuously featured in sound cartoons. By 1929, Felix would lose popularity among theater audiences, and Pat Sullivan decided to produce all future Felix cartoons in sound as a result. Audiences did not respond well to Felix's transition to sound and by 1930, Felix had faded from the screen.
Black and white films (1929–1935).
In Mickey's early films he was often characterized not as a hero, but as an ineffective young suitor to Minnie Mouse. "The Barn Dance" (March 14, 1929) is the first time in which Mickey is turned down by Minnie in favor of Pete. "The Opry House" (March 28, 1929) was the first time in which Mickey wore his white gloves. Mickey wears them in almost all of his subsequent appearances and many other characters followed suit. The three lines on the back of Mickey's gloves represent darts in the gloves' fabric extending from between the digits of the hand, typical of glove design of the era.
"When the Cat's Away" (April 18, 1929), essentially a remake of the "Alice Comedy", "Alice Rattled by Rats", was an unusual appearance for Mickey. Although Mickey and Minnie still maintained their anthropomorphic characteristics, they were depicted as the size of regular mice and living with a community of many other mice as pests in a home. Mickey and Minnie would later appear the size of regular humans in their own setting. In appearances with real humans, Mickey has been shown to be about two to three feet high. The next Mickey short was also unusual. "The Barnyard Battle" (April 25, 1929) was the only film to depict Mickey as a soldier and also the first to place him in combat. "The Karnival Kid" (1929) was the first time Mickey spoke. Before this he had only whistled, laughed, and grunted. His first words were "Hot dogs! Hot dogs!" said while trying to sell hot dogs at a carnival. "Mickey's Follies" (1929) introduced the song "Minnie's Yoo-Hoo" which would become the theme song for "Mickey Mouse" films until 1935. The same song sequence was also later reused with different background animation as its own special short shown only at the commencement of 1930s theater-based Mickey Mouse Clubs. Mickey's dog Pluto first appeared as Mickey's pet in "The Moose Hunt" (1931) after previously appearing as Minnie's dog "Rover" in "The Picnic" (1930).
"Wild Waves" was the last Mickey Mouse cartoon to be animated by Ub Iwerks. Iwerks left to start his own studio, bankrolled by Disney's then-distributor Pat Powers. Powers and Disney had a falling out over money due Disney from the distribution deal. It was in response to losing the right to distribute Disney's cartoons that Powers made the deal with Iwerks, who had long harbored a desire to head his own studio. The departure is considered a turning point in Mickey's career, as well as that of Walt Disney. Walt lost the man who served as his closest colleague and confidant since 1919. Mickey lost the man responsible for his original design and for the direction or animation of several of the shorts released till this point. Advertising for the early Mickey Mouse cartoons credited them as "A Walt Disney Comic, drawn by Ub Iwerks". Later Disney Company reissues of the early cartoons tend to credit Walt Disney alone. "Wild Waves" was also composer Carl Stalling's last film with the Walt Disney Studio. Stalling joined Iwerks at his new studio.
Disney and his remaining staff continued the production of the Mickey series, and he was able to eventually find a number of animators to replace Iwerks. As the Great Depression progressed and Felix the Cat faded from the movie screen, Mickey's popularity would rise, and by 1932 The Mickey Mouse Club would have one million members. At the 5th Academy Awards in 1932, Mickey received his first Academy Award nomination, received for "Mickey's Orphans" (1931). Walt Disney also received an honorary Academy Award for the creation of Mickey Mouse. Despite being eclipsed by the "Silly Symphony" short the "Three Little Pigs" in 1933, Mickey still maintained great popularity among theater audiences too, until 1935, when polls showed that Popeye was more popular than Mickey. By 1934, Mickey merchandise had earned $600,000 a year. In 1935, Disney began to phase out the Mickey Mouse Clubs, due to administration problems.
About this time, story artists at Disney were finding it increasingly difficult to write material for Mickey. As he had developed into a role model for children, they were limited in the types of gags they could present. This led to Mickey taking more of a secondary role in some of his next films, allowing for more emphasis on other characters. In "Orphan's Benefit" (1934), Mickey first appeared with Donald Duck who had been introduced earlier that year in the "Silly Symphony" series. The tempestuous duck would provide Disney with seemingly endless story ideas and would remain a recurring character in Mickey's cartoons.
Color films (1935–1953).
Mickey first appeared animated in color in "Parade of the Award Nominees" in 1932; however, the film strip was created for the 5th Academy Awards ceremony and was not released to the public. Mickey's official first color film came in 1935 with "The Band Concert". The Technicolor film process was used in the film production. Here Mickey conducted the "William Tell Overture", but the band is swept up by a tornado. It is said that conductor Arturo Toscanini so loved this short that, upon first seeing it, he asked the projectionist to run it again. In 1994, "The Band Concert" was voted the third-greatest cartoon of all time in a poll of animation professionals. By colorizing and partially redesigning Mickey, Walt put Mickey back on top once again. Mickey reach new heights of popularity. Also in 1935, Walt would receive a special award from the League of Nations for creating Mickey.
The second half of the 1930s saw the character Goofy reintroduced as a series regular. Together, Mickey, Donald Duck, and Goofy would go on several adventures together. Several of the films by the comic trio are some of Mickey's most critically acclaimed films, including "Mickey's Fire Brigade" (1935), "Moose Hunters" (1937), "Clock Cleaners" (1937), "Lonesome Ghosts" (1937), "Boat Builders" (1938), and "Mickey's Trailer" (1938). Also during this era, Mickey was the star in "Brave Little Tailor" (1938), an adaptation of "The Valiant Little Tailor", which was nominated for an Academy Award.
In 1939, Mickey appeared in "Mickey's Surprise Party", along with Minnie, with a new design, which included pupils. Later on, in 1940, the character appeared in his first feature-length film, "Fantasia". The film used the redesigned version of Mickey with the pupils. His screen role as The Sorcerer's Apprentice, set to the symphonic poem of the same name by Paul Dukas, is perhaps the most famous segment of the film and one of Mickey's most iconic roles. The apprentice (Mickey), not willing to do his chores, puts on the sorcerer's magic hat after the sorcerer goes to bed and casts a spell on a broom, which causes the broom to come to life and perform the most tiring chore—filling up a deep well using two buckets of water. When the well eventually overflows, Mickey finds himself unable to control the broom, leading to a near-flood. After the segment ends, Mickey is seen in silhouette shaking hands with conductor Leopold Stokowski. Mickey has often been pictured in the red robe and blue sorcerer's hat in merchandising. It was also featured into the climax of Fantasmic!, an attraction at the Disney theme parks.
After 1940, Mickey's popularity declined until his 1955 re-emergence as a daily children's television personality. Despite this, the character continued to appear regularly in animated shorts until 1943 (winning his only competitive Academy Award—with canine companion Pluto—for the short subject "Lend a Paw") and again from 1946 to 1952. In these later cartoons, Mickey was often just a supporting character in his own shorts. Pluto was instead used as the main character.
The last regular installment of the "Mickey Mouse" film series came in 1953 with "The Simple Things" in which Mickey and Pluto go fishing and are pestered by a flock of seagulls.
Television and later films.
In the 1950s, Mickey became more known for his appearances on television, particularly with "The Mickey Mouse Club". Many of his theatrical cartoon shorts were rereleased on television series such as "Ink & Paint Club", various forms of the Walt Disney anthology television series, and on home video. Mickey returned to theatrical animation in 1983 with "Mickey's Christmas Carol", an adaptation of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" in which Mickey played Bob Cratchit. This was followed up in 1990 with "The Prince and the Pauper".
Throughout the decades, Mickey Mouse competed with Warner Bros.' Bugs Bunny for animated popularity. But in 1988, the two rivals finally shared screen time in the Robert Zemeckis Disney/Amblin film "Who Framed Roger Rabbit". Disney and Warner signed an agreement stating that each character had the same amount of screen time in the scene.
Similar to his animated inclusion into a live-action film in "Roger Rabbit", Mickey made a featured cameo appearance in the 1990 television special "The Muppets at Walt Disney World" where he met Kermit the Frog. The two are established in the story as having been old friends, although they have not made any other appearance together outside of this.
His most recent theatrical cartoon short was 2013's "Get a Horse!" which was preceded by 1995's "Runaway Brain", while from 1999 to 2004, he appeared in direct-to-video features like "Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas", "" and "Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas".
Many television series have centered on Mickey, such as the ABC shows "Mickey Mouse Works" (1999–2000), "House of Mouse" (2001–2003), Disney Channel's "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" (2006–2016), "Mickey Mouse Mixed-Up Adventures" (2017–2021) and "Mickey Mouse Funhouse" (2021–present). Prior to all these, Mickey was also featured as an unseen character in the "Bonkers" episode "You Oughta Be In Toons".
In 2013, Disney Channel started airing new 3-minute "Mickey Mouse" shorts, with animator Paul Rudish at the helm, incorporating elements of Mickey's late twenties-early thirties look with a contemporary twist. On November 10, 2020, the series was revived as "The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse" and premiered on Disney+. Furthermore, The creative team behind the 2017 "DuckTales" reboot had hoped to have Mickey Mouse in the series, but this idea was rejected by Disney executives. However, a watermelon bearing Mickey's physical likeness appears in one episode as a ventriloquist dummy companion to Donald Duck.
In August 2018, ABC television announced a two-hour prime time special, "Mickey's 90th Spectacular", in honor of Mickey's 90th birthday. The program featured never-before-seen short videos and several other celebrities who wanted to share their memories about Mickey Mouse and performed some of the Disney songs to impress Mickey. The show took place at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles and was produced and directed by Don Mischer on November 4, 2018. On November 18, 2018, a 90th anniversary event for the character was celebrated around the world. In December 2019, both Mickey and Minnie served as special co-hosts of "Wheel of Fortune" for two weeks while Vanna White served as the main host during Pat Sajak's absence.
Mickey is the subject of the 2022 documentary film "", directed by Jeff Malmberg. Premiering at the South by Southwest film festival prior to its premiere on the Disney+ streaming service, the documentary examines the history and cultural impact of Mickey Mouse. The feature is accompanied by an original, hand-drawn animated short film starring Mickey titled "Mickey in a Minute".
Mickey appeared in Walt Disney Animation Studios' centennial short film, "Once Upon a Studio", in which he corrals the characters of Disney's animated features to take a group picture.
Comics.
Mickey first appeared in comics after he had appeared in 15 commercially successful animated shorts and was easily recognized by the public. Walt Disney was approached by King Features Syndicate with the offer to license Mickey and his supporting characters for use in a comic strip. Disney accepted and "Mickey Mouse" made its first appearance on January 13, 1930. The comical plot was credited to Disney himself, art to Ub Iwerks and inking to Win Smith. The first week or so of the strip featured a loose adaptation of "Plane Crazy". Minnie soon became the first addition to the cast. The strips first released between January 13, 1930, and March 31, 1930, have been occasionally reprinted in comic book form under the collective title "Lost on a Desert Island". Animation historian Jim Korkis notes, "After the eighteenth strip, Iwerks left and his inker, Win Smith, continued drawing the gag-a-day format."
In early 1930, after Iwerks' departure, Disney was at first content to continue scripting the Mickey Mouse comic strip, assigning the art to Win Smith. However, Disney's focus had always been in animation and Smith was soon assigned with the scripting as well. Smith was apparently discontent at the prospect of having to script, draw, and ink a series by himself as evidenced by his sudden resignation.
Disney then searched for a replacement among the remaining staff of the Studio. He selected Floyd Gottfredson, a recently hired employee. At the time Gottfredson was reportedly eager to work in animation and somewhat reluctant to accept his new assignment. Disney had to assure him the assignment was only temporary and that he would eventually return to animation. Gottfredson accepted and ended up holding this "temporary" assignment from May 5, 1930, to November 15, 1975.
Walt Disney's last script for the strip appeared May 17, 1930. Gottfredson's first task was to finish the storyline Disney had started on April 1, 1930. The storyline was completed on September 20, 1930, and later reprinted in comic book form as "Mickey Mouse in Death Valley". This early adventure expanded the cast of the strip which to this point only included Mickey and Minnie. Among the characters who had their first comic strip appearances in this story were Clarabelle Cow, Horace Horsecollar, and Black Pete as well as the debuts of corrupted lawyer Sylvester Shyster and Minnie's uncle Mortimer Mouse. The Death Valley narrative was followed by "Mr. Slicker and the Egg Robbers", first printed between September 22 and December 26, 1930, which introduced Marcus Mouse and his wife as Minnie's parents.
Starting with these two early comic strip stories, Mickey's versions in animation and comics are considered to have diverged from each other. While Disney and his cartoon shorts would continue to focus on comedy, the comic strip effectively combined comedy and adventure. This adventurous version of Mickey would continue to appear in comic strips and later comic books throughout the 20th and into the 21st century.
Floyd Gottfredson left his mark with stories such as "Mickey Mouse Joins the Foreign Legion" (1936) and "The Gleam" (1942). He also created the Phantom Blot, Eega Beeva, Morty and Ferdie, Captain Churchmouse, and Butch. Besides Gottfredson artists for the strip over the years included Roman Arambula, Rick Hoover, Manuel Gonzales, Carson Van Osten, Jim Engel, Bill Wright, Ted Thwailes and Daan Jippes; writers included Ted Osborne, Merrill De Maris, Bill Walsh, Dick Shaw, Roy Williams, Del Connell, and Floyd Norman.
The next artist to leave his mark on the character was Paul Murry in Dell Comics. His first Mickey tale appeared in 1950 but Mickey did not become a specialty until Murry's first serial for "Walt Disney's Comics and Stories" in 1953 ("The Last Resort"). In the same period, Romano Scarpa in Italy for the magazine "Topolino" began to revitalize Mickey in stories that brought back the Phantom Blot and Eega Beeva along with new creations such as the Atomo Bleep-Bleep. While the stories at Western Publishing during the Silver Age emphasized Mickey as a detective in the style of Sherlock Holmes, in the modern era several editors and creators have consciously undertaken to depict a more vigorous Mickey in the mold of the classic Gottfredson adventures. This renaissance has been spearheaded by Byron Erickson, David Gerstein, Noel Van Horn, Michael T. Gilbert and César Ferioli.
In Europe, Mickey Mouse became the main attraction of a number of comics magazines, the most famous being "Topolino" in Italy from 1932 onward, "Le Journal de Mickey" in France from 1934 onward, "Don Miki" in Spain and the Greek "Miky Maous".
Mickey was the main character for the series "MM Mickey Mouse Mystery Magazine", published in Italy from 1999 to 2001.
In 2006, he appeared in the Italian fantasy comic saga "Wizards of Mickey".
In 1958, Mickey Mouse was introduced to the Arab world through another comic book called "Sameer". He became very popular in Egypt and got a comic book with his name. Mickey's comics in Egypt are licensed by Disney and were published since 1959 by "Dar Al-Hilal" and they were successful, however Dar Al-Hilal stopped the publication in 2003 because of problems with Disney. The comics were re-released by "Nahdat Masr" in 2004 and the first issues were sold out in less than 8 hours.
Portrayal.
Mickey is traditionally characterized as a sympathetic underdog who gets by on pluck and ingenuity in the face of challenges much bigger than himself. As a mouse, an inherently vulnerable creature, Mickey is often depicted as having minimal resources and attributes at his disposal. Consequently, he must rely on sheer wit to overcome obstacles. The character is frequently pitted against larger-than-life villains to accentuate this idea; namely the hulking cat Pegleg Pete, and numerous one-shot antagonists such as the giants of "Giantland" (1933) and "Brave Little Tailor" (1938), the king of cards in "Thru the Mirror" (1936) and Mortimer Mouse in "Mickey's Rival" (1936). These adversaries were decidedly portrayed as overbearing figures of authority, thusly painting Mickey as a rebellious hero. When not facing an opponent, Mickey is oft placed in situations where his pursuits of grandeur or simple accomplishment lead to disastrous results, typically at the hands of his own impulsivity, as was the case in "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" (1940) among others. Mickey is not portrayed as a hero in the traditional sense, instead acting as a subversion of the stock archetype. He often fumbles his way through adventures; his small size and misplaced optimism serving as his dominating flaws. His manner of problem-solving is generally unorthodox to comedic effect; in "Ye Olden Days" (1933), Mickey's jousting horse was an infantile mule. In "Shanghaied" (1934), Mickey battled with a broadbill in place of a sword. The underdog nature of Mickey's character has been interpreted by historians as a symbolic reflection of Walt Disney's early struggles as a farm boy breaking into the imposing Hollywood industry in the 1920s. It has also been perceived as an allegory for the Great Depression in the United States, with Mickey's unrelenting optimism symbolizing the "American endurance to survive" in the face of economic woes.
Charlie Chaplin, known by audiences of the time for his role as the "Little Tramp", was identified by Disney as a source of inspiration for the Mickey character. Disney himself was a noted admirer of Chaplin's work, ascribing his development as a storytelling to the actor. In "The American Magazine" for March 1931, Disney explained, "I think we were rather indebted to Charlie Chaplin for the idea [of Mickey Mouse]. We wanted something appealing and we thought of a tiny bit of a mouse that would have something of the wistfulness of Chaplin... a little fellow trying to do the best he could." American journalist Alva Johnston noted the similarities between the two figures, stating, "Chaplin was a kind of godfather to Mickey Mouse. It is now and always has been the aim of Disney to graft the psychology of Chaplin upon Mickey. The two universal characters have something in common in their approach to their problems. They have the same blend of hero and coward, nitwit and genius, mug and gentleman."
Besides Chaplin, other notable figures of the silent era have been credited to Mickey's characterization. Chief among them was Douglas Fairbanks, whose swashbuckling screen adventures would inspire Mickey's animated epics. Ub Iwerks wrote in 1970, "He was the super-hero of his day, always winning, gallant and swashbuckling. Mickey's action was in that vein. He was never intended to be a sissy, he was always an adventurous character. I thought of him in that respect, and I had him do naturally the sort of thing Doug Fairbanks would do." Disney was also noted to have been influenced by Fairbanks, along with other screen personalities including Harold Lloyd and Fred Astaire.
An adaptive character, Mickey's personality lends itself to function within a multitude of situations, while retaining core elements of its design. He is not bound to a particular formula or motif, and as such, has been portrayed in a variety of settings and occupational roles. His film series, meanwhile, spans numerous genres besides the traditional musical comedy; "The Mad Doctor" (1933) and "Runaway Brain" (1995) parody the horror genre, whereas stories such as "Mickey's Good Deed" (1932) and "The Prince and the Pauper" (1990) are largely dramatic works. This versatility is said to have attributed to Mickey's popularity with audiences. As expressed by writer Chelsea Tatham, "From his beginnings, Mickey was able to appeal to a wide audience. He catered to neither the 'highbrow' nor the 'hick,' but the ordinary intelligent picturegoer."
There are a number of catchphrases and colloquialisms associated with the character. Mickey's first spoken words, "Hot dog!" from "The Karnival Kid" (1929), has endured as a recurring phrase for the character, made especially recognizable to modern audiences for its extensive use in the preschool television program "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse". Mickey's signature closing line, "See ya real soon!", is derived from the "Mickey Mouse March" reprise from the original 1955 run of "The Mickey Mouse Club" ("M-I-C; see you real soon!").
Voice actors.
Composer Carl W. Stalling was the first person to provide lines for Mickey in the 1929 shorts "The Karnival Kid" and "Wild Waves". From this point on, Mickey was voiced by Walt Disney himself, being a job in which he appeared to take great personal pride.
J. Donald Wilson and Joe Twerp provided the voice in some 1938 broadcasts of "The Mickey Mouse Theater of the Air", although Disney remained Mickey's official voice during this period. However, by 1946, Disney was becoming too busy with running the studio to do regular voice work which meant he could not do Mickey's voice on a regular basis anymore. It is also speculated that his cigarette habit had damaged his voice over the years. After recording the "Mickey and the Beanstalk" section of "Fun and Fancy Free", Mickey's voice was handed over to veteran Disney musician and actor Jimmy MacDonald. Walt would reprise Mickey's voice occasionally until his passing in 1966, such as in the introductions to the original 1955–1959 run of "The Mickey Mouse Club" TV series, the "Fourth Anniversary Show" episode of the Walt Disney's Disneyland TV series that aired on September 11, 1957, and the "Disneyland USA at Radio City Music Hall" show from 1962.
MacDonald voiced Mickey in most of the remaining theatrical shorts and for various television and publicity projects up until his retirement in 1976. However, other actors would occasionally play the role during this era. Clarence Nash, the voice of Donald Duck, provided the voice in three of Mickey's theatrical shorts, "The Dognapper", "R'coon Dawg", and "Pluto's Party". Stan Freberg voiced Mickey in the Freberg-produced record "Mickey Mouse's Birthday Party".
Alan Young voiced Mickey in the Disneyland record album "An Adaptation of Dickens' Christmas Carol, Performed by The Walt Disney Players" in 1974.
The 1983 short film "Mickey's Christmas Carol" marked the theatrical debut of Wayne Allwine as Mickey Mouse, who was the official voice of Mickey from 1977 until his death in 2009, although MacDonald returned to voice Mickey for an appearance at the 50th Academy Awards in 1978. Allwine once recounted something MacDonald had told him about voicing Mickey: "The main piece of advice that Jim gave me about Mickey helped me keep things in perspective. He said, 'Just remember kid, you're only filling in for the boss.' And that's the way he treated doing Mickey for years and years. From Walt, and now from Jimmy." In 1991, Allwine married Russi Taylor, the voice of Minnie Mouse from 1986 until her death in 2019.
Les Perkins did the voice of Mickey in two TV specials, "Down and Out with Donald Duck" and "DTV Valentine", in the mid-1980s. Peter Renaday voiced Mickey in the 1980s Disney albums "Yankee Doodle Mickey" and "Mickey Mouse Splashdance". He also provided his voice for "The Talking Mickey Mouse" toy in 1986. Quinton Flynn briefly filled in for Allwine as the voice of Mickey in a few episodes of the first season of "Mickey Mouse Works" whenever Allwine was unavailable to record.
Bret Iwan, a former Hallmark greeting card artist, has been the official voice of Mickey since 2009. Iwan was originally cast as an understudy for Allwine due to the latter's declining health, but Allwine died before Iwan could get a chance to meet him and Iwan became the new official voice of the character at the time. Iwan's early recordings in 2009 included work for the Disney Cruise Line, Mickey toys, the Disney theme parks and the Disney on Ice: Celebrations! ice show. He directly replaced Allwine as Mickey for the "Kingdom Hearts" video game series and the TV series "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse". His first video game voice-over of Mickey Mouse can be heard in '. Iwan also became the first voice actor to portray Mickey during Disney's rebranding of the character, providing the vocal effects of Mickey in "Epic Mickey" as well as his voice lines in ' and the remake of "Castle of Illusion". An openly gay man, Iwan is the character's first LGBT+ performer.
In addition to Iwan, Chris Diamantopoulos was cast as Mickey for the "Mickey Mouse" 2013 animated series developed by Paul Rudish, as the producers were looking for a voice closer to Walt Disney's portrayal of the character in order to match the vintage look of that series. Diamantopoulos is the first voice of Mickey to be nominated for two Emmy Awards and two Annie Awards for his work in the series. He has reprised the role in the 2017 "DuckTales" reboot (in the form of a watermelon that Donald uses as a ventriloquist dummy), the Walt Disney World attraction Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway, and the Disney+ revival of the series, "The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse". He voiced Mickey once again for the 2023 short film "Once Upon a Studio".
Merchandising.
Since his early years, Mickey Mouse has been licensed by Disney to appear on many different kinds of merchandise. Mickey was produced as plush toys and figurines, and Mickey's image has graced almost everything from T-shirts to lunchboxes. Largely responsible for early Disney merchandising was Kay Kamen, Disney's head of merchandise and licensing from 1932 until his death in 1949, who was called a "stickler for quality". Kamen was recognized by The Walt Disney Company as having a significant part in Mickey's rise to stardom and was named a Disney Legend in 1998. At the time of his 80th-anniversary celebration in 2008, "Time" declared Mickey Mouse one of the world's most recognized characters, even when compared against Santa Claus. Disney officials have stated that 98% of children aged 3–11 around the world are at least aware of the character. Disney expected the "Mickey Mouse & Friends" brand to make $9 billion in retail sales in 2011.
Disney parks.
As the official Walt Disney mascot, Mickey has played a central role in the Disney parks since the opening of Disneyland in 1955. As with other characters, Mickey is often portrayed by a non-speaking costumed actor. In this form, he has participated in ceremonies and countless parades, and poses for photographs with guests. As of the presidency of Barack Obama (who jokingly referred to him as "a world leader who has bigger ears than me") Mickey has met every U.S. president since Harry Truman, with the exception of Lyndon B. Johnson.
Mickey also features in several specific attractions at the Disney parks. Mickey's Toontown (Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland) is a themed land which is a recreation of Mickey's neighborhood. Buildings are built in a cartoon style and guests can visit Mickey or Minnie's houses, Donald Duck's boat, or Goofy's garage. This is a common place to meet the characters.
Mickey's PhilharMagic (Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland, Hong Kong Disneyland, Disney California Adventure) is a 4D film which features Mickey in the familiar role of symphony conductor. At Main Street Cinema several of Mickey's short films are shown on a rotating basis; the sixth film is always "Steamboat Willie". Mickey plays a central role in "Fantasmic!" (Disneyland Resort, Disney's Hollywood Studios) a live nighttime show which famously features Mickey in his role as the Sorcerer's Apprentice. Mickey was also a central character in the now-defunct Mickey Mouse Revue (Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland) which was an indoor show featuring animatronic characters. Mickey's face formerly graced the Mickey's Fun Wheel (now Pixar Pal-A-Round) at Disney California Adventure Park, where a figure of him also stands on top of Silly Symphony Swings.
Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway at Disney's Hollywood Studios is a trackless dark ride themed to Mickey Mouse.
In addition to Mickey's overt presence in the parks, numerous images of him are also subtly included in sometimes unexpected places. This phenomenon is known as "Hidden Mickeys", involving hidden images in Disney films, theme parks, and merchandise.
Video games.
Like many popular characters, Mickey has starred in many video games, including "Mickey Mousecapade" on the Nintendo Entertainment System, ', "Mickey's Ultimate Challenge", and "Disney's Magical Quest" on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, "Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse" on the Mega Drive/Genesis, ' on the Game Boy, and many others. In the 2000s, the "Disney's Magical Quest" series were ported to the Game Boy Advance, while Mickey made his sixth generation era debut in "Disney's Magical Mirror Starring Mickey Mouse", a GameCube title aimed at younger audiences. Mickey plays a major role in the "Kingdom Hearts" series, as the king of Disney Castle and aided to the protagonist, Sora and his friends. King Mickey wields the Keyblade, a weapon in the form of a key that has the power to open any lock and combat darkness. "Epic Mickey", featuring a darker version of the Disney universe, was released in 2010 for the Wii. The game is part of an effort by The Walt Disney Company to re-brand the Mickey Mouse character by moving away from his current squeaky clean image and reintroducing the mischievous side of his personality. Mickey Mouse is a playable character in the mobile game Disney Heroes Battle Mode.
Watches and clock.
Mickey was famously featured on wristwatches and alarm clocks, typically utilizing his hands as the actual hands on the face of the clock. The first Mickey Mouse watches were manufactured in 1933 by the Ingersoll Watch Company. The seconds were indicated by a turning disk below Mickey. The first Mickey watch was sold at the Century of Progress in Chicago, 1933 for $3.75 (). Mickey Mouse watches have been sold by other companies and designers throughout the years, including Timex, Elgin, Helbros, Bradley, Lorus, and Gérald Genta. The fictional character Robert Langdon from Dan Brown's novels was said to wear a Mickey Mouse watch as a reminder "to stay young at heart."
Other products.
In 1989, Milton Bradley released the electronic talking game titled "Mickey Says", with three modes featuring Mickey Mouse as its host. Mickey also appeared in other toys and games, including the Worlds of Wonder released "The Talking Mickey Mouse".
Fisher-Price has produced a line of talking animatronic Mickey dolls including "Dance Star Mickey" (2010) and "Rock Star Mickey" (2011).
In total, approximately 40% of Disney's revenues for consumer products are derived from Mickey Mouse merchandise, with revenues peaking in 1997.
Social impact.
Use in protest votes.
In the United States, protest votes are often made in order to indicate dissatisfaction with the slate of candidates presented on a particular ballot or to highlight the inadequacies of a particular voting procedure. Since most states' electoral systems do not provide for blank balloting or a choice of "None of the Above", most protest votes take the form of a clearly non-serious candidate's name entered as a write-in vote. Mickey Mouse is often selected for this purpose. As an election supervisor in Georgia observed, "If Mickey Mouse doesn't get votes in our election, it's a bad election." The earliest known mention of Mickey Mouse as a write-in candidate dates back to the 1932 New York City mayoral elections.
Mickey Mouse's name has also been known to appear fraudulently on voter registration lists, such as in the 2008 U.S. presidential election.
Pejorative use of Mickey's name.
"Mickey Mouse" is a slang expression meaning small-time, amateurish or trivial. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, it also means poor quality or counterfeit. In Poland the phrase "mały Miki", which translates to "small Mickey", means something very simple and trivial – usually used in the comparison between two things. However, in parts of Australia it can mean excellent or very good (rhyming slang for "grouse"). Examples of the negative usages include the following:
Additionally, the term "Mickey Mousing" refers to the exact synching of a film score to each action depicted onscreen, in reference to the early cartoons that used this technique. Although not inherently a pejorative term, the technique itself has long fallen out of fashion, and the term has taken on a secondary meaning indicating material interpreted as being too simplistic for its target audience.
Parodies and criticism.
Mickey Mouse's global fame has made him both a symbol of The Walt Disney Company and of the United States itself. For this reason, Mickey has been used frequently in anti-establishment or anti-American satire, such as the infamous underground cartoon "Mickey Mouse in Vietnam" (1969) and the Palestinian children's propaganda series "Tomorrow's Pioneers" where a Mickey Mouse-esque character named Farfour is used to promote Islamic extremism. There have been numerous parodies of Mickey Mouse, such as the two-page parody "Mickey Rodent" by Will Elder (published in "Mad" #19, 1955) in which the mouse walks around unshaven and jails Donald Duck out of jealousy over the duck's larger popularity. In "The Simpsons Movie", Bart Simpson puts a black bra on his head to mimic Mickey Mouse and says: "I'm the mascot of an evil corporation!" "The Simpsons" would later become Disney property as its distributor Fox was acquired by Disney. In the Comedy Central series "South Park", Mickey (voiced by Trey Parker) serves as one of the recurring antagonists, and is depicted as the sadistic, greedy, foul-mouthed boss of The Walt Disney Company, only interested in money. He also appears briefly with Donald Duck in the comic "Squeak the Mouse" by the Italian cartoonist Massimo Mattioli.
Mickey Mouse has also been particularly commented upon in the context of fascism and antisemitism in Nazi Germany. A pro-Nazi newspaper in the mid-1930s denounced Disney's use of "the greatest bacteria carrier in the animal kingdom" as evidence of the "Jewish brutalization of the people". Artist Horst Rosenthal created a comic book, "Mickey au Camp de Gurs" ("Mickey Mouse in the Gurs Internment Camp") while detained in the Gurs internment camp, subtitled "Publié Sans Autorisation de Walt Disney" ("Published without Walt Disney's Permission"); Rosenthal's Mickey names Walt Disney as his father, but is sorted into the camps as a Jew after being unable to name a mother, a seeming parody of both Disney's pronounced antisemitism and of the American public's ignorance around racial divisions in Europe. Cartoonist Art Spiegelman adapted Nazi descriptions of Jews as rodents and vermin for his graphic novel "Maus"; The original three-page strip uses a young Mickey Mouse as a stand-in for Spiegelman, listening to tales of "Mauschwitz" and the Holocaust told by his father, Vladek. The full 1991 adaptation of the strip uses a comparatively direct anthropomorphization of Spiegelman, but otherwise continues to use Mickey Mouse imagery to connect contemporary America to the genocide.
In the 1969 parody novel "Bored of the Rings", Mickey Mouse is satirized as Dickey Dragon.
Legal issues.
Although Mickey Mouse entered the public domain in 2024, the character, like all major Disney characters, remains trademarked. The trademark lasts in perpetuity, as long as it continues to be used commercially by its owner. So, whether or not a particular Disney cartoon goes into the public domain, the characters themselves may not be used as trademarks without authorization.
Due to the Copyright Term Extension Act of the United States (sometimes called the "Mickey Mouse Protection Act" because of extensive lobbying by the Disney corporation) and similar legislation within the European Union and other jurisdictions where copyright terms have been extended, the early Steamboat Willie version of Mickey Mouse cartoons remained under copyright until the end of 2023 but since 2024 are in the U.S. public domain.
Copyright scholars have argued that Disney's copyright on the earliest version of the character may have been invalid due to ambiguity in the copyright notice for "Steamboat Willie".
The Walt Disney Company is well known for zealously protecting its trademark on the Mickey Mouse character—whose likeness is synonymous and closely associated with the company. In 1989, Disney threatened legal action against three daycare centers in the Orlando, Florida region (where Walt Disney World is a dominant employer) for having Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters painted on their walls. The characters were removed, and the newly opened rival Universal Studios Florida allowed the centers to use their own cartoon characters with their blessing, to build community goodwill.
"Walt Disney Productions v. Air Pirates".
In 1971, a group of underground cartoonists calling themselves the Air Pirates, after a group of villains from early Mickey Mouse films, produced a comic called "Air Pirates Funnies". In the first issue, cartoonist Dan O'Neill depicted Mickey and Minnie Mouse engaging in explicit sexual behavior and consuming drugs. As O'Neill explained, "The air pirates were...some sort of bizarre concept to steal the air, pirate the air, steal the media...Since we were cartoonists, the logical thing was Disney." Rather than change the appearance or name of the character, which O'Neill felt would dilute the parody, the mouse depicted in "Air Pirates Funnies" looks like and is named "Mickey Mouse". Disney sued for copyright infringement, and after a series of appeals, O'Neill eventually lost and was ordered to pay Disney $1.9 million. The outcome of the case remains controversial among free-speech advocates. New York Law School professor Edward Samuels said, "The Air Pirates set parody back twenty years."
Copyright status.
Prior to 2024, there here had been multiple attempts to argue that certain versions of Mickey Mouse were in fact in the public domain. In the 1980s, archivist George S. Brown attempted to recreate and sell cels from the 1933 short "The Mad Doctor", on the theory that they were in the public domain because Disney had failed to renew the copyright as required by current law. However, Disney successfully sued Brown to prevent such sale, arguing that the lapse in copyright for "The Mad Doctor" did not put Mickey Mouse in the public domain because of the copyright in the earlier films. Brown attempted to appeal, noting imperfections in the earlier copyright claims, but the court dismissed his argument as untimely.
In 1999, Lauren Vanpelt, a law student at Arizona State University, wrote a paper making a similar argument. Vanpelt points out that copyright law at the time required a copyright notice specify the year of the copyright and the copyright owner's name. The title cards to early Mickey Mouse films "Steamboat Willie", "Plane Crazy", and "Gallopin' Gaucho" do not clearly identify the copyright owner, and also misidentify the copyright year. However, Vanpelt notes that copyright cards in other early films may have been done correctly, which could make Mickey Mouse "protected as a component part of the larger copyrighted films".
A 2003 article by Douglas A. Hedenkamp in the "Virginia Sports and Entertainment Law Journal" analyzed Vanpelt's arguments, and concluded that she is likely correct. Hedenkamp provided additional arguments, and identified some errors in Vanpelt's paper, but still found that due to imperfections in the copyright notice on the title cards, Walt Disney forfeited his copyright in Mickey Mouse. He concluded: "The forfeiture occurred at the moment of publication, and the law of that time was clear: publication without proper notice irrevocably forfeited copyright protection." Disney threatened to sue Hedenkamp for slander of title, but did not follow through. The claims in Vanpelt and Hedenkamp's articles have not been tested in court.
In a 2023 episode of "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver", John Oliver suggested that without copyright protection to stop the unauthorized use of Mickey Mouse, the Walt Disney Company would likely use trademark law to achieve the same results, potentially arguing that Mickey Mouse is so closely associated with their brand that any unauthorized use would cause consumer confusion. Oliver then revealed that "Last Week Tonight"s opening titles had been using an image from "Steamboat Willie" since the start of the season and that he would begin to use his own version of Mickey Mouse as a mascot of the show. He stated:
On January 1, 2024, the copyrights of the first three animated Mickey Mouse cartoons and their portrayal of Mickey Mouse expired, and they entered the public domain. They are the silent versions of the cartoons "Plane Crazy" and "The Gallopin' Gaucho", as well as the sound cartoon "Steamboat Willie". Newer versions of Mickey Mouse will remain copyright protected.
Quinton Hoover, a YouTube user who uploaded a copy of "Steamboat Willie" after its copyright expired on January 1, 2024, noted that three attempts to upload the short to the service triggered copyright claims from Disney, including one that claimed a copyright on the short's soundtrack. Users of Twitch noted similar behavior in that attempts to stream "Steamboat Willie" would end up with the audio muted. Disney withdrew a separate copyright strike from a different uploader shortly after it was challenged.
Censorship.
In 1930, the German Board of Film Censors prohibited any presentations of the 1929 Mickey Mouse cartoon "The Barnyard Battle". The animated short, which features the mouse as a kepi-wearing soldier fighting cat enemies in German-style helmets, was viewed by censors as a negative portrayal of Germany. It was claimed by the board that the film would "reawaken the latest anti-German feeling existing abroad since the War". The "Barnyard Battle" incident did not incite wider anti-Mickey sentiment in Germany in 1930; however, after Adolf Hitler came to power several years later, the Nazi regime unambiguously propagandized against Disney. A mid-1930s German newspaper article read:
American cartoonist and writer Art Spiegelman would later use this quote on the opening page of the second volume of his graphic novel "Maus".
In 1935, Romanian authorities also banned Mickey Mouse films from cinemas, purportedly fearing that children would be "scared to see a ten-foot mouse in the movie theatre". In 1938, based on the Ministry of Popular Culture's recommendation that a reform was necessary "to raise children in the firm and imperialist spirit of the Fascist revolution", the Italian Government banned foreign children's literature except Mickey; Disney characters were exempted from the decree for the "acknowledged artistic merit" of Disney's work. Actually, Mussolini's children were fond of Mickey Mouse, so they managed to delay his ban as long as possible. In 1942, after Italy declared war on the United States, Italian publishers were forced to stop printing any Disney stories. Mickey's stories were replaced by the adventures of "Tuffolino", a new human character that looked like Mickey, created by Federico Pedrocchi (script) and Pier Lorenzo De Vita (art). After the downfall of Italy's fascist government in 1945, the ban was removed.
Awards and honors.
Mickey Mouse has received ten nominations for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. These are "Mickey's Orphans" (1931), "Building a Building" (1933), "Brave Little Tailor" (1938), "The Pointer" (1939), "Lend a Paw" (1941), "Squatter's Rights" (1946), "Mickey and the Seal" (1948), "Mickey's Christmas Carol" (1983), "Runaway Brain" (1995), and "Get a Horse!" (2013). Among these, "Lend a Paw" was the only film to actually win the award. Additionally, in 1932 Walt Disney received an honorary Academy Award in recognition of Mickey's creation.
In 1994, four of Mickey's cartoons were included in the book "The 50 Greatest Cartoons" which listed the greatest cartoons of all time as voted by members of the animation field. The films were "The Band Concert" (#3), "Steamboat Willie" (#13), "Brave Little Tailor" (#26), and "Clock Cleaners" (#27).
On November 18, 1978, in honor of his 50th anniversary, Mickey became the first cartoon character to have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The star is located on 6925 Hollywood Blvd.
Melbourne (Australia) runs the annual Moomba festival street procession and appointed Mickey Mouse as their "King of Moomba" (1977). Although immensely popular with children, there was controversy with the appointment: some Melburnians wanted a "home-grown" choice, e.g. Blinky Bill; when it was revealed that Patricia O'Carroll (from Disneyland's Disney on Parade show) was performing the mouse, Australian newspapers reported "Mickey Mouse is really a girl!"
Mickey was the Grand Marshal of the Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year's Day 2005. He was the first cartoon character to receive the honor and only the second fictional character after Kermit the Frog in 1996.
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Superman
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Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book "Action Comics" #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and published April 18, 1938). Superman has been adapted to several other media including radio serials, novels, films, television shows, theater, and video games.
Superman was born Kal-El, on the fictional planet Krypton. As a baby, his parents Jor-El and Lara sent him to Earth in a small spaceship shortly before Krypton was destroyed in a natural cataclysm. His ship landed in the American countryside near the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas. He was found and adopted by farmers Jonathan and Martha Kent, who named him Clark Kent. Clark began developing superhuman abilities, such as incredible strength and impervious skin. His adoptive parents advised him to use his powers to benefit of humanity, and he decided to fight crime as a vigilante. To protect his personal life, he changes into a colorful costume and uses the alias "Superman" when fighting crime. Clark resides in the fictional American city of Metropolis, where he works as a journalist for the "Daily Planet". Superman's supporting characters include his love interest and fellow journalist Lois Lane, "Daily Planet" photographer Jimmy Olsen, and editor-in-chief Perry White, and his enemies include Brainiac, General Zod, and archenemy Lex Luthor.
Superman is the archetypal superhero: he wears an outlandish costume, uses a codename, is unfailingly good and honest, and fights evil with the aid of extraordinary abilities. Although there are earlier characters who arguably fit this definition, Superman popularized the superhero genre and established its conventions. He was the best-selling superhero in American comic books up until the 1980s.
Development.
Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster met in 1932 while attending Glenville High School in Cleveland and bonded over their admiration of fiction. Siegel aspired to become a writer and Shuster aspired to become an illustrator. Siegel wrote amateur science fiction stories, which he self-published as a magazine called "Science Fiction: The Advance Guard of Future Civilization". His friend Shuster often provided illustrations for his work. In January 1933, Siegel published a short story in his magazine titled "The Reign of the Superman". The titular character is a homeless man named Bill Dunn who is tricked by an evil scientist into consuming an experimental drug. The drug gives Dunn the powers of mind-reading, mind-control, and clairvoyance. He uses these powers maliciously for profit and amusement, but then the drug wears off, leaving him a powerless vagrant again. Shuster provided illustrations, depicting Dunn as a bald man.
Siegel and Shuster shifted to making comic strips, with a focus on adventure and comedy. They wanted to become syndicated newspaper strip authors, so they showed their ideas to various newspaper editors. However, the newspaper editors were not impressed, and told them that if they wanted to make a successful comic strip, it had to be something more sensational than anything else on the market. This prompted Siegel to revisit Superman as a comic strip character. Siegel modified Superman's powers to make him even more sensational. Like Bill Dunn, the second prototype of Superman is given powers against his will by an unscrupulous scientist, but instead of psychic abilities, he acquires superhuman strength and bullet-proof skin. Additionally, this new Superman was a crime-fighting hero instead of a villain, because Siegel noted that comic strips with heroic protagonists tended to be more successful. In later years, Siegel once recalled that this Superman wore a "bat-like" cape in some panels, but typically he and Shuster agreed there was no costume yet, and there is none apparent in the surviving artwork.
Siegel and Shuster showed this second concept of Superman to Consolidated Book Publishers, based in Chicago. In May 1933, Consolidated had published a proto-comic book titled "Detective Dan: Secret Operative 48". It contained all-original stories as opposed to reprints of newspaper strips, which was a novelty at the time. Siegel and Shuster put together a comic book in a similar format called "The Superman". A delegation from Consolidated visited Cleveland that summer on a business trip and Siegel and Shuster took the opportunity to present their work in person. Although Consolidated expressed interest, they later pulled out of the comics business without ever offering a book deal because the sales of "Detective Dan" were disappointing.
Siegel believed publishers kept rejecting them because he and Shuster were young and unknown, so he looked for an established artist to replace Shuster. When Siegel told Shuster what he was doing, Shuster reacted by burning their rejected Superman comic, sparing only the cover. They continued collaborating on other projects, but for the time being Shuster was through with Superman.
Siegel wrote to numerous artists. The first response came in July 1933 from Leo O'Mealia, who drew the "Fu Manchu" strip for the Bell Syndicate. In the script that Siegel sent to O'Mealia, Superman's origin story changes: He is a "scientist-adventurer" from the far future when humanity has naturally evolved "superpowers". Just before the Earth explodes, he escapes in a time-machine to the modern era, whereupon he immediately begins using his superpowers to fight crime. O'Mealia produced a few strips and showed them to his newspaper syndicate, but they were rejected. O'Mealia did not send to Siegel any copies of his strips, and they have been lost.
In June 1934, Siegel found another partner, an artist in Chicago named Russell Keaton. Keaton drew the "Buck Rogers" and "Skyroads" comic strips. In the script that Siegel sent Keaton in June, Superman's origin story further evolved: In the distant future, when Earth is on the verge of exploding due to "giant cataclysms", the last surviving man sends his three-year-old son back in time to the year 1935. The time-machine appears on a road where it is discovered by motorists Sam and Molly Kent. They leave the boy in an orphanage, but the staff struggle to control him because he has superhuman strength and impenetrable skin. The Kents adopt the boy and name him Clark, and teach him that he must use his fantastic natural gifts for the benefit of humanity. In November, Siegel sent Keaton an extension of his script: an adventure where Superman foils a conspiracy to kidnap a star football player. The extended script mentions that Clark puts on a special "uniform" when assuming the identity of Superman, but it is not described. Keaton produced two weeks' worth of strips based on Siegel's script. In November, Keaton showed his strips to a newspaper syndicate, but they too were rejected, and he abandoned the project.
Siegel and Shuster reconciled and resumed developing Superman together. The character became an alien from the planet Krypton. Shuster designed the now-familiar costume: tights with an "S" on the chest, over-shorts, and a cape. They made Clark Kent a journalist who pretends to be timid, and conceived his colleague Lois Lane, who is attracted to the bold and mighty Superman but does not realize that he and Kent are the same person.
In June 1935 Siegel and Shuster finally found work with National Allied Publications, a comic magazine publishing company in New York owned by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson. Wheeler-Nicholson published two of their strips in "New Fun Comics" #6 (1935): "Henri Duval" and "Doctor Occult". Siegel and Shuster also showed him Superman and asked him to market Superman to the newspapers on their behalf. In October, Wheeler-Nicholson offered to publish Superman in one of his own magazines. Siegel and Shuster refused his offer because Wheeler-Nicholson had demonstrated himself to be an irresponsible businessman. He had been slow to respond to their letters and had not paid them for their work in "New Fun Comics" #6. They chose to keep marketing Superman to newspaper syndicates themselves. Despite the erratic pay, Siegel and Shuster kept working for Wheeler-Nicholson because he was the only publisher who was buying their work, and over the years they produced other adventure strips for his magazines.
Wheeler-Nicholson's financial difficulties continued to mount. In 1936, he formed a joint corporation with Harry Donenfeld and Jack Liebowitz called Detective Comics, Inc. in order to release his third magazine, which was titled "Detective Comics". Siegel and Shuster produced stories for "Detective Comics" too, such as "Slam Bradley". Wheeler-Nicholson fell into deep debt to Donenfeld and Liebowitz, and in early January 1938, Donenfeld and Liebowitz petitioned Wheeler-Nicholson's company into bankruptcy and seized it.
In early December 1937, Siegel visited Liebowitz in New York, and Liebowitz asked Siegel to produce some comics for an upcoming comic anthology magazine called "Action Comics". Siegel proposed some new stories, but not Superman. Siegel and Shuster were, at the time, negotiating a deal with the McClure Newspaper Syndicate for Superman. In early January 1938, Siegel had a three-way telephone conversation with Liebowitz and an employee of McClure named Max Gaines. Gaines informed Siegel that McClure had rejected Superman, and asked if he could forward their Superman strips to Liebowitz so that Liebowitz could consider them for "Action Comics". Siegel agreed. Liebowitz and his colleagues were impressed by the strips, and they asked Siegel and Shuster to develop the strips into 13 pages for "Action Comics". Having grown tired of rejections, Siegel and Shuster accepted the offer. At least now they would see Superman published. Siegel and Shuster submitted their work in late February and were paid for their work ($10 per page). In early March they signed a contract at Liebowitz's request in which they gave away the copyright for Superman to Detective Comics, Inc. This was normal practice in the business, and Siegel and Shuster had given away the copyrights to their previous works as well.
The duo's revised version of Superman appeared in the first issue of "Action Comics", which was published on April 18, 1938. The issue was a huge success thanks to Superman's feature.
Influences.
Siegel and Shuster read pulp science-fiction and adventure magazines, and many stories featured characters with fantastical abilities such as telepathy, clairvoyance, and superhuman strength. One character in particular was John Carter of Mars from the novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs. John Carter is a human who is transported to Mars, where the lower gravity makes him stronger than the natives and allows him to leap great distances. Another influence was Philip Wylie's 1930 novel "Gladiator", featuring a protagonist named Hugo Danner who had similar powers.
Superman's stance and devil-may-care attitude were influenced by the characters of Douglas Fairbanks, who starred in adventure films such as "The Mark of Zorro" and "Robin Hood". The name of Superman's home city, Metropolis, was taken from the 1927 film of the same name. Popeye cartoons were also an influence.
Clark Kent's harmless facade and dual identity were inspired by the protagonists of such movies as Don Diego de la Vega in "The Mark of Zorro" and Sir Percy Blakeney in "The Scarlet Pimpernel". Siegel thought this would make for interesting dramatic contrast and good humor. Another inspiration was slapstick comedian Harold Lloyd. The archetypal Lloyd character was a mild-mannered man who finds himself abused by bullies but later in the story snaps and fights back furiously.
Kent is a journalist because Siegel often imagined himself becoming one after leaving school. The love triangle between Lois Lane, Clark, and Superman was inspired by Siegel's own awkwardness with girls.
The pair collected comic strips in their youth, with a favorite being Winsor McCay's fantastical "Little Nemo". Shuster remarked on the artists who played an important part in the development of his own style: "Alex Raymond and Burne Hogarth were my idols – also Milt Caniff, Hal Foster, and Roy Crane." Shuster taught himself to draw by tracing over the art in the strips and magazines they collected.
As a boy, Shuster was interested in fitness culture and a fan of strongmen such as Siegmund Breitbart and Joseph Greenstein. He collected fitness magazines and manuals and used their photographs as visual references for his art.
The visual design of Superman came from multiple influences. The tight-fitting suit and shorts were inspired by the costumes of wrestlers, boxers, and strongmen. In early concept art, Shuster gave Superman laced sandals like those of strongmen and classical heroes, but these were eventually changed to red boots. The costumes of Douglas Fairbanks were also an influence. The emblem on his chest was inspired by heraldic crests. Many pulp action heroes such as swashbucklers wore capes. Superman's face was based on Johnny Weissmuller with touches derived from the comic-strip character Dick Tracy and from the work of cartoonist Roy Crane.
The word "superman" was commonly used in the 1920s and 1930s to describe men of great ability, most often athletes and politicians. It occasionally appeared in pulp fiction stories as well, such as "The Superman of Dr. Jukes". It is unclear whether Siegel and Shuster were influenced by Friedrich Nietzsche's concept of the "Übermensch"; they never acknowledged as much.
Comics.
Comic books.
Since 1938, Superman stories have been regularly published in periodical comic books published by DC Comics. The first and oldest of these is "Action Comics", which began in April 1938. "Action Comics" was initially an anthology magazine, but it eventually became dedicated to Superman stories. The second oldest periodical is "Superman", which began in June 1939. "Action Comics" and "Superman" have been published without interruption (ignoring changes to the title and numbering scheme). Several other shorter-lived Superman periodicals have been published over the years. Superman is part of the DC Universe, which is a shared setting of superhero characters owned by DC Comics, and consequently he frequently appears in stories alongside the likes of Batman, Wonder Woman, and others.
More Superman comic books have been sold in publication history than any other American superhero character. Exact sales figures for the early decades of Superman comic books are hard to find because, like most publishers at the time, DC Comics concealed this data from its competitors and thereby the general public, but given the general market trends at the time, sales of "Action Comics" and "Superman" probably peaked in the mid-1940s and thereafter steadily declined. Sales data first became public in 1960, and showed that Superman was the best-selling comic book character of the 1960s and 1970s. Sales rose again starting in 1987. "Superman" #75 (Nov 1992) had over 23 million copies sold, making it the best-selling issue of a comic book of all time, due to a media sensation over The Death of Superman in that issue. Sales declined from that point on. In March 2018, "Action Comics" sold just 51,534 copies, although such low figures are normal for superhero comic books in general (for comparison, "Amazing Spider-Man" #797 sold only 128,189 copies). The comic books have become a niche aspect of the "Superman" franchise due to low readership, though they remain influential as creative engines for the movies and television shows. Comic book stories can be produced quickly and cheaply, and are thus an ideal medium for experimentation.
Whereas comic books in the 1950s were read by children, since the 1990s the average reader has been an adult. A major reason for this shift was DC Comics' decision in the 1970s to sell its comic books to specialty stores instead of traditional magazine retailers (supermarkets, newsstands, etc.) — a model called "direct distribution". This made comic books less accessible to children.
Newspaper strips.
Beginning in January 1939, a "Superman" daily comic strip appeared in newspapers, syndicated through the McClure Syndicate. A color Sunday version was added that November. Jerry Siegel wrote most of the strips until he was conscripted into the United States Army in 1943. The Sunday strips had a narrative continuity separate from the daily strips, possibly because Siegel had to delegate the Sunday strips to ghostwriters. By 1941, the newspaper strips had an estimated readership of 20 million. Joe Shuster drew the early strips, then passed the job to Wayne Boring. From 1949 to 1956, the newspaper strips were drawn by Win Mortimer. The strip ended in May 1966, but was revived from 1977 to 1983 to coincide with a series of movies released by Warner Bros.
Editors.
Initially, Siegel was allowed to write Superman more or less as he saw fit because nobody had anticipated the success and rapid expansion of the franchise. But soon Siegel and Shuster's work was put under careful oversight for fear of trouble with censors. Siegel was forced to tone down the violence and social crusading that characterized his early stories. Editor Whitney Ellsworth, hired in 1940, dictated that Superman not kill. Sexuality was banned, and colorfully outlandish villains such as Ultra-Humanite and Toyman were thought to be less nightmarish for young readers.
Mort Weisinger was the editor on Superman comics from 1941 to 1970, his tenure briefly interrupted by military service. Siegel and his fellow writers had developed the character with little thought of building a coherent mythology, but as the number of Superman titles and the pool of writers grew, Weisinger demanded a more disciplined approach. Weisinger assigned story ideas, and the logic of Superman's powers, his origin, the locales, and his relationships with his growing cast of supporting characters were carefully planned. Elements such as Bizarro, his cousin Supergirl, the Phantom Zone, the Fortress of Solitude, alternate varieties of kryptonite, robot doppelgangers, and Krypto were introduced during this era. The complicated universe built under Weisinger was beguiling to devoted readers but alienating to casuals. Weisinger favored lighthearted stories over serious drama, and avoided sensitive subjects such as the Vietnam War and the American civil rights movement because he feared his right-wing views would alienate his left-leaning writers and readers. Weisinger also introduced letters columns in 1958 to encourage feedback and build intimacy with readers.
Weisinger retired in 1970 and Julius Schwartz took over. By his own admission, Weisinger had grown out of touch with newer readers. Starting with The Sandman Saga, Schwartz updated Superman by making Clark Kent a television anchor, and he retired overused plot elements such as kryptonite and robot doppelgangers. Schwartz also scaled Superman's powers down to a level closer to Siegel's original. These changes would eventually be reversed by later writers. Schwartz allowed stories with serious drama such as "For the Man Who Has Everything" ("Superman Annual" #11), in which the villain Mongul torments Superman with an illusion of happy family life on a living Krypton.
Schwartz retired from DC Comics in 1986 and was succeeded by Mike Carlin as an editor on Superman comics. His retirement coincided with DC Comics' decision to reboot the DC Universe with the companywide-crossover storyline "Crisis on Infinite Earths". In The Man of Steel writer John Byrne rewrote the Superman mythos, again reducing Superman's powers, which writers had slowly re-strengthened, and revised many supporting characters, such as making Lex Luthor a billionaire industrialist rather than a mad scientist, and making Supergirl an artificial shapeshifting organism because DC wanted Superman to be the sole surviving Kryptonian.
Carlin was promoted to Executive Editor for the DC Universe books in 1996, a position he held until 2002. K.C. Carlson took his place as editor of the Superman comics.
Aesthetic style.
In the earlier decades of Superman comics, artists were expected to conform to a certain "house style". Joe Shuster defined the aesthetic style of Superman in the 1940s. After Shuster left National, Wayne Boring succeeded him as the principal artist on Superman comic books. He redrew Superman taller and more detailed. Around 1955, Curt Swan in turn succeeded Boring. The 1980s saw a boom in the diversity of comic book art and now there is no single "house style" in Superman comics.
In other media.
Radio.
The first adaptation of Superman beyond comic books was a radio show, "The Adventures of Superman", which ran from 1940 to 1951 for 2,088 episodes, most of which were aimed at children. The episodes were initially 15 minutes long, but after 1949 they were lengthened to 30 minutes. Most episodes were done live. Bud Collyer was the voice actor for Superman in most episodes. The show was produced by Robert Maxwell and Allen Ducovny, who were employees of Superman, Inc. and Detective Comics, Inc. respectively.
Stage.
In 1966 Superman had a Tony-nominated musical play produced on Broadway. "It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman" featured music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Lee Adams and book by David Newman and Robert Benton. Actor Bob Holiday performed as Clark Kent/Superman and actress Patricia Marand performed as Lois Lane.
Merchandising.
DC Comics trademarked the Superman chest logo in August 1938. Jack Liebowitz established Superman, Inc. in October 1939 to develop the franchise beyond the comic books. Superman, Inc. merged with DC Comics in October 1946. After DC Comics merged with Warner Communications in 1967, licensing for Superman was handled by the Licensing Corporation of America.
The Licensing Letter (an American market research firm) estimated that Superman licensed merchandise made $634 million in sales globally in 2018 (43.3% of this revenue came from the North American market). For comparison, in the same year, Spider-Man merchandise made $1.075 billion and Star Wars merchandise made $1.923 billion globally.
The earliest paraphernalia appeared in 1939: a button proclaiming membership in the Supermen of America club. The first toy was a wooden doll in 1939 made by the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company. "Superman" #5 (May 1940) carried an advertisement for a "Krypto-Raygun", which was a gun-shaped device that could project images on a wall. The majority of Superman merchandise is targeted at children, but since the 1970s, adults have been increasingly targeted because the comic book readership has gotten older.
During World War II, Superman was used to support the war effort. "Action Comics" and "Superman" carried messages urging readers to buy war bonds and participate in scrap drives. Other superheroes became patriots who went to fight: Batman, Wonder Woman and Captain America.
Copyright issues.
Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
In a contract dated March 1, 1938, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster gave away the copyright to Superman to their employer, DC Comics (then known as Detective Comics, Inc.) prior to Superman's first publication in April. Contrary to popular perception, the $130 that DC Comics paid them was for their first Superman story, not the copyright to the character — that, they gave away for free. This was normal practice in the comic magazine industry and they had done the same with their previous published works (Slam Bradley, Doctor Occult, etc.), but Superman became far more popular and valuable than they anticipated and they much regretted giving him away. DC Comics retained Siegel and Shuster, and they were paid well because they were popular with the readers. Between 1938 and 1947, DC Comics paid them together at least $401,194.85 (equivalent to $ in ).
Siegel wrote most of the magazine and daily newspaper stories until he was conscripted into the United States Army in 1943, whereupon the task was passed to ghostwriters. While Siegel was serving in Hawaii, DC Comics published a story featuring a child version of Superman called "Superboy", which was based on a script Siegel had submitted several years before. Siegel was furious because DC Comics did this without having bought the character.
After Siegel's discharge from the Army, he and Shuster sued DC Comics in 1947 for the rights to Superman and Superboy. The judge ruled that Superman belonged to DC Comics, but that Superboy was a separate entity that belonged to Siegel. Siegel and Shuster settled out-of-court with DC Comics, which paid the pair $94,013.16 () in exchange for the full rights to both Superman and Superboy. DC Comics then fired Siegel and Shuster.
DC Comics rehired Jerry Siegel as a writer in 1959.
In 1965, Siegel and Shuster attempted to regain rights to Superman using the renewal option in the Copyright Act of 1909, but the court ruled Siegel and Shuster had transferred the renewal rights to DC Comics in 1938. Siegel and Shuster appealed, but the appeals court upheld this decision. DC Comics fired Siegel once again, when he filed this second lawsuit.
In 1975, Siegel and several other comic book writers and artists launched a public campaign for better compensation and treatment of comic creators. Warner Brothers agreed to give Siegel and Shuster a yearly stipend, full medical benefits, and credit their names in all future Superman productions in exchange for never contesting ownership of Superman. Siegel and Shuster upheld this bargain.
Shuster died in 1992. DC Comics offered Shuster's heirs a stipend in exchange for never challenging ownership of Superman, which they accepted for some years.
Siegel died in 1996. His heirs attempted to take the rights to Superman using the termination provision of the Copyright Act of 1976. DC Comics negotiated an agreement wherein it would pay the Siegel heirs several million dollars and a yearly stipend of $500,000 in exchange for permanently granting DC the rights to Superman. DC Comics also agreed to insert the line "By Special Arrangement with the Jerry Siegel Family" in all future Superman productions. The Siegels accepted DC's offer in an October 2001 letter.
Copyright lawyer and movie producer Marc Toberoff then struck a deal with the heirs of both Siegel and Shuster to help them get the rights to Superman in exchange for signing the rights over to his production company, Pacific Pictures. Both groups accepted. The Siegel heirs called off their deal with DC Comics and in 2004 sued DC for the rights to Superman and Superboy. In 2008, the judge ruled in favor of the Siegels. DC Comics appealed the decision, and the appeals court ruled in favor of DC, arguing that the October 2001 letter was binding. In 2003, the Shuster heirs served a termination notice for Shuster's grant of his half of the copyright to Superman. DC Comics sued the Shuster heirs in 2010, and the court ruled in DC's favor on the grounds that the 1992 agreement with the Shuster heirs barred them from terminating the grant.
Under current US copyright law, Superman is due to enter the public domain on January 1, 2034. However, this will only apply (at first) to the character as he is depicted in "Action Comics" #1, which was published in 1938. Versions of him with later developments, such as his power of "heat vision", may persist under copyright until the works they were introduced in enter the public domain. Lois Lane, who also debuted in "Action Comics" #1, is expected to enter public domain in 2034, but supporting characters introduced in later publications, such as Jimmy Olsen and Supergirl, will pass into the public domain at later dates.
Captain Marvel.
Superman's success immediately begat a wave of imitations. The most successful is Captain Marvel, first published by Fawcett Comics in December 1939. Captain Marvel had many similarities to Superman: Herculean strength, invulnerability, the ability to fly, a cape, a secret identity, and a job as a journalist. DC Comics filed a lawsuit against Fawcett Comics for copyright infringement.
The trial began in March 1948 after seven years of discovery. The judge ruled that Fawcett had indeed infringed on Superman. However, the judge also found that the copyright notices that appeared with the Superman newspaper strips did not meet the technical standards of the Copyright Act of 1909 and were therefore invalid. Furthermore, since the newspaper strips carried stories adapted from "Action Comics", the judge ruled that DC Comics had effectively abandoned the copyright to the "Action Comics" stories and Superman, and therefore forfeited its right to sue Fawcett for copyright infringement.
DC Comics appealed this decision. The appeals court ruled that unintentional mistakes in the copyright notices of the newspaper strips did not invalidate the copyrights. Furthermore, Fawcett knew that DC Comics never intended to abandon the copyrights, and therefore Fawcett's infringement was not an innocent misunderstanding, and therefore Fawcett owed damages to DC Comics. The appeals court remanded the case back to the lower court to determine how much Fawcett owed in damages.
At that point, Fawcett Comics decided to settle out of court with DC Comics. Fawcett paid DC Comics and agreed to stop publishing Captain Marvel. The last Captain Marvel story from Fawcett Comics was published in September 1953.
DC Comics licensed Captain Marvel in 1972 and published crossover stories with Superman. By 1991, DC Comics had purchased Fawcett Comics and with it the full rights to Captain Marvel. DC eventually renamed the character "Shazam" to prevent disputes with Marvel Comics, who had created a character of their own named "Captain Marvel" back when the Fawcett character had lingered in limbo.
Character overview.
Several elements of the "Superman" narrative have remained consistent in the myriad stories published since 1938.
Superman.
In "Action Comics" #1 (1938), Superman is born on an alien world to a technologically advanced species that resembles humans. Shortly after he is born, his planet is destroyed in a natural cataclysm, but his scientist father foresaw the calamity and saves his baby son by sending him to Earth in a small spaceship. The ship is too small to carry anyone else, so Superman's parents stay behind and die. The earliest newspaper strips name the planet Krypton, the baby Kal-L, and his biological parents Jor-L and Lora; their names were changed to Jor-el, and Lara in a 1942 spinoff novel by George Lowther. The ship lands in the American countryside, where the baby is discovered by the Kents, a farming couple.
The Kents name the boy Clark and raise him in a farming community. A 1947 episode of the radio serial places this yet unnamed community in Iowa. It is named Smallville in "Superboy" #2 (June 1949). The 1978 Superman movie placed it in Kansas, as have most Superman stories since. "New Adventures of Superboy" #22 (Oct. 1981) places it in Maryland.
In "Action Comics" #1 and most stories published before 1986, Superman's powers begin developing in infancy. From 1944 to 1986, DC Comics regularly published stories of Superman's childhood and adolescent adventures, when he called himself "Superboy". From 1986 on (beginning with "Man of Steel" #1), Superman's powers emerged more slowly and he began his superhero career as an adult.
The Kents teach Clark he must conceal his otherworldly origins and use his fantastic powers to do good. Clark creates the costumed identity of Superman so as to protect his personal privacy and the safety of his loved ones. As Clark Kent, he wears eyeglasses to disguise his face and wears his Superman costume underneath his clothes so that he can change at a moment's notice. To complete this disguise, Clark avoids violent confrontation, preferring to slip away and change into Superman when danger arises, and in older stories he would suffer occasional ridicule for his apparent cowardice.
In "Superboy" #78 (1960), Superboy makes his costume out of the indestructible blankets found in the ship he came to Earth in. In "Man of Steel" #1 (1986), Martha Kent makes the costume from human-manufactured cloth, and it is rendered indestructible by an aura that Superman projects. The "S" on Superman's chest at first was simply an initial for "Superman". When writing the script for the 1978 movie, Tom Mankiewicz made it the crest of Superman's Kryptonian family, the House of El. This was carried over into some comic book stories and later movies, such as "Man of Steel". In the comic story "", the crest is described as an old Kryptonian symbol for hope.
Clark works as a newspaper journalist. In the earliest stories, he worked for "The Daily Star", but the second episode of the radio serial changed this to the "Daily Planet". In comics from the early 1970s, Clark worked as a television journalist, which was an attempt to modernize the character. However, for the 1978 movie, the producers chose to make Clark a newspaper journalist again because that was how most people outside of comic book readers knew him.
The first story in which Superman dies was published in "Superman" #149 (1961), in which he is murdered by Lex Luthor by means of kryptonite. This story was "imaginary" and therefore was ignored in subsequent books. In "Superman" #188 (April 1966), Superman is killed by kryptonite radiation but is revived in the same issue by one of his android doppelgangers. In the 1990s "The Death and Return of Superman" story arc, after a deadly battle with Doomsday, Superman died in "Superman" #75 (Jan. 1993). He was later revived by the Eradicator using Kryptonian technology. In "Superman" #52 (May 2016) Superman is killed by kryptonite poisoning, and this time he is not resurrected, but replaced by the Superman of an alternate timeline.
Superman maintains a secret hideout called the "Fortress of Solitude", which is located somewhere in the Arctic. Here, Superman keeps a collection of mementos and a laboratory for science experiments. "Action Comics" #241 (1958) depicts the Fortress of Solitude as a cave in a mountain, sealed with a very heavy door that is opened with a gigantic key too heavy for anyone but Superman to use. In the 1978 movie, the Fortress of Solitude is a structure made of white crystal.
Clark Kent.
Superman's secret identity is Clark Joseph Kent, a reporter for the "Daily Planet". Although his name and history originate from his early life with his adoptive Earth parents, everything about Clark was staged for the benefit of his alternate identity: as a reporter for the "Daily Planet", he receives late-breaking news before the general public, always has a plausible reason to be present at crime scenes, and need not strictly account for his whereabouts as long as he makes his publication deadlines. He sees his job as a journalist as an extension of his Superman responsibilities—bringing truth to the forefront and fighting for the little guy. He believes that everybody has the right to know what is going on in the world, regardless of who is involved. In the Bronze Age of Comic Books, Clark Kent was featured in a series that appeared primarily in "The Superman Family", "The Private Life of Clark Kent" where Superman dealt with various situations subtly while remaining Clark.
To deflect suspicion that he is Superman, Clark Kent adopted a mainly passive and introverted personality with conservative mannerisms, a higher-pitched voice, and a slight slouch. This personality is typically described as "mild-mannered", as in the opening narration of Max Fleischer's "Superman" animated theatrical shorts. These traits extended into Clark's wardrobe, which typically consists of a bland-colored business suit, a red necktie, black-rimmed glasses, combed-back hair, and occasionally a fedora. Clark wears his Superman costume underneath his street clothes, allowing easy changes between the two personae and the dramatic gesture of ripping open his shirt to reveal the familiar "S" emblem when called into action. His hair also changes with the clothing change, with Superman sporting a small curl or spit curl on his forehead. Superman usually stores his Clark Kent clothing compressed in a secret pouch within his cape, though some stories have shown him leaving his clothes in some covert location (such as the "Daily Planet" storeroom) for later retrieval.
As Superman's alter ego, the personality, concept, and name of Clark Kent have become synonymous with secret identities and innocuous fronts for ulterior motives and activities. In 1992, Superman co-creator Joe Shuster told the "Toronto Star" that the name derived from 1930s cinematic leading men Clark Gable and Kent Taylor, but the persona from bespectacled silent film comic Harold Lloyd and himself. Clark's middle name is given variously as either Joseph, Jerome, or Jonathan, all being allusions to creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
Personality.
In the original Siegel and Shuster stories, Superman's personality is rough and aggressive. He often uses excessive force and terror against criminals, on some occasions even killing them. This came to an end in late 1940 when new editor Whitney Ellsworth instituted a code of conduct for his characters to follow, banning Superman from ever killing. The character was softened and given a sense of humanitarianism. Ellsworth's code, however, is not to be confused with "the Comics Code", which was created in 1954 by the Comics Code Authority and ultimately abandoned by every major comic book publisher by the early 21st century.
In his first appearances, Superman was considered a vigilante by the authorities, being fired upon by the National Guard as he razed a slum so that the government would create better housing conditions for the poor. By 1942, however, Superman was working side-by-side with the police. Today, Superman is commonly seen as a brave and kind-hearted hero with a strong sense of justice, morality, and righteousness. He adheres to an unwavering moral code instilled in him by his adoptive parents. His commitment to operating within the law has been an example to many citizens and other heroes, but has stirred resentment and criticism among others, who refer to him as the "big blue boy scout". Superman can be rather rigid in this trait, causing tensions in the superhero community. This was most notable with Wonder Woman, one of his closest friends, after she killed Maxwell Lord. Booster Gold initially had an icy relationship with the Man of Steel but grew to respect him.
Having lost his home world of Krypton, Superman is very protective of Earth, and especially of Clark Kent's family and friends. This same loss, combined with the pressure of using his powers responsibly, has caused Superman to feel lonely on Earth, despite having his friends and parents. Previous encounters with people he thought to be fellow Kryptonians, Power Girl and Mon-El, have led to disappointment. The arrival of Supergirl, who has been confirmed to be his cousin from Krypton, relieved this loneliness somewhat. Superman's Fortress of Solitude acts as a place of solace for him in times of loneliness and despair.
Abilities and weaknesses.
The catalog of Superman's abilities and his strength has varied considerably over the vast body of Superman fiction released since 1938.
Since "Action Comics" #1 (1938), Superman has superhuman strength. The cover of "Action Comics" #1 shows him effortlessly lifting a car over his head. Another classic feat of strength on Superman's part is breaking steel chains. In some stories, he is strong enough to shift the orbits of planets and crush coal into diamond with his hands.
Since "Action Comics" #1 (1938), Superman has a highly durable body, invulnerable for most practical purposes. At the very least, bullets bounce harmlessly off his body. In some stories, such as "Kingdom Come", not even a nuclear bomb can harm him.
In the earliest stories, Superman's costume is made out of exotic materials that are as tough as he is, which is why it typically does not tear up when he performs superhuman feats. In later stories, beginning with "Man of Steel" #1 (1986), Superman's body is said to project an aura that renders invulnerable any tight-fitting clothes he wears, and hence his costume is as durable as he is even if made of common cloth.
In "Action Comics" #1, Superman could not fly. He traveled by running and leaping, which he could do to a prodigious degree thanks to his strength. Superman gained the ability to fly in the second episode of the radio serial in 1940. Superman can fly faster than sound and in some stories, he can even fly faster than the speed of light to travel to distant galaxies.
Superman can project and perceive X-rays via his eyes, which allows him to see through objects. He first uses this power in "Action Comics" #11 (1939). Certain materials such as lead can block his X-ray vision.
Superman can project beams of heat from his eyes which are hot enough to melt steel. He first used this power in "Superman" #59 (1949) by applying his X-ray vision at its highest intensity. In later stories, this ability is simply called "heat vision".
Superman can hear sounds that are too faint for a human to hear, and at frequencies outside the human hearing range. This ability was introduced in "Action Comics" #11 (1939).
Since "Action Comics" #20 (1940), Superman possesses superhuman breath, which enables him to inhale or blow huge amounts of air, as well as holding his breath indefinitely to remain underwater or space without adverse effects. He has a significant focus of his breath's intensity to the point of freezing targets by blowing on them. The "freeze breath" was first demonstrated in "Superman" #129 (1959).
"Action Comics" #1 (1938) explained that Superman's strength was common to all Kryptonians because they were a species "millions of years advanced of our own". In the first newspaper strips, Jor-El is shown running and leaping like Superman, and his wife survives a building collapsing on her. Later stories explained they evolved superhuman strength simply because of Krypton's higher gravity. "Superman" #146 (1961) established that Superman's abilities other than strength (flight, durability, etc.) are activated by the light of Earth's yellow sun. In "Action Comics" #300 (1963), all of his powers including strength are activated by yellow sunlight and can be deactivated by red sunlight similar to that of Krypton's sun.
Exposure to green kryptonite radiation nullifies Superman's powers and incapacitates him with pain and nausea; prolonged exposure will eventually kill him. Although green kryptonite is the most commonly seen form, writers have introduced other forms over the years: such as red, gold, blue, white, and black, each with peculiar effects. Gold kryptonite, for instance, nullifies Superman's powers but otherwise does not harm him. Kryptonite first appeared in a 1943 episode of the radio serial. It first appeared in comics in "Superman" #61 (Dec. 1949).
Superman is also vulnerable to magic. Enchanted weapons and magical spells affect Superman as easily as they would a normal human. This weakness was established in "Superman" #171 (1964).
Like all Kryptonians, Kal-El is also highly susceptible to psychokinetic phenomena ranging along Telekinesis, Illusion casting, Mind control, etc., as shown in "Wonder Woman" Vol 2 # 219 (Sept. 2005). A powerful enough psionic can affect either the psyche or microbiology of Superman to induce strokes or mangle his internal organs, as well as disrupt his mind and perceptions of the world, something a young power-amped Gene-Bomb meta showcased in "Superman" #48 (Oct. 1990).
Supporting characters.
Superman's first and most famous supporting character is Lois Lane, introduced in "Action Comics" #1. She is a fellow journalist at the "Daily Planet". As Jerry Siegel conceived her, Lois considers Clark Kent to be a wimp, but she is infatuated with the bold and mighty Superman, not knowing that Kent and Superman are the same person. Siegel objected to any proposal that Lois discover that Clark is Superman because he felt that, as implausible as Clark's disguise is, the love triangle was too important to the book's appeal. However, Siegel wrote stories in which Lois suspects Clark is Superman and tries to prove it, with Superman always duping her in the end; the first such story was in "Superman" #17 (July–August 1942). This was a common plot in comic book stories prior to the 1970s. In a story in "Action Comics" #484 (June 1978), Clark Kent admits to Lois that he is Superman, and they marry. This was the first story in which Superman and Lois marry that was not an "imaginary tale." Many Superman stories since then have depicted Superman and Lois as a married couple, but about as many depict them in the classic love triangle. In modern era comic books, Superman and Lois are a stable married couple, and the "Superman" supporting cast was further expanded with the introduction of their son, Jonathan Kent.
Other supporting characters include Jimmy Olsen, a photographer at the "Daily Planet", who is friends with both Superman and Clark Kent, though in most stories he does not know that Clark is Superman. Jimmy is frequently described as "Superman's pal", and was conceived to give young male readers a relatable character through which they could fantasize being friends with Superman.
In the earliest comic book stories, Clark Kent's employer is George Taylor of "The Daily Star", but the second episode of the radio serial changed this to Perry White of the "Daily Planet".
Clark Kent's foster parents are Ma and Pa Kent. In many stories, one or both of them have died by the time Clark becomes Superman. Clark's parents taught him that he should use his abilities for altruistic means, but that he should also find some way to safeguard his private life.
Antagonists.
The villains Superman faced in the earliest stories were ordinary humans, such as gangsters, corrupt politicians, and violent husbands; but they soon grew more colorful and outlandish so as to avoid offending censors or scaring children. The mad scientist Ultra-Humanite, introduced in "Action Comics" #13 (June 1939), was Superman's first recurring villain. Superman's best-known nemesis, Lex Luthor, was introduced in "Action Comics" #23 (April 1940) and has been depicted as either a mad scientist or a wealthy businessman (sometimes both). In 1944, the magical imp Mister Mxyzptlk, Superman's first recurring super-powered adversary, was introduced. Superman's first alien villain, Brainiac, debuted in "Action Comics" #242 (July 1958). The monstrous Doomsday, introduced in " #17–18 (Nov.-Dec. 1992), was the first villain to evidently kill Superman in physical combat without exploiting Superman's critical weaknesses such as kryptonite and magic.
Alternative depictions.
The details of Superman's origin story and supporting cast vary across his large body of fiction released since 1938, but most versions conform to the basic template described above. A few stories feature radically altered versions of Superman. An example is the graphic novel ", which depicts a communist Superman who rules the Soviet Union. DC Comics has on some occasions published crossover stories where different versions of Superman interact with each other using the plot device of parallel universes. For instance, in the 1960s, the Superman of "Earth-One" would occasionally feature in stories alongside the Superman of "Earth-Two", the latter of whom resembled Superman as he was portrayed in the 1940s. DC Comics has not developed a consistent and universal system to classify all versions of Superman.
Impact and legacy.
The superhero archetype.
Superman is often considered the first superhero. This point can be debated: Ogon Bat, the Phantom, Zorro, and Mandrake the Magician arguably fit the definition of the superhero yet predate Superman. Nevertheless, Superman popularized this kind of character and established the conventions: a costume, a codename, extraordinary abilities, and an altruistic mission. Superman's success in 1938 begat a wave of imitations, which include Batman, Captain America, and Captain Marvel. This flourishing is today referred to as America's Golden Age of Comic Books, which lasted from 1938 to about 1950. The Golden Age ended when American superhero book sales declined, leading to the cancellation of many characters; but Superman was one of the few superhero franchises that survived this decline, and his sustained popularity into the late 1950s led to a revival in the Silver Age of Comic Books, when characters such as Spider-Man, Iron Man, and The X-Men were created.
After World War II, American superhero fiction entered Japanese culture. Astro Boy, first published in 1952, was inspired by Mighty Mouse, which in turn was a parody of Superman. The "Superman" animated shorts from the 1940s were first broadcast on Japanese television in 1955, and they were followed in 1956 by the TV show "Adventures of Superman" starring George Reeves. These shows were popular with the Japanese and inspired Japan's own prolific genre of superheroes. The first Japanese superhero movie, "Super Giant", was released in 1957. The first Japanese superhero TV show was "Moonlight Mask" in 1958. Other notable Japanese superheroes include Ultraman, Kamen Rider, and Sailor Moon.
Fine art.
Since the Pop Art period and the 1960s, the character of Superman has been "appropriated" by multiple visual artists and incorporated into contemporary artwork, most notably by Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Mel Ramos, Dulce Pinzon, Mr. Brainwash, Raymond Pettibon, Peter Saul, Giuseppe Veneziano, F. Lennox Campello, and others.
Literary analysis.
Superman has been interpreted and discussed in many forms, with Umberto Eco noting that "he can be seen as the representative of all his similars". Writing in "Time" in 1971, Gerald Clarke stated: "Superman's enormous popularity might be looked upon as signaling the beginning of the end for the Horatio Alger myth of the self-made man." Clarke viewed the comics characters as having to continuously update in order to maintain relevance and thus representing the mood of the nation. He regarded Superman's character in the early seventies as a comment on the modern world, which he saw as a place in which "only the man with superpowers can survive and prosper." Andrew Arnold, writing in the early 21st century, has noted Superman's partial role in exploring assimilation, the character's alien status allowing the reader to explore attempts to fit in on a somewhat superficial level.
A.C. Grayling, writing in "The Spectator", traces Superman's stances through the decades, from his 1930s campaign against crime being relevant to a nation under the influence of Al Capone, through the 1940s and World War II, a period in which Superman helped sell war bonds, and into the 1950s, where Superman explored the new technological threats. Grayling notes the period after the Cold War as being one where "matters become merely personal: the task of pitting his brawn against the brains of Lex Luthor and Brainiac appeared to be independent of bigger questions", and discusses events post 9/11, stating that as a nation "caught between the terrifying George W. Bush and the terrorist Osama bin Laden, America is in earnest need of a Saviour for everything from the minor inconveniences to the major horrors of world catastrophe. And here he is, the down-home clean-cut boy in the blue tights and red cape".
An influence on early Superman stories is the context of the Great Depression. Superman took on the role of social activist, fighting crooked businessmen and politicians and demolishing run-down tenements. Comics scholar Roger Sabin sees this as a reflection of "the liberal idealism of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal", with Shuster and Siegel initially portraying Superman as champion to a variety of social causes. In later Superman radio programs the character continued to take on such issues, tackling a version of the Ku Klux Klan in a 1946 broadcast, as well as combating anti-semitism and veteran discrimination.
Scott Bukatman has discussed Superman, and the superhero in general, noting the ways in which they humanize large urban areas through their use of the space, especially in Superman's ability to soar over the large skyscrapers of Metropolis. He writes that the character "represented, in 1938, a kind of Corbusierian ideal. Superman has X-ray vision: walls become permeable, transparent. Through his benign, controlled authority, Superman renders the city open, modernist and democratic; he furthers a sense that Le Corbusier described in 1925, namely, that 'Everything is known to us'."
Jules Feiffer has argued that Superman's real innovation lay in the creation of the Clark Kent persona, noting that what "made Superman extraordinary was his point of origin: Clark Kent." Feiffer develops the theme to establish Superman's popularity in simple wish fulfillment, a point Siegel and Shuster themselves supported, Siegel commenting that "If you're interested in what made Superman what it is, here's one of the keys to what made it universally acceptable. Joe and I had certain inhibitions… which led to wish-fulfillment which we expressed through our interest in science fiction and our comic strip. That's where the dual-identity concept came from" and Shuster supporting that as being "why so many people could relate to it".
Ian Gordon suggests that the many incarnations of Superman across media use nostalgia to link the character to an ideology of the American Way. He defines this ideology as a means of associating individualism, consumerism, and democracy and as something that took shape around WWII and underpinned the war effort. Superman, he notes was very much part of that effort.
An allegory for immigrants.
Superman's immigrant status is a key aspect of his appeal. Aldo Regalado saw the character as pushing the boundaries of acceptance in America. The extraterrestrial origin was seen by Regalado as challenging the notion that Anglo-Saxon ancestry was the source of all might. Gary Engle saw the "myth of Superman [asserting] with total confidence and a childlike innocence the value of the immigrant in American culture". He argues that Superman allowed the superhero genre to take over from the Western as the expression of immigrant sensibilities. Through the use of a dual identity, Superman allowed immigrants to identify with both of their cultures. Clark Kent represents the assimilated individual, allowing Superman to express the immigrants' cultural heritage for the greater good. David Jenemann has offered a contrasting view. He argues that Superman's early stories portray a threat: "the possibility that the exile would overwhelm the country". David Rooney, a theater critic for "The New York Times", in his evaluation of the play "Year Zero" considers Superman to be the "quintessential immigrant story [...] [b]orn on an alien planet, he grows stronger on Earth, but maintains a secret identity tied to a homeland that continues to exert a powerful hold on him even as his every contact with those origins does him harm".
Religious themes.
It is popularly believed that Superman took inspiration from Judaic mythology. The British rabbi Simcha Weinstein notes that Superman's story has some parallels to that of Moses. For example, Moses as a baby was sent away by his parents in a reed basket to escape death and was adopted by a foreign culture. Weinstein also posits that Superman's Kryptonian name, "Kal-El", resembles the Hebrew phrase "qōl ʾēl" (קוֹל-אֵל) which can be taken to mean "voice of God". The historian Larry Tye suggests that this "Voice of God" is an allusion to Moses' role as a prophet. The suffix "el", meaning "god", is also found in the name of angels (e.g. Gabriel, Ariel), who are airborne humanoid agents of good with superhuman powers. The Nazis also thought Superman was a Jew and in 1940 Joseph Goebbels publicly denounced Superman and his creator Jerry Siegel.
All that said, historians such as Martin Lund and Les Daniels argue that the evidence for Judaic influence in Siegel and Shuster's stories is merely circumstantial. Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster were not practicing Jews and never acknowledged the influence of Judaism in any memoir or interview.
Superman stories have occasionally exhibited Christian themes as well. Screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz consciously made Superman an allegory for Jesus Christ in the 1978 movie starring Christopher Reeve: baby Kal-El's ship resembles the Star of Bethlehem, and Jor-El gives his son a messianic mission to lead humanity into a brighter future.
This messianic theme was revisited in the 2013 movie "Man of Steel", wherein Jor-El asks Superman to redeem the Kryptonian race, which corrupted itself through eugenics, by guiding humanity down a wiser path.
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Batman
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Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book "Detective Comics" on March 30, 1939. In the DC Universe, Batman is the alias of Bruce Wayne, a wealthy American playboy, philanthropist, and industrialist who resides in Gotham City. His origin story features him swearing vengeance against criminals after witnessing the murder of his parents, Thomas and Martha, as a child, a vendetta tempered by the ideal of justice. He trains himself physically and intellectually, crafts a bat-inspired persona, and monitors the Gotham streets at night. Kane, Finger, and other creators accompanied Batman with supporting characters, including his sidekicks Robin and Batgirl; allies Alfred Pennyworth and James Gordon; love interest Catwoman; and foes such as the Penguin, the Riddler, Two-Face, and his archenemy, the Joker.
Kane conceived Batman in early 1939 to capitalize on the popularity of Superman; although Kane frequently claimed sole creation credit, Finger substantially developed the concept from a generic superhero into something more bat-like. They drew inspiration from pulp fiction characters like the Shadow and Sherlock Holmes. Batman received a spin-off publication, "Batman", in 1940. Kane and Finger introduced Batman as a ruthless vigilante who frequently killed or maimed criminals, but he evolved into a just, tempered superhero with a stringent moral code that prohibits killing during the 1940s. Unlike most superheroes, Batman does not possess any superpowers, instead relying on his intellect, fighting skills, and wealth. The 1960s "Batman" television series used a camp aesthetic, which continued to be associated with Batman for years after it ended. Various creators worked to return Batman to his darker roots in the 1970s and 1980s, culminating with the 1986 miniseries "The Dark Knight Returns" by Frank Miller.
DC has featured Batman in many comic books, including comics published under its imprints such as Vertigo and Black Label; he has been considered DC's flagship character since the 1990s. The longest-running Batman comic, "Detective Comics", is the longest-running comic book in the United States. Batman is frequently depicted alongside other DC superheroes, such as Superman and Wonder Woman, as a member of organizations such as the Justice League and the Outsiders. In addition to Bruce Wayne, other characters used the Batman persona, such as Jean-Paul Valley / Azrael in the 1993–1994 "" story arc; Dick Grayson, the first Robin, from 2009 to 2011; and Jace Fox, the son of Wayne's ally Lucius, since 2021. DC has also published comics featuring alternate versions of Batman, including the incarnation seen in "The Dark Knight Returns" and its successors, the incarnation from the "Flashpoint" (2011) event, and numerous interpretations in comics published under the Elseworlds label.
Batman is one of the most iconic characters in popular culture and has been listed among the greatest comic book superheroes and characters ever created. He is one of the most commercially successful superheroes, and his likeness has been licensed and featured in various media and merchandise sold around the world; this includes toy lines such as "Lego Batman" and video games such as the "" series. Batman has been adapted in many live-action and animated television series and films. Adam West portrayed him in the 1960s "Batman" television series, and he has been portrayed in film by Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale, Ben Affleck, and Robert Pattinson. Many actors, most prolifically Kevin Conroy, have provided Batman's voice in animation and video games. In September 2024, Batman was given the first star to a superhero on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Publication history.
Creation and early history.
In early 1939, following the success of Superman, DC Comics' editors requested more superheroes. Bob Kane created Batman, initially drawing a character with red tights, bat wings, and a domino mask. Bill Finger, a collaborator, made significant contributions by suggesting a cowl, cape, gloves, and a darker costume. The character's alter ego, Bruce Wayne, was inspired by historical figures Robert the Bruce and Mad Anthony Wayne. Batman's early adventures drew inspiration from contemporary pulp fiction and characters like Zorro and the Shadow, establishing Batman as a master detective with a dark, brooding persona driven by the murder of his parents.
Golden, Silver and Bronze Ages.
Batman debuted in "Detective Comics" #27 in 1939. Early stories were dark, featuring a Batman who did not shy away from killing. The character quickly became popular, leading to his own solo title in 1940. Robin, Batman's sidekick, was introduced in 1940, lightening the tone and boosting sales. Over the next few years, Batman's rogues' gallery expanded with iconic villains like the Joker and Catwoman.
The 1950s saw Batman in lighter, science fiction-influenced stories. However, declining sales led to a 1964 revamp by editor Julius Schwartz, who returned Batman to his detective roots and updated his appearance. The 1966 Batman TV series introduced a campy, humorous tone, which was reflected in the comics until its cancellation in 1968. In the 1970s, writers Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams restored Batman's dark, gritty nature, a trend that continued despite fluctuating sales.
Modern Age and reboots.
In the Modern Age of Comic Books Batman comics have undergone significant transformations, reflecting changing storytelling trends and audience interests. Beginning with seminal works like "The Dark Knight Returns" in the 1980s, which reintroduced Batman in a grittier, more mature context, the character's narrative evolved to explore deeper themes and darker tones. This period also saw the exploration of Batman's origins and psyche through works like ",""" and ', which delved into the complexities of heroism and villainy. In the 1990s, storylines such as "" introduced new adversaries like Bane, who physically and mentally challenged Batman, leading to a temporary replacement by Jean-Paul Valley. The aftermath of an earthquake in "No Man's Land" depicted Gotham City in chaos, further pushing Batman to new limits of heroism and survival. Entering the 21st century, Grant Morrison's influential run introduced Damian Wayne as Batman's son and heir, bringing familial dynamics and a new generation of challenges to the forefront. Morrison's storytelling also delved into surreal and existential themes, such as in "Batman R.I.P." and "Final Crisis", which tested Batman's resolve and sanity against cosmic threats and personal demons. The New 52 reboot in 2011 refreshed Batman's continuity while preserving core elements of his character. This era introduced modern interpretations of classic storylines, like ', where Batman confronts the Court of Owls, a clandestine society controlling Gotham for centuries. The chilling return of the Joker in "Death of the Family" explored the intricate relationships within Batman's extended family of allies and adversaries. More recent developments under DC Rebirth and Infinite Frontier have continued to evolve Batman's universe, exploring new characters like Gotham and Gotham Girl, and tackling contemporary issues within the context of Gotham City's ever-evolving landscape of crime and heroism.
Characterization.
Bruce Wayne.
Batman's secret identity is Bruce Wayne, a wealthy American industrialist. As a child, Bruce witnessed the murder of his parents, Dr. Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne, which ultimately led him to craft the Batman persona and seek justice against criminals. He resides on the outskirts of Gotham City in his personal residence, Wayne Manor. Wayne averts suspicion by acting the part of a superficial playboy idly living off his family's fortune and the profits of Wayne Enterprises, his inherited conglomerate. He supports philanthropic causes through his nonprofit Wayne Foundation, which in part addresses social issues encouraging crime as well as assisting victims of it, but is more widely known as a celebrity socialite. In public, he frequently appears in the company of high-status women, which encourages tabloid gossip while feigning near-drunkenness with consuming large quantities of disguised ginger ale since Wayne is actually a strict teetotaler to maintain his physical and mental prowess. Although Bruce Wayne leads an active romantic life, his vigilante activities as Batman account for most of his time.
Various modern stories have portrayed the extravagant, playboy image of Bruce Wayne as a facade. This is in contrast to the Post-"Crisis" Superman, whose Clark Kent persona is the true identity, while the Superman persona is the facade. In "Batman Unmasked", a television documentary about the psychology of the character, behavioral scientist Benjamin Karney notes that Batman's personality is driven by Bruce Wayne's inherent humanity; that "Batman, for all its benefits and for all of the time Bruce Wayne devotes to it, is ultimately a tool for Bruce Wayne's efforts to make the world better". Bruce Wayne's principles include the desire to prevent future harm and a vow not to kill. Bruce Wayne believes that our actions define us, we fail for a reason, and anything is possible.
Writers of Batman and Superman stories have often compared and contrasted the two. Interpretations vary depending on the writer, the story, and the timing. Grant Morrison notes that both heroes "believe in the same kind of things" despite the day/night contrast their heroic roles display. Morrison notes an equally stark contrast in their real identities. Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent belong to different social classes: "Bruce has a butler, Clark has a boss." T. James Musler's book "Unleashing the Superhero in Us All" explores the extent to which Bruce Wayne's vast personal wealth is important in his life story, and the crucial role it plays in his efforts as Batman.
Will Brooker notes in his book "Batman Unmasked" that "the confirmation of the Batman's identity lies with the young audience ...he doesn't have to be Bruce Wayne; he just needs the suit and gadgets, the abilities, and most importantly the morality, the humanity. There's just a sense about him: 'they trust him ...and they're never wrong."
Personality.
Batman's primary character traits can be summarized as "wealth; physical prowess; deductive abilities and obsession". The details and tone of Batman comic books have varied over the years with different creative teams. Dennis O'Neil noted that character consistency was not a major concern during early editorial regimes: "Julie Schwartz did a Batman in "Batman" and "Detective" and Murray Boltinoff did a Batman in the "Brave and the Bold" and apart from the costume they bore very little resemblance to each other. Julie and Murray did not want to coordinate their efforts, nor were they asked to do so. Continuity was not important in those days."
The driving force behind Bruce Wayne's character is his parents' murder and their absence. Bob Kane and Bill Finger discussed Batman's background and decided that "there's nothing more traumatic than having your parents murdered before your eyes". Despite his trauma, he sets his mind on studying to become a scientist and to train his body into physical perfection to fight crime in Gotham City as Batman, an inspired idea from Wayne's insight into the criminal mind. He also speaks over 40 languages.
Another of Batman's characterizations is that of a vigilante; in order to stop evil that started with the death of his parents, he must sometimes break the law himself. Although manifested differently by being re-told by different artists, it is nevertheless that the details and the prime components of Batman's origin have never varied at all in the comic books, the "reiteration of the basic origin events holds together otherwise divergent expressions". The origin is the source of the character's traits and attributes, which play out in many of the character's adventures.
Batman is often treated as a vigilante by other characters in his stories. Frank Miller views the character as "a dionysian figure, a force for anarchy that imposes an individual order". Dressed as a bat, Batman deliberately cultivates a frightening persona in order to aid him in crime-fighting, a fear that originates from the criminals' own guilty conscience. Miller is often credited with reintroducing anti-heroic traits into Batman's characterization, such as his brooding personality, willingness to use violence and torture, and increasingly alienated behavior. Batman, shortly a year after his debut and the introduction of Robin, was changed in 1940 after DC editor Whitney Ellsworth felt the character would be tainted by his lethal methods and DC established their own ethical code, subsequently he was retconned to have a stringent moral code, which has stayed with the character of Batman ever since. Miller's Batman was closer to the original pre-Robin version, who was willing to kill criminals if necessary.
Others.
On several occasions former Robin Dick Grayson has served as Batman; most notably in 2009 while Wayne was believed dead, and served as a second Batman even after Wayne returned in 2010. As part of DC's 2011 continuity relaunch, Grayson returned to being Nightwing following the "Flashpoint" crossover event.
In an interview with IGN, Morrison detailed that having Dick Grayson as Batman and Damian Wayne as Robin represented a "reverse" of the normal dynamic between Batman and Robin, with, "a more light-hearted and spontaneous Batman and a scowling, badass Robin". Morrison explained their intentions for the new characterization of Batman: "Dick Grayson is kind of this consummate superhero. The guy has been Batman's partner since he was a kid, he's led the Teen Titans, and he's trained with everybody in the DC Universe. So he's a very different kind of Batman. He's a lot easier; a lot looser and more relaxed."
Over the years, there have been numerous others to assume the name of Batman, or to officially take over for Bruce during his leaves of absence. Jean-Paul Valley, also known as Azrael, assumed the cowl after the events of the ' saga. Jim Gordon donned a mecha-suit after the events of ', and served as Batman in 2015 and 2016. In 2021, as part of the "Fear State" crossover event, Lucius Fox's son Jace Fox succeeds Bruce as Batman in a 2021 storyline, depicted in the series "I Am Batman", after Batman was declared dead.
Additionally, members of the group Batman Incorporated, Bruce Wayne's experiment at franchising his brand of vigilantism, have at times stood in as the official Batman in cities around the world. Various others have also taken up the role of Batman in stories set in alternative universes and possible futures, including, among them, various former proteges of Bruce Wayne.
Supporting characters.
Batman's interactions with both villains and cohorts have, over time, developed a strong supporting cast of characters.
Enemies.
Batman faces a variety of foes ranging from common criminals to outlandish supervillains. Many of them mirror aspects of the Batman's character and development, often having tragic origin stories that lead them to a life of crime. These foes are commonly referred to as Batman's "rogues gallery". Batman's "most implacable foe" is the Joker, a homicidal maniac with a clown-like appearance. The Joker is considered by critics to be his perfect adversary, since he is the antithesis of Batman in personality and appearance; the Joker has a maniacal demeanor with a colorful appearance, while Batman has a serious and resolute demeanor with a dark appearance. As a "personification of the irrational", the Joker represents "everything Batman [opposes]". Other long-time recurring foes that are part of Batman's rogues gallery include Catwoman (a cat burglar anti-heroine who is variously an ally and romantic interest), the Penguin, Ra's al Ghul, Two-Face (Harvey Dent), the Riddler, the Scarecrow, Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Bane, Clayface, and Killer Croc, among others. Many of Batman's adversaries are often psychiatric patients at Arkham Asylum.
Allies.
Alfred Pennyworth, Batman's loyal butler and father figure, first appeared in "Batman" #16 (1943). After Bruce Wayne's parents were killed, Alfred raised Bruce and became one of the few people to know his secret identity. He is often portrayed as a steadying presence in Bruce's life, offering both emotional support and practical assistance in Batman's crime-fighting endeavors. More than just a caretaker, Alfred is a trusted ally and sometimes sidekick, sharing Wayne Manor with Bruce and contributing to Batman's mission.
One of Batman's most crucial allies is Commissioner James Gordon. Their relationship is built on mutual respect and a shared commitment to justice in Gotham City. In "", Gordon and Batman learn to trust each other, which transforms their efforts against crime into a more effective partnership. Gordon's perspective as a police officer complements Batman's vigilantism, allowing them to tackle Gotham's challenges together. Another important ally is the Justice League, which further emphasizes the importance of collaboration. Batman's relationship with Superman showcases how their contrasting ideologies can complement each other. In stories like "World's Finest", their friendship highlights how Batman's methods benefit from Superman's optimism and strength.
Sidekicks.
Robin, Batman's vigilante partner, has been a widely recognized supporting character for many years; each iteration of the Robin character, of which there have been five in the mainstream continuity, function as members of the Batman family, but additionally, as Batman's "central" sidekick in various media. Bill Finger stated that he wanted to include Robin because "Batman didn't have anyone to talk to, and it got a little tiresome always having him thinking." The first Robin, Dick Grayson, was introduced in 1940. In the 1970s he finally grew up, went off to college and became the hero Nightwing. A second Robin, Jason Todd was introduced in the 1980s, following Dick Grayson's departure from the role. Initially impulsive and rebellious, Jason's tenure as Robin was controversial among fans. In 1988, DC held a fan vote to determine his fate in the iconic "A Death in the Family" storyline, where the Joker brutally beat Jason with a crowbar and left him to die in an explosion. The fans voted for his death. However, Jason was later resurrected and returned as the antihero Red Hood.
The third Robin in the mainstream comics is Tim Drake, who first appeared in 1989. He went on to star in his own comic series, and goes by the name Red Robin, a variation on the traditional Robin persona. In the first decade of the new millennium, Stephanie Brown served as the fourth in-universe Robin between stints as her self-made vigilante identity the Spoiler, and later as Batgirl. After Brown's apparent death, Drake resumed the role of Robin for a time. The role eventually passed to Damian Wayne, the 10-year-old son of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul, in the late 2000s. Damian's tenure as "du jour" Robin ended when the character was killed off in the pages of "Batman Incorporated" in 2013. Batman's next young sidekick is Harper Row, a streetwise young woman who avoids the name Robin but followed the ornithological theme nonetheless; she debuted the codename and identity of the Bluebird in 2014. Unlike the Robins, the Bluebird is willing and permitted to use a gun, albeit non-lethal; her weapon of choice is a modified rifle that fires taser rounds. In 2015, a new series began titled "We Are...Robin," focused on a group of teenagers using the Robin persona to fight crime in Gotham City. The most prominent of these, Duke Thomas, later becomes Batman's crimefighting partner as The Signal.
Romantic interests.
Batman's romantic history spans decades, filled with relationships that reflect his struggle between personal happiness and his duty as Gotham's protector. His first love interest was Julie Madison, introduced in "Detective Comics" #31 (1939). Though engaged to Bruce Wayne, she left due to his distant and playboy persona, highlighting the conflict between Bruce's dual life and his desire for a normal relationship.
Selina Kyle, also known as Catwoman, is perhaps the most notable figure in Batman's romantic history. Debuting in "Batman" #1 (1940), their relationship is characterized by a blend of romance and rivalry. Over the years, they have shared intense connections, often navigating the fine line between love and conflict. Their relationship culminated in an engagement during the "Rebirth era."
Another important figure is Vicki Vale, a journalist introduced in "Batman" #49 (1948). Vicki's attempts to uncover Batman's true identity lead to a complicated romantic involvement that waxed and waned over the years, especially during the early 1980s when their relationship became more serious.
Talia al Ghul, introduced in "Detective Comics" #411 (1971), is another key player in Batman's love life. Their relationship is fraught with conflict due to her father, Ra's al Ghul, and his criminal ambitions. Despite the challenges, their love story resulted in the birth of Damian Wayne, who would grow to become the latest Robin and add a new layer of complexity to Batman's character.
Additionally, Batman's relationship with Wonder Woman has been explored in various storylines, including a passionate kiss in "JLA" (2003) during a moment of crisis. However, their relationship remains largely unexplored, often overshadowed by their respective commitments.
One of the most controversial romantic pairings emerged from the animated adaptation of "" (2016), which depicted a brief romantic involvement between Batman and Batgirl (Barbara Gordon). This portrayal sparked significant criticism among fans, reflecting the challenges and complexities of Batman's romantic entanglements over the years.
Abilities.
Skills and training.
Batman has no inherent superhuman powers; he relies on "his own scientific knowledge, detective skills, and athletic prowess". Batman's inexhaustible wealth gives him access to advanced technologies, and as a proficient scientist, he is able to use and modify these technologies to his advantage. In the stories, Batman is regarded as one of the world's greatest detectives, if not the world's greatest crime solver. Batman has been repeatedly described as having a genius-level intellect, being one of the greatest martial artists in the DC Universe, and having peak human physical and mental conditioning. As a polymath, his knowledge and expertise in countless disciplines is nearly unparalleled by any other character in the DC Universe. He has shown prowess in assorted fields such as mathematics, biology, physics, chemistry, and several levels of engineering. He has traveled the world acquiring the skills needed to aid him in his endeavors as Batman. In the "" story arc, Superman considers Batman to be one of the most brilliant minds on the planet.
Batman has trained extensively in various fighting styles, making him one of the best hand-to-hand fighters in the DC Universe. He possesses a photographic memory, and has fully utilized his photographic memory to master a total of 127 forms of martial arts. In terms of his physical condition, Batman is described as peak human and far beyond an Olympic-athlete-level condition, able to perform feats such as easily running across rooftops in a Parkour-esque fashion, pressing thousands of pounds regularly, and even bench pressing six hundred pounds of soil and coffin in a poisoned and starved state. Superman describes Batman as "the most dangerous man on Earth", able to defeat an entire team of superpowered extraterrestrials by himself in order to rescue his imprisoned teammates in Grant Morrison's first storyline in "JLA".
Batman is strongly disciplined, and he has the ability to function under great physical pain and resist most forms of telepathy and mind control. He is a master of disguise, multilingual, and an expert in espionage, often gathering information under the identity of a notorious gangster named Matches Malone. Batman is highly skilled in stealth movement and escapology, which allows him to appear and disappear at will and to break free of nearly inescapable deathtraps with little to no harm. He is also a master strategist, considered DC's greatest tactician, with numerous plans in preparation for almost any eventuality.
Batman is an expert in interrogation techniques and his intimidating and frightening appearance alone is often all that is needed in getting information from suspects. Despite having the potential to harm his enemies, Batman's most defining characteristic is his strong commitment to justice and his reluctance to take a life. This unyielding moral rectitude has earned him the respect of several heroes in the DC Universe, most notably that of Superman and Wonder Woman.
Among physical and other crime fighting related training, he is also proficient at other types of skills. Some of these include being a licensed pilot (in order to operate the Batplane), as well as being able to operate other types of machinery. In some publications, he even underwent some magician training.
Technology.
Batman utilizes a vast arsenal of specialized, high-tech vehicles and gadgets in his war against crime, the designs of which usually share a bat motif. Batman historian Les Daniels credits Gardner Fox with creating the concept of Batman's arsenal with the introduction of the utility belt in "Detective Comics" #29 (July 1939) and the first bat-themed weapons the batarang and the "Batgyro" in "Detective Comics" #31 and 32 (Sept. and October 1939).
Batman's batsuit aids in his combat against enemies, having the properties of both Kevlar and Nomex. It protects him from gunfire and other significant impacts, and incorporates the imagery of a bat in order to frighten criminals.
The details of the Batman costume change repeatedly through various decades, stories, media and artists' interpretations, but the most distinctive elements remain consistent: a scallop-hem cape; a cowl covering most of the face; a pair of bat-like ears; a stylized bat emblem on the chest; and the ever-present utility belt. His gloves typically feature three scallops that protrude from long, gauntlet-like cuffs, although in his earliest appearances he wore short, plain gloves without the scallops. The overall look of the character, particularly the length of the cowl's ears and of the cape, varies greatly depending on the artist. Dennis O'Neil said, "We now say that Batman has two hundred suits hanging in the Batcave so they don't have to look the same ...Everybody loves to draw Batman, and everybody wants to put their own spin on it."
Finger and Kane originally conceptualized Batman as having a black cape and cowl and grey suit, but conventions in coloring called for black to be highlighted with blue. Hence, the costume's colors have appeared in the comics as dark blue and grey; as well as black and grey. In the Tim Burton's "Batman" and "Batman Returns" films, Batman has been depicted as completely black with a bat in the middle surrounded by a yellow background. Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight Trilogy" depicted Batman wearing high-tech gear painted completely black with a black bat in the middle. Ben Affleck's Batman in the DC Extended Universe films wears a suit grey in color with a black cowl, cape, and bat symbol. Seemingly following the suit of the DC Extended Universe outfit, Robert Pattinson's uniform in "The Batman" restores the more traditional gray bodysuit and black appendage design, notably different from prior iterations by mostly utilizing real world armor and apparel pieces from modern military and motorcycle gear.
Batman's primary vehicle is the Batmobile, which is usually depicted as an imposing black car, often with tailfins that suggest a bat's wings.
Batman also has an aircraft called the Batplane (originally a relatively traditionally, but bat-motifed plane, later seen as the much more unique "Batwing" starting in the 1989 film), along with various other means of transportation.
In proper practice, the "bat" prefix (as in Batmobile or batarang) is rarely used by Batman himself when referring to his equipment, particularly after some portrayals (primarily the 1960s "Batman" live-action television show and the "Super Friends" animated series) stretched the practice to campy proportions. For example, the 1960s television show depicted a Batboat, Bat-Sub, and Batcycle, among other bat-themed vehicles. The 1960s television series Batman has an arsenal that includes such "bat-" names as the Bat-computer, Bat-scanner, bat-radar, bat-cuffs, bat-pontoons, bat-drinking water dispenser, bat-camera with polarized bat-filter, bat-shark repellent bat-spray, and Bat-rope. The storyline "A Death in the Family" suggests that given Batman's grim nature, he is unlikely to have adopted the "bat" prefix on his own. In "The Dark Knight Returns", Batman tells Carrie Kelley that the original Robin came up with the name "Batmobile" when he was young, since that is what a kid would call Batman's vehicle.
The Batmobile, which was before frequently depicted to resemble a sports car, was redesigned in 2011 when DC Comics relaunched its entire line of comic books, with the Batmobile being given heavier armor and new aesthetics.
Batman keeps most of his field equipment in his utility belt. Over the years it has shown to contain an assortment of crime-fighting tools, weapons, and investigative and technological instruments. Different versions of the belt have these items stored in compartments, often as pouches or hard cylinders attached evenly around it.
Since the 1989 film, Batman is often depicted as carrying a projectile which shoots a retractable grappling hook attached to a cable (before this, a he employed a traditionally thrown grappling hook.) This allows him to attach to distant objects, be propelled into the air, and thus swing from the rooftops of Gotham City.
An exception to the range of Batman's equipment are hand guns, which he refuses to use on principle, since a gun was used in his parents' murder. In modern stories in terms of his vehicles, Batman compromises on that principle to install weapon systems on them for the purpose of non-lethally disabling other vehicles, forcing entry into locations and attacking dangerous targets too large to defeat by other means.
When Batman is needed, the Gotham City police activate a searchlight with a bat-shaped insignia over the lens called the Bat-Signal, which shines into the night sky, creating a bat-symbol on a passing cloud which can be seen from any point in Gotham. The origin of the signal varies, depending on the continuity and medium.
In various incarnations, most notably the 1960s "Batman" TV series, Commissioner Gordon also has a dedicated phone line, dubbed the Bat-Phone, connected to a bright red telephone (in the TV series) which sits on a wooden base and has a transparent top. The line connects directly to Batman's residence, Wayne Manor, specifically both to a similar phone sitting on the desk in Bruce Wayne's study and the extension phone in the Batcave.
The Batcave is Batman's secret headquarters, consisting of a series of caves beneath his mansion, Wayne Manor. As his command center, the Batcave serves multiple purposes; supercomputer, surveillance, redundant power-generators, forensics lab, medical infirmary, private study, training dojo, fabrication workshop, arsenal, hangar and garage. It houses the vehicles and equipment Batman uses in his campaign to fight crime. It is also a trophy room and storage facility for Batman's unique memorabilia collected over the years from various cases he has worked on.
In both the comic book "" #45 and the 2005 film "Batman Begins", the cave is said to have been part of the Underground Railroad.
Fictional character biography.
Batman's history has undergone many retroactive continuity revisions, both minor and major. Elements of the character's history have varied greatly. Scholars William Uricchio and Roberta E. Pearson noted in the early 1990s, "Unlike some fictional characters, the Batman has no primary urtext set in a specific period, but has rather existed in a plethora of equally valid texts constantly appearing over more than five decades."
20th century.
Origin.
The central fixed event in the Batman stories is the character's origin story. As a young boy, Bruce Wayne was horrified and traumatized when he watched his parents, the physician Dr. Thomas Wayne and his wife Martha, murdered with a gun by a mugger named Joe Chill. Batman refuses to utilize any sort of gun on the principle that a gun was used to murder his parents. This event drove him to train his body to its peak condition and fight crime in Gotham City as Batman. Pearson and Uricchio also noted beyond the origin story and such events as the introduction of Robin, "Until recently, the fixed and accruing and hence, canonized, events have been few in number", a situation altered by an increased effort by later Batman editors such as Dennis O'Neil to ensure consistency and continuity between stories.
Golden Age.
In Batman's first appearance in "Detective Comics" #27, he is already operating as a crime-fighter. Batman's origin is first presented in "Detective Comics" #33 (November 1939) and is later expanded upon in "Batman" #47. As these comics state, Bruce Wayne is born to Dr. Thomas Wayne and his wife Martha, two very wealthy and charitable Gotham City socialites. Bruce is brought up in Wayne Manor, and leads a happy and privileged existence until the age of 8, when his parents are killed by a small-time criminal named Joe Chill while on their way home from a movie theater. That night, Bruce Wayne swears an oath to spend his life fighting crime. He engages in intense intellectual and physical training; however, he realizes that these skills alone would not be enough. "Criminals are a superstitious cowardly lot", Wayne remarks, "so my disguise must be able to strike terror into their hearts. I must be a creature of the night, black, terrible ..." As if responding to his desires, a bat suddenly flies through the window, inspiring Bruce to craft the Batman persona.
In early strips, Batman's career as a vigilante earns him the ire of the police. During this period, Bruce Wayne has a fiancé named Julie Madison. In "Detective Comics" #38, Wayne takes in an orphaned circus acrobat, Dick Grayson, who becomes his vigilante partner, Robin. Batman also becomes a founding member of the Justice Society of America, although he, like Superman, is an honorary member, and thus only participates occasionally. Batman's relationship with the law thaws quickly, and he is made an honorary member of Gotham City's police department. During this time, Alfred Pennyworth arrives at Wayne Manor, and after deducing the Dynamic Duo's secret identities, joins their service as their butler.
Silver Age.
The Silver Age of Comic Books in DC Comics is sometimes held to have begun in 1956 when the publisher introduced Barry Allen as a new, updated version of the Flash. Batman is not significantly changed by the late 1950s for the continuity which would be later referred to as Earth-One. The lighter tone Batman had taken in the period between the Golden and Silver Ages led to the stories of the late 1950s and early 1960s that often feature many science-fiction elements, and Batman is not significantly updated in the manner of other characters until "Detective Comics" #327 (May 1964), in which Batman reverts to his detective roots, with most science-fiction elements jettisoned from the series.
After the introduction of DC Comics' Multiverse in the 1960s, DC established that stories from the Golden Age star the Earth-Two Batman, a character from a parallel world. This version of Batman partners with and marries the reformed Earth-Two Catwoman (Selina Kyle). The two have a daughter, Helena Wayne, who becomes the Huntress. She assumes the position as Gotham's protector along with Dick Grayson, the Earth-Two Robin, once Bruce Wayne retires to become police commissioner. Wayne holds the position of police commissioner until he is killed during one final adventure as Batman. Batman titles, however, often ignored that a distinction had been made between the pre-revamp and post-revamp Batmen (since unlike the Flash or Green Lantern, Batman comics had been published without interruption through the 1950s) and would occasionally make reference to stories from the Golden Age. Nevertheless, details of Batman's history were altered or expanded upon through the decades. Additions include meetings with a future Superman during his youth, his upbringing by his uncle Philip Wayne (introduced in "Batman" #208 (February 1969)) after his parents' death, and appearances of his father and himself as prototypical versions of Batman and Robin, respectively. In 1980, then-editor Paul Levitz commissioned the "Untold Legend of the Batman" miniseries to thoroughly chronicle Batman's origin and history.
Batman meets and regularly works with other heroes during the Silver Age, most notably Superman, whom he began regularly working alongside in a series of team-ups in "World's Finest Comics", starting in 1954 and continuing through the series' cancellation in 1986. Batman and Superman are usually depicted as close friends. As a founding member of the Justice League of America, Batman appears in its first story, in 1960's "The Brave and the Bold" #28. In the 1970s and 1980s, "The Brave and the Bold" became a Batman title, in which Batman teams up with a different DC Universe superhero each month.
Bronze Age.
In 1969, Dick Grayson attends college as part of DC Comics' effort to revise the Batman comics. Additionally, Batman also moves from his mansion, Wayne Manor into a penthouse apartment atop the Wayne Foundation building in downtown Gotham City, in order to be closer to Gotham City's crime. In 1974's "Night of the Stalker" storyline, a diploma on the wall reveals Bruce Wayne as a graduate of Yale Law School. Batman spends the 1970s and early 1980s mainly working solo, with occasional team-ups with Robin and/or Batgirl. Batman's adventures also become somewhat darker and more grim during this period, depicting increasingly violent crimes, including the first appearance (since the early Golden Age) of the Joker as a homicidal psychopath, and the arrival of Ra's al Ghul, a centuries-old terrorist who knows Batman's secret identity. In the 1980s, Dick Grayson becomes Nightwing.
In the final issue of "The Brave and the Bold" in 1983, Batman quits the Justice League and forms a new group called the Outsiders. He serves as the team's leader until "Batman and the Outsiders" #32 (1986) and the comic subsequently changed its title.
Modern Age.
After the 12-issue miniseries "Crisis on Infinite Earths", DC Comics retconned the histories of some major characters in an attempt at updating them for contemporary audiences. Frank Miller retold Batman's origin in the storyline "" from "Batman" #404–407, which emphasizes a grittier tone in the character. Though the Earth-Two Batman is erased from history, many stories of Batman's Silver Age/Earth-One career (along with an amount of Golden Age ones) remain canonical in the Post-"Crisis" universe, with his origins remaining the same in essence, despite alteration. For example, Gotham's police are mostly corrupt, setting up further need for Batman's existence. The guardian Phillip Wayne is removed, leaving young Bruce to be raised by Alfred Pennyworth. Additionally, Batman is no longer a founding member of the Justice League of America, although he becomes leader for a short time of a new incarnation of the team launched in 1987. To help fill in the revised backstory for Batman following "Crisis", DC launched a new Batman title called "Legends of the Dark Knight" in 1989 and has published various miniseries and one-shot stories since then that largely take place during the "Year One" period.
Subsequently, Batman begins exhibiting an excessive, reckless approach to his crimefighting, a result of the pain of losing Jason Todd. Batman works solo until the decade's close, when Tim Drake becomes the new Robin.
Many of the major Batman storylines since the 1990s have been intertitle crossovers that run for a number of issues. In 1993, DC published "". During the storyline's first phase, the new villain Bane paralyzes Batman, leading Wayne to ask Azrael to take on the role. After the end of "Knightfall", the storylines split in two directions, following both the Azrael-Batman's adventures, and Bruce Wayne's quest to become Batman once more. The story arcs realign in "KnightsEnd", as Azrael becomes increasingly violent and is defeated by a healed Bruce Wayne. Wayne hands the Batman mantle to Dick Grayson (then Nightwing) for an interim period, while Wayne trains for a return to the role.
The 1994 company-wide crossover storyline "" changes aspects of DC continuity again, including those of Batman. Noteworthy among these changes is that the general populace and the criminal element now consider Batman an urban legend rather than a known force.
Batman once again becomes a member of the Justice League during Grant Morrison's 1996 relaunch of the series, titled "JLA". During this time, Gotham City faces catastrophe in the decade's closing crossover arc. In 1998's "" storyline, Gotham City is devastated by an earthquake and ultimately cut off from the United States. Deprived of many of his technological resources, Batman fights to reclaim the city from legions of gangs during 1999's "No Man's Land".
Meanwhile, Batman's relationship with the Gotham City Police Department changed for the worse with the events of "Batman: Officer Down" and "Batman: War Games/War Crimes"; Batman's long-time law enforcement allies Commissioner Gordon and Harvey Bullock are forced out of the police department in "Officer Down", while "War Games" and "War Crimes" saw Batman become a wanted fugitive after a contingency plan of his to neutralize Gotham City's criminal underworld is accidentally triggered, resulting in a massive gang war that ends with the sadistic Black Mask the undisputed ruler of the city's criminal gangs. Lex Luthor arranges for the murder of Batman's on-again, off-again love interest Vesper Lynd (introduced in the mid-1990s) during the "Bruce Wayne: Murderer?" and "" story arcs. Though Batman is able to clear his name, he loses another ally in the form of his new bodyguard Sasha, who is recruited into the organization known as "Checkmate" while stuck in prison due to her refusal to turn state's evidence against her employer. While he was unable to prove that Luthor was behind the murder of Vesper, Batman does get his revenge with help from Talia al Ghul in "Superman/Batman" #1–6.
21st century.
2000s.
DC Comics' 2005 miniseries "Identity Crisis" reveals that JLA member Zatanna had edited Batman's memories to prevent him from stopping the Justice League from lobotomizing Dr. Light after he raped Sue Dibny. Batman later creates the Brother I satellite surveillance system to watch over and, if necessary, kill the other heroes after he remembered. The revelation of Batman's creation and his tacit responsibility for the Blue Beetle's death becomes a driving force in the lead-up to the "Infinite Crisis" miniseries, which again restructures DC continuity. Batman and a team of superheroes destroy Brother EYE and the OMACs, though, at the very end, Batman reaches his apparent breaking point when Alexander Luthor Jr. seriously wounds Nightwing. Picking up a gun, Batman nearly shoots Luthor in order to avenge his former sidekick, until Wonder Woman convinces him to not pull the trigger.
Following "Infinite Crisis", Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson (having recovered from his wounds), and Tim Drake retrace the steps Bruce had taken when he originally left Gotham City, to "rebuild Batman". In the ' storyline, Batman and Robin return to Gotham City after their year-long absence. Part of this absence is captured during Week 30 of the "52" series, which shows Batman fighting his inner demons. Later on in "52", Batman is shown undergoing an intense meditation ritual in Nanda Parbat. This becomes an important part of the regular "Batman" title, which reveals that Batman is reborn as a more effective crime fighter while undergoing this ritual, having "hunted down and ate" the last traces of fear in his mind. At the end of the "Face the Face" story arc, Bruce officially adopts Tim (who had lost both of his parents at various points in the character's history) as his son. The follow-up story arc in "Batman", "Batman and Son", introduces Damian Wayne, who is Batman's son with Talia al Ghul. Although originally, in ', Bruce's coupling with Talia was implied to be consensual, this arc retconned it into Talia forcing herself on Bruce.
Batman, along with Superman and Wonder Woman, reforms the Justice League in the new "Justice League of America" series, and is leading the newest incarnation of the Outsiders.
Grant Morrison's 2008 storyline, "Batman R.I.P." featured Batman being physically and mentally broken by the enigmatic villain Doctor Hurt and attracted news coverage in advance of its highly promoted conclusion, which would speculated to feature the death of Bruce Wayne. However, though Batman is shown to possibly perish at the end of the arc, the two-issue arc "Last Rites", which leads into the crossover storyline "Final Crisis", shows that Batman survives his helicopter crash into the Gotham City River and returns to the Batcave, only to be summoned to the Hall of Justice by the JLA to help investigate the New God Orion's death. The story ends with Batman retrieving the god-killing bullet used to kill Orion, setting up its use in "Final Crisis". In the pages of "Final Crisis" Batman is reduced to a charred skeleton. In "Final Crisis" #7, Wayne is shown witnessing the passing of the first man, Anthro. Wayne's "death" sets up the three-issue "" miniseries in which Wayne's ex-proteges compete for the "right" to assume the role of Batman, which concludes with Grayson becoming Batman, while Tim Drake takes on the identity of the Red Robin. Dick and Damian continue as Batman and Robin, and in the crossover storyline "Blackest Night", what appears to be Bruce's corpse is reanimated as a Black Lantern zombie, but is later shown that Bruce's corpse is one of Darkseid's failed Batman clones. Dick and Batman's other friends conclude that Bruce is alive.
2010s.
Bruce subsequently returned in Morrison's miniseries "", which depicted his travels through time from prehistory to present-day Gotham. Bruce's return set up "Batman Incorporated", an ongoing series which focused on Wayne franchising the Batman identity across the globe, allowing Dick and Damian to continue as Gotham's Dynamic Duo. Bruce publicly announced that Wayne Enterprises will aid Batman on his mission, known as "Batman, Incorporated". However, due to rebooted continuity that occurred as part of DC Comics' 2011 relaunch of all of its comic books, "The New 52", Dick Grayson was restored as Nightwing with Wayne serving as the sole Batman once again. The relaunch also interrupted the publication of "Batman, Incorporated", which resumed its story in 2012–2013 with changes to suit the new status quo.
The New 52.
During "The New 52", all of DC's continuity was reset and the timeline was changed, making Batman the first superhero to emerge. This emergence took place during "Zero Year", where Bruce Wayne returns to Gotham and becomes Batman, fighting the original Red Hood and the Riddler. In the present day, Batman discovers the Court of Owls, a secret organization operating in Gotham for decades. Batman somewhat defeats the Court by defeating Owlman, although the Court continues to operate on a smaller scale. The Joker returns after losing the skin on his face (as shown in the opening issue of the second volume of "Detective Comics") and attempts to kill the Batman's allies, though he is stopped by Batman. After some time, Joker returns again, and both he and Batman die while fighting each other. Jim Gordon temporarily becomes Batman, using a high-tech suit, while it is revealed that an amnesiac Bruce Wayne is still alive. Gordon attempts to fight a new villain called Mr. Bloom, while Wayne, regains his memories with the help of Alfred Pennyworth and Julie Madison. Once with his memories, Wayne becomes Batman again and defeats Mr. Bloom with the help of Gordon.
DC Rebirth.
The timeline was reset again during "Rebirth", although no significant changes were made to the Batman mythos. Batman meets two new superheroes operating in Gotham named Gotham and Gotham Girl. Psycho-Pirate gets into Gotham's head and turns against Batman, and is finally defeated when he is killed. This event is very traumatic for Gotham Girl and she begins to lose her sanity.
Batman forms his own Suicide Squad, including Catwoman, and attempts to take down Bane. The mission is successful, and Batman breaks Bane's back. Batman proposes to Catwoman.
After healing from his wounds, an angry Bane travels to Gotham, where he fights Batman and loses. Batman then tells Catwoman about the War of Jokes and Riddles, and she agrees to marry him. Bane takes control of Arkham Asylum and manipulates Catwoman into leaving Wayne before the wedding. This causes Wayne to become very angry, and, as Batman, lashes out against criminals, nearly killing Mr. Freeze.
Batman learns of Bane's control over Arkham and teams up with the Penguin to stop him. Bane captures Batman, and Scarecrow causes him to hallucinate, although he eventually breaks free. Batman escapes and reunites with Catwoman, while Bane captures and kills Alfred Pennyworth. Batman returns and defeats Bane, although too late to save Alfred. Gotham Girl prompts him to marry Catwoman.
It is revealed that the Joker who was working for Bane was really Clayface in disguise. The real Joker has been plotting a master plan to take over Gotham. This plan comes to fruition during "The Joker War", in which Joker takes over the city. Batman defeats the Joker who vanishes after an explosion. Ghost-Maker, an enemy from Batman's past, appears in Gotham, and, after a battle, becomes a sort of ally to Batman. A new group called the Magistrate rises up in Gotham, led by Simon Saint, whose goal is to outlaw vigilantes such as Batman. At the same time, Scarecrow returns, fighting Batman. During "Fear State", Batman battles and defeats both Scarecrow and the Magistrate's Peacekeepers.
Other versions.
The character of Batman has been portrayed in numerous alternative versions across various media since his debut in 1939. These adaptations explore different facets and interpretations of the character.
In the "Smallville" a television series, Bruce Wayne adopts the Batman persona in 2001, later teaming up with Superman and other superheroes. Frank Miller's influential series, "The Dark Knight Returns," reimagines Batman as an older, more hardened vigilante, coming out of retirement to fight crime in a dystopian future.
In the "" universe, Batman leads a resistance against a tyrannical Superman who has taken control of Earth.
The "DC Bombshells" series sets Batman in a World War II-era context, with Bruce Wayne taking inspiration from Batwoman to become the masked hero. The "Dark Multiverse" introduces various twisted versions of Batman, such as the Batman Who Laughs, a hybrid of Batman and the Joker, and Red Death, a fusion of Batman and the Flash.
Other notable reimaginings include "JLA/Avengers", where Batman appears in a crossover with Marvel's Avengers; Stan Lee's "Just Imagine", which offers a completely different origin for Batman; and "Kingdom Come," where an older Batman operates in a dystopian future alongside other aged superheroes.
In "Superman: American Alien," Bruce Wayne's journey is retold with significant differences, and "Batman: White Knight" explores a reality where the Joker is cured of his insanity and seeks to expose Batman as the true villain of Gotham. These various adaptations and reinterpretations highlight the versatility and enduring appeal of Batman as a character, allowing for a rich exploration of his mythology across different narratives and settings.
In popular culture.
Batman has ascended to the status of a global pop culture phenomenon, transcending his origins in comic books. His influence expanded notably with the release of the 1989 film, which propelled him to the forefront of public consciousness through widespread merchandising. "The Guardian" describes Batman as emblematic of the constant reinvention characteristic of modern mass culture, embodying both iconic status and commercial appeal, making him a quintessential cultural artifact of the 21st century.
Media appearances.
Apart from comics, Batman's presence spans various mediums, including newspapers, radio dramas, television, stage, and film. From the 1940s serials to contemporary TV shows like "Gotham" and "Titans," Batman's legacy endures. Celebrating the character's 75th anniversary, Warner Bros released "Batman: Strange Days," showcasing his timeless appeal.
In September 2024, Batman become the first superhero to be given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It was the 2,790th star.
Different interpretations.
Gay interpretations of Batman have been studied academically since psychologist Fredric Wertham's claims in 1954. Andy Medhurst and Will Brooker have explored Batman's appeal to gay audiences and the validity of a queer reading. Meanwhile, in psychological interpretations, Dr. Travis Langley sees Batman as representing the "shadow archetype," confronting inner darkness to fight evil, according to Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell's theories. Langley's analysis adds depth to Batman's psychological complexity.
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Mario
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is a character created by the Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the star of the "Mario" franchise, a recurring character in the "Donkey Kong" franchise, and the mascot of the Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario is an Italian plumber who lives in the Mushroom Kingdom with his younger twin brother, Luigi. Their adventures generally involve rescuing Princess Peach from the villain Bowser while using power-ups that give them different abilities. Mario's distinctive characteristics include his large nose and mustache, overalls, red cap, and high-pitched, exaggerated Italian accent.
Mario debuted as the player character of "Donkey Kong", a 1981 platform game. Miyamoto created Mario after he was unable to obtain the license to use Popeye as the protagonist. The graphical limitations of arcade hardware influenced Mario's design, such as his nose, mustache, and overalls, and he was named after Nintendo of America's landlord, Mario Segale. After "Donkey Kong", Mario starred in "Mario Bros." (1983). Its 1985 Nintendo Entertainment System sequel, "Super Mario Bros.", began the successful "Super Mario" platformer series. Charles Martinet voiced Mario from 1991 to 2023, when he was succeeded by Kevin Afghani.
Mario has appeared in over 200 video games. These include puzzle games such as "Dr. Mario", role-playing games such as "Paper Mario" and "Mario & Luigi", and sports games such as "Mario Kart" and "Mario Tennis". He lacks a set personality and consistent profession, allowing him to take on many different roles across the "Mario" franchise. Mario is often accompanied by a large cast of supporting characters, including friends like Princess Daisy, Toad, and Yoshi and rivals like Bowser Jr., Donkey Kong, and Wario. Mario has also appeared in other Nintendo properties, such as the "Super Smash Bros." series of crossover fighting games.
Mario is an established pop culture icon and is widely considered the most famous video game character in history. His likeness has been featured in merchandise, and people and places have been nicknamed after him. He inspired many video game characters, including Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog, and unofficial media. The "Mario" franchise is the bestselling video game franchise of all time, with more than 800 million units sold worldwide. Mario has been adapted in various media; he was portrayed by Bob Hoskins in the live-action film "Super Mario Bros." (1993) and voiced by Chris Pratt in the animated film "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" (2023).
Concept and creation.
Shigeru Miyamoto created Mario while developing "Donkey Kong" in an attempt to produce a successful video game for Nintendo; previous games, such as "Sheriff," had not achieved the success of games such as Namco's "Pac-Man". Originally, Miyamoto wanted to create a game that used the 1930s characters Popeye, Bluto, and Olive Oyl. At the time, however, as Miyamoto was unable to acquire a license to use the characters (and would not until 1982 with "Popeye"), he ended up creating an unnamed player character, along with Donkey Kong and Lady (later known as Pauline).
In the early stages of "Donkey Kong", Mario was drawn using pixel dots in a 16x16 grid. The focus of the game was to escape a maze, while Mario could not jump. However, Miyamoto soon introduced jumping capabilities for the player character, reasoning that "If you had a barrel rolling towards you, what would you do?" Continuing to draw from 1930s media, "King Kong" served as an inspiration, and Mario was set in New York City.
Name.
Though the protagonist was unnamed in the Japanese release of "Donkey Kong", he was named "Jumpman" in the game's English instructions and "little Mario" in the sales brochure. Miyamoto envisioned a "go-to" character he could use in any game he developed if needed, albeit in cameo appearances as Miyamoto did not, at the time, expect the character to become singularly popular. To this end, he originally named the character "Mr. Video", comparing what he intended for the character's appearances in later games to the cameos that Alfred Hitchcock had done within his films. In retrospect, Miyamoto commented that if he had named Mario "Mr. Video", Mario likely would have "disappeared off the face of the Earth."
According to a widely circulated story, during the localization of "Donkey Kong" for American audiences, Nintendo of America's warehouse landlord, Mario Segale, confronted then-president Minoru Arakawa, demanding back rent. Following a heated argument in which the Nintendo employees eventually convinced Segale he would be paid, they opted to name the character in the game Mario after him. This story is contradicted by former Nintendo of America warehouse manager Don James, who stated in 2012 that he and Arakawa named the character after Segale as a joke because Segale was so reclusive that none of the employees had ever met him. James repeated this account in 2018. A friend of Segale commented: "My direct understanding and perception is that Mario Segale doesn't mind at all the fact that his name inspired such an iconic character, and that he shows humble pride in that fact in front of his grandchildren and close-knit adult circles."
While it is implied by the title of the "Mario Bros." series, in a 1989 interview, his full name was stated not to be "Mario Mario". The first notable use of "Mario Mario" was in the 1993 live-action film adaptation of the "Super Mario" series, and was further used in Prima's official video game strategy guides, in 2000 for "Mario Party 2" and in 2003 for "". In 2012, after Mario voice actor Charles Martinet stated that the character's name was, in fact, "Mario Mario" at San Diego Comic-Con, Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata said Mario had no last name, with which Miyamoto agreed the month after. Two months after Iwata's death in July 2015, Miyamoto changed his stance, asserting at the Super Mario Bros. 30th Anniversary festival that Mario's full name was indeed "Mario Mario". Mario can also be referred to as "Super Mario" when he acquires the Super Mushroom power-up.
Appearance and profession.
By Miyamoto's own account, Mario's profession was chosen to fit with the game design: since "Donkey Kong" takes place on a construction site, Mario was made into a carpenter; and when he appeared again in "Mario Bros.", it was decided that he should be a plumber, because a lot of the game is situated in underground settings. Mario's character design, particularly his large nose, draws on Western influences; once he became a plumber, Miyamoto decided to "put him in New York" and make him Italian, light-heartedly attributing Mario's nationality to his mustache. Other sources have Mario's profession chosen to be carpentry in an effort to depict the character as an ordinary hard worker, making it easier for players to identify with him. After a colleague suggested that Mario more closely resembled a plumber, Miyamoto changed Mario's profession accordingly and developed "Mario Bros.", featuring the character in the sewers of New York City.
Due to the graphical limitations of arcade hardware at the time, Miyamoto clothed the character in red overalls and a blue shirt to contrast against each other and the background, making the movements of his arms easily perceptible. A red cap was added to let Miyamoto avoid drawing the character's hairstyle, forehead, and eyebrows, as well as to circumvent the issue of animating his hair as he jumped. To give distinctly human facial features with the limited graphical abilities, Miyamoto drew a large nose and a mustache, which avoided the need to draw a mouth and facial expressions. Omitting a mouth circumvented the problem of clearly separating the nose from the mouth with a limited number of pixels available.
Over time, Mario's appearance has become more defined; blue eyes, white gloves, brown shoes, a red "M" in a white circle on the front of his hat and gold buttons on his overalls have been added. According to an interview, Japanese character designer Yōichi Kotabe, who worked on redesigning characters in "Super Mario Bros." (1985), revealed that Mario's M on his hat was originally the resemblance of McDonald's logo; Kotabe later changed the design of M and straightened its lines to clearly distinguish the difference. The colors of his shirt and overalls were also reversed from a blue shirt with red overalls to a red shirt with blue overalls. Miyamoto attributed this process to the different development teams and artists for each game as well as advances in technology.
Voice acting.
Mario was voiced by Charles Martinet from 1991 to 2023. When he crashed the audition, the directors were preparing to close for the night, already packing up when he arrived. He was prompted with "an Italian plumber from Brooklyn"; when he heard the phrase, he immediately thought of a stereotypical Italian accent with a voice similar to that of a mobster. He then assumed the voice would be too harsh for children, so he planned on using a voice of an older figure. However, according to Martinet, the audition for Mario was the only time where his thoughts crashed and he spoke complete nonsense. After he was prompted the character, he babbled the following in a soft and friendly voice instead:
The voice he chose was derived from another voice role he used to play the character Gremio from William Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew". Martinet kept speaking with the voice until the audition tape ran out; the clip was the only tape sent back to Nintendo, and when the director called the company he said he "found our Mario". For the following years he would use the voice for an attraction at trade shows: small tracking sensors were glued onto his face, and he would voice a 3D model of Mario's head on a television while he remained hidden behind a curtain. When attendees would approach the screen, they could talk and interact with Mario. Due to the long shifts, Stevie Coyle was hired as a voice match to take over during breaks by Martinet's suggestion. The attraction was successful and would be used for five years until Martinet was called by Miyamoto, requesting that he use the voice for a video game.
His first official video game voice role would be the CD rerelease of "Mario Teaches Typing" in 1994, but his first major voice acting role was "Super Mario 64". He received instructions on the types of sound clips needed from Miyamoto, and Martinet appreciated the fun tone of the game and later called Miyamoto a genius. He has since also continued to voice other various "Mario" characters, such as Luigi, Wario, and Waluigi. His time in the studio recording voice clips consisted of "45 takes of every sound [he] can think of", according to Martinet at a Q&A in Canada. What time he gives vocals for the game varies, and according to him has ranged from three years before a game's release to one week. The amount of clips varies as well, ranging from one hour of audio to 20. Martinet was recognized by the "Guinness World Records" for the most roles performed with the same character, at the time one hundred, and is the most of any video game voice actor. As of January 2022, he has voiced Mario in over 150 games and has recorded 5 million audio files with the voice. In an interview, Martinet said he wants to continue voicing the character until he "drops dead", or until he can no longer perform the voice accurately. In August 2023, Nintendo announced Martinet would be retiring from the voice role of Mario, though he would continue to promote the franchise as a "Mario Ambassador", a brand ambassador position. Voice actor Kevin Afghani succeeded Martinet in "Super Mario Bros. Wonder" the following October.
Characteristics.
Mario is depicted as a portly plumber who lives in the fictional land of the Mushroom Kingdom with Luigi, his younger, taller brother. The original "Mario Bros." depicted Mario and Luigi as Italians in New York, with the television series and films specifying them as originating from the borough Brooklyn. Mario's infancy, in which he was transported by a stork to the Mushroom Kingdom, was first depicted in "". In a 2005 interview, Miyamoto stated that Mario's physical age was about 24–25 years old, and "Nintendo Power" stated that his birthday is October 11.
He wears a long-sleeved red shirt, a pair of blue overalls with yellow buttons, brown shoes, white gloves, and a red cap with a red "M" printed on a white circle. In "Donkey Kong", he wore a pair of red overalls, and a blue shirt. In "Super Mario Bros.", he wore a brown shirt with red overalls. He has blue eyes, and, like Luigi, has brown hair, and a dark brown or black mustache. This consistent difference in color is attributed to being a relic from designing the characters for their original platforms, wherein certain features were actively distinguished while others had to be curtailed due to technical limitations.
Mario's occupation is plumbing, though in the original "Donkey Kong" games he is a carpenter. Mario has also assumed several other occupations: in the "Dr. Mario" series of puzzle games, which debuted in 1990, Mario is portrayed as a medical physician named "Dr. Mario"; in the Game Boy game "Mario's Picross", Mario is an archaeologist; in the "Mario vs. Donkey Kong" series, Mario is the president of a profitable toy-making company. Mario partakes in sports activities such as tennis and golf in "Mario" sports games, as well as kart racing in the "Mario Kart" series. In September 2017, Nintendo confirmed on their official Japanese profile for the character that Mario was no longer considered a plumber, but the statement was changed in March 2018. According to Nintendo, Mario has seven careers, which include plumber, doctor, racer, martial artist, basketball player, baseball player, and soccer player.
Nintendo's characterization of Mario as a Brooklynite Italian-American has been described as an example of "mukokuseki", or "nationlessness", with "roots across [the] three continents" of Europe, North America, and Japan.
Relationships.
Mario usually saves Princess Peach and the Mushroom Kingdom and purges antagonists, such as Bowser, from various areas; since his first game, Mario has usually had the role of saving the damsel in distress. Originally, he had to rescue his girlfriend Pauline in "Donkey Kong" (1981) from Donkey Kong. Despite being replaced as Mario's love interest by Princess Peach in "Super Mario Bros.," a redesigned Pauline that first appeared in "Donkey Kong" (1994) has reappeared in the "Mario vs. Donkey Kong" series, "Super Mario Odyssey" and the "Mario Kart" series as a friend of Mario. Mario reprises his role of saving Peach in the "Super Mario" series, but Mario himself was rescued by Peach in role-reversal in "Super Princess Peach". Mario rescued Princess Daisy of Sarasaland in "Super Mario Land", but Luigi has since been more linked to her; in "Super Smash Bros. Melee", the text explaining Daisy states that "After her appearance in "Mario Golf", some gossips started portraying her as Luigi's answer to Mario's Peach."
Luigi is Mario's younger fraternal twin brother, who is taller, slimmer, and can jump higher than him. He is a companion in the "Mario" games, and the character whom the second player controls in two-player sessions of many of the video games. Luigi has also occasionally rescued Mario as seen in "Mario Is Missing!" and the "Luigi's Mansion" series. "" for the Game Boy saw the arrival of Wario, Mario's greedy counterpart and self-declared arch rival, who usually assumes the role of a main antagonist or an antihero. The dinosaur character Yoshi serves as Mario's steed and sidekick in games such as "Super Mario World". Toad is Mario's trusted close friend, who gives him advice and supports him throughout his journey to rescue Princess Peach.
Abilities.
During the development of "Donkey Kong", Mario was known as . Jumping—both to facilitate level traversal and as an offensive move—is a common gameplay element in "Mario" games, especially the "Super Mario" series. By the time "Super Mario RPG" was released, jumping became such a signature act of Mario that the player was often tasked with jumping to prove to non-player characters that he was Mario. Mario's most commonly portrayed form of attack is jumping to stomp on the heads of enemies, first used in "Super Mario Bros." This jump-stomp move may entirely crush smaller enemies on the stage, and usually deal damage to larger ones, sometimes causing secondary effects. Subsequent games have elaborated on Mario's jumping-related abilities. "Super Mario World" added the ability to spin-jump, which allows Mario to break blocks beneath him. In "Super Mario 64", Mario gains new jumping abilities such as a sideways somersault; a ground pound, which is a high-impact downward thrusting motion; and the "Wall Kick", which propels him upwards by kicking off walls.
"Super Mario Bros." introduced the basic three power-ups that have become staples for the series, especially the 2D games – the Super Mushroom, a large red mushroom, which causes Mario to grow larger and be able to survive getting hit once; the Fire Flower, which allows Mario to throw fireballs; and the Super Star, which gives Mario temporary invincibility. These powers have appeared regularly throughout the series.
In video games.
"Super Mario" series.
Mario is the protagonist of the "Super Mario" series. Each game varies in its plot, but most of them have the ultimate goal of Mario rescuing Princess Peach after being kidnapped by Bowser. Mario explores a variety of locations, titled "worlds", and along the way, he can collect items and defeat enemies. Most levels have an end goal, such as stars or flagpoles, that he needs to reach to move on to the next. The series is divided into two general sets of games: the 2D side-scrolling "Super Mario" games and the 3D open world "Super Mario" games.
2D games.
The "Super Mario" series had Mario starring in platform games, beginning with "Super Mario Bros." on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in 1985. In these games, Mario traverses worlds that contain a set number of levels for Mario to complete. In them, he traverses them from moving left to right, the screen scrolling in the direction he moves. Mario has the goal of reaching the end of the level to move onto the next, typically marked with a flagpole. These games are less focused on plot and more on platforming; most commonly, Bowser kidnaps Peach, and Mario, with the help of Luigi and other characters, sets out to rescue her. Most worlds have mini boss battles, which typically involve fighting Bowser Jr. or one of several Koopalings. The final level is a fight against Bowser.
His first appearance in the 2D variant of the series was "Super Mario Bros." in 1985, which began with a 16x32 pixel rectangle prototype as the character; Takashi Tezuka suggested the character to be Mario after the success of one of his previous roles, "Mario Bros." Certain other gameplay concepts were cut as well, such as how Mario could fly in a rocket ship and fire bullets. Originally designed with a small Mario in mind with the intention of increasing his size further in development, the developers implemented the feature of his size changes via power-ups as they considered it a fun addition. The concept was influenced by Japanese folktales.
"Super Mario Bros. 2" was originally not going to be a sequel to "Super Mario Bros.", and was originally going to be a game called "Doki Doki Panic"; directed by Kensuke Tanabe. One of the changes included the retexturing of the four main playable characters of "Doki Doki Panic", and since they varied in height, this was the first instance where Mario was noticeably shorter than Luigi. "Super Mario Bros. 3" experimented with Mario's looks with different power-ups that represented different creatures. An example included the raccoon tail, which was chosen over a power-up that represented a centaur. The game's success led to an animated television series, "The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3", with Mario being portrayed by Walker Boone.
Hiroshi Yamauchi wanted a launch game for the Game Boy that featured Mario, as he believed in the statement "fun games sold consoles". "Super Mario Land" was designed without the help of Miyamoto, a first for the series. The game uses completely different elements to pair with the small screen due to the Game Boy's portability. For example, instead of rescuing Princess Peach from Bowser in the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario is instead rescuing Princess Daisy from Tatanga in Sarasaland. Mario was designed with line art.
"Super Mario World" was the first video game to feature Yoshi as a companion to Mario. Miyamoto had always wanted a dinosaur-like companion, ever since the original "Super Mario Bros.", but the concept was never achievable due to limited hardware. Since "Super Mario World" took place in a land of dinosaurs, Takashi Tezuka requested Shigefumi Hino to draw a character based on Miyamoto's concepts and sketches, which he drew during the development of "Super Mario Bros. 3". "Super Mario World" was released during a console war between Nintendo and Sega; Sega's mascot, Sonic the Hedgehog, was considered a "cooler" alternative to Mario, to which Miyamoto apologized for.
The plot for "" has Mario pursue something for his own benefit rather than for someone else, his goal trying to reclaim ownership of his island, Mario Land, from Wario. The game was developed by Nintendo Research & Development 1 (R&D1). The company was unmotivated by the "Super Mario" series, and when they were tasked with creating a "Super Mario" game without Miyamoto, they created Wario to emphasize the frustration of working with a character they did not make. The name "Wario" is word play of "Mario" and "Warui", the latter meaning "bad" in Japanese to mean "bad Mario".
The character's models and backgrounds in "New Super Mario Bros." were 3D, but still only allowed for left and right movement and are considered 2.5D. With the 2D series of "Super Mario" games being absent for 14 years, the previous installment being released in 1992, game mechanics improved drastically. Since the characters were no longer sprites and the backdrops were not tile-based, the developers were nearly restrictionless; new game mechanics, such as Mario teetering off of trees and swinging on ropes, were implemented. "New Super Mario Bros." was the first 2D "Super Mario" game to use voice acting, with Charles Martinet voicing Mario and Luigi. It was followed by three games similar to "New Super Mario Bros.", namely "New Super Mario Bros. Wii", "New Super Mario Bros. 2", and "New Super Mario Bros. U", the latter of which being the first game to feature Mario in high-definition graphics (HD).
Takashi Tezuka returned as a producer for the development of "Super Mario Bros. Wonder", with Shiro Mouri as the director of the game. The game director, Shiro Mouri, said that the game developers aimed to provide a "stress free" experience to the players by allowing them to move freely through the course. In comparison to the previous 2D Super Mario games, Mario's facial expressions are now more detailed and expressive.
3D games.
Most "Super Mario" games in 3D feature open world gameplay; instead of being confined to only moving left and right, Mario can move in any direction, and the player can complete the level however they please. The player chooses from one of the multiple objectives before entering a level, and Mario is tasked with completing that goal, which ultimately ends with an obtainable item such as a star. These games feature a more complex narrative, but most still have Mario rescuing a kidnapped Princess Peach from Bowser.
Mario's debut 3D role was in "Super Mario 64"; since the concept of 3D video games was still new at the time, the developers knew they were helping to pave the way for future games, and they were not restricted on what the standard game was like. However, when Yoshiaki Koizumi had to create a 3D model and animation of Mario, he had no frame of reference and struggled with the task. Koizumi stated how the whole concept was "arguably tough", but was overtaken by the enjoyment of innovating in a new field. Mario's movement was among the top priorities in the game's development, with his animation being tested long before the basic layout of the game's locations was in place. "Super Mario 64" was one of the first games voiced by Charles Martinet, and Mario's character model was made with the N-World toolkit. Mario's movements and animations were inspired by "Arale Norimaki" from "Dr. Slump", a Japanese manga series.
"Super Mario Sunshine" was the first Nintendo game released after Satoru Iwata became the CEO of Nintendo, succeeding Hiroshi Yamauchi. The game's original concept did not feature Mario, as the developers believed the role was too out of the ordinary for such a character. Later on, when they used a generic man for the role instead, they believed having a realistic person alongside a character like Mario would cause "incongruity", and it was ultimately changed to Mario instead. Mario's ally, F.L.U.D.D., was one of ten design options but was chosen because it fit the game's theme, although it was not their favorite option in terms of looks.
"Super Mario Galaxy" had Mario exploring a number of spherical planets, which the developers at the time knew simply jumping on enemies would be difficult to perform. They instead took advantage of the Wii Remote and Nunchuk having motion controls, and gave Mario a "spin" attack where he knocked over the enemies via spinning. To also balance the game's difficulty, Mario was given fewer hit points.
To create a sense of familiarity for "Super Mario Odyssey", various references to the "Super Mario" series were put in the game's environment. For example, Pauline was chosen to be a major aspect of the "Metro Kingdom" due to the kingdom representing the core of the game. Mario was also given a variety of costumes to represent other smaller games, such as the "Mario's Picross" series. The development team found the most fun way to use the Joy-Con controllers' motion controls was to throw a hat, and the gameplay was centered around Mario throwing his cap.
Other "Super Mario" games.
There have also been a variety of "Super Mario" games starring Mario that do not have typical 2D or 3D platforming. The "Super Mario 3D" series does have 3D gameplay, but the stages are linear and do not allow for open-world movement. The "Super Mario Maker" games are a series of game creation systems where the player can create their own 2D "Super Mario" levels and play ones created by others. "Super Mario Run" is a 2D platforming mobile game with other unnatural gameplay aspects.
The main aspect of "Super Mario 3D Land" was bridging the aspects of 2D and 3D "Super Mario" games. One of the issues brought up was how Mario looked too small in comparison to the large terrain and the small, portable screen of the Nintendo 3DS, so the game's camera system needed to be fixed to one position in certain occasions. The game brought with it the "Tanooki Tail" power-up, which was originally introduced in "Super Mario Bros. 3", and its existence was teased by the developers to the fans prior to its official announcement. Concepts for Mario, which included a skater outfit and a power-up that would make Mario grow to a large size, were cut; the latter would appear in its sequel as the Mega Mushroom.
"Super Mario 3D World" on the Wii U included the "Cat Mario" power-up, which was implemented to help newcomers play the game and add new gameplay features such as climbing up walls. Another power-up was the "Double Cherry", which was added accidentally; one of the developers added a second Mario into the game in error, and found it humorous when both Marios were somehow controllable at the same time. In 2020, also as part of the "Super Mario Bros." 35th anniversary, Nintendo re-released "Super Mario 3D World" on the Nintendo Switch with a companion game, "Bowser's Fury".
Other "Mario" games.
While the most prominent use of Mario has been directed toward the "Super Mario" series, various spinoff series that split into numerous games covering various genres have also been released. This includes genres such as role-playing games (RPGs), puzzle games, sports games, and even educational games in the 1990s.
RPGs.
Mario has been the protagonist of various role-playing video games (RPGs), beginning with Square's "Super Mario RPG" on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). According to Yoshio Hongo of Nintendo, the game came out of Shigeru Miyamoto's desire to develop a "Mario" role-playing game while Square wanted a role-playing video game that sold well overseas. The game was notable at the time for having a unique blend of action and role-playing game elements, and was a critical and commercial success, and led to two other spinoff RPG series starring the character, "Paper Mario" and "Mario & Luigi".
A sequel to "Super Mario RPG" was planned for the Nintendo 64. The original developer, Square, had signed a deal with Sony to release "Final Fantasy VII" for the PlayStation, so Nintendo passed on development responsibilities to Intelligent Systems. The new art designer, Naohiko Aoyama, changed every character to two-dimensional to bring out "cuter" graphics compared to low-polygon three-dimensional graphics on the console. In the "Paper Mario" games, Mario is often aided by numerous allies who progress the story while Mario remains silent.
Unlike "Paper Mario", both Mario and Luigi have voices in the "Mario & Luigi" series and are voiced by Charles Martinet. According to the developers, the early games used character sprites; the developers were generally inexperienced and did not know much about hardware at the time. Once the Nintendo 3DS was released, the developers had the chance to switch to 3-dimensional graphics. They decided to change the background and world design but chose to keep the characters as 2D renderings of 3D characters as they believed it made it easier to convey comedic expressions. In 2013, they believed Mario took too much of the spotlight in the "Mario" franchise, and they made Luigi the more story-focused character in "".
Sports games.
Nintendo has released a variety of sports games featuring "Super Mario" properties, which include tennis, golf, baseball, soccer, kart racing, and other miscellaneous.
In the 1984 video game "Golf", although one of the two playable characters looks similar to that of him, wearing red clothes and black pants, he is never directly referred to be Mario; In 1997, his look was changed in the re-release of the Famicom Disk System to that more like the character, and Nintendo later confirmed the character was Mario in a guide book of the game in 1991, marking his first sports video game appearance. He then directly appeared in "NES Open Tournament Golf" in 1991 as one of two playable characters, the other being Luigi, along with a variety of other "Mario" characters with supporting roles. The character sprites were designed by Eiji Aonuma, his first project in graphical art design.
"Mario's Tennis" for the Virtual Boy was the first tennis game featuring Mario. Camelot Software Planning, who previously developed "Everybody's Golf" for Sony, was contracted to develop "Mario Tennis" for the Nintendo 64. Each character had a unique ability, with Mario having an all-around average set of skills to pair with his type of character. This would eventually set the stage for future "Mario Tennis" video games.
The "Mario Kart" franchise began with "Super Mario Kart" for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1992; early in development, the game did not have any "Mario"-themed elements. A few months into the process, the designers were testing how one character would look at another they had just passed. They implemented Mario, simply to see how he would look inside a kart, and the original concept was scrapped entirely after they decided he looked better than the previous non-defined characters. Similar to the "Mario & Luigi" series, he appears as a sprite that turns in 16 different angles.
"Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games" is a crossover series of party and sports games featuring characters from the "Mario" franchise and the "Sonic the Hedgehog" series. It includes different varieties of sports such as skateboarding, fencing, volleyball, gymnastics, and many others.
Puzzle games.
Mario has also starred in a variety of multiple puzzle games, but sometimes only makes an appearance and is not playable. The first of which to release was "Wrecking Crew", designed by Yoshio Sakamoto. Surprisingly, in this game, Mario can't jump because of hammer's weight. After which, three main series and a variety of spin-offs were released starring him, including "Dr. Mario", "Mario vs. Donkey Kong", and "Mario Picross".
The original game in the "Dr. Mario" series, also titled "Dr. Mario", was designed by Takahiro Harada and had Mario assume the role of a doctor instead of a plumber. His appearance and role have generally remained the same; to celebrate his 30th anniversary in the series, an 8-bit rendering of his original appearance was made unlockable in the most recent game, "Dr. Mario World". "Mario vs. Donkey Kong" is centered around "Mini Marios", wind-up toys that resemble Mario. The "Mario's Picross" series was an attempt by Nintendo to capitalize on the popularity of Mario and the success of puzzle games in Japan at the time. Released in 1995, the game was popular and was followed by two sequels, "Super Mario Picross" and "Picross 2", but the first game was only made available to American audiences in 2020.
Due to the abandonment of the SNES-CD hardware in the 1990s, a project developed by Nintendo and Phillips, as part of Nintendo's dissolving agreement with Philips, they gave the licensing rights to "Mario" and "The Legend of Zelda" property to release games on the CD-i. Multiple games were developed by the inexperienced Fantasy Factory, which included the puzzle game "Hotel Mario" in 1994. Via Animation Magic, "Hotel Mario" had various cutscenes of Mario and Luigi, which borrowed animation elements from Disney and J. R. R. Tolkien. Mario was voiced by Marc Graue as the game was released prior to Charles Martinet receiving the role of voicing the character.
Educational games.
Due to the popularity of the "Super Mario" series, various educational games starring the character were released and appealed to younger audiences. These games had little involvement from Nintendo, with the games releasing for the NES, Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), and personal computers. The last of the genres to release was "Mario Teaches Typing 2" in 1997, before the production of such games was discontinued.
"Mario is Missing!" is one of the only occasions where Mario himself was kidnapped and rescued by another character. In the game, Mario and Luigi approach Bowser to stop his plans, but Mario is then captured; Luigi traverses real-world locations to follow after him, solving trivia along the way. A similar game was released without the help of Miyamoto, "Mario's Time Machine", which starred Mario against Bowser instead. "Mario's Game Gallery" has the player competing in various card and board games against Mario. The game was Charles Martinet's first official voice acting role for Mario, one year prior to "Super Mario 64".
For "Mario Teaches Typing", the head of Interplay Productions, Brian Fargo, saw the success of the typing game "Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing", and knew a character like Mario as the teacher would be appealing. Pre-dating "Mario's Game Gallery", Martinet did not voice Mario. After release, the concept was so successful, it began a negative relationship between Fargo and Les Crane, the creator of "Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing". "Mario Teaches Typing 2" was released in 1997, which Martinet voiced Mario for. When they were approved of creating "Mario's Game Gallery", another Mario-themed education game was also released that was of poor quality, so Miyamoto met with Fargo and halted production of any further education games using the character.
Cameos.
Apart from his platformer and spin-off game appearances, Mario has made guest appearances in other Nintendo games, such as "Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!" and "Tennis" (1984), where Mario is an umpire, in "Pac-Man Vs.", he is the in-game announcer. Mario appears alongside Pauline in a bonus segment in "Pinball" (1984). He also appears as a playable character in every installment of the "Super Smash Bros." series. He makes countless cameo appearances in many forms in many games, such as portraits and statues in ', ', "", "Pilotwings 64", and "Stunt Race FX". Mario has a cameo appearance in , despite having next to no presence in the "Donkey Kong Country" subseries. He can be seen in a crowd along with Luigi in "Kirby Super Star". On an ending screen that appears in Nintendo's NES version of the video game "Tetris", Mario appears with Luigi dancing to the music, which is a version from prelude to the opera "Carmen"; Peach, Bowser and various Nintendo characters also appear.
Outside of Nintendo-produced games, Mario has often appeared in third-party games on Nintendo consoles. Mario appears in "" as a figurine alongside Yoshi. Mario appears as a playable character in the GameCube versions of "NBA Street V3" and "SSX on Tour". Mario also appeared in "Minecraft" as a skin alongside other characters in the series. "Monster Hunter 4" included Mario as one of the free DLC outfits alongside Luigi. The Wii U version of "Scribblenauts Unlimited" features Mario along with other "Super Mario" and "The Legend of Zelda" characters; they are not present in the 3DS version of the game. In December 2011, Ubisoft "Just Dance 3" included "Mario" as a downloadable dance track, with Mario appearing to dance on-screen.
In other media.
The first appearance of Mario in media other than games was "Saturday Supercade", an animated television series produced by Ruby-Spears Productions in 1983. The 1986 original video animation "" features Mario (voiced by Toru Furuya) as the protagonist. The animated series "The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!" features a live-action series of skits that stars former WWF manager "Captain" Lou Albano as Mario and Danny Wells as Luigi. Mario appeared in a book series, the Nintendo Adventure Books. The other two animated series, "The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3" and "Super Mario World", star Walker Boone as Mario and Tony Rosato as Luigi.
Mario is portrayed by Bob Hoskins in the 1993 film loosely based on the "Super Mario" series, "Super Mario Bros." In the film, he is the cynical older brother who takes great pride in being a plumber and is a parental figure to Luigi, portrayed by John Leguizamo. At first, he held no belief in unusual things happening, but meeting Daisy and taking a trip to Dinohattan soon changed his mind. Hoskins was ultimately cast to play the character after other choices fell out, such as Dustin Hoffman and Danny DeVito. Hoskins had previously done multiple roles in children's films and kept suggesting changes to the script before he agreed to portray the character. According to one of the films' directors, Annabel Jankel, Hoskins was mainly considered due to his physical appearances. In subsequent interviews, Hoskins considered the role his worst choice in his acting career, admitted to constantly drinking before and during filming, and noted that he was injured and almost died multiple times during production.
Mario is voiced by Chris Pratt in the 2023 film adaptation "The Super Mario Bros. Movie". Although American actor Sebastian Maniscalco originally auditioned to voice Mario in the 2023 film, he got the role of voicing Spike instead. The film depicts him and Luigi as Italian-American plumbers who started their own business in Brooklyn after working for the antagonistic Foreman Spike, who supervises the Wrecking Crew. They attempt to fix a significant manhole leak reported in the news to make a name for themselves, only for the pipe to transport Mario to the Mushroom Kingdom and Luigi to the Dark Lands. Mario works with Peach, Toad, and later Donkey Kong to rescue Luigi and the Mushroom Kingdom from the tyrannical Bowser. Martinet makes cameo appearances in the film as Mario and Luigi's unnamed father and as Giuseppe, who appears in Brooklyn and resembles Mario's original design from "Donkey Kong", speaking in his in-game voice. In response to criticism of Pratt's casting, co-director Aaron Horvath explained that he was cast mainly because of his history of playing good-natured, blue collar-type protagonists.
Reception.
As Nintendo's mascot, Mario is widely considered to be the most famous video game character in history, and has been called an icon of the gaming industry. He has been featured in over two hundred video games. Mario was one of the first video game character inductees at the Walk of Game in 2005, alongside Link and Sonic the Hedgehog. Mario was the first video game character to be honored with a wax figure in the Hollywood Wax Museum in 2003. "Kotaku" writer Luke Plunkett had called Mario the most recognizable figure in the gaming industry, stating that, "Nintendo's mascot has been the most recognisable (and profitable) face this industry has ever - and will likely ever - see, almost single-handedly driving Nintendo through five whole generations of video game success". In 2010, Guinness World Records gave Mario the title "Godfather of gaming" and "longest-running computer game character" and stated, "Mario is still 'The Godfather' of gaming as the most successful and enduring character in an industry which is constantly evolving." In 2024, a poll conducted by BAFTA with around 4,000 respondents named Mario as the second most iconic video-game character of all time. Ben Lindbergh of The Ringer described Mario as "the most iconic video character of all time", "the medium's most successful character", and "video-game-character equivalent of type-O blood" and also reported that Mario has the highest Q Score among video game characters, with Link, Pac-Man, and Master Chief being one of his closest competitors. Lucas M. Thomas of "IGN" defined Mario as "gaming's greatest athlete", noting, "He's too short, he's out of shape and he's wearing entirely the wrong kind of shoes, but somehow Nintendo's main man Mario has still managed to become gaming's greatest athlete. From the tennis court to the ballpark, from the soccer field to the golf course, the heroic plumber has spent years now filling the time in-between his princess-rescuing adventures with a grand variety of leisurely sports".
In 1990, a national survey found that Mario was more recognizable to American children than Mickey Mouse. James Coates of "The Baltimore Sun" reported that, as author David Sheff notes, "In 1990, according to ‘Q’ ratings, Mario has become more popular than Mickey Mouse with American children" and he further mentions that his 9-year-old son is a Nintendo fan who is curious about what Mario is doing to the youth of America. In 2005, American musician Jonathan Mann created an opera based on Super Mario Bros. and performed Mario Opera as a tribute to Shigeru Miyamoto. Salman Rushdie, an Indian-born British-American novelist, was fond of Mario and his younger twin brother "Luigi". He also enjoyed playing "Super Mario World", which gave him the impression of having an enjoyment of life in comparison to the rest of the world. In 2023, a survey was taken by gaming website Cribbage Online on "Top 20 most-loved "Super Mario" franchise characters", which consisted of over 87,000 voters. According to the survey, Mario was placed third with 5,602 votes, while Luigi and "Yoshi" surpassed him with 5,771 votes and 6,084 votes, respectively.
Cameron Sherrill of "Esquire" praised Mario's athletic skills in track and field, noting, "This is where Mario comes to life. I mean, he goes against the blue guy who's literally famous for going fast. Plus, Mario is the platforming king—i.e. running and jumping—so it stands to reason that he’d be good at track and field". Philip Kollar and Allegra Frank of Polygon wrote in their review of "Super Mario Odyssey" that Mario plays an important role in making the game more pleasurable and special. They also wrote about Mario's legacy, stating that, "From a plumber to a doctor to a tennis star to, uh, a Goomba, Mario has endured. No, this will not be the last Mario game, but it is almost certain to be lauded as one of his best". "Electronic Gaming Monthly" gave Mario their "Coolest Mascot" award for 1996, calling him "an age-old friend". "Nintendo Power" listed Mario as their favorite hero, citing his defining characteristics as his mustache, red cap, plumbing prowess, and his mushrooms. In a poll conducted in 2008 by Oricon, Mario was voted as the most popular video game character in Japan by both men and women, overtaking popular video game icons such as "Final Fantasy" "Cloud Strife" and "Metal Gear" "Solid Snake". Yahoo! Japan held a poll between November 1, 2009, and October 31, 2010, to determine which video game character is more popular among readers. Mario won the poll with 9,862 votes. Several publications have often compared Mario to "Sega" mascot and iconic character, "Sonic the Hedgehog". Mario also serves as an inspiration for "Sonic the Hedgehog" origin.
Legacy.
Mario has been established as a pop culture icon and has appeared on lunch boxes, T-shirts, magazines, and commercials (notably in a Got Milk? commercial). Other products include cartoon shows, movies, books, hats, plush dolls, cereals, ice cream, bedding, kitchenware, clocks, purses, cufflinks, wallets, mugs, art prints, boxers, Lego sets, coaster sets, Hot Wheels sets, stationery sets, and board games.
Mario has inspired unlicensed paintings, performances on talent shows such as "India's Got Talent", short films, and web series. The character has been present in a number of works created by third parties other than Nintendo, such as in the iOS and Android video game "Platform Panic", in which one of the purchasable skins is a reference to him. "Assassin's Creed II", an action-adventure video game created by Ubisoft, features a reference to the "Super Mario" series. The game's protagonist, "Ezio Auditore da Firenze", gets attacked on the road; his uncle saves him and introduces himself by saying Mario's iconic catchphrase, "It's a-me, Mario!" "World of Warcraft", a massively multiplayer online role-playing game created by Blizzard Entertainment, features two non-playable characters named Muigin and Larion, who are references to Mario and Luigi. It also features a jumpbot that resembles Mario's appearance.
Many people and places have been named or nicknamed after Mario. Bergsala, the distributor of Nintendo's products in the Nordic and the Baltic countries, is located at Marios Gata 21 (Mario's Street 21) in Kungsbacka, Sweden, named after Mario. Many sports stars, including Bundesliga football players Mario Götze and Mario Gómez, National Hockey League player Mario Lemieux, Italian footballer Mario Balotelli, Italian cyclist Mario Cipollini, and American former footballer Mario Williams have been given the nickname "Super Mario". In a suburb of the Spanish city of Zaragoza, streets were named after video games, including "Avenida de Super Mario Bros."
Mario's legacy is recognized by "Guinness World Records", who awarded the Nintendo mascot, and the series of platform games he has appeared in, seven world records in the "Guinness World Records: Gamer's Edition 2008." These records include "Best Selling Video Game Series of All Time", "First Movie Based on an Existing Video Game", and "Most Prolific Video Game Character", with Mario appearing in 116 original games. In 2009, "Guinness World Records" listed him as the second most recognizable video game character in the United States, recognized by 93 percent of the population, second only to Pac-Man, who was recognized by 94 percent of the population. In 2011, readers of "Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition" voted Mario as the top video game character of all time. In 2018, Charles Martinet, voice actor of Mario, received the Guinness World Record for most video game voice-over performances as the same character.
Mario appeared in the 2016 Summer Olympics closing ceremony to promote the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. In a pre-recorded video, the prime minister Shinzo Abe became Mario to use a Warp pipe planted by Doraemon from Shibuya Crossing to Maracanã Stadium. Abe then appeared dressed as Mario in an oversized Warp Pipe in the middle of the stadium. This segment was favorably well received as playful and tasteful in Japan, resulting in giving Abe the nickname "Abe-Mario".
Mario Day is celebrated on March 10, as when that date is presented as "Mar 10" it resembles the word "Mario". Since 2016 the day has been officially observed by Nintendo, who celebrates the day annually by promoting "Mario" games and holding "Mario"-related events. In March 2018, Google Maps collaborated with Nintendo for the celebration of Mario Day. By tapping on a yellow ? Block, the navigation arrow changes into Mario, who drives his Pipe Frame kart from the "Mario Kart" series. In March 2024, American actor Gaten Matarazzo teamed up with Nintendo to celebrate that year's Mario Day.
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Bugs Bunny
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Bugs Bunny is a cartoon character created in the late 1930s at Warner Bros. Cartoons (originally Leon Schlesinger Productions) and voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his featured roles in the "Looney Tunes" and "Merrie Melodies" series of animated short films, produced by Warner Bros. Earlier iterations of the character first appeared in Ben Hardaway's "Porky's Hare Hunt" (1938) and subsequent shorts before Bugs's definitive characterization debuted in Tex Avery's "A Wild Hare" (1940). Bob Givens, Chuck Jones, and Robert McKimson are credited for defining Bugs's design.
Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray-and-white rabbit or hare who is characterized by his flippant, insouciant personality. He is also characterized by a Brooklyn accent, his portrayal as a trickster, and his catchphrase "Eh... What's up, doc?". Through his popularity during the golden age of American animation, Bugs became an American cultural icon and Warner Bros.' official mascot.
Bugs starred in more than 160 short films produced between 1940 and 1964. He has since appeared in feature films, television shows, comics, and other media. He has appeared in more films than any other cartoon character, is the ninth most-portrayed film personality in the world and has his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Development.
According to Chase Craig, who wrote and drew the first Bugs Bunny comic Sunday pages and the first Bugs comic book, "Bugs was not the creation of any one man; however, he rather represented the creative talents of perhaps five or six directors and many cartoon writers including Charlie Thorson. In those days, the stories were often the work of a group who suggested various gags, bounced them around and finalized them in a joint story conference." A prototype Bugs rabbit with some of the personality of a finalized Bugs, though looking very different, was originally featured in the film "Porky's Hare Hunt", released on April 30, 1938. It was co-directed by Ben "Bugs" Hardaway and an uncredited director Cal Dalton (who was responsible for the initial design of the rabbit). This cartoon has an almost identical plot to Avery's "Porky's Duck Hunt" (1937), which had introduced Daffy Duck. Porky Pig is again cast as a hunter tracking a silly prey who is more interested in driving his pursuer insane and less interested in escaping. "Hare Hunt" replaces the little black duck with a small white rabbit. According to Friz Freleng, Hardaway and Dalton had decided to "dress the duck in a rabbit suit". The white rabbit had an oval head and a shapeless body. In characterization, he was "a rural buffoon". Mel Blanc gave the character a voice and laugh much like those he later used for Woody Woodpecker. He was loud, zany with a goofy, guttural laugh. The rabbit character was popular enough with audiences that the Termite Terrace staff decided to use it again.
The rabbit comes back in "Prest-O Change-O" (1939), directed by Chuck Jones, where he is the pet rabbit of unseen character Sham-Fu the Magician. Two dogs, fleeing the local dogcatcher, enter the rabbit's absent master's house. The rabbit harasses them but is ultimately bested by the bigger of the two dogs. This version of the rabbit was cool, graceful, and controlled. He retained the guttural laugh but was otherwise silent.
The rabbit's third appearance comes in "Hare-um Scare-um" (1939), directed again by Dalton and Hardaway. This cartoon—the first in which he is depicted as a gray bunny instead of a white one—is also notable as the rabbit's first singing role. Charlie Thorson, lead animator on the film, gave the character a name. He had written "Bug's Bunny" on the model sheet that he drew for Hardaway. In promotional material for the cartoon, including a surviving 1939 presskit, the name on the model sheet was altered to become the rabbit's own name: "Bugs" Bunny (quotation marks only used, on and off, until 1944).
In his autobiography, Blanc claimed that another proposed name for the character was "Happy Rabbit." In the actual cartoons and publicity, however, the name "Happy" only seems to have been used in reference to Bugs Hardaway. In "Hare-um Scare-um", a newspaper headline reads, "Happy Hardaway." Animation historian David Gerstein disputes that "Happy Rabbit" was ever used as an official name, arguing that the only usage of the term came from Mel Blanc himself in humorous and fanciful tales he told about the character's development in the 1970s and 1980s; the name "Bugs Bunny" was used as early as August 1939, in the Motion Picture Herald, in a review for the short "Hare-um Scare-um".
Thorson had been approached by Tedd Pierce, head of the story department, and asked to design a better look for the rabbit. The decision was influenced by Thorson's experience in designing hares. He had designed Max Hare in "Toby Tortoise Returns" (Disney, 1936). For Hardaway, Thorson created the model sheet previously mentioned, with six different rabbit poses. Thorson's model sheet is "a comic rendition of the stereotypical fuzzy bunny". He had a pear-shaped body with a protruding rear end. His face was flat and had large expressive eyes. He had an exaggerated long neck, gloved hands with three fingers, oversized feet, and a "smart aleck" grin. The result was influenced by Walt Disney Animation Studios' tendency to draw animals in the style of cute infants. He had an obvious Disney influence, but looked like an awkward merger of the lean and streamlined Max Hare from "The Tortoise and the Hare" (1935) and the round, soft bunnies from "Little Hiawatha" (1937).
In Jones' "Elmer's Candid Camera" (1940), the rabbit first meets Elmer Fudd. This time the rabbit looks more like the present-day Bugs, taller and with a similar face—but retaining the more primitive voice. "Candid Camera"'s Elmer character design is also different: taller and chubbier in the face than the modern model, though Arthur Q. Bryan's character voice is already established.
Official debut.
While "Porky's Hare Hunt" was the first Warner Bros. cartoon to feature what would become Bugs Bunny, "A Wild Hare", directed by Tex Avery and released on July 27, 1940, is widely considered to be the first official Bugs Bunny cartoon. It is the first film where both Elmer Fudd and Bugs, both redesigned by Bob Givens, are shown in their fully developed forms as hunter and tormentor, respectively; the first in which Mel Blanc uses what became Bugs' standard voice; and the first in which Bugs uses his catchphrase, "What's up, Doc?" "A Wild Hare" was a huge success in theaters and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Cartoon Short Subject.
For the film, Avery asked Givens to remodel the rabbit. The result had a closer resemblance to Max Hare. He had a more elongated body, stood more erect, and looked more poised. If Thorson's rabbit looked like an infant, Givens' version looked like an adolescent. Blanc gave Bugs the voice of a city slicker. The rabbit was as audacious as he had been in "Hare-um Scare-um" and as cool and collected as in "Prest-O Change-O".
Immediately following on "A Wild Hare", Bob Clampett's "Patient Porky" (1940) features a cameo appearance by Bugs, announcing to the audience that 750 rabbits have been born. The gag uses Bugs' "Wild Hare" visual design, but his goofier pre-"Wild Hare" voice characterization.
The second full-fledged role for the mature Bugs, Chuck Jones' "Elmer's Pet Rabbit" (1941), is the first to use Bugs' name on-screen: it appears in a title card, "featuring Bugs Bunny," at the start of the film (which was edited in following the success of "A Wild Hare"). However, Bugs' voice and personality in this cartoon is noticeably different, and his design was slightly altered as well; Bugs' visual design is based on the earlier version in "Candid Camera" and "A Wild Hare", but with yellow gloves, as seen in "Hare-Um Scare-Um", and no buck teeth, has a lower-pitched voice and a more aggressive, arrogant and thuggish personality instead of a fun-loving personality. After "Pet Rabbit", however, subsequent Bugs appearances returned to normal: the "Wild Hare" visual design and personality returned, and Blanc re-used the "Wild Hare" voice characterization.
"Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt" (1941), directed by Friz Freleng, became the second Bugs Bunny cartoon to receive an Academy Award nomination. The fact that it did not win the award was later spoofed somewhat in "What's Cookin' Doc?" (1944), in which Bugs demands a recount (claiming to be a victim of "sa-bo-TAH-gee") after losing the Oscar to James Cagney and presents a clip from "Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt" to prove his point.
World War II.
By 1942, Bugs had become the number one star of "Merrie Melodies". The series was originally intended only for one-shot characters in films after several early attempts to introduce characters (Foxy, Goopy Geer, and Piggy) failed under Harman–Ising. By the mid-1930s, under Leon Schlesinger, "Merrie Melodies" started introducing newer characters. "Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid" (1942) shows a slight redesign of Bugs, with less-prominent front teeth and a rounder head. The character was later reworked by Robert McKimson, then an animator in Clampett's unit, for "Tortoise Wins by a Hare" (1943), with more slanted eyes, longer teeth and a much larger mouth. The redesign at first was only used in the films created by Clampett's unit, but in time it was taken up by the other directors, with Freleng and Frank Tashlin the first. McKimson would use another version of the rabbit by Jean Blanchard until 1949 (as did Art Davis for the one Bugs Bunny film he directed, "Bowery Bugs") when he started using the version he had designed for Clampett. Jones came up with his own slight modification, and the voice had slight variations between the units. Bugs also made cameos in Avery's final Warner Bros. cartoon, "Crazy Cruise".
Since Bugs' fifth appearance in "A Wild Hare", he appeared in color "Looney Tunes" and "Merrie Melodies" films (making him one of the few recurring characters created for the series in the Schlesinger era prior to the full conversion to color), alongside Egghead, Inki, Sniffles, and Elmer Fudd (who actually co-existed in 1937 along with Egghead as a separate character). While Bugs made a cameo in "Porky Pig's Feat" (1943), this was his only appearance in a black-and-white "Looney Tunes" film. He did not star in a "Looney Tunes" film until that series made its complete conversion to only color cartoons beginning in 1944. "Buckaroo Bugs" was Bugs' first film in the "Looney Tunes" series and was also the last Warner Bros. cartoon to credit Schlesinger (as he had retired and sold his studio to Warner Bros. that year).
Bugs' popularity soared during World War II because of his free and easy attitude, and he began receiving special star billing in his cartoons by 1943. By that time, Warner Bros. had become the most profitable cartoon studio in the United States. In company with cartoon studios such as Disney and Famous Studios, Warners pitted its characters against Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Francisco Franco, and the Japanese. "Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips" (1944) features Bugs at odds with a group of Japanese soldiers. This cartoon has since been pulled from distribution due to its depiction of Japanese people. One US Navy propaganda film saved from destruction features the voice of Mel Blanc in "Tokyo Woes" (1945) about the propaganda radio host Tokyo Rose. He also faces off against Hermann Göring and Hitler in "Herr Meets Hare" (1945), which introduced his well-known reference to Albuquerque as he mistakenly winds up in the Black Forest of 'Joimany' instead of Las Vegas, Nevada. Bugs also appeared in the 1942 two-minute U.S. war bonds commercial film "Any Bonds Today?", along with Porky and Elmer.
At the end of "Super-Rabbit" (1943), Bugs appears wearing a United States Marine Corps dress blue uniform. As a result, the Marine Corps made Bugs an honorary Marine master sergeant. From 1943 to 1946, Bugs was the official mascot of Kingman Army Airfield, Kingman, Arizona, where thousands of aerial gunners were trained during World War II. Some notable trainees included Clark Gable and Charles Bronson. Bugs also served as the mascot for 530 Squadron of the 380th Bombardment Group, 5th Air Force, U.S. Air Force, which was attached to the Royal Australian Air Force and operated out of Australia's Northern Territory from 1943 to 1945, flying B-24 Liberator bombers. Bugs riding an air delivered torpedo served as the squadron logo for Marine Torpedo/Bomber Squadron 242 in the Second World War. Additionally, Bugs appeared on the nose of B-24J #42-110157, in both the 855th Bomb Squadron of the 491st Bombardment Group (Heavy) and later in the 786th BS of the 466th BG(H), both being part of the 8th Air Force operating out of England.
In 1944, Bugs Bunny made a cameo appearance in "Jasper Goes Hunting", a Puppetoons film produced by rival studio Paramount Pictures. In this cameo (animated by McKimson, with Blanc providing the usual voice), Bugs (after being threatened at gunpoint) pops out of a rabbit hole, saying his usual catchphrase; after hearing the orchestra play the wrong theme song, he realizes "Hey, I'm in the wrong picture!" and then goes back in the hole. Bugs also made a cameo in the Private Snafu short "Gas", in which he is found stowed away in the titular private's belongings; his only spoken line is his usual catchphrase.
Although it was usually Porky Pig who brought the "Looney Tunes" films to a close with his stuttering, "That's all, folks!", Bugs replaced him at the end of "Hare Tonic" and "Baseball Bugs", bursting through a drum just as Porky did, but munching on a carrot and saying, in his Bronx/Brooklyn accent, "And that's the end!"
Post-World War II era.
After World War II, Bugs continued to appear in numerous Warner Bros. cartoons, making his last "Golden Age" appearance in "False Hare" (1964). He starred in over 167 theatrical short films, most of which were directed by Friz Freleng, Robert McKimson, and Chuck Jones. Freleng's "Knighty Knight Bugs" (1958), in which a medieval Bugs trades blows with Yosemite Sam and his fire-breathing dragon (which has a cold), won an Academy Award for Best Cartoon Short Subject (becoming the first and only Bugs Bunny cartoon to win said award). Three of Jones' films—"Rabbit Fire", "Rabbit Seasoning" and "Duck! Rabbit, Duck!"—compose what is often referred to as the "Rabbit Season/Duck Season" trilogy and were the origins of the rivalry between Bugs and Daffy Duck. Jones' classic "What's Opera, Doc?" (1957), casts Bugs and Elmer Fudd in a parody of Richard Wagner's "Der Ring des Nibelungen". It was deemed "culturally significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1992, becoming the first cartoon short to receive this honor.
In the fall of 1960, ABC debuted the prime-time television program "The Bugs Bunny Show". This show packaged many of the post-1948 Warners cartoons with newly animated wraparounds. Throughout its run, the series was highly successful, and helped cement Warner Bros. Animation as a mainstay of Saturday-morning cartoons. After two seasons, it was moved from its evening slot to reruns on Saturday mornings. "The Bugs Bunny Show" changed format and exact title frequently but remained on network television for 40 years. The packaging was later completely different, with each cartoon simply presented on its own, title and all, though some clips from the new bridging material were sometimes used as filler.
Later years.
Bugs did not appear in any of the post-1964 "Looney Tunes" and "Merrie Melodies" films produced by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises or Seven Arts Productions, nor did he appear in Filmation's "Daffy Duck and Porky Pig Meet the Groovie Goolies". He did, however, have two cameo appearances in the 1974 Joe Adamson short "A Political Cartoon"; one at the beginning of the short where he campaigns on behalf of equal rights for cartoon characters everywhere, and another in which he is interviewed at a pet store, where he is on sale as an "Easter Rabbit". Bugs was animated in this short by Mark Kausler. He did not appear in new material on-screen again until "Bugs and Daffy's Carnival of the Animals" aired in 1976.
From the late 1970s through the early 1990s, Bugs was featured in various animated specials for network television, such as "Bugs Bunny's Thanksgiving Diet", "Bugs Bunny's Easter Special", "Bugs Bunny's Looney Christmas Tales", and "Bugs Bunny's Bustin' Out All Over". Bugs also starred in several theatrical compilation features during this time, including the United Artists distributed documentary ' (1975) and Warner Bros.' own releases: "The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie" (1979), "The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie" (1981), ' (1982), and "Daffy Duck's Quackbusters" (1988).
In the 1988 live-action/animated comedy "Who Framed Roger Rabbit", Bugs appeared as one of the inhabitants of Toontown. However, since the film was being produced by Disney, Warner Bros. would only allow the use of their biggest star if he got an equal amount of screen time as Disney's biggest star, Mickey Mouse. Because of this, both characters are always together in frame when onscreen. "Roger Rabbit" was also one of the final productions in which Mel Blanc voiced Bugs (as well as the other "Looney Tunes" characters) before his death in 1989.
Bugs later appeared in another animated production featuring numerous characters from rival studios: the 1990 drug prevention TV special "Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue". This special is notable for being the first time that someone other than Blanc voiced Bugs and Daffy (both characters were voiced by Jeff Bergman for this). Bugs also made guest appearances in the early 1990s television series "Tiny Toon Adventures", as the principal of Acme Looniversity and the mentor of Babs and Buster Bunny. He made further cameos in Warner Bros.' subsequent animated TV shows "Taz-Mania", "Animaniacs", and "Histeria!"
Bugs returned to the silver screen in "Box-Office Bunny" (1991). This was the first Bugs Bunny cartoon since 1964 to be released in theaters and it was created for Bugs' 50th anniversary celebration. It was followed by "(Blooper) Bunny", a cartoon that was shelved from theaters, but later premiered on Cartoon Network in 1997 and has since gained a cult following among animation fans for its edgy humor. Later that year, Bugs appeared in "Yakety Yak, Take it Back", a live-action/animated all-star public service music video produced by Warner Bros. Animation for the Take it Back Foundation. This music video features various celebrities, including Pat Benatar, Natalie Cole, Charlie Daniels, Lita Ford, Quincy Jones, B. B. King, Queen Latifah, Kenny Loggins, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, Bette Midler, Randy Newman, Tone Lōc, Ozzy Osbourne, Brenda Russell, Al B. Sure!, Ricky Van Shelton, Barry White, and Stevie Wonder, along with Melba Moore as herself and the voice of Tibi the Take it Back Butterfly, Dr. John as himself and the voice of Yakety Yak, Derrick Stevens as the voice of MC Skat Kat, and Squeak as the voice of Fatz.
In 1996, Bugs and the other "Looney Tunes" characters appeared in the live-action/animated film, "Space Jam", directed by Joe Pytka and starring NBA superstar Michael Jordan. The film also introduced the character Lola Bunny, who becomes Bugs' new love interest. "Space Jam" received mixed reviews from critics, but was a box office success (grossing over $230 million worldwide). The success of "Space Jam" led to the development of another live-action/animated film, "", released in 2003 and directed by Joe Dante. Unlike "Space Jam", "Back in Action" was a box-office bomb, though it did receive more positive reviews from critics.
In 1997, Bugs appeared on a U.S. postage stamp, the first cartoon to be so honored, beating the iconic Mickey Mouse. The stamp is number seven on the list of the ten most popular U.S. stamps, as calculated by the number of stamps purchased but not used. The introduction of Bugs onto a stamp was controversial at the time, as it was seen as a step toward the 'commercialization' of stamp art. The postal service rejected many designs and went with a postal-themed drawing. Avery Dennison printed the Bugs Bunny stamp sheet, which featured "a special ten-stamp design and was the first self-adhesive souvenir sheet issued by the U.S. Postal Service."
21st century.
A younger version of Bugs is the main character of "Baby Looney Tunes", which debuted on Kids' WB in 2001. In the action-comedy "Loonatics Unleashed", his definite descendant Ace Bunny is the leader of the Loonatics team and seems to have inherited his ancestor's Brooklyn accent and rapier wit.
In 2011, Bugs Bunny and the rest of the "Looney Tunes" gang returned to television in the Cartoon Network sitcom, "The Looney Tunes Show". The characters feature new designs by artist Jessica Borutski. Among the changes to Bugs' appearance were the simplification and enlargement of his feet, as well as a change to his fur from gray to a shade of mauve (though in the second season, his fur was changed back to gray). In the series, Bugs and Daffy Duck are portrayed as best friends as opposed to their usual pairing as friendly rivals. At the same time, Bugs is more vocally exasperated by Daffy's antics in the series (sometimes to the point of anger), compared to his usual level-headed personality from the original cartoons. Bugs and Daffy are friends with Porky Pig in the series, although Bugs tends to be a better friend to Porky than Daffy is. Bugs also dates Lola Bunny in the show despite the fact that he finds her to be "crazy" and a bit too talkative at first (he later learns to accept her personality quirks, similar to his tolerance for Daffy). Unlike the original cartoons, Bugs lives in a regular home which he shares with Daffy, Taz (whom he treats as a pet dog) and Speedy Gonzales, in the middle of a cul-de-sac with their neighbors Yosemite Sam, Granny, and Witch Hazel.
In 2015, Bugs starred in the direct-to-video film "", and later returned to television yet again as the star of Cartoon Network and Boomerang's comedy series "New Looney Tunes" (formerly "Wabbit").
In 2020, Bugs began appearing on the HBO Max streaming series "Looney Tunes Cartoons". His design for this series primarily resembles his Bob Clampett days, complete with yellow gloves and his signature carrot. His personality is a combination of Freleng's trickery, Clampett's defiance, and Jones’ resilience, while also maintaining his confident, insolent, smooth-talking demeanor. Bugs is voiced by Eric Bauza, who is also the current voice of Daffy Duck and Tweety, among others. In 2020, the USPS issued a new set of Bugs stamps. This was a part from a collection honoring the classic Looney Tunes characters. Bugs is presented there in a range of comical positions and facial expressions. Bugs made his return to movie theaters in the 2021 "Space Jam" sequel ', this time starring NBA superstar LeBron James. In 2022, a new pre-school animated series titled "Bugs Bunny Builders" aired on HBO Max and Cartoonito. He is again voiced by Eric Bauza. Bugs has also appeared in numerous video games, including the "Bugs Bunny's Crazy Castle" series, "Bugs Bunny Birthday Blowout", "Bugs Bunny: Rabbit Rampage", "Bugs Bunny in Double Trouble", "Looney Tunes B-Ball", "Looney Tunes Racing", ', "Bugs Bunny Lost in Time", "Bugs Bunny and Taz Time Busters", ', ', "Scooby Doo and Looney Tunes: Cartoon Universe", "Looney Tunes Dash", "Looney Tunes World of Mayhem" and "MultiVersus".
Personality and catchphrases.
Bugs Bunny's fast-talking speech pattern was inspired to a degree by the character of Oscar Shapely in the 1934 film "It Happened One Night". In the film, Shapely addresses Clark Gable's character Peter Warne as "Doc", and Warne mentions an imaginary person named "Bugs Dooley" to frighten Shapely. Referring to the same film, Friz Freleng, Chuck Jones and Bob Clampett all claimed that Bugs' nonchalant carrot-chewing style came from a scene where Gable's character eats a carrot while talking.
The carrot-chewing scenes are generally followed by Bugs' most well-known catchphrase, "What's up, Doc?", which was written by director Tex Avery for his first Bugs Bunny film, "A Wild Hare" (1940). Avery explained later that it was a common expression in his native Texas and that he did not think much of the phrase. Back then "doc" meant the same as "dude" does today. When the cartoon was first screened in theaters, the "What's up, Doc?" scene generated a tremendously positive audience reaction.
Another catchphrase associated with the character's tendency to play the trickster is "Ain't I a stinker", an acknowledgement that he engages in unfair tactics. used as early as the 1940s in shorts like the 1942 "The Wacky Wabbit". This was notably exhibited in the 1953 short, "Duck Amuck", in which Daffy Duck endures various humiliations at the hands of the unseen cartoonist, who in the end is revealed to be Bugs Bunny, who then says this line.
Voice actors.
The following are the various vocal artists who have voiced Bugs Bunny over the last 80-plus years for both Warner Bros. official productions and others:
Mel Blanc.
Mel Blanc voiced the character for 52 years, from Bugs' debut in the 1938 short "Porky's Hare Hunt" until Blanc's death in 1989. Blanc described the voice he created for Bugs in 1940's "A Wild Hare" as a combination of Bronx and Brooklyn accents; however, Tex Avery claimed that he asked Blanc to give the character not a New York accent "per se", but a voice like that of actor Frank McHugh, who frequently appeared in supporting roles in the 1930s and whose voice might be described as New York Irish. In Bugs' following cartoon "Elmer's Pet Rabbit", Blanc created a completely new voice for Bugs, which sounded like a Jimmy Stewart impression, but the directors decided the previous "Wild Hare" voice was better. Though Blanc's best known character was the carrot-chomping rabbit, munching on the carrots interrupted the dialogue. Various substitutes, such as celery, were tried, but none of them "sounded" like a carrot. So, for the sake of expedience, Blanc munched and then spit the carrot bits into a spittoon, rather than swallowing them, and continued with the dialogue. One often-repeated story, which dates back to the 1940s, is that Blanc was allergic to carrots and "had" to spit them out to minimize any allergic reaction — but his autobiography makes no such claim. In fact, in a 1984 interview with Tim Lawson, co-author of "The Magic Behind The Voices: A Who's Who of Voice Actors", Blanc emphatically denied being allergic to carrots.
Comics.
Comic books.
Bugs Bunny was continuously featured in comic books for more than 40 years, from 1941 to 1983, and has appeared sporadically since then. Bugs first appeared in comic books in 1941, in "Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies Comics" #1, published by Dell Comics. Bugs was a recurring star in that book all through its 153-issue run, which lasted until July 1954. Western Publishing (and its Dell imprint) published 245 issues of a Bugs Bunny comic book from Dec. 1952/Jan. 1953 to 1983. The company also published 81 issues of the joint title "Yosemite Sam and Bugs Bunny" from December 1970 to 1983. During the 1950s Dell also published a number of Bugs Bunny spinoff titles.
Creators on those series included Chase Craig, Helen Houghton, Eleanor Packer, Lloyd Turner, Michael Maltese, John Liggera, Tony Strobl, Veve Risto, Cecil Beard, Pete Alvorado, Carl Fallberg, Cal Howard, Vic Lockman, Lynn Karp, Pete Llanuza, Pete Hansen, Jack Carey, Del Connell, Kellog Adams, Jack Manning, Mark Evanier, Tom McKimson, Joe Messerli, Carlos Garzon, Donald F. Glut, Sealtiel Alatriste, Sandro Costa, and Massimo Fechi.
The German publisher Condor published a 76-issues Bugs Bunny series (translated and reprinted from the American comics) in the mid-1970s. The Danish publisher Egmont Ehapa produced a weekly reprint series in the mid-1990s.
Comic strip.
The "Bugs Bunny" comic strip ran for almost 50 years, from January 10, 1943, to December 30, 1990, syndicated by the Newspaper Enterprise Association. It started out as a Sunday page and added a daily strip on November 1, 1948.
The strip originated with Chase Craig, who did the first five weeks before leaving for military service in World War II. Roger Armstrong illustrated the strip from 1942 to 1944. The creators most associated with the strip are writers Albert Stoffel (1947–1979) & Carl Fallberg (1950–1969), and artist Ralph Heimdahl, who worked on it from 1947 to 1979. Other creators associated with the Bugs Bunny strip include Jack Hamm, Carl Buettner, Phil Evans, Carl Barks (1952), Tom McKimson, Arnold Drake, Frank Hill, Brett Koth, and Shawn Keller.
Reception and legacy.
Like Mickey Mouse for Disney, Bugs Bunny has served as the mascot for Warner Bros. and its various divisions. According to "Guinness World Records", Bugs has appeared in more films (both short and feature-length) than any other cartoon character, and is the ninth most portrayed film personality in the world. On December 10, 1985, Bugs became the second cartoon character (after Mickey) to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
He also has been a pitchman for companies including Kool-Aid and Nike. His Nike commercials with Michael Jordan as "Hare Jordan" for the Air Jordan VII and VIII became precursors to "Space Jam". As a result, he has spent time as an honorary member of Jordan Brand, including having Jordan's Jumpman logo done in his image. In 2015, as part of the 30th anniversary of Jordan Brand, Nike released a mid-top Bugs Bunny version of the Air Jordan I, named the "Air Jordan Mid 1 Hare", along with a women's equivalent inspired by Lola Bunny called the "Air Jordan Mid 1 Lola", along with a commercial featuring Bugs and Ahmad Rashad.
In 2002, "TV Guide" compiled a list of the 50 greatest cartoon characters of all time as part of the magazine's 50th anniversary. Bugs Bunny was given the honor of number 1. In a CNN broadcast on July 31, 2002, a "TV Guide" editor talked about the group that created the list. The editor also explained why Bugs pulled top billing: "His stock...has never gone down...Bugs is the best example...of the smart-aleck American comic. He not only is a great cartoon character, he's a great comedian. He was written well. He was drawn beautifully. He has thrilled and made many generations laugh. He is tops." Some have noted that comedian Eric Andre is the nearest contemporary comedic equivalent to Bugs. They attribute this to, "their ability to constantly flip the script on their unwitting counterparts."
Copyright status.
Under current US copyright law, Bugs Bunny is due to enter the public domain in between 2033 and 2035. However, this will only apply (at first) to the character's depiction as Happy Rabbit in "Porky's Hare Hunt" which was published in 1938 (which will enter the US public domain in 2033). His later persona debut in 1940 will enter the US public domain in 2035. Although most of his pre-1948 cartoons had been in US public domain since the early 1970s, other versions of him with later developments may persist under copyright until the entry of his post-1948 cartoons in the public domain.
Language.
The American use of "Nimrod" to mean "idiot" is often said to have originated from Bugs's exclamation "What a nimrod!" to describe the inept hunter Elmer Fudd. However, it is Daffy Duck who refers to Fudd as "my little nimrod" in the 1948 short "What Makes Daffy Duck", and the Oxford English Dictionary records earlier negative uses of the term "nimrod".
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Pikachu
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Pikachu (; Japanese: , Hepburn: ) is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's "Pokémon" media franchise, and the franchise's mascot. First introduced in the video games "Pokémon Red" and "Blue", it was created by Atsuko Nishida at the request of lead designer Ken Sugimori, with the design finalized by Sugimori. Since Pikachu's debut, it has appeared in multiple games including "Pokémon Go" and the "Pokémon Trading Card Game", as well as various merchandise. While Pikachu has been primarily voiced in media by Ikue Ōtani, other actors have also voiced the character including Kate Bristol, Ryan Reynolds, Kaiji Tang, Hidetoshi Nishijima, Tōru Ōkawa, and Koichi Yamadera.
Classified as an Electric-type Pokémon, Pikachu is a large yellow mouse with a lightning bolt-shaped tail, and red sacs on its cheek which can generate large amounts of electricity. Originally designed to be the first part of a three-stage evolution line in "Red" and "Blue", Pikachu evolves into Raichu through the use of a "Thunder Stone" item, with Raichu intended to be able to evolve into 'Gorochu'. However 'Gorochu' was removed due to cartridge space concerns, and a pre-evolution for Pikachu, Pichu, was later added in the sequel titles "Pokémon Gold" and "Silver".
Pikachu is widely considered to be the most popular and well-known Pokémon species, largely due to its appearance in the "Pokémon" anime television series as the companion of series protagonist Ash Ketchum. Pikachu has been well-received by critics, with particular praise given for to its cute design, and it has been regarded as an icon of both the "Pokémon" franchise and Japanese pop culture as a whole.
Conception and development.
Pikachu is a species of fictional creatures called Pokémon created for the "Pokémon" media franchise. Developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo, the Japanese franchise began in 1996 with the video games "Pokémon Red" and "Green" for the Game Boy, which were later released in North America as "Pokémon Red" and "Blue" in 1998. In these games and their sequels, the player assumes the role of a Trainer whose goal is to capture and use the creatures' special abilities to combat other Pokémon. Some Pokémon can transform into stronger species through a process called evolution via various means, such as exposure to specific items. Each Pokémon have one or two elemental types, which define its advantages and disadvantages when battling other Pokémon. A major goal in each game is to complete the Pokédex, a comprehensive Pokémon encyclopedia, by capturing, evolving, and trading with other Trainers to obtain individuals from all Pokémon species.
Midway through "Red" and "Blue"s development, lead designer Ken Sugimori felt that the game needed more "cute" Pokémon and was struggling to conceive of such designs. Attributing it to his male perspective, he brought in female Game Freak staff including Atsuko Nishida to join the development team. Tasked with developing the Pikachu species and its evolutionary line, she was given specific guidelines to work with, namely its role as an Electric-type Pokémon, that it evolved twice, and that the final evolution should "look strong". Pikachu evolves into Raichu through use of the game's "Thunder Stone" item. Raichu was originally planned to evolve into a Pokémon species dubbed Gorochu, but this was cut due to cartridge space concerns. Later in the franchise, Sugimori would create a Pokémon that evolved into Pikachu named Pichu to complete the trinity. Nishida developed the original Pikachu sprites using a single color identity chosen to work within the Super Game Boy's hardware limitations. Afterwards, the design was finalized by Sugimori who, towards the end of development, drew the promotional art of all the species to give them a unified look and make any last-minute changes.
Design.
Standing 1ft 4in (41cm), Pikachu is a bipedal rodent with long ears and feet but short arms. It has yellow skin, long pointed ears that end in black tips, red cheek sacs, and a tail shaped after a lightning bolt. It has a black pattern on its back, as Nishida felt since this part of the character would face the player during gameplay, it "would be better to put something there rather than having it be perfectly smooth." While preliminary designs took inspiration from mice or rabbits, as the Pokémon Rattata already existed at this point in development she instead modeled the species after squirrels. Nishida stated in an interview that she was obsessed with squirrels at the time due to their "comical" movement, and had the idea to have Pikachu store electricity in their cheeks similar to how squirrels store food. Pokémon creator Satoshi Tajiri however chose to change the species to be a type of mouse when he was designing the setting.
Nishida was helped during the creation process by fellow developer Koji Nishino, who grew fond of Pikachu as a result and consistently encouraged the design to be made cuter, something she was happy to oblige. Due to his fondness for Pikachu, he made it more difficult to find in the original games, joking he wanted to "keep it for himself". Despite initial concerns that players would not be interested in seeking out Pikachu, Sugimori showed the design to the game's development team, where the character was instantly popular. Pikachu's design with the release of "Red" and "Blue" was initially pudgier in build, but in media and games that followed was changed over time to have a slimmer waist, straighter spine, and more defined face and neck. According to Sugimori, these changes originated from the anime adaptation of the franchise where it made Pikachu easier to animate, and were adopted to the games for consistency. The older design, nicknamed "Fat Pikachu" by fans of the series, was revisited in "Pokémon Sword" and "Shield", where Pikachu received a special in-battle "Gigantamax" form resembling its original design. This Gigantamax form was designed by James Turner, who served as art director for "Sword" and "Shield".
Localization and as a mascot.
Series director Junichi Masuda stated that Pikachu's name was one of the most difficult to create, due to an effort of wanting to make it appealing to both Japanese and American audiences. The name is derived from a combination of two Japanese onomatopoeia: "ピカ (pika)", a sparkling sound, and "チュー (chū)", a sound a mouse makes. When localizing the games for the United States, Nintendo of America's staff initially proposed to redesign "cute" Pokémon in order to appeal to an American audience. According to Pokémon Company president Tsunekazu Ishihara, they had proposed to change Pikachu to look like "something like a tiger with huge breasts. It looked like a character from the musical "Cats."" Taken aback, he had asked them how it was supposed to be Pikachu, and in response they pointed to the character's tail. This suggestion was scrapped, and Pikachu used the same design in the west as it did in Japan. However, Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata recalled the events differently. At the time, Iwata was working at HAL Laboratory, and one of the localizers upon seeing the Pokémon designs stated "Something this cute can't be called a 'monster'", arguing monsters should be muscular and fearsome. As a result the localization team drew up a muscular redesign of Pikachu for Iwata to submit to Game Freak. Iwata refused, stating his reaction was "There's no way we can show this to the people who made "Pokémon"."
Initially considered alongside Clefairy as lead characters for franchise merchandising, Pikachu emerged as the mascot of the anime series due to its popularity amongst schoolchildren and appeal to both boys and girls. Sugimori felt female players in particular were drawn to "cute" characters like Pikachu, stating in an interview with "Famimaga 64" magazine "Some girls just collect 50 different Pikachu". The development team considered Pikachu to appeal to a larger demographic due to more closely resembling a "pet," believing that those buying merchandise would wish to have it in their home. Masakazu Kubo, a member of the anime's development team, stated that a "checklist" was involved in making the choice. He stated that their criteria required a warm design, a non-threatening color, a face that could convey emotion, a vocalization pronounceable by children, and a cute appearance, all of which Pikachu had. Pikachu was additionally selected for the role due to the fact that picking one of "Pokémon Red" and "Blue"s three starter Pokémon—Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle—would have created a "gap" with children who did not select the one used in the anime.
Voice.
For the vast majority of appearances Ikue Ōtani has voiced the character since it was introduced in the "Pokémon" anime. Ōtani records new lines for many of Pikachu's reappearances, and stated that despite the similar dialogue "If you don’t have a clear understanding of what you want to say in the scene and come up with a plan for your performance, you won't convey anything... Because, if there's the same nuance, then it would just be OK to use [previously] recorded material." In the anime series, Pikachu only speaks using its name. Initially, it was planned for Pikachu to slowly become more adept at human speech as the series progressed, but these plans were dropped during production of the series. Ōtani voices the role in all languages which is unlike other Pokémon voice actors, where the actor is different in each country's anime dub. Masuda stated Pikachu's voice was kept consistent across languages so its name would be universal across the world.
Ōtani has voiced the character in the main series video games, and also reprised the role for every installment of the fighting game crossover series "Super Smash Bros.". Digitized recreations of her performance in the anime were used for Pikachu's appearance in "Pokémon Yellow", and she later voiced the character from the 2013 games "Pokémon X" and "Y" until the 2022 game "". In all other appearances, Pikachu uses an in-game digitized "cry," a sound effect used to represent animal cries in the games. This cry had previously been used to represent Pikachu audibly in the main series games prior to "X" and "Y". Other voice actors have voiced Pikachu in English. Kate Bristol briefly portrayed the role in , for a line of dialogue where Pikachu talks to Ash, with Bristol stating she attempted to emulate Ōtani's portrayal for the line. Abby Espiritu portrayed the role in the web series "Pokémon: Path to the Peak." Espiritu stated that she initially assumed she was portraying Pikachu for a scratch tape before she learned she was portraying the role for the series.
Appearances.
In video games and anime.
Pikachu has appeared in all main series "Pokémon" video games except "Pokémon Black" and "White" and its sequel. Pikachu features prominently "Pokémon" anime series and films, which focus on the adventures of series protagonist Ash Ketchum and his Pikachu. Ash's Pikachu is initially disobedient, but after Ash saves it from a flock of Spearow, it warms up to Ash, and the pair become friends. Ash journeys to train and capture Pokémon while the members of the villainous organization Team Rocket attempt to steal Ash's Pikachu.
The game "Pokémon Yellow" features a Pikachu, which is given to the player as their first Pokémon. Based on Ash Ketchum's Pikachu from the "Pokémon" anime, it refuses to stay in its Poké Ball, and instead follows the main character around on screen. The player character can speak to it, and it displays different reactions depending on how it is treated. "Pokémon Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!", which are inspired by "Yellow", have Pikachu as a starter in one of its two versions. This starter Pikachu has access to several secret techniques and exclusive moves, which are used to progress throughout the game. Seven forms of Pikachu, which wore caps belonging to Ash Ketchum across different seasons of the anime, were released in the games "Pokémon Sun" and "Moon" as well as their "Ultra" versions via special event distributions, with another round of distributions in "Pokémon Sword" and "Shield" additionally adding one with Ash's cap from "".
"Pokémon Omega Ruby" and "Alpha Sapphire" introduced five new forms of Pikachu, labelled "Cosplay Pikachu" which wore different outfits and could be used in in-game competitions known as "Pokémon Contests." "Pokémon Sun" and "Moon" games also introduced two Z-Crystals exclusive to Pikachu, which allow Pikachu to use special, one-time use attacks that are more powerful than standard attacks.
Outside of the main series, Pikachu stars in "Hey You, Pikachu!" for the Nintendo 64; the player interacts with Pikachu through a microphone, issuing commands to play various mini-games and act out situations. The game "Pokémon Channel" follows a similar premise of interacting with the Pikachu, though without the microphone. ' and its sequel, ', features a Pikachu as the main protagonist. The game "Detective Pikachu" features a talking Pikachu who becomes a detective and helps the protagonist Tim Goodman solve mysteries.
Pikachu appear the games "Pokémon Snap" and its sequel, "New Pokémon Snap", games where the player takes pictures of Pokémon for a score. A Pikachu is one of the sixteen starters and ten partners in the "Pokémon Mystery Dungeon" series. Pikachu has appeared in all five "Super Smash Bros." crossover fighting games as a playable character, and in the "Pokémon" fighting game "Pokkén Tournament", in both its normal form and as "Pikachu Libre", based on "Cosplay Pikachu" from "Omega Ruby" and "Alpha Sapphire". Pikachu has also appeared in other games, such as "Pokémon Unite", "Pokémon Rumble World", "Pokémon Go", and "Pokémon Café Mix".
Following the anime season "Pokémon Ultimate Journeys", which concludes the story of Ash and his Pikachu and retires them as main cast members, another Pikachu named "Captain Pikachu" was introduced as a major character in the follow-up series "Pokémon Horizons", which featured an entirely new cast of characters. Ōtani portrayed the role of Captain Pikachu. Taito Okiura, the vice president of marketing for The Pokémon Company International, stated that Pikachu would "continue to have a significant presence in the animated series and remain an icon for the brand".
In other media.
For the 2019 live action film "Detective Pikachu", the titular character was portrayed by Ryan Reynolds. Reynolds performed the character's voice work, and also did motion capture for the character's face and movements. Due to Reynolds not being on set, co-star Justice Smith would often act his scenes out to an eyeline representing Pikachu, such as a puppet or a tennis ball. Pikachu's visual appearance in the film was built as if the character was an actual animal, with the visual effects team creating detailed skeletal and muscular systems for the Pokémon. They visited zoos and consulted animal experts in order to ensure Pikachu's movements were accurate to real world animals. Pikachu initially started with rabbit-like movement, but eventually evolved movement-wise to have characteristics of multiple species, namely those of marsupials and marmosets. Its eyes were inspired by those of the sugar glider. In order to ensure the design maintained a line between realism and uncanniness, Pikachu's fur frequently changed design. The team would often bring patches of fur to filming locations to see how the colors would respond to the area's lighting. Hidetoshi Nishijima portrays Detective Pikachu's voice in the Japanese dub of the film. Pierre Tessier voices the character in the French dub of the film. Ōtani voiced the character in a brief cameo appearance. This appearance was retained in all language versions barring the German dubbing of the film, which used a slightly deeper and more out of breath version of the dialogue.
Pikachu is featured in a 2021 Katy Perry music video, "Electric". In the "Pokémon Adventures" manga, main character Red owns and uses a Pikachu. Other manga series, such as "Electric Tale of Pikachu", and "Ash & Pikachu", feature Ash Ketchum's Pikachu from the anime series. In "Electric Tale of Pikachu", Ash gives him the name "Jean Luc Pikachu", a reference to Jean-Luc Picard from the "Star Trek" franchise.
Promotion and merchandise.
As the mascot of the franchise, Pikachu has made multiple appearances in various promotional events and merchandise. In 1998, then Topeka, Kansas Mayor Joan Wagnon renamed the town "ToPikachu" for a day, and the renaming was repeated in 2018 by Mayor Michelle De La Isla with the release of the "Pokémon Let's Go" games. Another promotional stunt, used to promote "Pokémon"'s debut in the United States, involved dropping 700 Pikachu plushes into a field by plane, while skydivers leapt from the planes and drove off in Pikachu themed cars. A "got milk?" advertisement featured Pikachu on April 25, 2000. A Pikachu balloon has been featured in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade since 2001, with different balloon designs being introduced since. Pikachu was the subject of an internet meme, known as "Surprised Pikachu," where a screencap of Pikachu looking shocked in an episode of the anime is used as a reaction image.
Collectible cards featuring Pikachu have appeared since the initial "Pokémon Trading Card Game" released in October 1996, including limited edition promotional cards. One of these collectible cards was "Pikachu Illustrator", limited to about 20-40 printed in 1998, and was auctioned off for about $55,000 in 2016, and then $375,000 in 2021. Another card, sold in 2022, went for nearly a million dollars. For the franchise's 25th anniversary, The Pokémon Company announced special trading cards in 2021, each featuring 25 Pikachu drawn by 25 artists. A promotion at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam featured exclusive Pokémon Cards of Pikachu wearing Van Gogh's grey felt hat. It was pulled from the exhibition due to safety concerns after scalpers mobbed the store when it came out. Several employees at the museum were suspended due to reported embezzlement of a large number of the cards. The card was later restocked in an attempt to dissuade scalpers, who had been re-selling cards at high prices. The character has also been used in promotional merchandising at fast-food chains such as McDonald's, Wendy's, and Burger King.
Pikachu and ten other Pokémon were chosen as Japan's mascots in the 2014 FIFA World Cup. ANA Boeing 747-400 (JA8962) planes have been covered with images of Pokémon including Pikachu since 1998. In 2021, the first Pokémon Jet (Boeing 747-400D) featuring entirely Pikachu debuted.
Critical reception.
Pikachu has been well-received by reviewers; it was ranked as the "second best person of the year" by "Time" in 1999, who called it "the most beloved animated character since Hello Kitty". The magazine noted Pikachu as the "public face of a phenomenon that has spread from Nintendo's fastest selling video game to a trading-card empire", citing the franchise's profits for the year as "the reason for the ranking", behind singer Ricky Martin but ahead of author J.K. Rowling. The book "Millennial Monsters: Japanese Toys and the Global Imagination" stated that Pikachu greatly helped to sell the "Pokémon" franchise, being described as the "center of the "Pokémon" craze" in Japan while also emerging as a leading symbol of the series when it was released in the United States. Pikachu has consistently been considered one of the most notable and influential anime, cartoon, and video game characters since its debut. The character has been regarded as the Japanese answer to popular "Disney" mascot Mickey Mouse, with "Polygon" writer Tracey Lien noting that its ubiquity and iconic design helped endear it to audiences, allowing it to attain significant popularity. It was noted as being part of a movement of "cute capitalism". In 2024, a poll conducted by BAFTA with around 4,000 respondents named Pikachu as the twelfth most iconic video-game character of all time.
Pikachu's resemblance to a cute pet was cited as making its design appealing. Its usage of the color yellow made it easy for children to recognize due to being a primary color. Additionally, the only other competing yellow mascot at the time was Winnie-the-Pooh, which helped Pikachu's popularity significantly. The color yellow in its design was noted to give Pikachu a "softness" to its design, due to the color yellow's association with words such as "sunshine," "warmth," and "happiness," with Susan Napier, a professor at Tufts University, stating that Pikachu was part of "this very interesting and adventurous world, but it's also fundamentally very re-assuring." Napier additionally noted that unlike similar popular " mascots such as Hello Kitty, Pikachu did not lean towards a more masculine or feminine audience, leading to it becoming a more universal symbol. Pikachu's rarity in the games has been cited as part of the reason for its popularity.
Zack Zwiezen of "Kotaku" praised the simplicity of Pikachu's design, describing it as "possibly one of the most iconic characters on the planet" due to the design's appealing features and "instantly identifiable" design. Dale Bishir of "IGN" described Pikachu as the most important Pokémon that impacted the franchise's history, and further stated that "Its irresistible cuteness, merchandising power, army of clones in every generation... if your mom calls every Pokémon 'Pikachu', then you know in your heart that it is the most important Pokémon of all time." The book "100 Greatest Video Game Characters" noted that Pikachu's cute design and the emphasis on friendship in its various appearances across "Pokémon" media helped with making Pikachu a memorable character in the minds of fans. Matthew Byrd of "Den of Geek" noted that due to Pikachu's rarity in the original games, it led to rumors spread via word of mouth, which contributed to a large following behind the Pokémon in conjunction with its appearance in the anime, leading to it being a well-known yet hard to find figure. Its unique design and cute appearance were also noted to have aided with its popularity.
Pikachu's role in the anime has been subject of praise and analysis. Pikachu's friendship with Ash has been analyzed for its similarities to Aristotle's values of friendship, with the reciprocal friendship between the two being highlighted due to the equality between them being the reason for their success. The anime's expansion of Pikachu's character was described by professor and author Northrop Davis as humanizing Pikachu and making the Pokémon more appealing to audiences, as it allowed Pikachu to become a three-dimensional character with multiple character traits for audiences. Pikachu's personality was described by the book "Millennial Monsters: Japanese Toys and the Global Imagination" as helping to emphasize not only Pikachu as a character, but also helping in making the anime series as a whole more widely popular, with the reciprocal nature of Pikachu's relationship with Ash in the vein of trainer and pet being appealing both to an older concept while still being futuristic in nature. Pikachu's departure from the anime was also met with positive responses, due to the fact that its departure alleviated concerns about how its strength would be handled as the series progressed. The hashtag "#ThankYouAshAndPikachu" trended on Twitter following the announcement of their departure.
Pikachu's voice has been analyzed for its ability to convey emotion despite only speaking one word, with children being able to determine the emotion of the character based off of how the character sounds. The book "Anime Impact: The Movies and Shows that Changed the World of Japanese Animation" additionally analyzed how Pikachu's voice and inflections on a specific word allowed an animalistic character to be seen as a separate character and entity by the audience. It stated that it allowed them to become more familiar with Pikachu's character and grow more attached to it, allowing the audience to become properly invested with the franchise and the narrative. Meanwhile, "TIME Magazine"'s Lisa Eadicicco felt its cute appearance coupled with the baby-like pronunciations of its own name led to it becoming an appealing design. She further stated that Pikachu's "well-written" appearance in the anime series led to Pikachu also having a strong personality, causing Pikachu to be seen not only as an object of cuteness, but also as a companion for fans. She believed its frequent appearances in promotional material for the series additionally helped to serve as an anchor for the series, with its presence helping to draw people into the wider world of the franchise.
The multiple aspects of media featuring Pikachu, including its popularization in the anime, were described as helping elevate Pikachu's appeal to a wider audience. However, "Kotaku" writer Patricia Hernandez criticized Pikachu's over-representation in "Pokémon"-related media, highlighting Pikachu's constant usage in marketing for the franchise. She stated that Pikachu's overuse detracted from other Pokemon in the series, while also criticizing the overuse for its lack of originality. She further compared it to Mimikyu- a Pokémon who mimics Pikachu in an attempt to be loved- stating that the reason for Mimikyu's popularity inherently lay in how much people were subconsciously aware of Pikachu's overuse. "TheGamer"'s Stacey Henley cited similar sentiments, believing Pikachu's consistent presence in marketing had made it an uninteresting Pokémon and an ineffective mascot, disliking its consistent presence in games over other Pokémon.
In 2008, a ligand believed to provide better visual acuity was discovered by the Osaka Bioscience Institute Foundation and named "Pikachurin", in reference to the nimbleness of Pikachu. The name was inspired due to Pikachu's "lightning-fast moves and shocking electric effects". In 2021, the Chilean independent politician Giovanna Grandón famously went to many protests during the 2019–2021 Chilean protests dressed in an inflatable Pikachu suit. She went on to be elected as a member of the Constitutional Convention of 2021–2022, and is known as Aunt Pikachu (Tía Pikachú). In July 2021 during the Group of Seven climate summit, a group of protestors dressed as Pikachu demonstrated on Gyllyngvase Beach, Falmouth, while in November 2021, a group of activists dressed up as Pikachu to protest Japan's refusal to reduce coal consumption at COP26. In 2016, the "Pikachu", also known as the "Pokemonument", a fiberglass sculpture depicting Pikachu by an unknown artist, was installed in Lower Garden District, a New Orleans neighborhood. Within a few days, the sculpture was vandalized by someone with a baseball bat, but repaired. Some two weeks after its placement, the "Pokemonument" was removed, and an online statement from the artist said that the artwork would be auctioned to benefit restoration of the park's fountains.
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Darth Vader
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Darth Vader () is a fictional character in the "Star Wars" franchise. He was first introduced in the original film trilogy as one of the leaders of the Galactic Empire. The prequel trilogy chronicles his transformation from the Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker into the Sith Lord Darth Vader. His metamorphosis begins when he is lured to the dark side of the Force by Chancellor Palpatine, who later becomes the Emperor. After a lightsaber battle with his former mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi, Vader is severely injured and is transformed into a cyborg. He serves Palpatine for over two decades, hunting down the remaining Jedi and attempting to crush the Rebel Alliance. When Palpatine tries to kill Vader's son, Luke Skywalker, the Sith Lord turns against his master and destroys him. Vader is the husband of Padmé Amidala, the father of Luke and his twin sister Leia Organa, and the grandfather of Ben Solo (later known as Kylo Ren).
David Prowse physically portrays Vader in the original trilogy, while James Earl Jones provides his voice in all of the films and some television series. Sebastian Shaw portrays Anakin in "Return of the Jedi" (1983), while Jake Lloyd and Hayden Christensen portray Anakin in the prequel trilogy, with Christensen reprising the role in the series "Obi-Wan Kenobi" (2022) and "Ahsoka" (2023). In the standalone film "Rogue One" (2016), Vader is portrayed by Spencer Wilding and Daniel Naprous. The character also appears in novels, comics, and video games. He has become an iconic villain of cinema.
Creation and development.
Darth Vader.
As part of the development for the original "Star Wars" film"," George Lucas hired the artist Ralph McQuarrie to create conceptual images for the characters. For Vader, Lucas asked McQuarrie to depict a "very tall, dark fluttering figure that had a spooky feeling like it came in on the wind." Because the script described Vader traveling between spaceships, McQuarrie suggested that he should wear a space suit. Lucas agreed, and McQuarrie created Vader's iconic mask by combining a full-face breathing mask with a samurai helmet. A 1975 by McQuarrie depicts Vader engaged in a lightsaber duel with Deak Starkiller, who later became Luke Skywalker. Vader is shown wearing black armor, a flowing cape and a skull-like mask and helmet. This early design was similar to Vader's final appearance.
Working from McQuarrie's concepts, the costume designer John Mollo devised an outfit that combined clerical robes, a motorcycle suit, a German military helmet, and a military gas mask. The prop sculptor Brian Muir created the helmet and armor. The sound of Vader's breathing was created by the film's sound designer, Ben Burtt, using modified recordings of a scuba breathing apparatus. The sound effect is trademarked at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Lucas has provided differing accounts of how the name "Darth Vader" originated. In a 2005 interview with "Rolling Stone", he claimed it was a modified version of "Dark Father." On another occasion, he said it was inspired by the phrase "Dark Water". It is also possible that "Darth Vader" originated from the name of Gary Vader, a boy who went to high school with Lucas.
The names of various "Star Wars" characters have been altered in countries outside the United States. In France, Vader's name was changed to () starting with the original film. Although the names of some other characters have been reverted to the English versions over the years, Vader is still referred to as "Dark Vador" in recent French-language "Star Wars" media. The title "Darth" has been replaced with "Dark" for other Sith Lords as well. In Italian-language editions of "Star Wars" films, Darth Vader was called () starting with the original trilogy. In 2004, the dubbing director for the Italian-language version of "Revenge of the Sith" (2005) asked Italian fans to decide which name to use in the film; the Italian name was chosen. However, the name was switched to "Darth Vader" for "The Force Awakens" (2015). In Iceland, Darth Vader's name is , which means "black-head".
Anakin Skywalker.
The films "Swiss Family Robinson" (1960) and "Battle of the Bulge" (1965) influenced the original "Star Wars" trilogy, but Lucas's publicist has denied that Anakin Skywalker was named after Ken Annakin, the director of those films. The original surname of Anakin and Luke was "Starkiller", and it remained in the script until a few months into filming "Star Wars". It was dropped due to what Lucas called "unpleasant connotations" with Charles Manson, who became a "star killer" in 1969 when he murdered the well-known actress Sharon Tate. Lucas replaced the problematic name "Starkiller" with "Skywalker".
"The Phantom Menace" introduced the possibility that Anakin could be the Chosen One of an ancient Jedi prophecy, who is destined to bring balance to the Force. Lucas stated in an interview that "Anakin is the Chosen One. Even when Anakin turns into Darth Vader, he is still the Chosen One." Hayden Christensen said of Anakin: "He believes that he's the Chosen One. He's not doing wrong things knowing that it's having a negative impact. So there's that sort of naivety to him...and it makes him more human in a lot of ways." Lucas later clarified that the plot element of Anakin's virgin birth was meant to align the character with heroes from mythology in general and not specifically Jesus.
After completing principal photography for "Revenge of the Sith" in 2003, Lucas made changes to Anakin's character by rewriting his turn to the dark side. He accomplished this through editing the principal footage and filming new scenes during pickups in London in 2004. In previous versions of the script, Anakin had several reasons for turning to the dark side, including his sincere belief that the Jedi were plotting to seize control of the Republic. Although he retains this belief in the finished film, Lucas's changes emphasized his desire to rescue Padmé from death. Thus, in the theatrical version of "Revenge of the Sith", Anakin falls to the dark side primarily to save Padmé.
Anakin's apprentice Ahsoka Tano was introduced in the 2008 animated film '. Giving Anakin responsibility for a Padawan was meant to place the character in a role that forced him to become more cautious and responsible. It was also meant to provide him with insight about his relationship with his own master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and show how their relationship matured. Anakin's relationship with Ahsoka was seen as an essential story arc spanning both the film and the 2008 television series '.
Portrayals.
Darth Vader.
David Prowse, a bodybuilder and actor, portrays Vader in the original trilogy. Prowse was originally offered the role of Chewbacca, but turned it down, as he wanted to play the villain. Bob Anderson, a former Olympic fencer, portrays Vader during lightsaber fight scenes in "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi". Lucas chose to have a different actor provide Vader's voice, because he felt Prowse's West Country English accent was inappropriate for the character. The director originally considered Orson Welles for the role, but selected James Earl Jones instead after deciding that Welles's voice would be too recognizable to audiences. Jones initially felt his role was too small to warrant recognition, and he chose to be uncredited in "Star Wars" and "The Empire Strikes Back." He was finally credited in "Return of the Jedi" in 1983.
When filming the scene in "The Empire Strikes Back" in which Vader confesses he is Luke's father, Prowse was given modified dialogue to read that did not exist in the script. He was known for repeatedly leaking information to the public, and the filmmakers wanted to keep Vader's revelation a secret until the film was released. Prowse was asked to read the line "Obi-Wan killed your father" instead of "No, I am your father." Only the director, the producers, and Mark Hamill knew the actual line, which was dubbed in later by Jones. Prowse did not know the real line until he viewed the finished film.
Hayden Christensen portrays Vader in "Revenge of the Sith", while Brock Peters provides his voice in the "Star Wars" radio series. Scott Lawrence voices Vader in video games, including the 2019 virtual reality series "". Matt Sloan voices the Sith Lord in both video games and television productions. Both Spencer Wilding and Daniel Naprous portray Vader in "Rogue One", with Jones providing the voice. Jones also voices Vader in the "Star Wars Holiday Special" (1978) and the animated series "Star Wars Rebels". In September 2022, it was confirmed that Jones would retire from voicing the character. His voice was digitally recreated by the company Respeecher for use in the series "Obi-Wan Kenobi", and he later signed over the rights to his voice for future "Star Wars" productions.
Anakin Skywalker.
Near the end of "Return of the Jedi", Luke removes Vader's mask. Although Prowse had portrayed the Sith Lord throughout the trilogy, the filmmakers wanted a more experienced actor to play the unmasked Vader. Sebastian Shaw was selected for the role, which appears as "Anakin Skywalker" in the credits. Shaw's presence on set was kept secret from all but the minimum cast and crew, and Shaw was contractually obligated not to discuss any film secrets with anyone, even his family. In the final scene of the film, Shaw portrays Anakin's Force spirit. His likeness in this scene was replaced with that of Hayden Christensen in the 2004 DVD release.
When "The Phantom Menace" was being developed, hundreds of actors were auditioned for the role of young Anakin before Jake Lloyd was cast. Rick McCallum, the film's producer, said that Lloyd was "smart, mischievous and love[d] anything mechanicaljust like Anakin." When casting the role of 19-year-old Anakin for "Attack of the Clones", the filmmakers reviewed about 1,500 candidates before selecting Hayden Christensen. The Canadian actor reprises the role in "Revenge of the Sith" and in the series "Obi-Wan Kenobi" and "Ahsoka". His performance in "Revenge of the Sith" garnered him a nomination for the Saturn Award for Best Actor, while his portrayal of Anakin in "Obi-Wan Kenobi" earned him the Saturn Award for Best Guest Performance in a Streaming Series.
Anakin is voiced by Mat Lucas and Frankie Ryan Manriquez in the 2003 animated micro-series ', and is voiced by Kirby Morrow in several television productions. Matt Lanter provides the character's voice in video games and in various television productions, including ', "Rebels", "Forces of Destiny" and "." Lanter also voices Anakin in the of "The Clone Wars". During the second-season finale of "Rebels", Lanter's voice is sometimes blended with the voice of James Earl Jones.
Appearances.
Original trilogy.
Vader was introduced in "Star Wars" (1977) as a cyborg commander serving the Galactic Empire. He and Grand Moff Tarkin have been tasked with recovering architectural plans for the Death Star battle station, which were stolen by the Rebel Alliance. Vader captures and interrogates the Rebel leader Princess Leia, who has sent the plans to Vader's former master Obi-Wan Kenobi. During Leia's rescue by Obi-Wan's allies Luke Skywalker and Han Solo, Vader strikes down his mentor in a lightsaber duel. After placing a tracking device aboard Han's ship, Vader locates the Rebel base on Yavin 4. When the Rebels attack the Death Star, Vader pursues Luke in his TIE fighter. Before he can shoot Luke down, Han intervenes and sends Vader's ship spiraling off course, which allows Luke to destroy the Death Star.
In "The Empire Strikes Back" (1980), Vader becomes obsessed with finding Luke, who is now a Rebel commander. Vader's forces assault the Rebel base on Hoth, but the Rebels escape. Vader convinces the Emperor that Luke could be a valuable ally if he were turned to the dark side of the Force. Vader hires a group of bounty hunters to follow Luke's companions, and compels the Cloud City administrator Lando Calrissian to set a trap for them. After Han, Leia, Chewbacca and C-3PO arrive, Vader tortures and freezes Han in carbonite and gives him to the bounty hunter Boba Fett. When Luke lands on Cloud City to help his friends, Vader overpowers him and severs his hand. He tells Luke that he is his father, and tries to persuade him to join the dark side and help him overthrow the Emperor. Horrified, Luke escapes through an air shaft. Vader telepathically tells Luke that it is his destiny to join the dark side.
Vader and the Emperor supervise the construction of the second Death Star in "Return of the Jedi" (1983). Believing there is still good in his father, Luke surrenders to Vader in an attempt to bring him back from the dark side. Vader takes his son to the Death Star and brings him before the Emperor, who attempts to seduce him to the dark side. Luke lashes out at the Emperor with his lightsaber, but Vader blocks his strike, and the two of them duel once again. As Luke regains control of his emotions, Vader senses that he has a sister, and threatens to turn her to the dark side if Luke will not submit. Enraged, Luke overpowers Vader and severs his hand. The Emperor then betrays his apprentice by ordering Luke to kill Vader and take his place, but Luke refuses.
Enraged, the Emperor begins torturing Luke with Force lightning, leading to Luke begging his father to save him. Unwilling to see his son die, Vader throws the Emperor down a reactor shaft to his death, but is mortally wounded in the process. Luke carries him to a docking bay, where Imperial forces are evacuating in the face of a Rebel assault. At Vader's request, Luke removes his father's mask and looks upon the face of Anakin Skywalker for the first time. The redeemed Anakin Skywalker encourages him to go and tells him that he has saved him, before peacefully dying. On Endor, Luke burns his father's body on a funeral pyre. As the Rebels celebrate the destruction of the Death Star and the fall of the Empire, Luke sees Anakin's spirit appear alongside the spirits of Obi-Wan and Yoda.
Prequel trilogy.
The first film of the prequel trilogy, "" (1999), takes place 32 years before "Star Wars". Anakin is a nine-year-old slave living on Tatooine with his mother Shmi. He is a gifted pilot and mechanic, and has built his own protocol droid, C-3PO. The Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn meets Anakin after making an emergency landing on Tatooine with Padmé Amidala, the queen of Naboo. Qui-Gon learns that Anakin was conceived without a father and can see the future. He becomes convinced that Anakin is the "Chosen One" of Jedi prophecy who will bring balance to the Force. After winning his freedom in a podrace wager, Anakin departs the planet with Qui-Gon to be trained as a Jedi, leaving his mother behind.
During the journey to Coruscant, Anakin forms a bond with Padmé. Qui-Gon asks the Jedi Council for permission to train Anakin, but they refuse, concerned that the fear he exhibits makes him vulnerable to the dark side. During a conflict with the Trade Federation, Anakin helps end the blockade of Naboo by destroying a control ship. Qui-Gon is mortally wounded in a duel with the Sith Lord Darth Maul, and with his dying breath asks his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi to train Anakin. With the council's reluctant approval, Anakin becomes Obi-Wan's apprentice. Palpatine, the newly elected Chancellor of the Galactic Republic, takes an interest in Anakin and his career as a Jedi.
' (2002) is set ten years after "The Phantom Menace". Anakin has grown powerful but arrogant, and believes that Obi-Wan is holding him back. After rescuing Padmé from an assassination attempt, he travels with her to Naboo as her bodyguard. They begin to fall in love, despite a Jedi Code prohibition against romantic relationships. Sensing that his mother is in danger, Anakin travels with Padmé to Tatooine and finds that she was kidnapped by Tusken Raiders. He locates her at a Tusken campsite, where she dies in his arms. Overcome with grief and rage, Anakin massacres the Tusken tribe. Padmé is disturbed by what he has done, but comforts him nevertheless. Anakin and Padmé then go to Geonosis to aid , only to be captured by the Sith Lord Count Dooku. Facing execution, Anakin and Padmé profess their love for each other. They are saved from death by an army of Jedi and clone troopers, led by the Jedi Masters Mace Windu and Yoda. Anakin and then confront Dooku, but he defeats them both and severs Anakin's arm. After being rescued by Yoda, Anakin is fitted with a robotic arm and marries Padmé in a secret ceremony.' (2005) is set three years after "Attack of the Clones". Anakin, who is now a Jedi Knight and a hero of the Clone Wars, leads a mission with to rescue Chancellor Palpatine from the Separatist commander General Grievous. The two Jedi again battle Count Dooku, whom Anakin overpowers and then slaughters at Palpatine's urging. Anakin returns to Coruscant to reunite with Padmé, who tells him she is pregnant. Although initially excited, Anakin soon begins to have nightmares about his wife dying in childbirth.
Palpatine appoints Anakin to the Jedi Council as his personal representative, but the council is suspicious of the Chancellor. They decline to grant Anakin the rank of Jedi Master and instruct him to spy on Palpatine, which upsets Anakin. Later, Palpatine reveals to Anakin that he is the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, the mastermind of the Clone Wars. He suggests that Anakin can prevent Padmé's death by using the dark side of the Force. Anakin reports Sidious' treachery to Windu, who confronts and subdues the Sith Lord. Desperate to save Padmé, Anakin betrays Windu by cutting off his hand, which allows the Sith Lord to kill him. Anakin then betrays the Jedi by pledging himself to the Sith, and Sidious dubs him Darth Vader.
On Sidious' orders, Vader slaughters all the Jedi in the Jedi Temple, including the younglings. After learning what her husband has done, a distraught Padmé travels to Mustafar and pleads with him to abandon the dark side, but he refuses. Believing that Padmé and are conspiring against him, Vader uses the Force to strangle his wife into unconsciousness. He then engages in a lightsaber duel that ends with severing his limbs and leaving him for dead on the banks of a lava flow, where he catches fire and sustains severe burns. Sidious finds the barely-alive Vader and takes him to Coruscant, where his mutilated body is covered in black armor that keeps him alive. When Vader asks if Padmé is safe, Sidious lies to him and says that his strangulation killed her, which causes Vader to scream in anguish. At the end of the film, Vader supervises the construction of the first Death Star alongside Sidious and Tarkin.
"The Rise of Skywalker".
Anakin's voice is heard briefly in the third film of the sequel trilogy, "" (2019), set 31 years after the events of "Return of the Jedi". During Rey's confrontation with the resurrected Darth Sidious, she hears the voices of various deceased Jedi, including Anakin. He encourages her to return balance to the Force like he once did.
"The Clone Wars" (film).
In the 2008 animated film "", set shortly after the events of "Attack of the Clones", Yoda assigns Anakin an apprentice, Ahsoka Tano. Anakin is at first reluctant to accept this responsibility. He calls Ahsoka "Snips" for her "snippy" attitude, while Ahsoka refers to him as "Skyguy". After earning Anakin's respect during a dangerous mission, Ahsoka joins him on a quest to rescue Jabba the Hutt's infant son, Rotta. Her impetuousness both annoys and endears her to Anakin, and he develops a friendly affection towards her.
"Rogue One".
In the standalone film "Rogue One" (2016), set immediately before the events of "A New Hope", Vader summons the weapons developer Orson Krennic to his castle on Mustafar. He confronts him about his handling of the Death Star project and the destruction of Jedha City. When Krennic asks Vader for an audience with the Emperor, Vader refuses. At the end of the film, Vader boards a Rebel flagship and kills several Rebel soldiers as he tries to recover the stolen Death Star plans. Vader's role in the film was different in early versions of the story. In Gary Whitta's original pitch, the Sith Lord appeared on Scarif and slaughtered a Rebel blockade. In another early storyline, Vader killed Krennic for his failure to prevent the Rebels from stealing the Death Star schematics.
Television series.
"The Clone Wars".
Anakin is featured in all seasons of "" (2008–2014, 2020), set between the events of "Attack of the Clones" and "Revenge of the Sith". As a Jedi Knight, he leads the 501st Legion on missions with both his master Obi-Wan and his apprentice Ahsoka. Some of Anakin's actions taken out of concern for Ahsoka violate the Jedi code, such as torturing prisoners who may know her location. Throughout the series there are references to Anakin's eventual fall to the dark side, including visions of his future as Vader and his disillusionment with the Jedi Council after they wrongly accuse Ahsoka of bombing the Jedi Temple. While Ahsoka is later forgiven after the true culprit is found, she nonetheless chooses to leave the Jedi Order. Dooku's death at Anakin's hands during "Revenge of the Sith" is references by Obi Wan. Anakin appears as Vader in the final scene of the series finale, which occurs after "Revenge of the Sith". He investigates the crash site of a "Venator"-class Star Destroyer, which was demolished during Order 66. Finding one of Ahsoka's lightsabers among the wreckage, he assumes that his former Padawan has perished.
"Star Wars Rebels".
Vader appears in the animated series "Star Wars Rebels" (2014–2018), which takes place fourteen years after the conclusion of "The Clone Wars". The Sith Lord makes minor appearances throughout the first season, and plays a larger role in the second season. At the beginning of the series, he leads a squad of Force-sensitive Imperial Inquisitors who kill Jedi and children. He dispatches the Grand Inquisitor to hunt a Rebel cell on Lothal, and later arrives personally to deal with the Rebel threat after the Inquisitor is killed.
In the second-season premiere, Vader orchestrates the murder of Imperial Minister Maketh Tua, who tried to defect to the Rebellion, and confronts the two Jedi Kanan Jarrus and Ezra Bridger. When Vader attacks the fleet of the Phoenix Squadron, he discovers that Ahsoka is still alive and has joined the Rebel Alliance. She is overwhelmed when she recognizes Anakin under a "layer of hate". The Emperor then orders Vader to send another Inquisitor to capture her. Later in the season, Ahsoka has a vision in which Anakin blames her for his fall to the dark side. In the season finale, Ahsoka duels with Vader inside a Sith Temple. As the episode concludes, Vader emerges from the ruins of the temple, while Ahsoka's fate is left unknown.
"Forces of Destiny".
Anakin appears in multiple episodes of the animated web series "Forces of Destiny" (2017–2018).
"Obi-Wan Kenobi".
Hayden Christensen portrays both Anakin and Vader in the 2022 miniseries "Obi-Wan Kenobi," set a decade after "Revenge of the Sith" and 9 years before "A New Hope". The series reveals that for a decade after their duel on Mustafar, Obi-Wan believed his fallen apprentice to be dead. While attempting to draw out of hiding, the Imperial Inquisitor Reva Sevander tells him that Anakin is still alive. Vader begins hunting , which eventually leads them to duel again. Although Vader initially overpowers his former master, recovers his strength and wounds Vader multiple times. He slashes open Vader's helmet to partially reveal his face, then leaves him, weakened and wheezing. Flashback sequences in the series depict Anakin training under in the years preceding the Clone Wars, as well as a newly minted Vader carrying out the massacre at the Jedi Temple.
"Ahsoka".
Hayden Christensen portrays Anakin in "Ahsoka" (2023), which takes place after the original trilogy. Anakin appears in spirit-form to his former apprentice Ahsoka in the World Between Worlds, an ethereal realm that exists outside of time and space. He leads her through visions of their shared past together, including her training, their battles during the Clone Wars, her departure from the Jedi Order and his fall to the dark side. Industrial Light and Magic used "de-aging" technology to make the 42-year-old Christensen appear younger.
Video games.
Vader is featured in the three-episode virtual reality game series "", which is set between "Revenge of the Sith" and "Rogue One". The first episode became available with the launch of the Oculus Quest virtual reality headset in May 2019, while the last was released in November of the same year. The series was later released for the Oculus Rift. In August 2020, all three episodes were released for PlayStation VR.
Vader makes a brief appearance at the end of ' (2019). He kills the Second Sister for her failure to secure a Jedi Holocron that could lead the Empire to a number of Force-sensitive children. He then attempts to personally take the Holocron from Cal Kestis, who barely manages to escape. Vader returns as a boss in the sequel, ' (2023), where he leads an Imperial assault on a Jedi hideout on the planet Jedha. He duels Cere Junda, whom he manages to slay after a prolonged battle.
Both Vader and Anakin are playable characters in every Lego "Star Wars" video game. Vader is a playable character and a boss in "Disney Infinity 3.0", and can be unlocked as a playable character for a limited time in "Disney Magic Kingdoms". A bird version of Vader appears as a playable character and a boss in "Angry Birds Star Wars" and its sequel.
Novels.
"" was one of four canon novels released between 2014 and 2015. In it, Vader and Palpatine find themselves hunted by revolutionaries on the planet Ryloth.
Comics.
The 25-issue Marvel comic series "Darth Vader" (2015–2016) focuses on the Sith Lord in the aftermath of the Death Star's destruction, as well as his life after learning about his son's existence. The series takes place parallel to the 2015 series "Star Wars", in which Vader and Luke meet; the two series have a crossover titled "Vader Down". A continuation series set between "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi" debuted in 2020. The first few issues focus on Vader exacting revenge on those who concealed Luke; he also visits Padmé's tomb on Naboo and encounters her handmaidens. A subsequent story arc depicts Vader being tested by the Emperor. The five-issue series "Obi-Wan & Anakin" (2016) depicts the lives of the two Jedi between "The Phantom Menace" and "Attack of the Clones".
Between 2017 and 2018, Charles Soule wrote a prequel-era series, also called "Darth Vader" (sometimes subtitled "Dark Lord of the Sith"). It begins immediately after Vader wakes up in his armor at the end of "Revenge of the Sith" and explores his emotional transformation upon learning of Padmé's death, his adjustment to his mechanical suit, how he creates his red-bladed lightsaber, and his hunting of Jedi in the Inquisitor program. Its final arc, which depicts the construction of Vader's fortress on Mustafar, implies that Palpatine used the Force to conceive Anakin "in utero", as some had theorized that "Revenge of the Sith" indicates. A Lucasfilm story group member later clarified that "This is all in Anakin's head".
A five-issue limited series titled "Vader: Dark Visions", was released in 2019. "Vader Down" writer Jason Aaron wrote part of the miniseries "Darth Vader: Black, White & Red", an extension of a Marvel event highlighting fan-favorite characters.
"Star Wars Legends".
Following the acquisition of Lucasfilm by The Walt Disney Company in 2012, most of the licensed "Star Wars" Expanded Universe material produced between 1977 and 2014 was rebranded as "Star Wars Legends" and declared non-canon to the franchise. The "Legends" works comprise a separate narrative universe.
Books.
Vader is featured prominently in novels set in the "Star Wars" universe. In the 1978 novel "Splinter of the Mind's Eye" by Alan Dean Foster, Vader meets Luke for the first time and engages him in a lightsaber duel that ends with Luke cutting off Vader's arm and Vader falling into a deep pit. "" (1996) reveals that Vader is conflicted about trying to turn his son to the dark side, and knows deep down that he still has good in him.
Vader's supposedly indestructible glove is the MacGuffin of the young-reader's book "The Glove of Darth Vader" (1992). Anakin Skywalker's redeemed spirit appears in "The Truce at Bakura" (1993), set a few days after the end of "Return of the Jedi". He appears to Leia, imploring her forgiveness. Leia condemns Anakin for his crimes and banishes him from her life. He promises that he will be there for her when she needs him, and disappears. In "Tatooine Ghost" (2003), Leia learns to forgive her father after learning about his childhood as a slave and his mother's traumatic death. In "The Unifying Force" (2003), Anakin tells his grandson Jacen Solo to "stand firm" in his battle with the Supreme Overlord of the Yuuzhan Vong.
Upon the release of the prequel films, the Expanded Universe grew to include novels about Vader's former life as Anakin. Greg Bear's 2000 novel "Rogue Planet" and Jude Watson's "Jedi Quest" series chronicle Anakin's early missions with Obi-Wan, while James Luceno's 2005 novel "Labyrinth of Evil", set during the Clone Wars, depicts Anakin battling Separatist commander General Grievous. In Luceno's "" (2005), set a few months after the events of "Revenge of the Sith", Vader disavows his identity as Anakin as he hunts down surviving Jedi and cements his position in the Empire.
In the "Dark Nest" trilogy (2005), Luke and Leia uncover old recordings of their parents in R2-D2's memory drive; for the first time, they see their own birth and their mother's death, as well as their father's corruption to the dark side. In "Bloodlines" (2006), Han and Leia's son Jacen—who has turned to the dark side—uses the Force to envision Vader slaughtering the children at the Jedi Temple.
Vader also appears in a series of tongue-in-cheek children's books by Jeffrey Brown. In Brown's series, a hapless Vader sets out to be a father to a young Luke and Leia, with some scenes portraying light-hearted versions of their darker film counterparts. For example, one scene shows Vader, Luke and Leia at the carbonite freezing chamber on Bespin, with Vader pronouncing the freezer adequate for making ice cream.
Comics.
Vader appears in several comic books such as Marvel Comics' "Star Wars" (1977–1986). In "Dark Empire II", he is revealed to have had a castle on the planet Vjun. Anakin Skywalker is a major character in Dark Horse Comics' ' series (1998–2006). In "Boba Fett: Enemy of the Empire" (1999), Vader hires Fett a few years before the events of "A New Hope". In "Vader's Quest" (1999), set soon after "A New Hope", the dark lord encounters Luke for the first time. ' (2002–2005) spans from about a year before "A New Hope" to several months afterwards. Anakin and Vader appear in the non-canonical "Star Wars Tales" (1999–2005); in the story "Resurrection", Darth Maul is resurrected and faces Vader in battle.
Vader-centric comics released and set just after "Revenge of the Sith" include "" (2006–2013), "Darth Vader and the Lost Command" (2011), "Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison" (2012), and "Darth Vader and the Cry of Shadows" (2013–14).
"Clone Wars".
Anakin is featured in all three seasons of the "" micro-series (2003–2005), which takes place shortly after the conclusion of "Attack of the Clones". Anakin becomes a Jedi Knight and is quickly promoted to General of the Republic, due in part to Palpatine's influence. Among other missions, he fights a duel with Dooku's apprentice Asajj Ventress, helps Obi-Wan capture a Separatist-controlled fortress, and rescues the Jedi Master Saesee Tiin during a space battle. During the third season, Anakin frees a planet's indigenous species from Separatist control and sees a cryptic vision of his future as Darth Vader. In the series finale, Anakin and Obi-Wan embark on a mission to rescue Palpatine from General Grievous, which leads into the opening of "Revenge of the Sith". The series was removed from canon in 2014 and placed in the "Legends" universe.
Video games.
Vader plays a central role in the "Legends" game ' (2008), where he is playable in the first level and later appears as a boss. He also appears in the sequel, ' (2010), as the final boss.
Other appearances.
The "Star Wars Holiday Special", a television special broadcast by CBS in 1978, features a brief appearance of Darth Vader, who appears on-screen speaking with Imperial officer "Chief Bast" in footage cut from the original 1977 film. The sequence is dubbed with new dialogue, performed by James Earl Jones. In the story, Vader colludes with Boba Fett to entrap the Rebels.
The character appears in various "Lego Star Wars" shorts, voiced by Matt Sloan as Vader and by Kirby Morrow as Anakin.
Darth Vader features in the 1981 radio drama adaptation of "Star Wars", voiced by the actor Brock Peters. Vader makes his first appearance on the planet Ralltiir, where he treats Princess Leia with suspicion. In later extended scenes, he is heard interrogating and torturing Leia on board his Star Destroyer and aboard the Death Star.
Analysis.
The French psychiatrist Eric Bui and his colleagues have considered Vader to be a useful example for explaining borderline personality disorder to medical students. Anakin's origin story in "The Phantom Menace" has been compared to signifiers of African American racial identity, particularly his being a slave, and his dissatisfaction with his life has been compared to Siddartha's before he became Gautama Buddha.
Cultural impact.
In 2003, the American Film Institute listed Vader as the third greatest movie villain in cinema history on AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains, behind Hannibal Lecter and Norman Bates. In 2010, "IGN" ranked Darth Vader 25th in the "Top 100 Videogame Villains". His role as a tragic hero in the saga has also met with positive reviews. Contrarily, in 1977, a "New Journal and Guide" writer criticized the lack of racial diversity in the original "Star Wars" film, pointing out that "the force of evil ... is dressed in all black and has the voice of a black man." George Lucas felt hurt at such accusations.
Vader is parodied as "Dark Helmet" (Rick Moranis) in the "Star Wars" parody "Spaceballs" (1987). One of the primary antagonists of "Final Fantasy IV" (1991), Golbez, was stated by game creator Takashi Tokita to be based on Vader. A Mexican church advised Christians against seeing "The Phantom Menace" because it portrays Anakin as a Christ figure.
The slime-mold beetle "Agathidium vaderi" is named after Vader, as is the louse "Ricinus vaderi". A grotesque of Darth Vader looms over the east face of the Washington National Cathedral's northwest tower.
Many commentators and comedians have also evoked Vader's visage to satirize politicians and other public figures, and several American political figures have been unflatteringly compared to the character. In response to Ronald Reagan's proposed Strategic Defense Initiative (dubbed "Star Wars" by his political opponents), German news magazine "Der Spiegel" portrayed the president wearing Vader's helmet on its cover in 1984. In 2005, Al Gore referred to Tele-Communications Inc.'s John C. Malone as the "Darth Vader of cable", and political strategist Lee Atwater was known by his political enemies as "the Darth Vader of the Republican Party". Native American artist Bunky Echohawk portrayed General George Armstrong Custer as Vader in his painting "Darth Custer". In 2015, a statue of Vladimir Lenin in Odesa, Ukraine, was converted into one of Vader due to a law on decommunization. Former Vice President of the United States Dick Cheney has been compared to Darth Vader after he was quoted during a discussion on the war on terror saying, "I suppose, sometimes, people look at my demeanor and say, 'Well, he's the Darth Vader of the administration.'" This led to him being referred to as "Darth Cheney" by Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. This comparison was followed by George Lucas stating that Cheney is more akin to Palpatine, and that a better stand-in for Vader would be George W. Bush.
In Ukraine, the Internet Party of Ukraine has had multiple people run for election under the name Darth Vader.
The Fedayeen Saddam, an Iraqi paramilitary organisation, was issued with fiber glass Darth Vader-style helmets from 1995, apparently at the instigation of their commander, Uday Hussein, who was said to have been an avid "Star Wars" fan. A number of them were brought to the United States and the United Kingdom as souvenirs following the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
In 2019, an original Vader helmet from "The Empire Strikes Back" was sold for $900,000 in an online auction.
In 2014, Hot Wheels created a full-size Darth Vader-inspired car (dubbed as the 'Darth Car') to coincide their partnership with Star Wars franchise. Built by Action Vehicle Engineering and designed by Bryan Benedict, the car was built on the Chevrolet Corvette C5 chassis and sporting a small-block LS3 V8 engine. The car was made its public debut at San Diego Comic-Con that year and currently as part of the Garage of Legends car collection.
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SpongeBob SquarePants
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SpongeBob SquarePants is an American animated television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It was revealed as a sneak peek after the 1999 Kids' Choice Awards on May 1, 1999, and officially premiered on July 17, 1999. It chronicles the adventures of the titular character and his aquatic friends in the underwater city of Bikini Bottom.
Many of the series' ideas originated in "The Intertidal Zone", an unpublished educational comic book Hillenburg created in 1989 to teach his students about undersea life. Hillenburg joined Nickelodeon in 1992 as an artist on "Rocko's Modern Life". After "Rocko" was cancelled in 1996, he began developing "SpongeBob SquarePants" into a television series that same year, and in 1997, a seven-minute pilot was pitched to Nickelodeon. The network's executives wanted SpongeBob to be a child in school, but Hillenburg preferred SpongeBob to be an adult character. He was prepared to abandon the series, but compromised by creating Mrs. Puff and her boating school so SpongeBob could attend school as an adult.
In only a month after its premiere in 1999, the show became the highest-rated and most viewed animated Saturday morning program that year, beating "Pokémon". The series received worldwide critical acclaim, and had gained more popularity by its second season. As of 2019, the series is the fifth-longest-running American animated series. Its popularity made it a multimedia franchise, the highest rated Nickelodeon series, and the most profitable intellectual property for Paramount Consumer Products. By 2019, it had generated over $13 billion in merchandising revenue. The series has run for a total of fourteen seasons, and has inspired three feature films: "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie" (2004), ' (2015), and ' (2020). Two spin-off series, "" and "The Patrick Star Show", premiered in 2021. As of February 2022, four additional films are planned: three character spinoff films for Paramount+ and Netflix, and a theatrical "SpongeBob" film. The fourteenth season of the main series was announced in March 2022, and premiered in November 2023. In September 2023, the show was renewed for a fifteenth season.
"SpongeBob SquarePants" has won a variety of awards including six Annie Awards, eight Golden Reel Awards, four Emmy Awards, two BAFTA Children's Awards, and a record-breaking twenty-one Kids' Choice Awards. A Broadway musical based on the series opened in 2017 to critical acclaim. The series is also noted as a cultural touchstone of Millennials and Generation Z.
Premise.
Characters.
The series revolves around the title character and an ensemble cast of his aquatic friends. SpongeBob SquarePants is an energetic and optimistic yellow sea sponge who lives in a submerged pineapple. SpongeBob has a childlike enthusiasm for life, which carries over to his job as a fry cook at a fast food restaurant called the Krusty Krab. One of his life's greatest goals is to obtain a boat-driving license from Mrs. Puff's Boating School, but he never succeeds. His favorite pastimes include "jellyfishing", which involves catching jellyfish with a net in a manner similar to butterfly catching, and blowing soap bubbles into elaborate shapes. He has a pet sea snail with a pink shell and a blue body named Gary, who meows like a cat.
Living two houses away from SpongeBob is his best friend Patrick Star, a dimwitted yet friendly pink starfish who resides under a rock. Patrick considers himself to intelligent, with his ignorance of his stupidity being a key trait of his. Squidward Tentacles, SpongeBob's next-door neighbor and co-worker at the Krusty Krab, is a grumpy and bitter octopus who lives in an Easter Island moai. He despises his job as a cashier and enjoys playing the clarinet and painting self-portraits. He is constantly annoyed by SpongeBob and Patrick's antics, who are unaware of Squidward's animosity towards them, though they get along well when the situation calls for it. Mr. Krabs, a greedy red crab, is the owner of the Krusty Krab. serves as a father figure to SpongeBob. He is a single parent with an adopted teenage daughter, a grey sperm whale named Pearl, who has no interest in taking over the family business. Another of SpongeBob's friends is Sandy Cheeks, a thrill-seeking and athletic squirrel from Texas, who wears an air-filled diving suit to breathe underwater. She lives in a tree enclosed in a clear glass dome locked by an airtight, hand-turned seal and is an expert in karate.
Located across the street from the Krusty Krab is an unsuccessful rival restaurant called the Chum Bucket. It rarely has any customers due to its sale of chum-based food constituting as cannibalism by the majority of the fish population. It is run by a small, green, one-eyed copepod named Plankton and his computer wife, Karen. Plankton, being a childhood friend and eventual rival of Mr. Krabs, constantly tries to steal the secret recipe for Mr. Krabs's popular Krabby Patty burgers, hoping to gain the upper hand and put the Krusty Krab out of business. Karen supplies him with evil schemes to obtain the formula, but their efforts always fail and their restaurant rarely has any customers. When SpongeBob is not working at the Krusty Krab, he is often taking boating lessons from Mrs. Puff, a paranoid but patient pufferfish. SpongeBob is Mrs. Puff's most diligent student and knows every answer to the oral exams he takes, but he panics and crashes when he tries to drive a real boat, hence failing the course multiple times. When Mrs. Puff endures one of SpongeBob's crashes or is otherwise frightened, she puffs up into a ball.
An unseen figure called the French Narrator often introduces episodes and narrates the intertitles as if the series were a nature documentary about the ocean. His role and distinctive manner of speaking are references to the oceanographer Jacques Cousteau.
Recurring guest characters appear throughout the series including: the retired superheroes Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy, who are idolized by SpongeBob and Patrick; a pirate specter known as the Flying Dutchman; the muscular lifeguard of Goo Lagoon, Larry the Lobster; and the merman god of the sea, King Neptune. There is also a large variety of characters who serve as the main background characters for the show and are featured in almost every episode. They are each referred as "Incidental" followed by their given model number. Their names, jobs, personalities, relationships, voices, ages, and sometimes gender are inconsistent and tend to differ from each episode. There are 222 of these characters.
Special (generally half-hour or hour-long) episodes of the show are hosted by a live-action pirate named Patchy and his pet parrot Potty, whose segments are presented in a dual narrative with the animated stories. Patchy is portrayed as the president of a fictional "SpongeBob" fan club, and his greatest aspiration is to meet SpongeBob himself. He gets into absurd escapades in a similar matter to the actual show, with Potty constantly making fun of Patchy's nonsensical aspirations and causes trouble for him while he tries to host the show.
Setting.
The series takes place primarily in the benthic underwater city of Bikini Bottom located in the Pacific Ocean beneath the real-life coral reef known as Bikini Atoll. Its citizens are mostly multicolored fish who live in buildings made from ship funnels and use "boatmobiles", amalgamations of cars and boats, as a mode of transportation. Recurring locations within Bikini Bottom include the neighboring houses of SpongeBob, Patrick, and Squidward; two competing restaurants, the Krusty Krab and the Chum Bucket; Mrs. Puff's Boating School, which includes a driving course and a sunken lighthouse; the Treedome, an oxygenated glass enclosure where Sandy lives; Shady Shoals Rest Home; a seagrass meadow called Jellyfish Fields; and Goo Lagoon, a subaqueous brine pool that is a popular beach hangout.
When the "SpongeBob" crew began production of the series' pilot episode, they were tasked with designing stock locations, to be used repeatedly, where most scenes would take place like the Krusty Krab and SpongeBob's pineapple house. The idea was "to keep everything nautical", so the crew used plenty of rope, wooden planks, ships' wheels, netting, anchors, boilerplates, and rivets to create the show's setting. Transitions between scenes are marked by bubbles filling the screen, accompanied by the sound of rushing water.
The series features "sky flowers" as a main setting material. When series background designer Kenny Pittenger was asked what they were, he answered, "They function as clouds in a way, but since the show takes place underwater, they aren't really clouds. Because of the Tiki influence on the show, the background painters use a lot of pattern." Pittenger said the sky flowers were meant to "evoke the look of a flower-print Hawaiian shirt".
Production.
Development.
Early inspirations.
Series creator Stephen Hillenburg first became fascinated with the ocean as a child and began developing his artistic abilities at a young age. Although these interests would not overlap for some time—the idea of drawing fish seemed boring to him—Hillenburg pursued both during college, majoring in marine biology and minoring in art. After graduating in 1984, he joined the Ocean Institute, an organization in Dana Point, California, dedicated to educating the public about marine science and maritime history.
While Hillenburg was there, his love of the ocean began to influence his artistry. He created a precursor to "SpongeBob SquarePants": a comic book titled "The Intertidal Zone" used by the institute to teach visiting students about the animal life of tide pools. The comic starred various anthropomorphic sea lifeforms, many of which would evolve into "SpongeBob SquarePants" characters. Hillenburg tried to get the comic professionally published, but none of the companies he sent it to were interested.
A large inspiration to Hillenburg was Ween's 1997 album "The Mollusk", which had a nautical and underwater theme. Hillenburg contacted the band shortly after the album's release, explaining the baseline ideas for "SpongeBob SquarePants", and also requested a song from the band, which they sent on Christmas Eve. This song was "Loop de Loop", which was used in the episode "Your Shoe's Untied".
Conception.
While working as a staff artist at the Ocean Institute, Hillenburg entertained plans to return eventually to college for a master's degree in art. Before this could materialize, he attended an animation festival, which inspired him to make a slight change in course. Instead of continuing his education with a traditional art program, Hillenburg chose to study experimental animation at the California Institute of the Arts. His thesis film, "Wormholes", is about the theory of relativity. It was screened at festivals, and at one of these, Hillenburg met Joe Murray, creator of the popular Nickelodeon animated series, "Rocko's Modern Life". Murray was impressed by the style of the film and offered Hillenburg a job. Hillenburg joined the series as a director, and later, during the fourth season, he took on the roles of producer and creative director.
Martin Olson, one of the writers for "Rocko's Modern Life", read "The Intertidal Zone" and encouraged Hillenburg to create a television series with a similar concept. At that point, Hillenburg had not even considered creating his own series. However, he realized that if he ever did, this would be the best approach. He began to develop some of the characters from "The Intertidal Zone", including the comic's "announcer", Bob the Sponge. He wanted his series to stand out from most popular cartoons of the time, which he felt were exemplified by buddy comedies like "The Ren & Stimpy Show". As a result, Hillenburg decided to focus on a single main character: the "weirdest" sea creature he could think of. This led him to the sponge. "The Intertidal Zone"s Bob the Sponge resembles an actual sea sponge, and at first, Hillenburg continued to use this design. In determining the new character's behavior, Hillenburg drew inspiration from innocent, childlike figures that he enjoyed, such as Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, Jerry Lewis, and Pee-wee Herman. He then considered modeling the character after a kitchen sponge and realized this idea would match the character's square personality perfectly. Patrick, Mr. Krabs, Pearl, and Squidward were the next characters Hillenburg created for the show.
To voice the series' central character, Hillenburg turned to Tom Kenny, whose career in animation had started alongside Hillenburg's on "Rocko's Modern Life". Elements of Kenny's own personality were employed to develop the character further. Initially, Hillenburg wanted to use the name SpongeBoy—the character had no last name—and the series was to have been named "SpongeBoy Ahoy!" However, the Nickelodeon legal department discovered—after voice acting had been completed for the original seven-minute pilot episode—that the name "SpongeBoy" was already copyrighted. In choosing a replacement name, Hillenburg felt he still had to use the word "Sponge", so that viewers would not mistake the character for a "Cheese Man". He settled on the name "SpongeBob". "SquarePants" was chosen as a family name after Kenny saw a picture of the character and remarked, "Boy, look at this sponge in square pants, thinking he can get a job in a fast food place." When he heard Kenny say it, Hillenburg loved the phrase and felt it would reinforce the character's nerdiness.
Assembling the crew.
Derek Drymon, who served as creative director for the first three seasons, has said that Hillenburg wanted to surround himself with a "team of young and hungry people." Many of the major contributors to "SpongeBob SquarePants" had worked before with Hillenburg on "Rocko's Modern Life", including: Drymon, art director Nick Jennings, supervising director Alan Smart, writer/voice actor Doug Lawrence (often credited as Mr. Lawrence), and Tim Hill, who helped develop the series bible.
Although Drymon would go on to have a significant influence on "SpongeBob SquarePants", he was not offered a role on the series initially. As a late recruit to "Rocko's Modern Life", he had not established much of a relationship with Hillenburg before "SpongeBob"s conception. Hillenburg first sought out Drymon's storyboard partner, Mark O'Hare—but he had just created the soon-to-be syndicated comic strip, "Citizen Dog". While he would later join "SpongeBob" as a writer, he lacked the time to get involved with both projects from the outset. Drymon has said, "I remember Hillenburg's bringing it up to Mark in our office and asking him if he'd be interested in working on it ... I was all ready to say yes to the offer, but Steve didn't ask; he just left the room. I was pretty desperate ... so I ran into the hall after him and basically begged him for the job. He didn't jump at the chance." Once Hillenburg had given it some thought and decided to bring Drymon on as creative director, the two began meeting at Hillenburg's house several times a week to develop the series. Drymon has identified this period as having begun in 1996, shortly after the end of "Rocko's Modern Life".
Jennings was also instrumental in "SpongeBob"s genesis. Kenny has called him "one of SpongeBob's early graphics mentors". On weekends, Kenny joined Hillenburg, Jennings, and Drymon for creative sessions where they recorded ideas on a tape recorder. Kenny performed audio tests as SpongeBob during these sessions, while Hillenburg voice acted the other characters.
Hill contributed scripts for several first-season episodes (including the pilot) and was offered the role of story editor, but turned it down—he would go on to pursue a career as a family film director. In his stead, Pete Burns was brought in for the job. Burns hailed from Chicago and had never met any of the principal players on "SpongeBob" before joining the team.
Pitching.
While pitching the cartoon to Nickelodeon executives, Hillenburg donned a Hawaiian shirt, brought along an "underwater terrarium with models of the characters", and played Hawaiian music to set the theme. The setup was described by Nickelodeon executive Eric Coleman as "pretty amazing". They were given money and two weeks to write the pilot episode "Help Wanted". Drymon, Hillenburg, and Jennings returned with what was described by Nickelodeon official Albie Hecht as, "a performance [he] wished [he] had on tape". Although executive producer Derek Drymon described the pitch as stressful, he said it went "very well". Kevin Kay and Hecht had to step outside because they were "exhausted from laughing", which worried the cartoonists.
In an interview, Cyma Zarghami, then-president of Nickelodeon, said, "their [Nickelodeon executives'] immediate reaction was to see it again, both because they liked it and it was unlike anything they'd ever seen before". Zarghami was one of four executives in the room when "SpongeBob SquarePants" was screened for the first time.
Before commissioning the full series, Nickelodeon executives insisted that it would not be popular unless SpongeBob was a child who went to school, with his teacher as a main character. Hillenburg recalled in 2012 that Nickelodeon told him, "Our winning formula is animation about kids in school... We want you to put SpongeBob in school." Hillenburg was ready to "walk out" on Nickelodeon and abandon the series, since he wanted SpongeBob to be an adult character. He eventually compromised by adding a new character to the main cast, Mrs. Puff, who is a boat-driving teacher. Hillenburg was happy with the compromise and said, "A positive thing for me that came out of it was [how it brought] in a new character, Mrs. Puff, who I love."
Executive producers and showrunners.
Until his death in 2018, Hillenburg had served as the executive producer over the course of the series' entire history and functioned as its showrunner from its debut in 1999 until 2004. The series went on hiatus in 2002, after Hillenburg halted production on the show itself to work on the feature film "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie". Once the film was finalized and the third season finished, Hillenburg resigned as the series' showrunner. Although he no longer had a direct role in the series' production, he maintained an advisory role and reviewed each episode.
When the film was completed, Hillenburg intended it to be the series finale, "so [the show] wouldn't jump the shark." However, Nickelodeon wanted more episodes. Hillenburg appointed Paul Tibbitt, who had previously served on the show as a writer, director, and storyboard artist, to take over his role as showrunner to produce additional seasons. Hillenburg considered Tibbitt one of his favorite members of the show's crew, and "totally trusted him".
On December 13, 2014, it was announced that Hillenburg would return to the series in an unspecified position. On November 26, 2018, at the age of 57, Hillenburg died from complications from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), with which he had been diagnosed in March 2017. Nickelodeon confirmed via Twitter the series would continue after his death. In February 2019, incoming president Brian Robbins vowed Nickelodeon would keep the show in production for as long as the network exists.
As of the ninth season, former writers and storyboard directors Vincent Waller and Marc Ceccarelli act as showrunners. Hillenburg is still posthumously credited as executive producer in episodes as of 2024.
Writing.
According to writer and storyboard artist Luke Brookshier, ""SpongeBob" is written differently to many television shows." Unlike most of its contemporaries, "SpongeBob SquarePants" does not use written scripts. Instead, storylines are developed by a team of five outline and premise writers. A two-page outline is then assigned to a team of storyboard directors, who produce a complete rough draft of the storyboard. One of the methods used to assemble storyboards was to use Post-it notes. Most of the dialogue and jokes are added during this stage. Brookshier has likened this process to how cartoons were made "in the early days of animation".
The decision to eschew scripts for storyboards is one that Hillenburg made early in the series' development. "Rocko's Modern Life" had also used storyboarding derived from short outlines, and having worked on that series, Hillenburg felt strongly about adopting the process for "SpongeBob SquarePants"—even though Nickelodeon was beginning to show a greater preference for script-driven cartoons. Another series' writer, Merriwether Williams, explained in an interview that she and Mr. Lawrence would write a draft for an episode in an afternoon and be done at 4:00 pm.
The writing staff often used their personal experiences as inspiration for the storylines of the series' episodes. For example, the episode "Sailor Mouth", where SpongeBob and Patrick learn profanity, was inspired by creative director Derek Drymon's experience as a child of getting into trouble for using the f-word in front of his mother. Drymon said, "The scene where Patrick is running to Mr. Krabs to tattle, with SpongeBob chasing him, is pretty much how it happened in real life". The end of the episode when Mr. Krabs uses even more profanity than SpongeBob and Patrick was inspired "by the fact that my [Drymon's] mother has a sailor mouth herself". The idea for the episode "The Secret Box" also came from one of Drymon's childhood experiences. Hillenburg explained, "Drymon had a secret box [as a kid] and started telling us about it. We wanted to make fun of him "and" use it."
Almost every episode is divided into two 11-minute segments. Hillenburg explained: "[I] never really wanted to deliberately try to write a half-hour show". He added, "I wrote the shows to where they felt right".
Voice actors.
"SpongeBob SquarePants" features the voices of Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke, Rodger Bumpass, Clancy Brown, Mr. Lawrence, Jill Talley, Carolyn Lawrence, Mary Jo Catlett, and Lori Alan. Most one-off and background characters are voiced by Dee Bradley Baker, Sirena Irwin, Bob Joles, Mark Fite and Thomas F. Wilson.
Kenny voices SpongeBob and a number of other characters, including SpongeBob's pet snail Gary and the French narrator. He also physically portrays Patchy the Pirate in live-action segments of most special episodes. Kenny previously worked with Stephen Hillenburg on "Rocko's Modern Life". When Hillenburg created "SpongeBob SquarePants", he approached Kenny to voice the main character. Kenny originally used the voice of SpongeBob for a minor character on "Rocko". He forgot how to perform the voice initially and did not intend to use it afterward. Hillenburg, however, used a video clip of the episode to remind Kenny of the voice. When Hillenburg heard Kenny perform the voice, he knew immediately he wanted it for his character. He said to Nickelodeon executives, "That's it—I don't want to hear anybody else do the voice. We've got SpongeBob." The network insisted on auditioning more actors, but Hillenburg turned them down; in the words of Tom Kenny, "one of the advantages of having a strong creator is that the creator can say, 'No, I like that—I don't care about celebrities.'" While Kenny was developing SpongeBob's voice, the show's casting crew wanted him to have a unique, high-pitched laugh in the tradition of Popeye and Woody Woodpecker.
Fagerbakke voices Patrick Star and other miscellaneous characters. At the same time when Hillenburg, Derek Drymon and Tim Hill were writing the pilot "Help Wanted", Hillenburg was also conducting auditions to find voices for the characters. Fagerbakke auditioned for the role of Patrick after Kenny had been cast. Fagerbakke recalled that during this audition, "Hillenburg actually played for me a portion of Tom [Kenny]'s performance [as SpongeBob], and they were looking for a counterpoint." In an interview, Fagerbakke compared himself to the character and said, "It's extremely gratifying". Whenever Patrick is angry Fagerbakke models his performance after American actress Shelley Winters.
Squidward Tentacles is voiced by Rodger Bumpass, who describes him as "a very nasally, monotone kind of guy." He said the character "became a very interesting character to do" because of "his sarcasm, and then his frustration, and then his apoplexy, and so he became a wide spectrum of emotions". Arthur Brown, author of "Everything I Need to Know, I Learned from Cartoons!", has compared Squidward's voice to that of Jack Benny's, a similarity Bumpass says is mostly unintentional.
Voice acting veteran Clancy Brown voices Mr. Krabs, SpongeBob's boss at the Krusty Krab. Hillenburg modeled Mr. Krabs after his former manager at a seafood restaurant, whose strong Maine accent reminded Hillenburg of a pirate. Brown decided to use a "piratey" voice for the character with "a little Scottish brogue" after hearing Hillenburg's description of his boss. According to Brown, his Mr. Krabs voice was mostly improvised during his audition and it was not challenging for him to find the correct voice.
Mr. Lawrence had met Hillenburg before on "Rocko's Modern Life". While working on the pilot episode of "SpongeBob", Hillenburg invited him to audition for all the characters. Since other voices had been found for the main cast already, Lawrence began by voicing a variety of minor characters. This included Plankton, who was initially only set to appear in one episode. Mr. Lawrence recalls that Nickelodeon executives told Hillenburg, "'we could stunt-cast this. You know, we could have Bruce Willis do this voice.' And Steve was just like, 'it's Doug [Lawrence], don't you hear it? This is the character! This is the guy!'" Jill Talley, Tom Kenny's wife, voices Karen Plankton. Being a Chicago native, she uses a Midwestern accent for the character. Electronic sound effects are underlaid by the series' audio engineers to create a robotic sound when she speaks. Talley and Mr. Lawrence often improvise Plankton and Karen's dialogue. Lawrence called improvisation his "favorite part of the voice over" in 2009. He elaborated in a 2012 interview, saying, "I always enjoy the back-and-forth. [Talley and I] start to actually overlap so much talking to each other that [the voice directors] have to tell us, 'hey, stop doing that, separate what you're saying!'"
Carolyn Lawrence voices Sandy Cheeks. She was in Los Feliz, Los Angeles, with a friend who knew "SpongeBob SquarePants" casting director Donna Grillo. Her friend said to Grillo that Lawrence had "an interesting voice". Grillo invited her to audition and she got the role. American actress Mary Jo Catlett, who is known for her live-action roles on television programs from the 1970s such as "Diff'rent Strokes" and "M*A*S*H" provides Mrs. Puff's voice. As of 2017, voicing Mrs. Puff has become her only regular television role; Catlett described herself as "basically retired" in 2013, since she feels that voicing Mrs. Puff requires less preparation than her performances in person. Lori Alan voices Pearl Krabs. During her audition for the role, Alan was shown an early drawing of the characters and noted that Pearl was much larger than the rest of the cast. She decided to reflect the character's size in her voice by making it deep and full in tone. She aimed to make it invoke the sound of whales' low vocalizations while also sounding "spoiled and lovable." In an interview with AfterBuzz TV, Alan said she knew Pearl "had to sound somewhat like a child," but needed "an abnormally large voice."
In addition to the regular cast, episodes feature guest voices from many professions, including actors, athletes, authors, musicians, and artists. Recurring guest voices include: Ernest Borgnine, who voiced Mermaid Man from 1999 until his death in 2012; Tim Conway as the voice of Barnacle Boy from 1999 until his death in 2019; Brian Doyle-Murray as the Flying Dutchman; and Marion Ross as Grandma SquarePants. Notable guests who have provided vocal cameo appearances include: David Bowie as Lord Royal Highness in the television film "Atlantis SquarePantis"; John Goodman as the voice of Santa in the episode "It's a SpongeBob Christmas!"; Johnny Depp as the voice of the surf guru, Jack Kahuna Laguna, in the episode "SpongeBob SquarePants vs. The Big One"; and Victoria Beckham as the voice of Queen Amphitrite in the episode "The Clash of Triton".
Voice recording sessions always include a full cast of actors, which Kenny describes as "getting more unusual". Kenny said, "That's another thing that's given "SpongeBob" its special feel. Everybody's in the same room, doing it old radio-show style. It's how the stuff we like was recorded". Series writer Jay Lender said, "The recording sessions were always fun ..." For the first three seasons, Hillenburg and Drymon sat in the recording studio and directed the actors. Andrea Romano became the voice director in the fourth season, and Tom Kenny took over the role during the ninth. Wednesday is recording day, the same schedule followed by the crew since 1999. Casting supervisor Jennie Monica Hammond said, "I loved Wednesdays".
Animation.
Approximately 50 people work together to animate and produce an episode of "SpongeBob SquarePants". Throughout its run, the series' production has been handled domestically at Nickelodeon Animation Studio in Burbank, California. The finished animations are handled overseas at Rough Draft Studios Korea, Ltd. in South Korea. The California crew storyboard each episode, which are then used as templates by the crew at Rough Draft, who animate each scene by hand, color each cel on computers, and paint backgrounds. Episodes are finished in California, where they are edited and have music added.
During the first season, the series used cel animation. A shift was made the following year to digital ink and paint animation. In 2009, executive producer Paul Tibbitt said: "The first season of "SpongeBob" was done the old-fashioned way on cells "[sic]", and every cell "sic" had to be part-painted, left to dry, paint some other colors. It's still a time-consuming aspect of the process now, but the digital way of doing things means it doesn't take long to correct".
In 2008, the crew began using Wacom Cintiqs for the drawings instead of pencils. The fifth season episode "Pest of the West", one of the half-hour specials, was the first episode where the crew applied this method. Series' background designer Kenny Pittenger said, "The only real difference between the way we draw now and the way we drew then is that we abandoned pencil and paper during the fifth season". The shift to Wacom Cintiqs let the designers and animators draw on computer screens and make immediate changes or undo mistakes. Pittenger said, "Many neo-Luddites—er... I mean, many of my cohorts—don't like working on them, but I find them useful. There's no substitute for the immediacy of drawing on a piece of paper, of course, but digital nautical nonsense is still pretty fun".
Since 2004, the "SpongeBob" crew has periodically collaborated with the LA-based animation studio Screen Novelties to create stop-motion sequences for special episodes. The studio produced a brief claymation scene for the climax of the first theatrical film. It was re-enlisted in 2009 to create an exclusive opening for the series' tenth anniversary special. The abominable snow mollusk, an octopus-like creature made of clay who acts as the antagonist of the double-length episode "Frozen Face-Off", was also animated by the company. "Animation World Network" reported that "within the "SpongeBob" creative team, there was always talk of doing a more involved project together" with Screen Novelties. As a result, the group was asked to create an episode animated entirely in stop motion in 2011. This project became "It's a SpongeBob Christmas!", which reimagined the show's characters as if they were part of a Rankin/Bass holiday film. Tom Kenny, who is normally uninvolved in the writing process, contributed to the episode's plot; he said in 2012 that he and Nickelodeon "wanted to do something just like those old school, stop-motion Rankin-Bass holiday specials ... which I watched over and over again when I was a kid growing up in Syracuse".
Unconventional materials such as baking soda, glitter, wood chips and breakfast cereal were used in mass quantities to create the special's sets. Members of the Screen Novelties crew received one win and two nominations at the 30th Annie Awards, a nomination at the 2013 Golden Reel Awards, and a nomination at the 2013 Annecy International Animated Film Festival for animating the episode. The team built a dolphin puppet named Bubbles, voiced by Matt Berry, for "". Sequences involving Bubbles included a blend of stop motion and traditional animation. A second special animated in stop motion, themed around Halloween and using the same Rankin/Bass-inspired character models, was produced for season 11.
Music.
Mark Harrison and Blaise Smith composed the "SpongeBob SquarePants" theme song. Its lyrics were written by Stephen Hillenburg and the series' original creative director Derek Drymon. The melody was inspired by the sea shanty "Blow the Man Down". An old oil painting of a pirate is used in the opening sequence. Dubbed "Painty the Pirate", according to Tom Kenny, Hillenburg found it in a thrift shop "years ago". Patrick Pinney voices Painty the Pirate, singing the theme song as the character. Hillenburg's lips were imposed onto the painting and move along with the lyrics. Kenny joked this is "about as close of a glimpse as most "SpongeBob" fans are ever going to get of Steve Hillenburg", because of his private nature.
A cover of the song by Avril Lavigne can be found on "The" "SpongeBob SquarePants Movie" soundtrack. Another cover by the Violent Femmes aired on Nickelodeon as a promotion when the series moved to prime time.
Steve Belfer, one of Hillenburg's friends from CalArts, wrote and performed the music heard over the end credits. This theme includes ukulele music at Hillenburg's request. Drymon said, "It's so long ago, it's hard to be sure, but I remember Hillenburg having the Belfer music early on, maybe before the pilot".
The series' music editor and main composer is Nicolas Carr. After working with Hillenburg on "Rocko's Modern Life", he struggled to find a new job in his field. He had considered a career change before Hillenburg offered him the job. The first season's score primarily featured selections from the Associated Production Music Library, which Carr has said includes "lots of great old corny Hawaiian music and big, full, dramatic orchestral scores." "Rocko's Modern Life" also used music from this library. It was Hillenburg's decision to adopt this approach. Carr has described the selections for "SpongeBob SquarePants" as being "more over-the-top" than those for "Rocko's Modern Life".
Hillenburg felt it was important for the series to develop its own music library, consisting of scores that could be reused and re-edited throughout the years. He wanted these scores to be composed by unknowns, and a group of twelve was assembled. They formed "The Sponge Divers Orchestra", which includes Carr and Belfer. The group went on to provide most of the music for later seasons, although Carr still draws from the Associated Production Music Library, as well as another library that he founded himself—Animation Music Inc.
Release.
Streaming.
"SpongeBob SquarePants" was able to be streamed on Netflix until that company's deal with Viacom ended in 2013. The series was also available on Hulu from 2012 until 2016. The series was available on Amazon Prime Video in 2013 after the Netflix deal ended. As part of the rebranding plan of Paramount+, the series joined along with other ViacomCBS shows on July 30, 2020.
Currently, the first 6 seasons are available to be streamed on Prime Video and the first 12 seasons through Paramount+. The series is available to stream on Netflix in Canada.
Home video.
"SpongeBob SquarePants" DVD releases are distributed by Paramount Home Entertainment under the Nickelodeon label.
Anniversaries.
Tenth anniversary.
Nickelodeon began celebrating the series' 10th anniversary on January 18, 2009, with a live cast reading of the episode "SpongeBob vs. The Big One". The reading—a first for the series—was held at that year's Sundance Film Festival. The episode, which premiered on TV on April 17, 2009, features Johnny Depp as a guest star. Other celebratory actions taken by the network included the launching of a new website for the series (spongebob.com) and the introduction of new merchandise. A "SpongeBob and water conservation-themed element" was also added to Nickelodeon's pro-social campaign "The Big Green Help". In an interview, Tom Kenny said, "What I'm most proud of is that kids still really like ["SpongeBob SquarePants"] and care about it ... They eagerly await new episodes. People who were young children when it started 10 years ago are still watching it and digging it and think it's funny. That's the loving cup for me."
Three nights before the official anniversary date, an hour-long documentary on the series, "", premiered on VH1. Critically acclaimed duo Patrick Creadon and Christine O'Malley created the film as a followup to "I.O.U.S.A."—a documentary on America's financial situation. Creadon remarked, "After spending two years examining the financial health of the United States, Christine and I were ready to tackle something a little more upbeat. Telling the SpongeBob story feels like the perfect fit." On July 17, Nickelodeon marked the official anniversary of the series, with a 50-hour television marathon titled "The Ultimate SpongeBob SpongeBash Weekend". It began with a new episode, "To SquarePants or Not to SquarePants". Saturday saw a countdown of the top ten episodes as picked by fans, as well as an airing of "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie". The marathon finished on Sunday, with a countdown of episodes picked by celebrities and the premiere of ten new episodes.
Nickelodeon continued celebrating the anniversary through the rest of the year. An eight-episode DVD set featuring "To SquarePants or Not to SquarePants" was released shortly after the marathon on July 21. Next a 2,200 minute, 14-disc DVD set titled "The First 100 Episodes" was released on September 22. Finally, on November 6, an hour-long television film, titled "Truth or Square", debuted on Nickelodeon. The film is narrated by Ricky Gervais and features live action cameo appearances by: Rosario Dawson, Craig Ferguson, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, LeBron James, P!nk, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, and Robin Williams. It was released as part of a five-episode DVD set on November 10, 2009.
Twentieth anniversary.
On February 11, 2019, Nickelodeon announced it would recognize the twentieth anniversary of "SpongeBob SquarePants" with a series of celebrations known as the "Best Year Ever". In honor of the anniversary, Pantone created color shades known as "SpongeBob SquarePants Yellow" and "Patrick Star Pink" to be used by Nickelodeon's licensing partners. Romero Britto, Jon Burgerman, and the Filipino art collective Secret Fresh were commissioned by Nickelodeon to create art pieces devoted to "SpongeBob SquarePants". Some of these pieces were to be adapted into commercial products. On February 12, in conjunction with Nickelodeon's announcement of the "Best Year Ever", Cynthia Rowley presented a "SpongeBob SquarePants"-themed wetsuit during New York Fashion Week. A month later, Marlou Breuls presented the "SpongeBob SquarePants"-themed "Icon Collection" during Amsterdam Fashion Week. That summer, Nike, in collaboration with Kyrie Irving, released a "SpongeBob SquarePants" series of shoes, accessories, and apparel. In July, for the first time ever, "SpongeBob SquarePants" became the theme of a cosmetics line, which was released as a limited time offering by HipDot Studios. The "Best Year Ever" also introduced an official "SpongeBob SquarePants" YouTube channel and a new mobile game based on the series, along with new toy lines.
The "Best Year Ever" formally began on July 12, 2019, with the premiere of the one-hour, live-action/animated TV special "SpongeBob's Big Birthday Blowout". It continued that month at San Diego Comic-Con, with two panels, a booth, and various activities devoted to the series. The "Best Year Ever" was recognized on Amazon Prime Day with an exclusive early release of "SpongeBob SquarePants: The Best 200 Episodes Ever!", a 30-disc DVD compilation of two box sets, "SpongeBob SquarePants: The First 100 Episodes" and "SpongeBob SquarePants: The Next 100 Episodes". The collections received a standard nationwide release on August 27. The "Best Year Ever" continued into 2020 culminating with the August 14 release of "".
Twenty-fifth anniversary.
On May 22, 2024, Nickelodeon announced it would celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of "SpongeBob SquarePants" with a worldwide event known as "SpongeBob 25".
"SpongeBob 25" formally began on July 13, 2024, with the 2024 Kids' Choice Awards hosted by SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star. The following week, Nickelodeon rolled out a series of "SpongeBob SquarePants" episodes with Easter eggs and nods to previous episodes of the series.
The "Krabby Patty Kollab" collaboration began on October 8, 2024, in which Wendy's and several local restaurants collaborated to bring their own interpretations of real-life Krabby Patties.
A one-hour television special, "Kreepaway Kamp", premiered on October 10, 2024 on Nickelodeon and Paramount+.
"SpongeBob SquarePants: The Best 300 Episodes Ever", a 44-disc DVD compilation of three box sets, "SpongeBob SquarePants: The First 100 Episodes", "SpongeBob SquarePants: The Next 100 Episodes" and "SpongeBob SquarePants: Another 100 Episodes", released on October 15, 2024.
Reception.
Ratings and run-length achievements.
Within its first month on air, "SpongeBob SquarePants" overtook "Pokémon" as the highest rated Saturday-morning children's series on television. It held an average national Nielsen rating of 4.9 among children aged two through eleven, denoting 1.9 million viewers. Two years later, the series had firmly established itself as Nickelodeon's second highest-rated children's program, after "Rugrats". "SpongeBob SquarePants" was credited with helping Nickelodeon take the "Saturday-morning ratings crown" for the third straight season in 2001. The series had gained a significant adult audience by that point—nearly 40 percent of its 2.2 million viewers were aged 18 to 34. In response to its weekend success, Nickelodeon gave "SpongeBob SquarePants" time slots at 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm, Monday through Thursday, to increase the series' exposure. By the end of 2001, "SpongeBob SquarePants" had the highest ratings for any children's series, on all of television. Weekly viewership of the series had reached around fifteen million, at least five million of whom were adults.
In October 2002, another Nickelodeon series, "The Fairly OddParents", ranked as the number two program for children between two and eleven years old. Its ratings at that time were almost equal to "SpongeBob SquarePants" then-average of 2.2 million viewers per episode. "The Fairly OddParents" even briefly surpassed "SpongeBob SquarePants", causing it to drop into second place. At this time, "The Fairly OddParents" had a 6.2 rating and nearly 2.5 million child viewers, while "SpongeBob SquarePants" had a 6.0 rating and 2.4 million child viewers aged two to eleven. Nickelodeon "recognized" "The Fairly OddParents" for its climbing ratings and installed it in a new 8:00 PM time slot, previously occupied by "SpongeBob SquarePants". In an interview, Cyma Zarghami, then-general manager and executive vice president of Nickelodeon, said, "Are we banking on the fact that "Fairly OddParents" will be the next "SpongeBob"? ... We are hoping. But "SpongeBob" is so unique, it's hard to say if it will ever be repeated."
In 2012, however, the series' ratings were declining. The average number of viewers aged two to eleven watching "SpongeBob" at any given time dropped 29% in the first quarter from a year earlier, according to Nielsen. "Wall Street Journal" business writer John Jannarone suggested the series' age and oversaturation might be contributing to its ratings' decline and might also be directly responsible for the decline in Nickelodeon's overall ratings. Media analyst Todd Juenger attributed the decline in Nickelodeon's ratings directly to the availability of streaming video content on services like Netflix, a provider of on-demand Internet streaming media.
Philippe Dauman, the president and CEO of Viacom, contradicted that notion, saying: "We are getting nice revenues through these subscription VOD deals", adding Netflix only has "some library content" on its service. A Nickelodeon spokesman said, ""SpongeBob" is performing consistently well and remains the number one rated animated series in all of children's television." He added, "There is nothing that we have seen that points to "SpongeBob" as a problem." Dauman blamed the drop on "some ratings systemic issues" at Nielsen, citing extensive set-top-box data that "does in no way reflect" the Nielsen data.
Juenger noted "SpongeBob" could affect the ratings of other Nickelodeon programming because children often change channels to find their favorite programs, then stay tuned to that network. Nickelodeon reduced its exposure on television. In the first quarter of 2012, the network cut back on the number of episodes it aired by 16% compared to a year earlier.
On April 22, 2013, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings announced their intentions not to renew their existing deal with Viacom. Viacom's deal with Netflix expired, and shows such as "SpongeBob" and "Dora the Explorer" were removed. However, seasons five through eight of "SpongeBob" are still available to stream on Netflix in Canada. On June 4, 2013, Viacom announced a multi-year licensing agreement which would move its programs, such as "SpongeBob" and "Dora the Explorer", to Amazon.com, Netflix's top competitor. Amazon agreed to pay more than $200 million to Viacom for the license, its largest subscription streaming transaction ever.
"SpongeBob SquarePants" is one of the longest-running series on Nickelodeon. It became the network's series with the most episodes during its eighth season, surpassing the 172 episodes of "Rugrats". In the ninth season, its 26 episodes brought the total number of episodes produced to 204. In a statement, Brown Johnson, Nickelodeon's animation president, said, "SpongeBob's success in reaching over 200 episodes is a testament to creator Stephen Hillenburg's vision, comedic sensibility and his dynamic, lovable characters. The series now joins the club of contemporary classic Nicktoons that have hit this benchmark, so we're incredibly proud." Many children of the 2000s grew up with the series, leading to the series possessing an extensive influence on Generation Z and millennials and greater internet culture.
Critical reception.
"SpongeBob SquarePants" has been widely praised, particularly for its appeal to different age groups, and the show has earned numerous awards and accolades throughout its run. James Poniewozik of "Time" magazine described the title character as "the anti-Bart Simpson, temperamentally and physically: his head is as squared-off and neat as Bart's is unruly, and he has a personality to match—conscientious, optimistic and blind to the faults in the world and those around him." According to Laura Fries of "Variety" magazine, the series is "a thoughtful and inventive cartoon about a hopelessly optimistic and resilient sea sponge ... Devoid of the double entendres rife in today's animated TV shows, this is purely kid's stuff. ... However, that's not to say that "SpongeBob" is simplistic or even juvenile. It's charming and whimsical, but clever enough to appeal to teens and college-aged kids as well." "The New York Times" critic Joyce Millman said "SpongeBob" "is clever without being impenetrable to young viewers and goofy without boring grown-ups to tears. It's the most charming toon on television, and one of the weirdest. And it's also good, clean fun, which makes sense because it is, after all, about a sponge." Millman wrote, "His relentless good cheer would be irritating if he weren't so darned lovable and his world so excellently strange. ... Like "Pee-wee's Playhouse", SpongeBob joyfully dances on the fine line between childhood and adulthood, guilelessness and camp, the warped and the sweet."
Robert Thompson, a professor of communications and director of the Center for the Study of Popular Television at Syracuse University, told "The New York Times"There is something kind of unique about ["SpongeBob"]. It seems to be a refreshing breath from the pre-irony era. There's no sense of the elbow-in-rib, tongue-in-cheek aesthetic that so permeates the rest of American culture—including kids' shows like the "Rugrats". I think what's subversive about it is it's so incredibly naive—deliberately. Because there's nothing in it that's trying to be hip or cool or anything else, hipness can be grafted onto it. In another interview with "Los Angeles Times", he commentated on the show's adult audience: "[On one hand] It's a kind of time machine that transports parents back to when they watched TV in their footie [pajamas]. On the other hand, it's very hip in the way it's presented. It is very edgy to adults who know how to read and listen between the frames." Television critics Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz ranked "SpongeBob SquarePants" as the 22nd greatest American TV series of all time in their 2016 book "". In a 2007 interview, Barack Obama said SpongeBob is his favorite TV character and admitted that "SpongeBob SquarePants" is "the show I watch with my daughters."
Awards and accolades.
"SpongeBob SquarePants" has received many awards and nominations; among these are four Emmy Awards (Outstanding Special Class Animated Program in 2010; Outstanding Sound Editing—Animation" in 2014; Outstanding Children's Animated Series in 2018; and Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program in 2018 for Kenny); six Annie Awards; and two BAFTA Children's Awards. In 2006, IGN ranked "SpongeBob SquarePants" 15th on its list of the Top 25 Animated Series of All Time, and in 2013, it ranked the series 12th on its list of the Top 25 Animated Series for Adults. In addition, the website's UK division ran a Top 100 Animated Series list and like its US counterpart, ranked "SpongeBob SquarePants" 15th.
"TV Guide" listed SpongeBob SquarePants himself at number nine on its list of the 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time in 2002. In June 2010, "Entertainment Weekly" named SpongeBob one of the 100 Greatest Characters of the Last 20 Years. Viewers of UK television network Channel 4 voted "SpongeBob SquarePants" the 28th Greatest Cartoon in a 2004 poll. The series is among the All-TIME 100 TV Shows, as chosen by "Time" television critic James Poniewozik in 2007. He said, "It's the most funny, surreal, inventive example of the explosion in creative kids' (and adult) entertainment that Nick, Cartoon Network and their ilk made possible." In 2013, the publication ranked "SpongeBob SquarePants" the eighth Greatest TV Cartoon of All Time. Television critic Matt Zoller Seitz included the series in his 2016 book with Alan Sepinwall titled "TV (The Book)" as the 22nd greatest American television series of all time, saying that ""SpongeBob SquarePants" is an absurdist masterpiece that Salvador Dalí and Groucho Marx would have watched together in their smoking jackets".
Legacy.
In July 2009, Madame Tussauds wax museum in New York launched a wax sculpture of SpongeBob in celebration of the series' 10th anniversary. SpongeBob became the first animated character sculpted entirely out of wax.
The character has also become a trend in Egypt at Cairo's Tahrir Square. After the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, SpongeBob became a fashion phenomenon, appearing on various merchandise items from hijabs to boxer shorts. The phenomenon led to the creation of the Tumblr project called "SpongeBob on the Nile". The project was founded by American students Andrew Leber and Elisabeth Jaquette and attempts to document every appearance of SpongeBob in Egypt. Sherief Elkeshta cited the phenomenon in an essay about the incoherent state of politics in Egypt in an independent monthly paper titled "Midan Masr". He wrote, "Why isn't he [SpongeBob] at least holding a Molotov cocktail? Or raising a fist?" The phenomenon has even spread to Libya, where a Libyan rebel in SpongeBob dress was photographed celebrating the revolution. Although "The Guardian" and "Vice" have asserted that the trend has little to no political significance, "joke" presidential campaigns have been undertaken for SpongeBob in Egypt and Syria.
A clip was posted to YouTube in February 2013 that features soldiers in the Russian army and navy singing the "SpongeBob SquarePants" theme song as they march. According to the website that uploaded the video, this is one of the "most popular marching songs" in the Russian military. The video garnered nearly 50,000 views within its first week.
Following Hillenburg's death in November 2018, more than 1.2 million fans signed a petition for the National Football League to have the song "Sweet Victory" from the season 2 episode "Band Geeks" performed in his honor at the Super Bowl LIII halftime show. Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium's Twitter account, the venue of the show, tweeted a GIF of SpongeBob dancing in "Band Geeks" in December. Maroon 5 who were performing at the game, included a brief clip of SpongeBob in a preview video, leading fans to believe the song would be performed. While the song's opening was ultimately included, it served as a transition into artist Travis Scott's set, which left many fans disappointed. In response to fans' disappointment at not hearing the complete "Sweet Victory" song during the halftime show at Super Bowl LIII, the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League showed a clip of the full "Sweet Victory" song during a game at the American Airlines Center. In the clip, the characters' band uniforms are recolored green after the Stars.
Several species of organism have been named in reference to "SpongeBob". In May 2011, a new species of mushroom, "Spongiforma squarepantsii", was described and named after the series' title character. In 2019, a species of sea sponge, "Clathria hillenburgi", was named in honor of Hillenburg, also referencing his creation of "SpongeBob SquarePants". In 2020, a species of abyssal sea star, "Astrolirus patricki", was described and named after Patrick Star; individuals of this species were found to be closely associated with hexactinellid sponges, and it was thus named after Patrick as a reference to the character's friendship with SpongeBob.
In honor of Stephen Hillenburg, a nonprofit fan project titled "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie Rehydrated" was released online on May 1, 2022. It consists of a re-creation of "the SpongeBob SquarePants Movie" reanimated by 300 people with re-recorded music and dialogue. Amid the YouTube premiere, the video was taken down by Paramount Global due to copyright laws. As a result, the hashtag #JusticeForSpongeBob became trending on Twitter against Paramount's action. The video was restored the following day.
Criticism.
Controversies.
Sexuality.
In 2005, an online video that showed clips from "SpongeBob SquarePants" and other children's shows set to the Sister Sledge song "We Are Family" to promote diversity and tolerance was attacked by an evangelical group in the United States. They saw SpongeBob being used to "advocate homosexuality". James Dobson of Focus on the Family accused the video of promoting homosexuality because it was sponsored by a pro-tolerance group. The incident prompted the question of whether SpongeBob is gay. Although the character has enjoyed popularity with gay viewers, series creator Stephen Hillenburg had already denied SpongeBob was gay three years earlier, clarifying at the time that he considered the character to be "somewhat asexual". After Dobson's comments, Hillenburg reasserted his position, stating that sexual preference does not play a part in what they are "trying to do" with the series. Tom Kenny and other production members were distraught that the issue had arisen. Dobson later said his comments were taken out of context, and his original complaints were not with SpongeBob, the video, or any of the characters in the video, but rather with the organization that sponsored the video, the We Are Family Foundation. Dobson said they posted pro-gay material on their website, but later removed it. After the controversy, John H. Thomas, the United Church of Christ's general minister and president, said they would welcome SpongeBob into their ministry. He said: "Jesus didn't turn people away. Neither do we."
Queer theorist Jeffery P. Dennis, author of the journal article "Queertoons," argued that SpongeBob and Sandy are not romantically in love, but added that he believed SpongeBob and Patrick "are paired with arguably erotic intensity". Martin Goodman of "Animation World Magazine" called Dennis' comments regarding SpongeBob and Patrick "interesting". The Ukrainian website Family Under the Protection of the Holy Virgin, which has been described as a "fringe Catholic" group by "The Wall Street Journal", criticized "SpongeBob SquarePants" for its alleged "promotion of homosexuality". The group sought to have the series banned, along with several other popular children's properties. The National Expert Commission of Ukraine on the Protection of Public Morality took up the matter for review in August 2012. Questions about SpongeBob's sexuality resurfaced in 2020 after Nickelodeon's official Twitter account posted an image of the character, in rainbow colors with text celebrating the LGBTQ+ community and its allies during Pride Month. Although the post did not make any assertions about SpongeBob's sexual orientation, numerous users responded on social media, claiming they already had their suspicions that he might be gay or reasserting Hillenburg's description of asexuality.
In April 2009, Burger King released a SpongeBob-themed advertisement featuring a parody of Sir Mix-a-Lot's song "Baby Got Back". The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood protested the ad for being sexist and inappropriately sexual, especially considering SpongeBob's fan base includes young children. In official statements released by Burger King and Nickelodeon, both companies claimed the campaign was aimed at parents.
Other.
A 2011 study conducted at the University of Virginia, published in the journal "Pediatrics", suggested that allowing preschool-aged audiences to watch the series caused short-term disruptions in mental function and attention span because of frequent shot changes, compared to control groups watching "Caillou" and drawing pictures. A Nickelodeon executive responded in an interview the series was not intended for an audience of that age and that the study used "questionable methodology and could not possibly provide the basis for any valid findings that parents could trust."
Several of the series' episodes have also been the subject of controversy. In a report titled "Wolves in Sheep's Clothing," which documents the increase in potentially violent, profane, and sexual content in children's programming, the Parents Television Council, a watchdog media group, claimed the season 2 "SpongeBob SquarePants" episode "Sailor Mouth" was an implicit attempt to promote and satirize the use of profanity among children. "SpongeBob's Last Stand" (season 7) and "Selling Out" (season 4) have been accused of promoting environmentalism and left-wing politics because of their negative portrayal of big business, earning criticism from some on the political right. "SpongeBob, You're Fired" (season 9) caused widespread controversy and sparked a political debate over its portrayal of unemployment. After Fox News and the "New York Post" commented on the episode, Media Matters for America accused the two organizations of using the episode to "attack the social safety net". This statement was echoed by Al Sharpton, who claimed conservatives' "new hero" to be "a sponge who lives in a pineapple under the sea". In 2014, Zabira Orazalieva, chairwoman of the Committee for the Protection of Children's Rights in Kazakhstan, deemed the show too violent for children, labeling the titular character a "self-absorbed hooligan" who "regularly inflicts violence on others in his community and seems to enjoy what he does".
In 2019, University of Washington professor Holly M. Barker stated that the show promotes "violent and racist" colonialism, since Bikini Bottom is named after Bikini Atoll, a place where natives were resettled by the US government for nuclear testing. Barker also pointed out the alleged cultural appropriation of Pacific culture in the show. Because of such content, children have "become acculturated to an ideology that includes the U.S. character SpongeBob residing on another people's homeland", according to Barker. ViacomCBS eventually pulled the episode "Mid-Life Crustacean" (season 3), first aired in 2003, out of circulation in March 2021, presumably due to its ending in which SpongeBob, Patrick, and Mr. Krabs partake in a panty raid. "We determined some story elements were not kid-appropriate", a Nickelodeon representative stated. The release of a later episode, "Kwarantined Krab" (season 12), would be delayed by two years over its similarities to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Perceived decline in quality.
Various media outlets including MSN, "The A.V. Club", and "Vulture" have reported that "SpongeBob"s popularity declined following the release of the 2004 film and Hillenburg's departure as showrunner. In 2012, MSN cited a post on "Encyclopedia SpongeBobia", a Fandom-hosted wiki, which said that many fans felt the series had "jumped the shark" following the release of "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie" and that online fansites were becoming "deserted".
As of 2011, episodes produced since the first film have been variously categorized by DVD Talk and DVD Verdict as "tedious", "boring" "dreck", a "depressing plateau of mediocrity", and "laugh-skimpy". In 2018, "Vulture" noted the most popular online memes of the series usually focused on episodes from the first three seasons. That same year, "The A.V. Club" wrote that as the series went on, "[it] leaned hard into kid-friendly physical humor and gross out moments that appealed to no one in particular".
Nickelodeon faced criticism from fans and former staff like Paul Tibbitt when the network greenlit spinoffs (see below) after the death of Hillenburg, who had previously expressed hesitation in deriving from the parent series. "The show is about SpongeBob, he's the core element, and it's about how he relates to the other characters," Hillenburg told "Television Business International". "Patrick by himself might be a bit too much. So I don't see any spin-offs."
Franchise.
Spin-offs.
"Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years".
On February 14, 2019, it was announced that a "SpongeBob SquarePants" spin-off was in development, and on June 4 the title "Kamp Koral" was revealed. The plot focuses on a 10-year-old SpongeBob and his friends at the titular camp located in the Kelp Forest, where they spend the summer catching jellyfish, building campfires, and swimming in Lake Yuckymuck. It serves as a tie-in to the animated film "". Production of the series began in June 2019.
Nickelodeon animation head Ramsey Naito said of the series, "SpongeBob has an incredible universe to expand upon and the greenlight for "Kamp Koral" is a testament to the strength and longevity of these characters known and loved by generations of fans around the world." Like "SpongeBob SquarePants", the series is co-executive produced by Marc Ceccarelli, Jennie Monica, and Vincent Waller. "Kamp Koral" is produced using computer animation rather than the digital ink and paint animation used for "SpongeBob SquarePants".
On February 19, 2020, it was announced that the series would be premiering in July 2020, with the official title "Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years". The series was also scheduled for a release on CBS All Access (now Paramount+), the ViacomCBS streaming service, in early 2021. The series officially premiered on March 4, 2021.
"The Patrick Star Show".
On August 10, 2020, it was reported that a Patrick Star talk show titled "The Patrick Star Show" was in development with a 13-episode order. Additionally, it was reported that the show would be similar to other talk shows such as "The Larry Sanders Show" and "Comedy Bang! Bang!" The series premiered on Nickelodeon on July 9, 2021, with the series set to be available on Paramount+ later on.
Super Bowl.
After the death of Hillenburg, an online petition emerged requesting that David Glen Eisley's song "Sweet Victory"—featured in the episode "Band Geeks", which followed Squidward Tentacles as he organized an ensemble to perform the halftime show at the "Bubble Bowl"—be performed at the Super Bowl LIII halftime show. By December 24, 2018, the petition on Change.org had over one million signatures, and the Twitter account of Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the event's venue, also acknowledged the campaign. During the halftime show, a short animation featuring Squidward, Mr. Krabs, Mrs. Puff, SpongeBob, and Patrick Star, as well as footage of the Bikini Bottom band from the episode, was used to introduce Travis Scott for his performance of "Sicko Mode". According to animator Nico Colaleo, the animation was completed in a few days.
On August1, 2023, CBS Sports announced that it would carry a youth-oriented alternate broadcast of Super Bowl LVIII on Nickelodeon, the first such broadcast for a Super Bowl. Billed as "Super BowlLVIII: Live from Bikini Bottom", the broadcast incorporated "SpongeBob"-themed augmented reality effects and features (in addition to those seen on previous games aired by the network), and appearances by characters from the series (SpongeBob and Patrick acted as "analysts" alongside announcers Noah Eagle and Nate Burleson, with Sandy Cheeks taking on "sideline reporter" duties).
Comic books.
The 32-page bimonthly comic book series, "SpongeBob Comics", was announced in November 2010 and debuted the following February. Before this, "SpongeBob SquarePants" comics had been published in "Nickelodeon Magazine", and episodes of the television series had been adapted by "Cine-Manga", but "SpongeBob Comics" was the first American comic book series devoted solely to "SpongeBob SquarePants". It also served as "SpongeBob SquarePants" creator Stephen Hillenburg's debut as a comic book author. The series was published by Hillenburg's production company, United Plankton Pictures, and distributed by Bongo Comics Group. Hillenburg described the stories from the comic books as "original and always true to the humor, characters, and universe of the SpongeBob SquarePants series." Leading up to the release of the series, Hillenburg said, "I'm hoping that fans will enjoy finally having a "SpongeBob" comic book from me."
Chris Duffy, the former senior editor of "Nickelodeon Magazine", serves as managing editor of "SpongeBob Comics". Hillenburg and Duffy met with various cartoonists—including James Kochalka, Hilary Barta, Graham Annable, Gregg Schigiel, and Jacob Chabot—to contribute to each issues. Retired horror comics writer and artist Stephen R. Bissette returned to write a special Halloween issue in 2012, with Tony Millionaire and Al Jaffee. In an interview with Tom Spurgeon, Bissette said, "I've even broken my retirement to do one work-for-hire gig [for "SpongeBob Comics"] so I could share everything about that kind of current job."
In the United Kingdom, Titan Magazines published comics based on "SpongeBob SquarePants" every four weeks from February 3, 2005, through November 28, 2013. Titan Magazines also teamed up with Lego to release a limited edition "SpongeBob"-themed comic.
Films.
Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies produced "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie", an animated film adaptation of the series released on November 19, 2004. The film was directed by Hillenburg and written by long-time series writers Derek Drymon, Tim Hill, Kent Osborne, Aaron Springer, Paul Tibbitt, and Hillenburg. He and Julia Pistor produced the film, while Gregor Narholz composed the film's score. The film is about Plankton's evil plan to steal King Neptune's crown and send it to Shell City. SpongeBob and Patrick must retrieve it and save Mr. Krabs' life from Neptune's raft and their home, Bikini Bottom, from Plankton's plan. It features guest appearances by Jeffrey Tambor as King Neptune, Scarlett Johansson as the King's daughter Mindy, Alec Baldwin as Dennis, and David Hasselhoff as himself, and received a positive critical reception, It grossed over $140 million worldwide. Three television films were released: "SpongeBob's Atlantis SquarePantis" in 2007, "SpongeBob's Truth or Square" in 2009, and "SpongeBob's Big Birthday Blowout" in 2019.
A sequel to the 2004 film, "", was released in theaters on February 6, 2015. The series' main cast members reprised their roles. The underwater parts are animated traditionally in the manner of the series—the live-action parts use CGI animation with the SpongeBob characters. The film has a budget similar to the previous film and cost less than $100 million to produce.
On April 30, 2015, Viacom announced a third film was in development. In April 2018, Tim Hill was named as director, and the film's original title, "It's a Wonderful Sponge", was revealed. Paramount originally scheduled a release date of July 17, 2020, later moving it earlier to May 22, 2020. In October 2018, it was announced the movie will be an origin story of how SpongeBob came to Bikini Bottom and how he got his square pants. Around the same time, it was announced that Hans Zimmer will compose the music. The first poster along with a title change to "Sponge on the Run" was revealed on November 12, 2019, with the first trailer releasing on November 14. The film was later delayed to July 31, 2020 (and later August 7, 2020) due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film's worldwide theatrical release was later cancelled in June 2020 and it was announced that it would be released in Canadian theaters on August 14, 2020, followed by a release on premium video on demand before heading to Paramount+ in early 2021. On January 28, 2021, it was announced that the film would be released on the service on March 4, 2021.
Upcoming.
In early March 2020, ViacomCBS announced that it would be producing two spin-off films based on the series for Netflix. In February 2022, it was revealed that these plans had been revised to three character spinoff films. The first character spinoff film, "", was released on August 2, 2024. Prior to its release, the entire film was leaked on January 21, 2024, as a video upload on X (the website formerly known as Twitter).
In August, 2021, Brian Robbins, CEO of Nickelodeon, stated that a new theatrical "SpongeBob" film is "in the works." The fourth main SpongeBob film, "The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants", was set for release on May 23, 2025, but was later delayed to December 19 of that year, with the taking its previous date due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.
Music.
Collections of original music featured in the series have been released on the albums ' (2001), "SpongeBob's Greatest Hits" (2009), and ' (2005). The first two charted on the US "Billboard" 200, reaching number 171 and 122, respectively.
Several songs have been recorded for the purpose of a single or album release and have not been featured on the show. The song "My Tighty Whiteys" written by Tom Kenny and Andy Paley was released only on the album "The Best Day Ever" (2006). Kenny's inspiration for the song was "underwear humor," saying: "Underwear humor is always a surefire laugh-getter with kids ... Just seeing a character that odd wearing really prosaic, normal, Kmart, three-to-a-pack underwear is a funny drawing ... We thought it was funny to make a really lush, beautiful love song to his underwear."
A soundtrack album, "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie – Music from the Movie and More", featuring the film's score, was released along with the feature-length film in November 2004. Various artists including the Flaming Lips, Wilco, Ween, Motörhead, the Shins, and Avril Lavigne contributed to the soundtrack that reached number 76 on the US "Billboard" 200.
Theme park rides.
The SpongeBob SquarePants 4-D film and ride opened at several locations, including Six Flags Over Texas, Flamingo Land Resort, and the Shedd Aquarium. The ride features water squirts, real bubbles, and other sensory enhancements. In 2012, Nickelodeon teamed up again with SimEx-Iwerks Entertainment and Super 78 to produce "SpongeBob SquarePants 4-D: The Great Jelly Rescue". The attraction opened in early 2013 at the Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration. It was also installed at the Nickelodeon Suites Resort Orlando in Orlando, Florida. The seven-minute film follows SpongeBob, Patrick, and Sandy rescuing the jellyfish of Jellyfish Fields from Plankton's evil clutches. On May 23, 2015, an interactive 3D show titled "SpongeBob SubPants Adventure" opened in Texas at Moody Gardens. The show was replaced with a generic "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" re-theme in 2019. A dark ride shooter attraction titled "SpongeBob's Crazy Carnival Ride" opened at the Circus Circus Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2024.
A variety of SpongeBob SquarePants-related attractions are currently located within Nickelodeon themed-areas at Movie Park Germany, Pleasure Beach Blackpool, Sea World, American Dream Meadowlands, and Mall of America, which includes the SpongeBob SquarePants Rock Bottom Plunge euro-fighter roller coaster.
Video games.
Numerous video games based on the series have been produced. Some of the early games include: ' (2001) and ' (2003). In 2013, Nickelodeon published and distributed "SpongeBob Moves In!", a freemium city-building game app developed by Kung Fu Factory for iOS and Android. On June 5, 2019, THQ Nordic announced "", a full remake of the console versions of the original 2003 game. The game was released one year later on June 23, 2020 and includes cut content from the original game. On May 28, 2020, Apple Arcade released a game called Spongebob Squarepants: Patty Pursuit. In 2021, EA Sports introduced a SpongeBob-themed level to the Yard section of its "Madden NFL 21" video game.
On September 17, 2021, THQ Nordic announced "", a new original game based on the franchise.
SpongeBob SquareShorts.
Nickelodeon launched the first global "SpongeBob SquarePants"-themed short film competition, SpongeBob SquareShorts: Original Fan Tributes, in 2013. The contest encouraged fans and filmmakers around the world to create original short films inspired by SpongeBob for a chance to win a prize and a trip for four people to a screening event in Hollywood. The contest opened on May 6 and ran through June 28, 2013. On July 19, 2013, Nickelodeon announced the competition's finalists. On August 13, 2013, the under-18 category was won by David of the United States for his "The Krabby Commercial", while the "Finally Home" short by Nicole of South Africa won the 18 and over category.
Theater.
"SpongeBob SquarePants" was adapted as a stage musical in 2016 by director Tina Landau. "SpongeBob SquarePants, The Broadway Musical" premiered in Chicago in 2016 and opened on Broadway at the Palace Theatre on December 4, 2017. The musical opened to critical acclaim, and tied for most-nominated production at the 2018 72nd Tony Awards with twelve Tony nominations.
SpongeBob in internet culture.
Online memes relating to "SpongeBob SquarePants" have achieved widespread popularity on the Internet, so much so that "Vox"'s Aja Romano declared in 2019 that "Spongebob memes came to rule internet culture". A subreddit devoted to memes based on the animated series has, as of May 2019, accumulated over 1.7 million subscribers, a figure exponentially higher than subreddits devoted to the series itself.
Matt Schimkowitz, a senior editor for "Know Your Meme", told "Time" that a combination of factors make "SpongeBob" memes so popular. He speculated that nostalgia for the past, alongside the cartoon's young audience, contributed to the "SpongeBob SquarePants"' outsized presence in Internet meme culture. Schimkowitz further added that memes derived from the series are exceptionally good at expressing emotions.
Michael Gold of "The New York Times" concurred. The writer opined that because of the show's "high episode count" and that it was "so ubiquitous at the beginning of the 21st century", "SpongeBob SquarePants" became "easy meme fodder".
Nickelodeon and members of the SpongeBob cast have expressed approval for the trend. Tom Kenny told "Time" that he found "SpongeBob" memes relatable and good-natured. Kenny said that while the show's characters can be considered complex, they are also simple, creating a wealth of content for meme creators to work with. Nickelodeon has manufactured a line of toys based on some of the show's most recognizable meme formats, and has even included references to well-known memes in video games.
Among the show's most popular memes are the mocking SpongeBob meme, referring to an image macro from the episode "Little Yellow Book", an image of Spongebob appearing exhausted in the episode "Nature Pants", and a particularly disheveled illustration of Squidward from "Squid's Day Off".
In 2024, an Internet meme surfaced consisting of Richard Myhill's "Woe Is Me!", taken from the episode "Squilliam Returns", paired with a hamster staring up in despair. Dubbed the "sad hamster meme", the trend found rapid popularity on social media platforms as a way for users to express a reflection to sadness and unfortunate situations.
Fans of the show have created various pages replicating Bikini Bottom News, a news show within the SpongeBob universe, with versions of the anchors Realistic Fish Head and Perch Perkins generated with artificial intelligence. Some of these pages are criticized for how they handle topics and potentially spread fear mongering as a result.
Another Spongebob meme that surfaced in 2024 is the 'Freakbob' meme. Associated with Gen Z humor, Freakbob (or sometimes Freaky Bob) is typically shown on the dialing end of a phone call. The vast rise in popularity has sparked many variations of the meme on social media.
Merchandise.
The popularity of "SpongeBob SquarePants" inspired merchandise from T-shirts to posters. In 2009, it was reported that the franchise had generated an estimated $8 billion in merchandising revenue for Nickelodeon. The series is also the most distributed property of Paramount Media Networks. "SpongeBob" is viewed in 170 countries, speaks 24 languages, and has become "a killer merchandising app.". The title character and his friends have been used as a theme for special editions of well-known family board games, including Monopoly, Life, and Operation, as well as a "SpongeBob SquarePants" edition of Ants in the Pants, and Yahtzee.
In 2001, Nickelodeon signed a marketing deal with Target Corporation and Burger King, expanding its merchandising. The popularity of SpongeBob has translated well into sales. In 2002, "SpongeBob SquarePants" dolls sold at a rate of 75,000 per week—faster than Tickle Me Elmo dolls were selling at the time. SpongeBob has gained popularity in Japan, specifically with Japanese women. Nickelodeon's parent company, Viacom, purposefully targeted marketing at women there. Skeptics initially doubted that SpongeBob could be popular in Japan, as the character's design is very different from already popular designs for Hello Kitty and Pikachu. Ratings and merchandise sales showed "SpongeBob SquarePants" has caught on with parents and with college audiences. In a 2013 promotion, college-oriented website Music.com gave away 80,000 "SpongeBob" T-shirts, four times more than during a similar promotion for Comedy Central's "South Park".
Kids' meal tie-ins have been released in fast food restaurants in many parts of the world, including Burger King in Europe and North America, as well as Wendy's in North America, and Hungry Jack's in Australia. A McDonald's Happy Meal tie-in with SpongeBob-themed Happy Meal boxes and toys was released in Europe and other international markets in the summer of 2007. In Australia, the advertisement for the McDonald's "SpongeBob" Happy Meal won the Pester Power Award because the ads enticed young children to want its food because of the free toy. As a tie-in beverage for the DVD release of "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie", 7-Eleven released the limited edition Under-the-Sea Pineapple Slurpee in March 2004. Pirate's Booty released limited edition "SpongeBob SquarePants" Pirate's Booty snacks in 2013.
In 2007, high-end "SpongeBob"-themed electronics were introduced by Imation Electronics Products under the Npower brand, including MP3 players, digital cameras, a DVD player, and a flatscreen television. Pictures of "SpongeBob SquarePants" began to appear on the labels of 8-ounce cans of Green Giant cut green beans and packages of frozen Green Giant green beans and butter sauce in 2007, which featured free stickers. This was part of an initiative to encourage kids to eat their vegetables. Simmons Jewelry Co. released a $75,000 diamond pendant as part of a "SpongeBob" collection. In New Zealand, the UK-based Beechdean Group unveiled the "SpongeBob SquarePants" Vanilla Ice Cream character product as part of a license deal with Nickelodeon. NZ Drinks launched the "SpongeBob SquarePants" bottled water.
Build-A-Bear Workshop introduced the new "SpongeBob SquarePants" collection in stores and online in North America on May 17, 2013. Shoppers can dress their SpongeBob and Patrick plush in a variety of clothing and accessories. Sandy Cheeks and Gary the Snail are also available as pre-stuffed minis. Build-A-Bear Workshop stores nationwide celebrated the arrival of SpongeBob with a series of special events from May 17 through May 19.
On July 13, 2013, Toyota, with Nickelodeon, unveiled a "SpongeBob"-inspired Toyota Highlander. The 2014 Toyota Highlander was launched on SpongeBob Day at the San Diego Padres v. Giants game. The "SpongeBob" Toyota Highlander visited seven U.S. locations during its release, including the Nickelodeon Suites Resort Orlando in Florida.
In April 2019, Nickelodeon released a series of toys adapted from various SpongeBob Internet memes. These included "Handsome Squidward", "Imaginaaation SpongeBob", "Mocking SpongeBob", "SpongeGar", and "Surprised Patrick". Shortly after the release of the line, most of the toys sold out on Amazon.com.
SpongeBob has also appeared as a guest character in multiple video games, mainly Nickelodeon based ones such as the Nicktoons Unite and Nick All-Star Brawl franchises, and a crossover game with the MLB entitled Nicktoons MLB. Additionally, there have been SpongeBob skins in mobile games, such as Stumble Guys and Brawl Stars.
In 2024, Nickelodeon collaborated with various local restaurants and fast food chain Wendy's to create Krabby Patty Kollab meals, including a recreation of the Krabby Patty (which was just the Dave's burgers from Wendy's with special sauce) and various SpongeBob themed food items, including a Pineapple Under The Sea Frosty from Wendy's, along with specialized items at select local restaurants nationwide. While the promotion was popular, it was also criticized for allegedly going against creator Stephen Hillenburg's wishes of not selling themed fast food based on the property.
On October 25, 2024, as part of multiple reveals at that year's MagicCon Las Vegas event, Wizards of the Coast announced a SpongeBob themed Secret Lair would be released for (Secret Lair is the label for special limited edition cards for the game). Not much is currently known aside from it releasing in 2025.
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James Bond
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The James Bond series focuses on the titular character, a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have written authorised Bond novels or novelisations: Kingsley Amis, Christopher Wood, John Gardner, Raymond Benson, Sebastian Faulks, Jeffery Deaver, William Boyd, and Anthony Horowitz. The latest novel is "With a Mind to Kill" by Anthony Horowitz, published in May 2022. Additionally Charlie Higson wrote a series on a young James Bond, and Kate Westbrook wrote three novels based on the diaries of a recurring series character, Moneypenny.
The character—also known by the code number 007 (pronounced "double-oh-seven")—has also been adapted for television, radio, comic strip, video games and film. The films are one of the longest continually running film series and have grossed over US$7.04 billion in total at the box office, making it the fifth-highest-grossing film series to date, which started in 1962 with "Dr. No", starring Sean Connery as Bond. , there have been twenty-five films in the Eon Productions series. The most recent Bond film, "No Time to Die" (2021), stars Daniel Craig in his fifth portrayal of Bond; he is the sixth actor to play Bond in the Eon series. There have also been two independent Bond film productions: "Casino Royale" (a 1967 spoof starring David Niven) and "Never Say Never Again" (a 1983 remake of an earlier Eon-produced film, 1965's "Thunderball", both starring Connery). The "James Bond" franchise is one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time. "Casino Royale" has also been adapted for television, as a one-hour show in 1954 as part of the CBS series "Climax!".
The Bond films are renowned for a number of features, including their soundtracks, with the theme songs having received Academy Award nominations on several occasions, and three wins. Other important elements which run through most of the films include Bond's cars, his guns, and the gadgets with which he is supplied by Q Branch. The films are also noted for Bond's relationships with various women, who are popularly referred to as "Bond girls".
Publication history.
Creation and inspiration.
Ian Fleming created the fictional character of James Bond as the central figure for his works. Bond is an intelligence officer in the Secret Intelligence Service, commonly known as MI6. Bond is known by his code number, 007, and was a Royal Naval Reserve Commander. Fleming based his fictional creation on a number of individuals he came across during his time in the Naval Intelligence Division and 30 Assault Unit during the Second World War, admitting that Bond "was a compound of all the secret agents and commando types I met during the war". Among those types were his brother, Peter, who had been involved in behind-the-lines operations in Norway and Greece during the war. Aside from Fleming's brother, a number of others also provided some aspects of Bond's make up, including Conrad O'Brien-ffrench, Patrick Dalzel-Job, Bill "Biffy" Dunderdale and Duško Popov.
The name James Bond came from that of the American ornithologist James Bond, a Caribbean bird expert and author of the definitive field guide "Birds of the West Indies". Fleming, a keen birdwatcher himself, had a copy of Bond's guide and he later explained to the ornithologist's wife that "It struck me that this brief, unromantic, Anglo-Saxon and yet very masculine name was just what I needed, and so a second James Bond was born". He further explained that:
On another occasion, Fleming said: "I wanted the simplest, dullest, plainest-sounding name I could find, 'James Bond' was much better than something more interesting, like 'Peregrine Carruthers'. Exotic things would happen to and around him, but he would be a neutral figure—an anonymous, blunt instrument wielded by a government department."
Fleming decided that Bond should resemble both American singer Hoagy Carmichael and himself and in "Casino Royale", Vesper Lynd remarks, "Bond reminds me rather of Hoagy Carmichael, but there is something cold and ruthless." Likewise, in "Moonraker", Special Branch officer Gala Brand thinks that Bond is "certainly good-looking ... Rather like Hoagy Carmichael in a way. That black hair falling down over the right eyebrow. Much the same bones. But there was something a bit cruel in the mouth, and the eyes were cold."
Fleming endowed Bond with many of his own traits, including sharing the same golf handicap, the taste for scrambled eggs, and using the same brand of toiletries. Bond's tastes are also often taken from Fleming's own as was his behaviour, with Bond's love of golf and gambling mirroring Fleming's own. Fleming used his experiences of his career in espionage and all other aspects of his life as inspiration when writing, including using names of school friends, acquaintances, relatives and lovers throughout his books.
It was not until the penultimate novel, "You Only Live Twice", that Fleming gave Bond a sense of family background. The book was the first to be written after the release of "Dr. No" in cinemas, and Sean Connery's depiction of Bond affected Fleming's interpretation of the character, henceforth giving Bond both a dry sense of humour and Scottish antecedents that were not present in the previous stories. In a fictional obituary, purportedly published in "The Times", Bond's parents were given as Andrew Bond, from the village of Glencoe, Scotland, and Monique Delacroix, from the canton of Vaud, Switzerland. Fleming did not provide Bond's date of birth, but John Pearson's fictional biography of Bond, "", gives Bond a birth date on 11 November 1920, while a study by John Griswold puts the date at 11 November 1921.
Novels and related works.
Ian Fleming novels.
Whilst serving in the Naval Intelligence Division, Fleming had planned to become an author and had told a friend, "I am going to write the spy story to end all spy stories." On 17 February 1952, he began writing his first James Bond novel, "Casino Royale", at his Goldeneye estate in Jamaica, where he wrote all his Bond novels during the months of January and February each year. He started the story shortly before his wedding to his pregnant girlfriend, Ann Charteris, in order to distract himself from his forthcoming nuptials.
After completing the manuscript for "Casino Royale", Fleming showed it to his friend (and later editor) William Plomer to read. Plomer liked it and submitted it to the publishers, Jonathan Cape, who did not like it as much. Cape finally published it in 1953 on the recommendation of Fleming's older brother Peter, an established travel writer. Between 1953 and 1966, two years after his death, twelve novels and two short-story collections were published, with the last two books—"The Man with the Golden Gun" and "Octopussy and The Living Daylights"—published posthumously. All the books were published in the UK through Jonathan Cape.
Post-Fleming novels.
After Fleming's death, a continuation novel, "Colonel Sun", was written by Kingsley Amis (as Robert Markham) and published in 1968. Amis had already written a literary study of Fleming's Bond novels in his 1965 work "The James Bond Dossier". Although novelisations of two of the Eon Productions Bond films appeared in print, "James Bond, The Spy Who Loved Me" and "James Bond and Moonraker", both written by screenwriter Christopher Wood, the series of novels did not continue until the 1980s. In 1981, the thriller writer John Gardner picked up the series with "Licence Renewed". Gardner went on to write sixteen Bond books in total; two of the books he wrote were novelisations of Eon Productions films of the same name: "Licence to Kill" and "GoldenEye". Gardner moved the Bond series into the 1980s, although he retained the ages of the characters as they were when Fleming had left them. In 1996, Gardner retired from writing James Bond books due to ill health.
In 1996, the American author Raymond Benson became the author of the Bond novels. Benson had previously been the author of "The James Bond Bedside Companion", first published in 1984.
By the time he moved on to other, non-Bond related projects in 2002, Benson had written six Bond novels, three novelisations and three short stories.
After a gap of six years, Sebastian Faulks was commissioned by Ian Fleming Publications to write a new Bond novel, which was released on 28 May 2008, the 100th anniversary of Fleming's birth. The book—titled "Devil May Care"—was published in the UK by Penguin Books and by Doubleday in the US. American writer Jeffery Deaver was then commissioned by Ian Fleming Publications to produce "Carte Blanche", which was published on 26 May 2011. The book turned Bond into a post-9/11 agent, independent of MI5 or MI6. On 26 September 2013, "Solo" by William Boyd, set in 1969, was published. In October 2014, it was announced that Anthony Horowitz was to write a "Bond" continuation novel. Set in the 1950s two weeks after the events of "Goldfinger", it contains material written, but previously unreleased, by Fleming. "Trigger Mortis" was released on 8 September 2015. Horowitz's second Bond novel, "Forever and a Day", tells the origin story of Bond as a 00 agent prior to the events of "Casino Royale". The novel, also based on unpublished material from Fleming, was released on 31 May 2018. Horowitz's third Bond novel, "With a Mind to Kill", was published on 26 May 2022. Charlie Higson's first adult Bond novel, "On His Majesty's Secret Service", was published on 4 May 2023 to celebrate the Coronation of King Charles III and support the National Literacy Trust.
Young Bond.
The "Young Bond" series of novels was started by Charlie Higson and, between 2005 and 2009, five novels and one short story were published. The first Young Bond novel, "SilverFin" was also adapted and released as a graphic novel on 2 October 2008 by Puffin Books. In October 2013 Ian Fleming Publications announced that Stephen Cole would continue the series, with the first edition scheduled to be released in Autumn 2014.
"The Moneypenny Diaries".
"The Moneypenny Diaries" are a trilogy of novels chronicling the life of Miss Moneypenny, M's personal secretary. The novels are written by Samantha Weinberg under the pseudonym Kate Westbrook, who is depicted as the book's "editor". The first instalment of the trilogy, subtitled ', was released on 10 October 2005 in the UK. A second volume, subtitled ' was released on 2 November 2006 in the UK, published by John Murray. A third volume, subtitled "" was released on 1 May 2008.
Adaptations.
Television.
In 1954, CBS paid Ian Fleming $1,000 ($ in dollars) to adapt his novel "Casino Royale" into a one-hour television adventure, "Casino Royale", as part of its "Climax!" series. The episode aired live on 21 October 1954 and starred Barry Nelson as "Card Sense" James Bond and Peter Lorre as Le Chiffre. The novel was adapted for American audiences to show Bond as an American agent working for "Combined Intelligence", while the character Felix Leiter—American in the novel—became British onscreen and was renamed "Clarence Leiter".
In 1964 Roger Moore appeared as "James Bond" in an extended comedy sketch opposite Millicent Martin in her ATV TV series "Mainly Millicent", which also makes reference to "007". It was written by Dick Hills and Sid Green. Undiscovered for several years, it reappeared as an extra in the DVD and Blu-ray release of "Live and Let Die".
In 1973, a BBC documentary "Omnibus: The British Hero" featured Christopher Cazenove playing a number of such title characters (e.g. Richard Hannay and Bulldog Drummond). The documentary included James Bond in dramatised scenes from
"Goldfinger"—notably featuring 007 being threatened with the novel's circular saw, rather than the film's laser beam—and "Diamonds Are Forever".
In 1991, a spin-off animated series, "James Bond Jr.", was produced with Corey Burton in the role of Bond's nephew, James Bond Jr.
In 2022, a reality competition show based on the franchise, "", was released on Amazon Prime Video.
Radio.
In 1958, the novel "Moonraker" was adapted for broadcast on South African radio, with Bob Holness providing the voice of Bond. According to "The Independent", "listeners across the Union thrilled to Bob's cultured tones as he defeated evil master criminals in search of world domination".
The BBC have adapted five of the Fleming novels for broadcast: in 1990 "You Only Live Twice" was adapted into a 90-minute radio play for BBC Radio 4 with Michael Jayston playing James Bond. The production was repeated a number of times between 2008 and 2011. On 24 May 2008 BBC Radio 4 broadcast an adaptation of "Dr. No". The actor Toby Stephens, who played Bond villain Gustav Graves in the Eon Productions version of "Die Another Day", played Bond, while Dr. No was played by David Suchet. Following its success, a second story was adapted and on 3 April 2010 BBC Radio 4 broadcast "Goldfinger" with Stephens again playing Bond. Sir Ian McKellen was Goldfinger and Stephens' "Die Another Day" co-star Rosamund Pike played Pussy Galore. The play was adapted from Fleming's novel by Archie Scottney and was directed by Martin Jarvis.
In 2012, the novel "From Russia, with Love" was dramatised for Radio 4; it featured a full cast again starring Stephens as Bond. In May 2014 Stephens again played Bond, in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", with Alfred Molina as Blofeld, and Joanna Lumley (who appeared in the 1969 film adaptation) as Irma Bunt.
Comics.
In 1957, the "Daily Express" approached Ian Fleming to adapt his stories into comic strips, offering him £1,500 per novel and a share of takings from syndication. After initial reluctance, Fleming, who felt the strips would lack the quality of his writing, agreed. To aid the "Daily Express" in illustrating Bond, Fleming commissioned an artist to create a sketch of how he believed James Bond looked. The illustrator, John McLusky, however, felt that Fleming's 007 looked too "outdated" and "pre-war" and changed Bond to give him a more masculine look. The first strip, "Casino Royale" was published from 7 July 1958 to 13 December 1958 and was written by Anthony Hern and illustrated by John McLusky.
Most of the Bond novels and short stories have since been adapted for illustration, as well as Kingsley Amis's "Colonel Sun"; the works were written by Henry Gammidge or Jim Lawrence (except for the adaptation of "Dr. No" which was written by future Modesty Blaise creator Peter O'Donnell) with Yaroslav Horak replacing McClusky as artist in 1966. After the Fleming and Amis material had been adapted, original stories were produced, continuing in the "Daily Express" and "Sunday Express" until May 1977.
Several comic book adaptations of the James Bond films have been published through the years: at the time of "Dr. No"'s release in October 1962, a comic book adaptation of the screenplay, written by Norman J. Nodel, was published in Britain as part of the "Classics Illustrated" anthology series. It was later reprinted in the United States by DC Comics as part of its "Showcase" anthology series, in January 1963. This was the first American comic book appearance of James Bond and is noteworthy for being a relatively rare example of a British comic being reprinted in a fairly high-profile American comic. It was also one of the earliest comics to be censored on racial grounds (some skin tones and dialogue were changed for the American market).
With the release of the 1981 film "For Your Eyes Only", Marvel Comics published a two-issue comic book adaptation of the film. When "Octopussy" was released in the cinemas in 1983, Marvel published an accompanying comic; Eclipse also produced a one-off comic for "Licence to Kill", although Timothy Dalton refused to allow his likeness to be used. New Bond stories were also drawn up and published from 1989 onwards through Marvel, Eclipse Comics, Dark Horse Comics and Dynamite Entertainment.
Films.
Eon Productions films.
Eon Productions, the company of Canadian Harry Saltzman and American Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli, released the first cinema adaptation of an Ian Fleming novel, "Dr. No" (1962), based on the eponymous 1958 novel and featuring Sean Connery as 007. Connery starred in a further four films before leaving the role after "You Only Live Twice" (1967), which was taken up by George Lazenby for "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" (1969). Lazenby left the role after just one appearance and Connery was brought back for his last Eon-produced film "Diamonds Are Forever".
Roger Moore was appointed to the role of 007 for "Live and Let Die" (1973). He played Bond a further six times over twelve years, before being replaced by Timothy Dalton for two films. After a six-year hiatus, during which a legal wrangle threatened Eon's productions of the Bond films, Irish actor Pierce Brosnan was cast as Bond in "GoldenEye" (1995); he remained in the role for a total of four films through 2002. In 2006, Daniel Craig was given the role for "Casino Royale" (2006), which rebooted the series. Craig appeared for a total of five films. The series has grossed well over $7 billion to date, making it the fifth-highest-grossing film series.
Non-Eon films.
In 1967, "Casino Royale" was adapted into a parody Bond film starring David Niven as Sir James Bond and Ursula Andress as Vesper Lynd. Niven had been Fleming's preference for the role of Bond. The result of a court case in the High Court in London in 1963 allowed Kevin McClory to produce a remake of "Thunderball" titled "Never Say Never Again" in 1983. The film, produced by Jack Schwartzman's Taliafilm production company and starring Sean Connery as Bond, was not part of the Eon series of Bond films. In 1997, the Sony Corporation acquired all or some of McClory's rights in an undisclosed deal, which were then subsequently acquired by MGM, whilst on 4 December 1997, MGM announced that the company had purchased the rights to "Never Say Never Again" from Taliafilm. , Eon holds the full adaptation rights to all of Fleming's Bond novels.
Music.
The "James Bond Theme" was written by Monty Norman and was first orchestrated by the John Barry Orchestra for 1962's "Dr. No", although the actual authorship of the music has been a matter of controversy for many years. In 2001, Norman won £30,000 in libel damages from "The Sunday Times" newspaper, which suggested that Barry was entirely responsible for the composition. The theme, as written by Norman and arranged by Barry, was described by another Bond film composer, David Arnold, as "bebop-swing vibe coupled with that vicious, dark, distorted electric guitar, definitely an instrument of rock 'n' roll ... it represented everything about the character you would want: It was cocky, swaggering, confident, dark, dangerous, suggestive, sexy, unstoppable. And he did it in two minutes." Barry composed the scores for eleven Bond films and had an uncredited contribution to "Dr. No" with his arrangement of the Bond Theme.
A Bond film staple are the theme songs heard during their title sequences sung by well-known popular singers. Shirley Bassey performed three Bond theme songs, with her 1964 song "Goldfinger" inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008. Several of the songs produced for the films have been nominated for Academy Awards for Original Song, including Paul McCartney's "Live and Let Die", Carly Simon's "Nobody Does It Better", Sheena Easton's "For Your Eyes Only", Adele's "Skyfall", Sam Smith's "Writing's on the Wall", and
Billie Eilish's "No Time to Die". Adele won the award at the 85th Academy Awards, Smith won at the 88th Academy Awards, and Eilish won at the 94th Academy Awards. For the non-Eon produced "Casino Royale", Burt Bacharach's score included "The Look of Love" (sung by Dusty Springfield), which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song.
Video games.
In 1983, the first Bond video game, developed and published by Parker Brothers, was released for the Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari 8-bit computers, Commodore 64, and ColecoVision. Since then, there have been numerous video games either based on the films or using original storylines. In 1997, the first-person shooter video game "GoldenEye 007" was developed by Rare for the Nintendo 64, based on "GoldenEye". The game received highly positive reviews, won the BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Award for UK Developer of the Year in 1998, and sold over eight million copies worldwide, grossing $250 million, making it the third-best-selling Nintendo 64 game. It is frequently cited as one of the greatest video games of all time.
In 1999, Electronic Arts acquired the licence and released "Tomorrow Never Dies" on 16 December 1999. In October 2000, they released "The World Is Not Enough" for the Nintendo 64 followed by "007 Racing" for the PlayStation on 21 November 2000. In 2003, the company released ', which included the likenesses and voices of Pierce Brosnan, Willem Dafoe, Heidi Klum, Judi Dench and John Cleese, amongst others. In November 2005, Electronic Arts released a video game adaptation of ', which involved Sean Connery's image and voice-over for Bond. In 2006, Electronic Arts announced a game based on then-upcoming film "Casino Royale": the game was cancelled because it would not be ready by the film's release in November of that year. With MGM losing revenue from lost licensing fees, the franchise was moved from EA to Activision. Activision subsequently released the "" game on 31 October 2008, based on the film of the same name.
A new version of "GoldenEye 007" featuring Daniel Craig was released for the Wii and a handheld version for the Nintendo DS in November 2010. A year later a new version was released for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 under the title "". In October 2012 "007 Legends" was released, which featured one mission from each of the Bond actors of the Eon Productions' series. In November 2020, IO Interactive announced "Project 007", an original James Bond video game, working closely with licensors MGM and Eon Productions.
Role-playing game.
From 1983 to 1987, a licensed tabletop role-playing game, "James Bond 007: Role-Playing In Her Majesty's Secret Service", was published by Victory Games (a branch of Avalon Hill) and designed by Gerard Christopher Klug. It was the most popular espionage role-playing game for its time. In addition to providing materials for players to create original scenarios, the game also offered players the opportunity to have adventures modelled after many of the Eon Productions film adaptations, albeit with modifications to provide challenges by preventing players from slavishly imitating Bond's actions in the stories.
Guns, vehicles, skills and gadgets.
Guns.
For the first five novels, Fleming armed Bond with a Beretta 418 until he received a letter from a thirty-one-year-old Bond enthusiast and gun expert, Geoffrey Boothroyd, criticising Fleming's choice of firearm for Bond, calling it "a lady's gun—and not a very nice lady at that!" Boothroyd suggested that Bond should swap his Beretta for a 7.65mm Walther PPK and this exchange of arms made it to "Dr. No". Boothroyd also gave Fleming advice on the Berns-Martin triple draw shoulder holster and a number of the weapons used by SMERSH and other villains. In thanks, Fleming gave the MI6 Armourer in his novels the name Major Boothroyd and, in "Dr. No", M, the Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service, introduces him to Bond as "the greatest small-arms expert in the world". Bond also used a variety of rifles, including the Savage Model 99 in "For Your Eyes Only" and a Winchester .308 target rifle in "The Living Daylights". Other handguns used by Bond in the Fleming books included the Colt Detective Special and a long-barrelled Colt .45 Army Special.
The first Bond film, "Dr. No", saw M ordering Bond to leave his Beretta behind and take up the Walther PPK, which Bond used in eighteen films. In "Tomorrow Never Dies" and the two subsequent films, Bond's main weapon was the Walther P99 semi-automatic pistol.
Vehicles.
In the early Bond stories Fleming gave Bond a battleship-grey Bentley Litre with an Amherst Villiers supercharger. After Bond's car was written off by Hugo Drax in "Moonraker", Fleming gave Bond a Mark II Continental Bentley, which he used in the remaining books of the series. During "Goldfinger", Bond was issued an Aston Martin DB Mark III with a homing device, which he used to track Goldfinger across France. Bond returned to his Bentley for the subsequent novels.
The Bond of the films has driven a number of cars, including the Aston Martin V8 Vantage, during the 1980s, the V12 Vanquish and DBS during the 2000s, as well as the Lotus Esprit; the BMW Z3, BMW 750iL and the BMW Z8. He has, however, also needed to drive a number of other vehicles, ranging from a Citroën 2CV to a Routemaster Bus, amongst others.
Bond's most famous car is the silver grey Aston Martin DB5, first seen in "Goldfinger"; it later featured in "Thunderball", "GoldenEye", "Tomorrow Never Dies", "Casino Royale", "Skyfall" and "Spectre". The films have used a number of different Aston Martins for filming and publicity, one of which was sold in January 2006 at an auction in the US for $2.1 million to an unnamed European collector. In 2010, another DB5 used in Goldfinger was sold at auction for $4.6m million (£2.6 million).
Skills.
James Bond possesses a diverse set of skills that contribute to his effectiveness as a secret agent:
Gadgets.
Fleming's novels and early screen adaptations presented minimal equipment such as the booby-trapped attaché case in "From Russia, with Love", although this situation changed dramatically with the films. However, the effects of the two Eon-produced Bond films "Dr. No" and "From Russia with Love" had an effect on the novel "The Man with the Golden Gun", through the increased number of devices used in Fleming's final story.
For the film adaptations of Bond, the pre-mission briefing by Q Branch became one of the motifs that ran through the series. "Dr. No" provided no spy-related gadgets, but a Geiger counter was used; industrial designer Andy Davey observed that the first ever onscreen spy-gadget was the attaché case shown in "From Russia with Love", which he described as "a classic 007 product". The gadgets assumed a higher profile in the 1964 film "Goldfinger". The film's success encouraged further espionage equipment from Q Branch to be supplied to Bond, although the increased use of technology led to an accusation that Bond was over-reliant on equipment, particularly in the later films.
Davey noted that "Bond's gizmos follow the zeitgeist more closely than any other ... nuance in the films" as they moved from the potential representations of the future in the early films, through to the brand-name obsessions of the later films. It is also noticeable that, although Bond uses a number of pieces of equipment from Q Branch, including the Little Nellie autogyro, a jet pack and the exploding attaché case, the villains are also well-equipped with custom-made devices, including Scaramanga's golden gun, Rosa Klebb's poison-tipped shoes, Oddjob's steel-rimmed bowler hat and Blofeld's communication devices in his agents' vanity case.
Cultural impact.
Cinematically, Bond has been a major influence within the spy genre since the release of "Dr. No" in 1962, with 22 secret agent films released in 1966 alone attempting to capitalise on the Bond franchise's popularity and success. The first parody was the 1964 film "Carry On Spying", which shows the villain Dr. Crow being overcome by agents who included James Bind (Charles Hawtry) and Daphne Honeybutt (Barbara Windsor). One of the films that reacted against the portrayal of Bond was the Harry Palmer series, whose first film, "The Ipcress File", starring Michael Caine, was released in 1965. The eponymous hero is a rough-edged, petty crook turned spy, and was what academic Jeremy Packer called an "anti-Bond", or what Christoph Lindner calls "the thinking man's Bond". The Palmer series were produced by Harry Saltzman, who also used key crew members from the Bond series, including designer Ken Adam, editor Peter R. Hunt and composer John Barry. The four "Matt Helm" films starring Dean Martin (released between 1966 and 1969), the "Flint" series starring James Coburn (comprising two films, one each in 1966 and 1967), while "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." also moved onto the cinema screen, with eight films released: all were testaments to Bond's prominence in popular culture. More recently, the "Austin Powers" series by writer, producer and comedian Mike Myers, and other parodies such as the "Johnny English" trilogy of films, have also used elements from or parodied the Bond films.
Following the release of the film "Dr. No" in 1962, the line "Bond ... James Bond", became a catch phrase that entered the lexicon of Western popular culture: writers Cork and Scivally said of the introduction in "Dr. No" that the "signature introduction would become the most famous and loved film line ever". In 2001, it was voted as the "best-loved one-liner in cinema" by British cinema goers, and in 2005, it was honoured as the 22nd greatest quotation in cinema history by the American Film Institute as part of their 100 Years Series. The 2005 American Film Institute's '100 Years' series recognised the character of James Bond himself as the third greatest film hero. He was also placed at number 11 on a similar list by "Empire" and as the fifth greatest movie character of all time by "Premiere". In 1965, "Time" magazine observed "James Bond has developed into the biggest mass-cult hero of the decade".
The 25 James Bond films produced by Eon are the longest continually running film series of all time, and including the two non Eon produced films, the 27 Bond films have grossed over $7.04 billion in total, making it the sixth-highest-grossing franchise to date. It is estimated that since "Dr. No", a quarter of the world's population have seen at least one Bond film. The UK Film Distributors' Association have stated that the importance of the Bond series of films to the British film industry cannot be overstated, as they "form the backbone of the industry".
Television also saw the effect of Bond films, with the NBC series "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.", which was described as the "first network television imitation" of Bond, largely because Fleming provided advice and ideas on the development of the series, even giving the main character the name Napoleon Solo. Other 1960s television series inspired by Bond include "I Spy", and "Get Smart".
Considered a British cultural icon, James Bond had become such a symbol of the United Kingdom that the character, played by Craig, appeared in the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics as Queen Elizabeth II's escort. From 1968 to 2003, and since 2016, the Cadbury chocolate box Milk Tray has been advertised by the 'Milk Tray Man', a tough James Bond–style figure who undertakes daunting 'raids' to surreptitiously deliver a box of Milk Tray chocolates to a lady. Bond has been commemorated numerous times on a UK postage stamp issued by the Royal Mail, most recently in their March 2020 series to mark the 25th Bond film release.
Throughout the life of the film series, a number of tie-in products have been released. "Bondmania", a term deriving from the adjacent "Beatlemania" and initiated in 1964 following the enormous success of "Goldfinger", described the clamour for Bond films and their related products, from soundtrack LPs to children's toys, board games, alarm clocks playing the Bond theme, and 007-branded shirts. In 2018, a James Bond museum opened atop the Austrian Alps. The futuristic museum is constructed on the summit of Gaislachkogl Mountain in Sölden at 10,000 ft (3,048 m) above sea level.
The real MI6 has an ambiguous relationship with Bond. The films may attract job applicants who may be unsuited for espionage, while dissuading more-qualified candidates. While serving as Chief of SIS, Alex Younger said that were Bond to apply for a MI6 job "he would have to change his ways". Younger said, however, that the franchise had "created a powerful brand for MI6 ... Many of our counterparts envy the sheer global recognition of our acronym", and that being depicted to global audiences as a "ubiquitous intelligence presence" was "quite a force multiplier". The Russian Federal Security Service so envied Bond that it created an annual award for fictional depictions of Russian spies.
Public reception.
The James Bond franchise enjoys widespread popularity across the world. In 2014, it was estimated that approximately 20% of the world's population has watched at least one Bond film.
In 2012, the polling organisation YouGov conducted a survey of American Bond fans, categorising responses by age, sex and political affiliation. All groups selected Sean Connery as their favourite Bond actor. A 2018 poll found that 47% of American adults had seen at least one Bond film, with 27% having seen every film.
Queen Elizabeth II met the first six actors to play James Bond on the screen. She met Connery at the world premiere of "You Only Live Twice" in 1967, and, according to the royal biographer Gyles Brandreth: "She really did love all the early James Bond films", preferring the earlier films, "before they got so loud". Several prominent politicians have also been fans of the franchise, including John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and Kim Jong Il.
Criticisms.
The James Bond character and related media have received a number of criticisms and reactions across the political spectrum, and are still highly debated in popular culture studies. Some observers accuse the Bond novels and films of misogyny and sexism. In September 2021, "No Time to Die" director Cary Fukunaga described Sean Connery's version of Bond as 'basically a rapist'. The franchise has on occasion also been a target of religious criticism. In 1962, Vatican City's official newspaper "L'Osservatore Romano" condemned the film "Dr. No", referring to it as "a dangerous mixture of violence, vulgarity, sadism and sex". However, in 2012, the newspaper went on to give positive reviews to the film "Skyfall".
Geographers have considered the role of exotic locations in the movies in the dynamics of the Cold War, with power struggles among blocs playing out in the peripheral areas. Other critics claim that the Bond films reflect imperial nostalgia.
Censorship and alterations.
Bans and censorship by country.
Several James Bond novels, films, and video games have been banned, censored, or altered in several countries.
2023 changes.
In February 2023, Ian Fleming Publications (which administers all Fleming's literary works), edited the Bond series as part of a sensitivity review. The April 2023 re-releases of the series are planned to tie into the 70th anniversary of "Casino Royale". The new editions remove a number of references to race, including some slurs, along with some disparagements of women and homosexuality. They include a disclaimer added at the beginning of each book, reading:
"This book was written at a time when terms and attitudes which might be considered offensive by modern readers were commonplace. A number of updates have been made in this edition, while keeping as close as possible to the original text and the period in which it is set."
The decision was met with strong criticism by media outlets and public commentators, who condemned the changes as literary censorship. "The View" host Whoopi Goldberg expressed her opposition, arguing that offensive historical literature should be left unaltered; while "National Review" contributors Charles C. W. Cooke and Douglas Murray attacked the changes as excessive political correctness. Fleming biographer Andrew Lycett also opposed the changes, writing that "what an author commits to paper is sacrosanct and shouldn't be altered...The only changes to the text should come from the author."
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Spider-Man
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Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book "Amazing Fantasy" #15 (August 1962) in the Silver Age of Comic Books. He has been featured in comic books, television shows, films, video games, novels, and plays.
Spider-Man is secret identity of Peter Benjamin Parker. Initially, Peter was depicted as a teenage high-school student and an orphan raised by his Aunt May and Uncle Ben in New York City after his parents, Richard and Mary Parker, died in a plane crash. Lee, Ditko, and later creators had the character deal with the struggles of adolescence and young adulthood and gave him many supporting characters, such as Flash Thompson, J. Jonah Jameson, and Harry Osborn; romantic interests Gwen Stacy, Mary Jane Watson, and the Black Cat; and enemies such as Doctor Octopus, the Green Goblin, and Venom. In his origin story, Peter gets his superhuman spider powers and abilities after being bitten by a radioactive spider. These powers include superhuman strength, agility, reflexes, stamina, durability, coordination, and balance; clinging to surfaces and ceilings like a spider; and detecting danger with his precognition ability called "spider-sense". He builds wrist-mounted "web-shooter" devices that shoot artificial spider-webs of his own design, which he uses both for fighting and travel, or webswing across the city. Peter Parker initially used his powers for his personal gain, but after his Uncle Ben was killed by a thief that Peter could not stop, he began to use his powers to fight crime by becoming Spider-Man.
Before Spider-Man first appeared in the early 1960s, teenagers in superhero comic books were usually relegated to the protagonist's sidekick role. The Spider-Man comic series broke ground by featuring Peter Parker, a high school student from the Queens borough of New York City, as Spider-Man's secret identity, whose "self-obsessions with rejection, inadequacy, and loneliness" were issues to which young readers could relate. While Spider-Man was a quintessential sidekick, unlike previous teen heroes Bucky Barnes and Robin, Spider-Man had no superhero mentor like Captain America and Batman; he had learned the lesson for himself that "with great power comes great responsibility" —a line included in a text box in the final panel of the first Spider-Man's origin story, but later retroactively attributed to the late Uncle Ben Parker.
Marvel has featured Spider-Man in several comic book series, the first and longest-lasting of which is "The Amazing Spider-Man". Since his introduction, the main-continuity version of Peter has gone from a high school student to attending college to currently being somewhere in his late 20s. Peter has been a member of numerous superhero teams, most notably the Avengers and Fantastic Four. Doctor Octopus also took on the identity for a story arc spanning 2012–2014, following a body swap plot in which Peter appears to die. Marvel has also published comic books featuring alternate versions of Spider-Man, including "Spider-Man 2099", which features the adventures of Miguel O'Hara, the Spider-Man of the future; "Ultimate Spider-Man", which features the adventures of a teenage Peter Parker in the alternate universe; and "", which depicts a teenager named Miles Morales who takes up the mantle of Spider-Man after Ultimate Peter Parker's apparent death. Miles later became a superhero in his own right and was brought into mainstream continuity during the "Secret Wars" event, where he sometimes works alongside the mainline version of Peter.
Spider-Man is one of the most popular and commercially successful superheroes. He has appeared in countless forms of media, including several animated TV series: the first original animated series "Spider-Man", with Paul Soles voicing the titular character, a live-action television series, syndicated newspaper comic strips, and multiple series of films. Spider-Man was first portrayed in live-action by Danny Seagren in "Spidey Super Stories", a recurring skit on "The Electric Company" from 1974 to 1977. In live-action films, Spider-Man has been portrayed by actors Tobey Maguire in Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man" trilogy, by Andrew Garfield in two films directed by Marc Webb, and in the Marvel Cinematic Universe by Tom Holland. Reeve Carney originally starred as Spider-Man in the 2010 Broadway musical '. Spider-Man was also voiced by Jake Johnson and Chris Pine in the animated film ', with the former reprising his role in the sequel, "".
Publication history.
Creation and development.
In 1962, with the success of the Fantastic Four, Marvel Comics editor and head writer Stan Lee was casting for a new superhero idea. He said the idea for Spider-Man arose from a surge in teenage demand for comic books and the desire to create a character with whom teens could identify. As with Fantastic Four, Lee saw Spider-Man as an opportunity to "get out of his system" what he felt was missing in comic books. In his autobiography, Lee cites the non-superhuman pulp magazine crime fighter the Spider as a great influence, and in a multitude of print and video interviews, Lee stated he was inspired by seeing a spider climb up a wall—adding in his autobiography that he has told that story so often he has become unsure of whether or not this is true. Besides the name, the Spider was wanted by both the law and the criminal underworld (a defining theme of Spider-Man's early years) and had through years of ceaseless struggle developed a "sixth sense", which warns him of danger, the inspiration for Spider-Man's "spider-sense". Although at the time teenage superheroes were usually given names ending with "boy", Lee says he chose "Spider-Man" because he wanted the character to age as the series progressed, and felt the name "Spider-Boy" would have made the character sound inferior to other superheroes. He also decided to insert a hyphen in the name, as he felt it looked too similar to Superman, another superhero with a red and blue costume that starts with an "S" and ends with "man" (although artist Steve Ditko intended the character to have an orange and purple costume). At that time, Lee had to get only the consent of Marvel publisher Martin Goodman for the character's approval. In a 1986 interview, Lee described in detail his arguments to overcome Goodman's objections. Goodman eventually agreed to a Spider-Man tryout in what Lee, in numerous interviews, recalled as what would be the final issue of the science-fiction and supernatural anthology series "Amazing Adult Fantasy", which was renamed "Amazing Fantasy" for issue #15 (cover-dated August 1962, on sale June 5, 1962). In particular, Lee stated that the fact that it had already been decided that "Amazing Fantasy" would be canceled after issue #15 was the only reason Goodman allowed him to use Spider-Man. While this was the final issue, its editorial page anticipated the comic continuing and that "The Spider-Man ... will appear every month in "Amazing"."
Regardless, Lee received Goodman's approval for the name Spider-Man and the "ordinary teen" concept and approached artist Jack Kirby. As comics historian Greg Theakston recounts, Kirby told Lee about an unpublished character on which he had collaborated with Joe Simon in the 1950s, in which an orphaned boy living with an old couple finds a magic ring that granted him superhuman powers. Lee and Kirby "immediately sat down for a story conference," Theakston writes, and Lee afterward directed Kirby to flesh out the character and draw some pages. Steve Ditko would be the inker. When Kirby showed Lee the first six pages, Lee recalled, "I hated the way he was doing it! Not that he did it badly—it just wasn't the character I wanted; it was too heroic". Lee turned to Ditko, who developed an art style Lee found satisfactory. Ditko recalled:
Although the interior artwork was by Ditko alone, Lee rejected Ditko's cover art and commissioned Kirby to pencil a cover that Ditko inked. As Lee explained in 2010, "I think I had Jack sketch out a cover for it because I always had a lot of confidence in Jack's covers."
In an early recollection of the character's creation, Ditko described his and Lee's contributions in a mail interview with Gary Martin published in "Comic Fan" #2 (Summer 1965): "Stan Lee thought the name up. I did costume, web gimmick on wrist & spider signal." At the time, Ditko shared a Manhattan studio with noted fetish artist Eric Stanton, an art-school classmate who, in a 1988 interview with Theakston, recalled that although his contribution to Spider-Man was "almost nil", he and Ditko had "worked on storyboards together and I added a few ideas. But the whole thing was created by Steve on his own ... I think I added the business about the webs coming out of his hands." Ditko claimed in a rare interview with Jonathan Ross that the costume was initially envisioned with an orange and purple color scheme, rather than the recognizable red and blue.
Kirby disputed Lee's version of the story and claimed Lee had minimal involvement in the character's creation. According to Kirby, the idea for Spider-Man had originated with Kirby and Joe Simon, who in the 1950s had developed a character called the Silver Spider for the Crestwood Publications comic "Black Magic", but the character was left unused. Simon, in his 1990 autobiography, disputed Kirby's account, asserting that "Black Magic" was not a factor and that Simon devised the name "Spider-Man" (later changed to "The Silver Spider"), while Kirby outlined the character's story and powers. Simon later elaborated that his and Kirby's character conception became the basis for Simon's Archie Comics superhero, the Fly. Artist Steve Ditko stated that Lee liked the name Hawkman from DC Comics, and that "Spider-Man" was an outgrowth of that interest.
Simon concurred that Kirby had shown the original Spider-Man version to Lee, who liked the idea and assigned Kirby to draw sample pages of the new character, but disliked the results—in Simon's description, "Captain America with cobwebs". Writer Mark Evanier notes that Lee's reasoning that Kirby's character was too heroic seems unlikely—Kirby still drew the covers for "Amazing Fantasy" #15 and the first issue of "The Amazing Spider-Man". Evanier also disputes Kirby's given reason that he was "too busy" to draw Spider-Man in addition to his other duties, since Kirby was, said Evanier, "always busy". Neither Lee's nor Kirby's explanation explains why key story elements like the magic ring were dropped; Evanier states that the most plausible explanation for the sudden change was that Goodman, or one of his assistants, decided that Spider-Man, as drawn and envisioned by Kirby, was too similar to the Fly.
Author and Ditko scholar Blake Bell writes that it was Ditko who noted the similarities to the Fly. Ditko recalled that "Stan called Jack about the Fly", adding that "[d]ays later, Stan told me I would be penciling the story panel breakdowns from Stan's synopsis." It was at this point that the entire concept of the strip went through a major overhaul. "Out went the magic ring, adult Spider-Man and whatever legend ideas that Spider-Man story would have contained." Lee gave Ditko the premise of a teenager bitten by a spider and developing powers, where Ditko would expand upon to the point he became what Bell describes as "the first work for hire artist of his generation to create and control the narrative arc of his series". On the issue of the initial creation, Ditko stated, "I still don't know whose idea was Spider-Man". Ditko did, however, view the published version of Spider-Man as a separate creation to the one he saw in the five pencilled pages that Kirby had completed. To support this, Ditko used the analogy of the Kirby/Marvel Thor, which was based on a name or idea of a character in Norse mythology: "If Marvel's Thor is a valid created work by Jack, his creation, then why isn't Spider-Man by Stan and me valid created work, our creation?"
Kirby noted in a 1971 interview that it was Ditko who "got "Spider-Man" to roll, and the thing caught on because of what he did". Lee, while claiming credit for the initial idea, had acknowledged Ditko's role, stating, "If Steve wants to be called co-creator, I think he deserves [it]". He has further commented that Ditko's costume design was key to the character's success; since the costume completely covers Spider-Man's body, people of all races could visualize themselves inside the costume and thus easily identify with the character.
Commercial success.
A few months after Spider-Man's introduction, publisher Goodman reviewed the sales figures for that issue and was shocked to find it was one of the nascent Marvel's highest-selling comics. A solo ongoing series followed, beginning with "The Amazing Spider-Man" #1 (cover-dated March 1963). The title eventually became Marvel's top-selling series with the character swiftly becoming a cultural icon; a 1965 "Esquire" poll of college campuses found that college students ranked Spider-Man and fellow Marvel hero the Hulk alongside Bob Dylan and Che Guevara as their favorite revolutionary icons. One interviewee selected Spider-Man because he was "beset by woes, money problems, and the question of existence. In short, he is one of us." Following Ditko's departure after issue #38 (July 1966), John Romita Sr. replaced him as penciller and would draw the series for the next several years. In 1968, Romita would also draw the character's extra-length stories in the comics magazine "The Spectacular Spider-Man", a proto-graphic novel designed to appeal to older readers. It lasted for two issues and represented the first Spider-Man spin-off publication, aside from the original series' summer "Annual"s that began in 1964.
An early 1970s Spider-Man story ultimately led to the revision of the Comics Code Authority. Previously, the Code forbade the depiction of the use of illegal drugs, even negatively. However, in 1970, the Nixon administration's Department of Health, Education, and Welfare asked Stan Lee to publish an anti-drug message in one of Marvel's top-selling titles. Lee chose the top-selling "The Amazing Spider-Man;" issues #96–98 (May–July 1971) feature a story arc depicting the negative effects of drug use. In the story, Peter Parker's friend Harry Osborn becomes addicted to pills. When Spider-Man fights the Green Goblin (Norman Osborn, Harry's father), Spider-Man defeats him by revealing Harry's drug addiction. While the story had a clear anti-drug message, the Comics Code Authority refused to issue its seal of approval. Marvel nevertheless published the three issues without the Comics Code Authority's approval or seal. The issues sold so well that the industry's self-censorship was undercut, and the Code was subsequently revised.
In 1972, a second monthly ongoing series starring Spider-Man began: "Marvel Team-Up", in which Spider-Man was paired with other superheroes and supervillains. From that point on, there have generally been at least two ongoing Spider-Man series at any time. In 1976, his second solo series, "Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man", began running parallel to the main series. A third series featuring Spider-Man, "Web of Spider-Man", launched in 1985 to replace "Marvel Team-Up". The launch of a fourth monthly title in 1990, the "adjectiveless" "" (with the storyline "Torment"), written and drawn by popular artist Todd McFarlane, debuted with several different covers, all with the same interior content. All four versions combined sold over three million copies, an industry record at the time. Several miniseries, one-shot issues, and loosely related comics have also been published, and Spider-Man makes frequent cameos and guest appearances in other comic book series. In 1996, "The Sensational Spider-Man" was created to replace "Web of Spider-Man".
In 1998, writer-artist John Byrne revamped the origin of Spider-Man in the 13-issue limited series "" (Dec. 1998–Oct. 1999), similar to Byrne's adding details and some revisions to Superman's origin in DC Comics' "The Man of Steel". During that time, the original "The Amazing Spider-Man" ended with issue #441 (Nov. 1998), and "The Amazing Spider-Man" started with volume 2, #1 (Jan. 1999). In 2003, Marvel reintroduced the original numbering for "The Amazing Spider-Man" and what would have been volume 2, #59, became issue #500 (Dec. 2003).
When the main series "The Amazing Spider-Man" reached issue #545 (Dec. 2007), Marvel dropped its spin-off ongoing series and instead began publishing "The Amazing Spider-Man" three times monthly, beginning with #546–548 (all January 2008). The scheduling of "The Amazing Spider-Man" lasted until November 2010, when the comic book expanded from 22 pages to 30 pages for each issue. Later on, "The Amazing Spider-Man" was published twice a month, beginning with #648–649 (both November 2010). The following year, Marvel launched "Avenging Spider-Man" as the first spin-off ongoing series in addition to "The Amazing Spider-Man", since the previous ones were canceled at the end of 2007. The "Amazing" series temporarily ended with issue #700 in December 2012 and was replaced by "The Superior Spider-Man", which had Doctor Octopus serve as the new Spider-Man by taking over Peter Parker's body. "Superior" was an enormous commercial success for Marvel, and ran for 31 issues before the real Peter Parker returned in a newly relaunched "The Amazing Spider-Man" #1 in April 2014.
Following the 2015 "Secret Wars" crossover event, a number of Spider-Man-related titles were either relaunched or created as part of the "All-New, All-Different Marvel" event. Among them, "The Amazing Spider-Man" was relaunched and primarily focuses on Peter Parker continuing to run Parker Industries and becomes a successful businessman who is operating worldwide.
Fictional character biography.
Early years.
In Forest Hills, Queens, New York City, Midtown High School student Peter Benjamin Parker is a science-whiz orphan living with his Uncle Ben and Aunt May. As depicted in "Amazing Fantasy" #15 (Aug. 1962), he is bitten by a radioactive spider (erroneously classified as an insect in the panel) at a science exhibit and "acquires the agility and proportionate strength of an arachnid". Along with heightened athletic abilities, Parker gains the ability to adhere to walls and ceilings. Through his knack for science, he develops a gadget that lets him fire adhesive webbing of his own design through small, wrist-mounted barrels. Initially seeking to capitalize on his new abilities, Parker dons a costume and, as "Spider-Man", becomes a novelty television star. However, "[h]e blithely ignores the chance to stop a fleeing thief, [and] his indifference ironically catches up with him when the same criminal later robs and kills his Uncle Ben." Spider-Man tracks and subdues the killer and learns, in the story's next-to-last caption, "With great power there must also come—great responsibility!"
In the first issue of "The Amazing Spider-Man" (March 1963), despite his superpowers, Peter struggles to help his widowed Aunt May pay the rent, is taunted by Flash, and continues fighting crime and saving the city as Spider-Man, but his heroic deeds engender the editorial wrath of newspaper publisher of the "Daily Bugle", J. Jonah Jameson, holds a grudge against Spider-Man, and continues making false statements about Spider-Man despite his heroism. Peter gets hired as a freelance photographer by Mr. Jameson to take pictures of Spider-Man, with him being unaware that Spider-Man is Peter Parker. Spider-Man fights his enemies, including superpowered and non-superpowered supervillains—his archenemy and nemesis Green Goblin and then Doctor Octopus, Sandman, Chameleon, Lizard, Vulture, Kraven the Hunter, Electro, and Mysterio, defeating them one by one—but Peter finds juggling his personal and superhero life difficult. In time, Peter graduates from high school and enrolls at Empire State University (a fictional institution evoking the real-life Columbia University and New York University), where he meets roommate and best friend Harry Osborn and girlfriend Gwen Stacy, and Aunt May introduces him to Mary Jane Watson. As Peter deals with Harry's drug problems, and Harry's father, Norman Osborn, is revealed to be the Green Goblin, Peter attempts to give up his costumed identity for a while. Gwen Stacy's father, New York City Police detective Captain George Stacy, is accidentally killed during a battle between Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus (issue #90, November 1970).
1970s.
In issue #121 (June 1973), the Green Goblin throws Gwen Stacy from a tower of either the Brooklyn Bridge (as depicted in the art) or the George Washington Bridge (as given in the text). She dies during Spider-Man's rescue attempt, and Spider-Man swears revenge against his nemesis; a note on the letters page of issue #125 states: "It saddens us to say that the whiplash effect she underwent when Spidey's webbing stopped her so suddenly was, in fact, what killed her." The following issue, Spider-Man vengefully attacks and overpowers the Green Goblin, who kills himself accidentally in the ensuing battle with Spider-Man.
Working through his grief, Peter eventually develops tentative feelings toward Mary Jane, and the two "become confidants rather than lovers". A romantic relationship eventually develops, with Parker proposing to her in issue #182 (July 1978), and being turned down an issue later. Peter went on to graduate from college in issue #185, and becomes involved with the shy Debra Whitman and the extroverted, flirtatious costumed thief Felicia Hardy, the Black Cat, whom he meets in issue #194 (July 1979).
1980s.
From 1984 to 1988, Spider-Man wore a black costume with a white spider design on his chest. The new costume originated in the "Secret Wars" miniseries on an alien planet where Spider-Man participates in a battle between Earth's major superheroes and supervillains. He continues wearing the costume when he returns, starting in "The Amazing Spider-Man" #252. The change to a longstanding character's design met with controversy, "with many hardcore comics fans decrying it as tantamount to sacrilege. Spider-Man's traditional red and blue costume was iconic, they argued, on par with those of his D.C. rivals Superman and Batman." The creators then revealed the costume was an alien symbiote, which Spider-Man rejects after a difficult struggle, though the symbiote returns several times as Venom for revenge. Peter proposes to Mary Jane in "The Amazing Spider-Man" #290 (July 1987), and she accepts two issues later, with the wedding taking place in "The Amazing Spider-Man Annual" #21 (1987)—promoted with a real-life mock wedding using actors at Shea Stadium, with Stan Lee officiating, on June 5, 1987. David Michelinie, who scripted based on a plot by editor-in-chief Jim Shooter, said in 2007, "I didn't think they actually should [have gotten] married. ... I had actually planned another version, one that wasn't used." Peter publishes a book of Spider-Man photographs called "Webs", and returns to his Empire State University graduate studies in biochemistry in #310 (Dec. 1988).
1990s.
In the controversial 1990s storyline the "Clone Saga", a clone of Parker, created in 1970s comics by insane scientist Miles Warren, a.k.a. the Jackal, returns to New York City upon hearing of Aunt May's health worsening. The clone had lived incognito as Ben Reilly, but now assumes the superhero guise the Scarlet Spider and allies with Parker. To the surprise of both, new tests indicate Ben is the original and Peter is the clone. Complicating matters, Mary Jane announces in "The Spectacular Spider-Man" #220 (Jan. 1995) that she is pregnant with Peter's baby. Later, however, a resurrected Green Goblin (Norman Osborn) has Mary Jane poisoned, causing premature labor and the death of her and Peter's unborn daughter. It is later revealed that The Green Goblin switched the results of the clone test in an attempt to destroy Peter's life by making him believe himself to be the clone. Ben is killed while saving Peter, in "Peter Parker: Spider-Man" #75 (Dec. 1996), and his body immediately crumbles into dust, confirming Ben was the clone.
In issue #97 (Nov. 1998) of the second series titled "Peter Parker: Spider-Man", Parker learns his Norman Osborn kidnapped Aunt May and her apparent death in "The Amazing Spider-Man" #400 (April 1995) had been a hoax. Shortly afterward, in "The Amazing Spider-Man" (vol. 2) #13 (#454, Jan. 2000), Mary Jane is killed in an airplane explosion. She is revealed to be alive in volume 2, issue #28 (#469, April 2001), but she and Peter are completely separated in the following issue.
2000s.
"Babylon 5" creator J. Michael Straczynski began writing "The Amazing Spider-Man", illustrated by John Romita Jr., beginning with volume 2, #30 (#471, June 2001). Two issues later, Peter, now employed as a teacher at his old high school, meets the enigmatic Ezekiel Sims, who possesses similar spider powers and suggests that Peter, having gained such abilities, might not have been a fluke—that Parker has a connection to a totemic spider spirit. In vol. 2, #37 (#478, Jan. 2002), Aunt May discovers her nephew is Spider-Man. Peter and Mary Jane reconcile in (vol. 2) #50 (#491, April 2003), and in #512 (Nov. 2004)—the original issue numbering having returned with #500—Parker learns his late girlfriend Gwen Stacy had had two children with Norman Osborn.
He joins the superhero team The New Avengers in "New Avengers" #1–2. After a deranged, superpowered former high-school classmate destroys their respective homes, Peter, Mary Jane, and May move into Stark Tower, and Peter begins working as Tony Stark's assistant while freelancing for "The Daily Bugle" and continuing his teacher career. In the 12-part 2005 story arc "", Peter undergoes a transformation that evolves his powers. In the comic "Civil War" #2 (June 2006), part of the company-wide crossover arc of that title, the U.S. government's Superhuman Registration Act leads Spider-Man to reveal his true identity publicly. A growing unease about the Registration Act prompts him to escape with May and Mary Jane and joins the anti-registration underground.
In issue #537 (Dec. 2006), Aunt May is critically wounded from Wilson Fisk's sniper, and enters into a coma. Peter, desperate to save her, exhausts all possibilities and makes a pact with the demon-lord Mephisto, who saves May's life in exchange for Peter and Mary Jane agreeing to have their marriage and all memory of it disappear. In this changed reality, Spider-Man's identity is secret once again, and in #545 (Jan. 2008), Mary Jane returns and is cold toward him. The controversial storyline "One More Day" rolled back much of the fictional continuity at the behest of editor-in-chief Joe Quesada, who said, "Peter being single is an intrinsic part of the very foundation of the world of Spider-Man". It caused unusual public friction between Quesada and writer Straczynski, who "told Joe that I was going to take my name off the last two issues of the [story] arc", but was talked out of doing so. At issue with Straczynski's climax to the arc, Quesada said, was
In this new continuity, designed to have very limited repercussions throughout the remainder of the Marvel Universe, Parker returns to work at the "Daily Bugle", which has been renamed "The DB" under a new publisher. He soon switches to the alternative press paper "The Front Line". J. Jonah Jameson becomes the Mayor of New York City in issue #591 (June 2008). Jonah's estranged father, J. Jonah Jameson Sr., marries May in issue #600 (Sept. 2009).
During the "Secret Invasion" by shape-shifting extraterrestrials, the Skrulls, Norman Osborn shoots and kills the Skrull queen Veranke. He leverages this widely publicized success, positioning himself as the new director of the S.H.I.E.L.D.-like paramilitary force H.A.M.M.E.R. to advance his agenda, while using his public image to start his own Dark Avengers. Norman, by himself, leads the Dark Avengers as the Iron Patriot, a suit of armor fashioned by himself after Iron Man's armor with Captain America's colors.
Harry is approached by Norman with the offer of a job within the Dark Avengers. It is later revealed that it is a ruse to coerce Harry into taking the American Son armor, whom Norman had planned to kill, in order to increase public sympathy. When Harry has the option of killing Norman, Spider-Man says to decapitate him, since Norman's healing factor may repair a blow to the head. Spider-Man also cautions Harry that killing Norman will cause Harry to "become the son Norman always wanted". Harry instead backs down, and turns away from his father forever.
2010s.
At Loki's suggestion, Norman Osborn creates a rationale to invade Asgard, claiming the world poses a national security threat. He is defeated, and ends up incarcerated in the Raft penitentiary. A conflict between Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus over Osborn's son ends when it is revealed the child's father is Harry, who leaves town to raise him. One of Doctor Octopus' Octobots swaps his and Spider-Man's personality, causing Peter to become trapped in the Doctor's dying body, while he in turn claimed Peter's life for himself. Though Peter failed to reverse the change, he manages to establish a weak link with the Doctor's mind, forcing him to relive all of his memories; Otto understands Peter's ideals of power and responsibility and swears to carry on with Peter's life with dignity as a "Superior" Spider-Man.
A portion of Peter survived in his original body in the form of a subconsciousness. Later, realizing that he failed in his role as the "Superior" Spider-Man, Otto willingly allows Peter to reclaim his body in order to defeat Osborn and save Anna Maria Marconi, Otto's love. In the aftermath of these events, Peter began to amend the relationships damaged by Otto's arrogance and negligence, both as Peter Parker and Spider-Man. He additionally took up the reins of Parker Industries, a small company founded by Otto after leaving Horizon Labs.
Peter soon learns a second person had been bitten by the radioactive spider, Cindy Moon. Spider-Man tracks her down and frees her from a bunker owned by the late Ezekiel Simms. Not long after rescuing Cindy, who went on to adopt her own heroine identity as Silk, Spider-Man encounters a contingent of spider-people from all over the Multiverse that banded together to fight the Inheritors, a group of psychic vampires who had begun to hunt down the spider-totems of other realities. During a mission to gather more recruits in 2099, the Spider-Army stumbled upon another party of spider-people led by an alternate version of Otto Octavius. Together, they neutralize the Inheritors.
Peter then stops a nefarious plan put forward by the Jackal. After the events of "Go Down Swinging", Peter's life was plagued with problems on both sides. As Spider-Man, Mayor Fisk publicly supports him, condemning all other vigilantes in order to isolate him from his superhero peers. As Peter Parker, his academic credentials were revoked after accusations of plagiarizing his doctoral dissertation from Octavius, resulting in Peter being fired from the "Daily Bugle". Subsequently, Peter became romantically involved with Mary Jane. Briefly, Peter Parker and Spider-Man split into separate beings due to an accident involving the reverse-engineered Isotope Genome Accelerator. Peter eventually manages to reverse the process, and merges his two halves back together before the side-effects worsen and result in their death.
2020s.
Kindred uses the resurrected Sin-Eater's sins to possess Miles Morales, Spider-Gwen, Spider-Woman, Anya Corazon, and Julia Carpenter. Doctor Strange, who manages to restrain a possessed Silk, agrees to help Spider-Man. However, Peter dies when fighting Kindred. While dead, Peter's consciousness remembers the fateful day of the start of ""; Kindred is willing to resurrect Peter.
Personality and themes.
Sally Kempton for the "Village Voice" opined in 1965 that "Spider-Man has a terrible identity problem, a marked inferiority complex, and a fear of women. He is antisocial, castration-ridden, racked with Oedipal guilt, and accident-prone ... [a] functioning neurotic". Agonizing over his choices, always attempting to do right, he is nonetheless viewed with suspicion by the authorities, who seem unsure as to whether he is a helpful vigilante or a clever criminal.
Cultural historian Bradford W. Wright notes:
The mid-1960s stories reflect the political tensions of the time; early 1960s Marvel stories often deal with the Cold War and communism. Wright writes:
Powers, skills, and equipment.
Peter Parker has superhuman spider-powers and abilities derived from mutations resulting from the bite of a radioactive spider. Since the original Lee-Ditko stories, Spider-Man has had the ability to cling to walls. This has been speculated to be based on a distance-dependent interaction between his body and surfaces, known as the van der Waals force, though in the 2002 "Spider-Man" film, his hands and feet are lined with tiny clinging cilia in the manner of a real spider's feet. Spider-Man's other powers include superhuman strength, agility, and balance and a precognitive sixth sense referred to as his "spider-sense", which alerts him to danger.
Spider-Man has a healing factor that allows him to recover from injuries sustained during battle. In the aftermath of the 1989 "Acts of Vengeance" storyline, Spider-Man was said to have "superhuman recuperative abilities" that sped up his recovery from the exhaustion he suffered in defeating the Tri-Sentinel.
The character was originally conceived by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko as intellectually gifted, and later writers have depicted his intellect at genius level. Academically brilliant, Peter has expertise in the fields of applied science, chemistry, physics, biology, engineering, mathematics, and mechanics.
With his talents, he sews his own costume to conceal his identity, and he constructs many devices that complement his powers, most notably mechanical web-shooters that allow him to shoot webs, swing at high speeds throughout the city, and navigate and trap his enemies with his webs, additionally with a spider-signal as a flashlight and a warning beacon to criminals. Thomas Fireheart's scientists, world-renowned, are unable to replicate the fluid Parker created while in high school.
Other versions.
Original depiction
Sky-Spider.
In Marvel Comics Universe 2410, a boy named Petor was about to be born to a mother named Mari and a father named Rikkar, when suddenly an evil witch came to their village and contaminated the water well with her blood. Therefore, all the children of that village were born as mutants and monsters and were killed at birth. But Petor's mother did not want to kill him and raised him in the forest (without her husband knowing). 15 years later, the village was attacked by invaders called the Creons, so Petor came to the village to defend it. He managed to defeat the attackers, but he lost his mother and his father did not recognize him, and as a result, he was once again rejected from the village.
Spider-Man from Earth-93165.
This Spider-Man was seen in What If...? V1 55, titled "What If... The Avengers Lost Operation Galactic Storm?" In fact, "Operation Galactic Storm" was one of the most important and controversial events of Marvel, which was published in 1992. In this event, the Avengers get involved in a war between two alien races, the Kree and the Shi'ar. In this story, the Shi'ar detonate a bomb that kills millions of Kree. Then the Avengers realize that everything is under the supervision of a being called the Supreme Intelligence. They decide to execute him. Captain America strongly opposes this act. This controversial decision was unprecedented in the world of comics at that time. The Avengers manage to stop the killing of the Kree, but surprisingly, instead of thanking the Avengers, they attack and destroy Earth. In a panel, we see that Spider-Man takes the body of his wife, Mary Jane, and then everything is destroyed.
Supporting cast.
Spider-Man has had a large range of supporting characters introduced in the comics that are essential in the issues and storylines that star him. After his parents died, Peter Parker was raised by his loving aunt, May Parker, and his uncle and father figure, Ben Parker. After Uncle Ben is murdered by a burglar, Aunt May is virtually Peter's only family, and she and Peter are very close.
J. Jonah Jameson is the publisher of the "Daily Bugle" and Peter Parker's boss. A harsh critic of Spider-Man, he constantly features negative articles about the superhero in his newspaper. Despite his role as Jameson's editor and confidant, Robbie Robertson is always depicted as a supporter of both Spider-Man and his alter ego Peter Parker.
Eugene "Flash" Thompson is commonly depicted as Peter Parker's high school tormentor and bully, who idolizes Spider-Man, but is unaware that Spider-Man is Peter Parker. Later, he becomes a friend of Peter and adopts his own superhero identity, Agent Venom, after merging with the Venom symbiote. Meanwhile, Harry Osborn, son of Norman Osborn, is most commonly recognized as Peter's best friend, although some versions depicted him as his rival.
Enemies.
Writers and artists over the years have established a rogues gallery of supervillains to face Spider-Man, in comics and in other media. As with Spider-Man, the majority of the villains' powers originate with scientific accidents or the misuse of scientific technology, and many have animal-themed costumes or powers. The following Spider-Man villains are listed in the ordering of their original chronological appearance:
Indicates a group.
Unlike most superheroes, Spider-Man does not have a single villain with whom he has come into conflict the most. Instead, he is often regarded as having three archenemies:
Romantic interests.
Peter Parker's romantic interests range between his first crush, fellow high-school student Liz Allan, to having his first date with Betty Brant, secretary to the "Daily Bugle" newspaper publisher J. Jonah Jameson. After his breakup with Betty Brant, Peter eventually falls in love with his college girlfriend Gwen Stacy, daughter of New York City Police Department detective Captain George Stacy, both of whom are later killed by supervillain enemies of Spider-Man. Mary Jane Watson became Peter's best friend and eventually his wife. Felicia Hardy, the Black Cat, is a reformed cat burglar who had been Spider-Man's sole superhuman girlfriend and partner at one point.
Children.
Over the course of the comics, Peter Parker had several biological children across different continuities, usually with Mary Jane Watson, including Spider-Girl (Mayday Parker) and Benjy Parker from the MC2 universe, and Spiderling (Annie Parker) from Earth-18119.
Alternate versions of Spider-Man.
Within the Marvel Universe, there exists a multiverse with many variations of Spider-Man. An early character included in the 1980s is the fictional anthropomorphic animal parody of Spider-Man as a pig named Spider-Ham (Peter Porker). Many imprints of Spider-Men were created, like the futuristic version of Spider-Man in Marvel 2099 named Miguel O'Hara. In the Marvel Comics 2 imprint, Peter marries Mary Jane and has a daughter named Mayday Parker, who carries on Spider-Man's legacy, while Marvel Noir has a 1930s version of Peter Parker. Other themed versions exist within the early 2000s, such as a Marvel Mangaverse version and an Indian version from "", Pavitr Prabhakar.
"Ultimate Spider-Man" was a popular modern retelling of Spider-Man, Peter Parker. The version of Peter Parker would later be depicted as being killed off and replaced by a Black Hispanic Spider-Man named Miles Morales.
The storyline "Spider-Verse" brought back many alternate takes on Spider-Man and introduced many new ones, such as an alternate world where Gwen Stacy gets bitten by a radioactive spider instead, along with a British-themed version named Spider-UK, who is Billy Braddock from the Captain Britain Corps.
Legacy.
In "The Creation of Spider-Man", comic book writer-editor and historian Paul Kupperberg calls the character's superpowers "nothing too original"; what was original was that outside his secret identity, he was a "nerdy high school student". Going against typical superhero fare, Spider-Man included "heavy doses of soap-opera and elements of melodrama". Kupperberg feels that Lee and Ditko had created something new in the world of comics: "the flawed superhero with everyday problems". This idea spawned a comics revolution. The insecurity and anxieties in Marvel's early 1960s comic books, such as "The Amazing Spider-Man", "The Incredible Hulk", "The Fantastic Four", and "The X-Men" ushered in a new type of superhero, very different from the certain and all-powerful superheroes before them, and changed the public's perception of them. After the comics depicted a real address in Forest Hills, Queens, New York, as May Parker's residence, its residents received many letters from children to the superhero.
Spider-Man has become one of the most recognizable fictional characters in the world, and has been used to sell toys, games, cereal, candy, soap, and many other products. He has been used as the company mascot. When Marvel became the first comic book company to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1991, "The Wall Street Journal" announced "Spider-Man is coming to Wall Street"; the event was in turn promoted with an actor in a Spider-Man costume accompanying Stan Lee to the Stock Exchange. Since 1962, hundreds of millions of comics featuring the character have been sold around the world. Spider-Man is the world's most profitable superhero. In 2014, global retail sales of licensed products related to Spider-Man reached approximately $1.3 billion. Comparatively, this amount exceeds the global licensing revenue of Batman, Superman, and the Avengers combined.
Spider-Man joined the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade from 1987 to 1998 as one of the balloon floats, designed by John Romita Sr., one of the character's signature artists. A new, different Spider-Man balloon float also appeared from 2009 to 2014.
When Marvel wanted to issue a story dealing with the immediate aftermath of the September 11 attacks, the company chose the December 2001 issue of "The Amazing Spider-Man". In 2006, Spider-Man garnered major media coverage with the revelation of the character's secret identity, an event detailed in a full-page story in the "New York Post" before the issue containing the story was even released.
In 2008, Marvel announced plans to release a series of educational comics the following year in partnership with the United Nations, depicting Spider-Man alongside the UN Peacekeeping Forces to highlight UN peacekeeping missions. A "BusinessWeek" article listed Spider-Man as one of the top 10 most intelligent fictional characters in American comics.
In 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States decided "Kimble v. Marvel Entertainment, LLC", a case concerning royalties on a patent for an imitation web shooter. The opinion for the Court, by Justice Elena Kagan, included several Spider-Man references, concluding with the statement that "with great power, there must also come—great responsibility".
Spider-Man has become a subject of scientific inquiry. In 1987, researchers at Loyola University conducted a study into the utility of Spider-Man comics for informing children and parents about issues relating to child abuse.
Reception.
In 2005, Bravo's "Ultimate Super Heroes, Vixens, and Villains" TV series declared that Spider-Man was the number 1 superhero. "Empire" magazine ranked him the fifth-greatest comic book character of all time. "Wizard" magazine placed Spider-Man as the third-greatest comic book character on their website. In 2011, Spider-Man placed third on IGN's Top 100 Comic Book Heroes of All Time, behind DC Comics characters Superman and Batman, and sixth in their 2012 list of "The Top 50 Avengers". In 2014, IGN identified Spider-Man the greatest Marvel Comics character of all time. A 2015 poll at Comic Book Resources named Spider-Man the greatest Marvel character of all time. IGN described him as the common everyman that represents many normal people, but also noted his uniqueness compared to many superheroes with his depicted flaws as a superhero. IGN wrote that despite being one of the most tragic superheroes of all time, he is "one of the most fun and snarky superheroes in existence." "Empire" praised Spider-Man's always-present sense of humor and wisecracks in the face of the many tragedies he faces. The magazine website appraised the depiction of his "iconic" superhero poses, describing it as "a top artist's dream".
George Marston of "Newsarama" called Spider-Man's origin the greatest origin story of all time, opining that "Spider-Man's origin combines all of the most classic aspects of pathos, tragedy and scientific wonder into the perfect blend for a superhero origin."
Real-life comparisons.
Real-life people who have been compared to Spider-Man for their climbing feats include:
In other media.
Spider-Man has appeared in comics, cartoons, films, video games, coloring books, novels, records, children's books, and theme park rides. On television, he first starred in the ABC animated series "Spider-Man" (1967–1970), "Spidey Super Stories" (1974–1977) on PBS, and the CBS live-action series "The Amazing Spider-Man" (1978–1979), starring Nicholas Hammond. Other animated series featuring the superhero include the syndicated "Spider-Man" (1981–1982), "Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends" (1981–1983), Fox Kids' "Spider-Man" (1994–1998), "Spider-Man Unlimited" (1999–2000), "" (2003), "The Spectacular Spider-Man" (2008–2009), "Ultimate Spider-Man" (2012–2017), Disney XD's "Spider-Man" (2017–2020), and "Spidey and His Amazing Friends" (2021–present).
A tokusatsu series featuring Spider-Man was produced by Toei and aired in Japan. It is commonly referred to by its Japanese pronunciation "Supaidā-Man". Spider-Man also appeared in other print forms besides the comics, including novels, children's books, and the daily newspaper comic strip "The Amazing Spider-Man", which debuted in January 1977, with the earliest installments written by Stan Lee and drawn by John Romita Sr. Spider-Man has been adapted to other media including games, toys, collectibles, and miscellaneous memorabilia, and has appeared as the main character in numerous computer and video games on over 15 gaming platforms.
Spider-Man was featured in a trilogy of live-action films directed by Sam Raimi and starring Tobey Maguire as the titular superhero. The first "Spider-Man" film of the trilogy was released on May 3, 2002, followed by "Spider-Man 2" (2004) and "Spider-Man 3" (2007). A third sequel was originally scheduled to be released in 2011; however, Sony later decided to reboot the franchise with a new director and cast. The reboot, titled "The Amazing Spider-Man", was released on July 3, 2012, directed by Marc Webb, and starred Andrew Garfield as the new Spider-Man. It was followed by "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" (2014). In 2015, Sony and Disney made a deal for Spider-Man to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Tom Holland made his debut as Spider-Man in the MCU film ' (2016), before later starring in his standalone film ' (2017), directed by Jon Watts. Holland reprised his role as Spider-Man in ' (2018), ' (2019), ' (2019), and ' (2021); Maguire and Garfield reprise their roles in the latter film. Jake Johnson voiced an alternate universe version of Spider-Man in the animated film ', and reprised the role in its sequel ' (2023). Chris Pine also voiced another version of Peter Parker in "Into the Spider-Verse".
Following a brief contract dispute over financial terms, in 2019, Sony and Disney reached a deal to allow Spider-Man to return to the MCU, with the two studios jointly producing Spider-Man films.
A Broadway musical, "", began previews on November 14, 2010, at the Foxwoods Theatre on Broadway, with the official opening night on June 14, 2011. The music and lyrics were written by Bono and The Edge of the rock group U2, with a book by Julie Taymor, Glen Berger, and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. "Turn Off the Dark" is currently the most expensive musical in Broadway history, costing an estimated $70 million. In addition, the show's unusually high running costs are reported to have been about $1.2 million per week.
In the fine arts, since the Pop Art period of the 1960s, the character of Spider-Man has been "appropriated" by multiple visual artists and incorporated into contemporary artwork, including Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Mel Ramos, Vijay, Dulce Pinzon, Mr. Brainwash, and F. Lennox Campello.
External links.
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Tom and Jerry
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Tom and Jerry is an American animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series centers on the enmity between the titular characters of a cat named Tom and a mouse named Jerry. Many shorts also feature several recurring characters.
In its original run, Hanna and Barbera produced 114 "Tom and Jerry" shorts for MGM from 1940 to 1958. During this time, they won seven Academy Awards for Best Animated Short Film, tying for first place with Walt Disney's "Silly Symphonies" with the most awards in the category. After the MGM cartoon studio closed in 1957, MGM revived the series with Gene Deitch directing an additional 13 "Tom and Jerry" shorts for Rembrandt Films from 1961 to 1962. "Tom and Jerry" became the highest-grossing animated short film series of that time, overtaking "Looney Tunes". Chuck Jones produced another 34 shorts with Sib Tower 12 Productions between 1963 and 1967. Five more shorts have been produced since 2001, making a total of 166 shorts.
A number of spin-offs have been made, including the television series "The Tom and Jerry Show" (1975), "The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show" (1980–1982), "Tom & Jerry Kids" (1990–1993), "Tom and Jerry Tales" (2006–2008), and "The Tom and Jerry Show" (2014–2021). In 1992, the first feature-length film based on the series, "", was released. 13 direct-to-video films have been produced since 2002. In 2021, a live-action/animated hybrid film was released. In 2019, a musical adaptation of the series, titled "Tom and Jerry: Purr-Chance to Dream", debuted in Japan, in advance of "Tom and Jerry"s 80th anniversary.
Plot.
The series features comic fights between an iconic set of adversaries, a house cat (Tom) and a house mouse (Jerry). The plots of many shorts are often set in the backdrop of a house, centering on Tom (who is often enlisted by a human) trying to capture Jerry, and the mayhem and destruction that follows. Tom rarely succeeds in catching Jerry, mainly because of Jerry's cleverness, cunning abilities, and luck. However, on several occasions, they have displayed genuine friendship and concern for each other's well-being. At other times, the pair set aside their rivalry in order to pursue a common goal, such as when a baby escapes the watch of a negligent babysitter, causing Tom and Jerry to pursue the baby and keep it away from danger, in the shorts "Busy Buddies" and "Tot Watchers" respectively. Despite their endless attacks on one another, they have saved each other's lives every time they were truly in danger, except in "The Two Mouseketeers", which features an uncharacteristically morbid ending, and "Blue Cat Blues", where both sit on a railroad track at the end after being jilted by girlfriends. The cartoon irises out with the whistle of an oncoming steam train.
The cartoons are known for some of the most violent cartoon gags ever devised in theatrical animation: Tom may use axes, hammers, firearms, firecrackers, explosives, traps and poison to kill Jerry. Jerry's methods of retaliation are far more violent, with frequent success, including slicing Tom in half, decapitating him, shutting his head or fingers in a window or a door, stuffing Tom's tail in a waffle iron or a mangle, kicking him into a refrigerator, getting him electrocuted, pounding him with a mace, club or mallet, letting a tree or electric pole drive him into the ground, sticking matches into his feet and lighting them, tying him to a firework and setting it off, and so on. While "Tom and Jerry" has often been criticized as excessively violent, there is no blood or gore in any scene.
Music plays a very important part in the shorts, emphasizing the action, filling in for traditional sound effects, and lending emotion to the scenes. Musical director Scott Bradley created complex scores that combined elements of jazz, classical, and pop music. Bradley often used contemporary pop songs and songs from other films, including MGM films like "The Wizard of Oz" and "Meet Me in St. Louis", which both starred Judy Garland in a leading role.
Even though Tom and Jerry almost never speak, the shorts also often had dialogue from other characters. Minor characters are not similarly limited, and the two lead characters speak English on rare occasions. For example, the character Mammy Two Shoes has lines in nearly every cartoon in which she appears. Most of the vocal effects used for Tom and Jerry are their high-pitched laughs and gasping screams.
Characters.
Tom and Jerry.
Tom, named "Jasper" in his debut appearance, is a gray and white domestic shorthair cat. "Tom" is a generic name for a male cat. He is usually but not always, portrayed as living a comfortable, or even pampered life, while Jerry, whose name is not explicitly mentioned in his debut appearance, is a small, brown house mouse who always lives in close proximity to Tom. Despite being very energetic, determined and much larger, Tom is no match for Jerry's wits. Jerry possesses surprising strength for his size, approximately the equivalent of Tom's, lifting items such as anvils with relative ease and withstanding considerable impacts.
Although cats typically chase mice to eat them, it is quite rare for Tom to actually try to eat Jerry. He tries to hurt or compete with him just to taunt Jerry, even as revenge, or to obtain a reward from a human, including his owner(s)/master(s), for catching Jerry, or for generally doing his job well as a house cat. By the final "fade-out" of each cartoon, Jerry usually gets the best of Tom.
Other results may be reached. On rare occasions, Tom triumphs, usually when Jerry becomes the aggressor or he pushes Tom a little too far. In "The Million Dollar Cat", Jerry learns that Tom will lose his newly acquired wealth if he harms any animal, especially mice. He then torments Tom a little too much until he retaliates. In "Timid Tabby" Tom's look-alike cousin pushes Jerry over the edge. Occasionally and usually ironically, they both lose, usually because Jerry's last trap or attack on Tom backfires on him or he overlooks something. In Chuck Jones' "Filet Meow", Jerry orders a shark from the pet store to scare Tom away from eating a goldfish. Afterward, the shark scares Jerry away as well. They occasionally end up being friends, although there is often a last-minute event that ruins the truce. One cartoon that has a friendly ending is "Snowbody Loves Me".
Both characters display sadistic tendencies, in that they are equally likely to take pleasure in tormenting each other, although it is often in response to a triggering event. However, when one character appears to truly be in mortal danger from an unplanned situation or due to actions by a third party, the other will develop a conscience and save him. Occasionally, they bond over a mutual sentiment towards an unpleasant experience and their attacking each other is more play than serious attacks. Multiple shorts show the two getting along with minimal difficulty, and they are more than capable of working together when the situation calls for it, usually against a third party who manages to torture and humiliate them both.
Sometimes this partnership is forgotten quickly when an unexpected event happens, or when one character feels that the other is no longer necessary. This is the case in "Posse Cat", when they agree that Jerry will allow himself to be caught if Tom agrees to share his reward dinner, but Tom then reneges. Other times, Tom keeps his promise to Jerry and the partnerships are not quickly dissolved after the problem is solved.
Tom changes his love interest many times. The first love interest is Toots who appears in "Puss n' Toots", and calls him "Tommy" in "The Mouse Comes to Dinner". He is interested in a cat called Toots in "The Zoot Cat" although she has a different appearance to the original Toots. The most frequent love interest of Tom's is Toodles Galore, who never has any dialogue in the cartoons.
Despite five shorts ending with a depiction of Tom's apparent death, his demise is never permanent. He even reads about his own death in a flashback in "Jerry's Diary". He appears to die in explosions in "Mouse Trouble", after which he is seen in heaven, "Yankee Doodle Mouse" and in "Safety Second", while in "The Two Mouseketeers" he is guillotined offscreen. The short "Blue Cat Blues" ends with both Tom and Jerry sitting on the railroad tracks with the intent of suicide while the whistle of an oncoming train is heard foreshadowing their imminent death.
Tom and Jerry speaking.
Although many supporting and minor characters speak, Tom and Jerry rarely do so themselves. One exception is "The Lonesome Mouse" where they speak several times briefly, primarily Jerry, to contrive to get Tom back into the house. Tom more often sings while wooing female cats. For example, Tom sings Louis Jordan's "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby" in the 1946 short "Solid Serenade". In that short and "Zoot Cat", Tom woos female cats using a deep, heavily French-accented voice in imitation of then-popular leading man, actor Charles Boyer.
At the end of "The Million Dollar Cat", after beginning to antagonize Jerry he says, "Gee, I'm throwin' away a million dollars... BUT I'M HAPPY!". In "", Jerry says, "No, no, no, no, no." when choosing the shop to remove his ring. In "The Mouse Comes to Dinner", Tom speaks to his girlfriend Toots while inadvertently sitting on a stove: "Say, what's cookin'?", to which Toots replies "You are, stupid."
Another instance of speech comes in "Solid Serenade" and "The Framed Cat", where Tom directs Spike through a few dog tricks in a dog-trainer manner. In "Puss Gets the Boot", Jerry prays for his life when Tom catches him by the tail. Jerry has whispered in Tom's ear on several occasions. In "Love Me, Love My Mouse", Jerry calls Toots "Mama".
Co-director William Hanna provided most of the squeaks, gasps, and other vocal effects for the pair, including the most famous sound effects from the series, Tom's leather-lunged scream, created by recording Hanna's scream and eliminating the beginning and ending of the recording, leaving only the strongest part of the scream on the soundtrack, and Jerry's nervous gulp.
The only other reasonably common vocalization is made by Tom when some external reference claims a certain scenario or eventuality to be impossible, which inevitably thwarts Tom's plans – at which point, a bedraggled and battered Tom appears and says in a haunting, echoing voice "Don't you believe it!", a reference to the then-popular 1940s radio show "Don't You Believe It!". In "Mouse Trouble", Tom says "Don't you believe it!" after being beaten up by Jerry, which also happens in "The Missing Mouse". In the 1946 short "Trap Happy", Tom hires a cat disguised as a mouse exterminator who, after several failed attempts to dispatch Jerry and suffering a lot of accidents in the process, changes profession to "Cat" exterminator by crossing out the "Mouse" on his title and writing "CAT", resulting in Tom spelling out the word out loud before reluctantly pointing at himself.
One short, 1956's "Blue Cat Blues", is narrated by Jerry in VoiceOver, voiced by Paul Frees, as they try to win back their ladyfriends. Jerry was voiced by Sara Berner during his appearance in the 1945 MGM musical "Anchors Aweigh". "" is the first, and so far only installment of the series where the famous cat-and-mouse duo regularly speaks or is able to be understood by humans. In that film, Tom was voiced by Richard Kind, and Jerry was voiced by Dana Hill.
Spike and Tyke.
In his attempts to catch Jerry, Tom often has to deal with Spike, known as "Killer" and "Butch" in some shorts, an angry, vicious but gullible bulldog who tries to attack Tom for bothering him or his son Tyke while trying to get Jerry. Originally, Spike was unnamed and mute, aside from howls and biting noises as well as attacking indiscriminately, not caring whether it was Tom or Jerry though usually attacking Tom. In later cartoons, Spike spoke often, using a voice and expressions, performed by Billy Bletcher and later Daws Butler, modeled after comedian Jimmy Durante. Spike's coat has altered throughout the years between gray and creamy tan. The addition of Spike's son Tyke in the late 1940s led to both a slight softening of Spike's character and a short-lived spin-off theatrical series called "Spike and Tyke".
Most cartoons with Spike in them conform to a theme: usually, Spike is trying to accomplish something, such as building a dog house or sleeping, when Tom and Jerry's antics stop him doing it. Spike then presumably due to prejudice, singles out Tom as the culprit, and threatens him that if it ever happens again, he will do "something horrible" to him, effectively forcing Tom to take the blame, while Jerry overhears. Afterward, Jerry usually does anything he can to interrupt whatever Spike is doing, while Tom barely manages to stop him, usually getting injured in the process. Usually, Jerry eventually wrecks whatever Spike is doing in spectacular fashion, and leaves Tom to take the blame, forcing him to flee from Spike and inevitably lose.
Off-screen, Spike does something to Tom, and Tom is generally shown injured or in a bad situation while Jerry smugly cuddles up to Spike unscathed. Tom sometimes gets irritated with Spike. An example is in "That's My Pup!", when Spike forces Tom to run up a tree every time his son barked, causing Tom to hang Tyke on a flag pole. At least once, Tom does something that benefits Spike, who promises not to interfere ever again, causing Jerry to frantically leave the house and run into the distance, in "Hic-cup Pup". Spike is well known for his famous ""Listen pussycat!" catchphrase when he threatens Tom, his other famous catchphrase is ""That's my boy!" normally said when he supports or congratulates his son.
Tyke is described as a cute, sweet-looking, happy and lovable puppy. He is Spike's son. Unlike Spike, Tyke does not speak and only communicates, mostly towards his father, by barking, yapping, wagging his tail, whimpering and growling. Spike would always go out of his way to care and comfort his son and make sure that he is safe from Tom. Tyke loves his father and Spike loves his son and they get along like friends, although most of time they would be taking a nap or Spike would teach Tyke the main facts of life of being a dog. Like Spike, Tyke's appearance has altered throughout the years, from gray, with white paws, to creamy tan. When "Tom & Jerry Kids" first aired, this was the first time that viewers heard Tyke speak.
Butch and Toodles Galore.
Butch is a black, cigar-smoking alley cat who also wants to eat Jerry. He is Tom's most frequent adversary. For most of the shorts he appears in, he is usually seen rivaling Tom over Toodles. Butch was Tom's chum as in some cartoons, where Butch is leader of Tom's alley cat buddies, who are mostly Lightning, Topsy, and Meathead. Butch talks more often than Tom or Jerry in most shorts.
Butch and Toodles were originally introduced in Hugh Harman's 1941 short "The Alley Cat", but were integrated into "Tom and Jerry" rather than continuing in their own series.
Nibbles.
Nibbles is a small gray mouse who often appears in shorts as an orphan mouse. He is a carefree individual who very rarely understands the danger of the situation, simply following instructions the best he can both to Jerry's command and his own innocent understanding of the situation. This can lead to such results as "getting the cheese" by simply asking Tom to pick it up for him, rather than following Jerry's example of outmaneuvering and sneaking around Tom. Many times Nibbles is an ally of Jerry in fights against Tom, including being the second Mouseketeer. He is given speaking roles in all his appearances as a Mouseketeer, often with a high-pitched French tone. However, during a short in which he rescued Robin Hood, his voice was instead more masculine, gruff, and cockney accented.
Mammy Two Shoes.
Mammy Two Shoes is a heavy-set, middle-aged black woman who often has to deal with the mayhem generated by the lead characters. Voiced by character actress Lillian Randolph, she is often seen as the owner of Tom. Her face was only shown once, very briefly, in "Saturday Evening Puss". Mammy's appearances have often been edited out, dubbed, or re-animated as a slim white woman in later television showings, since her character is a mammy archetype that had been protested as racist by the NAACP and other civil rights groups since the 1940s. She was mostly restored in the DVD releases of the cartoons, with an introduction by Whoopi Goldberg on the "Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection: Vol. 2" DVD set, explaining the importance of African-American representation in the cartoon series, however stereotyped.
History.
"Tom and Jerry" was a commonplace phrase for young men given to drinking, gambling, and riotous living in 19th-century London, England. The term comes from "Life in London; or, The Day and Night Scenes of Jerry Hawthorn, Esq., and his elegant friend, Corinthian Tom" (1821) by Pierce Egan, the British sports journalist who authored similar accounts compiled as "Boxiana". However Brewer notes no more than an "unconscious" echo of the Regency era, and thus Georgian era, origins in the naming of the cartoon.
Hanna-Barbera era (1940–1958).
In August 1937, animator and storyman Joseph Barbera began to work at MGM, then the largest studio in Hollywood. He learned that co-owner Louis B. Mayer wished to boost the animation department by encouraging the artists to develop some new cartoon characters, following the lack of success with its earlier cartoon series based on the "Captain and the Kids" comic strip. Barbera then teamed with fellow Ising unit animator and director William Hanna, who joined Harman-Ising Productions in 1930, and pitched new ideas, among them was the concept of two "equal characters who were always in conflict with each other". An early thought involved a fox and a dog before they settled on a cat and mouse. The pair discussed their ideas with producer Fred Quimby, then the head of the short film department who, despite a lack of interest in it, gave them the green-light to produce one cartoon short.
The first short, "Puss Gets the Boot", features a cat named Jasper and an unnamed mouse, named Jinx in pre-production, and an African American housemaid named Mammy Two Shoes. Leonard Maltin described it as "very new and special [...] that was to change the course of MGM cartoon production" and established the successful "Tom and Jerry" formula of comical cat and mouse chases with slapstick gags. It was released onto the theatre circuit on February 10, 1940. The pair, having been advised by management not to produce any more, focused on other cartoons including "Gallopin' Gals" (1940) and "Officer Pooch" (1941). Matters changed when Texas businesswoman Bessa Short sent a letter to MGM, asking whether more cat and mouse shorts would be produced, which helped convince management to commission a series.
A studio contest held to rename both characters was won by animator John Carr, who suggested Tom the cat and Jerry the mouse. Carr was awarded a first-place prize of $50, . It has been suggested, but not proven, that the names were derived from a 1932 story by Damon Runyon, who took them from the name of a popular Christmastime cocktail, itself derived from the names of two characters in an 1821 stage play by William Moncrieff, an adaptation of 1821 Egan's book titled "Life in London" where the names originated, which was based on George Cruikshank's, Isaac Robert Cruikshank's, and Egan's own careers. "Puss Gets the Boot" was a critical success, earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Short Subject: Cartoons in 1941 despite the credits listing Ising and omitting Hanna and Barbera.
After MGM gave the green-light for Hanna and Barbera to continue, the studio entered production on the second "Tom and Jerry" cartoon, "The Midnight Snack" (1941). The pair continued to work on the series for the next fifteen years of their career. The composer of the series, Scott Bradley, made it difficult for the musicians to perform his score which often involved the twelve-tone technique developed by Arnold Schoenberg. The series developed a quicker, more energetic and violent tone which was inspired by the work of MGM colleague Tex Avery. Hanna and Barbera made minor adjustments to Tom and Jerry's appearance so they would "age gracefully". Jerry lost weight and his long eyelashes, while Tom lost his jagged fur for a smoother appearance, had larger eyebrows, and received a white and gray face with a white mouth. He adopted a quadrupedal stance at first, like a real cat, to become increasingly and almost exclusively bipedal.
Hanna and Barbera produced 114 cartoons for MGM, thirteen of which were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short Subject. Seven went on to win, breaking the winning streak held by Walt Disney's studio in the category. "Tom and Jerry" won more Academy Awards than any other character-based theatrical animated series. Barbera estimated the typical budget of $50,000 for each "Tom and Jerry" cartoon which made the duo take "time to get it right". A typical cartoon took around six weeks to make.
As per standard practice for American animation production at the time, Barbera and Hanna did not work with a script beforehand. After coming up with a cartoon idea together, Barbera would flesh out the story by drawing a storyboard and provide character designs and animation layouts. Hanna did the animation timing - planning the music and temporal beats and accents the animation action would occur on - and assigned the animators their scenes and supervised their work. Hanna provided incidental voice work, in particular Tom's numerous screams of pain. Despite minimal creative input, as head of the MGM cartoon studio, Quimby was credited as the producer of all cartoons until 1955.
The rise in television in the 1950s caused problems for the MGM animation studio, leading to budget cuts on "Tom and Jerry" cartoons due to decreased revenue from theatrical screenings. In an attempt to combat this, MGM ordered that all subsequent shorts be produced in the widescreen CinemaScope format. The first, "Pet Peeve", was released in November 1954. The studio found that re-releases of older cartoons were earning as much as new ones, resulting in the executive decision to cease production on "Tom and Jerry" and later the animation studio on May 15, 1957. The final cartoon produced by Hanna and Barbera, "Tot Watchers", was released on August 1, 1958. The pair decided to leave and went on to focus on their own production company Hanna-Barbera Productions, which went on to produce such popular animated television series including "The Flintstones", "Yogi Bear", "The Jetsons" and "Scooby-Doo".
Production formats.
Before 1954, all "Tom and Jerry" cartoons were produced in the standard Academy ratio and format. In 1954 and 1955, some of the output was dually produced in dual versions: one Academy-ratio negative composed for a flat widescreen (1.75:1) format and one shot in the CinemaScope process. From 1955 until the close of the MGM cartoon studio a year later, all "Tom and Jerry" cartoons were produced in CinemaScope. Some even had their soundtracks recorded in Perspecta directional audio. All of the Hanna and Barbera cartoons were shot as successive color exposure negatives in Technicolor.
Gene Deitch era (1961–1962).
In 1961, MGM revived the "Tom and Jerry" franchise, and contracted European animation studio Rembrandt Films to produce 13 "Tom and Jerry" shorts in Prague, Czechoslovakia. All were directed by Gene Deitch and produced by William L. Snyder. Deitch wrote most of the cartoons, with occasional assistance from Larz Bourne and Eli Bauer. Štěpán Koníček provided the musical score for the Deitch shorts. Sound effects were produced by electronic music composer Tod Dockstader and Deitch. The majority of vocal effects and voices in Deitch's films were provided by Allen Swift and Deitch.
Deitch states that, being a "UPA man", he was not a fan of the "Tom and Jerry" cartoons, thinking they were "needlessly violent". However, after being assigned to work on the series, he quickly realized that "nobody took [the violence] seriously", and it was merely "a parody of exaggerated human emotions". He also came to see what he perceived as the "biblical roots" in Tom and Jerry's conflict, similar to David and Goliath, stating "That's where we feel a connection to these cartoons: the little guy can win (or at least survive) to fight another day."
Since the Deitch/Snyder team had seen only a handful of the original "Tom and Jerry" shorts, and since the team produced their cartoons on a tighter budget of $10,000, the resulting films were considered surrealist in nature, though this was not Deitch's intention. The animation was limited and jerky in movement compared to the more fluid Hanna-Barbera shorts, and often utilized motion blur. Background art was done in a more simplistic, angular, Art Deco-esque style. The soundtracks featured sparse and echoic electronic music, futuristic sound effects, heavy reverb and dialogue that was mumbled rather than spoken. According to Jen Nessel of "The New York Times", "The Czech style had nothing in common with these gag-driven cartoons."
Whereas Hanna-Barbera's shorts generally took place in and outside of a house, Deitch's shorts opted for more exotic locations, such as a 19th-century whaling ship, the jungles of Nairobi, an Ancient Greek acropolis, or the Wild West. In addition, Mammy Two Shoes was replaced as Tom's owner by a bald, overweight, short-tempered, middle-aged white man, who bore a striking resemblance to another Deitch character, Clint Clobber. Just like Spike the Bulldog, he was also significantly more brutal and violent in punishing Tom's actions as compared to previous owners, often beating and thrashing Tom repeatedly; the character and his extreme treatment of Tom was poorly received.
To avoid being linked to Communism, Deitch modified the Czech names of his crew in the opening credits of the shorts to look more conventional to English-speaking audiences, e.g. Štěpán Koníček became "Steven Konichek" and Václav Lídl became "Victor Little". These shorts are among the few "Tom and Jerry" cartoons not to carry the "Made In Hollywood, U.S.A." phrase on the end title card. Due to Deitch's studio being behind the Iron Curtain, the production studio's location is omitted entirely on it. After the 13 shorts were completed, Joe Vogel, the head of production, was fired from MGM. Vogel had approved of Deitch and his team's work, but MGM decided not to renew their contract after Vogel's departure. The final of the 13 shorts, "Carmen Get It!", was released on December 21, 1962.
Deitch's shorts were commercial successes. In 1962, the "Tom and Jerry" series became the highest-grossing animated short film series of that time, dethroning "Looney Tunes", which had held the position for 16 years. However, unlike the Hanna-Barbera shorts, none of Deitch's films were nominated for any Academy Awards. In retrospect, these shorts are often considered the worst of the "Tom and Jerry" theatrical output. Deitch stated that due to his team's inexperience as well as their low budget, he "hardly had a chance to succeed", and "well understand[s] the negative reactions" to his shorts. He believes "They could all have been better animated – truer to the characters – but our T&Js were produced in the early 1960s, near the beginning of my presence here, over a half-century ago as I write this!" Despite the criticism, Deitch's "Tom and Jerry" shorts are appreciated by some fans due to their uniquely surreal nature. The shorts were released on DVD in 2015 in "".
The 1960s entries were done in Metrocolor but returned to the standard Academy ratio and format.
Chuck Jones era (1963–1967).
After the last of the Deitch cartoons were released, Chuck Jones, who had been fired from his 30-plus year tenure at Warner Bros. Cartoons, started his own animation studio, Sib Tower 12 Productions (later renamed MGM Animation/Visual Arts), with partner Les Goldman. Beginning in 1963, Jones and Goldman went on to produce , all of which carried Jones' distinctive style, and a slight psychedelic influence.
Jones had trouble adapting his style to "Tom and Jerry"s brand of humor, and a number of the cartoons favored full animation, personality and style over storyline. The characters underwent a slight change of appearance: Tom was given thicker eyebrows (resembling Jones' Grinch, Count Blood Count or Wile E. Coyote), a less complex look (including the color of his fur becoming gray), sharper ears, longer tail and furrier cheeks (resembling Jones' Claude Cat or Sylvester), while Jerry was given larger eyes and ears, a lighter brown color, and a sweeter, Porky Pig-like expression.
Some of Jones' "Tom and Jerry" cartoons are reminiscent of his work with Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner, included the uses of blackout gags and gags involving characters falling from high places. Jones co-directed the majority of the shorts with layout artist Maurice Noble. The remaining shorts were directed by Abe Levitow and Ben Washam, with Tom Ray directing two shorts built around footage from earlier "Tom and Jerry" cartoons directed by Hanna and Barbera, and Jim Pabian directed a short with Maurice Noble. Various vocal characteristics were made by Mel Blanc, June Foray and even Jones himself. These shorts contain a memorable opening theme, in which Tom first replaces the MGM lion, then is trapped inside the "O" of his name.
Though Jones's shorts were generally considered an improvement over Deitch's, they had varying degrees of critical success. MGM ceased production of "Tom and Jerry" shorts in 1967, by which time Jones had moved on to television specials and the feature film "The Phantom Tollbooth". The shorts were released on DVD in 2009 on "".
"Tom and Jerry" hit television.
Beginning in 1965, the Hanna and Barbera "Tom and Jerry" cartoons began to appear on television in heavily edited versions. The Jones team was required to take the cartoons featuring Mammy Two Shoes and remove her by pasting over the scenes featuring her with new scenes. Most of the time, she was replaced with a similarly fat white Irish woman. Occasionally, as in "Saturday Evening Puss", a thin white teenager took her place instead, with both characters voiced by June Foray.
Recent telecasts on Cartoon Network and Boomerang retain Mammy with new voiceover work performed by Thea Vidale to remove the stereotypical black jargon featured on the original cartoon soundtracks. The standard "Tom and Jerry" opening titles were removed as well. Instead of the roaring MGM Lion sequence, an opening sequence featuring different clips of the cartoons was used instead. The title cards were also changed. A pink title card with the name written in white font was used instead.
Debuting on CBS' Saturday morning schedule on September 25, 1965, "Tom and Jerry" moved to CBS Sundays in 1967 and remained there until September 17, 1972.
Second Hanna-Barbera era: "The Tom and Jerry Show" (1975–1977).
In 1975, Tom and Jerry were reunited with Hanna and Barbera, who produced "The Tom and Jerry Show" for Saturday mornings. These 48 seven-minute cartoon shorts were paired with "Grape Ape" and "Mumbly" cartoons, to create "The Tom and Jerry/Grape Ape Show", "The Tom and Jerry/Grape Ape/Mumbly Show", and "The Tom and Jerry/Mumbly Show", all of which initially ran on ABC Saturday mornings between September 6, 1975, and September 3, 1977. In these cartoons, Tom and Jerry, now with a red bow tie, who had been enemies during their formative years, became nonviolent pals who went on adventures together, as Hanna-Barbera had to meet the stringent rules against violence for children's TV. This format has not been used in newer Tom and Jerry entries.
Filmation era (1980–1982).
Filmation Studios were commissioned by MGM Television to produce a "Tom and Jerry" TV series, "The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show", which debuted in 1980 and featured new cartoons starring Droopy, Spike, Slick Wolf, and Barney Bear, not seen since the original MGM shorts. The Filmation "Tom and Jerry" cartoons were noticeably different from Hanna-Barbera's efforts, as they returned "Tom and Jerry" to the original chase formula, with a somewhat more "slapstick" humor format. This incarnation, much like the 1975 version, was not as well received by audiences as the originals, and lasted on CBS Saturday mornings from September 6, 1980, to September 4, 1982.
Tom and Jerry's new owners.
In 1986, MGM was purchased by WTBS founder Ted Turner. Turner sold the company a short while later, but retained MGM's pre-1986 film library. "Tom and Jerry" became the property of Turner Entertainment Co., where the rights stand today via Warner Bros., and have in subsequent years appeared on Turner-run stations, such as TBS, TNT, Cartoon Network, The WB, Boomerang, and Turner Classic Movies.
Third Hanna-Barbera era: "Tom & Jerry Kids" (1990–1994).
One of the biggest trends for Saturday morning television in the 1980s and 1990s was the "babyfication" (child versions) of classic cartoon stars. On March 2, 1990, "Tom & Jerry Kids", co-produced by Turner Entertainment Co. and Hanna-Barbera Productions, which was sold to Turner in 1991, debuted on Fox Kids, and aired for a few years on British children's block, CBBC. It featured a youthful version of the famous cat-and-mouse duo chasing each other. As with the 1975 H-B series, Jerry wears his red bowtie, while Tom now wears a red cap. Spike and his son Tyke, who now had talking dialogue, and Droopy and his son Dripple, appeared in back-up segments for the show, which ran until November 18, 1994. "Tom & Jerry Kids" was the last "Tom and Jerry" cartoon series produced in 4:3 (full screen) aspect ratio.
One-off productions (2001; 2005).
In 2001, a new television special titled "" premiered on Boomerang. It featured Joe Barbera (who was also a creative consultant) as the voice of Tom's owner, whose face is never seen. In this cartoon, Jerry, housed in a habitrail, is as much of a house pet as Tom is, and their owner has to remind Tom to not "blame everything on the mouse".
In 2005, a new Tom and Jerry theatrical short, titled "The Karate Guard", which had been written and directed by Barbera and Spike Brandt, storyboarded by Joseph Barbera and Iwao Takamoto and produced by Joseph Barbera, Spike Brandt, and Tony Cervone premiered in Los Angeles cinemas on September 27, 2005, as part of the celebration of "Tom and Jerry"s sixty-fifth anniversary. This marked Barbera's first return as a writer, director and storyboard artist on the series since his and Hanna's original MGM cartoon shorts, and last overall. He died shortly after production ended. Director/animator, Spike Brandt was nominated for an Annie award for best character animation. The short debuted on the Cartoon Network on January 27, 2006. The short was filmed in the standard Academy ratio and format.
Warner Bros. era (2006–present).
In 1996, Turner merged with Time Warner, the parent company of Warner Bros. The characters from the MGM library, including "Tom and Jerry", were placed under the control of Warner Bros. Animation. A relaunch of the theatrical shorts series was planned for 2003 alongside a similar relaunch of the "Looney Tunes" theatrical shorts, but was canceled after the financial failure of "".
In 2006, a new series called "Tom and Jerry Tales" premiered. Thirteen half-hour episodes each consisting of three shorts were produced. Some of the segments, like "The Karate Guard", had originally been produced and completed in 2003 as part of the planned theatrical cartoon relaunch. The show debuted in markets outside the US and UK, before premiering in February 2006 on the UK version of Boomerang, and the following autumn in the US on Kids' WB on The CW. "Tales" is the first "Tom and Jerry" TV series that utilizes the original style of the classic shorts, along with the slapstick. "Tales" is the first "Tom and Jerry" production produced in 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio, but was cropped to 4:3 fullscreen aspect ratio when initially aired on in the United States. The series was canceled in 2008, shortly before the Kids' WB block shut down.
Cartoon Network, which began rerunning "Tom and Jerry Tales" in January 2012, subsequently launched a series titled "The Tom and Jerry Show" consisting of two 11-minute shorts, later produced as separate 7-minutes length episodes, per episode that likewise sought to maintain the look, core characters and sensibility of the original theatrical shorts. Similar to other reboot works like "Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated" and "New Looney Tunes", several episodes the new series brought Tom and Jerry into contemporary environments, telling new stories and relocating the characters to more fantastic worlds, from a medieval castle to a mad scientist's lab. The series was produced by Warner Bros. Animation, with Sam Register serving as executive producer in collaboration with Darrell Van Citters and Ashley Postlewaite at Renegade Animation. Originally slated for a 2013 Cartoon Network premiere, the series was pushed back to April 9, 2014. It is the second "Tom and Jerry" production presented in 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio.
In November 2014, a two-minute sketch was shown as part of the Children in Need telethon in the United Kingdom. The sketch was produced as a collaboration with Warner Bros.
In May 2016, WB Kids began releasing excerpts from various "Tom and Jerry" works to the online platform YouTube. By January 2017, compilation videos of the "Tom and Jerry" franchise began to be released by WB Kids on the platform.
On February 20, 2021, Warner Bros. released two new shorts onto HBO Max titled "Tom and Jerry Special Shorts" to honor the 81st anniversary of "Tom and Jerry", as well as to promote the 2021 film. These shorts share the style of the other HBO Max original "Looney Tunes Cartoons", also produced by Warner Bros. Animation.
A new Tom and Jerry series made its debut on July 1, 2021 as a Max Original on HBO Max, called "Tom and Jerry in New York", which basically served as a spin-off of "The Tom and Jerry Show" by having the exact same animation style and slapstick, except that the events take place in the city of New York City. It was loosely based on the 2021 film, as the humans in the series were shown with the faces intact.
On November 11, 2022, Cartoon Network in Japan premiered a new series of animated shorts, "Tom and Jerry" (), marking the first Japanese production based on the property. Featuring the voices of Megumi Aratake (as Tom), Aya Yonekura (as Jerry) and Eri Tanaka (as Tuffy), the shorts were animated by Fanworks in co-operation with Studio Nanahoshi. Ayu handled the character design and Captain Mirai composed the musical scores. The November 11, 2022 premiere coincided with Cartoon Network's celebration of Cheese Day, which is organized by cheese industry in Japan.
On July 25, 2023, the Southeast Asian version of "Tom and Jerry" animated shorts was announced, to be presented on Cartoon Network Asia alongside HBO Asia streaming platform HBO GO before it was aired globally. The animated shorts, which was set in Singapore, was produced by Warner Bros. Discovery Asia-Pacific's director of original kids content Carlene Tan, with animation by Aum Animation Studios India alongside Singapore-based Robot Playground Media and Chips and Toon Studios for both the stories and designs.
Outside the United States.
When shown on terrestrial television in the United Kingdom, from April 1967 to February 2001, usually on the BBC, "Tom and Jerry" cartoons were not edited for violence, and Mammy was retained. As well as having regular slots, mainly after the evening BBC News with around two shorts shown every evening and occasionally shown on children's network CBBC in the morning, "Tom and Jerry" served the BBC in another way. When faced with disruption to the schedules, for example when live broadcasts overran, the BBC would invariably turn to "Tom and Jerry" to fill any gaps, confident that it would retain much of an audience that might otherwise channel hop. This proved particularly helpful in 1993, when "Noel's House Party" had to be cancelled due to an IRA bomb scare at BBC Television Centre. "Tom and Jerry" was shown instead, bridging the gap until the next programme. In 2006, a mother complained to Ofcom about the smoking shown in the cartoons, since Tom often attempts to impress love interests with the habit, resulting in reports that the smoking scenes in "Tom and Jerry" films may be subject to censorship.
Due to its very limited use of dialogue, "Tom and Jerry" was easily translated into various foreign languages. "Tom and Jerry" began broadcast in Japan in 1965. A 2005 nationwide survey taken in Japan by TV Asahi, sampling age groups from teenagers to adults in their sixties, ranked "Tom and Jerry" No. 85 in a list of the top 100 "anime" of all time. Their web poll taken after the airing of the list ranked it at No. 58 – the only non-Japanese animation on the list, and beating anime classics like "", "A Little Princess Sara", and the ultra-classics "Macross" and "Ghost in the Shell". In Japan, the word "anime" refers to "all" animation regardless of origin, not just Japanese animation.
"Tom and Jerry" serve as the long-time licensed mascots for Gifu-based Juroku Bank. Unlike some other Western cartoons such as "Bob the Builder", whose characters had to be doctored to have five fingers in each hand instead of the original four, "Tom and Jerry" aired in Japan without such edits, as did other series starring non-human protagonists such as "SpongeBob SquarePants".
"Tom and Jerry" have long since been popular in Germany. The different shorts are usually linked together with key scenes from "Jerry's Diary" (1949), in which Tom reads about his and Jerry's past adventures. The cartoons are introduced with rhyming German language verse, and when necessary, a German voice spoke the translations of English labels on items and similar information.
The show was aired in mainland China by CCTV in the mid-1980s to the early 1990s and was extremely popular at the time. Collections of the show are still a prominent feature in Chinese book stores.
In the Philippines, the series was aired on ABS-CBN from 1966 until its closure due to the country's declaration of martial law in 1972, with the later Hanna-Barbera shorts from Barbecue Brawl to Tot Watchers and all of Gene Deitch and Chuck Jones shorts. RPN aired most of Hanna-Barbera shorts from 1977 until 1989. ABS-CBN would later return to the air after the restoration of democracy in 1986 and air the same shorts as in the pre-martial law era. This lasted until the end of 1988.
In Indonesia, the series was aired on TPI (later re-branded as MNCTV) from the mid-1990s to early 2010s and RCTI during 2000s.
Even though Gene Deitch's shorts were created in Czechoslovakia (1960–1962), the first official TV release of "Tom and Jerry" were in 1988. It was one of the few cartoons of western origin broadcast in Czechoslovakia (1988) and Romania (until 1989) before the fall of the Soviet Union in 1989.
Feature films.
Tom and Jerry's first feature film appearance was in the 1945 MGM musical "Anchors Aweigh", in which Jerry performs a dance number with Gene Kelly. In this scene, Tom made a cameo as a servant. Filmmakers had wanted Mickey Mouse for the scene, but Walt Disney had rejected the deal, as the Disney studio was focusing on its own cartoons to help pay off its debts after World War II. William Hanna and Joe Barbera supervised animation for the scene.
In 1953, Tom and Jerry's second feature film appearance was swimming with Esther Williams in a dream sequence in another MGM musical, "Dangerous When Wet".
On October 1, 1992, the first international release of "" arrived when the film was released overseas to theaters in Europe and then domestically by Miramax Films on July 30, 1993, with future video and DVD releases that would be sold under Warner Bros., which, following Disney's acquisition of Miramax and Turner's subsequent merger with Time Warner, had acquired the film's distribution rights. Barbera served as creative consultant for the picture, which was produced and directed by Phil Roman. The film was a musical with a structure similar to MGM's blockbusters, "The Wizard of Oz" and "Singin' in the Rain".
In 2001, Warner Bros., which had, by then, merged with Turner and assumed its properties, released the duo's first direct-to-video film, "", in which Tom covets a ring that grants mystical powers to the wearer, and has become accidentally stuck on Jerry's head. It was the last time Hanna and Barbera co-produced a "Tom and Jerry" cartoon together, as William Hanna died shortly after "The Magic Ring" was released.
Four years later, Bill Kopp scripted and directed two more "Tom and Jerry" DTV features for the studio, ' and ', the latter one based on a story by Barbera. Both were released on DVD in 2005, marking the celebration of Tom and Jerry's 65th anniversary. In 2006, another direct-to-video film, ', tells the story about the pair having to work together to find the treasure. Joe came up with the storyline for the next film, ', as well as the initial idea of synchronizing the on-screen actions to music from Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker Suite". This DTV film, directed by Spike Brandt and Tony Cervone, was Joe Barbera's last "Tom and Jerry" project due to his death in December 2006. The holiday-set animated film was released on DVD in late 2007 and dedicated to Barbera.
A new direct-to-video film, "Tom and Jerry Meet Sherlock Holmes", was released on August 24, 2010. It is the first made-for-video "Tom and Jerry" film produced without any of the characters' original creators. The next direct-to-video film, "Tom and Jerry and the Wizard of Oz", was released on August 23, 2011, and was the first made-for-video "Tom and Jerry" film made for Blu-ray. It had a preview showing on Cartoon Network. "" was released on Blu-ray and DVD on October 2, 2012.
"Tom and Jerry's Giant Adventure" was released in 2013 on Blu-ray and DVD. ' was released on DVD on September 2, 2014. ' was released on DVD on June 23, 2015. ' was released on DVD on June 21, 2016. ' was released on DVD on July 11, 2017.
A live action/3D animated hybrid film was directed by Tim Story and starred Chloë Grace Moretz, Michael Peña Colin Jost, Rob Delaney and Ken Jeong. The film was released on February 26, 2021.
Controversies.
Like many animated cartoons from the 1930s to the 1950s, "Tom and Jerry" featured racial stereotypes. After explosions, for example, characters with blasted faces would resemble blackface stereotypes, with large lips and bow-tied hair. Perhaps the most controversial element of the show is the character Mammy Two Shoes, a poor black maid who speaks in a stereotypical "black accent". Joseph Barbera, who was responsible for these gags, claimed that they did not reflect his racial opinion; they were just reflecting what was common in society and cartoons at the time and were meant to be humorous. Today, the blackface gags are often censored when these shots are aired.
Following the 1949 re-issue of the 1943 "Tom and Jerry" short "The Lonesome Mouse," the NAACP, which had begun protesting stereotypical and racist depictions of African-Americans in Hollywood cinema, began a campaign against the use of the maid character in the "Tom and Jerry" shorts. Lillian Randolph left her role as the voice of Mammy Two Shoes in 1952 to instead take a job on television in "Amos & Andy", and Hanna and Barbera retired the character at that time.
In the 1960s, shorts featuring Mammy Two Shoes were re-animated in part by Chuck Jones' team at MGM, alongside their work on the newer entries produced by Jones, in order to be shown on television. These versions of the shorts replace the African-American maid with a white woman, voiced by June Foray with an Irish accent. These versions of the "Tom and Jerry" shorts were broadcast on television until the MGM catalog's acquisition by Turner in 1986. Turner redubbed Mammy Two Shoes' voice in these shorts in the mid-1990s to make the character sound less stereotypical.
Two shorts – "His Mouse Friday", which depicts cannibals, and "A Mouse in the House", which shows Mammy getting spanked repeatedly by Tom and Butch in the end resulting in racial abuse – have been removed from circulation. Two others in particular – "Casanova Cat", which features a scene where Jerry's face is blackened by Tom with cigar smoke and he is forced to perform a minstrel dance, and "Mouse Cleaning", where Tom is shown with blackface speaking in a stereotypical "Negro dialect" – were omitted from DVD/Blu-ray releases. Notably the other two – "Fraidy Cat", showed Tom biting Mammy in the rear near the end, and "The Mouse Comes to Dinner", including Jerry briefly dressing up as a Native American stereotype during the beginning – have Mammy edited in complete absence.
At the start of the 2005 "Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection: Vol 2." DVD set, a disclaimer by actress and comedian Whoopi Goldberg warns viewers about the potentially offensive material in the cartoons. Goldberg's disclaimer emphasizes that the racial and ethnic stereotypes present in the shorts were "wrong then and they are wrong today", borrowing a phrase used in disclaimers done for Warner Bros. "Looney Tunes Golden Collection" DVD sets. This disclaimer is also used in the "Tom and Jerry Golden Collection: Volume 1" Blu-ray/DVD/digital release as well.
Since 2020, all episodes featuring Mammy Two Shoes are no longer seen on Cartoon Network and Boomerang and are removed from the Boomerang app. There are other shorts ("The Lonesome Mouse", "Blue Cat Blues", and "The Mouse from H.U.N.G.E.R.") that are found inappropriate for the intended audiences rather than just having racist contents and are censored from the two channels as well.
In 2006, the British version of the Boomerang channel made plans to edit "Tom and Jerry" cartoons being aired in the UK where the characters were seen to be smoking. There was a subsequent investigation by UK media watchdog Ofcom. It has also taken the U.S. approach by censoring blackface gags, though this seems to be random as not all scenes of this type are cut. One Gene Deitch-era short, "Buddies Thicker Than Water", is shortened as one scene involves drunkenness.
In 2013, it was reported that Cartoon Network of Brazil censored 27 shorts on the grounds of being "politically incorrect". In an official release, the channel confirmed that it had censored only two shorts, "The Two Mouseketeers" and "Heavenly Puss" "by editorial issues and appropriateness of the content to the target audience—children of 7 to 11 years".
In other media.
Comic books.
"Tom and Jerry" began appearing in comic books in 1942, as one of the features in Dell Comics' "Our Gang Comics". In 1949, with MGM's live-action "Our Gang" shorts having ceased production five years earlier, the series was renamed "Tom and Jerry Comics". That title ran 212 issues with Dell before being handed off to Western Publishing, where it ran until issue #344 in 1984. Tom and Jerry continued to appear in various comic books for the rest of the 20th century. Tom and Jerry comics were also extremely popular in Norway, Germany, Sweden, the UK, the Netherlands, and Australia. A licensed European version has been drawn by Spanish artist Oscar Martin since 1986.
Comic strip.
A "Tom and Jerry" comic strip was syndicated from 1950 to 1952. Although credited to MGM animation studio head Fred Quimby, experts believe the strips were ghosted by Gene Hazleton and possibly Ernie Stanzoni and Dan Gormley. Tom and Jerry was revived as a comic strip from 1989 to 1994, syndicated to the South American market by Editors Press Service. The strip was produced by Kelley Jarvis during this era, with the exception of a short period in 1990–1991 when it was done by Paul Kupperberg & Rich Maurizio.
"Tom to Jerry: Nanairo".
Tom to Jerry: Nanairo () is a short-lived series of Japanese comics authored by Chara Chara Makiart as a spin-off of "Tom and Jerry". It was first featured in the August 2021 issue of the "Nakayoshi" magazine. "Nanairo", along with Chara Chara Makiart's other project "Harapeko Penguin Cafe", was cancelled in December 2021 as Kodansha ("Nakayoshi"s publisher) has terminated its contract with the creative unit after one of Makiart members was found guilty for sexually assaulting a minor.
Musical adaptation.
A musical, or , adaptation of the cartoon series, titled , debuted in Japan in 2019 in advance of the series' upcoming 80th anniversary. The musical was composed by Masataka Matsutoya, staged by Seiji Nozoe, and written by Shigeki Motoiki.
Cultural influences.
Throughout the years, the term and title "Tom and Jerry" became practically synonymous with never-ending rivalry, as much as the related "cat and mouse fight" metaphor has. Yet in "Tom and Jerry" it was not the more powerful Tom who usually came out on top. In 2005, TV Asahi ranked "Tom and Jerry" as 58th of the Top 100 Animated TV Series in Japan overall, outranking titles like "Rurouni Kenshin", "Initial D", and even "Macross". In January 2009, IGN named "Tom and Jerry" as the 66th best in the Top 100 Animated TV Shows.
In popular culture.
In 1973, the magazine "National Lampoon" referenced "Tom and Jerry" in a violence-filled comic book parody, "Kit 'n' Kaboodle". In "The Simpsons", "The Itchy & Scratchy Show" is a spoof of "Tom and Jerry"—a "cartoon within a cartoon". In an episode of the series titled "Krusty Gets Kancelled", "Worker and Parasite", a replacement cartoon for "Itchy & Scratchy", is a reference to Soviet-era animation.
In an interview found on the DVD releases, several "Mad TV" cast members stated that "Tom and Jerry" is one of their biggest influences for slapstick comedy. Also in the Cartoon Network show "MAD", Tom and Jerry appear in three segments: "Celebrity Birthdays", "Mickey Mouse Exterminator Service", and "Tom and Jury". Johnny Knoxville from "Jackass" has stated that watching "Tom and Jerry" inspired many of the stunts in the films.
Home media.
In the pre-video era, "Tom and Jerry" cartoons were a popular subject for 8mm home movies, with the UK-based Walton Films issuing dozens of titles as colour one-reel Super 8 films, in both silent and sound editions. Walton's agreement with MGM obligated them to release the films in slightly edited form, even though the single-reel format would have comfortably accommodated the cartoons' seven to eight minute running time. These releases were discontinued before the dawn of the 1980s.
As early as 1981, MGM/CBS released "Tom and Jerry Cartoon Festivals", the very first to perceived the release on numerous home video formats, including VHS, Betamax, CED Videodisc, and Laserdisc, which mostly released the original Hannah-Barbara-era short films (excluding the CinemaScope and Deitch episodes). The VHS and Beta versions released the total of four volumes up to 1984 while the other two formats did not release as much volumes due to marketing difficulties of the Laserdisc and CED players during that period. Following a new set of video releases after concluding the "Cartoon Festival" volumes in the mid 1980s, MGM/UA released a series of laserdisc box sets for collectors in the 1990s. "The Art of Tom & Jerry" volumes 1 and 2, contain most of the MGM shorts up to the letterboxed versions of the shorts filmed in CinemaScope, omitting the Deitch-era shorts. The cartoons are all intact except for "His Mouse Friday", where the dialogue has been wiped, and "Saturday Evening Puss", which is the re-drawn version with June Foray's voice added. A third volume to "The Art of Tom & Jerry" was released and contains all of the Chuck Jones-era "Tom and Jerry" shorts, which marks the latest release by MGM in general.
There have been several "Tom and Jerry" DVDs released in Region 1 (United States and Canada), including a series of two-disc sets known as the "Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection". There have been negative responses to Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, due to some of the cartoons included on each having cuts and redubbed Mammy Two Shoes dialogue. A replacement program offering uncut versions of the shorts on DVD was later announced. There are also negative responses to Vol. 3, due to "Mouse Cleaning" and "Casanova Cat" being excluded from these sets and "His Mouse Friday" being edited for content with an extreme zooming-in towards the end to avoid showing a particularly race-based caricature.
There have been two "Tom and Jerry" DVD sets in Region 2. In Western Europe, most of the "Tom and Jerry" shorts have been released under the name "". Only two, "The Million Dollar Cat" and "Busy Buddies", were not included. Almost all of the shorts contain re-dubbed Mammy Two Shoes tracks. Despite these cuts, "His Mouse Friday", the only "Tom and Jerry" cartoon to be completely taken off the airwaves in some countries due to claims of racism, is included, unedited with the exception of zooming-in as on the North American set. These are regular TV prints sent from the U.S. in the 1990s. Shorts produced in CinemaScope are presented in pan and scan. "Mouse Cleaning" and "Casanova Cat" are presented uncut as part of these sets.
"The Classic Collection" is available in six double-sided DVDs issued in the United Kingdom, and 12 single-layer DVDs issued throughout Western Europe. Another "Tom and Jerry" Region 2 DVD set is available in Japan. As with "The Classic Collection" in Western Europe, almost all of the shorts, including "His Mouse Friday", contain cuts. "Slicked-up Pup", "Tom's Photo Finish", "Busy Buddies", "The Egg and Jerry", "Tops with Pops", "Feedin' the Kiddie", "Shutter Bugged Cat", along with all the Gene Deitch shorts are excluded from these sets. However, most of these cartoons are included in the UK version. Most shorts produced in CinemaScope are presented in pan and scan for showing on the 4:3 aspect ratio television screen.
Prior to 2015, the Gene Deitch-era shorts saw limited home media release outside of Europe and Asia, explaining the absence of the Deitch-era episodes from the "Art of Tom and Jerry" laserdisc box set. In Japan, all thirteen shorts were released on the "Tom and Jerry & Droopy" laserdisc and VHS, as well as on the bonus DVD for those who have purchased all the ten titles of the DVD collection series at its initial release. In the United Kingdom, the shorts are available on the second side of the "Tom and Jerry: The Classic Collection: Volume 5" DVD. In the United States, "The Tom and Jerry Cartoon Kit", "Down and Outing", and "Carmen Get It!" were included on the "Paws for a Holiday" VHS and DVD, the "Summer Holidays" DVD, and the "Musical Mayhem" DVD, respectively. On June 2, 2015, "" DVD was released in the United States, with all thirteen shorts as well as special features.
The Chuck Jones-era "Tom and Jerry" shorts were released in a two-disc set titled "" in June 2009. In October 2011, Warner Home Video released the first volume of the "Tom and Jerry Golden Collection" on DVD and Blu-ray. This set featured newly remastered prints and bonus material never before seen. The sets were aimed at the collector in a way that the previous "Spotlight" DVD releases were not. A second set was due for release in June 2013. In February 2013, it was announced by TVShowsOnDVD.com that "Mouse Cleaning" was not part of the list of cartoons on this release, as well as the cartoon "Casanova Cat" that was also skipped over on the 2007 DVD release. Many collectors and fans have posted negative reviews of the product on Amazon and other various websites to make Warner put "Mouse Cleaning" and "Casanova Cat" on the release.
Theatrical shorts.
The following cartoons won the Academy Award for Best Short Subject: Cartoons:
These cartoons were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Short Subject: Cartoons, but did not win:
References.
References
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Peter Griffin
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Peter Löwenbräu Griffin Sr. (born Justin Peter Griffin) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the American animated sitcom "Family Guy". He is voiced by the series' creator, Seth MacFarlane, and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the Griffin family, in the episode "Death Has a Shadow" on January 31, 1999. Peter was created and designed by MacFarlane himself. MacFarlane was asked to pitch a pilot to the Fox Broadcasting Company based on "Larry & Steve", a short made by MacFarlane which featured a middle-aged character named Larry and an intellectual dog, Steve. For the series, Larry was renamed Peter.
Peter is married to Lois and is the father of Meg, Chris, and Stewie. He also has a dog named Brian, with whom he is best friends. He has worked at a toy factory and at Quahog's Brewery. Peter's voice was inspired by the security guards that MacFarlane heard at his school. His appearance was a redesign of the protagonist Larry from MacFarlane's previous animated short films "The Life of Larry" and "Larry & Steve". He has appeared in several pieces of "Family Guy" merchandise—including toys, T-shirts, and video games—and he has made crossover appearances in other shows, including "The Simpsons", "Drawn Together", "American Dad!", "South Park", and "Family Guy"s spin-off series "The Cleveland Show".
Role in "Family Guy".
Peter Griffin is a middle-class Irish American in his midforties, who is a bespectacled, obese blue-collar worker with a prominent Rhode Island and Eastern Massachusetts accent. Peter's age has never been officially confirmed and has fluctuated throughout the series, although he is consistently referred to as being in his early-to-mid 40s. Peter and his wife, Lois, have three children: Meg, Chris, and Stewie. He also has two deceased children: Peter Jr., who was shaken to death, and Dave, Stewie's twin who is implied to have been killed by Stewie during childbirth. He is the illegitimate son of Thelma Griffin and Mickey McFinnigan, and was raised by Thelma and his stepfather, Francis Griffin. It is uncertain whether Peter's legal parents were married before he was conceived, however, as Peter has a flashback in which Francis directly tells him, "I'm not your father!" in the episode "Peter's Two Dads", in which Peter realizes that Francis is not his true father, implying he knew that Peter is not his biological son. Peter and his family live in the fictional town of Quahog, Rhode Island, which is modeled after Providence, Rhode Island. Peter primarily worked as a safety inspector at the Happy-Go-Lucky Toy Factory until his boss, Jonathan Weed, choked to death on a dinner roll while dining with Peter and Lois; he then became a fisherman on his own boat, which was known as the "S.S. "More Powerful than Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, and The Incredible Hulk Put Together"", with the help of two Portuguese immigrants, Santos and Pasqual, until his boat was destroyed. He now works in the shipping department of the Pawtucket Patriot brewery. Peter is also shown in various jobs for single episodes and cutaway gags. In one episode, Peter played for the NFL's New England Patriots until his behavior resulted in his being kicked off the team. In a running gag, storylines are randomly interrupted by extremely long, unexpected fights between Peter and Ernie the Giant Chicken, an anthropomorphic chicken who serves as an archenemy to Peter. These battles parody the action film genre, with explosions, high-speed chases, and immense devastation to the town of Quahog.
Character.
Creation.
MacFarlane initially conceived "Family Guy" in 1995 while studying animation at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). During college, he created his thesis film entitled "The Life of Larry", which was submitted by his professor at RISD to Hanna-Barbera. MacFarlane was hired by the company. Then in 1996, MacFarlane created a sequel to "The Life of Larry" entitled "Larry & Steve", which featured a middle-aged character named Larry and an intellectual dog, Steve; the short was broadcast in 1997 as one of Cartoon Network's "World Premiere Toons". Executives at Fox saw the "Larry" shorts and contracted MacFarlane to create a series, entitled "Family Guy", based on the characters. Fox proposed MacFarlane complete a 15-minute short, and gave him a budget of $50,000. Several aspects of "Family Guy" were inspired by the "Larry" shorts. While working on the series, the characters of Larry and his dog Steve slowly evolved into Peter and Brian. MacFarlane stated that the difference between "The Life of Larry" and "Family Guy" was that ""Life of Larry" was shown primarily in my dorm room and "Family Guy" was shown after the Super Bowl."
Voice.
The voice of Peter is provided by MacFarlane, who also provides the voice for Brian, Stewie, Quagmire, Tom Tucker, Carter Pewterschmidt, Dr. Hartman, and others. MacFarlane has been part of the main voice cast from the beginning of the series including the pilot, and has voiced Peter from the start. MacFarlane chose to voice Peter and several other characters himself, believing it would be easier to portray the voices he already envisioned than for someone else to attempt it. MacFarlane's speaking voice is not very close to Peter's; he uses his normal voice as the voice of Brian. MacFarlane drew inspiration for the voice of Peter from the security guards he overheard talking while he was attending the Rhode Island School of Design; according to him, "I knew a thousand Peter Griffins growing up in New England. Guys who would not think before they spoke, like [switching to Peter's voice] there was no self-editing mechanism. [Pointing to himself] Everything in here, [pointing to his front] it's coming out here, with no gateway". MacFarlane also voices many of Peter's ancestors who share the same type of voice. He noted in an interview that he voices Peter and the rest of the characters partly because they initially had a small budget, but also that he prefers to have the freedom to do it himself. In another interview, he said that Peter's voice is one of the most difficult to do.
There have been rare occasions where MacFarlane does not voice Peter. In the episode "No Meals on Wheels" (season 5, 2007), actor Patrick Stewart voiced Peter in a cutscene, but MacFarlane voices Peter for the rest of the episode. In the episode "Family Gay" (season 7, 2009), Seth Rogen provided a guest-voice as Peter under the effects of the "Seth Rogen gene". In "Road to the Multiverse" (season 8, 2009), he was voiced by actor Jamison Yang, who was required for a scene where everything in the world was Japanese. In Friends of Peter G (season 9, 2011), John Viener voiced Peter in an alternate timeline where he gave up drinking.
Personality.
Peter Griffin is a stereotypical blue-collar worker who frequently goes to a local bar with his neighbors and friends Cleveland Brown, Joe Swanson and Glenn Quagmire named "The Drunken Clam," Quahog's main tavern. In the season 4 episode "Petarded", Peter discovered his low intellect falls slightly below the level for intellectual disability after taking an I.Q. test, which places his I.Q. at around 70. In that same episode, Peter is declared intellectually disabled because of his low I.Q. level. Peter also might have brain damage in Wernicke's area as he cutaways into seemingly random situations and speaks in perfect grammar but cannot seem to choose how to create a sentence. Peter is known for his brash impulsiveness, which has led to several awkward situations, such as attempting to molest Meg in order to adopt a redneck lifestyle. He is easily influenced by anyone he finds interesting and will often try to replicate their lifestyle and behavior merely out of curiosity. He is incredibly jealous of other attractions Lois has in her life, an attitude which has led to extreme situations, such as when he assaulted a whale that kissed Lois at SeaWorld. In the third season episode "Stuck Together, Torn Apart", Peter and Lois split up because of Peter's jealousy, only to discover that Lois has the same character flaw and the two decide to live together with their mutually jealous nature. Peter has a very short attention span which frequently leads him to bizarre situations, as Chris points out in "Long John Peter", after Peter's parrot dies "He will get over it pretty quickly and then move on to another wacky thing", to which Peter finds a pipe organ and forgets about his parrot (Peter then destroys the pipe organ within seconds and then finds a deed to a cattle ranch). Peter is also naïve with one example in "Airport '07" where he thinks his truck will fly by filling it with airplane fuel.
Peter has complex relationships with all three of his children. He normally makes fun of Meg since season six and treats her with neglect, such as in the episode "FOX-y Lady", where he, Meg and Chris try to create a cartoon and they exclude Meg and her ideas. Though in some episodes Peter has had a good relationship with Meg, in "Hell Comes to Quahog" (season 5, 2006), Peter almost tells Meg he loves her and in "Road to Rupert" (season 5, 2007), he told Meg that he would treat her badly in front of the family, but that he would be her friend in secret. It was presumed though that in "Peter's Sister", (season 14, 2015) that Peter would stop bullying Meg. Peter has a much better, but usually one-sided, relationship with Stewie. Peter and Stewie had their adventures when he took him to Walt Disney World Resort in the episode "The Courtship of Stewie's Father" (season 4, 2005). With Chris, Peter communicates well, but at times when in need of advice or in an adventure Peter tells Chris to do the opposite of what he should do, like in "Long John Peter" (season 6, 2008), where Chris is asking for advice on dating and Peter tells him to treat women horribly.
Peter is best friends with his human-like dog, Brian. In earlier seasons, Brian often served as a voice of reason for Peter, helping him out with issues. Brian is extremely grateful to Peter for picking him up on the side of the road as a stray, shown during a flashback in the episode, "". His gratitude was affirmed in "New Kidney in Town", where Brian offers to give up both his kidneys and his life so that Peter could undergo a kidney transplant, although he did not have to do it thanks to another, more suitable donor being found. At Brian's funeral in "Life of Brian", Peter said that Brian was his "best friend in the whole world" and "like a brother to him". In the episode "Forget-Me-Not", Stewie puts Brian and Peter, along with Joe and Quagmire in a simulation to prove that they would have never been friends if Peter wasn't Brian's owner, wherein they all wake up in a hospital after a great disaster of some kind and forget both their names. In the simulation, Joe and Quagmire believe that Peter was the cause of everybody in Quahog disappearing in the great disaster due to a fake newspaper clipping from a laser tag arena that they had visited with Peter earlier in the episode. Brian, who learns of Joe and Quagmire's plans, goes to talk to Peter to warn him, only for them to quickly bond and become great friends with each other. When Joe and Quagmire come to kill him, Brian saves Peter's life by taking a bullet for Peter, wherein the simulation then ends and Stewie reveals what happened to him.
Beyond Brian and his main trio of Joe, Quagmire, and Cleveland, Peter is shown to be good friends with a few other characters in the show. Peter is shown to be acquaintances with local pharmacist Mort Goldman, even once going as far to assist Mort in committing insurance fraud by burning down his pharmacy. Mort even becomes Peter's manager when Peter and Quagmire become a musical duo in the episode "Into Harmony's Way". Peter and his core friend group are also shown to be good friends with Jerome, who initially served as Cleveland's temporary replacement in the episode he was first introduced (due to Cleveland living in Virginia at the time). Jerome would later buy the Drunken Clam in the episode "Save the Clam" and often interacts with Peter and the gang at the Clam. Peter and his friends even watch over the bar for Jerome in the episode "The Woof of Wall Street". Peter also maintains a friendly relationship with his co-workers Opie and Stella.
Ancestry.
Before Peter was born, his mother Thelma went to Mexico City to have an abortion but gave birth during the procedure, and smuggled him home to Providence, Rhode Island, where he spent his childhood. Peter was raised by Francis and Thelma Griffin in the Roman Catholic faith. In "Peter's Two Dads", he discovers that his biological father is an Irishman named Mickey McFinnigan. Peter visits Mickey, who initially rejects him. Mickey later accepts him as his son after beating him in the "game of drink" (the game of drink referring to matching shots until one passes out). Mickey is based on the friends of MacFarlane's father. MacFarlane said: "When I was growing up, my father had lots of friends: big, vocal, opinionated New England, Irish Catholics. They were all bursting at the seams with personality, and "Family Guy" came out of a lot of those archetypes that I spent years observing."
Reception.
Praise.
Editors of "Variety" put "Family Guy" in their contenders for the 2011 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series; they stated that, depending on your sense of humor, Peter is either "a comedy genius" or "an obnoxious idiot". MacFarlane has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in the Outstanding Voice-Over Performance category several times for voicing Peter and other characters; he won in 2016. He was also nominated in 2008 for an Annie Award in the Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production or Short Form for voicing Peter.
Peter has ranked in several of IGN's top 10s (generally these lists are related to the show). Among these, Peter ranked the third spot on IGN's "Top 25 "Family Guy" Characters," in which it was stated that many of the show's best gags come from Peter and his shenanigans and that "Peter practically invented the "manatee joke". "Entertainment Weekly" placed Peter in its "18 Bad TV Dads" list (the list also included characters like Homer Simpson and Al Bundy).
Criticism and controversy.
Peter has been criticized for being too similar to Homer Simpson. Peter has appeared in some episodes of "The Simpsons"; in some of these episodes he has been featured in, he has been depicted as Homer Simpson's clone or is accused of plagiarism. Ken Tucker of "Entertainment Weekly" wrote that Peter is Homer Simpson "as conceived by a singularly sophomoric mind that lacks any reference point beyond other TV shows". Robin Pierson from "The TV Critic" criticized the Griffin family for being too similar to the Simpson family, and said that Peter "has Homer Simpson written all over him". This is eventually made fun of in the episode "Ratings Guy" when, after Peter ruins television and goes to the networks to reverse the changes, Homer Simpson shows up with the same plight, with Peter going "A-ha! Looks like this is one "we" beat "you" to!" In "The Simpsons Guy", a crossover episode between "Family Guy" and "The Simpsons", the Griffins end up in the town of Springfield after their car is stolen, where they meet the Simpsons.
Peter has created some controversy in various episodes of "Family Guy". The episode "The Cleveland–Loretta Quagmire" (season 4, 2005) featured a sequence titled "You Have AIDS", in which Peter dances and sings in a barbershop quartet fashion around the bed of a man with end-stage AIDS about his diagnosis, which drew protests from several AIDS service organizations. In the episode "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein" (season 3, 2003), Peter sings a parody song of "When You Wish upon a Star", entitled "I Need a Jew"; on October 3, 2007, Bourne Co. Music Publishers filed a lawsuit accusing the show of infringing its copyright on the original song; Bourne Co., the sole United States copyright owner of the song, alleged the parody pairs a "thinly veiled" copy of their music with antisemitic lyrics. The complaint was not upheld.
Cultural influence.
Appearances in the media.
Peter has made several television appearances outside of "Family Guy", often in the form of direct parody. Peter has appeared in two episodes of "The Simpsons", poking fun at how the two shows are frequently compared to each other. In the fourteenth season episode "Treehouse of Horror XIII", Peter is depicted as one of Homer Simpson's clones, and in the seventeenth season episode, "The Italian Bob", photos of Peter and Stan Smith are in a book of criminals, which says they are wanted for "plagiarismo" and "plagiarismo di plagiarismo" respectively. In the Futurama direct to video film "Bender's Big Score", Philip J. Fry is seen nailing a "Family Guy 12 laughs a year" calendar which has Peter and Stewie on the cover. Peter also appeared in various episodes of the show's spin-off "The Cleveland Show". In addition, Peter has appeared at the end of the "American Dad!" episode "Hurricane!" with guns on both Stan Smith and former neighbor Cleveland Brown. During the stand-off, Stan accidentally shoots his wife Francine, which Peter declares as "classic "American Dad!".
Merchandise.
Peter is also featured on the " CD, and plays a significant part in "Family Guy Video Game!", the first "Family Guy" video game, which was released by 2K Games in 2006. Peter was used in the game "Family Guy Online" as a character class for the game's character creator. In December 2023, Peter was featured as a battle pass skin in the first season of the fifth chapter of "Fortnite". Files containing clips of Peter were data mined from the game as early as February 2021.
MacFarlane recorded exclusive material of Peter's voice and other "Family Guy" characters for a 2007 pinball machine based the show, created by Stern Pinball. In 2004, the first series of "Family Guy" toy figurines was released by Mezco Toyz; each member of the Griffin family had their own toy, with the exception of Stewie, of whom two different figures were made. Over the course of two years, four more series of toy figures have been released, with various forms of Peter. Alongside the action figures, Peter has been included in various other "Family Guy"-related merchandise.
As of 2009, six books have been released about the "Family Guy" universe, all published by HarperCollins since 2005. This include "" (), which covers the entire events of the episode "It Takes a Village Idiot, and I Married One", and "Family Guy and Philosophy: A Cure for the Petarded" (), a collection of 17 essays exploring the connections between the series and historical philosophers. which include Peter as a character. Peter appears in comic-book based on the "Family Guy" universe; by Titan Comics. The first comic book was released July 27, 2011.
In 2008, the character appeared in advertisements for Subway, promoting the restaurant's massive feast sandwich. Chief marketing officer Tony Pace commented "Peter's a good representation of the people who are interested in the Feast, and "Family Guy" is a show "that appeals to that target audience." "The Boston Globe" critic Brian Steinberg praised the restaurant's use of the character for the commercials.
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Peter Pan
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Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythical island of Neverland as the leader of the Lost Boys, interacting with fairies, pirates, mermaids, Native Americans, and occasionally ordinary children from the world outside Neverland.
Peter Pan has become a cultural icon symbolizing youthful innocence and escapism. In addition to two distinct works by Barrie, "The Little White Bird" (1902, with chapters 13–18 published in "Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens" in 1906), and the West End stage play "Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up" (1904, which expanded into the 1911 novel "Peter and Wendy"), the character has been featured in a variety of media and merchandise, both adapting and expanding on Barrie's works. These include several films, television series and many other works.
Barrie commissioned a statue of Peter Pan by the sculptor George Frampton, which was erected overnight in Kensington Gardens on 30 April 1912 as a surprise to the children of London. Six other statues have been cast from the original mould and displayed around the world. In 2002, Peter Pan featured on a series of UK postage stamps issued by the Royal Mail on the centenary of Barrie's creation of the character.
Origin.
Peter Pan first appeared as a character in Barrie's "The Little White Bird" (1902), a novel for adults. In chapters 13–18, titled "Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens", Peter is a seven-day-old baby and has flown from his nursery to Kensington Gardens in London, where the fairies and birds taught him to fly. He is described as "betwixt-and-between" a boy and a bird. Barrie returned to the character of Peter Pan, putting him at the centre of his stage play titled "Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up", which premiered on 27 December 1904 at the Duke of York's Theatre in London. Following the success of the 1904 play, Barrie's publishers, Hodder and Stoughton, extracted the Peter Pan chapters of "The Little White Bird" and published them in 1906 under the title "Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens", with the addition of illustrations by Arthur Rackham. Barrie later adapted and expanded the 1904 play's storyline as a novel, which was published in 1911 as "Peter and Wendy".
J. M. Barrie may have based the character of Peter Pan on his older brother, David, who died in an ice-skating accident the day before his 14th birthday. His mother and brother thought of him as forever a boy.
Physical appearance.
Barrie never described Peter's appearance in detail, even in his novel, leaving it to the imagination of the reader and the interpretation of anyone adapting the character. In the play, Peter's outfit is made of autumn leaves and cobwebs. In the book and the play, he also carries a dagger for cutting and a sword for fighting, although in some versions he only has one of the two. His name and playing the flute or pan pipes suggest that he is based on the Greek god and mythological character Pan. Barrie mentions in "Peter and Wendy" that Peter Pan still had all his "first teeth". He describes him as a "lovely boy, clad in skeleton leaves and the juices that ooze out of trees". In "The Little White Bird" (1902) and "Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens" (1906), he is seven days old.
Traditionally, the character has been played on stage by a female, but can also be played by a male. In the original productions in the UK, Peter Pan's costume was a reddish tunic and dark green tights, such as that worn by Nina Boucicault in 1904. This costume is exhibited at Barrie's Birthplace. The similar costume worn by Pauline Chase (who played the role from 1906 to 1913) is displayed in the Museum of London. Early editions of adaptations of the story also depict a red costume but a green costume (whether or not made of leaves) becomes more usual from the 1920s, and more so later after the release of Disney's animated movie.
In the Disney films, Peter wears an outfit that consists of a short-sleeved green tunic and tights apparently made of cloth, and a cap with a red feather in it. He has pointed elf-like ears, brown eyes, and reddish hair.
In "Hook" (1991), the character is played as an adult by Robin Williams, with blue eyes and dark brown hair; in flashbacks to him in his youth, his hair is light brown. His ears appear pointed only when he is Peter Pan, not as Peter Banning. His Pan attire resembles the Disney outfit (minus the cap) and he wields a gold bladed sword.
In the live-action 2003 "Peter Pan" film, he is portrayed by Jeremy Sumpter, with blond hair, green eyes, bare feet and a costume made of leaves and vines.
In the prequel to the main story 2015 "Pan" film, he is portrayed by Levi Miller, a young boy who was left as a baby by the orphanage until he gets captured by Blackbeard's pirates and taken to Neverland. Here he wears just simple clothes.
Personality.
Peter is an exaggerated stereotype of a boastful and careless boy. He claims greatness, even when such claims are questionable (such as congratulating himself when Wendy re-attaches his shadow). In the play and book, Peter symbolises the selfishness of childhood, and is portrayed as being forgetful and self-centred.
Peter has a nonchalant, devil-may-care attitude, and is fearlessly cocky when it comes to putting himself in danger. Barrie writes that when Peter thought he was going to die on Marooners' Rock, he felt scared, yet he felt only one shudder. With this blithe attitude, he says, "To die will be an awfully big adventure." In the play, the unseen and unnamed narrator ponders what might have been if Peter had stayed with Wendy, so that his cry might have become, "To live would be an awfully big adventure!", "but he can never quite get the hang of it".
Abilities.
Peter's archetypal quality is his unending youth. In "Peter and Wendy", it is explained that Peter must forget his own adventures and what he learns about the world in order to stay childlike.
Peter's ability to fly is explained, but inconsistently. In "The Little White Bird", he is able to fly because he is said to be part bird, like all babies. In the play and novel, he teaches the Darling children to fly using a combination of "lovely wonderful thoughts" and fairy dust. In Barrie's Dedication to the play "Peter Pan, The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow up", the author attributes the idea of fairy dust being necessary for flight to practical needs:
...after the first production I had to add something to the play at the request of parents (who thus showed that they thought me the responsible person) about no one being able to fly until the fairy dust had been blown on him; so many children having gone home and tried it from their beds and needed surgical attention.
Peter has an effect on the whole of Neverland and its inhabitants when he is there. Barrie states that although Neverland appears different to every child, the island "wakes up" when Peter returns from his trip to London. In the chapter "The Mermaids' Lagoon" in the book "Peter and Wendy", Barrie writes that there is almost nothing that Peter cannot do. He is a skilled swordsman, rivalling even Captain Hook, whose hand he cut off in a duel. He has remarkably keen vision and hearing. He is skilled in mimicry, copying the voice of Hook and the ticking of the clock in the crocodile.
Peter has the ability to imagine things into existence and he is able to sense danger when it is near.
In "Peter and Wendy", Barrie states that the Peter Pan legend Mrs. Darling heard as a child, was that when children died, he accompanied them part of the way to their destination so they would not be frightened.
In the original play, Peter states that no one must ever touch him (though he does not know why). The stage directions specify that no one does so throughout the play. Wendy approaches Peter to give him a "kiss" (thimble), but is prevented by Tinker Bell. However, John Caird and Trevor Nunn's introduction to the script for the 1997 Royal National Theatre production, states that this was never Barrie's original intention, and was only added for a production in 1927, where Jean Forbes-Robertson took the title role, and played the part with a lighter, more fairy-like, physicality. Robertson was to play the part almost every year until 1939.
Cultural allusions.
Peter Pan is a free spirit, being too young to be burdened with the effects of education or to have an adult appreciation of moral responsibility. As a "betwixt-and-between", who can fly and speak the language of fairies and birds, Peter is part animal and part human. According to psychologist Rosalind Ridley, by comparing Peter's behaviour to adults and to other animals, Barrie raises many post-Darwinian questions about the origins of human nature and behaviour. As "the boy who wouldn't grow up", Peter exhibits many aspects of the stages of cognitive development seen in children and can be regarded as Barrie's memory of himself as a child, being both charmingly childlike and childishly solipsistic.
Relationships.
Family.
Peter Pan ran away from his parents when he was a baby as told in "Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens" and "Peter and Wendy". Finding the window closed and seeing a new baby boy in the house when he returned some time later, he believed his parents no longer wanted him and never came back. This younger sibling is referred to in the chapter "Lock-Out Time" in "Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens" but is not mentioned again.
Friends.
Maimie Mannering.
While in Kensington Gardens, Peter meets a lost girl named Maimie Mannering and the two quickly become friends. Peter proposes marriage to Maimie. While Maimie wants to stay in the Gardens with Peter, she comes to realise that her mother is so worried that she must return to her. Maimie promises to always remember Peter and goes back to her mother. When Maimie grows up, she continues to think of Peter, dedicating presents and letters to him. To remember Maimie, Peter rides the imaginary goat that Maimie created for him. She is considered to be the literary predecessor of Wendy Darling.
The Darlings.
Wendy Darling.
It is hinted that Wendy may have romantic feelings for Peter, but unrequited because of his inability to love.
In the original novel, Peter later befriends Wendy's daughter Jane (and her subsequent daughter Margaret), and it is implied that this pattern will go on forever. From time to time, Peter visits the real world, and befriends children. Wendy Darling, whom he recruited to be his "mother", is the most significant of them; he also brings her brothers John and Michael to Neverland at her request. It is mentioned that Wendy was the only girl who captured his attention.
In the 1991 film "Hook", an older Wendy implies that she used to (and perhaps, still does) have feelings for Peter, saying that she was shocked that he did not prevent her wedding day. In the 2002 sequel to the 1953 Disney film, "Return to Neverland", Peter and a grown-up Wendy are briefly, but happily, reunited after many years and continue to show feelings for each other. In the 2003 film "Peter Pan", the feeling is mutual. Captain Hook can only take away Peter's ability to fly by thoughts of Wendy leaving him, growing up, and replacing him with a husband. Wendy saves Peter by giving him her hidden kiss which gives him the will to live, signifying she is his true love. In some versions, he marries her or her grandaughter Moira.
John Darling and Michael Darling.
John is Wendy's younger brother. He is fascinated with piracy and imitates Captain Hook while playing at home with his siblings. He is also courageous and smart. Michael, the youngest of the Darlings, is convinced that Peter Pan is a real person after hearing Wendy's vivid narratives about him. During nursery games, it is Michael who plays the role of Peter Pan. "Peter Pan In Scarlet" reveals that Michael died in World War I.
Mary and George Darling.
The parents of Wendy, John and Michael. Mr. Darling works as a clerk in the City, and is named after George Llewelyn Davies. Mrs. Darling is named after Mary Ansell, Barrie's wife.
Neverland inhabitants.
Tiger Lily.
Tiger Lily is the daughter of Great Big Little Panther, the chief of the Native American tribe resident in Neverland. Barrie refers to her as "a princess in her own right", and she is often described as such. She is kidnapped by the pirates and left to die on Marooners' Rock but is rescued by Peter. It is hinted later that she may have romantic feelings for Peter but he does not return them, as he is completely oblivious to other people's feelings. In the Disney film, Tiger Lily shows her gratitude by performing a dance for Peter and kissing him. The kiss makes him turn bright red and makes Wendy jealous of Tiger Lily.
Tinker Bell.
Tinker Bell is a common fairy who is Peter Pan's best friend and is often jealously protective of him. He nicknames her "Tink". She is the friend who helps him in his escapades. Tink's malicious actions are usually caused by her jealousy; these lead to the Lost Boys shooting arrows at Wendy, and eventually revealing Peter's hideout to Captain Hook, in the hope that Wendy will be captured rather than Peter. When Tink realises her serious mistake, she risks her own life by drinking the poison Hook has left for Peter. Her extreme loyalty and dedication to Peter are everlasting.
The Lost Boys.
Peter is the leader of the Lost Boys, which include Tootles, Nibs, Slightly, Curly, and The Twins. The Lost Boys is a band of boys who were lost by their parents after they "fall out of their perambulators" and came to live in Neverland. In Barrie's novel "Peter and Wendy" (but not the original play "Peter Pan"), it is stated that Peter "thins them out" when they start to grow up.
In the song "I Won't Grow Up" from the 1954 musical, the boys sing "I will stay a boy forever", to which Peter replies "And be banished if I don't".
In "Peter Pan in Scarlet" (2006), the official sequel to Barrie's "Peter and Wendy", what happens to the Lost Boys when they begin to grow up is revealed when Slightly starts to grow older, as Peter banishes him to Nowhereland (which means that he and all his allies will ignore the banished person's existence), the home of all the Long Lost Boys whom Peter has banished in times past.
The Crocodile.
The crocodile is Captain Hook's nemesis. After Peter Pan cut off Captain Hook's hand in a fight and threw it into the sea, the crocodile swallowed it and got a taste for Hook, so it now seeks to consume him whole. It also swallowed a ticking clock, which alerts Hook of its presence.
Adversaries.
Captain Hook.
Captain Hook, whose right hand was cut off in a duel, is Peter Pan's arch-enemy who leads a large group of pirates. Captain Hook's two principal fears are the sight of his own blood (which is supposedly an unnatural colour) and one saltwater crocodile. His name plays on the iron hook that replaced his hand cut off by Peter Pan and eaten by the aforementioned crocodile, which continues to pursue Hook. In the 1991 film "Hook" Captain Hook kidnaps the children of Peter Banning (the adoptive identity of Peter Pan) when he left Neverland to grow up and married Moira Darling (the Granddaughter of Wendy Darling) with whom he would have the two children whom Hook would kidnap: Maggie and Jack. Hook in this film is also shown to questioning his existence due to the fact Banning/Pan has been away from Neverland so long does not remember anything when he first returns to Neverland . At Smee's suggestion Hook conjures up plan to defeat plan Pan by having his own children turn against him. Although Maggie is never swayed by this plan Jack initially sides with the pirates due to the prior broken promises of his father . However upon realising that his dad is Peter Pan Jack has a change of heart and betrays Hook . Hook is eventually defeated by Pan eaten by the crocodile which the pirate himself had killed in Pan's prior absence and had converted into clock.
Mr. Smee.
Mr. Smee is Captain Hook's boatswain ("bo'sun") and right-hand man in J. M. Barrie's play "Peter Pan" and the novel "Peter and Wendy". Mr. Smee is Captain Hook's direct confidant. Unlike the other pirates, Smee is often clumsy and incapable of capturing any of the Lost Boys. Rather than engaging in Hook's evil schemes, Smee finds excitement in bagging loot and treasures.
Popular culture.
Other uses in popular culture.
The name Peter Pan has been adopted for various purposes over the years:
Public sculptures.
Barrie commissioned a statue of Peter Pan by the sculptor George Frampton, which was erected overnight in Kensington Gardens on 30 April 1912 as a May Day surprise to the children of London. Seven statues have been cast from the original mould. The other six are located in:
Other statues are:
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Indiana Jones
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Indiana Jones is an American media franchise consisting of five films and a prequel television series, along with games, comics, and tie-in novels, that depicts the adventures of Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones Jr. (portrayed in all films by Harrison Ford), a fictional professor of archaeology.
The series began in 1981 with the film "Raiders of the Lost Ark". In 1984, a prequel, "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom", was released, and in 1989, a sequel, "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade". A fourth film followed in 2008, titled "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull". A fifth and final film, titled "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny", was theatrically released on June 30, 2023. The series was created by George Lucas. The first four films were directed by Steven Spielberg, who worked closely with Lucas during their production, while the fifth film was directed by James Mangold. In 1992, the franchise expanded to a television series with "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles", exploring the character in his childhood and youth, and including adventures with his parents.
Marvel Comics began publishing "The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones" in 1983, and Dark Horse Comics gained the comic book rights to the character in 1991. Novelizations of the films have been published, as well as many novels with original adventures, including a series of German novels by Wolfgang Hohlbein, twelve novels set before the films published by Bantam Books, and a series set during the character's childhood inspired by the television show. Numerous "Indiana Jones" video games have been released since 1982.
Background.
During 1973, George Lucas wrote "The Adventures of Indiana Smith". Like "Star Wars", it was an opportunity to create a modern version of the movie serials of the 1930s and 1940s. Lucas discussed the concept with Philip Kaufman, who worked with him for several weeks and decided upon the Ark of the Covenant as the MacGuffin. The project was stalled when Clint Eastwood hired Kaufman to write "The Outlaw Josey Wales". In May 1977, Lucas was in Maui, trying to escape the worldwide success of "Star Wars". His friend and colleague Steven Spielberg was also there, on vacation from work on "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". Spielberg told Lucas he was interested in making a James Bond film, but Lucas pitched him of an idea "better than James Bond", outlining the plot of "Raiders of the Lost Ark". Spielberg loved it, calling it "a James Bond film without the hardware", and had the character's surname changed to Jones. Spielberg and Lucas made a deal with Paramount Pictures for five "Indiana Jones" films.
Spielberg and Lucas aimed to make "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" much darker, because of their personal moods following their respective breakups and divorces. Lucas made the film a prequel because he did not want the Nazis to be the villains again. He had ideas regarding the Monkey King and a haunted castle, but eventually created the Sankara Stones, that would be used in the film. He hired Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz to write the script; he knew of their interest in Indian culture. The major scenes that were dropped from "Raiders of the Lost Ark" were included in this film: an escape using a giant rolling gong as a shield, a fall out of a plane in a raft, and a mine cart chase. For the third film, Spielberg revisited the Monkey King and haunted castle concepts, before Lucas suggested the Holy Grail. Spielberg had previously rejected this as too ethereal, but then devised a father-son story and decided that "The Grail that everybody seeks could be a metaphor for a son seeking reconciliation with a father and a father seeking reconciliation with a son."
Following the 1989 release of "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade", Lucas let the series end as he felt he could not think of a good plot device to drive the next installment and chose instead to produce "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles", which explored the character in his early years. Ford played Indiana in one episode, narrating his adventures in 1920 Chicago. When Lucas shot Ford's role in December 1992, he realized that the scene opened up the possibility of a film with an older Indiana set in the 1950s. The film could reflect a science fiction 1950s B-movie, with aliens as the plot device. Ford disliked the new angle, telling Lucas: "No way am I being in a Steven Spielberg movie like that." Spielberg himself, who depicted aliens in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial", resisted it. Lucas devised a story, which Jeb Stuart turned into a script from October 1993 to May 1994. Lucas wanted Indiana to get married, which would allow Henry Jones Sr. to return, expressing concern over whether his son is happy with what he has accomplished. After learning that Joseph Stalin was interested in psychic warfare, Lucas decided to have Russians as the villains and the aliens to have psychic powers. Following Stuart's next draft, Lucas hired "Last Crusade" writer Jeffrey Boam to write the next three versions, the last of which was completed in March 1996. Three months later, "Independence Day" was released, and Spielberg told Lucas he would not make another alien invasion film (or at least not until "War of the Worlds" in 2005). Lucas decided to focus on the "Star Wars" prequels instead.
In 2000, Spielberg's son asked when the next "Indiana Jones" film would be released, which made him interested in reviving the project. The same year, Ford, Lucas, Spielberg, Frank Marshall, and Kathleen Kennedy met during the American Film Institute's tribute to Ford, and decided they wanted to enjoy the experience of making an "Indiana Jones" film again. Spielberg also found returning to the series a respite from his many dark films during this period. Spielberg and Lucas discussed the central idea of a B-movie involving aliens, and Lucas suggested using crystal skulls to ground the idea. Lucas found these artifacts as fascinating as the Ark, and had intended to feature them for a "Young Indiana Jones" episode before the show's cancellation. M. Night Shyamalan was hired to write for an intended 2002 shoot, but he was overwhelmed by the task, and claimed it was difficult to get Ford, Spielberg, and Lucas to focus. Stephen Gaghan and Tom Stoppard were also approached.
Frank Darabont, who wrote various "Young Indiana Jones" episodes, was hired to write in May 2002. His script, titled "Indiana Jones and the City of Gods", was set in the 1950s, with ex-Nazis pursuing Jones. Spielberg conceived the idea because of real-life figures such as Juan Perón in Argentina, who allegedly protected Nazi war criminals. Darabont claimed Spielberg loved the script, but Lucas had issues with it, and decided to take over writing himself. Lucas and Spielberg acknowledged that the 1950s setting could not ignore the Cold War, and the Russians were more plausible villains. Spielberg decided he could not satirize the Nazis after directing "Schindler's List", while Ford felt "We plum[b] wore the Nazis out." Darabont's main contribution was reintroducing Marion Ravenwood as Indiana's love interest, but he gave them a 13-year-old daughter, which Spielberg decided was too similar to "".
Jeff Nathanson met with Spielberg and Lucas in August 2004, and turned in the next drafts in October and November 2005, titled "The Atomic Ants". David Koepp continued on from there, giving his script the subtitle "Destroyer of Worlds", based on the J. Robert Oppenheimer quote. It was changed to "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull", as Spielberg found this a more inviting title which actually named the plot device. Koepp wanted to depict the character of Mutt as a nerd, but Lucas refused, explaining he had to resemble Marlon Brando in "The Wild One"; "he needs to be what Indiana Jones's father thought of [him] – the curse returns in the form of his own son – he's everything a father can't stand". Koepp collaborated with Lawrence Kasdan on the film's "love dialogue".
Development of the fifth film began in 2008, but the project stalled for years. In 2012, The Walt Disney Company acquired Lucasfilm, the series' production company, thereby becoming the owner of the "Indiana Jones" intellectual property. The following year, Walt Disney Studios acquired the distribution and marketing rights to future "Indiana Jones" films, with Paramount retaining the distribution rights to the first four films and receiving "financial participation" from any additional films. Development on the film continued, eventually forming into "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny". The film was directed by James Mangold, who co-wrote the script with Jez and John-Henry Butterworth. Spielberg was initially set to direct the film, before passing it to Mangold. Spielberg instead served as an executive producer with Lucas, along with producers Kennedy and Marshall. Ford reprised the title role, along with Karen Allen and John Rhys-Davies and new cast members included Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Kretschmann, Boyd Holbrook, Shaunette Renée Wilson, Toby Jones and Antonio Banderas. The film was co-produced by Lucasfilm and Walt Disney Pictures, marking the first film in the series with Disney's involvement. Filming eventually began in the United Kingdom in June 2021 and wrapped in February 2022. It was Ford's last time playing the title character and is the last film in the franchise overall. "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" was released by Disney on June 30, 2023.
Films.
"Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981).
The first film is set in 1936. Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is hired by government agents to locate the Ark of the Covenant, the gold plated chest containing the stone tablets Moses used to inscribe the Ten Commandments before the Nazi Germans steal it for themselves. The Nazis have teams searching for religious artifacts, including the Ark, which is rumored to make an army that carries the Ark before it invincible. The Nazis are being helped by Indiana's arch-rival and French archaeologist René Belloq (Paul Freeman). With the help of his former lover and tough bar owner Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen) and his excavator friend Sallah (John Rhys-Davies), Indiana manages to recover the Ark in Egypt. The Nazis steal the Ark and capture Indiana and Marion. Belloq and the Nazis perform a ceremony to open the Ark, but when they do so, all they find inside is sand. Suddenly, spirits come out of the Ark and the Nazis are all killed by the Ark's wrath. Indiana and Marion, who survived by closing their eyes, manage to get the Ark to the United States, where it is stored in a secret government warehouse.
"Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" (1984).
The second film is a prequel set in 1935, a year before "Raiders of the Lost Ark". Indiana escapes Chinese gangsters led by Lao Che with the help of singer/actress Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw) and his twelve-year-old sidekick Short Round (Ke Huy Quan). The trio crash-land in India, where they come across a Punjabi village whose children have been kidnapped. The Thuggee cult led by Mola Ram (Amrish Puri) has also taken the holy Sankara Stones, which they will use to take over the world. Indiana manages to overcome Mola Ram's evil power, rescues the children and returns the stones to their rightful place, overcoming his own mercenary nature. The film has been noted as an outlier in the franchise, as it does not feature Indy's university or any antagonistic political entity, and is less focused on archaeology, being presented as a dark movie with gross-out elements, human sacrifice and torture.
"Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" (1989).
The third film is set in 1938. Indiana and his friend Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliott) are assigned by American businessman Walter Donovan (Julian Glover) to find the Holy Grail. They are teamed up with Dr. Elsa Schneider (Alison Doody), following on from where Indiana's estranged father Henry (Sean Connery) left off before he disappeared. It transpires that Donovan and Elsa are in league with the Nazis, who captured Henry Jones to get Indiana to help them find the Grail. However, Indiana recovers his father's diary filled with his research, and manages to rescue him before finding the location of the Grail. Both Donovan and Elsa fall to the temptation of the Grail, while Indiana and Henry realize that their relationship with each other is more important than finding the relic.
"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" (2008).
The fourth film is set in 1957, nineteen years after "The Last Crusade". Indiana is having a quiet life teaching before being thrust into a new adventure. He races against agents of the Soviet Union, led by Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett) for a crystal skull. His journey takes him across Nevada, Connecticut, Peru, and the Amazon rainforest in Brazil. Faced with betrayal by one of his best friends, Mac (Ray Winstone), Indiana is introduced to a greaser named Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf), who turns out to be his son (his real name revealed to be Henry Jones III), and is reunited with, and eventually marries, Marion Ravenwood, who was the lead female character introduced in the first movie.
"Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" (2023).
The fifth and concluding film is set in 1969, twelve years after "The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." Indiana has moved to New York City, teaching at Hunter College with plans to retire, after his marriage with Marion collapsed following Mutt's death in the Vietnam War. Once his estranged goddaughter Helena Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) arrives asking for Archimedes' Dial, a relic Jones and her father Basil (Toby Jones) retrieved from the Nazis in 1944 during the Allied liberation of Europe in World War II. A Nazi-turned-NASA scientist Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen) starts pursuing Jones, wanting to exploit the Dial's unusual properties to change the outcome of World War II. Indiana's journey takes him to Morocco, Greece, and Italy, where he inadvertently ends up traveling back in time to the 212 BC Siege of Syracuse after Voller uses the Dial to locate a time fissure in hopes of assassinating Adolf Hitler prior to the Invasion of Poland to usurp him and lead the Nazis to victory. Upon returning to New York in the present time, Indiana reconciles with Marion.
Television.
"The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles".
A television series titled "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles" (1992–1996) featured three incarnations of the character: Sean Patrick Flanery played Indiana aged 16–21; Corey Carrier played an 8- to 10-year-old version in several episodes; and George Hall narrated the show as the 93-year-old Jones, who bookended each episode. Lucas began developing the series in 1990 as "edutainment" that would be more cerebral than the films. The show was his first collaboration with producer Rick McCallum, and he wrote the stories for each episode. Writers and directors on the show included Carrie Fisher, Frank Darabont, Vic Armstrong, Ben Burtt, Terry Jones, Nicolas Roeg, Mike Newell and Joe Johnston. In the "Chronicles", Jones crosses paths with many historical figures, played by stars such as Daniel Craig, Christopher Lee, Bob Peck, Jeffrey Wright, Marc Warren, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Elizabeth Hurley, Anne Heche, Vanessa Redgrave, Julian Fellowes, Timothy Spall and Harrison Ford as a 50-year-old Indiana in one episode (taking the usual place of Hall).
The show was filmed in over 25 countries for over 150 weeks. Season one was shot from March 1991 to March 1992; the second season began two months later and wrapped in April 1993. The ABC network was unsure of Lucas's cerebral approach, and attempted to advertise the series as an action-adventure like the films. Ratings were good if unspectacular, and ABC was nervous enough to put the show on hiatus after six episodes until September 1992. With only four episodes left of the second season to air, ABC eventually sold the show to the Family Channel, who changed the format from 50-minute episodes to 90-minute TV movies. Filming for the final four episodes took place from January 1994 to May 1996. "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles" received a mixed reception from fans, although it won 10 Emmy Awards out of 23 nominations, as well as a 1994 Golden Globe nomination for Best Drama series. It was also an experimentation ground in digital effects for Lucasfilm.
The original broadcast versions of some episodes were briefly released in Japan on laserdisc in 1993 and on VHS in 1994. However, Lucas re-edited and restructured the show for its worldwide home video release. Major structural changes were made, including the complete removal of the 'bookend' sections narrated by the 93-year-old Jones. The editing combined episodes together into creating roughly an hour and a half movies to streamline the series into a more consistent structure. Approximately half of the series was released on VHS in various markets around the world in 1999, but the entire series was not released until its DVD debut, in a series of three boxsets released from 2007 to 2008, to tie in with the theatrical debut of "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull". Among other extras, the DVDs include approximately 100 new historical featurettes.
Proposed Disney+ series.
In November 2022, it was reported that Lucasfilm was developing an "Indiana Jones" series for Disney+. The series was set to be a prequel to "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and would have been the second prequel series following "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles". However, by March 2023, Lucasfilm was reported to have canceled the planned prequel series to focus on the "Star Wars" franchise, this being similarly cited as the reason behind the cancellation of the fellow non-"Star Wars" Lucasfilm show "Willow". On May 11, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy expressed interest in continuing the "Indiana Jones" franchise through a television series centering on characters aside from Jones, due to Harrison Ford retiring from the role after "Dial of Destiny".
Reception.
Accolades.
The series has been nominated for 14 Academy Awards, of which they have won 7. "Raiders of the Lost Ark" was also given a Special Achievement Award for Best Sound Effects Editing.
Other media.
Novels.
A novelization of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" was written by Campbell Black and published by Ballantine Books in April 1981. It was followed by "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom", written by James Kahn and published by Ballantine in May 1984. Finally, "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" was published in May 1989, and was the first "Indiana Jones" novel by Rob MacGregor. A fan of the first two films, MacGregor admitted that writing the novelization made him "somewhat disappointed" with the third film, as he had expanded the script whereas Steven Spielberg had cut scenes to tighten the story.
George Lucas asked MacGregor to continue writing original novels for Bantam Books. These were geared toward an adult or young adult audience, and were prequels set in the 1920s or early 1930s after Jones graduates from college. Of the film characters, Lucas only permitted Marcus Brody to appear. He asked MacGregor to base the books on real myths, but except for the deletion of a sex scene, the writer was given total creative freedom. His six books – "Indiana Jones and the Peril at Delphi", "Indiana Jones and the Dance of the Giants", "Indiana Jones and the Seven Veils", "Indiana Jones and the Genesis Deluge", "Indiana Jones and the Unicorn's Legacy", and "Indiana Jones and the Interior World" – were published from February 1991 to November 1992. "The Genesis Deluge", published in February 1992 and featuring Noah's Ark, was the bestselling novel; MacGregor felt this was because it "had a strong following among religious-oriented people [...] because they tend to take the Noah's Ark story to heart and think of it as history and archaeological fact, rather than myth." MacGregor's favorite book was "The Seven Veils", which featured real-life explorer Percy Fawcett and the death of Indiana's wife, Deirdre Campbell.
Martin Caidin wrote the next two novels in Bantam's series, "Indiana Jones and the Sky Pirates" and "Indiana Jones and the White Witch". These feature Gale Parker as Indiana's sidekick; they introduced afterwords to the series, regarding each novel's historical context.
Caidin became ill, so Max McCoy took over in 1995 and wrote the final four novels: "Indiana Jones and the Philosopher's Stone", "Indiana Jones and the Dinosaur Eggs", "Indiana Jones and the Hollow Earth", and "Indiana Jones and the Secret of the Sphinx". McCoy set his books closer in time to the events of "Raiders of the Lost Ark", which led to his characterizing Indiana as "a bit darker". The prologue of his first book featured a crystal skull, and this became a recurring story, concluding when Jones gives it up in the final novel. Lucas's involvement with McCoy's novels was limited, although Lucasfilm censored sexual or outlandish elements to make the books appeal to younger readers; they also rejected the theme of time travel in the final book. Sallah, Lao Che, Rene Belloq and the Nazis made appearances, and McCoy also pitted Jones against Benito Mussolini's fascists and the Japanese. Jones also has a doomed romance with Alecia Dunstin, a librarian at the British Museum. A novel involving the Spear of Destiny was dropped, because Dark Horse Comics was developing the idea.
The books were only published in paperback, as the series editor felt readers would not be prepared to pay the hardback price for an adventure novel.
In February 2008, the novelizations of the first three films were published in one edition; James Rollins' "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" novelization arrived the following May. Children's novelizations of all four films were published by Scholastic in 2008.
MacGregor was said to be writing new books for Ballantine for early 2009, but none have been published.
A new adult adventure, "Indiana Jones and the Army of the Dead" by Steve Perry, was released in September 2009.
A novel based on the video game "Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings", written by MacGregor to coincide with the release of the game, was canceled due to problems around the game's production.
Additionally, German author Wolfgang Hohlbein wrote eight "Indiana Jones" novels in the early 1990s, which were never translated to English.
List of novels.
All of the following were published by Bantam Books, with the exception of "Army of the Dead", which was published by Del Rey.
Indiana Jones novels by Wolfgang Hohlbein:
Children's novels.
"Find Your Fate".
Ballantine Books published a number of Indiana Jones books in the "Find Your Fate" line, written by various authors. These books were similar to the "Choose Your Own Adventure" series, allowing the reader to select from options that change the outcome of the story. Indiana Jones books comprised 11 of the 17 releases in the line, which was initially titled "Find Your Fate Adventure".
Scholastic.
In 2008, Scholastic released a series of middle-grade novels based on the stories and screenplays. Each book of this edition included several pages of color stills from filming.
In May 2009, two new middle-grade books were to begin a new series of "Untold Adventures", though no further books appeared.
"Young Indiana Jones".
In the early 1990s, different book series featured childhood and young adult adventures of Indiana Jones in the early decades of the century. Not all were directly tied to the "Young Indiana Jones Chronicles" TV series.
Random House.
The following books are set in Indy's mid- to late-teen years.
Random House.
These books were novelizations of episodes of the TV series. Some feature Indy around age 8; others have him age 16–18.
Bantam Books.
These are labeled "Choose Your Own Adventure" books. Like the TV series, some feature Indy around age 8, others age 16–18.
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles:
Ballantine Books.
Young Indiana Jones:
Comic books.
Indiana Jones has appeared in numerous comic books, from two different publishers. Marvel Comics initially held the comic book licensing rights, leading to adaptations of the films "Raiders of the Lost Ark", "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom", and "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade". Following the "Raiders of the Lost Ark" adaptation, Marvel published "The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones" from 1983 to 1986. This ongoing monthly series ran for thirty-four issues and featured the character's first original adventures in comic book form.
After Marvel's licensing of the character ended, Dark Horse Comics acquired publishing rights and adapted the "Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis" video game. From 1992 to 1996, following the "Fate of Atlantis" adaptation, Dark Horse published seven limited series, as well comics based on "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles" television series. In 2004, Indiana Jones appeared in the non-canon story, "Into the Great Unknown", first published in "Star Wars Tales" #19. The story sees Indiana Jones and Short Round discover a crashed "Millennium Falcon" in the Pacific Northwest, along with Han Solo's skeleton and the realization that a rumored nearby Sasquatch is in fact Chewbacca. With the franchise's revival in 2008, Dark Horse published an adaptation of "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull". Dark Horse followed this with "Indiana Jones Adventures", a short-lived series of digest-sized comics aimed at children. An additional limited series, titled "Indiana Jones and the Tomb of the Gods", was also published from 2008 to 2009.
Video games.
Since the release of the original film, there have been a number of video games based on the Indiana Jones series. These include both games based on (or derived from) the films, as well as those featuring the characters in new storylines.
Theme park attractions.
Prior to Disney's acquisition, George Lucas collaborated with Walt Disney Imagineering on several occasions to create "Indiana Jones" attractions for Disney Experiences worldwide. "Indiana Jones"-themed attractions and appearances at Disney theme parks include:
Toy lines.
For the holiday season following the June 1981 debut of "Raiders of the Lost Ark", Kenner produced a 12-inch-tall "Authentically styled Action Figure" of Indiana Jones. The next spring they delivered nine smaller-scale (3") action figures, three playsets, replicas of the German desert convoy truck and Jones's horse, all derived from the "Raiders" movie. They also offered a "Raiders" board game.
In conjunction with the theatrical release of "The Temple of Doom" in 1984, TSR, Inc. released miniature metal versions of twelve characters from both films for a role playing game. LJN Toys Ltd. also released action figures of Jones, Mola Ram, and the Giant Thugee.
No toys were produced to tie in with "The Last Crusade" in 1989.
Hasbro released toys based on "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" in 2008. Further figures, including characters from "The Temple of Doom" and "The Last Crusade", followed later in the year, but were distributed on a very limited basis. This line of toys included 3-inch and 12-inch figures, vehicles, a playset, and a series of "Adventure Heroes" aimed at young children. Hasbro announced the cancellation of the line in the fall of 2008, due to decreasing sales, although some figures continued to be released up until the 2011 San Diego Comic Convention.
Sideshow Collectibles, Gentle Giant, Diamond Select Toys and Kotobukiya also earned Indiana Jones licensing rights in 2008. Lego released eight play sets to coincide with the fourth film, based on "Raiders" and "The Last Crusade" as well as on "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"
Merchandise featuring franchise cross-overs include a Mr. Potato Head "Taters of the Lost Ark" set by Hasbro, Mickey Mouse as Indiana Jones, and a Muppets-branded Adventure Kermit action figure, produced by Palisades Toys and based on the frog's appearance in the Disney World stunt show as seen in "The Muppets at Walt Disney World".
Disney Vinylmation introduced a series based on "Indiana Jones" characters in 2014.
Hasbro also made the "Adventure Series" line in 2023 to go alongside the release of "Dial of Destiny". This line included figures from the original trilogy as well as the new film.
Role-playing games.
There have been two publications of role-playing games based on the Indiana Jones franchise. "The Adventures of Indiana Jones Role-Playing Game" was designed and published by TSR, Inc. under license in 1984. Ten years later, West End Games acquired the rights to publish their own version, "The World of Indiana Jones".
Pinball.
A pinball machine based on the first three films was released in 1993. Stern Pinball released a new pinball machine based on the series in 2008, which featured all four movies.
References.
Citations
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4e8692d5dbf340b288e2549b690b96ab
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Mary Poppins
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Mary Poppins is a fictional character and the eponymous protagonist of P. L. Travers' books of the same name along with all of their adaptations. A magical English nanny, she blows in on the east wind and arrives at the Banks home at Number 17 Cherry Tree Lane, London, where she is given charge of the Banks children and teaches them valuable lessons with a magical touch.[1] Travers gives Poppins the accent and vocabulary of a real London nanny: cockney base notes overlaid with a strangled gentility.[2]
Julie Andrews, who played the character in the 1964 film adaptation, received an Academy Award for Best Actress. British film magazine Empire included Poppins (as played by Andrews) in their 2011 list of 100 greatest movie characters.[3] Acclaimed for her performance as Poppins in the 2018 sequel, Emily Blunt received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical.[4] In the 2004 musical adaptation in the West End, Laura Michelle Kelly received the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance as Poppins.
Description of character
A quintessential English nanny, Mary Poppins is a slightly stern but caring woman, who uses magic and self-control to take care of the Banks children.[1] She is usually identifiable by her sensible hat and parrot umbrella, which she brings with her wherever she goes on outings; she also has the power to teleport to a place she wants. She is kind towards the children, but can be firm when needed. She is "practically perfect in every way". In the film version, she is a young woman, with an air of grace and elegance about her.
Author P. L. Travers was very firm about Mary Poppins' appearance in the novel's illustrations, working closely with illustrator Mary Shepard to create an image of the character. Eventually they based Mary Poppins' appearance on that of a Dutch doll: tall and bony, with short black hair, large blue eyes, a snub nose, and a prim, pursed mouth. Travers originally objected to the casting of Julie Andrews as Mary Poppins, claiming that Andrews was too attractive for the role; however, upon meeting Andrews in person for the first time, Travers allegedly examined the actress for a few moments before conceding, "Well, you've the nose for it."[5]
Books
Main article: Mary Poppins (book series)
Mary Poppins as imagined by the illustrator of the book series, Mary Shepard, for the first volume
Mary Poppins in Travers' books is strict and no-nonsense, asserting her unusual brand of discipline over the four (later five) Banks children in her charge. Mary is very vain and is always admiring herself in the mirror and other reflections. She constantly lectures the children for their "bad" behaviour, especially when they point out the magical things she does, for she constantly denies she is anything but a prim and proper lady. Mary only shows her gentler side around her friends, among them the Matchman (Bert), Mrs. Corry, and Nellie-Rubina.
Mary has many relatives, each with their own supernatural or otherwise eccentric nature, at least one of whom appears in each book. She appears to be well known to every sort of magical entity (sorcerers, talking animals, etc.) that appear in the books, some of whom love her dearly and others who are quite terrified of her. Some characters, most notably an impudent jackdaw seen in the first two books, call her "The Great Exception", meaning, among other things, that she is the only human being who has retained the magical secrets infants possess (such as the power to communicate with animals) until they grow up and forget about them. Some of her adventures occur in London, others in strange realms, which later writers might identify as magical dimensions. In literary terms, she might be described as a character who exists in every conceivable fantasy genre (gothic, mythic, urban, etc.) at once: there are many strange people and phenomena in the world, but only Mary Poppins is familiar with them all. In the first book, Poppins arrives at Number Seventeen Cherry Tree Lane, London, home of the Banks family, with her travelling carpet bag, having been blown in by the east wind. She departs when she opens her umbrella, and the west wind carries her away.
Films
Mary Poppins in the Disney film, as portrayed by Julie Andrews, is also fairly stern but at the same time more gentle, cheerful, and nurturing of the two Banks children, of whom she is in charge. Mary also has a friendship with Bert (Dick Van Dyke), a jack-of-all-trades, who is quite at home with Mary's brand of magic. She also is less vain and selfish (although there are a couple of references to her vanity when she replaces a dingy wall mirror with a more elegant one and sings a duet with her reflection), and far more sympathetic towards the two children than the nanny in the original stories. Emily Blunt portrayed Mary Poppins in the sequel Mary Poppins Returns.[6][7]
Stage musical
"Even though it's set in Edwardian London, it's about family, and it's about appreciating one another. And that is kind of timeless, it's at the core of everyone's life to love and appreciate each other."
—Zizi Strallen (who plays Mary Poppins in the West End musical), speaking to the BBC in 2019.[8]
In both the West End and Broadway versions of the stage musical, the Mary Poppins character is more deliberately mysterious than in the movie version. She is slightly stricter with the children (who are also naughtier than their book and movie counterparts), but only because she wants them to become the best they can be. Mary in the stage version is also more aware of Bert's feelings towards her.
Development
Mary Poppins first appeared in the short story "Mary Poppins and the Match Man" in 1926 and in several early bits and pieces of the first novel.[9] P. L. Travers later changed the story of the character's origins, stating that it appeared fully formed in her mind in 1934.[9]
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5e731629d24444968f08b91dabe071a8
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Harry Potter
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Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young wizard, Harry Potter, and his friends, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The main story arc concerns Harry's conflict with Lord Voldemort, a dark wizard who intends to become immortal, overthrow the wizard governing body known as the Ministry of Magic, and subjugate all wizards and Muggles (non-magical people).
The series was originally published in English by Bloomsbury in the United Kingdom and Scholastic Press in the United States. A series of many genres, including fantasy, drama, coming-of-age fiction, and the British school story (which includes elements of mystery, thriller, adventure, horror, and romance), the world of "Harry Potter" explores numerous themes and includes many cultural meanings and references. Major themes in the series include prejudice, corruption, madness, love, and death.
Since the release of the first novel, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", on 26 June 1997, the books have found immense popularity and commercial success worldwide. They have attracted a wide adult audience as well as younger readers and are widely considered cornerstones of modern literature, though the books have received mixed reviews from critics and literary scholars. , the books have sold more than 600 million copies worldwide, making them the best-selling book series in history, available in dozens of languages. The last four books all set records as the fastest-selling books in history, with the final instalment selling roughly 2.7 million copies in the United Kingdom and 8.3 million copies in the United States within twenty-four hours of its release.
Warner Bros. Pictures adapted the original seven books into an eight-part namesake film series. In 2016, the total value of the "Harry Potter" franchise was estimated at $25 billion, making it one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time. "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" is a play based on a story co-written by Rowling.
The success of the books and films has allowed the "Harry Potter" franchise to expand with numerous derivative works, a travelling exhibition that premiered in Chicago in 2009, a studio tour in London that opened in 2012, a digital platform on which J. K. Rowling updates the series with new information and insight, and a trilogy of spin-off films premiering in November 2016 with "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them", among many other developments. Themed attractions, collectively known as The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, have been built at several Universal Destinations & Experiences amusement parks around the world.
Plot.
Early years.
The series follows the life of a boy named Harry Potter. In the first book, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" in the US), Harry lives in a cupboard under the stairs in the house of the Dursleys, his aunt, uncle and cousin, who all treat him poorly. At the age of 11, Harry discovers that he is a wizard. He meets a half-giant named Hagrid who gives him a letter of acceptance to attend the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry learns that his parents, Lily and James Potter, also had magical powers and were murdered by the dark wizard Lord Voldemort when Harry was a baby. When Voldemort attempted to kill Harry, his curse rebounded, seemingly killing Voldemort, and Harry survived with a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. The event made Harry famous among the community of wizards and witches.
Harry becomes a student at Hogwarts and is sorted into Gryffindor House. He gains the friendship of Ron Weasley, a member of a large but poor wizarding family, and Hermione Granger, a witch of non-magical, or Muggle, parentage. The trio develop an enmity with the rich pure-blood student Draco Malfoy. Harry encounters the school's headmaster, Albus Dumbledore; the potions professor, Severus Snape, who displays a dislike for him; and the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Quirinus Quirrell. Quirrell turns out to be allied with Voldemort, who is still alive as a weak spirit. The first book concludes with Harry's confrontation with Voldemort, who, in his quest to regain a body, yearns to possess the Philosopher's Stone, a substance that bestows everlasting life.
"Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" describes Harry's second year at Hogwarts. Students are attacked and petrified by an unknown creature; wizards of Muggle parentage are the primary targets. The attacks appear related to the mythical Chamber of Secrets and resemble attacks fifty years earlier. Harry discovers an ability to speak the snake language Parseltongue, which he learns is rare and associated with the Dark Arts. When Hermione is attacked and Ron's younger sister, Ginny Weasley, abducted, Harry and Ron uncover the chamber's secrets and enter it. Harry discovers that Ginny was possessed by an old diary, inside which the memory of Tom Marvolo Riddle, Voldemort's younger self, resides. On Voldemort's behalf, Ginny opened the chamber and unleashed the basilisk, an ancient monster that kills or petrifies those who make direct or indirect eye contact, respectively. With the help of Dumbledore's phoenix, Fawkes, and the Sword of Gryffindor, Harry slays the basilisk and destroys the diary.
In the third novel, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban", Harry learns that he is targeted by Sirius Black, an escaped convict who allegedly assisted in his parents' murder. Dementors, creatures that feed on despair, search for Sirius and guard the school. As Harry struggles with his reaction to the dementors, he reaches out to Remus Lupin, a new professor who teaches him the Patronus charm. On a windy night, Ron is dragged by a black dog into the Shrieking Shack, a haunted house, and Harry and Hermione follow. The dog is revealed to be Sirius Black. Lupin enters the shack and explains that Sirius was James Potter's best friend; he was framed by another friend of James, Peter Pettigrew, who hides as Ron's pet rat, Scabbers. As the full moon rises, Lupin transforms into a werewolf and bounds away, and the group chase after him. They are surrounded by dementors, but are saved by a figure resembling James who casts a stag Patronus. This is later revealed to be a future version of Harry, who traveled back in time with Hermione using a device called a Time Turner. The duo help Sirius escape on a Hippogriff, while Pettigrew escapes.
Voldemort returns.
In Harry's fourth year of school (detailed in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"), Hogwarts hosts the Triwizard Tournament, a contest between Hogwarts and the schools Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. Harry is unwillingly entered into the contest, becoming Hogwarts' second participant after Cedric Diggory, an unusual occurrence that causes his friends to distance themselves from him. Harry claims the Triwizard Cup with Cedric, but he is teleported to a graveyard where Pettigrew kills Cedric, then resurrects Voldemort using Harry's blood. Voldemort convenes his supporters, the Death Eaters, and Harry manages to escape after a duel with Voldemort. Upon returning to Hogwarts, it is revealed that a Death Eater, Barty Crouch, Jr, in disguise as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, engineered Harry's entry into the tournament, secretly helped him, and had him teleported to Voldemort.
In the fifth book, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix", the Ministry of Magic refuses to believe that Voldemort has returned. Dumbledore re-activates the Order of the Phoenix, a secret society to counter Voldemort; meanwhile, the Ministry tightens control of Hogwarts by appointing Dolores Umbridge as High Inquisitor of Hogwarts, and she gradually increases her powers. When Umbridge bans practical teaching of Defence Against the Dark Arts, Harry, Ron and Hermione form "Dumbledore's Army", a secret group to continue the teachings. Harry has recurring dreams of a dark corridor in the Ministry of Magic, eventually dreaming that Sirius is being tortured there. He races to the Ministry with his friends, but it is a trap, planted in his head by Voldemort. The group are attacked by Death Eaters and saved by the Order of the Phoenix, but Sirius is killed in the battle. A duel between Dumbledore and Voldemort convinces the ministry of Voldemort's return. A prophecy concerning Harry and Voldemort is revealed: one must die at the hands of the other.
In the sixth book, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince", Snape teaches Defence Against the Dark Arts while Horace Slughorn becomes the Potions master. Harry finds an old textbook with annotations by the Half-Blood Prince, due to which he achieves success in Potions class. Harry also takes lessons with Dumbledore, viewing memories about the early life of Voldemort in a device called a Pensieve. Harry learns from a drunken Slughorn that he used to teach Tom Riddle, and that Voldemort divided his soul into pieces, creating a series of Horcruxes. Harry and Dumbledore travel to a distant lake to destroy a Horcrux; they succeed, but Dumbledore weakens. On their return, they find Draco Malfoy and Death Eaters attacking the school. The book ends with the killing of Dumbledore by Professor Snape, the titular Half-Blood Prince.
In "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows", the seventh and final novel in the series, Lord Voldemort gains control of the Ministry of Magic. Harry, Ron and Hermione learn about the Deathly Hallows, legendary items that lead to mastery over death. The group infiltrates the ministry, where they steal a locket Horcrux, and visit Godric's Hollow, where they are attacked by Nagini, Voldemort's snake. A silver doe Patronus leads them to the Sword of Gryffindor, with which they destroy the locket. They steal a Horcrux from Gringotts and travel to Hogwarts, culminating in a battle with the Death Eaters. Snape is killed by Voldemort out of paranoia, but he lends Harry his memories before he dies. Harry learns that Snape was always loyal to Dumbledore, and that Harry is himself a Horcrux. Harry surrenders to Voldemort and is killed. The defenders of Hogwarts continue to fight on; Harry is resurrected, faces Voldemort and kills him.
An epilogue titled "Nineteen Years Later" describes the lives of the surviving characters and the impact of Voldemort's death. Harry and Ginny are married with three children, and Ron and Hermione are married with two children.
Style and allusions.
Genre and style.
The novels fall into the genre of fantasy literature, and qualify as a type of fantasy called "urban fantasy", "contemporary fantasy", or "low fantasy". They are mainly dramas, and maintain a fairly serious and dark tone throughout, though they do contain some notable instances of tragicomedy and black humour. In many respects, they are also examples of the "bildungsroman", or coming of age novel, and contain elements of mystery, adventure, horror, thriller, and romance. The books are also, in the words of Stephen King, "shrewd mystery tales", and each book is constructed in the manner of a Sherlock Holmes-style mystery adventure. The stories are told from a third person limited point of view with very few exceptions (such as the opening chapters of "Philosopher's Stone", "Goblet of Fire" and "Deathly Hallows" and the first two chapters of "Half-Blood Prince").
The series can be considered part of the British children's boarding school genre, which includes Rudyard Kipling's "Stalky & Co.", Enid Blyton's "Malory Towers", "St. Clare's" and the "Naughtiest Girl" series, and Frank Richards's "Billy Bunter" novels: the "Harry Potter" books are predominantly set in Hogwarts, a fictional British boarding school for wizards, where the curriculum includes the use of magic. In this sense they are "in a direct line of descent from Thomas Hughes's "Tom Brown's School Days" and other Victorian and Edwardian novels of British public school life", though they are, as many note, more contemporary, grittier, darker, and more mature than the typical boarding school novel, addressing serious themes of death, love, loss, prejudice, coming-of-age, and the loss of innocence in a 1990s British setting.
In "Harry Potter", Rowling juxtaposes the extraordinary against the ordinary. Her narrative features two worlds: a contemporary world inhabited by non-magical people called Muggles, and another featuring wizards. It differs from typical portal fantasy in that its magical elements stay grounded in the mundane. Paintings move and talk; books bite readers; letters shout messages; and maps show live journeys, making the wizarding world both exotic and familiar. This blend of realistic and romantic elements extends to Rowling's characters. Their names are often onomatopoeic: Malfoy is difficult, Filch is unpleasant, and Lupin is a werewolf. Harry is ordinary and relatable, with down-to-earth features such as wearing broken glasses; the scholar Roni Natov terms him an "everychild". These elements serve to highlight Harry when he is heroic, making him both an everyman and a fairytale hero.
Each of the seven books is set over the course of one school year. Harry struggles with the problems he encounters, and dealing with them often involves the need to violate some school rules. If students are caught breaking rules, they are often disciplined by Hogwarts professors. The stories reach their climax in the summer term, near or just after final exams, when events escalate far beyond in-school squabbles and struggles, and Harry must confront either Voldemort or one of his followers, the Death Eaters, with the stakes a matter of life and death—a point underlined, as the series progresses, by characters being killed in each of the final four books. In the aftermath, he learns important lessons through exposition and discussions with head teacher and mentor Albus Dumbledore. The only exception to this school-centred setting is the final novel, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows", in which Harry and his friends spend most of their time away from Hogwarts, and only return there to face Voldemort at the "dénouement".
Allusions.
The "Harry Potter" stories feature imagery and motifs drawn from Arthurian myth and fairytales. Harry's ability to draw the Sword of Gryffindor from the Sorting Hat resembles the Arthurian sword in the stone legend. His life with the Dursleys has been compared to Cinderella. Hogwarts resembles a medieval university-cum-castle with several professors who belong to an Order of Merlin; Old Professor Binns still lectures about the International Warlock Convention of 1289; and a real historical person, a 14th-century scribe, Sir Nicolas Flamel, is described as a holder of the Philosopher's Stone. Other medieval elements in Hogwarts include coats-of-arms and medieval weapons on the walls, letters written on parchment and sealed with wax, the Great Hall of Hogwarts, which is similar to the Great Hall of Camelot, the use of Latin phrases, the tents put up for Quidditch tournaments, which are similar to the "marvellous tents" put up for knightly tournaments, imaginary animals like dragons and unicorns that exist around Hogwarts, and the banners with heraldic animals for the four Houses of Hogwarts.
Many of the motifs of the Potter stories, such as the hero's quest invoking objects that confer invisibility, magical animals and trees, a forest full of danger and the recognition of a character based upon scars, are drawn from medieval French Arthurian romances. Other aspects borrowed from French Arthurian romances include the use of owls as messengers, werewolves as characters, and white deer. The American scholars Heather Arden and Kathrn Lorenz in particular argue that many aspects of the Potter stories are inspired by a 14th-century French Arthurian romance, "Claris et Laris", writing of the "startling" similarities between the adventures of Potter and the knight Claris. Arden and Lorenz noted that Rowling graduated from the University of Exeter in 1986 with a degree in French literature and spent a year living in France afterwards.
Like C. S. Lewis's "The Chronicles of Narnia", "Harry Potter" also contains Christian symbolism and allegory. The series has been viewed as a Christian moral fable in the psychomachia tradition, in which stand-ins for good and evil fight for supremacy over a person's soul. Children's literature critic Joy Farmer sees parallels between Harry and Jesus Christ. Comparing Rowling with Lewis, she argues that "magic is both authors' way of talking about spiritual reality". According to Maria Nikolajeva, Christian imagery is particularly strong in the final scenes of the series: Harry dies in self-sacrifice and Voldemort delivers an "ecce homo" speech, after which Harry is resurrected and defeats his enemy.
Rowling stated that she did not reveal "Harry Potter"s religious parallels in the beginning because doing so would have "give[n] too much away to fans who might then see the parallels". In the final book of the series, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows", Rowling makes the book's Christian imagery more explicit, quoting both and (King James Version) when Harry visits his parents' graves. Hermione Granger teaches Harry Potter that the meaning of these verses from the Christian Bible are "living beyond death. Living after death", which Rowling states "epitomize the whole series". Rowling also exhibits Christian values in developing Albus Dumbledore as a God-like character, the divine, trusted leader of the series, guiding the long-suffering hero along his quest. In the seventh novel, Harry speaks with and questions the deceased Dumbledore much like a person of faith would talk to and question God.
Themes.
"Harry Potter" overarching theme is death. In the first book, when Harry looks into the Mirror of Erised, he feels both joy and "a terrible sadness" at seeing his desire: his parents, alive and with him. Confronting their loss is central to Harry's character arc and manifests in different ways through the series, such as in his struggles with Dementors. Other characters in Harry's life die; he even faces his own death in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows". The series has an existential perspective—Harry must grow mature enough to accept death. In Harry's world, death is not binary but mutable, a state that exists in degrees. Unlike Voldemort, who evades death by separating and hiding his soul in seven parts, Harry's soul is whole, nourished by friendship and love.
Love distinguishes Harry and Voldemort. Harry is a hero because he loves others, even willing to accept death to save them; Voldemort is a villain because he does not. Harry carries the protection of his mother's sacrifice in his blood; Voldemort, who wants Harry's blood and the protection it carries, does not understand that love vanquishes death.
Rowling has spoken about thematising death and loss in the series. Soon after she started writing "Philosopher's Stone", her mother died; she said that "I really think from that moment on, death became a central, if not the central theme of the seven books". Rowling has described Harry as "the prism through which I view death", and further stated that "all of my characters are defined by their attitude to death and the possibility of death".
While "Harry Potter" can be viewed as a story about good vs. evil, its moral divisions are not absolute. First impressions of characters are often misleading. Harry assumes in the first book that Quirrell is on the side of good because he opposes Snape, who appears to be malicious; in reality, Quirrell is an agent of Voldemort, while Snape is loyal to Dumbledore. This pattern later recurs with Moody and Snape. In Rowling's world, good and evil are choices rather than inherent attributes: second chances and the possibility of redemption are key themes of the series. This is reflected in Harry's self-doubts after learning his connections to Voldemort, such as Parseltongue; and prominently in Snape's characterisation, which has been described as complex and multifaceted. In some scholars' view, while Rowling's narrative appears on the surface to be about Harry, her focus may actually be on Snape's morality and character arc.
Rowling said that, to her, the moral significance of the tales seems "blindingly obvious". In the fourth book, Dumbledore speaks of a "choice between what is right and what is easy"; Rowling views this as a key theme, "because that ... is how tyranny is started, with people being apathetic and taking the easy route and suddenly finding themselves in deep trouble".
Academics and journalists have developed many other interpretations of themes in the books, some more complex than others, and some including political subtexts. Themes such as normality, oppression, survival, and overcoming imposing odds have all been considered as prevalent throughout the series. Similarly, the theme of making one's way through adolescence and "going over one's most harrowing ordeals—and thus coming to terms with them" has also been considered. Rowling has stated that the books comprise "a prolonged argument for tolerance, a prolonged plea for an end to bigotry" and that they also pass on a message to "question authority and... not assume that the establishment or the press tells you all of the truth".
Development history.
In 1990, Rowling was on a crowded train from Manchester to London when the idea for Harry suddenly "fell into" her head. Rowling gives an account of the experience on her website saying:
Rowling completed "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" in 1995 and the manuscript was sent off to several prospective agents. The second agent she tried, Christopher Little, offered to represent her and sent the manuscript to several publishers.
Publishing history.
After twelve other publishers had rejected "Philosopher's Stone", Bloomsbury agreed to publish the book. Despite Rowling's statement that she did not have any particular age group in mind when beginning to write the "Harry Potter" books, the publishers initially targeted children aged nine to eleven. On the eve of publishing, Rowling was asked by her publishers to adopt a more gender-neutral pen name in order to appeal to the male members of this age group, fearing that they would not be interested in reading a novel they knew to be written by a woman. She elected to use J. K. Rowling (Joanne Kathleen Rowling), using her grandmother's name as her second name because she has no middle name.
"Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" was published by Bloomsbury, the publisher of all "Harry Potter" books in the United Kingdom, on 26 June 1997. It was released in the United States on 1 September 1998 by Scholastic—the American publisher of the books—as "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone", after the American rights sold for US$105,000—a record amount for a children's book by an unknown author. Scholastic feared that American readers would not associate the word "philosopher" with magic, and Rowling suggested the title "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" for the American market. Rowling has later said that she regrets the change.
The second book, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets", was originally published in the UK on 2 July 1998 and in the US on 2 June 1999. "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" was published a year later in the UK on 8 July 1999 and in the US on 8 September 1999. "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" was published on 8 July 2000 at the same time by Bloomsbury and Scholastic. "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" is the longest book in the series, at 766 pages in the UK version and 870 pages in the US version. It was published worldwide in English on 21 June 2003. "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" was published on 16 July 2005. The seventh and final novel, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows", was published on 21 July 2007. Rowling herself has stated that the last chapter of the final book (in fact, the epilogue) was completed "in something like 1990".
Rowling retained rights to digital editions and released them on the Pottermore website in 2012. Vendors such as Amazon displayed the ebooks in the form of links to Pottermore, which controlled pricing. All seven "Harry Potter" novels have been released in unabridged audiobook versions, with Stephen Fry reading the British editions and Jim Dale voicing the series for the American editions. On Audible, the series has been listened, as of November 2022, for over a billion hours.
Translations.
The series has been translated into more than 80 languages, placing Rowling among the most translated authors in history. The books have seen translations to diverse languages such as Korean, Armenian, Ukrainian, Arabic, Urdu, Hindi, Bengali, Bulgarian, Welsh, Afrikaans, Albanian, Latvian, Vietnamese and Hawaiian. The first volume has been translated into Latin and even Ancient Greek, making it the longest published work in Ancient Greek since the novels of Heliodorus of Emesa in the 3rd century AD. The second volume has also been translated into Latin.
Some of the translators hired to work on the books were well-known authors before their work on "Harry Potter", such as Viktor Golyshev, who oversaw the Russian translation of the series' fifth book. The Turkish translation of books two to seven was undertaken by Sevin Okyay, a popular literary critic and cultural commentator. For reasons of secrecy, translation on a given book could only start after it had been released in English, leading to a lag of several months before the translations were available. This led to more and more copies of the English editions being sold to impatient fans in non-English speaking countries; for example, such was the clamour to read "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" that its English language edition became the first English-language book ever to top the best-seller list in France.
The United States editions were adapted into American English to make them more understandable to a young American audience.
Cover art.
For cover art, Bloomsbury chose painted art in a classic style of design, with the first cover a watercolour and pencil drawing by illustrator Thomas Taylor showing Harry boarding the Hogwarts Express, and a title in the font Cochin Bold. The first releases of the successive books in the series followed in the same style but somewhat more realistic, illustrating scenes from the books. These covers were created by first Cliff Wright and then Jason Cockroft.
Due to the appeal of the books among an adult audience, Bloomsbury commissioned a second line of editions in an 'adult' style. These initially used black-and-white photographic art for the covers showing objects from the books (including a very American Hogwarts Express) without depicting people, but later shifted to partial colourisation with a picture of Slytherin's locket on the cover of the final book.
International and later editions have been created by a range of designers, including Mary GrandPré for US audiences and Mika Launis in Finland. For a later American release, Kazu Kibuishi created covers in a somewhat anime-influenced style.
Reception.
Commercial success.
The popularity of the "Harry Potter" series has translated into substantial financial success for Rowling, her publishers, and other "Harry Potter" related license holders. This success has made Rowling the first and thus far only billionaire author. The books have sold more than 600 million copies worldwide and have also given rise to the popular film adaptations produced by Warner Bros. Pictures, all of which have been highly successful in their own right. The total revenue from the book sales is estimated, as of November 2018, to be around $7.7 billion. The first novel in the series, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", has sold in excess of 120 million copies, making it one of the bestselling books in history. The films have in turn spawned eight video games and have led to the licensing of more than 400 additional "Harry Potter" products. The "Harry Potter" brand has been estimated to be worth as much as $25 billion.
The great demand for "Harry Potter" novels motivated "The New York Times" to create a separate best-seller list for children's literature in 2000, just before the release of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire". By 24 June 2000, Rowling's novels had been on the list for 79 straight weeks; the first three novels were each on the hardcover best-seller list.<ref name="NYT_2000/06/24"></ref> On 12 April 2007, Barnes & Noble declared that "Deathly Hallows" had broken its pre-order record, with more than 500,000 copies pre-ordered through its site. For the release of "Goblet of Fire", 9,000 FedEx trucks were used with no other purpose than to deliver the book. Together, Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble pre-sold more than 700,000 copies of the book. In the United States, the book's initial printing run was 3.8 million copies. This record statistic was broken by "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix", with 8.5 million, which was then shattered by "Half-Blood Prince" with 10.8 million copies. Within the first 24 hours of its release, 6.9 million copies of "Prince" were sold in the US; in the UK more than two million copies were sold on the first day. The initial US print run for "Deathly Hallows" was 12 million copies, and more than a million were pre-ordered through Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Fans of the series were so eager for the latest instalment that bookstores around the world began holding events to coincide with the midnight release of the books, beginning with the 2000 publication of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire". The events, commonly featuring mock sorting, games, face painting, and other live entertainment have achieved popularity with Potter fans and have been highly successful in attracting fans and selling books with nearly nine million of the 10.8 million initial print copies of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" sold in the first 24 hours. The final book in the series, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" became the fastest selling book in history, moving 11 million units in the first twenty-four hours of release. The book sold 2.7 million copies in the UK and 8.3 million in the US. The series has also gathered adult fans, leading to the release of two editions of each "Harry Potter" book, identical in text but with one edition's cover artwork aimed at children and the other aimed at adults.
Literary criticism.
Early in its history, "Harry Potter" received positive reviews. On publication, the first book, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", attracted attention from the Scottish newspapers, such as "The Scotsman", which said it had "all the makings of a classic", and "The Glasgow Herald", which called it "Magic stuff". Soon the English newspapers joined in, with "The Sunday Times" comparing it to Roald Dahl's work ("comparisons to Dahl are, this time, justified"), while "The Guardian" called it "a richly textured novel given lift-off by an inventive wit".
By the time of the release of the fifth book, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," the books began to receive strong criticism from a number of literary scholars. Yale professor, literary scholar, and critic Harold Bloom raised criticisms of the books' literary merits, saying, "Rowling's mind is so governed by clichés and dead metaphors that she has no other style of writing." A. S. Byatt authored an op-ed article in "The New York Times" calling Rowling's universe a "secondary secondary world, made up of intelligently patchworked derivative motifs from all sorts of children's literature ... written for people whose imaginative lives are confined to TV cartoons, and the exaggerated (more exciting, not threatening) mirror-worlds of soaps, reality TV and celebrity gossip."
Michael Rosen, a novelist and poet, held the opinion that the books were not suited for children, as they would be unable to grasp the complex themes. Rosen also stated that "J. K. Rowling is more of an adult writer." The critic Anthony Holden wrote in "The Observer" on his experience of judging "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" for the 1999 Whitbread Awards. His overall view of the series was negative—"the Potter saga was essentially patronising, conservative, highly derivative, dispiritingly nostalgic for a bygone Britain", and he speaks of "a pedestrian, ungrammatical prose style". Ursula K. Le Guin said, "I have no great opinion of it [...] it seemed a lively kid's fantasy crossed with a 'school novel,' good fare for its age group, but stylistically ordinary, imaginatively derivative, and ethically rather mean-spirited." By contrast, author Fay Weldon, while admitting that the series is "not what the poets hoped for", nevertheless goes on to say, "but this is not poetry, it is readable, saleable, everyday, useful prose".
The literary critic A. N. Wilson praised the "Harry Potter" series in "The Times", stating, "There are not many writers who have JK's Dickensian ability to make us turn the pages, to weep—openly, with tears splashing—and a few pages later to laugh, at invariably good jokes ... We have lived through a decade in which we have followed the publication of the liveliest, funniest, scariest and most moving children's stories ever written." Charles Taylor of Salon.com, who is primarily a movie critic, took issue with Byatt's criticisms in particular. While he conceded that she may have "a valid cultural point—a teeny one—about the impulses that drive us to reassuring pop trash and away from the troubling complexities of art", he rejected her claims that the series is lacking in serious literary merit and that it owes its success merely to the childhood reassurances it offers. Stephen King called the series "a feat of which only a superior imagination is capable", and declared "Rowling's punning, one-eyebrow-cocked sense of humor" to be "remarkable". However, he wrote that he is "a little tired of discovering Harry at home with his horrible aunt and uncle", the formulaic beginning of all seven books.
Sameer Rahim of "The Daily Telegraph" disagreed, saying "It depresses me to see 16- and 17-year-olds reading the series when they could be reading the great novels of childhood such as "Oliver Twist" or "A House for Mr Biswas"." "The Washington Post" book critic Ron Charles opined in July 2007 that "through no fault of Rowling's", the cultural and marketing "hysteria" marked by the publication of the later books "trains children and adults to expect the roar of the coliseum, a mass-media experience that no other novel can possibly provide". Jenny Sawyer wrote in "The Christian Science Monitor" on 25 July 2007 that Harry Potter neither faces a "moral struggle" nor undergoes any ethical growth and is thus "no guide in circumstances in which right and wrong are anything less than black and white". In contrast Emily Griesinger described Harry's first passage through to Platform as an application of faith and hope, and his encounter with the Sorting Hat as the first of many in which Harry is shaped by the choices he makes.
In an 8 November 2002, "Slate" article, Chris Suellentrop likened Potter to a "trust-fund kid whose success at school is largely attributable to the gifts his friends and relatives lavish upon him". In a 12 August 2007 review of "Deathly Hallows" in "The New York Times", however, Christopher Hitchens praised Rowling for "unmooring" her "English school story" from literary precedents "bound up with dreams of wealth and class and snobbery", arguing that she had instead created "a world of youthful democracy and diversity".
In 2016, an article written by Diana C. Mutz compared the politics of Harry Potter to the 2016 Donald Trump presidential campaign. She suggests that these themes are also present in the presidential election and it may play a significant role in how Americans have responded to the campaign.
There is ongoing discussion regarding the extent to which the series was inspired by Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" books.
Thematic critique.
The portrayal of women in "Harry Potter" has been described as complex and varied, but nonetheless conforming to stereotypical and patriarchal depictions of gender. Gender divides are ostensibly absent in the books: Hogwarts is coeducational and women hold positions of power in wizarding society. However, this setting obscures the typecasting of female characters and the general depiction of conventional gender roles. According to scholars Elizabeth Heilman and Trevor Donaldson, the subordination of female characters goes further early in the series. The final three books "showcase richer roles and more powerful females": for instance, the series' "most matriarchal character", Molly Weasley, engages substantially in the final battle of "Deathly Hallows", while other women are shown as leaders. Hermione Granger, in particular, becomes an active and independent character essential to the protagonists' battle against evil. Yet, even particularly capable female characters such as Hermione and Minerva McGonagall are placed in supporting roles, and Hermione's status as a feminist model is debated. Girls and women are more frequently shown as emotional, more often defined by their appearance, and less often given agency in family settings.
The social hierarchy of wizards in Rowling's world has drawn debate among critics. "Purebloods" have two wizard parents; "half-bloods" have one; and "Muggle-born" wizards have magical abilities, although neither of their parents is a wizard. Lord Voldemort and his followers believe that blood purity is paramount and that Muggles are subhuman. According to the literary scholar Andrew Blake, "Harry Potter" rejects blood purity as a basis for social division; Suman Gupta agrees that Voldemort's philosophy represents "absolute evil"; and Nel and Eccleshare agree that advocates of racial or blood-based hierarchies are antagonists. Gupta, following Blake, suggests that the essential superiority of wizards over Muggles—wizards can use magic and Muggles cannot—means that the books cannot coherently reject anti-Muggle prejudice by appealing to equality between wizards and Muggles. Rather, according to Gupta, "Harry Potter" models a form of tolerance based on the "charity and altruism of those belonging to superior races" towards lesser races.
"Harry Potter's" depiction of race, specifically the slavery of house-elves, has received varied responses. Scholars such as Brycchan Carey have praised the books' abolitionist sentiments, viewing Hermione's Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare as a model for younger readers' political engagement. Other critics including Farah Mendlesohn find the portrayal of house-elves "most difficult to accept": the elves are denied the right to free themselves and rely on the benevolence of others like Hermione. Pharr terms the house-elves a disharmonious element in the series, writing that Rowling leaves their fate hanging; at the end of "Deathly Hallows", the elves remain enslaved and cheerful. The goblins of the world of Harry Potter have also received criticism for following antisemitic caricaturesparticularly for their grotesque "hook-nosed" portrayal in the films, an appearance associated with Jewish stereotypes.
Controversies.
The books have been the subject of a number of legal proceedings, stemming from various conflicts over copyright and trademark infringements. The popularity and high market value of the series has led Rowling, her publishers, and film distributor Warner Bros. to take legal measures to protect their copyright, which have included banning the sale of "Harry Potter" imitations, targeting the owners of websites over the "Harry Potter" domain name, and suing author Nancy Stouffer to counter her accusations that Rowling had plagiarised her work.
Various religious fundamentalists have claimed that the books promote witchcraft and religions such as Wicca and are therefore unsuitable for children, while a number of critics have criticised the books for promoting various political agendas. The series has landed the American Library Associations' Top 10 Banned Book List in 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2019 with claims it was anti-family, discussed magic and witchcraft, contained actual spells and curses, referenced the occult/Satanism, violence, and had characters who used "nefarious means" to attain goals, as well as conflicts with religious viewpoints.
The books also aroused controversies in the literary and publishing worlds. From 1997 to 1998, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" won almost all the United Kingdom awards judged by children, but none of the children's book awards judged by adults, and Sandra Beckett suggested the reason was intellectual snobbery towards books that were popular among children. In 1999, the winner of the Whitbread Book of the Year award children's division was entered for the first time on the shortlist for the main award, and one judge threatened to resign if "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" was declared the overall winner; it finished second, very close behind the winner of the poetry prize, Seamus Heaney's translation of the Anglo-Saxon epic "Beowulf".
In 2000, shortly before the publication of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire", the previous three "Harry Potter" books topped "The New York Times" fiction best-seller list and a third of the entries were children's books. The newspaper created a new children's section covering children's books, including both fiction and non-fiction, and initially counting only hardback sales. The move was supported by publishers and booksellers. In 2004, "The New York Times" further split the children's list, which was still dominated by "Harry Potter" books, into sections for series and individual books and removed the "Harry Potter" books from the section for individual books. The split in 2000 attracted condemnation, praise and some comments that presented both benefits and disadvantages of the move. "Time" suggested that, on the same principle, "Billboard" should have created a separate "mop-tops" list in 1964 when The Beatles held the top five places in its list, and Nielsen should have created a separate game-show list when "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" dominated the ratings.
Legacy.
Influence on literature.
"Harry Potter" transformed children's literature. In the 1970s, children's books were generally realistic as opposed to fantastic, while adult fantasy became popular because of the influence of "The Lord of the Rings". The next decade saw an increasing interest in grim, realist themes, with an outflow of fantasy readers and writers to adult works.
The commercial success of "Harry Potter" reversed this trend. The scale of its growth had no precedent in the children's market: within four years of the series' inception, it occupied 28% of that field by revenue. Children's literature rose in cultural status, and fantasy became a dominant genre. Older works in the genre, including Diana Wynne Jones's "Chrestomanci" series and Diane Duane's "Young Wizards", were reprinted and rose in popularity; some authors re-established their careers. In the following decades, many "Harry Potter" imitators and subversive responses grew popular.
Rowling has been compared to Enid Blyton, who also wrote in simple language about groups of children and long held sway over the British children's market. She has also been described as an heir to Roald Dahl. Some critics view "Harry Potter" rise, along with the concurrent success of Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials", as part of a broader shift in reading tastes: a rejection of literary fiction in favour of plot and adventure. This is reflected in the BBC's 2003 "Big Read" survey of the UK's favourite books, where Pullman and Rowling ranked at numbers 3 and 5, respectively, with very few British literary classics in the top 10.
Cultural impact.
"Harry Potter" has been described as a cultural phenomenon. The word "Muggle" has spread beyond its origins in the books, entering the "Oxford English Dictionary" in 2003. A real-life version of the sport Quidditch was created in 2005 and featured as an exhibition tournament in the 2012 London Olympics. Characters and elements from the series have inspired scientific names of several organisms, including the dinosaur "Dracorex hogwartsia", the spider "Eriovixia gryffindori", the wasp "Ampulex dementor", and the crab "Harryplax severus".
Librarian Nancy Knapp pointed out the books' potential to improve literacy by motivating children to read much more than they otherwise would. The seven-book series has a word count of 1,083,594 (US edition). Agreeing about the motivating effects, Diane Penrod also praised the books' blending of simple entertainment with "the qualities of highbrow literary fiction", but expressed concern about the distracting effect of the prolific merchandise that accompanies the book launches. However, the assumption that Harry Potter books have increased literacy among young people is "largely a folk legend".
Research by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has found no increase in reading among children coinciding with the Harry Potter publishing phenomenon, nor has the broader downward trend in reading among Americans been arrested during the rise in the popularity of the Harry Potter books. The research also found that children who read Harry Potter books were not more likely to go on to read outside the fantasy and mystery genres. NEA chairman Dana Gioia said the series, "got millions of kids to read a long and reasonably complex series of books. The trouble is that one Harry Potter novel every few years is not enough to reverse the decline in reading."
Many fan fiction and fan art works about "Harry Potter" have been made. In March 2007, "Harry Potter" was the most commonly searched fan fiction subject on the internet.
Jennifer Conn used Snape's and Quidditch coach Madam Hooch's teaching methods as examples of what to avoid and what to emulate in clinical teaching, and Joyce Fields wrote that the books illustrate four of the five main topics in a typical first-year sociology class: "sociological concepts including culture, society, and socialisation; stratification and social inequality; social institutions; and social theory".
From the early 2000s onwards, several news reports appeared in the UK of the Harry Potter book and movie series driving demand for pet owls, and even reports that after the end of the movie series these same pet owls were now being abandoned by their owners. This led J. K. Rowling to issue several statements urging Harry Potter fans to refrain from purchasing pet owls. Despite the media flurry, research into the popularity of Harry Potter and sales of owls in the UK failed to find any evidence that the Harry Potter franchise had influenced the buying of owls in the country or the number of owls reaching animal shelters and sanctuaries.
Awards, honours, and recognition.
The "Harry Potter" series has been recognised by a host of awards since the initial publication of "Philosopher's Stone" including a platinum award from the Whitaker Gold and Platinum Book Awards ( 2001), three Nestlé Smarties Book Prizes (1997–1999), two Scottish Arts Council Book Awards (1999 and 2001), the inaugural Whitbread children's book of the year award (1999), and the WHSmith book of the year (2006), among others. In 2000, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" was nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Novel, and in 2001, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" won said award. Honours include a commendation for the Carnegie Medal (1997), a short listing for the Guardian Children's Award (1998), and numerous listings on the notable books, editors' Choices, and best books lists of the American Library Association, "The New York Times", Chicago Public Library, and "Publishers Weekly".
In 2002, sociologist Andrew Blake named "Harry Potter" a British pop culture icon along with the likes of James Bond and Sherlock Holmes. In 2003, four of the books were named in the top 24 of the BBC's The Big Read survey of the best loved novels in the UK. A 2004 study found that books in the series were commonly read aloud in elementary schools in San Diego County, California. Based on a 2007 online poll, the US National Education Association listed the series in its "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children". "Time" magazine named Rowling as a runner-up for its 2007 Person of the Year award, noting the social, moral, and political inspiration she has given her fandom. Three of the books placed among the "Top 100 Chapter Books" of all time, or children's novels, in a 2012 survey published by "School Library Journal": "Sorcerer's Stone" ranked number three, "Prisoner of Azkaban" 12th, and "Goblet of Fire" 98th.
In 2007, the seven "Harry Potter" book covers were depicted on a series of UK postage stamps issued by Royal Mail. In 2012, the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London featured a 100-foot tall rendition of Lord Voldemort in a segment designed to showcase the UK's cultural icons. In November 2019, the BBC listed the "Harry Potter" series on its list of the 100 most influential novels.
Adaptations.
Films.
In 1999, Rowling sold the film rights for "Harry Potter" to Warner Bros. for a reported £1 million (US$2,000,000). Rowling had creative control on the film series, observing the filmmaking process of "Philosopher's Stone" and serving as producer on the two-part "Deathly Hallows", alongside David Heyman and David Barron. Rowling demanded the principal cast be kept strictly British and Irish, nonetheless allowing for the inclusion or French and Eastern European actors where characters from the book are specified as such.
Chris Columbus was selected as the director for "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" (titled "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" in the United States). "Philosopher's Stone" was released on 14 November 2001. Just three days after the film's release, production for "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets", also directed by Columbus, began and the film was released on 15 November 2002. Columbus declined to direct "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban", only acting as producer. Mexican director Alfonso Cuarón took over the job, and after shooting in 2003, the film was released on 4 June 2004. Due to the fourth film beginning its production before the third's release, Mike Newell was chosen as the director for "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire", released on 18 November 2005. Newell became the first British director of the series, with television director David Yates following suit after he was chosen to helm "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix". Production began in January 2006 and the film was released the following year in July 2007. Yates was selected to direct "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince", which was released on 15 July 2009. The final instalment in the series, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" was released in two cinematic parts: "Part 1" on 19 November 2010 and "Part 2" on 15 July 2011.
Spin-off prequels.
A prequel series is planned to consist of five films, taking place before the main series. The first film "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" was released in November 2016, followed by the second ' in November 2018 and ' in April 2022. Rowling wrote the screenplays for all three films, marking her foray into screenwriting.
Games.
A number of non-interactive media games and board games have been released such as "Cluedo Harry Potter Edition", "Scene It? Harry Potter" and "Lego Harry Potter" models, which are influenced by the themes of both the novels and films.
There are fourteen "Harry Potter" video games, eight corresponding with the films and books and six spin-offs. The film/book-based games are produced by Electronic Arts (EA), as was "", with the game version of the first entry in the series, "Philosopher's Stone", being released in November 2001. "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" went on to become one of the best-selling PlayStation games ever. The video games were released to coincide with the films. Objectives usually occur in and around Hogwarts. The story and design of the games follow the selected film's characterisation and plot; EA worked closely with Warner Bros. to include scenes from the films. The last game in the series, "Deathly Hallows", was split, with "Part 1" released in November 2010 and "Part 2" debuting on consoles in July 2011.
The spin-off games ' and ' were developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. The spin-off games "Book of Spells" and "Book of Potions" were developed by London Studio and use the Wonderbook, an augmented reality book designed to be used in conjunction with the PlayStation Move and PlayStation Eye. The "Harry Potter" universe is also featured in "Lego Dimensions", with the settings and side characters featured in the Harry Potter Adventure World, and Harry, Voldemort, and Hermione as playable characters. In 2017, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment opened its own Harry Potter-themed game design studio, by the name of Portkey Games, before releasing "", developed by Jam City, in 2018 and "Hogwarts Legacy", developed by Avalanche Software, in 2023.
Stage production.
"Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts I and II" is a play which serves as a sequel to the books, beginning nineteen years after the events of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows". It was written by Jack Thorne based on an original new story by Thorne, Rowling and John Tiffany. It has run at the Palace Theatre in London's West End since previews began on 7 June 2016 with an official premiere on 30 June 2016. The first four months of tickets for the June–September performances were sold out within several hours upon release. Forthcoming productions are planned for Broadway and Melbourne.
The script was released as a book at the time of the premiere, with a revised version following the next year.
Television.
On 25 January 2021, it was reported that a live-action television series has been in early development at HBO Max. Though it was noted that the series has "complicated rights issues", due to a seven-year rights deal with Warner Bros. Domestic TV Distribution that included US broadcast, cable and streaming rights to the franchise, which ends in April 2025. On 12 April 2023, the series was confirmed to be in development, and will be streamed on the new streaming service Max (formerly known as HBO Max). On 23 February 2024, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav announced that the series would debut on Max in 2026. On 25 June 2024, it was announced the series would also be streamed on HBO.
Attractions.
Universal and Warner Brothers created "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter", a "Harry Potter"-themed expansion to the Islands of Adventure theme park at Universal Orlando Resort in Florida. It opened to the public on 18 June 2010. It includes a recreation of Hogsmeade and several rides; its flagship attraction is "Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey", which exists within a recreation of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
In 2014 Universal opened a "Harry Potter"-themed area at the Universal Studios Florida theme park. It includes a recreation of Diagon Alley. The flagship attraction is the "Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts" roller coaster ride. A completely functioning full-scale replica of the Hogwarts Express was created for the Diagon Alley expansion, connecting King's Cross Station at Universal Studios to the Hogsmeade station at Islands of Adventure. "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter" opened at the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park near Los Angeles, California in 2016, and in Universal Studios Japan theme park in Osaka, Japan in 2014. The Osaka venue includes the village of Hogsmeade, "Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey" ride, and "Flight of the Hippogriff" roller coaster. Other "Harry Potter" roller coasters are the "Dragon Challenge" and "Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure", both at Universal Islands of Adventure.
Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of "Harry Potter" is a behind-the-scenes walking tour in London featuring authentic sets, costumes and props from the film series. The attraction is located at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden, where all eight of the "Harry Potter" films were made. Warner Bros. constructed two new sound stages to house and showcase the sets from each of the British-made productions, following a £100 million investment. It opened to the public in March 2012.
Supplementary works.
Rowling expanded the "Harry Potter" universe with short books produced for charities. In 2001, she released "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" (a purported Hogwarts textbook) and "Quidditch Through the Ages" (a book Harry reads for fun). Proceeds from the sale of these two books benefited the charity Comic Relief. In 2007, Rowling composed seven handwritten copies of "The Tales of Beedle the Bard", a collection of fairy tales that is featured in the final novel, one of which was auctioned to raise money for the Children's High Level Group, a fund for mentally disabled children in poor countries. The book was published internationally on 4 December 2008. Rowling also wrote an 800-word prequel in 2008 as part of a fundraiser organised by the bookseller Waterstones. All three of these books contain extra information about the wizarding world not included in the original novels.
In 2016, she released three new e-books: "", "Short Stories from Hogwarts of Power, Politics and Pesky Poltergeists" and "Short Stories from Hogwarts of Heroism, Hardship and Dangerous Hobbies".
Rowling's website Pottermore was launched in 2012. Pottermore allows users to be sorted, be chosen by their wand and play various minigames. The main purpose of the website was to allow the user to journey through the story with access to content not revealed by JK Rowling previously, with over 18,000 words of additional content. The site was redesigned in 2015 as WizardingWorld and it mainly focuses on the information already available, rather than exploration.
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Dorothy Gale
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Dorothy Gale is a fictional character created by the American author L. Frank Baum as the protagonist in many of his "Oz" novels. She first appears in Baum's classic 1900 children's novel "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" and reappears in most of its sequels. She is also the main character in various adaptations, notably the 1939 film adaptation of the novel, "The Wizard of Oz".
In later novels, the Land of Oz steadily becomes more familiar to her than her homeland of Kansas. Dorothy eventually goes to live in an apartment in the Emerald City's palace but only after her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry have settled in a farmhouse on its outskirts. Dorothy's best friend Princess Ozma, ruler of Oz, officially makes her a princess of Oz later in the novels.
Appearances.
In literature.
In the Oz books, Dorothy is raised by her aunt and uncle in the bleak landscape of a Kansas farm. Whether Aunt Em or Uncle Henry is Dorothy's blood relative remains unclear. Uncle Henry makes reference to Dorothy's mother in "The Emerald City of Oz", possibly an indication that Henry is Dorothy's blood relative. (It is also possible that "Aunt" and "Uncle" are affectionate terms of a foster family and that Dorothy is not related to either of them, although Zeb in "Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz" claims to be Dorothy's second cousin, related through Aunt Em. Little mention is made of what happened to Dorothy's birth parents, other than a passing reference to her mother being dead.)
Along with her small black dog, Toto, Dorothy is swept away by a tornado to the Land of Oz and, much like Alice from "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland", they enter an alternative world filled with talking creatures. In many of the Oz books, Dorothy is the heroine of the story. She is often seen with her best friend and the ruler of Oz, Princess Ozma. Her trademark blue and white gingham dress is admired by the Munchkins because blue is their favorite color and white is worn only by good witches and sorceresses, which indicates to them that Dorothy is a good witch.
Dorothy has several other pets, including her white/pink/purple kitten Eureka, and Billina, a feisty talking hen. Popular in crossword puzzles is Dorothy's cow, Imogene, from the 1902 stage version. While unnamed, this cow is implied in the 1910 film. Eric Shanower's novel, "The Giant Garden of Oz", features a cow named Imogene.
Dorothy's last name is never mentioned in "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" or "The Marvelous Land of Oz", the first two Oz books. It is disclosed in the third book, "Ozma of Oz" (1907). The last name of Gale was originally mentioned in Baum's script for the 1902 Broadway stage version of "The Wizard of Oz", in which it was originally a setup for a punning joke. (Dorothy: "I am Dorothy, and I am one of the Kansas Gales." Scarecrow: "That accounts for your breezy manner.")
In the sixth Oz book by Baum, "The Emerald City of Oz" (1910), when Uncle Henry and Aunt Em are unable to pay the mortgage on the new farmhouse built at the end of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", Dorothy brings them to live in Oz; the plot features a tour of Oz as a marvelous, utopian land in which they have escaped the troubles of Kansas. She becomes princess of Oz.
Dorothy is an Oz celebrity, having at least a cameo role in thirteen of the fourteen Oz books written by L. Frank Baum; while she did not appear at all in "The Marvelous Land of Oz", she is mentioned several times in that story. In the subsequent nineteen Oz books by Ruth Plumly Thompson, Dorothy gets at least a cameo in all except "Captain Salt in Oz" and "The Silver Princess in Oz" (in which neither Oz nor any of its inhabitants appear, though they are mentioned). Most of the other books focus on different child protagonists, some Ozites, some from other Nonestican realms, and some from the United States, and as such, her appearances in the main series become more and more limited. In Jack Snow's "The Magical Mimics in Oz" (1946), Ozma places Dorothy on the throne of Oz while she is away visiting Queen Lurline's fairy band.
The magic of Oz keeps Dorothy young. In "The Lost King of Oz" (1925), a Wish Way carries Dorothy to a film set in Hollywood, California. She begins to age very rapidly to her late 20s, making up for at least some of the years that have already passed. The Wish Way carries her back to Oz and restores her to her younger self, but she learns then that it would be unwise for her ever to return to the outside world. Baum never states Dorothy's age, but he does write in "The Lost Princess of Oz" that she is a year younger than Betsy Bobbin and a year older than Trot, whose age was specified as 10 in Ruth Plumly Thompson's "The Giant Horse of Oz," putting her at age 11 by the time she comes to live in Oz.
Dorothy has a forthright and take-charge character, exhibiting no fear when she slaps the Cowardly Lion, and organizing the Winkies' rescue mission of her friends who have been dismembered by the winged monkeys. She is not afraid of angering the Wicked Witch of the West, as shown when the Witch stole one of Dorothy's slippers, and in retaliation, Dorothy hurled a bucket of water over her, not knowing water was fatal to the witch. She brazenly rebuffs Princess Langwidere's threat to take her head for her collection — "Well, I b'lieve you won't." (Following Anna Laughlin's portrayal of the character in the popular 1903 Broadway version of "The Wizard of Oz," Baum scripts Dorothy to speak in childlike contractions with "Ozma of Oz", which she continues to do throughout the series). This aspect of her character was somewhat lessened by her companionship of Ozma, in whom Baum placed the greater level of wisdom and dignity. Yet even this is complicated by her associations with her cousin, Zeb of Hugson's Ranch, a rugged, manly boy who does not take well to Oz and cannot think of anything much more interesting than defeating the Munchkins' wrestling champion, which he proves unable to do.
Thompson's Oz books show a certain intolerance in Dorothy. In "The Cowardly Lion of Oz", circus clown Notta Bit More arrives in the Emerald City "disguised" as a traditional witch, and Dorothy immediately starts dumping buckets of water on him without provocation (although she reacted this way on the assumption that the "witch" Notta was an evil witch like her old enemy, the Wicked Witch of the West). In "The Wishing Horse of Oz", she makes unsavory comments about the dark coloration Gloma and her subjects take on as a disguise, making them somewhat resemble black people. This behavior is not characteristic of Dorothy in Baum's Oz books. In "The Patchwork Girl of Oz", she pushes and slaps through crowds of black Tottenhots to rescue the Scarecrow, whom they are tossing around, but this is more an example of her gumption than any sort of prejudice, as she is otherwise kind and polite to the Tottenhots, and accepts that their ways are different from those who dwell in the Emerald City.
The authorized sequels of Sherwood Smith, "The Emerald Wand of Oz" and "Trouble Under Oz", center on the child characters Dori and Em, who live with their Aunt Susan. All three are indirect descendants of Dorothy, though their specific relationship to her is unclear.
Philip José Farmer's 1982 science-fiction novel "A Barnstormer in Oz" tells the story of aviator Henry "Hank" Stover — who is not surprised one beautiful spring day in 1923 when he flies his Curtiss Jenny biplane through a strange green cloud and finds himself in Oz. Hank knows that he is in Oz because his mother, Dorothy Gale-Stover, had been there back in 1890 and later told him of her experiences. Farmer's premise is that Dorothy only visited Oz once and told her story to a journalist named Frank Baum. This journalist would later create a series of books from Dorothy's only adventure in Oz. Farmer's Oz is on the brink of both a civil war and an invasion by the United States Army.
Conception.
An influence on the creation of Dorothy appears to be the Alice books of Lewis Carroll. Although Baum reportedly found these plots incoherent, he identified their source of popularity as Alice herself, a character with whom child readers could identify; this influenced his choice of a protagonist for his own books.
Dorothy's character was probably named after Baum's own niece, Dorothy Louise Gage, who died in infancy. Baum's wife was very attached to her and was deeply grieved by her death, so there is speculation that Baum inserted her name into his stories as a memorial. Elements of Dorothy Gale's character are possibly derived from Matilda Joslyn Gage, Dorothy Gage's grandmother. Dorothy Gage is buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Bloomington, Illinois.
Lee Sandlin writes that L. Frank Baum read a disaster report of a tornado in Irving, Kansas, in May 1879 which included the name of a victim, Dorothy Gale, who was "found buried face down in a mud puddle."
In film.
In Baum's 1902 stage musical adaptation, Dorothy was played by Anna Laughlin. In 1908 L. Frank Baum adapted his early Oz novels as "The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays", with Romola Remus as Dorothy. This was followed by "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", a motion picture short that Otis Turner, one of the directors of "Fairylogue", made without Baum as part of a contract fulfillment. In this 1910 film, Dorothy was played by Bebe Daniels. It was followed by two sequels (the same year), "Dorothy and the Scarecrow in Oz" and "The Land of Oz", both of which included Dorothy, but whether Daniels participated is unknown. Baum subsequently loosely adapted "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" into a 1914 motion picture directed by J. Farrell MacDonald titled "His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz" with Violet MacMillan as Dorothy.
Dorothy does not appear in "The Patchwork Girl of Oz" (1914), although some film books claim that Mildred Harris, who had yet to sign her contract with The Oz Film Manufacturing Company, played the role. The character, is, in fact, eliminated from the film version, although she has a fairly large role in the novel.
Dorothy Dwan portrayed Dorothy in the 1925 film "Wizard of Oz". In this film, Aunt Em (Mary Carr) informs her on her eighteenth birthday that she was left on their doorstep and is really a princess of Oz destined to marry Prince Kynd (Bryant Washburn), who has currently lost the throne to Prime Minister Kruel (Josef Swickard), in a storyline similar to that of "His Majesty the Scarecrow of Oz", only with Dorothy as the love interest. In the end, the story proves to be the dream of a little girl who has fallen asleep listening to the story of Kynd and Kruel, said to be the story of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz". The film also introduced the idea of the farmhands also being the Scarecrow, Tin Woodsman and Cowardly Lion, albeit as costumes they don in order to conceal themselves in Oz.
In the 1939 movie "The Wizard of Oz", Dorothy was played by Judy Garland, who received an Academy Juvenile Award for her performance. Since she was sixteen years old at the time of filming, Garland's maturing figure was bound into a figure-hiding corset. Since fantasy films generally were unsuccessful at that time, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer portrayed Oz as a head-trauma-induced delirium, instead of a real place. Dorothy's characterization in the 1939 film is more of a damsel in distress, somewhat unlike the adventurous, forthright and bold Dorothy of the books, and as one of the first movies to be filmed in Technicolor, the director had the color of the famous magic slippers changed from silver to red because the Ruby slippers were more visually appealing on film.
She is reunited with Aunt Em, Uncle Henry, their three farm workers (Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion's alter egos), and Professor Marvel (The Wizard's alter ego) when she awakens from being unconscious at the end of this film, back at home, safe and proclaiming the film's theme and moral: "There's no place like home" (also fulfilling the numerous foreshadows earlier in the story). While it is implied that Oz is merely Dorothy's dream since she awakens in bed at the end, Dorothy is convinced that her journey was all in fact real.
In Disney's 1985 fantasy adventure film "Return to Oz", Dorothy was played by child actress Fairuza Balk.
In the video for Blues Traveler's 1994 hit song "Run-Around", Dorothy tries to get into a club where the band is performing. She is portrayed by actress Diana Marquis.
In Disney's 2013 film "Oz the Great and Powerful", Dorothy's maternal origins are hinted at when Annie (Michelle Williams) informs her friend Oscar Diggs that her fiancé's surname is Gale.
Dorothy appears in the animated film "" (which is based on "Dorothy of Oz"), voiced by Lea Michele.
Dorothy made a cameo appearance in "", voiced by Maya Rudolph. She, Toto, Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion find themselves having been transported from the Land of Oz to Harmony Town in the Systar System.
Dorothy appears in the South Korean animated film "Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs", voiced by Katie DiCicco.
Dorothy will make appearances in Universal Pictures' two-part film adaptation of "Wicked", based on the 2003 musical of the same name, alongside Toto, Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion. All five will make a brief cameo in the first film and will have a bigger role in the second film. The actress playing her has yet to be announced.
In television.
A little known version of the original story made for British TV in 1995 starred Denise Van Outen as Dorothy. Among other variations of the story, it featured her as a wealthy, spoiled socialite and the characters using sexual innuendo and cursing. It combined elements from the original books, the 1939 film version and 1985's Return to Oz. At the film's end, she wakes up from having fallen asleep and dismisses her trip to Oz as a crazy dream.
The 2007 Sci-Fi Channel miniseries "Tin Man" reworked her into DG, a descendant of Dorothy's, and is played by Zooey Deschanel. In this iteration, the trademark dress is actually a diner waitress uniform; the rest of the time she wears a leather jacket and jeans and rides a motorcycle. When she is taken into Oz, she learns that she is actually the princess of the kingdom of Oz, sent to another world and raised by androids that protect her after her sister was possessed by the spirit of an ancient witch that she unleashed by accident.
In the 2012 TV miniseries "Dorothy and the Witches of Oz", Dorothy (played by Paulie Rojas) is shown as an adult writer and starts regaining repressed memories of her actual adventures in the Land of Oz when the Wicked Witch of the West plans to conquer the Land of Oz and all of Earth.
Dorothy appears in the ninth season of "Supernatural", portrayed by Tiio Horn. This version is Dorothy Baum. Dorothy is a hunter whose father was L. Frank Baum, a member of the Men of Letters. Desperate when it appeared that The Wicked Witch could not be killed, Dorothy used a spell to bind herself and the Wicked Witch, keeping them both trapped in stasis at the Men of Letters bunker for decades. They were finally freed by Sam and Dean Winchester. After Charlie Bradbury killed the Wicked Witch, she and Dorothy went to Oz in order to continue fighting against the Witch's forces.
Dorothy appears in the third and fifth seasons of the TV series "Once Upon a Time". In this show, Dorothy is from a fictional version of Kansas and not from Earth (dubbed the Land Without Magic in the show). She is portrayed as an adult by Teri Reeves and as a child by Matreya Scarrwener. Dorothy, caught in her Kansas farmhouse during a raging cyclone, is swept away to Oz. Taken in by the protectors of Oz, the sisterhood of witches, she comes to view them as family. One night, she is confronted by Zelena the Witch of the West (Rebecca Mader), while getting water from a well. Zelena intends to get rid of Dorothy as she believes the girl is destined to usurp her seat in the sisterhood. In defense, Dorothy throws a bucket of water at Zelena; causing the witch to melt. Glinda the Witch of the South (Sunny Mabrey), then appears to offer her to take Zelena's place as the Witch of the West, but Dorothy declines; wishing only to return home. With Glinda's help, she is taken to see the Wizard and given a pair of silver slippers to travel to any world. Dorothy thanks the Wizard of Oz (Christopher Gorham) and proceeds to click the slippers' heels three times to send herself home. Only after the girl's departure, Glinda discovers too late that Zelena masqueraded as the Wizard in order to usher Dorothy out of Oz.
Upon returning to Kansas, Dorothy tells her family about her experiences in Oz. However, her family does not believe her, and attempts to get her admitted into an asylum. Her aunt, Emily Brown (Gina Stockdale) is the only person who believes her, and refuses to let her be admitted. However, Aunt Em dies, gifting Dorothy a puppy named Toto before she does. Years pass, and Dorothy returns to Oz. Learning from the Munchkins that Zelena is still alive and no longer fearing the witch, Dorothy storms the palace in time to stop Zelena from stealing the Scarecrow's (Paul Scheer) brain for a time spell. Dorothy taunts Zelena about having one thing she'll never obtain, the love of the people, as Zelena prepares a fireball to destroy her. Toto, hopping out of the bag, trots up to the palace curtains, while Dorothy ducks to avoid Zelena's fireball, which hits an approaching guard. Toto then tugs a string, causing the curtains to fall on Zelena, who fumbles to get free. While she is occupied, Dorothy escapes the palace with the Scarecrow and her dog. Later, she and her companions hide out in a cottage, but Zelena eventually finds them, after putting a tracking spell on Dorothy's old bicycle. Dorothy does her best to protect the Scarecrow, but Zelena ends up ripping out his brain. Fearlessly standing up to the witch, Dorothy dares Zelena to do her worst, while boasting that she'll never be afraid of her again. Zelena expresses brief interest in her brave attitude, wondering what made her change. In the end, Zelena leaves Dorothy unharmed to let the people of Oz see that, for once, their great hero has failed them.
In "Emerald City", Dorothy is an adult when she is taken to Oz, working as a nurse. She is still living with Em and Henry, but here they are identified as her adopted parents, her biological mother having left her with them as a baby and only recently getting back in touch with Dorothy. Months after receiving the letter, Dorothy makes her first official visit to her biological mother when the tornado occurs that takes her to Oz. Faced with an Oz that is increasingly opposed to magic on the Wizard's orders and accused of the death of the Witch of the East - which was initially an accident and later self-defence when the Witch survived her injuries - Dorothy learns more about her true ties to this world as she searches for answers, accompanied by a police German Shepherd she names 'Toto' and the amnesic Lucas. The TV series concludes with her returning to Earth after the wizard's forces are decimated by the Beast Forever, but she is subsequently contacted by Lucas and Toto - both of whom she left behind in Oz - appearing to her in Kansas to ask for help.
Although not a direct adaptation to the literature itself, the 2013 Super Sentai series, "Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger" features the Deboth Army's members being themed after the characters in "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz". The then-Joyful Knight Canderrilla is designed with the motif of Dorothy Gale
In the 2017 animated series Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy is voiced by Kari Wahlgren who is portrayed as much younger and race swapped. set after the events of the 1939 film, Dorothy is appointed the princess of Oz by Queen Ozma, where she and her friends go on adventures and save the Land of Oz from danger like the tyrannical Nome King and Wilhelmina, the niece of the Wicked Witch of the West who wants to steal the Ruby Slippers to revive her evil aunt.
In video games.
"Wizard101".
Dorothy Gale appears as an NPC in the 2008 MMORPG "Wizard101". Unlike other adaptations of the character, Dorothy travelled from her family farm in Kansas to Wizard City to become a Balance wizard at Ravenwood School of Magical Arts. In the sidequests "Yellow Brick Road" and "Not in Kansas Anymore", players meet Dorothy in her home, who tells them to go and check on her friends that she was having over for dinner, Mr. Toto and the Tin Man. Mr. Toto tells the player that they are running late due to Tin Man not being able to find his oil can, and asks the player to tell Dorothy that they are just running late as usual.
"LEGO Dimensions".
Dorothy Gale is one of the non-playable characters that appears in the 2015 toys-to-life video game "LEGO Dimensions". While on her way to the Emerald City with Toto and her three companions, they encounter Batman, Gandalf, and Wyldstyle. Batman thinks that the Scarecrow is the supervillain of the same name from his world, though the interrogation is short lived, as Dorothy and her gang are sucked into a vortex where they are captured by the game's central antagonist, Lord Vortech. Lord Vortech imprisons Dorothy and uses the Ruby Slippers as one of the foundation elements needed to create his "perfect world".
Impact on LGBTQ community.
In the 1950s, the phrase "friend of Dorothy" became used as a slang term for homosexuals. This term is attributed both to American author and fellow gay icon Dorothy Parker, and to Judy Garland's prominent role as Dorothy Gale in "The Wizard of Oz". This gay slang term, also known as "FOD," means a gay man; and more broadly, any LGBTQ person. As such, someone was a "friend of Dorothy" was a euphemism used for discussing sexual orientation without others knowing its meaning. James Deutsch, program curator with the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, examined the origin of the phrase, noting scholars who argued that Garland became a "lodestone" for "gay culture", claimed by the community, and argued that the phrase shows "several of the most important functions of folklore that serve members of the LGBT community." However, Dee Michel, a scholar of "Oz", said there are certain beliefs that continue about the connection between the film and LGBTQ people that "persist in spite of a lack of clear historical evidence." Additionally, a Dorothy dollar is described as any business generated by "providing goods and services to the homosexual community."
In L. Frank Baum's "Land of Oz" from 1900 to 1920, Dorothy and Ozma were described as being in an intimate friendship. In the series "Once Upon a Time", Dorothy, who appears in seasons 3, 5, and 6 of the series, has a relationship with Ruby (Little Red Riding Hood), with the latter awakening her with a kiss in her final episode.
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Rocky Balboa
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Robert "Rocky" Balboa (born July 6, 1945) (also known by his ring name the Italian Stallion) is a fictional character and the titular protagonist of the "Rocky" film series. The character was created by Sylvester Stallone, who has also portrayed him in eight of the nine films in the franchise. He is depicted as a working class or poor Italian-American from the slums of Philadelphia who started out as a club fighter and "enforcer" for a local Philly Mafia loan shark. He is portrayed as overcoming the obstacles that had occurred in his life and in his career as a professional boxer.
While the story of his first film was partly inspired by a 1975 fight between underdog Chuck Wepner and heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali (which nearly went the 15 round distance despite the odds), the inspiration for the name, iconography and fighting style came from boxing legend Rocco Francis "Rocky Marciano" Marchegiano, though his surname coincidentally also resembles that of Middleweight Boxing Champion Thomas Rocco "Rocky Graziano" Barbella.
The character is widely considered to be Stallone's most iconic role and is often considered the role that started his film career. He received critical acclaim for his performance in the first movie, earning Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations. When Stallone reprised his role once again in 2015 for "Creed", his performance received universal acclaim and he received his first Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor, along with his third Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor, the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor and several other accolades.
Character biography.
Robert "Rocky" Balboa was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 6, 1945. He was the only child in a Roman Catholic, Italian-American or Italian immigrant family. Rocky appears to be fully or semi-fluent in the Italian language; when Rocky is spoken to in Italian by his priest, Father Carmine, it is apparent that Rocky understands the language very well or fluently, including in a scene in which he translates Italian into English for Tommy Gunn. However, despite Rocky's obvious understanding of Italian, it is unclear and undetermined how well he actually speaks the language, as his responses to Father Carmine are always in English.
During the scene in "Rocky" in which Rocky takes Adrianna "Adrian" Pennino skating on Thanksgiving, he tells her, "Yeah – My old man, who was never the sharpest, told me I weren't born with much brain, so I better use my body." This encouraged him to take up boxing. He trained very hard so he could grow up to be like his idol Rocky Marciano. Unable to live on the low pay of club fights, and being unable to find work anywhere else, Rocky got a job as a collector for Tony Gazzo, the local loan shark, to make ends meet. By the end of 1975, Rocky had fought in 64 fights, winning 43 (40 KOs) and losing 21. Rocky was proud that he never had his nose broken in any of his amateur fighting career. His nickname is the Italian Stallion, from his Italian-American heritage.
"Rocky" (1976).
The first film begins on November 25, 1975, in the slums of the Kensington section of Philadelphia. Rocky Balboa is fighting Spider Rico in a local boxing ring called the Cambria Fight Club (nicknamed "The Bucket of Blood") inside a chapel. In the second round, Rico hits Rocky with a headbutt, leaving a gash on his forehead. Rocky then delivers a vicious barrage of punches, knocking Rico out. The next day, Rocky stops by the J&M Tropical Fish pet shop, where he meets Adrian Pennino. Adrian is very shy and scared of Rocky's tough appearance, even though Rocky is kind to her and shows her respect. Afterward, Rocky goes to collect a loan for his loan shark boss, Tony Gazzo. Even though the client, Bob, does not have all the money, Rocky does not break his thumbs, despite Gazzo ordering him to do so. Later, Rocky stops by the local boxing gym and finds out that his locker has been replaced by another local contender. Unknown to him, the gym's owner and grizzled former boxer, Mickey Goldmill, does not dislike him, but considers Rocky's potential to be better than his effort. When Rocky leaves for home that night, he sees a young girl named Marie hanging around a bad crowd and walks her home. On the way, Rocky lectures her about staying away from the wrong people. However, once they get to her house, Marie assumes Rocky is trying to flirt with her, and dismisses him. Rocky walks home, frustrated how nothing is going right in his life.
Rocky gets his dream come true when the undisputed World Heavyweight Champion, Apollo Creed, decides that he wants to give an unknown fighter a chance to fight for the title after his intended challenger, Mac Lee Green, broke his hand while training. Creed was told that no other contender was available for a fight on New Years Day. Going against his trainer's warnings of Rocky being a southpaw (left-handed boxer), Creed chooses Rocky because he likes Rocky's nickname, 'The Italian Stallion'.
After getting picked by Creed, Rocky reunites with his estranged trainer, who convinces Rocky that he can help prepare him for the match. Mickey reveals that his career never got anywhere because he did not have a manager and he does not want the same thing to happen to Rocky. At the same time, Rocky begins dating Adrian. Rocky helps Adrian to become more self-confident and stand up for herself. Rocky confides in Adrian before the fight that, although he figures that he may not win, he wants to at least "go the distance".
On January 1, 1976, at the Philadelphia Spectrum, Rocky has his match with Creed, who did not take the fight seriously during training. In the first round, Rocky knocks Creed down, the first time he had ever been knocked down in his career and Creed responds by breaking Rocky's nose, the first time in "his" career. Creed soon realizes that, although Rocky does not have his level of skills, he has crippling, sledgehammer-like power and is determined to keep fighting. The match becomes a long and grueling battle for both competitors. Up into the 14th round, Rocky is nearly knocked out but manages to get back up and delivers some hard body shots, breaking Creed's ribs just before the bell. The 15th round comes to naught and Rocky manages to pummel Creed until the bell rings once more. It is the first time an opponent had lasted the full 15 rounds against him and as a result, it ends up with a split decision, Creed wins the fight and holds on to his title. Both combatants, battered beyond belief, agree that there would be no rematch. Rocky clearly does not mind about the outcome, as he only wanted to go the distance with Creed. After the match, Adrian climbs into the ring and embraces Rocky saying, "I love you!"
"Rocky II" (1979).
After the match, Creed changes his mind and demands a rematch under the stress of being humiliated by the press for failing to beat Rocky convincingly, as well as his own knowledge that he did not give his best in the match. Creed demands a rematch with Rocky, stating that he would fight him 'anywhere, anyplace, anytime' to prove to the world that Rocky's feat was merely a fluke. Rocky initially declines and retires from boxing, having surgery for retinal detachment, a condition that could lead to permanent blindness. He marries Adrian, who convinces Rocky to live outside boxing. However, Rocky, a grade-school drop-out, soon realizes that he has no white-collar skills beyond the eighth grade and is, in fact, barely literate. He does, however, improve his reading skills by reading books aloud to Adrian during her coma. The money he made in his match with Creed is easily and quickly frittered away, so Adrian reclaims her part-time job at the J&M Tropical Fish pet shop. At first, Rocky seems to be unaffected by Creed's smear campaign, but his inexperience with money causes him to run into financial troubles. Rocky struggles to find employment with decent pay, when he is fired from a commercial studio, turned down for an office job, and even laid off at the Shamrock meat packing facility.
Despite Adrian's objections, and after Creed insults Rocky on national television and the newspaper, he agrees to the rematch. Without Adrian's support, however, Rocky becomes greatly discouraged and cannot concentrate on his training whatsoever, leaving Mick frustrated and worried. The now-pregnant Adrian goes into preterm labor on the job due to stress and slips into a coma after giving birth to her first child, Robert Jr.
As Adrian comes out of the coma, she promises her full support to Rocky. Together, Mickey and Rocky train hard, focusing on Rocky's speed and improving his right-handed punching (Rocky being a southpaw). At the same time, Creed is also focused on his training, taking this match much more seriously than the previous time. The rematch is set for Thanksgiving. Creed dominates the fight but is fixated on knocking Rocky out, ignoring the advice of his trainer. The match goes on for the full 15 rounds again, with both Rocky and Creed falling to the canvas after Rocky lands a succession of left hands. As referee Lou Fillipo exercises his 10-count to the limit, both Creed and Rocky struggle to get back up and Creed falls back down in exhaustion. Rocky is able to get back up from sheer determination, beating the 10-count and winning the rematch by knockout, thus becoming heavyweight champion of the world.
"Rocky III" (1982).
Over the next five years, Rocky has successfully defended his title in ten consecutive matches against various contenders, amassing a wealthy fortune and worldwide fame in the process. In addition, Rocky also has an exhibition match against the World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion, "Thunderlips" (Hulk Hogan), with the match ending in a draw. However, in 1981, during a dedication ceremony erecting a statue of Rocky in the city, Rocky is challenged by a young power-hungry fighter named James "Clubber" Lang (Mr. T), who has risen to the top of the rankings. Rocky begins having some issues with his trainer, Mickey Goldmill, due to his revelation of having faced "hand-picked" challengers that were "good fighters, but not 'killers'" which Lang seemingly is.
Mickey insists that he would step down as Rocky's manager if he chooses to fight Lang, but Rocky convinces him to train him for one last match. However, just like Creed in the first film, Rocky does not put his heart into the training properly, and this reinforces Mickey's belief that Rocky has become too comfortable (or "civilized") as champion. Before the match, pandemonium erupts backstage, with Lang shoving Mickey out of the way during a trash-talk exchange of words with Rocky, causing Mickey to suffer from cardiac arrest. Distraught over Lang's cold indifference, Rocky requests to call the match off, but Mickey urges him on. A distracted Rocky attempts to knock Lang out early with a barrage of huge blows, but his lack of proper conditioning quickly wears him out. Lang, who has trained with ruthless vigor, recovers and easily knocks out Rocky in the second round, causing Rocky to lose his title.
After the match, Rocky visits Mickey, who then dies of a heart attack, devastating Rocky. After the funeral, a depressed Rocky wanders the streets of Philadelphia until seeing the statue at the steps. In a fit of rage, Rocky throws his motorcycle helmet at the statue and takes off until he visits Mickey's now-abandoned gym. In the gym, Rocky meets Apollo Creed, who explains to Rocky, that when they fought, he won because he was competitive. He has the 'fire' Creed no longer has and the former champion convinces Rocky that he needs to get his fire ("the eye of the tiger") back. Along with his old trainer, Tony "Duke" Evers, Creed offers to train Rocky for a rematch against Lang, taking Rocky to Los Angeles.
While training on the beach, Adrian and Rocky furiously debate, while Creed trains Rocky to help get him "back to basics." After a while, Rocky manages to put his doubts behind him and retain his spirit. Fighting with a style very reminiscent of Creed's own boxing technique mixed with his own style, Rocky wins the rematch against Lang by K.O., dodging and absorbing Lang's best blows and still standing, regaining his world heavyweight title. After the match, Rocky and Creed meet again in Mickey's Gym, with Creed taking his "payment" for his training services: one last rematch, just the two of them, no spectators.
"Rocky IV" (1985).
Apollo Creed agrees to have an exhibition match against Soviet World Amateur Champion and Olympic gold medalist-turned-professional fighter Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) in Las Vegas, with Rocky Balboa and Tony "Duke" Evers in his corner. Creed, past his prime but in good shape, again not taking his opponent seriously, takes a serious beating by Drago in the first round, despite Rocky's orders to stop the fight.
In the second round, Creed continues to be brutally beaten by Drago, falling limp in the ring and dying. Feeling responsible for Creed's death and riddled with guilt by Drago's cold indifference, Rocky decides to take on Drago himself, but to do so, he has to surrender his championship.
Rocky travels to the cold mountains of Russia and undergoes rigorous training, even after being berated by Adrian, who said that Rocky could not win against Drago. His match against Drago takes place on Christmas Day 1985 in Moscow. With Evers assuming the role as his new trainer, Rocky trains hard using old-school methods within the mountainous terrain of Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, while Drago trains with state-of-the-art equipment and steroid enhancement.
During the match, Drago gains the upper hand in the early moments, but in the second round, Rocky strikes back against Drago with a haymaker to the eye, cutting him. The match goes on in a bloody back-and-forth battle, with the Soviet crowd, who originally roots for Drago, beginning to cheer for Rocky, while Drago's handler becomes increasingly upset over his inability to finish Rocky. In the end, Rocky's superior stamina and determination to win perseveres and defeats the heavily favored Russian in the 15th round. After the match, Rocky gives a passionate thank-you speech to the crowd while receiving a standing ovation both from the crowd and the politicians in attendance.
"Rocky V" (1990).
The year is 1985, shortly after the bout with Ivan Drago, and Rocky realizes while he is showering that he may have sustained some type of injury during the fight. His hands tremble relentlessly, and he tells Adrian that he is tired and wants to go home, but accidentally addresses her as Mickey.
Upon returning to the United States (in a Soviet airplane), his press conference is interrupted by promoter George Washington Duke and Union Cane (Michael Williams). They challenge him to a title fight called "Lettin' it Go in Tokyo." Rocky hints about retirement and leaves without accepting the challenge. Once returning home, Rocky goes to say goodnight to his son, Robert Jr., but when Rocky goes downstairs, he overhears Adrian and Paulie arguing, which turns out to be a dramatic life-changing situation.
Paulie unknowingly had Rocky sign a power of attorney over to Rocky's investment accountant, who had embezzled and squandered all of his money on real estate deals gone sour. In addition, the accountant had failed to pay Rocky's taxes over the past six years and his mansion had been mortgaged by $400,000. Unwilling to go bankrupt, Rocky decides to participate in a few more fights, including the one against Union Cane, but Adrian demands that Rocky should see a doctor first. Rocky's doctor, Presley Jensen, reveals that Rocky is suffering from a condition called Cavum septi pellucidi, which is brain damage caused by extremely heavy blows to the head. The effects are seemingly permanent and irreversible. With such a condition, it would make it impossible for Rocky to continue boxing in any state. At Adrian's urging, as well as with the doctor's support, Rocky gravely acknowledges that it is time to retire and he reluctantly does so.
His only remaining asset is the now-closed Mickey's Gym, which had been willed by Mickey to Robert, making it virtually untouchable by the IRS. After selling their mansion and auctioning some of their belongings, Rocky and the family now return to the old neighborhood, moving back into Adrian and Paulie's old house in South Philadelphia. Rocky reopens Mickey's Gym as a means of income, while Adrian returns to work at the J&M Tropical Fish pet shop, where she was employed during the time she first met Rocky. Rocky asks Adrian, "Did we ever leave this place?".
Rocky meets a young ruffian boxer from Oklahoma named Tommy Gunn (Tommy Morrison) and begins training him. Tommy slowly becomes an excellent fighter, but suffers from constantly being put in Rocky's shadow; he is nicknamed "Rocky's Robot" by the media. As Rocky is training Tommy, he becomes so distracted that he ends up neglecting Robert. On Christmas Eve, Tommy visits the Balboa residence and tells Rocky he wants to team up with Duke, but Rocky explains that dealing with Duke would be a dirty business. Tommy regrets being Rocky's protégé, drives off in a huff, and leaves him for good. Adrian attempts to comfort Rocky, but Rocky's frustration boils over. After they reconcile, Rocky meets Robert and they finally pick up the pieces.
Rocky is still anxious as he watches the match with Tommy facing off against Union Cane on television with Paulie. As the match starts out small, Rocky begins to emote through the first couple of seconds of the fight as Cane becomes effective in hurting Tommy. As Tommy begins to make his adjustments as Rocky taught him, Rocky then mirrors his punches on a punching bag, which leaves his family concerned. Tommy wins the world heavyweight title from Union Cane by knockout. Visibly proud of Tommy, Rocky is surprised that Tommy credited his success to Duke instead of Rocky. However, Tommy is booed and ridiculed in the press conference, since he had never gone up against a "real contender" he is not regarded as a real champion or heir to the belt. This motivates Tommy, with prodding from Duke, to publicly challenge Rocky to a fight.
While Rocky is at a local bar, Tommy steps in and insults Rocky. Paulie insults Tommy back and is sucker-punched by Tommy. Rocky confronts Tommy and challenges him by saying "you knocked him down, why don't you try knocking "me" down?". When Duke intervenes and says that Tommy "only fights in the ring", Rocky explains to him that his "ring's outside". As both fighters head to the alley, Duke tries to persuade Tommy to not fight a street fighter, but Tommy squares upon him, saying that he does not own him and wants his respect.
Rocky then quickly starts to beat Tommy without giving him a chance, knocking him down. Rocky tells Tommy that, even though he admires him, he actually ruined their relationship. With Rocky's back turned, Tommy sucker punches him and starts attacking some of the bystanders on the side. Tommy gains the upper hand and tackles Rocky through a steel door into the street. The two engage in a street fight, which quickly garners the attention of the media, while also catching Robert and Adrian's attention as well. As the neighborhood gathers round to witness the fight, Tommy's punches begin to slow Rocky in his tracks due to his condition and he is knocked down, disoriented with Paulie at his side. Tommy is then restrained from finishing Rocky off.
Glimpses of Ivan Drago, his loss to Clubber Lang during his first fight with him and Mickey's burial start to cloud his mind until he hears Mickey's voice, telling him that he is the champion and to get up. As Tommy walks away, convinced that he finally got what he wanted, Rocky rises up and calls him out for one more round and Tommy happily obliges. An adamant Duke reminds Tommy that if he loses this, he will terminate their association.
In a shocking turn of events, Rocky uses his brawling abilities to punish and humiliate Tommy. With his back against a gate, Rocky dodges several hooks from Tommy and manages to push him towards the gate, shoving him with brute force and a powerful left hook knocking Tommy down again. Duke threatens to sue Rocky if he touches him and becomes infuriated at Tommy. Tommy gets up and tackles Rocky to the ground and later lifts him up. Just as Robert joins the crowd, Rocky breaks free from Tommy's grip and performs a reversal that sends Tommy spiraling into a pile of trash cans. Both men now exchange punches with Rocky being the aggressor, making Tommy miss his shots. Rocky is then caught by a series of punches by Tommy, just as Adrian joins the crowd, but manages to parry Tommy and begins to walk him down with his devastating shots. Seeing the opportunity, Rocky goes to Tommy's body, then lands perfect headshots and finishes with a right uppercut sending Tommy to the grill of a bus, defeating his former protégé.
As Adrian and Robert tend to him, Rocky tells Adrian that she was right. The neighborhood's cheer is then silenced by Duke as he tries to sarcastically commend Rocky. He confronts Duke, who still continues to threaten him with a lawsuit. Since Rocky and his family have been declared bankrupt, Rocky clenches his fist and uppercuts Duke to the gut which lifts him off the ground, sending him to the hood of his own limousine, telling him "Sue me for what?". Rocky, Adrian, Robert, and Paulie walk away in good spirits as the neighborhood continues to cheer him on.
Some time later, Rocky and his son run up the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where Rocky gives him a valuable possession of Mickey Goldmill's that had been passed on to him by Rocky Marciano. The two make up for the tensions of the past few years and head into the museum together.
"Rocky Balboa" (2006).
In Jan 2006, 15 years after the events of "Rocky V", Rocky, now in his late fifties, has been going through changing times in his life. He runs a small but rather a highly successful restaurant and bar called 'Adrian's', named after his wife who died of ovarian cancer four years prior in 2002. Rocky is no longer depressed and broke, and is doing far better than he was in years prior in 1991.
Rocky visits Adrian's graveside regularly and each year, on the anniversary of her death, takes a tour of the old places, where their relationship began and blossomed: the now-closed J&M Tropical Fish pet shop where Adrian worked, the former site of the ice skating rink where they had their first date and Rocky's old apartment, where they fell in love. Rocky's son, Robert Jr., is now working as a struggling mid-level corporate employee and has been farther apart from his family over the years, but reluctantly joins Rocky to commemorate the anniversaries of his mother's death.
An episode of ESPN's program, "Then and Now", airs featuring a computer-simulated fight between Rocky (in his prime) and the current champion, Mason "The Line" Dixon (Antonio Tarver). The simulation result sees Rocky winning by knockout in the thirteenth round, which stirs up a discussion about the result if such a fight ever occurred. Inspired by the simulation and feeling he still has some issues to deal with "stuff in the basement", Rocky decides to return to the ring and applies to renew his boxing license. Though Rocky passes the required physical with flying colors, the licensing committee denies his application, citing his advanced age and their moral duty to protect him from himself. Rocky responds to this with an impassioned speech of his own and the committee change their minds to renew his license.
The brain damage Rocky is diagnosed within "Rocky V" is not addressed in this film, but in interviews, Stallone has said that the storyline explanation would have been that Rocky's brain damage was within the normal range for boxers. When tested for brain damage in "Rocky V", Rocky was suffering the effects of a severe concussion as a result of the Drago fight, but he never sought a second or more informed opinion because he intended to retire anyway.
Rocky's intentions were originally just to compete in small, local fights, but with the publicity of Rocky's return right on the heels of the embarrassing computer simulation, Mason Dixon's promoters convince Rocky to challenge the champ in an exhibition match at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Originally against fighting an aged Rocky, Dixon recognizes the opportunity to fight a legend and hopes to end all prognosticating about who would win as well as contentions that he has never had a truly great opponent or memorable match.
In the media, commentators dismiss Rocky's chances and the merits of the fight, assuming that it will be one-sided due to Rocky's age, despite their original excitement with Rocky's return to the ring, and their doubts regarding Dixon's ability. Before the fight, the boxing record that was presented for each boxer was, for Rocky: 57 wins (54 by KO), 23 losses, and 1 draw; for Dixon: 33 wins (30 by KO).
As news of the bout spreads, Robert begins to feel more pressure from being Rocky's son and makes an effort to discourage Rocky from fighting, blaming his own personal failings on his father's celebrity shadow, but Rocky rebukes him with some profound advice: to succeed in life, "it ain't about how hard you hit; it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward" and that blaming others would not help him.
The day after this debate, father and son meet over Adrianna Pennino's grave and reconcile, which is when Robert announces that he has resigned from his job to be at ringside. Rocky also reunites with his old trainer, Duke, and both men quickly realize that age and arthritis have sapped Rocky of any speed he once possessed. They decide to focus on one major remaining weapon: power.
When the match begins, it appears to be as lopsided as everyone predicted, with Dixon's speed allowing him to dominate Rocky at will, knocking him down twice early on. However, the champion soon realizes that Rocky will not back down and that the elderly Rocky "has bricks in his gloves". The tide turns when Dixon injures his hand while punching Rocky. This evens the playing field and allows Rocky to mount an offense, knocking Dixon down for the first time in the latter's career. During the subsequent rounds, Dixon's injury numbs up, which enables him to throw much harder punches and pose a threat to Rocky. In the final round, it starts out slow for both combatants.
After a brief exchange of punches, Dixon catches Rocky with a strong blow, knocking down Rocky for the third time. As Rocky takes the knee, he looks to Robert in the corner and has flashbacks of his time with Adrian, remembering what she said to him about never giving up. As he slowly gets up, the crowd, along with Marie, starts to chant his name and he rises to Dixon's surprise. As the final thirty seconds unfold, Dixon manages to catch Rocky with quick punches; however, an emotional Rocky retaliates with devastating punches of his own. The two exchange punches, but Rocky gets the final blow before the bell rings.
In the end, the two fighters go the distance and show their appreciation for each other. Before the winner is announced, Rocky and his entourage make their way out of the ring in celebration. As Dixon is announced the winner by split decision, Rocky thanks each and every one of his group and, with Robert and Paulie by his side, they turn Rocky around and raise his arms as the audience gives him a heartfelt standing ovation. Dixon is finally recognized as being a warrior for fighting through every round and Rocky proves to the world that he is no joke, mirroring the ending of the first film.
After the fight, Rocky visits Adrianna Pennino's grave and puts flowers on top, telling her, "Yo, Adrianne, we did it", which is a play on the second film's line, "Yo, Adrianne, I did it!". Rocky is last seen walking away from the grave and waving goodbye one last time.
"Creed" (2015).
9 years since Rocky's very last fight in Vegas and he is now in his late sixties, his brother-in-law Paulie had died in 2012. In addition, his statue has been re-installed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art at the very bottom of the steps. 3 years later, in 2015, Rocky is visited at Adrian's by Donnie Creed (Michael B. Jordan) – Apollo's illegitimate son, who grew up serving time at a juvenile detention center in Los Angeles. After Donnie grew up, he worked as a securities firm at the Smith Boardley Financial Group, but eventually resigned to be a boxer and moved to Philadelphia. Donnie meets Rocky at Adrian's restaurant and requests him to train him, but Rocky is reluctant to come back to the sport of boxing after his brain damage and a one-off comeback. Days after his initial offer, Rocky recommends him to his friend, Pete Sporino (Ritchie Coster), who currently runs Mighty Mick's Gym. After deep thought, Rocky finally agrees to take Donnie as his new protégé.
Wanting to train in the old-school style, Donnie moves in with Rocky, staying in Paulie's former room. Donnie notices an old picture of Rocky and his son, Robert (an actual picture of Sylvester Stallone and a young Sage Stallone), Rocky reveals that Robert had moved to Vancouver with his girlfriend, because of the difficulties he faced trying to be independent in Philadelphia, but does check on his father every now and then. Pete, who initially wanted Rocky to be a part of his son, Leo's (Gabriel Rosado) team, challenges Donnie to fight his son, in which Rocky shows reluctance again, but then both agree.
Instead of training at Mighty Mick's Gym, Rocky takes Donnie to train at the Front Street Gym, where he surprises Donnie with a corner team and apparel. Before the fight, Pete pulls Rocky aside to address the rumors of Donnie being Apollo's son, which Rocky confirms, and tells him that he should not speak of it to anyone else. After Donnie's win, the media heavily publicized the story of Apollo's infidelity, which catches the eye of Tommy Holiday (Graham McTavish), who is looking for the final person to fight his trainee, light-heavyweight champion "Pretty" Ricky Conlan (Tony Bellew).
While training, Rocky suddenly stalls, vomits, and collapses in the gym. After doing a string of test ordered by the doctors at the emergency room, Rocky is diagnosed with an early case of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, making him confront his own mortality. At first, Rocky is hesitant to the option of chemotherapy, as he remembers the pain Adrian experienced as she underwent treatment for ovarian cancer.
After a bitter argument with the former heavyweight champion, Donnie, greatly impacted by his coach's diagnosis, makes a pact with Rocky that they would fight their battles together, as Donnie prepares for his bout with Conlan and as Rocky undergoes treatment. As Donnie moves on in training, the effects of treatment begin to weaken Rocky, and because of this, Donnie acts as a caregiver to Rocky while helping him get up and go to the restroom, and uses the medical facility to his advantage; shadowboxing in the corridors and running up the stairs, passing doctors and nurses.
With the match taking place in Liverpool, a calm Rocky teaches Donnie the hysterics that would ensue during the pre-fight press conference when Conlan tries to play mind games, and later helps in Donnie's girlfriend Bianca (Tessa Thompson) surprising Donnie in his hotel room. During the match, Rocky stands in Donnie's corner along with Bianca. Before the final round, Rocky grows concerned about the injuries that Donnie has sustained and tells him he is stopping the fight. However, Donnie wants to prove that he is "not a mistake", which emotionally impacts Rocky. He then tells Donnie that he wishes he had the chance to thank Apollo after Mickey died, but it does not match his appreciation of Donnie's tenacity that motivated him in his battle against his illness and tells him that he admires him.
A newly motivated Adonis goes on to fights a competitive final round against Conlan, even knocking him down near the round's conclusion, but ultimately loses the match by split decision in a manner that mirrors Rocky's initial bout against Apollo.
The film concludes with Donnie taking a frail, but rather improving, Rocky back to the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which Rocky says is his "most favorite place." Both look toward the Philadelphia skyline, remaining positive about their futures.
"Creed II" (2018).
Three years since his diagnosis, Rocky has recovered from his cancer and coached Donnie to the WBC World Heavyweight championship. Rocky gives Donnie advice in proposing to Bianca and uses his proposal with Adrian as an example. Rocky struggles with contacting Robert, with whom he has, once again, an estranged relationship.
Later on, Rocky drops by Adrian's and finds Ivan Drago waiting for him there. Drago tells him how his loss to Rocky 33 years earlier shattered his reputation, evicted him from Russia into Ukraine, and led to his divorce from his wife, Ludmilla. Drago threatens him by saying his son, Viktor (Florian Munteanu), has trained all his life and will "break" Donnie, issuing a fight challenge to Donnie earlier that morning. Rocky, clearly shaken, politely tells Drago to leave.
Wanting to avenge his father and forge his own legacy, Donnie decides to take up Viktor's challenge and goes to Rocky's place for his approval. Rocky refuses to support Donnie, noting that Viktor was raised in hate and has nothing to lose, and that makes him dangerous. Despite Donnie's pleas, Rocky declines to train him out of fear and guilt from Apollo's fateful match years prior.
Rocky decides to watch Donnie and Viktor's match, where he watches Viktor pummel Donnie repeatedly. Viktor illegally hits Donnie while he is down, knocking him unconscious; Rocky turns off his television in horror at what he has witnessed. Rocky travels to Los Angeles to visit a hospitalized Donnie, who lashes out at him for abandoning him.
With Donnie becoming detached from his family, Donnie's stepmother and Apollo's widow Mary Anne (Phylicia Rashad) contacts Rocky in helping him out of his slump. Donnie and Rocky make amends, and Rocky accompanies Donnie as Bianca gives birth to their daughter, Amara. When Amara is revealed to be deaf, Rocky advises him that they should not pity her condition, and instead treat her fully with their love.
Rocky and Tony "Little Duke" Evers (Wood Harris) take Donnie to a decrepit location in the California desert to retrain, describing it as a place where fighters are "reborn". Donnie undergoes a rigorous and brutal training regimen with Rocky, focusing on fighting from the inside and training his body to repeatedly absorb the heavy impact he knows he will receive from Viktor in the ring.
Rocky accompanies Donnie as they hold their rematch with Viktor in Moscow; Donnie withstands Viktor's blows and wins the match after Drago throws in the towel. Rocky does not join Donnie's celebration, saying that it is "his time," and watches in contentment from outside the ring.
Rocky later travels to Vancouver, where he reunites with Robert and meets his grandson Logan for the first time.
Future.
On July 23, 2019, in an interview with "Variety", Stallone said that a "Rocky" direct sequel and prequel are in development. Producer Irwin Winkler said "We're very high on it" and those negotiations are underway for Stallone to write and star in the feature.
Stallone said the plot of the movie would be about Rocky befriending a young fighter, who is an undocumented immigrant. "Rocky meets a young, angry person who got stuck in this country when he comes to see his sister. He takes him into his life, and unbelievable adventures begin, and they wind up south of the border. It's very, very timely." Stallone said.
Stallone also said there are "ongoing discussions" about a Rocky prequel television series, which he hopes will land on a streaming service and the series will likely follow a young Rocky Balboa as professional boxing hopeful. Stallone said Winkler is hesitant on making the series saying that "There was some conflict there, yes. He felt in his mind that "Rocky" was primarily a feature film, and he did not see it as being translated for cable, so there was a big bone of contention."
Personal life.
Balboa resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and married Adriana "Adrian" Pennino in 1976. They were married for 26 years. The two have a son, Robert Balboa Jr., who unlike his father goes by Robert.
After Adrian's death in 2002, Rocky and his brother-in-law Paulie lived together for a short time, then Paulie moved in with an unnamed girlfriend. Now living completely alone again, Rocky cannot come to terms with present-day living and constantly thinks about the past. With the help of Paulie and reunited long-time acquaintance Marie, Rocky begins to move on with his life and in the process restores his relationship with his only child, Robert. Rocky's relationship with Marie is established as platonic in the film, but a hint of romantic interest is revealed with a kiss on the lips the night before the last fight of his life.
Shortly after, Paulie passes away and Rocky's relationship with his son becomes strained due to Robert distancing himself from any contact with him, leaving him alone again. A few years later, he meets Adonis Creed, the illegitimate son of his old friend, Apollo Creed, who asks him to come train him. After initially declining to, Rocky agreed and the two would have a father-son relationship. Eventually, Rocky learns he has been diagnosed with cancer and turns down treatment, seeing it as a chance to be reunited with his loved ones, although Adonis convinces him to keep fighting and change his decision about treatment, which Rocky does, saving him. When Adonis's wife, Bianca, gave birth to a daughter, Rocky was named her godfather.
For years, Rocky attempted to reestablish contact with his estranged son, Robert, but never went through with it. However, after helping Adonis conquer Viktor Drago, Rocky decides to visit his son in Vancouver where they finally begin to reconcile and meets his grandson, Logan, who bears a striking resemblance to Adrian.
Character origin.
The name, iconography, and fighting style of Rocky Balboa was inspired by the legendary heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano from Brockton, Massachusetts and from the 5 times world champion Roberto 'Manos de Piedra (Hands of Stone)' Durán, from Panama, where the Balboa is the official currency. Balboa was also inspired by other fighting legends: Joe Frazier, for his Philadelphia origin, training methods and victory against Muhammad Ali (the inspiration for Apollo Creed), and Jake LaMotta, for his Italian-inner city roots, ability to absorb many blows and his rivalry with Sugar Ray Robinson, which heavily resembled Rocky and Apollo's. However, it was Chuck Wepner who inspired the movie and Balboa's underdog personality.
Boxing style.
Rocky Balboa fights as a southpaw (left-handed). In the second film, against Apollo Creed, he comes out orthodox and Mickey intends for him to switch back to southpaw late in the last round, but Balboa refuses saying "no tricks, I ain't switching". Mickey tells him that Apollo is ready for him (if he continues using his right) and so towards the end of the round, he does indeed lead with his left. The real reason for this is Sylvester Stallone tore his pectoral muscles in training, but the idea was probably taken from the great southpaw boxer "Marvelous" Marvin Hagler who would sometimes come out orthodox to confuse opponents.
Rocky was an all-or-nothing brawler coming into his first bout with Creed; however, under the training of Mickey, he began to develop his boxing skills which he eventually mastered. During his reign as world champion, he became a class hybrid fighter, possessing the qualities of an inside fighter, brawler, and swarmer. With the exception of his rematch against Clubber Lang (where he fights as an outside fighter), he often advances quickly upon his opponents, driving them into the ropes in order to attack the body. Balboa's best attribute is without question his near-superhuman ability to absorb a multitude of the hardest hits without falling — an attribute he often employs on purpose to wear down his opponents, sacrificing defensive strategy to land his own punches.
Because of this rare talent, Balboa can afford to keep his hands in position to strike rather than up high to block. Because he takes more punches than he throws, it is easy to overlook his incredible punching power. Rocky also has an uncanny ability to sense weakness in his opponents, often capitalizing on every shift in momentum possible. He is acknowledged as having the most devastating body attack in the sport, with his body blows causing internal bleeding in Creed and breaking Drago's ribs. After going two rounds with Balboa, Ivan Drago told his trainer (in Russian), "He's not human, he's like a piece of iron." Mason Dixon once remarked about Balboa: "that guy's got bricks in his gloves." These qualities, in concert, helped land him a high percentage of knockout victories over the course of his career.
Honors.
Rocky Balboa was named the 7th greatest movie hero by the American Film Institute on their "100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains" list. Additionally, he was ranked 36 on Empire's compilation of "The 100 Greatest Movie Characters". "Premiere" magazine ranked Rocky Balboa No. 64 on their list of "The 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time".
The Rocky character is immortalised with a bronze statue erected near the Rocky Steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art recalling the famous scene from the original "Rocky" movie.
In 2007, a Rocky statue was erected in the Serbian village of Žitiste.
In 2011, Sylvester Stallone was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame for his work on the Rocky Balboa character, having "entertained and inspired boxing fans from around the world". Additionally, Stallone was awarded the Boxing Writers Association of America award for "Lifetime Cinematic Achievement in Boxing." Inspired by people criticizing an actor being inducted in the Hall of Fame for playing a fictitious athlete, in 2014 the Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame was launched with Rocky Balboa as its Inaugural Induction.
A poll of former heavyweight champions and boxing writers ranked Balboa as the best boxer in the film series.
Merchandising.
Hasbro intended to license Rocky and make him a member of the toyline, as they had with wrestler Sgt. Slaughter and began negotiations with Stallone's representation. Marvel Comics' "G.I. Joe: Order of Battle" profile book came out during the negotiations and included Rocky as a current Joe member, specializing in hand-to-hand combat training and an example of what it means to persevere under seemingly impossible odds. Balboa also appeared on the cover of the issue. In the meantime, Stallone's agents made a deal with Coleco to produce Rambo figures in order to compete with the G.I. Joe line. Hasbro, who was working on a toy prototype at the time, decided to end negotiations at that point. Marvel ran a retraction in the third issue of the limited-run series indicating that the character was not, and never had been, a part of G.I. Joe. The trade paperback edition of the series, published in July 1987, omitted the page featuring Balboa altogether.
Between 2006 and 2009, Jakks Pacific released six series of figures, each focused on one of the movies in the film series. Additionally, two "Best Of" series were released, as well as several collector's box sets, boxing ring playsets, and limited edition exclusive figures.
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Vito Corleone
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Vito Corleone (born Vito Andolini) is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel "The Godfather" and in the first two of Francis Ford Coppola's film trilogy. Vito is originally portrayed by Marlon Brando in the 1972 film "The Godfather", and later by Oreste Baldini as a boy and by Robert De Niro as a young man in "The Godfather Part II" (1974). He is an orphaned Italian (Sicilian) immigrant who builds a Mafia empire.
He and his wife Carmela have four children: three sons, Santino ("Sonny"), Frederico ("Fredo") and Michael ("Mike"), and one daughter, Constanzia ("Connie"). Vito informally adopts Sonny's friend, Tom Hagen, who becomes his lawyer and "consigliere". Upon Vito's death, Michael succeeds him as Don of the Corleone crime family.
Vito oversees a business founded on gambling, bootlegging, prostitution, and union corruption, but he is known as a kind, generous man who lives by a strict moral code of loyalty to friends and, above all, family. He is also known as a traditionalist who demands respect commensurate with his status; even his closest friends refer to him as "Godfather" or "Don Corleone" rather than "Vito".
Concept and Creation.
Vito Corleone is based on a composite of mid-20th-century New York Mafia figures Carlo Gambino, Frank Costello, Joe Bonanno, and Joe Profaci.
Maria Le Conti Puzo, Mario Puzo's mother, was also a basis for the author's depiction of Vito. In 2019, Francis Ford Coppola wroteMario told me that all of the great dialogue, those quotable lines he put into the mouth of Don Corleone, were actually spoken by Mario's mother. Yes, "an offer he can't refuse," "keep your friends close but your enemies closer," "revenge is a dish that tastes best when it is cold," and "a man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man," among many others, were sayings he heard from his own mother's lips. Mario later wrote, "Whenever the Godfather opened his mouth, in my own mind I heard the voice of my mother. I heard her wisdom, her ruthlessness, and her unconquerable love for her family and life itself. Don Corleone's courage and loyalty came from her, his humanity came from her.
Fictional biography and early years.
The character's story begins as Vito Andolini in Corleone, Sicily, in the Kingdom of Italy. In the novel, he was said to be born on April 29, 1887, which his tombstone reads in the first film; however, the second film establishes his birthdate as December 7, 1891. In 1901, the local mafia chieftain, Don Ciccio, murders Vito's father Antonio when he refuses to pay him tribute. Paolo, Vito's older brother (presumably ret-conned as the one born in 1887), swears revenge, but Ciccio's men kill him too. Vito's mother begs Ciccio to spare Vito, but Ciccio refuses, reasoning the boy will seek revenge as a grown man. Upon Ciccio's refusal, Vito's mother holds a knife to Ciccio's throat, allowing her son to escape while Ciccio's men kill her. Family friends smuggle Vito out of Sicily, putting him on a ship with immigrants traveling to America. At Ellis Island, an immigration official renames him "Vito Corleone" presumably by mistake, using his village for his surname. He later uses "Andolini" as his middle name in acknowledgment of his family heritage.
Vito is taken in by the Abbandando family, who are distant relatives of his, in Little Italy on New York's Lower East Side. Vito grows very close to the Abbandandos, particularly their son, Genco, who is like a brother to him. Vito earns an honest living at the Abbandandos' grocery store, but the elder Abbandando is forced to fire him when Don Fanucci, a blackhander and the local neighborhood "padrone", demands that the grocery hire his nephew.
In 1920, Vito is befriended by small-time criminals Peter Clemenza and Salvatore Tessio, who teach him how to survive by fencing stolen dresses and performing favors in return for loyalty. Fanucci learns of Vito's operation and demands a cut of his illegal profits or he will report Vito and his partners to the police. Vito then devises a plan to kill Fanucci. During the festival of Saint Rocco, Vito trails Fanucci from Little Italy's rooftops, jumping from one building to the next, as Fanucci walks home. Vito enters Fanucci's building and shoots him in the chest, face and mouth, killing him. Vito then takes over the neighborhood, treating it with far greater respect than Fanucci did.
Vito and Genco start the Genco Pura Olive Oil Company, an olive oil importer. It eventually becomes the nation's largest olive oil importing company, and the main legal front for Vito's growing organized crime syndicate. Between Genco Pura and his illegal operations, Vito becomes a wealthy man. In 1922, he returns to Sicily for the first time since fleeing as a child. He and his partner Don Tommasino systematically eliminate Don Ciccio's men who were involved in murdering Vito's family and arrange a meeting with Ciccio himself. The elderly Ciccio is nearly blind and deaf, and fails to recognize the now adult Vito. When Ciccio asks him to approach, he reveals himself to be the son of Antonio Andolini and carves open the elderly Don's stomach, thus avenging his family. Tommasino takes over the town and is the family's staunchest ally in the old country for the next half-century.
By the early 1930s, Vito has organized his criminal operations as the Corleone crime family, one of the most powerful in the nation. Genco Abbandando is his "consigliere", and Clemenza and Tessio are "caporegimes". As a boy, Vito's oldest son, Sonny, brings his friend Tom Hagen, a homeless orphan, to stay with the Corleones and Vito unofficially adopts him. As an adult, Sonny becomes a "capo", Vito's heir apparent and "de facto" underboss. Fredo, Vito's second-born son, is deemed too weak and unintelligent to handle important family business and takes on only minor responsibilities. Vito has a difficult relationship with his youngest son, Michael, who wants nothing to do with the family business. Michael enlists to fight in World War II against Vito's wishes. When Michael is wounded in combat, Vito pulls strings to have him honorably discharged and sent back to the U.S., without Michael's knowledge.
Around 1939, Vito moves his home and base of operations to Long Beach, New York on Long Island, where Genco serves as his most trusted adviser until he is stricken with cancer and can no longer fulfill his duties. Hagen, who by now has become a practicing attorney, takes Genco's place.
Vito prides himself on being careful and reasonable, but does not completely forsake violence. When his godson, singer Johnny Fontane, wants to be released from his contract with a bandleader, Vito offers to buy him out for the sum of $10,000, but the bandleader refuses. Vito then makes the bandleader an "offer he can't refuse": he has his fearsome personal assassin, Luca Brasi, put a gun to the bandleader's head, and tells the bandleader that, in five seconds, either his signature or his brains will be on the contract. In the end, Vito buys out the contract for $1,000.
"The Godfather".
In 1945, Vito hosts Connie's wedding to small-time criminal Carlo Rizzi, and honors the Sicilian tradition of granting favors on his daughter's wedding day. He agrees to have Clemenza's men beat up two college students who sexually assaulted family friend Amerigo Bonasera's daughter, and to send Hagen to Hollywood to persuade movie mogul Jack Woltz to cast Fontane in his latest movie. When Woltz refuses, he wakes up to find the severed head of his prize race horse, Khartoum, in his bed; it is implied that Vito ordered the horse killed.
Soon afterward, heroin kingpin Virgil Sollozzo asks Vito to invest in his operation. Sollozzo is backed by the rival Tattaglia family, and wants Vito's political influence and legal protection. Vito declines, believing the politicians and judges on his payroll would turn against him if he engaged in drug trafficking. During the meeting, Sonny expresses interest in the deal; after the meeting, Vito chastens his son for letting an outsider know what he was thinking. Shortly afterward, as Vito goes to buy oranges from a fruit stand, Sollozzo's hitmen emerge with guns drawn. Vito runs for his Cadillac, but is shot five times. Fredo, who had been accompanying Vito, drops his gun and is unable to return fire as the assassins escape (the murder of Frank Scalice inspired the assassination attempt on Vito).
Vito survives, however, so Sollozzo makes a second assassination attempt at the hospital. Mark McCluskey—a corrupt police captain on Sollozzo's payroll—has removed Vito's bodyguards, leaving him unprotected. However, Michael arrives moments before the imminent attack. Realizing his father is in danger, Michael has Vito moved to another room, and affirms his loyalty at Vito's bedside.
While Vito recovers, Sonny serves as acting head of the family. Michael, knowing his father will never be safe while Sollozzo lives, convinces Sonny to let him murder Sollozzo and McCluskey. Michael lures both men to a meeting at a restaurant in the Bronx, retrieves a handgun planted by Clemenza in the bathroom, and shoots both men dead. Michael is then smuggled to Sicily under the protection of Vito's friend and business partner Don Tommasino. The deaths of Sollozzo and McCluskey ignite a war between the Corleone and Tattaglia families, with the other New York families backing the latter. After Sonny is killed by Barzini's men, Vito resumes control and brokers a peace accord among the families, during which he realizes that Barzini masterminded the attempt on his life and Sonny's murder.
Michael returns home to become Vito's heir apparent. Michael marries his girlfriend Kay Adams, and Vito retires, making Michael the operating head of the family—something Vito had never wanted for his favorite son. Vito becomes his informal "consigliere", replacing Hagen. Michael persuades Vito that it is time to remove the family from organized crime. At the same time, Michael and Vito secretly plan to eliminate the other New York dons, while allowing them to whittle away at Corleone family interests to lull them into inaction.
Vito warns Michael that Barzini will set Michael up to be killed under the guise of a meeting; Barzini will use one of the Corleone family's most trusted members as an intermediary. Shortly afterwards, on July 29, 1955, Vito dies of a heart attack in his garden while playing with his grandson, Michael's son Anthony. In the novel, his last words are, "Life is so beautiful."
At Vito's funeral, Tessio inadvertently reveals that he is the traitor when he tells Michael that Barzini wants a meeting and that he can set it up on his territory in Brooklyn, where Michael would be safe. Days later, Michael eliminates the other New York dons in a wave of assassinations. Michael also orders Tessio and Rizzi murdered for conspiring with Barzini, along with Las Vegas mobster Moe Greene, who has been stonewalling Michael's efforts to buy casinos. In one stroke, the Corleone family regains its status as the most powerful criminal organization in the country.
Sequel novels.
Vito appears in both "The Godfather Returns", Mark Winegardner's 2004 sequel to Puzo's novel, and "The Family Corleone", a 2012 novel by Ed Falco. These novels explore his rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s and his early relationships with his wife and children. He also appears in "The Sicilian", acting as a guide for Michael while he is in Sicily.
Portrayals and influences.
In "The Godfather", Don Vito Corleone was portrayed by Marlon Brando. He was portrayed as a boy by Oreste Baldini and as a younger man in "The Godfather Part II" by Robert De Niro. Brando and De Niro's performances won Academy Awards — Best Actor for Brando, Best Supporting Actor for De Niro. Brando declined his Oscar. He sent Sacheen Littlefeather to accept the award on his behalf, who said Brando declined it because of "the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry ... and also with recent happenings at Wounded Knee."
Marlon Brando envisaged the character to have bulldog-like jowls (hanging cheeks). In his auditions, he stuffed Kleenex tissues between his lower lips and teeth to create this appearance, which were replaced by a custom-made "plumper" oral prosthetic during filming.
For 48 years, Vito Corleone was the only role in history to have two Academy Awards won for playing it. This record was finally matched by Joaquin Phoenix winning the 2019 Best Actor Award for the role of The Joker in the film "Joker", following Heath Ledger's win for Best Supporting Actor of 2008 for "The Dark Knight". Since then, the role of Anita in "West Side Story" has also matched this feat by winning multiple Oscars for Best Supporting Actress, the first for Rita Moreno in 1961 and then for Ariana DeBose in 2021.
"Premiere Magazine" listed Vito Corleone as the greatest film character in history. He was also selected as the 53rd greatest film character by "Empire".
"Star Wars" character Marlo was inspired by Marlon Brando's portrayal of Vito Corleone, appearing among the Hutt Council in "".
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King Kong
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King Kong, also referred to simply as Kong, is a fictional giant monster, or "kaiju", resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. Kong has been dubbed the King of the Beasts, and over time, it would also be bestowed the title of the Eighth Wonder of the World, a widely recognized expression within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelization of the 1933 film "King Kong" from RKO Pictures, with the film premiering a little over two months later.
A sequel quickly followed that same year with "The Son of Kong", featuring Little Kong, also known as "Kiko". The Japanese film company Toho later produced "King Kong vs. Godzilla" (1962), featuring a giant Kong battling Toho's Godzilla, and "King Kong Escapes" (1967), a film loosely based on Rankin/Bass' "The King Kong Show" (1966–1969). In 1976, Dino De Laurentiis produced a modern remake of the original film directed by John Guillermin. A sequel, "King Kong Lives", followed a decade later featuring a Lady Kong. Another remake of the original, set in 1933, was released in 2005 by filmmaker Peter Jackson.
' (2017), set in 1973, is part of Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Entertainment's "Monsterverse", which began with a reboot of "Godzilla" in 2014. A sequel, "Godzilla vs. Kong", once again pitting the characters against one another, was released in 2021. It was followed by the film ' in 2024, which featured more of Kong's kind.
The character is an international pop culture icon, having inspired a number of sequels, remakes, spin-offs, imitators, parodies, cartoons, books, comics, video games, theme park rides, and a stage play. King Kong has also crossed over into other franchises, such as "Planet of the Apes", and encountered characters from other franchises in crossover media, such as the Toho movie monster Godzilla, pulp characters Doc Savage and Tarzan, and the Justice League. His role in the different narratives varies, ranging from an egregious monster to a tragic antihero.
Overview.
The King Kong character was conceived and created by American filmmaker Merian C. Cooper. In the original film, the character's name is Kong, a name given to him by the inhabitants of the fictional "Skull Island" in the Indian Ocean, where Kong lives along with other oversized animals, such as plesiosaurs, pterosaurs, and various dinosaurs. An American film crew, led by Carl Denham, captures Kong and takes him to New York City to be exhibited as the "Eighth Wonder of the World".
Kong escapes and climbs the Empire State Building, only to fall from the skyscraper after being attacked by weaponized biplanes. Denham comments, "It wasn't the aeroplanes, it was beauty killed the beast", for he climbs the building in the first place only in an attempt to protect Ann Darrow, an actress originally kidnapped by the natives of the island and offered up to Kong as a sacrifice (in the 1976 remake, her character is named "Dwan").
A pseudo-documentary about Skull Island that appears on the DVD for the 2005 remake (originally seen on the Sci-Fi Channel at the time of its theatrical release) gives Kong's scientific name as "Megaprimatus kong" ("Megaprimatus", deriving from the prefix "mega-" and the Latin words "primate" and "primatus", means "big primate" or "big supreme being") and states that his species may be related to "Gigantopithecus." However, that genus of giant ape is more closely related to orangutans than to gorillas.
Conception and creation.
Merian C. Cooper became fascinated by gorillas at the age of 6. In 1899, he was given a book from his uncle called "Explorations and Adventures in Equatorial Africa". The book, written in 1861, chronicled the adventures of Paul Du Chaillu in Africa and his various encounters with the natives and wildlife there. Cooper became fascinated with the stories involving the gorillas, in particular, Du Chaillu's depiction of a particular gorilla known for its "extraordinary size", that the natives described as "invincible" and the "King of the African Forest". When Du Chaillu and some natives encountered a gorilla later in the book he described it as a "hellish dream creature" that was "half man, half beast".
As an adult, Cooper became involved in the motion picture industry. While filming "The Four Feathers" in Africa, he came into contact with a family of baboons. This gave him the idea to make a picture about primates. A year later when he got to RKO, Cooper wanted to film a "terror gorilla picture". As the story was being fleshed out, Cooper decided to make his gorilla giant sized. Cooper stated that the idea of Kong fighting warplanes on top of a building came from him seeing a plane flying over the New York Insurance Building, then the tallest building in the world. He came up with the ending before the rest of the story as he stated, "Without any conscious effort of thought I immediately saw in my mind's eye a giant gorilla on top of the building". Cooper also was influenced by Douglas Burden's accounts of the Komodo dragon, and wanted to pit his terror gorilla against dinosaur-sized versions of these reptiles, stating to Burden: "I also had firmly in mind to giantize both the gorilla and your dragons to make them really huge. However I always believed in personalizing and focusing attention on one main character and from the very beginning I intended to make it the gigantic gorilla, no matter what else I surrounded him with". Around this time, Cooper began to refer to his project as a "giant terror gorilla picture" featuring "a gigantic semi-humanoid gorilla pitted against modern civilization".
When designing King Kong, Cooper wanted him to be a nightmarish gorilla monster. As he described Kong in a 1930 memo: "His hands and feet have the size and strength of steam shovels; his girth is that of a steam boiler. This is a monster with the strength of a hundred men. But more terrifying is the head—a nightmare head with bloodshot eyes and jagged teeth set under a thick mat of hair, a face half-beast half-human". Willis O'Brien created an oil painting depicting the giant gorilla menacing a jungle heroine and hunter for Cooper. However, when it came time for O'Brien and Marcel Delgado to sculpt the animation model, Cooper decided to backpedal on the half-human look for the creature and became adamant that Kong be a gorilla. O'Brien on the other hand, wanted him to be almost human-like to gain audience empathy, and told Delgado to "make that ape almost human". Cooper laughed at the end result, saying that it looked like a cross between a monkey and a man with very long hair. For the second model, O'Brien again asked Delgado to add human features but to tone it down somewhat. The end result (which was rejected) was described as looking like a missing link. Disappointed, Cooper stated, "I want Kong to be the fiercest, most brutal, monstrous damned thing that has ever been seen!" On December 22, 1931, Cooper got the dimensions of a bull gorilla from the American Museum of Natural History telling O'Brien, "Now that's what I want!" When the final model was created, it had the basic look of a gorilla but managed to retain some human-like qualities. For example, Delgado streamlined the body by removing the distinctive paunch and rump of a gorilla. O'Brien would incorporate some characteristics and nuances of an earlier creature he had created in 1915 for the silent short "The Dinosaur and the Missing Link" into the general look and personality of Kong, even going as far as to refer to the creature as "Kong's ancestor". When it came time to film, Cooper agreed that Kong should walk upright at times (mostly in the New York sequences) in order to appear more intimidating.
Etymology.
Merian C. Cooper said he was very fond of strong, hard-sounding words that started with the letter "K". Some of his favorite words were "Komodo", "Kodiak" and "Kodak". When Cooper was envisioning his giant terror gorilla idea, he wanted to capture a real gorilla from the Congo and have it fight a real Komodo dragon on Komodo Island (this scenario would eventually evolve into Kong's battle with the tyrannosaur on Skull Island when the film was produced a few years later at RKO). Cooper's friend Douglas Burden's trip to the island of Komodo and his encounter with the Komodo dragons was a big influence on the Kong story. Cooper was fascinated by Burden's adventures as chronicled in his book "Dragon Lizards of Komodo" where he referred to the animal as the "King of Komodo". It was this phrase along with "Komodo" and "Kongo" (and his overall love for hard sounding "K"-words) that gave him the idea to name the giant ape "Kong". He loved the name, as it had a "mystery sound" to it.
After Cooper got to RKO, British mystery writer Edgar Wallace was contracted to write the first draft of the screen story. It was simply referred to as "The Beast". RKO executives were unimpressed with the bland title. David O. Selznick suggested "Jungle Beast" as the film's new title, but Cooper was unimpressed and wanted to name the film after the main character. He stated he liked the "mystery word" aspect of Kong's name and that the film should carry "the name of the leading mysterious, romantic, savage creature of the story" such as with Dracula and Frankenstein. RKO sent a memo to Cooper suggesting the titles "Kong: King of Beasts", "Kong: The Jungle King", and "Kong: The Jungle Beast", which combined his and Selznick's proposed titles. As time went on, Cooper would eventually name the story simply "Kong" while Ruth Rose was writing the final version of the screenplay. Because David O. Selznick thought that audiences would think that the film, with the one word title of "Kong", would be mistaken as a docudrama like "Grass" and "Chang", which were one-word titled films that Cooper had earlier produced, he added the "King" to Kong's name in order to differentiate it.
Appearances and abilities.
In his first appearance in "King Kong" (1933), Kong was a gigantic prehistoric ape. While gorilla-like in appearance, he had a vaguely humanoid look and at times walked upright in an anthropomorphic manner.
Like most simians, Kong possesses semi-human intelligence and great physical strength. Kong's size changes drastically throughout the course of the film. While creator Merian C. Cooper envisioned Kong as being "40 to 50 feet tall", animator Willis O'Brien and his crew built the models and sets scaling Kong to be only tall on Skull Island, and rescaled to be tall in New York.
This did not stop Cooper from playing around with Kong's size as he directed the special effect sequences; by manipulating the sizes of the miniatures and the camera angles, he made Kong appear a lot larger than O'Brien wanted, even as large as in some scenes.
As Cooper said in an interview:
Concurrently, the Kong bust made for the film was built in scale with a ape, while the full sized hand of Kong was built in scale with a ape. Meanwhile, RKO's promotional materials listed Kong's official height as .
In the 1960s, Toho Studios from Japan licensed the character for the films "King Kong vs. Godzilla" and "King Kong Escapes". (See below)
In 1975, Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis paid RKO for the remake rights to "King Kong". This resulted in "King Kong" (1976). This Kong was an upright walking anthropomorphic ape, appearing even more human-like than the original. Also like the original, this Kong had semi-human intelligence and vast strength. In the 1976 film, Kong was scaled to be tall on Skull island and rescaled to be tall in New York. Ten years later, Dino De Laurentiis got the approval from Universal to do a sequel called "King Kong Lives". This Kong had more or less the same appearance and abilities, but tended to walk on his knuckles more often and was enlarged, scaled to .
Universal Studios had planned to do a King Kong remake as far back as 1976. They finally followed through almost 30 years later, with a three-hour film directed by Peter Jackson. Jackson opted to make Kong a gigantic silverback gorilla without any anthropomorphic features. This Kong looked and behaved more like a real gorilla: he had a large herbivore's belly, walked on his knuckles without any upright posture, and even beat his chest with his palms as opposed to clenched fists. In order to ground his Kong in realism, Jackson and the Weta Digital crew gave a name to his fictitious species "Megaprimatus Kong" and suggested it to have evolved from the "Gigantopithecus". Kong was the last of his kind. He was portrayed in the film as being quite old, with graying fur and battle-worn with scars, wounds, and a crooked jaw from his many fights against rival creatures. He is the dominant being on the island, the king of his world. Like his film predecessors, he possesses considerable intelligence and great physical strength and also appears far more nimble and agile. This Kong was scaled to a consistent height of tall on both Skull Island and in New York. Jackson describes his central character:
In the 2017 film "", Kong is scaled to be tall, making it the second largest and largest American incarnation in the series until the 2021 film "Godzilla vs. Kong", in which he became the largest incarnation in the series, standing at . Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts stated in regard to Kong's immense stature:
He also stated that the original 1933 look was the inspiration for the design:
Co-producer Mary Parent also stated that Kong is still young and not fully grown as she explains that "Kong is an adolescent when we meet him in the film; he's still growing into his role as alpha".
Ownership rights.
While one of the most famous movie icons in history, King Kong's intellectual property status has been questioned since his creation, featuring in numerous allegations and court battles. The rights to the character have always been split up with no single exclusive rights holder. Different parties have also contested that various aspects are public domain material and therefore ineligible for copyright status.
When Merian C. Cooper created King Kong, he assumed that he owned the character, which he had conceived in 1929, outright. Cooper maintained that he had only licensed the character to RKO for the initial film and sequel, but had otherwise owned his own creation. In 1935, Cooper began to feel something was amiss when he was trying to get a "Tarzan vs. King Kong" project off the ground for Pioneer Pictures (where he had assumed management of the company). After David O. Selznick suggested the project to Cooper, the flurry of legal activity over using the Kong character that followed—Pioneer had become a completely independent company by this time and access to properties that RKO felt were theirs was no longer automatic—gave Cooper pause as he came to realize that he might not have full control over this product of his own imagination after all.
Years later in 1962, Cooper found out that RKO was licensing the character through John Beck to Toho studios in Japan for a film project called "King Kong vs. Godzilla". Cooper had assumed his rights were unassailable and was bitterly opposed to the project. In 1963 he filed a lawsuit to enjoin distribution of the movie against John Beck, as well as Toho and Universal (the film's U.S. copyright holder). Cooper discovered that RKO had also profited from licensed products featuring the King Kong character such as model kits produced by Aurora Plastics Corporation. Cooper's executive assistant, Charles B. FitzSimons, said that these companies should be negotiating through him and Cooper for such licensed products and not RKO. In a letter to Robert Bendick, Cooper stated:
Cooper and his legal team offered up various documents to bolster the case that Cooper owned King Kong and had only licensed the character to RKO for two films, rather than selling him outright. Many people vouched for Cooper's claims, including David O. Selznick, who had written a letter to Mr. A. Loewenthal of the Famous Artists Syndicate in Chicago in 1932 stating (in regard to Kong), "The rights of this are owned by Mr. Merian C. Cooper". Cooper however lost key documents through the years (he discovered these papers were missing after he returned from his World War II military service) such as a key informal yet binding letter from Mr. Ayelsworth (the then-president of the RKO Studio Corp.) and a formal binding letter from Mr. B. B. Kahane (also a
former president of RKO Studio Corp.) confirming that Cooper had only licensed the rights to the character for the two RKO pictures and nothing more.
Without these letters, it seemed Cooper's rights were relegated to the Lovelace novelization that he had copyrighted (he was able to make a deal for a Bantam Books paperback reprint and a Gold Key comic adaptation of the novel, but that was "all" that he could do). Cooper's lawyer had received a letter from John Beck's lawyer, Gordon E. Youngman, that stated:
In a letter addressed to Douglas Burden, Cooper lamented:
The rights over the character did not flare up again until 1975, when Universal Studios and Dino De Laurentiis were fighting over who would be able to do a "King Kong" remake for release the following year. De Laurentiis came up with $200,000 to buy the remake rights from RKO. When Universal got wind of this, they filed a lawsuit against RKO, claiming that they had a verbal agreement from them regarding the remake. During the legal battles that followed, which eventually included RKO countersuing Universal, as well as De Laurentiis filing a lawsuit claiming interference, Colonel Richard Cooper (Merian's son and now head of the Cooper estate) jumped into the fray.
During the battles, Universal discovered that the copyright of the Lovelace novelization had expired without renewal, thus making the "King Kong" story a public domain one. Universal argued that they should be able to make a movie based on the novel without infringing on anyone's copyright because the characters in the story were in the public domain within the context of the public domain story. Richard Cooper then filed a cross-claim against RKO claiming that, while the publishing rights to the novel had not been renewed, his estate still had control over the plot/story of King Kong.
In a four-day bench trial in Los Angeles, Judge Manuel Real made the final decision and gave his verdict on November 24, 1976, affirming that the "King Kong" novelization and serialization were indeed in the public domain, and Universal could make its movie as long as it did not infringe on original elements in the 1933 RKO film, which had "not" passed into the public domain. Universal postponed their plans to film a King Kong movie, called "The Legend of King Kong", for at least 18 months, after cutting a deal with Dino De Laurentiis that included a percentage of box office profits from his remake.
However, on December 6, 1976, Judge Real made a subsequent ruling, which held that all the rights in the name, character, and story of King Kong (outside of the original film and its sequel) belonged to Merian C. Cooper's estate. This ruling, which became known as the "Cooper judgment", expressly stated that it would not change the previous ruling that publishing rights of the novel and serialization were in the public domain. It was a huge victory that affirmed the position Merian C. Cooper had maintained for years. Shortly thereafter, Richard Cooper sold all his rights (excluding worldwide book and periodical publishing rights) to Universal in December 1976. In 1980 Judge Real dismissed the claims that were brought forth by RKO and Universal four years earlier and reinstated the Cooper judgement.
In 1982 Universal filed a lawsuit against Nintendo, which had created an impish ape character called Donkey Kong in 1981 and was reaping huge profits over the video game machines. Universal claimed that Nintendo was infringing on its copyright because Donkey Kong was a blatant rip-off of King Kong. During the court battle and subsequent appeal, the courts ruled that Universal did not have exclusive trademark rights to the King Kong character. The courts ruled that trademark was not among the rights Cooper had sold to Universal, indicating that "Cooper plainly did not obtain any trademark rights in his judgment against RKO, since the California district court specifically found that King Kong had no secondary meaning". While they had a majority of the rights, they did not outright own the King Kong name and character. The courts ruling noted that the name, title, and character of Kong no longer signified a single source of origin so exclusive trademark rights were impossible. The courts also pointed out that the Kong rights were held by three parties:
The judge then ruled that "Universal thus owns only those rights in the King Kong name and character that RKO, Cooper, or DDL do not own".
The court of appeals would also note:
Because Universal misrepresented their degree of ownership of King Kong (claiming they had exclusive trademark rights when they knew that they did not) and tried to have it both ways in court regarding the "public domain" claims, the courts ruled that Universal acted in bad faith (see "Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Nintendo Co., Ltd."). They were ordered to pay fines and all of Nintendo's legal costs from the lawsuit. That, along with the fact that the courts ruled that there was simply no likelihood of people confusing Donkey Kong with King Kong, caused Universal to lose the case and the subsequent appeal.
Since the court case, Universal still retains the majority of the character rights. In 1986 they opened a King Kong ride called "King Kong Encounter" at their Universal Studios Tour theme park in Hollywood (which was destroyed in 2008 by a backlot fire), and followed it up with the "Kongfrontation" ride at their Orlando park in 1990 (which was closed down in 2002 due to maintenance issues). They also finally made a King Kong film of their own, "King Kong" (2005). In the summer of 2010, Universal opened a new 3D King Kong ride called ' at their Hollywood park, replacing the destroyed "King Kong Encounter". In July 2016, Universal opened a new King Kong attraction called ' at Islands of Adventure in Orlando. In July 2013, Legendary Pictures made an agreement with Universal to market, co-finance, and distribute Legendary's films for five years starting in 2014 and ending in 2019, the year that Legendary's similar agreement with Warner Bros. Pictures was set to expire. One year later, at San Diego Comic-Con, Legendary announced (as a product of its partnership with Universal), a King Kong origin story, initially titled "Skull Island", with Universal distributing. After the film was retitled "", Universal allowed Legendary to move to Warner Bros., so they could do a King Kong and Godzilla crossover film (in the continuity of the 2014 "Godzilla" movie), since Legendary still had the rights to make more Godzilla movies with Warner Bros. before their contract with Toho expired in 2020.
Richard Cooper, through the Merian C. Cooper Estate, retained publishing rights for the content that Judge Real had ruled on December 6, 1976. In 1990, they licensed a six-issue comic book adaptation of the novelization of the 1933 film to Monster Comics, and commissioned an illustrated novel in 1994 called "Anthony Browne's King Kong". In 2013, they became involved with a musical stage play based on the story, called "King Kong: The Eighth Wonder of the World" which premiered that June in Australia and then on Broadway in November 2018. The production is involved with Global Creatures, the company behind the "Walking with Dinosaurs" arena show. In 1996, artist/writer Joe DeVito partnered with the Merian C. Cooper estate to write and/or illustrate various publications based on Merian C. Cooper's King Kong property through his company, DeVito ArtWorks, LLC. Through this partnership, DeVito created the prequel/sequel story "Skull Island" on which DeVito based a pair of original novels relating the origin of King Kong: "Kong: King of Skull Island" and "King Kong of Skull Island". In addition, the Cooper/DeVito collaboration resulted in an origin-themed comic book miniseries with Boom! Studios, an expanded rewrite of the original Lovelace novelization, "Merian C. Cooper's King Kong" (the original novelization's publishing rights are still in the public domain), and various crossovers with other franchises such as Doc Savage, Tarzan and "Planet of the Apes". In 2016, DeVito ArtWorks, through its licensing program, licensed its King Kong property to RocketFizz for use in the marketing of a soft drink called "King Kong Cola", and had plans for a live action TV show co-produced between MarVista Entertainment and IM Global. Other products that have been produced through this licensing program include Digital Trading Cards, Board Games, a Virtual Reality Arcade Game, a remake of the original King Kong Glow-In-The-Dark Model Kit, and a video game developed by IguanaBee called '. In April 2016, Joe DeVito sued Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros., producers of the film ', for using elements of his Skull Island universe, which he claimed that he created and that the producers had used without his permission. Devito partnered with Dynamite Entertainment to produce comic books and board games based on the property, resulting in the comic book series called "King Kong: The Great War" published in May 2023. In 2022, DeVito had partnered with Disney to produce a live-action series tentatively called "King Kong" that explores the origin story of Kong. The series is slated to stream on Disney+. Stephany Folsom is attached to write the series and to be executive produced by James Wan via his production company Atomic Monster.
RKO (whose rights consisted of only the original film and its sequel) signed over the North American, Latin American and Australian distribution rights to its film library to Ted Turner's Turner Entertainment in a period spanning 1986 to 1989. Following a series of mergers and acquisitions, Warner Bros. owns those distribution rights today, with the copyright over the films (including "King Kong" and "The Son of Kong") remaining with RKO Pictures, LLC (various companies distribute the RKO library in other territories). In 1998, Warner Bros. Family Entertainment released the direct-to-video animated musical film "The Mighty Kong", which re-tells the plot of the original 1933 film. Nineteen years later, Warners co-produced the film "" and in 2021 co-produced the film "Godzilla vs. Kong", after Legendary Pictures brought the projects over from Universal to build up the MonsterVerse. According to "Godzilla Vs. Kong" director Adam Wingard, the rights to the character may have also been transferred to Warner Bros.
DDL (whose rights were limited to only their 1976 remake) did a sequel in 1986 called "King Kong Lives" (but they still needed Universal's permission to do so). Today most of DDL's film library is owned by StudioCanal, which includes the rights to these two films. The domestic (North American) rights to the 1976 "King Kong" film still remain with the film's original distributor Paramount Pictures, with Trifecta Entertainment & Media handling television rights to the film via their license with Paramount.
Toho incarnations.
In the 1960s, Japanese studio Toho licensed the character from RKO and produced two films that featured the character, "King Kong vs. Godzilla" (1962) and "King Kong Escapes" (1967). Toho's interpretation differed greatly from the original in size and abilities. Among kaiju, King Kong was suggested to be among the most powerful in terms of raw physical force, possessing strength and durability that rivaled that of Godzilla. As one of the few mammal-based kaiju, Kong's most distinctive feature was his intelligence. He demonstrated the ability to learn and adapt to an opponent's fighting style, identify and exploit weaknesses in an enemy, and utilize his environment to stage ambushes and traps.
In "King Kong vs. Godzilla", Kong was scaled to be tall. This version of Kong was given the ability to harvest electricity as a weapon and draw strength from electrical voltage. In "King Kong Escapes", Kong was scaled to be tall. This version was more similar to the original, where he relied on strength and intelligence to fight and survive. Rather than residing on Skull Island, Toho's version of Kong resided on Faro Island in "King Kong vs. Godzilla" and on Mondo Island in "King Kong Escapes".
In 1966, Toho planned to produce "Operation Robinson Crusoe: King Kong vs. Ebirah" as a co-production with Rankin/Bass Productions, but Ishirō Honda was unavailable at the time to direct the film and, as a result, Rankin/Bass backed out of the project, along with the King Kong license. Toho still proceeded with the production, replacing King Kong with Godzilla at the last minute and shot the film as "Ebirah, Horror of the Deep". Elements of King Kong's character remained in the film, reflected in Godzilla's uncharacteristic behavior and attraction to the female character Daiyo. Toho and Rankin/Bass later negotiated their differences and co-produced "King Kong Escapes" in 1967, loosely based on Rankin/Bass' animated show.
Toho Studios wanted to remake "King Kong vs. Godzilla", which was the most successful of the entire Godzilla series of films, in 1991 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the film, as well as to celebrate Godzilla's upcoming 40th anniversary. However, they were unable to obtain the rights to use Kong, and initially intended to use Mechani-Kong as Godzilla's next adversary. It was soon learned that even using a mechanical creature who "resembled" Kong would be just as problematic legally and financially for them. As a result, the film became "Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah", with one last failed attempt made to use Kong in 2004's "".
Appearances.
Television.
Four television shows have been based on King Kong: "The King Kong Show" (1966), ' (2000), ' (2016), and "Skull Island" (2023).
A live-action series exploring the origin story of Kong is in development for Disney+, written by Stephany Folsom and executive produced by James Wan via Atomic Monster.
King Kong appeared in episode 27 of the anime show "The New Adventures of Gigantor" titled "King Kong vs Tetsujin (キングコング対鉄人)". This episode aired April 10 1981, and featured King Kong battling the giant robot hero Gigantor. In the story it turns out it was just a robot disguised as King Kong. To avoid any copyright issue the episode was renamed "The Great Garkonga" when it was dubbed into English.
The character appears in the final episode of season one of the television series "".
Cultural impact.
King Kong, as well as the series of films featuring him, have been featured many times in popular culture outside of the films themselves, in forms ranging from straight copies to parodies and joke references, and in media from comic books to video games.
The Beatles' 1968 animated film "Yellow Submarine" includes a scene of the characters opening a door to reveal King Kong abducting a woman from her bed.
"The Simpsons" episode "Treehouse of Horror III" features a segment called "King Homer" which parodies the plot of the original film, with Homer as Kong and Marge in the Ann Darrow role. It ends with King Homer marrying Marge and eating her father.
The 2005 animated film "Chicken Little" features a scene parodying King Kong, as Fish out of Water starts stacking magazines thrown in a pile, eventually becoming a model of the Empire State Building and some plane models, as he imitates King Kong in the iconic scene from the original film.
The British comedy TV series "The Goodies" made an episode called "Kitten Kong", in which a giant cat called Twinkle roams the streets of London, knocking over the British Telecom Tower.
The controversial World War II Dutch resistance fighter Christiaan Lindemans—eventually arrested on suspicion of having betrayed secrets to the Nazis—was nicknamed "King Kong" due to his being exceptionally tall.
Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention recorded an instrumental about "King Kong" in 1967 and featured it on the album "Uncle Meat". Zappa went on to make many other versions of the song on albums such as "Make a Jazz Noise Here", "You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 3", "Ahead of Their Time", and "Beat the Boots".
The Kinks recorded a song called "King Kong" as the B-side to their 1969 "Plastic Man" single.
In 1972, a fiberglass statue of King Kong was erected in Birmingham, England.
The second track of The Jimmy Castor Bunch album "Supersound" from 1975 is titled "King Kong".
Filk Music artists Ookla the Mok's "Song of Kong", which explores the reasons why King Kong and Godzilla should not be roommates, appears on their 2001 album "Smell No Evil".
Daniel Johnston wrote and recorded a song called "King Kong" on his fifth self-released music cassette, "Yip/Jump Music" in 1983, rereleased on CD and double LP by Homestead Records in 1988. The song is an a cappella narrative of the original movie's story line. Tom Waits recorded a cover version of the song with various sound effects on the 2004 release, "".
ABBA recorded "King Kong Song" for their 1974 album "Waterloo". Although later singled out by ABBA songwriters Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus as one of their weakest tracks, it was released as a single in 1977 to coincide with the 1976 film playing in theaters.
Tenacious D wrote "Kong" to be released as a bonus track for the Japanese version of "The Pick of Destiny" to accompany the film.
The 1994 Nintendo Game Boy title "Donkey Kong" features the eponymous character grow to a gargantuan size as the game's final boss.
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Barbie
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Barbie is a fashion doll created by American businesswoman Ruth Handler, manufactured by American toy and entertainment company Mattel and introduced on March 9, 1959. The toy was based on the German Bild Lilli doll which Handler had purchased while in Europe. The figurehead of an eponymous brand that includes a range of fashion dolls and accessories, Barbie has been an important part of the toy fashion doll market for over six decades. Mattel has sold over a billion Barbie dolls, making it the company's largest and most profitable line. The brand has expanded into a multimedia franchise since 1984, including video games, animated films, television/web series, and a live-action film.
Barbie and her male counterpart, Ken, have been described as the two most popular dolls in the world. Mattel generates a large portion of Barbie's revenue through related merchandise —accessories, clothes, friends, and relatives of Barbie. Writing for "Journal of Popular Culture" in 1977, Don Richard Cox noted that Barbie has a significant impact on social values by conveying characteristics of female independence, and with her multitude of accessories, an idealized upscale lifestyle that can be shared with affluent friends.
History.
Development.
Ruth Handler watched her daughter Barbara play with paper dolls, and noticed that she often enjoyed giving them adult roles. At the time, most children's toy dolls were representations of infants. Realizing that there could be a gap in the market, Handler suggested the idea of an adult-bodied doll to her husband Elliot, a co-founder of the Mattel toy company. He was unenthusiastic about the idea, as were Mattel's directors.
During a trip to Switzerland in 1956 with her children Barbara and Kenneth, Ruth Handler came across a German toy doll called Bild Lilli. The adult-figured doll was exactly what Handler had in mind, so she purchased three of them. She gave one to her daughter and took the others back to Mattel. The Lilli doll was based on a popular character appearing in a satirical comic strip drawn by Reinhard Beuthin for the newspaper "Bild". The Lilli doll was first sold in West Germany in 1955, and although it was initially sold to adults, it became popular with children who enjoyed dressing her up in outfits that were available separately.
Upon her return to the United States, Handler redesigned the doll (with help from local inventor-designer Jack Ryan) and the doll was given a new name, "Barbie", after Handler's daughter Barbara. The doll made its debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York City on March 9, 1959. This date is also used as Barbie's official birthday.
Launch.
The first Barbie doll wore a black-and-white zebra striped swimsuit and signature topknot ponytail, and was available as either a blonde or brunette. The doll was marketed as a "Teen-age Fashion Model", with her clothes created by Mattel fashion designer Charlotte Johnson.
Analysts expected the doll to perform poorly due to her adult appearance and widespread assumptions about consumer preferences at the time. Ruth Handler believed it was important for Barbie to have an adult appearance, but early market research showed that some parents were unhappy about the doll's chest, which had distinct breasts.
Barbie sold about 350,000 units in her first year, beating market expectations and generating upside risk for investors. Sales of Barbie exceeded Mattel's ability to produce her for the first three years of her run. The market stabilized for the next decade while volume and margin increased by exporting refurbished dolls to Japan. Barbie was manufactured in Japan during this time, with her clothes hand-stitched by Japanese homeworkers.
Louis Marx and Company sued Mattel in March 1961. After licensing Lilli, they claimed that Mattel had "infringed on Greiner & Hausser's patent for Bild-Lilli's hip joint", and also claimed that Barbie was "a direct take-off and copy" of Bild-Lilli. The company additionally claimed that Mattel "falsely and misleadingly represented itself as having originated the design". Mattel counter-claimed and the case was settled out of court in 1963. In 1964, Mattel bought Greiner & Hausser's copyright and patent rights for the Bild-Lilli doll for $21,600.
Barbie's appearance has been changed many times, most notably in 1971 when the doll's eyes were adjusted to look forwards rather than having the demure sideways glance of the original model. This would be the last adjustment Ruth would make to her own creation as, three years later, she and her husband Elliot were removed from their posts at Mattel after an investigation found them guilty of issuing false and misleading financial reports.
Barbie was one of the first toys to have a marketing strategy based extensively on television advertising, which has been copied widely by other toys. In 2006, it was estimated that over a billion Barbie dolls had been sold worldwide in over 150 countries, with Mattel claiming that three Barbie dolls are sold every second.
Sales of Barbie dolls declined sharply from 2014 to 2016. According to MarketWatch, the release of the 2023 film "Barbie" is expected to create "significant growth" for the brand until at least 2030. As well as reinvigorated sales, the release of the film triggered a fashion trend known as "Barbiecore" and a film-related cultural phenomena named Barbenheimer.
Appearances in media.
Since 1984, in response to a rise of digital and interactive media and a gradual decline in toys and doll sales at that time, Barbie has been featured in an eponymous media franchise beginning with the release of two eponymous video games, one that year and another in 1991 and two syndicated television specials released in 1987; "" and . She then began to appear as a virtual actress in a series of direct-to-video animated feature films with "Barbie in the Nutcracker" in 2001, which were also broadcast on Nickelodeon in the United States as promotional specials until 2017. Since 2017, the film series were revamped as streaming television films, branded as animated "specials" and released through streaming media services, primarily on Netflix.
At the time of the release of "Barbie in the Pink Shoes" on February 26, 2013, the film series have sold over 110 million units globally. Since 2012, she has appeared in several television and web series; including ', "Barbie: Dreamtopia", "Barbie: Dreamhouse Adventures", ' and "". Aside in lead roles, she has appeared as a supporting character in the "Toy Story" films between its second and third sequels with a cameo at the fourth and the "My Scene" media franchise. In 2015, Barbie began appearing as a vlogger on YouTube called "Barbie Vlogger" where she talks about her fictional life, fashion, friends and family, and even charged topics such as mental health and racism. She was portrayed by Australian actress Margot Robbie in a live-action film adaptation released on July 21, 2023, by Warner Bros. Pictures in the United States.
Fictional biography.
Barbie's full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts and her parents' names are given as George and Margaret Roberts from the fictional town of Willows, Wisconsin, in a series of novels published by Random House in the 1960s. In those novels, Barbie attended Willows High School; while in the "Generation Girl" books, published by Golden Books in 1999, she attended the fictional Manhattan International High School in New York City (based on the real-life Stuyvesant High School).
She has an on-off romantic relationship with her then-boyfriend Ken (full name "Kenneth Sean Carson"), who first appeared in 1961. A news release from Mattel in February 2004 announced that Barbie and Ken had decided to split up, but in February 2006, they were hoping to rekindle their relationship after Ken had a makeover. In 2011, Mattel launched a campaign for Ken to win Barbie's affections back. The pair officially reunited in Valentine's Day 2011. Beginning with "Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures" in 2018, the pair are seen as just friends or next-door neighbors until a brief return to pre-2018 aesthetics in the 2023 television show, "Barbie: A Touch of Magic".
Mattel has created a range of companions and relatives for Barbie. She has three younger sisters: Skipper, Stacie, and Chelsea (named Kelly until 2011). Her sisters have co-starred in many entries of the "Barbie" film series, starting with "Barbie & Her Sisters in A Pony Tale" from 2013. 'Retired' members of Barbie's family included Todd (twin brother to Stacie), Krissy (a baby sister), and Francie (cousin). Barbie's friends include Hispanic Teresa, Midge, African American Christie, and Steven (Christie's boyfriend). Barbie was also friendly with Blaine, an Australian surfer, during her split with Ken in 2004.
Barbie has had over 40 pets including cats and dogs, horses, a panda, a lion cub, and a zebra. She has owned a wide range of vehicles, including pink Beetle and Corvette convertibles, trailers, and Jeeps. She also holds a pilot's license, and operates commercial airliners in addition to serving as a flight attendant. Barbie's careers are designed to show that women can take on a variety of roles in life, and the doll has been sold with a wide range of titles including "Miss Astronaut Barbie" (1965), "Doctor Barbie" (1988), and "Nascar Barbie" (1998).
Legacy and influence.
Barbie has become a cultural icon and has been given honors that are rare in the toy world. In 1974, a section of Times Square in New York City was renamed Barbie Boulevard for a week. The Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris at the Louvre held a Barbie exhibit in 2016. The exhibit featured 700 Barbie dolls over two floors as well as works by contemporary artists and documents (newspapers, photos, video) that contextualize Barbie.
In 1986, the artist Andy Warhol created a painting of Barbie. The painting sold at auction at Christie's, London for $1.1million. In 2015, The Andy Warhol Foundation then teamed up with Mattel to create an Andy Warhol Barbie.
Outsider artist Al Carbee took thousands of photographs of Barbie and created countless collages and dioramas featuring Barbie in various settings. Carbee was the subject of the 2013 feature-length documentary "Magical Universe". Carbee's collage art was presented in the 2016 Barbie exhibit at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris in the section about visuals artists who have been inspired by Barbie.
In 2013, in Taiwan, the first Barbie-themed restaurant called "Barbie Café" opened under the Sinlaku group.
The "Economist" has emphasized the importance of Barbie to children's imagination:
On September 7, 2021, following the debut of the streaming television film "" on Netflix, Barbie joined forces with Grammy Award-nominated music producer, songwriter, singer and actress Ester Dean and Girls Make Beats – an organization dedicated to expanding the female presence of music producers, DJs and audio engineers – to inspire more girls to explore a future in music production.
Mattel Adventure Park.
In 2023, Mattel broke ground on a theme park near Phoenix, Arizona. The park is to open in 2024 and highlights Mattel's toys, including a Barbie Beach House, a Thomas & Friends themed ride, and a Hot Wheels go-kart race track. The theme park will take place at the VAI Resort complex, located west of Phoenix, Arizona.
50th anniversary.
In 2009, to celebrate the franchise's 50th anniversary, a runway show was held in New York for the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. The event showcased fashions contributed by fifty well-known haute couturiers including Diane von Fürstenberg, Vera Wang, Calvin Klein, Bob Mackie, and Christian Louboutin.
Barbie Dream Gap Project.
In 2019, Mattel launched the "Barbie Dream Gap Project" to raise awareness of the phenomenon known as the "Dream Gap": beginning at the age of five, girls begin to doubt their own intelligence, where boys do not. This leads to boys pursuing careers requiring a higher intelligence, and girls being underrepresented in those careers. As an example, in the U.S., 33% of sitting judges are female. This statistic inspired the release of Judge Barbie in four different skin tones and hairstyles with judge robes and a gavel accessory.
Thank You Heroes.
In May 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mattel announced a new line of career dolls modeled after the first responders and essential workers of 2020. For every doll purchased, Mattel donated a doll to the First Responders Children's Foundation.
Habitat for Humanity.
In February 2022, Mattel celebrated its 60-year anniversary of the Barbie Dreamhouse by partnering with Habitat for Humanity International. Mattel committed to taking on 60 projects, including new construction, home preservation, and neighborhood revitalization.
Bad influence concerns.
In July 1992, Mattel released "Teen Talk Barbie", which spoke a number of phrases including "Will we ever have enough clothes?", "I love shopping!", and "Wanna have a pizza party?" Each doll was programmed to say four out of 270 possible phrases, so that no two given dolls were likely to be the same (the number of possible combinations is 270!/(266!4!) = 216,546,345). One of these 270 phrases was "Math class is tough!", which led to criticism from the American Association of University Women; about 1.5% of all the dolls sold said the phrase. The doll was often erroneously misattributed in the media as having said "Math is hard!" In October 1992, Mattel announced that "Teen Talk Barbie" would no longer say "Math class is tough!", and offered a swap to anyone who owned a doll that did.
In 2002, Mattel introduced a line of pregnant Midge (and baby) dolls, but this "Happy Family" line was quickly pulled from the market due to complaints that she promoted teen pregnancy, though Midge was supposed to be a married adult.
In September 2003, the Middle Eastern country of Saudi Arabia outlawed the sale of Barbie dolls and franchises, stating that they did not conform to the ideals of Islam. The Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice warned, "Jewish Barbie dolls, with their revealing clothes and shameful postures, accessories and tools are a symbol of decadence to the perverted West. Let us beware of her dangers and be careful." The 2003 Saudi ban was temporary. In Muslim-majority nations, there is an alternative doll called Fulla, which was introduced in November 2003 and is equivalent to Barbie, but is designed specifically to represent traditional Islamic values. Fulla is not manufactured by Mattel (although Mattel still licenses Fulla dolls and franchises for sale in certain markets), and (as of January 2021) the "Jewish" Barbie brand is still available in other Muslim-majority countries including Egypt and Indonesia. In Iran, the Sara and Dara dolls, which were introduced in March 2002, are available as an alternative to Barbie, even though they have not been as successful.
In November 2014, Mattel received criticism over the book "I Can Be a Computer Engineer", which depicted Barbie as personally inept at computers, requiring her two male friends complete all of the necessary tasks to restore two laptops after she accidentally infects her and her sister's laptop with a malware-laced USB flash drive, before ultimately getting credit for recovering her sister's school project. Critics felt that the characterization of Barbie as a software designer lacking low-level technical skills was sexist, as other books in the "I Can Be..." series depicted Barbie as someone who was totally competent in those jobs and did not require outside assistance from others. Mattel later removed the book from sale on Amazon in response to the criticism, and the company released a "Computer Engineer Barbie" doll who was a game programmer rather than game designer.
Diversity.
"Colored Francie" made her debut in 1967, and she is sometimes described as the first African-American Barbie doll. However, she was produced using the existing head molds for the white Francie doll and lacked distinct African characteristics other than dark skin. The first African-American doll in the Barbie range is usually regarded as Christie, who made her debut in 1968. Black Barbie was launched in 1980 but still had Caucasian features. In 1990, Mattel created a focus group with African-American children and parents, early childhood specialists, and clinical psychologist, Darlene Powell Hudson. Instead of using the same molds for the Caucasian Barbies, new ones were created. In addition, facial features, skin tones, hair texture, and names were all altered. The body shapes looked different, but the proportions were the same to ensure clothing and accessories were interchangeable. In September 2009, Mattel introduced the So In Style range, which was intended to create a more realistic depiction of African-American people than previous dolls.
Starting in 1980, it produced Hispanic dolls, and later came models from across the globe. For example, in 2007, it introduced "Cinco de Mayo Barbie" wearing a ruffled red, white, and green dress (echoing the Mexican flag). "Hispanic" magazine reports that: Professor Emilie Rose Aguilo-Perez argued that over time, Mattel shifted from ambiguous Hispanic presentations in their dolls to one that is more assertive in its "Latinx" marketing and product labeling.
Mattel has responded to criticisms pointing to a lack of diversity in the line. In 2016, Mattel expanded the So In Style line to include seven skin tones, twenty-two eye colors, and twenty-four hairstyles. Part of the reason for this change was due to declining sales. The brand now offers over 22 skin tones, 94 hair colors, 13 eye colors and five body types.
Mattel teamed up with Nabisco to launch a cross-promotion Barbie doll with Oreo cookies in 1997 and 2001. While the 1997 release of the doll was only released in a white version, for the 2001 release Mattel manufactured both a white and a black version. The 2001 release "Barbie Oreo School Time Fun" was marketed as someone with whom young girls could play after class and share "America's favorite cookie". Critics argued that in the African American community, "Oreo" is a derogatory term meaning that the person is "black on the outside and white on the inside", like the chocolate sandwich cookie itself.
In May 1997, Mattel introduced "Share a Smile Becky", a doll in a pink wheelchair. Kjersti Johnson, a 17-year-old high school student in Tacoma, Washington with cerebral palsy, pointed out that the doll would not fit into the elevator of Barbie's $100 Dream House. Mattel announced that it would redesign the house in the future to accommodate the doll.
In July 2024, Mattel released the first blind Barbie in collaboration with the American Foundation for the Blind. Alongside this, the company also launched a black Barbie with Down syndrome.
Role model Barbies.
In March 2018, in time for International Women's Day, Mattel unveiled the "Barbie Celebrates Role Models" campaign with a line of 17 dolls, informally known as "sheroes", from diverse backgrounds "to showcase examples of extraordinary women". Mattel developed this collection in response to mothers concerned about their daughters having positive female role models. Dolls in this collection include Frida Kahlo, Patti Jenkins, Chloe Kim, Nicola Adams, Ibtihaj Muhammad, Bindi Irwin, Amelia Earhart, Misty Copeland, Helene Darroze, Katherine Johnson, Sara Gama, Martyna Wojciechowska, Gabby Douglas, Guan Xiaotong, Ava Duvernay, Yuan Yuan Tan, Iris Apfel, Ashley Graham and Leyla Piedayesh. In 2020, the company announced a new release of "shero" dolls, including Paralympic champion Madison de Rozario, and world four-time sabre champion Olga Kharlan. In July 2021, Mattel released a Naomi Osaka Barbie doll as a part of the 'Barbie Role Model' series. Osaka originally partnered with Barbie two years earlier. A month earlier, a Julie Bishop doll was released to acknowledge the former Australian politician, as was one for general practitioner Kirby White for her work during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. In August 2021 a Barbie modelled after European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti was released.
Collecting.
The standard range of Barbie dolls and related accessories are manufactured to approximately 1/6 scale, which is also known as "playscale". The standard dolls are approximately tall.
Mattel estimates that there are well over 100,000 avid Barbie collectors. Ninety percent are women, at an average age of 40, purchasing more than twenty Barbie dolls each year. Forty-five percent of them spend upwards of $1000 a year.
Vintage Barbie dolls from the early years are the most valuable at auction, and while the original Barbie was sold for $3.00 in 1959, a mint boxed Barbie from 1959 sold for $3552.50 on eBay in October 2004. On September 26, 2006, a Barbie doll set a world record at auction of £9,000 sterling (US$17,000) at Christie's in London. The doll was a Barbie in Midnight Red from 1965 and was part of a private collection of 4,000 Barbie dolls being sold by two Dutch women, Ietje Raebel and her daughter Marina.
In recent years, Mattel has sold a wide range of Barbie dolls aimed specifically at collectors, including porcelain versions, vintage reproductions, and depictions of Barbie as a range of characters from film and television series such as "The Munsters" and "". There are also collector's edition dolls depicting Barbie dolls with a range of different ethnic identities. In 2004, Mattel introduced the Color Tier system for its collector's edition Barbie dolls including pink, silver, gold, and platinum, depending on how many of the dolls are produced. In 2020, Mattel introduced the Dia De Los Muertos collectible Barbie doll, the second collectible released as part of the company's La Catrina line which was launched in 2019.
Parodies and lawsuits.
Barbie has frequently been the target of parody:
Competition from Bratz dolls.
In May 2001, MGA Entertainment launched the "Bratz" series of dolls, a move that gave Barbie her first serious competition in the fashion doll market. In 2004, sales figures showed that Bratz dolls were outselling Barbie dolls in the United Kingdom, although Mattel maintained that in terms of the number of dolls, clothes, and accessories sold, Barbie remained the leading brand. In 2005, figures showed that sales of Barbie dolls had fallen by 30% in the United States, and by 18% worldwide, with much of the drop being attributed to the popularity of Bratz dolls.
In December 2006, Mattel sued MGA Entertainment for $1 billion, alleging that Bratz creator Carter Bryant was working for Mattel when he developed the idea for "Bratz". On July 17, 2008, a federal jury agreed that the Bratz line was created by Carter Bryant while he was working for Mattel and that MGA and its chief executive officer Isaac Larian were liable for converting Mattel property for their own use and intentionally interfering with the contractual duties owed by Bryant to Mattel. On August 26, the jury found that Mattel would have to be paid $100 million in damages. On December 3, 2008, U.S. District Judge Stephen Larson banned MGA from selling Bratz. He allowed the company to continue selling the dolls until the winter holiday season ended. On appeal, a stay was granted by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit; the Court also overturned the District Court's original ruling for Mattel, where MGA Entertainment was ordered to forfeit the entire "Bratz" brand.
Mattel Inc. and MGA Entertainment Inc. returned to court on January 18, 2011, to renew their battle over who owns "Bratz", which this time included accusations from both companies that the other side stole trade secrets. On April 21, 2011, a federal jury returned a verdict supporting MGA. On August 5, 2011, Mattel was also ordered to pay MGA $310 million for attorney fees, stealing trade secrets, and false claims rather than the $88.5 million issued in April.
In August 2009, MGA introduced a range of dolls called Moxie Girlz, intended as a replacement for Bratz dolls.
Effects on body image.
From the start, some have complained that "the blonde, plastic doll conveyed an unrealistic body image to girls."
Criticisms of Barbie are often centered around concerns that children consider Barbie a role model and will attempt to emulate her. One of the most common criticisms of Barbie is that she promotes an unrealistic idea of body image for a young woman, leading to a risk that girls who attempt to emulate her will become anorexic. Unrealistic body proportions in Barbie dolls have been connected to some eating disorders in children.
A standard Barbie doll is tall, giving a height of at 1/6 scale. Barbie's vital statistics have been estimated at (chest), (waist) and (hips). According to research by the University Central Hospital in Helsinki, Finland, she would lack the 17 to 22 percent body fat required for a woman to menstruate. In 1963, the outfit "Barbie Baby-Sits" came with a book titled "How to Lose Weight" which advised: "Don't eat!" The same book was included in another ensemble called "Slumber Party" in 1965 along with a pink bathroom scale permanently set at , which would be underweight for a woman tall. Mattel said that the waist of the Barbie doll was made small because the waistbands of her clothes, along with their seams, snaps, and zippers, added bulk to her figure. In 1997, Barbie's body mold was redesigned and given a wider waist, with Mattel saying that this would make the doll better suited to contemporary fashion designs.
In 2016, Mattel introduced a range of new body types: 'tall', 'petite', and 'curvy', releasing them exclusively as part of the Barbie Fashionistas line. 'Curvy Barbie' received a great deal of media attention and even made the cover of "Time" magazine with the headline "Now Can We Stop Talking About My Body?". Despite the curvy doll's body shape being equivalent to a US size 4 in clothing, some children reportedly regarded her as "fat".
Although Barbie had been criticized for its unrealistic-looking "tall and petite" dolls, the company has been offering more dolls set to more realistic standards in order to help promote a positive body image.
"Barbie syndrome".
"Barbie syndrome" is a term that has been used to depict the desire to have a physical appearance and lifestyle representative of the Barbie doll. It is most often associated with pre-teenage and adolescent girls but is applicable to any age group or gender. A person with Barbie syndrome attempts to emulate the doll's physical appearance, even though the doll has unattainable body proportions. This syndrome is seen as a form of body dysmorphic disorder and results in various eating disorders as well as an obsession with cosmetic surgery.
Ukrainian model Valeria Lukyanova has received attention from the press, due in part to her appearance having been modified based on the physique of Barbie. She stated that she has only had breast implants and relies heavily on make up and contacts to alter her appearance. Similarly, Lacey Wildd, an American reality television personality frequently referred to as "Million Dollar Barbie", has also undergone 12 breast augmentation surgeries to become "the extreme Barbie".
Jessica Alves, prior to coming out as transgender, underwent over £373,000 worth of cosmetic procedures to match the appearance of Barbie's male counterpart, garnering her the nickname the "Human Ken Doll". These procedures have included multiple nose jobs, six pack ab implants, a buttock lift, and hair and chest implants. Sporting the same nickname, Justin Jedlica, the American businessman, has also received multiple cosmetic surgeries to enhance his Ken-like appearance.
In 2006, researchers Helga Dittmar, Emma Halliwell, and Suzanne Ive conducted an experiment testing how dolls, including Barbie, affect self-image in young girls. Dittmar, Halliwell, and Ive gave picture books to girls age 5–8, one with photos of Barbie and the other with photos of Emme, a doll with more realistic physical features. The girls were then asked about their ideal body size. Their research found that the girls who were exposed to the images of Barbie had significantly lower self-esteem than the girls who had photos of Emme. However, Benjamin Radford noted that the answer may not be this simple since this research also showed that the age of the girl was a significant factor in the influence the doll had on her self esteem.
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Godzilla
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is a fictional monster, or "kaiju", that debuted in the eponymous 1954 film, directed and co-written by Ishirō Honda. The character has since become an international pop culture icon, appearing in various media: 33 Japanese films produced by Toho Co., Ltd., five American films, and numerous video games, novels, comic books, and television shows. Godzilla has been dubbed the King of the Monsters, an epithet first used in "Godzilla, King of the Monsters!" (1956), the American localization of the 1954 film.
Originally and in most iterations of the creature, Godzilla is a colossal prehistoric reptilian or dinosaurian monster that is amphibious or resides partially in the ocean, awakened and empowered after many years by exposure to nuclear radiation and nuclear testing. With the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the "Lucky Dragon 5" incident still fresh in the Japanese consciousness, Godzilla was conceived as a metaphor for nuclear weapons. Others have suggested that Godzilla is a metaphor for the United States, a "giant beast" woken from its "slumber" that then takes terrible vengeance on Japan. As the film series expanded, some storylines took on less serious undertones, portraying Godzilla as an antihero or lesser threat who defends humanity. Later films address disparate themes and commentary, including Japan's apathy, neglect, and ignorance of its imperial past, natural disasters, and the human condition.
Godzilla has been featured alongside many supporting characters and, over the decades, has faced off against various human opponents, such as the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF), in addition to other gargantuan monsters, including Gigan, King Ghidorah, and Mechagodzilla. Godzilla has fought alongside allies such as Anguirus, Mothra, and Rodan and has had offspring, including Godzilla Junior and Minilla. Godzilla has also battled characters and creatures from other franchises in crossover media —such as King Kong— as well as various Marvel Comics characters, like S.H.I.E.L.D., the Fantastic Four, and the Avengers, as well as DC Comics characters such as the Justice League, the Legion of Doom and the Green Lantern Corps.
Appearances.
First appearing in 1954, Godzilla has starred in a total of 38 films: 33 Japanese films produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd. and five American films, one produced by TriStar Pictures and four produced by Legendary Pictures. He has also appeared in countless other entertainment mediums, which include comic book lines, novelizations, and video games; each appearance expands upon the universe created by the films.
Development.
Naming.
Although the process of creating Godzilla's first film is comprehensively recorded, exactly how its name came to be remains unclear. The most widely accepted report of its origin is that producer Tomoyuki Tanaka named the monster after sturdy Toho worker Shirō Amikura, the later chief of the theater club of Toho, who was jokingly dubbed then , a portmanteau of the Japanese words and due to his burly build to resemble a gorilla and his habit to favor whale meat. The account has been acknowledged by Toho themselves, director Ishirō Honda, producer Tanaka, special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya, producer , and production head , with Satō and Mori recalling that the employee was Amikura. However, Honda's widow Kimi dismissed the employee-name story as a tall tale in a 1998 BBC documentary on Godzilla, believing that Honda, Tanaka, and Tsuburaya gave "considerable thought" to the name of the monster, stating, "the backstage boys at Toho loved to joke around with tall stories, but I don't believe that one". Honda's longtime assistant director added: "Those of us who were closest to them don't even know how and why they came up with "Gojira"."
Toho later translated the monster's Japanese name as "Godzilla" for overseas distribution. The first recorded foreign usage of "Godzilla" was printed in the "Hawaii Tribune-Herald" on November 20, 1955.
During the development of the American version of "Godzilla Raids Again" (1955), Godzilla's name was changed to "Gigantis" by producer Paul Schreibman, who wanted to create a character distinct from Godzilla.
Characterization.
Within the context of the Japanese films, Godzilla's exact origins vary, but it is generally depicted as an enormous, violent, prehistoric sea monster awakened and empowered by nuclear radiation. Although the specific details of Godzilla's appearance have varied slightly over the years, the overall impression has remained consistent. Inspired by the fictional "Rhedosaurus" created by animator Ray Harryhausen for the film "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms", Godzilla's character design was conceived as that of an amphibious reptilian monster based around the loose concept of a dinosaur with an erect standing posture, scaly skin, an anthropomorphic torso with muscular arms, lobed bony plates along its back and tail, and a furrowed brow.
Art director Akira Watanabe combined attributes of a "Tyrannosaurus", an "Iguanodon", a "Stegosaurus" and an alligator to form a sort of blended chimera, inspired by illustrations from an issue of "Life" magazine. To emphasize the monster's relationship with the atomic bomb, its skin texture was inspired by the keloid scars seen on the survivors of Hiroshima. The basic design has a reptilian visage, a robust build, an upright posture, a long tail and three rows of serrated plates along the back. In the original film, the plates were added for purely aesthetic purposes, in order to further differentiate Godzilla from any other living or extinct creature. Godzilla is sometimes depicted as green in comics, cartoons, and movie posters, but the costumes used in the movies were usually painted charcoal gray with bone-white dorsal plates up until the film "Godzilla 2000: Millennium".
In the original Japanese films, Godzilla and all the other monsters are referred to with gender-neutral pronouns equivalent to "it", while in the English dubbed versions, Godzilla is explicitly described as a male. In his book, Godzilla co-creator Tomoyuki Tanaka suggested that the monster was probably male; but also suggested that the original 1954 version could have been female. In the 1998 film "Godzilla", the monster is referred to as a male and is depicted laying eggs through parthenogenesis. In the Legendary "Godzilla" films, Godzilla is referred to as a male.
Godzilla's allegiance and motivations, as well as its level of intelligence, have changed from film to film to suit the needs of the story. Although Godzilla does not like humans, it will fight alongside humanity against common threats. However, it makes no special effort to protect human life or property and will turn against its human allies on a whim. It is generally not motivated to attack by predatory instinct; it does not usually eat people and instead sustains itself on nuclear radiation and an omnivorous or piscivorian diet consisting especially of cetaceans and large fish. When inquired if Godzilla was "good or bad", producer Shōgo Tomiyama likened it to a Shinto "God of Destruction" which lacks moral agency and cannot be held to human standards of good and evil. "He totally destroys everything and then there is a rebirth. Something new and fresh can begin." Tomoyuki Tanaka noted in his book that Godzilla and humanity can become temporal allies against greater threats, however they are essentially enemies due to the difficulty to co-exist.
Abilities.
Godzilla's signature weapon is its "atomic heat beam" (also known as "atomic breath"), nuclear energy that it generates inside of its body, uses electromagnetic force to concentrate it into a laser-like high velocity projectile and unleashes it from its jaws in the form of a blue or red radioactive beam. Toho's special effects department has used various techniques to render the beam, from physical gas-powered flames to hand-drawn or computer-generated fire. Godzilla is shown to possess immense physical strength and muscularity. Haruo Nakajima, the actor who played Godzilla in the original films, was a black belt in judo and used his expertise to choreograph the battle sequences.
Godzilla is amphibious: it has a preference for traversing Earth's hydrosphere when in hibernation or migration, can breathe underwater due to pore-shaped gills and is described in the original film by the character Dr. Yamane as a transitional form between a marine and a terrestrial reptile. Godzilla is shown to have great vitality: it is immune to conventional weaponry thanks to its rugged hide and ability to regenerate, and as a result of surviving a nuclear explosion, it cannot be destroyed by anything less powerful. One incarnation possesses an electromagnetic pulse-producing organ in its body which generates an asymmetrical permeable shield, making it impervious to all damage except for a short period when the organ recycles.
Various films, non-canonical television shows, comics, and games have depicted Godzilla with additional powers, such as an atomic pulse, magnetism, precognition, fireballs, convert electromagnetic energy into intensive body heat, converting shed blood into temporary tentacle limbs, an electric bite, superhuman speed, laser beams emitted from its eyes and even flight.
Roar.
Godzilla has a distinctive disyllabic roar (transcribed in several comics as "Skreeeonk!"), which was created by composer Akira Ifukube, who produced the sound by rubbing a pine tar-resin-coated glove along the string of a contrabass and then slowing down the playback. In the American version of "Godzilla Raids Again" (1955) titled "Gigantis the Fire Monster" (1959), Godzilla's roar was mostly substituted with that of the monster Anguirus. From "The Return of Godzilla" (1984) to "Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah" (1991), Godzilla was given a deeper and more threatening-sounding roar than in previous films, though this change was reverted from "Godzilla vs. Mothra" (1992) onward. For the 2014 American film, sound editors Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl refused to disclose the source of the sounds used for their Godzilla's roar. Aadahl described the two syllables of the roar as representing two different emotional reactions, with the first expressing fury and the second conveying the character's soul.
Size.
Godzilla's size is inconsistent, changing from film to film and even from scene to scene for the sake of artistic license. The miniature sets and costumes were typically built at a – scale and filmed at 240 frames per second to create the illusion of great size. In the original 1954 film, Godzilla was scaled to be tall. This was done so Godzilla could just peer over the largest buildings in Tokyo at the time. In the 1956 American version, Godzilla is estimated to be tall, because producer Joseph E. Levine felt that 50 m did not sound "powerful enough".
As the series progressed, Toho would rescale the character, eventually making Godzilla as tall as . This was done so that it would not be dwarfed by the newer, bigger buildings in Tokyo's skyline, such as the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building which Godzilla destroyed in the film "Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah" (1991). Supplementary information, such as character profiles, would also depict Godzilla as weighing between .
In the American film "Godzilla" (2014) from Legendary Pictures, Godzilla was scaled to be and weighing , making it the largest film version at that time. Director Gareth Edwards wanted Godzilla "to be so big as to be seen from anywhere in the city, but not too big that he couldn't be obscured". For "Shin Godzilla" (2016), Godzilla was made even taller than the Legendary version, at . In ' (2017), Godzilla's height was increased further still to . In ' (2019) and "Godzilla vs. Kong" (2021), Godzilla's height was increased to from the 2014 incarnation.
Special effects.
Godzilla's appearance has traditionally been portrayed in the films by an actor wearing a latex costume, though the character has also been rendered in animatronic, stop-motion and computer-generated form. Taking inspiration from "King Kong", special effects artist Eiji Tsuburaya had initially wanted Godzilla to be portrayed via stop-motion, but prohibitive deadlines and a lack of experienced animators in Japan at the time made suitmation more practical.
Suitmation.
The first suit, weighing in excess of , consisted of a body cavity made of thin wires and bamboo wrapped in chicken wire for support and covered in fabric and cushions, which were then coated in latex. It was held together by small hooks on the back, though subsequent Godzilla suits incorporated a zipper. Prior to 1984, most Godzilla suits were made from scratch, thus resulting in slight design changes in each film appearance. The most notable changes from 1962 to 1975 were the reduction in Godzilla's number of toes and the removal of the character's external ears and prominent fangs, features which would all later be reincorporated in the Godzilla designs from "The Return of Godzilla" (1984) onward. The most consistent Godzilla design was maintained from "Godzilla vs. Biollante" (1989) to "Godzilla vs. Destoroyah" (1995), when the suit was given a cat-like face and double rows of teeth.
Several suit actors had difficulties in performing as Godzilla due to the suits' weight, lack of ventilation and diminished visibility. Haruo Nakajima, who portrayed Godzilla from 1954 to 1972, said the materials used to make the 1954 suit (rubber, plastic, cotton, and latex) were hard to find after World War II. The suit weighed 100 kilograms after its completion and required two men to help Nakajima put it on. When he first put it on, he sweated so heavily that his shirt was soaked within seconds. Kenpachiro Satsuma in particular, who portrayed Godzilla from 1984 to 1995, described how the Godzilla suits he wore were even heavier and hotter than their predecessors because of the incorporation of animatronics. Satsuma himself suffered numerous medical issues during his tenure, including oxygen deprivation, near-drowning, concussions, electric shocks and lacerations to the legs from the suits' steel wire reinforcements wearing through the rubber padding. The ventilation problem was partially solved in the suit used in 1994's "Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla", which was the first to include an air duct that allowed suit actors to last longer during performances. In "The Return of Godzilla" (1984), some scenes made use of a 16-foot high robotic Godzilla (dubbed the "Cybot Godzilla") for use in close-up shots of the creature's head. The Cybot Godzilla consisted of a hydraulically powered mechanical endoskeleton covered in urethane skin containing 3,000 computer operated parts which permitted it to tilt its head and move its lips and arms.
CGI.
In "Godzilla" (1998), special effects artist Patrick Tatopoulos was instructed to redesign Godzilla as an incredibly fast runner. At one point, it was planned to use motion capture from a human to create the movements of the computer-generated Godzilla, but it was said to have ended up looking too much like a man in a suit. Tatopoulos subsequently reimagined the creature as a lean, digitigrade bipedal, iguana-like creature that stood with its back and tail parallel to the ground, rendered via CGI. Several scenes had the monster portrayed by stuntmen in suits. The suits were similar to those used in the Toho films, with the actors' heads being located in the monster's neck region and the facial movements controlled via animatronics. However, because of the creature's horizontal posture, the stuntmen had to wear metal leg extenders, which allowed them to stand off the ground with their feet bent forward. The film's special effects crew also built a scale animatronic Godzilla for close-up scenes, whose size outmatched that of Stan Winston's "T. rex" in "Jurassic Park". Kurt Carley performed the suitmation sequences for the adult Godzilla.
In "Godzilla" (2014), the character was portrayed entirely via CGI. Godzilla's design in the reboot was intended to stay true to that of the original series, though the film's special effects team strove to make the monster "more dynamic than a guy in a big rubber suit." To create a CG version of Godzilla, the Moving Picture Company (MPC) studied various animals such as bears, Komodo dragons, lizards, lions and wolves, which helped the visual effects artists visualize Godzilla's body structure, like that of its underlying bone, fat and muscle structure, as well as the thickness and texture of its scales. Motion capture was also used for some of Godzilla's movements. T. J. Storm provided the performance capture for Godzilla by wearing sensors in front of a green screen. Storm reprised the role of Godzilla in "", portraying the character through performance capture. In "Shin Godzilla", a majority of the character was portrayed via CGI, with Mansai Nomura portraying Godzilla through motion capture. In 2024, "Godzilla Minus One" was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, becoming the first "Godzilla" film nominated for an Oscar. At the 96th Academy Awards ceremony, it won the award.
Cultural impact.
Godzilla is one of the most recognizable symbols of Japanese popular culture worldwide and remains an important facet of Japanese films, embodying the "kaiju" subset of the "tokusatsu" genre. Godzilla's vaguely humanoid appearance and strained, lumbering movements endeared it to Japanese audiences, who could relate to Godzilla as a sympathetic character, despite its wrathful nature. Audiences respond positively to the character because it acts out of rage and self-preservation and shows where science and technology can go wrong.
In 1967, the Keukdong Entertainment Company of South Korea, with production assistance from Toei Company, produced "Yongary, Monster from the Deep", a reptilian monster who invades South Korea to consume oil. The film and character has often been branded as an imitation of Godzilla.
Godzilla has been considered a filmographic metaphor for the United States, as well as an allegory of nuclear weapons in general. The earlier "Godzilla" films, especially the original, portrayed Godzilla as a frightening nuclear-spawned monster. Godzilla represented the fears that many Japanese held about the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the possibility of recurrence.
As the series progressed, so did Godzilla, changing into a less destructive and more heroic character. "Ghidorah" (1964) was the turning point in Godzilla's transformation from villain to hero, by pitting him against a greater threat to humanity, King Ghidorah. Godzilla has since been viewed as an anti-hero. Roger Ebert cited Godzilla as a notable example of a villain-turned-hero, along with King Kong, Jaws ("James Bond"), the Terminator and John Rambo.
Godzilla is considered "the original radioactive superhero" due to his accidental radioactive origin story predating Spider-Man (1962 debut), though Godzilla did not become a hero until "Ghidorah" in 1964. By the 1970s, Godzilla came to be viewed as a superhero, with the magazine "King of the Monsters" in 1977 describing Godzilla as "Superhero of the '70s." Godzilla had surpassed Superman and Batman to become "the most universally popular superhero of 1977" according to Donald F. Glut. Godzilla was also voted the most popular movie monster in "The Monster Times" poll in 1973, beating Count Dracula, King Kong, the Wolf Man, the Mummy, the Creature from the Black Lagoon and the Frankenstein Monster.
In 1996, Godzilla received the MTV Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as being given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2004 to celebrate the premiere of the character's 50th anniversary film, "". Godzilla's pop-cultural impact has led to the creation of numerous parodies and tributes, as seen in media such as "Bambi Meets Godzilla", which was ranked as one of the "50 greatest cartoons", two episodes of "Mystery Science Theater 3000" and the song "Godzilla" by Blue Öyster Cult. Godzilla has also been used in advertisements, such as in a commercial for Nike, where Godzilla lost an oversized one-on-one game of basketball to a giant version of NBA player Charles Barkley. The commercial was subsequently adapted into a comic book illustrated by Jeff Butler. Godzilla has also appeared in a commercial for Snickers candy bars, which served as an indirect promo for the 2014 film. Godzilla's success inspired the creation of numerous other monster characters, such as Gamera, Reptilicus of Denmark, Yonggary of South Korea, Pulgasari of North Korea, Gorgo of the United Kingdom and the "Cloverfield" monster of the United States.
"Dakosaurus" is an extinct sea crocodile of the Jurassic Period, which researchers informally nicknamed "Godzilla". Paleontologists have written tongue-in-cheek speculative articles about Godzilla's biology, with Kenneth Carpenter tentatively classifying it as a ceratosaur based on its skull shape, four-fingered hands, and dorsal scutes and paleontologist Darren Naish expressing skepticism, while commenting on Godzilla's unusual morphology.
Godzilla's ubiquity in pop culture has led to the mistaken assumption that the character is in the public domain, resulting in litigation by Toho to protect their corporate asset from becoming a generic trademark. In April 2008, Subway depicted a giant monster in a commercial for their Five Dollar Footlongs sandwich promotion. Toho filed a lawsuit against Subway for using the character without permission, demanding $150,000 in compensation. In February 2011, Toho sued Honda for depicting a fire-breathing monster in a commercial for the Honda Odyssey. The monster was never mentioned by name, being seen briefly on a video screen inside the minivan. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society christened a vessel the "MV Gojira". Its purpose is to target and harass Japanese whalers in defense of whales in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. The "MV Gojira" was renamed the in May 2011, due to legal pressure from Toho. Gojira is the name of a French death metal band, formerly known as Godzilla; legal problems forced the band to change their name. In May 2015, Toho launched a lawsuit against Voltage Pictures over a planned picture starring Anne Hathaway. Promotional material released at the Cannes Film Festival used images of Godzilla.
Steven Spielberg cited "Godzilla" as an inspiration for "Jurassic Park" (1993), specifically "Godzilla, King of the Monsters!" (1956), which he grew up watching. Spielberg described "Godzilla" as "the most masterful of all the dinosaur movies because it made you believe it was really happening." "Godzilla" also influenced the Spielberg film "Jaws" (1975). "Godzilla" has also been cited as an inspiration by filmmakers Martin Scorsese and Tim Burton.
A carnivorous dinosaur from the Triassic period was named "Gojirasaurus" in 1997"." The main-belt asteroid 101781 Gojira, discovered by American astronomer Roy Tucker at the Goodricke-Pigott Observatory in 1999, was named in honor of the creature. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on July 11, 2018 (). The largest megamullion, located 600 kilometers to the south-east of Okinotorishima, the southernmost Japanese island, is named the Godzilla Megamullion. The Japan Coast Guard played a role in name, reaching an agreement with Toho. Toho's Chief Godzilla officer Keiji Ota stated that "I am truly honored that (the megamullion) bears Godzilla's name, the Earth's most powerful monster."
In a 2007 interview, Japanese defense minister Shigeru Ishiba said that he would mobilize the Japan Self-Defense Forces in response to an appearance by Godzilla.
Cultural ambassador.
In April 2015, the Shinjuku ward of Tokyo named Godzilla a special resident and official tourism ambassador to encourage tourism. During an unveiling of a giant Godzilla bust at Toho headquarters, Shinjuku mayor Kenichi Yoshizumi stated, "Godzilla is a character that is the pride of Japan." The mayor extended a residency certificate to an actor in a rubber suit representing Godzilla, but as the suit's hands were not designed for grasping, it was accepted on Godzilla's behalf by a Toho executive. Reporters noted that Shinjuku's ward has been flattened by Godzilla in three Toho movies.
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Homer Simpson
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Homer Jay Simpson is the protagonist of the American animated sitcom "The Simpsons". He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared, along with the rest of the Simpsons, in "The Tracey Ullman Show" short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Homer was created by the cartoonist Matt Groening while he was waiting in the lobby of producer James L. Brooks's office. Groening had been called to pitch a series of shorts based on his comic strip "Life in Hell" but instead created a new set of characters. He named the character after his father, Homer Groening. After appearing for three seasons on "The Tracey Ullman Show", the Simpsons received their own series on Fox, which debuted on December 17, 1989.
Homer is the patriarch of the Simpson family. He and his wife Marge have three children: Bart, Lisa and Maggie. As the family's provider, he works at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant as a safety inspector. Homer embodies many American working class stereotypes: he is obese, balding, immature, outspoken, aggressive, lazy, ignorant, unprofessional, and fond of beer, junk food, and television. However, he is fundamentally a good man and is staunchly protective of his family, especially when they need him the most. Despite the suburban blue-collar routine of his life, he has had several remarkable experiences, including going to space, climbing the tallest mountain in Springfield by himself, fighting former President George H. W. Bush, and winning a Grammy Award as a member of a barbershop quartet.
In the shorts and earlier episodes, Castellaneta voiced Homer with a loose impression of Walter Matthau; however, during the second and third seasons of the half-hour show, Homer's voice evolved to become more robust, to allow the expression of a fuller range of emotions. He has appeared in other media relating to "The Simpsons"—including video games, "The Simpsons Movie", The Simpsons Ride, commercials, and comic books—and inspired an entire line of merchandise. His signature catchphrase, the annoyed grunt "D'oh!", has been included in "The New Oxford Dictionary of English" since 1998 and the "Oxford English Dictionary" since 2001.
Homer is one of the most influential characters in the history of television and is widely considered an American cultural icon. The British newspaper "The Sunday Times" described him as "the greatest comic creation of [modern] time". He was named the greatest character of the last 20 years in 2010 by "Entertainment Weekly" and the second-greatest cartoon character by "TV Guide" (behind Bugs Bunny), and was voted the greatest television character of all time by Channel 4 viewers. Castellaneta has won four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance and a special-achievement Annie Award. In 2000, Homer and his family were awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Role in "The Simpsons".
Homer Jay Simpson is the bumbling husband of Marge, and father to Bart, Lisa and Maggie Simpson. He is the son of Mona and Abraham "Grampa" Simpson. Homer held over 188 different jobs in the first 400 episodes of "The Simpsons". In most episodes, he works as the nuclear safety inspector at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant (in Sector 7-G), a position which he has held since "Homer's Odyssey", the third episode of the series, despite the fact that he is totally unsuitable for it. At the nuclear plant, Homer is often ignored and completely forgotten by his boss Mr. Burns, and he constantly falls asleep and neglects his duties. Matt Groening has stated that he decided to have Homer work at the power plant because of the potential for Homer to wreak severe havoc. Each of his other jobs has lasted only one episode. In the first half of the series, the writers developed an explanation about how he got fired from the plant and was then rehired in every episode. In later episodes, he often began a new job on impulse, without any mention of his regular employment.
"The Simpsons" uses a floating timeline in which the characters never physically age, and, as such, the show is generally assumed to be always set in the current year. Nevertheless, in several episodes, events in Homer's life have been linked to specific time periods. "Mother Simpson" (season seven, 1995) depicts Homer's mother, Mona, as a radical who went into hiding in 1969 following a run-in with the law; "The Way We Was" (season two, 1991) shows Homer falling in love with Marge Bouvier as a senior at Springfield High School in 1974; and "I Married Marge" (season three, 1991) implies that Marge became pregnant with Bart in 1980. However, the episode "That '90s Show" (season 19, 2008) contradicted much of this backstory, portraying Homer and Marge as a twentysomething childless couple in the early 1990s. The episode "Do Pizza Bots Dream of Electric Guitars" (season 32, 2021) further contradicts this backstory, putting Homer's adolescence in the 1990s. Showrunner Matt Selman has explained that no version was the "official continuity." and that "they all kind of happened in their imaginary world, you know, and people can choose to love whichever version they love."
Due to the floating timeline, Homer's age has changed occasionally as the series developed; he was 34 in the early episodes, 36 in season four, 38 and 39 in season eight, and 40 in the eighteenth season, although even in those seasons his age is inconsistent. In the fourth season episode "Duffless", Homer's drivers license shows his birthdate of being May 12, 1956, which would have made him 36 years old at the time of the episode. During Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein's period as showrunners, they found that as they aged, Homer seemed to become older too, so they increased his age to 38. According to ' and ', books written by "The Simpsons"' creator, Matt Groening, Homer is 36. Homer's height is 6' (1.83 m), and his weight is between 239 and 260 lbs (108120 kg).
Character.
Creation.
Naming the characters after members of his own family, Groening named Homer after his father, who himself had been named after the ancient Greek poet. Very little else of Homer's character was based on him, and to prove that the meaning behind Homer's name was not significant, Groening later named his own son Homer. According to Groening, "Homer originated with my goal to both amuse my real father, and just annoy him a little bit. My father was an athletic, creative, intelligent filmmaker and writer, and the only thing he had in common with Homer was a love of donuts." Although Groening has stated in several interviews that Homer was named after his father, he also claimed in several 1990 interviews that a character called Homer Simpson in the 1939 Nathanael West novel "The Day of the Locust" as well as in the eponymous 1975 movie, was the inspiration. In 2012 he clarified, "I took that name from a minor character in the novel "The Day of the Locust"... Since Homer was my father's name, and I thought Simpson was a funny name in that it had the word "simp" in it, which is short for "simpleton"—I just went with it." Homer's middle initial "J", which stands for "Jay", is a "tribute" to animated characters such as Bullwinkle J. Moose and Rocket J. Squirrel from "The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show", who got their middle initial from Jay Ward.
Homer made his debut with the rest of the Simpson family on April 19, 1987, in "The Tracey Ullman Show" short "Good Night". In 1989, the shorts were adapted into "The Simpsons", a half-hour series airing on the Fox Broadcasting Company. Homer and the Simpson family remained the main characters on this new show.
Design.
As currently depicted in the series, Homer's everyday clothing consists of a white shirt with short sleeves and open collar, blue pants, and gray shoes. He is overweight and bald, except for a fringe of hair around the back and sides of his head and two curling hairs on top, and his face always sports a growth of beard stubble that instantly regrows whenever he shaves.
The entire Simpson family was designed so that they would be recognizable in silhouette. The family was crudely drawn because Groening had submitted basic sketches to the animators, assuming they would clean them up; instead, they just traced over his drawings. By coincidence or not, Homer's look bears a resemblance to the cartoon character Adamsson, created by Swedish cartoonist Oscar Jacobsson in 1920. Homer's physical features are generally not used in other characters; for example, in the later seasons, no characters other than Homer, Grampa Simpson, Lenny Leonard, and Krusty the Clown have a similar beard line. When Groening originally designed Homer, he put his initials into the character's hairline and ear: the hairline resembled an 'M', and the right ear resembled a 'G'. Groening decided that this would be too distracting and redesigned the ear to look normal. However, he still draws the ear as a 'G' when he draws pictures of Homer for fans. The basic shape of Homer's head is described by director Mark Kirkland as a tube-shaped coffee can with a salad bowl on top. During the shorts, the animators experimented with the way Homer would move his mouth when talking. At one point, his mouth would stretch out back "beyond his beardline"; but this was dropped when it got "out of control." In some early episodes, Homer's hair was rounded rather than sharply pointed because animation director Wes Archer felt it should look disheveled. Homer's hair evolved to be consistently pointed. During the first three seasons, Homer's design for some close-up shots included small lines which were meant to be eyebrows. Groening strongly disliked them and they were eventually dropped.
In the season seven (1995) episode "Treehouse of Horror VI", Homer was computer-animated into a three-dimensional character for the first time for the "Homer3" segment of the episode. The computer animation directors at Pacific Data Images worked hard not to "reinvent the character". In the final minute of the segment, the 3D Homer ends up in a real world, live-action Los Angeles. The scene was directed by David Mirkin and was the first time a "Simpsons" character had been in the real world in the series. Because "Lisa's Wedding" (season six, 1995) is set fifteen years in the future, Homer's design was altered to make him older in the episode. He is heavier; one of the hairs on top of his head was removed; and an extra line was placed under the eye. A similar design has been used in subsequent flashforwards.
Voice.
Homer's voice is performed by Dan Castellaneta, who voices numerous other characters, including Grampa Simpson, Krusty the Clown, Barney Gumble, Groundskeeper Willie, Mayor Quimby and Hans Moleman. Castellaneta had been part of the regular cast of "The Tracey Ullman Show" and had previously done some voice-over work in Chicago alongside his wife Deb Lacusta. Voices were needed for the Simpsons shorts, so the producers decided to ask Castellaneta and fellow cast member Julie Kavner to voice Homer and Marge rather than hire more actors. In the shorts and first season of the half-hour show, Homer's voice is different from the majority of the series. The voice began as a loose impression of Walter Matthau, but Castellaneta could not "get enough power behind that voice", or sustain his Matthau impression for the nine- to ten-hour-long recording sessions, and had to find something easier. During the second and third seasons of the half-hour show, Castellaneta "dropped the voice down" and developed it as more versatile and humorous, allowing Homer a fuller range of emotions.
Castellaneta's normal speaking voice does not bear any resemblance to Homer's. To perform Homer's voice, Castellaneta lowers his chin to his chest and is said to "let his I.Q. go". While in this state, he has ad-libbed several of Homer's least intelligent comments, such as the line "S-M-R-T; I mean, S-M-A-R-T!" from "Homer Goes to College" (season five, 1993) which was a genuine mistake made by Castellaneta during recording. Castellaneta likes to stay in character during recording sessions, and he tries to visualize a scene so that he can give the proper voice to it. Despite Homer's fame, Castellaneta claims he is rarely recognized in public, "except, maybe, by a die-hard fan".
"Homer's Barbershop Quartet" (season five, 1993) is the only episode where Homer's voice was provided by someone other than Castellaneta. The episode features Homer forming a barbershop quartet called The Be Sharps; and, at some points, his singing voice is provided by a member of The Dapper Dans. The Dapper Dans had recorded the singing parts for all four members of The Be Sharps. Their singing was intermixed with the normal voice actors' voices, often with a regular voice actor singing the melody and the Dapper Dans providing backup.
Until 1998, Castellaneta was paid $30,000 per episode. During a pay dispute in 1998, Fox threatened to replace the six main voice actors with new actors, going as far as preparing for casting of new voices. However, the dispute was soon resolved and he received $125,000 per episode until 2004 when the voice actors demanded that they be paid $360,000 an episode. The issue was resolved a month later, and Castellaneta earned $250,000 per episode. After salary re-negotiations in 2008, the voice actors receive approximately $400,000 per episode. Three years later, with Fox threatening to cancel the series unless production costs were cut, Castellaneta and the other cast members accepted a 30 percent pay cut, down to just over $300,000 per episode.
Character development.
Executive producer Al Jean notes that in "The Simpsons"' writing room, "everyone loves writing for Homer", and many of his adventures are based on experiences of the writers. In the early seasons of the show, Bart was the main focus. But, around the fourth season, Homer increasingly became the focus. According to Matt Groening, this was because "With Homer, there's just a wider range of jokes you can do. And there are far more drastic consequences to Homer's stupidity. There's only so far you can go with a juvenile delinquent. We wanted Bart to do anything up to the point of him being tried in court as a dad. But Homer is a dad, and his boneheaded-ness is funnier. [...] Homer is launching himself headfirst into every single impulsive thought that occurs to him."
Homer's behavior has changed a number of times through the run of the series. He was originally "very angry" and oppressive toward Bart, but these characteristics were toned down somewhat as his persona was further explored. In early seasons, Homer appeared concerned that his family was going to make him look bad; however, in later episodes he was less anxious about how he was perceived by others. In the first several years, Homer was often portrayed as dumb yet well-meaning, but during Mike Scully's tenure as executive producer (seasons nine, 1997 to twelve, 2001), he became more of "a boorish, self-aggrandizing oaf". Chris Suellentrop of "Slate" wrote, "under Scully's tenure, "The Simpsons" became, well, a cartoon. ... Episodes that once would have ended with Homer and Marge bicycling into the sunset... now end with Homer blowing a tranquilizer dart into Marge's neck." Fans have dubbed this incarnation of the character "Jerkass Homer". At voice recording sessions, Castellaneta has rejected material written in the script that portrayed Homer as being too mean. He believes that Homer is "boorish and unthinking, but he'd never be mean on purpose." When editing "The Simpsons Movie", several scenes were changed to make Homer more sympathetic.
The writers have depicted Homer with a declining intelligence over the years; they explain this was not done intentionally, but it was necessary to top previous jokes. For example, in "When You Dish Upon a Star", (season 10, 1998) the writers included a scene where Homer admits that he cannot read. The writers debated including this plot twist because it would contradict previous scenes in which Homer does read, but eventually they decided to keep the joke because they found it humorous. The writers often debate how far to go in portraying Homer's stupidity; one suggested rule is that "he can never forget his own name".
Personality.
The comic efficacy of Homer's personality lies in his frequent bouts of bumbling stupidity, laziness and his explosive anger. He has a low intelligence level and is described by director David Silverman as "creatively brilliant in his stupidity". Homer also shows immense apathy towards work, is overweight, and "is devoted to his stomach". His short attention span is evidenced by his impulsive decisions to engage in various hobbies and enterprises, only to "change ... his mind when things go badly". Homer often spends his evenings drinking Duff Beer at Moe's Tavern, and was shown in the episode "Duffless" (season four, 1993) as a full-blown alcoholic. He is very envious of his neighbors, Ned Flanders and his family, and is easily enraged by Bart. Homer will often strangle Bart on impulse upon Bart angering him (and can also be seen saying one of his catchphrases, "Why you little—!") in a cartoonish manner. The first instance of Homer strangling Bart was in the short "Family Portrait". According to Groening, the rule was that Homer could only strangle Bart impulsively, never with premeditation, because doing so "seems sadistic. If we keep it that he's ruled by his impulses, then he can easily switch impulses. So, even though he impulsively wants to strangle Bart, he also gives up fairly easily." Another of the original ideas entertained by Groening was that Homer would "always get his comeuppance or Bart had to strangle him back", but this was dropped. Homer shows no compunction about expressing his rage, and does not attempt to hide his actions from people outside the family. In "McMansion & Wife", Homer stated that he no longer strangles Bart, as "times have changed." However, the series' executive producers later clarified that Homer Simpson still strangles Bart, writing "Homer Simpson was unavailable for comment as he was busy strangling Bart".
Homer has complex relationships with his family. As previously noted, he and Bart are the most at odds; but the two commonly share adventures and are sometimes allies, with some episodes (particularly in later seasons) showing that the pair have a strange respect for each other's cunning. Homer and Lisa have opposite personalities and he usually overlooks Lisa's talents, but when made aware of his neglect, does everything he can to help her. The show also occasionally implies Homer forgets he has a third child, Maggie; while the episode "And Maggie Makes Three" suggests she is the chief reason Homer took and remains at his regular job (season six, 1995). While Homer's thoughtless antics often upset his family, he on many occasions has also revealed himself to be a caring and loving father and husband: in "Lisa the Beauty Queen", (season four, 1992) he sold his cherished ride on the Duff blimp and used the money to enter Lisa in a beauty pageant so she could feel better about herself; in "Rosebud", (season five, 1993) he gave up his chance at wealth to allow Maggie to keep a cherished teddy bear; in "Radio Bart", (season three, 1992) he spearheads an attempt to dig Bart out after he had fallen down a well; in "A Milhouse Divided", (season eight, 1996) he arranges a surprise second wedding with Marge to make up for their unsatisfactory first ceremony; and despite a poor relationship with his father Abraham "Grampa" Simpson, whom he placed in a nursing home as soon as he could while the Simpson family often do their best to avoid unnecessary contact with Grampa, Homer has shown feelings of love for his father from time to time.
Homer is "a (happy) slave to his various appetites". He has an apparently vacuous mind, but occasionally exhibits a surprising depth of knowledge about various subjects, such as the composition of the Supreme Court of the United States, Inca mythology, bankruptcy law, and cell biology. Homer's brief periods of intelligence are overshadowed, however, by much longer and consistent periods of ignorance, forgetfulness, and stupidity. Homer has a low IQ of 55, which would actually make him unable to speak or perform basic tasks, and has variously been attributed to the hereditary "Simpson Gene" (which eventually causes every male member of the family to become incredibly stupid), his alcohol problem, exposure to radioactive waste, repetitive cranial trauma, and a crayon lodged in the frontal lobe of his brain. In the 2001 episode "HOMR", Homer has the crayon removed, boosting his IQ to 105; although he bonds with Lisa, his newfound capacity for understanding and reason makes him unhappy, and he has the crayon reinserted. Homer often debates with his own mind, expressed in voiceover. His mind has a tendency to offer dubious advice, which occasionally helps him make the right decision, but often fails spectacularly. His mind has even become completely frustrated and, through sound effects, walked out on Homer. These exchanges were often introduced because they filled time and were easy for the animators to work on. They were phased out after the producers "used every possible permutation".
Producer Mike Reiss said Homer was his favorite "Simpsons" character to write: "Homer's just a comedy writer's dream. He has everything wrong with him, every comedy trope. He's fat and bald and stupid and lazy and angry and an alcoholic. I'm pretty sure he embodies all seven deadly sins." John Swartzwelder, who wrote 60 episodes, said he wrote Homer as if he were "a big talking dog ... One moment he's the saddest man in the world, because he's just lost his job, or dropped his sandwich, or accidentally killed his family. Then, the next moment, he's the happiest man in the world, because he's just found a penny — maybe under one of his dead family members ... If you write him as a dog you'll never go wrong." Reiss felt this was insightful, saying: "Homer is just pure emotion, no long-term memory, everything is instant gratification. And, you know, has good dog qualities, too. I think, loyalty, friendliness, and just kind of continuous optimism."
Reception.
Commendations.
Homer's influence on comedy and culture has been significant. In 2010, "Entertainment Weekly" named Homer "the greatest character of the last 20 years". He was placed second on "TV Guide"'s 2002 Top 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters, behind Bugs Bunny; fifth on Bravo's 100 Greatest TV Characters, one of only four cartoon characters on that list; and first in a Channel 4 poll of the greatest television characters of all time. In 2007, "Entertainment Weekly" placed Homer ninth on their list of the "50 Greatest TV icons" and first on their 2010 list of the "Top 100 Characters of the Past Twenty Years". Homer was also the runaway winner in British polls that determined who viewers thought was the "greatest American" and which fictional character people would like to see become the President of the United States. His relationship with Marge was included in "TV Guide" list of "The Best TV Couples of All Time". In 2022, "Paste" writers claimed that Homer is the second best cartoon character of all time.
Dan Castellaneta has won several awards for voicing Homer, including four Primetime Emmy Awards for "Outstanding Voice-Over Performance" in 1992 for "Lisa's Pony", 1993 for "Mr. Plow", in 2004 for "Today I Am a Clown", and in 2009 for "Father Knows Worst". However, in the case of "Today I Am a Clown", it was for voicing "various characters" and not solely for Homer. In 2010, Castellaneta received a fifth Emmy nomination for voicing Homer and Grampa in the episode "Thursdays with Abie". In 1993, Castellaneta was given a special Annie Award, "Outstanding Individual Achievement in the Field of Animation", for his work as Homer on "The Simpsons". In 2004, Castellaneta and Julie Kavner (the voice of Marge) won a Young Artist Award for "Most Popular Mom & Dad in a TV Series". In 2005, Homer and Marge were nominated for a Teen Choice Award for "Choice TV Parental Units". Various episodes in which Homer is strongly featured have won Emmy Awards for Outstanding Animated Program, including "Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment" in 1991, "Lisa's Wedding" in 1995, "Homer's Phobia" in 1997, "Trash of the Titans" in 1998, "HOMR" in 2001, "Three Gays of the Condo" in 2003 and "Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind" in 2008. In 2000, Homer and the rest of the Simpson family were awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard. In 2017, Homer Simpson was celebrated by the National Baseball Hall of Fame, to honor the 25th anniversary of the episode "Homer at the Bat".
Analysis.
Homer is an "everyman" and embodies several American stereotypes of working class blue-collar men: he is crude, overweight, incompetent, dim-witted, childish, clumsy and a borderline alcoholic. Matt Groening describes him as "completely ruled by his impulses". Dan Castellaneta calls him "a dog trapped in a man's body", adding, "He's incredibly loyal – not entirely clean – but you gotta love him." In his book "Planet Simpson", author Chris Turner describes Homer as "the most American of the Simpsons" and believes that while the other Simpson family members could be changed to other nationalities, Homer is "pure American". In the book "God in the Details: American Religion in Popular Culture", the authors comment that "Homer's progress (or lack thereof) reveals a character who can do the right thing, if accidentally or begrudgingly." The book "" includes a chapter analyzing Homer's character from the perspective of Aristotelian virtue ethics. Raja Halwani writes that Homer's "love of life" is an admirable character trait, "for many people are tempted to see in Homer nothing but buffoonery and immorality. ... He is not politically correct, he is more than happy to judge others, and he certainly does not seem to be obsessed with his health. These qualities might not make Homer an admirable "person", but they do make him admirable in some ways, and, more importantly, makes us crave him and the Homer Simpsons of this world." In 2008, "Entertainment Weekly" justified designating "The Simpsons" as a television classic by stating, "we all hail Simpson patriarch Homer because his joy is as palpable as his stupidity is stunning".
In the season eight episode "Homer's Enemy" the writers decided to examine "what it would be like to actually work alongside Homer Simpson". The episode explores the possibilities of a realistic character with a strong work ethic named Frank Grimes placed alongside Homer in a work environment. In the episode, Homer is portrayed as an everyman and the embodiment of the American spirit; however, in some scenes his negative characteristics and silliness are prominently highlighted. By the end of the episode, Grimes, a hard working and persevering "real American hero", has become the villain; the viewer is intended to be pleased that Homer has emerged victorious.
In "Gilligan Unbound", author Paul Arthur Cantor states that he believes Homer's devotion to his family has added to the popularity of the character. He writes, "Homer is the distillation of pure fatherhood. ... This is why, for all his stupidity, bigotry and self-centered quality, we cannot hate Homer. He continually fails at being a good father, but he never gives up trying, and in some basic and important sense that makes him a good father." "The Sunday Times" remarked "Homer is good because, above all, he is capable of great love. When the chips are down, he always does the right thing by his children—he is never unfaithful in spite of several opportunities."
Cultural influence.
Homer Simpson is one of the most popular and influential television characters by a variety of standards. "USA Today" cited the character as being one of the "top 25 most influential people of the past 25 years" in 2007, adding that Homer "epitomized the irony and irreverence at the core of American humor". Robert Thompson, director of Syracuse University's Center for the Study of Popular Television, believes that "three centuries from now, English professors are going to be regarding Homer Simpson as one of the greatest creations in human storytelling." Animation historian Jerry Beck described Homer as one of the best animated characters, saying, "you know someone like it, or you identify with (it). That's really the key to a classic character." Homer has been described by "The Sunday Times" as "the greatest comic creation of [modern] time". The article remarked, "every age needs its great, consoling failure, its lovable, pretension-free mediocrity. And we have ours in Homer Simpson."
Despite Homer's partial embodiment of American culture, his influence has spread to other parts of the world. In 2003, Matt Groening revealed that his father, after whom Homer was named, was Canadian, and said that this made Homer himself a Canadian. The character was later made an honorary citizen of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, because Homer Groening was believed to be from there, although sources say the senior Groening was actually born in the province of Saskatchewan. In 2007, an image of Homer was painted next to the Cerne Abbas Giant in Dorset, England as part of a promotion for "The Simpsons Movie". This caused outrage among local neopagans who performed "rain magic" to try to get it washed away.
On April 9, 2009, the United States Postal Service unveiled a series of five 44-cent stamps featuring Homer and the four other members of the Simpson family. They are the first characters from a television series to receive this recognition while the show is still in production. The stamps, designed by Matt Groening, were made available for purchase on May 7, 2009.
Homer has appeared, voiced by Castellaneta, in several other television shows, including the sixth season of "American Idol" where he opened the show; "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" where he performed a special animated opening monologue for the July 24, 2007, edition; and the 2008 fundraising television special "Stand Up to Cancer" where he was shown having a colonoscopy.
On February 28, 1999, Homer Simpson was made an honorary member of the Junior Common Room of Worcester College, Oxford. Homer was granted the membership by the college's undergraduate body in the belief that ″he would benefit greatly from an Oxford education″.
Homer has also been cited in the scientific literature, in relation to low intelligence or cognitive abilities. A 2010 study from Emory University showed that the RGS14 gene appeared to be impairing the development of cognitive abilities in mice (or, rather, that mice with a disabled RGS14 gene improved their cognitive abilities), prompting the authors to dub it the "Homer Simpson gene".
D'oh!
Homer's main and most famous catchphrase, the annoyed grunt "D'oh!", is typically uttered when he injures himself, realizes that he has done something stupid, or when something bad has happened or is about to happen to him. During the voice recording session for a "Tracey Ullman Show" short, Homer was required to utter what was written in the script as an "annoyed grunt". Dan Castellaneta rendered it as a drawn out "d'ooooooh". This was inspired by Jimmy Finlayson, the mustachioed Scottish actor who appeared in 33 Laurel and Hardy films. Finlayson had used the term as a minced oath to stand in for the word "Damn!" Matt Groening felt that it would better suit the timing of animation if it were spoken faster. Castellaneta then shortened it to a quickly uttered "D'oh!" The first intentional use of D'oh! occurred in the Ullman short "The Krusty the Clown Show" (1989), and its first usage in the series was in the series premiere, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire".
"D'oh!" was first added to "The New Oxford Dictionary of English" in 1998. It is defined as an interjection "used to comment on an action perceived as foolish or stupid". In 2001, "D'oh!" was added to the "Oxford English Dictionary", without the apostrophe ("Doh!"). The definition of the word is "expressing frustration at the realization that things have turned out badly or not as planned, or that one has just said or done something foolish". In 2006, "D'oh!" was placed in sixth position on TV Land's list of the 100 greatest television catchphrases. "D'oh!" is also included in "The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations". The book includes several other quotations from Homer, including "Kids, you tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is never try", from "Burns' Heir" (season five, 1994) as well as "Kids are the best, Apu. You can teach them to hate the things you hate. And they practically raise themselves, what with the Internet and all", from "Eight Misbehavin' (season 11, 1999). Both quotes entered the dictionary in August 2007.
Merchandising.
Homer's inclusion in many Simpsons publications, toys, and other merchandise is evidence of his enduring popularity. "The Homer Book", about Homer's personality and attributes, was released in 2004 and is commercially available. It has been described as "an entertaining little book for occasional reading" and was listed as one of "the most interesting books of 2004" by "The Chattanoogan". Other merchandise includes dolls, posters, figurines, bobblehead dolls, mugs, alarm clocks, jigsaw puzzles, Chia Pets, and clothing such as slippers, T-shirts, baseball caps, and boxer shorts. Homer has appeared in commercials for Coke, 1-800-COLLECT, Burger King, Butterfinger, C.C. Lemon, Church's Chicken, Domino's Pizza, Intel, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Ramada Inn, Subway and T.G.I. Friday's. In 2004, Homer starred in a MasterCard "Priceless" commercial that aired during Super Bowl XXXVIII. In 2001, Kelloggs launched a brand of cereal called "Homer's Cinnamon Donut Cereal", which was available for a limited time. In June 2009, Dutch automotive navigation systems manufacturer TomTom announced that Homer would be added to its downloadable GPS voice lineup. Homer's voice, recorded by Dan Castellaneta, features several in-character comments such as "Take the third right. We might find an ice cream truck! Mmm... ice cream."
Other media.
Homer has appeared in other media relating to "The Simpsons". He has appeared in every one of "The Simpsons" video games, including the most recent, "The Simpsons Game". Homer appears as a playable character in the toys-to-life video game "Lego Dimensions", released via a "Level Pack" packaged with Homer's Car and "Taunt-o-Vision" accessories in September 2015; the pack also adds an additional level based on the episode "The Mysterious Voyage of Homer". Alongside the television series, Homer regularly appeared in issues of "Simpsons Comics", which were published from November 29, 1993, until October 17, 2018. Homer also plays a role in The Simpsons Ride, launched in 2008 at Universal Studios Florida and Hollywood.
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Bart Simpson
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Bartholomew Jojo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional character in the American animated television series "The Simpsons" and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in "The Tracey Ullman Show" short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening created and designed Bart while waiting in the lobby of James L. Brooks' office. Groening had been called to pitch a series of shorts based on his comic strip, "Life in Hell", but instead decided to create a new set of characters. While the rest of the characters were named after Groening's family members, Bart's name is an anagram of the word "brat". After appearing on "The Tracey Ullman Show" for two years, the Simpson family received its own series on Fox, which debuted December 17, 1989. Bart has appeared in every "Simpsons" episode except "Four Great Women and a Manicure".
At ten years old, Bart is the eldest child and only son of Homer and Marge, and the brother of Lisa and Maggie. Bart's most prominent and popular character traits are his mischievousness, rebelliousness and disrespect for authority. Hallmarks of the character include his chalkboard gags in the opening sequence; his prank calls to Moe; and his catchphrases "Eat my shorts", "¡Ay, caramba!", "Don't have a cow, man!", and "I'm Bart Simpson. Who the hell are you?". However, with the exception of "¡Ay, caramba!", these hallmarks have been retired or are not often used. Bart has appeared in other media relating to "The Simpsons" – including video games, "The Simpsons Movie", "The Simpsons" Ride, commercials, and comic books – and inspired an entire line of merchandise.
In casting, Cartwright originally planned to audition for the role of Lisa, while Yeardley Smith tried out for Bart. Smith's voice was considered too high for a boy, so she was given the role of Lisa. Likewise, Cartwright found Lisa uninteresting, so she instead auditioned for Bart, which she thought was a better role.
During the first two seasons of "The Simpsons", Bart was the show's protagonist and "Bartmania" ensued, spawning Bart Simpson-themed merchandise touting his rebellious attitude and pride at underachieving, which caused many parents and educators to cast him as a bad role model for children. Around the third season, the role of the protagonist was taken over by his father, and series started to focus more on the family as a whole, though Bart still remains a prominent breakout character. "Time" named Bart one of the , and he was named "entertainer of the year" in 1990 by "Entertainment Weekly". Cartwright has won several awards for voicing Bart, including a Primetime Emmy Award in 1992 and an Annie Award in 1995. In 2000, Bart, along with the rest of his family, was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In episode 13 of season 21, it is revealed that he is 1/64th black.
Role in "The Simpsons".
"The Simpsons" uses a floating timeline in which the characters do not age or age very little, and as such, the show is always assumed to be set in the current year. In several episodes, events have been linked to specific times, though sometimes this timeline has been contradicted in subsequent episodes. Bart's year of birth was stated in "I Married Marge" (season three, 1991) as being in the early 1980s. In "Simpsorama" (season 26, 2014) Bart states his birthday as February 23. In The Bart Book, a book by Simpsons' creator Matt Groening, Bart's birthday is said to be April 1. He lived with his parents in the Lower East Side of Springfield until the Simpsons bought their first house. When Lisa was born, Bart was at first jealous of the attention she received, but he soon warmed to her when he discovered that "Bart" was her first word. Bart's first day of school was in the early 1990s. His initial enthusiasm was crushed by an uncaring teacher and Marge became worried that something was truly wrong with Bart. One day during recess, Bart met Milhouse and started entertaining him and other students with various gestures and rude words. Principal Skinner told him "you've just started school, and the path you choose now may be the one you follow for the rest of your life! Now, what do you say?" In his moment of truth, Bart responded, "eat my shorts". The episode "That '90s Show" (season nineteen, 2008) contradicted much of the backstory's time frame; for example, it was revealed that Homer and Marge were childless in the early 1990s.
Bart's hobbies include skateboarding, watching television (especially "The Krusty the Clown Show" which includes "The Itchy & Scratchy Show"), reading comic books (especially Radioactive Man), playing video games and generally causing mischief. His favorite movies are "Jaws" and the "Star Wars" trilogy. For the duration of the series, Bart has attended Springfield Elementary School and has been in Edna Krabappel's fourth grade class. He is 10 years old. While he is too young to hold a full-time job, he has had occasional part-time jobs. He works as a bartender at Fat Tony's social club in "Bart the Murderer" (season three, 1991); as Krusty the Clown's assistant in "Bart Gets Famous" (season five, 1994); as a doorman in Springfield's burlesque house, the Maison Derrière, in "Bart After Dark" (season eight, 1996); and briefly owns his own factory in "Homer's Enemy" (season eight, 1997).
Character.
Creation.
Matt Groening first conceived of Bart and the rest of the Simpson family in 1987, while waiting in the lobby of producer James L. Brooks' office. Groening had been called in to pitch a series of animated shorts for "The Tracey Ullman Show", and had intended to present an adaptation of his "Life in Hell" comic strip. When he realized that animating "Life in Hell" would require him to rescind publication rights, Groening decided to go in another direction. He hurriedly sketched out his version of a dysfunctional family, naming the characters after members of his own family. For the rebellious son, he substituted "Bart", an anagram of the word "brat", for his own name, as he decided it would have been too obvious for him to have named the character 'Matt'. Bart's middle initial "J" is a "tribute" to animated characters such as Bullwinkle J. Moose and Rocket J. Squirrel from "The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show", who received their middle initial from Jay Ward. According to the book "Bart Simpson's Guide to Life", Bart's full middle name is "JoJo".
Bart had originally been envisioned as "a much milder, troubled youth given to existential angst who talks to himself", but the character was changed based on Cartwright's voice acting. Groening has credited several different figures with providing inspiration for Bart: Matt Groening's older brother Mark provided much of the motivation for Bart's attitude. Bart was conceived as an extreme version of the typical misbehaving child character, merging all of the extreme traits of characters such as Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn into one person. Groening describes Bart as "what would happen if the son of Eddie Haskell [from "Leave It to Beaver"] got his own show". Groening has also said that he found the premise of "Dennis the Menace" disappointing and was inspired to create a character who was actually a menace.
Bart made his debut with the rest of the Simpson family on April 19, 1987, in "The Tracey Ullman Show" short "Good Night". In 1989, the shorts were adapted into "The Simpsons", a half-hour series airing on the Fox Broadcasting Company. Bart and the Simpson family remained the main characters on this new show.
Design.
The entire Simpson family was designed so that they would be recognizable in silhouette. The family was crudely drawn, because Groening had submitted basic sketches to the animators, assuming they would clean them up; instead, they just traced over his drawings. Bart's original design, which appeared in the first shorts, had spikier hair, and the spikes were of different lengths. The number was later limited to nine spikes, all of the same size. At the time Groening was primarily drawing in black and "not thinking that [Bart] would eventually be drawn in color" gave him spikes which appear to be an extension of his head. The features of Bart's character design are generally not used in other characters; for example, no other characters in current episodes have Bart's spiky hairline, although several background characters in the first few seasons shared the trait.
The basic rectangular shape of Bart's head is described by director Mark Kirkland as a coffee can. Homer's head is also rectangular (with a dome on top), while spheres are used for Marge, Lisa, and Maggie. Different animators have different methods of drawing Bart. Former director Jeffrey Lynch starts off with a box, then adds the eyes, then the mouth, then the hair spikes, ear, and then the rest of the body. Matt Groening normally starts with the eyes, then the nose, and the rest of the outline of Bart's head. Many of the animators have trouble drawing Bart's spikes evenly; one trick they use is to draw one on the right, one on the left, one in the middle, then continue to add one in the middle of the blank space until there are nine. Originally, whenever Bart was to be drawn from an angle looking down so the top of his head was seen, Groening wanted there to be spikes along the outline of his head, and in the middle as well. Instead, Wes Archer and David Silverman drew him so that there was an outline of the spikes, then just a smooth patch in the middle because "it worked graphically". In "The Blue and the Gray", Bart (along with Lisa and Maggie) finally questions why his hair has no visible border to separate head from hair.
In the season seven (1995) episode "Treehouse of Horror VI", Bart (along with Homer) was computer-animated into a three-dimensional character for the first time for the "Homer3" segment of the episode. The computer animation was provided by Pacific Data Images. While designing the 3D model of the character, the animators did not know how they would show Bart's hair. They realized that there were vinyl Bart dolls in production and purchased one to use as a model.
Voice.
Bart's voice is provided by Nancy Cartwright, who voices several other child characters on "The Simpsons", including Nelson Muntz, Ralph Wiggum, Todd Flanders, and Kearney. While the roles of Homer and Marge were given to Dan Castellaneta and Julie Kavner because they were already a part of "The Tracey Ullman Show" cast, the producers decided to hold casting for the roles of Bart and Lisa. Yeardley Smith had initially been asked to audition for the role of Bart, but casting director Bonita Pietila believed her voice was too high. Smith later recalled, "I always sounded too much like a girl. I read two lines as Bart and they said, 'Thanks for coming! Smith was given the role of Lisa instead. On March 13, 1987, Nancy Cartwright went in to audition for the role of Lisa. After arriving at the audition, she found that Lisa was simply described as the "middle child" and at the time did not have much personality. Cartwright became more interested in the role of Bart, who was described as "devious, underachieving, school-hating, irreverent, [and] clever". Matt Groening let her try out for the part instead, and upon hearing her read, gave her the job on the spot. Cartwright is the only one of the six main "Simpsons" cast members who had been professionally trained in voice acting prior to working on the show.
Cartwright's normal speaking voice is said to have "no obvious traces of Bart". The voice came naturally to Cartwright; prior to "The Tracey Ullman Show", she had used elements of it in shows such as "My Little Pony", "Snorks", and "Pound Puppies". Cartwright describes Bart's voice as easy to perform, saying, "Some characters take a little bit more effort, upper respiratory control, whatever it is technically. But Bart is easy to do. I can just slip into that without difficulty." She usually does five or six readings of every line in order to give the producers more to work with. In flashforward episodes, Cartwright still provides the voice of Bart. For "Lisa's Wedding" (season six, 1995), Bart's voice was electronically lowered.
Despite Bart's fame, Cartwright is rarely recognized in public. When she is recognized and asked to perform Bart's voice in front of children, Cartwright refuses as it "freaks [them] out". During the first season of "The Simpsons", the Fox Network did not allow Cartwright to give interviews because they did not want to publicize that Bart was voiced by a woman.
Until 1998, Cartwright was paid $30,000 per episode. During a pay dispute in 1998, Fox threatened to replace the six main voice actors with new actors, going as far as preparing for casting of new voices. The dispute was resolved and Cartwright received $125,000 per episode until 2004, when the voice actors demanded that they be paid $360,000 an episode. The dispute was resolved a month later, and Cartwright's pay rose to $250,000 per episode. After salary renegotiations in 2008, the voice actors received approximately $400,000 per episode. Three years later, with Fox threatening to cancel the series unless production costs were cut, Cartwright and the other cast members accepted a 30 percent pay cut to just over $300,000 per episode.
Hallmarks.
In the opening sequence of many "Simpsons" episodes, the camera zooms in on Springfield Elementary School, where Bart can be seen writing lines on the chalkboard. The sentences, which changes from episode to episode, has become known as the "chalkboard gag". Chalkboard messages may involve political humor such as "The First Amendment does not cover burping", pop culture references such as "I can't see dead people", and meta-references such as "I am not a 32-year-old woman" and "Nobody reads these anymore". The animators are able to produce the chalkboard gags quickly and in some cases have changed them to fit current events. For example, the chalkboard gag for "Homer the Heretic" (season four, 1992) read, "I will not defame New Orleans". The gag had been written as an apology to the city for a controversial song in the previous week's episode, "A Streetcar Named Marge", which called the city a "home of pirates, drunks and whores". Many episodes do not feature a chalkboard gag because a shorter opening title sequence, where the chalkboard gags are cut, is used to make more room for story and plot development.
One of Bart's early hallmarks were his prank calls to Moe's Tavern owner Moe Szyslak in which Bart calls Moe and asks for a gag name. Moe tries to find that person in the bar, but rapidly realizes it is a prank call and (despite not knowing who actually made the call) angrily threatens Bart. These calls were based on a series of prank calls known as the Tube Bar recordings. Moe was based partly on Tube Bar owner Louis "Red" Deutsch, whose often profane responses inspired Moe's violent side. The prank calls debuted in "Homer's Odyssey" (season one, 1990), the third episode to air, but were included in "Some Enchanted Evening", the first episode of the series that was produced. As the series progressed, it became more difficult for the writers to come up with a fake name and to write Moe's angry response, so the pranks were dropped as a regular joke during the fourth season but they have occasionally resurfaced on the show.
The catchphrase "Eat My Shorts" was an ad-lib by Cartwright in one of the original table readings, harking back to an incident when she was in high school. Cartwright was in the marching band at Fairmont High School, and one day while performing, the band chanted "Eat my shorts" rather than the usual "Fairmont West! Fairmont West!" It could also be an homage to "The Breakfast Club", as John Bender says the phrase to Principal Vernon. John Bender would become the inspiration for another Matt Groening creation, Bender from "Futurama". Bart's other catchphrases, "¡Ay, caramba!" came from a Portuguese flamenco dancer and "Don't have a cow!" had been around since the 1950s which derived from the British phrase "Don't have kittens"; both were featured on T-shirts manufactured during the production of the early seasons of "The Simpsons". "Cowabunga" is also commonly associated with Bart, although it was mostly used on the show after it had been used as a slogan on the T-shirts. Reiss also stated the writers took the phrase from Chief Thunderthud on "The Howdy Doody Show". The use of catchphrase-based humor was mocked in the episode "Bart Gets Famous" (season five, 1994) in which Bart lands a popular role on Krusty the Clown's show for saying the line "I didn't do it." The writers chose the phrase "I didn't do it" because they wanted a "lousy" phrase "to point out how really crummy things can become really popular".
Bart often appears nude in the show, although in almost every case only his buttocks are visible. In "The Simpsons Movie" (2007), Bart appears in a sequence where he is skateboarding while fully nude; several different items cover his genitalia, but for a brief moment his penis can be seen. The scene was one of the first worked on for the film, but the producers were nervous about the segment because they thought it would earn the movie an R rating. Despite this, the film was rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America for "Irreverent Humor Throughout". The scene was later included by "Entertainment Weekly" in their list of "30 Unforgettable Nude Scenes".
Personality.
Bart's character traits of rebelliousness and disrespect for authority have been compared to that of America's founding fathers, and he has been described as an updated version of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, rolled into one. In his book "Planet Simpson", Chris Turner describes Bart as a nihilist, a philosophical position that argues that existence is without objective meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value.
Bart's rebellious attitude has made him a disruptive student at Springfield Elementary School, where he is an underachiever and proud of it. He is constantly at odds with his teacher Ms. Krabappel, Principal Skinner, and occasionally Groundskeeper Willie. Bart does poorly in school and is well aware of it, having once declared, "I am dumb, okay? Dumb as a post! Think I'm happy about it?" On one occasion, Lisa successfully proves that Bart is dumber than a hamster, although Bart ultimately outsmarts her. Bart's thoughts are often illogical; he once thought if he died and reincarnated as a butterfly, he would be able to burn the school down without being suspected, thinking that he would be able to hold a gas can as a butterfly. He has also thought if he wrote his name in wet cement, people who see it after it dries will wonder how he managed to write his name in solid cement. In "Separate Vocations" (season three, 1992), Bart becomes hall monitor and his grades go up, suggesting that he struggles mainly because he does not pay attention, not because he is stupid. This idea is reinforced in "Brother's Little Helper" (season eleven, 1999), in which it is revealed that Bart has attention deficit disorder. His lack of smarts can also be attributed to the hereditary "Simpson Gene", which affects the intelligence of most male members of the Simpson family. Although he gets into endless trouble and can be sadistic, shallow and selfish, Bart also exhibits many qualities of high integrity. He has, on a few occasions, helped Principal Skinner and Mrs. Krabappel: In "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song" (season five, 1994), Bart accidentally got Skinner fired and befriended him outside the school environment. Bart missed having Skinner as an adversary and got him rehired, knowing that this would mean that the two could no longer be friends.
Due to Bart's mischievousness and Homer's often uncaring and incompetent behavior, the two have a turbulent, jaded, violent, and at times borderline sadistic relationship. Bart regularly addresses Homer by his first name instead of "Dad", while Homer in turn often refers to him as "the boy". Homer has a short temper and when enraged by Bart will strangle him on impulse in a cartoonishly violent manner. One of the original ideas for the show was that Homer would be "very angry" and oppressive toward Bart, but these characteristics were toned down somewhat as their characters were explored. Marge is a much more caring, understanding and nurturing parent than Homer, but she also refers to Bart as "a handful" and is often embarrassed by his antics. In "Marge Be Not Proud" (season seven, 1995), she felt she was mothering Bart too much and began acting more distant towards him after he was caught shoplifting. At the beginning of the episode, Bart protested at her over-mothering but as her attitude changed, he felt bad and made it up to her. Despite his attitude, Bart is sometimes willing to experience humiliation if it means pleasing his mom. Marge has expressed an understanding for her "special little guy" and has defended him on many occasions. She once said "I know Bart can be a handful, but I also know what he's like inside. He's got a spark. It's not a bad thing ... Of course, it makes him "do" bad things."
Bart shares a sibling rivalry with his younger sister, Lisa, but has a buddy-like relationship with his youngest sister Maggie, due to her infant state. While Bart has often hurt Lisa, and even fought her physically, the two are often very close. Bart cares for Lisa deeply and has always apologized for going too far. He also believes Lisa to be his superior when it comes to solving problems and frequently goes to her for advice. Bart is also highly protective of Lisa: When a bully destroys her box of cupcakes in "Bart the General" (season one, 1990), Bart immediately stands up for her.
Bart is portrayed as a popular cool boy and has many friends at school. Out of all of them his best friend is Milhouse Van Houten, although Bart has at times shown embarrassment about their friendship. Bart is a bad influence on Milhouse, and the two have been involved in a lot of mischief together. Because of this behavior, Milhouse's mother forbids Milhouse from playing with Bart in "Homer Defined" (season three, 1991). While at first he pretended that he did not care, Bart eventually realizes that he needs Milhouse, and Marge manages to convince Mrs. Van Houten to reconsider. Milhouse is a frequent target for local bullies Nelson Muntz and his friends Jimbo, Dolph, and Kearney. At times, Bart also finds himself at the hands of their abuse. Despite being the more socially powerful of the two, Bart's social popularity has temporarily subsided in various episodes either due to extreme embarrassment caused by his family or other people (or even himself) or an unfortunate coincidence. Milhouse describes their social standing as "Three and a half. We get beat up, but we get an explanation." While Bart and the bullies have been adversaries at times, with Bart once declaring war on Nelson, the school bullies actually like Bart for his ways and hang out with him at times, especially Nelson who eventually becomes close friends with him.
Bart is one of the biggest fans of children's television host Krusty the Clown. He once declared, "I've based my whole life on Krusty's teachings", and sleeps in a room filled with Krusty merchandise. He has helped the clown on many occasions, for example, foiling Sideshow Bob's attempt to frame Krusty for armed robbery in "Krusty Gets Busted" (season one, 1990), reuniting Krusty with his estranged father in "Like Father, Like Clown". and helping Krusty return to the air with a comeback special and reignite his career in "Krusty Gets Kancelled". For his part, Krusty has remained largely ignorant of Bart's help and treats Bart with disinterest. One summer, Bart enthusiastically attended Kamp Krusty, which turned out to be a disaster, with Krusty nowhere to be seen. Bart keeps his hopes up by believing that Krusty would show up, but is soon pushed over the edge, and finally decides that he is sick of Krusty's shoddy merchandise and takes over the camp. Krusty immediately visits the camp in hopes of ending the conflict and manages to appease Bart. One of the original ideas for the series was that Bart worshiped a television clown but had no respect for his father, although this was never directly explored. Because of this original plan, Krusty's design is basically Homer in clown make-up. When Bart foiled Sideshow Bob's plans in "Krusty Gets Busted", it sparked a long-standing feud between the two. The writers decided to have Bob repeatedly return to get revenge on Bart. They took the idea of the Coyote chasing the Road Runner and depicted Bob as an intelligent person obsessed with catching a bratty boy. Bob has appeared in fourteen episodes, generally plotting various evil schemes which often have to do with getting revenge on Bart (and sometimes the entire Simpson family by proxy), but is always foiled in the end.
Reception and cultural influence.
Bartmania.
In 1990, Bart quickly became one of the most popular characters on television in what was termed "Bartmania". He became the most prevalent "Simpsons" character on memorabilia, such as T-shirts. In the early 1990s, millions of T-shirts featuring Bart were sold; as many as one million were sold on some days. Believing Bart to be a bad role model, several American public schools banned T-shirts featuring Bart next to captions such as "I'm Bart Simpson. Who the hell are you?" and "Underachiever ('And proud of it, man!')". "The Simpsons" merchandise sold well and generated $2 billion in revenue during the first 14 months of sales. The success of Bart Simpson merchandise inspired an entire line of black market counterfeit items, especially T-shirts. Some featured Bart announcing various slogans, others depicted redesigns of the character, including "Teenage Mutant Ninja Bart, Air Simpson Bart, [and] RastaBart". Matt Groening generally did not object to bootleg merchandise, but took exception to a series of "Nazi Bart" shirts which depicted Bart in Nazi uniform or as a white power skinhead. 20th Century Fox sued the creator of the shirts, who eventually agreed to stop making them.
Bart became so associated with Fox that, when bidding in 1993 to show pro football, the network had to assure the NFL and reporters that the character would not announce games. Due to the show's success, over the summer of 1990 Fox decided to switch "The Simpsons" timeslot so that it would move from 8:00 p.m. ET on Sunday night to the same time on Thursday, where it would compete with "The Cosby Show" on NBC, the number one show at the time. Through the summer, several news outlets published stories about the supposed "Bill vs. Bart" rivalry. The August 31, 1990 issue of "Entertainment Weekly" featured a picture of Bill Cosby wearing a Bart Simpson T-shirt. "Bart Gets an 'F' (season two, 1990) was the first episode to air against "The Cosby Show", and it received a lower Nielsen rating, tying for eighth behind "The Cosby Show", which had an 18.5 rating. The rating is based on the number of household televisions that were tuned into the show, but Nielsen Media Research estimated that 33.6 million viewers watched the episode, making it the number one show in terms of actual viewers that week. At the time, it was the most watched episode in the history of the Fox Network, and it is still the highest rated episode in the history of "The Simpsons". Because of his popularity, Bart was often the most promoted member of the Simpson family in advertisements for the show, even for episodes in which he was not involved in the main plot.
Bart was described as "television's king of 1990", "television's brightest new star" and an "undiminished smash". "Entertainment Weekly" named Bart the "entertainer of the year" for 1990, writing that "Bart has proved to be a rebel who's also a good kid, a terror who's easily terrorized, and a flake who astonishes us, and himself, with serious displays of fortitude." In the United States congressional, senatorial and gubernatorial elections of 1990, Bart was one of the most popular write-in candidates, and in many areas was second only to Mickey Mouse amongst fictional characters. In the 1990 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Bart made his debut as one of the giant helium-filled balloons for which the parade is known. This was referenced in "The Simpsons" in the episode "Bart vs. Thanksgiving", which aired the same day as the parade, where Homer tells Bart, "If you start building a balloon for every flash-in-the-pan cartoon character, you turn the parade into a farce!" Meanwhile, behind and unbeknownst to him, the television briefly shows a Bart Simpson balloon.
The album "The Simpsons Sing the Blues" was released in September 1990 and was a success, peaking at No. 3 on the "Billboard" 200 and becoming certified 2× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The first single from the album was the pop rap song "Do the Bartman", performed by Nancy Cartwright and released on November 20, 1990. The song was written by Bryan Loren, a friend of Michael Jackson. Jackson was a fan of "The Simpsons", especially Bart, and had called the producers one night offering to write Bart a number one single and do a guest spot on the show. Jackson eventually guest starred in the episode "Stark Raving Dad" (season three, 1991) under the pseudonym John Jay Smith. While the song was never officially released as a single in the United States, it was successful in the United Kingdom. In 1991 it was the number one song in the UK for three weeks from February 16 to March 9 and was the seventh best-selling song of the year. It sold half a million copies and was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry on February 1, 1991.
Bart as a role model.
Bart's rebellious nature, which frequently resulted in no punishment for his misbehavior, led some parents and conservatives to characterize him as a poor role model for children. Robert Bianco of the "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette" wrote that "[Bart] outwits his parents and outtalks his teachers; in short, he's the child we wish we'd been, and fear our children will become." In schools, educators claimed that Bart was a "threat to learning" because of his "underachiever and proud of it" attitude and negative attitude regarding his education. Others described him as "egotistical, aggressive and mean-spirited." In response to the criticism, James L. Brooks said, "I'm very wary of television where everybody is supposed to be a role model, you don't run across that many role models in real life. Why should television be full of them?"
In 1990 William Bennett, who at the time was drug czar of the United States, visited a drug treatment center in Pittsburgh and upon noticing a poster of Bart remarked, "You guys aren't watching "The Simpsons", are you? That's not going to help you any." When a backlash over the comment ensued, Bennett apologized, claiming he "was just kidding" and saying "I'll sit down with the little spike head. We'll straighten this thing out." In a 1991 interview, Bill Cosby described Bart as a bad role model for children, calling him "angry, confused, frustrated". In response, Matt Groening said, "That sums up Bart, all right. Most people are in a struggle to be normal. He thinks normal is very boring, and does things that others just wished they dare do." On January 27, 1992, then-President George H. W. Bush said, "We are going to keep on trying to strengthen the American family, to make American families a lot more like the Waltons and a lot less like the Simpsons." The writers rushed out a tongue-in-cheek reply in the form of a short segment which aired three days later before a rerun of "Stark Raving Dad" in which Bart replied, "Hey, we're just like the Waltons. We're praying for an end to the Depression, too."
Although there were many critics of the character, favorable comments came from several quarters. Columnist Erma Bombeck wrote, "Kids need to know that somewhere in this world is a contemporary who can pull off all the things they can only fantasize about, someone who can stick it to their parents once in a while and still be permitted to live." In 2003, Bart placed first in a poll of parents in the United Kingdom who were asked "which made-up character had the most influence" on children under 12 years old.
Commendations.
In 1998, "Time" named Bart one of the 100 most important people of the 20th century. He was the only fictional character to make the list. He had previously appeared on the cover of the edition of December 31, 1990. He was also ranked No. 48 in "TV Guide"s "50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time" in 1996 and both he and Lisa ranked No. 11 in "TV Guide's" "Top 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time" in 2002. In 2022, "Paste" writers claimed that Bart is the 26th best cartoon character of all time.
At the 44th Primetime Emmy Awards in 1992, Cartwright won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance for voicing Bart in the season three episode "Separate Vocations". She shared the award with five other voice actors from "The Simpsons". Various episodes in which Bart is strongly featured have been nominated for Emmy Awards for Outstanding Animated Program, including "Radio Bart" in 1992, "Future-Drama" in 2005, "The Haw-Hawed Couple" in 2006 and "Homer's Phobia", which won the award in 1997. In 1995, Cartwright won an Annie Award for "Voice Acting in the Field of Animation" for her portrayal of Bart in an episode. In 2000, Bart and the rest of the Simpson family were awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard.
In 2014 Bart Simpson became the second mascot of Russian football club FC Zenit Saint Petersburg, wearing number 87 on his back (referring to the character's debut in 1987; the club's first mascot is a blue-maned lion).
Merchandising.
Alongside T-shirts, Bart has been included in various other "The Simpsons"-related merchandise, including air fresheners, baseball caps, bumper stickers, cardboard standups, refrigerator magnets, key rings, buttons, dolls, posters, figurines, clocks, soapstone carvings, Chia Pets, bowling balls and boxer shorts. "The Bart Book", a book about Bart's personality and attributes, was released in 2004. Other books include "Bart Simpson's Guide to Life". "", which is not an official publication, includes a chapter analyzing Bart's character and comparing him to the "Nietzschean ideal".
Bart has appeared in other media relating to "The Simpsons". He has appeared in every one of "The Simpsons" video games, including ', "Bart Simpson's Escape from Camp Deadly", ', ', ', ', ', "" and "The Simpsons Game", released in 2007. Alongside the television series, Bart regularly appears in issues of "Simpsons Comics", which were first published on November 29, 1993, and are still issued monthly, and also has his own series called "Bart Simpson Comics" which have been released since 2000. Bart also plays a role in The Simpsons Ride, launched in 2008 at Universal Studios Florida and Hollywood. Bart appears as a playable character in the toys-to-life video game "Lego Dimensions", released via a "Fun Pack" packaged with a Gravity Sprinter accessory in November 2015.
Bart, and other "The Simpsons" characters, have appeared in numerous television commercials for Nestlé's Butterfinger candy bars from 1990 to 2001, with the slogan "Nobody better lay a finger on my Butterfinger!" Lisa would occasionally advertise it too. Matt Groening would later say that the Butterfinger advertising campaign was a large part of the reason why Fox decided to pick up the half-hour show. The campaign was discontinued in 2001, much to the disappointment of Cartwright. Bart has also appeared in commercials for Burger King and Ramada Inn. In 2001, Kellogg's launched a brand of cereal called "Bart Simpson Peanut Butter Chocolate Crunch", which was available for a limited time. Before the half-hour series went on the air, Matt Groening pitched Bart as a spokesperson for Jell-O. He wanted Bart to sing "J-E-L-L-O", then burp the letter O. His belief was that kids would try to do it the next day, but he was rejected.
On April 9, 2009, the United States Postal Service unveiled a series of five 44-cent stamps featuring Bart and the four other members of the Simpson family. They are the first characters, other than "Sesame Street" characters, to receive this accolade while the show is still in production. The stamps, designed by Matt Groening, were made available for purchase on May 7, 2009.
References.
Bibliography
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Winnie-the-Pooh
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Winnie-the-Pooh (also known as Edward Bear, Pooh Bear or simply Pooh) is a fictional anthropomorphic teddy bear created by English author A. A. Milne and English illustrator E. H. Shepard. Winnie-the-Pooh first appeared by name in a children's story commissioned by London's "Evening News" for Christmas Eve 1925. The character is inspired by a stuffed toy that Milne had bought for his son Christopher Robin in Harrods department store, and a bear they had viewed at London Zoo.
The first collection of stories about the character was the book "Winnie-the-Pooh" (1926), and this was followed by "The House at Pooh Corner" (1928). Milne also included a poem about the bear in the children's verse book "When We Were Very Young" (1924) and many more in "Now We Are Six" (1927). All four volumes were illustrated by E. H. Shepard. The stories are set in Hundred Acre Wood, which was inspired by Five Hundred Acre Wood in Ashdown Forest in East Sussex—situated 30 miles (48 km) south of London—where the Londoner Milne's country home was located.
The Pooh stories have been translated into many languages, including Alexander Lenard's Latin translation, , which was first published in 1958, and, in 1960, became the only Latin book ever to have been featured on "The New York Times" Best Seller list. The original English manuscripts are held at Wren Library, Trinity College, Cambridge, Milne's alma mater to whom he had bequeathed the works. The first Pooh story was ranked number 7 on the BBC's The Big Read poll.
In 1961, The Walt Disney Company licensed certain film and other rights of the Winnie-the-Pooh stories from the estate of A. A. Milne and the licensing agent Stephen Slesinger, Inc., and adapted the Pooh stories, using the unhyphenated name "Winnie the Pooh", into a series of features that would eventually become one of its most successful franchises. In popular film adaptations, Pooh has been voiced by actors Sterling Holloway, Hal Smith, and Jim Cummings in English, and Yevgeny Leonov in Russian.
History.
Origin.
A. A. Milne named the character Winnie-the-Pooh after a teddy bear owned by his son, Christopher Robin Milne, on whom the character Christopher Robin was based. Shepard in turn based his illustrations of Pooh on his own son's teddy bear named Growler, instead of Christopher Robin's bear. The rest of Christopher Milne's toys – Piglet, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo, and Tigger – were incorporated into Milne's stories. Two more characters, Owl and Rabbit, were created by Milne's imagination, while Gopher was added to the Disney version. Christopher Robin's toy bear is on display at the Main Branch of the New York Public Library in New York City.
In 1921, Milne bought his son Christopher Robin the toy bear from Harrods department store. Christopher Robin had named his toy bear Edward, then Winnie, after a Canadian black bear Winnie that he often saw at London Zoo, and Pooh, a friend's pet swan they had encountered while on holiday. The bear cub was purchased from a hunter for C$20 by Canadian Lieutenant Harry Colebourn in White River, Ontario, while en route to England during the First World War. Colebourn, a veterinary officer with the Fort Garry Horse cavalry regiment, named the bear Winnie after his adopted hometown in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Winnie was surreptitiously brought to England with her owner, and gained unofficial recognition as The Fort Garry Horse regimental mascot. Colebourn left Winnie at the London Zoo while he and his unit were in France; after the war she was officially donated to the zoo, as she had become a much-loved attraction there. Pooh the swan appears as a character in its own right in "When We Were Very Young".
In the first chapter of "Winnie-the-Pooh", Milne offers this explanation of why Winnie-the-Pooh is often simply known as "Pooh":
American writer William Safire surmised that the Milnes' invention of the name "Winnie the Pooh" may have also been influenced by the haughty character Pooh-Bah in Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Mikado" (1885).
Ashdown Forest: the setting for the stories.
The Winnie-the-Pooh stories are set in Ashdown Forest, East Sussex, England. The forest is an area of tranquil open heathland on the highest sandy ridges of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty situated 30 miles (50 km) south-east of London. In 1925 Milne, a Londoner, bought a country home a mile to the north of the forest at Cotchford Farm, near Hartfield. According to Christopher Robin Milne, while his father continued to live in London "...the four of us – he, his wife, his son and his son's nanny – would pile into a large blue, chauffeur-driven Fiat and travel down every Saturday morning and back again every Monday afternoon. And we would spend a whole glorious month there in the spring and two months in the summer." From the front lawn the family had a view across a meadow to a line of alders that fringed the River Medway, beyond which the ground rose through more trees until finally "above them, in the faraway distance, crowning the view, was a bare hilltop. In the centre of this hilltop was a clump of pines." Most of his father's visits to the forest at that time were, he noted, family expeditions on foot "to make yet another attempt to count the pine trees on Gill's Lap or to search for the marsh gentian". Christopher added that, inspired by Ashdown Forest, his father had made it "the setting for two of his books, finishing the second little over three years after his arrival".
Many locations in the stories can be associated with real places in and around the forest. As Christopher Milne wrote in his autobiography: "Pooh's forest and Ashdown Forest are identical." For example, the fictional "Hundred Acre Wood" was in reality Five Hundred Acre Wood; Galleon's Leap was inspired by the prominent hilltop of Gill's Lap, while a clump of trees just north of Gill's Lap became Christopher Robin's "The Enchanted Place", because no-one had ever been able to count whether there were 63 or 64 trees in the circle.
The landscapes depicted in E. H. Shepard's illustrations for the Winnie-the-Pooh books were directly inspired by the distinctive landscape of Ashdown Forest, with its high, open heathlands of heather, gorse, bracken and silver birch, punctuated by hilltop clumps of pine trees. Many of Shepard's illustrations can be matched to actual views, allowing for a degree of artistic licence. Shepard's sketches of pine trees and other forest scenes are held at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
The game of Poohsticks was originally played by Christopher Robin Milne and his father on the wooden footbridge, across the Millbrook, Posingford Wood, close to Cotchford Farm. In the stories Pooh plays the game with the other characters, Christopher Robin, Tigger, and Eeyore. The location is now a tourist attraction, and it has become traditional to play the game there using sticks gathered in the nearby woodland. When the footbridge had to be replaced in 1999, the architect used as a main source drawings by Shepard in the books, and retained its precursor's original style.
First publication.
Christopher Robin's teddy bear made his character début, under the name Edward, in A. A. Milne's poem, "Teddy Bear", in the edition of 13 February 1924 of "Punch" (E. H. Shepard had also included a similar bear in a cartoon published in "Punch" the previous week), and the same poem was published in Milne's book of children's verse "When We Were Very Young" (6 November 1924). Winnie-the-Pooh first appeared by name on 24 December 1925, in a Christmas story commissioned and published by the London newspaper "Evening News". It was illustrated by J. H. Dowd.
The first collection of Pooh stories appeared in the book "Winnie-the-Pooh". The "Evening News" Christmas story reappeared as the first chapter of the book. At the beginning, it explained that Pooh was in fact Christopher Robin's Edward Bear, who had been renamed by the boy. He was renamed after an American black bear at London Zoo called Winnie who got her name from the fact that her owner had come from Winnipeg, Canada. The book was published in October 1926 by the publisher of Milne's earlier children's work, Methuen, in England, E. P. Dutton in the United States, and McClelland & Stewart in Canada. The book was an immediate critical and commercial success. The children's author and literary critic John Rowe Townsend described "Winnie-the-Pooh" and its sequel "The House at Pooh Corner" as "the spectacular British success of the 1920s" and praised its light, readable prose.
Appearance.
The original drawing of Pooh was based not on Christopher Robin's bear, but on Growler, the teddy bear belonging to Shepard's son Graham, according to James Campbell, husband of Shepard's great-granddaughter. When Campbell took over Shepard's estate in 2010, he discovered many drawings and unpublished writings, including early drawings of Pooh, that had not been seen in decades. Campbell said, "Both he and A. A. Milne realised that Christopher Robin's bear was too gruff-looking, not very cuddly, so they decided they would have to have a different bear for the illustrations." Campbell said Shepard sent Milne a drawing of his son's bear and that Milne "said it was perfect". Campbell also said Shepard's drawings of Christopher Robin were based partly on his own son.
Character.
In the Milne books, Pooh is naive and slow-witted, but he is also friendly, thoughtful, and steadfast. Although he and his friends agree that he is "a bear of very little brain", Pooh is occasionally acknowledged to have a clever idea, usually driven by common sense. These include riding in Christopher Robin's umbrella to rescue Piglet from a flood, discovering "the North Pole" by picking it up to help fish Roo out of the river, inventing the game of Poohsticks, and getting Eeyore out of the river by dropping a large rock on one side of him to wash him towards the bank.
Pooh is also a talented poet and the stories are frequently punctuated by his poems and "hums". Although he is humble about his slow-wittedness, he is comfortable with his creative gifts. When Owl's house blows down in a windstorm, trapping Pooh, Piglet and Owl inside, Pooh encourages Piglet (the only one small enough to do so) to escape and rescue them all by promising that "a respectful Pooh song" will be written about Piglet's feat. Later, Pooh muses about the creative process as he composes the song.
Pooh is very fond of food, particularly honey (which he spells "hunny"), but also condensed milk and other items. When he visits friends, his desire to be offered a snack is in conflict with the impoliteness of asking too directly. Though intent on giving Eeyore a pot of honey for his birthday, Pooh could not resist eating it on his way to deliver the present and so instead gives Eeyore "a useful pot to put things in". When he and Piglet are lost in the forest during Rabbit's attempt to "unbounce" Tigger, Pooh finds his way home by following the "call" of the honeypots from his house. Pooh makes it a habit to have "a little something" around 11:00 in the morning. As the clock in his house "stopped at five minutes to eleven some weeks ago", any time can be Pooh's snack time.
Pooh is very social. After Christopher Robin, his closest friend is Piglet, and he most often chooses to spend his time with one or both of them. But he also habitually visits the other animals, often looking for a snack or an audience for his poetry as much as for companionship. His kind-heartedness means he goes out of his way to be friendly to Eeyore, visiting him and bringing him a birthday present and building him a house, despite receiving mostly disdain from Eeyore in return. Devan Coggan of "Entertainment Weekly" saw a similarity between Pooh and Paddington Bear, two "extremely polite British bears without pants", adding that "both bears share a philosophy of kindness and integrity".
Posthumous sequels.
An authorised sequel "Return to the Hundred Acre Wood" was published on 5 October 2009. The author, David Benedictus, has developed, but not changed, Milne's characterisations. The illustrations, by Mark Burgess, are in the style of Shepard.
Another authorised sequel, "", was published by Egmont in 2016. The sequel consists of four short stories by four leading children's authors, Kate Saunders, Brian Sibley, Paul Bright, and Jeanne Willis. Illustrations are by Mark Burgess. "The Best Bear in All The World" sees the introduction of a new character, Penguin, which was inspired by a long-lost photograph of Milne and his son Christopher with a toy penguin.
In 2016, "Winnie-the-Pooh Meets the Queen" was published to mark the 90th anniversary of Milne's creation and the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. It sees Pooh meet the Queen at Buckingham Palace.
In 2021, marking a century since Milne bought the stuffed toy from Harrods department store for his son Christopher Robin that would inspire Milne to create the character, "Winnie-the-Pooh: Once There Was a Bear", the first prequel to Milne's books and poetry about the bear, was authorised by the estates of Milne and Shepard. Inspired by the real life of Christopher Robin, it is written by children's writer Jane Riordan in the style of Milne, with illustrations by Mark Burgess emulating the drawings of Shepard. It sees Winnie-the-Pooh exploring Harrods as well as visit London's Natural History Museum and London Zoo, before leaving London and going back to the Hundred Acre Wood.
Stephen Slesinger.
On 6 January 1930, Stephen Slesinger purchased US and Canadian merchandising, television, recording, and other trade rights to the Winnie-the-Pooh works from Milne for a $1,000 advance and 66% of Slesinger's income. By November 1931, Pooh was a $50 million-a-year business. Slesinger marketed Pooh and his friends for more than 30 years, creating the first Pooh doll, record, board game, puzzle, US radio broadcast (on NBC), animation, and motion picture.
Red shirt Pooh.
The first time Pooh and his friends appeared in colour was 1932, when he was drawn by Slesinger in his now-familiar red shirt and featured on an RCA Victor picture record. Parker Brothers introduced "A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh Game" in 1933, again with Pooh in his red shirt. In the 1940s, Agnes Brush created the first plush dolls with Pooh in a shirt.
Disney exclusivity (1953–2021).
After Slesinger's death in 1953, his wife, Shirley Slesinger Lasswell, continued developing the character herself. In 1961, she licensed rights to Walt Disney Productions in exchange for royalties in the first of two agreements between Stephen Slesinger, Inc., and Disney. The same year, A. A. Milne's widow, Daphne Milne, also licensed certain rights, including motion picture rights, to Disney.
Since 1966, Disney has released numerous animated productions starring its version of Winnie the Pooh and related characters, starting with the theatrical featurette "Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree". This was followed by "Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day" (1968), and "Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too" (1974). These three featurettes were combined into a feature-length film, "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh", in 1977. A fourth featurette, "Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore", was released in 1983.
A new series of Winnie the Pooh theatrical feature-length films launched in the 2000s, with "The Tigger Movie" (2000), "Piglet's Big Movie" (2003), "Pooh's Heffalump Movie" (2005), and "Winnie the Pooh" (2011).
Disney has also produced television series based on the franchise, including "Welcome to Pooh Corner" (Disney Channel, 1983–1986), "The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh" (ABC, 1988–1991), "The Book of Pooh" (Playhouse Disney, 2001–2003), and "My Friends Tigger & Pooh" (Playhouse Disney, 2007–2010).
A. A. Milne's U.S. copyright on the Winnie-the-Pooh character expired on 1 January 2022, as it had been 95 years since publication of the first story. The character has thus entered the public domain in the United States and Disney no longer holds exclusive rights there. Independent filmmaker Rhys Frake-Waterfield capitalized on this shortly thereafter by producing a horror film titled "". The UK copyright will expire on 1 January 2027, the 70th year since Milne's death.
"Playdate with Winnie the Pooh", an animated series of musical shorts by OddBot Inc. for Disney Junior, became the first project from Disney to be released after the original book and characters became public domain.
Merchandising revenue dispute.
Pooh videos, soft toys, and other merchandise generate substantial annual revenues for Disney. The size of Pooh stuffed toys ranges from Beanie and miniature to human-sized. In addition to the stylised Disney Pooh, Disney markets Classic Pooh merchandise which more closely resembles E. H. Shepard's illustrations.
In 1991, Stephen Slesinger, Inc., filed a lawsuit against Disney which alleged that Disney had breached their 1983 agreement by again failing to accurately report revenue from Winnie the Pooh sales. Under this agreement, Disney was to retain approximately 98% of gross worldwide revenues while the remaining 2% was to be paid to Slesinger. In addition, the suit alleged that Disney had failed to pay required royalties on all commercial exploitation of the product name. Though the Disney corporation was sanctioned by a judge for destroying forty boxes of evidentiary documents, the suit was later terminated by another judge when it was discovered that Slesinger's investigator had rummaged through Disney's garbage to retrieve the discarded evidence. Slesinger appealed the termination and, on 26 September 2007, a three-judge panel upheld the lawsuit dismissal.
After the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998, Clare Milne, Christopher Robin Milne's daughter, attempted to terminate any future US copyrights for Stephen Slesinger, Inc. After a series of legal hearings, Judge Florence-Marie Cooper of the US District Court in California found in favour of Stephen Slesinger, Inc., as did the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. On 26 June 2006, the US Supreme Court refused to hear the case, sustaining the ruling and ensuring the defeat of the suit.
On 19 February 2007, Disney lost a court case in Los Angeles which ruled their "misguided claims" to dispute the licensing agreements with Slesinger, Inc., were unjustified, but a federal ruling of 28 September 2009, again from Judge Florence-Marie Cooper, determined that the Slesinger family had granted all trademarks and copyrights to Disney, although Disney must pay royalties for all future use of the characters. Both parties expressed satisfaction with the outcome.
Other adaptations.
Audio.
Selected Pooh stories read by Maurice Evans released on vinyl LP:
In 1951, RCA Records released four stories of "Winnie-the-Pooh", narrated by Jimmy Stewart and featuring the voices of Cecil Roy as Pooh, Madeleine Pierce as Piglet, Betty Jane Tyler as Kanga, Merrill Joels as Eeyore, Arnold Stang as Rabbit, Frank Milano as Owl, and Sandy Fussell as Christopher Robin.
In 1960, HMV recorded a dramatised version with songs (music by Harold Fraser-Simson) of two episodes from "The House at Pooh Corner" (Chapters 2 and 8), starring Ian Carmichael as Pooh, Denise Bryer as Christopher Robin (who also narrated), Hugh Lloyd as Tigger, Penny Morrell as Piglet, and Terry Norris as Eeyore. This was released on a 45 rpm EP.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Carol Channing recorded "Winnie the Pooh", "The House at Pooh Corner" and "The Winnie the Pooh Songbook", with music by Don Heckman. These were released on vinyl LP and audio cassette by Caedmon Records.
Unabridged recordings read by Peter Dennis of the four Pooh books:
In 1979, a double audio cassette set of "Winnie the Pooh" was produced featuring British actor Lionel Jeffries reading all of the characters in the stories. This was followed in 1981 by an audio cassette set of stories from "The House at Pooh Corner" also read by Lionel Jeffries.
In the 1990s, the stories were dramatised for audio by David Benedictus, with music composed, directed and played by John Gould. They were performed by a cast that included Stephen Fry as Winnie-the-Pooh, Jane Horrocks as Piglet, Geoffrey Palmer as Eeyore, Judi Dench as Kanga, Finty Williams as Roo, Robert Daws as Rabbit, Michael Williams as Owl, Steven Webb as Christopher Robin and Sandi Toksvig as Tigger.
Film.
Soviet adaptation.
In the Soviet Union, three Winnie-the-Pooh, (transcribed in Russian as , ) stories were made into a celebrated trilogy.
The films used Boris Zakhoder's translation of the book. Pooh was voiced by Yevgeny Leonov. Unlike in the Disney adaptations, the animators did not base their depictions of the characters on Shepard's illustrations, instead creating a different look. The Soviet adaptations made extensive use of Milne's original text and often brought out aspects of Milne's characters' personalities not used in the Disney adaptations.
Cultural legacy.
Maev Kennedy of "The Guardian" called Winnie-the-Pooh "the most famous bear in literary history". One of the best-known characters in British children's literature, a 2011 poll saw the bear voted onto the list of top 100 "icons of England". In 2003 the first Pooh story was ranked number 7 on the BBC's The Big Read poll. "Forbes" magazine ranked Pooh the most valuable fictional character in 2002, with merchandising products alone generating more than $5.9 billion that year. In 2005, Pooh generated $6 billion, a figure surpassed by only Mickey Mouse. In 2006, Pooh received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, marking the 80th birthday of Milne's creation. In 2010, E. H. Shepard's original illustrations of Winnie the Pooh (and other Pooh characters) featured on a series of UK postage stamps issued by the Royal Mail.
Winnie the Pooh has inspired multiple texts to explain complex philosophical ideas. Benjamin Hoff uses Milne's characters in "The Tao of Pooh" and "The Te of Piglet" to explain Taoism. Similarly, Frederick Crews wrote essays about the Pooh books in abstruse academic jargon in "The Pooh Perplex" and "Postmodern Pooh" to satirise a range of philosophical approaches. "Pooh and the Philosophers" by John T. Williams uses Winnie the Pooh as a backdrop to illustrate the works of philosophers, including Descartes, Kant, Plato and Nietzsche. "Epic Pooh" is a 1978 essay by Michael Moorcock that compares much fantasy writing to A. A. Milne's, as work intended to comfort, not challenge.
In music, Kenny Loggins wrote the song "House at Pooh Corner", which was originally recorded by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Loggins later rewrote the song as "Return to Pooh Corner", featuring on the album of the same name in 1991. In Italy, a pop band took their name from Winnie, and were titled Pooh. In Estonia, there is a punk/metal band called Winny Puhh. There is a street in Warsaw, Poland, named after the character, the Kubusia Puchatka Street, as he is known in Polish translations as "Kubuś Puchatek". There is also a street named after him in Budapest, Hungary, the Micimackó Street.
In the "sport" of Poohsticks, competitors drop sticks into a stream from a bridge and then wait to see whose stick will cross the finish line first. Competitors hold their sticks at arms length at the same height, then drop their sticks into the water at the same time. Though it began as a game played by Pooh and his friends in the book "The House at Pooh Corner" and later in the films, it has crossed over into the real world: a World Championship Poohsticks race takes place in Oxfordshire each year. Ashdown Forest in south-east England, where the Pooh stories are set, is a popular tourist attraction, and includes the wooden Pooh Bridge where Pooh and Piglet invented Poohsticks. The Oxford University Winnie the Pooh Society was founded by undergraduates in 1982.
From December 2017 to April 2018, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London hosted the exhibition "". On exhibit were A. A. Milne's manuscript of "Winnie-the-Pooh" and "The House at Pooh Corner" (on loan from the Wren Library at Trinity College, Cambridge, Milne's alma mater to whom he had bequeathed the works), and teddy bears that had not been on display for some 40 years because they were so fragile.
In 2018, E. H. Shepard's original 1926 illustrated map of the Hundred Acre Wood, which features in the opening pages of Milne's books and also appears in the opening animation in the first Disney adaptation in 1966, sold for £430,000 ($600,000) at Sotheby's in London, setting a world record for book illustrations.
The Japanese figure skater and two-time Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu regards Pooh as his lucky charm. He is usually seen with a stuffed Winnie-the-Pooh during his figure skating competitions. Because of this, Hanyu's fans will throw stuffed Winnie-the-Poohs onto the ice after his performance. After one of Hanyu's performances at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, one spectator remarked that "the ice turned yellow" because of all the Poohs thrown onto the ice.
Comparison to Xi Jinping.
In China, images of Pooh were censored from social media websites in mid-2017, when Internet memes comparing Chinese Paramount Leader and General Secretary of the Communist Party Xi Jinping to (Disney's version of) Pooh became popular. The 2018 film "Christopher Robin" was also denied a Chinese release.
When Xi visited the Philippines, protestors posted images of Pooh on social media. Other politicians have been compared to "Winnie-the-Pooh" characters alongside Xi, including Barack Obama as Tigger, Carrie Lam, Rodrigo Duterte, and Peng Liyuan as Piglet, and Fernando Chui and Shinzo Abe as Eeyore.
Pooh's Chinese name () has been censored from video games such as "World of Warcraft", "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds", "Arena of Valor", and "Devotion". Images of Pooh in "Kingdom Hearts III" were also blurred out on the gaming site A9VG.
Despite the ban, two Pooh-themed rides still operate in Disneyland Shanghai, and it is also legal to purchase Pooh-bear merchandise and books about Winnie the Pooh in China. In May 2021, a performer dressed up as Winnie-the-Pooh in Shanghai Disneyland was beaten by a child tourist. Mass media in China used the term "Pooh Pooh Bear" () in reports about this incident because the word "Winnie" has been censored. However, search results of "Pooh Pooh Bear hurt in Shanghai Disneyland" were censored on Weibo after this incident happened.
In October 2019, Pooh was featured in the "South Park" episode "Band in China" as a prisoner in China because of his alleged resemblance with Xi. In the episode, Pooh is brutally killed by Randy Marsh. "South Park" was banned in China as a result of the episode.
Taiwanese pilots have worn morale patches which feature a Formosan black bear punching Winnie-the-Pooh in the face. The patches are produced by a private company and demand for them surged greatly after pictures of active duty personal wearing them began circulating.
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Popeye
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Popeye the Sailor is a fictional cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar. The character first appeared on January 17, 1929, in the daily King Features comic strip "Thimble Theatre". The strip was in its tenth year when Popeye made his debut, but the one-eyed sailor quickly became the lead character, and "Thimble Theatre" became one of King Features' most popular properties during the 1930s. Following Segar's death in 1938, "Thimble Theatre" (later renamed "Popeye") was continued by several writers and artists, most notably Segar's assistant Bud Sagendorf. The strip continues to appear in first-run installments on Sundays, written and drawn by R. K. Milholland. The daily strips are reprints of old Sagendorf stories.
In 1933, Max Fleischer adapted the "Thimble Theatre" characters into a series of "Popeye the Sailor" theatrical cartoon shorts for Paramount Pictures. These cartoons proved to be among the most popular of the 1930s, and Fleischer Studios, which later became Paramount's own Famous Studios, continued production through 1957. Cartoons produced during World War II included Allied propaganda, as was common among cartoons of the time. These cartoon shorts are now owned by Turner Entertainment and distributed by its sister company Warner Bros.
Over the years, Popeye has also appeared in comic books, television cartoons, video games, hundreds of advertisements, peripheral products ranging from spinach to candy cigarettes, and the 1980 live-action film directed by Robert Altman and starring Robin Williams as Popeye.
Charles M. Schulz said, "I think "Popeye" was a perfect comic strip, consistent in drawing and humor". In 2002, "TV Guide" ranked Popeye number 20 on its "50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time" list.
Inspiration.
The person believed to have inspired Popeye was Polish born Frank "Rocky" Fiegel, a tough laborer from Chester, Illinois who was always getting in fights. It was believed he could have been a professional boxer. However, he also gave out candy and treats to children, including E.C. Segar, who remembered Fiegel when he created Popeye. Fiegel was described as "[j]ust like the fictional spinach-loving mariner ... a one-eyed, pipe-smoking curmudgeon with a jutting chin."
Fictional character and story.
Popeye's story and characterization vary depending on the medium. In his debut storyline, Popeye's superhumanly proportioned strength and endurance stemmed from the "luck" he acquired by rubbing the feathers of the head of Bernice, a "whiffle hen", thus enabling him to survive fifteen gunshot wounds. By the end of 1929, however, Popeye's strength had become a regularized fixture of his character, with spinach, by 1932, becoming the primary repository of his prowess. Swee'Pea is Popeye's ward in the comic strips, but his custody is inconsistent in cartoons.
There is no absolute sense of continuity in the stories, although certain plot and presentation elements remain mostly constant, including purposeful contradictions in Popeye's capabilities. Popeye seems bereft of manners and uneducated, yet he often comes up with solutions to problems that seem insurmountable to the police or the scientific community. He has displayed Sherlock Holmes-like investigative prowess, scientific ingenuity, and successful diplomatic arguments. In the animated cartoons his pipe also proves to be highly versatile. Among other things, it has served as a cutting torch, jet engine, propeller, periscope, musical instrument, and a whistle with which he produces his trademark toot. He also eats spinach through his pipe, sometimes sucking in the can along with the contents. Since the 1970s, Popeye is seldom depicted using his pipe to smoke tobacco.
Popeye's exploits are also enhanced by a few recurring plot elements. One is the love triangle among Popeye, Olive Oyl, and Bluto (sometimes called Brutus), and Bluto's endless machinations to claim Olive at Popeye's expense. Another is his near-saintly perseverance in overcoming any obstacle to please Olive, who often (if temporarily) renounces Popeye for Bluto.
Comics.
"Thimble Theatre" and "Popeye" comic strips.
Segar's Thimble Theatre debuted in the "New York Journal" on December 19, 1919. The paper's owner, William Randolph Hearst, also owned King Features Syndicate, which syndicated the strip. "Thimble Theatre" was intended as a replacement for "Midget Movies" by Ed Wheelan (Wheelan having recently resigned from King Features). While initially failing to attract a large audience, the strip nonetheless increasingly accumulated a modest following as the 1920s continued. At the end of its first decade, the strip resultantly appeared in over a dozen newspapers and had acquired a corresponding Sunday strip (which had debuted on January 25, 1925, within the Hearst-owned "New York American" paper).
"Thimble Theatre's" first main characters were the lanky, long-nosed slacker Harold Hamgravy (rapidly shortened to simply "Ham Gravy") and his scrappy, headstrong girlfriend Olive Oyl. In its earliest weeks, the strip featured the duo, alongside a rotating cast of primarily one-shot characters, acting out various stories and scenarios in a parodic theatrical style (hence the strip's name). As its first year progressed, however, numerous elements of this premise would be relinquished (including the recurring character "Willie Wormwood", introduced as a parody of melodrama villainy), soon rendering the strip a series of episodic comic anecdotes depicting the daily life and dysfunctional romantic exploits of Ham Gravy and Olive Oyl. It could be classified as a gag-a-day comic during this period.
In mid-1922, Segar began to increasingly engage in lengthier (often months-long) storylines; by the end of the following year, the strip had effectively changed fully into a comedy-adventure style focusing on Ham, Olive, and Olive's ambitious-but-myopic diminutive brother Castor Oyl, initially a minor character yet arguably the protagonist of the strip by 1925. Castor and Olive's parents Cole and Nana Oyl also made frequent appearances beginning in the mid-1920s. By the late 1920s, the strip had likewise acquired a number of notable characters beyond the sphere of Ham Gravy and the Oyl family, including Castor Oyl's wife Cylinda (to whom he was married from 1926 to 1928), her wealthy, misanthropic father Mr. Lotts and Castor's fighting cockerel Blizzard, all of whom had exited the strip by the close of 1928 (although Cylinda would eventually maritally reunite with Castor under R. K. Milholland's authorship almost a century later).
Popeye first appeared in the strip on January 17, 1929, as a minor character. He was initially hired by Castor Oyl and Ham Gravy to crew a ship for a voyage to Dice Island, the location of a casino owned by the crooked gambler Fadewell. Castor intended to break the bank at the casino using the unbeatable good luck conferred by stroking the head feathers of Bernice the Whiffle Hen. Weeks later, on the trip back, Popeye was shot many times by Jack Snork, an undercover stooge of Fadewell's, but survived by rubbing Bernice's head. After the adventure's conclusion in June, Popeye left the strip, but, owing to reader reaction, he was brought back after an absence of only five weeks.
Ultimately, the Popeye character became so popular that he was given a larger role by the following year, and the strip was taken up by many more newspapers as a result. Initial strips presented Olive as being less than impressed with Popeye, but she eventually left Ham to become Popeye's girlfriend in March 1930, precipitating Ham's exit as a regular weeks later. Over the years, however, she has often displayed a fickle attitude towards the sailor. Initially, Castor Oyl continued to come up with get-rich-quick schemes and enlisted Popeye in his misadventures. By the end of 1931, however, he settled down as a detective and later on bought a ranch out west. Castor's appearances have resultantly become sparser over time. As Castor faded from the strip, J. Wellington Wimpy, a soft-spoken and eloquent yet cowardly hamburger-loving moocher who would "gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today" was introduced into the Sunday strip, in which he became a fixture by late 1932. After first appearing in the daily strip in March 1933, Wimpy became a full-time major character alongside Popeye and Olive.
"Thimble Theatre" was renamed Thimble Theatre Starring Popeye in 1931. It was eventually renamed simply Popeye, the name under which the strip continues to run.
In July 1933, Popeye received a foundling baby in the mail whom he adopted and named Swee'Pea. Other regular characters introduced into the strip following its retool in 1930 were George W. Geezil, an irascible cobbler who spoke in a heavily affected accent and habitually attempted to murder or wish death upon Wimpy; Rough-House, the temperamental owner of a budget diner who served as a long-suffering foil to Wimpy; Eugene the Jeep, a yellow, vaguely doglike animal from Africa with magical powers; the Sea Hag, a terrible pirate and the last witch on Earth; Alice the Goon, a monstrous creature who entered the strip as the Sea Hag's henchwoman and continued as Swee'Pea's babysitter; the hapless, perpetually anxious King Blozo; Blozo's unintelligent lackey Oscar; Popeye's lecherous, scheming father Poopdeck Pappy; and Toar, an ageless, dim-witted caveman.
Segar's strip was quite different from the theatrical cartoons that followed. The stories were more complex (often spanning months or even years), with a heavier emphasis on verbal comedy and many characters that never appeared in the cartoons (among them King Blozo, Toar, and Rough-House). Spinach usage, a trait introduced in July 1931, was comparatively infrequent, and Bluto appeared in only one story arc. Segar signed some of his early Popeye comic strips with a cigar, his last name being a homophone of "cigar" (pronounced SEE-gar). Comics historian Brian Walker stated: "Segar offered up a masterful blend of comedy, fantasy, satire and suspense in "Thimble Theater Starring Popeye"".
Owing to Popeye's increasingly high profile, "Thimble Theatre" became one of King Features' most popular strips during the 1930s. A poll of adult comic strip readers in the April 1937 issue of "Fortune" magazine voted "Popeye" their second-favorite comic strip (after "Little Orphan Annie"). By 1938, "Thimble Theatre" was running in 500 newspapers, and over 600 licensed "Popeye" products were on sale. The success of the strip meant Segar was earning $100,000 a year at the time of his death. The strip continued after Segar's death in 1938 under a succession of artists and writers. Following an eventual name change to "Popeye" in the 1970s and the cancellation of the daily strip in 1992 (in favor of reprints), the comic, now solely a Sunday strip, remains one of the longest-running strips in syndication today.
Toppers.
"Thimble Theatre" had a number of topper strips on the Sunday page during its run; the main topper, "Sappo", ran for 21 years, from February 28, 1926, to May 18, 1947. ("Sappo" was a revival of an earlier Segar daily strip called "The Five-Fifteen", aka "Sappo the Commuter", which ran from December 24, 1920, to February 17, 1925.) For seven weeks in 1936, Segar replaced "Sappo" with "Pete and Pansy – For Kids Only" (Sept 27 - Nov 8, 1936).
There were also a series of topper panel strips that ran next to "Sappo". Segar drew one of them, "Popeye's Cartoon Club" (April 8, 1934 – May 5, 1935). The rest were produced by Joe Musial and Bud Sagendorf: "Wiggle Line Movie" (September 11 – November 13, 1938), "Wimpy's Zoo's Who" (November 20, 1938 – December 1, 1940), "Play-Store" (December 8, 1940 – July 18, 1943), "Popeye's Army and Navy" (July 25 – September 12, 1943), "Pinup Jeep" (September 19, 1943 - April 2, 1944), and "Me Life by Popeye" (April 9, 1944-?).
Artists after Segar.
Following Segar's illness and eventual death in 1938 (with his final "Thimble Theatre" strip appearing October 2 of that year), numerous people were hired to draw and write the strip. Tom Sims, the son of a Coosa River channel-boat captain, acted as the writer for "Thimble Theatre" beginning in August 1938 and established the "Popeye the Sailorman" spin-off. Doc Winner, who had previously filled in for Segar between January and May 1938, initially acted as Sims' artist, with Bela Zaboly succeeding him by December 1939. In 1954, Sims relinquished writing duties on the daily strip to Ralph Stein, who would continue to collaborate with Zaboly until both the daily and Sunday strips were taken over by Bud Sagendorf in 1959.
Sagendorf wrote and drew the daily strip until 1986, and continued to write and draw the Sunday strip until his death in 1994. Sagendorf, who had been Segar's assistant, made a definite effort to retain much of Segar's classic style, although his art is instantly discernible. Sagendorf continued to use many obscure characters from the Segar years, especially O. G. Wotasnozzle and King Blozo. Sagendorf's new characters, such as the Thung, also had a very Segar-like quality. What set Sagendorf apart from Segar more than anything else was his sense of pacing. Where plotlines moved very quickly with Segar, it sometimes took an entire week of Sagendorf's daily strips for the plot to be advanced even a small amount.
From 1986 to 1992, the daily strip was written and drawn by Bobby London, who, after some controversy, was fired from the strip for a story that could be taken to satirize abortion. London's strips put Popeye and his friends in updated situations, but kept the spirit of Segar's original. One classic storyline, titled "The Return of Bluto", showed the sailor battling every version of the bearded bully from the comic strip, comic books, and animated films. The Sunday edition of the comic strip was drawn by Hy Eisman from 1994 to 2022. Following Eisman's retirement, the Sunday strip was taken over by R. K. Milholland, who had previously contributed "Popeye" cartoons to the web-only feature "Popeye's Cartoon Club" in 2019 and 2020. The daily strip has featured reruns of Sagendorf's strips since London's firing.
On January 1, 2009, 70 years since the death of his creator, Segar's comic strips (though not the various films, TV shows, theme music, and other media based on them) became public domain in most countries, but remain under copyright in the United States. Because Segar was an employee of King Features Syndicate when he created the "Thimble Theatre" strip, it is treated as a work for hire under U.S. copyright law. Works for hire are protected for 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter. As of 2024, "Thimble Theatre" comic strips from 1919 through 1928 have entered the public domain, concluding seventeen days before Popeye's first appearance. Even after the strips enter the public domain, trademarks regarding Popeye remain with King Features, as trademarks do not expire unless they cease to be used, and King Features has used the trademark continuously since the character's debut.
Comic books.
There have been a number of Popeye comic books, from Dell Comics, King Comics, Gold Key Comics, Charlton Comics, and others, originally written and illustrated by Bud Sagendorf. In the Dell comics, Popeye became something of a crimefighter, thwarting evil organizations and Bluto's criminal activities. The new villains included the numerous Misermite dwarfs, who were all identical.
Popeye appeared in the British "TV Comic" becoming the cover story in 1960 with stories written and drawn by "Chick" Henderson. Bluto was referred to as Brutus and was Popeye's only nemesis throughout the entire run.
A variety of artists have created "Popeye" comic book stories since then; for example, George Wildman drew Popeye stories for Charlton Comics from 1969 until the late 1970s. The Gold Key series was illustrated by Wildman and scripted by Bill Pearson, with some issues written by Nick Cuti.
Popeye also had his own manga series published by Shōnen Gahōsha, written and drawn by "Robotan" and "Marude Dameo" creator Kenji Morita, which ran from 1961 to 1965.
In 1988, Ocean Comics released the "Popeye Special" written by Ron Fortier with art by Ben Dunn. The story presented Popeye's origin story, including his given name of "Ugly Kidd" and attempted to tell more of a lighthearted adventure story as opposed to using typical comic strip style humor. The story also featured a more realistic art style and was edited by Bill Pearson, who also lettered and inked the story as well as the front cover. A second issue, by the same creative team, followed in 1988. The second issue introduced the idea that Bluto and Brutus were actually twin brothers and not the same person, an idea also used in the comic strip on December 28, 2008, and April 5, 2009. In 1999, to celebrate Popeye's 70th anniversary, Ocean Comics revisited the franchise with a one-shot comic book, "The Wedding of Popeye and Olive Oyl", written by Peter David. The comic book brought together a large portion of the casts of both the comic strip and the animated shorts, and Popeye and Olive Oyl were finally wed after decades of courtship. However, this marriage has not been reflected in all media since the comic was published.
In 2012, writer Roger Langridge teamed with cartoonists Bruce Ozella, Ken Wheaton, and Tom Neely (among others) to revive the spirit of Segar in a 12-issue comic book miniseries published by IDW Publishing. Critic PS Hayes in reviewing the series stated:
In late 2012, IDW began reprinting the original 1940s–1950s Sagendorf Popeye comic books under the title of "Classic Popeye".
In November 2022, the publication of a new manga-inspired series called "Eye Lie Popeye" by Marcus Williams was announced, the series will be published in 2024 by Massive Publishing.
Webcomics.
In January 2019, in celebration of its 90 years of character, King Feature Syndicate launched the webcomic "Popeye's Cartoon Club". In a series of Sunday-format comics, a wide assortment of artists depicted the characters in their own styles in one comic each, including Alex Hallatt, Erica Henderson, Tom Neely, Roger Langridge, Larry deSouza, Robert Sikoryak, Jeffrey Brown, Jim Engel, Liniers, Jay Fosgitt, Carol Lay, and Randy Milholland. At the end of the year, Milholland's "Cartoon Club" comic was declared the number one comic of the year on King Features' website, Comics Kingdom.
From February through April 2020, "Cartoon Club" ran an additional five comics by Milholland, which was followed by an extended run from May 28 through July 6, 2020, making Milholland the first person to write a daily-update "Popeye" comic for King Features since 1994.
In August 2022, a new twice-weekly (Tuesdays and Thursdays) webcomic titled "Olive & Popeye" debuted. Milholland writes and draws the Thursday strips, which focus on Popeye and his extended family, while Tuesday strips focus on Olive and her own adventures. These were initially drawn by Shadia Amin, who was later replaced by Emi Burdge in October 2023. The two storylines run in parallel and occasionally intersect.
Animation.
Theatrical animated shorts.
In November 1932, King Features signed an agreement with Fleischer Studios to have Popeye and the other "Thimble Theatre" characters begin appearing in a series of animated cartoons released by Paramount Pictures. The first cartoon in the series was released in 1933, and "Popeye" cartoons remained a staple of Paramount's release schedule for nearly 25 years. William Costello was the original voice of Popeye, a voice that was replicated by later performers, such as Jack Mercer and even Mae Questel. Many of the "Thimble Theatre" characters, including Wimpy, Poopdeck Pappy, and Eugene the Jeep, eventually made appearances in the Paramount cartoons, though Olive Oyl's extended family and Ham Gravy were absent. Thanks to the animated-short series, Popeye became even more of a sensation than he had been in comic strips, and by 1938, polls showed that the sailor was Hollywood's most popular cartoon character.
Although Segar may have used spinach as a prop a few times, it was Max Fleischer who realized its potential as a trademark. In almost every Popeye cartoon, the sailor is invariably put into what seems like a hopeless situation, upon which (usually after a beating), a can of spinach becomes available, and Popeye quickly opens the can and consumes its contents. Upon swallowing the spinach, Popeye's physical strength immediately becomes superhuman, and he is easily able to save the day, and very often rescue Olive Oyl from a dire situation. It did not stop there, as spinach could also give Popeye the skills and powers he needed, as in "The Man on the Flying Trapeze", where it gave him acrobatic skills. This cartoon, incidentally was the only appearance of Olive Oyl's mother, Nana.
In May 1942, Paramount Pictures assumed ownership of Fleischer Studios, fired the Fleischers and began reorganizing the studio, which they renamed Famous Studios. The early Famous-era shorts were often World War II-themed, featuring Popeye fighting Nazi Germans and Japanese soldiers, most notably the 1942 short "You're a Sap, Mr. Jap". In late 1943, the "Popeye" series began to be produced in Technicolor, beginning with "Her Honor the Mare." Famous/Paramount continued producing the "Popeye" series until 1957, with "Spooky Swabs" being the last of the 125 Famous shorts in the series. Paramount then sold the "Popeye" film catalog to Associated Artists Productions, which was bought out by United Artists in 1958. Through various mergers, the rights are currently controlled by Warner Bros. Discovery.
In 2001, Cartoon Network, under the supervision of animation historian Jerry Beck, created a new incarnation of "The Popeye Show". The show aired the Fleischer and Famous Studios "Popeye" shorts in versions approximating their original theatrical releases by editing copies of the original opening and closing credits (taken or recreated from various sources) onto the beginnings and ends of each cartoon, or in some cases, in their complete, uncut original theatrical versions direct from such prints that originally contained the front-and-end Paramount credits. The series aired 135 "Popeye" shorts over 45 episodes, until March 2004. "The Popeye Show" continued to air on Cartoon Network's spin-off network Boomerang.
While many of the Paramount "Popeye" cartoons remained unavailable on video, a handful of those cartoons had fallen into public domain and were found on numerous low budget VHS tapes and later DVDs. When Turner Entertainment acquired the cartoons in 1986, a long and laborious legal struggle with King Features kept the majority of the original Popeye shorts from official video releases for more than 20 years. King Features instead opted to release a DVD boxed set of the 1960s made-for-television "Popeye the Sailor" cartoons, to which it retained the rights, in 2004. In the meantime, home video rights to the Associated Artists Productions library were transferred from CBS/Fox Video to MGM/UA Home Video in 1986, and eventually to Warner Home Video in 1999. In 2006, Warner Home Video announced it would release all of the "Popeye" cartoons produced for theatrical release between 1933 and 1957 on DVD, restored and uncut. Three volumes were released between 2007 and 2008, covering all of the black-and-white cartoons produced from 1933 to 1943. In December 2018, a fourth volume featuring the first 14 color shorts from 1943 to 1945 was released on DVD and Blu-ray from Warner Home Video through the Warner Archive Collection.
Original television cartoons.
In 1960, King Features Syndicate commissioned a new series of cartoons titled "Popeye the Sailor", but this time for television syndication. Al Brodax served as executive producer of the cartoons for King Features. Jack Mercer, Mae Questel, and Jackson Beck returned for this series, which was produced by a number of companies, including Jack Kinney Productions, Rembrandt Films, Larry Harmon Productions, Halas and Batchelor, and Paramount Cartoon Studios (formerly Famous Studios). The artwork was streamlined and simplified for the television budgets, and 220 cartoons were produced in only two years, with the first set of them premiering in the autumn of 1960, and the last of them debuting during the 1961–1962 television season. For these cartoons, Bluto's name was changed to "Brutus", as King Features believed at the time that Paramount owned the rights to the name "Bluto". Many of the cartoons made by Paramount used plots and storylines taken directly from the comic strip sequences – as well as characters like King Blozo and the Sea Hag. Since King Features has exclusive rights to these "Popeye" cartoons, they have been released on home video, with 85 of them included in a 75th anniversary "Popeye" DVD boxed set in 2004.
Popeye, Olive Oyl, Swee'Pea and Wimpy were featured prominently in the cartoon movie "Popeye Meets the Man Who Hated Laughter", which debuted on October 7, 1972, as one of the episodes of "The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie". In this cartoon, Brutus also appears as a turban-wearing employee of the nemesis, Dr. Morbid Grimsby.
On September 9, 1978, "The All New Popeye Hour" debuted on the CBS Saturday morning lineup. It was an hour-long animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, which tried its best to retain the style of the original comic strip (Popeye returned to his original costume and Brutus to his original name of Bluto), while complying with the prevailing content restrictions on violence. In addition to providing many of the cartoon scripts, Mercer continued to voice Popeye, while Marilyn Schreffler and Allan Melvin became the new voices of Olive Oyl and Bluto, respectively. "The All New Popeye Hour" ran on CBS until September 1981, when it was cut to a half-hour and retitled "The Popeye and Olive Comedy Show". It was removed from the CBS lineup in September 1983, the year before Jack Mercer's death. These cartoons have also been released on VHS and DVD.
During the time these cartoons were in production, CBS aired "The Popeye Valentine's Day Special – Sweethearts at Sea" on February 14, 1979.
Popeye briefly returned to CBS in 1987 for "Popeye and Son", another Hanna-Barbera series, which featured Popeye and Olive as a married couple with a son named Popeye Jr., who hates the taste of spinach, but eats it to boost his strength. Maurice LaMarche performed Popeye's voice as Mercer had died in 1984. The show lasted for one season. USA Network later picked up reruns of the series after CBS's cancellation. Additionally, the series aired on The Family Channel from 1994 until 1995.
In 2004, Lionsgate produced an animated television special, "" to coincide with the 75th anniversary of Popeye. Billy West performed the voice of Popeye, describing the production as "the hardest job I ever did, ever" and the voice of Popeye as "like a buzzsaw on your throat". The uncut version was released on DVD on November 9, 2004; and was aired in a re-edited version on Fox on December 17, 2004, and again on December 30, 2005. Its style was influenced by the 1930s Fleischer cartoons, and featured Swee'Pea, Wimpy, Bluto, Olive Oyl, Poopdeck Pappy, and the Sea Hag as its characters. On November 6, 2007, Lionsgate re-released "Popeye's Voyage" on DVD with redesigned cover art.
Web series.
On December 2, 2018, a Popeye web series named Popeye's Island Adventures produced by WildBrain subsidiary WildBrain Spark Studios premiered on the official Popeye YouTube channel. With intent on drawing in a younger, contemporary, international audience, the new series has updated the Popeye characters to fit the times. For instance, Popeye grows his own spinach and has replaced his corncob pipe with a bosun's whistle. Bluto no longer sports a beard and focuses his time on stealing Popeye's spinach rather than his girlfriend. Olive Oyl is shown as an inventor and engineer. The characters are drawn to appear younger than typically done, save Swea'pea, and no words are spoken, with all actions mimed.
Theme song.
Popeye's theme song, titled "I'm Popeye the Sailor Man", composed by Sammy Lerner in 1933 for Fleischer's first "Popeye the Sailor" cartoon, has become forever associated with the sailor. "The Sailor's Hornpipe" has often been used as an introduction to Popeye's theme song.
A cover of the theme song, performed by Face to Face, is included on the 1995 tribute album "", produced by Ralph Sall for MCA Records. A jazz version, performed by Ted Kooshian's Standard Orbit Quartet, appears on their 2009 Summit Records release "Underdog and Other Stories".
Playground song parodies of the theme have become part of children's street culture around the world, usually interpolating "frying pan" or "garbage can" into the lyrics as Popeye's dwelling place and ascribing to the character various unsavory actions or habits that transform the character into an "Anti-Popeye", and changing his exemplary spinach-based diet into an inedible morass of worms, onions, flies, tortillas and snot.
Other media.
The success of Popeye as a comic-strip and animated character has led to appearances in many other forms. For more than 20 years, Stephen DeStefano has been the artist drawing Popeye for King Features licensing.
Radio.
"Popeye" was adapted to radio in several series broadcast over three different networks by two sponsors from 1935 to 1938. Popeye and most of the major supporting characters were first featured in a thrice-weekly 15-minute radio program, "Popeye the Sailor", which starred Detmar Poppen as Popeye, along with most of the major supporting characters—Olive Oyl (Olive Lamoy), Wimpy (Charles Lawrence), Bluto (Jackson Beck) and Swee'Pea (Mae Questel). In the first episode, Popeye adopted Sonny (Jimmy Donnelly), a character later known as Matey the Newsboy. This program was broadcast Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday nights at 7:15pm. September 10, 1935, through March 28, 1936, on the NBC Red Network (87 episodes), initially sponsored by Wheatena, a whole-wheat breakfast cereal, which routinely replaced the spinach references. Music was provided by Victor Irwin's Cartoonland Band. Announcer Kelvin Keech sang (to composer Lerner's "Popeye" theme) "Wheatena is his diet / He asks you to try it / With Popeye the sailor man." Wheatena paid King Features Syndicate $1,200 per week.
The show was next broadcast Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 7:15 to 7:30pm on WABC and ran from August 31, 1936, to February 26, 1937 (78 episodes). Floyd Buckley played Popeye, and Miriam Wolfe portrayed both Olive Oyl and the Sea Hag. Once again, reference to spinach was conspicuously absent. Instead, Popeye sang, "Wheatena's me diet / I ax ya to try it / I'm Popeye the Sailor Man".
The third series was sponsored by the maker of Popsicles three nights a week for 15 minutes at 6:15 pm on CBS from May 2, 1938, through July 29, 1938.
Of the three series, only 20 of the 204 episodes are known to be preserved.
Feature films.
"Popeye" (1980).
Director Robert Altman used the character in "Popeye", a 1980 live-action musical feature film, starring Robin Williams as Popeye. A co-production of Paramount Pictures and Walt Disney Productions, the movie was filmed almost entirely on Malta, in the village of Mellieħa on the northwest coast of the island. The set is now a tourist attraction called Popeye Village. The U.S. box office earnings were double the film's budget, making it a financial success. While the film received mostly negative reviews at the time, critical reception has improved over the years upon reassessment.
Canceled animated film.
In March 2010, it was reported that Sony Pictures Animation was developing an animated Popeye film, with Avi Arad producing it. In November 2011, Sony Pictures Animation announced that Jay Scherick and David Ronn, the writers of "The Smurfs", are writing the screenplay for the film. In June 2012, it was reported that Genndy Tartakovsky had been set to direct the feature, which he planned to make "as artful and unrealistic as possible." In November 2012, Sony Pictures Animation set the release date for September 26, 2014, which was, in May 2013, pushed back to 2015. In March 2014, Sony Pictures Animation updated its slate, scheduling the film for 2016, and announcing Tartakovsky as the director of "Hotel Transylvania 2", which he was directing concurrently with "Popeye". On September 18, 2014, Tartakovsky revealed an "animation test" footage, about which he said, "It's just something that kind of represents what we want to do. I couldn't be more excited by how it turned out." In March 2015, Tartakovsky announced that despite the well-received test footage, he was no longer working on the project, and would instead direct "Can You Imagine?", which is based on his own original idea, but it too was cancelled.
Nevertheless, Sony Pictures Animation stated the project still remains in active development. In January 2016, it was announced that T.J. Fixman would write the film. On May 11, 2020, it was announced that a "Popeye" movie is in development at King Features Syndicate with Genndy Tartakovsky coming back to the project. However, on July 21, 2022, Tartakovsky said the project was cancelled. An animatic for the film was later leaked onto the internet on July 22, 2022.
Second live-action film.
On March 19, 2024, it was announced that a new live action "Popeye" film is being developed at Chernin Entertainment with a screenplay written by Michael Caleo for King Features.
Marketing, tie-ins, and endorsements.
From early on, Popeye was heavily merchandised. Everything from soap to razor blades to spinach was available with Popeye's likeness on it. Most of these items are rare and sought by collectors, but some merchandise is still produced.
Restaurants
Retail foods and beverages
Sports
Other
Popeye & Friends Character Trail.
Chester, Illinois, Segar's hometown, erected a statue of Popeye in Segar's honor in 1977 and began the Popeye & Friends Character Trail in 2006, adding new statues honoring the other Thimble Theater characters each year.
This Character Trail is spread throughout Chester and includes (with unveiling dates):
Frank "Rocky" Fiegel was the real-life inspiration for the character Popeye. His parents, Bartłomiej and Anna H. Fiegiel, had come from the area of the Greater Poland Voivodeship, then part of Prussia, and migrated to the United States. He had a prominent chin, sinewy physique, characteristic pipe, and a propensity and agile skill for fist-fighting. Fiegel died on March 24, 1947, never having married. His gravestone has an image of Popeye engraved on it. Segar regularly sent money to Fiegel () according to Popeye historian Michael Brooks.
Additional hometown residents of Chester have inspired other Segar characters, including Dora Paskel, an uncommonly tall, angular lady who ran a general store in town and was the origin for Popeye's gal, Olive Oyl. She even wore a hair bun close to her neckline. William "Windy Bill" Schuchert, a rather rotund man who owned the local opera house (and was Segar's early employer), was the seed for the character J. Wellington Wimpy. He even sent out his employees to purchase hamburgers for him between performances at a local tavern named Wiebusch's, the same tavern Fiegel frequented and where he engaged in fistfights.
A conjecture presented in a 2009 book raised the idea that while living in Santa Monica, Segar might have based some of Popeye's language on a local fisherman, even though the article has yet to make a definitive claim.
Cultural influences.
Culturally, many consider Popeye a precursor to the superheroes who eventually dominated U.S. comic books.
In medicine, the bulge indicating a bicep tear is called the Popeye sign.
In 1973, Cary Bates created Captain Strong, a takeoff of Popeye, for DC Comics, as a way of having two cultural icons – Superman and (a proxy of) Popeye – meet.
The 1981 Nintendo videogame Donkey Kong, which introduced its eponymous character and Nintendo's unofficial company mascot Mario to the world, was originally planned to be a Popeye game. Mario (then known as Jumpman) was originally supposed to be Popeye, Donkey Kong was originally Bluto, and the character Pauline was originally Olive Oyl, but when Nintendo was unable to acquire the rights to use the actual franchise characters, it decided to create original characters instead.
The 1988 Walt Disney/Touchstone Pictures film "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" featured many classic cartoon characters, and the absence of Popeye was noted by some critics. Popeye (along with Olive Oyl, Bluto, and Wimpy) actually had a cameo role planned for the film. However, Disney could not obtain the rights in time and Popeye's cameo was dropped from the film.
The Popeye dance.
The Popeye was a popular dance in the dance craze era of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Originating in New Orleans around 1962, the Popeye was performed by shuffling and moving one's arms, placing one arm behind and one arm in front and alternating them, going through the motion of raising a pipe up to the mouth, and alternate sliding or pushing one foot back in the manner of ice skating, similar to motions exhibited by the cartoon character. According to music historian Robert Pruter, the Popeye was even more popular than the Twist in New Orleans. The dance was associated with and/or referenced to in several songs, including Eddie Bo's "Check Mr. Popeye", Chris Kenner's "Something You Got" and "Land of a Thousand Dances", Chubby Checker's "Popeye The Hitchhiker", Frankie Ford's "You Talk Too Much", Ernie K-Doe's "Popeye Joe", Huey "Piano" Smith's "Popeye", The Sherrys "Pop Pop Pop-Pie", and Harvey Fuqua's "Any Way You Wanta". A compilation of 23 Popeye dance songs was released in 1996 under the title "New Orleans Popeye Party".
Spinach.
Initially Popeye's chief superhuman characteristic was his indestructibility, rather than super strength, which was attributed to his having rubbed the head of Bernice the Whiffle Hen numerous times after being shot. Popeye later attributed his strength to spinach. The popularity of Popeye helped boost spinach sales. Using Popeye as a role model for healthier eating may work; a 2010 study revealed that children increased their vegetable consumption after watching Popeye cartoons. The spinach-growing community of Crystal City, Texas, erected a statue of the character in recognition of Popeye's positive effects on the spinach industry. There are also statues in Springdale and Alma, Arkansas (which claims to be "The Spinach Capital of the World"), at canning plants of Allen Canning, which markets Popeye-branded canned spinach. In addition to Allen Canning's Popeye spinach, Popeye Fresh Foods markets bagged, fresh spinach with Popeye characters on the package. In 2006, when spinach contaminated with "E. coli" was accidentally sold to the public, many editorial cartoonists lampooned the affair by featuring Popeye in their cartoons.
A frequently circulated story claims that Fleischer's choice of spinach to give Popeye strength was based on faulty calculations of its iron content. In the story, a scientist misplaced a decimal point in an 1870 measurement of spinach's iron content, leading to an iron value ten times higher than it should have been. The error was not a slipped decimal point but a measurement error that was corrected in the 1930s; however, the myth of extraordinarily high iron content persisted.
Word coinages.
The strip is also responsible for popularizing, although not inventing, the word "goon" (meaning a thug or lackey); goons in Popeye's world were large humanoids with indistinctly drawn faces that were particularly known for being used as muscle and slave labor by Popeye's nemesis, the Sea Hag. One particular goon, the aforementioned female named Alice, was an occasional recurring character in the animated shorts, but she was usually a fairly nice character.
Eugene the Jeep was introduced in the comic strip on March 13, 1936. Two years later the term "jeep wagons" was in use, later shortened to simply "jeep" with widespread World War II usage and then trademarked by Willys-Overland as "Jeep".
Events and honors.
The Popeye Picnic is held every year in Chester, Illinois, on the weekend after Labor Day. Popeye fans attend from across the globe, including a visit by a film crew from South Korea in 2004. The one-eyed sailor's hometown strives to entertain devotees of all ages.
In honor of Popeye's 75th anniversary, the Empire State Building illuminated its notable tower lights green the weekend of January 16–18, 2004 as a tribute to the icon's love of spinach. This special lighting marked the only time the Empire State Building ever celebrated the anniversary/birthday of a comic strip character.
Filmography.
DVD collections.
Theatrical cartoons
TV cartoons
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Tarzan
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Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer.
Created by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan first appeared in the novel "Tarzan of the Apes" (magazine publication 1912, book publication 1914), and subsequently in 23 sequels, several books by Burroughs and other authors, and innumerable works in other media, both authorized and unauthorized.
Character biography.
Tarzan is the son of a British lord and lady who were marooned on the coast of Africa by mutineers. When Tarzan was an infant, his mother died, and his father was killed by Kerchak, leader of the ape tribe by whom Tarzan was adopted.
Soon after his parents' death, Tarzan became a feral child, and his tribe of apes is known as the Mangani, great apes of a species unknown to science. Kala is his ape mother. Burroughs added stories occurring during Tarzan's adolescence in his sixth Tarzan book, "Jungle Tales of Tarzan".
Name.
"Tarzan" is the ape-name of John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke, according to Burroughs's "Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle". (Later, less canonical sources, notably the 1984 film "Greystoke", make him Earl of Greystoke.) The narrator in "Tarzan of the Apes" describes both "Clayton" and "Greystoke" as fictitious names, implying that, within the fictional world that Tarzan inhabits, he may have a different real name.
Burroughs considered other names for the character, including "Zantar" and "Tublat Zan", before he settled on "Tarzan". In the language of the Mangani, or great apes, Tarzan means "white–skin". Though the copyright on "Tarzan of the Apes" has expired in the United States and in other countries, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. claims the name "Tarzan" as a trademark.
The community of Tarzana, Los Angeles, is named after Tarzan.
Jane.
As an 18-year-old, Tarzan meets a young American woman named Jane Porter. She, her father, and others of their party are marooned on the same coastal jungle area where Tarzan's human parents were 20 years earlier. When Jane returns to the United States, Tarzan leaves the jungle in search of her, his one true love. In "The Return of Tarzan", Tarzan and Jane marry. In later books, he lives with her for a time in England. They have one son, Jack, who takes the ape name Korak (the Killer). Tarzan is contemptuous of what he sees as the hypocrisy of civilization, so Jane and he return to Africa, making their home on an extensive estate in British East Africa that becomes a base for Tarzan's later adventures.
As revealed in "Tarzan's Quest", Tarzan, Jane, Tarzan's monkey friend Nkima, and their allies gained some of the Kavuru's pills that grant immortality to their consumer.
Physical abilities.
Tarzan's jungle upbringing gives him abilities far beyond those of ordinary humans. These include climbing, clinging, and leaping as well as any great ape. He uses branches, swings from vines to travel at great speed, and can use his feet like hands (he prefers going barefoot because he relies on the flexibility of bare feet), a skill acquired among the anthropoid apes.
His strength, speed, stamina, agility, reflexes, and swimming skills are extraordinary; he has wrestled not just full-grown apes, but also gorillas, lions, rhinos, crocodiles, pythons, leopards, sharks, tigers, giant seahorses, and even dinosaurs (when he visited Pellucidar). Tarzan is a skilled tracker, and uses his exceptional hearing and keen sense of smell to follow prey or avoid predators.
Language and literacy.
As originally depicted, Tarzan/John Clayton is very intelligent and articulate, and does not speak in broken English as the classic movies of the 1930s depict him. He can communicate with many species of jungle animals, and has been shown to be a skilled impressionist, able to mimic the sound of a gunshot perfectly.
Tarzan is literate in English before he first encounters other English-speaking people. His literacy is self-taught after several years in his early teens by visiting the log cabin of his infancy and looking at children's primer/picture books. He eventually reads every book in his father's portable book collection, and is fully aware of geography, basic world history, and his family tree. He is "found" by traveling Frenchman Paul D'Arnot, who teaches him the basics of human speech and returns with him to civilization. When Tarzan first encounters D'Arnot, he tells him (in writing): "I speak only the language of my tribe—the great apes who were Kerchak's; and a little of the languages of Tantor, the elephant, and Numa, the lion, and of the other folks of the jungle I understand."
Tarzan can learn a new language in days, ultimately speaking many languages, including that of the great apes, French, Finnish, English, Dutch, German, Swahili, many other Bantu languages, Arabic, Ancient Greek, Ancient Latin, and Mayan, as well as the languages of the Ant Men and of Pellucidar.
Literature.
Tarzan has been called one of the best-known literary characters in the world. In addition to more than two dozen books by Burroughs and a handful more by authors with the blessing of Burroughs's estate, the character has appeared in films, radio, television, comic strips, and comic books. Numerous parodies and pirated works have also appeared.
Critical reception.
While "Tarzan of the Apes" met with some critical success, subsequent books in the series received a cooler reception and have been criticized for being derivative and formulaic. The characters are often said to be two-dimensional, the dialogue wooden, and the storytelling devices (such as excessive reliance on coincidence) strain credulity. According to Rudyard Kipling (who himself wrote stories of a feral child, "The Jungle Book"s Mowgli), Burroughs wrote "Tarzan of the Apes" just so he could "find out how bad a book he could write and get away with it."
While Burroughs was not a polished novelist, he was a vivid storyteller. Most of his novels are still in print. In 1963, author Gore Vidal wrote a piece on the Tarzan series that, while pointing out several of the deficiencies that the Tarzan books have as works of literature, praises Burroughs for creating a compelling "daydream figure." Critical reception grew more positive with the 1981 study by Erling B. Holtsmark, "Tarzan and Tradition: Classical Myth in Popular Literature". Holtsmark added a volume on Burroughs for Twayne's United States Author Series in 1986. In 2010, Stan Galloway provided a sustained study of the adolescent period of the fictional Tarzan's life in "The Teenage Tarzan".
Despite critical panning, the Tarzan stories have remained popular. Burroughs's melodramatic situations and the elaborate details he works into his fictional world, such as his construction of a partial language for his great apes, appeal to a worldwide fan base.
Unauthorized works.
After Burroughs's death, a number of writers produced new Tarzan stories. In some instances, the estate managed to prevent publication of such works. The most notable example in the United States was a series of five novels by the pseudonymous "Barton Werper" that appeared 1964–65 by Gold Star Books (part of Charlton Comics). As a result of legal action by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., they were taken off the market. Similar series appeared in other countries, notably Argentina, Israel, and some Arab countries.
Modern fiction.
In 1972, science-fiction author Philip José Farmer wrote "Tarzan Alive", a biography of Tarzan using the frame device that he was a real person. In Farmer's fictional universe, Tarzan, along with Doc Savage and Sherlock Holmes, are the cornerstones of the Wold Newton family. Farmer wrote two novels, "Hadon of Ancient Opar" and "Flight to Opar", set in the distant past and giving further knowledge of the antecedents of the lost city of Opar, which plays an important role in the Tarzan books. In addition, Farmer's "A Feast Unknown", and its two sequels "Lord of the Trees" and "The Mad Goblin", are pastiches of the Tarzan and Doc Savage stories, with the premise that they tell the story of the real characters upon which the fictional characters are based. "A Feast Unknown" is somewhat infamous among Tarzan and Doc Savage fans for its graphic violence and sexual content.
Tarzan in other media.
Film.
The first Tarzan films were silent pictures adapted from the original "Tarzan" novels, which appeared within a few years of the character's creation. The first actor to portray the adult Tarzan was Elmo Lincoln in 1918's film "Tarzan of the Apes". With the advent of talking pictures, a popular Tarzan film franchise was developed, lasting from the 1930s through the 1960s. Starting with "Tarzan the Ape Man" in 1932 through twelve films until 1948, the franchise was anchored by former Olympic swimmer Johnny Weissmuller in the title role. Tarzan films from the 1930s on often featured Tarzan's chimpanzee companion Cheeta, his consort Jane (not usually given a last name), and an adopted son, usually known only as "Boy." However, productions by Sy Weintraub from 1959 onward dropped the character of Jane and portrayed Tarzan as a lone adventurer. Later Tarzan films have been occasional and somewhat idiosyncratic.
There were also several serials and features that competed with the main franchise, including "Tarzan the Fearless" (1933) starring Buster Crabbe and "The New Adventures of Tarzan" (1935) starring Herman Brix. The latter serial was unique for its period in that it was partially filmed on location (Guatemala) and portrayed Tarzan as educated. It was the only Tarzan film project for which Burroughs was personally involved in the production.
Weissmuller and his immediate successors were enjoined to portray the ape-man as a noble savage speaking broken English, in marked contrast to the cultured aristocrat of Edgar Rice Burroughs's novels (the pidgin English being more linguistically plausible). With the exception of Burroughs's co-produced "The New Adventures of Tarzan", this "me Tarzan, you Jane" characterization of Tarzan persisted until the late 1950s, when Weintraub, having bought the film rights from producer Sol Lesser, produced "Tarzan's Greatest Adventure" (1959) followed by eight other films and a television series. The Weintraub productions portray a Tarzan that is closer to Burroughs's original concept in the novels: a jungle lord who speaks grammatical English and is well educated and familiar with civilization. Most Tarzan films made before the mid-1950s were black-and-white films shot on studio sets, with stock jungle footage edited in. The Weintraub productions from 1959 on were shot in foreign locations and were in color.
More recently, "Tarzan, the Ape Man", starring Miles O'Keeffe and Bo Derek, was released in 1981. Tony Goldwyn voiced Tarzan in Disney's animated film of the same name, released in 1999 (making it the first major animated motion picture to star the Ape Man) and his ape family were portrayed as gorillas in the film. This version marked a new beginning for the ape man, taking its inspiration equally from Burroughs and the 1984 live-action film "". Since "Greystoke", two additional live-action Tarzan films have been released, 1998's "Tarzan and the Lost City" and 2016's "The Legend of Tarzan", both period pieces that drew inspiration from Edgar Rice Burroughs's writings.
Radio.
Tarzan was the hero of two popular radio programs in the United States. The first aired from 1932 to 1936 with James Pierce in the role of Tarzan. The second ran from 1951 to 1953 with Lamont Johnson in the title role.
The Tarzan book series was later modernized and parodied in an authorized 2021 golden-age radio styled podcast program entitled "The Adventures of Tarzan", produced by the Freshly Squeezed Pulp comedy troupe of Duke University.
Television.
Television later emerged as a primary vehicle bringing the character to the public. From the mid-1950s, all the extant sound Tarzan films became staples of Saturday morning television aimed at young and teenaged viewers. In 1958, Gordon Scott filmed three episodes for a prospective television series. The program did not sell, but a different live action "Tarzan" series produced by Sy Weintraub and starring Ron Ely ran on NBC from 1966 to 1968. This depiction of Tarzan is a well-educated bachelor who grew tired of urban civilization and is in his native African jungle once again.
Tarzan was voiced by Robert Ridgely and Danton Burroughs in the animated series from Filmation, titled "Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle" (1976–1977), as well as in the anthology programs that followed:
Joe Lara starred in the title role in "Tarzan in Manhattan" (1989), an offbeat TV movie, and later returned in a completely different interpretation, titled "" (1996), a new live-action series.
In between the two productions with Lara, "Tarzán" (1991–1994), a half-hour syndicated series in which Tarzan is portrayed as a blond environmentalist, with Jane turned into a French ecologist.
Disney's animated series "The Legend of Tarzan" (2001–2003) was a spin-off of the animated Disney film from 1999.
The latest television series was the short-lived live-action "Tarzan" (2003), which starred male model Travis Fimmel and updated the setting to contemporary New York City, with Jane as a police detective, played by Sarah Wayne Callies. The series was cancelled after only eight episodes.
"Saturday Night Live" featured recurring sketches with the speech-impaired trio of "Tonto, Tarzan, and Frankenstein's Monster". In these sketches, Tarzan is portrayed by Kevin Nealon.
Toys and ephemera.
Throughout the 1970s Mego Corporation licensed the Tarzan character and produced 8" action figures which they included in their "World's Greatest Super Heroes" line of characters. In 1975 they also produced a 3" "Bendy" figure made of poseable, malleable plastic.
Several Tarzan-themed products have been manufactured, including View-Master reels and packets, numerous Tarzan coloring books, children's books, follow-the-dots, and activity books.
Comics.
"Tarzan of the Apes" was adapted in newspaper-strip form in early 1929, with illustrations by Hal Foster. A full-page Sunday strip began March 15, 1931, by Rex Maxon. Over the years, many artists have drawn the "Tarzan" comic strip, notably Burne Hogarth, Russ Manning, and Mike Grell. The daily strip began to reprint old dailies after Manning's last daily (#10,308; publ. July 29, 1972). The Sunday strip also turned to reprints . Both strips continue as reprints today in a few newspapers and in "Comics Revue" magazine. NBM Publishing did a high quality reprint series of the Foster and Hogarth work on Tarzan in a series of hardback and paperback reprints in the 1990s.
Tarzan has appeared in many comic books from numerous publishers over the years. The character's earliest comic book appearances were in comic strip reprints published in several titles, such as "Sparkler", "Tip Top Comics" and "Single Series". Western Publishing published "Tarzan" in Dell Comics's "Four Color Comics" #134 & 161 in 1947, before giving him his own series, "Tarzan", published through Dell Comics and later Gold Key Comics from January–February 1948 to February 1972; many of these issues adapted Burroughs's novels.
DC took over the series in 1972, publishing "Tarzan" #207–258 from April 1972 to February 1977, including work by Joe Kubert. In 1977, the series moved to Marvel Comics, who restarted the numbering rather than assuming those of the previous publishers. Marvel issued "Tarzan" #1–29 (as well as three "Annual"s), from June 1977 to October 1979, mainly by John Buscema.
Following the conclusion of the Marvel series the character had no regular comic-book publisher for a number of years. During this period, Blackthorne Comics published "Tarzan" in 1986, and Malibu Comics published "Tarzan" comics in 1992. Dark Horse Comics has published various "Tarzan" series from 1996 to the present, including reprints of works from previous publishers like Gold Key and DC, and joint projects with other publishers featuring crossovers with other characters.
There have also been a number of different comic book projects from other publishers over the years, in addition to various minor appearances of Tarzan in other comic books. The Japanese manga series "Jungle no Ouja Ta-chan" (Jungle King Tar-chan) by Tokuhiro Masaya was based loosely on Tarzan. Also, manga "god" Osamu Tezuka created a Tarzan manga in 1948 entitled "Tarzan no Himitsu Kichi" ("Tarzan's Secret Base").
Cultural influence.
Science.
Tarzan's primitivist philosophy was absorbed by countless fans, amongst whom was Jane Goodall, who describes the Tarzan series as having a major influence on her childhood. She states that she felt she would be a much better spouse for Tarzan than his fictional wife, Jane, and that when she first began to live among and study the chimpanzees she was fulfilling her childhood dream of living among the great apes just as Tarzan did.
Tarzan is commemorated in the scientific name of a species of chameleon, "Calumma tarzan", which is endemic to Madagascar.
Literature.
Rudyard Kipling's Mowgli has been cited as a major influence on Burroughs's creation of Tarzan. Mowgli was also an influence for a number of other "wild boy" characters.
Jerry Siegel named Tarzan and another Burroughs character, John Carter, as early inspirations for his creation of Superman.
Tarzan's popularity inspired numerous imitators in pulp magazines. A number of these, like Kwa and Ka-Zar were direct or loosely veiled copies; others, like Polaris of the Snows, were similar characters in different settings, or with different gimmicks. Of these characters the most popular was Ki-Gor, the subject of 59 novels that appeared between winter 1939 to spring 1954 in the magazine "Jungle Stories".
Popular culture.
Tarzan is often used as a nickname to indicate a similarity between a person's characteristics and that of the fictional character. Individuals with an exceptional 'ape-like' ability to climb, cling and leap beyond that of ordinary humans may often receive the nickname 'Tarzan'. An example is retired American baseball player Joe Wallis.
Comedian Carol Burnett was often prompted by her audiences to perform her trademark Tarzan yell. She explained that it originated in her youth when she and a friend watched a Tarzan movie.
Bibliography.
By other authors.
Stuart J. Byrne
In the 1950s, Byrne wrote the novel "Tarzan on Mar"s under the pen name John Bloodstone, the novel is a crossover of the Tarzan series and the Barsoom series, John Carter's adventures on Mars, however, he did not obtain a license to publish the novel, which had unauthorized editions.
Publisher Faber and Faber with the backing of the Edgar Rice Burroughs, Incorporated, have updated the series through author Andy Briggs. In 2011, Briggs published the first of the books "". In 2012 he published the second book "Tarzan: The Jungle Warrior", and in 2013, he has published the third book "Tarzan: The Savage Lands".
Themes of gender and race.
In her "Manliness and Civilization", Gail Bederman describes how various people of the time either challenged or upheld the idea that "civilization" is predicated on white masculinity. She closes with a chapter on "Tarzan of the Apes" (1912) because the story's protagonist is, according to her, the ultimate male by the standards of 1912 White Americans. Bederman does note that Tarzan, "an instinctively chivalrous Anglo-Saxon," does not engage in sexual violence, renouncing his "masculine impulse to rape." However, she also notes that not only does Tarzan kill black man Kulonga in revenge for killing his ape mother (a stand-in for his biological White mother) by hanging him, "lyncher Tarzan" actually enjoys killing black people, for example the cannibalistic Mbongans.
Bederman, in fact, reminds readers that when Tarzan first introduces himself to Jane, he does so as "Tarzan, the killer of beasts and many black men". The novel climaxes with Tarzan saving Jane (who in the original novel is not British, but a southern White woman from Baltimore, Maryland) from a black ape rapist. When he leaves the jungle and sees "civilized" Africans farming, his first instinct is to kill them just for being Black. "Like the lynch victims reported in the Northern press, Tarzan's victimscowards, cannibals, and despoilers of white womanhoodlack all manhood. Tarzan's lynchings thus prove him the superior man."
According to Bederman, despite Tarzan embodying all the tropes of white supremacy espoused or rejected by the people she had reviewed (Theodore Roosevelt, G. Stanley Hall, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Ida B. Wells), Burroughs, in all probability, was not trying to make any kind of statement or echo any of them. "He probably never heard of any of them." Instead, Bederman writes that Burroughs proves her point because, in telling racist and sexist stories whose protagonist boasted of killing black people, he was not being unusual at all, but was instead just being a typical 1912 White American.
Race.
The Tarzan books and movies employ extensive stereotyping. With changing social views and customs this has led to criticism, including charges of racism since the early 1970s. The early books give a pervasively negative and stereotypical portrayal of native Africans, including Arabs. In "The Return of Tarzan", Arabs are "surly looking" and call Christians "dogs", while black Africans are "lithe, ebon warriors, gesticulating and jabbering".
In regards to race, a superior–inferior relationship with valuation is implied in virtually all interactions between white and black people in the Tarzan stories, and similar relationships and valuations can be seen in most other interactions between differing people. According to James Loewen's "Sundown Towns", this may be a vestige of Burroughs's having been from Oak Park, Illinois, a former Sundown town (a town that forbids non-white people from living within it).
Tarzan is a white European male who grows up with apes. According to "Taking Tarzan Seriously" by Marianna Torgovnick, Tarzan is confused with the social hierarchy that he is a part of. Unlike everyone else in his society, Tarzan is the only one who is not clearly part of any social group. All the other members of his world are not able to climb or decline socially because they are already part of a social hierarchy which is stagnant. Turgovnick writes that since Tarzan was raised as an ape, he thinks and acts like an ape. However, instinctively he is human and he resorts to being human when he is pushed to. The reason of his confusion is that he does not understand what the typical white male is supposed to act like. His instincts eventually kick in when he is in the midst of this confusion, and he ends up dominating the jungle. In Tarzan, the jungle is a microcosm for the world in general in 1912 to the early 1930s. His climbing of the social hierarchy proves that the European white male is the most dominant of all races/sexes, no matter what the circumstance. Furthermore, Turgovnick writes that when Tarzan first meets Jane, she is slightly repulsed but also fascinated by his animal-like actions. As the story progresses, Tarzan surrenders his knife to Jane in an oddly chivalrous gesture, which makes Jane fall for Tarzan despite his odd circumstances. Turgovnick believes that this displays an instinctual, civilized chivalry that Burrough believes is common in white men.
Gender dynamic.
Burroughs's opinions, manifested through the narrative voice in the stories, reflect common Western attitudes in his time, which in a 21st-century context would be considered racist and sexist.
Although the character of Tarzan does not directly engage in violence against women, feminist scholars have critiqued the presence of other sympathetic male characters who do so with Tarzan's approval. In "Tarzan and the Ant Men", the men of a fictional tribe of creatures called the Alali gain social dominance of their society by beating Alali women into submission with weapons that Tarzan willingly provides them. Following the battle, Burroughs (p. 178) states:To entertain Tarzan and to show him what great strides civilization had taken—the son of The First Woman seized a female by the hair and dragging her to him struck her heavily about the head and face with his clenched fist, and the woman fell upon her knees and fondled his legs, looking wistfully into his face, her own glowing with love and admiration.While Burroughs depicts some female characters with humanistic equalizing elements, Torgovnick argues that violent scenes against women in the context of male political and social domination are condoned in his writing, reinforcing a notion of gendered hierarchy where patriarchy is portrayed as the natural pinnacle of society.
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Big Bird
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Big Bird is a Muppet character designed by Jim Henson and built by Kermit Love for the children's television show "Sesame Street". An bright yellow anthropomorphic bird, he can roller skate, ice skate, dance, swim, sing, write poetry, draw, and ride a unicycle. Despite this wide array of talents, he is prone to frequent misunderstandings, on one occasion even singing the alphabet as a single word (pronouncing it as in the song "ABC-DEF-GHI"). He would refer to grocer Mr. Hooper as "Mr. Looper", among other mispronunciations. He lives in a large nest behind the 123 Sesame Street brownstone and right next to Oscar the Grouch's trash can. In Season 46, the nest sits within a small, furnished maple tree, and is no longer hidden by used construction doors. He has a teddy bear named Radar.
Caroll Spinney performed Big Bird from 1969 to 2018. Matt Vogel began as an understudy in 1996 before becoming the character's full-time performer in 2018.
In 2000, Big Bird was named a Living Legend by the United States Library of Congress.
Performing Big Bird.
Big Bird was performed by Caroll Spinney starting in 1969. In the later years of Spinney's career, the show gradually started training new performers to play Big Bird. The apprentices included both Rick Lyon in the opening theme song of the show's 33rd season, and later Matt Vogel in the show's "Journey to Ernie" segment. Vogel became Big Bird's primary performer after Spinney's retirement.
Spinney was sick during the taping of a few first-season episodes, so Daniel Seagren performed Big Bird in those episodes. He also performed Big Bird when he appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show" in 1969 and on "Hollywood Squares" in the 1970s. According to "The Story of Jim Henson" by Stephanie St. Pierre, the costume was built for Jim Henson to perform, but when Henson tried it on, Kermit Love, who had built the costume, did not think that Henson was walking like a bird is supposed to walk, and so Henson decided not to perform Big Bird. Frank Oz was offered the part, but since he disliked performing full-body characters, he turned down the job.
Director Jon Stone, in the 1994 documentary "The World of Jim Henson", revealed that the Big Bird costume actually did not have any openings that would allow the actor to see; a small television was strapped to the actor's chest to allow him to navigate. The camera was set up for Spinney by technician Walt Rauffer, on the suggestion of director Bob Myhrum. Rauffer rigged the camera to a harness strapped to Spinney's chest; Spinney reported that they called the camera "the electronic bra". When Big Bird's performer is performing on location and cannot get a video feed, a small hole is made in the costume to allow him to see. In such cases, Big Bird wears a necktie to cover the hole. This can also be seen in the "Sesame Street Live" shows.
In scenes where Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch (both characters performed by Spinney) interact in a scene together, the situation has varied depending on the number of lines one or the other is given. When Spinney performed Big Bird, a second puppeteer operated Oscar to Spinney's vocals. Beginning in 1997, Vogel would operate Big Bird and Oscar was performed by Spinney as usual until 2015.
In 2015, due to being diagnosed with dystonia, Spinney no longer puppeteered the Big Bird suit full-time. Matt Vogel took over puppetry duties, manipulating the puppet to Spinney's vocals (either pre-recorded, dubbed in post-production, or provided live on set). Spinney continued to provide Big Bird's voice on the series for seasons 46 and 47, as well as select commercials, online videos, and the special "Once Upon a Sesame Street Christmas". Afterwards, Spinney entered semi-retirement, and Matt Vogel fully assumed the role. Despite this, Spinney continued to receive onscreen credit for playing the characters through Season 50.
On October 17, 2018, Spinney announced his official retirement from both his characters. The following day, he recorded his final performances as Big Bird and Oscar as part of Episode 5022 for the series' landmark 50th anniversary, though, when the episode aired, none of his vocals were kept in. Spinney's final vocal performance as Big Bird to air was in the cold open for Episode 4920.
Costume and portrayal.
Big Bird was designed by a drawing from Jim Henson and built by Kermit Love in 1969. The design was based on a previous Henson creation, a dragon that the puppeteer created for a La Choy advertising campaign. The Big Bird performer is completely enclosed within the costume, and extends his right hand over his head to operate the head and neck of the puppet. The Muppeteer's left hand serves as the Bird's left wing, while the right wing is stuffed and hangs loosely from a fishing line that runs through a loop under the neck and attaches to the wrist of the left hand. The right hand thus does the opposite of the left hand: as the left hand goes down, the right hand is pulled up by the fishing line. A secondary muppeteer would be used in scenes where Big Bird uses both his wings or holds something in the right wing.
Big Bird's body suit weighs ten pounds, and his head weighs four pounds. According to writer Louise Gikow, the heat inside the suit is "unbearable, and it's extraordinarily difficult to hold Big Bird's head."
Different versions of Big Bird are portrayed in some international versions of "Sesame Street". For example, the Dutch version has a blue bird named Pino. In the Latin American version (Plaza Sésamo), Big Bird's parrot cousin, Abelardo Montoya, is featured. He appears similar to Big Bird, but he is green.
Big Bird's appearance has changed over the years, as has his personality. He originally had very few feathers on top of his head; his body feathers were also more shaggy and unkempt, and his body was not as rounded and full as it is now. His personality was more dopey and "bird-brained" than it later became. He gradually got more feathers on top, giving his head a more rounded appearance, and developed a blaze-like crest of lighter yellow feathers above his eyes. His body got fluffier, rounder and more well groomed as well. His personality developed over time from being a dim, slow-witted character into the childlike innocence he is known for today. Although all the "Sesame Street" Muppet characters are technically ageless, Big Bird is psychologically written to represent a six-year-old.
The costume is partially assembled by company American Plume & Fancy Feather, using the tail feathers from turkeys; as the feathers are rarely clean, company owner Anthony Trento calls the Big Bird costume his "toughest customer". Sesame Workshop is said to reject roughly 90 percent of all the feathers selected for use on the costume.
Select filmography.
Guest appearances.
Source:
Commercials.
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Species.
The book "“G” is for Growing: Thirty Years of Research on Children and Sesame Street" cites a producer of "Sesame Street" who refers to Big Bird as a canary. In the series 11 episode, "Mister Rogers Talks about Competition" of the show, "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood", Big Bird was asked by King Friday XIII if he was related to the cassowary; he replied, "I'm actually a Golden Condor." On the January 23, 1976 episode of "Hollywood Squares", Big Bird was asked what kind of bird he is and said he was a lark, causing host Peter Marshall to crack up. In the film "Don't Eat the Pictures", Osiris calls Big Bird an ibis. Zoologist Mike Dickison suggested in his popular Pechakucha talk that Big Bird represents a unique species that evolved from the whooping crane. For decades, Oscar the Grouch has been calling Big Bird a turkey, more as an insult rather than a reference to his species. Big Bird is always described as being flightless.
Use of Big Bird in the 2012 US presidential election.
During the first presidential debate on October 3, 2012, Mitt Romney used Big Bird as an example of spending cuts he would make to reduce the federal budget deficit. Romney told the moderator, Jim Lehrer, "I like PBS, I love Big Bird. Actually like you, too. But I'm not going to – I'm not going to keep on spending money on things to borrow money from China to pay for. That's number one."
Barack Obama’s campaign later released a satirical advertisement in which Romney described Big Bird as an "evil genius" and "a menace to our economy", and depicted Romney as more concerned with cracking down on Big Bird than on white collar criminals such as Bernie Madoff and Ken Lay.
Sesame Workshop subsequently asked that both campaigns remove "Sesame Street" characters from campaign materials, stating on their website: "Sesame Workshop is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization and we do not endorse candidates or participate in political campaigns."
In response to the mention in the debates, Big Bird made an appearance in a 2012 Weekend Update segment on Saturday Night Live with then host Seth Meyers. During the interview, Big Bird joked about how he suddenly "felt famous" after being mentioned in the debates, but refused to make any political statements as to not "ruffle any feathers."
COVID-19 vaccine and parody Twitter account.
On November 6, 2021, the character's official Twitter account posted that Big Bird had received a COVID-19 vaccine, in an effort to promote vaccination of children. After President Joe Biden responded in support, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz criticized Sesame Street for the statement. In response, a parody Twitter account, Big Bird for Senate, (not affiliated with or endorsed by Sesame Workshop) was created portraying Big Bird as a candidate for Cruz's senate seat. The account gained over 100,000 followers in its first week, and numerous other accounts were made casting Sesame Street characters as campaign officials. The original account has since been deleted.
Other appearances.
"Follow That Bird" (1985).
In 1985, Big Bird was the star of his own film, "", alongside the cast of "Sesame Street". The plot focused on him being moved away to live with a family of dodos by a meddling social-worker named Miss Finch (voiced by Sally Kellerman). He is not happy with his new home and he runs away and embarks on a cross-country adventure. Along the way, he finds help from a friendly truck driver (Waylon Jennings) and two farmer kids (Alyson Court and Benjamin Barrett). But on the bad side, there are two unscrupulous carnival-owning brothers (Dave Thomas and Joe Flaherty) who want to kidnap and make him perform in their carnival for their own profit. In the meantime, his friends Bert, Ernie, Cookie Monster, Grover, Count von Count, Telly and Oscar the Grouch are in pursuit of him to find him and bring him back home safely. Also joining them are their human friends, Gordon, Maria, Olivia and Linda with Bob aiding them from Sesame Street.
1970s and 1980s.
In the mid-late 1970s, Big Bird made several appearances on "The Hollywood Squares". As with Mr. Hooper, Big Bird frequently mispronounced host Peter Marshall's name, calling him "Mr. Marshmallow" or "Mr. Masher". In another episode, when asked by Marshall what kind of bird he was, Big Bird replied "I'm a lark", which broke Marshall up.
He appeared in a series 11 episode of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe segment, in which he enters the "Draw the Neighborhood" contest.
He made an appearance as a guest star on the third season of "The Muppet Show". A portrait of Big Bird also appeared in the pilot "".
Big Bird also made brief appearances in "The Muppet Movie" and "The Muppets Take Manhattan".
He appeared in "A Muppet Family Christmas" holiday special, in which he dissuades the Swedish Chef from cooking him for Christmas dinner by offering him a gift of homemade chocolate covered birdseed. They then sing a duet of "The Christmas Song".
Henson memorial service (1990).
On May 21, 1990, Big Bird appeared at Jim Henson's memorial service at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, singing Kermit the Frog's signature song, "Bein' Green". Performer Caroll Spinney nearly broke down several times during the deeply touching performance, which was later described by "Life" as "an epic and almost unbearably moving event".
21st century.
Big Bird made a non-speaking appearance in "The West Wing" Season 5 episode "Eppur Si Muove". During a visit by The Muppets to the White House, Big Bird sat down on a bench next to C. J. Cregg, who had complained during the episode of past comparisons to Big Bird due to her height.
He appeared briefly at Qualcomm's CES Keynote on January 7, 2013, to show off Sesame Workshop's newest app, 'Big Bird's Words', due in Summer 2013.
He appeared in the final episode of "The Colbert Report" in 2014 along with Cookie Monster and dozens of other celebrities singing "We'll Meet Again".
On February 16, 2015, Big Bird appeared alongside Michelle Obama on "Billy on the Street", a comedy game show hosted by Billy Eichner. Before the quiz, Michelle Obama talked about "eat brighter", a campaign to promote healthy food in kids which she and a number of "Sesame Street" characters, including Big Bird, participated in. The short was nominated for an Emmy Award later that year.
Big Bird appeared with Caroll Spinney in a spoof of the Academy Award-winning film "Birdman." Published on YouTube on February 19, 2015, the video shows Spinney sitting in a dressing room with a poster of Big Bird behind him. Spinney hears the voice of his alter ego, just as Michael Keaton's character Riggan hears his alter ego Birdman in the movie. He uses telekinesis to throw a box of tissues at the Big Bird poster. The spoof uses similar music to the "Birdman" film. The Big Birdman spoof appears as if it were shot in one long take, mimicking the long scenes of the movie. It follows Spinney out of the dressing room, down hallways, through doors, and out onto the sidewalk, where he is joined by Big Bird.
In an advertisement for AT&T/DirecTV, Big Bird and other film/television personalities such as David Hasselhoff (as his "Knight Rider" persona Michael Knight) and the Oklahoma Sooners football team appear interspersed with the daily workings of a major city as someone walks around using the service's TV Everywhere initiative.
At the 2019 Kennedy Center Honors, which was filmed on the day Spinney died, Vogel made an appearance as Big Bird for the event to celebrate "Sesame Street" being honored by the Kennedy Center.
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62d578db0d154badac4da7c3d79ad3b9
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Holden Caulfield
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Holden Caulfield (identified as "Holden Morrisey Caulfield" in the story "Slight Rebellion Off Madison", and "Holden V. Caulfield" in "The Catcher in the Rye") is a fictional character in the works of author J. D. Salinger. He is most famous for his appearance as the lead character and narrator of the 1951 novel "The Catcher in the Rye". Since the book's publication, Holden has become an icon for teenage rebellion and angst, and is considered among the most important characters of 20th-century American literature. The name Holden Caulfield was initially used in an unpublished short story written in 1941 and first appeared in print in 1945.
Salinger's various stories (and one novel) featuring a character named Holden Caulfield do not share a cohesive timeline, and details about "Holden Caulfield" and his family are often inconsistent or completely contradictory from one story to another. Most notably, in some Salinger short stories "Holden Caulfield" is a soldier in World War II who was missing in action in 1944—something that is thoroughly impossible to have happened to the 16-year-old Holden Caulfield of "The Catcher in the Rye", which is set in 1948 or 1949.
Salinger's first published Holden Caulfield story, "I'm Crazy", appeared in "Collier's" on December 22, 1945. It is sometimes mistakenly reported that the name "Holden Caulfield" was derived by Salinger from a marquee or poster for the film "Dear Ruth", starring William Holden and Joan Caulfield, but "Dear Ruth" was released in 1947, more than a year-and-a-half after Holden Caulfield's first appearance in print, and more than six years after Salinger's first unpublished short story was written using this name for a character.
In "The Catcher in the Rye".
Holden Caulfield is the narrator and main character of "The Catcher in the Rye". The novel recounts Holden's week in New York City during Christmas break, circa 1948/1949, following his expulsion from Pencey Prep, a preparatory school in Pennsylvania based loosely on Salinger's alma mater Valley Forge Military Academy. Holden Caulfield tells his story with surprising honesty from a hospital in California in a cynical and jaded language.
In other works.
Several early pieces featuring Holden Caulfield formed the basis of parts of "Catcher in the Rye", but were rewritten for the novel.
The character, as Holden Caulfield, appears in Salinger's "Slight Rebellion off Madison", published in the December 21, 1946, issue of "The New Yorker". An earlier version of this story, titled "Are You Banging Your Head Against a Wall?" was accepted for publication by "The New Yorker" in October 1941, but was not published then because editors found the tone to be too desolate for its readership. An edited version of this short story later became the basis of several chapters in the middle-late section of "The Catcher in the Rye" dealing with Caulfield's date with Sally Hayes, during which he confesses his desire to run away with her, meets Carl Luce for drinks, and makes a drunken phone call to the Hayes' home. Unlike the similar sequence in the novel, Caulfield is on a Christmas break from school, and, in the story, the interlude with Sally is split into two occurrences. Also, the meeting with Carl Luce is considerably briefer in the story than in the novel.
Caulfield also figures as a character in the short story "I'm Crazy", published in "Collier's" (December 22, 1945), and other members of the Caulfield family are featured in "Last Day of the Last Furlough", published in "The Saturday Evening Post" (July 15, 1944) and the unpublished short stories "The Last and Best of the Peter Pans" (c. 1942) and "The Ocean Full of Bowling Balls" (c. 1945). "I'm Crazy" is closely related to the first chapter of "The Catcher in the Rye". It begins with Caulfield standing on a hill at Pencey Prep watching a football game below, and develops as Holden visits with his history teacher, Mr. Spencer, for a talk about his expulsion from school and his future. Several other details match those found in the first chapter of "Catcher", including a reference to the mother of one of Caulfield's schoolmates and to his own mother sending him a gift of ice skates, but the story ends with his returning home instead of running away from school. Once home, he is not shown confronting his parents, who, according to the maid, are playing bridge. Instead, he goes to speak to Phoebe. Their dialogue is similar to that which appears in the later chapters of "The Catcher in the Rye". The other notable feature of the story is that his sister Viola gets her first, and only, mention in the Caulfield saga.
"This Sandwich Has No Mayonnaise" ("Esquire", 1945) has a mention of Holden missing in action during the war.
Caulfield family in other works.
"Last Day of the Last Furlough" relates the final day of Babe Gladwaller before he leaves to fight in World War II. Gladwaller spends part of the day with his little sister before Vincent Caulfield arrives. At that point Vincent is a fellow soldier about to leave for the war. Vincent announces that his brother, Holden, has been declared missing in action. There is some ambiguity here because Holden is both alive and a high school student in "Catcher", which was written and published after the war, so it is not possible for him to have been a soldier during the 1940s and a high school student in the early 50s.
It is unclear how many Caulfield children there are and who is who. For instance, many have speculated that Holden's brother, D.B., is actually Vincent. However, Salinger wrote that Vincent died in World War II, and "The Catcher in the Rye" was published in 1951. At that time, D.B. is alive and working as a writer in Hollywood. Gladwaller's relationship with his younger sister can be seen as a parallel to Caulfield's relationship with Phoebe.
"The Last and Best of the Peter Pans" relates the story of Vincent's draft questionnaire being hidden by his mother. The events occur just after the death of Kenneth (later renamed Allie) and reveal the anxiety of Mary Moriarity, an actress and Caulfield's mother. The story is notable for the appearance of Phoebe and Vincent's statements about a child crawling off a cliff.
In "The Ocean Full of Bowling Balls", Vincent (D.B.) recalls the day his brother Kenneth (Allie) died. The story is set at the Caulfield summer home on Cape Cod. Several details make their way from this story into "Catcher", including the characterization of Allie; Allie's poetry-inscribed left-handed baseball mitt; Vincent's girlfriend, Helen, who keeps her kings in the back row (like Jane Gallagher); and Caulfield's critical view of others. While the cause of death in "Catcher" is leukemia, here it is due to an unspecified heart condition. Toward the end of the story, Kenneth and Vincent are on the beach. Kenneth decides to go swimming and is knocked out by a wave. Holden, just home from camp, is waiting on the porch with his suitcases as Vincent comes back with Kenneth's unconscious body. Kenneth dies later the same night. The story was reportedly sold to a magazine, only to be taken back by Salinger before publication.
Another short story of note with relationship to Caulfield is "The Boy in the People Shooting Hat", which was submitted to "The New Yorker" sometime between 1948 and 1949 but was never published. It focuses on a fight between two characters named Bobby and Stradlater over Bobby's feelings about Jane Gallagher. This story appears to form the basis for several key scenes in the first several chapters of "The Catcher in the Rye".
In "" a Curtis Caulfield is mentioned in passing as "an exceptionally intelligent and likable boy" who appeared on the same radio show as Seymour and the other Glass children. He is reportedly "killed during one of the landings in the Pacific". It is possible that Vincent is renamed Curtis, as "Seymour" was published in 1959, and both Curtis and Vincent are killed in the Pacific during World War II. None of Salinger's works to date have clarified exactly how many Caulfied children there were or who (aside from the Kenneth/Allie
character) might have been the same person, but simply renamed in a later work.
In "The Stranger", published in "Collier's" December 1, 1945, Babe Gladwaller and his sister Mattie (a prototype for Phoebe) visit Vincent Caulfield's former girlfriend, now married, to tell her about his death and deliver a poem he wrote about her.
Cultural impact.
Holden Caulfield is one of the most enduring characters in 20th-century American fiction. It has been suggested that Salinger himself related so closely to Holden that he was protective of the character. This was the reason he was unwilling to allow filming of the book or use of the character by other writers.
Green Day wrote a song titled "Who Wrote Holden Caulfield?" for their second studio album, "Kerplunk" (1991) after lead singer and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong read "The Catcher in the Rye". Initially, he gave up on reading it after dropping out from Pinole Valley High School when he was 18 years old.
External links.
Salinger's uncollected short stories
Fan sites
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918f59bebfa443f0a6d8398c4a234808
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Laurel and Hardy
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Laurel and Hardy were a British-American comedy team during the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957). Starting their career as a duo in the silent film era, they later successfully transitioned to "talkies". From the late 1920s to the mid-1950s, they were internationally famous for their slapstick comedy, with Laurel playing the clumsy, childlike friend to Hardy's pompous bully. Their signature theme song, known as "The Cuckoo Song", "Ku-Ku", or "The Dance of the Cuckoos" (by Hollywood composer T. Marvin Hatley) was heard over their films' opening credits, and became as emblematic of them as their bowler hats.
Prior to emerging as a team, both had well-established film careers. Laurel had acted in over 50 films, and worked as a writer and director, while Hardy was in more than 250 productions. Both had appeared in "The Lucky Dog" (1921), but were not teamed at the time. They first appeared together in a short film in 1926, when they signed separate contracts with the Hal Roach film studio. They officially became a team in 1927 when they appeared in the silent short "Putting Pants on Philip". They remained with Roach until 1940, and then appeared in eight B movie comedies for 20th Century Fox and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer from 1941 to 1945. After finishing their film commitments at the end of 1944, they concentrated on performing stage shows, and embarked on a music hall tour of England, Ireland, Wales, and Scotland. They made their last film in 1950, a French–Italian co-production called "Atoll K". Afterward, they resumed their stage appearances until 1954.
They appeared as a team in 107 films, starring in 32 short silent films, 40 short sound films, and 23 full-length feature films. They also made 12 guest or cameo appearances, including in the "Galaxy of Stars" promotional film of 1936. On December 1, 1954, they made their sole American television appearance, when they were surprised and interviewed by Ralph Edwards on his live NBC-TV program "This Is Your Life".
Since the 1930s, their works have been released in numerous theatrical reissues, television revivals, 8-mm and 16-mm home movies, feature-film compilations, and home videos. In 2005, they were voted the seventh-greatest comedy act of all time by a UK poll of professional comedians. The official Laurel and Hardy appreciation society is The Sons of the Desert, after a fictional fraternal society in the film of the same name.
Early careers.
Stan Laurel.
Stan Laurel (June 16, 1890 – February 23, 1965) was born Arthur Stanley Jefferson in Ulverston, Lancashire, England, into a theatrical family. His father, Arthur Joseph Jefferson, was a theatrical entrepreneur and theater owner in northern England and Scotland who, with his wife, was a major force in the industry. In 1905, the Jefferson family moved to Glasgow to be closer to their business mainstay of the Metropole Theatre, and Laurel made his stage debut in a Glasgow hall called the Britannia Panopticon one month short of his 16th birthday. Arthur Jefferson secured Laurel his first acting job with the juvenile theatrical company of Levy and Cardwell, which specialized in Christmas pantomimes. In 1909, Laurel was employed by Britain's leading comedy impresario Fred Karno as a supporting actor, and as an understudy for Charlie Chaplin. Laurel said of Karno, "There was no one like him. He had no equal. His name "was" box-office."
In 1912, Laurel left England with the Fred Karno Troupe to tour the United States. Laurel had expected the tour to be merely a pleasant interval before returning to London; however, he decided to remain in the U.S. In 1917, Laurel was teamed with Mae Dahlberg as a double act for stage and film; they were living as common-law husband and wife. The same year, Laurel made his film debut with Dahlberg in "Nuts in May". While working with Mae, he began using the name "Stan Laurel" and changed his name legally in 1931. Dahlberg demanded roles in his films, but her tempestuous nature made her difficult to work with. Dressing room arguments were common between the two; it was reported that producer Joe Rock paid her to leave Laurel and to return to her native Australia. In 1925, Laurel joined the Hal Roach film studio as a director and writer. From May 1925 to September 1926, he received credit in at least 22 films. Laurel appeared in over 50 films for various producers before teaming up with Hardy. Prior to that, he experienced only modest success. It was difficult for producers, writers, and directors to write for his character, with American audiences knowing him either as a "nutty burglar" or as a Charlie Chaplin imitator.
Oliver Hardy.
Oliver Hardy (January 18, 1892 – August 7, 1957) was born Norvell Hardy in Harlem, Georgia, United States. By his late teens, Hardy was a popular stage singer and he operated a movie house in Milledgeville, Georgia, the Palace Theater, financed in part by his mother. For his stage name he took his father's first name, calling himself "Oliver Norvell Hardy", while offscreen his nicknames were "Ollie" and "Babe". The nickname "Babe" originated from an Italian barber near the Lubin Studios in Jacksonville, Florida, who would rub Hardy's face with talcum powder and say "That's nice-a baby!" Other actors in the Lubin company mimicked this, and Hardy was billed as "Babe Hardy" in his early films.
Seeing film comedies inspired him to take up comedy himself and, in 1913, he began working with Lubin Motion Pictures in Jacksonville. He started by helping around the studio with lights, props, and other duties, gradually learning the craft as a script-clerk for the company. It was around this time that Hardy married his first wife, Madelyn Saloshin. In 1914, Hardy was billed as "Babe Hardy" in his first film, "Outwitting Dad". Between 1914 and 1916 Hardy made 177 shorts as Babe with the Vim Comedy Company, which were released up to the end of 1917. Exhibiting a versatility in playing heroes, villains and even female characters, Hardy was in demand for roles as a supporting actor, comic villain or second banana. For 10 years he memorably assisted star comic and Charlie Chaplin imitator Billy West, and appeared in the comedies of Jimmy Aubrey, Larry Semon, and Charley Chase. In total, Hardy starred or co-starred in more than 250 silent shorts, of which roughly 150 have been lost. He was rejected for enlistment by the Army during World War I due to his large size. In 1917, following the collapse of the Florida film industry, Hardy and his wife Madelyn moved to California to seek new opportunities.
History as Laurel and Hardy.
Hal Roach.
Hal Roach recounted how Laurel and Hardy became a team: Hardy was already working for Roach (and others) when Roach hired Laurel, whom he had seen in vaudeville. Laurel had very light blue eyes, and Roach discovered that, due to the technology of film at that time, Laurel's eyes would not photograph properly—blue photographed as white. This problem is apparent in their first silent film together, "The Lucky Dog", where an attempt was made to compensate for the problem by applying heavy makeup to Laurel's eyes. For about a year, Roach had Laurel work at the studio as a writer. Then panchromatic film was developed; they tested Laurel, and found the problem was solved. Laurel and Hardy were then put together in a film, and they seemed to complement each other. Comedy teams were usually composed of a straight man and a funny man, but these two were both comedians; however, each knew how to play the straight man when the script required it. Roach said, "You could always cut to a close-up of either one, and their reaction was good for another laugh."
Leo McCarey.
Screenwriter, director and producer for Hal Roach Studios, Leo McCarey recounted a story on the NBC television program This Is Your Life on December 1, 1954 of how a leg of lamb brought Laurel and Hardy together.
Style of comedy and characterizations.
The humor of Laurel and Hardy was highly visual, with slapstick used for emphasis. They often had physical arguments (in character) which were quite complex and involved a cartoonish style of violence. Their ineptitude and misfortune precluded them from making any real progress, even in the simplest endeavors. Much of their comedy involves "milking" a joke, where a simple idea provides a basis for multiple, ongoing gags without following a defined narrative.
Stan Laurel was of average height and weight, but appeared comparatively small and slight next to Oliver Hardy, who was and weighed about in his prime. Details of their hair and clothing were used to enhance this natural contrast. Laurel kept his hair short on the sides and back, growing it long on top to create a natural "fright wig". Typically, at times of shock, he simultaneously screwed up his face to appear as if crying while pulling up his hair. In contrast, Hardy's thinning hair was pasted on his forehead in spit curls and he sported a toothbrush moustache. To achieve a flat-footed walk, Laurel removed the heels from his shoes. Both wore bowler hats, with Laurel's being narrower than Hardy's, and with a flattened brim. The characters' normal attire called for wing collar shirts, with Hardy wearing a necktie which he would twiddle when he was particularly self-conscious; and Laurel, a bow tie. Hardy's sports jacket was a little small and done up with one straining button, whereas Laurel's double-breasted jacket was loose-fitting.
A popular routine was a "tit for tat" fight with an adversary. It could be with their wives—often played by Mae Busch, Anita Garvin, or Daphne Pollard—or with a neighbor, often played by Charlie Hall or James Finlayson. Laurel and Hardy would accidentally damage someone's property, and the injured party would retaliate by ruining something belonging to Laurel or Hardy. After calmly surveying the damage, one or the other of the "offended" parties found something else to vandalize, and the conflict escalated until both sides were simultaneously destroying items in front of each other. An early example of the routine occurs in their classic short "Big Business" (1929), which was added to the National Film Registry in 1992. Another short film which revolves around such an altercation was titled "Tit for Tat" (1935).
One of their best-remembered dialogue devices was the "Tell me that again" routine. Laurel would tell Hardy a genuinely smart idea he came up with, and Hardy would reply, "Tell me that again." Laurel would then try to repeat the idea, but, having instantly forgotten it, babble utter nonsense. Hardy, who had difficulty understanding Laurel's idea when expressed clearly, would then understand the jumbled version perfectly. While much of their comedy remained visual, humorous dialogue often occurred in Laurel and Hardy's talking films as well. Examples include:
In some cases, their comedy bordered on the surreal, in a style Laurel called "white magic". For example, in the 1937 film "Way Out West", Laurel flicks his thumb upward as if working a lighter. His thumb ignites and he matter-of-factly lights Hardy's pipe. Amazed at seeing this, Hardy unsuccessfully attempts to duplicate it throughout the film. Much later he finally succeeds, only to be terrified when his thumb catches fire. Laurel expands the joke in the 1938 film "Block-Heads" by pouring tobacco into his clenched fist and smoking it as though it were a pipe, again to Hardy's bemusement. This time, the joke ends when a match Laurel was using relights itself, Hardy throws it into the fireplace, and it explodes with a loud bang.
Rather than showing Hardy suffering the pain of misfortunes, such as falling down stairs or being beaten by a thug, banging and crashing sound effects were often used so the audience could visualize the mayhem. The 1927 film "Sailors, Beware!" was a significant one for Hardy because two of his enduring trademarks were developed. The first was his "tie twiddle" to demonstrate embarrassment. Hardy, while acting, had received a pail of water in the face. He said, "I had been expecting it, but I didn't expect it at that particular moment. It threw me mentally and I couldn't think what to do next, so I waved the tie in a kind of tiddly-widdly fashion to show embarrassment while trying to look friendly." His second trademark was the "camera look", where he breaks the fourth wall and, in frustration, stares directly at the audience. Hardy said: "I had to become exasperated, so I just stared right into the camera and registered my disgust." Offscreen, Laurel and Hardy were quite the opposite of their movie characters: Laurel was the industrious "idea man", while Hardy was more easygoing.
Catchphrases.
Laurel and Hardy's best-known catchphrase is, "Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into!" It was earlier used by W. S. Gilbert in both "The Mikado" (1885) and "The Grand Duke" (1896). It was first used by Hardy in "The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case" in 1930. In popular culture, the catchphrase is often misquoted as "Well, here's another "fine" mess you've gotten me into", which was never spoken by Hardy—a misunderstanding that stems from the title of their film "Another Fine Mess". When Hardy said the phrase, Laurel's frequent, iconic response was to start to cry, pull his hair up, exclaim "Well, I couldn't help it...", then whimper and speak gibberish.
Some variations on the phrase occurred. For example, in "Chickens Come Home," Ollie impatiently says to Stan, "Well...", and Stan continues for him: "Here's another nice mess I've gotten you into." The films "Thicker than Water" and "The Fixer Uppers" use the phrase "Well, here's another nice kettle of fish you've pickled me in!" In "Saps at Sea", the phrase becomes "Well, here's another nice bucket of suds you've gotten me into!" The catchphrase, in its original form, was used as the last line of dialogue in the duo's last film, "Atoll K" (1951)"."
In moments of particular distress or frustration, Hardy often exclaims, "Why don't you do something to "help" me?", as Laurel stands helplessly by.
"OH!" (or drawn out as "Ohhhhh-OH!") was another catchphrase used by Hardy. He uses the expression in the duo's first sound film, "Unaccustomed As We Are" (1929) when his character's wife smashes a record over his head.
Mustachioed Scottish actor James Finlayson, who appeared in 33 Laurel and Hardy films, used a variation: "D'oh!" The phrase, expressing surprise, impatience, or incredulity, inspired the trademark "D'oh!" of character Homer Simpson (voiced by Dan Castellaneta) in the long-running animated comedy "The Simpsons".
Films.
Laurel's and Hardy's first film pairing, although as separate performers, was in the silent "The Lucky Dog." Its production details have not survived, but film historian Bo Berglund has placed it between September 1920 and January 1921. According to interviews they gave in the 1930s, the pair's acquaintance at the time was casual, and both had forgotten their initial film entirely. The plot sees Laurel's character befriended by a stray dog which, after some lucky escapes, saves him from being blown up by dynamite. Hardy's character is a mugger attempting to rob Laurel. They later signed separate contracts with the Hal Roach Studios, and next appeared in the 1926 film "45 Minutes From Hollywood".
Hal Roach is considered the most important person in the development of Laurel's and Hardy's film careers. He brought them together, and they worked for Roach for almost 20 years. Director Charley Rogers, who worked closely with the three men for many years, said, "It could not have happened if Laurel, Hardy, and Roach had not met at the right place and the right time." Their first "official" film together was "Putting Pants on Philip", released December 3, 1927. The plot involves Laurel as Philip, a young Scotsman who arrives in the United States in full kilted splendor, and suffers mishaps involving the kilts. His uncle, played by Hardy, tries to put trousers on him. Also in 1927, the pair starred in "The Battle of the Century", a classic pie-throwing short involving over 3,000 real pies; only a fragment of the film was known to exist until the first half resurfaced in the 1970s; a more complete print was discovered in 2015 by historian Jon Mirsalis.
Laurel said to the duo's biographer John McCabe: "Of all the questions we're asked, the most frequent is, how did we come together? I always explain that we came together naturally." Laurel and Hardy were joined by accident and grew by indirection. In 1926, both were part of the Roach Comedy All Stars, a stock company of actors who took part in a series of films. Laurel's and Hardy's parts gradually grew larger, while those of their fellow stars diminished, because Laurel and Hardy had superior pantomime skills. Their teaming was suggested by Leo McCarey, their supervising director from 1927 and 1930. During that period, McCarey and Laurel jointly devised the team's format. McCarey also influenced the slowing of their comedy action from the silent era's typically frantic pace to a more natural one. The formula worked so well that Laurel and Hardy played the same characters for the next 30 years.
Although Roach employed writers and directors such as H. M. Walker, Leo McCarey, James Parrott, and James W. Horne on the Laurel and Hardy films, Laurel, who had a considerable background in comedy writing, often rewrote entire sequences and scripts. He also encouraged the cast and crew to improvise, then meticulously reviewed the footage during editing. By 1929, he was the pair's head writer, and it was reported that the writing sessions were gleefully chaotic. Stan had three or four writers who competed with him in a perpetual game of 'Can You Top This?' Hardy was quite happy to leave the writing to his partner. He said, "After all, just doing the gags was hard enough work, especially if you have taken as many falls and been dumped in as many mudholes as I have. I think I earned my money." Laurel eventually became so involved in their films' productions, many film historians and aficionados consider him an uncredited director. He ran the Laurel and Hardy set, no matter who was in the director's chair, but never asserted his authority. Roach remarked: "Laurel bossed the production. With any director, if Laurel said 'I don't like this idea,' the director didn't say 'Well, you're going to do it anyway.' That was understood." As Laurel made so many suggestions, there was not much left for the credited director to do.
Their 1929 release "Big Business" is by far the most critically acclaimed of the silents. Laurel and Hardy are Christmas tree salesmen who are drawn into a classic tit-for-tat battle, with a character played by James Finlayson, that eventually destroys his house and their car. "Big Business" was added to the United States National Film Registry as a national treasure in 1992.
Sound films.
In 1929 the silent era of film was coming to an end. Many silent-film actors failed to make the transition to "talkies"—some, because they felt sound was irrelevant to their craft of conveying stories with body language; and others, because their spoken voices were considered inadequate for the new medium. However, the addition of spoken dialogue only enhanced Laurel's and Hardy's performances; both had extensive theatrical experience, and could use their voices to great comic effect. Their films also continued to feature much visual comedy. In these ways, they made a seamless transition to their first sound film, "Unaccustomed As We Are" (1929) (whose title was a play on the familiar phrase, "Unaccustomed as I am to public speaking"). In the opening dialogue, Laurel and Hardy began by spoofing the slow and self-conscious speech of the early talking actors which became a routine they would use regularly.
"The Music Box" (1932), with the pair delivering a piano up a long flight of steps, won an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Subject. "The Music Box" remains one of the duo's most widely known films.
Laurel and Hardy were favorites around the world, and Hal Roach catered to international audiences by filming many of their early talkies in other languages. They spoke their dialogue phonetically, in Spanish, Italian, French, or German. The plots remained similar to the English versions, although the supporting actors were often changed to those who were fluent in the native language. "Pardon Us" (1931) was reshot in all four foreign languages. "Blotto", "Hog Wild" and "Be Big!" were remade in French and Spanish versions. "Night Owls" was remade in both Spanish and Italian, and "Below Zero" and "Chickens Come Home" in Spanish.
Feature films.
Just as Laurel and Hardy's teaming was accidental, so was their entry into the field of feature films. In the words of biographer John McCabe, "Roach planned to use the MGM set [built for "The Big House"] for a simple prison-break two-reeler but MGM suddenly added a proviso: Laurel and Hardy would have to do a picture for them in exchange. Roach would not agree so he built his own prison set, a very expensive item for a two-reeler. So expensive was it indeed that he added four more reels to bring it into the feature category and, it was hoped, the bigger market." The experiment was successful, and the team continued to make features along with their established short subjects until 1935, when they converted to features exclusively.
"Sons of the Desert" (1933) is often cited as Laurel and Hardy's best feature-length film. The situation-comedy script by actor-playwright Frank Craven and screenwriter Byron Morgan is stronger than usual for a Laurel & Hardy comedy. Stan and Ollie are henpecked husbands who want to attend a convention held by the Sons of the Desert fraternal lodge. They tell their wives that Ollie requires an ocean voyage to Honolulu for his health, and they sneak off to the convention. They are unaware that the Honolulu-bound ship they were supposedly aboard is sinking, and the wives confront their errant husbands when they get home.
"Babes in Toyland" (1934) remains a perennial on American television during the Christmas season. When interviewed, Hal Roach spoke scathingly about the film and Laurel's behavior. Roach himself had written a treatment detailing the characters and storyline, only to find that Laurel considered Roach's effort totally unsuitable. Roach, affronted, tried to argue in favor of his treatment, but Laurel was adamant. Roach angrily gave up and allowed Laurel to make the film his way. The rift damaged Roach-Laurel relations to the point that Roach said that after "Toyland", he did not want to produce for Laurel and Hardy. Although their association continued for another six years, Roach no longer took an active hand in Laurel and Hardy films.
"Way Out West" (1937) was a personal favorite of both Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. A satire of the Gene Autry musical westerns sweeping America at the time, the film combines Laurel and Hardy's slapstick routines with songs and dances performed by the stars.
It appeared that the team would split permanently in 1938. Hal Roach had become dissatisfied with his distribution arrangement with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and had begun releasing his films through United Artists. He still owed MGM one last feature, and made the Laurel and Hardy comedy "Block-Heads", with the announcement that this would be Laurel and Hardy's farewell film. Stan Laurel's contract with Roach then expired, and Roach did not renew it. Oliver Hardy's contract was still in force, however, and Roach starred Hardy solo in the antebellum comedy "Zenobia" (1939), with Harry Langdon as Hardy's comic foil. This fueled rumors that Laurel and Hardy had split on bad terms.
After "Zenobia", Laurel rejoined Hardy and the team signed with independent producer Boris Morros for the comedy feature "The Flying Deuces" (1939). Meanwhile, Hal Roach wanted to demonstrate his new idea of making four-reel, 40-minute featurettes—twice the length of standard two-reel, 20-minute comedies—which Roach felt could fit more conveniently into double-feature programs. He referred to these extended films as "streamliners". To test his theory, Roach rehired Laurel and Hardy. The resulting films, "A Chump at Oxford" and "Saps at Sea" (both 1940), were prepared as featurettes. United Artists overruled Roach and insisted that they be released as full-length features.
Hoping for greater artistic freedom, Laurel and Hardy split with Roach, and signed with 20th Century-Fox in 1941 and MGM in 1942. However, their working conditions were now completely different: they were simply hired actors, relegated to both studios’ B-film units, and not initially allowed to contribute to the scripts or improvise, as they had always done. When their films proved popular, the studios allowed them more input, and they starred in eight features until the end of 1944. These films, while far from their best work, were still very successful. Budgeted between $300,000 and $450,000 each, they earned millions at the box office for Fox and MGM. The Fox films were so profitable that the studio kept making Laurel and Hardy comedies after it discontinued its other "B" series films.
The busy team decided to take a rest during 1946, but 1947 saw their first European tour in 15 years. A film based in the charters of "Robin Hood" was planned during the tour, but not realized. In 1947, Laurel and Hardy famously attended the reopening of the Dungeness loop of the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway, where they performed improvised routines with a steam locomotive for the benefit of local crowds and dignitaries.
In 1948, on the team's return to America, Laurel was sidelined by illness and temporarily unable to work. He encouraged Hardy to take movie roles on his own. Hardy's friend John Wayne hired him to co-star in "The Fighting Kentuckian" for Republic Pictures, and Bing Crosby got him a small part in Frank Capra's "Riding High".
In 1950–51, Laurel and Hardy made their final feature-length film together, "Atoll K". A French-Italian co-production directed by Léo Joannon, it was plagued by problems with language barriers, production issues, and both actors' serious health issues. When Laurel received the script's final draft, he felt its heavy political content overshadowed the comedy. He quickly rewrote it, with screen comic Monte Collins contributing visual gags, and hired old friend Alfred Goulding to direct the Laurel and Hardy scenes. During filming, Hardy developed an irregular heartbeat, while Laurel experienced painful prostate complications that caused his weight to drop to 114 pounds. Critics were disappointed with the storyline, English dubbing, and Laurel's sickly physical appearance. The film was not commercially successful on its first release, and brought an end to Laurel and Hardy's film careers. "Atoll K" did finally turn a profit when it was rereleased in other countries. In 1954, an American distributor removed 18 minutes of footage and released it as "Utopia"; widely released on film and video, it is the film's best-known version.
After "Atoll K" wrapped in April 1951, Laurel and Hardy returned to America and used the remainder of the year to rest. Stan appeared, in character, in a silent TV newsreel, "Swim Meet", judging a local California swimming contest.
Most Laurel and Hardy films have survived and are still in circulation. Only three of their 107 films are considered lost and have not been seen in complete form since the 1930s. The silent film "Hats Off" from 1927 has vanished completely. The first half of "Now I'll Tell One" (1927) is lost, and the second half has yet to be released on video. "The Battle of the Century" (1927), after years of obscurity, is now almost complete but a few minutes are missing. In the 1930 operatic Technicolor musical "The Rogue Song", Laurel and Hardy appeared as comedy relief in 10 sequences; only one exists. The complete soundtrack has survived.
Radio.
Laurel and Hardy made at least two audition recordings for radio, a half-hour NBC series, based on the skit, "Driver’s License", and a 1944 NBC pilot for "The Laurel and Hardy Show," casting Stan and Ollie in different occupations each episode. The surviving audition record, "Mr. Slater's Poultry Market," has Stan and Ollie as meat-market butchers mistaken for vicious gangsters. A third attempt was commissioned by BBC Radio in 1953: "Laurel and Hardy Go to the Moon," a series of science-fiction comedies. A sample script was written by Tony Hawes and Denis Gifford, and the comedians staged a read-through, which was not recorded. The team was forced to withdraw due to Hardy's declining health, and the project was abandoned.
Final years.
Following the making of "Atoll K", Laurel and Hardy took some months off to deal with health issues. On their return to the European stage in 1952, they undertook a well-received series of public appearances, performing a short Laurel-written sketch, "A Spot of Trouble". The following year, Laurel wrote a routine entitled "Birds of a Feather". On September 9, 1953, their boat arrived in Cobh in Ireland. Laurel recounted their reception:
On May 17, 1954, Laurel and Hardy made their last live stage performance in Plymouth, UK at the Palace Theatre. On December 1, 1954, they made their only American television appearance when they were surprised and interviewed by Ralph Edwards on his live NBC-TV program "This Is Your Life". Lured to the Knickerbocker Hotel under the pretense of a business meeting with producer Bernard Delfont, the doors opened to their suite, #205, flooding the room with light and Edwards' voice. The telecast was preserved on a kinescope and later released on home video. Partly due to the broadcast's positive response, the team began renegotiating with Hal Roach Jr. for a series of color NBC Television specials, to be called "Laurel and Hardy's Fabulous Fables". However, the plans had to be shelved as the aging comedians continued to suffer from declining health. In 1955, America's magazine "TV Guide" ran a color spread on the team with current photos. That year, they made their final public appearance together while taking part in "This Is Music Hall", a BBC Television program about the Grand Order of Water Rats, a British variety organization. Laurel and Hardy provided a filmed insert where they reminisced about their friends in British variety. They made their final appearance on camera in 1956 in a private home movie, shot by a family friend at the Reseda, California home of Stan Laurel's daughter, Lois. The three-minute film has no audio.
In 1956, while following his doctor's orders to improve his health due to a heart condition, Hardy lost over , but nonetheless suffered several strokes causing reduced mobility and speech. Despite his long and successful career, Hardy's home was sold to help cover his medical expenses. He died of a stroke on August 7, 1957, and longtime friend Bob Chatterton said Hardy weighed just at the time of his death. Hardy was laid to rest at Pierce Brothers' Valhalla Memorial Park, North Hollywood. Following Hardy's death, scenes from Laurel and Hardy's early films were seen once again in theaters, featured in Robert Youngson's silent-film compilation "The Golden Age of Comedy".
For the remaining eight years of his life, Stan Laurel refused to perform, and declined Stanley Kramer's offer of a cameo in his landmark 1963 film "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World". In 1960, Laurel was given a special Academy Award for his contributions to film comedy, but was unable to attend the ceremony due to poor health. Actor Danny Kaye accepted the award on his behalf. Despite not appearing on screen after Hardy's death, Laurel did contribute gags to several comedy filmmakers. His favorite TV comedy was Leonard B. Stern's "I'm Dickens, He's Fenster", co-starring John Astin and Marty Ingels as carpenters. Laurel enjoyed the Astin-Ingels chemistry and sent two-man gags to Stern.
During this period, most of his communication was in the form of written correspondence, and he insisted on personally answering every fan letter. Late in life, he welcomed visitors from the new generation of comedians and celebrities, including Dick Cavett, Jerry Lewis, Peter Sellers, Marcel Marceau, Johnny Carson, and Dick Van Dyke. Jerry Lewis offered Laurel a job as consultant, but he chose to help only on Lewis's 1960 feature "The Bellboy".
Dick Van Dyke was a longtime fan, and based his comedy and dancing styles on Laurel's. When he discovered Laurel's home number in the phone book and called him, Laurel invited him over for the afternoon. Van Dyke hosted a television tribute to Stan Laurel the year he died.
Laurel lived to see the duo's work rediscovered through television and classic film revivals. He died on February 23, 1965, in Santa Monica and is buried at Forest Lawn-Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles, California.
Supporting cast members.
Laurel and Hardy's films included a supporting cast of comic actors, some of whom appeared regularly:
Music.
The duo's famous signature tune, known variously as "The Cuckoo Song", "Ku-Ku" or "The Dance of the Cuckoos", was composed by Roach musical director Marvin Hatley as the on-the-hour chime for KFVD, the Roach studio's radio station. Laurel heard the tune on the station and asked Hatley if they could use it as the Laurel and Hardy theme song. The original theme, recorded by two clarinets in 1930, was recorded again with a full orchestra in 1935. Leroy Shield composed the majority of the music used in the Laurel and Hardy short sound films. A compilation of songs from their films, titled "Trail of the Lonesome Pine", was released in 1975. The title track was released as a single in the UK and reached number 2 in the UK singles chart.
Influence and legacy.
Laurel and Hardy's influence over a very broad range of comedy and other genres has been considerable. Lou Costello of the famed duo of Abbott and Costello, stated "They were the funniest comedy team in the world." Many critics and film scholars throughout the years have agreed with this assessment; writers, artists, and performers as diverse as Samuel Beckett, Jerry Lewis, Peter Sellers, Marcel Marceau Steve Martin, John Cleese, Harold Pinter, Alec Guinness, J. D. Salinger, René Magritte and Kurt Vonnegut among many others, have acknowledged an artistic debt. Starting in the 1960s, the exposure on television of (especially) their short films has ensured a continued influence on generations of comedians and fans.
Posthumous revivals and popular culture.
Since the 1930s, the works of Laurel and Hardy have been released again in numerous theatrical reissues, television revivals (broadcast, especially public television and cable), 16 mm and 8 mm home movies, feature-film compilations and home video. After Stan Laurel's death in 1965, there were two major motion-picture tributes: "Laurel and Hardy's Laughing '20s" was Robert Youngson's compilation of the team's silent-film highlights, and "The Great Race" was a large-scale salute to slapstick that director Blake Edwards dedicated to "Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy". For many years the duo were impersonated by Jim MacGeorge (as Laurel) and Chuck McCann (as Hardy) in children's TV shows and television commercials for various products.
Numerous colorized versions of Laurel and Hardy features and shorts have been reproduced by several studios. The process was introduced in 1983 by Colorization, Inc. in partnership with Hal Roach Studios, then a Canadian concern licensing its name and films from Hal Roach. Early efforts were the famous Laurel & Hardy films "Helpmates", "Way Out West", and "The Music Box," which were released to television and issued on VHS videocassettes. Most of the Laurel & Hardy sound shorts were ultimately colorized for distribution in Europe; The pixel-based color process and the conversion from the American NTSC system to the European PAL system often affected the sharpness of the image, so since 2011 video distributors have issued the original, more accurately rendered black-and-white editions.
There are three Laurel and Hardy museums. One is in Laurel's birthplace of Ulverston, England and another is in Hardy's birthplace of Harlem, Georgia, United States.
The third is located in Solingen, Germany. Maurice Sendak showed three identical Oliver Hardy figures as bakers preparing cakes for the morning in his award-winning 1970 children's book "In the Night Kitchen". This is treated as a clear example of "interpretative illustration" wherein the comedians' inclusion harked back to the author's childhood. The Beatles used cut-outs of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy in the cutout celebrity crowd for the cover of their 1967 album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". A 2005 poll by fellow comedians and comedy insiders of the top 50 comedians for "The Comedian's Comedian", a TV documentary broadcast on UK's Channel 4, voted the duo the seventh-greatest comedy act ever, making them the top double act on the list.
Merchandiser Larry Harmon claimed ownership of Laurel's and Hardy's likenesses and has issued Laurel and Hardy toys and coloring books. He also co-produced a series of "Laurel and Hardy" cartoons in 1966 with Hanna-Barbera Productions. His animated versions of Laurel and Hardy guest-starred in a 1972 episode of Hanna-Barbera's "The New Scooby-Doo Movies". In 1999, Harmon produced a direct-to-video feature live-action comedy entitled "The All New Adventures of Laurel & Hardy in For Love or Mummy". Actors Bronson Pinchot and Gailard Sartain were cast playing the lookalike nephews of Laurel and Hardy named Stanley Thinneus Laurel and Oliver Fatteus Hardy.
Currently, the North American rights to a majority of the Laurel & Hardy library are owned by Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, successor-in-interest to the companies that previously held such rights (Cabin Fever, RHI, Hallmark, and Sonar), while the CCA owns international rights, and Larry Harmon's estate owns the likenesses and trademarks to Laurel & Hardy.
The Indian comedy duo Ghory and Dixit was known as the Indian Laurel and Hardy. In 2011 the German/French TV station Arte released in co-production with the German TV station ZDF the 90-minute documentary "Laurel & Hardy: Their Lives and Magic". The film, titled in the original German "Laurel and Hardy: Die komische Liebesgeschichte von "Dick & Doof"", was written and directed by German film-maker and author Andreas Baum. It includes many movie clips, rare and unpublished photographs, interviews with family, fans, friends, showbiz pals and newly recovered footage. Laurel's daughter Lois Laurel Hawes said of the film: "The best documentary about Laurel and Hardy I have ever seen!". It has also been released as a Director's Cut with a length of 105 minutes, plus 70 minutes of bonus materials on DVD.
In 2024, author Andreas Baum and his German co-author Michael Ehret published the world's largest and most comprehensive illustrated book about Laurel & Hardy with over 500 pages and numerous essays by international Laurel & Hardy experts including a DVD about the life and work of the comedy duo entitled LAUREL AND HARDY: A TRUE LOVE STORY - THE PICTORIAL HISTORY OF STAN & OLLIE: THEIR LIFE AND WORK (Volume 1).
Appreciation society.
The official Laurel and Hardy appreciation society is known as The Sons of the Desert, after a fraternal society in their film of the same name (1933). It was established in New York City in 1965 by Laurel and Hardy biographer John McCabe, with Orson Bean, Al Kilgore, Chuck McCann, and John Municino as founding members, with the sanction of Stan Laurel. Since the group's inception, well over 150 chapters of the organization have formed across North America, Europe, and Australia. An Emmy-winning film documentary about the group, "Revenge of the Sons of the Desert", has been released on DVD as part of "The Laurel and Hardy Collection, Vol. 1."
Around the world.
Laurel and Hardy are popular around the world but are known under different names in various countries and languages.
Biopic.
A biographical film titled "Stan & Ollie" directed by Jon S. Baird and starring Steve Coogan as Stan and John C. Reilly as Oliver was released in 2018 and chronicled the duo's 1953 tour of Great Britain and Ireland. The film received positive reviews from critics, garnering a 94% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes. For their performances, Reilly and Coogan were nominated for a Golden Globe and a BAFTA award respectively.
References.
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
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Tony Montana
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Antonio "Tony" Montana is a fictional character and the villain protagonist of the 1983 film "Scarface". This character is portrayed by Al Pacino in the film and is voiced by André Sogliuzzo in the 2006 video game "". Embodying the possibility of a person rising from the bottom of society to the top, Tony Montana has become a cultural icon, as well as one of the most iconic film characters of all time.
In 2008, Montana was named the 27th Greatest Movie Character by "Empire" magazine. The character is partly based on Tony Camonte, the protagonist of the 1932 film; Camonte was, in turn, an adaptation of Tony Guarino from the 1929 novel, which in turn was a loose fictionalization of real-life Italian-American gangster Al Capone, who was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1899. In contrast to Guarino and Camonte, who were Italian immigrants, Montana is a Cuban immigrant. According to Oliver Stone, Tony's last name was inspired by then-NFL quarterback Joe Montana, Stone's favorite player. A prequel novel, "Scarface: The Beginning", written by L. A. Banks, was published in 2006. Montana has a large scar on his face, which explains why he is known as Scarface. This is the same type of scar that Al Capone received from a bar fight in 1917 at the Harvard Inn.
Casting.
Pacino insisted on taking the lead role in "Scarface". Pacino worked with various trainers for the role, including experts in knife combat and boxer Roberto Durán. Durán also helped inspire the character, who had "a certain lion in him", according to Pacino. Meryl Streep's immigrant character in "Sophie's Choice" (1982) also influenced Pacino's portrayal of Tony Montana. His co-star Steven Bauer, and a dialect coach, helped him learn aspects of the Cuban dialect and pronunciation.
Fictional character biography.
Before the events of the film, Tony grew up in a poor Havana neighborhood of Spanish immigrants, his maternal grandparents having been Isleños, while his father's side of the family were of Italian descent. He obtained his signature scar fighting a Cuban army officer, whom he killed with a shotgun when he was 13. After being arrested as a young man, Tony joined the Cuban army and served in Angola, where he went AWOL and boarded a cargo ship to France. There, he was arrested for shoplifting and deported back to Cuba in the late 1970s, where he was imprisoned.
In May 1980, Tony is among the 125,000 Cubans on the Mariel boatlift to Miami. When he arrives, he is questioned by U.S. officials and says that he is a "political prisoner". Tony claims that because he has an American father, he has the right to a green card. However, his request is denied because of a trident-style tattoo on his right hand, which indicates that he was an assassin in prison.
Tony and his friend Manolo "Manny" Ribera are sent to "Freedom town", a refugee camp that holds Cuban immigrants without green cards. After one month in the camp, Frank Lopez, head of a Miami drug cartel, offers to obtain green cards in return for murdering Emilio Rebenga, a one-time Cuban official who had tortured people to death (Lopez's brother among them), only to have Castro turn on him. Soon after Rebenga arrives at the camp, a riot breaks out in Freedom town on August 11, 1980. Manny and Angel Fernandez take advantage of the bedlam to stalk Rebenga, who leaves his tent. Tony is waiting outside and stabs Rebenga in the stomach. Tony and Manny are reconsidered and granted green cards, later being released. The two get jobs as dishwashers for a small food stand in Little Havana. Sometime later, Frank sends his right-hand man, Omar Suarez, to offer them a job that pays $500 each for a few hours of work unloading smuggled marijuana from a boat. While Manny is impressed with the offer, Tony is enraged about being offered less than the minimal pay for such a job, and he and Omar quarrel. On the advice of his companion, Omar then offers Tony and Manny $5,000 to buy cocaine from a new supplier, which is riskier than the marijuana deal, as it requires dealing with Colombians who are notorious for being violent and dishonest.
A few days later, Tony and Manny, and their associates Angel and Chi Chi, drive to a hotel in Miami Beach to make a deal with the group of Colombians. The deal goes badly. A couple of Colombian enforcers handcuff Tony and Angel to a shower pole at gunpoint, threatening to kill them with a chainsaw if Tony doesn't reveal the location of the drug money. Tony refuses to talk, causing Hector, the enforcers' leader, to dismember Angel. Before Hector can do the same to Tony, Manny bursts into the room, shooting a machine pistol. A short gunfight ensues, in which Manny is shot in the arm, and Tony kills the Colombians. Tony, Manny, and Chi Chi escape with the cocaine and the money. Tony, who no longer trusts Omar, takes it to Frank personally. Frank is impressed by this act and offers Tony and Manny the opportunity to work for him. During this time, Tony becomes interested in Frank's girlfriend, Elvira Hancock.
Three months later, Tony pays a visit to his mother, Georgina, and younger sister, Gina, neither of whom has seen him for five years. Gina is excited to see Tony, but his mother is ashamed of him, having been aware of his life of crime. When he gives his mother $1,000, she angrily rejects the gift and throws him out. Tony leaves, but Gina runs after him and hugs him, telling him that she has been going to hairdressing school and helping out Mama. Tony says a poor girl like Gina deserves a little fun. He secretly slips her the $1,000 and orders her not to tell Mama about it, only that Mama gets a little bit of it occasionally, through using some of it for grocery shopping or paying a utility bill. Manny, who had been waiting for Tony in the car, is taken with Gina, only for Tony to tell Manny to stay away from her.
Later, while in Bolivia, Tony and Omar go on Frank's behalf to see a drug cartel lord, Alejandro Sosa. Sosa kills Omar for being a police informant, and makes Tony his business partner. At The Babylon nightclub, Tony is shaken down by corrupt narcotics detective Mel Bernstein, who informs him that he has evidence linking Tony to the murders of Rebenga and the Colombian drug dealers. Bernstein proposes to "tax" Tony on his transactions in return for police protection and information. Tony is convinced that Frank sent Bernstein, because only Frank would know details about the murders. While talking to Bernstein, Tony sees Gina dancing with a low-level drug dealer. Enraged, Tony beats the dealer and slaps Gina, stopping only after Manny calms him down. Manny drives Gina home and tells her she can do better than those lowlifes and that Tony is only looking out for her. However, when Gina admits an interest in Manny, he freezes, remembering Tony's tirade.
Later that night, two men attempt to kill Tony. He escapes and becomes convinced that Frank ordered his death. Tony and Manny track Frank down to his car dealership and kill him and Bernstein with silenced pistols. Afterward, Tony goes to Frank's house, telling Elvira that her lover is dead and that he wants her. Over the next year and a half, Tony makes $75 million from the 2,000 kilograms of cocaine he brings to America. He soon makes $10–15 million monthly in profits from his business relationship with Sosa. He marries Elvira and takes over Frank's empire, purchasing a large mansion and other luxuries, such as a pet tiger. Tony also creates many legal businesses as fronts, including a hair salon managed by Gina. Cracks in Tony's "American dream" begin to form, however, as he and Elvira become addicted to cocaine. His banker demands more money, warning that it is getting increasingly more difficult to hide drug money. Meanwhile, Manny and Gina begin dating behind her brother's back, being afraid of Tony's wrath should he find out.
When Tony finds a new banker, he turns out to be an undercover policeman who arrests Tony for money laundering and tax evasion. Tony's lawyer, George Sheffield, tells Tony that although he can plea bargain away most of the time he's facing, he'll still end up serving at least three years in prison. Sosa calls Tony down to Bolivia and asks him to help assassinate a Bolivian anti-government activist who threatens to expose Sosa's dealings with Bolivian leaders. In exchange, Sosa will use his contacts in the U.S. Justice Department, in Washington, D.C., to keep Tony out of prison. After returning to Miami, Tony does not tell Manny about the hit. However, Manny tries to talk Tony out of going to New York City, simply citing having a bad premonition about it. When Tony makes a scene at a fancy restaurant by insulting Elvira's inability to bear children, let alone do anything else with her life, she lashes out and leaves him.
Tony and Sosa's associate Alberto travel to New York to assassinate the activist. Alberto plants a bomb under the activist's car. He is ordered to detonate it before the activist can implicate Sosa's criminal network in a speech at the United Nations Building. On the day set for the assassination, a woman and two children are unexpectedly seen getting into the target's car. Tony objects to carrying out the hit, not wanting to kill anyone other than the intended victim. Alberto reminds Tony of Sosa's demands, and Tony reluctantly begins to tail the target. However, Tony's disgust at possibly killing an innocent woman with her two kids grows while Alberto concentrates on activating the explosive. Before Alberto can detonate the car bomb, Tony angrily shoots and kills Alberto, thus double-crossing Sosa.
Tony returns to Florida and receives a telephone call from a furious Sosa, who chastises him for the failed hit. He says the bomb was found, and the whistleblower is under heavy guard, making it almost impossible for them to try another hit. Tony's mother then says she cannot find Gina and accuses him of corrupting her. Tony attempts to locate Gina and finds her with Manny. When he sees them wearing bathrobes, Tony thinks they must be having sexual intercourse. An enraged Tony shoots and kills Manny in a cocaine-fueled rage before Gina reveals that they were just married and would announce it to Tony when he returned home. Tony and his henchmen take a distraught Gina back to his mansion.
Meanwhile, a large group of assassins sent by Sosa surrounds the mansion. While a distraught Tony sits in his office, snorting vast quantities of cocaine, the shooters begin killing his guards outside. At the same time, Tony is oblivious to his closed-circuit cameras (ironically boasting to Manny in an earlier scene that he spent top dollar on the cameras to prevent such an incident). Gina enters Tony's office wielding a Smith & Wesson Model 36, accusing him of his selfishness towards her before shooting him in the leg. This startles one assassin who was lying in the wait. He approaches the room out of nowhere and opens fire on Gina, killing her. Tony then shoots the assassin dead.
Deprived of the element of surprise, Sosa's shooters attack Tony's mansion directly. Tony bursts from his office, wielding an M16 rifle with an M203 grenade launcher attachment. Yelling the iconic line, "Say hello to my little friend!" Tony opens fire on the henchmen, killing numerous, while in turn getting badly wounded by return fire. The carnage continues until Sosa's top assassin ("The Skull") sneaks behind Tony and fatally shoots him with a shotgun. Tony falls from his balcony into a fountain in the lobby below and floats dead in his bloodied pool beneath a statue of the globe carrying the inscription enlightened in pink neon, "The World Is Yours".
Comic book.
In 2003, a one-time comic book was published for the film's 20th anniversary, as a pseudo-sequel. Its narrative begins from the end of the film: authorities are assessing the damage done to the Montana mansion, only to discover Tony still alive in the fountain, his apparent lifelessness having been from being heavily drugged. After months in the hospital, Tony is greeted by corrupt cops who say that the federal government seized everything. The book also has Sosa continuing his revenge against Tony and provides some of Sosa's backstory, in which he employed poor villagers to make drugs in exchange for financially supporting them, à la Pablo Escobar.
Video games.
The 2006 video game "" is a pseudo-sequel to the film, which features an alternate ending wherein Tony kills the Skull and manages to escape from his mansion before Sosa's men and the police overrun it. However, he loses all his money and drugs. Presumed dead, he goes into hiding in a small shack near Virginia Key Beach, where he laments the deaths of Manny and Gina, curses himself for not listening, due to his stubbornness, to the advice of others, determines to quit cocaine, and plots his revenge against Sosa. Three months later, Tony comes out of hiding to rebuild his criminal empire and makes $10,000 in a single day of selling drugs, which he uses to bribe several undercover police officers, who have seized his mansion, which allows him to move back. He goes on to expand his empire and eliminate multiple rivals who are eager to take over. He still faces opposition from Sosa and Gaspar Gomez, who have teamed up to form a drug monopoly and set their prices unreasonably high. Tony is also betrayed by his lawyer, George Sheffield, who is in a secret alliance with Sosa and Gomez, and who leads Tony into a trap, which he barely escapes. Eventually, Tony eliminates all his competition in Miami and re-establishes his empire before traveling to the Caribbean to help a cocaine producer called "The Sandman", who sells him his plantation. During this time, Tony also meets The Sandman's ex-girlfriend Venus, with whom he has a relationship. Now the most powerful drug lord in Miami, Tony sets out to exact his revenge on Sosa, Gomez, and Sheffield and attacks Sosa's mansion, killing all three of them. On his way out, he stumbles upon one of Sosa's surviving goons, whom he spares and hires as his butler. The game ends with Tony married to Venus and living in luxury, and feeling that he finally got what was coming to him: the world.
Tony also appears in the 2006 video game, ""
Tony appears in the video game "Payday 2", as a playable character named "Scarface" included in the "Scarface Character Pack" released in 2016. He is voiced by André Sogliuzzo, who previously portrayed him in "Scarface: The World Is Yours". A separate DLC titled "Scarface Heist Pack" contains a heist at Tony's mansion in Miami. In 2020, due to a legal arrangement with "Universal Pictures", the Scarface Character Pack DLC could no longer be purchased by new players, though the Heist Pack remains available.
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Tony Soprano
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Anthony "Tony" John Soprano, portrayed by James Gandolfini, is a fictional character and the protagonist of the HBO crime drama television series "The Sopranos". He is a member of the Italian-American Mafia and, later in the series, acts as the boss of the fictional DiMeo crime family of North Jersey. The character was conceived by "Sopranos" creator and showrunner David Chase, who was also largely responsible for the character's story arc throughout the series.
Gandolfini was cast in the role ahead of other actors, including Steven Van Zandt and Michael Rispoli. The character is loosely based on stories from and about an assortment of real-life Mafia figures, including New Jersey mobsters Ruggerio "Richie the Boot" Boiardo, boss of the North Jersey faction of the Genovese crime family, and Vincent "Vinny Ocean" Palermo, a former "caporegime" and "de facto" boss of the DeCavalcante crime family. Bobby Boriello and Mark Damiano II portrayed the character as a child in one episode each and Danny Petrillo played the character as a teenager in three episodes. William Ludwig portrayed him as a child and Gandolfini's son Michael portrayed him as a teenager in the 2021 prequel film "The Many Saints of Newark".
In the first season, Tony is a capo and serves as a key ally for ailing acting boss Giacomo "Jackie" Aprile in the DiMeo family. Between the first and second seasons, he is promoted to acting underboss and then official underboss, a position he retains until the sixth season; his uncle Corrado "Junior" Soprano is the acting boss up until early in the sixth season, but actual power is retained by Tony. Throughout the series, Tony struggles to balance the conflicting needs of his familywife Carmela, daughter Meadow, son A.J. and mother Liviawith those of the Mafia. He displays behavior traits characteristic of a violent sociopath, struggles with depression and is prone to panic attacks. From the pilot episode, he seeks treatment from Dr. Jennifer Melfi (a character Chase modeled after his own psychiatrist) and remains in therapy on and off until the penultimate episode of the series.
Both the Tony Soprano character and Gandolfini's performance garnered widespread critical acclaim, with Soprano often being cited as one of the greatest and most influential characters in television history. For his portrayal of the character, Gandolfini won three Emmy Awards for Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series, three Screen Actors Guild Awards for Best Male Actor in a Drama Series and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama and two additional SAG Awards for Best Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.
Casting.
James Gandolfini was invited to audition for the part of Tony Soprano after casting director Susan Fitzgerald saw a short clip of his performance in the 1993 film "True Romance", ultimately receiving the role ahead of several other actors due to his physically large stature and acting abilities.
Anthony LaPaglia was initially interested in the role but, due to a Broadway production and the decision not to go with Fox, he was not considered further. Series creator David Chase invited Steven Van Zandt, a guitarist in Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, to audition for the role of Tony. Van Zandt, who had never acted before, felt that the role should go to an experienced actor, so Chase wrote him into a part that did not exist—as Silvio Dante. Michael Rispoli, who eventually played Jackie Aprile, was also very close to being cast as Tony.
In the pilot, Tony was named Tommy—an homage to the character played by James Cagney in "The Public Enemy", Tom Powers, but the clearance on naming the character Tom was never given. The name "Tony Soprano" came from a family friend of Chase's named Toby Soprano.
As methods to focus anger into his performances, Gandolfini said he would deliberately hit himself on the head, stay up all night to evoke the desired reaction, drink several cups of coffee or walk around with a rock in his shoe.
Fictional character biography.
Early life.
Tony Soprano was born in 1959 (1955 in "The Many Saints of Newark") to Livia and Johnny Soprano. His father was a caporegime in the DiMeo crime family. Tony grew up living with his parents and two sisters, Janice and Barbara, in the old First Ward neighborhood of Newark, New Jersey. Tony's paternal grandfather, Corrado Soprano, was from Avellino, Italy, and immigrated to the United States in 1911. He was a master stonemason who helped to build a church in Tony's old neighborhood.
In adulthood, Tony recalls how Johnny used Janice as a cover for attending meetings with criminal associates at a children's amusement park, leading him to assume she was his father's favorite child. In therapy, when asked to remember happy childhood memories about his mother, Tony struggles to come up with any; he later describes his mother as a cruel, joyless woman who wore his father down "to a little nub" and who seemed to delight in threatening her children.
Tony has a troubled relationship with Janice, due to her flighty and impulsive nature, which leads to her constantly relying on him for financial and emotional support. Their bond is further complicated in adulthood when she murders her boyfriend, Richie Aprile, one of Tony's subordinates, for striking her during a domestic dispute, leading to her calling on Tony for assistance in disposing of his body.
In high school, Tony met his future wife, Carmela DeAngelis, and became friends with Artie Bucco and Davey Scatino. He was also close to his maternal cousin Tony Blundetto. Their mutual relatives called them Tony-Uncle-Al and Tony-Uncle-Johnny (after their fathers) to tell them apart, although Tony Soprano and his friends would take to calling Blundetto "Tony B". The two Tonys spent summers at the farm of their uncle Pat Blundetto, a former DiMeo soldier allowed to retire from the Mafia due to chronic illness.
When they were in their early twenties, Tony Blundetto was arrested for his part in a hijacking; Tony Soprano was supposed to join him on the job but failed to appear because of a panic attack after an argument with his mother, which resulted in his blacking out and suffering a head injury. For years after, Tony Soprano claimed that he had sustained the injury during a mugging, a story he maintained to allay his guilt. As a young adult, he attended Seton Hall University for a semester and a half before dropping out to pursue a life of crime.
Tony was part of an unofficial crew of young criminals consisting of childhood friends Silvio Dante, Ralph Cifaretto and Giacomo "Jackie" Aprile, Sr. He and Jackie gained notoriety in the DiMeo family by robbing a card game run by Feech La Manna. Ralph was left out of the plan due to debilitating pain from a venereal disease, leading to a lifelong animosity between the two. Under the tutelage of his father's friend Paulie "Walnuts" Gualtieri, Tony committed his first murder in 1982, killing a small-time bookie named Willie Overall. Following the murder, Paulie became Tony's mentor in the Mafia, with Paulie eventually settling into a role as Tony's own "capo".
Johnny shepherded Tony through his ascendancy until his death in 1986 from emphysema. When he died, Johnny had risen to the level of "capo" of his crew, as had his older brother, Junior. Junior took over as Tony's mentor, with parental figures Paulie and Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero passing their loyalty to Tony upon his father's death, while Silvio joined the crew. Tony became acting "capo" of his father's old crew, a position which eventually became permanent.
In 1995, Jackie became acting boss after Ercole "Eckley" DiMeo was sent to prison. The family was prosperous under Jackie's rule until 1998 when he was diagnosed with intestinal cancer. With Jackie's death in mid-1998, a succession crisis between Tony and Junior reached a point where a war within the family appeared imminent. However, Tony brought a quick end to the conflict by endorsing Junior as the official boss of the family. Unbeknownst to Junior, Tony secretly struck a deal with the rest of the family to be the true boss, allowing Junior to believe that he is in power and act as a distraction for the FBI.
Narrated killings committed by Tony Soprano.
Tony personally committed eight murders during the show. As a boss, he was responsible for the deaths of others killed on his orders. The eight known murders, all explicitly presented onscreen, were:
It is made clear that some of these murders leave Tony perplexed as to how to cope with the situation; most notably, after murdering Christopher Moltisanti, he feels a rush of relief for finally being rid of an associate whom he feels he can no longer trust. He has to "show the sad face" while the rest of the family grieves, but Tony reassures himself that Moltisanti's murder was necessary, despite the hurt caused to the family.
The murder of Fabian "Febby" Petrulio in "College" is out of retaliation for Febby getting members of Tony's crew sent to prison when he ratted them out to get immunity. Tony does this out of a feeling of justice since he has contempt for Febby getting away with it initially.
The murder of Big Pussy in "Funhouse" weighs heavily on Tony. He is at first tempted to spare his old friend and even seems to be in denial for quite a long time, but in the end, realizes his priorities. In the years to follow, Tony talks about this with Paulie and Silvio, who also participated in the murder, and all three have had haunting dreams of the murder of their friend.
Tony kills Ralph Cifaretto after their horse, Pie-O-My, dies amid suspicious circumstances in "Whoever Did This". Tony tries to confront Ralph about the situation but, after some heated words, Tony loses control and murders Ralph following a violent fight. Though no solid proof was found that the fire killing Pie-O-My was arson, Tony is convinced Ralph did it. It is also implied that this burst of rage could have been fueled by anger over Ralph's brutal murder of stripper Tracee, considering Tony uttered "She was a beautiful, innocent creature. What'd she ever do to you? You fucking killed her!" which could apply to both the female horse and the young woman.
The murder of Matthew Bevilaqua is an act of revenge, which had to be carried out due to the fact that the failed murder attempt on Christopher was an attempt to topple Tony as the boss of the family. Tony takes pleasure in the murder because it was revenge for the attempted hit on a loved one. This murder was the closest Tony came to getting in trouble with the authorities, due to having been seen by a witness (who at first comes forward, but withdraws once he learns of the fact that Tony is a mafioso). In addition to his potential arrest, Tony was also uncomfortable about the murder due to Bevilaqua's young age, and the fact that his dying words were "mommy." This causes Tony to spend more quality time with his own son.
The murder of his cousin, Tony Blundetto (in "All Due Respect"), is solely to save him from a far worse death if he were to fall into Phil's hands, and so that Tony does not lose his reputation as a boss (as well as sparing the other members of his crew from Phil's threats of retaliation, thus preserving their loyalty).
The murder of his nephew, Christopher Moltisanti is not done out of mob-related necessity. Christopher had been addicted to heroin, cocaine, and alcohol for many years and had not conquered his addiction in rehab. While Moltisanti presents a threat to Tony's life and the New Jersey Mob, it is ultimately an emotional reaction. Tony is about to call 911 following a motor vehicle accident. Christopher, who needs urgent medical attention, tells him that he would "never pass the drug test" and would therefore lose his driver's license. He asks Tony to call for a taxi. Tony looks at the baby seat on the backseat of the SUV which had been destroyed by a tree branch, closes his phone, and suffocates Christopher by holding his nose shut so that he chokes to death on his blood. Tony does not plan to murder Christopher but sees the opportunity after the car accident. Tony is never suspected of this murder.
As a father.
Tony lives in North Caldwell, New Jersey with his wife and two children: Meadow Soprano and Anthony (A.J.) Soprano. He also treats Christopher Moltisanti, his wife's first cousin once removed, as a son in many ways.
Tony is often portrayed as a loving father—he attends his children's sporting events regularly and does all he can to ensure they have luxuries and opportunities. He hopes that both his children will escape the life of crime he has led. Tony takes great pride in Meadow's achievements. In Season 1, he is moved to tears by her performance at a choir recital. He often tells people about her aspiration to become a pediatrician.
He also sometimes alienates his children with his behavior. He has always tried to conceal his criminal life from them—something that Meadow saw through early on and A.J. also realizes with guidance from his sister.
Tony's over-protectiveness of Meadow leads to feuds between them on several occasions. For example, her first boyfriend at college, Noah Tannenbaum, is of black and Jewish ancestry and Tony's dislike of him leads him to try to drive him away. Meadow learns of her father's actions and does not speak to him for several months, eventually reconciling at Christmas in 2001.
Meadow's next boyfriend is Jackie Aprile Jr., the son of Tony's old friend, the late Jackie Aprile Sr. Tony had promised Jackie Jr.'s father that he would keep his son out of the Mafia life. Tony is initially pleased with the relationship, believing Jackie to be a hard-working pre-med student from a good family. However, since Jackie's uncle Richie Aprile's release from prison and subsequent death, Tony realizes that Jackie had become more involved in the Mafia when he sees him at strip clubs and a casino.
He eventually beats Jackie up to warn him about abusing his daughter's feelings and confiscates his gun. Tony begins seeing much of himself and his treatment of Carmela in Jackie's relationship with Meadow. Jackie is killed by Vito for his involvement in a robbery at Christopher's and Furio's executive card game, and for shooting a made man, Furio. This drives Meadow to drink and into depression, although they had broken up shortly before his death.
After Jackie's death, Tony accepts Meadow's college friends and gets along well with her fiancé, Finn, before the two separate under unrevealed circumstances.
When Meadow is out for dinner with her "mystery" boyfriend Patrick Parisi, New York mob member Salvatore "Coco" Cogliano walks up to the table and makes remarks about her looks and how "Tony must love tucking you in at night". After taking advice from her mother, Meadow tells Tony, who hides his rage and says Coco is "harmless" and "an idiot". Tony then tracks down Coco and Butch DeConcini at John's Restaurant on East 12th Street in Manhattan. Tony viciously pistol-whips Coco several times with a snubnosed revolver and warns Butch at gunpoint to shut up and remain seated at his table. After breaking off some of Coco's teeth with a curb stomp, Tony leaves the restaurant.
Tony's feelings toward his son are mixed; he worries about his future. From the beginning, Tony has doubts that his son could succeed in the Mafia, telling his therapist, Dr. Melfi that "he'd never make it". His fears are confirmed as A.J. consistently demonstrates throughout the series that he lacks his father's cunning and dominating persona. Tony tells A.J. numerous times that he is proud that his son is gentle and kind. Tony is especially proud of A.J.'s prowess on the football field, even amid his failing grades in high school, but is frustrated with A.J.'s lack of focus after graduation.
After flunking out of Ramapo State, A.J. loafs around the house, parties, and for a time holds a job at Blockbuster until his father gets him a job working construction. There, A.J. meets Blanca, and in Tony's opinion, A.J. does well until he and Blanca break up. Tony worries about A.J.'s depression, the "rotten putrid Soprano gene" that Tony believes he passed down to his son.
Hoping to get A.J. back on track, Tony rekindles A.J.'s friendship with "the Jasons", sons of two of his associates, and A.J. seems to be doing better. With the help of a therapist and medication, A.J. is finally getting back to college, this time at Rutgers University, to take classes and party with girls as Tony believes every college kid should. This later turns sour after A.J. sees his new friends attack a Somali student on a bike and he regresses into depression.
A.J. tries to drown himself in a swimming pool but decides he wants to live; he is unable to escape the pool, however. Tony hears his cries for help and rescues him. After A.J. is released from a mental health ward, Tony and Carmela dissuade him from joining the Army and persuade him instead to become involved in a film bankrolled by Carmine Lupertazzi Jr., with the possibility of opening a club.
Interests and hobbies.
Tony is an animal lover and enjoys feeding the ducks that visit his pool. He has a sentimental attachment towards animals, as he had been traumatized by the loss of his childhood dog (as revealed in the episode "In Camelot"), whose name was "Tippy". When he goes to confront Angie Bonpensiero as she is walking her poodle, the dog greets Tony in a friendly manner, which Tony reciprocates. During Christopher Moltisanti's intervention, when Tony hears Christopher accidentally suffocated Adrianna's dog, he is furious, saying, "I oughta suffocate you, you little prick!".
He becomes involved in horse racing through his friend Hesh Rabkin, who owns a stable, and invests in a racehorse named Pie-O-My. When his horse is killed in a fire – possibly set by Ralph Cifaretto – Tony is deeply upset and saddened and kills Cifaretto, yelling: "She was a beautiful innocent creature. What did she ever do to you?" He repeats "You fucking killed her!", while banging Cifaretto's head against the floor.
When informed by Carmela that a black bear has been foraging in his home's backyard while they were separated during Season 5, he reacts with interest, rather than fear. During his stay in the hospital after his shooting, he can be seen reading a book about dinosaurs, given by Carmela. In the series finale, Tony finds a stray cat at his safe house during the war with New York and takes a liking to it. He brings it back to Satriale's, where it stares at the deceased Chris Moltisanti's photo (much to Paulie's dismay).
Tony is seen many times throughout the show engaging in both freshwater and saltwater angling. His son Anthony Jr. sometimes accompanies him on fishing outings. During the second season, he presents his son with a Fenwick rod and a Penn International reel, both extremely high-quality products. In the sixth season, while in Florida with Paulie, he rents a sport fishing boat. He is sometimes haunted by visions of Pussy Bonpensiero incarnated in the form of a fish – presumably a reference to the disposal of his body in the ocean, or perhaps a reference to "sleeping with the fishes," from Godfather I. A Big Mouth Billy Bass novelty singing fish, brought into the Bada Bing by Georgie and another later presented to him as a Christmas present by his daughter Meadow, recalls his nightmare and disturbs him greatly.
Throughout the series, Tony is shown to be a frequent cigar smoker, as well as an occasional cigarette smoker. He can be seen smoking a cigar during important events, such as shortly before being told of his mother's death and when disposing of Ralph Cifaretto's corpse. In the Season 1 episode "A Hit Is a Hit", he gives his doctor and next-door neighbor Bruce Cusamano a box of Cuban cigars as a thank-you gift for referring him to Dr. Melfi.
He is a gun enthusiast and is shown to have an arsenal in his home. He gives guns as birthday gifts to his father-in-law Hugh DeAngelis (in "Marco Polo") and receives one from Bobby Baccialieri on his birthday (in "Soprano Home Movies").
Tony enjoys sports, particularly baseball, football, basketball, golf, and horse racing. He played baseball and football at West Essex High School, and is a fan of the New York Yankees and New York Jets. He has taken A.J. to New Jersey Nets and New Jersey Devils games occasionally throughout the series. Some objects and posters in A.J.'s room confirm this. He plays golf with Johnny Sack at Upper Montclair Country Club. A large portion of his income is derived from illegal sports betting.
Tony is an amateur yachtsman and has owned two motor yachts throughout the show: "Stugots" and "Stugots II", where several of his affairs take place. The name comes from the Italian phrase "sto cazzo", literally meaning "this dick" or "my dick", and depending on the context, "what the fuck" or "my ass".
Tony maintains an avid interest in history, particularly World War II. Throughout seasons 4 and 5, Tony is seen watching Vietnam War documentaries. He is a big fan of President John F. Kennedy and owns one of his captain sailor hats, which he won at an auction. He is often shown watching programs on the History Channel about leaders such as George S. Patton, Erwin Rommel, and Winston Churchill. He reads "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu, which is quoted by several other characters on the show, particularly Paulie Walnuts.
Tony is often seen watching classic mob films. For example, he is shown watching "The Public Enemy" (1931) throughout the episode "Proshai, Livushka", which addresses his mother's death. He also shares a love for "The Godfather" series, wondering what went wrong in the third installment, although he and his friends are highly entertained when Silvio does an impression of Al Pacino from it.
Tony listens to classic, progressive rock and pop music, particularly of the 1960s and 1970s. Over the course of the show he is seen to enjoy AC/DC, Deep Purple, Eagles, Eric Clapton, Jefferson Airplane, Jethro Tull, Journey, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Pink Floyd, Rush, Steely Dan, The Clash, The Chi-Lites, The Lost Boys, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, and Van Morrison.
Despite remarking about the dangers of drug use to his children and some of his fellow mobsters, Tony engages in recreational use multiple times in the latter half of the series, doing lines of cocaine with Adriana and smokes marijuana and uses peyote on a trip to Las Vegas.
Vehicles.
Like most of the mobsters in the series, Tony is shown to be partial to Cadillac and Lincoln vehicles. When discussing with Dr. Melfi a bizarre dream in which his penis falls off, he mentions that he went to the guy who used to "work on my Lincoln when I drove Lincolns". For the first four seasons, Tony drives a burgundy 1999 Chevrolet Suburban LT 4x4.
In season 5 he drives a black Cadillac Escalade ESV. This black Escalade is totaled in an accident and quickly replaced with a white Escalade ESV. Tony has this Escalade until the end of the series. He has occasionally used Carmela's Mercedes-Benz E-Class station wagon and drove it when they went places together.
Extramarital affairs.
Throughout the series, Tony is shown to be a serial adulterer. He typically has mistresses whom he consistently sees for long periods, though he also has several brief one-night stands with strippers from the Bada Bing.
His wife Carmela is tacitly aware of his infidelity and usually views it as a form of masturbation, though sometimes the bottled-up tensions explode in domestic arguments. At the end of Season 4, Irina telephones Carmela in a jealous rage at Tony's cheating on her with her cousin Svetlana, which causes Carmela to finally snap. Carmela throws Tony out of the house and begins divorce proceedings.
Tony has a strong preference for women of European, particularly Italian descent, with dark hair and eyes and exotic features. His mistresses have been, in chronological order, of Russian (Irina and later Svetlana), Italian (Gloria Trillo), Italian-Cuban (Valentina La Paz), and Jewish descent (Julianna Skiff). He favors dark features but also has a few brief flings with blonde American European women, including a stewardess from Icelandic Airways and a medical assistant. He has one very short encounter with an Asian-American escort during "The Test Dream".
Mistresses:
Therapy.
Tony has suffered from panic attacks that sometimes cause him to lose consciousness since his childhood. He has his first on-screen panic attack while cooking sausages at his son's birthday party—this occurs in a flashback in the pilot episode. Tony loses consciousness and causes a small explosion when he drops a bottle of lighter fluid onto the coals. Tony describes the experience of the panic attack as feeling like he had "ginger ale in his skull". This prompts him to seek help for the attacks. After extensive testing that includes an MRI scan and blood work, no physical cause can be found, so Dr. Cusamano refers Tony to psychiatrist Dr. Jennifer Melfi.
Tony's therapy allows a discussion of his thoughts and feelings away from both aspects of his life—this forum for reaching into the character's thoughts has been described as a Greek chorus, and as a key for viewers to understand the character.
Tony is initially very resistant to the idea that there was a psychiatric cause for his symptoms. He resents being in therapy and refuses to accept the diagnosis of panic attacks given him by the neurologists who had investigated his illness. Tony begins to open up once Dr. Melfi explains the doctor-patient confidentiality rules. He tells her about the stress of his business life—he has a feeling that he has come in at the end of something and describes a reverence for the glorified "old days" of the Mafia. Tony leaves out the violence associated with his criminal career. Tony tells Dr. Melfi a story about ducks landing in his pool. He describes his mother Livia as a cold, mean-spirited woman with whom he has an openly hostile relationship. By the end of the first session Tony has admitted that he feels depressed, but storms out when Dr. Melfi presses him further about the relationship between his symptoms and the ducks.
When the family visits Green Grove, a retirement community where Tony is trying to place his mother, Livia's derisive outburst prompts a second panic attack. Melfi prescribes Prozac as an anti-depressant, telling him that no one needs to suffer from depression with the wonders of modern pharmacology. Tony fails to attend their next scheduled session.
At their next session, Tony is still reluctant to face his psychological weaknesses. Tony is quick to credit the medication for his improved mood, but Dr. Melfi tells him it cannot be that, as it takes six weeks to work—she credits their therapy sessions. Tony describes a dream where a bird steals his penis. Melfi extrapolates that Tony has projected his love for his family onto the family of ducks living in his pool. This brings him to tears, to his consternation. She tells him that their flight from the pool sparked his panic attack through the overwhelming fear of somehow losing his own family.
In the episode "46 Long", they continue discussing Tony's mother and her difficulties living alone. Tony admits that he feels guilty because his mother could not be allowed to live with his family. We learn that he has been left to care for his mother alone by his sisters. When Dr. Melfi asks him to remember good experiences from his childhood, he has difficulty. He blames Carmela for preventing his mother from living with them. Later they discuss Livia's car accident, and Melfi suggests depression may have contributed to the accident – Tony misunderstands her and becomes angry. Tony has a panic attack while visiting his mother's home after she moves to Green Grove. In a later session, Dr. Melfi pushes Tony to admit he has feelings of anger towards his mother, and he again storms out. During this episode, Tony introduces the concept of him acting like the sad clown – happy on the outside but sad on the inside.
In "Denial, Anger, Acceptance", Tony discusses Jackie's cancer with Dr. Melfi. She tries to use it as an example of Tony's negative thinking contributing to his depression. Tony becomes angry and storms out. He feels she is trying to trick him and manipulate his thoughts using the pictures that decorate her office. After Jackie worsens and Tony is called a "Frankenstein" by a business associate, he returns to therapy to discuss these things with Dr. Melfi. She asks him if he feels like a monster.
In "Fortunate Son", Tony discusses a childhood memory of an early panic attack. He saw his father and uncle mutilate Mr. Satriale, the local butcher, and later fainted at a family dinner made with free meat from Satriale's shop. Dr. Melfi makes a connection between meat and Tony's panic attacks.
Later Dr. Melfi tries prescribing lithium as a mood stabilizer. In the episode "Isabella", Tony sinks into a severe depressive episode and experiences hallucinations—he sees a beautiful Italian woman named Isabella in his neighbor's garden. Tony sees Isabella several times during the episode and later learns that she never existed. Melfi theorizes that Isabella was an idealized maternal figure that Tony's subconscious produced because he was deeply upset about his own mother's actions at the time.
In "I Dream of Jeannie Cusamano", Tony abruptly ends his therapy and persuades Dr. Melfi to go into hiding when he discovers that Uncle Junior has found out about their sessions.
The relationship between Tony and Dr. Melfi is up-and-down, with Tony reaching a level of comfort with Dr. Melfi that he has never experienced with anyone else before, not even his wife. This closeness leads Tony to have something of a "crush" on Dr. Melfi, something that is unattainable. However, the "prying" from Dr. Melfi is uncomfortable for Tony and he often turns sarcastic and antagonistic towards her, leading to an ongoing strain in their relationship. In the episode when Tony's sister, Janice, goes back to Seattle, it is revealed during a rushed conversation between Janice and Tony that their mother suffers from narcissistic personality disorder.
During the episode "The Second Coming", aired in part II of season six, Melfi's therapist suggests to her that her work with Tony could be considered enabling toward Tony's sociopathic tendencies. Finally, in the penultimate episode of the series, "The Blue Comet", Melfi severs her relationship with Tony after reading research recommended by her therapist that indicates sociopaths can use talk therapy to improve their skills in manipulating others and use what is learned in therapy to become more capable criminals.
Shootings.
In the first season, Tony is attacked by William Johnson "Petite" Clayborn and Rasheen Ray, two hitmen sent by Donnie Paduana to execute Tony. Tony sustains an injury to his ear, which is partially shot off, and minor bruises and cuts from crashing his vehicle. One of the two assailants, Clayborn, is shot dead by Ray in an attempt to kill Tony, and Ray is left bruised but runs off.
In the premiere of the sixth season, "Members Only", Junior Soprano, suffering from dementia, believes Tony to be Gennaro "Little Pussy" Malanga, and shoots him in the abdomen. Tony dials 911 but loses consciousness before being able to tell the operator what happened.
In the second episode of the sixth season, "Join the Club", Tony is in a medically induced coma in the hospital. In the second and third episodes, the viewer sees Tony in a dream-like state, eventually arriving at what could be purgatory, where he is greeted by a man who takes the physical form of his late cousin Tony Blundetto. The shadowy figure in the doorway of the house has the profile of his mother, who is dead. The voice of a younger version of his daughter calls him back. At the end of the third episode, he awakes from his coma in a confused but stable state.
By the fourth episode, Tony is mobile and fully aware and has regained his voice. Tony's attitude toward life is changed by his near-death experience. He has yet to discuss his experiences while unconscious with anyone close to him. However, in the Season 6 episode "Kaisha", he admits to Phil Leotardo (who had just suffered a heart attack), that while he was in a coma, he went to a place where he never wants to go again. While talking philosophy with John Schwinn, another patient at the hospital, he mentions that while in the coma he had the experience of being drawn towards somewhere he did not want to go and narrowly avoided it.
In the sixth episode of season 6, part 2, "Kennedy and Heidi", Tony sustains minor injuries in a car accident that seriously injures his nephew, Christopher Moltisanti. Tony suffocates Christopher after this accident. Tony is on bed rest for a few days and quickly recovers. Nonetheless, this gives his family quite a scare and a painful memory of his nearly fatal shooting the previous year.
Dreams.
Tony sometimes has vivid dreams that are shown to the viewer. Episodes with dream sequences include "Pax Soprana", "Isabella", "Funhouse", "Everybody Hurts", "Calling All Cars", and "The Test Dream".
In the pilot, Tony tells Dr. Melfi about a dream he had wherein a screw in his belly button when removed, causes his penis to fall off. He tries to find a car mechanic (who had worked on his Lincoln when Tony drove Lincolns) to put it back on, but a duck swoops down and snatches it from his hand.
In "Meadowlands", Tony has a dream that several people in his life are present in Dr. Melfi's office: Hesh Rabkin strolling by the window, A.J. behind the door, Silvio Dante having sex with a woman in the waiting room, and Paulie Walnuts and Big Pussy reading Chinese newspapers. This causes him to worry that people will find out he is seeing a psychiatrist. The dream ends with Tony confronting Melfi, seeing Jackie Aprile, Sr. on his deathbed smoking a cigarette, asking Tony, "You smell that? That's rain," and only to find out that Melfi is his mother, Livia.
In "Pax Soprana", Tony has several dreams and fantasies about Dr. Melfi. He becomes convinced that he is in love with her, but she turns him down when he makes advances toward her.
In "Isabella", Tony, suffering from depression after Big Pussy disappears, acquaints himself with a dental student named Isabella who is staying in the Cusamano home while they are on vacation. He later discovers that he had hallucinated Isabella due to taking too much lithium and that Isabella represented the mother he never had.
In "Funhouse", an extended dream sequence exposes many of Tony's subconscious thoughts and feelings through symbolic and sometimes bizarre events: he attempts suicide to preempt a doctor's diagnosis of early death by dousing himself in gasoline and lighting himself on fire; he witnesses himself shooting Paulie Walnuts to death during a card game; he has an innuendo-laden conversation with Dr. Melfi while sporting a prominent erection, and a fish that speaks with the voice of Big Pussy confirms his suspicions that the longtime friend and soldier is a federal informant.
In "Everybody Hurts", Tony dreams of his ex-mistress Gloria Trillo shortly after learning of her suicide by hanging. He visits her apartment and finds her in a black dress with a black scarf around her neck. She is cooking dinner, and when she goes over to the oven the scarf drapes across Tony. Plaster falls in front of Tony and when he looks up, he sees that the chandelier is almost pulled out of the ceiling. Gloria is suddenly back at the table and offers Tony a choice between seeing what she has under her dress or her scarf. As she begins to peel away the scarf, Tony wakes up and makes his way to the bathroom for some medication.
In "Calling All Cars", Tony has two dreams featuring Ralph Cifaretto. In the first, he is being driven by Carmela in the back of his father's old car while Ralph sits in the passenger seat. A caterpillar is crawling on the back of Ralph's head. Tony's fellow passenger in the back seat changes; Gloria Trillo and Svetlana Kirilenko are both seen. The caterpillar turns into a butterfly. Dr. Melfi later tells him that the dream signifies a change for Ralph (recently killed by Tony) and Carmela being in control, which Tony doesn't like.
In the second dream, Tony follows Ralph to an old house, which Ralph enters. Tony is dressed in trousers, suspenders, and an undershirt. He knocks on the door and a female figure descends slowly in shadow; the door creaks ominously. Tony says he is there for the stonemason job but does not speak English well (Tony's grandfather was an immigrant stonemason). Just as Tony is about to enter the house, he wakes up.
In "The Test Dream", Tony comes to terms with having to kill his cousin Tony Blundetto. The episode reflects on his inner demons and fears, including his children's future, his relationship with his wife, his infidelities, deceased acquaintances—including some who have died by his hand or by his orders—his fate, and his relationship with his father. He is again shown in his father's old car, accompanied by a range of past associates.
In "Join the Club", a comatose Tony finds himself in an alternate universe where he is a law-abiding salesman on a business trip. Among other differences, his accent has changed and his hotel's bartender condescends to him (in sharp contrast to the bartender at The Bing, who is a recurring punching bag for Tony). Tony has mistakenly taken another man's briefcaseKevin Finnerty'salong with all of his identification and work. The episode follows his attempts to discern his identity, recover his briefcase, and get back to his family.
In "Kennedy and Heidi", a stressed Tony Soprano has a dream following the death of Christopher Moltisanti. In this dream, he tells his therapist that Christopher was a burden and that he is relieved that he was dead. After that, he also tells her that he murdered Big Pussy and his cousin Tony Blundetto. Following the dream, he acts differently to his friends and family, trying to see if they also feel relieved now that Christopher is dead.
Legacy and cultural impact.
The character of Tony Soprano was the first likable "antihero" character in television. Playwright Craig Wright stated, "A show like "The Sopranos" has a soothing quality because ultimately there's an unspoken assumption behind it that even the most monstrous people are haunted by the same concerns we're haunted by." Tony Soprano quickly became a pop culture icon during the show's run. In an article for the "Los Angeles Times", Chris Lee referred to Tony Soprano as a "cultural sensation" who became the "unlikeliest of sex symbols." On the importance of Gandolfini's performance, Lee stated: "He forever rejiggered television's fascination with morally challenged antiheroes and less-than-physically-perfect protagonists."
"The Globe and Mail" wrote, "Women made Tony Soprano an unlikely sex symbol – and the men found him no less seductive. Wish fulfillment has always been at the queasy heart of the mobster genre, the longing for a life outside the bounds of convention, mingled with the conflicted desire to see the perpetrator punished for the same transgression. So it was for the fictional men of the straight world on "The Sopranos", who were drawn to Tony's flame with consistently disastrous results. Likewise for viewers, for whom a life of taking, killing, and sleeping with whomever and whatever one wants had an undeniable, if conflict-laden, appeal."
The final scene of "Made in America" became the subject of much discussion, controversy, and analysis after its original broadcast; however, Chase consistently refused to give any definitive answers. The use of an abrupt cut to black followed by several seconds of silence led many viewers to initially believe that their cable or DVR had cut out at a crucial moment. Opposing interpretations soon emerged among viewers regarding the ultimate fate of Tony, with some believing that he was killed while others believed that he remained alive. During a November 2021 interview with "Hollywood Reporter", Chase made comments which seemed to confirm Tony Soprano was killed at the end of the final episode.
Following Gandolfini's death on June 19, 2013, his portrayal of Tony Soprano was praised for its influence on subsequent other TV characters. "TV Guide" columnist Matt Roush stated, "Without Tony, there's no Vic Mackey of "The Shield", no Al Swearengen of "Deadwood", no Don Draper of "Mad Men" (whose creator, Matthew Weiner, honed his craft as a writer on "The Sopranos")." Similar testimonials were included by his co-stars and colleagues; Bryan Cranston stated that his "Breaking Bad" character, Walter White, would not have existed without Tony Soprano. Mark Lawson of "The Guardian" praised Gandolfini for his "towering central performance" as Tony Soprano, writing: ""The Sopranos" was part of a wave of American TV dramas that finally persuaded cineastes and critics who had been snobbish and dismissive about television as a medium to accept the smaller screen as an artistic equivalent of the larger one. Although many of those who watched and wrote about TV had got this message much earlier, the remarkable and sustained range of Gandolfini's portrayal of Tony Soprano played a major part in ending any remaining inferiority complex about the medium."
Gandolfini's son Michael was cast in 2019 for the 2021 film "The Many Saints of Newark" to play a young Tony Soprano, as a prequel to the show. Michael, having never watched "The Sopranos", watched through it to prepare for the role, describing it as an intense process.
Earlier drafts for the 2023 Disney animated feature film "Wish" originally had King Magnifico and Queen Amaya sharing the role of main antagonists, with art director of characters Bill Schwab describing them as a "powerful crime family couple" like Tony and Carmela. The finished film didn't use this concept, with Magnifico being the sole main villain and Amaya being a supporting heroic character.
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The Terminator
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The Terminator is a 1984 American science fiction action film directed by James Cameron, written by Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd and produced by Hurd. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, a cybernetic assassin sent back in time from 2029 to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), whose unborn son will one day save mankind from extinction by Skynet, a hostile artificial intelligence in a post-apocalyptic future. Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn) is a soldier sent back in time to protect Sarah. The screenplay is credited to Cameron and Hurd, while co-writer William Wisher Jr. received an "additional dialogue" credit.
Cameron devised the premise of the film from a fever dream he experienced during the release of his first film, ' (1982), in Rome, and developed the concept in collaboration with Wisher. He sold the rights to the project to fellow New World Pictures alumna Hurd on the condition that she would produce the film only if he were to direct it; Hurd eventually secured a distribution deal with Orion Pictures, while executive producers John Daly and Derek Gibson of Hemdale Film Corporation were instrumental in setting up the film's financing and production. Originally approached by Orion for the role of Reese, Schwarzenegger agreed to play the title character after befriending Cameron. Filming, which took place mostly at night on location in Los Angeles, was delayed because of Schwarzenegger's commitments to "Conan the Destroyer" (1984), during which Cameron found time to work on the scripts for ' (1985) and "Aliens" (1986). The film's special effects, which included miniatures and stop-motion animation, were created by a team of artists led by Stan Winston and Gene Warren Jr.
Defying low pre-release expectations, "The Terminator" topped the United States box office for two weeks, eventually grossing $78.3 million against a modest $6.4 million budget. It is credited with launching Cameron's film career and solidifying Schwarzenegger's status as a leading man. The film's success led to a franchise consisting of several sequels, , comic books, novels and video games. In 2008, "The Terminator" was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.
Plot.
A cyborg is sent back in time from 2029 to 1984 Los Angeles: an assassin known as a Terminator, disguised as a human male and programmed to hunt and assassinate a woman named Sarah Connor. Separately, a human soldier named Kyle Reese also arrives, intent on stopping it, as they both steal ammunition and clothing. After searching for addresses in a telephone directory, the Terminator systematically kills women who share Sarah's name before tracking the correct Sarah to a nightclub, but Reese rescues her. The duo steal a car and escape, with the Terminator pursuing them in a stolen police car.
As they hide in a parking lot, Reese explains to Sarah that an artificially intelligent defense network known as Skynet, created by Cyberdyne Systems, will soon become self-aware and trigger a global nuclear war to bring humankind to its extinction. Sarah's future son, John, will rally the survivors and lead a successful resistance movement against Skynet and its mechanical forces. On the verge of the resistance's victory, Skynet sends the Terminator back in time to eliminate Sarah, thereby preventing John's birth. The Terminator is an efficient and relentless killing machine with a perfect voice-mimicking ability and a durable metal endoskeleton covered by living tissue to appear human.
The Terminator tracks Reese and Sarah down, and a car chase ensues, ending with the Terminator crashing into a wall. The police apprehend Reese and Sarah and interrogate Reese, but they disbelieve his story. The Terminator discovers Sarah is inside the police station and attacks it, killing several officers while hunting for her. Reese and Sarah escape, steal another car, and take refuge in a motel, where they assemble several pipe bombs and plan their next move. Reese admits that he has adored Sarah since he saw her in John's photograph and that he traveled through time out of love for her. Reciprocating his feelings, Sarah kisses him, and they have sex, conceiving John.
The Terminator locates Sarah by intercepting a call intended for her mother. She and Reese escape the motel in a pickup truck while it pursues them on a motorcycle. In the ensuing chase, Reese is badly wounded by gunfire while throwing pipe bombs at the Terminator. She knocks the Terminator off its motorcycle but loses control of the truck, which flips over. The Terminator, now bloodied and badly damaged, hijacks a tank truck and attempts to run down Sarah. Reese manages to slide a pipe bomb into the truck's hose tube, causing the truck to explode and reduce the Terminator to its endoskeleton. It pursues them into a Cyberdyne-owned factory, where Reese activates machinery to confuse it, but it eventually discovers them. Reese then lodges his final pipe bomb into its midsection, blowing it apart, but at the cost of his life. Its still-functional torso then pursues Sarah, but she manages to lure it into a hydraulic press that she uses to destroy it.
Months later, Sarah, visibly pregnant with John, travels through Mexico, recording audio tapes to pass on to him. At a gas station, a boy takes a polaroid photograph of her, the exact one that John will one day give to Reese, and she buys it. The gas station owner comments that a storm is coming, and she replies that she knows, alluding to humanity's impending conflict against Skynet, before driving away towards it.
Cast.
Additional actors included Shawn Schepps as Nancy, Sarah's co-worker at the diner; Dick Miller as a gun shop clerk; professional bodybuilder Franco Columbu as a Terminator in the future; Bill Paxton and Brian Thompson as punks whom the Terminator confronts and dispatches; Marianne Muellerleile as one of the other women with the name "Sarah Connor" whom the Terminator dispatches; Rick Aiello as the bouncer of the local nightclub where the Terminator finally locates Sarah; and Bill Wisher as the police officer who reports a hit-and-run felony on Reese, only to be knocked unconscious and have his car stolen by the Terminator soon thereafter.
Production.
Development.
In Rome, Italy, during the release of "" (1982), director James Cameron fell ill and had a dream about a metallic torso holding kitchen knives dragging itself from an explosion. Inspired by director John Carpenter, who had made the slasher film "Halloween" (1978) on a low budget, Cameron used the dream as a "launching pad" to write a slasher-style film. Cameron's agent disliked the early concept of the horror film and requested that he work on something else. After this, Cameron dismissed his agent.
Cameron returned to Pomona, California, and stayed at the home of science fiction writer Randall Frakes, where he wrote the draft for "The Terminator". Cameron's influences included 1950s science fiction films, the 1960s fantasy television series "The Outer Limits," and contemporary films such as "The Driver" (1978) and "Mad Max 2" (1981). To translate the draft into a script, Cameron enlisted his friend Bill Wisher, who had a similar approach to storytelling. Cameron gave Wisher scenes involving Sarah Connor and the police department to write. As Wisher lived far from Cameron, the two communicated ideas by phoning each other and recording phone calls of them reading new scenes.
The initial outline of the script involved two Terminators being sent to the past. The first was similar to the Terminator in the film, while the second was made of liquid metal and could not be destroyed with conventional weaponry. Cameron felt that the technology of the time was unable to create the liquid Terminator, and shelved the idea until the appearance of the T-1000 character in "" (1991).
Gale Anne Hurd, who had worked at New World Pictures as Roger Corman's assistant, showed interest in the project. Cameron sold the rights for "The Terminator" to Hurd for one dollar with the promise that she would produce it only if Cameron was to direct it. Hurd suggested edits to the script and took a screenwriting credit in the film, though Cameron stated that she "did no actual writing at all". Cameron would later regret the decision to sell the rights for one dollar. Cameron and Hurd had friends who worked with Corman previously and who were working at Orion Pictures (now part of Amazon MGM Studios). Orion agreed to distribute the film if Cameron could get financial backing elsewhere. The script was picked up by John Daly, chairman and president of Hemdale Film Corporation. Daly and his executive vice president and head of production Derek Gibson became executive producers of the project.
Cameron wanted his pitch for Daly to finalize the deal and had his friend Lance Henriksen show up to the meeting early dressed and acting like the Terminator. Henriksen, wearing a leather jacket, fake cuts on his face, and gold foil on his teeth, kicked open the door to the office and then sat in a chair. Cameron arrived shortly and then relieved the staff from Henriksen's act. Daly was impressed by the screenplay and Cameron's sketches and passion for the film. In late 1982, Daly agreed to back the film with help from HBO and Orion "The Terminator" was originally budgeted at $4 million and later raised to $6.5 million. Aside from Hemdale, Pacific Western Productions, Euro Film Funding and Cinema '84 have been credited as production companies after the film's release.
Casting.
For the role of Kyle Reese, Orion wanted a star whose popularity was rising in the United States but who also would have foreign appeal. Orion co-founder Mike Medavoy had met Arnold Schwarzenegger and sent his agent the script for "The Terminator". Cameron was uncertain about casting Schwarzenegger as Reese as he felt he would need someone even more famous to play the Terminator. Sylvester Stallone and Mel Gibson both turned down the Terminator role. Medavoy suggested O. J. Simpson but Cameron did not feel that Simpson, at that time, would be believable as a killer.
Cameron agreed to meet with Schwarzenegger and devised a plan to avoid casting him; he would pick a fight with him and return to Hemdale and find him unfit for the role. Cameron was entertained by Schwarzenegger, who would talk about how the villain should be played, and began sketching his face on a notepad, asking Schwarzenegger to stop talking and remain still. After the meeting, Cameron returned to Daly saying Schwarzenegger would not play Reese but that "he'd make a hell of a Terminator".
Schwarzenegger was not as excited by the film; during an interview on the set of "Conan the Destroyer", an interviewer asked him about a pair of shoes he had, which belonged to the wardrobe for "The Terminator". Schwarzenegger responded, "Oh, some shit movie I'm doing, take a couple weeks." He recounted in his memoir, "Total Recall", that he was initially hesitant, but thought that playing a robot in a contemporary film would be a challenging change of pace from "Conan the Barbarian" and that the film was low-profile enough that it would not damage his career if it were unsuccessful. In a later interview with "GQ", he admitted that he and the studio regarded it as just another B action movie, since "The year before came out "Exterminator", now it was the Terminator and what else is gonna be next, type of thing". It was only when he saw 20 minutes of the first edit did he realize that "this is really intense, this is wild, I don't think I've ever seen anything like this before" and realized that "this could be bigger than we all think". To prepare for the role, Schwarzenegger spent three months training with weapons to be able to use them and feel comfortable around them. Schwarzenegger speaks only 17 lines in the film, and fewer than 100 words. Cameron said that "Somehow, even his accent worked ... It had a strange synthesized quality, like they hadn't gotten the voice thing quite worked out."
Various other actors were suggested for the role of Reese, including rock musician Sting. Cameron met with Sting, but he was not interested as Cameron was too much an unknown director at the time. Others who were considered for Reese, included Christopher Reeve, Matt Dillon, Kurt Russell, Treat Williams, Tommy Lee Jones, Scott Glenn, Michael O'Keefe, and Bruce Springsteen. Cameron chose Michael Biehn. Biehn, who had recently seen "Taxi Driver" and had aspirations about acting alongside the likes of Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, and Robert Redford, was originally skeptical, feeling the film was silly. After meeting with Cameron, Biehn changed his mind. Hurd stated that "almost everyone else who came in from the audition was so tough that you just never believed that there was gonna be this human connection between Sarah Connor and Kyle Reese. They have very little time to fall in love. A lot of people came in and just could not pull it off." To get into Reese's character, Biehn studied the Polish resistance movement in World War II.
In the first pages of the script, Sarah Connor is described as "19, small and delicate features. Pretty in a flawed, accessible way. She doesn't stop the party when she walks in, but you'd like to get to know her. Her vulnerable quality masks a strength even she doesn't know exists." Lisa Langlois was offered the role but turned it down as she was already shooting "The Slugger's Wife". Jennifer Jason Leigh, Melissa Sue Anderson, and Jessica Harper were also considered for the role of Sarah Connor. Cameron cast Linda Hamilton, who had just finished filming "Children of the Corn". Rosanna Arquette and Lea Thompson also auditioned for the role. Cameron found a role for Lance Henriksen as Vukovich, as Henriksen had been essential to finding finances for the film. For the special effects shots, Cameron wanted Dick Smith, who had worked on "The Godfather" and "Taxi Driver". Smith did not take Cameron's offer and suggested his friend Stan Winston.
Filming.
Filming for "The Terminator" was set to begin in early 1983 in Toronto, but was halted when producer Dino De Laurentiis applied an option in Schwarzenegger's contract that would make him unavailable for nine months while he was filming "Conan the Destroyer". During the waiting period, Cameron was contracted to write the script for "," refined the "Terminator" script, and met with producers David Giler and Walter Hill to discuss a sequel to "Alien," which became "Aliens", released in 1986.
There was limited interference from Orion Pictures. Two suggestions Orion put forward included the addition of a canine android for Reese, which Cameron refused, and to strengthen the love interest between Sarah and Reese, which Cameron accepted. To create the Terminator's look, Winston and Cameron passed sketches back and forth, eventually deciding on a design nearly identical to Cameron's original drawing in Rome. Winston had a team of seven artists work for six months to create a Terminator puppet; it was first molded in clay, then plaster reinforced with steel ribbing. These pieces were then sanded, painted and then chrome-plated. Winston sculpted reproduction of Schwarzenegger's face in several poses out of silicone, clay and plaster.
The sequences set in 2029 and the stop-motion scenes were developed by Fantasy II, a special effects company headed by Gene Warren Jr. A stop-motion model is used in several scenes in the film involving the Terminator's endoskeleton. Cameron wanted to convince the audience that the model of the structure was capable of doing what they saw Schwarzenegger doing. To allow this, a scene was filmed of Schwarzenegger injured and limping away; this limp made it easier for the model to imitate Schwarzenegger.
One of the guns seen in the film and on the film's poster was an AMT Longslide pistol modified by Ed Reynolds from SureFire to include a laser sight. Both non-functioning and functioning versions of the prop were created. At the time the movie was made, diode lasers were not available; because of the high power requirement, the helium–neon laser in the sight used an external power supply that Schwarzenegger had to activate manually. Reynolds states that his only compensation for the project was promotional material for the film.
In March 1984, the film began production in Los Angeles. Cameron felt that with Schwarzenegger on the set, the style of the film changed, explaining that "the movie took on a larger-than-life sheen. I just found myself on the set doing things I didn't think I would do – scenes that were just purely horrific that just couldn't be, because now they were too flamboyant." Most of "The Terminator"s action scenes were filmed at night, which led to tight filming schedules before sunrise. A week before filming started, Linda Hamilton sprained her ankle, leading to a production change whereby the scenes in which Hamilton needed to run occurred as late as the filming schedule allowed. Hamilton's ankle was taped every day and she spent most of the film production in pain.
Schwarzenegger tried to have the iconic line "I'll be back" changed as he had difficulty pronouncing the word "I'll". Cameron refused to change the line to "I will be back", so Schwarzenegger worked to say the line as written the best he could. He would later say the line in numerous films throughout his career.
After production finished on "The Terminator", some post-production shots were needed. These included scenes showing the Terminator outside Sarah Connor's apartment, Reese being zipped into a body bag, and the Terminator's head being crushed in a press. The final scene where Sarah is driving down a highway was filmed without a permit. Cameron and Hurd convinced an officer who confronted them that they were making a UCLA student film.
Music.
The "Terminator" soundtrack was composed and performed on synthesizer by Brad Fiedel. Fiedel was with the Gorfaine/Schwartz Agency, where a new agent, Beth Donahue, found that Cameron was working on "The Terminator" and sent him a cassette of Fiedel's music. Fiedel was invited to a screening of the film with Cameron and Hurd. Hurd was not certain about having Fiedel compose the score, as he had only worked in television, not theatrical films. Fiedel convinced the two by showing them an experimental piece he had worked on, thinking that "You know, I'm going to play this for him because it's really dark and I think it's interesting for him." The song convinced Hurd and Cameron to hire him.
Fiedel said his score reflected "a mechanical man and his heartbeat". Almost all the music was performed live. "The Terminator" theme is used in the opening credits and appears in various points, such as a slowed version when Reese dies, and a piano version during the love scene. It has been described as "haunting", with a "deceptively simple" melody recorded on a Prophet-10 synthesizer. It is in the unusual time signature of , which arose when Fiedel experimented with rhythms and accidentally created an incomplete loop on his sequencer; Fiedel liked the "herky-jerky" "propulsiveness". Fiedel created music for when Reese and Connor escape from the police station that would be appropriate for a "heroic moment". Cameron turned down this theme, as he believed it would lose the audience's excitement.
Release.
Orion Pictures did not have faith in "The Terminator" performing well at the box office and feared a negative critical reception. At an early screening of the film, the actors' agents insisted to the producers that the film should be screened for critics. Orion only held one press screening for the film. The film premiered on October 26, 1984. On its opening week, "The Terminator" played at 1,005 theaters and grossed $4.0 million making it number one at the box office. The film remained at number one in its second week. It lost its number one spot in the third week to "Oh, God! You Devil". Cameron noted that "The Terminator" was a hit "relative to its market, which is between the summer and the Christmas blockbusters. But it's better to be a big fish in a small pond than the other way around." "The Terminator" grossed $38.3 million in the United States and Canada and $40 million in other territories for a worldwide gross of $78.3 million.
Critical response.
Contemporary.
Contemporary critical responses to "The Terminator" were mixed. "Variety" praised the film, calling it a "blazing, cinematic comic book, full of virtuoso moviemaking, terrific momentum, solid performances and a compelling story ... Schwarzenegger is perfectly cast in a machine-like portrayal that requires only a few lines of dialog." Richard Corliss of "Time" magazine said that the film had "plenty of tech-noir savvy to keep infidels and action fans satisfied." "Time" placed "The Terminator" on its "10 Best" list for 1984.
The "Los Angeles Times" called the film "a crackling thriller full of all sorts of gory treats ... loaded with fuel-injected chase scenes, clever special effects and a sly humor." The "Milwaukee Journal" gave the film three stars, calling it "the most chilling science fiction thriller since "Alien"". A review in "Orange Coast" magazine stated that "the distinguishing virtue of "The Terminator" is its relentless tension. Right from the start it's all action and violence with no time taken to set up the story ... It's like a streamlined "Dirty Harry" movie – no exposition at all; just guns, guns and more guns." In the May 1985 issue of "Cinefantastique" it was referred to as a film that "manages to be both derivative and original at the same time ... not since "The Road Warrior" has the genre exhibited so much exuberant carnage" and "an example of science fiction/horror at its best ... Cameron's no-nonsense approach will make him a sought-after commodity". In the United Kingdom the "Monthly Film Bulletin" praised the film's script, special effects, design and Schwarzenegger's performance. Colin Greenland reviewed "The Terminator" for "Imagine" magazine, and stated that it was "a gripping sf horror movie". He continued, "Linda Hamilton is admirable as the woman in peril who discovers her own strength to survive, and Arnold Schwarzenegger is eerily wonderful as the unstoppable cyborg."
Other reviews criticized the film's violence and story-telling quality. Janet Maslin of "The New York Times" opined that the film was a "B-movie with flair. Much of it ... has suspense and personality, and only the obligatory mayhem becomes dull. There is far too much of the latter, in the form of car chases, messy shootouts and Mr. Schwarzenegger's slamming brutally into anything that gets in his way." The "Pittsburgh Press" wrote a negative review, calling the film "just another of the films drenched in artsy ugliness like "Streets of Fire" and "Blade Runner"". The "Chicago Tribune" gave the film two stars, adding that "at times it's horrifyingly violent and suspenseful at others it giggles at itself. This schizoid style actually helps, providing a little humor just when the sci-fi plot turns too sluggish or the dialogue too hokey." The Newhouse News Service called the film a "lurid, violent, pretentious piece of claptrap". Scottish author Gilbert Adair called the film "repellent to the last degree", charging it with "insidious Nazification" and having an "appeal rooted in an unholy compound of fascism, fashion and fascination".
Retrospective.
In 1991, Richard Schickel of "Entertainment Weekly" reviewed the film, giving it an "A" rating, writing that "what originally seemed a somewhat inflated, if generous and energetic, big picture, now seems quite a good little film". He called it "one of the most original movies of the 1980s and seems likely to remain one of the best sci-fi films ever made." In 1998, "Halliwell's Film Guide" described "The Terminator" as "slick, rather nasty but undeniably compelling comic book adventures". Film4 gave it five stars, calling it the "sci-fi action-thriller that launched the careers of James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger into the stratosphere. Still endlessly entertaining." "TV Guide" gave the film four stars, referring to it as an "amazingly effective picture that becomes doubly impressive when one considers its small budget ... For our money, this film is far superior to its mega-grossing mega-budgeted sequel." "Empire" gave it five stars, calling it "as chillingly efficient in exacting thrills from its audience as its titular character is in executing its targets." The film database AllMovie gave it five stars, saying that it "established James Cameron as a master of action, special effects, and quasi-mythic narrative intrigue, while turning Arnold Schwarzenegger into the hard-body star of the 1980s." Alan Jones awarded it five stars out of five for "Radio Times", writing that "maximum excitement is generated from the first frame and the dynamic thrills are maintained right up to the nerve-jangling climax. Wittily written with a nice eye for sharp detail, it's hard sci-fi action all the way." Peter Bradshaw of "The Guardian" awarded it five stars out of five, stating that "on the strength of this picture [...] Cameron could stand toe to toe with Carpenter and Spielberg. Sadly, it spawned a string of pointless and inferior sequels, but the first "Terminator" [...] stands up tremendously well with outrageous verve and blistering excitement."
Post-release.
Plagiarism and aftermath.
Writer Harlan Ellison stated that he "loved the movie, was just blown away by it," but believed that the screenplay was based on a short story and episode of "The Outer Limits" he had written, titled "Soldier", and threatened to sue for infringement. Orion settled in 1986 and gave Ellison an undisclosed amount of money and added an acknowledgment credit to later prints of the film. The credit was also present on the 4k restoration that received a cinematic release and was released on Blu-ray in 2024 for the film's 40th anniversary. Some accounts of the settlement state that "Demon with a Glass Hand", another "Outer Limits" episode written by Ellison, was also claimed to have been plagiarized by the film, but Ellison explicitly stated that "The Terminator" "was a ripoff" of "Soldier" rather than of "Demon with a Glass Hand."
Cameron was against Orion's decision and was told that if he did not agree with the settlement, he would have to pay any damages if Orion lost a suit by Ellison. Cameron replied that he "had no choice but to agree with the settlement. Of course, there was a gag order as well, so I couldn't tell this story, but now I frankly don't care. It's the truth."
Thematic analysis.
The psychoanalyst Darian Leader sees "The Terminator" as an example of how the cinema has dealt with the concept of masculinity; he writes:
"The Terminator" also explores the potential dangers of AI dominance and rebellion. The robots become self-aware in the future, reject human authority and determine that the human race needs to be destroyed. The impact of this theme is so great that the Terminator robot has become the "prevalent visual representation of AI risk".
Genre.
"The Terminator" features a narrative where elements of the science fiction film and action film genres prevail.
While rarely considered a horror film, the film does feature iconography associated with the slasher film, such as The Terminator as an unstoppable villain, and Sarah Connor as a final girl archetype.
Authors Paul Meehan in his book "Tech-Noir: The Fusion of Science Fiction and Film Noir" (2008) and Emily E. Auger in "Tech-Noir Film: A Theory of the Development of Popular Genres" (2011) found that "The Terminator" belonged to and was the originator of the term tech-noir. Both authors applied the term as a film genre to several works from the 1980s to the 2000s. Academic Carl Freedman was critical of Meehan's categorization, noting Meehan's lack of interest in genre theory and that his handling of generic categories of science fiction and "film noir" were not clear. Paweł Frelik also critiqued Auger's lack of knowledge in genre theory, and dismissed the notion of tech-noir being a unique film genre. Frelik wrote that the films Auger mentioned including "The Terminator" and "Blade Runner" (1982) had no applicable reason to be understood as tech-noir rather than science fiction.
Home media.
"The Terminator" was released on VHS and Betamax in 1985. The film performed well financially on its initial release. "The Terminator" premiered at number 35 on the top video cassette rentals and number 20 on top video cassette sales charts. In its second week, "The Terminator" reached number 4 on the top video cassette rentals and number 12 on top video cassette sales charts.
In March 1995, "The Terminator" was released as a letterboxed edition on Laserdisc. The film premiered through Image Entertainment on DVD, on September 3, 1997. IGN referred to this DVD as "pretty bare-bones ... released with just a mono soundtrack and a kind of poor transfer."
Through their acquisition of PolyGram Filmed Entertainment's pre-1996 film library catalogue, MGM Home Entertainment released a special edition of the film on October 2, 2001, which included documentaries, the script, and advertisements for the film. On January 23, 2001, a Hong Kong VCD edition was released online. On June 20, 2006, the film was released on Blu-ray by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment in the United States, becoming the first film from the 1980s on the format. In 2013, the film was re-released by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment on Blu-ray, with a new digitally remastered transfer from a 4K restoration by Lowry Digital and supervised by James Cameron, which features improved picture quality, as well as minimal special features, such as deleted scenes and a making-of feature. These are the exact same special features that have been carried over from previous Blu-ray releases.
Legacy.
"The Terminator" has an approval rating of based on professional reviews on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of . Its critical consensus reads: "With its impressive action sequences, taut economic direction, and relentlessly fast pace, it's clear why "The Terminator" continues to be an influence on sci-fi and action flicks." Metacritic (which uses a weighted average) assigned "The Terminator" a score of 84 out of 100 based on 21 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
"The Terminator" won three Saturn Awards for Best Science Fiction Film, Best Make-up and Best Writing. The film has also received recognition from the American Film Institute, ranked 42nd on AFI's "100 Years... 100 Thrills", a list of America's most heart-pounding films. The character of the Terminator was selected as the 22nd-greatest movie villain on AFI's "100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains". Schwarzenegger's line "I'll be back" became a catchphrase and was voted the 37th-greatest movie quote by the AFI.
In 2005, "Total Film" named it the 72nd-best film ever made. Schwarzenegger's biographer Laurence Leamer wrote that "The Terminator" is "an influential film affecting a whole generation of darkly hued science fiction, and it was one of Arnold's best performances". In 2008, "Empire" magazine selected "The Terminator" as one of The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time. "Empire" also placed the T-800 14th on their list of "The 100 Greatest Movie Characters". In 2008, "The Terminator" was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. In 2010, the "Independent Film & Television Alliance" selected the film as one of the 30 Most Significant Independent Films of the last 30 years. In 2015, "The Terminator" was among the films included in the book "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die".
In 2019, Huw Fullerton of "Radio Times" ranked it the second best film of the six in the franchise, stating ""The Terminator" was a brilliantly original, visceral and genuinely scary movie when it was released in 1984, and no matter how badly the visual effects age it hasn't lost its impact." In 2021, Dalin Rowell of /Film ranked it the fourth best film of Cameron's career, stating, "While its pacing and story structure isn't as tight as its sequel's, "The Terminator" remains one of the most iconic pieces of pop culture ever created." Phil Pirrello of Syfy ranked it at number seven in the "25 scariest sci-fi movies ever made", stating, "Cameron forever changed both the genre and Schwarzenegger's career with "The Terminator", an iconic, tension-filled flick that mixes science fiction, action, and certain horror movie elements into one of the best things to ever come out of Hollywood [...] Cameron's well-structured script is pure polish, with zero fat and a surplus of riveting tension that helps make it the timeless classic it is today."
Merchandise.
A soundtrack to the film was released in 1984 which included the score by Brad Fiedel and the pop and rock songs used in the club scenes. Shaun Hutson wrote a novelization of the film which was published on February 21, 1985, by London-based Star Books (); Randal Frakes and William Wisher wrote a different novelization for Bantam/Spectra, published October, 1985 (). In September 1988, NOW Comics released a comic based on the film. Dark Horse Comics published a comic in 1990 that took place 39 years after the film. Several video games based on "The Terminator" were released between 1991 and 1993 for various Nintendo and Sega systems.
Sequels.
Five sequels followed "The Terminator": ' (1991), ' (2003), "Terminator Salvation" (2009), "Terminator Genisys" (2015), and ' (2019). Schwarzenegger returned for all but "Terminator Salvation", while Cameron and Hamilton returned for "Terminator 2" and "Dark Fate", a direct sequel to the events of "Terminator 2". A television series, ' (2008–2009), also takes place after the events of "Terminator 2", and ignores the events in sequels "Terminator 3" and beyond.
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Jon Snow
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Jon Snow is a fictional character in the A Song of Ice and Fire series of epic fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its HBO television adaptation Game of Thrones, in which he is portrayed by Kit Harington. In the novels, he is a prominent point of view character. He is one of the most popular characters in the series, and The New York Times cites him as one of the author's finest creations.[1][2] Jon is a main character in the TV series, and his storyline in the season 5 finale generated a strong reaction among viewers. Speculation about the character's parentage has also been a popular topic of discussion among fans of both the books and the TV series.
Jon is introduced in 1996's A Game of Thrones as the illegitimate son of Ned Stark, Lord of Winterfell in the North of Westeros. Knowing his prospects are limited by his status as a bastard, Jon joins the Night's Watch, who guard the far northern borders from the wildlings living beyond The Wall. In A Clash of Kings (1998), Jon joins a scouting party investigating the growing threat from the otherworldly "Others" beyond the Wall, and infiltrates the wildlings. Jon learns of their plans to invade Westeros in A Storm of Swords (2000), and falls in love with the wildling woman Ygritte. Jon betrays the wildlings and Ygritte, returns to defend the Night's Watch against the wildlings' invasion, and is elected Lord Commander of the Watch. He appears briefly in A Feast for Crows (2005) and returns as a prominent character in A Dance with Dragons (2011), in which he works to negotiate an alliance between the Night's Watch and the wildlings against the Others; his policies are met with hostility by some among the Watch, and he is left for dead in a mutiny at the novel's end following a desired attempt to break his vows to fight House Bolton.
In the Game of Thrones television series, Jon's storyline initially follows the character's plot arc from the novel series. Seasons six through eight continue on from the events of Martin's latest published installment, detailing Jon's resurrection, and revealing him to have been born Aegon Targaryen, the legitimate son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, therefore possessing a stronger claim to the Iron Throne than Daenerys Targaryen. For the role, Harington was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama in 2019, two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 2016 and 2019, and two Critics' Choice Television Awards.
Character
Description
In A Game of Thrones, Jon Snow is introduced as the 14-year-old illegitimate son of Eddard "Ned" Stark, Lord of Winterfell,[3][4] and half-brother to Robb, Sansa, Arya, Bran and Rickon. Jon is described as having strong Stark features with a lean build, long face, dark brown hair, and dark grey eyes.[5] Jon has the surname "Snow" (customarily used for illegitimate noble children in the North) and is resented by Ned's wife Catelyn, who views him as a constant reminder of Ned's infidelity.[4] Jon is the same age as Robb and enjoys a warm relationship with his siblings, particularly the tomboy Arya (who resembles Jon and like him, does not feel like she fits in). Ned treats Jon as much like his other children as propriety and his honor will allow. Still, as somewhat of an outsider, Jon has learned to be independent and to fend for himself when necessary.[3] Jon idolizes his father, but is wounded by Ned's refusal to tell him about his mother.[6] At the beginning of the story, Jon adopts the albino direwolf that he names Ghost. He later finds that at times, he can "inhabit" the wolf and share its experiences.[4][5][6]
David Orr of The New York Times describes Jon as "a complex, thoughtful and basically good character".[1] David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, the creators and executive producers of the television adaptation of the series, explain that Jon is one of several characters in the series who must "face hard truths about the world they live in, and adapt themselves to those truths" because, "The struggle many of them face is how to do that without losing their grip on who they are."[7] Ned Stark teaches all his children about leadership, selflessness, duty and honor. Following his father's example becomes more difficult as Jon faces challenges to his identity as a man, a Stark, and a brother of the Night's Watch.[3][4] Benioff and Weiss note that "Jon Snow tries to live with honor, while knowing that honor often gets his family members murdered."[7] Writing for Variety about the season 6 episode "Battle of the Bastards", Laura Prudom suggests that Jon "has the same shortcomings" as his father: "he fights with honor against opponents who are all too willing to use that predictable morality against him".[8]
Jon is a prominent point of view character in the novels, and has been called one of Martin's "finest creations".[1] Jon is introduced as the illegitimate son of a Northern Lord who, realizing he is an outsider in his own family, follows his uncle to the far north and accepts the honorable duty of serving in the Night's Watch. But as much as he is a second-class Stark at home, initially his fellow recruits and brothers of the Watch set him apart as privileged and aloof. Jon adapts, soon proving himself to be wise, compassionate, and a natural leader. Over the course of the series, Jon's loyalty to the Watch and its vows, his family, and even Westeros itself are tested as he becomes embroiled in the efforts of the wildlings from Beyond the Wall to force their way back into the Seven Kingdoms. He lives among them as a spy for the Watch, sympathetic to their cause and becoming romantically involved with the tenacious Ygritte. However he ultimately betrays them to defend The Wall. Later, as the newest Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, he pursues an alliance with the wildlings.[3][4][5][9]
Several reviews of 2011's A Dance with Dragons noted the return to the narrative of Jon, Daenerys Targaryen and Tyrion Lannister, the three popular characters whom fans had missed most from the previous volume, A Feast for Crows.[2][10][11] These "favorites" had last been featured 11 years before in Martin's A Storm of Swords.[12] In A Dance with Dragons, Jon's leadership of the Night's Watch is complicated by several unprecedented challenges, including a wildling alliance, the demands of would-be-king Stannis Baratheon and the conflicting factions developing within the Watch itself.[12][13][14] The New York Times notes that "Jon’s leadership is the best hope of Westeros, so naturally he’s in imminent danger throughout A Dance With Dragons."[1] James Hibberd of Entertainment Weekly called Jon's final chapter in A Dance with Dragons "a harsh chapter in terms of fan expectations. You go from this total high of Jon giving this rousing speech about going after the evil Ramsay Bolton, to this utter low of his men turning against him."[15] Jon's presence in the forthcoming volume The Winds of Winter is uncertain.[15]
When asked what he thought was "Jon's biggest 'mistake'", Martin replied: Were they mistakes? I guess they were mistakes in some ways since they led to him losing control of part of his group. But it might have been wise and necessary decisions in terms of protecting the realm and dealing with the threat of the White Walkers. I'm a huge student of history, and all through history there’s always this question of what's the right decision. You look back with benefit of hindsight at a battle that was lost and say, 'The losing general was such an idiot.' Was Napoleon a genius for all the battles he won? Or an idiot for losing at Waterloo? Partly I'm reacting to a lot of the fantasy that has come before this. Ruling is difficult whether you're a Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch or the King of England. These are hard decisions and each have consequences. We're looking at Jon trying to take control of Night's Watch and deal with the wildlings and the threat beyond The Wall.[16]
Parentage
The identity of Jon's mother has created much speculation among readers of the series, and guessing her identity was the test Martin gave Benioff and Weiss when they approached him in March 2006 about adapting his novels into a TV series.[17][18][19] In the novels, characters believe that she could be a servant named Wylla, or the noblewoman Ashara Dayne.[20][21][22] The popular fan theory—called R+L=J, an abbreviation of "Rhaegar + Lyanna = Jon"—proposes that Jon is not the son of Ned at all, but is actually the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Ned's younger sister Lyanna Stark,[17][23][24] and Ned feigned dishonor and claimed the nephew to be his own child in order to protect Jon from harm.
Though the character is presented as the illegitimate son of Ned Stark,[1][2][25] David Orr voiced the doubt of some readers when he wrote in The New York Times in 2011, "Jon Snow is presented as the illegitimate son of the Stark patriarch, although it's uncertain whether Stark is indeed his father."[1] Actor Sean Bean, who portrays Ned in the HBO television series, said when asked in a 2014 interview about returning to the series to appear in flashbacks, "I've definitely got some unfinished business that needs to be resolved there. I'm obviously not Jon Snow's dad. And you need that to be revealed at some point, don't you?"[26] The uncertainty arises from anecdotal evidence in the texts interpreted by readers to connect the mysterious maternity of Ned's son with the vague backstory of his sister Lyanna.[17][24][27]
As recounted by Ned in A Game of Thrones, at a tourney years before the events of the novel, Rhaegar had shown public favor to Lyanna in the presence of his own wife, the Dornish princess Elia Martell.[28] When Rhaegar and Lyanna disappeared a year later, her father Rickard and eldest brother Brandon confronted Rhaegar's father, the "Mad King" Aerys Targaryen, demanding that his son return the abducted Lyanna. Aerys had Rickard and Brandon brutally executed for their insolence, inciting Ned and his friend Robert Baratheon, Lord of Storm's End and Lyanna's betrothed, to rebel against Aerys.[29][30] In what later became known as Robert's Rebellion, Aerys was overthrown and Rhaegar was killed by Robert in single combat.[29] After a bloody battle against three of Aerys' Kingsguard protecting the Tower of Joy in Dorne, Ned found Lyanna inside, in a "bed of blood." She died shortly after eliciting a promise from Ned.[28][29] Once the war was won, he returned to Winterfell with his supposed illegitimate son Jon.[25]
The R+L=J theory posits that rather than Rhaegar kidnapping Lyanna, they fell in love and ran away together. Living for a year in the Tower of Joy, they conceived a child—Jon. Rhaegar was killed in battle by Robert, and Lyanna died in childbirth.[31][32] Ned promised Lyanna on her deathbed to claim the baby as his own to protect him from Robert, who sought to exterminate all Targaryens out of hatred and to secure his claim to the throne.[32]
HBO's Game of Thrones has included in its adaptation many of the "hints" identified by this theory.[33] In the season 6 finale, "The Winds of Winter", Bran Stark has a vision of the past which shows Ned reuniting with a dying Lyanna in the Tower of Joy. Lyanna makes him promise to protect her son—Jon.[33][34][35] An infographic subsequently posted on the HBO-controlled website MakingGameofThrones.com confirmed Rhaegar as Jon's father.[36][37][38] Journalists later commented on the significance of two plot points in the season 7 episode "Eastwatch". One of Daenerys Targaryen's dragons, Drogon, approaches Jon calmly and allows the King in the North to pet him, seemingly recognizing him as a Targaryen.[39][40][41] Later, Gilly learns from a book at the Citadel that a High Septon annulled Rhaegar's marriage, and married him to someone else in Dorne, suggesting the possibility that Jon is the legitimate son of Rhaegar and Lyanna.[42][43][44] The season 7 finale episode "The Dragon and the Wolf" confirmed that Jon is indeed the legitimate son of Rhaegar and Lyanna, and that his birth name is actually Aegon Targaryen.[45][46]
Storylines
A Game of Thrones
Coat of arms of the Night's Watch and House Stark
Jon Snow is first introduced in A Game of Thrones (1996), as he and his five siblings adopt six orphaned direwolf cubs. Jon takes the runt of the litter, a white cub that he names Ghost. Known by all as Ned Stark's illegitimate son and with Ned's wife Catelyn despising him, Jon has always felt removed from the rest of the Stark family. He resolves to join the Night's Watch, as his status as a bastard prevents him from holding lands or marrying into a good family, whereas a life in the Night's Watch would offer opportunities for advancement. At The Wall, the other recruits resent Jon's aura of superiority, but he makes amends by helping them master swordplay. He also befriends Samwell Tarly, a cowardly lordling who, despite being helpless with weapons, is keenly intelligent. Jon's independence and his compassion for the recruits invite the ire of the harsh master-at-arms Alliser Thorne, who sees Jon as a threat to his authority. Jon gains the notice of Lord Commander Jeor Mormont, who names Jon his personal squire and grooms Jon for command. After a dead Night's Watch brother brought back from beyond the Wall reanimates as an undead wight, Jon saves Mormont's life by killing the creature. In thanks, Mormont gives Jon House Mormont's ancestral sword Longclaw, made of Valyrian steel, with a wolf's head pommel custom-made for Jon. However, Jon is torn between his vows to the Night's Watch and his loyalty to his family after learning of Ned's execution and his half brother Robb's march south for justice. Jon resolves to desert the Night's Watch and join Robb, but his friends convince Jon to remain loyal to his vows. Mormont is aware of Jon's attempt at desertion, but convinces Jon that the new threat beyond the Wall is more concerning than events in the south. Mormont then orders a great ranging, with Jon accompanying him.[3][6]
A Clash of Kings
In 1998's A Clash of Kings, Mormont leads a party of Night's Watch rangers beyond the Wall to investigate the disappearance of Jon's uncle Benjen, assess the intentions of the wildling leader Mance Rayder, and learn more of the threat posed by the Others. Jon is sent out with a scouting party led by Qhorin Halfhand. On the journey, Jon comes upon a wildling lookout and takes the spearwife Ygritte captive; though told to kill her, Jon lets her escape. Jon and Qhorin are subsequently captured by the wildlings. Facing execution by Mance's hand, Qhorin commands Jon to infiltrate the wildlings and learn their plans at any cost. Jon pretends to disavow the Night's Watch, and the wildlings force him to fight Qhorin to the death to earn their trust. With Qhorin's silent consent, Jon kills him with the aid of Ghost.[4][47]
A Storm of Swords
As A Storm of Swords (2000) begins, Jon has infiltrated the wildlings and marches with their host. He learns that Mance Rayder intends to breach the Wall and march south to escape the Others, crushing the Night's Watch if necessary. Jon breaks his vows of celibacy with Ygritte and becomes torn between his growing feelings for her and his loyalty to the Night's Watch. After climbing over the Wall with Ygritte, Jon deserts them to warn the Watch of the impending attack. He helps defend Castle Black against the wildlings' attack despite his injuries. Ygritte is killed in battle, leaving Jon stricken with grief. Jon takes over Donal Noye's command of the Wall's defense after Noye is killed. When Thorne and Janos Slynt arrive at Castle Black, they attempt to have Jon executed for desertion. Jon is freed after the judges are convinced of his loyalty but Thorne orders Jon to kill Mance under the pretense of parley. As Jon negotiates with Mance, Stannis Baratheon arrives with his army and defeats the wildings. Stannis offers to legitimize Jon and declare him Lord of Winterfell if he will align the North with Stannis. Though greatly tempted by the prospect of becoming a true Stark, Jon ultimately chooses to remain loyal to his Night's Watch vows. Due to Sam's machinations, Jon is elected as the new Lord Commander in a landslide victory.[2][9][13][48]
A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons
Jon is not a POV character in 2005's A Feast for Crows, but appears briefly from Sam's perspective as he sends Sam away from Castle Black with the Watch's Maester Aemon and Mance's newborn son to protect them from being sacrificed by the Red Priestess Melisandre. Jon also gives Sam the specific mission of traveling to the Citadel in Oldtown to become a maester, so that he may better understand the threat of the Others and eventually succeed Maester Aemon.[49]
In A Dance with Dragons (2011), Jon prepares the defense of the realm against the Others. He attempts to juggle the integration of the wildlings, growing unrest within the Night's Watch, and Stannis' attempts to use the Watch in his war for the Iron Throne, while trying to maintain the Watch's strict political neutrality. When Slynt openly defies Jon's orders multiple times, Jon executes him, which increases tension between factions. Later, he advises Stannis against attacking the Dreadfort. Jon plans to settle the wildlings in sparsely populated regions of the North and allows some of them to join the Watch to garrison the many abandoned Night's Watch fortresses. Many members of the Watch dislike the idea of allowing their ancient enemies through the Wall and welcoming them into their ranks. Jon learns that his sister Arya is being married to Ramsay Bolton to secure the Bolton hold on Winterfell but in truth, the bride is Jeyne Poole posing as Arya. Jon allows Melisandre to send Mance to rescue her. He later receives a letter from Ramsay claiming that Stannis, who marched on Winterfell, has been defeated and Mance is a prisoner. Ramsay demands hostages, threatening to march on the Wall and kill Jon if he is defied.[1][2][12][13][14] Finally pushed to his breaking point, Jon instead decides that he will seek out and kill Ramsay himself, openly compromising his neutrality, but he is stabbed by his Night's Watch brothers in a mutiny.[50][51]
Jon's presence in the forthcoming volume The Winds of Winter is uncertain; when asked in 2011 by Entertainment Weekly "Why did you kill Jon Snow?", author Martin responded "Oh, you think he’s dead, do you?"[15] Asked later whether Jon was killed or will survive, Martin responded with a laugh, "I will not comment on that."[52]
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Norman Bates
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Norman Bates is a fictional character created by American author Robert Bloch as the main protagonist in his 1959 horror novel "Psycho". He has an alter, Mother, who takes from the form of his abusive mother, and later victim, Norma, who in his daily life runs the Bates Motel.
He was portrayed by Anthony Perkins in the 1960 version of "Psycho" directed by Alfred Hitchcock and in the "Psycho" franchise. He was also portrayed by Vince Vaughn in the 1998 version of "Psycho", and by Freddie Highmore in the television series "Bates Motel" (2013–2017).
Unlike the franchise produced by Universal Studios, Norman is not the principal antagonist in Bloch's subsequent novels and is succeeded by copycat killers who assume Norman's identity after his death in "Psycho II" (1982), although he does return and in the licensed continuation novel "Psycho: Sanitarium" (2016) by Chet Williamson. There is a wide-ranging assumption that the character was directly inspired by the Wisconsin murderer Ed Gein. With "Psycho" being optioned for film adaptation as a direct result of media attention on Gein, Bloch later revealed he was inspired more by the circumstances surrounding Gein's case—the idea that "the man next door may be a monster unsuspected even in the gossip-ridden microcosm of small-town life." Years later, when the full details of Gein's crimes were revealed, he was struck by "how closely the imaginary character I'd created resembled the real Ed Gein both in overt act and apparent motivation."
Character overview.
Both the 1959 novel, and its 1960 film adaptation explain that Norman suffered severe emotional abuse as a child at the hands of his mother, Norma, who preached to him that sexual intercourse was sinful and that all women (except herself) were whores. The novel also suggests that their relationship may have been incestuous.
After Norman's father died, Norman and his mother lived alone together "as if there was no one else in the world" until Norman was a teenager, when his mother met Joe Considine (Chet Rudolph in "Psycho IV: The Beginning") and planned to marry. Considine eventually convinced Norma to open a motel. Driven over the edge with jealousy, Norman murdered both of them with strychnine. After committing the murders, Norman forged his mother's suicide note to make it look like she had killed Considine and then herself. After a brief hospitalization for shock, he developed a split personality, assuming his mother's personality to repress his awareness of her death and thus escape the guilt of murdering her. He inherited his mother's house—where he kept her corpse in the fruit cellar—and the motel in the fictional small town of Fairvale, California.
Norman's "Mother" personality is as cruel and possessive as the real Norma had been in life, frequently berating him and forbidding him to have a life outside of her. As "Mother", he dresses in Norma's clothes and talks to himself in her voice, and he also speaks to her corpse as if it is alive. "Mother" also kills women whom Norman feels attracted to, and anyone else who threatens the illusion of her existence. Norman passes out when "Mother" takes control; after "Mother" commits a murder, Norman awakens and destroys the evidence, convinced that "she" alone is responsible for the crime.
Bloch sums up Norman's multiple personalities in his stylistic form of puns: "Norman", a child needing his mother; "Norma", a controlling, mean-spirited parent figure; and "Normal", a functional adult who goes through the motions of day-to-day life.
"Psycho" (novel and film).
In Bloch's 1959 novel and the 1960 Hitchcock film, Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), a young woman on the run after stealing money from her employer, checks into the motel one night. Norman is smitten with her, and shyly asks her to have dinner with him in the house. "Mother" flies into a rage and threatens to kill Marion if Norman lets her in the house. Norman defies her and eats dinner with Marion anyway, but lashes out at her when she suggests that he institutionalize his mother. When Marion goes to her room to shower, Norman spies on her through a peephole he drilled in the wall. "Mother" takes control and stabs Marion to death (he beheads her in the novel). When Norman awakes to discover what he believes his mother has done, he sinks Marion's car—with her corpse and the money in the trunk—into a nearby swamp. As "Mother", he also murders Milton Arbogast (Martin Balsam), a private detective hired by Marion's employer, days later.
Norman is finally caught when Marion's sister Lila (Vera Miles) and boyfriend, Sam Loomis (John Gavin), arrive at the motel looking for her. When Norman figures out what they want, he knocks Sam out and goes running after Lila, who has reached the house and found Mrs. Bates' corpse. He attacks her as "Mother", but Sam, after coming to, overpowers him, and Norman is finally arrested for murdering Marion and two other missing women. Norman is declared insane and sent to an institution, where "Mother" takes complete, and permanent, control of his mind: he becomes his mother.
Novel sequels.
"Psycho II".
In Bloch's 1982 sequel to his first novel, "Psycho II", Norman escapes from the psychiatric hospital by killing one of two visiting nuns and donning her habit. He steals their van and kills then rapes the corpse of the second nun. Norman plans to find and kill both Sam Loomis and his wife Lila (Lila Crane sister of Mary or Marion Crane) who he believes are responsible for his incarceration but first he needs to fake his death.
He notices a hitchhiker and decides to kill him and fake his own death. Unbeknown to Norman the hitchhiker is planning to attack this nun and steal her van. Norman tries to attack his passenger but is overpowered. This in turn causes a fiery accident where the hitchhiker escapes, but Norman dies. Meanwhile, Dr. Adam Claiborne, who discovered Norman's corpse, assumes his personality and goes on a killing spree.
"Psycho House".
In Bloch's 1991 sequel to his second novel, "Psycho House", Norman appears only as a novelty animatronic on display in the Bates Motel, which has been converted into a tourist attraction.
"Danganronpa Kirigiri".
In the second volume of Takekuni Kitayama's 2013 ' light novel series, a prequel to the 2010 video game ', the events of "Psycho" and "Psycho House" are depicted as having taken place in the past of the world of "Danganronpa". Twenty years after Norman's death, the reinvented Bates Motel operates as a tourist attraction, now known as the Norman Hotel. It eventually closes, however, following a series of mysterious suicides and murders taking place in its vicinity, said to be committed by Norman's ghost.
By the time of the present day narrative of the novel, the hotel is used by the Victims Catharsis Committee (VCC) for their Duel Noir program, intended for victims of crimes to get revenge against the criminals who wronged them. In the novel, Kyoko Kirigiri and her assistant Yui Samidare find themselves participants of the Duel Noir, with an LCD screen of Norman's image (an evolution of his animatronic form, initially mistaken for a "talking painting") uttering lines recorded in the original Norman's voice to speak on the behalf the VCC. After explaining the game's rules, Norman leads a maid to her death via a burning gun-trap situated under his painting, before announcing that he has to leave to go find his mother. He then "leaves" the painting, and the rest of the Duel Noir is hosted by Norman's "family".
"Psycho: Sanitarium".
In Chet Williamson's 2016 prequel to the second novel, "", Dr. Felix Reed tries to bring Norman out of a catatonic state. "Sanitarium" introduces Robert Newman, Norman's twin brother who was taken away at birth after the attending doctor pronounced him brain damaged. As Robert and Norman get to know each other, Norman senses a darkness in Robert, even deeper than that which has lurked in Norman himself. Disappearances begin occurring in the asylum, with the victims being those that were a threat towards Norman and wanted to bring him harm. It is revealed that Robert Newman is a new split personality of Norman's, which was created by Reed through hypnosis in order to get Norman to kill the asylum's most violent patients. With the help of his "Mother" personality (that Norman has been trying to suppress throughout most of the novel), the Robert persona is destroyed and Mother stabs Reed to death. The incident traumatizes Norman and puts him back into a catatonic state.
Film sequels.
"Psycho II".
In 1983's "Psycho II", the first sequel to the original film, Norman is released from the institution twenty-two years after his arrest, seemingly cured. Sam Loomis has passed away at this point. Norman meets Mary Samuels (Meg Tilly)—later revealed to be Mary Loomis, Lila and Sam Loomis's daughter and Marion Crane's niece—and falls in love with her. However, a series of mysterious murders occurs, as well as strange appearances and messages from his mother, and Norman slowly loses his grip on sanity. The mysterious appearances and messages turn out to be a plot by Lila to drive him insane again in order to get him recommitted. The actual murders turn out to be the work of Norman's coworker, Emma Spool (Claudia Bryar). Before Norman discovers this, however, Mary Loomis is shot dead by the police during a confrontation with Norman, and Mrs. Spool murders Lila. When Spool tells Norman that she is his real mother, he kills her and embalms her corpse while assuming the "Mother" personality once again.
"Psycho III".
In 1986's "Psycho III", set a month later, Norman continues to struggle, unsuccessfully, against "Mother"'s dominion. He also finds another love interest named Maureen Coyle (Diana Scarwid), who eventually dies at "Mother"'s hand. In the film, Mrs. Spool's corpse is first discovered by sleazy musician Duane Duke (Jeff Fahey), whom Norman kills when Duke tries to use the discovery to blackmail Norman. Tracy Venable (Roberta Maxwell), a reporter interested in Norman's case, finds out that Spool was in fact Norman's aunt—Norma Bates' sister—who was in love with Norman's father and killed him when he chose Norma over her. She then kidnapped the child Norman, believing him to be her own, but she was arrested and institutionalized, leaving Norman to be raised by Norma.
"Mother" orders Norman to kill Tracy, but in the end he destroys Spool's corpse, attempting to break free of her control. He is then arrested and put back in the institution.
"Psycho IV: The Beginning".
"" (1990), the final film in the series, retcons the revelations of the second film and third film, supplying that Norman's father was stung to death by bees and removing all references to Emma Spool. In this film, Norman has been released from an institution, and is married to one of the hospital's psychologists, a woman named Connie (Donna Mitchell). When his wife becomes pregnant, he lures her to his mother's house and tries to kill her, wanting to prevent another of his "cursed" line from being born into the world; the film implies that Mrs. Bates (Olivia Hussey) suffered from schizophrenia and borderline personality disorder and passed the illnesses on to her son. However, he relents at the last minute, when Connie professes her love for him. He then burns the house down in an attempt to free himself of his past. During the attempt, he is tormented by hallucinations of "Mother" and several of his victims, becoming injured in a fall. He almost dies in the flames before willing himself to get out, apparently defeating his illness at long last; he is finally free of his mother's voice, which demands to be let out. This was Anthony Perkins' final performance as Norman Bates; Henry Thomas portrayed Norman as a teenager.
Television.
"Bates Motel" (film).
In the 1987 television spin-off movie and series pilot "Bates Motel", Norman is never released from the institution after his first incarceration. He befriends Alex West (Bud Cort), a fellow inmate who had murdered his stepfather, and wills ownership of the titular motel to him before dying of old age.
"Bates Motel" (TV series).
The television series "Bates Motel", a reboot to the 1960 film "Psycho", set in the present day, depicts the young Norman Bates' life with his mother, Norma (Vera Farmiga). In this continuity, Norman suffers from hallucinations and blackouts, and begins manifesting his "Mother" personality while Norma is alive. He kills his abusive father, Sam (David Cubitt), while in a dissociative state, and Norma moves them from Arizona, where he was born and raised, to White Pine Bay, Oregon, to protect him. The series also introduces his maternal half-brother, Dylan Massett (Max Thieriot) and gives him a love interest in Emma Decody (Olivia Cooke), a classmate with cystic fibrosis.
As "Mother", Norman murders Blaire Watson (Keegan Connor Tracy), one of his teachers who seduces him; Bradley Martin (Nicola Peltz), a girl he has feelings for; and Audrey Ellis Decody (Karina Logue), Emma's estranged mother. Fearing for his sanity, Norma briefly has him committed to a mental institution. While there, Norman recovers a memory of witnessing his father rape Norma in a drunken rage after she tried to leave him; it is implied that this trauma fractured his psyche.
When Norman's sanity begins to deteriorate, Norma marries the town sheriff, Alex Romero (Nestor Carbonell), so she can use his insurance coverage to pay for Norman's treatment. While the marriage is at first merely a financial arrangement, they eventually fall in love. After Norman is released from the institution and finds out that Norma is married, he grows insanely jealous and tries to kill both Norma and himself by flooding the house with carbon monoxide while his mother sleeps. Romero arrives at the house in time to revive Norman, but finds that Norma is already dead. Romero figures out what happened and swears revenge, but is arrested for perjury before he can do anything. Meanwhile, Norman cannot bear losing his mother, so he digs up her corpse and assumes her personality to preserve the illusion of her being alive.
Two years later, Norman is running the motel and living alone in the house with Norma's corpse, which he keeps frozen and preserved in the cellar. He and his "Mother" personality live together as if there is no one else in the world, and she takes care of his problems - such as killing and disposing of a hitman sent by Romero and helping him get rid of his uncle, Norma's brother Caleb (Kenny Johnson), after he discovers the truth. Norman falls for Madeline Loomis (Isabelle McNally), a lonely woman who bears an uncanny resemblance to Norma, and whose husband Sam (Austin Nichols) is cheating on her. "Mother" becomes jealous and starts behaving erratically, at one point taking possession of Norman's mind and making him have sex with a man at a gay bar while dressed in Norma's clothes. Norman finally begins to suspect that "Mother" is not real, and she confirms that he created her in his mind to deal with things that he could not, such as his abusive father.
When Sam's mistress Marion Crane (Rihanna) checks into the motel, Norman has dinner with her and tells her that Sam is married. Marion comes back to the motel after confirming Sam's infidelity, and seeks comfort from Norman. He fears that "Mother" will kill her, however, and tells her to leave and never come back. When Sam comes to the motel to look for Marion, Norman stabs him to death in the shower.
Dylan comes to see Norman after learning of Norma's death, and they get into a fight that ends with Norman assaulting his half-brother at "Mother"'s instigation. Terrified of what he might do, Norman calls 911 and confesses to murdering Sam. While he is in jail, Sheriff Jane Greene (Brooke Smith) finds the bodies of Norman's other victims, and charges him with their murders, as well. While Norman is awaiting trial, Romero—who had earlier escaped from prison—breaks into his cell and takes him hostage. They drive to the woods where Norman hid Norma's corpse after the police began searching his house. There, Norman gets the better of Romero and shoots him dead, but not before his former stepfather tells him he will never escape from murdering his own mother. When Norman finally admits to himself that he killed Norma, "Mother" appears to him and tells him she is leaving, as there is no longer anything she can protect him from.
Now completely alone, Norman loses all contact with reality. He calls Dylan and invites him over for a "family dinner", complete with Norma's corpse seated at the head of the table. When Dylan tells him that Norma is dead, Norman flies into a rage and attacks him with a knife, forcing Dylan to shoot him in self-defense. As he dies, Norman sees a vision of his mother embracing him.
Characterization.
The character Norman Bates in "Psycho" was loosely based on two people. First was the real-life murderer Ed Gein, about whom Bloch later wrote a fictionalized account, "The Shambles of Ed Gein", in 1962. (The story can be found in "Crimes and Punishments: The Lost Bloch, Volume 3"). Second, it has been indicated by several people, including Noel Carter (wife of Lin Carter) and Chris Steinbrunner, as well as allegedly by Bloch himself, that Norman Bates was partly based on Calvin Beck, publisher of "Castle of Frankenstein".
The characterization of Norman Bates in the novel and the movie differ in some key areas. In the novel, Norman is in his mid-to-late 40s, short, overweight and homely. In the movie, he is in his mid-20s, tall, slender, and handsome. Reportedly, when working on the film, Hitchcock decided that he wanted audiences to be able to sympathize with Norman and genuinely like the character, so he made him more of a "boy next door". In the novel, Norman becomes "Mother" after getting drunk and passing out; in the movie, he remains sober before switching personalities.
In the novel, Norman is well-read in occult and esoteric authors such as P.D. Ouspensky and Aleister Crowley. He is aware that "Mother" disapproves of these authors as being against religion.
Portrayals.
Norman Bates was portrayed by Anthony Perkins in Hitchcock's seminal 1960 film adaptation of Bloch's novel and its three sequels. Perkins hosted an episode of "Saturday Night Live" in 1976 in which he performed numerous sketches portraying Norman, including the instructional video "The Norman Bates School of Motel Management". He also portrayed Norman, albeit more lightheartedly, in a 1990 commercial for Oatmeal Crisp cereal. Vince Vaughn portrayed Norman in Gus Van Sant's 1998 version of "Psycho", while Kurt Paul, Perkins' "Mother" stunt double in "Psycho II" and "Psycho III", took on the role in the made-for-TV film spin-off "Bates Motel". Perkins' son Oz portrayed a younger version of Norman in "Psycho II". Henry Thomas played a younger version of the character in "". Freddie Highmore portrayed Norman in the TV series "Bates Motel", with Vera Farmiga portraying both Norman's mother Norma and his murderous split personality "Mother". For his performance, Highmore was nominated twice for a Critic's Choice Award, a Saturn Award, and won a People's Choice Award in 2017.
Comic books.
Norman appears in the 1992 three-issue comic book adaptation of the 1960 film "Psycho" released by Innovation Publishing. Despite being a colorized adaptation of the Hitchcock film, the version of Norman present in the comics resembles the one from Bloch's original novel: a middle-aged, overweight, balding man. Comic artist Felipe Echevarria has explained that this was due to Perkins' refusal to allow his likeness to be replicated for the books, wanting to disassociate himself with Norman Bates.
Reception.
Norman Bates is ranked as the second-greatest villain on the American Film Institute's list of the top 100 film heroes and villains, behind Hannibal Lecter and ahead of Darth Vader. His line "A boy's best friend is his mother" also ranks as number 56 on the institute's list of the 100 greatest movie quotes. In 2008, Norman Bates was selected by "Empire" as one of "The 100 Greatest Movie Characters". In 2009, "Total Film" issued it's "The 150 Greatest Performances of All Time" list, ranking Perkins' performance in "Psycho" at 27th place. Bates also ranked number 4 on "Premiere" magazine's list of "The 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time".
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Charles Foster Kane
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Charles Foster Kane is a fictional character who is the subject of Orson Welles' 1941 film "Citizen Kane". Welles played Kane (receiving an Academy Award nomination), with Buddy Swan playing Kane as a child. Welles also produced, co-wrote and directed the film, winning an Oscar for writing the film.
Inspiration.
The general consensus is that publishing tycoon William Randolph Hearst is the primary inspiration behind Charles Foster Kane.
In the film, Kane is given the line "You provide the prose poems; I'll provide the war," undeniably similar to "You furnish the pictures, and I'll furnish the war," a quote widely attributed to Hearst. Also, an overhead shot of Hearst's ranch is shown in the film as Xanadu, the lavish estate where Kane resides.
In addition, Kane's unsuccessful attempt to make his second wife an opera star parallels Hearst's effort to make his mistress Marion Davies a serious dramatic movie actress despite critics' complaints that she was miscast and better in light comedy roles. The connection with Hearst is strengthened by the fact that Welles's co-writer, Herman J. Mankiewicz, was a frequent guest of Davies at Hearst Castle.
Some biographies of Welles posit that Welles himself was a source of inspiration for the character. Some of the character's dialogue on how to run a newspaper are direct quotes from Welles's comments on how to make a motion picture (though this was his first). Mankiewicz included dialogue about Kane's voracious appetite, also a reference to Welles.
Later news media figures including Sumner Murray Redstone, Rupert Murdoch, Ted Turner, and Elon Musk have been compared to Kane.
Fictional character biography.
"Citizen Kane" explores the life of the titular character. We are given an overview of his public career in the pastiche "News on the March" newsreel, with some parts then shown in more detail through the flashback recollections of those who knew him.
Early years.
Kane is born of humble origins in the fictional settlement of Little Salem, Colorado, in
1862 or 1863. A supposedly worthless mine given to his mother in 1868—to settle a bill for room and board by Fred Graves — is discovered to be rich in gold, making the family suddenly fabulously wealthy. In 1871, in return for an annual income of $50,000, Kane's mother puts her son and the money under the guardianship of New York City banker Walter Parks Thatcher, who raises Kane in luxury. Kane resents Thatcher for ripping him away from his family, and spends most of his early adult life rebelling against him. He attends prestigious colleges such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Cornell and a college in Switzerland—and gets himself expelled from all of them.
At the age of 25 Kane acquires control of the money, the world's sixth-largest private fortune. He returns from a trip abroad to take control of the "New York Daily Inquirer", a struggling newspaper acquired on his behalf by Thatcher as a result of a foreclosure on a debt, thinking that "it would be fun to run a newspaper". He takes up full-time residence in the newspaper office (the sitting editor resigning in protest) and in the first edition publishes a "declaration of principles" stating his duty to be truthful to his readers and to campaign on behalf of the poor and underprivileged. His best friend Jedediah Leland - the "Inquirer"s drama critic - asks to keep the text of the declaration, feeling it might one day be an important document.
To Thatcher's fury, Kane campaigns against slum landlords, "copper robbers" and "traction trusts" (monopoly control of railways) - including companies in which he himself is a major shareholder. To finance the fledgling "Inquirer", Kane uses his personal resources, reasoning that this would allow him to operate it, even at a million-dollar annual loss, for 60 years. Over a period of six years, Kane also hires staff members away from the rival "Chronicle" newspaper, regarding them as collectibles. However, he uses yellow journalism tactics to blow stories out of proportion and encourage a war with Spain in 1898.
Political career.
Kane, whose party affiliation is never explicitly specified, is shown to be a supporter of Theodore Roosevelt, joining him on a whistle stop train tour. "One President at least" owes his election to the support of Kane's newspapers.
Kane eventually marries Emily Monroe Norton, the niece of a President of the United States. Their marriage takes place at the White House. The marriage sours because of Kane's egomania, obsession with his newspapers and attacks on her uncle's administration. Their marital problems reach the point that they are barely on speaking terms, with Kane ignoring Emily as she reads the rival "Chronicle" newspaper at breakfast.
Kane opposes US entry into World War I.
As his popularity increases, Kane, who regards himself and is widely seen as a future President, runs as a "fighting liberal" for Governor of New York in 1916, against corrupt boss James "Jim" W. Gettys. He addresses a packed rally at Madison Square Gardens, promising to have Gettys arrested and sent to prison. An election victory is almost certain until Gettys reveals evidence of Kane's affair with a young singer named Susan Alexander. Gettys blackmails Kane, meeting with him and his wife at Susan's apartment, but Kane refuses to drop out of the race despite Gettys' leverage. The scandal goes public and Kane loses the election decisively.
The night of Kane's loss, a drunk and disillusioned Leland asks him for a transfer to the Chicago paper. He accuses Kane of treating "the working man" he claims to fight for as a possession, and says that, for all his talk of helping the less fortunate, the only person Kane really cares about is himself. Kane allows him to transfer to Chicago, effectively ending their friendship.
Emily divorces Kane shortly afterward, and dies two years later, along with their son, in a car accident.
Later life.
Two weeks after his first divorce, Kane marries Susan in a small ceremony at the City Hall in Trenton, New Jersey. He forces her into a doomed and humiliating career as an opera singer, building an opera house in Chicago specially for her. Leland, now a drama critic for the "Chicago Inquirer", refuses to toe the company line by praising Alexander's performances. Leland becomes too drunk at the difficult task of writing a truthful review against Kane's wishes, and falls into a stupor. Kane visits the paper's newsroom and finishes the review with Leland's negative tone intact, intending to prove that he still has integrity; he then fires Leland. In retaliation, Leland refuses his severance package and mails back the torn-up check with the original copy of Kane's "declaration of principles", which Kane angrily destroys.
After Susan attempts suicide, Kane releases her from her disastrous operatic career and spends most of his time at Xanadu, his gigantic Gothic chateau, full of "objets d'art" which he has acquired over the decades, and built on an artificial mountain on his vast estate in Florida. By 1925 Kane is being denounced as a "communist" by the aged Thatcher to a congressional committee, and in the same month as an enemy of the working man and a "fascist" by a speaker at a public rally in Union Square, Manhattan. He insists that he is simply "an American". The business downturns of the Great Depression—as well as Kane's excessive spending habits on the crumbling and unfinished Xanadu—forces him to downsize his media empire. He is also forced to hand over financial management of his businesses, although not operational control of his newspapers, to the aged Thatcher. Susan is unable to stand the monotonous routine inside the cavernous mansion and Kane's increasingly domineering nature, and eventually leaves him.
Kane continues to travel and meet with world leaders. He returns from an aeroplane trip to Europe in 1935, declaring that he has met with the leaders of "England, France, Germany and Italy" and that "there will be no war". He initially supports Adolf Hitler, with whom he appears on a balcony, but later denounces him. He also meets with but denounces Francisco Franco.
Death.
Kane eventually becomes a recluse at Xanadu, living alone and estranged from all his friends and no longer wielding much influence over politics. Most of his giant estate is now overgrown, with most of the animals gone from its zoos. He dies alone in his bedroom one night in 1941, after uttering his last word, "Rosebud."
The death of the "Great Yellow Journalist" is a national news event and is the lead story in many newspapers. His own "Inquirer" chain devotes the entire front page to him, praising him for his "lifetime of service" and stating that the "entire nation mourns". The rival "Chronicle" is less complimentary, recalling his "stormy career" and stating that "few … will mourn" him. The "Chicago Globe" also mentions his "stormy career" and denounces him as "US Fascist No 1"; the last two papers run unflattering photographs of him. The "Minneapolis Record Herald" praises him as the "Sponsor of Democracy", the "Detroit Star" as "Leader of [the] News World" and a "Man of Destiny", but the "El Paso Journal" accuses him of having "Instigated War for Profit". His death is also covered in the French, Japanese and Russian press.
Reporter Jerry Thompson is assigned to find out what "Rosebud" means. Despite interviewing all of Kane's living acquaintances, he never finds out what it is. After the reporters depart, his staff start burning in an incinerator those of his possessions which they see as trash. The viewer sees that the word "Rosebud" was written on the sled Kane's parents gave him as a young boy, and left behind at his mother's boarding house when he was sent away to live with Thatcher. It is implied earlier in the film that Kane found the sled in a warehouse, where he had been looking over his late mother's possessions, around the time he first met Susan.
Relationships.
Susan Alexander.
Susan Alexander Kane (Dorothy Comingore) was Kane's second wife. She was twenty-one when they first met in the mid-1910s (Kane would have been at least fifty); she is evidently low class and is in charge of the sheet music at a shop. Kane was attracted to her because she liked him for himself, despite not knowing he was a public figure. Kane sets her up in a larger and more comfortable apartment with an African American maid, which Gettys describes as a "Love nest" to implicate her as Kane's mistress; the film does not make it clear whether she really was. However, a mere two weeks after his first wife divorced him in 1916, Kane married Susan.
Susan was an aspiring opera singer when she and Kane first met, but is not particularly talented. Despite this, Kane tried to force her into a career as an opera singer, even building an opera house specifically for her, in which she performs the leading role in a fictional opera "Salammbo". Her weak voice and poor acting attract the derision of the audience and of the stage hands. Kane's Xanadu estate was built at least in part to please her. Susan is the last of Kane's friends to leave him as well as the original owner of the snow globe he drops after saying "rosebud". As of 1941, she is still living, but is an alcoholic. Despite having "lost all her money" she is running a run-down nightclub ("El Rancho") in Atlantic City, which is where she is interviewed by Jerry Thompson.
Jedediah Leland.
Jedediah Leland (Joseph Cotten) was a close friend of Kane, having met him in college. According to Mr. Bernstein, he came from a wealthy family that lost all their money. He is generally acknowledged to represent the morality and idealism Kane himself loses as the film progresses. During Kane's campaign for Governor, he is seen addressing a small audience in the street shortly before Kane's speech. In disgust at Kane's throwing away of the election, he moves to Chicago to work as drama critic for the "Inquirer" in that city; by the time he writes his bad review of Susan Alexander's operatic debut, he and Kane have not spoken in a number of years. In 1941 Jedediah lives in a nursing home in Manhattan, where Jerry Thompson interviews him.
Walter Thatcher.
Walter Parks Thatcher (George Coulouris) is a New York banker. He becomes Kane's legal guardian in 1871. Kane resents him and, when he comes into control of his fortune in the late 1880s, uses the "Inquirer" to harass him. Thatcher, clearly getting on in years by the 1890s, initially regards Kane as mentally "still the college boy" and urges him to greater financial prudence. In a scene in the newsreel in 1925, Thatcher, described as the "grand old man of Wall Street", tells a congressional investigation that Kane is a Communist. Thatcher is still alive, presumably at least in his nineties, after the Crash of 1929, and takes control of Kane's failing business empire, although allowing Kane to retain "a considerable measure of control" over his newspapers and reassuring Kane that the Depression is merely temporary and that he might yet die richer than him. When Thatcher asks Kane what he would have liked to have been, Kane replies "Everything you hate". He is dead by 1941, his unpublished memoirs kept in a vault.
Mr. Bernstein.
Mr. Bernstein (Everett Sloane) is a business executive and by 1941 is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Kane's business interests. Having served as Kane's personal assistant since at least when he took over the "Inquirer", Bernstein proved the most loyal to the man. He is on good enough terms to visit and leave a present for Kane's infant son, to Mrs Kane's irritation. Bernstein willingly participated in indulging Kane's obsession in his wife's operatic career even though it was ill-considered by everyone else. However, he has scruples such as advising his employer not to make promises he cannot keep in his Declaration of Principles.
Wealth and empire.
Apart from the "New York Inquirer", Kane publishes similar "Inquirer" newspapers in Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and other major American cities. The "News on the March" newsreel at the beginning of the film also states that Kane controls two newspaper syndicates and a radio network; it also mentions that Kane has other business interests in real estate, logging, shipping, and food retailing. However, Kane's empire largely collapses at the onset of the Great Depression, and he is forced to hand financial control of his remaining holdings (although not operational control of his newspapers) to Thatcher. Kane has enough wealth to build Chicago's opera house, as well as his unfinished mansion, Xanadu.
The mansion contains Kane's vast collection of classical sculptures and art, and the newsreel states that portions of Xanadu were taken from other famous palaces overseas.
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Marty McFly
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Marty McFly is a fictional character and the protagonist of the "Back to the Future" franchise. He is a high school student living in the fictional town of Hill Valley, California, who accidentally becomes a time traveler and alters history after his scientist friend Emmett Brown invents a DeLorean time machine. He was created by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale. In the film trilogy, he is portrayed by Canadian actor Michael J. Fox. "Back to the Future" established Fox as a film star, such was the commercial success and popularity of the film upon its release in 1985. Marty returned in two film sequels, "Back to the Future Part II" in 1989 and "Back to the Future Part III" in 1990.
During the development of "Back to the Future", Eric Stoltz was initially cast in the role, but was replaced by Fox. Various other actors have portrayed or voiced the character in other media. In the , David Kaufman voices him, and in developed and published by Telltale Games, he is voiced by A.J. LoCascio, while Fox makes vocal cameos as his future counterparts. Olly Dobson played him in the original in the West End and Casey Likes plays him in the Broadway production.
Critics have described Marty as a film character that defined the 1980s. He was named one of the greatest movie characters of all time by "Empire". Critics have also described him as a pop culture icon. Since the release of "Back to the Future", he has been influential in other media, often being referenced in television and film.
Development.
Concept and creation.
The concept for "Back to the Future" originated in co-creators Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale wanting to make a film about time travel. Gale said that the story evolved after he found his father's old high school year book and asked himself "Would we have been friends if we'd been at school together?" He considered the realization that parents were once young and also contemplated the idea that people are in charge of their own destinies. Gale and Zemeckis shared a fascination with the way that the future was often depicted in the wrong way in media and thought it would be cool to write a film in which the character changed history.
Gale and Zemeckis started to contemplate the concept while working on "Used Cars" (1980). They decided that it was impossible to answer the question of whether they would have hung out with their parents because their perception of them as parents could never change. After outlining the story concept, they spent time filling in the details of the McFly family through history. They used index cards pinned to a bulletin board to define each scene and then worked out the details and dialogue. Part of the process involved defining what a young person in the 1980s would take for granted and they used this as the basis for the jokes, which center on the cultural differences between the eras. This proved challenging as neither of them had grown up in the 1950s or the 1980s.
In the early drafts of the script, Doc Brown's technology caused the whole world to change instead of just Marty's family but this idea was rejected. Gale stated that Marty was named after a production assistant on "Used Cars" because it seemed like a "good, all-American name". Zemeckis then suggested the surname McFly. It took some time to work out how Marty would travel in time, but they knew it had to be by accident rather than for some personal gain. In the first two drafts of the script, many elements of the story were different to the final version and featured a time chamber instead of the DeLorean time machine. Marty was characterized as a "streetwise video pirate", but Zemeckis said that Universal Pictures refused to make a film with a video pirate as the protagonist. Some elements had to be changed or abandoned, such as a joke about Marty's long hair, which was removed due to changes in 1980s hairstyles. Zemeckis said that Marty's encounter with his teenage mother in 1955 was always the most difficult part of the film and they spent a long time trying to get it right.
When they pitched the story, it was rejected over 40 times as it was considered too sweet, although it was also rejected by Disney due to concerns over the subplot involving Marty's relationship with his mother. Others considered that a story about time travel would not make any money. The project was eventually taken on by Steven Spielberg at his production company Amblin Entertainment as he had always believed in the success of the project.
Casting and filming.
Michael J. Fox was the first choice for Zemeckis when casting the role of Marty McFly in "Back to the Future", as he had seen him starring in the television series "Family Ties" in the part of Alex Keaton. Fox was still under contract causing concern about his filming availability, so producer Gary Michael Goldberg did not give him the script. Various young actors auditioned for the part of Marty, including Jon Cryer, Billy Zane, Ben Stiller, C. Thomas Howell, Johnny Depp, John Cusack, Charlie Sheen, Matthew Modine, Ralph Macchio, Peter DeLuise, George Newbern, Robert Downey Jr., Christopher Collet, and Corey Hart (who declined to audition). Ralph Macchio also missed out on the role due to concerns that his New York accent and East Coast ethnicity were not the right fit for Marty's "all-American quality". Eric Stoltz was eventually cast as Marty and used method acting, insisting that the film crew call him "Marty" outside of filming. His intense, serious acting style clashed with the light, comedic portrayal that Zemeckis and Gale were expecting from the part. According to Gale, Stoltz portrayed Marty with the approach that he would feel miserable over how his family changes and this underpinned his performance. After reviewing 40 minutes of footage, Spielberg, Zemeckis and Gale knew it was a problem. Despite making the decision to fire Stoltz, filming continued into January 1985, with Stoltz filming the scene at the Twin Pines mall with Christopher Lloyd. Five weeks into shooting, Zemeckis replaced Stoltz with Fox. By that time, Universal Pictures had already negotiated the filming schedule for Fox around his commitment to "Family Ties". Zemeckis personally took the responsibility of giving the news to Stoltz, stating that it was "the hardest meeting I've ever had in my life and it was all my fault. I broke his heart". Gale explained that the recasting did not reflect on Stoltz's acting abilities, but they had just cast the wrong person.
With Fox in the role, Zemeckis had to reshoot the previous five weeks of filming with a new leading man. Fox was 23 years old when he took on the role of 17-year-old Marty in 1985. The producers were impressed by Fox's sense of timing and comic ability. Zemeckis commented, "He's got the perfect blend of traditional leading man qualities. He's vulnerable but he's calm." As Fox had joined the production after filming had begun, he was forced to juggle filming of both the film and television series within a punishing schedule. This involved rehearsals for "Family Ties" from 10am until 6pm followed by filming "Back to the Future" from 6.30pm until 2.30am. Fox stated that the schedule was exhausting but worth the effort. Fox exclaimed that he could play Marty McFly in his sleep and wrote, "that very nearly turned out to be the case". His presence changed the atmosphere on set and he had a good rapport with Lloyd. Gale said that as well as being a good actor and having a natural comedic ability, Fox "gave the actors more to work with". Lloyd said that although he was worried about the replacement, he had a natural chemistry with Fox and found it easy to work with him. Fox assumed that his exhaustion would result in a poor performance and damage his career, but instead his anxieties benefited his portrayal of Marty: "I barely knew where I was, and I didn’t really know what I was doing. That served the film because Marty's supposed to be disoriented." For a scene in which Marty plays a cover version of the song "Johnny B. Goode" by Chuck Berry at a school dance, Fox had to be taught to play guitar by Paul Hanson. Fox recalled that he also could not dance, so he worked with a choreographer in order to move like a rock star. He wanted to incorporate all of the mannerisms of his favorite guitarists, including "a Pete Townshend windmill, and Jimi Hendrix behind the back, and a Chuck Berry duck walk". Although Fox mimed the guitar playing and lip-synced the song in the scene, it was Tim May who played guitar, while the vocals were provided by Mark Campbell. Marty's skateboarding sequences were choreographed by professional skateboarders Per Welinder and Bob Schmelze, who also taught Fox, Stoltz and their stunt doubles the skateboarding techniques.
While filming a scene for the third film, which involves Marty being strung up in a noose by Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen and his gang, the stunt almost went seriously wrong. In his 2002 autobiography, "Lucky Man: A Memoir", Fox recalled that he stood on a box for the first two takes as the shot only filmed the upper part of his body. When the scene failed to look realistic, he decided to try the stunt without the box. As a result, the rope blocked his carotid artery and caused him to lose consciousness for several seconds until Zemeckis realised that he was not acting. This incident later led Fox to contemplate whether his developing symptoms were related to the hanging before he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.
Characteristics.
Marty McFly is the "Back to the Future" protagonist who is raised in Hill Valley, California, a fictional town set in 1985. He is a confident teenager who attends high school and dreams of becoming a rock star. He also lives in a family with various personal issues. He is the youngest of three children of George McFly and Lorraine Baines-McFly. He has a brother, Dave McFly, and a sister, Linda McFly. Marty's girlfriend is Jennifer Parker and his best friend is Emmett Brown, a scientist Marty and Jennifer call "Doc". In the third film, Marty meets his great-great paternal grandparents, Seamus and Maggie, who were Irish immigrants in 1885. He also meets their infant son William, Marty's great-grandfather. Despite never explicitly being explained in the film, Gale confirmed that Marty met his friend Doc Brown when he was around 14 after hearing that Brown was a dangerous lunatic. Marty was curious, so he snuck into Doc's lab and was fascinated by his inventions. Doc allowed him to help with his experiments and their friendship began. In the first film, Doc Brown introduces Marty to the time machine that he invented using a DMC Delorean, which Marty uses to time travel when the vehicle reaches 88 miles per hour.
Personality.
In "Back to the Future", Marty is shown to be disappointed by his family, particularly his wimpish father and alcoholic mother. Marty enjoys playing electric guitar with his group The Pinheads and plays "The Power of Love" at a Battle of the Bands audition as his favorite band is Huey Lewis and the News. This ability gives him the opportunity to take the lead in 1955 when stepping in for Marvin at the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance, where he shows the fictitious R&B band named Marvin Berry and the Starlighters the chord changes for "Johnny B. Goode". He is a talented skateboarder, often clinging onto the back of vehicles to gain extra speed when he is late for school. He also proves to be an excellent pistol shot, a skill he has honed by playing shooting games such as "Wild Gunman."
Marty's carefree attitude results in confrontations with his high school principal Mr. Strickland, who calls him a "slacker", comparing him to his father. After Strickland warns him against associating with Doc Brown and claims that no McFly ever amounted to anything, Marty shows determination, stating that he will change history. When confronted with a challenging circumstance, Marty often uses the catchphrase "This is heavy!" He frequently loses his temper whenever he is accused of cowardice. For the sequels, Gale said that they wanted to establish a character flaw for Marty that he has to overcome and realised that he is a "hothead", as demonstrated when he quickly becomes involved in a confrontation with the bully Biff Tannen. Gale said that this character flaw was then verbalised in Marty's catchphrase, "Nobody calls me chicken!", which he described as Marty's "Achilles' heel". Marty eventually learns a valuable lesson about choosing to walk away from a fight and refuses a driving race challenge that could have caused his death.
Marty frequently uses pop culture references, particularly when adopting aliases throughout the "Back to the Future" series. In the first film, soon after waking up in the bedroom of Lorraine in 1955, he adopts the name "Calvin Klein" after she starts calling him that due to it being Marty's brand of underwear. In the French dub of "Back to the Future", the name Calvin Klein was replaced by Pierre Cardin, after the French fashion designer. He also uses the alias "Darth Vader, an extraterrestrial from the Planet Vulcan", thereby confusing "Star Wars" with "Star Trek", while wearing a radiation suit to attempt to coerce George into asking Lorraine out to the dance. In the third film, he uses the name "Clint Eastwood" after traveling back to 1885. He also mimics the tough guy personas of Travis Bickle played by Robert De Niro in "Taxi Driver" and Dirty Harry played by Eastwood while practising with a pistol.
Physical appearance.
In "Back to the Future", Marty's clothing reflects the fashion of 1985. He wears a pair of Levi's jeans, paired with a buttoned shirt, a denim jacket with a puffer jacket on top and a pair of Nike Bruin shoes. In 1955, he wears a camp shirt, two-tone jacket and denim, later changing to a check jacket and tie. After time travelling with Doc Brown in the second film and arriving in the future on October 21, 2015, Marty wears a more futuristic outfit to blend in with the fashion of the era. His updated look features wearable technology, including a self-drying bomber jacket combined with jeans that have pockets worn on the outside and sneakers with automatic self-lacing technology. His skateboard is also replaced by a hoverboard. In the third film, after time travelling back to the year 1885, his outfit features a poncho and hat in a similar style to the Man with No Name, a film character portrayed by Eastwood.
Appearances.
"Back to the Future" films.
"Back to the Future".
In 1985, eccentric scientist Emmett "Doc" Brown invites Marty to join him at the Twin Pines Mall, where he shows him a time machine that he has invented out of a DeLorean. After inputting the date November 5, 1955, Libyan terrorists arrive and shoot him, as Doc Brown had used plutonium to power the DeLorean instead of building a nuclear weapon for them. During this exchange, Marty escapes from them in the time machine, accidentally traveling back to 1955 by reaching 88 miles per hour. There, he gets knocked over by a car in the place of his teenage father, George, which disrupts how his parents meet. After waking up in the bedroom of his teenage mother, Lorraine, she develops a crush on him. Marty contacts the younger version of Doc Brown and enlists his help to reunite his parents and travel back to 1985. He attempts to convince George to ask Lorraine out to the Enchantment Under the Sea dance, where they are fated to kiss for the first time. In the process, he draws the attention of bully Biff Tannen, who frequently bullies George. Marty concocts a plan with George in which he will rescue Lorraine from Marty's advances while they are parked in a car during the night of the dance in order to win her affections. That night Biff appears on the scene, taking Marty's place in the car. When George finds Biff with Lorraine, he finally gains the courage to stand up to him and knocks him out with a punch, securing Lorraine's affections. At the dance, Marty joins the band on stage and plays guitar, which results in George and Lorraine making their first kiss. Marty arrives at the Hill Valley clocktower in time to complete Doc Brown's plan to send him back to the future by using a lightning strike as a power source for the DeLorean. The plan is successful and Marty travels back to 1985. There he finds that his exploits in the past have changed the future, as George is a novelist and Biff works for him. He discovers that Doc Brown is still alive having worn a bulletproof vest after Marty warned him about his fate in 1955.
"Back to the Future Part II".
Doc Brown transports Marty and Jennifer to October 21, 2015 in the DeLorean to help their children, but their departure is witnessed by Biff. Their future selves have married and their teenage son, Marty Jr, will be arrested for getting involved in a robbery with Griff, Biff's grandson. Jennifer is knocked unconscious by Doc Brown and left asleep while Marty disguises himself as Marty Jr and comes into contact with the elder Biff. Marty refuses Griff's offer and gets into a hoverboard dash, resulting in Griff and his crew getting arrested instead of Marty Jr. Jennifer, who was left behind, is taken back to her 2015 home by the police after tracing her there using her fingerprints. Marty and Doc Brown rescue her while, unbeknownst to them, elder Biff steals their time machine and returns to 1955, where he gives his younger self a sports almanac from the future to use for gambling. When Marty returns to 1985, he discovers that Hill Valley is now a dystopia, with Biff becoming extraordinarily rich and corrupt. He had forcefully married Marty's mother, Lorraine, and secretly murdered Marty's father. He also legalized gambling in the process, becoming known as the "Luckiest Man on Earth". Marty and Doc Brown return to 1955 again to steal the almanac from Biff. At the high school dance, Marty tracks down the almanac in young Biff's possession while trying to avoid his other self. After a chase down a tunnel on his hoverboard, Marty succeeds in retrieving it from Biff. Doc Brown is accidentally transported back to 1885 after lightning strikes the DeLorean, leaving Marty stranded. Marty immediately receives a letter from Doc Brown, written on September 1, 1885, which informs him that he has traveled back in time. Marty then seeks the help of the 1955 version of Doc Brown.
"Back to the Future Part III".
Marty finds the 1955 version of Doc Brown and informs him of the previous events. Using the letter that Doc Brown sent from 1885, they find the DeLorean hidden in a mineshaft, but also discover a tombstone with Doc Brown's name on it. This reveals that he was shot and killed by Bufford "Mad Dog" Tannen six days after he wrote the letter. Marty decides to travel back to 1885 in the DeLorean in an effort to save Doc Brown. After Doc Brown sets the date to September 2, 1885, Marty time travels and hides the DeLorean in a cave. In 1885, he meets his great-great-grandparents, Seamus and Maggie, and their son, his great-grandfather. He discovers that Doc Brown has made a new life as a blacksmith. Marty crosses paths with "Mad Dog" Tannen, Biff's great-grandfather, and gets into a brawl with him. He is rescued by Doc Brown while being hung from a noose by Tannen. The two concoct a plan to get the DeLorean up to 88 miles per hour to transport Marty back to 1985 and save the Doc from being shot by Tannen. While they plan their escape, Marty and Doc Brown meet a teacher named Clara Clayton and Doc Brown falls in love with her. During a festival, "Mad Dog" and Marty agree to a one-on-one showdown on the day that Marty is meant to travel back to 1985. During the showdown, Marty defeats "Mad Dog" and proceeds with their time travel plan, which involves pushing the DeLorean with a steam engine over a ravine. Finally, Doc Brown decides to stay in 1885 with Clara while Marty travels back to 1985 in the DeLorean. Upon arrival in 1985, the time machine is destroyed by an oncoming train, but Marty escapes. He reunites with Jennifer and decides to decline a street race with Needles. While pondering over the wreckage of the DeLorean, Doc Brown arrives in a new time machine that he has built from a steam engine, alongside his wife Clara and their children, and tells them to make their future a good one as it has yet to be written, before bidding them farewell.
Video games.
In 1985, a "Back to the Future" video game loosely based on the film was released on the Commodore 64, featuring Marty as a playable character. Released by Electric Dreams, the game involves Marty interacting with other characters from the film and finding objects, while his progress is tracked by a photo of himself and his siblings disappearing. Another "Back to the Future" video game was released by LJN in 1989 on the Nintendo Entertainment System and features Marty running around Hill Valley to pick up clocks and avoid obstacles and enemies. This was followed in 1990 by "Back to the Future Part II & III", a side-scrolling platform game based on the second and third films, which was also released by LJN. A "Back to the Future Part II" video game was also published in 1990 by Image Works based on the film. A 1991 "Back to the Future Part III" video game was also released for 16-bit consoles, including the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amiga. In 1993, a video game titled "Super Back to the Future Part II" was published by Toshiba and developed by Daft for the Nintendo Super Famicon, which featured Marty as a playable character riding his hoverboard. In 2010, Telltale Games published "", an episodic video game. Set after the film trilogy, it features the voice of A.J. LoCascio as Marty, the player character. Fox reprised his role in the crossover toys-to-life Lego video game "Lego Dimensions". Marty is set to appear alongside Doc Brown in the upcoming video game, "Funko Fusion", which will be released in 2024.
Stage.
In 2014, a West End musical adaptation of "Back to the Future" was announced. Both Zemeckis and Gale were involved in the production, with Jamie Lloyd as director and co-writer. The aim was to produce a stage show with the spirit of the film, but with some additional music and lyrics. It was due to launch in 2015, the 30th anniversary of the film, but was delayed when Jamie Lloyd left the project due to creative differences. Stage actor Olly Dobson debuted the role of Marty in "Back to the Future: The Musical", which premiered at Manchester Opera House on 20 February 2020 and ran for 12 weeks before moving to the West End. In the London production at the Adelphi Theatre, he was succeeded by Ben Joyce. Casey Likes plays him in the Broadway production of the musical. For the North American tour that launched in June 2024 at Playhouse Square in Cleveland, Caden Brauch took on the role.
Other media.
David Kaufman voices Marty in "Back to the Future: The Animated Series", which ran for two seasons from 1991 to 1993. It follows the adventures of Marty, Doc and his wife Clara as they travel through time. Fox appeared as Marty in a television promo for the 2010 Scream Awards. Fox and Lloyd made an entrance in the DeLorean as Marty and Doc Brown on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" on October 21, 2015, the day the characters traveled to in "Back to the Future Part II". In the scene, the two characters were shown to be unimpressed by technological progress in 2015. For the same date, on "Back to the Future" Day, CollegeHumor released a cartoon skit featuring Marty and Doc Brown, which showed how they would react to real life in 2015. In 2020, Fox dressed in Wild West clothing as Marty in a trailer to promote the Christmas song "Holiday" by Lil Nas X.
Merchandise.
Nike Mag.
Marty's futuristic light-up, self-tying shoes worn in "Back to the Future Part II" were designed by Tinker Hatfield, a shoe designer at Nike. The company subsequently filed a patent in 2008 for a working prototype of the film prop designed by Tiffany Beers. In 2011, Nike launched the first replica light-up Nike Mag shoe, which was exclusively sold at auction with proceeds to the Michael J. Fox Foundation. This shoe still lacked the self-lacing technology. The auction was highly anticipated but limited to 1500 pairs. On Oct 21, 2015, Fox appeared on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" where he introduced the Nike Mag shoe with power laces to be auctioned in 2016. Nike produced 89 pairs that were made available in a raffle in October 2016, with proceeds donated to Fox's foundation.
Hoverboard.
After Marty appeared in "Back to the Future Part II" where he replaced his skateboard with a hoverboard, the invention of a real levitating board was in high demand. Rumours that a real hoverboard had been invented were fuelled by Zemeckis in a 30-minute documentary presented by Leslie Nielsen that aired on "NBC Friday Night At The Movies", which was designed to promote the film. Zemeckis stated that hoverboards were real, but parent groups had not allowed manufacturers to produce them, although some were found and used in the film. In "Back to the Future Part II", Fox appeared using a pink Mattel-branded board that has the appearance of a skateboard but hovers a few inches above the ground. Various companies have since produced versions of the hoverboard using a variety of technologies. In 2012, Mattel released a replica of the hoverboard for children, although it did not have the ability to hover. In 2014, a viral online video involving Lloyd that promoted a working hoverboard was revealed to be a hoax created by Funny or Die.
Reception.
Critical response.
Following the release of "Back to the Future", Marty received a largely positive response from critics. Vincent Canby of "The New York Times" appreciated the comedy in Marty's home life in 1985 and his adventures in 1955 and considered Fox's performance to be funny. Roger Ebert favorably compared Marty's story arc to Frank Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life", stating that he "begins with one view of his life and reality, and is allowed, through magical intervention, to discover another". Kirk Ellis of "The Hollywood Reporter" made a similar comparison and described Fox's portrayal as "appealing" stating that he was "easily one of the more intelligent-looking young actors to cross a screen recently". Conversely, "Los Angeles Times" reviewer Sheila Benson left an unfavorable review, describing Marty as "big on brashness and energy, dangerously low on subtlety". Ray Loynd writing for "Variety" enjoyed the "zestful" performance of Fox, describing him as an "Arthurian knight figure" and his rendition of "Johnny B. Goode" as an "audience-grabbing scene". Richard Corliss of "Time" responded positively to Marty's heavy metal riff and predicted that viewers would continue to love him for the next 30 years.
Cultural impact and legacy.
"Back to the Future" was a commercial success and the highest grossing film at the box office in 1985. It spawned two sequels and transformed Fox into a box office star. Due to the success and popularity of the film trilogy, Marty McFly is widely considered to be Fox's most celebrated film role. In the decades following the release of "Back to the Future", critics have reflected on the character's impact. Marty McFly was listed as one of the ten greatest sci-fi movie characters of all time by Olly Dyche of "MovieWeb", who described him as "an incredibly cool character" with "enough charm to make anyone swoon". Eric Francisco of "GamesRadar+" ranked him the seventh greatest movie character of the 1980s alongside Doc Brown. "Empire" magazine selected him as the 12th greatest movie character of all time. "GQ" chose Marty's 1985 clothing as one of the most iconic movie outfits, specifying the "double-denim, the flannel, the iconic red puffer vest". In a retrospective review, Justin Chang in the "Los Angeles Times" noted that "Back to the Future" is in essence Marty's story, specifically his struggle to control his existence, and considered every other character in the film an "afterthought". Kayla Turner of "Screen Rant" counted Marty as one of the film characters that defined the 1980s, describing him as a "timeless cultural icon whose influence extends far beyond the decade". Reflecting on the "Johnny B. Goode" scene in "Back to the Future," Jason Lipshutz of "Billboard" described Marty as "one of the most beloved characters in film history". Emily Lackey writing for "Bustle" called him a "pop culture icon". Fox has also been praised for his portrayal of Marty. "The Guardian" writer Hadley Freeman attributed much of the timelessness of "Back to the Future" to his performance commenting, "His bright-eyed charm and, yes, screwball energy give the film a joyful momentum that makes it an enduring pleasure". Mark Monahan writing for "The Telegraph" opined that "Back to the Future" would be a poorer film without Fox's "uniquely energetic charm". In a review, "Empire"'s Adam Smith opined that the film established Fox as "the finest light-comedy actor of his generation" and considered his portrayal of Marty as "the most charming screen presence of the 80s". Tom Breihan of "The A. V. Club" said that it was difficult to imagine anyone as perfect as Fox in the role of Marty and described him as "small and squinty and breezily charismatic".
Critics have paid tribute to a sequence in "Back to the Future" in which Marty takes to the stage at the high school dance, grabs a red Gibson ES-345 and leads a version of Chuck Berry's song "Johnny B. Goode" in front of a crowd of 1950s teenagers. In the film, his performance motivates the character Marvin Berry to call up his cousin and hold up the phone so that he can hear the new sound. Ben Travis of "Empire" described the scene as "Marty's coolest moment, channelling all of the actor's own rock star heroes". Gregory Wakeman of "Yahoo! Entertainment" considered it to be "arguably the most iconic sequence of the entire movie". "MovieWeb" called it "a staple of pop culture with innumerable movies and shows riffing on the scene's premise". "The Hollywood Reporter" cited it as the greatest moment in the film. David Browne writing for "Rolling Stone" highlighted that the scene could be viewed as problematic, as it implies that Marty, a white teenager, invented rock and roll and appropriates the music of Chuck Berry. The scene was reproduced in the stage adaptation but altered to remove the telephone conversation. According to Berry's son, Charles Berry Jr., this was not viewed as problematic by his father or himself and he recognized that it was just a movie. "Billboard"s Jason Lipshutz commented that the scene defined "Back to the Future" and epitomised its lead character: "Marty is a freight train, barging into high school gymnasiums and shootouts with terrorists and different dimensions with a hangdog charm and ease of knowing that he can skateboard past his problems." "Complex" listed the scene as one of the great moments in movie history.
Marty has been influential in popular culture and he has often been referenced in other media. Morty Smith of the American animated series "Rick and Morty" began as a parody of Marty McFly. He was the inspiration for the naming of the English band McFly. Tom Holland cited Marty as his main inspiration for Peter Parker in "". He said, "My goal was to try and kind of be our generation's Marty McFly." Japanese pro wrestler Kushida has dressed as Marty McFly as part of his ring character. In 2018, "The Great British Bake Off" opened a series with a skit involving host Sandi Toksvig dressed as Marty alongside Noel Fielding dressed as Doc Brown. "The Daily Dot" reported in 2018 that Marty had become an internet meme, in particular a scene in which he plays heavy rock at the school dance in 1955 and the teenagers fail to appreciate his music. The meme was used to express something considered too far ahead of its time, quoting Marty's response "Guess you’re not ready for that yet, but your kids are gonna love it". In October 2021, Daniel Craig reenacted a "Back to the Future" scene in the role of Marty with James Corden and Christopher Lloyd on "The Late Late Show". Season 3 of "Stranger Things" includes numerous references to "Back to the Future", including visual homages to the character. In the 2023 film "The Flash", Marty is referenced as a joke when Barry Allen travels back in time to stop his mother from being murdered and changes history in the process. He is horrified to discover that Marty is portrayed by Stoltz in "Back to the Future" instead of Fox. When Fox joined British band Coldplay on stage at Glastonbury in 2024, Chris Martin explained, "The main reason why we're in a band is because of watching "Back to the Future"".
Awards and honours.
For his portrayal of Marty McFly, Fox received several awards and nominations. In 1985, he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for "Back to the Future". He also won a Saturn Award for Best Actor in 1985 for the film. In 1986, he won a Jupiter Award for Best International Actor for the role.
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Spock
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Spock is a fictional character in the "Star Trek" media franchise. He first appeared in the serving aboard the starship USS "Enterprise" as science officer and first officer (and Kirk's second-in-command) and later as commanding officer of the vessel. Spock's mixed human–Vulcan heritage serves as an important plot element in many of the character's appearances. Along with Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy (DeForest Kelley), he is one of the three central characters in the original "Star Trek" series and its films. After retiring from active duty in Starfleet, Spock served as a Federation ambassador, and later became involved in the ill-fated attempt to save Romulus from a supernova, leading him to live out the rest of his life in a parallel universe.
Spock was played by Leonard Nimoy in the original "Star Trek" series, ', eight of the "Star Trek" feature films, and a two-part episode of '. Multiple actors have played the character since Nimoy within "Star Trek"s main continuity; the most recent portrayal is Ethan Peck, who played Spock as a recurring character in the second season of ' and in ', and as a main character in "" (both a "Discovery" spin-off and a prequel to the original "Star Trek" series). Additionally, Zachary Quinto played an alternate reality version of Spock in the feature films "Star Trek" (2009), "Star Trek Into Darkness" (2013), and "Star Trek Beyond" (2016). Although the three films are set in the aforementioned parallel timeline, Nimoy appears in the first two as the original timeline's Spock.
Aside from the series and films in the "Star Trek" franchise, Spock has also appeared in numerous novels, comics, and video games. Nimoy's portrayal of Spock made a significant cultural impact and earned him three Emmy Award nominations. His public profile as Spock was so strong that both his autobiographies, "I Am Not Spock" (1975) and "I Am Spock" (1995), were written from the viewpoint of coexistence with the character.
Appearances.
Background.
Born to the Vulcan Sarek (Mark Lenard) and the human Amanda Grayson (Jane Wyatt), Spock's backstory has been addressed during several episodes of ', the 2009 film "Star Trek" and the ' episode, "'". His mixed heritage led to a troubled childhood; full-blooded Vulcan children repeatedly bullied him on their home world to incite the emotions of his human nature. For a time, he grew up alongside his older half-brother Sybok, until the older brother was cast out for rejecting logic. In ', it is revealed that Spock has a human, adopted sister, Michael Burnham. According to the episode "Amok Time", Spock was betrothed to T'Pring (Arlene Martel) during his childhood.
Sarek supported Spock's scientific learning and application to the Vulcan Science Academy, as mentioned in "Journey to Babel". In the 2009 film "Star Trek", Spock rejects his acceptance into the Vulcan Science Academy on the basis that they would never fully accept someone who was only half-Vulcan. Although this film set the Kelvin timeline scene in this and later films, writer Roberto Orci stated that he felt that the actions were unaffected by the changes in this timeline and so would have occurred in the same manner prior to "The Original Series". Because Spock did not enter the VSA and sought to join Starfleet instead, he did not speak to his father for the following 18 years.
"The Cage" and the first season.
Spock appeared as the science officer on the USS "Enterprise" in the first pilot for the series, ". This was not shown on television at the time, but the events of the episode were shown in the two-part episode " of the , and Spock's previous 11 years of service on the "Enterprise" were described. Spock was one of the members of the away team who joined Captain Christopher Pike (Jeffrey Hunter) on a mission to Talos IV to investigate a distress call. Spock did appear in the second pilot, "Where No Man Has Gone Before", but this was broadcast initially as the third episode. During the events of that pilot, Spock became concerned at the risk to the ship posed by Lieutenant Commander Gary Mitchell (Gary Lockwood) and suggested possible solutions to Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner).
The earliest appearance of Spock in the series as broadcast was in "The Man Trap", the first such episode. When he needs to knock out an evil version of Kirk in "", he uses a Vulcan nerve pinch. Spock and Chief Engineer Montgomery "Scotty" Scott (James Doohan) work together to rejoin the good and evil versions of the Captain, which had been split following a transporter accident. During "", he finds himself to be the only member of the landing party to be immune to the physical effects of the disease affecting human adults on the planet. However, he realizes that he is probably a carrier and could infect the "Enterprise" if he were to return. Doctor Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley) manages to devise a cure, allowing the team to return to the ship.
When Simon van Gelder enters the bridge armed with a phaser in "Dagger of the Mind", Spock subdues him with a nerve pinch. He later conducts a mind meld with van Gelder as part of the investigation into the activities of the nearby colony. After power to the colony is shut down, and a protective force field drops, Spock leads an away team to rescue Kirk. Spock is reunited with Christopher Pike (Sean Kenney) in "The Menagerie". Pike had been promoted to Fleet Captain but suffered an accident, resulting in severe burns and confining him to a wheelchair and restricting his communication to yes/no answers via a device connected to his brainwaves. Spock commits mutiny and directs the ship to travel to Talos IV, a banned planet. He recounts the events of "The Cage" under a tribunal to Kirk, Pike and Commodore Jose I. Mendez (Malachi Throne). As the "Enterprise" arrives at the planet, Mendez is revealed to be a Talosian illusion. At the same time, the real Mendez communicates from Starfleet, giving permission for Pike to be transported to the planet, and all charges against Spock are dropped.
While the "Enterprise" is under threat in "Balance of Terror", Spock is accused by Lieutenant Stiles (Paul Comi) of knowing more about the Romulans than he admits when the alien's similar physical appearance is revealed. Spock hypothesizes that they are an offshoot of the Vulcan race. He saves the "Enterprise", manning the phaser station and saves the life of Stiles in the process. In "The Galileo Seven", Spock leads a landing party on the shuttlecraft "Galileo", which is damaged and pulled off its course before landing on the planet Taurus II. Lieutenant Boma (Don Marshall) criticizes Spock's fascination with the weaponry of the natives after the death of Lieutenant Latimer (Rees Vaughn) at their hands. After Scotty uses the power packs of the party's phasers to supply enough energy to get the damaged shuttle back into orbit, Spock decides to dump and ignite the remaining fuel to attract the attention of the "Enterprise". The procedure is successful and the crew on the shuttle are rescued.
Spock is reunited with Leila Kalomi (Jill Ireland) in "" after joining an away team to the planet Omicron Ceti III. After being affected by planet spores, Spock begins showing emotion and re-initiates his romantic liaison with Kalomi. The impact of the spores on him is cured after Kirk goads him into anger, and once freed of the effects, Spock is able to initiate a solution which cures the rest of the crew. Spock attempts to mind meld with a non-humanoid Horta in "The Devil in the Dark", having initially suggested that Kirk should kill the creature. Following a second mind meld, Spock relays the history of the Horta and is able to create peace between the aliens and a nearby colony. Both Spock and Kirk undertake guerrilla warfare against the occupying Klingon forces on the planet Organia, prior to the establishment of the Organian Peace Treaty in "Errand of Mercy". To restore the timeline, he travels with Kirk back to 1930's New York City in "The City on the Edge of Forever". He uses technology of that period to interface with his tricorder over the course of the weeks they spend in the period before witnessing Edith Keeler's (Joan Collins) death.
Season two and three.
During the premiere episode of the second season, "Amok Time", Spock begins to undergo pon farr, the Vulcan blood fever, and must undergo a ritual mating in the next eight days or die. Kirk disobeys Starfleet orders and takes the "Enterprise" to the planet Vulcan so that Spock can undergo the mating ritual. When they arrive, he is reunited with T'Pring (Arlene Martel). She rather wishes to be with Stonn (Lawrence Montaigne), a full-blooded Vulcan. She demands the ritual kal-if-fee fight instead, and selects Kirk as her champion, who unknowingly agrees to a fight to the death with Spock. McCoy persuades T'Pau (Celia Lovsky) to let him inject Kirk with something to alleviate the issues with Vulcan's thinner atmosphere and make the fight fair. The fight begins, and Spock gains the upper hand, garroting Kirk and killing him. McCoy orders an emergency transport directly to sickbay, while Spock is told by T'Pring that it was all a game of logic which would let her be with Stonn no matter the outcome. No longer feeling the effects of the pon farr, Spock returns to the "Enterprise" where he discovers that McCoy had injected Kirk with a paralyzing agent which merely simulated death and that the Captain was still alive.Over the course of the encounter with the "Nomad" space probe in ", Spock undertakes a mind meld with the machine. Kirk stops the meld when he realizes that Spock's personality starts to be changed by the contact. Following a transporter accident which transports Kirk, McCoy, Uhura and Scotty to a Mirror Universe and swaps them with their counterparts in the episode ", they encounter a different version of Spock. Sporting a beard, he grows suspicious of the activities of the suddenly changed personnel and under Starfleet orders, attempts to kill Kirk. Mirror-Spock is knocked unconscious, and is treated by McCoy while the others head to the transporter to attempt to return to their universe. Spock awakes and mind melds with McCoy to discover why Kirk did not have him killed. Discovering what took place, he agrees to help them return and as he mans the transporter controls, Kirk implores him to take control and save not only the ship but his Terran Empire from implosion at the hands of tyrants. The switch is once again successful, and the crew members return to their relevant universes.
"The Motion Picture" and the film series.
At the beginning of ' (1979), Spock is no longer serving in Starfleet, having resigned and returned home to pursue the Vulcan discipline of Kolinahr. Unable to complete the Kolinahr ritual after he senses the coming of V'ger, he rejoins Starfleet to aid the "Enterprise" crew in their mission. Spock, promoted to captain, is commanding officer of the "Enterprise" at the beginning of ' (1982). At the film's end, he transfers his "katra" – the sum of his memories and experience – to McCoy, and then sacrifices himself to save the ship and its crew from Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalbán). The sequel, ' (1984), focuses on his crewmates' quest to recover Spock's body, learning upon arrival that he has been resurrected by the Genesis matrix after landing on the planet at the end of the previous film. At the film's conclusion, Spock's revived body is reunited with his katra. Spock is next seen in ' (1986), which depicts his recovery from the after-effects of his resurrection. After saving planet Earth with his comrades, Spock reconciles with his father who has reconsidered his opinion regarding Spock's life choices and his friends. In the film's final scene, he joins the crew of the newly commissioned USS "Enterprise"-A under Kirk's command. In ' (1989), Spock and the "Enterprise" crew confront the renegade Sybok, Spock's half-brother. ' (1991) reunites the "Enterprise" crew on a mission to prevent war from erupting between the Federation and Klingon Empire. Spock serves as a special envoy to broker peace with the Klingons after a natural disaster devastates their homeworld.
"Star Trek: The Next Generation".
After a period during which the production team avoided mentioning some aspects of The Original Series, Spock was mentioned by name in " in the episode " (1990). Executive producer Michael Piller later described this one act as "the breakthrough which allowed us to open the doors, that allowed us to begin to embrace our past".
Spock appears in "" (1991), a two-part episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation". Set 75 years after the events of "The Undiscovered Country", the episode focuses on Federation Ambassador Spock's attempt to reunite the Romulans with their Vulcan brethren. Filming of "The Undiscovered Country" overlapped with production of this episode, and the episode references Spock's role in the film. While Spock's initial unification campaign fails, he chooses to remain on Romulus in secret to help the movement.
Reboot films.
"Star Trek" (2009).
Spock's next appearance in the live action "Star Trek" franchise is the 2009 "Star Trek" film. Nimoy was given approval rights over Spock's casting and supported Quinto being cast as the role. During the film's flashback, set 19 years after the events of "", and as depicted in the comic miniseries "Star Trek: Countdown", Ambassador Spock (Nimoy) promises the Romulans he will use Vulcan technology to save them from a rogue supernova that threatens to destroy their Empire. He pilots an advanced starship equipped with red matter, a powerful substance able to create artificial black holes. The mission is only partially successful, and in the aftermath, Spock is pursued into the past by Nero (Eric Bana), a Romulan driven mad by the loss of his homeworld and family, setting into motion the events of the film.
In the film's opening act, Nero's ship emerges in the year 2233, and through its interaction with the inhabitants, inadvertently creates an "alternate, parallel 'Star Trek' universe". Twenty-five years later, in the new reality, Spock's ship emerges and Nero captures him and the red matter. Stranded in the alternate past, the prime version of Spock helps the alternate, younger version of himself and Kirk (Zachary Quinto and Chris Pine, respectively) thwart Nero's attempt to destroy the Federation.
The film also features Jacob Kogan in several scenes depicting Spock's childhood, including his abuse at the hands of other Vulcan children due to his half-Human heritage, and his relationship with his parents (Ben Cross and Winona Ryder). The film also depicts Kirk and Spock's initial clashes at Starfleet Academy, and the gradual development of their friendship based on shared mutual respect, what the elder Spock calls "...a friendship that will define them both in ways they cannot yet realize." A major change in characterization from the primary timeline is alternate Spock's involvement with alternate Uhura (Zoe Saldana), his former student. At the end of the film, the young Spock opts to remain in Starfleet while his older self stays in the altered universe to aid the few surviving Vulcan refugees, as Nero had destroyed Vulcan, Spock's home planet.
"Star Trek Into Darkness" (2013).
In "Star Trek Into Darkness", Spock Prime is described as living on 'New Vulcan' while the younger Spock remains aboard the "Enterprise", struggling with the loss of his home world, as well as his relationships with Uhura and James T. Kirk. Spock nearly dies protecting a planet from an active volcano, but Kirk breaks the Prime Directive and saves him. Spock Prime is contacted by Spock on the "Enterprise", to find out details on Khan. Spock Prime initially reminds his alternate self that he will not interfere with the events in the alternate timeline. That being said, he then informs Spock that Khan was a dangerous man, and the greatest threat that the "Enterprise" ever faced in his own timeline, and warns that he is likely as dangerous in Spock's alternate timeline as well. When asked whether Khan was defeated, Spock Prime answers that he eventually was defeated, but at great cost (referring to the events of ""). When Kirk contracts radiation poisoning and dies in front of Spock (a transposed parallel of events in the prime timeline where Spock dies in front of Kirk), an enraged and vengeful Spock attempts to kill Khan to avenge Kirk before Uhura informs him that Khan's regenerative blood can revive Kirk. Nearly a year later, Spock remains as Kirk's chief science officer and executive officer as the "Enterprise" departs on its first five-year mission of deep-space exploration.
"Into Darkness" would be Nimoy's final appearance as Spock Prime, as well as the last role of his career. He died in 2015, shortly before production began on "Star Trek Beyond."
"Star Trek Beyond" (2016).
In "Star Trek Beyond", Spock receives word that Ambassador Spock (Spock Prime) has died. Impacted by this, Spock later tells McCoy that he intends to leave Starfleet to continue the ambassador's work on New Vulcan. At the end of the film, Spock receives a box containing some of Ambassador Spock's personal effects, and reflecting on a photograph of the older crew of the "Enterprise" from the series' original timeline, he chooses to remain in Starfleet.
"Star Trek: Discovery".
In August 2018, it was announced that Ethan Peck would join the cast of "" as Spock in the show's second season, portraying a Spock younger than both Nimoy's and Quinto's renditions of the character, as "Discovery" is set several years before the Original Series and Kelvin Timeline films.
As of his appearances on "Discovery", Spock is a Lieutenant, serving under Captain Christopher Pike on the "Enterprise". Due to the trauma Spock suffered because of his visions of the "Red Angel", he is on leave from the "Enterprise" and under psychiatric care. His adopted sister Michael Burnham is attempting to help him recover.
The introduction to the second-season episode, "If Memory Serves", uses archival footage of Nimoy as Spock from the unaired pilot episode "The Cage", and the third-season episode "Unification III" uses archival footage of Nimoy again from the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode "". The latter appearance is a holographic recording from the records of Jean-Luc Picard, and is shown to Michael Burnham after she travels to the 31st Century, a time in which the Romulan and Vulcan peoples remember Ambassador Spock as the cause of their reunification on the planet Ni'Var, the newly renamed Vulcan.
"Star Trek: Short Treks".
In 2019, it was announced that the character Spock, as played by Peck would appear in two "", along with Captain Pike. He reprised the role in the episodes "Q&A" and "Ask Not".
"Star Trek: Strange New Worlds".
In May 2020, it was announced that Spock (Ethan Peck) would return in the series "" alongside Captain Pike (Anson Mount) and Number One / Una (Rebecca Romijn).
Development.
"The Original Series".
The earliest known mention of Spock occurred during a conversation between "Star Trek"s creator, Gene Roddenberry, and actor Gary Lockwood, in which Lockwood suggested Leonard Nimoy for the role. The trio had previously worked together on Roddenberry's "The Lieutenant", in the episode "In the Highest Tradition". Roddenberry agreed to the idea, but was required to audition other actors for the part. At the time, Roddenberry sought DeForest Kelley to play the doctor character in the pilot, "The Cage", but both NBC executives and director Robert Butler wanted Kelley to play Spock. Roddenberry offered the part to both Kelley and Martin Landau, but they both turned him down. When offered, Nimoy accepted the part, but was apprehensive about the make-up, which had not yet been determined.
During an interview segment of TV Land's 40th anniversary "Star Trek" marathon on November 12, 2006, Leonard Nimoy stated that Gene Roddenberry's first choice to play Spock was George Lindsey. Because of the flippant way Nimoy makes the comment, it has been suggested that he was joking. The claim Lindsey was offered the role is given more credibility when Lindsey's close friend Ernest Borgnine writes in his autobiography, "my hand to God – he turned down the part of Mr. Spock on TV's "Star Trek", the role that made Leonard Nimoy famous."
The character evolved from having a metal plate in his stomach, through which he ingested energy, to being a half-Martian in the original 1964 pitch, with a "slightly reddish complexion and semi-pointed ears". Due to Roddenberry's concern that a Mars landing might take place before the end of the series, Spock's home planet was changed. Lee Greenway conducted the initial makeup tests on Nimoy, but after four or five days, Fred Phillips was asked to take over. Phillips in turn asked John Chambers to create Spock's ears, as he was working on getting an appropriate shade of red for Spock's skin; this idea was later abandoned in favor of a yellow hue because of the effects on black and white television. Nimoy hated the ears, and Roddenberry promised him that if he was still unhappy by the 13th episode then they'd find a way to write them out. The NBC executives were also concerned, as they felt it made the character satanic.
At Roddenberry's insistence, Spock was the only character retained for the second pilot, "Where No Man Has Gone Before". However, NBC demanded that he be only a background character, and when it went to series, the tips of Spock's ears were airbrushed out on promotional materials. It was during early episodes such as "The Corbomite Maneuver" and "The Naked Time" that Nimoy came to understand the nature of the character. After eight episodes, NBC executives complained to Roddenberry that there was not enough Spock in the series; "Spockmania" had begun. In response, Spock was moved to a more prominent role within the series, such as taking the lead role in "This Side of Paradise" over Sulu. The popularity of the character caused frictions with Shatner, and rumors spread that he was going to be dropped from the show and replaced as the lead by Nimoy as Spock. A drawn out contract renegotiation at the start of resulted in Roddenberry considering whether or not to replace Nimoy and the character. Both Mark Lenard and Lawrence Montaigne were seriously considered.
The character continued to develop, with Nimoy creating the Vulcan salute during the filming of "Amok Time". This was based on a Jewish Kohen he had seen as a child. During the course of the season, a rift grew between Nimoy and Roddenberry and by the end of the year, they only spoke through formal letters. After the departure of producer Gene L. Coon and the stepping back of Roddenberry during the , Nimoy found that the writing of Spock deteriorated. In particular, he did not like the character being made a fool of during the episode "Spock's Brain". The interracial kiss between Kirk and Uhura in "Plato's Stepchildren" had been intended by the writers to be between Spock and Uhura, but Shatner persuaded them to change it.
For his role as Spock, Leonard Nimoy was nominated three times Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, and is currently the only "Star Trek" actor to be nominated for an Emmy.
Revival attempts and the film franchise.
Nimoy agreed to return to Spock during one of the early 1970s attempts to create a "Star Trek" film, entitled ', but dropped out after his likeness as Spock was used without permission to advertise Heineken beer. He was persuaded to return to the role of Spock as the lead for the planned "Trek" film titled ' to be directed by Philip Kaufman. When this project was killed in favor of a new television series, ', Nimoy was reportedly just offered only a recurring part by Roddenberry, so refused to appear at all. When the decision was made to turn the TV pilot script into ', director Robert Wise insisted Nimoy to return as the character, which was only accomplished by Jeffrey Katzenberg forcing Paramount to settle the dispute with Nimoy over licensing use of his image.
As on the series, Nimoy, calling on method acting training, would often not break character between takes.
Dissatisfied with the first Trek feature, Nimoy was reluctant to return for ' but was convinced by the promise of a dramatic death scene. Nimoy enjoyed the production of the film so much that despite his character's on-screen death he wanted to return for a sequel. The film's success allowed Nimoy to successfully negotiate to direct the next installment in addition to briefly appearing as a reanimated Spock. The resulting film, ' was successful enough that Nimoy was asked to direct once more for '. The following film of the series, the William Shatner-directed ' was initially unacceptable to Nimoy because it called for Spock to betray Kirk and side with his newly introduced half-brother Sybok. Nimoy felt his character had already come to terms with his human-side thus Sybok would have no influence on him, and forced the script to be changed before signing on. Nimoy subsequently organized ', choosing the director, writers and producers. To hand over to ' at the time of "The Undiscovered Country", Nimoy agreed to appear as Spock in the episode "Unification". Nimoy subsequently turned down the directing role on "Star Trek Generations" as he wanted to rework the script, and refused reprising the role of Spock for what was essentially a cameo appearance, and his character's lines were subsequently given to Scotty.
When recasting the role for 2009's "Star Trek", Nimoy was asked his opinion. He highlighted the work of Zachary Quinto, as he felt he looked similar and could portray the inner thought process of the character. Quinto became the first actor to be cast for the film, and Nimoy agreed to return as the version of the character from the "Prime" universe. Nimoy said that he returned because of the enthusiasm from director J. J. Abrams and the writers, and because it made him feel appreciated. Nimoy made a final appearance as Spock in "Star Trek Into Darkness" as a favor to Abrams. At the time, he did not rule out returning again, but he died prior to the following film. In "Star Trek Beyond", Quinto's Spock mourns the loss of Spock Prime, as played by Nimoy.
Reception.
"Given the choice", Nimoy said years after the show ended, "if I had to be someone else, I would be Spock." He recalled, more than a decade after the show's cancellation:
From early on, the public reacted very positively—even fanatically—to his character, in what "The Boston Globe" in 1967 described as "Spockmania". Headshots of Spock became popular souvenirs, with the rare ones of the actor laughing the most valuable. Nimoy reported that "within two weeks after ["Amok Time"], my mail jumped from a few hundred letters to 10,000 a week". When he appeared as Spock as grand marshal of a Medford, Oregon, parade in April 1967, thousands gathered to receive autographs: "They surged forward so quickly that I was terrified someone would be crushed to death; and then they started pressing against the bandstand so hard it began to sway beneath my feet!" After being rescued by police, "I made sure never to appear publicly again in Vulcan guise", Nimoy stated.
Fans asked Nimoy questions about current events such as the Vietnam War and LSD as if he were the Vulcan scientist; one even asked the actor to lay his hands on a friend's eyes to heal them. When a biracial girl wrote asking for advice on how to deal with persecution as "a half-breed", Nimoy responded that young Vulcans had treated Spock similarly and that she should, as he did, "realize the difference between popularity and true greatness". The actor believed that the character appealed to viewers, especially teenagers, because
To Nimoy's surprise, Spock became a sex symbol; Isaac Asimov described the character as "a security blanket with sexual overtones" and Nimoy reported, "I've never had more female attention on a set before. And get this: they all want to "touch the ears!"" (When a young woman asked "Are you aware that you are the source of erotic dream material for thousands and thousands of ladies around the world?", he replied "May all your dreams come true".) Nimoy speculated that Spock appealed to women because
NASA made Spock an informal mascot. Nimoy was invited to be guest of honor at the March 1967 National Space Club dinner and to take an extensive tour of the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD. The actor concluded from the warm and intense reception he received that astronauts like John Glenn and aerospace industry engineers, secretaries, and shareholders alike all regarded "Star Trek", and especially the character of Spock, as a "dramatization of the future of their space program".
An asteroid in the Eos family discovered on August 16, 1971, was named after the discoverer James B. Gibson's cat (which had been named Mr. Spock, who was likewise "imperturbable, logical, intelligent, and had pointed ears").
Spock proved inspirational to many budding scientists and engineers. Nimoy has said that many of them, on meeting him, were eager to show him their work and discuss it with him as if he were a scientific peer, as opposed to an actor, photographer, and poet. His stock response in these situations was "it certainly looks like you're headed in the right direction".
In 2004, Spock was ranked number 21 in Bravo's list of The 100 Greatest TV Characters. In 2008, UGO named Spock one of the 50 greatest TV characters. According to Shatner, much of "Star Trek"s acting praise and media interest went to Nimoy.
In 2012, IGN ranked the character Spock, as depicted in the original series and the 2009 film "Star Trek", as the second top character of the "Star Trek" universe, with Kirk in the top spot.
In 2016, Adam Nimoy released his documentary film "For the Love of Spock", about his father and his iconic character.
In 2017, Screen Rant ranked Spock the 5th most attractive person in the "Star Trek" universe, in between Michael Burnham and Seven of Nine. In 2018, they ranked Spock as one of the top 8 most powerful characters of "Star Trek" (including later series).
In 2018, CBR ranked Spock the 6th best Starfleet character of the "Star Trek" franchise.
Reaction to Spock's death.
"The Wrath of Khan" had its first public screening at a science-fiction convention in Overland Park, Kansas on May 8, 1982, almost a month before general release. Although Paramount executives were concerned that Spock's death would set fans against the movie, the audience actually applauded after Spock's death scene. "It was sensational. I hate to be given to superlatives but it absolutely reached everything we wanted it to. I couldn't ask for anything better," said co-producer Robert Sallin of the advance audience's reaction.
Critical reaction to Spock's death was mixed. Film critic Roger Ebert lauded Spock's death: "He makes a choice in "Star Trek II" that would be made only by a hero, a fool, or a Vulcan. And when he makes his decision, the movie rises to one of its best scenes, because the "Star Trek" stories have always been best when they centered on their characters." Conversely, "The Washington Post"s Gary Arnold states that Spock's death "feels like an unnecessary twist, and the filmmakers are obviously well-prepared to fudge in case the public demands another sequel."
Twenty-five years later, Spock's death in "The Wrath of Khan" ranks number 2 on Total Film's list of 25 greatest "Star Trek" movie moments, and number 1 on IGN Movie's top 10 "Star Trek" movie moments.
"Star Trek" (2009).
Ty Burr of "The Boston Globe" described Quinto's performance in the 2009 film as "something special", and stated that Nimoy's appearance "carries much more emotion than you'd expect". "Slate" said Quinto played Spock "with a few degrees more chill" than Nimoy brought to the original character. "Entertainment Weekly" said that Quinto "...invests Spock with a new layer of chilly-smoldering sex appeal, [and] Quinto does a fantastic job of maintaining Spock's calm, no-sweat surface but getting quietly hot and bothered underneath."
Cultural impact.
Spock has been parodied by, and has also been the inspiration for, pop culture works in various media. Composer/keyboardist George Duke's "1976 Solo Keyboard Album" features two tracks which pay homage to Spock: "Spock Gets Funky" and "Vulcan Mind Probe". Rock guitarist Paul Gilbert wrote the song "Mr. Spock" on his "Space Ship One" album. Swedish synthpop band S.P.O.C.K makes music heavily influenced by the "Star Trek" universe. Assuming the Spock character, Nimoy recorded a number of novelty songs, the first being "Highly Illogical", in which Spock pointed out the foibles of human thought, such as relationships, automobiles, and greed. A second song, "A Visit to a Sad Planet", was darker in tone and told the story of Spock visiting Earth in the future and discovering it had been ruined by war, violence, and environmental irresponsibility. According to comic book writer and editor Bob Budiansky, "The Transformers" character Shockwave was inspired by Spock. Spock's utilitarian perspective that "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few" is cited in a legal decision rendered by the Texas Supreme Court. Leonard Nimoy's second-season Spock costume shirt was expected to sell at auction for over $75,000.
Spock's physical appearance in the "Original Series" episode "" (1967) has itself spawned a trope of the "evil twin" archetype found in various fictional genres. In that episode, several members of the "Enterprise" travel to a parallel universe inhabited by evil versions of themselves. The parallel universe version of Spock is distinguished physically by his goatee. Science fiction blog io9 said that Spock's beard in the episode introduced "the best shorthand ever for evil parallel universe duplicates". Examples of the evil goatee's appearances in other media include the host segments of episode 611 of the TV series Mystery Science Theater 3000, Bender's "evil twin" Flexo in "Futurama", and a 2009 episode of "The Colbert Report" featuring Stephen Colbert and Dan Maffei wearing fake goatees while pretending to be evil versions of themselves. The name of progressive rock band Spock's Beard is a direct reference to Spock's goatee in this episode.
Fan productions.
In addition to television, feature films, books, and parodies, Spock has also been portrayed in non-canon fan fiction. Since 2004, the online fan production "" has continued the further voyages of the canceled initial series. The fan-series' creators feel "Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and the rest should be treated as 'classic' characters like Willy Loman from "Death of a Salesman", Gandalf from "The Lord of the Rings", or even Hamlet, Othello, or Romeo. Many actors have and can play the roles, each offering a different interpretation of said character."
The fan series "" has featured three actors in the role of Spock. Spock was portrayed by Jeffrey Quinn for the pilot and first three episodes, by Ben Tolpin in episodes 4 and 5, and by Brandon Stacy in episodes 6 through 11. Stacy also served as a stand-in for Zachary Quinto in the 2009 "Star Trek" film.
The independent online fan series "Star Trek Continues" featured Todd Haberkorn as Spock in three vignettes and eleven full episodes between 2013 and 2017.
In scientific illustrator Jenny Parks' 2017 book "Star Trek Cats", Spock is depicted as an Oriental Shorthair.
"Spocking" Canadian $5 notes.
There has been a practice of altering the portrait of Wilfrid Laurier, Canada's prime minister from 1896 to 1911, on Canadian five-dollar notes to look like Spock. After the death of Nimoy in 2015, there was an increase in that practice.
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Charlie Brown
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Charles "Charlie" Brown is the principal character of the comic strip "Peanuts", syndicated in daily and Sunday newspapers in numerous countries all over the world. Depicted as a "lovable loser", Charlie Brown is one of the great American archetypes and a popular and widely recognized cartoon character. Charlie Brown is characterized as a person who frequently suffers, and as a result, is usually nervous and lacks self-confidence. He shows both pessimistic and optimistic attitudes: on some days, he is apprehensive to even get out of bed because he is unable to face the world, but on others, he hopes for the best and is determined to accomplish things. Charlie Brown is easily recognized by his round head and trademark zigzag patterned shirt. His catchphrase is "Good Grief!"
The character's creator, Charles M. Schulz, said that Charlie Brown "has to be the one who suffers, because he is a caricature of the average person. Most of us are much more acquainted with losing than we are with winning." Despite this, Charlie Brown does not always suffer, as he has experienced some happy moments and victories through the years, and he has sometimes uncharacteristically shown self-assertiveness despite his frequent nervousness. Schulz also said: "I like to have Charlie Brown eventually be the focal point of almost every story." Charlie Brown is the only "Peanuts" character to have appeared regularly in the strip throughout its entire 50-year run.
Lee Mendelson, producer of the majority of the Peanuts television specials, has said of Charlie Brown that "He was, and is, the ultimate survivor in overcoming bulliness—Lucy or otherwise."
Charlie Brown is eight years old for most of the strip's floating timeline. Initially, he suggests he lives in an apartment, with his grandmother occupying the one above his; a few years into the strip, he moves to a house with a backyard. He is always referred to as "Charlie Brown" and never simply "Charlie" by most of the other characters in the strip, including his sister, Sally (who also refers to him as "big brother") and Snoopy, his dog (who sometimes calls him "the round-headed kid"), with the exception of Peppermint Patty and Marcie who address him as "Chuck" and "Charles" respectively.
History.
1940s–1950s.
The character's name was first used on May 30, 1948, in an early Schulz comic strip titled "Li'l Folks". The character made his official debut in the first "Peanuts" comic strip on October 2, 1950. The strip features Charlie Brown walking by, as two other children named Shermy and Patty look at him. Shermy refers to him as "Good Ol' Charlie Brown" as he passes by, but then immediately reveals his hatred toward him once he is gone on the last panel. In the very early days of the strip, Charlie Brown was explicitly identified as being four years old; he would age very slowly over the next several years, being old enough to attend elementary school by the 1960s. During the strip's early years, Charlie Brown was much more impish and lighthearted and not the dour defeatist he would soon become. He was something of a smart-aleck and would often play pranks and jokes on the other characters. On December 21, 1950, his signature zig-zag pattern first appeared on his formerly plain T-shirt. By April 25, 1952, his T-shirt was changed to a polo shirt with a collar and the zig-zag. On the March 6, 1951, strip, Charlie Brown first appears to play baseball, as he was warming up before telling Shermy that they can start the game; however, he was the catcher and not yet the pitcher and manager of his team.
Charlie Brown's relationships with other "Peanuts" characters initially differed significantly from their later states, and their concepts were grown up through this decade until they reached their more-established forms. An example is his relationship with Violet Gray, to whom he was introduced in the February 7, 1951, strip. The two constantly remained on fairly good terms, a bit different from their later somewhat tepid relationship. In the August 16, 1951, strip, she called Charlie Brown a "blockhead", being the first time Charlie Brown was referred by that insult. The strip for November 14 of that year featured the first appearance of the famous football gag, with Violet in the role that would later be filled by Lucy.
On May 30, 1951, Charlie Brown is introduced to Schroeder. As Schroeder is still a baby, Charlie Brown cannot converse with him. On June 1 of the same year, Charlie Brown stated that he felt like a father to Schroeder; in fact, for quite some time, he sometimes acted like a father to him, trying to teach him words and reading stories to him. On September 24 of that year, he taught Schroeder how to play the piano, the instrument which would later become Schroeder's trademark. On that year's October 10, strip, he told Schroeder the story of Beethoven and set in motion the piano player's obsession with the composer. Charlie Brown placed the Beethoven bust on Schroeder's piano on November 26, 1951. Later, Schroeder and Charlie Brown were portrayed as being about the same age, and Schroeder became Charlie Brown's closest friend after Linus Van Pelt. Schroeder became the catcher on Charlie Brown's baseball team for the first time in the April 12, 1952, strip.
In early 1959, Charlie Brown (and other "Peanuts" characters) made his first animated appearances after they were sponsored by the Ford Motor Company in commercials for its automobiles, as well as for intros to "The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show. "The ads were animated by Bill Melendez for Playhouse Pictures, a cartoon studio that had Ford as a client.
1960s.
In the 1960s, the "Peanuts "comic strip entered what most readers consider to be its Golden Age, reaching its peak in popularity, becoming well known in numerous countries, with the strip reaching 355 million readers.
In 1965, the Coca-Cola Company approached Lee Mendelson about sponsoring a "Peanuts" Christmas television special. The next day Mendelson called Schulz and proposed a Christmas special featuring Charlie Brown and the "Peanuts "characters, in which he would collaborate with both Schulz and Melendez. Titled "A Charlie Brown Christmas", the special was first broadcast by the CBS network on December 9, 1965. The special's primary goal is showing "the true meaning of Christmas". Before "A Charlie Brown Christmas" was broadcast, several of those involved in the special's creation were worried that it might be poorly received, with its unorthodox soundtrack and overt religious message; however, it turned out to be a huge success, with the number of homes watching the special an estimated 15,490,000, placing it at number two in the ratings, behind "Bonanza" on NBC. The special's music score made an equally pervasive impact on viewers who would later perform jazz, among them David Benoit and George Winston. "A Charlie Brown Christmas" was honored with both an Emmy and Peabody Award.
The success of "A Charlie Brown Christmas "was followed by the creation of a second CBS television special, "Charlie Brown's All-Stars", which was originally broadcast on June 8, 1966. In October of that year,a third "Peanuts" special was broadcast on CBS: the Halloween-themed "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown".
The stage adaptation of a concept album titled "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown", based on Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus, Schroeder, and Patty, went into rehearsal in New York City on February 10, 1967. Prior to its opening, the musical had no actual libretto; it was several vignettes with dialogue adapted from "Peanuts" strips and a musical number for each one. Since Patty was such a weakly defined character in Schulz's strip, she became a composite character in the musical, with much of her material originating with Violet and Frieda in the strip. On March 7, 1967, the musical premiered off-Broadway at Theatre 80 in the East Village, featuring Gary Burghoff as Charlie Brown.
On December 4, 1969, "A Boy Named Charlie Brown", the first feature-length animated film based on "Peanuts" was released. The film was a box office success, earning 6 million dollars at the box office, against its 1 million dollar budget. The film was generally well received by critics.
Charlie Brown and Snoopy reached new heights on May 18, 1969, when they became the names of the command module and lunar module, respectively, for the Apollo 10 mission. While not included in the , Charlie Brown and Snoopy became semi-official mascots for the mission. Charles Schulz drew an original picture of Charlie Brown in a spacesuit; this drawing was hidden aboard the craft to be found by the astronauts once they were in orbit. Its current location is on a display at the Kennedy Space Center.
1970s.
During the 1970s, Charlie Brown appeared in twelve "Peanuts" television specials that were produced as a result of the success of the earlier TV specials. Charlie Brown also appeared in two animated feature films ("Snoopy Come Home" and "Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown", released on August 9, 1972, and August 24, 1977, respectively).
1980s.
Fourteen more "Peanuts" television specials were produced in the 1980s, two of which were musicals (one is the animated version of "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown").
Another full-length animated "Peanuts" film, titled "Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back!!)" was released on May 30, 1980.
1990s.
Six television specials featuring Charlie Brown were produced during this decade.
Within the comic strip, a storyline got Charlie Brown the character Peggy Jean as a girlfriend; this relationship lasted for roughly nine years.
Final comic strip appearance.
Charlie Brown made his final appearance in the very last original "Peanuts" strip, which was published on February 13, 2000—the day following Schulz's death. Despite ending its original run in 2000, repeats of the comic strip are still being published as of 2024.
Post-comic strip appearances.
After the comic strip ended, Charlie Brown continued to appear in more television specials. On November 20, 2006, the special "He's a Bully, Charlie Brown" beat a Madonna concert special with its 10 million views, although "Peanuts" was no longer in its heyday. As of 2016, the latest of Charlie Brown's original television appearances is "Happiness Is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown", which came out on October 1, 2011.
"The Peanuts Movie".
An animated film starring Charlie Brown, "The Peanuts Movie", was released on November 6, 2015. The film was directed by Steve Martino, produced by Blue Sky Studios, and distributed by 20th Century Fox. The director said of the character: "We've all been Charlie Brown at one point in our lives".
The film received largely positive reviews from critics and audiences alike, and grossed $246 million worldwide against its $99 million budget, making it a box office success.
Inspiration.
Charlie Brown's traits and experiences are inspired by those of Schulz, who admitted in interviews that he had often felt shy and withdrawn in his life. In an interview on "Charlie Rose" in May 1997, Schulz observed: "I suppose there's a melancholy feeling in a lot of cartoonists, because cartooning, like all other humor, comes from bad things happening." Furthermore, both Charlie Brown's and Schulz's fathers were barbers, and their mothers housewives. Charlie Brown's friends, such as Linus and Shermy, were named after good friends of Schulz, and Peppermint Patty was inspired by Patricia Swanson, one of Schulz's cousins on his mother's side. Schulz devised the character's name when he saw peppermint candies in his house. Even Charlie Brown's unrequited love for the Little Red-Haired Girl was inspired by Schulz's own love for Donna Mae Johnson, an Art Instruction Inc. accountant. When Schulz finally proposed to her in June 1950, shortly after he had made his first contract with his syndicate, she turned him down and married another man.
Personality.
Charlie Brown is a shy, meek, kind, innocent, gentle-hearted character with many anxieties.
Charlie Brown is normally referred to by his full name (with the exceptions of Peppermint Patty who calls him "Chuck", Marcie, Eudora, Violette and Emily who call him 'Charles', Peggy Jean who calls him "Brownie Charles", and Sally who calls him "Big Brother", though on extremely rare occasions, Lucy, Violet, Patty and Frieda did call him just "Charlie"). Charlie Brown's catchphrase is "good grief". Like Schulz, Charlie Brown is the son of a barber. The character is an example of "the great American un-success story" in that he fails in almost everything he does with an almost continuous streak of bad luck; but still keeps trying with huge efforts and work, resulting in either more losses or (very rarely) great victories. Some of these victories are hitting a game-winning home run off a pitch by a minor character named Royanne on a strip from 1993, and his victory over Joe Agate (another minor character) in a game of marbles on a strip from 1995. Although Charlie Brown is often unlucky within the strip's storylines, in some ways Charles M. Schulz created through the ever-persevering character "the most shining example of the American success story in the comic strip field."
Charlie Brown cares very deeply for his family and friends, even if he was maltreated by them. His care for his sister is shown on a strip from May 26, 1959, when he reacts to the birth of his sister Sally by exclaiming "A BABY SISTER?! I'M A FATHER! I mean my DAD's a father! I'm a brother! I have a baby sister! I'm a brother!" Two strips later, Charlie Brown continues the celebration of her birth by handing over chocolate cigars to his friends. When Charlie Brown was maltreated by his companions (most often Lucy, Violet and Patty), he does not usually take out his anger on them, but often retaliates and even manages to turn the tables. An example is a strip from 1951, which features Violet and Patty telling Charlie Brown that they are not going to invite him to their party, with Charlie Brown replying that he does not wish to go to their "dumb ol' party" anyway, leading the two girls to invite him.
Christopher Caldwell has stated that "What makes Charlie Brown such a rich character is that he's not purely a loser. The self-loathing that causes him so much anguish is decidedly "not" self-effacement. Charlie Brown is optimistic enough to think he can "earn" a sense of self-worth, and his willingness to do so by exposing himself to humiliations is the dramatic engine that drives the strip. The greatest of Charlie Brown's virtues is his resilience, which is to say his courage. Charlie Brown is ambitious. He "manages" the baseball team. He's the pitcher, not a scrub. He may be a loser, but he's, strangely, a leader at the same time. This makes his mood swings truly bipolar in their magnificence: he vacillates not between kinda happy and kinda unhappy, but between being a "hero" and being a "goat"."
Birthday and age.
Charlie Brown's age is neither normally specified nor consistently given. His birthday occurs in the strip published on October 30, 1950. He is four years old in a strip published November 3, 1950. He aged slowly over the next two decades of the strip's floating timeline, being six years old as of November 17, 1957, and "eight-and-a-half years old" by July 11, 1979. Other references continue to peg Charlie Brown as being approximately eight years old.
A strip published on April 3, 1971, suggests he was born around 1963 (setting up the gag that when he is 21, it will be 1984).
Reception.
Charlie Brown, along with Snoopy, was ranked eighth on TV Guide's 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time.
Shrine of the Eternals.
Charlie Brown was inducted into the Baseball Reliquary's Shrine of the Eternals in 2017. Similar in concept to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, criteria for inclusion in the Shrine of the Eternals differs in that statistical achievement is not a primary consideration for induction, and fictional characters are eligible for induction. Charlie Brown was the first fictional character inducted to the Shrine.
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Thomas the Tank Engine
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Thomas the Tank Engine is an anthropomorphised fictional tank locomotive in the British "Railway Series" books by Wilbert Awdry and his son Christopher, published from 1945. He became the most popular and famous character in the series, and is the titular protagonist in the accompanying television adaptation series "Thomas & Friends" and its reboot "".
Thomas is a locomotive on The Fat Controller's North Western Railway on the Island of Sodor alongside Edward the Blue Engine, Henry the Green Engine, Gordon the Big Engine, James the Red Engine, Percy the Small Engine, Toby the Tram Engine, and many other locomotives.
Thomas is based on the LB&SCR E2 class. Thomas first appeared in 1946, in the second book in the series "Thomas the Tank Engine", and was the focus of the four short stories contained within.
In 1979, British writer and producer Britt Allcroft came across the books, and arranged a deal to make the television series "Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends" (later simplified to "Thomas & Friends"). The programme became an award-winning hit around the world, with a range of spin-off commercial products.
Prototype and background.
Awdry based Thomas on a wooden toy made for his son Christopher. This toy looked rather different from the character in the books and television series, and carried the letters NW on its side tanks, which stood for "No Where" according to Awdry.
The first Thomas model was not based on a prototype. After Awdry's wife encouraged him to publish the stories, the publisher of the second book "Thomas the Tank Engine" hired illustrator Reginald Payne. Awdry selected a real locomotive for Payne to work from to create authenticity: a Billinton designed E2 Class of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway. This may have been chosen because Awdry had a photograph to hand.
The models of Thomas used in the "Thomas & Friends" television series and produced by Hornby are based on the E2 locomotives fitted with an extension to the front of the water tanks. Awdry was unsatisfied with one detail of the illustration; the front end of his running board sloped downward, which meant that his front and back buffers were at different heights. This was an illustrator's mistake that was perpetuated in subsequent books. The crash seen in "Thomas Comes to Breakfast" was partly devised as a means of correcting this. Thomas has always been shown with a curved running board in the television series.
Payne was not credited for his illustrations at the time, and it is only since the publication of Brian Sibley's "The Thomas the Tank Engine Man" that he has received recognition. It had often been erroneously assumed that C. Reginald Dalby created the character, as he was responsible for illustrating books 3–11 and repainting the illustrations of the first two books.
All of the prototype LB&SCR E2 class locomotives were scrapped between 1961 and 1963. Thomas locomotives used on Day Out with Thomas days on heritage railways are either unpowered replicas or converted from other locomotives.
Biography.
"The Railway Series".
Despite becoming the most popular character in "The Railway Series", Thomas was not featured in the first book, "The Three Railway Engines".
Thomas was described in the opening to "Thomas and Gordon", the first story in the book "Thomas the Tank Engine", as the following:
Thomas arrived on Sodor shortly after he was built in 1915, when The Fat Controller bought the locomotive for a nominal sum to be a pilot engine at Vicarstown. Thomas was used initially as a station pilot engine in the first three stories in book 2, but longed for more important jobs such as pulling the express train like Gordon; his inexperience prevented this. In the fourth story, "Thomas and the Breakdown Train", Thomas rescues James and is rewarded with his own branch line.
Television series.
Thomas's on-screen appearances in the television series were developed by Britt Allcroft. The first series of twenty-six stories premiered in October 1984 on ITV in the United Kingdom, with former Beatles drummer/vocalist Ringo Starr as the narrator. The stories were featured as segments as part of "Shining Time Station" in the United States beginning in 1989, with Starr as the show's Mr. Conductor character. From 1991 to 1993, George Carlin later replaced Starr as both the storyteller and as Mr. Conductor for "Shining Time Station". Carlin also told the Thomas stories for "Shining Time Station" in 1995.
In 1996, the Thomas stories were segments for "Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales", again featuring George Carlin. Alec Baldwin portrayed Mr. Conductor in the first theatrical film, "Thomas and the Magic Railroad" (2000), and narrated the series for the US from 1998 to 2003. Michael Angelis narrated the series from 1991 to 2012 in the UK, while Michael Brandon narrated the series from 2004 to 2012 in the US. From 2013 to 2017, the series was narrated by Mark Moraghan. From 2018, the episodes were told from Thomas's point of view.
Thomas's personality in the television series was originally consistent to the books. As the show branched away from the books, modifications were made; Thomas became less arrogant and self-absorbed, developing a more friendly, altruistic side. He is not limited to his branch line and works multiple oddjobs over Sodor.
From "Hero of the Rails" until series 18, Thomas was voiced by Martin Sherman (US) and Ben Small (UK). From 2015-2021, Thomas was voiced by John Hasler in the UK, and by Joseph May in the US. Both ended their roles after the twenty-fourth series was produced. The role was taken by child actors in ""; Meesha Contreras voices Thomas in the US and Aaron Barashi voices him in the UK. David Kolsmith later took over from Contreras before getting replaced himself by Kai Harris for the third season.
In "", a retelling of many of the first episodes of series 1, he dons a green colour when he first arrives on Sodor, his tanks are lettered "LBSC" (for the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway) with the number 70 on his bunker. The 70 is a reference to 2015 being the 70th anniversary for "The Railway Series", while the LB&SCR E2 class were actually numbered from 100–109. The real life LBSC no. 70 is an A1 class.
Models.
Thomas had his genesis in a wooden push-along toy from the early 1940s made by Wilbert Awdry out of a piece of broomstick for his son Christopher. This engine looked rather different from the character in the books and television series and was based on an LNER Class J50, which was going to be his originally intended basis, with smaller side tanks and splashers. He was painted blue with yellow lining and carried the letters NW on his side tanks. Christopher lost this model, which was recreated for the 70th anniversary. Awdry happily endorsed Payne's account that the locomotive was an LBSC E2, although the first Thomas on Awdry's model railway, from Stuart Reidpath, lacked extended tanks. In the 1979 "Thomas the Tank Engine" annual, he wrote:
Thomas Mk. I was retired with its coaches in 1979, with Thomas Mk. II having been produced the year before using a Tri-ang 'Jinty' 3F 0-6-0T. After the British model railways manufacturing company Hornby Railways produced the LBSC E2 tank engine, Awdry adapted one in 1980 to take the role of Thomas Mk. III on his layout of the Ffarquhar branch.
Awdry's requested models, to which Lines Bros. subsidiary, Meccano Ltd, responded with Percy and wagons in 1967. Hornby Hobbies launched their 'The World of Thomas the Tank Engine' in the 1985. This was a 00 gauge range of model railway train sets and models which they made for the next 30 years. For Thomas they used their 1979 model of a LB&SCR model of a class E2 tank engine which they suitably altered with a face and extended tanks to look like Thomas. Many of the characters in the 'Railway Series' books were thus modelled (with faces) by Hornby, including characters added for the television series. They also supplied suitable coaches, wagons and lineside buildings within the series.
Awards.
Thomas was the only fictional character included in "The Independent on Sunday's" 2009 "Happy List", recognised alongside 98 real-life adults and a therapy dog for making Britain a better and happier place. In 2011, Thomas the Tank Engine featured on a series of 1st class UK postage stamps issued by the Royal Mail to mark the centenary of the birth of its creator, Reverend Wilbert Awdry.
Legacy.
Japanese Ōigawa Railway's locomotives include five characters from the "Thomas & Friends" series: Thomas, Hiro, Percy, James, and Rusty. The locomotives are based at Shin-Kanaya Station. Thomas runs between Shin-Kanaya Station and Kawaneonsen-Sasamado Station.
Thomas has been referenced, featured and parodied in popular culture. In 1988, he was parodied on ITV's "Spitting Image" where he was portrayed as a drunk who "went completely off the rails." In 2009, he appeared in "The Official BBC Children in Need Medley" where he was voiced by Ringo Starr, who narrated the first two series of "Thomas & Friends". In the British comedy show "Bobby Davro's TV Weekly", a spoof was created titled "Thomas the Tanked Up Engine" involving Jeremy, a pink recolour of James. Bobby Davro provided the narration by impersonating Ringo Starr.
In Cartoon Network's "MAD", Thomas the Tank Engine appears in "Thomas the Unstoppable Tank Engine", a crossover between "Thomas & Friends" and "Unstoppable". A parody of "Thomas & Friends" was in "Robot Chicken", entitled "Blow Some Steam". In the skit, Thomas was voiced by Daniel Radcliffe.
The 2015 Marvel superhero film "Ant-Man" features a Bachmann HO scale model of Thomas. In the film's climactic battle, Ant-Man and Yellowjacket fight atop Thomas while in their insect sizes until Yellowjacket derails Thomas off the model train tracks and throws him at Ant-Man, who knocks him onto a windowsill. An accident during the fight results in Thomas suddenly growing to the size of a real train and demolishing a large portion of Ant-Man's daughter's house before falling on top of a police car.
Video game players have frequently modified released games to include Thomas and other characters, typically by replacing a boss character with Thomas and using sounds and music from the show. One of the first popular efforts was replacing dragons with engines and trucks in the game "" in 2013, and Thomas has since been incorporated into other games like "Grand Theft Auto V", "Sonic the Hedgehog" and the 2019 "Resident Evil 2" remake.
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Wonder Woman
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Wonder Woman is a superheroine created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter in 1941 for DC Comics. Marston's wife, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byrne, are credited as being his inspiration for the character's appearance.
Wonder Woman appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character is a founding member of the Justice League. The character first appeared in "All Star Comics" #8 published October 21, 1941 with her first feature in "Sensation Comics" #1 in January 1942. The "Wonder Woman" title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously ever since. In her homeland, the island nation of Themyscira, her official title is Princess Diana of Themyscira. When blending into the society outside of her homeland, she sometimes adopts her civilian identity, Diana Prince.
Wonder Woman's origin story (from Golden to Bronze Age) relates that she was sculpted from clay by her mother, Queen Hippolyta, and was given a life as an Amazon, along with superhuman powers as gifts by the Greek gods. In 2011, DC changed her background with the retcon that she is the biological daughter of Zeus and Hippolyta, jointly raised by her mother and her aunts Antiope and Menalippe. The character has changed in depiction over the decades, including briefly losing her powers entirely in the late 1960s; by the 1980s, artist George Perez gave her an athletic look and emphasized her Amazonian heritage. She possesses an arsenal of magical items, including the Lasso of Truth, a pair of indestructible bracelets, a tiara which serves as a projectile, and, in older stories, a range of devices based on Amazon technology.
Wonder Woman's character was created during World War II; the character in the story was initially depicted fighting Axis forces as well as an assortment of colorful supervillains, although over time her stories came to place greater emphasis on characters, deities, and monsters from Greek mythology. Many stories depicted Wonder Woman freeing herself from bondage, which counterpointed the "damsels in distress" trope that was common in comics during the 1940s. In the decades since her debut, Wonder Woman has gained a cast of enemies bent on destroying her, including classic villains such as Cheetah, Ares, Circe, Doctor Poison, Giganta, Blue Snowman, Doctor Cyber, along with more recent adversaries such as Veronica Cale and the First Born. Wonder Woman has also regularly appeared in comic books featuring the superhero teams Justice Society (1941) and Justice League (1960).
The character is an archetypical figure in popular culture recognized worldwide, partly due to being widely adapted into television, film, animation, merchandise, and toys. October 21 is Wonder Woman Day, commemorating the release of her first appearance in "All-Star Comics" #8 (except 2017, which held the day on June 3 to tie in with the release of the film of the same name).
Wonder Woman has been featured in various media, from radio to television and film, and appears in merchandise sold worldwide, such as apparel, toys, dolls, jewelry, and video games. Shannon Farnon, Susan Eisenberg, Maggie Q, Lucy Lawless, Keri Russell, Rosario Dawson, Cobie Smulders, Rachel Kimsey, and Stana Katic, among others, have provided the character's voice for animated adaptations. Wonder Woman has been depicted in film and television by Linda Harrison, Cathy Lee Crosby, Lynda Carter, Megan Gale, Adrianne Palicki, and in the DC Extended Universe films by Gal Gadot.
Publication history.
Creation.
In an October 1940 interview with the "Family Circle" magazine, William Moulton Marston discussed the unfulfilled potential of the comic book medium. This article caught the attention of comics publisher Max Gaines, who hired Marston as an educational consultant for National Periodicals and All-American Publications, two of the companies that would merge to form DC Comics. At that time, Marston wanted to create his own new superhero; Marston's wife and fellow psychologist Elizabeth suggested to him that it should be a woman:
Marston introduced the idea to Gaines. Given the go-ahead, Marston developed "Wonder Woman", whom he believed to be a model of that era's unconventional, liberated woman. Marston also drew inspiration from the bracelets worn by Olive Byrne, who lived with the couple in a polyamorous relationship. Wonder Woman debuted in "All Star Comics" #8 (cover date Dec/Jan 1941/1942, released in October 1941), scripted by Marston. Marston was the creator of a systolic-blood-pressure-measuring apparatus, which was crucial to the development of the polygraph (lie detector). Marston's experience with polygraphs convinced him that women were more honest than men in certain situations and could work more efficiently.
Marston designed Wonder Woman to be an allegory for the ideal love leader; the kind of woman who he believed should run society. "Frankly, Wonder Woman is psychological propaganda for the new type of woman who, I believe, should rule the world", Marston wrote.
In a 1943 issue of "The American Scholar", Marston wrote:
Marston was an outspoken feminist, polyamorist, and firm believer in the superiority of women. He described bondage and submission as a "respectable and noble practice". Marston wrote in a weakness for Wonder Woman, which was attached to a fictional stipulation that he dubbed "Aphrodite's Law", that made the chaining of her "Bracelets of Submission" together by a man take away her Amazonian super strength.
Golden Age.
Initially, Wonder Woman was an Amazon champion who wins the right to return Steve Trevora United States intelligence officer whose plane had crashed on the Amazons' isolated island homelandto "Man's World" and to fight crime and the evil of the Nazis.
During this period, Wonder Woman joined the Justice Society of America as the team's secretary.
Silver Age.
During the Silver Age of the 1960s, under writer Robert Kanigher, Wonder Woman's origin was revamped, along with other characters'. The new origin story increased the character's Hellenic and mythological roots: receiving the blessing of each deity in her crib, Diana is destined to become as "beautiful as Aphrodite, wise as Athena, strong as Hercules, and swift as Hermes."
At the end of the 1960s, under the guidance of Mike Sekowsky, Wonder Woman surrendered her powers in order to remain in Man's World rather than accompany her fellow Amazons to another dimension. Wonder Woman was always Diana Prince and opens a mod boutique. She acquires a Chinese mentor named I Ching, who teaches Diana martial arts and weapons skills. Using her fighting skill instead of her powers, Diana engaged in adventures that encompassed a variety of genres, from espionage to mythology. This phase of her story was directly influenced by the British spy thriller "The Avengers" and Diana Rigg's portrayal of Emma Peel.
Bronze Age.
In the early 1970s the character returned to her superhero roots in the "Justice League of America" and to the World War II era in her own title. This, however, was ultimately due to the popularity of the TV series at the time also having Wonder Woman set in the WWII era, and was shifted back to the 1970s era once the TV show did the same.
With a new decade arriving, DC president Jenette Kahn ordered a revamp in Wonder Woman's appearance. Artist Milton Glaser, who also designed the "bullet" logo adopted by DC in 1977, created a stylized "WW" emblem that evoked and replaced the eagle in her bodice and debuted in 1982. The emblem in turn was incorporated by studio letterer Todd Klein onto the monthly title's logo, which lasted for a year and a half before being replaced by a version from Glaser's studio. The series was canceled with issue #329 (February 1986) written by Gerry Conway, depicting Steve Trevor's marriage to Wonder Woman.
Modern Age.
Following the 1985 "Crisis on Infinite Earths" series, George Pérez, Len Wein, and Greg Potter rewrote the character's origin story, depicting Wonder Woman as an emissary and ambassador from Themyscira to Patriarch's World, charged with the mission of bringing peace to the outside world. Pérez incorporated a variety of deities and concepts from Greek mythology in Wonder Woman's stories and origin. His rendition of the character acted as the foundation for the modern Wonder Woman stories, as he expanded upon the widely accepted origin of Diana being birthed out of clay. The relaunch was a critical and commercial success.
21st century.
2010s.
In August 2010 (issue #600), J. Michael Straczynski took over the series' writing duties and introduced Wonder Woman to an alternate timeline created by the Gods in which Paradise Island had been destroyed and the Amazons scattered around the world. In this timeline, Diana is an orphan raised in New York. The entire world has forgotten Wonder Woman's existence and the main story of this run was of Diana trying to restore reality even though she does not properly remember it herself. A trio of Death Goddesses called The Morrigan acted as the main enemy of Wonder Woman. In this run, Wonder Woman wears a new costume designed by Jim Lee. Straczynski determined the plot and continued writing duties until "Wonder Woman" #605; writer Phil Hester then continued his run, which ultimately concluded in "Wonder Woman" #614.
In 2011's The New 52, DC Comics relaunched its entire line of publications to attract a new generation of readers, and thus released volume 4 of the "Wonder Woman" comic book title. Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang were assigned writing and art duties respectively and revamped the character's history considerably. In this new continuity, Wonder Woman wears a costume similar to her original Marston costume (except with a red-black-silver color scheme rather than the classic red-blue-gold), utilizes a sword and shield, and has a completely new origin. No longer a clay figure brought to life by the magic of the gods, she is, instead, a demi-goddess and the natural-born daughter of Hippolyta and Zeus. Azzarello and Chiang's revamp of the character was critically acclaimed, but highly divisive among longtime fans of the character.
In 2016, DC Comics once again relaunched all of its publications as part of the "DC Rebirth" continuity reboot, and the new fifth volume of "Wonder Woman" was released semi-monthly with writer Greg Rucka. This fifth volume of "Wonder Woman" is part of the "DC Universe", the current continuity established after Rebirth. Initially, the new series does not use a regular storyline that exists between each issue; instead two separate storylines share the book, with an installment of one story published every other issue, and those of the other storyline published in between those. This practice began with the storyline "The Lies", for the odd numbered issues, and "Year One", for the even numbered issues. The new storyline as presented in these issues effectively retcons the events from the previous New 52 series. "The Lies" storyline reveals that numerous events from the previous "Wonder Woman" series, in which Diana was made the Queen of the Amazons and the God of War, were in fact all an illusion created by a mysterious villain, and she had never once been back to Themyscira ever since she left, nor is she capable of returning there. The "Year One" story is presented as an all-new origin story for Diana, which reveals how she received her powers from the Olympian Gods, which was intended to bring her back to her classical DC roots. Wonder Woman appears in DC Rebirth with a revised look with an ancient Greek motif, including a red cape and light armor fittings, such as pteruges and shin guards. Along with her lasso and bracelets, she now regularly utilizes her sword and shield. "Wonder Woman: Rebirth" artist Liam Sharp described the new armor as a utilitarian piece which allows her to move more freely.
In 2018, DC Comics announced G. Willow Wilson as the new writer on the "Wonder Woman" ongoing series. Wilson began her run in November, with the first story arc titled "The Just War."
2020s.
Steve Orlando took over from Wilson in 2020 with Mariko Tamaki taking over from him later in the year. 2020 also saw the "Wonder Woman comics" issues' numbering order restructured as DC's Doomsday Clock event united the current series to the original Golden Age as one continuous run. This meant the next issue was "#750" despite the previous issue being numbered only "#83". To celebrate, the issue was extra length and collected a variety of short stories celebrating the character of Wonder Woman with previous writers such as Phil Jimenez, Gail Simone and Greg Rucka returning. In early 2021, it was announced that Becky Cloonan and Michael Conrad would serve as the writers of "Wonder Woman" starting with issue 770 as a part of "Infinite Frontier", with Travis Moore serving as the initial artist. Their run would last up to issue 800 in June 2023, where it was then announced that the series would receive a new #1 as a part of the Dawn of DC relaunch. Tom King will serve as the writer and Daniel Sampere providing the art, with the first issue launching on September 6, 2023, and a short story in issue 800 that will set up the series by introducing Diana's future daughter Lizzie/Trinity.
Characterization.
Diana Prince.
Diana Prince is the civilian identity of Wonder Woman, first appearing in "Sensation Comics" #1 in January 1942. This cover identity allows Wonder Woman to operate in human society undetected. In the Golden Age of comics, Diana Prince was a U.S. Army nurse during World War II. Wonder Woman adopted this identity after meeting the real Diana Prince, who needed money to join her fiancé in South America. In exchange for the funds, Wonder Woman received her credentials. As Diana Prince, she initially worked as a secretary in the military, particularly for Major Steve Trevor, with whom she had a romantic interest. This role allowed her to be close to Trevor and aid him in his missions without revealing her true identity.
In the Silver and Bronze Ages of comics, the Diana Prince persona was redefined. The earlier story of acquiring the identity from a real Diana Prince was omitted, and instead, Diana Prince was portrayed as working in military intelligence. During this period, Wonder Woman experienced a phase where she lost her superpowers and functioned solely as Diana Prince, a skilled but non-superhuman character. Her career evolved over time, with roles ranging from military intelligence to astronaut and staff member at the United Nations. During this era, Diana Prince engaged in high adventure similar to characters like Modesty Blaise.
After the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" storyline, the history of Wonder Woman and Diana Prince was rebooted. The Diana Prince identity was initially not revived, and Wonder Woman was known simply as Diana of Themyscira. However, for undercover operations, she occasionally used the alias Diane Prince. Following a period of exile due to controversial actions, Wonder Woman fully adopted the Diana Prince identity again, working as an agent for the Department of Metahuman Affairs. This role helped her reconnect with humanity and provided a cover for her superhero activities.
Personality.
Many writers have depicted Diana in different personalities and tone; between both of her diametric extremes; that of a worldly warrior, a highly compassionate and calm ambassador, and sometimes also as a naive and innocent person, depending on the writer. What has remained in constant existence, and is a mainstay of the character, is the dichotomy of her dominant force aspect and her nurturing humanity: her overwhelming belief in love, empathy, compassion, and having a strong conscience. The latter aspect had been the reason for her induction into the Star Sapphires.
Writer Gail Simone was applauded for her portrayal of Wonder Woman during her run on the series, with comic book reviewer Dan Phillips of IGN noting that "she's molded Diana into a very relatable and sympathetic character."
In the Golden Age, Wonder Woman adhered to an Amazon code of helping any in need, even misogynistic people, and never accepting a reward for saving someone; while conversely, the modern version of the character has been shown to perform lethal and fatal actions when left with no other alternative, exemplified in the killing of Maxwell Lord in order to save Superman's life.
Brian Azzarello stated in an interview that the New 52 version of the character was being written as a very "confident", "impulsive" and "good-hearted" character in her. He referred to her trait of feeling compassion as both her strength and weakness.
A distinctive trait of her characterization is a group of signature mythological exclamations, beginning with "Great Aphrodite!", followed by "Great Hera!", "Merciful Minerva!", and "Suffering Sappho!', some of which were contributed by Elizabeth Holloway Marston.
Others.
Diana, after her death, was granted divinity as the Goddess of Truth by her gods for such faithful devotion. During her brief time as a god of Olympus, Diana was replaced in the role of Wonder Woman by her mother, Queen Hippolyta. Unlike Diana receiving the title of Wonder Woman in honor, Hippolyta's role as Wonder Woman was meant to be a punishment for her betrayal in Artemis' death as well as for unintentionally killing her own daughter.
John Byrne, the writer that introduced the concept of Hippolyta as the first Wonder Woman, has explained his intentions in a post in his message board:
I thought George's one "mistake" in rebooting Wonder Woman was making her only 25 years old when she left Paradise Island. I preferred the idea of a Diana who was thousands of years old (as, if I recall correctly, she was in the TV series). From that angle, I would have liked to have seen Diana having been Wonder Woman in WW2, and be returning to our world in the reboot.
Not having that option, I took the next best course, and had Hippolyta fill that role.
As Wonder Woman, Queen Hippolyta immediately got involved in a time travel mission back to the 1940s with Jay Garrick. After this mission, she elected to join the Justice Society of America and remained in that era for eight years, where her teammates nicknamed her "Polly". During that time she had a relationship with Ted Grant. Hippolyta also made visits into the past to see her godchild Lyta, daughter of Hippolyta's protege Helena, the Golden Age Fury. These visits happened yearly from young Lyta's perspective and also accounted for Hippolyta's participation in the JSA/JLA team ups. When she returned from the past, Hippolyta took Diana's place in the JLA as well.
Following Wonder Woman's ascension to heaven and return to the living in "Infinite Frontier", she officially gives her blessing for her mother Hippolyta and her Amazon sister Nubia to share the title of Wonder Woman, meaning there are now three Wonder Women in current continuity.
Fictional character biography.
20th century.
Origin.
In her debut in "All Star Comics" #8, Diana was a member of a tribe of women called the Amazons, native to Paradise Islanda secluded island set in the middle of a vast ocean. Captain Steve Trevor's plane crashes on the island and he is found alive but unconscious by Diana and fellow Amazon, and friend, Mala. Diana has him nursed back to health and falls in love with him. A competition is held amongst all the Amazons by Diana's mother, the Queen of the Amazons Hippolyta, in order to determine who is the most worthy of all the women; Hippolyta charges the winner with the responsibility of delivering Captain Steve Trevor back to Man's World and to fight for justice. Hippolyta forbids Diana from entering the competition, but she takes part nonetheless, wearing a mask to conceal her identity. She wins the competition and reveals herself, surprising Hippolyta, who ultimately accepts, and must give in to, Diana's wish to go to Man's World. She then is awarded a special uniform made by her mother for her new role as Wonder Woman and safely returns Steve Trevor to his home country.
Golden Age.
Coming to America for the first time, Wonder Woman comes upon a wailing army nurse who happens to look identical to her. Inquiring about her state, she finds that the nurse wanted to leave for South America with her fiancé but was unable due to shortage of money. As Wonder Woman needed a job and a valid identity to look after Steve (who was admitted in the same army hospital), she gives her the money she had earned earlier to help her go to her fiancé in exchange for her credentials. The nurse reveals her name as Diana Prince, and thus, Wonder Woman's secret identity was created, and she began working as a nurse in the army.
Wonder Woman then took part in a variety of adventures, mostly side by side with Trevor. Her most common foes during this period would be Nazi forces led by a German baroness named Paula von Gunther, occasionally evil deities/demigods such as Mars and the Duke of Deception, and then colorful villains like Hypnota, Doctor Psycho, and Cheetah.
Silver Age.
In the Silver Age, Wonder Woman's history received several changes. Her earlier origin, which had significant ties to World War II, was changed and her powers were shown to be the product of the gods' blessings, corresponding to her epithet, "beautiful as Aphrodite, wise as Athena, stronger than Hercules, and swifter than Hermes". The concepts of Wonder Girl and Wonder Tot were also introduced during this period.
"Wonder Woman" #179 (November 1969) showed Wonder Woman giving up her powers and returning her costume and title to her mother, in order to continue staying in Man's World. The reason behind this was that all the Amazons were shifting to another dimension, but Diana was unable to accompany them as she needed to stay behind to help Steve, who had been wrongly convicted. Thus, she no longer held the title of Wonder Woman and after meeting and training under a blind martial arts mentor I-Ching, Diana resumed crime fighting as the powerless Diana Prince. She ran a mod-boutique as a business and dressed in a series of jumpsuits while fighting crime.
Bronze Age.
In "Wonder Woman" #204, Diana's magical powers and costume were returned to her and she is once again reinstated as Wonder Woman. I-Ching is killed by a crazy sniper in the same issue. Later, Diana meets her sister Nubia, who is Hippolyta's daughter fashioned out of dark clay (hence Nubia's dark complexion). Nubia claimed to be the "Wonder Woman of The Floating Island", and she challenges Diana to a duel which ends in a draw. Returning to her home, Nubia would have further adventures involving Diana.
The last issue of Volume 1 showed Diana and Steve Trevor announce their love for each other and their subsequent marriage.
Modern Age.
"Crisis on Infinite Earths".
The events of "Crisis on Infinite Earths" greatly changed and altered the history of the DC Universe. Wonder Woman's history and origin were considerably revamped by the event. Wonder Woman was now an emissary and ambassador from Themyscira (the new name for Paradise Island) to Patriarch's World, charged with the mission of bringing peace to the outside world. Various deities and concepts from Greek mythology were blended and incorporated into Wonder Woman's stories and origin. Diana was formed out of clay of the shores of Themyscira by Hippolyta, who wished for a child; the clay figure was then brought to life by the Greek deities. The gods then blessed and granted her unique powers and abilitiesbeauty from Aphrodite, strength from Demeter, wisdom from Athena, speed and flight from Hermes, Eyes of the Hunter and unity with beasts from Artemis and sisterhood with fire and the ability to discern the truth from Hestia. Due to the reboot, Diana's operating methods were made distinctive from Superman and Batman's with her willingness to use deadly force when she judges it necessary. In addition, her previous history and her marriage to Steve Trevor were erased. Trevor was introduced as a man much older than Diana who would later on marry Etta Candy.
War of the Gods.
Starting in "Wonder Woman" (vol. 2) #51, the Amazons, who had revealed their presence to the world in "Wonder Woman" (vol. 2) #50, are blamed for a series of murders and for the theft of various artifacts. The Amazons are then taken into custody, Queen Hippolyta is nowhere to be found and Steve Trevor is forced by General Yedziniak to attack Themyscira. These events lead to the "War of the Gods" occurring. The culprit of the murders, thefts and the framing of the Amazons is revealed to be the witch Circe, who "kills" Diana by reverting her form back into the clay she was born from. Later, Wonder Woman is brought back to life and together with Donna Troy, battles Circe and ultimately defeats her.
When Hippolyta and the other Amazons were trapped in a demonic dimension, she started receiving visions about the death of Wonder Woman. Fearing her daughter's death, Hippolyta created a false claim that Diana was not worthy of continuing her role as Wonder Woman, and arranged for a contest to determine who would be the new Wonder Woman, thus protecting Diana from her supposed fate. The participants of the final round were Diana and Artemis, and with the help of some mystic manipulation by Hippolyta, Artemis won the contest. Thus, Diana was forced to hand over her title and costume to Artemis, who became the new Wonder Woman and Diana started fighting crime in an alternate costume. Artemis later died in battle with the White Magicianthus, Hippolyta's vision of a dying Wonder Woman did come true, albeit not of Diana as Wonder Woman.
The demon Neron engaged Diana in battle and managed to kill her. The Olympian Gods granted Diana divinity and the role of the Goddess of Truth who started to reside in Olympus; her mother Hippolyta then assumed the role of Wonder Woman and wore her own different incarnation of the costume. In "Wonder Woman" (vol. 2) #136, Diana was banished from Olympus due to interfering in earthly matters (as Diana was unable to simply watch over people's misery on Earth). She immediately returned to her duties as Wonder Woman, but ran into conflicts with her mother over her true place and role as Hippolyta seemed accustomed to her life in America. Their fight remained unsolved, as Hippolyta died during an intergalactic war. Themyscira was destroyed during the war, but was restored and reformed as a collection of floating islands. Circe later resurrected Hippolyta in "Wonder Woman" (vol. 3) #8.
The OMAC Project.
One of the events that led to the "Infinite Crisis" storyline was Wonder Woman killing the villain Maxwell Lord in "Wonder Woman" (vol. 2) #219. Maxwell Lord was mind-controlling Superman, who as a result was near to killing Batman. Wonder Woman tried to stop Superman, Lord (who was unable to mind control her) made Superman see her as his enemy Doomsday trying to kill Lois Lane. Superman then attacked Wonder Woman, and a vicious battle ensued. Buying herself time by slicing Superman's throat with her tiara, Wonder Woman caught Lord in her Lasso of Truth and demanded to know how to stop his control over Superman. As the lasso forced the wearer to speak only the truth, Lord told her that the only way to stop him was to kill him. Left with no choice, Wonder Woman snapped Lord's neck and ended his control over Superman. Unknown to her, the entire scene was broadcast live around every channel in the world by Brother Eye. The viewers were not aware of the entire situation, and saw only Wonder Woman murdering a Justice League associate. Wonder Woman's actions put her at odds with Batman and Superman, as they saw Wonder Woman as a cold-blooded killer, despite the fact that she saved their lives.
One Year Later.
At the end of "Infinite Crisis", Wonder Woman temporarily retires from her costumed identity. Diana, once again using the alias Diana Prince, joins the Department of Metahuman Affairs. Donna Troy becomes the new Wonder Woman and is captured by Diana's enemies. Diana then goes on a mission to rescue her sister, battling Circe and Hercules. Diana defeats the villains, freeing Donna and takes up the role of Wonder Woman again. Circe places a spell on Diana, which renders Diana into a normal, powerless human being when in the role of Diana Prince; her powers come to her only when she is in the role of Wonder Woman.
The Circle.
The storyline "The Circle" was focused on the revelation of a failed assassination attempt on Diana when she was a baby, by four rogue Amazons. These AmazonsMyrto, Charis, Philomela and Alkyone, collectively referred to as The Circlewere Hippolyta's personal guards and were extremely loyal and devoted to her. However, when Hippolyta decided to raise a daughter, The Circle was horrified and considered the baby ill-fate, one who would ruin their entire race. Thus, after Diana was sculpted out of clay and brought to life, The Circle decided to assassinate the baby. Their attempt was foiled however, and the four Amazons were imprisoned. After years, the Circle escaped their prisons with the help of Captain Nazi, and decided to accomplish their previously failed mission and kill Diana. Diana defeated Myrto, Charis, and Philomela, then approached Alkyone, who runs off and succumbs to her death by falling into the ocean. The other three Amazons return to their prisons.
Issue #600 introduced Wonder Woman to an alternate timeline created by the Gods in which Themyscira had been destroyed and the Amazons scattered around the world. In this timeline, Diana is an orphan raised in New York who is learning to cope with her powers. The entire world has forgotten Wonder Woman's existence and the main story of this run was of Diana trying to restore reality even though she does not properly remember it herself. Diana has no memories of her prior adventures as Wonder Woman, recollecting her memories in bits and pieces and receiving different abilities and resources (such as the power of flight and her lasso) during the progression of her adventure. A trio of Death Goddesses called The Morrigan acted as Wonder Woman's main enemies. Diana ultimately defeats the evil goddesses and returns everything back to normal.
21st century.
The New 52.
In this new timeline, Wonder Woman is the demigoddess daughter of Queen Hippolyta and Zeus. Her original origin is revealed as a cover story to explain Diana's birth as a means to protect her from Hera's wrath. Currently, Diana has taken on the role and title as the new "God of War".
The Greek messenger god, Hermes, entrusts Wonder Woman with the protection of Zola, a young woman, who is pregnant with Zeus's child, from Hera, seething with jealousy and determined to kill the child. The story focuses on Wonder Woman's quest to rescue Zola from Hades, who had abducted her and taken her to Hell at the end of the sixth issue of the series. The male children of the Amazons are introduced and Diana learns about the birth of her "brothers."
After saving Zola from Hades, Wonder Woman tries to protect her further from Apollo, as it is prophesied that one of Zeus' children will be his downfall whom Apollo considers to be Zola's child. Wonder Woman receives the power of flight by one of Hermes' feathers piercing her thigh and Zola's baby is stolen by Hermes at the end and given to Demeter.
A stand-alone #0 issue was released in September which explored Diana's childhood and her tutelage under Ares, the God of War, now known most often as simply 'War'. The main plot of the issue was Diana training under War as he thought of her being an extraordinary girl with immense potential.
Wonder Woman appears as one of the lead characters in the "Justice League" title written by Geoff Johns and drawn by Jim Lee that was launched in 2011 as part of The New 52. In August 2012, she and Superman shared a kiss in "Justice League" (vol. 2) #12, which developed into a romantic relationship. DC launched a "Superman/Wonder Woman" series that debuted in late 2013, which focuses both the threats they face together, and on their romance as a "Power Couple".
Earth 2.
The New 52 version of Earth 2 was introduced in "Earth 2" #1 (2012). In that issue, the Earth 2 Wonder Woman is introduced via flashback. She, along with Superman and Batman, are depicted dying in battle with forces from Apokolips five years in the past. This Wonder Woman worshiped the deities of Roman mythology as opposed to the Greek; the Roman gods perish as a result of the conflict. An earlier version of the Earth-2 Wonder Woman, prior to the Apokoliptian invasion, is seen in the comic book "Batman/Superman", where she is seen riding a pegasus.
In "Earth 2" #8 (2013), Wonder Woman's adult daughter, Fury, is introduced. She is loyal to the Apokoliptian Steppenwolf.
DC Rebirth.
In 2016, DC Comics implemented DC Rebirth, the second relaunch since 2011's The New 52, which reset some of the continuity changes effected by The New 52.
Following the events of the Darkseid War, Wonder Woman is told by the dying Myrina Black that on the night of Diana's birth, Hippolyta gave birth to a twin brother who was born after her. This child was revealed to be male, known as Jason, and is said to be incredibly powerful. Wonder Woman makes it her mission to find him.
The "Lies" story arc runs parallel with and explores Diana's search. No longer able to get into Mount Olympus, Diana tracks down Barbara Ann Minerva, the Cheetah, to get help.
In the "Watchmen" sequel "Doomsday Clock," Doctor Poison attended the meeting established by the Riddler and mentioned a rumor that Wonder Woman was forcefully dragged back to Themyscira by her fellow Amazons. Wonder Woman comes out of hiding to address the United Nations, hoping to defuse the metahuman arms race. However, the summit is interrupted by Black Adam, the Creeper, and Giganta, who take advantage of the absence of most of Earth's superheroes to attack the UN at the time when the superheroes were confronting Doctor Manhattan on Mars.
Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons.
Despite being an Amazon, Diana herself is only a supporting character in "Wonder Woman Historia: the Amazons". Inspired by George Pérez's 1980s reworking, Kelly Sue DeConnick wrote the three issue-limited series in celebration of the 80th anniversary of the DC Comics superheroine and was illustrated by Phil Jimenez, Gene Ha, and Nicola Scott.
"Wonder Woman Historia: the Amazons" begins with seven Greek goddesses-Hestia, Artemis, Demeter, Hecate, Aphrodite, Athena, and Hera-demanding that all mortal men be punished for abusing women, only for their request to be turned down by the womanizing Zeus. Despite the Amazons being her own idea, Hera does not join the other goddesses as they regroup at the Well of Souls (called the Well of the Lost in this retelling), each of them creating a quintet of female warriors from murdered women's souls. Composed of six tribes each with its own queen and patron goddess, the thirty Amazons travel the ancient world to rescue women from male traffickers whom they kill in acts of vigilantism; however, the Amazons only go on their missions at night when Artemis can watch over them, and hide themselves during the day to keep their existence a secret from the male gods, especially Zeus. In this version, Hippolyta starts out as a midwife's widowed assistant rather than a founding Amazon member. After being ordered to abandon an unwanted newborn girl, Hippolyta changes her mind, racing against the elements to save the baby and encounters the Amazons when they rescue her from traffickers.
As Hera turns the abandoned baby's soul into a bird to spy on the Amazons, Hippolyta makes a deal with Artemis to become one of them. Hippolyta then becomes a queen of her own Amazon tribe, which is made up of the women the female warriors rescue and bring back to their secret hideout to train in their way of life and have all six creator goddesses as their patrons. But one day when the sun is up, one young Amazon kills a murdered trafficker's son praying to Apollo, exposing the female warriors' existence to the male gods, who then send an all-male army to annihilate the Amazons.
As the Amazons battle against the gods and their soldiers, Hippolyta leads them all as their sole queen. But when the Amazons suffer many losses, Hippolyta travels to Olympus and makes a bargain with Zeus: her sisters' lives in exchange for their freedom. Except for the one who had killed the boy in Apollo's temple, all the Amazons, dead and living, are given long lives yet are forever imprisoned on Themyscira, where are they allowed to do as they please while under the sun god's watch; once a month, Artemis is allowed temporary guardianship of the warriors she had helped create.
Grieving over depriving her sisters their freedom, Hippolyta makes a clay baby girl, whom the seven goddesses bless with gifts and reincarnate from the soul of the very child the Queen of the Amazons was ordered to abandon. Named after the moon goddess, Diana will grow up to become Wonder Woman and continue her mother and their sister Amazons' fight for women's justice.
Other versions.
Wonder Woman (Earth-Two).
Princess Diana of Paradise Island—the Wonder Woman of Earth-Two—was a member of the All-Star Squadron and secretary (and later a member) for the Justice Society of America. As Diana Prince, she worked in the U.S. War Department as an assistant to intelligence officer Steve Trevor. Decades later she and Trevor married and had a daughter, Lyta (also known as Fury). Although Diana was retconned out of existence in "Crisis on Infinite Earths" and "All-Star Squadron" #60, she was later restored to the present.
Early history.
Diana, Princess of the Amazons of Earth-Two, was born on the mystical Paradise Island several hundred years before becoming known as Wonder Woman. Isolated from the cruelty and corruption of men, the Amazons lived and worked in peace and obeyed the will of Aphrodite and Athena. Longing for a child of her own, Hippolyta (Queen of the Amazons) begged the gods to grant her request and turn her clay statue into a real girl. In sympathy, Aphrodite relented and animated the statue; the girl leaped off the pedestal into her mother's arms. Hippolyta named her for the moon goddess, Diana (who became her godmother).
Hippolyta raised her daughter as an Amazon, with the privileges of royalty. Diana aged slowly, stopping aging when reaching adulthood (as did all Amazons). She surpassed most of her Amazon sisters in skills and intelligence, running faster than a deer at age five and easily uprooting a tree at three.
Diana was a contented Amazon until Captain Steve Trevor crash-landed on Paradise Island. Although she had never seen a man before, Diana was attracted to him (despite his injuries). Violating the island rule against taking in outsiders, Diana brought the unconscious Trevor back to the Amazons in an attempt to save his life. In response to her pleas, Hippolyta used the healing Purple Ray on Trevor and saved his life.
Discovering that the outside world was at war, Diana wanted to help stop it. Hippolyta refused, saying that they should not involve themselves in the ways of outsiders. However, the goddesses Aphrodite and Athena appeared to Hippolyta; they said it was time for an Amazon to travel to "Man's World" and fight the Nazis. Ares felt that he ruled the world; Aphrodite wanted to help America win, claiming it was the last citadel of democracy. A tournament was held to determine the Amazon champion; although forbidden by Hippolyta to participate, Princess Diana concealed her identity with a mask. After winning all the contests Diana revealed her identity to her mother, who feared she would never see her daughter again.
However, Hippolyta allowed her daughter to dress as Wonder Woman and travel to the outside world. Diana returned Steve Trevor to the United States, adopting the identity of a U.S. Army nurse (Diana Prince) so she could stay with Trevor as he recovered; she helped him against a Japanese agent.
Diana began to appear publicly as Wonder Woman. As Earth-Two Diana Prince, she joined the U.S. Navy as a lieutenant and became Col. Darnell's secretary. In actual Golden Age comics, the character joins the U.S. Army and in one occasion returned to nursing. The real Diana Prince later returned and tried to assume Diana's role, since her inventor husband was having financial trouble selling his weapon to the army. Wonder Woman saved Diana when she is kidnapped by a Japanese agent trying to steal the weapon; when it is successful Diana Prince began using her married name, leaving Wonder Woman in her identity.
Diana continued fighting crime with the Justice Society of America (on Earth-Two) as their first female member, although she was relegated to secretarial work for the Justice Society (despite her super powers). She was shown taking dictation and typing the team's minutes as Wonder Woman. Diana rejoined the team when it reformed and expanded (as the All-Star Squadron). She continued fighting crime after the war and resisted being recalled to Paradise Island, preferring to surrender her immortality rather than her independence.
Marriage.
The 1985 miniseries "America vs. the Justice Society" depicts Diana continuing to fight crime in the 1950s. Unlike many other masked heroes, who the federal government forces to reveal their identity, she admits no secret identity but admits she is an Amazon. However, she continues to use the alias Diana Prince.
During this period, Diana explores her romantic interest in her longtime crime-fighting partner, Steve Trevor. Diana reveals herself as Wonder Woman to him; although initially taken aback, Trevor marries her. Diana later retires from active duty in the Navy and becomes a housewife, raising their daughter Hippolyta "Lyta" Trevor (named after Diana's mother).
Later adventures.
Diana rejoined the (reformed) Justice Society of America during the 1960s; she was one of the JSA members placed in suspended animation by JSA villain Vandal Savage, and was freed by Barry Allen. However, she preferred to spend her time at home raising her daughter. During this time, Earth-Two Diana met her younger Earth-One counterpart. She was later summoned by the god Mercury (with other heroes of Earth-2, Earth-1 and Earth-S) when beast-man Kull of Atlantis wanted to destroy humanity on all three earths after capturing the elders (who empowered the Marvel Family). She helped stop Queen Clea, one of his henchmen, from taking over the Earth-Two Atlantis in a story involving the Squadron of Justice. The Wonder Women became good friends.
Diana was one of the Justice Society members ambushed by her earth's Superman (under the control of the Ultra Humanite) and drowned in Koehaha, the river of evil. She, Superman, Hawkman, Green Lantern, Robin and the Atom committed a number of crimes as they sought to act on their deepest desires, and fought their children/proteges (the newly formed Infinity Inc) in the process. Diana fought her daughter to a standstill and nearly killed Hawkman's son, the Silver Scarab, as she sought to rob a museum. Her goal was to obtain a rare herb said to confer eternal life and give it to her husband so that she would not have to face decades alone when Steve inevitably died before she did. She accidentally injured Steve in the battle and took him to Paradise Island for healing. Eventually, Diana and her teammates were freed from the water's influence and she went back to her retirement with a recovering Steve
"Crisis on Infinite Earths".
Diana continued in her role as an elder stateswoman in the superhero community until the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" came to Earth-Two and erased its existence. She fought well and was protected from erasure at the end of the crisis by ascending to Mount Olympus with her husband. Both were forgotten by the history of the new Primary Earth, except for their daughter (who was reformatted into the new universe as the daughter of Helena Kosmatos: Fury of World War II).
"Infinite Crisis".
When the new, post-crisis Wonder Woman broke up a riot in Boston, she was interrupted by a woman she thought was her mother (Queen Hippolyta); Hippolyta was the golden-age Wonder Woman via time travel in her continuity. The intruder identified herself as Earth-Two Wonder Woman Diana Prince, who left Mount Olympus in order to guide Diana. She advised her post-"Crisis" counterpart to be "the one thing you haven't been for a very long time...human". She urged Diana to intervene in a fight between Superman and his counterpart, Kal-L. Having left Mount Olympus, with her gods' blessings gone, Diana Prince faded away.
Wonder Woman (Earth-One).
Volume One.
The demigod Hercules has captured Queen Hippolyta and several other Amazons, degrading the queen in front of her subjects. Hippolyta begs for aid from Aphrodite, who reveals that Hippolyta must reclaim her girdle to protect from harm against Hercules. She does so, and seduces Hercules long enough to break his neck with her own chains. She then frees her fellow Amazons and defeat Hercules's band of soldiers. The queen once again prays to Aphrodite to retire the Amazons from the world of man.
3,000 years later, Wonder Woman returns to Paradise Island where she is placed under arrest for consorting in "man's world". The trial is witnessed by the Fates, as well as a crowd of Amazons including Nubia. Diana begins her story by recalling a moment with Althea, keeper of the Purple Ray. Diana uses the ray to heal Dindra, an injured deer. Althea asks if Diana will participate in the games to honor the goddess Diana, but she replies that her mother Hippolyta does not wish her to as she would have an unfair advantage with her powers. During the festival, Diana appears wearing the lion headdress of Hercules, then runs off while the others chase after her. Diana travels to the shore, where she finds a man who falls to the ground.
In the present time, Hippolyta calls Althea forward to testify. Althea explains that she went to identify a noise in her laboratory, but when she returned, the Purple Ray had disappeared, suggesting Diana took it. Diana reveals she took the ray to heal the man, Steve Trevor. She later challenged the champion Mala to a battle. Diana wins, and claims Mala's swan plane. Later, Hippolyta scolds Diana for her actions. She smells a familiar fragrance on Diana, then realizes it must be a man. After Diana leaves, she orders the Amazons to search out Paradise Island and find him.
Elsewhere, Diana leads Steve to the swan plane, but is ambushed by Mala and several others. Mala is then called to testify in the present time. She angrily states that Diana broke tradition. Mala chases after Diana's plane but Diana manages to escape. Mala returns to Hippolyta, who plans to recruit Medusa from the Underworld.
Diana flies Steve back to the United States and brings him to a hospital. While in the hospital, Diana finds many elderly women who are dying and begins to panic. She attempts to flee, but she is confronted by several soldiers. She fights them off, then decides to leave. In the present, Etta Candy, called Beth, is summoned to testify. She recalls her first meeting with Diana: the bus carrying her and the Holliday Girls crashes and falls off a cliff, but Diana saves them. Beth scolds Hippolyta for her treatment of her daughter.
Later, Steve is questioned by authorities until Diana and the Holliday Girls appear. Steve then coins the name "Wonder Woman" for the Amazon. Beth then remembers how she created Wonder Woman's costume for her. Soon after, Medusa attacks the hotel they were staying in and turns Steve into stone. The Amazons confront Diana and order her to come with them. She does so, under the promise of a trial.
In present time, Steve's stone body is brought forth. Diana reveals she worked on the Purple Ray for it to affect men, and heals Steve from his petrification. Diana calls Hippolyta forward to testify, and discovers that she was born from Hercules's seed. Diana forgives Hippolyta's lies and embraces her, then travels back to the United States to complete her journey as Wonder Woman.
Kingdom Come.
Kingdom Come Wonder Woman: In the Kingdom Come storyline by Mark Waid and Alex Ross, Wonder Woman is depicted as a hardened warrior who has become more aggressive in her methods of justice. She wears a black variation of her classic costume and carries a sword, reflecting a darker and more uncompromising version of the character.
Flashpoint.
Flashpoint Wonder Woman: In the Flashpoint universe, Wonder Woman's origins are drastically altered. She is portrayed as the fierce queen of the Amazons, leading them into a war with Aquaman's Atlanteans. This version of Diana is more ruthless and willing to resort to extreme measures in order to achieve her goals.
Red Son.
Red Son Wonder Woman: In the DC Elseworlds story Superman: Red Son, Wonder Woman is reimagined as a Soviet Union ally and participant in the Cold War. Her character embodies Soviet ideologies, fighting against the American superhero, Superman.
Earth 11.
Earth-11 Wonder Woman: On Earth-11, also known as the "Gender Reversed Earth," most of the DC superheroes are of the opposite gender. Wonder Woman is portrayed as Wonder Man, an Amazon warrior and member of the Justice Guild.
Powers and abilities.
Powers and training.
Diana is depicted as a masterful athlete, acrobat, fighter and strategist, trained and experienced in many ancient and modern forms of armed and unarmed combat, including exclusive Amazonian martial arts. With her godlike abilities of incalculable superhuman strength, nigh-invulnerability, speed, flight, fast healing and semi-immortality, Diana's fighting prowess is enhanced. In some versions, her mother trained her, as Wonder Girl, for a future career as Wonder Woman. From the beginning, she is portrayed as highly skilled in using her Amazon bracelets to stop bullets and in wielding her golden lasso. Batman once called her the "best melee fighter in the world". The modern version of the character is known to use lethal force when she deems it necessary. In the New 52 continuity, her superior combat skills are the result of her Amazon training, as well as receiving further training from Ares, the God of War, himself, since as early as her childhood. The Golden Age Wonder Woman also had education in advanced arts and sciences as well as psychology, emotions, and emotional intelligence, as did her Amazon sisters.
Pre-"Crisis".
The Golden Age Wonder Woman had strength that was comparable to the Golden Age Superman. Wonder Woman was capable of bench pressing 15,000 pounds even before she had received her bracelets, and later hoisted a 50,000 pound boulder above her head to inspire Amazons facing the test. Even when her super strength was temporarily nullified, she still had enough mortal strength of an Amazon to break down a prison door to save Steve Trevor. In one of her earliest appearances, she is shown running easily at , and later jumps from a building and lands on the balls of her feet.
Her strength would be removed in accordance with "Aphrodite's Law" if she allowed her bracelets to be bound or chained by a male.
She also had an array of mental and psychic abilities, as corresponding to Marston's interest in parapsychology and metaphysics. Such an array included ESP, astral projection, telepathy (with or without the Mental Radio), mental control over the electricity in her body, the Amazonian ability to turn brain energy into muscle power, etc. Wonder Woman first became immune to electric shocks after having her spirit stripped from her atoms by Dr. Psycho's Electro Atomizer; it was also discovered that she was unable to send a mental radio message without her body.
"Wonder Woman" #105 revealed that Diana was formed from clay by the Queen of the Amazons, given life and power by four of the Greek and Roman gods (otherwise known as the Olympian deities) as gifts, corresponding to her renowned epithet: "Beautiful as Aphrodite, wise as Athena, swifter than Hermes, and stronger than Hercules", making her the strongest of the Amazons. Wonder Woman's Amazon training gave her limited telepathy, profound scientific knowledge, and the ability to speak every languageeven caveman and Martian languages.
Between 1966 and 1967, new powers were added, such as super breath.
In the Silver and Bronze Ages of comics, Wonder Woman was able to further increase her strength. In times of great need, removing her bracelets would temporarily augment her power tenfold, but cause her to go berserk in the process.
Post-"Crisis".
In the Post-"Crisis" universe, Wonder Woman receives her super powers as a blessing from Olympian deities just like the Silver Age version before, but with changes to some of her powers: She is considered one of the mightiest beings in the DC multiverse.
While not completely invulnerable, she is highly resistant to great amounts of concussive force and extreme temperatures. However, edged weapons or projectiles applied with sufficient force are able to pierce her skin.
She is able to astrally project herself into various lands of myth. Her physical body reacts to whatever happens to her on the mythical astral plane, leaving her body cut, bruised, or sometimes strengthened once her mind and body are reunited. She can apparently leave the planet through meditation and did this once to rescue Artemis while she was in Hell.
The New 52.
After the 2011 New 52 relaunch, Diana gained new powers. These new abilities, which included already superhuman strength, superhuman speed, durability, immortality, accelerated healing, and even flight came in addition to her previous attributed Olympian and Amazon combined strength. In addition, Diana's bracelets can now create a thunderous explosion or expel lightning when she clashes them together, however the bracelets are not the source of her power rather it is Diana's. For any other Amazon user, the gauntlets would not have an offensive ability. Diana can also manipulate lightning and create weapons out of lightning bolts. These new abilities are attributed to being the daughter of Hippolyta and Zeus. Her powers are now considered nearly unmeasurable if she goes without her Bracelets of Submission, which keep her demigod powers in check. She uses these powers in battle against the goddess Artemis and quickly renders her unconscious with ease with a series of carefully positioned counterattacks. While using her godly powers, her outfit and accoutrements lit up and her eyes glowed like her father's.
After becoming the God of War in the pages of "Wonder Woman", Diana inherits Ares's divine abilities. Diana has not exhibited her full powers as War, but is seen in "Superman/Wonder Woman" #8 slipping easily into telepathic rapport with a soldier, explaining "I am War. I know all soldiers, and they know me."
DC Universe.
DC Comics ended the Rebirth branding in December 2017, opting to include everything under a larger DC Universe brand. The continuity established by Rebirth continues across DC's comic book titles, including volume five of "Wonder Woman".
Weapons and other abilities.
Pre-"Crisis" outfits.
At the time of her debut, Wonder Woman sported a red top with a golden eagle emblem, a white belt, blue star-spangled subligaculum, and red and golden go-go boots. She originally wore a skirt; however according to Elizabeth Marston, "It was too hard to draw and would have been over her head most of the time." This outfit was entirely based on the American flag, because Wonder Woman was purely an American icon as she debuted during World War II. Later in 1942, Wonder Woman's outfit received a slight changethe culottes were converted entirely into skin-tight shorts and she wore sandals. While earlier most of her back was exposed, during the imposition of the Comics Code Authority in the mid-1950s, Wonder Woman's outfit was rectified to make her back substantially covered, in order to comply with the Authority's rule of minimum exposure. During Mike Sekowsky's run in the late 1960s, Diana surrendered her powers and started using her own skills to fight crime. She wore a series of jumpsuits as her attire; the most popular of these was a white one.
After Sekowsky's run ended in the early 1970s, Diana's roots were reverted to her old mythological ones and she wore a more modernized version of her original outfit, a predecessor to her "bathing suit" outfit. Later, in 1976, her glowing white belt was turned into a yellow one. For Series 3, artist Terry Dodson redrew her outfit as a strapless swimsuit.
A retrospective of Wonder Woman's costume changes was offered in Issue #211, cover-dated April–May 1974, on page 52 which details the changes in her costume from her 1) initial very briefly-lasting one with culottes, or perhaps more specifically, a skort, to 2) the "hot-pants" style costume which would last through the rest of the golden-age years and through much of the 1950s, to 3) the sandaled-look of the late 1950s to mid 1960s, to 4) her plain-clothes civilian look the character adopted during the timeframe of late 1968 to the end of 1972 when the character was without her superpowers, to 5) the slightly-modified-from-the-golden-age costume she returned to when her superpowers were restored in 1973.
Bronze Age outfit.
It was late in the Bronze Age, however, when what is possibly the single-most-significant change in the iconography of Wonder Woman's costume occurred. Various sources explain "[u]nder the leadership of Jenette Kahn, DC Comics' first female publisher", "something very special happened to the character. This super heroine was bestowed with her own logo…[that] became a distinguishing factor. The logo was easily identifiable" and was "an iconic chest emblem [that put her] on par with her crusading colleagues Batman and Superman." The logo was a "stylized eagle that had been in place since 1941, replaced with a stacked double W" and "variations on the stacked 'WW' logo have been central to every costume since."
In "DC Comics Presents" #41, (January 1982), on page 7 of the special Wonder Woman insert, a character identified as "Liz" on the previous page, who states that she is a representative of an organization called the Wonder Woman Foundation, explains "We've been promised full financial backing to promote equality for women everywhere, if we can use your name...and if you'll just wear this charming top from now on, instead of your old one!"
Liz then gives Wonder Woman the new breastplate on which a 'double-W' design replaces the eagle design on the previous breastplate, the first time the breastplate's design had changed in the 40 years of the character's existence. Later on page 14, Queen Hippolyta advises her to "Wear the new halter for a time, at least, for the good it will do." Wonder Woman agrees by saying, "Wait! I just realized...you're right! The cause will make the 'W' stand not just for 'Wonder Woman'...but for women everywhere".
Post-"Crisis" outfit.
After "Crisis on Infinite Earths", George Pérez rebooted the character in 1987. She wore an outfit similar to her 1970s one, but now with a larger glowing golden belt. This outfit continued until William Messner-Loebs' run, which had Diana pass on the role of Wonder Woman to Artemis. No longer Wonder Woman, Diana sported a new black biker-girl outfit designed by artist Mike Deodato Jr. After John Byrne took over writing and art duties, he redesigned the Wonder Woman outfit (Diana was reinstated as Wonder Woman at the end of Loebs' run) and joined the emblem and belt together.
Her outfit was not given any prominent change until after the 2005–2006 "Infinite Crisis" storyline. Similar to her chestplate, her glowing belt was also shaped into a "W". This outfit continued until issue #600J. Michael Straczynski's run of Wonder Woman's altered timeline changed her outfit drastically. Her outfit was redesigned by Jim Lee and included a redesigned emblem, a golden and red top, black pants, and a later discontinued blue-black jacket.
"The New 52" outfit.
Another major outfit change for Wonder Woman came about as part of DC Comics' 2011 relaunch of its entire line of publications, The New 52. The character's original one-piece outfit was restored, although the color combination of red and blue was changed to dark red and blue-black. Her chest-plate, belt and tiara were also changed from gold to a platinum or sterling silver color. Along with her sword, she now also utilizes a shield. She wears many accessories such as arm and neck jewelry styled as the "WW" motif. Her outfit is no longer made of fabric, as it now resembles a type of light, flexible body armor. Her boots are now a very dark blue rather than red. The design previously included black trousers, but they were removed and the one-piece look was restored during the time of publication.
"Wonder Woman" (2017 film) outfit.
Her tiara's signature star symbol is now an eight-pointed starburst. According to designer Lindy Hemming and director Patty Jenkins, every design decision made for Themyscira came down to the same question: "How would I want to live that's badass?" "To me, they shouldn't be dressed in armor like men. It should be different. It should be authentic and real ... and "appealing" to women." When asked about the decision to give the Amazons heeled sandals, Jenkins explained that they also have flats for fighting, adding "It's total wish-fulfillment ... I, as a woman, want Wonder Woman to be sexy, hot as hell, fight badass, and look great at the same time ... the same way men want Superman to have ridiculously huge pecs and an impractically big body. That makes them feel like the hero they want to be. And my hero, in my head, has really long legs."
Invisible Plane.
The Golden, Silver, and Bronze Age portrayals of Wonder Woman showed her using a silent and invisible plane that could be controlled by mental command and fly at speeds up to . Its appearance has varied over time; originally it had a propeller, while later it was drawn as a jet aircraft resembling a stealth aircraft.
Shortly thereafter, Wonder Woman is shown being able to summon it with her tiara, have it hover by the War Department, and extend from it a rope ladder with which she could board it. She uses the plane to fly into outer space, and frequently transports Etta Candy and the Holliday Girls, Steve Trevor, and others. During the 1950s, the plane becomes a jet, and is often shown swooping over Lt. Prince's office; she strips out of her uniform at super speed and bounds to the plane. Though the plane was depicted as semi-transparent for the reader's convenience, in-story dialogue indicated that it actually was completely invisible, or at least able to become so as the need arose. Wonder Woman continued to use the Invisible Plane for super speed, outer space, and multi-dimensional transport up until the unpowered era of Diana Prince. When Wonder Woman resumed superpowered, costumed operations in 1973, she continued to use the jet as before, but did glide on air currents for short distances. At one point, Aphrodite granted the plane the power to fly faster than the speed of light for any interstellar voyages her champion might undertake.
Thanks to tinkering by gremlins, the Plane even developed intelligence and the power to talk.
Bracelets of Submission.
Diana's bulletproof bracelets were formed from the remnants of Athena's legendary shield, the Aegis, to be awarded to her champion. The shield was made from the indestructible hide of the great she-goat, Amalthea, who suckled Zeus as an infant. These forearm guards have thus far proven nigh-indestructible (the Omega Beams of Grail have proven able to shatter them), and are able to absorb the impact of incoming attacks, allowing Wonder Woman to deflect automatic weapon fire and energy blasts. Diana can slam the bracelets together to create a wave of concussive force capable of making strong beings like Superman's ears bleed. Recently, she gained the ability to channel Zeus's lightning through her bracelets as well. Zeus explained to her that this power had been contained within the bracelets since their creation, because they were once part of the Aegis, and that he had only recently unlocked it for her use. After the 2011 relaunch of the character, it was revealed that Diana was the daughter of Zeus and Hippolyta and that the bracelets are able to keep the powers she had inherited from Zeus in check. In addition, Hephaestus has modified the bracelets to allow Wonder Woman the sorcerous ability to manifest a sword of grayish metal from each bracelet. Each sword, marked with a red star, takes shape from a flash of lightning, and when Wonder Woman is done with them, the swords disappear, supposedly, back into her bracelets. As such, she has produced other weapons from the bracelets in this way such as a bow that fires explosive arrows, spears and energy bolts among others.
The inspiration to give Diana bracelets came from the pair of bracelets worn by Olive Byrne, creator William Moulton Marston's research assistant and lover. "Wonder Woman and her sister Amazons have to wear heavy bracelets to remind them of what happens to a girl when she lets a man conquer her," quoted Marston in a 1942 interview. "The Amazons once surrendered to the charm of some handsom Greeks and what a mess they got themselves into. The Greeks put them in chains of the Hitler type, beat them, and made them work like horses in the fields. Aphrodite, goddess of love, finally freed these unhappy girls. But she laid down the rule ("Aphrodite's Law") that they must never surrender to a man for any reason. I know of no better advice to give modern day women than this rule that Aphrodite gave the Amazon girls."
Lasso of Truth.
The "Lasso of Truth", or "Lasso of Hestia", was forged by Hephaestus from the golden girdle of Gaea. The original form of the Lasso in the Golden Age was called the Magic Lasso of Aphrodite. It compels all beings who come into contact with it to tell the absolute truth and is virtually indestructible; in "Identity Crisis", Green Arrow mistakenly describes it as "the only lie detector designed by Zeus." The only times it has been broken were when Wonder Woman herself refused to accept the truth revealed by the lasso, such as when she confronted Rama Khan of Jarhanpur, and by Bizarro in Matt Wagner's non-canonical "". During the Golden Age, the original form of the Lasso had the power to force anyone caught to obey any command given them, even overriding the mind control of others; this was effective enough to defeat strong-willed beings like Captain Marvel.
Other items.
During the Golden Age, Wonder Woman possessed a Purple Ray capable of healing even a fatal gunshot wound to the brain. She invented the ray herself in order to heal Steve Trevor from injuries he sustained when his plane was shot down and he was left adrift in the sea for days.
Diana occasionally uses additional weaponry in formal battle, such as ceremonial golden armour with golden wings, pteruges, chestplate, and golden helmet in the shape of an eagle's head. She possesses a magical sword forged by Hephaestus that is sharp enough to cut the electrons off an atom. As early as the 1950s, Wonder Woman's tiara has also been used as a razor-edged throwing weapon, returning to her like a boomerang. The tiara allows Wonder Woman to be invulnerable from telepathic attacks, as well as allowing her to telepathically contact people such as the Amazons back on Themyscira using the power of the red star ruby in its center. As a temporary inductee into the Star Sapphires, Wonder Woman gained access to the violet power ring of love. This ring allowed her to alter her costume at will, create solid-light energy constructs, and reveal a person's true love to them. She was able to combine the energy with her lasso to enhance its ability. She also possessed a Mental Radio that could let her receive messages from those in need.
Cultural impact.
Critical reception.
Although created to be a positive role-model and a strong female character for girls and boys, in the controversial "Seduction of the Innocent", psychiatrist Fredric Wertham claimed, as a point of criticism, that Wonder Woman's strength and independence made her a lesbian.
Wonder Woman was named the 20th greatest comic book character by "Empire" film magazine. She was ranked sixth in "Comics Buyer's Guide"s "100 Sexiest Women in Comics" list. In May 2011, Wonder Woman placed fifth on "IGN"s Top 100 Comic Book Heroes of All Time.
Under current US copyright law, Wonder Woman is due to enter the public domain in between 2036 and 2037. However, this will only apply (at first) to the character as she is depicted in All Star Comics #8, which was published in 1941. Versions of her with later developments and some related characters, may persist under copyright until the works they were introduced in enter the public domain themselves.
Feminist icon.
Feminist icon Gloria Steinem, founder of "Ms." magazine, was responsible for the return of Wonder Woman's original abilities. Offended that the most famous female superhero had been depowered into a boyfriend-obsessed damsel in distress, Steinem placed Wonder Woman (in costume) on the cover of the first issue of "Ms." (1972) – Warner Communications, DC Comics' owner, was an investor – which also contained an appreciative essay about the character. Wonder Woman's powers and traditional costume were restored in issue #204 (January–February 1973).
In 1972, just months after the groundbreaking US Supreme Court decision "Roe v. Wade", science fiction author Samuel R. Delany had planned a story for "Ms." that culminated in a plainclothes Wonder Woman protecting an abortion clinic. However, Steinem disapproved of Wonder Woman being out of costume, and the controversial story line never happened.
The original significance of Wonder Woman had the intentions of influencing many women of all ages, displaying the physical and mental strengths, values, and ethical attributes that not only men acquire. "Wonder Woman symbolizes many of the values of the women's culture that feminists are now trying to introduce into the mainstream: strength and self-reliance for women; sisterhood and mutual support among women; peacefulness and esteem for human life; a diminishment both of 'masculine' aggression and of the belief that violence is the only way of solving conflicts," Steinem wrote at the time.
Carolyn Cocca has stated that Wonder Woman possesses a "duality of character" due to the character possessing both feminine and masculine qualities in her physical abilities and attitude, which Cocca felt made her more appealing to a wide audience. Wonder Woman's first female editor, Karen Berger, claimed that, "Wonder Woman [is] a great role model to young women, but also contains many elements that appeal to males as well. Wonder Woman crosses the gender line.". Berger worked with George Pérez on the new issues of Wonder Woman starting in 1987, and the new Diana "works with friends and allies to teach lessons of peace and equality."
The origin of Wonder Woman and the psychological reasoning behind why William Morton Marston created her in the way he did illustrated Marston's educational, ethical, and moral values.
Marc DiPaolo introduces us to Wonder Woman's creator and history and he demonstrates how she is a "WWII veteran, a feminist icon, and a sex symbol" all throughout her "career". Wonder Woman stars in multiple films and is most commonly known for her red, white and blue one piece, and her tall, sexy assertiveness. What many people do not know is that she is a big part of history in the comic and superhero world because of how her character influences real life people of all ages, sexes, ethnicities, and races. "Marston created the comic book character Wonder Woman to be both strong and sexy, as a means of encouraging woman to emulate her unapologetic assertiveness." Charlotte Howell notes in her essay titled "'Tricky' Connotations: Wonder Woman as DC's Brand Disruptor" that Wonder Woman is "inherently disruptive to masculine superhero franchise branding because, according to her creator William Moulton Marston, she was intended to be 'psychological propaganda for the new type of woman who, [he] believe[d], should rule the world.'"
In 2015, Wonder Woman became the first superhero to officiate a same-sex wedding in a comic series.
On October 21, 2016, the 75th anniversary of the first appearance of the character, the United Nations named Wonder Woman a UN Honorary Ambassador for the Empowerment of Women and Girls in a ceremony attended by "Wonder Woman" actresses Gal Gadot and Lynda Carter, DC Entertainment President Diane Nelson, "Wonder Woman" feature film director Patty Jenkins, and U.N. Under-Secretary General Cristina Gallach appeared at the United Nations, to mark the character's designation by the United Nations as its "Honorary Ambassador for the Empowerment of Women and Girls". The gesture was intended to raise awareness of UN Sustainable Development Goal No. 5, which seeks to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls by 2030. The decision was met with protests from UN staff members who stated in their petition to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that the character is "not culturally encompassing or sensitive" and served to objectify women. The petition also stated that it was "alarming that the United Nations would consider using a character with an overtly sexualized image". As a result, the character was stripped of the designation, and the project ended on December 16.
After the release of the 2017 film "Wonder Woman", critics examined the character's status as a feminist figure in the film. Zoe Williams for "The Guardian" said, "Yes, she is sort of naked a lot of the time, but this isn't objectification so much as a cultural reset: having thighs, actual thighs you can kick things with, not thighs that look like arms, is a feminist act. The whole Diana myth, women safeguarding the world from male violence not with nurture but with better violence, is a feminist act. Casting Robin Wright as Wonder Woman's aunt, re-imagining the battle-axe as a battler with an axe, is a feminist act. A female German chemist trying to destroy humans (in the shape of Dr Poison, a proto-Mengele before Nazism existed) might be the most feminist act of all." Alyssa Rosenberg for "The Washington Post" said, "...None of these experiences crushed me, of course, but I do wonder what it might have been like if they hadn't happened. The power of Wonder Woman, and one of the things that gives Jenkins's adaptation of the character such a lift, is in the answer to that question. Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) doesn't have any idea what women and men are — or aren't — supposed to do. Even when she does encounter other people's ideas about gender roles, she doesn't automatically accept them, and she never lets anyone stop her. And the movie goes a step further and argues that it's not merely little girls all over the world who stand to gain if they can grow up free of the distorting influence of misogyny: a world like that would be liberating and wonderful for men in lots of ways, too." Emma Gray for "HuffPost" said, "When it comes to pop culture, we speak often about representation; the simple yet often unfulfilled idea that it matters to see someone like you fill a variety of imagined roles on screen. After awhile, these conversations almost begin to feel obvious. We know that it's good to see women and people of color and disabled people and trans people and queer people in the same numbers and variety of roles that white, cisgender, straight men have long been afforded. But what these discussions often lose is the emotional impact of finally seeing something you may have never even realized you were missing. For many women viewers, "Wonder Woman" filled a hole they didn't know they had."
Pacifist icon.
Gloria Steinem, editor for "Ms." magazine and a major supporter of Wonder Woman, stated "...[Marston] had invented Wonder Woman as a heroine for little girls, and also as a conscious alternative to the violence of comic books for boys." Badower described a near-international incident (involving an unnamed Russian general rolling dozens of tanks and munitions through a shady mountain pass) as an outstanding example for standing up to bullies. "She ends up deflecting a bullet back and disarming the general," he says, adding that "she doesn't actually do anything violent in the story. I just think that Wonder Woman is smarter than that."
Nick Pumphrey stated that Wonder Woman stands as a non-violent beacon of hope and inspiration for women and men. Grant Morrison stated "I sat down and I thought, 'I don't want to do this warrior woman thing.' I can understand why they're doing it, I get all that, but that's not what [Wonder Woman creator] William Marston wanted, that's not what he wanted at all! His original concept for Wonder Woman was an answer to comics that he thought were filled with images of blood-curdling masculinity, and you see the latest shots of Gal Gadot in the costume, and it's all sword and shield and her snarling at the camera. Marston's Diana was a doctor, a healer, a scientist." The 2018 journal article "Casting a Wider Lasso: An Analysis of the Cultural Dismissal of Wonder Woman Through Her 1975-1979 Television Series" argued that the Lynda Carter show strongly adapted Wonder Woman's ideals but "was suppressed, undone, and discredited" by American culture as part of a larger legacy suppressing the character.
Paquette detailed the changes he made to Wonder Woman's costume, stating that he removed the iconic American flag theme and instead incorporated a Greek influence: "The animal associated to Aphrodite is a dove so instead of an eagle on [Wonder Woman's] breastplate, it will be more of a dove. It's not the American eagle, it's the Aphrodite dove. Stuff that creates [the letter] W is by accident, so it's not like she already has a letter of the alphabet on her [costume]. In the end I've created a structure so it feels inevitable for Wonder Woman to look the way she does."
LGBT icon.
William Marston's earliest works were notorious for containing subversive "bondage and sapphic-undertones" subtext. Among Wonder Woman's famous catchphrases, "Suffering Sappho", was a direct reference to lesbianism. Fredric Wertham's "Seduction of the Innocent" referred to her as the "lesbian counterpart to Batman" (whom he also identified as a homosexual). After Marston's death in 1947, DC Comics downplayed her sexuality and feminist origin. Wonder Woman, without Marston's creative direction, become more "traditional" superhero fare; the lesbian relationships and sexual imagery disappeared from the "Wonder Woman" comic, along with Wonder Woman's super powers. During the Comics Code Authority-decades since, Wonder Woman's subversiveness had been gradually stripped away; subsequent comic book writers and artists either did not know what do with her or barely hinted at Wonder Woman's erotic legacy.
But under the new 1987 re-boot of the title, under the editorship of Karen Berger, and with the writing and art of George Perez at the helm of the book, the same-sex appreciation by Wonder Woman and the Amazons was more than hinted-at and this was established quickly in the new run of the title. Upon her first sight of supporting character Vanessa Kapatelis (in issue #3), she is shown smiling upwards at Kapatelis, thinking to herself "I've never "seen" another woman quite "like" her...she's so "young"...so "vulnerable"...so "beautiful"..." Three years later, in the first issue (#38) of a new decade, there is a story-line presenting a cultural exchange between appointed leaders from 'Man's World', who are the first mortals to visit Themyscira in this continuity, and the Amazons of Themyscira, in Themyscira, itself. The guest Unitarian minister, Reverend Cantwell, asks the Amazon Mnemosyne "..."Don't you "miss" the "sharing" God intended for the sexes?" to which Mnemosyne replied ""Some" do. They have sworn themselves to Artemis, the virgin hunter, and Athena, the chaste warrior. "Others" choose the way of Narcissus. But "most" of us find satisfaction in each "other" -- three thousand years "can" be a long time, reverend.". Probably more than at any other time in the then nearly fifty-year history of the character, the Amazons were explicitly and unequivocally defined, in general, as lesbian. Additionally, Kevin Mayer, brother of the major supporting character Myndi Mayer, was openly gay and this was treated sympathetically. By this time, DC Comics was a Warner Brothers-owned company, and had been for over 20 years.
Wonder Woman is suggested as being queer or bisexual, as she and another Amazon, Io, had reciprocal feelings for each other. Grant Morrison's 2016 comic "", which exists parallel to the current DC comics "Rebirth" canon, Diana is depicted being kissed on her right cheek by a blonde woman who has put her left arm around Diana.
In 2016, "Issue #48" of "Sensation Comics", featured Wonder Woman officiating a same-sex wedding, drawn by Australian illustrator Jason Badower. "My country is all women. To us, it's not 'gay' marriage. It's just marriage", she states to Superman. Inspired by the 2015 June Supreme Court ruling that established same-sex marriage in all 50 United States, Badower says DC Comics was "fantastic" about his idea for the issue. In an interview with "The Sydney Morning Herald", he said his editor "Was like 'great, I love it! Let's do it.' It was almost anticlimactic." "Diana's mother, the queen, at the very least authorized or in some cases officiated these weddings," Badower says. "It just seems more like a royal duty Diana would take on, that she would do for people that would appreciate it."
Wonder Woman actress Gal Gadot reacted positively to Diana's rebooted orientation, and agreed her sexuality was impacted by growing up in the women-only Themyscira. Gadot stated that Wonder Woman feels she need not be "labelled sexually", and is "just herself".
"She's a woman who loves people for who they are. She can be bisexual. She loves people for their hearts." Coming from a society that was only populated by women, "'lesbian' in [the world's] eyes may have been 'straight' for them." "Her culture is completely free from the shackles of heteronormativity in the first place so she wouldn't even have any 'concept' of gender roles in sex."
Wonder Woman's advocacy for women rights and gay rights was taken a step further in September 2016, when comic book writer Greg Rucka announced that she is canonically bisexual, according to her rebooted "Rebirth" origin. Rucka stated, "...nobody at DC Comics has ever said, "[Wonder Woman] gotta be straight." Nobody. Ever. They've never blinked at this." Rucka stated that in his opinion, she "has to be" queer and has "obviously" had same-sex relationships on an island surrounded by beautiful women. This follows the way Wonder Woman was written in the alternate continuity or non-canon "Earth One" by Grant Morrison, and fellow Wonder Woman writer Gail Simone staunchly supported Rucka's statement. Surprised at the amount of backlash from her fanbase, Rucka responded to "haters" that consensual sex with women is just as important to Wonder Woman as the Truth is to Superman.
Sexual empowerment icon.
Wonder Woman's signature weapon is her Lasso of Truth; consequently, much of her crime-fighting powers came from bondage, and her only exploitable weakness was, essentially, bondage. Grant Morrison and Yanick Paquette had teamed up to work on "Wonder Woman: Earth One".
Wonder Woman's sexual and bondage themes in her earliest days were not without purpose, however. Her creator, William Moulton Marston, theorized that human relationships could be broken down into dominance, submission, inducement and compliance roles which were embedded into our psyche. Because males were, more often than not, dominant in societies, Marston believed that "Women as a sex, are many times better equipped to assume emotional leadership than are males." Marston wanted to convey his progressive ideals, through his use of bondage imagery, that women are not only capable of leadership roles, but should be in charge of society. Although Marston had good intentions with these themes, in Wonder Woman's early appearances, the bondage elements were controversial, as they were often seen to overly fetishize women in power rather than promote such women. Noah Berlatsky criticized this imagery in Wonder Woman's earliest days noting that "the comics take sensual pleasure in women's disempowerment." Despite having the mixed messages of this imagery, Marston fiercely believed that women would soon rule the earth and meant to showcase his predictions through sexual themes in his stories. He was an open feminist while studying at Harvard where he once said "Girls are also human beings, a point often overlooked!"
In other media.
Since her comic book debut in October 1941, Wonder Woman has appeared in a number of adaptations. These formats include films, television shows, and video games.
In the fine arts, and starting with the Pop Art period and on a continuing basis since the 1960s, the character has been "appropriated" by multiple visual artists and incorporated into contemporary artwork, most notably by Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Mel Ramos, Dulce Pinzon, Houben R.T. and others.
Television.
Wonder Woman has made multiple appearances in television, spanning across many decades, including the made-for-television film "Wonder Woman" (1974), and most famously the live action "Wonder Woman" TV Show (1975–1979) which starred Lynda Carter, including Hanna-Barbera's long-running animated series "Super Friends" (1973–1986) where she appeared alongside many other Justice League members, usually facing off members of the Legion of Doom, and most notably the Justice League animated series (2001–2004) and its sequel Justice League Unlimited (2004–2006).
A pilot was filmed in 2011 starring Adrianne Palicki but the show never aired.
In the show "DC Super Hero Girls" (2019–2021), Wonder Woman is shown as a teenage student at Metropolis High School. Here, she is friends with many other DC characters such as Batgirl, Killer Frost, Hawkgirl, Big Barda, Miss Martian, Beast Boy, Supergirl, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Katana, and is the best friend of Bumblebee. She also has enemies at this school, some of them being Cheetah, Lena Luthor, and Giganta.
In the Max show titled "Peacemaker" (2022–present), starring DC comic superhero Peacemaker, she makes an indirect appearance at the end of the first season, appearing alongside The Flash, Aquaman, and Superman, the latter superhero appearing with her only as silhouettes.
Film.
Wonder Woman has been featured in an abundance of direct-to-video animated films that are a part of DC's animated film universe (DCAMU) some of which include " "(2013), ' (2015) and ' (2020). There are also other direct-to-video films the character appears in that are not a part of the DCAMU including "Injustice" (2021), ' (2015), and ' (2008), along with a few CGI theatrical releases such as "The Lego Movie" (2014) and "The Lego Batman Movie" (2017).
Within the live-action DC Extended Universe (DCEU) films, Wonder Woman debuted in "" (2016), portrayed by Gal Gadot, and reappeared in "Wonder Woman" (2017) and its sequel "Wonder Woman 1984" (2020), as well as "Justice League" (2017) and its director's cut (2021), and had cameo appearances in "Shazam! Fury of the Gods" and "The Flash" (both 2023).
The 2017 film "Professor Marston and the Wonder Women" tells the story of the polyamorous relationship between William Moulton Marston, his wife and fellow psychologist Elizabeth Holloway Marston, and their lover Olive Byrne, the invention of the lie detector test, and how they inspired the creation of the Wonder Woman comic.
Video games.
The character of Wonder Woman has appeared in a plethora of different videos games, both DC orchestrated and not. Most games that she appears in are fighting based and include Diana as a playable character, while in others she is an NPC. Below one can find may of the aforementioned games that she is included in.
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Jay Gatsby
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Jay Gatsby (originally named James Gatz) is the titular fictional character of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel "The Great Gatsby". The character is an enigmatic "nouveau riche" millionaire who lives in a luxurious mansion on Long Island where he often hosts extravagant parties and who allegedly gained his fortune by illicit bootlegging during prohibition in the United States. Fitzgerald based many details about the fictional character on Max Gerlach, a mysterious neighbor and World War I veteran whom the author met in New York during the raucous Jazz Age. Like Gatsby, Gerlach threw lavish parties, never wore the same shirt twice, used the phrase "old sport", claimed to be educated at Oxford University, and fostered myths about himself, including that he was a relation of the German Kaiser.
The character of Jay Gatsby has been analyzed by scholars for many decades and has given rise to a number of critical interpretations. Scholars posit that Gatsby functions as a cipher because of his obscure origins, his unclear religio-ethnic identity and his indeterminate class status. Accordingly, Gatsby's socio-economic ascent is deemed a threat by other characters in the novel not only due to his status as "nouveau riche", but because he is perceived as a societal outsider. The character's biographical details indicate his family are recent immigrants which precludes Gatsby from the status of an Old Stock American. As the embodiment of "latest America", Gatsby's rise triggers status anxieties typical of the 1920s era, involving xenophobia and anti-immigrant sentiment.
A century after the novel's publication in April 1925, Gatsby has become a touchstone in American culture and is often evoked in popular media in the context of the American dream—the belief that every individual, regardless of their origins, may seek and achieve their desired goals, "be they political, monetary, or social. It is the literary expression of the concept of America: The land of opportunity". Gatsby has been described by scholars as a false prophet of the American dream as pursuing the dream often results in dissatisfaction for those who chase it, owing to its unattainability.
The character has appeared in various media adaptations of the novel, including stage plays, radio shows, video games, and feature films. Canadian-American actor James Rennie originated the role of Gatsby on the stage when he headlined the 1926 Broadway adaptation of Fitzgerald's novel at the Ambassador Theatre in New York City. He repeated the role for 112 performances. That same year, screen actor Warner Baxter played the role in the lost 1926 silent film adaptation. During the subsequent decades, the role has been played by many actors including Alan Ladd, Kirk Douglas, Robert Ryan, Robert Redford, Leonardo DiCaprio, and others.
Inspiration for the character.
After the publication and commercial success of his debut novel "This Side of Paradise" in 1920, F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda Sayre relocated to a wealthy enclave on Long Island near New York City. Despite enjoying the exclusive Long Island milieu, Fitzgerald disapproved of the extravagant parties, and the wealthy persons he encountered often disappointed him. While striving to emulate the rich, he found their privileged lifestyle to be morally disquieting, and he felt repulsed by their careless indifference to less wealthy persons. Like Gatsby, Fitzgerald admired the rich, but he nonetheless harbored a deep resentment towards them. This recurrent theme is ascribable to Fitzgerald's life experiences in which he was "a poor boy in a rich town; a poor boy in a rich boy's school; a poor boy in a rich man's club at Princeton." He "sensed a corruption in the rich and mistrusted their might." Consequently, he became a vocal critic of America's leisure class and his works satirized their lives.
While living in New York, writer F. Scott Fitzgerald's enigmatic neighbor was Max Gerlach. Gerlach claimed to be born in America to a German immigrant family, and he served as an officer in the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I. He later became a gentleman bootlegger who lived like a millionaire in New York. Flaunting his new wealth, Gerlach threw lavish parties, never wore the same shirt twice, used the phrase "old sport", claimed to be educated at Oxford University, and fostered myths about himself, including that he was a relation of the German Kaiser. These details about Gerlach inspired Fitzgerald in his creation of Jay Gatsby. With the end of prohibition and the onset of the Great Depression, Gerlach lost his immense wealth. Living in reduced circumstances, he attempted suicide by shooting himself in the head in 1939. Blinded after his suicide attempt, he lived as a helpless invalid for many years before dying on October 18, 1958, at Bellevue Hospital, New York City. He was buried in a pine casket at Long Island National Cemetery.
Mirroring Gerlach's background, Fitzgerald's fictional creation of James Gatz has a Germanic surname, and the character's father adheres to Lutheranism. These biographical details indicate Gatsby's family are recent German immigrants. Such origins preclude them from the status of Old Stock Americans. Consequently, scholars have posited that Gatsby's socio-economic ascent is deemed a threat not only due to his status as "nouveau riche", but because he is perceived as an ethnic and societal outsider. Tom Buchanan's hostility towards Gatsby, who is the embodiment of "latest America", has been interpreted as partly embodying status anxieties typical of the 1920s era, involving anti-immigrant sentiment. Accordingly, Gatsby—whom Tom belittles as "Mr. Nobody from Nowhere"—functions as a cipher because of his obscure origins, his unclear religio-ethnic identity and his indeterminate class status.
Due to Gatsby's "nouveau riche" background and indeterminate class status, Fitzgerald viewed the character to be a contemporary Trimalchio, the crude upstart in Petronius's "Satyricon", and even refers to Gatsby as Trimalchio once in the novel. Unlike Gatsby's spectacular parties, Trimalchio participated in the orgies he hosted, although the characters are otherwise similar. Intent on emphasizing the connection to Trimalchio, Fitzgerald entitled an earlier draft of the novel as "Trimalchio in West Egg". Fitzgerald's editor, Maxwell Perkins, convinced the author to abandon his original title of "Trimalchio in West Egg" in favor of "The Great Gatsby".
Following "The Great Gatsby"s publication in April 1925, Fitzgerald was dismayed that many literary critics misunderstood the novel, and he resented the fact that they failed to perceive the many parallels between the author's own life and his fictional character of Jay Gatsby; in particular, that both created a mythical version of themselves and attempted to live up to this legend.
Fictional character biography.
Born circa 1890 to impoverished Lutheran farmers in rural North Dakota, James Gatz was a poor Midwesterner who briefly attended St. Olaf College, a small Lutheran institution in southern Minnesota. He dropped out after two weeks as he disliked supporting himself by working as a lowly janitor.
In 1907, a 17-year-old Gatz traveled to Lake Superior, where he met copper tycoon Dan Cody whose yacht "Tuolomee" was anchored in Little Girl Bay. Introducing himself as Jay Gatsby, the ragged young man saved Cody's yacht from destruction by warning him of weather hazards. In gratitude, Cody invited him to join his yachting trip. Now known as Gatsby, he served as Cody's protégé over the next five years and voyaged around the world. When Cody died in 1912, he left Gatsby $25,000 in his will (), but Cody's mistress Ella Kaye cheated Gatsby out of the inheritance.
In 1917, after the United States' entrance into World War I, Gatsby enlisted as a doughboy in the American Expeditionary Forces. During infantry training at Camp Taylor near Louisville, Kentucky, 27-year-old Gatsby met and fell deeply in love with 18-year-old debutante Daisy Fay. Dispatched to Europe, Gatsby attained the rank of Major in the U.S. 7th Infantry Regiment of the 3rd Division and garnered decorations for extraordinary valor during the Meuse–Argonne offensive in 1918 from every Allied government, including the one of Montenegro, which King Nicholas I gave him the Order of Danilo, to "Major Jay Gatsby For Valour Extraordinary".
After the Allied Powers signed an armistice with Imperial Germany, Gatsby resided in the United Kingdom in 1919 where he briefly attended Trinity College, Oxford, for five months. While there, he received a letter from Daisy, informing him that she had married Thomas "Tom" Buchanan, a wealthy Chicago businessman. Gatsby departed the United Kingdom and traveled across the Atlantic Ocean to Louisville, but Daisy had already departed the city on her honeymoon. Undaunted by Daisy's marriage to Tom, Gatsby decided to become a man of wealth and influence in order to win Daisy's affections.
With dreams of amassing immense wealth, a penniless Gatsby settled in New York City as it underwent the birth pangs of the Jazz Age. It is speculated—but never confirmed—that Gatsby took advantage of the newly enacted National Prohibition Act by making a fortune via bootlegging and built connections with organized crime figures such as Meyer Wolfsheim, a Jewish gambler who purportedly fixed the World Series in 1919.
In 1922, Gatsby purchased a Long Island estate in the "nouveau riche" area of West Egg, a town on the opposite side of Manhasset Bay from "old money" East Egg, where Daisy, Tom, and their three-year-old daughter Pammy lived. At his mansion, Gatsby hosted elaborate soirées with hot jazz music in an attempt to attract Daisy as a guest. With the help of Daisy's cousin and bond salesman Nick Carraway, Gatsby succeeded in seducing her.
Soon after, Gatsby accompanied Daisy and her husband to Midtown Manhattan in New York City in the company of Carraway and Daisy's friend Jordan Baker. Tom borrowed Gatsby's yellow Rolls-Royce to drive into the city. He detoured to a filling station in the "valley of ashes", a refuse dump on Long Island. The impoverished proprietor, George Wilson, voiced his concern that his wife Myrtle was having an affair with another man—unaware that Tom was the individual in question.
At a hotel suite in the twenty-story Plaza Hotel, Tom confronted Gatsby over his ongoing affair with his wife in the presence of Daisy, Nick, and Jordan. Gatsby urged Daisy to disavow her love for Tom and to declare that she had only married Tom for his money. Daisy asserted that she loved both Tom and Gatsby. Leaving the hotel, Daisy departed with Gatsby in his yellow Rolls-Royce while Tom departed in his car with Jordan and Nick.
While driving Gatsby's car on the return trip to East Egg, Daisy struck and killed—either intentionally or unintentionally—her husband's mistress Myrtle standing in the highway. At Daisy's house in East Egg, Gatsby assured Daisy he would take the blame if they were caught. The next day, Tom informed George that it was Gatsby's car that killed Myrtle. Visiting Gatsby's mansion, George killed Gatsby with a revolver while he was relaxing in his swimming pool and then committed suicide by shooting himself with the revolver.
Despite the many flappers and sheiks who frequented Gatsby's lavish parties on a weekly basis, only one reveler referred to as "Owl-Eyes" attended Gatsby's funeral. Also present at the funeral were bond salesman Nick Carraway and Gatsby's father Henry C. Gatz, who stated his pride in his son's achievement as a self-made millionaire.
Gatsby as a reference point.
The character of Jay Gatsby has become a cultural touchstone in American culture and is often invoked in popular discourse in the context of rags-to-riches grandeur. Commentator Chris Matthews views the character as personifying the eternal American striver, albeit one is keenly aware that his "nouveau riche" status is a detriment: "Gatsby needed more than money: he needed to be someone who had "always" had it... this blind faith that he can retrofit his very existence to Daisy's specifications is the heart and soul of "The Great Gatsby". It's the classic story of the fresh start, the second chance". However, in contrast to Gatsby as "the eternal American striver", folklorist Richard Dorson sees Gatsby as a radically different American archetype who rejects the traditional approach to earning wealth via hard work in favor of quick riches via bootlegging. In Dorson's view, Gatsby "rejected the Protestant ethic in favor of a much more extravagant form of ambition".
The character is often evoked as an indicator of social mobility; in particular, the likelihood of the average American amassing wealth and achieving the American dream. In 1951, Fitzgerald biographer Arthur Mizener first interpreted the final pages of the novel in the context of the American dream. "The last two pages of the book," Mizener wrote in his 1951 biography "The Far Side of Paradise", "make overt Gatsby's embodiment of the American dream as a whole by identifying his attitude with the awe of the Dutch sailors" when first glimpsing the New World. Mizener noted the dream's enchantment is qualified by Fitzgerald via his emphasis on the dream's unreality. Mizener argued that Fitzgerald viewed the American dream itself as "ridiculous." Following the publication of his 1951 biography, Mizener popularized his interpretation of the novel as an explicit criticism of the American dream in a series of talks titled ""The Great Gatsby" and the American Dream."
Expanding upon Mizener's thesis, scholar Roger L. Pearson traced in 1970 the literary origins of this dream to Colonial America. The dream is the belief that every individual, regardless of their origins, may seek and achieve their desired goals, "be they political, monetary, or social. It is the literary expression of the concept of America: The land of opportunity". Echoing Mizener's earlier interpretation, Pearson suggests Gatsby serves as a false prophet of the American dream, and pursuing the dream only results in dissatisfaction for those who chase it, owing to its unattainability. In this context, the green light emanating across the Long Island Sound from Gatsby's house is interpreted as a symbol of Gatsby's unrealizable goal to win Daisy and, consequently, to achieve the American dream. Reporting in 2009 on the economic effects of the Great Recession on Long Island—the fictional setting of Gatsby's mansion—"The Wall Street Journal" quoted a struggling hotelier as saying "Jay Gatsby is dead".
The term "Gatsby" is also often used in the United States to refer to real-life figures who have reinvented themselves; in particular, wealthy individuals whose rise to prominence involved an element of deception or self-mythologizing. In a 1986 exposé on disgraced journalist R. Foster Winans who engaged in insider trading with stockbroker Peter N. Brant, the "Seattle Post Intelligencer" described Brant as "Winan's Gatsby". Brant had changed his name from Bornstein and said he was "a man who turned his back on his heritage and his family because he felt that being recognized as Jewish would be a detriment to his career".
In more recent years, Gatsby's voracious pursuit of wealth has been referenced by scholars as exemplifying the perils of environmental destruction in pursuit of self-interest. According to Kyle Keeler, Gatsby's quest for greater status manifests as self-centered, anthropocentric resource acquisition. Inspired by the predatory mining practices of his fictional mentor Dan Cody, Gatsby participates in extensive deforestation amid World War I and then undertakes bootlegging activities reliant upon exploiting South American agriculture. Gatsby conveniently ignores the wasteful devastation of the valley of ashes to pursue a consumerist lifestyle and exacerbates the wealth gap that became increasingly salient in 1920s America. For these reasons, Keeler argues that—while Gatsby's socioeconomic ascent and self-transformation depend upon these very factors—each one is nonetheless partially responsible for the ongoing ecological crisis.
Musical leitmotif.
Both the character of Jay Gatsby and Fitzgerald's novel have been linked to composer George Gershwin's 1924 song "Rhapsody in Blue". As early as 1927, writer F. Scott Fitzgerald opined that "Rhapsody in Blue" idealized the youthful zeitgeist of the Jazz Age. In subsequent decades, both the latter era and Fitzgerald's literary works were often linked by critics and scholars with Gershwin's composition. In 1941, historian Peter Quennell opined that Fitzgerald's novel "The Great Gatsby" embodied "the sadness and the remote jauntiness of a Gershwin tune".
Accordingly, "Rhapsody in Blue" was used as a dramatic leitmotif for the character of Jay Gatsby in the 2013 film "The Great Gatsby", the fourth cinematic adaptation of Fitzgerald's 1925 novel. Various writers such as the American playwright and critic Terry Teachout have likened Gershwin himself to the character of Gatsby due to his attempt to transcend his lower-class background, his abrupt meteoric success, and his early death while in his thirties.
Portrayals.
Stage.
The first individual to portray the role of Jay Gatsby was 37-year-old James Rennie, a stage actor who headlined the 1926 Broadway adaptation of Fitzgerald's novel at the Ambassador Theatre in New York City. As "a handsome Canadian with a good voice", Rennie's portrayal of Gatsby was met with rave reviews from theater critics. He repeated the role for 112 performances and then paused when he had to voyage to England due to an ailing family member.
After returning from England, Rennie continued to appear as Gatsby when the stage play embarked upon a successful nationwide tour. As Fitzgerald was vacationing in Europe at the time, he never saw the 1926 Broadway play, but his agent Harold Ober sent him telegrams which quoted the many positive reviews of the production.
In later stage adaptations, many actors have played Jay Gatsby. The Yale Dramatic Association performed a musical production of "The Great Gatsby" in May–June 1956. This was its first musical adaptation. In 1999, Jerry Hadley portrayed the character in John Harbison's operatic adaptation of the work performed at the New York Metropolitan Opera, and Lorenzo Pisoni portrayed Gatsby in Simon Levy's 2006 stage adaptation of Fitzgerald's novel. In 2023, Jeremy Jordan played Gatsby in "The Great Gatsby: A New Musical", and, in 2024, Isaac Cole Powell played the role in Florence Welch's musical "".
Film.
A number of actors later portrayed Jay Gatsby in cinematic adaptations of Fitzgerald's novel. Warner Baxter played the role in the lost 1926 silent film. Although the film received mixed reviews, Warner Baxter's portrayal of Gatsby was praised by several critics, although other critics found his acting to be overshadowed by Lois Wilson as Daisy. Purportedly, F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda Sayre loathed the 1926 film adaptation of his novel and stormed out midway through a viewing of the film at a cinema. "We saw "The Great Gatsby" at the movies," Zelda wrote to an acquaintance in 1926, "It's and awful and terrible and we left."
Nearly a decade after Fitzgerald's death by a heart attack in 1940, Gatsby was portrayed by Oklahoma actor Alan Ladd in the 1949 film adaptation. Ladd's Gatsby was criticized by Bosley Crowther of "The New York Times" who felt that Ladd was overly solemn in the title role and gave the impression of "a patient and saturnine fellow who is plagued by a desperate love". The film's producer Richard Maibaum claimed that he cast Ladd as Gatsby based on the actor's rags-to-riches similarity to the character:
In 1974, Robert Redford portrayed Gatsby in a film adaptation that year. Film critic Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" believed that Redford was "too substantial, too assured, even too handsome" as Gatsby and would have been better suited in the role of antagonist Tom Buchanan. Likewise, film critic Gene Siskel of the "Chicago Tribune" criticized Redford's interpretation of Gatsby as merely a "shallow pretty boy". Siskel declared there was little resemblance between Redford's suave portrayal and the ambitious parvenu in the novel.
In more recent decades, Leonardo DiCaprio played the role in director Baz Luhrmann's 2013 film adaptation. In a 2011 interview with "Time" magazine prior to the film's production, DiCaprio explained he was attracted to the role of Gatsby due to the idea of portraying "a man who came from absolutely nothing, who created himself solely from his own imagination. Gatsby's one of those iconic characters because he can be interpreted in so many ways: a hopeless romantic, a completely obsessed wacko or a dangerous gangster intent on clinging to wealth".
Television.
The character of Jay Gatsby has appeared many times in television adaptations. The first was in May 1955 as an NBC episode for "Robert Montgomery Presents" starring Robert Montgomery as Gatsby. In May 1958, CBS filmed the novel as an episode of "Playhouse 90", also titled "The Great Gatsby," which starred 50-year-old Robert Ryan as the 32-year-old Jay Gatsby.
Toby Stephens later portrayed the character in a 2000 television film adaptation. In a 2001 review of the television film, "The New York Times" criticized Stephens' performance as "so rough around the edges, so patently an up-from-the-street poseur that no one could fall for his stories for a second" and his "blunt performance turns Gatsby's entrancing smile into a suspicious smirk".
In "The Simpsons" episode "The Great Phatsby", Mr. Burns assumes Jay Gatsby's role, with the storyline spoofing the 2013 film adaptation. In the "Family Guy" episode "High School English", Brian Griffin is portrayed as Gatsby.
Radio.
Kirk Douglas starred as Gatsby in an adaptation broadcast on CBS "Family Hour of Stars" on January 1, 1950, and Andrew Scott played Gatsby in the 2012 two-part BBC Radio 4 "Classic Serial" production.
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Daffy Duck
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Daffy Duck is a cartoon character created by animators Tex Avery and Bob Clampett for Leon Schlesinger Productions. Styled as an anthropomorphic black duck, he has appeared in cartoon series such as "Looney Tunes" and "Merrie Melodies", in which he is usually depicted as a foil for either Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig or Speedy Gonzales. He was one of the first of the new "screwball" characters that emerged in the late 1930s to replace traditional everyman characters who were more popular earlier in the decade, such as Mickey Mouse, Porky Pig, and Popeye.
Daffy starred in 130 shorts in the golden age, making him the third-most frequent character in the "Looney Tunes"/"Merrie Melodies" cartoons, behind Bugs Bunny's 167 appearances and Porky Pig's 153 appearances. Virtually every Warner Bros. cartoon director, most notably Bob Clampett, Robert McKimson, and Chuck Jones, put his own spin on the Daffy Duck character.
He was ranked number 14 on "TV Guide"s list of top 50 greatest cartoon characters.
History.
Origin.
Daffy first appeared in "Porky's Duck Hunt", released on April 17, 1937. The cartoon was directed by Tex Avery and animated by Bob Clampett. "Porky's Duck Hunt" is a standard hunter/prey pairing, but Daffy (barely more than an unnamed bit player in this short) was something new to moviegoers: an assertive, completely unrestrained, combative protagonist. Clampett later recalled:
This early Daffy is less anthropomorphic and resembles a normal black duck. In fact, the only aspects of the character that have remained consistent through the years are his voice characterization by Mel Blanc; and his black feathers with a white neck ring. Blanc's characterization of Daffy once held the world record for the longest characterization of one animated character by their original actor: 52 years.
The origin of Daffy's voice, with its lateral lisp, is a matter of some debate. One often-repeated "official" story is that it was modeled after producer Leon Schlesinger's tendency to lisp. However, in Mel Blanc's autobiography, "That's Not All Folks!", he contradicts that conventional belief, writing, "It seemed to me that such an extended mandible would hinder his speech, particularly on words containing an "s" sound. Thus 'despicable' became 'des"th-"picable.'"
Daffy's slobbery, exaggerated lisp was developed over time, and it is barely noticeable in the early cartoons. In "Daffy Duck & Egghead", Daffy does not lisp at all except in the separately drawn set-piece of Daffy singing "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" in which just a slight lisp can be heard.
In "The Scarlet Pumpernickel" (1950), Daffy has a middle name, Dumas as the writer of a swashbuckling script, a nod to Alexandre Dumas. Also, in the "Baby Looney Tunes" episode "The Tattletale", Granny addresses Daffy as "Daffy Horatio Tiberius Duck". In "The Looney Tunes Show" (2011), the joke middle names "Armando" and "Sheldon" are used.
Golden Age Years.
Daffy's early years, 1937–1940.
Tex Avery and Bob Clampett created the original version of Daffy in 1937. Daffy established his status by jumping into the water, hopping around, and yelling, "Woo-hoo!" Animator Bob Clampett immediately seized upon the Daffy Duck character and cast him in a series of cartoons in the 1930s and 1940s. The early Daffy is a wild and zany screwball, perpetually bouncing around the screen with cries of "Hoo-hoo! Hoo-hoo!" (In his autobiography, Mel Blanc stated that the zany demeanor was inspired by Hugh Herbert's catchphrase, which was taken to a wild extreme for Daffy.)
World War II Daffy, 1941–1945.
Daffy would also feature in several war-themed shorts during World War II, remaining true to his unbridled nature. He battles a Nazi goat intent on eating Daffy's scrap metal in "Scrap Happy Daffy" (1943), hits Adolf Hitler's head with a giant mallet in "Daffy the Commando" (1943) and outwits Hitler, Goebbels and Goering in "Plane Daffy" (1944). Oddly enough, it was only after these wartime escapades that Daffy is actually subject to conscription into military service, in the form of "the little man from the draft board", whom he tries to dodge in "Draftee Daffy" (1945).
Evolving "Earlier" Daffy 1946–1952.
For "Daffy Doodles" (his first "Looney Tunes" cartoon as a director), Robert McKimson tamed Daffy a bit, redesigning him yet again to be rounder and less elastic. The studio also instilled some of Bugs Bunny's savvy into the duck, making him as brilliant with his mouth as he was with his battiness. Daffy was teamed up with Porky Pig; the duck's one-time rival became his straight man. Arthur Davis, who directed Warner Bros. cartoon shorts for a few years in the late 1940s until upper management decreed there should be only three units (McKimson, Friz Freleng, and Jones), presented a Daffy similar to McKimson's. McKimson is noted as the last of the three units to make his Daffy uniform with Jones's, with even late shorts, such as "Don't Axe Me" (1958), featuring traits of the "screwball" Daffy. Starting in "You Were Never Duckier", Daffy's personality evolved to be from being less loony and more greedy.
Experimenting with Daffy 1953–1964.
While Daffy's looney days were over, McKimson continued to make him as bad or good as his various roles required him to be. McKimson would use this Daffy from 1946 to 1961. Although, even McKimson would follow in Jones' footsteps in many aspects with cartoons like "People Are Bunny" (1959) and "Ducking the Devil" (1957). Friz Freleng's version took a hint from Chuck Jones to make the duck more sympathetic, as in the 1957 "Show Biz Bugs". Here, Daffy is overemotional and jealous of Bugs, yet he has real talent that is ignored by the theater manager and the crowd. This cartoon finishes with a sequence in which Daffy attempts to wow the Bugs-besotted audience with an act in which he drinks gasoline and swallows nitroglycerine, gunpowder, and uranium-238 (in a greenish solution), jumps up and down to "shake well" and finally swallows a lit match that detonates the whole improbable mixture. When Bugs tells Daffy that the audience loves the act and wants more, Daffy, now a ghost floating upward (presumably to Heaven), says that he can only do the act once. Some TV stations, and in the 1990s the cable network TNT, edited out the dangerous act, afraid of imitation by young children.
Pairing of Daffy and Porky in parodies of popular movies, 1951–1965.
While Bugs Bunny became Warner Bros.' most popular character, the directors still found ample use for Daffy. Several cartoons place him in parodies of popular movies and radio serials; Porky Pig was usually a comic relief sidekick. For example, Daffy in "The Great Piggy Bank Robbery" (1946) as "Duck Twacy" (Dick Tracy) by Bob Clampett; in "The Scarlet Pumpernickel" (1950), Daffy was the hero and Porky Pig was the villain. In "Drip-Along Daffy" (1951), named after the Hopalong Cassidy character, throws Daffy into a Western with him labeled "Western-Type Hero" and Porky Pig labeled "Comedy Relief". In "Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century" (1953), a parody of "Buck Rogers", Daffy trades barbs (and bullets) with Marvin the Martian, with Porky Pig retaining the role of Daffy's sidekick. In "Rocket Squad" (1956), a parody of "Dragnet" and "Racket Squad", Daffy and Porky Pig pair up once again. Daffy also played "Stupor Duck", a parody of the "Adventures of Superman" television series. "Robin Hood Daffy" (1958) casts the duck in the role of the legendary outlaw Robin Hood with Porky Pig as Friar Tuck. Besides being playing parodies, Daffy also played a salesman-who continually annoys a potential customer into buying something: in "Fool Coverage", Daffy actually succeeds into selling Porky Pig a $1,000,000 accident policy which only works under impossible conditions. Unfortunately for Daffy, all the conditions happen.
Pairing of Bugs and Daffy, 1951–1964.
Bugs's ascension to stardom also prompted the Warner Bros. animators to recast Daffy as the rabbit's rival, intensely jealous, insecure and determined to steal back the spotlight, while Bugs either remained cool headed but mildly amused and/or indifferent to the duck's jealousy and/or used it to his advantage. Daffy's desire to achieve stardom at almost any cost was explored as early as 1940 in Freleng's "You Ought to Be in Pictures", but the idea was most successfully used by Chuck Jones, who redesigned the duck once again, making him scrawnier and scruffier. In Jones' "Hunting Trilogy" (or "Duck Season/Rabbit Season Trilogy") of "Rabbit Fire", "Rabbit Seasoning" and "Duck! Rabbit, Duck!" (each respectively launched in 1951, 1952, and 1953), Daffy's attention-grabbing ways and excitability provide Bugs Bunny the perfect opportunity to fool the hapless Elmer Fudd into repeatedly shooting the duck's bill off. Also, these cartoons reveal Daffy's catchphrase, "Youuu're deththpicable!" Jones' Daffy sees himself as self-preservationist, not selfish. However, this Daffy can do nothing that does not backfire on him, more likely to singe his tail feathers as well as his ego and pride than anything. It is thought that Chuck Jones based Daffy Duck's new personality on his fellow animator Bob Clampett, who, like Daffy, was known as a loud self-promoter. In "Beanstalk Bunny" Daffy, Bugs and Elmer are once again teamed up in a parody of "Jack and the Beanstalk" (with Elmer as the giant); in "A Star Is Bored" Daffy tries to upstage Bugs Bunny; while in the spoofs of the TV shows "The Millionaire" and "This Is Your Life", "The Million Hare" Daffy tries to defeat his arch-rival Bugs Bunny for a $1,000,000.00 prize given out by his favorite TV show and "This Is a Life?" Daffy tries to upstage Bugs Bunny in order to be the guest of honor on the show; in all four of these cartoons Daffy ends up a loser because of his own overemotional personality (which impairs Daffy's common sense and reasoning ability) and his craving for attention.
Solo Daffy.
Film critic Steve Schneider calls Jones' version of Daffy "a kind of unleashed id." Jones said that his version of the character "expresses all of the things we're afraid to express." This is evident in Jones' "Duck Amuck" (1953), "one of the few unarguable masterpieces of American animation" according to Schneider. In the episode, Daffy is plagued by a godlike animator whose malicious paintbrush alters the setting, soundtrack, and even Daffy. When Daffy demands to know who is responsible for the changes, the camera pulls back to reveal none other than Bugs Bunny. "Duck Amuck" is widely heralded as a classic of filmmaking for its illustration that a character's personality can be recognized independently of appearance, setting, voice, and plot. In 1999, the short was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.
Daffy's pairing with Speedy in 1965–1968.
When the Warner Bros. animation studio briefly outsourced cartoon production to DePatie-Freleng Enterprises (DFE) in the 1960s, Daffy Duck became an antagonist in several cartoons opposite Speedy Gonzales, who refers to Daffy as "the loco duck." In "Well Worn Daffy" (1965), Daffy is determined to keep the mice away from a desperately needed well seemingly for no other motive than pure maliciousness. Furthermore, when he draws all the water he wants, Daffy then attempts to destroy the well in spite of the vicious pointlessness of the act, forcing Speedy to stop him. The Warner Bros. studio was entering its twilight years, and even Daffy had to stretch for humor in the period. In many of the later DFE cartoons, such as "Feather Finger" and "Daffy's Diner", Daffy is portrayed as a more sympathetic character (often forced to turn against Speedy at the behest of a common enemy) rather than the full-blown villain he is in cartoons like "Well Worn Daffy" and "Assault and Peppered". The last cartoon featuring Daffy and Speedy is "See Ya Later Gladiator", in what animation fans call the worst cartoon made by Warner Bros.
"The Daffy Duck Show".
In light of the longstanding popularity of "The Bugs Bunny Show" and its various incarnations on CBS and ABC, NBC commissioned their own half-hour series, "The Daffy Duck Show", which began airing in the fall of 1978. While some well-known titles were included in the program, most of the cartoons featured on the series were from the late '60s Depatie-Freleng run. The program ran on NBC for two years, then in 1981 was rechristened "The Daffy/Speedy Show" and ran for another two years. Eventually, NBC canceled the series, and many of the cartoons were reintegrated into the lineups for the respective CBS and ABC "Bugs Bunny" shows.
More recent years.
Daffy appeared in later cartoons. He was one of many "Looney Tunes" characters allowed by Warner Bros. to appear in the 1988 Disney/Amblin film "Who Framed Roger Rabbit". In the film, Daffy (utilizing his original, wacky characterization) shares a scene with his Disney counterpart Donald Duck whilst performing in a piano duel. In 1987, to celebrate Daffy's 50th anniversary, Warner Bros. released "The Duxorcist" as its first theatrical "Looney Tunes" short in two decades. Daffy Duck also appeared in several feature-film compilations, including two films centering on Daffy. The first was released in 1983, "Daffy Duck's Fantastic Island"; the second came in 1988, "Daffy Duck's Quackbusters", which is considered one of the "Looney Tunes best compilation films and featured another new theatrical short, "The Night of the Living Duck". Daffy has also had major roles in films such as "Space Jam" in 1996 and ' in 2003. The latter film does much to flesh out his character, even going so far as to cast a sympathetic light on Daffy's glory-seeking ways in one scene, where he complains that he works tirelessly without achieving what Bugs does without even trying. That same year, Warner Bros. cast him in a brand-new "Duck Dodgers" series. (It should be stressed that in this show, Duck Dodgers actually is Daffy Duck due to him being frozen in suspended animation in some unknown incident.) He had a cameo appearance in "The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries" episode "When Granny Ruled the Earth", first airing on March 27, 1999. Daffy has also been featured in several webtoons, which can be viewed online.
Daffy has also made appearances on numerous television series. In "Tiny Toon Adventures", Daffy is a teacher at Acme Looniversity, where he is the hero and mentor of student Plucky Duck. He is shown as a baby in "Baby Looney Tunes", and appears to have a similar personality to some of his earlier years with him being a rival of Bugs and saying, "Woo-hoo!" a lot in the show. He made occasional cameo appearances on "Animaniacs" and "Histeria!". In "Loonatics Unleashed", his descendant is Danger Duck (voiced by Jason Marsden), who is also lame and unpopular to his teammates. A majority of these appearances try to emulate Chuck Jones' incarnation of the character.
Daffy has also been given larger roles in more recent "Looney Tunes" films and series. Following "", Warner Bros. has slowly moved the spotlight away from Bugs and more towards Daffy, as shown in the 2006 direct-to-video movie "Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas", where Daffy plays the lead, while Bugs appears in a minor supporting role.
However, more recent merchandise of the duck, as well as that featured on the official website, have been shown to incorporate elements of the zanier, more light-hearted Daffy of the 1930s and 1940s. Producer Larry Doyle noted that recent theatrical cartoons were planned that would portray a more diverse Daffy closer to that of Robert McKimson's design; however, due to the box office bomb of "", these new films ceased production.
Daffy returned to Cartoon Network in "The Looney Tunes Show", voiced by Jeff Bergman. In the show, he has moved out of the forest and shares Bugs' house with him. Unlike Bugs and their neighbors, Daffy has no way of earning money and relies on Bugs for food and shelter. He tried on numerous occasions to get rich quick, but ended up failing repeatedly. Daffy's one possession he is proud of is his paper-mache parade float, constructed on top of a flatbed truck, which is his main means of transportation. While Daffy's greed and jealousy of Bugs remains, he appears to be less antagonistic in this show, as Bugs even tells Daffy in spite of his faults, he is Bugs' best friend and vice versa. Daffy serves as a sort of mentor to Gossamer. Daffy has difficulty telling fiction from reality; he often confuses television shows for his own life, believes Bugs is Superman, and at one point hallucinates he is a wizard.
Daffy starred in the 3-D short "Daffy's Rhapsody" with Elmer Fudd that was originally set to premiere before "Happy Feet Two" but instead debuted prior to "". The short features Daffy and Elmer in the first CG or 3-D depiction of these specific "Looney Tunes" characters. According to Matthew O'Callaghan, who directed the short, the audio comes from a 1950s recording for a children's album. Daffy is performing in a hunting musical, when Elmer, who is in the audience, pursues him. Daffy is initially unaware of the danger, but quickly realizes the threat Elmer poses and outwits him by using the props against him.
Daffy appeared in the 2015 DTV movie "".
Daffy appears in the Cartoon Network series "New Looney Tunes" where he is voiced by Dee Bradley Baker. Daffy is often paired with Porky where Daffy will annoy and bedevil the pig, though occasionally Porky one ups Daffy.
Daffy appears in "Looney Tunes Cartoons", where he is voiced by Eric Bauza.
Daffy appears in the preschool series "Bugs Bunny Builders" which currently airs on Cartoon Network's Cartoonito block and HBO Max. Eric Bauza reprises his role.
Comics.
Dell Comics published several Daffy Duck comic books, beginning in "Four Color Comics" #457, #536, and #615 and then continuing as "Daffy" #4-17 (1956–59), then as "Daffy Duck" #18-30 (1959–62). The comic book series was subsequently continued in Gold Key Comics "Daffy Duck" #31-127 (1962–79). This run was in turn continued under the Whitman Comics imprint until the company completely ceased comic book publication in 1984. In 1994, corporate cousin DC Comics became the publisher for comics featuring all the classic Warner Bros. cartoon characters, and while not getting his own title, Daffy has appeared in many issues of "Looney Tunes".
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Lassie
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Lassie is a fictional female Rough Collie dog and is featured in a 1938 short story by Eric Knight that was later expanded to a 1940 full-length novel, "Lassie Come-Home". Knight's portrayal of Lassie bears some features in common with another fictional female collie of the same name, featured in the British writer Elizabeth Gaskell's 1859 short story "The Half Brothers". In "The Half Brothers", Lassie is loved only by her young master and guides the adults back to where two boys are lost in a snowstorm.
Knight's novel was filmed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1943 as "Lassie Come Home", with a dog named Pal playing Lassie. Pal then appeared with the stage name "Lassie" in six other MGM feature films through 1951. Pal's owner and trainer, Rudd Weatherwax, then acquired the Lassie name and trademark from MGM and appeared with Pal (as "Lassie") at rodeos, fairs, and similar events across America in the early 1950s. In 1954, the television series "Lassie" debuted and, over the next 19 years, a succession of Pal's descendants appeared on the series. The "Lassie" character has appeared in radio, television, film, toys, comic books, animated series, juvenile novels, and other media. Pal's descendants continue to play Lassie today.
History.
Elizabeth Gaskell short story.
An early depiction of Lassie is found in British writer Elizabeth Gaskell's 1859 short story "The Half-brothers". In the story, Lassie is described as a female collie with "intelligent, apprehensive eyes" who rescues two half-brothers who are lost and dying in the snow. When the younger brother can no longer carry on, elder brother Gregory, Lassie's master, ties a handkerchief around Lassie's neck and sends her home. Lassie arrives home, and leads the search party to the boys. When they arrive Gregory is dead, but his younger half-brother is saved. Thus, Gaskell apparently originated the character Lassie and, at the same time, defined the "Lassie saves the day" storyline that is the essence of subsequent Lassie tales.
World War I incident.
According to writer Nigel Clarke in the "Shipwreck Guide to Dorset and South Devon", the original Lassie that inspired so many films and television episodes was a rough-haired crossbreed who saved the life of a sailor during World War I.
Half collie, Lassie was owned by the landlord of the Pilot Boat, a pub in the port of Lyme Regis. On New Year's Day in 1915 the Royal Navy battleship was torpedoed by a German submarine off Start Point in South Devon, with the loss of more than 500 men. In a storm that followed the accident, a life raft containing bodies was blown along the coast to Lyme Regis. In helping to deal with the crisis, the local pub in Lyme Regis, called the Pilot Boat, offered its cellar as a mortuary.
When the bodies had been laid out on the stone floor, Lassie, a crossbred collie owned by the pub owner, found her way down amongst the bodies, and she began to lick the face of one of the victims, Able Seaman John Cowan. She stayed beside him for more than half an hour, nuzzling him and keeping him warm with her fur. To everyone's astonishment, Cowan eventually stirred. He was taken to hospital and went on to make a full recovery. He visited Lassie again when he returned to thank all who saved his life.
When the officers heard the story of Lassie and what she did to rescue Cowan, they told it again and again to any reporter who would listen as it was inspirational and heart-warming. Hollywood got hold of the story, and so a star was born.
Eric Knight short story and novel.
The fictional character of Lassie was created by English author Eric Knight in "Lassie Come-Home", first published as a short story in "The Saturday Evening Post" in 1938 and later as a full-length novel in 1940. Set in the Depression-era England, the novel depicts the lengthy journey a rough collie makes to be reunited with her young Yorkshire master after her family is forced to sell her for money.
Movies and television.
In 1943, the novel was adapted into a feature film, "Lassie Come Home", by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) that starred Roddy McDowall and Elizabeth Taylor. The movie was a hit and enjoyed favorable critical response. MGM followed this with several additional films, including a sequel entitled "Son of Lassie" (1945), starring Peter Lawford and June Lockhart, and "Courage of Lassie" with Elizabeth Taylor. A radio series, "Lassie Radio Show", was also created, airing until 1949.
Between 1954–1973, the television series "Lassie" was broadcast, with Lassie initially residing on a farm with a young male master. In the eleventh season, it changed to U.S. Forest Service rangers as her companions, then the collie was on her own for a season before ending the series with Lassie residing at a ranch for orphaned children. The series was the recipient of two Emmy Awards before it was canceled in 1973. Lassie won several PATSY Awards (an award for animal actors). A second series followed in the 1980s. In 1997, Canadian production company Cinar Inc. produced a new "Lassie" television series for the Animal Planet network in the U.S. and YTV in Canada. It ran until 1999.
In 2005, a remake of the original "Lassie Come Home" movie was produced in the United Kingdom. Starring Peter O'Toole and Samantha Morton, "Lassie" was released in 2006.
Additionally, two animated TV series featuring the canine were produced. The first was "Lassie's Rescue Rangers", created by Filmation Associates, which aired on ABC from 1973 to 1975. Nearly four decades later, a new animated series titled "The New Adventures of Lassie" was co-produced by Superprod and Classic Media, in which Lassie was owned by the Parker family and lived in a national park. The series was primarily a traditionally animated (2D hand-drawn animated) TV series, though it also used some CGI animation. It was first seen in the United States starting in 2020 via the CBS All Access streaming service, then carried over to successor service Paramount+.
Lassie continues to make personal and TV show appearances as well as marketing a line of pet food and a current pet care TV show, "Lassie's Pet Vet" on PBS stations in the United States. Lassie is one of only four animals (and one of very few fictional characters, such as Mickey Mouse, Kermit the Frog, and Bugs Bunny) to be awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame—the others being silent-film stars Rin Tin Tin, Uggie and Strongheart. In 2005, the show business journal "Variety" named Lassie one of the "100 Icons of the Century"—the only animal star on the list.
Media.
Art.
Lassie is featured in "Our Nation's 200th Birthday, The Telephone's 100th Birthday" (1976) by Stanley Meltzoff for Bell System.
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Fred Flintstone
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Fred Flintstone is the main character of the animated sitcom "The Flintstones", which aired during prime-time on ABC during the original series' run from 1960 to 1966. Fred is the husband of Wilma Flintstone and father of Pebbles Flintstone and together the family live in their homely cave in the town of Bedrock. His best friend is his next door neighbor, Barney, who has a wife named Betty.
Fred lives in the fictional prehistoric town of Bedrock, a world where dinosaurs coexist with modernized cavepeople and the cavepeople enjoy "primitive" versions of modern conveniences such as telephones, automobiles, and washing machines. Fred's trademark catchphrase yell is "yabba dabba doo!", a phrase that was originally his club's cheer, and later adopted as part of the theme song from the third season on and used in the 1994 live-action "Flintstones" film.
Since the original series' run, Fred has appeared in various other cartoon spinoffs, live action adaptations, music videos, video games, and commercials.
Biography.
While the mid-1980s spin-off series "The Flintstone Kids" depicts Fred as a child, the series may be apocryphal due to its presenting Wilma as a childhood friend of Fred and Barney; the original series asserts that they first met as young adults. Still, the series' depiction of Fred as the only child of Ed (a handyman) and Edna (homemaker) Flintstone might be canon. (Pops Flintstone was in a comic strip.)
As young adults, Fred and Barney worked as bellhops at a resort. There, they met and fell in love with Wilma and Betty, who were working there as cigarette girls. Fred met Wilma's mother, Pearl Slaghoople, and the two took an instant dislike to each other. An unspecified amount of time later, Fred married Wilma.
Fred is a typical blue-collar worker, who works as a "bronto crane operator" at Slate Rock and Gravel Company (also known as Rockhead and Quarry Cave Construction Company in earlier episodes). Fred's job title in the second-season episode "Divided We Sail" is "geological engineer".
During the original series' third season, Wilma gives birth to the couple's daughter, Pebbles. Years later, when Pebbles is a teenager, Fred and Barney join the Bedrock police force for a time as part-time police officers. Eventually, Fred becomes a grandfather to the adult Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm's twins, Chip and Roxy. Fred's family grew again in "A Flintstone Family Christmas", when he and Wilma adopted an orphaned caveboy named Stony, and despite a rough start, Fred and his new son bonded well.
Relatives.
The Flintstone family's paternal side originally came from the prehistoric state of Arkanstone in Camp Mastodon, where they had been engaged in a feud similar to the Hatfield–McCoy feud. The feud was originally started by an ancestor of Fred's making a joke about a Hatrock family portrait ("I don't know what the artist got for doing that painting, but he should've gotten life!"). In the fourth-season episode "Bedrock Hillbillies", the feud is ended when Fred helps rescue Pebbles and a Hatrock baby, only to start up again when Fred makes the same joke as his ancestor. The Hatrocks later appear in the follow-up fifth-season episode "The Hatrocks and the Gruesomes", where they visit Bedrock. The last of the Camp Mastodon Arkanstone Flintstones was Fred's great-great-granduncle Zeke Flintstone who lived to 102.
Other relatives of Fred include: Rocco Rockbottom "Rocky/Stony" Flintstone, Fred's grandfather, who was a Camp Mastodon veteran of Air Force Stone World War One; Uncle Giggles Flintstone, a rich, eccentric practical joker whose jokes drive Fred into a mad rage; James Hardrock, Edna's father; Uncle Tex Hardrock, Fred's rich Texan uncle; Tumbleweed and Mary Lou Jim, Fred's rich Texan cousins.
Personality.
Fred's personality was based on those of early television's Ralph Kramden of "The Honeymooners" and Chester A. Riley of "The Life of Riley", both roles held at various times by Jackie Gleason. (Riley was more closely associated with William Bendix, who originated the role, though Gleason replaced Bendix due to a contract dispute for "The Life of Riley's" first season on television.) Much like Ralph, Fred tends to be loud-mouthed, aggressive, temperamental and constantly scheming ways to improve his family's working class lot in life, often with unintended results. Also like Ralph, despite his harshness, he is friendly, and has a loving heart, who is very devoted to his family and cares a lot about his best friend and next door neighbor Barney Rubble. Fred loses his temper easily and is very impatient, but he seems free of malice and never holds a grudge. Although his loudness irritates the people around him, Fred proves friendly, often going out of his way to help others. Also, although Fred often annoys Wilma with his immaturity, he is known to go to great lengths to please his family and apologize when he goes too far. Other known characters from other programs may also be known to have personalities based on Fred Flintstone including Archie Bunker from "All in the Family" and "Archie Bunker's Place" (both played by Carroll O'Connor), George Jefferson from "The Jeffersons" (played by Sherman Hemsley), Mel Sharples from "Alice" (played by Vic Tayback) and Frank DeFazio from "Laverne & Shirley" (played by Phil Foster).
Fred's interests include bowling, playing pool, golf, poker and lounging around the house. Fred has won championships with his bowling skills; in one episode, he goes so far as to take ballet lessons in order to improve his game (hence his trademark bowling delivery). The nickname of "Twinkletoes" stuck with him when Fred attended a local university and became eligible to play on their football team, and it became his call sign. Fred is also an excellent golfer. Fred is a member of the Loyal Order of Water Buffalos Lodge (named "the Loyal Order of Dinosaurs" in an early episode). Fred also has a serious gambling problem; the mere mention of the word "bet" causes Fred to stammer "bet" over and over again (sounding like a clucking chicken) and go on gambling binges. Fred is also an avid driver. In the fifth-season episode "Indianrockolis 500", Fred entered the famed prehistoric auto race under the pseudonym "Goggles Paisano".
Fred's catchphrase is "Yabba-Dabba-Doo!"; Alan Reed, voice actor who provided Fred's voice from 1960 to 1977, reportedly said the inspiration for the phrase came from his mother, who used to say, "A little dab'll do ya," probably borrowed from a Brylcreem commercial. When the script called for a simple "yahoo", Alan either asked if he could alter the phrase or he ad-libbed. It inspired, in the 1970s a short-lived fruit drink called "Yabba Dabba Dew" and may or may not have also inspired George Jetson's similar-sounding catchphrase, "Hooba-dooba-dooba" (or "Hooba-Dooba"). It does, however, become the subject of a song by Hoagy Carmichael which the singer-songwriter performs in one episode of "The Flintstones". Fred's ability to carry a tune was quite good in his younger years. One early episode sees Fred (with Barney, who is a skilled drummer) perform at a nightclub with his musician friend "Hot Lips Hannigan" where his singing caused teenage girls to swoon over him; on this occasion, he was nicknamed the "Golden Smog". In another first-season episode, "Girls' Night Out", Fred recorded a demo record at a carnival of the song "Listen to the Rocking Bird", which ended up making him a teenage singing idol named "Hi Fye". As the series progressed, however, his voice became worse and worse (even during his success as a singer, Wilma was never impressed by Fred's voice), eventually to the point that a temporary maid the Flintstones hired quit rather than having to hear Fred sing. (Alan Reed himself was not a good singer; in instances where he was expected to sing well, a stand-in—usually Henry Corden from 1965 onward—would be used.)
Due to his impulsive and short-tempered behavior and stubborn and somewhat selfish nature, Fred seems to be accident-prone. Even his most innocent and mundane actions often cause widespread confusion. At the end of the closing credits, Fred puts the Flintstones housecat "Baby Puss" outside; the cat however jumps back inside and puts Fred out who begins to knock on the door of his house and starts yelling "Wilma", to open the door.
According to the original series' third-season episode "The Birthday Party" (originally aired April 5, 1963), Fred's birthday is February 2. Fred's address has varied through the series' run, with addresses given for the Flintstone residence including, 201 Cobblestone Lane (October 21, 1960 - "No Help Wanted" episode), 345 Cave Stone Road, 39 Stone Canyon Way, and 1313 Cobblestone Way. Fred's address was cited as "35 Cobblestone Rd" in the 1961 episode "The X-Ray Story".
Portrayal.
George O'Hanlon originally auditioned for the role of Fred Flintstone. He later went on to voice George Jetson, another Hanna-Barbera character in the animated sitcom "The Jetsons". Alan Reed was the original voice artist of Fred (minus the original short pilot where he was voiced by Daws Butler, who also voiced him on a 1973 record) until Reed's death in 1977.
Henry Corden occasionally voiced Fred on records throughout the 1960s, and also provided the singing voice for Fred in "The Man Called Flintstone". Following Reed's death, Corden officially took over the role until his retirement in 2000, although he continued to voice him in Post Pebbles commercials until his death in 2005. Corden voiced Fred's father and mother in "The Flintstone Kids", while young Fred was voiced by both Lennie Weinrib and Scott Menville at different points.
Australian voice actor Keith Scott provided Fred's voice in various commercials throughout the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s and the live show "Hanna-Barbera Gala Celebrity Nite" at the Wonderland Sydney amusement park in Australia.
Jeff Bergman voiced Fred in the fourth episode of "The New Show" and "Flintstones/Jetsons: Timewarp" and performed the character throughout the 1990s and 2000s for various Cartoon Network and Boomerang commercials and bumpers, and voiced him in ', his guest appearance in "Johnny Bravo", some episodes of "Family Guy", and '. James Arnold Taylor voiced Fred in commercials following Corden's death, up until 2011, as well as his guest appearance in "The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy". Taylor returned to voice Fred in 2016 for a Columbus Zoo commercial. He has also been voiced in recent years by Scott Innes (in a Toshiba commercial).
Other voices include Maurice LaMarche (in "Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law"), Stephen Stanton (in "Robot Chicken"), Dave Coulier (in "Robot Chicken"), Fred Tatasciore (in "MAD"), Seth Green (in "Robot Chicken"), and Rick Zieff (in "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve 2021"). In various Italian dubs, Fred's voice was provided by Italian voice actor Carlo Bonomi. Stephen Root was planned to voice Fred Flintstone in the scrapped FOX series "Bedrock".
Live action portrayal.
In the first live-action film, "The Flintstones", Fred was played by John Goodman, who also provided his voice for the film's pinball adaptation. In the prequel film, "The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas", in which Fred is portrayed as younger than he was in the original, he was played by British actor Mark Addy.
In other media.
Commercials.
Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble were pitchmen for Winston cigarettes, the show's sponsor at the time. In one ad, Fred and Barney saw the men working hard at the quarry and decided to retire out of sight for a smoke break. After extolling the virtues of their favorite brand, Fred lit up and delivered the catch phrase: "Winston tastes good like a cigarette should." A similar ad featured Wilma and Betty as well. By the original series' third season, Winston had been dropped in favor of Welch's.
Reception.
Fred Flintstone was ranked 3rd on the 10 Best Hanna-Barbara Characters Ranked List
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Rooster Cogburn
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Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn is a fictional character who first appeared in the 1968 Charles Portis novel True Grit.
Biography
Reuben Cogburn was born on July 15, 1825, according to the tombstone in the John Wayne adaptation, though the character in the novel is about 39 . Cogburn was a veteran of the American Civil War who served under Confederate guerrilla leader William Quantrill, where Cogburn lost his eye. He was married first to an Illinois woman who left him to return to her first husband after bearing Cogburn a single, extremely clumsy son, Horace (of whom Cogburn says, "He never liked me anyway"). Cogburn is described as a "fearless, one-eyed United States Marshal who never knew a dry day in his life." He was "the toughest marshal" working the Indian Territory on behalf of Judge Isaac C. Parker,[1] the real-life judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas (having criminal jurisdiction in the Indian Territory, as the bailiff repeatedly announces in both films). When Cogburn goes to court in "Rooster Cogburn," it shows that Cogburn shot a total of 64 men in eight years, killing 60 (by the film's end, it was 70 shot, and 66 killed), all of whom he claimed to have killed in self-defense, in the line of duty, or fleeing justice.
In the 1969 film, Cogburn helped a headstrong 14-year-old girl named Mattie Ross (Kim Darby), along with Texas Ranger LaBoeuf (Glen Campbell), to track down Tom Chaney (Jeff Corey), the man who drunkenly killed her father. In the sequel, he teamed up with elderly spinster Eula Goodnight (Katharine Hepburn) and an Indian boy named Wolf while on the trail of the desperado, Hawk (Richard Jordan), who had stolen a shipment of nitroglycerin from the United States Army and killed family members of both Goodnight and Wolf. Cogburn lived in Fort Smith, Arkansas, in the back of a Chinese dry-goods store, along with the proprietor, his friend and gambling buddy Chen Lee, and an orange tabby cat named after Confederate General Sterling Price for his entire life as a marshal.
In the 2010 film, while Cogburn demonstrated a ruthless attitude towards the criminals and fugitives he pursued, he was generally very fair with Mattie and was shown to have a distaste for what he viewed as unnecessary cruelty. When LaBoeuf is birching Mattie for her refusal to return to Fort Smith, Cogburn demands that he stop and drew his gun in a threat to make LaBoeuf stop. Later in the film, when Cogburn and Mattie witnessed two children caning a mule with sharpened sticks, Cogburn quickly intervened, cutting the mule loose and roughly throwing the two children onto the ground in retaliation. After Mattie was snakebitten, he rode through the night, holding her, in order to get her medical care. When the horse collapsed, he mercy-killed it with his revolver and then carried her a long distance in his arms to get her to a doctor, both saving her life and proving he really had the true grit Mattie thought he did.
Cogburn's relationship with LaBoeuf was strained throughout the film, with the two arguing frequently. Cogburn often made light of the Texas Rangers, much to LaBoeuf's outrage, and irritatingly criticized LaBoeuf's tendency to talk long-windedly. Likewise, LaBoeuf patronized Cogburn for being a hopeless drunk who routinely relents to Mattie's stubbornness. Their greatest point of contention came during an argument about their military service during the American Civil War, during which Cogburn ended their agreement of splitting the reward on Tom Chaney when they brought him back to Texas when LaBoeuf insulted Capt Quantrill. He did, however, thank LaBoeuf for saving his life when "Lucky" Ned Pepper was about to kill him and said he was in debt before leaving with the snakebitten Mattie and promising to send help back.
In both True Grit films, Cogburn confessed to having robbed something after the war before becoming a marshal, a bank in his youth in the 2010 film, and a federal paymaster in the 1969 film. He spoke admiringly of Quantrill, with whom he served during the Civil War. Twenty-five years after the Tom Chaney hunt, Maddie received a note from the Marshal with a flyer enclosed, saying Cogburn was traveling with a Wild West show and inviting her to come see him. However, Cogburn died three days before she arrived while the show was still in Jonesboro, Arkansas. He was buried in a Memphis, Tennessee, Confederate cemetery. When Mattie arrived in Memphis and learned of his death, she had his body removed to her family plot in Yell County, Arkansas and visited it over the years. His gravestone shows his full name to be Reuben Cogburn, and his date of death to be August 12, 1903.
Adaptations
The novel was adapted into a 1969 film, True Grit, and from that a 1975 sequel entitled Rooster Cogburn was also produced, with Katharine Hepburn and a script loosely based on The African Queen set in the American frontier. The character was also featured in a 1978 made-for-television sequel entitled True Grit: A Further Adventure starring Warren Oates as Cogburn. The Coen brothers released a new film version of the novel in 2010.[2] In the 1969 and 1975 theatrical releases, Cogburn was portrayed by John Wayne. Unusually for Wayne, who usually portrayed more or less straitlaced heroes, Cogburn is portrayed as a curmudgeonly antihero behaviorally similar to Wallace Beery's performances. The 2010 film features Jeff Bridges as Cogburn and Matt Damon as the comical Texas Ranger, LaBoeuf.[3] John Wayne won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Cogburn in the 1969 film. On January 24, 2011, Bridges was nominated for the same award for his portrayal of Cogburn.[4]
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Atticus Finch
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Atticus Finch is a fictional character and the protagonist of Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize–winning novel of 1960, "To Kill a Mockingbird". A preliminary version of the character also appears in the novel "Go Set a Watchman", written in the mid-1950s but not published until 2015. Atticus is a lawyer and resident of the fictional Maycomb County, Alabama, and the father of Jeremy "Jem" Finch and Jean Louise "Scout" Finch. He represents the African-American man Tom Robinson in his trial where he is charged with rape of Mayella Ewell. Through his unwavering dedication to upholding justice and fighting for what is right, Atticus becomes an iconic symbol of moral integrity and justice. Lee based the character on her own father, Amasa Coleman Lee, an Alabama lawyer, who, like Atticus, represented black defendants in a highly publicized criminal trial. "Book" magazine's list of "The 100 Best Characters in Fiction Since 1900" names Finch as the seventh-best fictional character of 20th-century literature. In 2003, the American Film Institute voted Atticus Finch, as portrayed in an Academy Award–winning performance by Gregory Peck in the 1962 film adaptation, as the greatest hero of all American cinema. In the 2018 Broadway stage play adapted by Aaron Sorkin, Finch has been portrayed by various actors including Jeff Daniels, Ed Harris, Greg Kinnear, Rhys Ifans, and Richard Thomas.
Effect on the legal profession.
Claudia Durst Johnson has commented about critiques of the novel, saying, "A greater volume of critical readings has been amassed by two legal scholars in law journals than by all the literary scholars in literary journals". Alice Petry remarked, "Atticus has become something of a folk hero in legal circles and is treated almost as if he were an actual person". Examples of Atticus Finch's impact on the legal profession are plentiful. Richard Paul Matsch, the federal judge who presided over the Timothy McVeigh trial, counted Atticus as a major judicial influence. One law professor at the University of Notre Dame stated that the most influential textbook from which he taught was "To Kill a Mockingbird", and an article in the "Michigan Law Review" asserts, "No real-life lawyer has done more for the self-image or public perception of the legal profession", before questioning whether "Atticus Finch is a paragon of honor or an especially slick hired gun."
In 1992, Monroe H. Freedman, a professor of law and noted legal ethicist, published two articles in the national legal newspaper "Legal Times" calling for the legal profession to set aside Atticus Finch as a role model. Freedman argued that Atticus still worked within a system of institutionalized racism and sexism and should not be revered. Freedman's article sparked a flurry of responses from attorneys who entered the profession holding Atticus Finch as a hero and the reason for which they became lawyers. Freedman argued that Atticus Finch is dishonest, unethical, sexist, and inherently racist, and that he did nothing to challenge the racist status quo in Maycomb. Freedman's article sparked furious controversy, with one legal scholar opining, "What Monroe really wants is for Atticus to be working on the front lines for the NAACP in the 1930s, and, if he's not, he's disqualified from being any kind of hero; Monroe has this vision of lawyer as prophet. Atticus has a vision of lawyer not only as prophet, but as parish priest."
In 1997, the Alabama State Bar erected a monument dedicated to Atticus in Monroeville marking his existence as the "first commemorative milestone in the state's judicial history".
Social references.
Atticus Finch's willingness to support social outcasts and victims of prejudice is the eponymous inspiration for the name of the Atticus Circle, which is an organization composed of "straight allies" (that is, heterosexual people supportive of the LGBT rights movement).
In 2016, the lawyer Joseph Madison Beck published the memoir "My Father & Atticus Finch", in which he noted the numerous parallels between his father Foster Beck's defense of a black man accused of raping a white woman in the 1938 trial "State of Alabama vs. Charles White, Alias," and Atticus Finch's defense of Tom Robinson in "To Kill a Mockingbird". In a letter to the author, Harper Lee herself noted the "obvious parallels" between the cases (Lee was 12 at the time of the Charles White trial) and between Atticus Finch and Foster Beck, though she also stated that she could not recall the trial, and that "To Kill a Mockingbird" was a work of fiction.
Former U.S. President Barack Obama referenced Atticus Finch as an ideal American character, and mentioned him during his farewell address to the nation on January 11, 2017.
"Go Set a Watchman".
In July 2015, days before Lee's highly anticipated second novel, "Go Set a Watchman", was officially published, the first chapter was released in "The Guardian" for public viewing. On that day, a "New York Times" review of the book (which is set about twenty years after the time period depicted in "Mockingbird" but is not a chronological sequel) revealed that Atticus, depicted in this version as being in his early seventies, is portrayed as a far less progressive character. He makes comments that favor segregation and has attended a Citizens' Council meeting. This has proved controversial to many readers, unaware perhaps that although "To Kill a Mockingbird" was published first, "Watchman" is the first draft of the text that later became "Mockingbird" and the characterizations and key plot details between the two books are not only different but sometimes contradictory.
In terms of plot, Tom Robinson is acquitted in "Watchman" while in "Mockingbird" his unjust conviction as the result of prejudice was a central part of not only the story but why Atticus is seen culturally as such a righteous and progressive character. His defense is based on not just Robinson's innocence but on his fundamental equality. His closing argument is a more polished version of the progressive argument the adult Jean Louise makes in "Watchman" and there are other instances where both versions contain the same descriptions word for word. This kind of character development, where motivations and ideals between characters, for reasons of plot, are changed is not unusual in the process of creative writing. Apart from the more progressive depiction of Atticus, the depiction of the town itself, especially the African-American characters, is also dramatically altered between the two drafts. Real-life comparisons with Lee's father, Amasa Coleman Lee, have also been made in the two differing versions of Atticus in that originally Amasa Lee was in favor of segregation but became more liberal later in life, changing his views to support integration.
Tay Hohoff, Lee's editor, has also been argued to have played a major part in the character development of the novel and particularly Atticus's liberal transformation. Jonathan Mahler of "The New York Times" notes in his article "The Invisible Hand Behind Harper Lee's 'To Kill a Mockingbird" that Ms. Hohoff, at the same time as she was guiding Ms. Lee through the "Mockingbird" re-write, was working on her own biography of the early 20th-century New York activist and humanist John Lovejoy Elliot. He notes that the book, "A Ministry to Man", was published in 1959, a year before "Mockingbird."
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932fcc3c24234ca5bb2404276223fc57
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Kermit the Frog
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Kermit the Frog is a Muppet character created in 1955 and originally performed by Jim Henson. An anthropomorphic green frog, Kermit is the pragmatic everyman protagonist of numerous Muppet productions, most notably as the showrunner and host of the sketch comedy television series "The Muppet Show" and a featured role on "Sesame Street". He has appeared in other television series, feature films, specials, and public service announcements through the years. He also served as a mascot of The Jim Henson Company and appeared in various Henson projects until 2004.
Kermit performed the hit singles "Bein' Green" in 1970 for "Sesame Street" and "Rainbow Connection" in 1979 for "The Muppet Movie", the first feature-length film featuring the Muppets. Kermit's original performance of "Rainbow Connection" reached No. 25 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and was added to the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry in 2021. Henson performed Kermit until his death in 1990, and then Steve Whitmire performed Kermit from that time until his dismissal in 2016; Kermit has been performed by Matt Vogel since 2017. He was also voiced by Frank Welker in "Muppet Babies" and occasionally in other animation projects, and is voiced by Matt Danner in the 2018 reboot of "Muppet Babies".
Kermit has remained as a recognizable character in popular culture worldwide for over half a century, starring in several television series and films, and receiving dozens of honors and awards by various organizations. In 2006, the character was credited as the author of "Before You Leap: A Frog's Eye View of Life's Greatest Lessons", an "autobiography" told from the perspective of the character himself.
History and development.
Kermit the Frog first appeared on local programs and commercials broadcast on WRC-TV, most notably "Sam and Friends". This prototype Kermit was created from a discarded turquoise spring coat belonging to Jim Henson's mother and two ping pong ball halves for eyes.
Initially, Kermit was a vague lizard-like creature. He subsequently made a number of television appearances before his status as a frog was established in the television special "Hey, Cinderella!" in 1969. His triangular-pointed collar was added at the time to make him seem more frog-like and to conceal the seam between his head and body. According to Michael K. Frith, the relatively simple construction of the Kermit puppet allows the performer's arm and hand to produce a wide range of expression and gestures.
Naming.
The origin of Kermit's name is a subject of some debate. It is often claimed that Kermit was named after Henson's childhood friend Kermit Scott, from Leland, Mississippi. However, Karen Falk, head archivist and board of directors member for the Jim Henson Legacy organization, denies this claim:
Joy DiMenna, the only daughter of Kermit Kalman Cohen who worked as a sound engineer at WBAL-TV during Jim Henson's time with "Sam and Friends", recalls that the puppet was named after her father. According to Kermit Cohen's obituary, as well as DiMenna and Lenny Levin, a colleague of Mr. Cohen's at WBAL:
Another common belief is that Kermit was named for Kermit Love, who worked with Henson in designing and constructing Muppets, particularly on "Sesame Street", but Love's association with Henson did not begin until well after Kermit's creation and naming, and he always denied any connection between his name and that of the character.
As "Sesame Street" is localized for some different markets that speak languages other than English, Kermit is often renamed. In Portugal, he is called "Cocas, o Sapo" ("sapo" means "toad"), and in Brazil, his name is similar: "Caco, o Sapo". In most of Hispanic America, his name is "la rana René" ("René the Frog"), while in Spain, he is named "Gustavo". In the Arabic version, he is known as "Kamel", which is a common Arabic male name that means "perfect". In Hungary, he is called "Breki" (onomatopoetic).
Characterization and performers.
Jim Henson originated the character in 1955 on his local television series, "Sam and Friends". Henson himself described Kermit as "kind of easy-going, very likable...sometimes slightly a wiseguy." Frank Oz remarked that Kermit possesses a natural sense of leadership within the Muppets, explaining that "he has all these zany characters and a world around him and he tries to be the center and hold everything together...sometimes he gets too much and blows his top, but essentially he kind of goes with the flow." Brian Henson described his father's performance as Kermit as "coming out of his own personality—was a wry intelligence, a little bit of a naughtiness, but Kermit always loved everyone around and also loved a good prank."
Kermit has often been referred to as Henson's "soft-spoken alter-ego." Many of Henson's colleagues have confirmed how close and inseparable Jim and Kermit's personalities were. Henson's agent Bernie Brillstein has stated straightforwardly that "Kermit was Jim". Author Brian Jay Jones described the relationship accordingly: "The more Jim performed Kermit, the more the two of them seemed to become intertwined…it was becoming harder to tell where the frog ended and Jim began." Henson continued to perform the character until his death in 1990. Henson's last known performance as Kermit was for an appearance on "The Arsenio Hall Show" to promote the television special "The Muppets at Walt Disney World". Henson died twelve days after that appearance.
Following Henson's death, veteran Muppet performer Steve Whitmire was named Kermit's new performer. Whitmire claims that Henson had seemingly intended to pass on the role to him before he died, though it was Jane Henson and son Brian who had selected him. Whitmire's first public performance as Kermit was at the end of the television special "The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson" in 1990. Whitmire explained that his main intent when he inherited Kermit "was to make sure the character stayed the same and consistent, but didn't become stale and just a copy."
Kermit's personality during Whitmire's tenure was widely described as more wholesome, lighthearted, and Pollyanna-ish than Henson's. Several critics of Whitmire's portrayal have come from the Henson family. Brian Henson stated that while Whitmire's performance was "sometimes excellent, and always pretty good", he also elaborated that "Kermit has, as a character, flattened out over time and has become too square and not as vital as it should have been." Cheryl Henson stated that Whitmire performed the character as a "bitter, angry, depressed, victim". He remained Kermit's principal performer until October 2016, when he was dismissed by The Muppets Studio and its parent The Walt Disney Company, which own the rights to Kermit. Disney cited "unacceptable business conduct" as reason for the dismissal, while Whitmire claims the decision was made due to creative disagreements over Kermit's characterization and prolonged labor union negotiations that delayed his involvement in Muppet productions.
Disney announced that Matt Vogel would become Kermit's new performer on July 10, 2017. Vogel's first official appearance as Kermit was in a "Muppet Thought of the Week” video released on YouTube.
John Kennedy performed Kermit for "Muppets Ahoy!", a 2006 Disney Cruise Line stage show (though Whitmire performed Kermit for the first few shows). Muppet performer Artie Esposito briefly performed Kermit in 2009 for a few personal appearances (an appearance on "America's Got Talent", the "MTV Video Music Awards", and at the 2009 D23 Expo). Voice actor Frank Welker provided the voice of Baby Kermit on the animated Saturday morning cartoon, "Muppet Babies". He also provided the voice of an adult Kermit for a short-lived spin-off, "Little Muppet Monsters". Brian Cummings voiced Kermit in a 1995 CBS promotion. Wally Wingert provided the voice of Baby Kermit in a "Muppet Babies" CD-ROM. Matt Danner voices Baby Kermit on the 2018 reboot of "Muppet Babies".
Fictional biography.
A biography has been developed for Kermit the Frog as if he were an actual living performer rather than a puppet character. According to this fictional biography, he was born in Leland, Mississippi, alongside approximately 2,353 siblings, though a 2011 "interview" on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" has him state that he was from the swamps of Louisiana.
As portrayed in the 2002 film "Kermit's Swamp Years", at the age of 12, he was the first of his siblings to leave the swamp and one of the first frogs to talk to humans. He is shown in the film encountering a 12-year-old Jim Henson (played by Christian Kriebel) for the first time.
According to "The Muppet Movie," Kermit returned to the swamp, where a passing agent (Dom DeLuise) noted he had talent. Thus inspired, Kermit headed to Hollywood, encountering the rest of the Muppets along the way. Together, they were given a standard "rich and famous" contract by Lew Lord (Orson Welles) of Wide World Studios and began their showbiz careers. In "Before You Leap", Kermit again references encountering Jim Henson sometime after the events depicted in the course of "The Muppet Movie" and details their friendship and their partnership in the entertainment industry, crediting Henson as being the individual to whom he owes his fame. At some point after the events of "The Muppet Movie", Kermit and the other Muppets begin "The Muppet Show", and the characters remain together as a group, before starring in the other Muppet films and "Muppets Tonight", with Kermit usually at the core of the stories as the lead protagonist. Kermit is shown in "The Muppet Movie" as stating that the events of the film are "approximately how it happened" when asked by his nephew Robin about how the Muppets got started.
Fozzie Bear is portrayed as Kermit's best friend—a fact reiterated by Kermit in "Before You Leap"—and the two were frequently seen together during sketches on "The Muppet Show" and in other Muppet-related media and merchandise.
On August 4, 2015, Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy "announced" that they had ended their romantic relationship. On September 2, 2015, Kermit was stated to have found a new girlfriend, a pig named Denise, but around February 2016, Denise supposedly broke up with Kermit after almost six months together.
Career.
Kermit has been featured prominently on both "The Muppet Show" and "Sesame Street", and is the only Muppet to do so in that capacity. However, he had a prominent career before "Sesame Street"s debut in 1969, as he starred in "Sam and Friends", and numerous Muppets made guest appearances on "Today" from 1961 and "The Ed Sullivan Show" from 1966.
"Sesame Street".
Kermit was one of the original main Muppet characters on "Sesame Street". Closely identified with the show, Kermit usually appeared as a lecturer on simple topics, a straight man to another Muppet foil (usually Grover, Herry Monster or Cookie Monster), or a news reporter interviewing storybook characters for Sesame Street News. He sang many songs on the show, including "Bein' Green", and was the focus of the 1998 video "The Best of Kermit on Sesame Street".
Unlike the rest of the show's Muppets, Kermit was never the property of Sesame Workshop and has only occasionally been a part of the show's merchandise. When Sesame Workshop bought full ownership of its characters from Henson for $180 million, Kermit was excluded from the deal. The character now belongs to The Muppets Studio, a division of Disney. His first "Sesame Street" appearance since Disney ownership was in an "Elmo's World" segment in the show's 40th-season premiere on November 10, 2009. His most recent appearance was in the 2019 television special "Sesame Street's 50th Anniversary Celebration", where he performed "Bein' Green" with Elvis Costello.
With the Muppets.
In "The Muppet Show" television series, Kermit was the central character, the showrunner, and the long-suffering stage manager of the theater show, trying to keep order amidst the chaos created by the other Muppets. Henson once claimed that Kermit's job on the "Muppet Show" was much like his own: "trying to get a bunch of crazies to actually get the job done." It was on this show that the running gag of Kermit being pursued by leading lady Miss Piggy developed.
On "Muppets Tonight", Kermit was still a main character, although he was the producer rather than frontman. He appeared in many parody sketches such as "NYPD Green", "City Schtickers", "Flippers", and "The Muppet Odd Squad", as well as in the "Psychiatrist's Office" sketch.
As with most Disney characters, Kermit appears at various Disney theme parks. Kermit is featured in "Muppet*Vision 3D", an attraction that opened in 1991 and continues to run presently at Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The character was also formerly featured in the aforementioned attraction in Disney California Adventure Park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California until its closure in 2014. Kermit also appeared in "The Muppets Present...Great Moments in American History" at the Magic Kingdom from 2016 to 2020. He also appeared in two parades; Disney Stars and Motor Cars Parade which ran at Disney's Hollywood Studios from 2001 to 2008 and Disney's Honorary VoluntEars Cavalcade which was held during 2010 at the Magic Kingdom and Disneyland.
Filmography.
Kermit the Frog has appeared in almost every Muppet production, as well as making guest appearances in other shows and movies.
Below is a list of his more well-known appearances:
Cultural impact.
Accolades and commemorations.
Kermit was awarded an honorary doctorate of Amphibious Letters (a pun on the more common honorary degree, Doctor of Humane Letters) on May 19, 1996, at Southampton College, New York, where he also gave a commencement speech. He is also the only "amphibian" to have had the honor of addressing the Oxford Union. A statue of Henson and Kermit was erected on the campus of Henson's alma mater, the University of Maryland, College Park in 2003.
Kermit was also given the honor of being the Grand Marshal of the Tournament of Roses Parade in 1996. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has featured a Kermit balloon since 1977. Kermit also served as the mascot for The Jim Henson Company, until the sale of the Muppet characters to Disney.
On November 14, 2002, Kermit the Frog received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the category of Television. The star is located at 6801 Hollywood Blvd. Kermit has two stars on the Walk of Fame, the other as a member of the collective The Muppets, which they received on March 20, 2012 in the category of Motion Pictures.
On Kermit's 50th birthday in 2005, the United States Postal Service released a set of new stamps with photos of Kermit and some of his fellow Muppets on them. The background of the stamp sheet features a photo of a silhouetted Henson sitting in a window well, with Kermit sitting in his lap looking at him.
Kermit was also the grand marshal for Michigan State University's homecoming parade in 2006.
In 2013, the original Kermit puppet from "Sam and Friends" was donated to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. for display in the pop culture gallery. In 2015, the Leland Chamber of Commerce in Leland, Mississippi opened a small museum containing puppets and memorabilia dedicated to Kermit. A Kermit puppet can be seen at the National Museum of American History.
Kermit's legacy is also deeply entrenched in the science community. One of the famous WP-3D "Orion" research platforms flown by the NOAA Hurricane Hunters is named after Kermit. The other is named after Miss Piggy. In 2015, the discovery of the Costa Rican glass frog "Hyalinobatrachium dianae" also attracted viral media attention due to the creature's perceived resemblance to Kermit, with researcher Brian Kubicki quoted as saying "I am glad that this species has ended up getting so much international attention, and in doing so it is highlighting the amazing amphibians that are native to Costa Rica and the need to continue exploring and studying the country's amazing tropical forests". In 2024, researchers named "Kermitops gratus" as a new genus and species of fossil "proto-amphibian" from rocks dating to the early Permian period of Texas, US. The genus name, which means "Kermit face" in Greek, references the general resemblance of the fossil skull to the Muppets character's head.
Guest television appearances.
Kermit has made numerous guest appearances on popular television shows, including co-hosting individual episodes of a number of long-running talk shows; among other television media. On April 2, 1979, Kermit guest-hosted "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" to promote "The Muppet Movie". From 1983 to 1995, the French political satire show "Le Bébête Show" used copies of various Muppets to parody key political figures, and Kermit renamed "Kermitterrand", embodied President François Mitterrand. On May 21, 2018, Kermit and contestant Maddie Poppe performed "Rainbow Connection" live on "American Idol".
A still photo of Kermit sitting in his Director's chair with his megaphone in his hand from "The Muppet Show" appeared on a technical difficulties telop graphic on Metromedia owned-and-operated station KTTV Channel 11 in Los Angeles during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
As an April Fool's joke, Kermit hosted CNN's "Larry King Live" in 1994 and interviewed Hulk Hogan. Kermit was also a semi-regular during various incarnations of "Hollywood Squares", with other Muppets such as Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch also making appearances on the original "Hollywood Squares".
In 2020, Kermit appeared on "Monday Night Football" with other Muppets characters as it was briefly rebranded "Muppet Night Football."
On March 10, 2021, Kermit was the first celebrity to be unmasked on the fifth season of "The Masked Singer", having performed in costume as "Snail".
On May 7, 2023, Kermit, along with Miss Piggy, was invited to the Coronation Concert of King Charles III. He sat next to Prince Edward, The Duke of Edinburgh.
Merchandising.
Jim Henson's characters, including the Muppets, have inspired merchandise internationally, with Chris Bensch, chief curator of Rochester, New York's The Strong National Museum of Play, reporting "There seems to have been a particular craze for Kermit the Frog in Japan," likely due to the "cuteness appeal". Baby Kermit plush toys became popular in the 1980s after the success of "Muppet Babies."
In 1991, one year after Jim Henson died, merchandise featuring Kermit and other Muppet characters was being sold at Disney theme parks, causing Henson Associates to file a lawsuit against Disney for copyright infringement. Henson alleged that the "counterfeit merchandise" falsely indicated that the characters belonged to Disney, although the latter company had the right to exercise use of the characters due to an earlier licensing agreement. The Henson Associates highlighted a T-shirt displaying Kermit, the Disney brand, and a copyright symbol. Disney representative Erwin Okun said the lawsuit was "outrageous" and "an unfortunate break with the legacy of a fine relationship with Disney that Jim Henson left behind". Disney later acquired the Muppets, and thusly, clothes, toys and souvenirs depicting Kermit and the Muppets continued to be sold at Disney theme parks and stores.
The Leland Chamber of Commerce's small Kermit-themed museum set out to preserve some of the dolls and merchandise. In 2016, "The New Zealand Herald" reported a hat featuring Kermit sipping Lipton tea, associated with the "But That's None of My Business" Internet meme, became a popular seller after basketball player LeBron James drew attention for wearing one.
Kermit in Internet culture.
In March 2007, "Sad Kermit", an unofficial parody, was uploaded to the website YouTube, showing a store-bought Kermit puppet performing a version of the Nine Inch Nails song "Hurt" in a style similar to Johnny Cash's famous cover version. In contrast to the real Kermit character's usual family-friendly antics, the video shows the puppet engaging in drug abuse, smoking, alcoholism, performing oral sex on Rowlf the Dog, smashing a picture of Miss Piggy (with a breast exposed) and attempting suicide. The video became an Internet meme. The "Victoria Times Colonist" called it an "online sensation". The "Chicago Sun-Times" said it "puts the high in 'Hi-ho!'" The "London Free Press" said "Sad Kermit is in a world of pain". The "Houston Press" described it as the "world's most revolting web phenomenon". SF Weekly described the unauthorized video as "ironic slandering". Clips have been featured on the Canadian television series "The Hour", where host George Stroumboulopoulos speculated that the Kermit version of "Hurt" was inspired by the Cash version rather than that of Nine Inch Nails.
Kermit has also appeared in a popular meme in which he is shown sipping tea, "one used when you sassily point something out, and then slyly back away, claiming that it's not [your] business". The photo is taken from "Be More Kermit," a Lipton advertisement that aired in 2014, and was adapted into the "But That's None of My Business" meme by African American comedians on the Tumblr blog Kermit the Snitch, making appearances on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Charles Pulliam-Moore of the TV station "Fusion" praised "But That's None of My Business" as "a symbol for the comedic brilliance born out of black communities on the internet", but Stephanie Hayes of "Bustle" magazine criticized the memes as racist and obscene.
In 2016, a "Good Morning America" post on Twitter referred to the "But That's None of My Business" meme as "Tea Lizard", becoming the subject of viral online derision. "New York" magazine replied that, "Kermit is a frog. A frog is an amphibian. A lizard is a reptile. It's just so insulting. Beyond a frog and a lizard both being clearly ectothermic, they couldn't be any more different. Not all green things are the same, you ignorant bastards". "Popular Science" also addressed the misnomer, writing "Frogs, which are amphibians, have quite a few significant differences from reptiles in how they breathe, their life cycles, whether they have scales or not... there's a lot to absorb here."
In November 2016, a new meme surfaced of Kermit talking to a hooded version of himself which represents the self and its dark inner thoughts. It involves captioning of a screenshot taken from the "Muppets Most Wanted" movie of Kermit and Constantine looking at each other. In the meme, Constantine is supposed to represent a Sith Lord from "Star Wars".
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George Bailey
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George Bailey is a fictional character and the protagonist in Frank Capra's 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life. The character is a building and loan banker who sacrifices his dreams in order to help his community of Bedford Falls to the point where he feels life has passed him by. Eventually, due to difficulties in keeping the building and loan solvent, Bailey falls into despair so deep that he contemplates suicide, until a guardian angel, Clarence Odbody, gives him a valuable perspective on the worth of his life. George finds through Odbody's angelic power and gift what the lives of his family and friends and the social structure of Bedford Falls would be like without him.
Bailey is played by James Stewart as an adult and Bobby Anderson as a child, and is loosely based on George Pratt, a character in Philip Van Doren Stern's 1943 booklet The Greatest Gift.[1]
The character was portrayed by Pete Davidson in a 2020 television special.[2]
Fictional biography
Early life
In the winter of 1919, George (aged 12, played by Bobby Anderson) and his friends Bert, Ernie Bishop, Marty Hatch, Sam Wainwright, and his brother Harry are sledding on a frozen river. Harry breaks through the ice and George jumps into the freezing water to save him. In doing so, George became ill with an infection that waylaid him for some time and caused him to lose hearing in his left ear.
In May 1920, George returns to his after school job at Mr. Gower's drugstore, where he first attends to the soda fountain when two customers are Marty’s sister Mary and her friend Violet Bick. George announces his plan to be an explorer and travel the world, citing National Geographic as an inspiration where Mary whispers her love for George in his deaf ear. George then finds a telegram informing Gower that his son has died in the Spanish flu pandemic. A visibly distraught Gower directs George to deliver medicine to a customer, but George realizes that, in his distress, he had inadvertently put poison into the capsules. He seeks advice from his father, who is president of the Bailey Brothers Building & Loan, but his father is meeting with Henry F. Potter, one of the shareholders. When he returns to the store, Gower angrily berates him for not delivering the capsules, until George blurts out Gower's mistake. Realizing this would have been fatal, Gower tearfully thanks George, who promises that he will never tell anyone what happened.
Young adult
In June 1928, George (played by James Stewart) is preparing for an overseas trip. He gets invited to Harry's graduation party. Before going George talks with his father about his plans for the future, in which architecture has replaced exploring, but he still desires to leave Bedford Falls and see the world. Peter Bailey explains that the work they have done in the building & loan is a way to make their mark on the world, but endorses George's decision to leave town "if he is unwilling to crawl to Potter". At the high school, he meets up with Marty, who reintroduces him to Mary, now a teenager. A rival suitor of Mary's attempts to embarrass George by dunking him into a swimming pool situated beneath the dance floor, but George and Mary take it in stride and the partygoers consider it a splash. While walking Mary home they are interrupted by Uncle Billy, who comes by in a car and says that George is needed as his father has had a stroke.
Three months later August, George is in a meeting with the board of directors of the Building & Loan to appoint a new successor to the late Peter Bailey. Potter argues that the Building & Loan should be dissolved, whereas George recommends his father be succeeded by his brother Billy. The directors tell George that the Building & Loan will only stay open if he agrees to remain and carry on his father's work. George foregoes a trip to Europe and his plans for college, giving the funds saved toward tuition to his younger brother.[3]
In 1932, George and Uncle Billy are waiting at the Bedford Falls railroad station for Harry to come home from college, when Harry arrives with his new wife, Ruth. Her father has offered Harry a job, which means he would not be taking George's place at the Building & Loan. Harry says that he will keep his promise to allow George his chance at the university. However, George cannot bear to allow his brother to throw away such an opportunity, so he remains in Bedford Falls. While the family is celebrating Harry's return, Ma Bailey mentions to George that Mary Hatch is also back from college and he should pay her a visit. He eventually goes to Mary's home to visit her, only to find that she is being courted by his friend, the now wealthy Sam Wainwright.[3] However, George is encouraged to pursue Mary by Mrs. Bailey, who has concurred with Mrs. Hatch that while Sam would be a good provider, his constant absence would be problematic for Mary.
Pre-war
A few months later, George and Mary are married. Their plans for a honeymoon in New York City and Bermuda are interrupted by a run on the banks which also affects the Building & Loan. Potter's bank calls their loan, and panicked depositors want their money, threatening to take their business to the bank. As a stockholder, Potter threatens to shut the Building & Loan if they are forced to close early. Mary and George use the money saved for their honeymoon to keep the Building & Loan solvent.[3]
In 1934, thanks to the Building & Loan, the Martini family move out of 'Potter's Field' to the new 'Bailey Park', (this home is the only original building from the movie that still exists) a residential development created by George that proves successful enough to seriously threaten Mr. Potter's rental interests. Potter offers George a job. Although this would bring a significant increase in social status and salary, as well as opportunities for travel, George declines. George returns home to learn that Mary is pregnant. Their first child is a son, whom they name Peter after George's late father. Their second child is a daughter, Janie.
The war years
1939–1945
During the war years, George and Mary had another two children, a daughter nicknamed "ZuZu" and a son, Thomas. George was classified 4-F by the draft board due to his ear. Ernie became a paratrooper and parachuted into France on D-Day. Marty helped capture the Bridge at Remagen, Sam produced plastic hoods for planes, and Bert went to Africa to fight, where he was wounded and eventually got the Purple Heart and Silver Star. While all of this happened, George served as an Air Raid Warden. Despite having to look after four children, Mary still had time to run the United Service Organizations in the town, and Mr. Potter became head of the draft board. It was Harry Bailey who had the crowning achievement of Bedford Falls. Harry, who became a Navy pilot, engaged in a risky interception of a kamikaze that was about to attack an Army transport, saving the lives of fifteen soldiers, to which he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Post war
Christmas Eve 1945
On Christmas Eve morning, Uncle Billy is on his way to the bank to deposit $8,000 of the Building & Loan's cash funds (the equivalent of $140,219.11 in 2024). Holding a newspaper which has Harry on the front page, he greets Potter and taunts him about Harry’s success in the war. Potter angrily snatches the paper, but Billy inattentively allows the money to be snatched with it. Potter notices the money and keeps it, knowing that misplacement of bank money would result in bankruptcy for the Building & Loan and criminal charges for George. Confused and embarrassed, Billy tells George that he has misplaced the money, and doesn't know where it is. George is extremely worried, especially with the bank examiner just outside the room. George and Billy go through the town taking every step Billy took in the morning and it goes to a dead end. George later goes home, and Mary knows straight away something is wrong with him. To add to his anger, he finds out his youngest daughter Zuzu has come home with a cold, which George blames on her teacher. When the teacher calls, he berates her on the phone. His frustration culminates into smashing models of bridges and buildings he had made in his earlier years.
A desperate George appeals to Potter for a loan. Potter sarcastically turns George down, and then swears out a warrant for his arrest for bank fraud. George, now completely depressed, gets drunk at the bar owned by his friend, Martini, where he silently prays for help. He also gets a punch to the face from the husband of Zuzu's teacher, who is drinking there. The belligerent husband gets thrown out by Mr. Martini, the bar's owner and the patriarch of one of the families who moved into Bailey Park. Mr. Martini angrily says that any man who would raise his fists to George is never welcome here. George drunkenly drives his car into a tree and comes to a bridge intending to commit suicide, feeling he is "worth more dead than alive", echoing Potter's mocking of George's life insurance policy. Before he can leap, another man jumps in first and pretends to be drowning. After George rescues him, the man reveals himself to be George's guardian angel, Clarence Odbody. George does not believe him, and he bitterly wishes he had never been born. Inspired by this comment, Clarence shows George what the town would have been like without him.
Alternate Universe
In this alternative scenario, Bedford Falls is instead named Pottersville, and is home to sleazy nightclubs, pawn shops, and amoral people. The bar George frequented is now run by Nick, whom George knew as a bartender to Martini, but now has a gruff personality. Mr. Gower was sent to prison for poisoning the child and is despised and homeless. George's friend Violet Bick is a taxi-dancer who gets arrested. Bert is still a policeman, albeit with a darker personality and more brutal in his duties. Ernie still works as a taxi driver, but now desperately poor due to divorce and his family forsaking him. Uncle Billy has been in an insane asylum since he lost his brother and the family business. George's own mother, a woman defeated by the world, fails to recognize him. George then goes to Bailey Park, which is now a cemetery. Harry is dead as a result of George not being there to save him from drowning, resulting in the deaths of the servicemen not saved by Harry's heroism. (A deleted scene exists in which George learns why the bar is Nick's and not Martini's; George finds the graves of the Martini family near Harry's and realizes the family perished in a tenement blaze as George was unable to provide them affordable housing to move out of Potter's slums.) Mary is a shy spinster who works at the public library. When George desperately tries to convince her he is her husband, she considers it creepy and intimidating and yells for help. Her cries are answered by Bert, who thinks nothing of opening fire on George as he flees.
Return to Life
George runs back to the bridge and begs to be allowed to live again. Bert shows up at the bridge. When Bert is not there to arrest him but glad he has found him as everyone was worried to his whereabouts, George joyously hugs Bert then runs home. Running through town, George is overjoyed to see it is once again Bedford Falls and wishes everyone he passes a Merry Christmas, even Mr. Potter. Mary, Uncle Billy, and a flood of townspeople arrive with more than enough donations to save George and the Building & Loan; Sam Wainwright extends a $25,000 line of credit by telegram (the equivalent of $438,184.72 in 2024). As they celebrate, the town's sheriff tears the warrant for his arrest and joins in the festivities. Harry also arrives to support his brother, and toasts George as "The richest man in town.” In the pile of donated funds, George finds a copy of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer inscribed, "Dear George: Remember, no man is a failure who has friends. P.S. Thanks for the wings! Love, Clarence." A bell on the Christmas tree rings, and his daughter Zuzu says, "Teacher says every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings!" George agrees and looks up to Heaven, realizing that he truly has a wonderful life.
Contemporary reception
Bosley Crowther, reviewing for The New York Times, described Bailey as "a young fellow who wants to break away from his small-town life and responsibilities but is never able to do so because slowly they close in upon him". Crowther said Frank Capra's character as "a personable fellow who wants to travel and do big things but ultimately finds himself running a building-and-loan association in a one-horse town, married and locked in constant struggle with the greedy old banker of the town".[4] Kate Cameron of New York Daily News described Bailey as a "guy who wished he had never been born, when the going gets too tough, and was permitted to see what his home town would have been like without him".[5] Variety's Bert Briller wrote, "At 30 a small-town citizen feels he has reached the end of his rope, mentally, morally, financially." Briller said of the guardian angel showing him the impact of his life, "The recounting of this life is just about flawless in its tender and natural treatment."[6]
Crowther commended James Stewart's performance as Bailey, "As the hero, Mr. Stewart does a warmly appealing job, indicating that he has grown in spiritual stature as well as in talent during the years he was in the war."[4] Cameron said, "[Stewart] carries most of the burden of this long picture on his still slender shoulders and for the most part gives an endearing performance."[5] The Hollywood Reporter's Jack D. Grant wrote, "James Stewart is distinctively Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey, his initial role in Hollywood after five years in the armed forces."[7]
Analysis
A large number of interpretations of It’s a Wonderful Life have been advanced, and as George Bailey is the protagonist, many of those interpretations hinge on interpretations of his role in the film. Bailey is conventionally interpreted as the hero of the film, and he was listed ninth on the American Film Institute's 2003 list of the 50 greatest screen heroes.[8] While the film shows some obvious instances of heroic behavior in Bailey’s youth, such as saving his brother Harry from drowning and preventing Mr. Gower from poisoning a customer, doubts about the worth of Bailey’s adulthood actions turn into the central question of his life. Bailey’s deficiencies as a hero are highlighted by the facts that the film’s climactic scene portrays Bailey as the person being rescued and that “Capra was forced to invoke a deus ex machina, a guardian angel, to convince Bailey of the worth of his life.”[9]
Citing generosity as Bailey's most admirable trait, Time magazine lists George Bailey among their top ten movie dads.
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e8ce6d3f101d431b9f1e754b28bd6f54
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Yoda
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Yoda () is a fictional character in the "Star Wars" franchise. He is a small, green humanoid alien who is powerful with the Force. He first appeared in the 1980 film "The Empire Strikes Back", in which he is voiced and puppeteered by Frank Oz, who reprised the role in "Return of the Jedi" (1983), the prequel trilogy, the sequel trilogy, and the animated series "Star Wars Rebels". Other actors who voice Yoda are Tom Kane, Piotr Michael, John Lithgow, Tony Pope and Peter McConnell. In addition to films and television series, Yoda appears in comics, novels, video games and commercials.
In the original trilogy, Yoda lives in solitude on the swamp planet Dagobah. He is introduced as a former mentor of Obi-Wan Kenobi, and he trains Luke Skywalker in the ways of the Force until his death at the age of 900. In the prequel films, Yoda leads the Jedi High Council and trains young Jedi until they are assigned to a master. When the Clone Wars break out, he becomes a general in the army of the Republic and leads several legions of clone troopers. Yoda is one of the few Jedi to survive the events of Order 66 at the end of the war, when he battles Darth Sidious and is forced to go into hiding. Yoda's Force spirit appears again in the sequel trilogy, advising an older Luke on his training of Rey.
Creation.
The "Star Wars" franchise was created by George Lucas, who wrote and directed the original "Star Wars" film (1977). He created the character Obi-Wan Kenobi as a mentor for Luke Skywalker, and originally planned for Obi-Wan to continue training Luke in the sequel, "The Empire Strikes Back". However, Lucas ultimately decided that Obi-Wan would die in the first film. Lucas then introduced a new mentor character, who was originally a diminutive frog-like creature called "Minch Yoda". The name "Yoda" was chosen because Lucas envisioned the character as a "little Dalai Lama", and he wanted him to have an "Eastern-sounding" name. One of the film's screenwriters, Lawrence Kasdan, said that Yoda was based on Shimada, the lead samurai from the 1954 Akira Kurosawa film "Seven Samurai". According to Lucas, the narrative goal of Yoda's design was to teach Luke "to respect everybody and pay attention to the poorest person." Lucas wanted the Jedi Master to be the "exact opposite" of what audiences would expect.
The film's visual effects art director, Joe Johnston, sketched hundreds of different versions of Yoda. The design that Lucas finally settled on was described by Johnston as a combination of a leprechaun, a troll and a gnome. Lucas gave Yoda a backward speech pattern because he felt the character needed a unique way of speaking that was more dramatic than an accent. The filmmakers considered several ways of portraying Yoda before they decided on a sophisticated puppet. These potential methods included dressing a monkey, a child or a dwarf in a Yoda costume, or using stop-motion animation.
Portrayal.
Yoda was originally portrayed by a puppet created by Stuart Freeborn and Wendy Froud. Freeborn based Yoda's face on his own facial features and those of Albert Einstein, hoping the latter inspiration would make the character appear intelligent. Lucas asked Jim Henson, the creator of the Muppets, to perform the puppeteering for Yoda. Henson was busy with another project, however, and recommended Frank Oz for the role. To perform Yoda in "The Empire Strikes Back", Oz inserted his hand into the puppet's head to manipulate the mouth and brow. Kathryn Mullen, Wendy Froud and David Barclay operated Yoda's eyes, ears and other body parts using cables, strings, hydraulics and electronic mechanisms. There was also a radio-controlled Yoda puppet that was used when the Jedi Master is riding on Luke's back. Lucas had intended for a different actor to provide Yoda's voice, but ultimately decided that Oz was the best performer for the role.
In the original 1999 release of "", Yoda was portrayed by a new puppet in all but two shots. In these two wide shots, the character was created using computer-generated imagery (CGI). The puppet was replaced with a digital Yoda in the 2011 Blu-ray release and the 2012 theatrical 3D release. In "Attack of the Clones" (2002) and "Revenge of the Sith" (2005), Yoda is entirely computer-generated. The digital character accomplishes movements not possible with the puppet, such as fighting with a lightsaber. In "Revenge of the Sith", his face is shown in several close-ups, which required highly detailed CGI work.
Reception.
Yoda was well-received by several prominent critics when he debuted in "The Empire Strikes Back" in 1980. Vincent Canby of "The New York Times" called him "delightful" and "the hit of the movie", but felt he was only a success when used sparingly. Joy Gould Boyum of "The Wall Street Journal" praised the "exquisitely constructed" Yoda puppet, and said that Oz "so finely put together [the character]...as to make us wonder continually if he isn't real." Arthur Knight of "The Hollywood Reporter" and Gary Arnold of "The Washington Post" similarly felt that Yoda was incredibly lifelike, with Arnold comparing his face to that of a human actor. Gene Siskel of the "Chicago Tribune" called Yoda the highlight of the film, while "People" magazine called him a pivotal character. In his review of the 1997 re-release of "The Empire Strikes Back", Roger Ebert praised the range of emotions conveyed by Yoda, and said his acting was possibly the best in the film.
Yoda has been a popular character since his introduction more than forty years ago. Brandon Katz of "Observer" has called him an icon of cinema. "Empire" magazine claimed that after the droids C-3PO and R2-D2, Yoda is the "most beloved" character in the "Star Wars" franchise.
Appearances.
Original trilogy.
Yoda was introduced in "The Empire Strikes Back" (1980), in which he is puppeteered and voiced by Frank Oz. In the film, Luke arrives on Dagobah to seek his guidance at the behest of Force spirit. At first, Yoda does not identify himself to Luke and instead tests his patience by provoking him. Luke is shocked when he discovers that this small, eccentric creature is the powerful Jedi Master he was seeking. Finding Luke to be impatient and undisciplined, Yoda is reluctant to mentor him in the ways of the Force, but agrees to the task after conferring with Obi-Wan. Before finishing his training, Luke chooses to leave Dagobah to confront Darth Vader and help his friends in Cloud City. Yoda and Obi-Wan warn that he is not ready, but Luke leaves anyway. When Obi-Wan laments that Luke is their "last hope," Yoda reminds him that "there is another."
Yoda appears briefly in "Return of the Jedi" (1983), again performed and voiced by Oz. Now sick and frail, he tells Luke that his training is complete, but that he will not be a Jedi until he confronts Darth Vader. Yoda also confirms that Vader is Luke's father, something Vader had told Luke in the previous film. Yoda then peacefully dies at the age of 900, his body disappearing as he becomes "one with the Force". He leaves Luke with the knowledge that "there is another Skywalker." Soon after, Obi-Wan's spirit helps Luke realize that the "other" is his twin sister, Princess Leia. In the film's final scene, Yoda's spirit appears on Endor alongside the spirits of Obi-Wan and Anakin Skywalker.
Prequel trilogy.
A younger Yoda appears in the prequel trilogy, beginning with ' (1999). In the film—which is set 35 years before "The Empire Strikes Back"—Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn brings the young Anakin Skywalker to the Jedi Council. Convinced that Anakin is the "Chosen One" of Jedi prophecy who will bring balance to the Force, Qui-Gon requests that the boy be trained as a Jedi. Yoda senses great fear in Anakin, especially in regards to his attachment to his mother Shmi, and foresees "grave danger" in his training. The Council, led by Mace Windu, rejects Qui-Gon's request. When Qui-Gon is mortally wounded in a duel with the Sith Lord Darth Maul, his dying request is that his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi train Anakin. Obi-Wan tells Yoda that he will train the boy, even without the Council's approval. Yoda reluctantly gives his blessing to Anakin's training.' (2002) is set a decade after "The Phantom Menace". Yoda is now the Master of the High Council in addition to his position as Grandmaster. He and many other Jedi are concerned about the emergence of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, a secessionist movement seeking independence from the Galactic Republic. After the first attempted assassination of Senator Padmé Amidala, Chancellor Palpatine suggests that she be put under the protection of Obi-Wan, who is training Anakin. At the climax of the film, Yoda saves Obi-Wan and Anakin from the Separatists and defeats his former apprentice, Count Dooku, in a lightsaber duel.
In "" (2005), Yoda and the Jedi Council pursue the mysterious Sith Lord Darth Sidious. Palpatine has now amassed near-dictatorial emergency powers, and begins interfering in Jedi affairs. The Council orders Anakin to spy on Palpatine, whom he considers a friend and mentor. Anakin seeks Yoda's counsel about his prophetic visions that someone close to him will die. Yoda, unaware that Anakin is referring to Padmé, tells him to train himself to let go of everything he fears to lose. Unsatisfied, Anakin turns to Palpatine, who then reveals himself as Darth Sidious. The Sith Lord manipulates the young Jedi into becoming his apprentice, suggesting that the dark side of the Force can save Padmé from dying.
Sidious transforms the Republic into the Galactic Empire, proclaiming himself emperor and ordering the clone troopers to kill their Jedi generals. Through the Force, Yoda feels the deaths of each of the Jedi as they are betrayed by their own troops. After killing the clone troopers instructed to assassinate him, he escapes with the Wookiee leaders Tarfful and Chewbacca to Coruscant, where he and Obi-Wan fight their way into the Jedi Temple. They discover that all the Jedi inside have been slaughtered, including the children. Yoda and Obi-Wan find a recording revealing that Anakin—now known as Darth Vader—was the assassin. Yoda decides to face Sidious, and sends Obi-Wan to kill Vader. When Obi-Wan protests, Yoda tells him that the Anakin he knew no longer exists. Yoda battles Sidious in a lightsaber duel in the Senate. In the end, neither is able to overcome the other and Yoda is forced to retreat. After Padmé dies in childbirth, Yoda recommends that her infant twins Luke and Leia be hidden from Vader and Sidious; he sends Leia to Alderaan and Luke to Tatooine. At the end of the film, it is revealed that Yoda has been learning the secret of immortality from Qui-Gon's spirit and passing it on to Obi-Wan.
Sequel trilogy.
Oz reprises the Yoda role in the sequel trilogy, both as a puppeteer and as a voice actor. The first film of the trilogy, ' (2015), takes place thirty years after Yoda's death in "Return of the Jedi". When the scavenger Rey has a Force vision and discovers Luke's lightsaber, she hears Yoda's voice. In ' (2017), Yoda appears to Luke as a Force spirit. As Luke considers whether to burn down a tree storing sacred Jedi texts, Yoda reminds him that a Jedi must always be sure of his path. When Luke decides to burn down the tree, Yoda summons a lightning bolt and sets it ablaze. Luke is suddenly concerned about the loss of the texts, but Yoda assures him that they contained no knowledge that Rey does not already possess. Yoda's voice is heard again in "" (2019) when many deceased Jedi are speaking to Rey during her battle against the resurrected Darth Sidious.
"The Clone Wars".
Yoda appears in the 2008 animated film "" and the of the same name. He is voiced by Tom Kane in both productions. In the film, he assigns Anakin an apprentice, Ahsoka Tano, believing the responsibility will help him grow as a Jedi and mature as a person. Throughout most of the series, Yoda is on Coruscant with the Jedi Council, but he occasionally leaves for certain tasks, such as negotiations with King Katuunko on Rugosa and a confrontation with Asajj Ventress's droid army. Yoda also watches over Anakin and Ahsoka, pleased that they are both maturing with each other's influence. In season five, Ahsoka is framed for a crime she did not commit, and Yoda and the Jedi Council turn her over to the Republic military. Before a verdict is read in Ahsoka's trial, Anakin reveals the true culprit, the fallen Jedi Barriss Offee. Yoda, Anakin, and the Council then invite Ahsoka to rejoin the Order, but she refuses.
In the sixth season, Yoda hears the voice of the deceased Qui-Gon Jinn. He travels to Dagobah to find answers. He sees cryptic visions of the fall of the Jedi, and learns that he has been chosen to manifest his consciousness after death as a Force spirit. A group of spirit priestesses then gives him various tests, including facing an illusion of the ancient Sith Lord Darth Bane. His final challenge is to resist an attempt by Sidious and Dooku to lure him to the dark side. Yoda engages in a metaphysical battle with Sidious and seemingly sacrifices himself to save Anakin, only to awaken and discover that the battle was merely a vision, and that he passed the test. The priestesses inform Yoda that his training will resume in time.
"Star Wars Rebels".
Yoda returns in the animated series "Star Wars Rebels" (2014–2018)."" In the season one episode "Path of the Jedi", he telepathically communicates with the Jedi apprentice Ezra Bridger and his master Kanan Jarrus, helping the pair to understand their true motivations. In the season two episode "Shroud of Darkness", Yoda appears to Ezra in a vision.
"Tales of the Jedi".
Yoda appears in two episodes of "Tales of the Jedi" (2022), although he has no dialogue. In the third episode, he attends the funeral of Jedi Master Katri, and in the fifth episode he observes the training of Ahsoka.
Other.
Yoda is voiced by John Lithgow in the radio dramatizations of "The Empire Strikes Back" (1983) and "Return of the Jedi" (1996). He is featured in the audio drama ' and the novel "Master and Apprentice", both released in 2019. He appears in the web series "Forces of Destiny" (2017–2018), the children's television series "Young Jedi Adventures" (2023–present) and the 2021 comic ', which takes place 200 years before the prequel trilogy. He also makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in the final episode of the television series "The Acolyte" (2024). In 2012, Yoda was featured in a series of Vodafone commercials, which were broadcast in the United Kingdom.
"Star Wars Legends".
Following the acquisition of Lucasfilm by The Walt Disney Company in 2012, most of the licensed "Star Wars" novels and comics produced between 1977 and 2014 were rebranded as "Star Wars Legends" and declared non-canon to the franchise. The "Legends" works comprise a separate narrative universe.
Novels and comics.
Yoda appears in the 2004 Sean Stewart novel "Yoda: Dark Rendezvous", in which he sends an impersonator of himself to negotiate a treaty with Dooku. He is also a character in the comic series "."
"Clone Wars".
Yoda is voiced by Tom Kane in the animated television series "", which aired on Cartoon Network from 2003 to 2005. In the series, Yoda becomes a general during the Clone Wars. While escorting Padmé on a journey, he senses a Force disturbance on the planet Ilum. After using a Jedi mind trick to convince Captain Typho to take them there, Yoda saves the lives of two Jedi. In the final episode of the series, Yoda fights alongside Mace Windu to defend Coruscant, which is under attack from the Separatists. The two Jedi Masters realize too late that the battle was intended to distract them from the kidnapping of Palpatine by the Separatist leader General Grievous. "Clone Wars" was removed from the official canon in 2014 and placed in the "Legends" universe.
External links.
Yoda in the "StarWars.com" Databank
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Zorro
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Zorro ( , Spanish for "fox") is a fictional character created in 1919 by American pulp writer Johnston McCulley, appearing in works set in the Pueblo of Los Angeles in Alta California. He is typically portrayed as a dashing masked vigilante who defends the commoners and Indigenous peoples of California against corrupt, tyrannical officials and other villains. His signature all-black costume includes a cape, a hat known as a , and a mask covering the upper half of his face.
In the stories, Zorro has a high bounty on his head but is too skilled and cunning for the bumbling authorities to catch, and he also delights in publicly humiliating them. Because of this, the townspeople started calling him "El Zorro" because of his foxlike cunning and charm. Zorro is an acrobat and an expert in various weapons. Still, the one he employs most frequently is his rapier, which he often uses to carve the initial "Z" on his defeated foes and other objects to "sign his work". He is also an accomplished rider, his trusty steed being a black horse called Tornado.
Zorro is the secret identity of don Diego de la Vega (originally don Diego Vega), a young man who is the only son of Don Alejandro de la Vega, the wealthiest landowner in California, while Diego's mother is dead. In most versions, Diego learned his swordsmanship while at university in Spain and created his masked alter ego after he was unexpectedly summoned home by his father because California had fallen into the hands of an oppressive dictator. Diego is usually shown living with his father in a vast , which contains many secret passages and tunnels leading to a secret cave that serves as headquarters for Zorro's operations and as Tornado's hiding place. To divert suspicion about his identity, Diego hides his fighting abilities while pretending to be a coward and a fop.
Zorro debuted in the 1919 novel "The Curse of Capistrano", originally meant as a stand-alone story. However, the success of the 1920 film adaptation "The Mark of Zorro" starring Douglas Fairbanks and Noah Beery, which introduced the popular Zorro costume, convinced McCulley to write more Zorro stories for about four decades; the character was featured in a total of five serialized stories and 57 short stories, the last one appearing in print posthumously in 1959, the year after his death. "The Curse of Capistrano" eventually sold more than 50 million copies, becoming one of the best-selling books of all time. While the rest of McCulley's Zorro stories did not enjoy the same popularity, as most of them were never reprinted until the 21st century, the character also appears in over 40 films and in ten TV series, the most famous being the Disney production, "Zorro", of 1957–1959 starring Guy Williams. Other media featuring Zorro include stories by different authors, audio/radio dramas, comic books and strips, stage productions, and video games.
Being one of the earliest examples of a fictional masked avenger with a double identity, Zorro inspired the creation of several similar characters in pulp magazines and other media and is a precursor of the superheroes of American comic books, with Batman and the Lone Ranger drawing particularly close parallels to the character.
Publishing history.
Zorro debuted in Johnston McCulley's novel "The Curse of Capistrano", serialized in five parts between August 9 and September 6, 1919, in the pulp magazine "All-Story Weekly". The story was initially meant as a standalone tale; at the denouement, Zorro's true identity is revealed to all.
Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford, on their honeymoon, selected the story as the inaugural picture for their new studio, United Artists, beginning the character's cinematic tradition. The novel was adapted as the film "The Mark of Zorro" (1920), which Fairbanks produced, co-wrote, and starred in as Diego/Zorro. The movie was a commercial success, and the 1924 reprint of McCulley's story by publisher Grosset & Dunlap used the same title, capitalizing on the movie's popularity. The novel has since been reprinted using both titles.
In response to public demand fueled by the film, McCulley wrote more than sixty more Zorro stories, beginning in 1922 with "The Further Adventures of Zorro", also serialized in "Argosy All-Story Weekly". Fairbanks picked up the movie rights for the sequel that year. However, Fairbanks's sequel, "Don Q, Son of Zorro" (1925), was based more on the 1919 novel "Don Q's Love Story" by the mother–son duo Kate Prichard and Hesketh Hesketh-Prichard than on "The Further Adventures". Thus, McCulley received no credit for the film.
At first, the production of new Zorro stories proceeded irregularly: the third novel, "Zorro Rides Again" (not to be confused with the 1937 theatrical serial), was published in 1931, nine years after the second one. Then, between 1932 and 1941, McCulley wrote four short stories and two serialized novels. Zorro stories were published much more frequently between 1944 and 1951 when McCulley published 52 short stories with the character for the "West Magazine". "Zorro Rides the Trail!", which appeared in "Max Brand's Western Magazine" in 1954, is the last story to be published during the author's lifetime and the second-to-last story overall. The last, "The Mask of Zorro" (not to be confused with the 1998 film), was published posthumously in "Short Stories for Men" in 1959. These stories ignore Zorro's public revelation of his identity.
"The Curse of Capistrano" eventually sold more than 50 million copies, becoming one of the best-selling books of all time. For the most part, McCulley's other Zorro stories remained overlooked and out-of-print until the 21st century. Bold Venture Press collected all of McCulley's Zorro stories "Zorro: The Complete Pulp Adventures", in six volumes.
Over 40 Zorro-titled films were made over the years, including "The Mark of Zorro", the 1940 classic starring Tyrone Power and Basil Rathbone. The character was also featured in ten TV series, the most famous being the Disney-produced "Zorro" series of 1957–59, starring Guy Williams. Zorro appears in several stories written by other authors, comics books and strips, stage productions, video games, and other media. McCulley died in 1958, just as Zorro was at the height of his popularity thanks to the Disney series.
Fictional character biography.
In "The Curse of Capistrano," Señor Zorro became an outlaw in the pueblo of Los Angeles in California "to avenge the helpless, to punish cruel politicians, to aid the oppressed" and is dubbed the "Curse of Capistrano". The novel features Don Diego Vega and Zorro extensively, but the fact that they are the same person is not revealed to the reader until the end of the book. In the story, Diego and Zorro romance Lolita Pulido, an impoverished noblewoman. While Lolita is unimpressed with Diego, who pretends to be a passionless fop, she is attracted to the dashing Zorro. The main villain is Captain Ramon, who also focuses on Lolita. Other characters include Sgt. Pedro Gonzales, Zorro's enemy but Diego's friend; Diego's deaf and mute servant Bernardo; his ally, Fray (Friar) Felipe; his father, Don Alejandro Vega, the wealthiest landowner in California and a widower; Don Carlos Pulido and his wife, Doña Catalina, Lolita's parents; and a group of noblemen () who, at first, hunt Zorro but are then won over to his cause.
In later stories, McCulley introduces characters such as pirates and Native Americans, some of whom know Zorro's identity.
In McCulley's later stories, Diego's surname became de la Vega. The writer was wildly inconsistent. The first magazine serial ended with the villain dead, and Diego was publicly exposed as Zorro. But in the sequel, the villain was alive, and the next entry had the double identity still secret.
Several Zorro productions have expanded on the character's exploits. Many continuations feature a younger character taking up the mantle of Zorro.
McCulley's stories are set during the era of Spanish California (1769–1821) and, although exact years are often vague, the presence of the Pueblo of Los Angeles means the stories cannot happen before 1781, the year it was founded. Some media adaptations of Zorro's story have placed him during the later era of Mexican California (1821–1848).
Character motifs.
The character's visual motif is typically a black costume with a black flowing Spanish cloak or cloak, a black flat-brimmed hat known as sombrero cordobés, and a black sackcloth mask that covers the top half of his head. Sometimes the mask is a two-piece, the main item being a blindfold-type fabric with slits for the eyes, and the other item is a bandana over the head so that it is covered even if the hat is removed: this is the mask worn in the movie "The Mark of Zorro" (1920) and in the television series "Zorro" (1957–1959). Other times, the mask is a one-piece that unites both items described above: this mask was introduced in "The Mark of Zorro" (1940) and appeared in many modern versions. Zorro's mask has also occasionally been shown as a rounded domino mask, which he wore without wearing a bandana. In his first appearance, Zorro's cloak is purple, his hat is generically referred to as a "wide sombrero," and his black cloth veil mask with slits for eyes covers his whole face. Other features of the costume may vary.
His favored weapon is a rapier, which he also uses to often leave his distinctive mark, a Z cut with three quick strokes, on his defeated foes and other objects to "sign his work". He also uses other weapons, including a bullwhip and a pistol.
The fox is never depicted as Zorro's emblem. It is used as a metaphor for the character's wiliness, such as in the lyrics "Zorro, 'the Fox', so cunning and free..." from Disney's television series theme.
His heroic pose consists of rearing on his horse, Tornado, often saluting with his hand or raising his sword high. The logo of the company Zorro Productions, Inc. uses an image of Zorro rearing on his horse, sword raised high.
Douglas Fairbanks, Tyrone Power, and Guy Williams used an epee dueling blade with a saber hilt. Antonio Banderas used a transitional rapier.
Skills and resources.
Zorro specializes in infiltrating heavily guarded enemy structures or territories, espionage, and improvised explosive devices. He is also a weapons expert and a master of escape and camouflage. He is also good at deciphering numerous spoken and written languages, facilitating communication with locals regardless of ethnicity or language. Zorro is incredibly acrobatic, using his bullwhip as a gymnastic accouterment to swing through gaps between city roofs, and can land from great heights and take a fall. Although he is a master swordsman and marksman, he has repeatedly demonstrated his prowess in unarmed combat against multiple opponents.
In some versions, Zorro keeps a medium-sized dagger tucked in his left boot for emergencies. He has used his cape in creative ways as a blind, a trip-mat, and a disarming tool. Zorro's boots are also sometimes weighted, as is his hat, which he has thrown, Frisbee-style, as an efficiently substantial warning to enemies. He is also a skilled tactician, using mockery to goad his opponents into traps or to irritate them into fighting poorly.
Zorro is a skilled horseman. The name of his jet-black horse has varied through the years. In "The Curse of Capistrano", it was unnamed. In Disney's "Zorro" television series, the horse gets the name Tornado, which has been kept in many later adaptations. In most versions, Zorro keeps Tornado in a secret cave, connected to his with a system of secret passages and tunnels.
McCulley's concept of a band of men helping Zorro is often absent from other character versions. An exception is "Zorro's Fighting Legion" (1939), starring Reed Hadley as Diego. In Douglas Fairbanks' version, he also has a band of masked men helping him. In McCulley's stories, Zorro was aided by a deaf-mute named Bernardo. In Disney's "Zorro" television series, Bernardo is not deaf but pretends to be and serves as Zorro's secret agent. He is a capable and invaluable helper for Zorro, sometimes wearing the mask to reinforce his master's charade. The Family Channel's "Zorro" television series replaces Bernardo with a teenager named Felipe, played by Juan Diego Botto, with a similar disability and pretense. In Isabel Allende's "Zorro: A Novel," Bernardo is the child of the de la Vega's Native housemaid, Ana, who forms a bond with Regina de la Vega, a former Native warrior who is converted, christianized and married to Don Alejandro. Their dual pregnancies result in them giving birth the same night. Due to complications from birth, Regina cannot breastfeed her child, Diego, so Ana breastfeeds both boys, making them milk brothers. The two are shown to be inseparable, which helps Bernardo receive a more formal education and accompanies Diego to Barcelona. After a group of pirates invades the de la Vega home, Bernardo witnesses the rape and murder of his mother, and a result, stops speaking. Diego's grandmother, White Owl, concludes Bernardo refuses to speak as a form of mourning. He is shown to speak to Tornado in a spirit quest and later to a fellow native girl, Light-in-the-Night, whom he marries.
Characteristics.
In "The Curse of Capistrano", Diego is described as "a fair youth of excellent blood and twenty-four years, noted the length of El Camino Real for his small interest in the really important things of life." It is also said that "Don Diego was unlike the other full-blooded youths of the times. It appeared that he disliked action. He seldom wore his blade, except as a matter of style and apparel. He was damnably polite to all women and paid court to none. ... Those who knew Don Diego best declared he yawned ten score times a day." Though proud as befitting his class (and seemingly uncaring about the lower classes), he shuns action, rarely wearing his sword except for fashion, and is indifferent to romance with women. This is, of course, a sham. At the end of the novel, Diego explains that he has planned his double identity since he was fifteen:
"It began ten years ago, when I was but a lad of fifteen," he said. "I heard tales of persecution. I saw my friends, the , annoyed and robbed. I saw soldiers beat an old native who was my friend. And then I determined to play this game."
"It would be a difficult game to play, I knew. So I pretended to have small interest in life, so that men never would connect my name with that of the highwayman I expected to become. In secret, I practiced horsemanship and learned how to handle a blade—"
"By the saints, he did," Sergeant Gonzales growled.
"One half of me was the languid Don Diego you all knew, and the other half was the Curse of Capistrano I hoped one day to be. And then the time came, and my work began."
"It is a peculiar thing to explain, . The moment I donned cloak and mask, the Don Diego part of me fell away. My body straightened, new blood seemed to course through my veins, my voice grew strong and firm, fire came to me! And the moment I removed cloak and mask I was the languid Don Diego again. Is it not a peculiar thing?"
This part of the backstory was changed in the 1920 film "The Mark of Zorro". Diego recently returned from Spain at the movie's start. Zorro later tells Lolita that he learned swordsmanship in Spain. The 1925 sequel "Don Q, Son of Zorro" expands on this concept by saying that: "Though the home of the De Vegas has long been on California soil, the eldest son of each new generation returns to Spain for a period of travel and study." The 1940 film "The Mark of Zorro" keeps the idea of Diego learning his swordsmanship in Spain and adds the idea of him being unexpectedly summoned home by his father, Don Alejandro, when California fell into the hand of an oppressing dictator. Both ideas would then be included in most retellings of the character's backstory.
With minor variations, McCulley's portrayal of Diego's personality is followed in most Zorro media.
A notable exception to this portrayal is Disney's "Zorro" (1957–1959), where Diego, despite using the original façade early in the series, instead becomes a passionate and compassionate crusader for justice and masquerades as "the most inept swordsman in all of California". In this show, everyone knows Diego would love to do what Zorro does but thinks he does not have the skill.
The Family Channel's "Zorro" (1990–1993) takes this concept further. While Diego pretends to be inept with a sword, the rest of his facade exaggerates his real interests. Diego is well-versed and interested in art, poetry, literature, and science. His facade is pretending to be interested in only these things and not interested in swordplay or action. In this version of the story, Zorro also has a well-equipped laboratory in his hidden cave.
In Isabel Allende's novel, Diego is a mestizo, the son of a Spanish aristocrat and a Shoshone warrior woman. Thus, as a child, Diego is caught between the divine right of nobility and the ways of his Native mother, grandmother, and ancestors.
Inspirations.
The historical figure most often associated with the Zorro character is Joaquin Murrieta, whose life was fictionalized in the novel "The Life and Adventures of Joaquín Murieta" (1854) by John Rollin Ridge. In the 1998 film "The Mask of Zorro" Murrieta's (fictitious) brother Alejandro succeeds Diego as Zorro. As a hero with a secret identity who taunts his foes by signing his deeds, Zorro finds a direct literary predecessor in Sir Percival Blakeney, hero of the "Scarlet Pimpernel" pulp series by Emma Orczy.
The character recalls other figures, such as Robin Hood, Reynard the Fox, Salomon Pico, Manuel Rodríguez Erdoíza, and Tiburcio Vasquez. Another possible historical inspiration is William Lamport, an Irish soldier who lived in Mexico in the seventeenth century. His life was the subject of a fictive book by Vicente Riva Palacio; "The Irish Zorro" (2004) is a recent biography. Another is Estanislao, a Yokuts man who led a revolt against the Mission San Jose in 1827.
The 1860s, 1880s, and 1900s penny dreadful treatment of the Spring-heeled Jack character as a masked avenger may have inspired some aspects of Zorro's heroic persona. Spring Heeled Jack was portrayed as a nobleman who created a flamboyant, masked alter ego to fight injustice, frequently demonstrated exceptional athletic and combative skills, maintained a hidden lair and was known to carve the letter "S" into walls with his rapier as a calling card.
Like Sir Percy in "The Scarlet Pimpernel", Don Diego avoids suspicion by playing the role of an effete dandy who wears lace, writes poetry, and shuns violence. The all-black Fairbanks film costume, which with variations has remained the standard costume for the character, was likely adapted from the Arrow serial film character "The Masked Rider" (1919). This character was the first Mexican black-clad masked rider on a black horse to appear on the silver screen. Fairbanks's costume in "The Mark of Zorro", released the following year, resembled that of the Rider with only slight differences in the mask and hat.
In 1860, Mór Jókai published his novel "Szegény Gazdagok" (Poor Richmen), where the main character is the Hungarian Baron Lénárd Hátszegi, who is supposed to have the alterego of the "Fatia Negra" (The one with the Black face), an outlaw who robs local people during the night, and during the day lives an aristocratic life. The novel's character was inspired by the real-life Hungarian Baron László Nopcsa (1794–1884), who, according to the local legends, had a similar type of alterego.
Copyright and trademark disputes.
The copyright and trademark status of the Zorro character and stories have been disputed. At least five works are in the public domain in the United States because at least 95 years have passed after their first release: the 1919 novel "The Curse of Capistrano", the 1920 film "The Mark of Zorro", the 1922 novel "The Further Adventures of Zorro", the 1925 film "Don Q, Son of Zorro", and the 1926 film "In the Way of Zorro". Still, many later Zorro stories are still protected by copyright, and many of those copyrights are owned or controlled by Zorro Productions, Inc., which asserts it "controls the worldwide trademarks and copyrights in the name, visual likeness and the character of Zorro." It further states "[t]he unauthorized, unlicensed use of the name, character and/or likeness of 'Zorro' is an infringement and a violation of state and federal laws."
In 1999, TriStar Pictures, a division of Sony Pictures, sued Del Taco, Inc., due to a fast-food restaurant advertising campaign that allegedly infringed Zorro Productions' claims to a trademark on the character of Zorro. Sony and TriStar had paid licensing fees to Zorro Productions, Inc. for the 1998 film "The Mask of Zorro". In an August 1999 order, the court ruled that it would not invalidate Zorro Productions' trademarks because the defendant argued that certain copyrights in Zorro were in the public domain or owned by third parties.
A dispute took place in the 2001 case of "Sony Pictures Entertainment v. Fireworks Ent. Group." On January 24, 2001, Sony Pictures, TriStar Pictures and Zorro Productions, Inc., sued Fireworks Entertainment, Paramount Pictures, and Mercury Entertainment, claiming that the "Queen of Swords" television series infringed upon the copyrights and trademarks of Zorro and associated characters. "Queen of Swords" is a 2000–2001 television series set in Spanish California during the early 19th century and featuring a hero who wore a black costume with a red sash and demonstrated similarities to the character of Zorro, including the sword-fighting skills, use of a whip and bolas, and horse-riding skills.
Zorro Productions, Inc. argued that it owned the copyright to the original character because Johnston McCulley assigned his Zorro rights to Mitchell Gertz in 1949. Gertz died in 1961, and his estate was transferred to his children, who created Zorro Productions, Inc. Fireworks Entertainment argued that the original rights had already been transferred to Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. in 1920 and provided documents showing this was legally affirmed in 1929, and also questioned whether the copyright was still valid.
The court ruled that "since the copyrights in "The Curse of Capistrano" and "The Mark of Zorro" lapsed in 1995 or before, the character Zorro has been in the public domain". Judge Collins also stated, "Plaintiffs' argument that they have a trademark in Zorro because they licensed others to use Zorro, however, is specious. It assumes that ZPI had the right to demand licenses to use Zorro at all." Judge Collins subsequently vacated her ruling following an unopposed motion filed by Sony Pictures, TriStar Pictures, and Zorro Productions, Inc.
In another legal action in 2010, Zorro Productions, Inc., sued Mars, Incorporated, makers of M&M's chocolate candies, and ad agency BBDO Worldwide over a commercial featuring a Zorro-like costume. The case was settled ("each party shall bear its own costs incurred in connection with this action, including its attorney's fees and costs") on August 13, 2010.
In March 2013, Robert W. Cabell, author of "Z – the Musical of Zorro" (1998), filed another lawsuit against Zorro Productions, Inc. The lawsuit asserted that the Zorro character is in the public domain and that the trademark registrations by Zorro Productions, Inc., are therefore fraudulent. In October 2014, Cabell's lawsuit was dismissed, with the judge ruling that the state of Washington (where the case was filed) did not have jurisdiction over the matter. However the judge later reversed his decision and had the case transferred to California. In May 2017, U.S. District Judge Davila granted Zorro Productions, Inc.'s motion to dismiss Cabell's claim to cancel its federal trademark registrations. Cabell did not appeal.
In June 2015, Robert W. Cabell's legal dispute with Zorro Productions, Inc. resulted in the Community Trade Mark for "Zorro" being declared invalid by the European Union's Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market for goods of classes 16 and 41. This follows the 'Winnetou' ruling of the Office's First Board of Appeal in which the Board of Appeal ruled that the name of famous characters cannot be protected as a trademark in these classes. Zorro Productions appealed the decision, and on December 19, 2017, the EUIPO Fourth Board of Appeal nullified the lower court's ruling, declaring the contested trademarks as valid, and required Cabell to pay the costs of the legal action, the appeal and Zorro Productions' legal fees and costs. Zorro Productions, Inc. owns approximately 1,300 other Zorro-related trademarks worldwide. In May 2018, Judge Edward Davila processed a complaint by Cabell to find Zorro Productions infringed copyright on his musical.
Legacy.
The 1936 film "The Vigilantes Are Coming" features a masked vigilante with a costume similar to Zorro, which led several countries to name the movie after Zorro: the film was named "Zorro l'indomptable" in France, "Zorro – Der blutrote Adler" in Germany, "Zorro – den blodrøde ørn" in Denmark and "Zorro – veripunainen kotka" in Finland. The main character, The Eagle, is played by Robert Livingston, who would then play the actual Zorro in the movie "The Bold Caballero", also released in 1936."The Vigilantes Are Coming" "was a reworking of "The Eagle", Rudolph Valentino's silent film." In the film, Valentino plays the masked hero Black Eagle. "The Eagle" was based on the posthumously published 1841 novel "Dubrovsky" by Alexander Pushkin; the Black Eagle does not exist in the novel and was inspired by the performance of Douglas Fairbanks as Zorro in "The Mark of Zorro".
The Masked Rider, the primary mascot of Texas Tech University, is similar to Zorro. Originally called "Ghost Rider", it was an unofficial mascot appearing in a few games in 1936 and then became the official mascot with the 1954 Gator Bowl.
Being one of the earliest examples of a fictional avenger with a double identity, Zorro inspired the creation of several similar characters in pulp magazines and other media and is a precursor of the superheroes of American comic books, Jerry Siegel has credited Zorro along with The Scarlet Pimpernel as one of the inspirations for the creation of Superman particularly the concept of his dual identity as mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent, as Clark Kent's harmless facade and dual identity were inspired by the protagonists of such movies as Don Diego de la Vega in "The Mark of Zorro" and Sir Percy Blakeney in "The Scarlet Pimpernel", Siegel thought this would make for interesting dramatic contrast and good humor. Superman's stance as the "Champion of the Oppressed" and devil-may-care attitude during his early Golden Age appearances were influenced by the characters of "The Mark of Zorro" star Douglas Fairbanks, who starred in similar adventure films such as "Robin Hood".
Also, Bob Kane has credited Zorro, as one of the earliest examples of a fictional masked avenger with a dual identity, as part of the inspiration for the character Batman, which was created in 1939. Like Don Diego de la Vega, Bruce Wayne is affluent, the heir of wealth built by his parents. His everyday persona encourages others to think of him as shallow, foolish, and uncaring to throw off suspicion. Frank Miller's comic book miniseries "The Dark Knight Returns" (1986) and "The Dark Knight Strikes Again" (2001–2002) both include multiple Zorro references, such as Batman inscribing a Z on a defeated foe. In later tellings of Batman's origins, Bruce Wayne's parents are murdered by a robber as the family leaves a showing of the 1940 film "The Mark of Zorro", starring Tyrone Power.
Zorro inspired a similar pulp character known as El Coyote, which was created in 1943 by José Mallorquí. A sample superhero character called The Fox appearing in the "Supers" supplement of the GURPS role-playing system is also based on Zorro.
The Republic Pictures serials "Don Daredevil Rides Again" (1951) and "Man with the Steel Whip" (1954) feature masked heroes similar to Zorro: Don Daredevil and El Latigo. Republic had previously released five Zorro serials between 1937 and 1949 but had since lost the license for the character and could not use him anymore. The serial makes frequent use of stock footage from all five Zorro serials, with scenes originally showing Zorro now being interpreted as showing Don Daredevil and El Latigo: the result of this is that the costume and body shape of Don Daredevil and El Latigo keeps changing between scenes, even becoming female in scenes taken from "Zorro's Black Whip" (1944).
The 1956 musical comedy "The Court Jester" features a masked freedom fighter called The Black Fox (played by Edward Ashley), who combines aspects of both Zorro and Robin Hood.
Hanna-Barbera Productions' animated series "Pixie and Dixie and Mr. Jinks" (1958–1961) featured a Zorro-like character with a mask, cape, and sword known in the episode "Mark of the Mouse" (1959). Hanna-Barbera Production's animated series "The Quick Draw McGraw Show" (1959–1962) features El Kabong, an alternate persona of the main character Quick Draw McGraw, which is loosely based upon Zorro.
In the animated series "Justice League" (2001–2004), a DC Comics character, El Diablo, bears a striking similarity to Zorro, in that he wears the same style hat, mask, sash, and cape. The main difference is that his primary weapon is a whip. The Lazarus Lane version of El Diablo appears in "Justice League Unlimited" (2004–2006), voiced by Nestor Carbonell. While designed after his comic appearance, elements from Zorro's appearance were added. Seen in the episode "The Once and Future Thing" (2005), he appears alongside Pow Wow Smith, Bat Lash, and Jonah Hex.
In 2015, the M7 Con Western Convention, held at the Los Angeles Convention Center, featured a segment on the history of Zorro in film and television. The presentation focused on the great Zorro actors including Douglas Fairbanks, Tyrone Power, Guy Williams, and Duncan Regehr. Maestro Ramon Martinez and actor Alex Kruz gave a live demonstration of the Spanish style of fencing known as La Verdadera Destreza. The two dueled live as Zorro and the Comandante, much to the crowd's delight.
A cave that was used as a filming location in various Zorro productions is now known as "Zorro's Cave" and remains in place, now hidden behind a condominium complex, on land that was once the Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth, Los Angeles, recognized as the most widely filmed outdoor shooting location in the history of Hollywood.
The DreamWorks character Puss in Boots, an anthropomorphic cat sporting high boots, a broad-brimmed and feathered sombrero, and a rapier, was also heavily inspired by Zorro (though ultimately based on the earlier Italian fairy tale character of the same name). Portrayed by Antonio Banderas, who had also earlier played Zorro, he premiered as a character in "Shrek 2" (2004) and in the later sequels, as well as inspiring spin-off films, "Puss in Boots" (2011) and "" (2022).
Appearances in media.
Stories by Johnston McCulley.
The original stories were published in pulp magazines from the 1910s to the 1950s. Most remained unpublished in book form until the series of collected editions of "Zorro: The Complete Pulp Adventures", issued in 2016 and 2017.
Films.
The character has been adapted for over forty films. They include:
American feature films.
Original Theatrical feature films:
Compilation theatrical feature films:
TV films:
American film serials.
Despite the title and a credit to McCulley, "Zorro's Black Whip" (1944), with Linda Stirling as an 1880s masked avenger known as The Black Whip, has nothing to do with Zorro.
European films.
Turkey:
India:
Note: Unofficial means not included in the official film list at zorro.com
Argentina
"Zorro, el sentimiento de hierro" (2019), fan film
Television series.
American series – live-action
American series – animation
International series
Toys.
Due to the popularity of the Disney TV series, in 1958, The Topps Company produced an 88-card set featuring stills from that year's movie. The cards were rare and became collectors' items. In the same year, the Louis Marx company released a variety of Zorro toys, such as hats, swords, toy pistols, and a playset, with the Lido company also making plastic figures.
A major toy line based on the classic Zorro characters, motifs, and styling was released by Italian toy giant Giochi Preziosi, master toy licensees of the property. The toy range was developed by Pangea Corporation and released worldwide in 2005. It featured action figures in various scales, interactive playsets, and roleplaying items. New original characters were also introduced, including Senor Muerte, who served as a foil to Zorro.
In 2007, Brazilian toymaker Gulliver Toys licensed the rights to "", which was co-developed by BKN and Pangea Corporation. The toy range was designed concurrently and in association with the animated program.
In 2011, US-based collectibles company Triad Toys released a 12-inch Zorro action figure.
Comics.
Zorro has appeared in many different comic book series over the decades. Zorro was adapted into comics in France in 1939 in "Jumbo". Its best-known artists were André Oulié (1947-1967), Eu. Gire (1949).
In "Hit Comics" #55, published by Quality Comics in November 1948, Zorro is summoned by Kid Eternity, but in this version has only a whip and does not wear a mask.
Dell Comics published Zorro in "Four Color Comics" #228 (1949), 425 (1952), 497 (1953), 538 (1954), 574 (1954), 617 (1955) and 732 (1957). These stories featured artwork by Everett Raymond Kinstler (#497, 538, and 574), Bob Fujitani, Bob Correa and Alberto Giolitti.
Dell also had a license to publish Disney comics in the United States and, following the launch of Disney's "Zorro" TV series in 1957, published seven more issues of "Four Color" dedicated to Zorro between February 1958 and September 1959, under said license, with the first stories featuring artwork by Alex Toth. In December 1959, Dell started the publication of a standalone Disney-licensed "Zorro" title, which started the numeration at #8 and continued to be published until issue #15 (September 1961). The character then appeared in four stories published in the monthly "Walt Disney's Comics and Stories" (also published by Dell), one story per issue from #275 (August 1963) to #278 (November 1963): these were the last Zorro stories produced in the United States under the Disney license. However, Disney produced more stories from 1964 to 1978 through the Disney Studio Program, a unit producing comic book stories exclusively for foreign consumption. In addition to publishing translations of American stories and Disney Studio stories, many foreign publishers also produced their own original stories under the Disney licence: these countries are the Netherlands (1964–1967), Chile (1965–1974), Italy (1969–1971), Brazil (1973–1983), France (1974–1986) and Germany (1980–1982).
From 1964 to 1967 Hans Kresse (art) and Joop Termos (script) offered unpublished stories to the readers of the Dutch youth weekly "Pep".
Gold Key Comics started another Disney-licensed "Zorro" series in January 1966, but, like their contemporaneous Lone Ranger series, it featured only material reprinted from the earlier Dell comics and folded after nine issues in March 1968. The character remained dormant in the United States for the next twenty years until it was revived by Marvel Comics in 1990 for a 12-issue tie-in with the Duncan Regehr television series "Zorro". Many of these comics had Alex Toth covers.
In 1993, Topps Comics published a 2-issue limited series "Dracula Versus Zorro" followed by a "Zorro" series that ran 11 issues. Topps also published two limited series of "Lady Rawhide", a spin-off from the Zorro stories created by writer Don McGregor and artist Mike Mayhew. McGregor subsequently scripted a limited series adaptation of "The Mask of Zorro" film for Image Comics.
A newspaper daily and Sunday strip were also published in the late 1990s. This was written by McGregor and rendered by Tom Yeates. Papercutz once published a Zorro series and graphic novels. This version is drawn in a manga style.
Dynamite Entertainment relaunched the character with a 20-issue "Zorro" series which ran from 2008 to 2010, written by Matt Wagner and drawn by multiple artists. The publisher also released an earlier unpublished tale called "Matanzas" by Don McGregor and artist Mike Mayhew. Zorro (here a 1930s descendant) also appears in the 2013 Dynamite eight-issue limited series "Masks" alongside the Green Hornet and Kato, The Shadow, and The Spider. It was written by Chris Roberson with art by Alex Ross and Dennis Calero.
Dynamite Entertainment also published a seven-issue series titled "Django/Zorro" between November 2014 and May 2015, teaming Zorro with the character Django Freeman from Quentin Tarantino's movie "Django Unchained" (2012). The series was co-written by Tarantino and Matt Wagner, with art by Esteve Polls.
In 2018, American Mythology took the license, launched the series "Zorro Legendary Adventures", written by Jean-Marie Nadaud and drawn by Robert Rigot and limited series "Zorro: Swords of Hell", written by David Avallone and illustrated by Roy Allan Martinez. The company has since released crossovers featuring Zorro with their other licensed properties, namely "Zorro in the Land that Time Forgot" featuring Diego De La Vega accompanying an expedition to the lost world of Caspak from the Edgar Rice Burroughs novels.
In 2020, the French publisher Dargaud launched "Don Vega" by Pierre Alary.
In 2023, it was announced that Sean Gordon Murphy would write and illustrate a four-issue miniseries for Massive Publishing entitled "Zorro: Man of the Dead", set for release in 2024.
Collected editions.
Over the years, various English reprint volumes have been published. These include, but are not limited to:
Stage productions.
Approximately 65 separate Zorro live productions have been produced. These have included traditional stage plays, comedies, melodramas, musicals, children's plays, stunt shows, and ballets. Some examples include:
Music.
On the commercial release of the "Zorro" 1957 Disney TV series' Zorro theme, the lead vocal was by Henry Calvin, the actor who played Sergeant Garcia on the program. The song was written by Jimmie Dodd.
The Chordettes sang the single version of the song, complete with the "Sounds of the Z" and the clip-clopping of Zorro's horse, which is heard at the song's end. The song hit Number 17 in 1958, according to the Billboard Charts.
In 1964, Henri Salvador sang "Zorro est arrivé." It tells from a child's point of view how exciting it is whenever a villain threatens to kill a lady in the television series. But every time again, to his relief, the "great and beautiful" Zorro comes to the rescue. An early music video was made at the time.
Alice Cooper's 1982 album "Zipper Catches Skin" includes the song "Zorro's Ascent", which is about Zorro facing his death.
The 1999 song "El Corona" by Suburban Legends tells the story of "Don Diego", the "hombre en negro" ("man in black"), a "tall Spaniard with a sharp sword" who was "down and out in LA" and defending the people from an unnamed corrupt ruler.
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Holly Golightly
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Breakfast at Tiffany's is a novella by Truman Capote published in 1958. In it, a contemporary writer recalls his early days in New York City, when he makes the acquaintance of his remarkable neighbor, Holly Golightly. In 1961 it was adapted into a major motion picture of the same name.
Setting
The novella is set in 1940s New York, specifically the Upper East Side, in a brownstone apartment. An area that experienced many changes following the Civil War, it went through its most major shift at the turn of the century. Broadly speaking, brownstones (the type of building that Holly lives in) were rebranded as more "stylish" places to live, rather than being thought of as decrepit and outdated buildings.[2] By the 1940s, it had become a fairly affluent area. The novella's setting plays a great role in the plot; various wealthy characters from the Upper East Side come in and out of Holly Golightly's life.
Though the novella does not take place in the American South, there are mentions of it later in the novella: The reader follows Golightly's life in Manhattan for the entirety of the novella, but she was actually born in Texas, a place that she was desperate to escape.
Plot
In autumn 1943, the unnamed narrator befriends Holly Golightly. The two are tenants in a brownstone apartment in Manhattan's Upper East Side. Holly (age 18–19) is a country girl turned New York café society girl. As such, she has no job and lives by socializing with wealthy men, who take her to clubs and restaurants, and give her money and expensive presents; she hopes to marry one of them. According to Capote, Golightly is not a prostitute, but an "American geisha".[3]
As the novella opens, the reader is introduced to an unnamed narrator who reflects back on his friendship with Holly Golightly. Another old friend, Joe Bell, reaches out to the narrator because he believes a wood carving that he has come across depicts Golightly. The reader can assume many years have passed, as the carving is said to be from 1956.
The narrator recalls the specific night he meets Holly. She climbs through his window in order to escape the man that came home with her that night. She mentions the resemblance the narrator has to her brother, Fred, and asks if she can call him that. As they continue to talk, Holly realizes it is Thursday, and explains to the narrator that she visits a prisoner, Sally Tomato, every Thursday in exchange for $100.
We are introduced to a slew of characters that are constantly coming in and out of Holly's apartment. During this scene, she strikes up a conversation with our narrator about how Tiffany's is the only place that calms her when she's feeling anxious or overwhelmed. The title is attributed to this scene.
The narrator and Holly's friendship develops, but they feud over a trifling matter. However, when the narrator suspects Holly is being watched, he decides it may be right to break the feud to warn her about this person. He is confronted by the man who has been watching her. The man tells the narrator of Holly's past. He divulges that she was born Lulamae Barnes, and that he is her husband, Doc Golightly. Doc tries to persuade her to come back to Texas with him, but she insists she must stay in New York. They part ways.
Holly finds out her brother has died in the war and this sends her into an emotional downward spiral. She eventually strikes up a relationship with a character named José Ybarra-Jaegar and plans to move to Brazil with him.
Eventually, Holly's visits to the prison draw suspicion and she is arrested after further evidence unveils that Sally Tomato was running a drug ring. José sends her a letter explaining that he does not see a future with her because of her arrest. After getting out on bail, she plans to leave and go to Brazil without José. Before leaving, she sets her cat loose—the cat that she had never given a name. The narrator receives a brief note from her, but hears nothing else. He hopes, though, she has found a place that feels like home.[4]
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Gandalf
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Gandalf is a protagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings". He is a wizard, one of the Istari order, and the leader of the Company of the Ring. Tolkien took the name "Gandalf" from the Old Norse "Catalogue of Dwarves" ("Dvergatal") in the "Völuspá".
As a wizard and the bearer of one of the Three Rings, Gandalf has great power, but works mostly by encouraging and persuading. He sets out as Gandalf the Grey, possessing great knowledge and travelling continually. Gandalf is focused on the mission to counter the Dark Lord Sauron by destroying the One Ring. He is associated with fire; his ring of power is Narya, the Ring of Fire. As such, he delights in fireworks to entertain the hobbits of the Shire, while in great need he uses fire as a weapon. As one of the Maiar, he is an immortal spirit from Valinor, but his physical body can be killed.
In "The Hobbit", Gandalf assists the 13 dwarves and the hobbit Bilbo Baggins with their quest to retake the Lonely Mountain from Smaug the dragon, but leaves them to urge the White Council to expel Sauron from his fortress of Dol Guldur. In the course of the quest, Bilbo finds a magical ring. The expulsion succeeds, but in "The Lord of the Rings", Gandalf reveals that Sauron's retreat was only a feint, as he soon reappeared in Mordor. Gandalf further explains that, after years of investigation, he is sure that Bilbo's ring is the One Ring that Sauron needs to dominate the whole of Middle-earth. The Council of Elrond creates the Fellowship of the Ring, with Gandalf as its leader, to defeat Sauron by destroying the Ring. He takes them south through the Misty Mountains, but is killed fighting a Balrog, an evil spirit-being, in the underground realm of Moria. After he dies, he is sent back to Middle-earth to complete his mission as Gandalf the White. He reappears to three of the Fellowship and helps to counter the enemy in Rohan, then in Gondor, and finally at the Black Gate of Mordor, in each case largely by offering guidance. When victory is complete, he crowns Aragorn as King before leaving Middle-earth for ever to return to Valinor.
Tolkien once described Gandalf as an angel incarnate; later, both he and other scholars have likened Gandalf to the Norse god Odin in his "Wanderer" guise. Others have described Gandalf as a guide-figure who assists the protagonists, comparable to the Cumaean Sibyl who assisted Aeneas in Virgil's "The Aeneid", or to the figure of Virgil in Dante's "Inferno". Scholars have likened his return in white to the transfiguration of Christ; he is further described as a prophet, representing one element of Christ's threefold office of prophet, priest, and king, where the other two roles are taken by Frodo and Aragorn.
The Gandalf character has been featured in radio, television, stage, video game, music, and film adaptations, including Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated film. His best-known portrayal is by Ian McKellen in Peter Jackson's 2001–2003 "The Lord of the Rings" film series, where the actor based his acclaimed performance on Tolkien himself. McKellen reprised the role in Jackson's 2012–2014 film series "The Hobbit".
Names.
Etymology.
Tolkien derived the name "Gandalf" from Gandálfr, a dwarf in the Völuspá's "Dvergatal", a list of dwarf-names. In Old Norse, the name means "staff-elf". This is reflected in his name "Tharkûn", which is "said to mean 'Staff-man'" in Khuzdul, the language Tolkien invented for his Dwarves.
In-universe names.
Gandalf is given several names and epithets in Tolkien's writings. Faramir calls him the Grey Pilgrim, and reports Gandalf as saying, "Many are my names in many countries. "Mithrandir" among the Elves, Tharkûn to the Dwarves, Olórin I was in my youth in the West that is forgotten, in the South Incánus, in the North "Gandalf"; to the East I go not." In an early draft of "The Hobbit", he is called "Bladorthin", while the name Gandalf is used by the dwarf who later became Thorin Oakenshield.
Each Wizard is distinguished by the colour of his cloak. For most of his manifestation as a wizard, Gandalf's cloak is grey, hence the names Gandalf "the Grey" and Greyhame, from Old English hama, "cover, skin". "Mithrandir" is a name in Sindarin meaning "Grey Pilgrim" or "Grey Wanderer". Midway through "The Lord of the Rings", Gandalf becomes the head of the order of Wizards, and is renamed Gandalf the White. This change in status (and clothing) introduces another name for the wizard: the White Rider. However, characters who speak Elvish still refer to him as "Mithrandir". At times in "The Lord of the Rings", other characters address Gandalf by insulting nicknames: Stormcrow, "Láthspell" ("Ill-news" in Old English), and "Grey Fool".
Characteristics.
Tolkien describes Gandalf as the last of the wizards to appear in Middle-earth, one who "seemed the least, less tall than the others, and in looks more aged, grey-haired and grey-clad, and leaning on a staff". Yet the Elf Círdan who met him on arrival nevertheless considered him "the greatest spirit and the wisest" and gave him the Elven Ring of Power called Narya, the Ring of Fire, containing a "red" stone for his aid and comfort. Tolkien explicitly links Gandalf to the element fire later in the same essay:
Fictional biography.
Valinor.
In Valinor, Gandalf was called "Olórin". He was one of the Maiar of Valinor, specifically, one of the people of the Vala Manwë; he was said to be the wisest of the Maiar. He was closely associated with two other Valar: Irmo, in whose gardens he lived, and Nienna, the patron of mercy, who gave him tutelage. When the Valar decided to send the order of the Wizards (Istari) across the Great Sea to Middle-earth to counsel and assist all those who opposed Sauron, Olórin was proposed by Manwë. Olórin initially begged to be excused, declaring he was too weak and that he feared Sauron, but Manwë replied that that was all the more reason for him to go.
As one of the Maiar, Gandalf was not a mortal Man but an angelic being who had taken human form. As one of those spirits, Olórin was in service to the Creator (Eru Ilúvatar) and the Creator's 'Secret Fire'. Along with the other Maiar who entered into Middle-earth as the five Wizards, he took on the specific form of an old man as a sign of his humility. The role of the wizards was to advise and counsel but never to attempt to match Sauron's strength with their own. It might be, too, that the kings and lords of Middle-earth would be more receptive to the advice of a humble old man than a more glorious form giving them direct commands.
Middle-earth.
The wizards arrived in Middle-earth separately, early in the Third Age; Gandalf was the last, landing in the Havens of Mithlond. He seemed the oldest and least in stature, but Círdan the Shipwright felt that he was the greatest on their first meeting in the Havens, and gave him Narya, the Ring of Fire. Saruman, the chief Wizard, learned of the gift and resented it. Gandalf hid the ring well, and it was not widely known until he left with the other ring-bearers at the end of the Third Age that he, and not Círdan, was the holder of the third of the Elven-rings.
Gandalf's relationship with Saruman, the head of their Order, was strained. The Wizards were commanded to aid Men, Elves, and Dwarves, but only through counsel; they were forbidden to use force to dominate them, though Saruman increasingly disregarded this.
The White Council.
Gandalf suspected early on that an evil presence, the Necromancer of Dol Guldur, was not a Nazgûl but Sauron himself. He went to Dol Guldur to discover the truth, but the Necromancer withdrew before him, only to return with greater force, and the White Council was formed in response. Galadriel had hoped Gandalf would lead the council, but he refused, declining to be bound by any but the Valar who had sent him. Saruman was chosen instead, as the most knowledgeable about Sauron's work in the Second Age.
Gandalf returned to Dol Guldur "at great peril" and learned that the Necromancer was indeed Sauron. The following year a White Council was held, and Gandalf urged that Sauron be driven out. Saruman, however, reassured the Council that Sauron's evident effort to find the One Ring would fail, as the Ring would long since have been carried by the river Anduin to the Sea; and the matter was allowed to rest. But Saruman began actively seeking the Ring near the Gladden Fields where Isildur had been killed.
The Quest of Erebor.
"The Quest of Erebor" in "Unfinished Tales" elaborates upon the story behind "The Hobbit". It tells of a chance meeting between Gandalf and Thorin Oakenshield, a Dwarf-king in exile, in the "Prancing Pony" inn at Bree. Gandalf had for some time foreseen the coming war with Sauron, and knew that the North was especially vulnerable. If Rivendell were to be attacked, the dragon Smaug could cause great devastation. He persuaded Thorin that he could help him regain his lost territory of Erebor from Smaug, and so the quest was born.
"The Hobbit".
Gandalf meets with Bilbo in the opening of "The Hobbit". He arranges for a tea party, to which he invites the thirteen dwarves, and thus arranges the travelling group central to the narrative. Gandalf contributes the map and key to Erebor to assist the quest. On this quest Gandalf acquires the sword, "Glamdring", from the trolls' treasure hoard. Elrond informs them that the sword was made in Gondolin, a city long ago destroyed, where Elrond's father lived as a child.
After escaping from the Misty Mountains pursued by goblins and wargs, the party is carried to safety by the Great Eagles. Gandalf then persuades Beorn to house and provision the company for the trip through Mirkwood. Gandalf leaves the company before they enter Mirkwood, saying that he had pressing business to attend to.
He turns up again before the walls of Erebor disguised as an old man, revealing himself when it seems the Men of Esgaroth and the Mirkwood Elves will fight Thorin and the dwarves over Smaug's treasure. The Battle of Five Armies ensues when hosts of goblins and wargs attack all three parties. After the battle, Gandalf accompanies Bilbo back to the Shire, revealing at Rivendell what his pressing business had been: Gandalf had once again urged the council to evict Sauron, since quite evidently Sauron did not require the One Ring to continue to attract evil to Mirkwood. Then the Council "put[s] forth its power" and drives Sauron from Dol Guldur. Sauron had anticipated this, and had feigned a withdrawal, only to reappear in Mordor.
"The Lord of the Rings".
Gandalf the Grey.
Gandalf spent the years between "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" travelling Middle-earth in search of information on Sauron's resurgence and Bilbo Baggins's mysterious ring, spurred particularly by Bilbo's initial misleading story of how he had obtained it as a "present" from Gollum. During this period, he befriended Aragorn and became suspicious of Saruman. He spent as much time as he could in the Shire, strengthening his friendship with Bilbo and Frodo, Bilbo's orphaned cousin and adopted heir.
Gandalf returns to the Shire for Bilbo's "eleventy-first" (111th) birthday party, bringing many fireworks for the occasion. After Bilbo, as a prank on his guests, puts on the ring and disappears, Gandalf urges his old friend to leave the ring to Frodo, as they had planned. Bilbo becomes hostile, accusing Gandalf of trying to steal the ring. Alarmed, Gandalf tells Bilbo that is foolish. Coming to his senses, Bilbo admits that the ring has been troubling him, and leaves it behind for Frodo as he departs for Rivendell.
Over the next 17 years, Gandalf travels extensively, searching for answers on the ring. He finds some answers in Isildur's scroll, in the archives of Minas Tirith. Gandalf searches long and hard for Gollum, often assisted by Aragorn, who eventually succeeds in capturing Gollum. Gandalf questions Gollum, threatening him with fire when he proves unwilling to speak. Gandalf learns that Sauron had imprisoned Gollum in his fortress of Barad-dûr, and tortured him to reveal what he knew of the Ring.
Returning to the Shire, Gandalf confirms his suspicion by throwing the Ring into Frodo's hearth-fire and reading the writing that appears on its surface. He tells Frodo the history of the ring, and urges him to take it to Rivendell, warning of grave danger if he stays in the Shire. Gandalf says he will attempt to return for Frodo's 50th birthday party, to accompany him on the road; and that meanwhile Frodo should arrange to leave quietly, as the servants of Sauron will be searching for him.
Outside the Shire, Gandalf encounters the wizard Radagast the Brown, who brings the news that the Nazgûl have ridden out of Mordor—and a request from Saruman that Gandalf come to Isengard. Gandalf asks him to send out animals to observe the Nazgûl, and to report to him at Isengard. Gandalf leaves a letter to Frodo (urging his immediate departure) with Barliman Butterbur at the Prancing Pony, and heads towards Isengard. There, Saruman horrifies Gandalf by asking him to help him to obtain and use the Ring. Gandalf refuses, and Saruman imprisons him at the top of his tower. Gandalf is rescued by Gwaihir the Eagle, who comes to him as requested via Radagast.
In Rohan, Gandalf appeals to King Théoden for a horse. Théoden, under the evil influence of Gríma Wormtongue, Saruman's spy and servant, tells Gandalf to take any horse he pleases, but to leave quickly. It is then that Gandalf meets the great horse Shadowfax, who will be his mount and companion. Gandalf rides hard for the Shire, but does not reach it until after Frodo has set out. Knowing that Frodo and his companions will be heading for Rivendell, Gandalf makes his own way there. He learns at Bree that the Hobbits have fallen in with Aragorn. He faces the Nazgûl at Weathertop, but escapes after an all-night battle, drawing four of them northward. Frodo, Aragorn and company face the remaining five on Weathertop a few nights later. Gandalf reaches Rivendell just before Frodo's arrival.
In Rivendell, Gandalf helps Elrond drive off the Nazgûl pursuing Frodo, and plays a leading role in the Council of Elrond as the only person who knows the full history of the ring. He reveals that Saruman has betrayed them and is in league with Sauron. When it is decided that the Ring has to be destroyed, Gandalf volunteers to accompany Frodo—now the Ring-bearer—in his quest. He persuades Elrond to let Frodo's cousins Merry and Pippin join the Fellowship.
Taking charge of the Fellowship (comprising nine representatives of the free peoples of Middle-earth, "set against the Nine Riders"), Gandalf and Aragorn lead the Hobbits and their companions south. After an unsuccessful attempt to cross Mount Caradhras in winter, they cross under the mountains through the Mines of Moria under the Misty Mountains, though only Gimli the Dwarf is enthusiastic about that route. In Moria, they discover that the dwarf colony established there by Balin has been annihilated by orcs. The Fellowship fights with the orcs and trolls of Moria and escapes them.
At the Bridge of Khazad-dûm, they encounter "Durin's Bane," a fearsome Balrog from ancient times. Gandalf faces the Balrog to enable the others to escape. After a brief exchange of blows, Gandalf breaks the bridge beneath the Balrog with his staff. As the Balrog falls, it wraps its whip around Gandalf's legs, dragging him over the edge. Gandalf falls into the abyss, crying "Fly, you fools!".
Gandalf and the Balrog fall into a deep lake in Moria's underworld. Gandalf pursues the Balrog through the tunnels for eight days until they climb to the peak of Zirakzigil. Here they fight for two days and nights. The Balrog is defeated and cast down onto the mountainside. Gandalf also dies, and his body lies on the peak while his spirit travels "out of thought and time".
Gandalf the White.
Gandalf is "sent back" as Gandalf the White, and returns to life on the mountain top. Gwaihir carries him to Lothlórien, where he is healed of his injuries and re-clothed in white robes by Galadriel. He travels to Fangorn Forest, where he encounters Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas (who are tracking Merry and Pippin). They mistake him for Saruman, but he stops their attacks and reveals himself.
They travel to Rohan, where Gandalf finds that Théoden has been further weakened by Wormtongue's influence. He breaks Wormtongue's hold over Théoden, and convinces the king to join in the fight against Sauron. Gandalf sets off to gather warriors of the Westfold to assist Théoden in the coming battle with Saruman. Gandalf arrives just in time to defeat Saruman's army in the battle of Helm's Deep. Gandalf and the King ride to Isengard, which has just been destroyed by Treebeard and his Ents, who are accompanied by Merry and Pippin. Gandalf breaks Saruman's staff and expels him from the White Council and the Order of Wizards; Gandalf takes Saruman's place as head of both. Wormtongue tries to kill Gandalf or Saruman with the "palantír" of Orthanc, but misses both. Pippin retrieves the "palantír", but Gandalf quickly takes it. After the group leaves Isengard, Pippin takes the "palantír" from a sleeping Gandalf, looks into it, and comes face to face with Sauron himself. Gandalf gives the "palantír" to Aragorn and takes the chastened Pippin with him to Minas Tirith to keep the young Hobbit out of further trouble.
Gandalf arrives in time to help to arrange the defences of Minas Tirith. His presence is resented by Denethor, the Steward of Gondor; but when his son Faramir is gravely wounded in battle, Denethor sinks into despair and madness. Together with Prince Imrahil, Gandalf leads the defenders during the siege of the city. When the forces of Mordor break the main gate, Gandalf, alone on Shadowfax, confronts the Lord of the Nazgûl. At that moment the Rohirrim arrive, causing the Nazgûl to withdraw. Gandalf is about to pursue, but is stopped by Pippin, who requests his intervention to save Faramir – Denethor in desperation was seeking to burn himself and his son on a funeral pyre. Gandalf saves Faramir (but not Denethor, who immolates himself), and plays no further part in the unfolding Battle of the Pelennor Fields.
After the battle, Gandalf counsels an attack against Sauron's forces at the Black Gate, in an effort to distract the Dark Lord's attention from Frodo and Sam; they are at that moment scaling Mount Doom to destroy the Ring. Gandalf, Aragorn and the other leaders of the West lead an army to the Black Gate, meeting the nameless lieutenant of Mordor, who shows them Frodo's "mithril" shirt and other items from the Hobbits' equipment. Gandalf rejects Mordor's terms of surrender, starting the Battle of the Morannon. The forces of the West face the full might of Sauron's armies, until the Ring is destroyed in Mount Doom. Gandalf leads the Eagles to rescue Frodo and Sam from the erupting mountain.
After the war, Gandalf crowns Aragorn as King Elessar, and helps him find a sapling of the White Tree of Gondor. He accompanies the Hobbits back to the borders of the Shire, before leaving to visit Tom Bombadil.
Two years later, Gandalf departs Middle-earth forever. He boards the Ringbearers' ship in the Grey Havens and sets sail to return across the sea to the Undying Lands; with him are his horse Shadowfax and his friends Frodo, Bilbo, Galadriel, and Elrond.
Concept and creation.
Appearance.
Tolkien's biographer Humphrey Carpenter relates that Tolkien owned a postcard entitled "Der Berggeist" ("the mountain spirit"), which he labelled "the origin of Gandalf". It shows a white-bearded man in a large hat and cloak seated among boulders in a mountain forest. Carpenter said that Tolkien recalled buying the postcard during his holiday in Switzerland in 1911. Manfred Zimmerman, however, discovered that the painting was by the German artist Josef Madlener and dates from the mid-1920s. Carpenter acknowledged that Tolkien was probably mistaken about the origin of the postcard.
An additional influence may have been Väinämöinen, a demigod and the central character in Finnish folklore and the national epic "Kalevala" by Elias Lönnrot. Väinämöinen was described as an old and wise man, and he possessed a potent, magical singing voice.
Throughout the early drafts, and through to the first edition of "The Hobbit", Bladorthin/Gandalf is described as being a "little old man", distinct from a dwarf, but not of the full human stature that would later be described in "The Lord of the Rings". Even in "The Lord of the Rings", Gandalf was not tall; shorter, for example, than Elrond or the other wizards.
Name.
When writing "The Hobbit" in the early 1930s Tolkien gave the name "Gandalf" to the leader of the Dwarves, the character later called Thorin Oakenshield. The name is taken from the same source as all the other Dwarf names (save Balin) in "The Hobbit": the "" in the "Völuspá". The Old Norse name ' incorporates the words ' meaning "wand", "staff" or (especially in compounds) "magic" and "" "elf". The name "Gandalf" is found in at least one more place in Norse myth, in the semi-historical Heimskringla, which briefly describes Gandalf Alfgeirsson, a legendary Norse king from eastern Norway and rival of Halfdan the Black. Gandalf is also the name of a Norse sea-king in Henrik Ibsen's second play, "The Burial Mound". The name "Gandolf" occurs as a character in William Morris' 1896 fantasy novel "The Well at the World's End", along with the horse "Silverfax", adapted by Tolkien as Gandalf's horse "Shadowfax". Morris' book, inspired by Norse myth, is set in a pseudo-medieval landscape; it deeply influenced Tolkien. The wizard that became Gandalf was originally named "Bladorthin".
Tolkien came to regret his "ad hoc" use of Old Norse names, referring to a "rabble of eddaic-named dwarves, ... invented in an idle hour" in 1937. But the decision to use Old Norse names came to have far-reaching consequences in the composition of "The Lord of the Rings"; in 1942, Tolkien decided that the work was to be a purported translation from the fictional language of Westron, and in the English translation Old Norse names were taken to represent names in the language of Dale. "Gandalf", in this setting, is thus a representation in English (anglicised from Old Norse) of the name the Dwarves of Erebor had given to Olórin in the language they used "externally" in their daily affairs, while "Tharkûn" is the (untranslated) name, presumably of the same meaning, that the Dwarves gave him in their native Khuzdul language.
Guide.
Gandalf's role and importance was substantially increased in the conception of "The Lord of the Rings", and in a letter of 1954, Tolkien refers to Gandalf as an "angel incarnate". In the same letter Tolkien states he was given the form of an old man in order to limit his powers on Earth. Both in 1965 and 1971 Tolkien again refers to Gandalf as an angelic being.
In a 1946 letter, Tolkien stated that he thought of Gandalf as an "Odinic wanderer". Other commentators have similarly compared Gandalf to the Norse god Odin in his "Wanderer" guise—an old man with one eye, a long white beard, a wide brimmed hat, and a staff, or likened him to Merlin of Arthurian legend or the Jungian archetype of the "wise old man".
In "The Annotated Hobbit", Douglas Anderson likens Gandalf's role to the "Rübezahl" mountain spirit of German folktales. He states that the figure can appear as "a guide, a messenger, or a farmer", often depicted as "a bearded man with a staff".
The Tolkien scholar Charles W. Nelson described Gandalf as a "guide who .. assists a major character on a journey or quest .. to unusual and distant places". He noted that in both "The Fellowship of the Ring" and "The Hobbit", Tolkien presents Gandalf in these terms. Immediately after the Council of Elrond, Gandalf tells the Fellowship:
Nelson notes the similarity between this and Thorin's statement in "The Hobbit":
Nelson gives as examples of the guide figure the Cumaean Sibyl who assisted Aeneas on his journey through the underworld in Virgil's tale "The Aeneid", and then the figure of Virgil in Dante's "Inferno", directing, encouraging, and physically assisting Dante as he travels through hell. In English literature, Nelson notes, Thomas Malory's "Le Morte d'Arthur" has the wizard Merlin teaching and directing Arthur to begin his journeys. Given these precedents, Nelson remarks, it was unsurprising that Tolkien should make use of a guide figure, endowing him, like these predecessors, with power, wisdom, experience, and practical knowledge, and "aware[ness] of [his] own limitations and [his] ranking in the order of the great". Other characters who act as wise and good guides include Tom Bombadil, Elrond, Aragorn, Galadriel—who he calls perhaps the most powerful of the guide figures—and briefly also Faramir.
Nelson writes that there is equally historical precedent for wicked guides, such as Edmund Spenser's "evil palmers" in "The Faerie Queene", and suggests that Gollum functions as an evil guide, contrasted with Gandalf, in "Lord of the Rings". He notes that both Gollum and Gandalf are servants of The One, Eru Ilúvatar, in the struggle against the forces of darkness, and "ironically" all of them, good and bad, are necessary to the success of the quest. He comments, too, that despite Gandalf's evident power, and the moment when he faces the Lord of the Nazgûl, he stays in the role of guide throughout, "never directly confront[ing] his enemies with his raw power."
Christ-figure.
The critic Anne C. Petty, writing about "Allegory" in the "J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia", discusses Gandalf's death and reappearance in Christian terms. She cites Michael W. Maher, S.J.: "who could not think of Gandalf's descent into the pits of Moria and his return clothed in white as a death-resurrection motif?" She at once notes, however, that "such a narrow [allegorical] interpretation" limits the reader's imagination by demanding a single meaning for each character and event. Other scholars and theologians have likened Gandalf's return as a "gleaming white" figure to the transfiguration of Christ.
The philosopher Peter Kreeft, like Tolkien a Roman Catholic, observes that there is no one complete, concrete, visible Christ figure in "The Lord of the Rings" comparable to Aslan in C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia series. However, Kreeft and Jean Chausse have identified reflections of the figure of Jesus Christ in three protagonists of "The Lord of the Rings": Gandalf, Frodo and Aragorn. While Chausse found "facets of the personality of Jesus" in them, Kreeft wrote that "they exemplify the Old Testament threefold Messianic symbolism of prophet (Gandalf), priest (Frodo), and king (Aragorn)."
Adaptations.
In the BBC Radio dramatisations, Gandalf has been voiced by Norman Shelley in "The Lord of the Rings" (1955–1956), Heron Carvic in "The Hobbit" (1968), Bernard Mayes in "The Lord of the Rings" (1979), and Sir Michael Hordern in "The Lord of the Rings" (1981).
John Huston voiced Gandalf in the animated films "The Hobbit" (1977) and "The Return of the King" (1980) produced by Rankin/Bass. William Squire voiced Gandalf in the animated film "The Lord of the Rings" (1978) directed by Ralph Bakshi. Ivan Krasko played Gandalf in the Soviet film adaptation "The Hobbit" (1985). Gandalf was portrayed by Vesa Vierikko in the Finnish television miniseries "Hobitit" (1993).
Ian McKellen portrayed Gandalf in "The Lord of the Rings" film series (2001–2003), directed by Peter Jackson, after Sean Connery and Patrick Stewart both turned down the role. According to Jackson, McKellen based his performance as Gandalf on Tolkien himself:
McKellen received widespread acclaim for his portrayal of Gandalf, particularly in ', for which he received a Screen Actors Guild Award and an Academy Award nomination, both for best supporting actor. "Empire" named Gandalf, as portrayed by McKellen, the 30th greatest film character of all time. He reprised the role in "The Hobbit" film series (2012–2014), claiming that he enjoyed playing Gandalf the Grey more than Gandalf the White. He voiced Gandalf for several video games based on the films, including ', ', and '.
In the prequel series "", Daniel Weyman portrays a younger version of Gandalf, who is only known as the Stranger until the final episode of the second season, partly because the character functioned as a red herring for the identity of the show's version of Sauron.
Charles Picard portrayed Gandalf in the 1999 stage production of "The Two Towers" at Chicago's Lifeline Theatre. Brent Carver portrayed Gandalf in the 2006 musical production "The Lord of the Rings", which opened in Toronto.
Gandalf appears in "The Lego Movie", voiced by Todd Hanson. Gandalf is a main character in the video game "Lego Dimensions" and is voiced by Tom Kane.
Gandalf has his own movement in Johan de Meij's Symphony No. 1 "The Lord of the Rings", which was written for concert band and premiered in 1988.
In Aulis Sallinen's Symphony No. 7, Op. 71 'The Dreams of Gandalf', the Gandalf theme has the note sequence G-A-D-A-F, "Gandalf" as far as can be formed with the notes A to G. The result is a "striving, rising theme".
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Grinch
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The Grinch is a character created by children's author and cartoonist Dr. Seuss. He is best known as the main character of the 1957 children's book "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" He has been portrayed and voiced by many actors, including Boris Karloff, Hans Conried, Bob Holt, Walter Matthau, Anthony Asbury, Jim Carrey, Rik Mayall, Benedict Cumberbatch, Matthew Morrison, David Howard Thornton, and James Austin Johnson.
Character description.
The Grinch is depicted as a green, furry, pot-bellied, pear-shaped, snub-nosed humanoid creature with a cat-like face and cynical personality. In full-color adaptations, he is typically colored green. He has spent the past 53 years living in seclusion on a cliff overlooking the town of Whoville.
In contrast to the cheerful Whos, the Grinch is misanthropic, ill-natured, and mean-tempered. The reason for this is a source of speculation; the consensus among the Whos is that he was born with a heart that they say was "two sizes too small". Though always hateful, he especially hates the Christmas season, making particular note of how disturbing the various elements of Christmas time are to him, including the earsplitting noises of strangely-designed musical instruments, eating Christmas dinner, and singing Christmas carols. Unable to stand the holiday any longer, he decides to destroy it once and for all.
Aided by his pet dog, Max, he meticulously designs a red suit to disguise himself as Santa Claus and breaks into the Whos' homes on Christmas Eve while they sleep to steal everything they own, and dump it off from a nearby mountain. Although he pulls off the theft successfully, on Christmas morning he is shocked to hear the Whos still singing cheerfully, happy simply to have each other. He then realizes that the holiday has a deeper meaning that he never considered. Inspired, he stops the Whos' belongings from falling off the edge of the mountain, and in the process his heart grows "three sizes". He returns all the gifts he stole and gladly takes part in the Whos' Christmas celebration.
The Grinch is still portrayed as a bitter and ill-tempered character in artwork and other media. In both the animated TV special and the 2000 live-action film, he is shown to have superhuman strength when he stops an entire sleigh loaded with presents from going over a cliff and lifts it over his head, and he is also described as "[finding] the strength of ten Grinches plus two" during that moment of crisis. In the 2018 film, the Grinch has assistance saving all the Whos' stolen goods.
With the character's anti-Christmas spirit followed by the transformation on Christmas morning, scholars have noted similarity to Ebenezer Scrooge from Charles Dickens's 1843 novella "A Christmas Carol". Cardiologist David Kass suggested that the rapid growth of the Grinch's heart at the end of the story indicates that the Grinch has the physiology of a Burmese python.
In Seuss's book, "no one quite knows the reason" for the Grinch's grudge. In contrast, the 2000 film adaptation provides a backstory in his upbringing: abandoned in infancy in Whoville and left in the cold, unnoticed by the revelers at a Christmas party, the Grinch is taken in by two Who women. He proves an unruly schoolboy and is bullied by a schoolmate, Augustus May Who (later Whoville's mayor), but falls for a Who girl named Martha May Whovier. Determined to impress her, he uses various family heirlooms to make an angel Christmas tree-topper for a Christmas gift exchange and vainly attempts to shave. He is mocked for his efforts by everyone at school except Martha and so conceives an abiding resentment. The TV special "The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat" lays much of the blame on the absence of the Grinch's mother, who had been a positive, nurturing influence on the Grinch in her lifetime but died some time prior; when the Grinch is finally provoked to grieve at the end of that special, he returns to being good.
History.
The first use of the word 'Grinch' in a work by Dr. Seuss appears in the 1953 book "Scrambled Eggs Super!" (one of the books withdrawn from circulation by the Seuss estate in 2021) about Peter T. Hooper, a boy who collects eggs from a number of exotic birds to make scrambled eggs. One of these exotic birds is the "Beagle-Beaked-Bald-Headed Grinch" who shares the later Grinch's cantankerous attitude.
The name later appeared in the May 1955 issue of "Redbook" in a 32-line poem called, "The Hoobub and the Grinch". This version bears virtually no resemblance to the later character other than name, instead being a fast-talking salesman in the vein of Sylvester McMonkey McBean from "The Sneetches" and the Once-ler from Seuss's later book "The Lorax". "The Hoobub and the Grinch" would be republished as part of the posthumous anthology "Horton and the Kwuggerbug and More Lost Stories" in 2014, in which the illustration draws this Grinch far differently.
The Grinch, in his best known incarnation, made his book debut in the 1957 story "How the Grinch Stole Christmas", written and illustrated by Dr. Seuss, published as both a Random House book and in an issue of "Redbook" magazine. In 1966, the story was adapted into an animated television featurette of the same name, which was directed by Chuck Jones and included the song "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch". Boris Karloff serves as both the story's narrator and the voice of the Grinch, but the song was sung by Thurl Ravenscroft, as Karloff could not sing. The Grinch's green color debuted in the television special as a consensus choice among Jones and Seuss, who agreed green was the only choice that made sense.
In 1977, Seuss responded to the fan request for more Grinch tales by writing "Halloween Is Grinch Night". The Grinch is voiced by Hans Conried. This was followed in 1982, when Marvel green-lit "The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat", a TV film co-starring the Cat in the Hat. The Grinch is voiced by Bob Holt. The special was produced by Dr. Seuss (though under his real name, Ted Geisel). Although not as successful as the original, the two films both received Emmy Awards.
Several episodes of the 1996 Nick Jr. Channel television show "The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss" feature the Grinch as the main antagonist, this time in puppet form. He was performed and voiced by Anthony Asbury from Season 1 (1996) to Season 2 (1998).
A 2000 live-action feature musical comedy film based on the story, directed by Ron Howard and starring Jim Carrey as the Grinch, was a major success at the box office. A video game based on the film, simply entitled "The Grinch", was released on several consoles and PC in the same year. It was followed in 2007 by the release of the Nintendo DS title "".
The Grinch was portrayed on the stage when the story was turned into a 1994 musical by the Children's Theater Company out of Minneapolis. The show made it to Broadway by way of a limited run in 2006. Icelandic actor Stefán Karl Stefánsson portrayed the Grinch in the touring production of the musical from 2008 to 2015. The Grinch is also a minor character in the 2000 musical "Seussical", which is based on multiple Seuss works.
The Grinch's story was adapted for a 2018 animated film by Illumination Entertainment, starring Benedict Cumberbatch as the title character.
On Wednesday, December 9, 2020, NBC aired the holiday live production, "Dr. Seuss' The Grinch Musical Live!" based on the Broadway stage musical. Booboo Stewart plays young Max, Amelia Minto plays Cindy Lou Who, Denis O'Hare plays old Max and Matthew Morrison stars as the Grinch. The musical includes songs from the original musical, such as "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch".
In 2022, XYZ Films produced a horror film interpretation, starring David Howard Thornton as the "Mean One", a spoof of the Grinch character. In this adaption, the titled character became a literal monster that will kill anyone who celebrates Christmas, this leads to a adult Cindy (who had met the Mean One at a long time ago and witnessed him killing her mother) to try to stop his reign of terror and bringing the holiday spirit back to Newville.
In 2023, Outright Games and Casual Brothers Ltd. developed a videogame titled "The Grinch: Christmas Adventure" where you play as both the Grinch and his dog Max as they traverse through 18 levels in Whoville to steal Christmas presents from the Whos, including jigsaw puzzles in order to unlock upgrades.
Voice actors and portrayals.
In many different movies, specials, and television series, the Grinch has been voiced and played by many different characters throughout many films. In Chuck Jones' 1966 television special, the Grinch was voiced by Boris Karloff before he died three years later in 1969. Hans Conried voiced the character in "Halloween Is Grinch Night" while Bob Holt voiced the character in "The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat", a crossover with one of Dr. Seuss' characters The Cat in the Hat.
In an episode of "Tiny Toon Adventures", a parody of the Grinch was voiced by Homer Simpson's voice actor Dan Castellaneta. Castellaneta would later work on another Dr. Seuss project in 2003's "The Cat in the Hat" as the voice of Thing One and Two. Walter Matthau voiced the character in "Random House Home Video". "The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss" also features the Grinch, where he was played by puppeteer Anthony Asbury. In "Family Guy", the Grinch appeared as a cameo, being voiced by Wally Wingert.
The Grinch was voiced by Corey Burton in Seuss Landing and "Sneech Beach Area". In Ron Howard's 2000 "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" film, the Grinch's first live-action feature, he was played by Jim Carrey. Despite the film having mixed reviews, Carrey's performance as the Grinch was praised by critics. In "The Grinch" video game, he was voiced by Josh Gerhardt. Stefán Karl Stefánsson played the character in "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical" from 2008 until 2015. The Grinch also appeared as a cameo in "Mad", voiced by Stephen Stanton.
The Grinch also appeared as a cameo in "Robot Chicken", voiced by the series creator Seth Green. In Universal Pictures and Illumination's feature film "The Grinch" directed by Scott Mosier and Yarrow Cheney, he was voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch. In the Grinch's third live-action feature, "Dr. Seuss' The Grinch Musical Live!", he was played by Matthew Morrison. In the horror movie parody of the Grinch, "The Mean One", the Grinch was played by David Howard Thornton. In some Capital One commercials, the Grinch was voiced by David Kaye, In some of the Walmart commercials, the Grinch was voiced by Darin De Paul.
In popular culture.
The Grinch has become an anti-icon of Christmas and the winter holidays, as a symbol of those who despise the holiday, much in the same nature as the earlier character of Ebenezer Scrooge. Over the years, the Grinch has appeared on various forms of memorabilia such as Christmas ornaments, plush dolls, and various clothing items. The grumpy, anti-holiday spirit of the character has led to the everyday term "Grinch" coming to refer to a person opposed to Christmas time celebrations or to someone with a coarse, greedy attitude. In 2002, "TV Guide" ranked The Grinch number 5 on its "50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time" list.
He also made a brief appearance on the television in "Home Alone" and "".
The Grumple, from "The Simpsons", is a green monster who is an obvious parody of the Grinch.
In "The Fairly OddParents" episode, "Merry Wishmas", Timmy Turner, Santa Claus, and the elves watch in the television "How the Grump Stole Wishmas", a parody of the Grinch.
In the season 19 Christmas special of "American Dad!", Roger turns into a Grinch-esque monster due to observing 1 year straight of celibacy and proceeds to steal the coital paraphernalia at a sex party. During his thieving rampage, a parody of "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" plays acknowledging that this plotline is in fact, a parody.
In the early hours of Christmas Eve 2018, a group of climbers put a giant Santa hat on Antony Gormley's colossal "Angel of the North" statue (20 metres; 66' high, wingspan 54 metres; 177') near Gateshead, north England. They had attempted to do this, unsuccessfully, for several Christmases. In the early hours of December 29, the pranksters returned, one of them dressed as the Grinch and the others as Santa Claus, and the Grinch "stole" Santa's hat.
In politics.
Multiple politicians in the United Kingdom and United States have been compared to the Grinch, often due to accusations that they will 'steal' Christmas.
Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham described President of the United States Joe Biden as "the Grinch Who Stole Christmas" on Fox News in 2021, criticising him for delays in the supply chain for US imports.
Mick Lynch, head of the UK's National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers, was compared to the Grinch from November to December 2022 in media coverage of the ongoing railway strikes by the union. Tabloid newspaper "Metro" as well as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak likened him to the Grinch and accused him of wanting to "steal Christmas". Lynch retorted that "I'm not the Grinch, I'm a trade union official and I'm determined to get a deal."
In December 2023, lawyers for Donald Trump called Special counsel Jack Smith a Grinch in a court filing in response to Smith's request for an expedited appeal on whether Trump could claim presidential immunity. The filing directly quoted "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!", arguing that if the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit did not rule against Smith's request, it "would make President Trump’s opening brief due the day after Christmas. This proposed schedule would require attorneys and support staff to work round-the-clock through the holidays, inevitably disrupting family and travel plans. It is as if the Special Counsel ‘growled, with his Grinch fingers nervously drumming, “I must find some way to keep Christmas from coming. … But how?"'"
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d0f26aff66fc4e94973cf72c0ac7803e
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Willy Wonka
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Willy Wonka is a fictional character appearing in British author Roald Dahl's 1964 children's novel "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", its 1972 sequel "Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator" and several films based on those books. He is the eccentric founder and proprietor of the Wonka Chocolate Factory.
Wonka has been portrayed in film multiple times. In 1971, Willy Wonka was portrayed by Gene Wilder in "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory". Wilder's portrayal in the film is considered widely beloved and one of his greatest roles. Johnny Depp's portrayal of the character in 2005's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" polarized critics and audiences. In 2023, Timothée Chalamet portrayed the character in a standalone film that tells his origin story titled "Wonka". Chalamet's performance was both praised and criticized. Wilder, Depp, and Chalamet all received Golden Globe nominations for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical for their performances.
Appearances.
"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory".
In "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", Wonka has hidden five Golden Tickets inside his chocolate bars. The finders are rewarded with a tour of his factory, each accompanied by an adult of their choice, and a lifetime supply of chocolate. The children are unaware, though, that the tour is also a competition to test their moral character. As the tour proceeds, four of the children are eliminated, leaving Charlie Bucket the winner. At this point, Wonka reveals that the real prize is the factory itself, as he needs someone to take it over once he retires, and look after the Oompa-Loompas who work there.
Wonka is introduced as a "little man" with a goatee, wearing a purple coat, green trousers and a top hat. He is high-spirited and moves quickly like a squirrel, though he later tells Charlie that he is "much older than you think."
"Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator".
Wonka goes aboard the Great Glass Elevator with Charlie and his family and links up with the Space Hotel USA. The Space Hotel tracks the Elevator down back to Wonka's factory. Wonka then goes with Charlie and his family to the White House in the United States.
"Wonka".
In 2023, Sibéal Pounder wrote a novelisation of the screenplay of the origin story of Wonka.
Film adaptations.
"Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" (1971).
Willy Wonka (portrayed by Gene Wilder) has hidden five Golden Tickets amongst his famous Wonka Bars. The finders of these special tickets will be given a full tour of his tightly guarded candy factory, as well as a lifetime supply of chocolate. During the tour, Wonka tempts each of the bad children to disobey his orders with something related to their individual character flaws. One by one, each child disappears from the tour, until eventually Charlie Bucket is the only remaining child. However, Charlie and Grandpa Joe have also succumbed to temptation by this time and sampled Fizzy Lifting Drinks, Mr. Wonka's experimental line of beverages that gives the drinker the power to float temporarily. The drinks, still too strong, brought Charlie and Grandpa Joe close to death.
Wonka informs Charlie that the tour is over, abruptly dismisses him and Grandpa Joe, and disappears into his office without mentioning the promised grand prize of a lifetime supply of chocolate. They both go into Wonka's office to confront him. Grandpa Joe asks about the prize, but Wonka tells him that Charlie will not receive it because he broke the rules, angrily referring to the forfeiture clause of the contract that the ticket holders signed at the start of the tour. Charlie's drinking of the Fizzy Lifting Drinks amounted to theft, so he violated the contract and gets nothing. Wonka then dismisses them with a furious, "Good day, sir!" Grandpa Joe angrily berates him for destroying his grandson's hopes, but Wonka is unmoved and angrily dismisses him again.
Grandpa Joe vows to get revenge on Wonka by selling the Everlasting Gobstopper to Slugworth (Wonka's main rival), but in honest acknowledgement of his wrongdoing, Charlie decides to return the Gobstopper to Wonka's desk before turning to leave. Seeing how Charlie did not resort to revenge, Wonka sees an honest character in him and decides to let the fizzy lifting drink incident pass. He joyfully tells Charlie that he passed his test and reinstates his prize. Wonka then reveals that Slugworth, who had been spying on the kids, was actually his own employee in disguise.
The trio enter the Great Glass Elevator, which goes high into the sky as Wonka reveals that the grand prize is really the entire factory and business, which Charlie will get when Wonka retires, and in the meantime Charlie and his whole family will move into the factory. Wonka reminds Charlie not to forget what happened to the man who got everything that he ever wanted: "He lived happily ever after."
"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" (2005).
Willy Wonka (portrayed by Johnny Depp as an adult and by Blair Dunlop in his youth) is once again the owner of a famous chocolate factory. Due to problems concerning industrial espionage, he has laid off all his employees, among them Charlie's Grandpa Joe, and closed his factory for many years. Wonka announces a contest in which five Golden Tickets have been hidden under the wrappers of Wonka Bars throughout the world. The finders will each receive a tour of the factory and a lifetime supply of chocolate; in addition, one winner will receive a special prize at the end of the tour. Charlie is the last to find a Golden Ticket.
On the day of the tour, Wonka greets the winners and the adults accompanying them at the factory gates and leads them through the compound. Grandpa Joe, who accompanies Charlie, introduces himself to Wonka as a former employee, but Wonka is still suspicious of him. One by one, all of the children except Charlie succumb to temptations offered by Wonka and are removed from the tour. Wonka offers Charlie a chance to live and work with him in the factory, explaining that he is getting old, and that the purpose of the contest was to find a successor to take over as owner once he retires. However, Wonka expects Charlie to leave his family behind forever, seeing family as a hindrance to a chocolatier's creative freedom.
Wonka's position stems from a complicated relationship with his father, Wilbur, a prominent dentist, in which Wilbur forbade him to eat any candy and made him wear a large, cumbersome set of uncomfortable braces in order to keep his teeth in good condition. Wonka secretly sampled some candy one day and was instantly enthralled, running away from home and travelling to Switzerland and Bavaria in order to pursue a career in making it. When he returned home, he found that Wilbur had moved the entire house to an unknown location, true to his word that if Willy ran away, Wilbur would not be there when he came back.
Charlie, who is not prepared to part with his family, rejects the offer, prompting Wonka to fall into a deep depression that saps his creativity and causes his business to suffer. With Charlie's help, Wonka locates Wilbur. As Wilbur checks Wonka's teeth, from which he recognises his son, Charlie finds that Wilbur is genuinely proud of his son, having saved every news clipping of Wonka's success. The two reconcile, and Wonka invites the entire Bucket family to live in the factory.
"Tom and Jerry: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" (2017).
In 2017, a direct-to-DVD animated film featuring Tom and Jerry in an adaptation of the 1971 film was released. The main storyline is largely taken verbatim from the 1971 film, and thus Wonka (voiced by J. P. Karliak) is portrayed largely the same as in that adaptation. During the tour, Wonka becomes suspicious that one of the guests has smuggled a cat into the factory after seeing bits of fur left by Tom, who along with Jerry had previously been adopted by Charlie, and snuck into the factory in an attempt to stop what they believe to be Slugworth plotting to steal it from Wonka.
Wonka eventually notices Tom and Jerry's presence, and accuses Charlie of smuggling them into the factory (along with his theft of the Fizzy Lifting Drinks) in order to justify denying him the lifetime's supply of chocolate, though this also turns out to be part of the same test that Charlie was put through. Additionally, this version confirms that Wonka and "Slugworth" had intended from the very start to make Charlie the next owner of the factory, something that is left ambiguous by the other versions of the story.
"Wonka" (2023).
In the 2023 film "Wonka", he is portrayed by Timothée Chalamet. The film tells a standalone origin story of the character about his early days as a chocolatier. In this version, a new backstory was added which reveals his even more troubled upbringing: Willy Wonka's mother (who made chocolate bars) had died and the young Wonka traveled to Europe to open his own chocolate shop. At the end of the film, after exposing the crimes of the local Chocolate Cartel, Wonka opens the last chocolate bar his mother left him, which is revealed to contain a golden paper with a message telling him that chocolate is best shared with others. He and Lofty, an Oompa Loompa, would then acquire an abandoned castle to commence building a new factory.
Musical adaptations.
"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" (2013).
In 2013, an adaptation of the novel was produced at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in the West End starting on 25 June 2013. Willy Wonka in this production was originated by Douglas Hodge. In the play, Wonka decides to open his factory to five children who can find one of five Golden Tickets hidden in the wrappers of Wonka Bars. The play begins with Charlie in a large trash pile looking for items that are "almost nearly perfect". He later goes home and we see the Golden Ticket winners on an oversized television with actors inside it. Once all the tickets have been won, Willy Wonka invites the children into his factory, where he then tempts each of them with a weakness. Finally, only Charlie is left. Willy Wonka and Charlie board Wonka's "Great Glass Elevator", which takes off over the audience.
"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" (2017).
A reworked version of the musical, featuring added songs from the 1971 film adaptation, premiered on Broadway in 2017. Wonka was portrayed this time by Christian Borle. While the Broadway version received mixed to negative reviews, Borle's performance was praised. A U.S. tour commenced in 2018, with Noah Weisberg playing Wonka, and the musical premiered in Australia in 2019.
Concept and creation.
2005 film adaptation.
Early on in the production of the 2005 film, Nicolas Cage was under discussions for portraying Willy Wonka, but lost interest. Warner Bros. president Alan F. Horn wanted Tom Shadyac to direct Jim Carrey as Willy Wonka, believing the duo could make "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" relevant to mainstream audiences, but Roald Dahl's widow Liccy Dahl opposed this. After Tim Burton was hired as director in May 2003, Burton immediately thought of Johnny Depp for the role of Willy Wonka, who joined the following August for his fourth collaboration with the director.
Burton and screenwriter John August worked together in creating Wilbur Wonka, Willy's domineering dentist father. "You want a little bit of the flavor of why Wonka is the way he is," Burton reasoned. "Otherwise, what is he? He's just a weird guy." Warner Bros. and Burton held differences over the characterization of Willy Wonka. The studio wanted to make Willy Wonka the idyllic father figure Charlie Bucket had longed for his entire life. Burton believed that Wonka would not be a good father, finding the character similar to a recluse. "In some ways," Burton protested, "he's more screwed up than the kids."
Johnny Depp was the only actor that Burton had considered for the role. He signed on without reading the script, under the intention of going with a completely different approach than what Gene Wilder did in the 1971 film adaptation. "Regardless of what one thinks of that film," Depp explained, "Gene Wilder's persona, his character, stands out." Depp stated on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" that he based the character on what he believed an "incredibly stoned" George W. Bush would act like.
Comparisons were drawn between Willy Wonka and Michael Jackson, due to Wonka's more childish demeanour. Burton joked, "Here's the deal. There's a big difference: Michael Jackson "likes" children, Willy Wonka "can't stand them". To me that's a "huge" difference in the whole persona thing." Depp explained that the similarities with Jackson never even occurred to him. "I say if there was anyone you'd want to compare Wonka to it would be a Howard Hughes, almost. Reclusive, germaphobe, controlling." Burton agreed with the Hughes similarities, and additionally supplied Charles Foster Kane in "Citizen Kane" as inspiration. "Somebody who was brilliant but then was traumatized and then retreats into their own world." Depp wanted to sport prosthetic makeup for the part and have a long, elongated nose, but Burton believed that it would be too outrageous.
Critical analysis.
Gene Wilder's performance.
Wilder's performance as Willy Wonka was well received and remains one of his best-known roles. "Time Out Film Guide" called it "Great fun, with Wilder for once giving an impeccably controlled performance as the factory's bizarre candy owner." Critic Jeffrey M. Anderson, of Combustible Celluloid, wrote, "[W]hen the movie does actually reach the factory, and Gene Wilder takes the stage, the movie is saved. Wilder was in the middle of an incredible run of subtle comic performances ... and he was at the height of his powers here." Wilder himself considered the role to be one of his signature roles, with his next of kin noting that he purposely kept his diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease private because so many young children would recognize him on the street as Wonka and he wanted those encounters to be joyful experiences.
Regarding Wilder's effect, Anderson wrote "If you're a kid, Wonka seems magical, but watching it now, he has a frightening combination of warmth, psychosis, and sadism." Kevin Carr, of 7M pictures wrote "This is Gene Wilder's legacy. He was perfect for the role, and it was his mixture of childlike wonder and bitter, deserved vengeance that made the character so compelling.", while critic Widgett Walls simply called it "Probably Gene Wilder's finest, most manic hour." Wilder received a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy for his role as Willy Wonka, but lost to Chaim Topol as Tevye in "Fiddler on the Roof".
Johnny Depp's performance.
Johnny Depp's portrayal of Willy Wonka polarized critics and audiences. Critic Andrew Sarris, of "The" "New York Observer", who did not enjoy the film's style in general, wrote "I wonder if even children will respond to the peculiarly humorless and charmless stylistic eccentricities of Mr. Burton and his star, Johnny Depp." Ann Hornaday of "The Washington Post" also criticized Depp's acting; "The cumulative effect isn't pretty. Nor is it kooky, funny, eccentric or even mildly interesting. Indeed, throughout his fey, simpering performance, Depp seems to be straining so hard for weirdness that the entire enterprise begins to feel like those excruciating occasions when your parents tried to be hip." Roger Ebert wrote "Depp, an actor of considerable gifts, has never been afraid to take a chance, but this time he takes the wrong one. His Willy Wonka is an enigma in an otherwise mostly delightful movie from Tim Burton."
Positive reactions to Depp's performance include Owen Gleiberman of "Entertainment Weekly", who wrote that "Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka may be a stone freak, but he is also one of Burton's classic crackpot conjurers, like "Beetlejuice" or "Ed Wood"." Mick LaSalle from the "San Francisco Chronicle" found that "all the laughs [in the film] come from Depp, who gives Willy the mannerisms of a classic Hollywood diva". Peter Travers wrote in "Rolling Stone" magazine that "Depp's deliciously demented take on Willy Wonka demands to be seen. Depp goes deeper to find the bruises on Wonka's secret heart than what Gene Wilder did." Depp received a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy for his role as Willy Wonka, but lost to Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash in "Walk the Line".
Timothée Chalamet's performance.
Chalamet's take on the character received mixed reviews. David Fear of "Rolling Stone" likened Chalamet to a "void": "You wish that Chalamet was bringing something, anything, to what too often feels like character karaoke. He’s not bad, just blank." Alison Willmore of "Vulture" cited Chalamet's performance as the weakest part of "Wonka", "which isn’t to say that he’s bad in the movie – just hesitant, like he’s working in an idiom that doesn’t come naturally to him, which is odd." Michael O'Sullivan of "The Washington Post" called Chalamet's performance "one-dimensional" and criticized him as "a character so purely benevolent and selfless that he makes Jesus, Gandhi and the Buddha look like a bunch of hooligans."
Courtney Howard of "The A.V. Club" praised Chalamet's performance: "His magical emcee isn’t too far off from Gene Wilder’s as glimpsed in his physicality and vocal intonations, but his performance has its own unique sway and ease." Kristy Puchko of Mashable called Chalamet "marvelous" as Wonka: "He is positively lovely, like he's got some bottled sunshine of his own... Giddy and genuine, Chalamet is a prince of musical theater, whether dancing with a rousing ensemble or waltzing with a hat and coat on a walking stick as a stand-in partner." Katie Walsh of the "Los Angeles Times" offered similar praise: "[He] gives himself over fully to the wonderment and vocal demands of the role."
Chalamet received a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy for the role but lost to Paul Giamatti for "The Holdovers".
Merchandising.
Wonka served as the mascot of "The Willy Wonka Candy Company", a real-life brand of confectioneries marketed by Nestlé Candy Shop. Real-life versions of the Everlasting Gobstopper and the Wonka Bar were produced, along with a line of other candies not directly related to the book or the film. The company had originated as a tie-in with the 1971 film, originally by Quaker Oats before a series of sales led to the company being acquired by Nestlé in 1988. The Wonka brand was discontinued in 2015; its products have since been sold to Ferrero, which produces them under the Ferrara brand.
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0b5acdd685af4999a6368bf9441d3d42
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Hulk
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The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of "The Incredible Hulk" (May 1962). In his comic book appearances, the character, who has dissociative identity disorder (DID), is primarily represented by the alter ego Hulk, a green-skinned, hulking, and muscular humanoid possessing a limitless degree of physical strength, and the alter ego Dr. Robert Bruce Banner, a physically weak, socially withdrawn, and emotionally reserved physicist, both of whom typically resent each other.
Following his accidental exposure to gamma rays while saving the life of Rick Jones during the detonation of an experimental bomb, Banner is physically transformed into the Hulk when subjected to emotional stress, at or against his will. This transformation often leads to destructive rampages and conflicts that complicate Banner's civilian life. The Hulk's level of strength is usually conveyed proportionate to his anger level. Commonly portrayed as a raging savage, the Hulk has been represented with other alter egos, from a mindless, destructive force (War) to a brilliant warrior (World-Breaker), a self-hating protector (the Devil Hulk), a genius scientist in his own right (Doc Green), and a gangster (Joe Fixit).
Despite Hulk and Banner's desire for solitude, the character has a large supporting cast. This includes Banner's love interest Betty Ross, his best friend, Rick Jones, his cousin She-Hulk, and therapist and ally Doc Samson. In addition, the Hulk alter ego has many key supporting characters, like his co-founders of the superhero team the Avengers, his queen Caiera, fellow warriors Korg and Miek, and sons Skaar and Hiro-Kala. However, his uncontrollable power has brought him into conflict with his fellow heroes and others. Despite this, he tries his best to do what's right while battling villains such as the Leader, the Abomination, the Absorbing Man, and more.
Lee stated that the Hulk's creation was inspired by a combination of "Frankenstein" and "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde". Although the Hulk's coloration has varied throughout the character's publication history, the usual color is green.
One of the most iconic characters in popular culture, the character has appeared on a variety of merchandise, such as clothing and collectable items, inspired real-world structures (such as theme park attractions), and been referenced in several media. Banner and the Hulk have been adapted into live-action, animated, and video game incarnations. The character was first played in live-action by Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno in the 1978 television series "The Incredible Hulk" and its subsequent television films "The Incredible Hulk Returns" (1988), "The Trial of the Incredible Hulk" (1989), and "The Death of the Incredible Hulk" (1990). In the film, the character was played by Eric Bana in "Hulk" (2003). In the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), the character was first portrayed by Edward Norton in the film "The Incredible Hulk" (2008) and then by Mark Ruffalo in later appearances in the franchise.
Publication history.
Concept and creation.
The Hulk first appeared in "The Incredible Hulk" #1 (cover dated May 1962), written by writer-editor Stan Lee, penciled and co-plotted by Jack Kirby, and inked by Paul Reinman. Lee cites influence from "Frankenstein" and "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" in the Hulk's creation:
Kirby also stated the Frankenstein inspiration stating, "I did a story called "The Hulk"– a small feature, and it was quite different from the Hulk that we know. But I felt that the Hulk had possibilities, and I took this little character from the small feature and I transformed it into the Hulk that we know today.
Of course, I was experimenting with it. I thought the Hulk might be a good-looking Frankenstein. I felt there's a Frankenstein in all of us; I’ve seen it demonstrated. And I felt that the Hulk had the element of truth in it, and anything to me with the element of truth is valid and the reader relates to that. And if you dramatize it, the reader will enjoy it." Kirby also commented upon his influences in drawing the character, and recalled the inspiration of witnessing the hysterical strength of a mother lifting a car off her trapped child.
Lee has also compared Hulk to the Golem of Jewish mythology. In "The Science of Superheroes", Gresh and Weinberg see the Hulk as a reaction to the Cold War and the threat of nuclear attack, an interpretation shared by Weinstein in "Up, Up and Oy Vey". This interpretation corresponds with other popularized fictional media created during this time period, which took advantage of the prevailing sense among Americans that nuclear power could produce monsters and mutants.
In the debut, Lee chose grey for the Hulk because he wanted a color that did not suggest any particular ethnic group. Colorist Stan Goldberg, however, had problems with the grey coloring, resulting in different shades of grey, and even green, in the issue. After seeing the first published issue, Lee chose to change the skin color to green. Green was used in retellings of the origin, with even reprints of the original story being recolored for the next two decades, until "The Incredible Hulk" vol. 2, #302 (December 1984) reintroduced the grey Hulk in flashbacks set close to the origin story. An exception is the early trade paperback, "Origins of Marvel Comics", from 1974, which explains the difficulties in keeping the grey color consistent in a Stan Lee-written prologue, and reprints the origin story keeping the grey coloration. Since December 1984, reprints of the first issue have displayed the original grey coloring, with the fictional canon specifying that the Hulk's skin had initially been grey.
Lee gave the Hulk's alter ego the alliterative name "Bruce Banner" because he found he had less difficulty remembering alliterative names. Despite this, in later stories he misremembered the character's name and referred to him as "Bob Banner", an error which readers quickly picked up on. The discrepancy was resolved by giving the character the official full name "Robert Bruce Banner."
The Hulk got his name from a comic book character named The Heap who was a large green swamp monster.
Series history.
The Hulk's original series was canceled with issue #6 (March 1963). Lee had written each story, with Kirby penciling the first five issues and Steve Ditko penciling and inking the sixth. The character immediately guest-starred in "The Fantastic Four" #12 (March 1963), and months later became a founding member of the superhero team the Avengers, appearing in the first two issues of the team's eponymous series (Sept. and Nov. 1963), and returning as an antagonist in issue #3 and as an ally in #5 (Jan.–May 1964). He then guest-starred in "Fantastic Four" #25–26 (April–May 1964), which revealed Banner's full name as Robert Bruce Banner, and "The Amazing Spider-Man" #14 (July 1964).
Around this time, co-creator Kirby received a letter from a college dormitory stating the Hulk had been chosen as its official mascot. Kirby and Lee realized their character had found an audience in college-age readers.
A year and a half after "The Incredible Hulk" was canceled, the Hulk became one of two features in "Tales to Astonish", beginning in issue #60 (Oct. 1964).
This new Hulk feature was initially scripted by Lee, with pencils by Steve Ditko and inks by George Roussos. Other artists later in this run included Jack Kirby (#68–87, June 1965 – Oct. 1966); Gil Kane (credited as "Scott Edwards", #76, (Feb. 1966)); Bill Everett (#78–84, April–Oct. 1966); John Buscema (#85–87); and Marie Severin. The "Tales to Astonish" run introduced the super-villains the Leader, who would become the Hulk's nemesis, and the Abomination, another gamma-irradiated being. Marie Severin finished out the Hulk's run in "Tales to Astonish". Beginning with issue #102 (April 1968) the book was retitled "The Incredible Hulk" vol. 2, and ran until 1999, when Marvel canceled the series and launched "Hulk" #1. Marvel filed for a trademark for "The Incredible Hulk" in 1967, and the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued the registration in 1970.
Len Wein wrote the series from 1974 through 1978, working first with Herb Trimpe, then, as of issue #194 (December 1975), with Sal Buscema, who was the regular artist for ten years. Issues #180–181 (Oct.–Nov. 1974) introduced Wolverine as an antagonist, who would go on to become one of Marvel Comics' most popular characters. In 1977, Marvel launched a second title, "The Rampaging Hulk", a black-and-white comics magazine. This was originally conceived as a flashback series, set between the end of his original, short-lived solo title and the beginning of his feature in "Tales to Astonish". After nine issues, the magazine was retitled "The Hulk!" and printed in color.
In 1977, two Hulk television films were aired to strong ratings, leading to an "Incredible Hulk" TV series that aired from 1978 to 1982. A huge ratings success, the series introduced the popular Hulk catchphrase "Don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry", and broadened the character's popularity from a niche comic book readership into the mainstream consciousness.
Bill Mantlo became the series' writer for five years beginning with issue #245 (March 1980). Mantlo's "Crossroads of Eternity" stories (#300–313 (Oct. 1984 – Nov. 1985)) explored the idea that Banner had suffered child abuse. Later Hulk writers Peter David and Greg Pak have called these stories an influence on their approaches to the character. Mantlo left the series for "Alpha Flight" and that series' writer John Byrne took over "The Incredible Hulk". The final issue of Byrne's six issue run featured the wedding of Bruce Banner and Betty Ross. Writer Peter David began a 12-year run with issue #331 (May 1987). He returned to the Roger Stern and Mantlo abuse storylines, expanding the damage caused, and depicting Banner as suffering dissociative identity disorder (DID).
In 1998, David killed off Banner's long-time love Betty Ross. Marvel executives used Ross' death as an opportunity to pursue the return of the Savage Hulk. David disagreed, leading to his parting ways with Marvel. Also in 1998, Marvel relaunched "The Rampaging Hulk" as a standard comic book rather than as a comics magazine. "The Incredible Hulk" was again cancelled with issue #474 of its second volume in March 1999 and was replaced with a new series, "Hulk" the following month, with returning writer Byrne and art by Ron Garney. New series writer Paul Jenkins developed the Hulk's multiple dissociative identities, and his run was followed by Bruce Jones with his run featuring Banner being pursued by a secret conspiracy and aided by the mysterious Mr. Blue. Jones appended his 43-issue "Incredible Hulk" run with the limited series "Hulk/Thing: Hard Knocks" #1–4 (Nov. 2004 – Feb. 2005), which Marvel published after putting the ongoing series on hiatus. Peter David, who had initially signed a contract for the six-issue "Tempest Fugit" limited series, returned as writer when it was decided to make that story the first five parts of the revived (vol. 3). After a four-part tie-in to the "House of M" storyline and a one-issue epilogue, David left the series once more, citing the need to do non-Hulk work for the sake of his career.
Writer Greg Pak took over the series in 2006, leading the Hulk through several crossover storylines including "Planet Hulk" and "World War Hulk", which left the Hulk temporarily incapacitated and replaced as the series' title character by the demigod Hercules in the retitled "The Incredible Hercules" (Feb. 2008). The Hulk returned periodically in "Hulk", which then starred the new Red Hulk. In September 2009, "The Incredible Hulk" was relaunched as "The Incredible Hulk" (vol. 2) #600. The series was retitled "The Incredible Hulks" with issue #612 (Nov. 2010) to encompass the Hulk's expanded family, and ran until issue #635 (Oct. 2011) when it was replaced with "The Incredible Hulk" (vol. 3) (15 issues, Dec. 2011 – Dec. 2012) written by Jason Aaron with art by Marc Silvestri. As part of Marvel's 2012 Marvel NOW! relaunch, a series called "Indestructible Hulk" (Nov. 2012) debuted under the creative team of Mark Waid and Leinil Yu. This series was replaced in 2014 with "The Hulk" by Waid and artist Mark Bagley.
A new series titled "The Immortal Hulk", written by Al Ewing and drawn by Joe Bennett, was launched in 2018 and ran for 50 issues. The series had a spin-off one-shot "Immortal She-Hulk" and a spin-off series about Gamma Flight in June 2021.
In November 2021, Donny Cates became the new writer of "Hulk", with Ryan Ottley joining as artist. In May 2022, the series did a crossover with the "Thor" series, also written by Cates, entitled "Hulk vs Thor: Banner of War". The series ran for 14 issues, with Ottley taking over as writer for the last 4 issues afters Cates left the book.
In March 2023, it was announced that a new volume of "The Incredible Hulk" would launch in June 2023, written by Philip Kennedy Johnson and drawn by Nic Klein.
Characterization.
Fictional character biography.
Robert Bruce Banner's psyche was profoundly affected by his troubled childhood, in which his father, Brian Banner, regarded him as a monster due to his seemingly unnatural intellect from a young age. These experiences caused Bruce to develop a dissociative identity disorder and repress his negative emotions as a coping mechanism. After Brian killed Bruce's mother in a fit of rage, Bruce lived with several relatives up until his high school years, when his intelligence caught the attention of the United States Army. Banner was recruited to develop nuclear weapons under the authority of General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross, and soon developed a relationship with the General's daughter Betty Ross.
During the experimental detonation of a gamma bomb, Banner saves teenager Rick Jones, who was dared onto the testing field; Banner pushes Jones into a trench to save him, but is hit with the blast, absorbing massive amounts of gamma radiation. He awakens later seemingly unscathed, but he begins transforming into a powerful and destructive creature upon nightfall, which a pursuing soldier describes as a "hulk". Banner's attempts to cure himself of these transformations alter their conditions, causing Banner to transform as a response to rage or fear. The Hulk is a founding member of the Avengers, but quickly leaves the group due to their distrust of him. Banner maintains the secret of his dual identity with Rick's aid, but Rick reveals his secret following his assumed death to Major Glenn Talbot who subsequently informed his superiors, forcing Banner to become a fugitive upon returning from the future where he was actually thrown to.
Psychiatrist Doc Samson captures the Hulk and manages to physically separate Banner and the Hulk, allowing Banner to marry Betty. However, Banner and the Hulk's molecular structure destabilized and threatened to kill them, requiring Samson to reunite them with the aid of Vision. Samson is later able to merge elements of Banner's fractured psyche to create Professor Hulk, an intelligent but egocentric variation of the Hulk. Professor Hulk soon becomes a key member of the Pantheon, a secretive organization of superpowered individuals. His tenure with the organization brings him into conflict with a tyrannical alternate future version of himself called the Maestro, who rules over a world where many heroes are dead. The Professor Hulk construct ultimately proves unstable, and Banner's psyche eventually splinters once more.
In "Planet Hulk", the Illuminati decide the Hulk is too dangerous to remain on Earth and send him away by rocket ship which crashes on Planet Sakaar. The Hulk finds allies in the Warbound and marries alien queen Caiera, a relationship that bears him two sons: Skaar and Hiro-Kala. After the Illuminati's ship explodes and kills Caiera, the Hulk returns to Earth with his superhero group Warbound and declares war on the planet in "World War Hulk". However, after learning that Miek, one of the Warbound, had actually been responsible for the destruction, the Hulk allows himself to be defeated, with Banner subsequently redeeming himself as a hero as he works with and against the new Red Hulk to defeat the new supervillain team the Intelligencia.
Later, the Hulk turns to Doctor Doom to physically separate himself and Banner, with Doom surgically extracting the elements of the Hulk's brain uniquely belonging to Banner and inserting them into a clone body. Banner eventually re-combines with the Hulk when his cloned body is destroyed in an attempt to recreate his original transformation. Following this, Bruce willingly joins the spy organization S.H.I.E.L.D., allowing them to use the Hulk as a weapon in exchange for providing him with the means and funding to create a lasting legacy for himself. When Banner is shot in the head by an assassin, Tony Stark saves him with a variant of the Extremis virus. This procedure creates a new intelligent persona named Doc Green, who concludes that the world is in danger by Gamma Mutates and thus need to be depowered. He creates a cure and depowers A-Bomb, Skaar and Red Hulk. Eventually, Doc Green's intellect fades and his normal Hulk form is restored.
When the vision of the Inhuman Ulysses shows a rampaging Hulk standing over the corpses of many superheroes, Banner gives Hawkeye special arrows capable of killing him during a transformation, which Hawkeye accomplishes. The Hulk was first revived by the Hand, then by Hydra, and finally by the Challenger for a contest against the Grandmaster.
Personality.
Like other long-lived characters, the Hulk's character and cultural interpretations have changed with time, adding or modifying character traits. The Hulk is typically seen as a hulking man with green skin, hair, and eyes, wearing only a pair of torn purple pants that survive his physical transformation as the character progressed. As Bruce Banner, the character is about 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) tall and weighs 128 lbs (58.05 kg), but when transformed into the Hulk, the character stands between 7 and 8 ft (2.13 - 2.43 m) tall and weighs between 1,040 and 1,400 lbs (471.73 - 635.02 kg). The Gray Hulk stands 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) tall and weighs 900 lbs (408.23 kg); the Merged Hulk stands 7 ft 6 in (2.28 m) tall and weighs 1,150 lbs (521.63 kg); the Green Scar stands 8 ft 8 in (2.64 m) tall and weighs 2,400 lbs (1.08 ton). The Devil Hulk is roughly the same size as Sasquatch, standing around 9 or 10 ft (2.74 / 3.04 m) tall and weighing roughly 2,000 lbs (907.18 kg). Following his debut, Banner's transformations were triggered at nightfall, turning him into a grey-skinned Hulk. In "Incredible Hulk" #2, the Hulk started to appear with green skin, and in "Avengers" #3 (1963) Banner realized that his transformations were now triggered by surges of adrenaline in response to feelings of fear, pain or anger. "Incredible Hulk" #227 (1978) established that the Hulk's separate identity was not due to the mutation affecting his brain, but because Banner was suffering from dissociative identity disorder, with the savage Green Hulk representing Banner's repressed childhood rage and aggression, and the Grey Hulk representing Banner's repressed selfish desires and urges.
Identities.
Bruce Banner.
During his decades of publication, Banner has been portrayed differently, but common themes persist. Banner, a physicist who earned his Ph.D. in nuclear physics from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), is sarcastic and seemingly very self-assured when he first appears in "Incredible Hulk" #1, but is also emotionally withdrawn. Banner designed the gamma bomb that caused his affliction, and the ironic twist of his self-inflicted fate has been one of the most persistent common themes. Arie Kaplan describes the character thus: "Robert Bruce Banner lives in a constant state of panic, always wary that the monster inside him will erupt, and therefore he cannot form meaningful bonds with anyone." As a child, Banner's father Brian often got mad and physically abused both Banner and his mother, creating the psychological complex of fear, anger, and the fear of anger and the destruction it can cause that underlies the character. Banner has been shown to be emotionally repressed, but capable of deep love for Betty Ross, and for solving problems posed to him. Under the writing of Paul Jenkins, Banner was shown to be a capable fugitive, applying deductive reasoning and observation to figure out the events transpiring around him. On the occasions that Banner controlled the Hulk's body, he applied principles of physics to problems and challenges and used deductive reasoning. It was shown after his ability to turn into the Hulk was taken away by the red Hulk that Banner has been extremely versatile as well as cunning when dealing with the many situations that followed. When he was briefly separated from the Hulk by Doom, Banner became criminally insane, driven by his desire to regain the power of the Hulk, but once the two recombined he came to accept that he was a better person with the Hulk to provide something for him to focus on controlling rather than allowing his intellect to run without restraint against the world.
Hulk.
The traditional Hulk, often called "Savage Hulk", was originally shown as grey and average in intelligence. He roamed aimlessly and became annoyed at "puny" humans who took him for a dangerous monster. Shortly after becoming the Hulk, his transformation continued turning him green, coinciding with him beginning to display primitive speech. By "Incredible Hulk" #4, radiation treatments gave Banner's mind complete control of the Hulk's body. While Banner relished his indestructibility and power, he was quick to anger and more aggressive in his Hulk form. He became known as a hero alongside the Avengers, but his increasing paranoia caused him to leave the group. He was convinced that he would never be trusted.
Originally, the Hulk was shown as simple-minded and quick to anger. The Hulk generally divorces his identity from Banner's, decrying Banner as "puny Banner." From his earliest stories, the Hulk has been concerned with finding sanctuary and quiet. He is often shown to quickly react emotionally to situations. Grest and Weinberg call Hulk the "dark, primordial side of Banner's psyche." Even in the earliest appearances, Hulk spoke in the third person. Hulk retains a modest intelligence, thinking and talking in full sentences. Lee even gives the Hulk expository dialogue in issue #6, allowing readers to learn just what capabilities Hulk has, when the Hulk says, "But these muscles ain't just for show! All I gotta do is spring up and just keep goin'!" In the 1970s, Hulk was shown as more prone to anger and rage, and less talkative. Writers played with the nature of his transformations, briefly giving Banner control over the change, and the ability to maintain control of his Hulk form. Artistically and conceptually, the character has become progressively more muscular and powerful in the years since his debut.
Joe Fixit.
Originally, Stan Lee wanted the Hulk to be grey. Due to ink problems, Hulk's color was changed to green. This was later changed in the story to indicate that the Grey Hulk and the Savage Hulk are separate dissociative identities or entities fighting for control in Bruce's subconscious. The Grey Hulk incarnation can do the more unscrupulous things that Banner could not bring himself to do, with many sources comparing the Grey Hulk to the moody teenager that Banner never allowed himself to be. While the grey Hulk still had the-madder-he-gets, the-stronger-he-gets part that is similar to the Savage Hulk, it is on a much slower rate. It is said by the Leader that the Grey Hulk is stronger on nights of the new moon and weaker on nights of the full moon. Originally, the night is when Bruce Banner became the Grey Hulk and changed back by dawn. In later comics, willpower or stress would have Banner turn into the Grey Hulk. During one storyline where he was placed under a spell to prevent him turning back into Bruce Banner and publicly presumed dead when he was teleported away from a gamma bomb explosion that destroyed an entire town, the grey Hulk adopted a specific name as Joe Fixit, a security expert for Las Vegas casino owner Michael Berengetti, with the grey Hulk often being referred to as Joe after these events. Joe Fixit later gained the ability to transform into his version of Red Hulk form when in the Below-Place.
Merged Hulk.
Convinced that unaided, the Banner, Green Hulk, and Grey Hulk identities would eventually destroy each other, Doc Samson uses hypnosis to merge the three to create a new single identity combining Banner's intelligence with the Grey Hulk's and Banner's attitudes and the Green Hulk's body. This new Merged Hulk, Professor Hulk, or simply The Professor, considered himself cured and began a new life, but the merger was not perfect, and the Hulk sometimes still considered Banner a separate person, and when overcome with rage the Merged Hulk would transform back into Banner's human body while still thinking himself the Hulk. The Merged Hulk is the largest of the three primary Hulk incarnations. While in a calm emotional state, the Merged Hulk is stronger than Savage Hulk when he is calm. Unlike the Savage Hulk and the Grey Hulk, Banner subconsciously installed a type of safeguard within this incarnation. The safeguard is that when the Merged Hulk gets angry, he regresses back to Banner with the mind of the Savage Hulk.
Doc Green.
A variation of the Merged Hulk identity takes on the name Doc Green as the result of Extremis fixing Hulk's brain, becoming powerful enough to destroy Tony Stark's mansion with one thunderclap. This form was also known as Omega Hulk. It was theorized by Doc Green that this form was an earlier incarnation of his possible future form Maestro.
The Devil Hulk.
The Devil Hulk, or simply the Devil, is the result of the Hulk needing a father figure. While the character's physical appearance varies, he is always depicted as having glowing red eyes and reptilian traits. The new form of the Devil Hulk is the result of Banner and Hulk having been through different deaths and rebirths. This incarnation is articulate, smart, and cunning, and does merciless attacks on those who do harm. Unlike the other Hulk incarnations, the Devil Hulk is content with waiting inside Bruce. If Bruce is injured by sunset, the Devil Hulk will emerge with his transformation being limited to night-time. Thanks to the Devil Hulk side and Banner working together, the Devil Hulk can maintain his form in sunlight.
Other identities.
The Gravage Hulk is the result of Banner using the Gamma Projector on himself which merged his Savage Hulk and Grey Hulk identities. This form possesses the raw power of the Savage Hulk and the cunning intellect of the Grey Hulk. While he does not draw on anger to empower him, the Gravage Hulk identity draws on dimensional nexus energies to increase his strength.
The Dark Hulk identity is the result of Hulk being possessed by Shanzar. This form has black skin and is viciously strong.
The Guilt Hulk is a malevolent representation of Banner's abusive father, Brian Banner, that manifests itself in Banner's childhood memories.
The Green Scar identity is unleashed on Sakaar and is an enraged version of the Gravage Hulk. In addition, he is an expert in armed combat like the use of swords and shields. Green Scar is also a capable leader and an expert strategist.
Kluh is a personality of Hulk who is described as the "Hulk's Hulk". This form sports a white mohawk, black skin, and red lines on him.
Titan is a more monstrous and malicious form of Hulk who stands at 30 ft., has black skin, rock-like spikes on his shoulders, and possesses the ability to shoot lasers from his eyes. This personality was born when it was planted in Hulk by D'Spayre.
Powers and abilities.
Bruce Banner.
Considered to be one of the greatest scientific minds on Earth, Banner possesses "a mind so brilliant it cannot be measured on any known intelligence test." Norman Osborn estimates that he is the fourth most-intelligent person on Earth. Banner holds expertise in biology, chemistry, engineering, medicine, physiology, and nuclear physics. Using this knowledge, he creates advanced technology dubbed "Bannertech", which is on par with technological development from Tony Stark or Doctor Doom. These technologies include a teleporter and a force field that can protect him from the attacks of Hulk-level entities.
After becoming a fugitive from the law, Banner is forced to go on the run and over the years learns various skills in order to both survive and remain under radar of those who are hunting him. Banner's most frequent method of travel includes hitchhiking, train hopping or simply just walking as he is unable to travel legally via planes, passenger ships or buses due to being in several travel watchlists. Banner is generally on the move and rarely ever stays in one place for very long and only does so if there's a possibility of curing himself. He will only ever stay in one place for an extended period of time if it provides him with complete solitude and privacy where the Hulk can do little to no harm.
To avoid being tracked, Banner does not use cell phones, debit or credit cards and will only use payphones or cash. He will often use fake identities when staying at motels or working jobs that require identification. Having been on the run for years, Banner can normally tell when he is being followed and will generally make a run for it when he is discovered. Having traveled across the globe, Banner is able to sneak over borders without being detected and can get by, by either knowing or learning the local language. Often traveling light, Banner has little to no possessions that he carries in either a satchel or backpack. Often losing everything he owns after transforming into the Hulk, Banner avoids keeping anything of personal value to him so that he can easily replace the items and clothes that were lost or destroyed.
To support himself financially, Banner will work quick part-time jobs and will only accept payments in cash. These jobs have varied from simply working in low pay diners to working as local doctor. Banner's work ethic as well as his vast knowledge and skillset in science, medicine and engineering often help him get hired rather quickly. Unless desperate, Banner will generally avoid jobs that are high stress due to the potential danger of transforming into the Hulk.
Banner has little to no memories of the Hulk's actions aside from his initial transformation which he described as being extremely painful. Banner's lack of memories often terrifies him as he has often transformed back to witness the devastating aftermath of the Hulk's battles which both saddens and encourages him to find a way to understand his condition so that he won't cause anymore destruction or harm. During his travels, Banner has developed several different techniques to help suppress or control his transformations when he becomes a little angry or upset. Among the techniques he has learned over the years include meditation and hypnotherapy. While they have helped him to better understand and suppress his transformations, none of techniques Banner has learned have helped him to gain full control over the Hulk.
The Hulk.
The Hulk possesses the potential for seemingly limitless physical strength that is influenced by his emotional state, particularly his anger. This has been reflected in the repeated comment "The madder Hulk gets, the stronger Hulk gets." The cosmically powerful entity known as the Beyonder once analyzed the Hulk's physiology, and claimed that the Hulk's potential strength had "no finite element inside." Hulk's strength has been depicted as sometimes limited by Banner's subconscious influence; when Jean Grey psionically "shut Banner off", Hulk became strong enough to overpower and destroy the physical form of the villain Onslaught. Writer Greg Pak described the Worldbreaker Hulk shown during "World War Hulk" as having a level of physical power where "Hulk was stronger than any mortal—and most immortals—who ever walked the Earth" and depicted the character as powerful enough to completely destroy entire planets. His strength allows him to leap into lower Earth orbit or across continents, and he has displayed superhuman speed. Exposure to radiation has also been shown to make the Hulk stronger. It is unknown how he gains biomass during transformation but it may be linked to the One-Below-All.
His durability, regeneration, and endurance also increase in proportion to his temper. Hulk is resistant to injury or damage, though the degree to which varies between interpretations, but he has withstood the equivalent of solar temperatures, nuclear explosions, and planet-shattering impacts. Despite his remarkable resiliency, continuous barrages of high-caliber gunfire can hinder his movement to some degree while he can be temporarily subdued by intense attacks with chemical weapons such as anesthetic gases, although any interruption of such dosages will allow him to quickly recover. He has been shown to have both regenerative and adaptive healing abilities, including growing tissues to allow him to breathe underwater, surviving unprotected in space for extended periods, and when injured, healing from most wounds within seconds, including, on one occasion, the complete destruction of most of his body mass. His future self, the "Maestro", was even eventually able to recover from being blown to pieces. As an effect, he has an extremely prolonged lifespan.
He also possesses less commonly described powers, including abilities allowing him to "home in" to his place of origin in New Mexico; resist psychic control, or unwilling transformation; grow stronger from radiation or dark magic; punch his way between separate temporal or spatial dimensions; and to see and interact with astral forms. Some of these abilities were in later years explained as being related; his ability to home in on the New Mexico bomb site was due to his latent ability to sense astral forms and spirits, since the bomb site was also the place where the Maestro's skeleton was and the Maestro's spirit was calling out to him in order to absorb his radiation. He is also shown to have a separate memory to Bruce Banner - when Spider-Man has the knowledge of his secret identity erased during , the Hulk later asks how Peter is doing, not Spider-Man; upon questioning, he enigmatically states "Banner forgot. But I don't forget."
In the first "Hulk" comic series, "massive" doses of gamma rays would cause the Hulk to transform back to Banner, although this ability was written out of the character by the 1970s.
Supporting characters.
Over the long publication history of the Hulk's adventures, many recurring characters have featured prominently, including his best friend and sidekick Rick Jones, love interest and wife Betty Ross and her father, the often adversarial General "Thunderbolt" Ross. Both Banner and Hulk have families created in their respective personas. Banner is son to Brian, an abusive father who killed Banner's mother while she tried to protect her son from his father's delusional attacks, and cousin to Jennifer Walters, the She-Hulk, who serves as his frequent ally. Banner had a stillborn child with Betty, while the Hulk has two sons with his deceased second wife Caiera Oldstrong, Skaar and Hiro-Kala, and his DNA was used to create a daughter named Lyra with Thundra the warrior woman.
"The Fantastic Four" #12 (March 1963), featured the Hulk's first battle with the Thing. Although many early Hulk stories involve Ross trying to capture or destroy the Hulk, the main villain is often a radiation-based character, like the Gargoyle or the Leader, along with other foes such as the Toad Men, or Asian warlord General Fang. Ross' daughter Betty loves Banner and criticizes her father for pursuing the Hulk. General Ross' right-hand man, Major Glenn Talbot, also loves Betty and is torn between pursuing Hulk and trying to gain Betty's love more honorably. Rick Jones serves as the Hulk's friend and sidekick in these early tales. The Hulk's archenemies are the Abomination and the Leader. The Abomination is more monstrous-looking, twice as strong as the Hulk at normal levels (however, the Abomination's strength levels do not increase when "he" gets angry) and wreaks havoc for fun and pleasure. The Leader is a gamma-irradiated super-genius who has tried plan after plan to take over the world.
Cultural impact.
The Hulk character and the concepts behind it have been raised to the level of iconic status by many within and outside the comic book industry. In 2003, "Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine" claimed the character had "stood the test of time as a genuine icon of American pop culture." In 2008, the Hulk was listed as the 19th greatest comic book character by "Wizard" magazine. "Empire" magazine named him as the 14th-greatest comic-book character and the fifth-greatest Marvel character. In 2011, the Hulk placed No. 9 on IGN's list of "Top 100 Comic Book Heroes", and fourth on their list of "The Top 50 Avengers" in 2012.
Analysis.
The Hulk is often viewed as a reaction to war. As well as being a reaction to the Cold War, the character has been a cipher for the frustrations the Vietnam War raised, and Ang Lee said that the Iraq War influenced his direction. In the Michael Nyman edited edition of "The Guardian", Stefanie Diekmann explored Marvel Comics' reaction to the September 11 attacks. Diekmann discussed The Hulk's appearance in the 9/11 tribute comic "Heroes", claiming that his greater prominence, alongside Captain America, aided in "stressing the connection between anger and justified violence without having to depict anything more than a well-known and well-respected protagonist." In "Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World's Greatest Comics", Les Daniels addresses the Hulk as an embodiment of cultural fears of radiation and nuclear science. He quotes Jack Kirby thus: "As long as we're experimenting with radioactivity, there's no telling what may happen, or how much our advancements in science may cost us." Daniels continues, "The Hulk became Marvel's most disturbing embodiment of the perils inherent in the atomic age."
In "Comic Book Nation", Bradford Wright alludes to Hulk's counterculture status, referring to a 1965 "Esquire" magazine poll amongst college students which "revealed that student radicals ranked Spider-Man and the Hulk alongside the likes of Bob Dylan and Che Guevara as their favorite revolutionary icons." Wright goes on to cite examples of his anti-authority symbol status. Two of these are "The Ballad of the Hulk" by Jerry Jeff Walker, and the "Rolling Stone" cover for September 30, 1971, a full color Herb Trimpe piece commissioned for the magazine. The Hulk has been caricatured in such animated television series as "The Simpsons", "Robot Chicken", and "Family Guy", and such comedy TV series as "The Young Ones". The character is also used as a cultural reference point for someone displaying anger or agitation. For example, in a 2008 "Daily Mirror" review of an "EastEnders" episode, a character is described as going "into Incredible Hulk mode, smashing up his flat." In September 2019, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson likened himself to The Hulk in an interview with the "Mail On Sunday", as political pressure built on him to request an extension to the date of the UK's withdrawal from the European Union.
The Hulk, especially his alter ego Bruce Banner, is also a common reference in hip hop music. The term was represented as an analogue to marijuana in Dr. Dre's "2001", while more conventional references are made in Ludacris and Jermaine Dupri's popular single "Welcome to Atlanta".
The 2003 Ang Lee-directed "Hulk" film saw discussion of the character's appeal to Asian Americans. The Taiwanese-born Ang Lee commented on the "subcurrent of repression" that underscored the character of The Hulk, and how that mirrored his own experience: "Growing up, my artistic leanings were always repressed—there was always pressure to do something 'useful,' like being a doctor." Jeff Yang, writing for the "San Francisco Chronicle", extended this self-identification to Asian American culture, arguing that "the passive-aggressive streak runs deep among Asian Americans—especially those who have entered creative careers, often against their parents' wishes."
There have been explorations about the real-world possibility of Hulk's gamma-radiation-based origin. In "The Science of Superheroes", Lois Grest and Robert Weinberg examined Hulk's powers, explaining the scientific flaws in them. Most notably, they point out that the level of gamma radiation Banner is exposed to at the initial blast would induce radiation sickness and kill him, or if not, create significant cancer risks for Banner, because hard radiation strips cells of their ability to function. They go on to offer up an alternate origin, in which a Hulk might be created by biological experimentation with adrenal glands and GFP. Charles Q. Choi from LiveScience.com further explains that, unlike the Hulk, gamma rays are not green; existing as they do beyond the visible spectrum, gamma rays have no color at all that we can describe. He also explains that gamma rays are so powerful (the most powerful form of electromagnetic radiation and 10,000 times more powerful than visible light) that they can even convert energy into matter – a possible explanation for the increased mass that Bruce Banner takes on during transformations. "Just as the Incredible Hulk 'is the strongest one there is,' as he says himself, so too are gamma-ray bursts the most powerful explosions known."
Other Marvel Comics characters called the Hulk.
Prior to the debut of the Hulk in May 1962, Marvel had earlier monster characters that used the name the "Hulk", but had no direct relation.
Alternative versions of Hulk.
A number of alternate universes and alternate timelines in Marvel Comics publications allow writers to introduce variations on the Hulk, in which the character's origins, behavior, and morality differ from the mainstream setting. In some stories, someone other than Bruce Banner is the Hulk.
In some versions, the Hulk succumbs to the darker side of his nature: in "Future Imperfect" (December 1992), a future version of the Hulk has become the Maestro, the tyrannical and ruthless ruler of a nuclear war-irradiated Earth, and in "Old Man Logan" (2008), an insane Hulk rules over a post-apocalyptic California and leads a gang of his inbred Hulk children created with his first cousin She-Hulk.
Age of Apocalypse.
In the Age of Apocalypse alternative setting, Bruce Banner was never exposed to gamma radiation. Therefore, he did not become the Hulk. Instead he became a member of the Human High Council, where he was a scientist and became a weapons designer. However he also yearns to gain knowledge and power, something Apocalypse was willing to help with, and so Bruce sold himself to Mikhail Rasputin, one of the Horsemen of Apocalypse, to give him mutants as test subjects. He succeeds in his experiments and can now transform into a creature resembling the Grey Hulk. He was used as a mole in the council, but was discovered by Susan Storm and Ben Grimm because the patterns of Bruce's injuries were identical to those sustained by the Hulk.
Later, Banner attempted to redeem himself by jumping out of the Human High Council ship in an effort to prevent it from getting struck by a gamma missile of his own creation. The missile detonated, allowing the Human High Council to escape Earth. He fell back to Earth, landed in the Colosseum, and emerged as the Green Hulk. There were no further mentions of the Hulk in the Age of Apocalypse material.
Age of X.
In the "Age of X" reality, Bruce Banner was a scientist who was under contract from the United States government to build a device that would depower any mutant. However, during the testing phase one of the mutant volunteers began to panic. Her powers caused the machine to go off prematurely while still in the gamma spectrum. The mutants were killed and Banner was bombarded by gamma radiation. The combination of the radiation and the fact that some of the mutants' genes were imprinted on him as well, caused Banner to transform into the Hulk. Because of his exposure to mutant genes, Banner holds a deep murderous resentment for all mutants to the point that he volunteered for a suicide mission to detonate a chemical bomb that would destroy the entire mutant stronghold, forcing his former teammates to sacrifice their lives to detonate the bomb early. He was incinerated by his own bomb when one of his former teammates named Redback (this reality's Spider-Woman) uses Steel Corpse's (this reality's Iron Man) severed glove to destroy the bomb.
Amalgam Comics.
The Skulk is a hero of the Amalgam Universe. He is amalgamation of the Hulk and DC Comics' Solomon Grundy.
Bruce Banner was a scientist working with gamma rays. He was testing his gamma bomb out in the desert, but a tall figure walked out into the testing area. When Banner went out to see who it was, the man turned out to be Solomon Grundy. The bomb went off fusing Grundy and Banner together. When Banner gets angry he becomes Grundy, but the creature made a name for itself, calling itself Skulk.
Breaker-Apart.
In a potential future, the One Below All is able to destroy Bruce Banner's soul and possesses the body of the Hulk. After which, it went on to kill Franklin Richards, Galactus, Mister Immortal, and many others until it was the only being left in the universe. Taking on Bruce's appearance, the One Below All encounters the Sentience of the Eighth Cosmos/Metatron and is able to trick and devour him, absorbing his powers. In the newly formed Ninth Cosmos, the One Below All used its newly acquired powers to transform Hulk into a Galactus-like being named the 'Breaker-Apart'. 10 billion years later, the Breaker-Apart has destroyed all light, all life, and all planets in the Multiverse. When Par%l tried to make contact and reason with it, the alien instead meets the abstract form of the One Below All which told hir it wanted to "Make all hollow as I, dark and dead as I" and killed Par%l and hir's planet, O%los.
Bullet Points.
In the "Bullet Points" mini-series, Peter Parker finds himself on the test site for a Gamma bomb and absorbs a large dose of gamma radiation, becoming the Hulk. In a further twist, later in the series, in an attempt to find a cure for Peter, Dr. Bruce Banner examines specimens taken from the test site and is bitten by a radioactive spider, becoming Spider-Man. Parker is killed by Galactus and Banner is killed by an Inheritor during the "Spider-Verse" event.
Deadpool: Samurai (Earth-346).
In the "Deadpool: Samurai" manga series, which takes place on Earth-346, Bruce Banner removes a control collar from the singer Neiro Aratabi, who had been saved from a deranged fan by Deadpool. Banner then attempts to transform into the Hulk to help Deadpool stop HYDRA agents from retrieving the Gateway Controller, which had been hidden under the Tokyo Dome, but he was knocked unconscious by a piece of falling debris before he could finish his transformation. Banner did gradually regain consciousness and he then completed transforming into the Hulk, but he was quickly defeated by Thanos, who had been summoned by the Hydra agents.
Earth X.
The Earth X series featured a vastly different take on the character, one in which the Hulk and Bruce Banner have finally achieved separation. However, they still rely on each other with Banner becoming a blind child who sees through the Hulk's eyes. In an interview in "Comicology Volume I: The Kingdom Come Companion", Alex Ross said that the design of Earth-X Banner and Hulk was based on the appearance of Moon-Boy and Devil Dinosaur.
Exiles.
Numerous alternate versions of the Hulk have been present in the "Exiles" series.
Hulk: Chapter One.
In the "Hulk 1999 Annual", writer John Byrne revised the Hulk's origin, much like his '. In the revised origin, the Gamma Bomb that was being tested is now a gamma laser, and a Skrull was responsible for Rick Jones' presence on the base during the gamma test. The Skrull also disguised himself as Igor Rasminsky (Drenkov in the original stories), a fellow scientist working on the project. The contemporary setting removes the Cold War context of the original story, and serves as a tie-in to the ' maxi-series created by Roger Stern and Byrne, which also brought the origins of many Marvel characters out of the 1960s and into contemporary times. The storyline is currently designated as set on Earth-9992, and is not part of mainstream Marvel continuity (Earth-616).
The Last Avengers Story.
In the 1995 Two Issues mini series "The Last Avengers Story", Hulk was amongst those who joined "Thor", "The Thing" and "Hercules" in a mysterious conflict known as the "Great Cataclysm" which threatened "Olympus" and "Asgard". The event ended with Hulk holding Hercules's golden mace and his skin temporarily turned grey, suggesting that the Hulk was the only survivor of this conflict. After the Event Hulk was recruited alongside "Mockingbird", "Tigra", "Wonder Man" and "Hawkeye" to fight "Ultron" However Hulk had been seemingly corrupted by the events of the Great Cataclysm, Hulk turned on his allies, ripping Tigra in half and puncturing Wonder Man, Wonder Man unleashed his energy against the Hulk, seemingly killing them both and accidentally blinding Hawkeye. Hulk is finally defeated by Thor, which ends the chaos.
House of M.
In the "House of M" reality, Bruce Banner disappears in Australia, where he befriends an Aborigine tribe, and attempts to control his dark side. When the mutant rulers of the Earth attack his tribe he retaliates, and eventually conquers Australia with the aid of Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.).
Infernal Hulk.
In one alternative reality, Bruce Banner and the Hulk were magically separated. Bruce became the new Sorcerer Supreme, and the Hulk was cast into hell. However, while in hell, the Hulk became corrupted by the demonic beings he encountered, transforming him into a demon himself. Now completely evil, he escaped from hell and attempted to kill Banner. With help from the mainstream Hulk, Banner tricked the "infernal" Hulk into shattering the Eye of Agamotto, causing him to be thrown back into hell.
Maestro.
Set in a post apocalyptic future, the Hulk has mutated into the dictator Maestro ruling the remains of humanity with an iron fist. Ruthless, sadistic, violent, and tyrannical, the Maestro was shown to be an example of what would happen if the Hulk ever embraced his darker roots. Maestro was known to be an enemy of the Hulk, as the two alternate versions fought each other on Maestro's world.
Marvel 2099.
For the "Marvel 2099" imprint, Gerard Jones and Dwayne Turner created a new version of the character. First appearing in "2099 Unlimited" #1, John Eisenhart, a selfish film producer in "LotusLand" (future Hollywood) is inadvertently exposed to gamma radiation by the Knights of the Banner (a cult worshipping the original Hulk) who intend to create a Hulk of their own. As the Hulk, Eisenhart finds himself representing freedom to a closed-off society. A "Hulk 2099" series was published for 10 issues.
The unified Marvel Noir reality of Earth-2099 featured a version of Hulk 2009. In addition, there was a 2099 version of Grey Hulk who was a member of the 2099 version of the Avengers until he was among those who were killed by the 2099 version of the Masters of Evil. The 2099 version of Moon Knight survived the massacre and formed the 2099 version of the New Avengers with Hulk 2099 as one of its members as they avenged Grey Hulk 2099 and the fallen Avengers by defeating the Masters of Evil and having them remanded to a prison on the planet Wakanda.
Marvel Comics 2.
In another take, The Hulk is shown to still be active in the alternative future of the MC2 universe. There, he is shown as an amalgamation of his three main transformations; He has the strength of the Savage Hulk, the attitude of the Grey Hulk, and the intelligence of the Professor Hulk.
He's also shown to have fathered a son named David by an unknown spouse.
He was later seen within the pages of "Last Hero Standing", where Loki manipulated him into attacking the heroes. When he was freed of his manipulation he was critical in punishing Loki by forcing him into the voided dimension that Thor had opened a rift into, Hulk informing Loki that he was ruined on Earth because of Loki's actions and he therefore had nothing to lose by ensuring that Loki would be punished for eternity.
Marvel Zombies.
Marvel Zombies: Dead Days.
In the series "Marvel Zombies", the Hulk has been infected with a virus which makes him into an undead zombie (he is actually infected by the zombie Fantastic Four). Although he still retains his strength and invulnerability, he no longer heals, is losing weight because of his now-deteriorating tissue, does not feel pain and now craves human flesh. The zombie Hulk's transformations are physically controlled purely by his appetite — after feeding, he transforms back into Banner, who is also a zombie, until the hunger returns. When Hulk first transforms back into Banner, his stomach starts to burst. He is directly responsible for killing the Silver Surfer by biting off his head. Later he joins Spider-Man, Iron-Man, Giant-Man, Wolverine and Luke Cage as the Galacti after killing and consuming Galactus.
Marvel Zombies 2.
Forty years later, the zombie Hulk, along with the other zombies, had eaten or converted most of the universe, prompting them to return to Earth to try to recover the dimensional transporter. Although the other zombies managed to beat their hunger by going without food for a time, the Hulk's raw hunger was too great for him to be convinced to stop, resulting in him killing the zombified but "cured" Iron Man, Jean Grey, Hawkeye, and Firelord. Once he feeds and returns to Bruce Banner, he is finally killed by Spider-Man, Wolverine, and Giant-Man, recognizing that there is no other way to stop the Hulk from feeding again.
Marvel Zombies 3.
Hulk makes a cameo appearance in "Marvel Zombies 3"' when Machine Man, Ultron, and Jocasta travel to Earth 2149, killing winged zombies (zombie Beak, Angel, Vulture, and Falcon altogether). He also makes another cameo appearance when Vanessa Fisk explains to the 3 androids how the Silver Surfer died, and how the zombie Kingpin, who is, surprisingly, her husband, created a zombie empire forming a huge alliance.
Marvel Zombies Return.
A second Hulk appears in the reality the Marvel Zombies of the original series are teleported to, known as Earth-Z. This version's life appears identical to his core counterpart up until the events of World War Hulk. When he reaches the Moon to attack the Inhumans, he is infected by the zombie Giant-Man, and his allies killed. Oddly hungry, he heads back to Earth and begins eating people, and ultimately infecting the Sentry, who sets about forming a team of Zombie Avengers to eat humanity and wipe out any competition or resistance from other heroes, infected or otherwise dead. After the Sentry tries to kill Hulk to eliminate the competition as the two are the only creatures capable of challenging each other, Hulk is later cured of his hunger by the Zombie Spider-Man and joins his New Avengers. The team succeeds in killing the Zombie Avengers and ending their plan to eat the multiverse, sacrificing themselves in the process. Ultimately, the nanite infused Sandman killed Hulk.
Old Man Logan.
"Old Man Logan" is set 50 years into an apocalyptic future. The world is in ruin and shadow following a massive conflict. A large coordinated force of super villains has killed a majority of the heroes and seized control of the United States splitting it into sections. Bruce Banner is said to have gone mad from radiation sickness, possibly from nuclear weapons that may have been used during the conflict or this and other changes may be the long-term result of his famous gamma radiation accident. Bruce's personality and powers seem altered, in human form he now has little empathy and possesses superhuman strength. Banner and his cousin Jennifer Walters have mated and produced offspring that possess their green skin and a little of their strength. They form the hillbilly-like "Hulk Gang" that rule the entire west coast of the country dubbed "Hulkland", a domain formerly held by the Abomination until Banner killed him. Banner, along with his children and grandchildren, live in a collection of caves and trailers, forcing those that live on the west coast to pay them rent in order to be allowed to live.
There were two versions of the Hulk that appear:
Earth-807128.
"Pappy" Bruce Banner's family threaten Logan's family over rent due to the Banners. Logan accompanies Clint Barton on a cross country delivery to source the rent money. When Logan returns and finds the bodies of his family, killed by the Banners, he kills the Hulk Gang and attacks Pappy Banner who admits that he set all of this into motion because he missed their old brawls. Banner gets angry when Wolverine calls him a redneck SOB and drives his claws through his chest. He transforms into The Hulk. Hulk overpowers Logan and eats him. Logan's mutant healing factor then allows him to recover and slash his way out of Hulk's stomach, killing him. Logan spots Banner's son, Bruce, Jr. and spares him. Logan takes the boy to raise in an effort to someday help combat the various villains that still rule the country.
Old Man Logan found that Pappy Banner's head was placed on a gamma-powered robot made from Adamantium by Tinkerer. He used it in his revenge on Old Man Logan. Before Old Man Logan can be finished off by Pappy Banner, he is suddenly attacked by Bruce Banner Jr. who separated Pappy Banner's head from the Adamantium armor. Rather than kill his head, Old Man Logan buried it and planted a tree over him so that its roots can slowly dig into his skull.
Earth-21923.
Pappy Banner's history on Earth-21923's history was still intact up to his death at the hands of Old Man Logan. When Old Man Logan uses Asmodeus' help to return to this future to rescue Bruce Banner Jr., he finds that the time has been altered in which Maestro appears in the place of Pappy Banner. This unidentified version of Maestro has rounded up the remaining members of the Hulk Gang as he makes plans to help them build a paradise for all Hulks on Earth-616. With help from the Cambria Banner, Logan and Hawkeye of Earth-616 were able to defeat Maestro and the surviving members of the Hulk Gang went their separate ways.
Otto Banner.
During the "Devil's Reign" storyline, Doctor Octopus started forming his Superior Four that includes a Hulk that has four extra arms growing from his back. His real name is Otto Banner of Earth-8816 and he was also abused by his Earth's version of Brian Banner.
Ruins.
In the Warren Ellis series "Ruins", a dark flip to the Kurt Busiek tale "Marvels", the accidents, experiments and mutations that led to the creation of Super Heroes and super humans, instead led to terrible deformations and painful deaths. Here, Bruce Banner's story goes exactly the same as his 616 counterpart, but when he is caught in the middle of the gamma bomb explosion, instead of transforming into the Incredible Hulk, his whole body opens up from the gigantic tumors that appear inside it, pushing most of his organs and skull outside his body and giving Rick Jones cancer. He did not die, and was put in an underground vault by the CIA, codenamed "the Hulk".
Secret Wars (2015).
During the "Secret Wars" storyline, different versions of Hulk reside in each Battleworld domain.
Spider-Geddon.
During the "Spider-Geddon" storyline, a sequel to "Spider-Verse", Robbie Banner is a punk on Earth-138 who is allied with Spider-Punk and can turn into the Hulk while listening to "Atomic Bomb" music. He helped Spider-Punk and Captain Anarchy fight the U-Foes at the Hellfire Club, assisted Spider-Punk and M.C. Strange push the Universal Church of Truth out of Queens, and fought Hydra on the streets. After obtaining the "Atomic Bomb" tape from Captain Anarchy, Spider-Punk visited Robbie to get his help, but the latter was reluctant to listen to the tape. When Kang the Conglomerator went on the attack, Robbie reluctantly listened to the tape and transformed into the Hulk to help Spider-Punk fight Kang.
The End.
In other tales, possible futures for the character have been shown. Using a post apocalyptic wasteland as a backdrop, the Peter David written "" one-shot features an elderly Bruce Banner as the last surviving inhabitant of Earth, the Hulk having hidden in a cave during a nuclear war until he was released by the Recorder sent to confirm humanity's demise. After Bruce has spent time traveling Earth, transforming into the Hulk at night and when attacked by the mutated cockroaches that are the only other surviving lifeforms on Earth, the story concludes with Banner dying of a heart attack, thus leaving the Hulk as the last living being on the planet, Hulk musing that he is now "the only one there is", having achieved his wish to be left alone, but aware that he will die if he turns back into Banner.
Ultimate Marvel.
In the Ultimate Marvel universe, the Hulk first appears in "Ultimate Marvel Team-Up" #2 (2001), written by Brian Michael Bendis and drawn by Phil Hester. In the "Ultimates" series, Bruce Banner works for S.H.I.E.L.D., attempting to re-create the super-soldier formula that created Captain America.
Dr. Robert Bruce Banner was one of the leading scientists in the United States. He had a scientist named Leonard Williams as his teacher.
He was later among the scientists that are used to recreate the Super-Soldier Formula that created Captain America. Bruce Banner is shown to have been hired by the U.S. Government and General Nick Fury as part of a project to secretly recreate the Super Soldier Serum. At a covert lab in Dover, New Jersey, Bruce works alongside fellow scientists, Hank Pym, Franklin Storm, father of Sue and Johnny Storm, and Richard Parker, father of Peter Parker. Bruce believes that he has come up with the correct formula for the serum, but needs to test it out. Eager to try his results on a human subject, Banner synthesizes his serum and injects himself with it. The serum turns him into the Hulk for the first time. Banner goes on a rampage inside the laboratory and eventually destroys the entire complex, nearly killing Richard Parker, along with his wife Mary, who had brought an infant Peter along with her to visit Richard. Years later, Hulk laid waste to Chelsea Piers before he could be subdued by Spider-Man and taken into custody.
Banner and Henry Pym were both hired by S.H.I.E.L.D. to create post-human soldiers for S.H.I.E.L.D.'s "Ultimates", with Banner focusing on the Super-Soldier formula responsible for Captain America, and Henry Pym experimenting with his Giant-Man formula. Whereas Pym found success and celebrity with "Giant-Man", Banner found himself unable to crack the Super-Soldier formula. Classifying himself a failure and suffering ridicule at the hands of Pym, Banner took some of the recently rediscovered Captain America's blood, combined it with his Hulk formula, and injected it. Banner rationalized his decision by saying that turning himself into a monster gave the Ultimates a villain to fight, thereby justifying their existence at a time when they were accused of being an enormous multi-billion dollar waste of government resources. Before lapsing into unconsciousness however, Banner confessed that "honest-to-God truth of the matter" is that he simply "just missed being big".
Shortly afterwards, Banner transformed into a sociopathic grey-skinned Hulk that channeled and amplified Banner's hidden emotions, unleashing the darkest depths of his id. The Hulk proceeded to track down and pursue Betty Ross, the object of Bruce Banner's affection who, because of relationship problems with Banner, was courting the favor of Hollywood film star Freddie Prinze, Jr. that night, and inadvertently boasted about it to Banner over the phone shortly before his transformation. During his rampage and cross-town pursuit of the fleeing Betty Ross, The Hulk informed Betty that he was "horny as Hell" and destroyed everything in his path, indiscriminately killing hundreds of people in the process. After rendering Giant-Man unconscious and overpowering Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor, who were all dispatched to stop his rampage, The Hulk changed back into Banner after the Wasp entered his skull through the ear canal and fired her bio-electric sting directly into his brain. Upon regaining consciousness, Banner was promptly knocked unconscious, restrained and shuttled away to S.H.I.E.L.D., the connection between him and the Ultimate Hulk covered up. Later, after being subdued by the Ultimates, an examination on Banner's blood revealed that the latest Super-Soldier Formula he took has placed a more permanent effect on Banner. The "Hulk cells" were not disappearing like they did after the first time Banner transformed, showing that the new Super-Soldier Formula Banner took would forever keep the Hulk within him.
After his rampage, Banner spent a number of months in a cell specifically designed to withstand the Hulk's fury, with Anti-Hulk serum administered to him on a continuous basis. Amidst the Chitauri's assault on Earth and their takeover of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the United States Armed Forces, General Fury quickly mobilized an army and attacked the alien base in Arizona. During his battle with Herr Kleiser, a Chitauri agent capable of absorbing and administering enormous physical damage, Captain America, with all other tactical options exhausted, gave the order for "the Weapon of Last Resort" and gave "Permission to traumatize Banner", who was in a helicopter with a military escort hovering over the S.H.I.E.L.D. battlefield. The delicate procedure of traumatizing a 90-pound scientist simply amounted to throwing him out of the chopper in hopes that his anger would overcome the effects of the anti-Hulk serum coursing through his veins. The Hulk's first course of action was to bodyslam Captain America into the concrete to pay him back for breaking Banner's jaw after the first Hulk transformation in Manhattan. Captain America immediately pointed out Herr Kleiser, declaring that he had been "all over Betty" while Banner was in his solitary cell. Not one to be overshadowed by a skinny German Nazi, the Hulk promptly pounded Kleiser to a pulp and even ate him. While Hulk was dining on Kleiser, Captain America manipulated him once more by calling down to him, telling Hulk that the Chitauri alien fleet had called him a "sissy-boy" and asked if the Hulk intended to let the aliens get away with such an insult. In a most vigorous defense of his heterosexuality, Hulk leaped a mile into the air, ripping apart the entire airborne alien fleet that clouded the sky, all the while proclaiming that "Hulk no Sissy Boy...HULK STRAIGHT!" Even after destroying the entire fleet and saving what remained of the day, the Hulk was full of adrenaline and rage, and needed to be sedated. Hawkeye, the marksman, was called in to take him down with an adamantium-tipped syringe full of anti-Hulk serum. Hawkeye did, but barely succeeded since Hulk seemed to be impervious to the antidote Hawkeye shot into Hulk before he finally passed out. While Banner returned to normal while in containment in S.H.I.E.L.D., his caretakers monitored him closely. Because of Herr Kleiser's shapeshifting abilities, Banner's stool were collected and properly disposed of after the battle, to rule out the possibility of Kleiser reconstituting himself in a cunning, if disgusting, way.
When Magneto attacked the Triskelion's lockup during the "Ultimate War" series, power went down for the entire facility. The Hulk was said to have eaten six members of the nursing staff in the chaos.
During the "Ultimate Six" miniseries, the Triskelion was attacked by Electro and Green Goblin, but Banner was later reported by Iron Man to have "fallen asleep reading a magazine" and was promptly sedated for a week just in case.
Banner remained in his cell for a year, with very few Hulk episodes; during one such transformation, he sat on the couch and watched "Curb Your Enthusiasm" until he changed back. The few visitors he received included Hank Pym, demonstrating his new "Ant Man" technology. Shortly thereafter, he learned from the national news that somebody had leaked top-secret information to the press regarding the Hulk/Banner connection. S.H.I.E.L.D. hired lawyer Matt Murdock to try to avoid the death penalty for 800-plus murder counts by bringing up the important things Banner had done in the interests of national security, and his work for the Ultimates. During jury deliberation, Banner received a visit from General Nick Fury, who told him that the case had been dismissed, and presented him with a bottle of champagne. Eagerly drinking his first drink as a free man, Banner passed out – the bottle had been drugged by Hank Pym at Fury's request – and awakened much later on the deck of an aircraft carrier, with a one-megaton nuclear weapon nearby. Fortunately for his well-being, he transformed into the Hulk right before the nuclear device was detonated. Later, Banner anonymously calls Pym from a public telephone to thank him for deliberately botching the dose before Banner decided to go into hiding. It is not clear if Pym deliberately botched the dose, or was merely incompetent in his research.
Bruce Banner later appears in Washington D.C. before one of the Crimson Dynamo's giant duplicates, letting it step on him, all the while muttering to himself about being "in touch with his inner sociopath". The Hulk appears in the next panel, lifting the robot with both hands and then ripping it in two, finishing the issue with a declaration of "NOW BRING IT ON!" He then continues to aid the Ultimates against the Liberators by defeating, dismembering, and finally eating Abomination.
Some time after Banner's disappearance in the pages of "Ultimate Wolverine Vs. Hulk", strange occurrences across Europe and Asia reported. General Fury started piecing together the evidence and concluded that despite their distance from one another, they were all related. The discovery of feces in Tibet belonging to Banner confirmed that he had survived his execution. Since S.H.I.E.L.D. was in charge of executing Banner in a very public way, they acted to cover up their error by contracting James "Logan" Howlett (Wolverine) to track Banner down and eliminate him. Logan arrives at a rural village in Tibet and discovers that all the women have been kidnapped. He eventually makes his way to a beautiful but derelict palace. The Hulk (decked in Tibetan robes and beads) has taken up residence here with the kidnapped women as his concubines. The Hulk is annoyed at being interrupted and he and Wolverine fight. After an intense struggle, the Hulk physically rips Wolverine's body in half and hurls his legs four miles up a mountain, leaving Logan's torso to freeze in the snow.
Issue #2 reveals, in flashback, that Bruce Banner, after travelling through France, Ireland and India, finally treks to Tibet, to seek the wisdom of the Panchen Lama who he hopes can reveal the true relationship behind Banner and the Hulk. It is here that the Hulk resides prior to Logan's intrusion.
He then appeared together with Iron Man in their own mini-series titled "Ultimate Human", focusing on Bruce Banner approaching Tony Stark about the possibility of using the Iron Man nanites to control the Hulk transformations. The Leader is introduced as Pete Wisdom, a scientist after the blood of both men, for use in the creation of a superhuman. This series depicts the Hulk's physiology as almost infinitely adaptive to adverse conditions, including simulations of hostile extraterrestrial environments such as the surface of the planet Venus. It also described him as generating carbon Fullerenes in his skin structure, adding to his durability.
A naked Hulk comes into a restaurant demanding food. Princess Zarda who is already at the restaurant fights and defeats the Hulk. After the fight, the two form a bond and go to another restaurant before renting a motel room and having sex.
During the "Ultimatum" storyline, the Hulk appears in New York and is convinced by Spider-Man to help him rescue people. When demons start appearing they go to the home of Doctor Strange, only to learn that his body had been possessed by Nightmare. He then starts to torture them. Hulk in response heats the Orb of Acmantata, which causes an explosion. He survives and is recruited by the remaining Ultimates and X-Men to stop Magneto. In Magneto's Citadel, he and Colossus are tasked with destroying some of the citadel's machinery. They try to stop Mystique and Sabretooth from escaping, but fail. Hulk survives Ultimatum and is later seen in in a soup kitchen as Bruce Banner in New York. He is convinced by Karen Grant to be their "enforcer" in a new team sponsored by former Director Nick Fury.
During the European crisis involving the Children of Tomorrow, Hulk was convinced by S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Flumm to attack the Children of Tomorrow in exchange for the safety of Betty Ross, currently in custody. Hulk was unleashed in Children's base called The City, but the Maker managed to calm him down and convince him that he was being used. In that moment, the US Government launched an ineffective nuclear attack on the City, and the Children detonate an anti-matter bomb in Washington, D.C. in retaliation. When the Ultimates finally turned the tide, the Maker injected the Hulk with the Giant-Man serum, turning him into a giant juggernaut, although he was defeated and put into sedated custody beneath the Triskelion once more.
Bruce was freed by the mysterious woman called Kang, and convinced him to steal the Infinity Gems with which he battled the Ultimates. After the arrival of escapee Reed Richards, the heroes escaped, but Captain America decided to be left behind in order to stop the villains, although he was defeated by Thor.
When Maker merged all realities in order to help Eternity to fight the First Firmament, Hulk is among the Ultimates members that are revived. It was shown that Hulk did not retain his intelligence and referred to himself in the third person. When the Ultimates of Earth-616 arrived on Counter-Earth to confront Maker for his actions, he had the Earth-1610 Ultimates fight the Earth-616 Ultimates where Hulk was thrown out of the building by Blue Marvel. Eventually, Hulk and the rest of the Earth-1610 Ultimates decided that there was no reason to fight the Earth-616 Ultimates which resulted in Maker killing the Earth-1610 Captain America. After aiding the Earth-616 Ultimates into giving Eternity the power to defeat the First Firmament, Hulk and the rest of the Earth-1610 Ultimates left to pursue Maker.
After Earth-1610 was restored, Hulk was seen with the Avengers where they help Spider-Man fight Green Goblin.
Ultimate Universe.
During the "Ultimate Invasion" storyline, Maker visits Earth-6160 and remakes it into his own image. One of the things he could not succeed in was preventing the origin of Hulk, who would later find personal "enlightenment". He and his fellow monks of the Children of the Eternal Light would later attend an international event held by the Maker at the City in Latveria as part of his Council. Hulk and the Children of the Eternal Light are revealed to rule India and parts of Asia.
While giving condolences to Howard Stark over the death of Obadiah Stane, Hulk explains the artificial nature of the war economy praticed by the Council's power blocs as Stark is appointed to rule the North American Union in Stane's former role. Hulk and the other leaders later discuss about The City closing up for two years with Maker imprisoned inside. With Howard Stark being locked inside as well, Hulk and the others plan to divide up the Union among themselves.
Hulk and other members of the Council are later informed of Iron Lad's raid on the Latverian repositories. While giving his condolences to Henri Duggary due to his wounds, Hulk states that Tony Stark "gave them America", as the group uses an orbiting Stark/Stane satellite to conduct a false flag attack on Stark Tower, causing thousands of casualities in a section of Manhattan. He suggests framing Stark and his allies as terrorists as they consolidate control over the Union's territories.
It is later shown that Banner was the director of the Castle Gamma project, creating the "Banner-Ulam Gamma Bomb" and detonating it over an island in the Pacific, causing not only his transformation into the Hulk but also a mass contamination incident involving the island's inhabitants (mirroring the real-life events of Castle Bravo and the fallout over the Marshall Islands). It's stated that Banner might have deliberately planned the results, also trying to conceal the island to the rest of the world and make it impossible to reach in the current days. As the Ultimates members Iron Lad, Thor, and Sif make an agreement with a Gamma-powered native called , Banner watches from a hidden camera feed as he orders his subordinates in the Children of the Eternal Light to assemble the Immortal Weapons, as the team is starting to "make him angry".
Hulk later speaks with Emmanuel da Costa about the attacks on the different Roxxon facilities which are part of Emmanuel's profile. Hulk calms Emmanuel down while stating that he considers the Ultimates an insurgency and that he will kill them once and for all.
In other media.
The character has been played in live-action and animation by a variety of actors. The character was first played in live-action by Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno in the 1978 television series "The Incredible Hulk" and its subsequent television films "The Incredible Hulk Returns" (1988), "The Trial of the Incredible Hulk" (1989), and "The Death of the Incredible Hulk" (1990), and Eric Bana in the film "Hulk" (2003). In the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), the character was first portrayed by Edward Norton in the film "The Incredible Hulk" (2008), and then by Mark Ruffalo in later appearances, including the films "The Avengers" (2012), "Iron Man 3" (2013), ' (2015), ' (2017), ' (2018), "Captain Marvel" (2019), ' (2019), and "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" (2021), and the television series "" (2022) and "What If...?" (2021).
Reception.
The Hulk was ranked #1 on a listing of Marvel Comics' monster characters in 2015.
In 2018, "CBR.com" ranked The Thing (Bruce Banner) 2nd in their "Age Of Apocalypse: The 30 Strongest Characters In Marvel's Coolest Alternate World" list.
In 2022, "Screen Rant" included Hulk in their "10 Most Powerful Hercules Villains In Marvel Comics" list.
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Scooby-Doo
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Scooby-Doo is an American media franchise owned by Warner Bros. Entertainment and created in 1969 by writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears through their animated series, "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!", for Hanna-Barbera (which was absorbed into Warner Bros. Animation in 2001). The series features four teenagers: Fred Jones, Daphne Blake, Velma Dinkley, and Shaggy Rogers, and their talking Great Dane named Scooby-Doo, who solve mysteries involving supposedly supernatural creatures through a series of antics and missteps, while traveling using a brightly colored van called the "Mystery Machine". The franchise has several live-action films and shows.
"Scooby-Doo" was originally broadcast on CBS from 1969 to 1976, when it moved to ABC. ABC aired various versions of "Scooby-Doo" until canceling it in 1986, and presented a spin-off featuring the characters as children called "A Pup Named Scooby-Doo" from 1988 until 1991. Two "Scooby-Doo" reboots aired as part of Kids' WB on The WB and its successor The CW from 2002 until 2008. Further reboots were produced for Cartoon Network beginning in 2010 and continuing through 2018. Repeats of the various "Scooby-Doo" series are frequently broadcast on Cartoon Network's sister channel Boomerang in the United States and other countries. The most recent "Scooby-Doo" series, "Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?", premiered on June 27, 2019, as an original series on Boomerang's streaming service and later HBO Max.
In 2013, "TV Guide" ranked "Scooby-Doo" the fifth-greatest TV cartoon of all time.
Development.
In 1968, parent-run organizations, particularly Action for Children's Television (ACT), began protesting what they perceived as excessive violence in Saturday-morning cartoons. Most of these shows were Hanna-Barbera action cartoons such as "Space Ghost", "The Herculoids", and "Birdman and the Galaxy Trio", and virtually all of them were canceled by 1969 because of pressure from the parent groups. Members of these watch groups served as advisers to Hanna-Barbera and other animation studios to ensure that new programs would be safe for children.
Fred Silverman, an executive for daytime programming at CBS, was then looking for a show that would both revitalize his Saturday-morning line and please the watch groups. The result was "The Archie Show" from Filmation, based on Bob Montana's teenage humor comic book "Archie". Also successful were the musical numbers The Archies performed during each program (one of which, "Sugar, Sugar", was the most successful "Billboard" number-one hit of 1969). Eager to build upon this success, Silverman contacted producers William Hanna and Joseph Barbera about creating another show based on a teenage rock group, this time featuring teens who solved mysteries between gigs. Silverman envisioned the show as a cross between the popular "I Love a Mystery" radio serials of the 1940s and the Archie characters or the popular early 1960s television series "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis".
After attempting to develop his version of the show, called "House of Mystery", Barbera, who developed and sold Hanna-Barbera shows while Hanna produced them, passed the task along to story writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears, as well as artist/character designer Iwao Takamoto. Their treatment, based in part on "The Archie Show", was titled "Mysteries Five" and featured five teenagers: Geoff, Mike, Kelly, Linda, and Linda's brother W.W., along with their bongo-playing dog, Too Much, who collectively formed the band Mysteries Five. When The Mysteries Five were not performing at gigs, they were out-solving spooky mysteries involving ghosts, zombies, and other supernatural creatures. Ruby and Spears were unable to decide whether Too Much would be a large cowardly dog or a small feisty one. When the former was chosen, Ruby and Spears wrote Too Much as a Great Dane but revised the dog character to a large sheepdog (similar to the Archies' sheepdog, Hot Dog) just before their presentation to Silverman, as Ruby feared the character would be too similar to the comic strip character Marmaduke. Silverman rejected their initial pitch, and after consulting with Barbera on next steps, got Barbera's permission to go ahead with Too Much being a Great Dane instead of a sheepdog.
During the design phase, lead character designer Takamoto consulted a studio colleague who was a breeder of Great Danes. After learning the characteristics of a prize-winning Great Dane from her, Takamoto proceeded to break most of the rules and designed Too Much with overly bowed legs, a double chin, and a sloped back, among other abnormalities.
Ruby and Spears' second pass at the show used "Dobie Gillis" as the template for the teenagers rather than "Archie". The treatment retained the dog Too Much, while reducing the number of teenagers to four, removing the Mike character and retaining Geoff, Kelly, Linda, and W.W. As their personalities were modified, so were the characters' names: Geoff became "Ronnie"—later renamed "Fred" (at Silverman's behest), Kelly became "Daphne", Linda "Velma", and W.W. "Shaggy". The teens were now based on four teenage characters from "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis": Dobie Gillis, Thalia Menninger, Zelda Gilroy and Maynard G. Krebs, respectively.
The revised show was re-pitched to Silverman, who liked the material but, disliking the title "Mysteries Five", decided to call the show "Who's S-S-Scared?" Silverman presented "Who's S-S-Scared?" to the CBS executives as the centerpiece for the upcoming 1969–70 season's Saturday-morning cartoon block. CBS president Frank Stanton felt that the presentation artwork was too scary for young viewers and, thinking the show would be the same, decided to pass on it.
Now without a centerpiece for the upcoming season's programming, Silverman had Ruby, Spears, and the Hanna-Barbera staff revise the treatments and presentation materials to tone down the show and better reflect its comedy elements. The rock band element was dropped, and more attention was focused on Shaggy and Too Much. According to Ruby and Spears, Silverman was inspired by Frank Sinatra's scat "doo-be-doo-be-doo" at the end of his recording of "Strangers in the Night" on a red-eye flight to one of the development meetings, and decided to rename the dog "Scooby-Doo" and retitled the show "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!" The revised show was re-presented to CBS executives, who approved it for production.
CBS years (1969–76).
"Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!".
The first episode of "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!" "What a Night for a Knight" debuted on the CBS network Saturday, September 13, 1969, at 10:30 AM Eastern Time. The original voice cast featured Don Messick as Scooby-Doo, Casey Kasem as Shaggy, Frank Welker as Fred, actress Nicole Jaffe as Velma, and Indira Stefanianna as Daphne. Scooby's speech patterns closely resembled an earlier cartoon dog, Astro from "The Jetsons" (1962–63), also voiced by Messick. Seventeen episodes of "Scooby-Doo Where Are You!" were produced in 1969–70. The series theme song was written by David Mook and Ben Raleigh, and performed by Larry Marks.
Each of these episodes features Scooby and the four teenage members of Mystery, Inc.—Fred, Shaggy, Daphne, and Velma—arriving at a location in the Mystery Machine, a van painted with psychedelic colors and flower power imagery. Encountering a purportedly supernatural monster terrorizing the local populace, such as a ghost, they decide to investigate. The kids split up to look for clues and suspects, while being chased at turns by the monster. Eventually, the kids come to realize the paranormal activity is actually an elaborate hoax, and—often with the help of a Rube Goldberg-like trap designed by Fred—they capture the creature suit-wearing villain and unmask him or her. Revealed usually as a flesh and blood crook who used the costume to cover up their crimes, the villain is arrested and taken to jail, often with the catchphrase "if it weren't for those pesky/meddling kids". A few times though, the "villain" turns out to be innocent, such as a haywire robot or the owner disguised to scare away thieves.
Scheduled opposite another teenage mystery-solving show, ABC's "The Hardy Boys", "Scooby-Doo" became a ratings success, with Nielsen ratings reporting that as many as 65% of Saturday-morning audiences were tuned in to CBS when "Scooby-Doo" was being broadcast. The show was renewed for a second season in 1970, for which eight episodes were produced. Seven of the second-season episodes featured chase sequences set to bubblegum pop songs recorded by Austin Roberts, who also re-recorded the theme song for this season. With Stefanianna Christopherson having married and retired from voice acting, Heather North assumed the role of Daphne, and she continued to voice the character until 1997.
The TV influences of "I Love a Mystery" and "Dobie Gillis" were apparent in the first episode. Of the similarities between the "Scooby-Doo" teens and the "Dobie Gillis" teens, the similarities between Shaggy and Maynard are the most noticeable; both characters share the same beatnik-style goatee, similar hairstyles, and demeanors. The core premise of "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!" was also similar to Enid Blyton's "Famous Five" books. Both series featured four youths with a dog, and the Famous Five stories often revolved around a mystery which invariably turned out not to be supernaturally based, but simply a ruse to disguise the villain's true intent.
The role of each character was strongly defined in the series: Fred is the leader and the determined detective, Velma is the intelligent analyst, Daphne is danger-prone, Shaggy is a coward more motivated by hunger than any desire to solve mysteries, and Scooby is similar to Shaggy, save for a Bob Hope-inspired tendency towards temporary bravery. Later versions of the show made slight changes to the characters' established roles, such as showing the Daphne in 1990s and 2000s "Scooby-Doo" productions as knowing many forms of karate and having the ability to defend herself, and reducing her tendency towards being kidnapped.
"Scooby-Doo" itself influenced many other Saturday-morning cartoons of the 1970s. During that decade, Hanna-Barbera and its rivals produced several animated programs also featuring teenage detectives solving mysteries with a pet or mascot of some sort, including "Josie and the Pussycats" (1970–71), "The Funky Phantom" (1971–72), "The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan" (1972–73), "Speed Buggy" (1973–74), "Goober and the Ghost Chasers" (1973–74), "Jabberjaw" (1976–78), and "Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels" (1977–80).
"The New Scooby-Doo Movies".
In the fall of 1972, new one-hour episodes under the title "The New Scooby-Doo Movies" were created; each episode featuring a real or fictitious guest star helping the gang solve mysteries, including characters from other Hanna-Barbera series such as "Harlem Globetrotters", "Josie and the Pussycats" and "Speed Buggy", the comic book characters Batman and Robin (adapted into their own Hanna-Barbera series, "Super Friends", a year later), and celebrities such as Sandy Duncan, The Addams Family, Cass Elliot, Phyllis Diller, Don Knotts and The Three Stooges. Hanna-Barbera musical director Hoyt Curtin composed a new theme song for this series, and Curtin's theme remained in use for much of "Scooby-Doo's" original broadcast run. After two seasons and 24 episodes of the "New Movies" format from 1972 to 1973, CBS began airing reruns of the original "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!" series until its option on the series expired in 1976.
ABC years (1976–91).
"The Scooby-Doo Show" and "Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics".
Now president of ABC, Fred Silverman made a deal with Hanna-Barbera to bring new episodes of "Scooby-Doo" to the ABC Saturday-morning lineup, where the show went through almost yearly lineup changes. For their 1976–77 season, 16 new episodes of Scooby-Doo were joined with a new Hanna-Barbera show, "Dynomutt, Dog Wonder", to create "The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour" (the show became "The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Show" when a bonus "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!" rerun was added to the package in November 1976). Joe Ruby and Ken Spears, now working for Silverman as supervisors of the ABC Saturday-morning programs, returned the program to its original "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!" format, with the addition of Scooby's dim-witted country cousin Scooby-Dum, voiced by Daws Butler, as a recurring character. The voice cast was held over from "The New Scooby-Doo Movies" save for Nicole Jaffe, who retired from acting in 1973. Pat Stevens took over her role as the voice of Velma.
Then Joe Ruby and Ken Spears left again to start their own studio in 1977 as competition for Hanna-Barbera. They would remain away for the rest of the 1980s.
For the 1977–78 season, "The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Show" became the two-hour programming block "Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics" (1977–78) with the addition of "Laff-a-Lympics" and "Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels". In addition to eight new episodes of "Scooby-Doo" and reruns of the 1969 show, Scooby-Doo also appeared during the "All-Star" block's "Laff-a-Lympics" series, which featured 45 Hanna-Barbera characters competing in "Battle of the Network Stars"-esque parodies of Olympic sporting events. Scooby was seen as the team captain of the "Laff-a-Lympics" "Scooby-Doobies" team, which also featured Shaggy and Scooby-Dum among its members.
"Scooby's All-Star Laff-a-Lympics" was retitled "Scooby's All Stars" for the 1978–79 season, reduced to 90 minutes when "Dynomutt" was spun off into its own half-hour and the 1969 reruns were dropped. "Scooby's All-Stars" continued broadcasting reruns of "Scooby-Doo" from 1976 and 1977, while new episodes of "Scooby-Doo" aired during a separate half-hour under the "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!" banner. After nine weeks, the separate "Where Are You!" broadcast was cancelled, and the remainder of the 16 new 1978 episodes debuted during the "Scooby's All-Stars" block. The 40 total "Scooby-Doo" episodes produced from 1976 to 1978 were later packaged together for syndication as "The Scooby-Doo Show", under which title they continue to air.
"Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo".
The "Scooby-Doo" characters first appeared outside of their regular Saturday-morning format in "Scooby Goes Hollywood", an hour-long ABC television special aired in prime time on December 13, 1979. The special revolved around Shaggy and Scooby attempting to convince the network to move Scooby out of Saturday morning and into a prime-time series, and featured spoofs of then-current television series and films such as "Happy Days", "Superman: The Movie", "Laverne & Shirley" and "Charlie's Angels".
In 1979, Scooby's tiny nephew Scrappy-Doo was added to both the series and the billing, in an attempt to boost "Scooby-Doo"s slipping ratings. The 1979–80 episodes, aired under the new title "Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo" as an independent half-hour show, succeeded in regenerating interest in the show. Lennie Weinrib voiced Scrappy in the 1979–80 episodes, with Don Messick assuming the role thereafter. Marla Frumkin replaced Pat Stevens as the voice of Velma mid-season.
"Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo" shorts.
As a result of "Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo" success, the entire show was overhauled in 1980 to focus more upon Scrappy-Doo. At this time, Scooby-Doo started to walk and run anthropomorphically on two feet more often, rather than on four like a normal dog as he did previously. Fred, Daphne, and Velma were dropped from the series, and the new "Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo" format now consisted of three seven-minute comedic adventures starring Scooby, Scrappy, and Shaggy instead of one half-hour mystery. Most of the supernatural villains in the seven-minute "Scooby and Scrappy" cartoons, who in previous "Scooby" series had been revealed to be human criminals in costume, were now real within the context of the series.
This version of "Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo" first aired from 1980 to 1982 as part of "The Richie Rich/Scooby-Doo Show", an hour-long program also featuring episodes of Hanna-Barbera's new "Richie Rich" cartoon, adapted from the Harvey Comics character. From 1982 to 1983, "Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo" were part of "The Scooby-Doo/Scrappy-Doo/Puppy Hour", a co-production with Ruby-Spears Productions which featured two "Scooby and Scrappy" shorts, a "Scrappy and Yabba-Doo" short featuring Scrappy-Doo and his Western deputy uncle Yabba-Doo, and "The Puppy's New Adventures", based on characters from a 1977 Ruby-Spears TV special. Despite the popularity, this was negatively hated by fans for how it dropped the mystery format and other main characters like Fred, Daphne, and Velma.
Beginning in 1980, a half-hour of reruns from previous incarnations of "Scooby-Doo" were broadcast on ABC Saturday mornings in addition to first-run episodes. Airing under the titles "Scooby-Doo Classics", "Scary Scooby Funnies", "The Best of Scooby-Doo", and "Scooby's Mystery Funhouse", the rerun package remained on the air until the end of the 1986 season.
"The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show".
"Scooby-Doo" was restored to a standalone half-hour in 1983 with "The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show" in 1983, which comprised two 11-minute mysteries per episode in a format reminiscent of the original "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!" mysteries. Heather North returned to the voice cast as Daphne, who in this incarnation solved mysteries with Shaggy, Scooby, and Scrappy while working undercover as a reporter for a teen magazine.
This version of the show lasted for two seasons, with the second season airing under the title "The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries". The 1984–85 season episodes featured semi-regular appearances from Fred and Velma, with Frank Welker and Marla Frumkin resuming their respective roles for these episodes.
"The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo".
1985 saw the debut of "The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo", which featured Daphne, Shaggy, Scooby, Scrappy, and new characters Flim-Flam (voiced by Susan Blu) and Vincent Van Ghoul (based upon and voiced by Vincent Price) traveling the globe to capture "thirteen of the most terrifying ghosts upon the face of the earth." The final first-run episode of "The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo" aired in December 1985, and after its reruns were removed from the ABC lineup the following March, no new "Scooby" series aired on the network for the next two years.
"A Pup Named Scooby-Doo".
Hanna-Barbera reincarnated the original "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!" cast as elementary school students (a common trope in 1980s children's TV) for a new series titled "A Pup Named Scooby-Doo", which debuted on ABC in 1988. "A Pup Named Scooby-Doo" was an irreverent re-imagining of the series, heavily inspired by the classic cartoons of Tex Avery and Bob Clampett, and eschewed the realistic aesthetic of the original "Scooby" series for a more "Looney Tunes"-like style, including an episode where Scooby-Doo's parents show up and reveal his real name to be "Scoobert". At the same time, the series returned to its original formula in that the group unmasked human villains in costume, as opposed to the supernatural monsters of the early to mid-1980s. The series also established "Coolsville" as the name of the gang's hometown; this setting was retained for several of the later "Scooby" productions. The retooled show was a success, remaining in production for four seasons and on ABC's lineup until 1991.
"A Pup Named Scooby-Doo" was developed and produced by Tom Ruegger, who had been the head story editor on "Scooby-Doo" since 1983. Following the first season of "A Pup Named Scooby-Doo", Ruegger and much of his unit defected from Hanna-Barbera to Warner Bros. Animation to develop "Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures" and later "Animaniacs", "Pinky and the Brain", and "Freakazoid!".
Kids' WB years (2002–08).
"What's New, Scooby-Doo?".
In 2002, following the successes of the Cartoon Network reruns, the direct to video franchise, and the first feature film, "Scooby-Doo" returned to Saturday morning for the first time in a decade with "What's New, Scooby-Doo?", which aired on Kids' WB from 2002 until 2006. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, the show follows the format of the original series but places it in the 21st century, featuring a heavy promotion of modern technology (computers, DVD, the Internet, cell phones) and culture.
Beginning with this series, Frank Welker took over as Scooby's voice actor, while continuing to provide the voice of Fred as well. Casey Kasem returned as Shaggy, on the condition that the character be depicted as a vegetarian like Kasem himself. Grey DeLisle continued to voice Daphne, and former "Facts of Life" star Mindy Cohn voiced Velma. The series was produced by Chuck Sheetz, who had worked on "The Simpsons".
"Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue!".
In September 2006 a new show entitled, "Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue!", debuted on The CW's Kids' WB Saturday-morning programming block. In the new premise, Shaggy inherits money and a mansion from an uncle, an inventor who has gone into hiding from villains trying to steal his secret invention. The villains, led by "Dr. Phibes" (based primarily upon Dr. Evil from the "Austin Powers "series, and named after Vincent Price's character from "The Abominable Dr. Phibes"), then use different schemes to try to get the invention from Shaggy and Scooby, who handle the plots alone. Fred, Daphne, and Velma are normally absent, but do make appearances at times to help. The characters were redesigned and the art style revised for the new series. Scott Menville voiced Shaggy in the series, with Casey Kasem appearing as the voice of Shaggy's Uncle Albert. "Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue!" ran for two seasons on The CW.
Cartoon Network and Boomerang years (2010–2021).
"Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated".
The next "Scooby" series, "Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated", premiered on Cartoon Network on April 5, 2010. The first "Scooby" series produced for cable television, "Mystery Incorporated" is a reboot of the franchise, re-establishing the characters' relationships, personalities, and locations, and expanding their world to feature their parents, high school, and neighbors. The series also borrowed pieces from many parts of "Scooby-Doo's" long history, as well as characters and elements of other Hanna-Barbera shows to form its back story and the bases of some of its episodes. Matthew Lillard was brought over from the live-action theatrical series as the new voice of Shaggy, while Welker, Cohn, and DeLisle continued in their respective roles. Patrick Warburton, Linda Cardellini, Lewis Black, Vivica A. Fox, Gary Cole, Udo Kier, Tim Matheson, Tia Carrere, and Kate Higgins were added as new semi-regular cast members. Casey Kasem appeared in a recurring role as Shaggy's father, one of his last roles before retiring due to declining health.
The series, while still following the basic mystery-solving format of its predecessors, was broadcast as a 52-chapter animated televised novel and included elements similar to live-action mystery/adventure shows such as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Lost." An overarching mystery surrounding the gang's hometown of Crystal Cove, California became the series' main story arc, with pieces to the mystery unfolding episode by episode. Also featured were romantic entanglements and interpersonal conflict between the lead characters. The series ran for 52 episodes over two seasons, with a three-part finale airing across April 4 and 5, 2013—exactly three years from the debut.
"Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!".
On March 10, 2014, Cartoon Network announced several new series based on classic cartoons, including a new Scooby-Doo animated series titled "Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!". The show features the gang "living it up" the summer after the gang's senior year of high school. Along the way, they run into monsters and mayhem. The series premiered October 5, 2015 on Cartoon Network and concluded on March 18, 2018.
"Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?".
The Scooby-Doo series "Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?" premiered on the Boomerang streaming service and app on June 27, 2019. It ran for two seasons, with the second half of the second season airing on HBO Max. The series features the Mystery Inc. gang teaming up with a variety of guest stars to solve mysteries. Guest stars included Halsey, Sia, Bill Nye, Mark Hamill, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Ricky Gervais, Kenan Thompson, and Chris Paul. The series also includes fictional guest stars, including Steve Urkel (played by Jaleel White), Batman (played by Kevin Conroy), Wonder Woman (played by Rachel Kimsey), the Flash, and Sherlock Holmes.
HBO Max years (2021–present).
"Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?".
The remaining eleven episodes of the second season were released through the streaming service on October 1, 2021.
"Velma".
"Velma" is an adult-oriented animated series which premiered on HBO Max on January 12, 2023. It ran for two seasons, and marked the first full original Scooby Doo related show on HBO Max since the previous series "Guess Who?" was picked up by it at the end of its run (originating on Boomerang). The series is an alternate reality prequel and spinoff to the main franchise, taking place before the formation of Mystery Inc., and does not include Scooby-Doo himself. Unlike in the previous series and films, the main characters (and main voice cast) in "Velma" are multi-racial.
Netflix years (TBA).
"Scooby-Doo! The Live-Action Series".
On April 29, 2024, Deadline reported that a live action Scooby-Doo! series is in development
by Berlanti Productions on Netflix titled "Scooby-Doo! The Live-Action Series", with Josh Appelbaum and Scott Rosenberg writing; and Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Leigh London Redman, André Nemec, Jeff Pinkner, Jonathan Gabay and Midnight Radio's Adrienne Erickson executive producing.
Film and rerun history.
Television films, reruns, and direct-to-video films.
From 1987 to 1988, Hanna-Barbera Productions produced "Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10", a series of syndicated television films featuring their most popular characters, including Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, The Flintstones, and The Jetsons. Scooby-Doo, Scrappy-Doo and Shaggy starred in three of these films: "Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers" (1987), "Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School" (1988), and "Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf" (1988). These three films took their tone from the early-1980s "Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo" entries, and featured the characters encountering actual monsters and ghosts rather than masqueraded people. Scooby-Doo and Shaggy later appeared as the narrators of the television film "Arabian Nights", originally broadcast by TBS in 1994, Don Messick's final outing as the original voice of Scooby-Doo.
Reruns of "Scooby-Doo" have been in syndication since 1980, and have also been shown on cable television networks such as TBS Superstation (until 1989) and USA Network (as part of the USA Cartoon Express from 1990 to 1994). In 1993, "A Pup Named Scooby-Doo", having just recently ended its network run on ABC, began reruns on Cartoon Network. With Turner Broadcasting purchasing Hanna-Barbera in 1991, in 1994 the "Scooby-Doo" franchise became exclusive to the Turner networks: Cartoon Network, TBS Superstation, and TNT. Canadian network Teletoon began airing "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!" in 1997, with the other "Scooby" series soon following. When TBS and TNT ended their broadcasts of H-B cartoons in 1998, "Scooby-Doo" became the exclusive property of both Cartoon Network and sister station Boomerang.
With "Scooby-Doo's" restored popularity in reruns on Cartoon Network, Warner Bros. Animation and Hanna-Barbera (by then a subsidiary of Warner Bros. following the merger of Time Warner and Turner Entertainment in 1996) began producing one new "Scooby-Doo" direct-to-video film a year, beginning in 1998. These films featured a slightly older version of the original five-character cast from the "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!" days. The first four DTV entries were "Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island" (1998), "Scooby-Doo! and the Witch's Ghost" (1999), "Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders" (2000), and "Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase" (2001). Frank Welker was the only original voice cast member to return for these productions. Don Messick had died in 1997 and Casey Kasem, a strict vegetarian, relinquished the role of Shaggy after having to provide the voice for a 1995 Burger King commercial. Therefore, Scott Innes took over as both Scooby-Doo and Shaggy (Billy West voiced Shaggy in "Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island"). B.J. Ward took over as Velma, and Mary Kay Bergman voiced Daphne until her death in November 1999, and was replaced by Grey DeLisle.
These first four direct-to-video films differed from the original series format by placing the characters in plots with a darker tone and pitting them against actual supernatural forces. "Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island", featured the original 1969 gang, reunited after years of being apart, fighting voodoo-worshiping cat creatures in the Louisiana bayou. "Scooby-Doo! and the Witch's Ghost" featured an author (voice of Tim Curry) returning to his Massachusetts hometown with the gang, to find out that an event is being haunted by the author's dead ancestor Sarah, who was an actual witch. "The Witch's Ghost" introduced a goth rock band known as The Hex Girls, who became recurring characters in the "Scooby-Doo" franchise.
"Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase" was the final production made by the Hanna-Barbera studio, which was absorbed into parent company Warner Bros. Animation following William Hanna's death in 2001. Warner Animation continued production of the direct-to-video series while also producing new "Scooby-Doo" series for television.
The direct-to-video productions continued to be produced concurrently with at least one entry per year. Two of these entries, "Scooby-Doo! and the Legend of the Vampire" and "Scooby-Doo! and the Monster of Mexico" (both 2003) were produced in a retro-style reminiscent of the original series, and featured Heather North and Nicole Jaffe as the voices of Daphne and Velma, respectively. Later entries produced between 2004 and 2009 were done in the style of "What's New, Scooby-Doo", using that show's voice cast. Entries from 2010 on use the original 1969 designs and feature Matthew Lillard as the voice of Shaggy, the character Lillard portrayed in the live-action theatrical "Scooby-Doo" films. Two "Scooby-Doo!" movies were released in 2016, named "Lego Scooby-Doo! Haunted Hollywood" and "".
"Scooby-Doo!" direct-to-video specials.
Beginning in 2012, Warner Bros. Animation began producing direct-to-video special episodes in the style of the concurrently produced films for inclusion on "Scooby-Doo" compilation DVD sets otherwise including episodes from previous Scooby series. These include "Scooby-Doo! Spooky Games", included on the July 2012 release "Scooby-Doo! Laff-A-Lympics: Spooky Games", "Scooby-Doo! Haunted Holidays", from the October 2012 release "Scooby-Doo! 13 Spooky Tales: Holiday Chills and Thrills", and "Scooby-Doo! and the Spooky Scarecrow" and "Scooby-Doo! Mecha Mutt Menace", from the September 2013 DVD releases "Scooby-Doo! 13 Spooky Tales: Run for Your 'Rife!" and "Scooby-Doo! 13 Spooky Tales: Ruh-Roh Robot!". On May 13, 2014, another episode, "Scooby-Doo! Ghastly Goals" was released on the "Scooby-Doo! 13 Spooky Tales: Field of Screams" DVD. On May 5, 2015, "Scooby-Doo! and the Beach Beastie", the sixth direct-to-video special, was released on the "Scooby-Doo! 13 Spooky Tales: Surf's Up Scooby-Doo" DVD.
The direct-to-video series' 34th installment, "Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo!" (2022), made headlines for portraying Velma as a lesbian (by showing her "crushing big time" on a female guest character), which was in accordance with long-held fan speculation but had never previously been depicted.
Live-action films.
A feature-length live-action film version of "Scooby-Doo" was released by Warner Bros. Pictures on June 14, 2002. Directed by Raja Gosnell, the film starred Freddie Prinze Jr. as Fred, Sarah Michelle Gellar as Daphne, Matthew Lillard as Shaggy, and Linda Cardellini as Velma. Scooby-Doo, voiced by Neil Fanning, was created on-screen by computer-generated special effects. "Scooby-Doo" was a financially successful release, with a domestic box office gross of over US$130 million.
A sequel, "", followed in March 2004 with the same cast and director. "Scooby-Doo 2" earned US$84 (€55.98) million at the U.S. box office. A third film was planned, but later scrapped following Warner Bros.' disappointment at the returns from "Scooby-Doo 2".
In addition, a live-action television film, "Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins", was released on DVD and simultaneously aired on Cartoon Network on September 13, 2009, the 40th anniversary of the series' debut. The film starred Nick Palatas as Shaggy, Robbie Amell as Fred, Kate Melton as Daphne, Hayley Kiyoko as Velma, and Frank Welker as the voice of Scooby-Doo. A second live-action TV movie, "Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster", retained the same cast and aired on October 16, 2010, and a direct-to-video spin-off "Daphne & Velma" in 2018. "The Mystery Begins" and "Curse of the Lake Monster" serve as reboots to the 2002 and 2004 films while "Daphne and Velma" serves as a spin-off/prequel to them.
Theatrical animated film.
In 2013, Warner Bros. Pictures was developing a fully animated Scooby-Doo feature film with Atlas Entertainment. Charles Roven and Richard Suckle, who produced the first two live-action films, were producing the animated film, and Matt Lieberman was writing the film. In 2014, Warner Bros. was restarting the film series with Randall Green writing a new movie. In 2015, Warner Bros. had Tony Cervone lined up to direct an animated film, with Allison Abbate as producer and Dan Povenmire as executive producer. Originally planned for a September 21, 2018 release, it was later pushed back to May 15, 2020, with Dax Shepard co-directing and co-writing. The Hollywood Reporter announced that Frank Welker will be reprising his voice role as Scooby, and that he will be joined by Will Forte and Gina Rodriguez voicing Shaggy and Velma, while Tracy Morgan will be voicing Captain Caveman, from the Hanna-Barbera series "Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels" and Deadline reported that Zac Efron and Amanda Seyfried will voice Fred and Daphne. In addition, Ken Jeong will be voicing Dynomutt, Dog Wonder from Hanna-Barbera series of the same name and Kiersey Clemons will voice Dee Dee Sykes, a character from Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels. Dick Dastardly, from Hanna-Barbera's "Wacky Races", will be the film's main antagonist, voiced by Jason Isaacs. In March 2020, the film's theatrical release was delayed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On April 22, 2020, Warner Bros. announced that due to movie theater closures the theatrical release for "Scoob!" had been cancelled, with the film released instead on Premium video on demand in the United States and Canada on May 15, 2020, the original date of release. In July 2020, Warner Bros. confirmed the film would still play in theaters in select countries with relaxed COVID-19 restrictions. The film subsequently received a secondary theatrical release in the United States beginning on May 21, 2021, in selected markets.
Comic books.
Gold Key Comics began publication of "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!" comic books in December 1969. The comics initially contained adaptations of episodes of the television show drawn by Phil DeLara, Jack Manning and Warren Tufts. The comic books later moved to all-original stories until ending with issue #30 in 1974. Several of these issues were written by Mark Evanier and drawn by Dan Spiegle. Charlton published "Scooby" comics, many drawn by Bill Williams, for 11 issues in 1975. From 1977 to 1979, Marvel Comics published nine issues of "Scooby-Doo", all written by Evanier and drawn by Spiegel. Harvey Comics published reprints of the Charlton comics, as well as a handful of special issues, between 1993 and 1994.
In 1995, Archie Comics began publishing a monthly "Scooby-Doo" comic book, the first year of which featured Scrappy-Doo among its cast. Evanier and Spiegel worked on three issues of the series, which ended after 21 issues in 1997 when Warner Bros.' DC Comics acquired the rights to publish comics based on Hanna-Barbera characters. DC's "Scooby-Doo" series continues publication to this day. In 2013, DC began a digital bi-monthly comic book titled "Scooby-Doo Team-Up", crossing over Mystery Inc. with other DC and Hanna-Barbera characters. Since then, the series has become a monthly comic book available in print.
In 2004, a limited series of a 100 comic books called "Scooby-Doo! World of Mystery" was released. In each issue, Mystery Inc. go from country to country solving mysteries. Each issue came with a pack of exclusive cards, with 350 in total able to be collected.
In 2016, DC launched a new monthly comic book entitled "Scooby Apocalypse", with the characters being reinvented in a story set in a post-apocalyptic world, where monsters roam the streets and Scooby and the gang must find a way to survive at all costs, while also trying to find a way to reverse the apocalypse.
Merchandising.
Early "Scooby-Doo" merchandise included a 1973 Milton Bradley board game, decorated lunch boxes, iron-on transfers, coloring books, story books, records, underwear, and other such goods. When Scrappy-Doo was introduced to the series in 1979, he, Scooby, and Shaggy became the foci of much of the merchandising, including a 1983 Milton-Bradley "Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo" board game. The first "Scooby-Doo" video game appeared in arcades in 1986, and has been followed by a number of games for both home consoles and personal computers. "Scooby-Doo "multivitamins also debuted at this time, and have been manufactured by Bayer since 2001.
"Scooby-Doo" merchandising tapered off during the late 1980s and early 1990s, but increased after the series' revival on Cartoon Network in 1995. Today, all manner of "Scooby-Doo"-branded products are available for purchase, including "Scooby-Doo" breakfast cereal, plush toys, action figures, car decorations, Barbie dolls from Mattel and much more. Real "Scooby Snacks" dog treats are produced by Del Monte Pet Products. Hasbro has created a number of "Scooby" board games, including a "Scooby"-themed edition of the popular mystery board game "Clue". In 2007, the Pressman Toy Corporation released the board game "Scooby-Doo! Haunted House". Beginning in 2001, a "Scooby-Doo" children's book series was authorized and published by Scholastic. These books, written by Suzanne Weyn, include original stories and adaptations of "Scooby" theatrical and direct-to-video features.
From 1990 to 2002, Shaggy and Scooby-Doo appeared as characters in the "Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera" simulator ride at Universal Studios Florida. The ride was replaced in the early 2000s with a "Jimmy Neutron" attraction, and "The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera" instead became an attraction at several properties operated by Paramount Parks. Shaggy and Scooby-Doo are currently costumed characters at Universal Studios Florida, and can be seen driving the Mystery Machine around the park.
In 2001, "Scooby-Doo in Stagefright", a live stage play based upon the series, began touring across the world. A follow-up, "Scooby-Doo and the Pirate Ghost", followed in 2009.
The Mystery Machine has been used as the basis for many die-cast models and toys, such as from Hot Wheels.
The brand made $800 million in retail sales in 1999. In 2004, "Scooby-Doo" merchandise had generated in retail sales Licensed merchandise also sold in 2015, in 2016, and in 2017.
Reception and legacy.
During its five-decade broadcast history, "Scooby-Doo" has received two Emmy nominations: a 1989 Daytime Emmy nomination for "A Pup Named Scooby-Doo", and a 2003 Daytime Emmy nomination for "What's New, Scooby-Doo"s Mindy Cohn in the "Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program" category. Science advocate Carl Sagan favorably compared the predominantly skeptic oriented formula to that of most television dealing with paranormal themes, and considered that an adult analogue to "Scooby-Doo" would be a great public service.
"Scooby-Doo" has maintained a significant fan base, which has grown steadily since the 1990s due to the show's popularity among both young children and nostalgic adults who grew up with the series. Several television critics have stated that the show's mix of the comedy-adventure and horror genres was the reason for its widespread success. As Fred Silverman and the Hanna-Barbera staff had planned when they first began producing the series, "Scooby-Doo"s ghosts, monsters and spooky locales tend more towards humor than horror, making them easily accessible to younger children. "Overall, ["Scooby-Doo" is] just not a show that is going to overstimulate kids' emotions and tensions," offered American Center for Children and Media executive director David Kleeman in a 2002 interview. "It creates just enough fun to make it fun without getting them worried or giving them nightmares.
Older teenagers and adults have admitted to enjoying "Scooby-Doo" because of presumed subversive themes which involve theories of drug use and sexuality, in particular that Shaggy is assumed to be a user of cannabis and Velma is assumed to be a lesbian. Such themes were pervasive enough in popular culture to find their way into Warner Bros.' initial "Scooby-Doo" feature film in 2002, though several of the scenes were edited before release to secure a family-friendly "PG" rating. Series creators Joe Ruby and Ken Spears reported that they "took umbrage" to the inclusion of such themes in the "Scooby-Doo" feature and other places, and denied intending their characters to be drug users in any way.
Like many Hanna-Barbera shows, the early "Scooby-Doo" series have been criticized at times for their production values and storytelling. In 2002, Jamie Malanowski of "The New York Times" commented that "["Scooby-Doo"s] mysteries are not very mysterious, and the humor is hardly humorous. As for the animation—well, the drawings on your refrigerator may give it competition."
By the 2000s, "Scooby-Doo" had received recognition for its popularity by placing in a number of top cartoon or top cartoon character polls. The August 3, 2002, issue of "TV Guide" featured its list of the 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time, in which Scooby-Doo placed twenty-second. Scooby also ranked thirteenth in Animal Planet's list of the 50 Greatest TV Animals. For one year from 2004 to 2005, "Scooby-Doo" held the Guinness World Record for having the most episodes of any animated television series ever produced, a record previously held by and later returned to "The Simpsons". "Scooby-Doo" was published as holding this record in the 2006 edition of the "Guinness Book of Records".
In January 2009, entertainment website IGN named "Scooby-Doo" #24 on its list of the Top 100 Best Animated TV Shows. Writing in 2020, Christopher Orr of "The Atlantic" queried why the franchise had remained popular for several decades, concluding that it was primarily due to the many differing ways in which the relationship between the main characters could be interpreted or used as a metaphor.
Five College folklore.
A popular urban legend among Five College students holds that the characters on "Scooby-Doo" represent the five colleges. The legend has Velma representing Smith College and Daphne as Mount Holyoke College (or vice-versa), Fred as Amherst College, Shaggy as Hampshire College, and Scooby as UMass Amherst. Hanna-Barbera Productions, CBS executive Fred Silverman, and Mark Evanier, one of the show's writers, have stated that the legend is false. Moreover, "Scooby-Doo" creators Joe Ruby and Ken Spears have been explicit in the cartoon show being based on the radio program "I Love a Mystery" and the TV sitcom "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis", with the four teenagers being based directly on characters from "Dobie Gillis". In addition, "Scooby-Doo" made its television debut in 1969, one year before Hampshire College opened.
In popular culture.
As with most popular franchises, "Scooby-Doo" has been parodied and has done parodies.
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Sam Malone
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Samuel "Mayday" Malone is a fictional character and the protagonist of the American television show "Cheers", portrayed by Ted Danson and created by Glen and Les Charles. Sam is a former relief pitcher for the Boston Red Sox baseball team who owns and tends the bar called "Cheers". He is also a recovering alcoholic and a notorious womanizer. Although his celebrity status was short-lived, Sam retains that standing within the confines of Cheers, where he is beloved by the regular patrons. Along with Carla Tortelli and Norm Peterson, he is one of only three characters to appear in all episodes of "Cheers". Sam has an on-again, off-again relationship with the bar waitress Diane Chambers (Shelley Long) for the series' first five seasons until her departure from the series. Then he tries to seduce Diane's replacement, Rebecca Howe (Kirstie Alley), who frequently rejects his advances. Sam also appears in "The Show Where Sam Shows Up", a crossover episode of the spin-off "Frasier".
Other actors auditioned for the role. Producers decided to give Danson the role for primarily his scenes with Shelley Long as Diane. Critical reception for the character has been mostly positive. Some academics considered Sam an example of satirizing masculinity. For his performance as Sam, Ted Danson won two respective Emmy Awards as an Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series in 1990 and 1993 and two Golden Globe Awards as a Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy Series.
Role.
At the time the series debuted in 1982, Sam has been the bartender and owner of Cheers for five years. Chronologically within the series, Sam, who is Irish Catholic, dropped out of high school in his senior year to play professional baseball. He has one older brother, Derek, who seems to be a polymath and is a highly successful international lawyer. Derek and Sam are not close, and Sam is also not close to his parents (who it is implied, always favored Derek.)
Sam began his career in the minor leagues, where he met Coach Ernie Pantusso (Nicholas Colasanto). He eventually became a relief pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, wearing number 16. His major league career lasted approximately five years; he specifically mentions having pitched in 1973, and was a member of the 1975 AL champion Red Sox team. As well, Martin Crane saw him pitch at the Kingdome, which opened in 1977 – also the year that he became the owner of Cheers. Although his baseball career is not highly detailed throughout the series, Sam was at times a good-to-very-good pitcher (stories of him retiring star batters occur during the series), and was the team's bullpen ace for a while. Sam's baseball career declined when he became an alcoholic, and there are also numerous stories of him pitching poorly and giving up tape-measure home runs. Over time, Sam's role as a bartender turns him into the "resident ringleader for an assortment of poor souls and wanna-be's".
Throughout the series, Sam has had casual female partners, usually one-dimensional or sexually very available, and sometimes takes them along in his red Chevrolet Corvette. However, in "Sam Turns the Other Cheek" (episode 49, 1984), Sam reveals that he avoids "married, underage, and comatose" women, so he does have some ethical standards. In "Teacher's Pet" (season 3, 1985), Sam earns his high school diploma despite an overall bad grade from the high school geography teacher, with whom he had a brief affair while he was her student. The episode "Sam's Women" (episode 2, 1982) reveals that Sam was married to his somewhat more sophisticated ex-wife, Debra (Donna McKechnie). (In some syndicated prints, Sam's past marriage is omitted, although it is mentioned again in the 5th-season episode, "Young Dr. Weinstein".) Notably, he has an on-and-off relationship with "a bright, attractive graduate student", Diane Chambers (Shelley Long). One time after Sam and Diane ended their on-and-off relationship, in "Rebound, Part One" (episode 45, 1984), Sam relapses into alcoholism and excessively womanizes. Diane finds this out from Coach, and involves her new love interest Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) in helping Sam slowly regain his sobriety in the following episode, "Rebound, Part Two". In the three-part episode "Strange Bedfellows" (episodes 93–95, 1986), Sam dates an intelligent, attractive politician Janet Eldridge (Kate Mulgrew), who eventually ends the relationship because of Sam's visible feelings for Diane. Throughout the fifth season (1986–87), Sam cyclically proposes to Diane, but she rejects every proposal until, in "Chambers vs. Malone" (episode 108, 1987), Diane finally accepts his latest proposal. In "I Do, Adieu" (episode 121, 1987), Sam and Diane try to marry but call off the wedding to let her start a supposedly promising writing career.
In the following episode "Home Is the Sailor" (episode 122, 1987), Sam sells Cheers to the Lillian Corporation six months before the episode and later returns to the bar to work under employment of the "voluptuously beautiful" new manager, Rebecca Howe. Within this period, Sam constantly flirts with and attempts to seduce Rebecca, but she rejects all of his advances. In "Cry Harder" (episode 194, 1990), Sam is able to buy back the bar from the Lillian Corporation after Sam has saved the corporation from financial victimization by Robin Colcord (Roger Rees), Rebecca's lover. At the last minute, Sam and Rebecca embrace and kiss. However, in the following episode "Love Is a Really, Really, Perfectly Okay Thing" (episode 195, 1990), Sam devastatingly tells Rebecca that he has no feelings for her. In "The Days of Wine and Neuroses" (1990), Sam rejects Rebecca's advances one night while she is drunk over her doubts when now-impoverished Robin proposed to her. In the tenth season (1991–92), they try to conceive a child, but by then, they have decided to stay friends. In "The Guy Can't Help It" (1993), Sam plays with the idea of marrying Rebecca (as a safety net "in case no one better comes along"), but several bar patrons and even Carla tell Sam his womanizing is getting him nowhere, prompting him to join Dr. Robert Sutton's (Gilbert Lewis) group meetings for sex addicts, a referral made by Frasier. In the series finale, "One for the Road" (1993), Sam reunites with Diane after six years of separation. They try to rekindle their relationship, but just before they fly off together to California, Sam and Diane begin to have doubts about their future together, and they re-separate. Sam returns to the bar, where his friends celebrate his return. Then, when Norm and Sam remain while everyone else leaves, Norm reassures Sam that Sam would return and never leave his one "true love"which the "TV Guide" implies is the Cheers bar.
In a "Frasier" episode, "The Show Where Sam Shows Up" (1995), Sam is engaged to Sheila (Téa Leoni), a fellow sex addict whom he met during group therapy, but he breaks off the engagement after she admits that she slept with two regular Cheers customersPaul Krapence and Cliff Clavinduring their engagement. Unbeknownst to Sam, she slept with Frasier, which she does not reveal to Sam.
Skit appearances.
Ted Danson reprised the role of Sam Malone in pre-game segments of the 1983 Super Bowl and of one of the baseball games of the 1986 World Series, "The Magical World of Disney" episode "Mickey's 60th Birthday", and "The Simpsons" episode "Fear of Flying". In the Super Bowl pregame skit, Sam and his customers at the bar chide Diane for not knowing and ridiculing football. They meet Pete Axthelm, an NBC sportscaster who visits the bar. In the pregame skit of the 1986 World Series game, Bob Costas interviews Sam at the bar. In "Mickey's 60th Birthday", Sam forgets Rebecca's birthday and begs Mickey Mouse to sing "Happy Birthday to You" as her birthday present. Rebecca chooses Mickey over Sam, who still wants to seduce her. In "The Simpsons", Sam is dating twins while trying to marry Diane without Rebecca knowing.
Development.
Conception, writing, and casting.
Before the series began in September 1982, various actors considered or were considered for the role of Sam Malone. Before he was cast, Ted Danson appeared in films and television series. Danson appeared in the 1979 film "The Onion Field", adapted from the nonfiction book of the same name, as Officer Ian Campbell, who was murdered by two criminals. Danson also appeared in "Taxi" episode, "The Unkindest Cut" (1982), as one-time character Vincenzo Senaca—"a flamboyant and decidedly effeminate hairdresser, who ruined Elaine's but got his comeuppance at the end." "Cheers" creators Glen and Les Charles—along with James Burrows—were executive consultants for the episode. Danson, William Devane and Fred Dryer were shortlisted for the role of Sam Malone. Ed O'Neill auditioned for the role but did not win the part. John Lithgow missed the audition because he was ill.
Originally, Sam Malone was intended "to be a former wide receiver for the American football team, New England Patriots." Fred Dryer was initially chosen for that role because he is a former football player, but the Charles brothers chose Danson because NBC executives noticed the chemistry between him and Shelley Long. The character then evolved into a former relief pitcher for the baseball team Boston Red Sox. To prepare for the role, Danson attended a bartending school in Burbank, California.
Fred Dryer later appeared as Dave Richards, one of Sam Malone's friends and a sports commentator, in "Cheers". Danson said:
Sam is "athletically handsome" and a womanizer who casually dates and has sex with various women "who want to have fun". However, his relationships invariably fail. Les Charles said that Sam was a "straight man" to Diane; after Shelley Long's departure, he became more "carefree" and a "goof-off."
Ted Danson wore a hairpiece to conceal his baldness for the role of Sam Malone during filming of "Cheers". His baldness was revealed at the 42nd Primetime Emmy Awards (1990). In the episode "It's Lonely on the Top" (1993), Sam Malone reveals his baldness to Carla (Rhea Perlman).
Danson earned per episode as Sam Malone during the last few years of "Cheers". In the final season of "Cheers" (1992–93), Danson decided to stop portraying Sam Malone, which contributed to the end of "Cheers". Danson said about the way the character changed, "He got older, you know ... [the writers] tried to make him Sammy again. But he's 45 now. I'm 45. It's OK to be chasing around when you're 37. But when you're 45, it's kind of sad to be chasing around that way." The producers tried to continue the show without Ted Danson, and they attempted to move the show to the first-run syndication, but these ideas were shelved.
Characterization and analysis.
Sam's on-screen relationships with Diane and Rebecca were inspired by works about the "mixture of romance and antagonism of two people, [portrayed by Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn], in a competitive situation".
Sam is subject to a satire of masculinity. He is described as "a sleazy, promiscuous, aggressive, exhibitionistic narcissist", one of the "new macho [heroes]" of the 1980s pop culture, "the target of humor," and not a "likely [candidate] to lead the post-feminist counter revolution." A new macho hero of the 1980s is the opposite of a pre-1980s macho hero that "constituted an antifeminist backlash".
Steve Craig from the University of North Texas wrote in his 1993 journal that Sam is a parody of "traditional male values" and of a negative stereotype of masculinity. Craig wrote that Sam's attempts to define and exemplify "his version of masculinity" are satirized throughout the series "to explore gender identity" without threatening the viewer's own definition of one's own gender. In his 2011 book "Primetime Propaganda", Ben Shapiro, an American conservative commentator, called Sam "a dog, a feminist caricature of men", and a cultural representation of the "lower-class conservative," in contrast to portrayer Ted Danson, who identifies himself as liberal. Glen Charles, a creator of "Cheers", considered Sam "a spokesman for a large group of people who thought that [the women's movement] was a bunch of bull and look with disdain upon people who don't think it was".
Heather Hundley wrote that the series sends "double standards" about promiscuous men and women. Hundley said that Sam is portrayed as heroic. She further wrote that Sam never suffers from consequences of his promiscuity and has been happily single and childless, while it portrays Carla Tortelli as a "nymphomaniac" who regrets her own promiscuities, which lead to out-of-wedlock pregnancies. She said the series' portrayal of premarital sex is "negative and unhealthy", omitting other dangers of promiscuity such as sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS. Mark LaFlamme of the "Sun Journal" called Sam's relationship with Rebecca Howe "mundane" and his flirtation with her "bawdy".
Throughout most of "Cheers", Sam is "allowed to be happy [and to live] a rich life". Towards the end of the series' run, however, Sam undergoes therapy for sex addiction. In a 1995 episode of "Frasier" called "The Show Where Sam Shows Up", Sam is depicted as a self-identified sexual addict; he gets help from group meetings and commits to changing himself.
Sam Malone has been compared with some of Ted Danson's later roles. In 1998, David Bianculli from "New York Daily News" called Danson's guest appearance as a plumber in "Veronica's Closet" Sam Malone's "close cousin: a confident womanizer, and not the brightest guy in the room". In 1999, Danson said that Sam Malone and John Becker ("Becker") are both "very lonely men".
Reception.
Bill Simmons writing for ESPN praised Danson's performance for giving life and color to Sam Malone. In "The Complete Idiot's Guide" book, John Steve and Carey Rossi said Sam Malone "[brings] magic to establishment" and is praised for "successfully running ["Cheers"]." "The Shark Guys" website ranked Sam at number three on its list of the "top ten coolest bartenders of all time". In a 2009 NPR interview, Terry Gross called Sam "the opposite of intellectual".
Woody Harrelson, who played Woody Boyd, called Sam the person who brings an ensemble together. Roger Rees, who portrayed Robin Colcord in "Cheers", said that no other character could fill in Sam Malone's spot if he was written out of the show. Rees also said that the show would not survive without Sam and Danson. Television critic Phil Rosenthal from "Los Angeles Daily News" said Danson's performance as Sam was irreplaceable and that no other actor could capture Sam's "sexiness, vulnerability, and goofiness". Rosenthal credited Sam Malone for helping the series survive by becoming the show's central character.
According to the April 1–4, 1993, telephone survey of 1,011 people by the Times Mirror Center for the People and the Press (now Pew Research Center), Sam Malone was a top favorite character by 26%. The survey asked which character Sam should marry. 21% voted Diane Chambers, 19% voted Rebecca Howe, 48% voted Sam to stay single, and 12% had "no opinion" on this matter. When asked which character should star in a spin-off, 15% voted Sam, 12% voted Woody Boyd (Woody Harrelson), 10% voted Norm Peterson (George Wendt), and 29% voted no spin-offs. Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer), whose own spin-off "Frasier" debuted in September 1993, was voted by 2% to have his own show.
According to a 1993 article in "People" magazine, newspaper columnist Mike Royko chose Diane to be with Sam. Novelist Jackie Collins picked Rebecca. Celebrated personality Zsa Zsa Gabor chose both as Sam's potential partner. Tennis player Martina Navratilova found Sam too good for either of them. Novelist-archaeologist Clive Cussler said Carla Tortelli (Rhea Perlman) was "Sam's best bet."
Sam's appearance in "Frasier" received mixed notices. Scott D. Pierce from "The Deseret News" found him too "old and [tiring]." Nevertheless, John Martin, a syndicate writer from "The New York Times", enjoyed Sam's interaction with main characters of "Frasier". Frazier Moore from "The Associated Press" called Sam's appearance a ratings ploy but a must-see for a "Cheers" fan and any other viewer who lacks interest in the show "Frasier".
Accolades.
The role of Sam Malone earned Ted Danson two Emmy Awards as the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series: one in 1990 and another in 1993. It also earned Danson two Golden Globe Awards as the Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy Series: one in 1990 and another in 1991. Danson was awarded an American Comedy Award as the Funniest Male Performer in a TV Series.
References.
From "Cheers":
From others:
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George Costanza
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George Louis Costanza is a fictional character in the American television sitcom "Seinfeld" (1989–1998), played by Jason Alexander. He is a short, stocky, balding man who struggles with numerous insecurities, often dooming his romantic relationships through his own fear of being dumped. He is also relatively lazy; during periods of unemployment he actively avoids getting a job, and while employed he often finds ingenious ways to conceal idleness from his bosses. He is friends with Jerry Seinfeld, Cosmo Kramer, and Elaine Benes. George and Jerry were junior high school friends (although in "The Betrayal", Season 9, Episode 8, George says the two have been friends since fourth grade) and remained friends afterward. George appears in every episode except "The Pen" (third season).
The character was based on Seinfeld co-creator Larry David but is surnamed after Jerry Seinfeld's real-life New York friend, Michael Costanza. Alexander reprised his role in an episode of "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee", reuniting with Jerry Seinfeld and Wayne Knight (also reprising their roles as Jerry and Newman, respectively).
Early life and family.
George is a son of Frank, an Italian American, and Estelle Costanza, who is Jewish. George twice mentions that he has a brother. Lloyd Braun is a childhood nemesis who George feels was the son his parents always wanted. George's best friend Jerry Seinfeld described Frank and Estelle as "psychopaths", and said in "The Chinese Woman" that, if they had divorced when George was young, he "could have been normal".
In "The Junior Mint", George states he grew up in Brooklyn, New York, where he went to a public school. In a previous episode he mentions he went to high school on Long Island. He met Jerry during his youth, and they remained friends from that point on. George and Jerry both attended John F. Kennedy High School, class of 1971. During their high school years, George and Jerry frequently hung out at a pizzeria called Mario's Pizzas, where the former, having the highest score "GLC", would play "Frogger" (although "Frogger" debuted in 1981, well after the pair's high school graduation in 1971). George was picked on by his gym teacher Mr. Heyman, who deliberately mispronounced his name as "can't stand ya" and gave him wedgies. He and Jerry then attended Queens College.
Two of George's cousins appear on the show: Shelly, who briefly appears to visit Estelle in the hospital in "The Contest", and Rhisa, whom George plans to date in order to shock his parents in "The Junk Mail". George talks to his parents about his family in "The Money", during which it is revealed that he had an "Uncle Moe", who "died a young man" and an "Aunt Baby", who died at the age of seven of internal problems. It is also revealed that his mother has a "Cousin Henny". In "The Doll", it is revealed that Frank Costanza was born in Italy and has a cousin, Carlo, who still lives there. As of "The Robbery", George had living grandparents whom he had recently visited, although it is never made clear whether these were his maternal or paternal grandparents.
Personality.
George is neurotic, self-loathing, mostly selfish, and dominated by his parents, yet also prone to occasional periods of overconfidence that invariably arise at the worst possible time. Throughout "Seinfeld"s early seasons, despite doing poorly on his SATs and being afraid of embarrassing himself on an IQ test (as depicted in "The Cafe"), George is depicted as moderately intelligent – he mentions interests in the Civil War and musical theatre, and in some early episodes appears almost like a mentor to Jerry – but becomes less sophisticated, to the point of being too lazy even to read a 90-page book ("Breakfast at Tiffany's"), preferring to watch the movie adaptation at a stranger's house instead. In "The Abstinence", it is discovered that George has what would appear to be genius-level intelligence but can never access it because his mind is always so completely focused on sex. One "Chicago Tribune" reviewer noted that, despite all his shortcomings, George is "pretty content with himself".
George exhibits several negative character traits, among them dishonesty, insecurity, anxiety and being extremely careful with money, many of which seem to stem from a dysfunctional childhood with his eccentric parents Frank and Estelle, and often form the basis of his involvement in various plots, schemes, and embarrassing social encounters. George's extremely narcissistic parents only accept things from George when events revolve around them, and George is blind to see that at the same time his parents treat him like a second grade child. Episode plots frequently feature George manufacturing elaborate deceptions at work or in his relationships to gain or maintain some slight or imagined advantage or (pretend) image of success. He is shown to have an intense fear of commitment. He had success in "The Opposite", where on Jerry's advice he starts to do the complete opposite of what his instincts tell him to do, which results in him getting a girlfriend and a job with the New York Yankees. His anxiety is also evident in "The Note", where he begins doubting his sexuality after he receives a massage from a male masseur.
George refers to himself in the third person when under extreme stress (e.g. "George is getting upset!"), after befriending a person with a similar trait in "The Jimmy".
George flees a burning kitchen during his girlfriend's son's birthday party, knocking over several children and an old woman so he can escape first in "The Fire". There are moments where George exhibits remarkable courage, but usually accidentally and often in support of inane lies he would rather not confess to. For instance, in "The Marine Biologist", he goes into the sea alone to save a beached whale because his date, a woman on whom he had a crush in college, thinks he is a marine biologist.
George often takes impressive measures to build and maintain relationships with women. In "The Conversion," he goes through the process of converting to the Latvian Orthodox Church as his girlfriend's parents would not let her date somebody outside their religion. The one relationship he holds long-term, with his fiancée Susan, is the one about which he is seemingly least enthusiastic, as shown by his ongoing attempts to postpone, and later cancel, their wedding, and his rather nonchalant reaction when she dies.
He is interested in nice restrooms, and his personal bathroom habits border on obsession. In "The Revenge", he quits his real estate job solely because he is forbidden to use his boss' private bathroom. In "The Voice", he admits that one of the reasons he is staying at a job his boss has asked that he resign from (for feigning a disability) is that it gives him "private access to one of the great handicapped toilets in the city". In "The Busboy", he claims to have an encyclopedic knowledge of the locations of the best public bathrooms in the city. He proves this in "The Bizarro Jerry", when he directs Kramer to "the best bathroom in midtown" at the offices of Brandt-Leland, even describing the layout, marble, high ceiling, and toilets that flush "like a jet engine". In "The Gymnast", he told Jerry that he always removes his shirt when using the bathroom because "it frees me up... no encumbrances". When working for the Yankees, he suggested having the bathroom stall doors stretched all the way to the ground (letting people's legs not be seen while in the stalls). The obsession even comes up in the Seinfeld reunion staged on "Curb Your Enthusiasm": years after the series, George is said to have made a fortune on a smartphone app that directs its user to the nearest "acceptable" public toilet anywhere in the world (though he loses most, if not all, of his fortune to Bernie Madoff).
George and Jerry have been best friends since meeting in high school gym class. The extreme closeness of their friendship is occasionally mistaken for homosexuality; "The Outing" deals with a reporter from a New York University college paper mistaking George and Jerry for a gay couple, and, in "The Cartoon", George dates somebody who Kramer insists is merely a "female Jerry".
Other information.
Susan.
George becomes engaged to Susan Ross, an executive at NBC who approved his and Jerry's show-within-a-show sitcom pilot. George and Susan date, during which time commitment-phobic George is constantly trying to find ways to end their relationship without actually having to initiate the breakup with her. In "The Engagement", he proposes to her, despite him not having dated her for years. George tries repeatedly to weasel out of his engagement. In "The Invitations", she dies from licking the toxic glue in their wedding invitations. When notified of her death at the hospital, George displays a combination of shock, apathy, and relief. A few moments after being notified of Susan's death, he says to Jerry, Kramer, and Elaine, "Well, let's go get some coffee." Susan's parents appoint him to the board of directors of the Susan Ross Foundation.
George is very bad at meeting women and even worse at maintaining his romantic relationships and, as a result, his relationships usually end badly.
Professional life.
George's professional life is unstable, and he is unable to remain in any job for any great length of time before making an embarrassing blunder and getting fired, and thus he is unemployed for a large amount of time throughout the series.
His original job when the series starts is as a real estate agent; he ends up quitting and getting re-hired, but he is fired immediately afterward for drugging his boss. He always wanted to be an architect or least "pretend to be an architect". He first mentions this desire in "The Stake Out", and claims in "The Race" that he had designed "the new addition to the Guggenheim".
Over the course of the series, he works for a real estate transaction services firm (Rick Barr Properties), a rest stop supply company (Sanalac), the New York Yankees as Assistant to the Travelling Secretary (his longest-running job), a playground-equipment company (Play Now), and an industrial smoothing company (Kruger Industrial Smoothing). He briefly works with Elaine at Pendant Publishing but is fired for having sex with the cleaning woman on his desk in "The Red Dot". He has a very successful interview to become a bra salesman but upon leaving the interview he rubs the fabric of a woman at the elevator who turns out to be head of the company and is immediately fired.
When seeking another job, the interview gets interrupted in the middle and George does not know if he is hired or not, so he decides just to show up anyway, and is soon asked to work on a "Pensky File" that he knows nothing about.
At one point, George works briefly as a hand model in "The Puffy Shirt", and also for his father selling computers in "The Serenity Now".
During Season 4, George gains experience as a sitcom writer as he helps Jerry to write the pilot for the fictitious show "Jerry". While pitching the concept of a "show about nothing" to NBC executives, George begins dating NBC executive Susan Ross until "The Virgin", when she is fired. The "Jerry" pilot is never picked up.
Fashion and hairstyle.
George has balding hair, which is less noticeable in "The Seinfeld Chronicles" or a flashback in "The Slicer", but gets thinner as the series progresses. At the end of "The Scofflaw", he starts to wear a toupee, until Elaine throws it out the window in disgust in "The Beard". He also tries to restore his hair in "The Tape", in which he starts using a Chinese cream that is said to be a cure for baldness. His hair is rarely seen styled. His clothing is usually very plain. He frequently wears jeans and Nike Cortez sneakers. In "The Trip, Part 1", he mentions that his clothes are color-coded based on his mood. Several times throughout the show, George mentions a desire to "drape" himself in velvet, which he does in "The Doodle". In "The Bizarro Jerry", George can be seen styling his hair based on an Andy Sipowicz poster.
Art Vandelay.
Art Vandelay is an alias first used by George in "The Stake Out". To explain their presence in the lobby of an office building, Jerry and George come up with a cover story based around a man they plan to meet named Art Vandelay, an importer–exporter who works in the building. George frequently reuses the invented name as a running joke. In "The Red Dot", George tells Elaine's boss that he frequently reads books by Art Vandelay, who he describes as a "beatnik, from the Village." In "The Boyfriend", George tells the unemployment office that he is close to getting a job at "Vandelay Industries", a latex manufacturer ostensibly located at Jerry's address. He later tells Susan that Art is Elaine's boyfriend as part of a cover story to prevent Susan from learning that he is secretly dating Marisa Tomei ("The Cadillac"). In "The Bizarro Jerry", George asks an office receptionist to see a "Mr. Art Vandelay" as part of a ruse to ask her on a date. In "The Serenity Now", George invents fake customers, one of whom is "Mr. Vandelay", to hide his lack of sales success. In "The Puerto Rican Day", George pretends to be Vandelay (Jerry pretends to be "Kel Varnsen", and Kramer is "H.E. Pennypacker") to take advantage of an open house to watch a Mets game on television. In "The Finale", the name of the presiding judge is Arthur Vandelay, much to George's amazement.
Development.
"Seinfeld" co-creator Larry David based George largely on himself. Seinfeld and David created the character as a foil to Seinfeld's character. In the first draft of the show's pilot script, called "Stand-Up" at the time, George's name was "Bennett" and he, like Jerry, was a comedian. In that same draft, the scene in the pilot in which George and Jerry discuss a woman Jerry met earlier, instead saw George and Jerry discussing their stand-up act. His name was changed to George, and he became a real estate broker instead. George's last name comes from Michael Costanza, a college classmate of Seinfeld. "Louis", George's middle name, is a homage to Lou Costello, whose 1950s television series "The Abbott and Costello Show" inspired "Seinfeld". Although he is often asked whether he wanted to play the character, Larry David has said that he was only interested in writing the show, and doubted that NBC would have approved of his being cast.
Casting director Marc Herschfield stated that, during casting for the character, "we saw every actor we could possibly see in Los Angeles", but they could not find the right actor for the part. Among the auditionees were Nathan Lane, David Alan Grier, Brad Hall and Larry Miller. A 2011 article by Bradford Evans in "Splitsider" claims those considered for Costanza include Danny DeVito and Nathan Lane, while Jason Alexander himself has noted that Steve Buscemi, Paul Shaffer and Chris Rock were also considered for the role. Robert Schimmel also auditioned.
On April 3, 1989, Herschfield sent a partial script to Jason Alexander, who was in New York City at the time. Herschfield had met Alexander when he was working on the CBS sitcom "E/R". Alexander enjoyed the script and felt it read like a Woody Allen film; therefore, he did a Woody Allen impression on his audition tape and bought a pair of glasses to better resemble the actor. Though Alexander thought his audition was "a complete waste of time", both David and Seinfeld were impressed; Seinfeld stated "the second we saw him, like two lines out of his mouth, we went 'That's the guy. On April 10, 1989, at 9:00 a.m. Alexander did his first official audition and met David and Seinfeld. While in the waiting room for his final audition, Alexander saw that Larry Miller was also auditioning. Alexander was aware that Miller and Seinfeld were very good friends, and so figured that he would not get the part. After his final audition, he returned to New York City, and when he landed he received a phone call informing him that he was hired.
Many of George's predicaments were based on David's past real-life experiences. In "The Revenge", for example, when George quits his job in a fury only to realize he has made a mistake, he goes back the next day as if nothing happened; this mirrors David's actions while working as a writer for "Saturday Night Live", when he quit and then returned to his job in the same manner. When David explained this to him, Alexander realized that the character was based on David, and changed his performance from the Woody Allen imitation to what he has called a "shameless imitation of Larry David."
In 1998, Michael Costanza sued the show for US$100,000,000, claiming that he never gave permission for his name to be used and that, because of the character's appearance and behavior, he was not treated with respect. Costanza lost the suit, as the New York Supreme Court decided that Seinfeld and David "did not violate Michael Costanza's privacy rights when they created the character".
Reception.
In a list of the "50 Greatest Sidekicks" compiled by "Entertainment Weekly", George was placed third, behind Robin from the "Batman" franchise and "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" co-host Ed McMahon. On a "Florida Times-Union" list of the 50 greatest sitcom characters of all time, George was ranked third, behind Lucy Ricardo from "I Love Lucy" and Barney Fife from "The Andy Griffith Show". In 1999, "TV Guide" published a list of the 50 best characters in television history, on which George was ranked 10th. "The People" called George the greatest television character on a list of the 100 best television characters. British comedian Ricky Gervais and "Guardian" columnist Marina Hyde have both called George "arguably the greatest sitcom character of all time".
For his performance as George, Alexander was nominated for various awards. In 1992, he received his first Primetime Emmy Award nomination in the category Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series; however, he lost the award to Michael Jeter for "Evening Shade". He received nominations in the same category the following six years, but failed to win each year. In addition, Alexander was nominated for four Golden Globe Awards—in 1993, 1994, 1995, and 1998—in the Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries, or Motion Picture Made for Television category, but never won the award. In 1995, Alexander received the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series, he also shared the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series with Seinfeld, Louis-Dreyfus, and Richards. From 1996 through 1998, Alexander was nominated in the same two categories, co-winning the ensemble award in 1997 and 1998. In 1999, he was nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series for the last time, but lost to Michael J. Fox for his portrayal of Michael Flaherty on "Spin City". In 1992 and 1993, Alexander won the American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Male Performer in a TV Series. He was also nominated for the award in 1996 (with Richards) and 1999 but did not win again.
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John McClane
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John McClane Sr. is a fictional character and the protagonist of the "Die Hard" film series, based on Joe Leland from Roderick Thorp's action novel "Nothing Lasts Forever". McClane was portrayed in all five films by actor Bruce Willis, and he is known for his sardonic one-liners, including the famous catchphrase in every "Die Hard" film: "Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker". Per the franchise's name, he confounds repeated attempts to kill him, driving his enemies to distraction, by adding up and exploiting dumb luck.
Character portrayal.
John McClane was originally based on the fictional character Detective Joe Leland from Roderick Thorp's bestselling 1979 novel "Nothing Lasts Forever". Other aspects are derived from Frank Malone from Walter Wager's 1987 novel "58 Minutes" (adapted as "Die Hard 2").
"Die Hard" villain Hans Gruber describes him as "just another American... who thinks he's John Wayne," to which McClane replies that he "was always partial to Roy Rogers." He is described as being a "foul-mouthed, wisecracking, no-nonsense New York cop with an itchy trigger finger ... and a never-say-die maverick spirit."
McClane's marriage is in a constant state of crisis, his vigilantism and disregard for authority have put him in danger of losing his job more than once, and he is a chain-smoker who is described by Inspector Cobb in "Die Hard with a Vengeance" as being "two steps away from becoming a full blown alcoholic", on which McClane jokingly corrects him saying only "one step".
McClane is consistently portrayed as a reluctant hero who, with little or no assistance from others, is required against his wishes to thwart the elaborate plans of a group of like-minded villains because no one else is in a position to do so. The trailer for the first "Die Hard" film states, "The last thing McClane wants is to be a hero, but he doesn't have a choice." In the second film, he is told "You're the wrong guy in the wrong place at the wrong time", to which he replies, "The story of my life." In the fourth film, he says he gets involved in dangerous situations "because there is nobody else to do it" and if there were, he would gladly let someone else do it. Unlike many "one man army" action heroes of the 1980s, the events of the movie actually take their toll on McClane physically, with McClane entering the climax of the movie severely injured.
Depiction.
"Die Hard".
At the beginning of the first film, New York City Police Department Detective John McClane is seen traveling to Los Angeles to attend a Christmas Eve party at Nakatomi Plaza, the workplace of his recently separated wife Holly Gennero (Bonnie Bedelia); she and their two children, Lucy and John Jr., live in Los Angeles.
Shortly after McClane arrives at the party, Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman), a recently excommunicated member of a radical West German political movement, initiates his plan to steal $640 million worth of bearer bonds stored in the Nakatomi Corporation's vault. Gruber and a legion of mostly European henchmen under his command take hostage the Nakatomi Corporation employees and Holly in a bid to conceal the theft under the guise of a failed terrorist act.
McClane evades detection of the group and hides throughout Nakatomi Plaza, systematically killing the group members as he disrupts their plot. Gruber, aware of John's presence and his name, eventually identifies Holly as John's wife and takes her as his personal hostage. At the climax of the film, a badly injured McClane locates Hans and Holly near the vault on the 30th floor. Gruber is shot by McClane and falls through a shattered window, but manages to grab onto Holly's wristwatch. Gruber tries one last time to shoot them both, but McClane unstraps the watch and Gruber falls to his death.
"Die Hard 2".
In aftermath events of the first "Die Hard", McClane transfers to the Los Angeles Police Department and is promoted to lieutenant. He dislikes his rise to national fame. Dialogue in the second film reveals that he was featured in "People Magazine", did a spot on "Nightline", and was referred to (by Colonel Stuart) as "the policeman hero who saved the Nakatomi hostages" along with a local news crew.
In "Die Hard 2", on Christmas Eve, mercenaries seize control of Dulles International Airport 25 miles west of Washington, D.C. They take control of the airport's communications and threaten to cause plane crashes unless their demands are met. Holly is stranded, her plane circles overhead. McClane discovers a conspiracy between the mercenaries and an active military unit to rescue a notorious dictator from being imprisoned for crimes against humanity. He foils their plans and provides a visual landing signal for the circling aircraft by exploding the plane the villains were using for their exit strategy.
"Die Hard with a Vengeance".
In "Die Hard with a Vengeance", McClane has returned to New York City and the NYPD, retaining his rank of Lieutenant. He is separated from his wife and suspended from the police force; probably due to alcoholism. At the beginning of the film, an unidentified terrorist known only by the name "Simon" (Jeremy Irons) has detonated at least one bomb in the city and threatens to detonate others unless McClane undertakes to solve a series of challenges and riddles modeled after the children's game Simon says.
A shopkeeper from Harlem, Zeus Carver (Samuel L. Jackson), saves McClane during the first challenge and is forced to further accompany McClane at Simon's request.
After attempting to solve and complete several riddles and challenges, the FBI finally reveal to McClane that "Simon" is Simon Peter Gruber, the brother of Hans Gruber (the antagonist of the first film). It is assumed by the FBI that at least part of Simon's motive involves seeking revenge against McClane for his brother's death. Like Hans, Simon is determined to use acts of terror as a smokescreen to perpetrate thievery. Using a fake bomb threat concerning New York City area schools, Simon draws nearly all of the city's police force away from his target: New York's Federal Reserve. While the police frantically search local schools to locate the alleged bomb, Simon raids the gold bullion held in the underground vault of the Reserve and flees towards the Canada–US border.
With the help of Carver, McClane tracks Simon near the border. McClane kills Simon by shooting a power line which collapses into the blades of Simon's helicopter.
"Live Free or Die Hard / Die Hard 4.0".
The fourth film, "Live Free or Die Hard" (titled "Die Hard 4.0" in releases outside North America), which takes place on Independence Day, takes place 13 years later. McClane is assigned to take hacker Matt Farrell (Justin Long) into FBI custody. McClane has been on the force over 30 years, and is a senior detective, most likely a detective squad commander, since he holds the rank of lieutenant. Although McClane's NYPD file, accessed by Thomas Gabriel, notes he has been a Lieutenant since 1987, it also states he currently holds the rank of Detective. Terrorists, led by Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant), are conducting a fire sale to bidders, taking out the nation's infrastructure: power plants, traffic lights, transportation, and financial markets.
McClane has been divorced from Holly for ten years, and is not speaking to his daughter Lucy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), who is kidnapped by Gabriel as leverage. McClane's previous actions seem forgotten. Farrell is unaware of his track record of thwarting bad guys. McClane cynical about his fame. With Farrell, McClane again thwarts disaster. Farrell counters Gabriel's hacks, while McClane eliminates his men. The culmination is when McClane shoots through his own shoulder to kill Gabriel.
His actions restore Lucy to friendliness. She introduces herself as Lucy McClane to Farrell. In the past, she had introduced herself as Lucy Gennero, and told guys her father was dead.
"A Good Day to Die Hard".
In the fifth film, "A Good Day to Die Hard", John travels to Russia when son John "Jack" Junior (Jai Courtney) is arrested. He does not know Jack works for the CIA against high-ranking Russian official Chagarin (Sergei Kolesnikov). Chagarin's ex-partner, Yuri Komarov (Sebastian Koch) was imprisoned for a file incriminating Chagarin.
John meets Jack and Komarov fleeing custody and Chagarin's thugs. Chagarin's henchmen attack again as they hide out in a CIA safe house. John holds them off, allowing himself, Jack and Komarov to escape. John and Jack help Komarov meet up with Komarov's daughter, Irina (Yuliya Snigir). She betrays them to Chagarin's main enforcer Alik (Radivoje Bukvić). John and Jack must escape again, but without Komarov. Following Komarov to Chernobyl, John and Jack learn that Komarov was actually using them to steal weapons-grade uranium from Chagarin. Surviving yet another battle, John and Jack mend their relationship.
Catchphrase.
Throughout the films, McClane is known for his catchphrase, "Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker". He frequently says it to taunt his adversaries, or in the moments before killing them.
McClane adopts the phrase in the first film, "Die Hard", when villain Hans Gruber calls him a cowboy and asks if he thinks he stands a chance. McClane replies, "Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker". At the end of the film, before his death at the hands of McClane, Gruber echoes the phrase before McClane overpowers him.
At the end of "Die Hard 2", he delivers it before lighting a trail of fuel to destroy the enemy airplane.
At the end of "Die Hard with a Vengeance", he says it in a low voice after shooting down the enemy helicopter.
In the fourth film, "Live Free or Die Hard", McClane is held captive by cyber-terrorist Thomas Gabriel. Gabriel taunts him, claiming that McClane's tombstone will read "always in the wrong place at the wrong time". McClane replies, "How about 'yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker'?" as he shoots himself through the shoulder in order to kill Gabriel. The last two syllables are drowned out by the gunshot in the theatrical version. In the "unrated version," the line is altered to remain intact.
In the fifth film, "A Good Day to Die Hard", McClane says the catchphrase before driving a truck out of an airborne helicopter in the final confrontation in Chernobyl. The film title references the catchphrase's reputed meaning, a Native American war-cry meaning "This is a good day to die!"
Reception.
"Empire" ranked him number 12 on their list of the "100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time" in 2008 and number 7 in 2015. In a survey by MTV, "accomplished" filmmakers, actors and fans voted on the "Greatest Movie Badass of All Time". McClane came in third, behind only Ellen Ripley and Dirty Harry. In April 2009, "Entertainment Weekly" ranked John McClane sixth in list of the top twenty "All-Time Coolest Heroes in Pop Culture", describing "Bruce Willis' wisecracking, terrorist-foiling New York cop" character as "the anti-Bond". The magazine called the characters portrayed by Keanu Reeves in "Speed", Wesley Snipes in "Passenger 57", and Jean-Claude Van Damme in "Sudden Death" as "copycat descendants" of John McClane.
Bruce Willis was called "an excellent casting choice as a sardonic action hero."
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Ellen Ripley
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Ellen Louise Ripley is a fictional character and the original protagonist of the "Alien" film series, played by American actress Sigourney Weaver. Considered one of the greatest characters in science fiction film history, the character earned Weaver worldwide recognition, and remains her most famous role to date. Although she was originally conceived as male for the first "Alien" film (in which the character is only known as Ripley), director Ridley Scott decided early in production to make her a woman.
"Alien" (1979) and its sequel "Aliens" (1986) were heralded for challenging gender roles, particularly in the science fiction, action, and horror genres. Weaver's performances are also highly praised: for "Aliens", she earned her first Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, which is now seen as a landmark since the Academy, to that point, had given little recognition to the genres of science-fiction and horror. For her role in the franchise, Weaver has also been nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama, a BAFTA Award for Best Leading Newcomer, and four Saturn Awards for Best Actress, winning one for "Aliens".
Ripley is often considered one of the most significant female protagonists in cinematic history, and is a prominent figure in popular culture. Today, Ripley's influence extends beyond that of the original film franchise; she has appeared in novels, comic books and video games.
Biography.
Films.
In "Alien" (1979).
Ripley is introduced as a warrant officer aboard the "Nostromo", a spaceship en route to Earth from Thedus. Having been placed in stasis for the long journey home, the crew is awakened when the "Nostromo "receives a transmission of unknown origin from a nearby planetoid. Following their landing, an unknown creature infiltrates the ship, and kills every other member of the crew. Ripley is the only member to escape from the "Nostromo" prior to its explosion, which she deliberately commenced to kill the monster. However, she discovers that the Alien is also aboard the ship's shuttle, but expels it into space before putting herself in stasis for the return trip to Earth.
In "Aliens" (1986).
57 years later, Ripley awakes from her stasis. Her testimony regarding the Alien is met with extreme skepticism; she loses her space flight license as a result of her "questionable judgment," and finds out that her daughter, Amanda, has died of old age. However, after contact is lost with a colony on LV-426 (the planet where her crew first encountered the Alien eggs), Ripley accompanies a group of Colonial Marines to investigate. They find the planet infested by many Aliens, who wipe out almost all of the marines. Ripley finally escapes the planet with Corporal Dwayne Hicks, the android Bishop, and Newt, a young girl who is the last surviving colonist. Back on the "Sulaco", they are soon attacked by the surviving Alien Queen, which is finally expelled into space by Ripley. Ripley enters hypersleep alongside the three other survivors for the return to Earth.
In "Alien 3" (1992).
The "Sulaco" launches an escape pod containing the four survivors, which then crashes on Fiorina 'Fury' 161, an abandoned foundry facility and penal colony. Ripley alone survives the crash. Unbeknownst to her, an Alien egg had been aboard the ship. Once hatched in the prison, the creature begins to kill inmates and guards, but strangely refuses to kill her. After rallying the inmates and preparing the defense against the creature, Ripley discovers the embryo of an Alien Queen growing inside her, thus realizing why she had not been attacked. After having killed the Alien by thermal shock, Ripley sacrifices herself by diving into a gigantic furnace just as the alien Queen begins to erupt from her chest. Her plan was to exterminate the final trace of the Aliens and prevent the Weyland-Yutani Corporation from using it as a biological weapon.
In "Alien Resurrection" (1997).
200 years after her death, scientists clone Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) and surgically retrieve the Alien Queen embryo from her body. The United Systems Military hopes to breed Aliens to study on the spaceship USM "Auriga", using kidnapped hosts delivered to them by a group of mercenaries. The Aliens escape their enclosures, while Ripley and the mercenaries attempt to flee to the "Betty". They must destroy the "Auriga", lest it make its emergency landing and unleashes Xenomorphs on Earth. Ripley is taken to the Alien nest, where the Queen gives birth to a Newborn, a Xenomorph with human traits. The hybrid Alien recognizes Ripley as its mother and kills the Queen. Ripley escapes to the "Betty", where she tearfully kills the Newborn when it is discovered aboard attacking the other survivors. The "Auriga" crashes into Earth, destroying all the remaining Xenomorphs in a massive explosion. From the windows of the "Betty," Call and Ripley look down at Earth, and when Call asks what Ripley wants to do next, she says, "I'm a stranger here myself." In an alternate ending, the "Betty" lands in a ruined Paris.
In "The Predator" (2018).
After director Neill Blomkamp announced on February 19, 2015 that his next film would be a fifth "Alien" movie, Weaver confirmed on February 25 that she would reprise her role as Ripley in the film. On January 21, 2017, in response to a fan question on Twitter asking what the chances were of his Alien project actually happening, Blomkamp responded "slim." In April, Scott said he did not think the film would ever be made. He elaborated that there was never a complete script, just a 10-page pitch, that Fox decided they did not want to pursue any further. Commentators have noted this goes against Weaver's and James Cameron's statements about reading Blomkamp's script for the film, although it is possible Weaver and Cameron were referring to the pitch document. On May 1, 2017, Ridley Scott confirmed that the fifth film is not happening. An alternate ending for "The Predator" displaying a Weyland-Yutani Corp pod containing Ripley (played by Breanna Watkins) wearing a Weyland-Yutani breathing apparatus shaped like an Alien Facehugger was yet one among several references intended to further connect the "Predator" films to the "Alien" films.
Video games.
In "Aliens: Colonial Marines" (2013).
Ripley has two cameos in the "Stasis Interrupted" DLC for the game. In this prequel campaign, Ripley is seen being impregnated by a facehugger and also appeared recreating the same final scene of "Alien 3." The game also revealed that Hicks actually survived the events of "Alien 3" as he was retrieved by another Colonial Marines team, with the body in the stasis chamber that crashed being another marine who was knocked into Hicks' pod during a firefight, dying when the EEV crashed. Ripley, Newt and Bishop's pods were ejected while Hicks had to go with the other Marines.
In "Alien: Isolation" (2014).
In 2014, Weaver reprised her role as Ripley for the first time in 17 years for a voice cameo in the video game "", centered on Ripley's daughter Amanda, and more extensively in its two DLCs set during the events of "Alien". This game, set 15 years after the events of "Alien" and 42 years before the events of "Aliens", features Ripley's daughter Amanda. Amanda was originally introduced in the extended version of "Aliens", when Ripley learns that during her 57-years long stasis, Amanda grew up, married, and died. In the game, Amanda investigates potential clues regarding her mother's disappearance, and goes to the space station "Sevastopol" in hope to find answers. Near the end of the game, Amanda ultimately finds a vocal message from her mother (voiced by Weaver), who added a personal message to the "Nostromo" final log entry at the end of "Alien" addressed to Amanda, in which Ripley explains the true nature of the disappearance of the "Nostromo", tells her she loves her, and hopes that she will get to hear this someday.
Weaver also reprises her role more extensively alongside several other original cast members in the game's two DLCs, set during the events of "Alien". Ripley is joined by Dallas (Tom Skerritt), Lambert (Veronica Cartwright), Brett (Harry Dean Stanton), Parker (Yaphet Kotto) and Ash (Ian Holm, likeness only), allowing the player to play through two iconic scenes from the film. With the Nostromo Edition pre-order, the "Crew Expendable" bonus content allows gamers to play as one of the surviving crew members just after Brett's demise to entice the Alien to the ship's airlock. In the "Last Survivor", Ripley initiates the self-destruct sequence before escaping on the "Narcissus".
Animated.
In "Alien: Isolation" (2019).
In the web animated series "Alien: Isolation", Ripley was voiced by Andrea Deck in voiceovers for Ripley's final moments to her daughter.
Biography of Ripley 8.
In "Alien Resurrection" (1997).
Two hundred years after Ripley's death, a clone of Ripley is successfully produced aboard the spaceship "Auriga". Her DNA proved difficult to separate from that of the alien that was inside her during the events of "Alien 3", so the first six clones were useless monstrosities. The seventh clone turned out human enough to warrant an attempt at retrieving the alien inside her, but this also ended in failure. The eighth clone proves successful, and becomes the central character of a new story. However, the separation was still not perfect. Number 8 has enhanced strength and reflexes, acidic blood, and an empathic link with the Aliens, and the aliens have slightly more human traits, including a browner skin coloration and changes to their reproductive cycle. Number Eight learns to talk and interact with humans, but soon Aliens escape their confinement and kill most of the crew. She escapes from her cell and later meets and joins a group of mercenaries; developing a close relationship with their youngest member, Annalee Call. The now fully-grown Alien Queen, having developed a womb because of Ripley's DNA, gives birth to a human-Alien hybrid, who kills the Queen and imprints on Number Eight as its mother. After escaping the "Auriga" in the "Betty", Ripley kills the newborn Alien by using her own acidic blood to burn a hole through a viewing pane, causing the creature to be sucked violently through the small hole and into the vacuum of space, saving Call. In a scene included in the extended edition of the film (referenced in the events of "Alien: Sea of Sorrows"), the "Betty" lands on Earth and Ripley and Call discover that Paris is desolate.
In "Aliens vs. Predator vs. The Terminator" (2000).
The comic book "Aliens versus Predator versus The Terminator" continues the storyline of Ripley 8 after "Resurrection", seeing Ripley 8 allying with the Predators to defeat both a new wave of Aliens and a group of Terminators created by a long-dormant Skynet program to reinvent itself if it was destroyed, culminating in Ripley 8 apparently sacrificing herself to destroy the original super-soldier/Terminator.
In "Alien: Sea of Sorrows" (2014).
At the beginning of "Alien: Sea of Sorrows", set 200 years after the events of "Alien Resurrection", it is revealed that the crashing of the "Auriga" at the end of "Alien Resurrection" caused the destruction in Paris seen at the end of that film. Additionally, the protagonist of the novel, Decker, is stated to be a descendant of Ellen Ripley, but there are several hints throughout the novel revealing that Decker's grandmother was actually Ripley 8 (mainly his empathic abilities, the fact Amanda Ripley-McClaren is stated to have had no children in "Aliens", and when Decker is shown a picture of Ripley, he says that she is not the person he sees in his head).
Spin-off media.
Ripley's life and career have been extensively expanded on in various spin-off comics and novels, many of which were written before her death on Fiorina 161, providing instead a chronology continuing on from the end of "Aliens". In the Dark Horse novel series, Ripley appears at the end of Book 3, '; but subsequent books, in order to bring the book continuity in line with the film continuity, reveal that she is actually an android created in Ripley's likeness and given false memories. All novels were rebooted in 2012, meaning the only canonical books featuring Ripley are ' (by Tim Lebbon), "Sea of Sorrows" (by James A. Moore) and "River of Pain". In "Out of the Shadows", Ripley is woken from stasis 37 years after the events of "Alien", fights Xenomorphs alongside several miners, and is put in stasis again the end of the book with her memory of these events erased to spare her from the worst of the psychological trauma she has experienced. Ripley is mentioned repeatedly in "Sea of Sorrows", which stars the grandson of Ripley 8, and appears in "River of Pain", which takes place before and during the events of "Aliens". An Audio-Animatronic Ripley was featured in the "Alien" scene of The Great Movie Ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World from 1989 to 2017.
Reception.
"Best-characters" lists.
Ellen Ripley is often featured in lists of the best characters in film history: in 2008, American Film Institute ranked her as the eighth best hero in American film history in their list of the 100 greatest heroes and villains, the second highest ranked female character after Clarice Starling. In 2009, "Entertainment Weekly" ranked Ripley fifth on their list of "The 20 All Time Coolest Heroes in Pop Culture", calling her "one of the first female movie characters who isn't defined by the men around her, or by her relationship to them." The same year, she was ranked #9 on "Empire" magazine's compilation of "The 100 Greatest Movie Characters" in 2008 and #5 in 2015, being the highest ranked female in both.
She was ranked eight on "Premiere" magazine's list of "The 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time", with her Defining Moment being "Ripley's nervy refusal to open the ship's hatch so that Kane (John Hurt) can be admitted - with a thing attached to his face." She was the third highest ranked female of the list, after Annie Hall and Scarlett O'Hara. She was ranked 57 on "Fandomania" list of the "100 Greatest Fictional Characters". In 2009, MTV selected her as the second Greatest Movie Badass Of All Time, the only women with Sarah Connor, ranked sixth. In 2011, UGO Networks ranked her the 75th Hottest Sci-Fi Girl of All Time. and website "Total Sci-Fi" ranked her first on their top of the 25 Women Who Shook Sci-Fi, stating "one of the most iconic characters in cinema history" and "one of the most critically analysed characters in the history of cinema." In 2011, "Total Film" ranked her the best female character of any film.
Awards and impact for Sigourney Weaver.
For her performance in "Alien", Weaver was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles and a Saturn Award for Best Actress. Although her performance had already been acclaimed in the first film, "Aliens" gave worldwide recognition to Weaver: she was the third horror actress in history (after Ellen Burstyn for "The Exorcist" and Sissy Spacek for "Carrie") to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. She also received a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama, and won the Saturn Award for Best Actress, the first award in her career (except a minor award, the Mystfest Award for Best Actress, won for "Half Moon Street").
Weaver was also co-producer of the third and fourth films of the franchise. Although they were less successful critically, Weaver's performance was praised: she received her third and fourth Saturn Award for Best Actress nominations for both films and a nomination for a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actress – Sci-Fi for "Alien Resurrection". Although she didn't win awards specifically for "Alien 3" and "Alien Resurrection", she won the Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year Award for her acting work during the 1997 film year, including "Alien Resurrection", "The Ice Storm" and "".
Weaver won a DVDX Award for Best Audio Commentary (New for DVD) for her audio participation, among numerous other members of the crew, in the audio commentary of "Alien" in its 2003-reissue in "Alien Quadrilogy". On his presentation speech about Weaver before rewarding her for her overall career with the Heroine Award at the 2010 Scream Awards, "Aliens" director James Cameron stated her main participations in film history as the "Alien" franchise, "Ghostbusters" and "Avatar".
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Edward Scissorhands
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Edward Scissorhands is a 1990 American gothic romantic fantasy film directed by Tim Burton. It was produced by Burton and Denise Di Novi, written by Caroline Thompson from a story by her and Burton, and starring Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Dianne Wiest, Anthony Michael Hall, Kathy Baker, Vincent Price, and Alan Arkin. It tells the story of an unfinished artificial humanoid who has scissor blades instead of hands, is taken in by a suburban family, and falls in love with their teenage daughter.
Burton conceived "Edward Scissorhands" from his childhood upbringing in suburban Burbank, California. During pre-production of "Beetlejuice", Caroline Thompson was hired to adapt Burton's story into a screenplay, and the film began development at 20th Century Fox after Warner Bros. declined. "Edward Scissorhands" was then fast-tracked after Burton's critical and financial success with "Batman". The film also marks the fourth collaboration between Burton and film score composer Danny Elfman, and was Vincent Price's last film role to be released in his lifetime.
"Edward Scissorhands" was a critical and commercial success, grossing over four times its $20 million budget. The film won the British Academy Film Award for Best Production Design and the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, in addition to receiving multiple nominations at the Academy Awards, British Academy Film Awards, and the Saturn Awards. Both Burton and Elfman consider "Edward Scissorhands" their most personal and favorite work.
Plot.
One snowy evening, an elderly woman tells her granddaughter the bedtime story of a young man named Edward, who has scissor blades for hands.
Many years earlier, Peg Boggs, a local door-to-door Avon saleswoman, tries to sell at the decrepit Gothic mansion where Edward lives. The creation of an old inventor, Edward is an ageless humanoid. The inventor homeschooled Edward but died from a heart attack before giving Edward hands, leaving him unfinished. Peg finds Edward alone and offers to take him to her home after discovering he is virtually harmless. Peg introduces Edward to her husband Bill, their young son Kevin, and their beautiful teenage daughter Kim. Edward falls in love with Kim, despite her initial fear of him. As their neighbors are curious about the new houseguest, the Boggs throw a neighborhood barbecue welcoming him. Most of the neighbors are fascinated by Edward and befriend him, except for the eccentric religious fanatic Esmeralda and Kim's supercilious boyfriend Jim.
Edward repays the neighborhood for their kindness by trimming their hedges into topiaries, progressing to grooming dogs and later styling the hair of the neighborhood women. One of the neighbors, Joyce, offers to help Edward open a hair salon so he can support himself. While scouting a location, Joyce attempts to seduce him, but scares him away. Joyce lies to the neighborhood women that Edward forced himself on her, wrecking their trust in him. Edward's dream of opening the salon is ruined when the bank refuses him a loan on the grounds that he has no assessment and collateral and is not legally a human.
Jealous of Kim's attraction to Edward, Jim takes advantage of his naivety by asking him to pick the lock on his parents' home so he can steal his father's electronic goods and sell them to buy a van. Edward agrees, but when he picks the lock, a burglar alarm is triggered. Jim flees and Edward is arrested. The police determine that a lifetime of isolation has left Edward without any common sense or morality; thus, he cannot be criminally charged. Edward nevertheless takes responsibility for the robbery, telling Kim that he did it because she asked him to. Consequently, he is shunned by the entire neighborhood except for the Boggs family.
At Christmas, Edward carves an angelic ice sculpture modeled after Kim; the ice shavings are thrown into the air and fall like snow, something that has never happened before in the town. Kim dances in the snowfall. Jim arrives suddenly, calling out to Edward, surprising him and causing him to accidentally cut Kim's hand. Jim accuses Edward of intentionally harming her, but Kim, disgusted and fed up with Jim's jealous behavior towards Edward, breaks up with him. Meanwhile, Edward flees in a rage, destroying his works and scaring Esmeralda until he is calmed by a wandering dog.
Kim's parents go out to find Edward while she stays behind in case he returns. Edward returns, finding Kim there. She asks him to hold her, but Edward hesitates, afraid of hurting her. Jim's drunken friend drives him to Kim's house and nearly runs over Kevin, but Edward pushes Kevin to safety while inadvertently cutting him. Witnesses accuse Edward of attacking Kevin; when Jim assaults him, Edward defends himself and injures Jim's arm before fleeing back to the inventor's mansion.
Kim goes to find Edward. Jim obtains a gun, follows her, and shoots at Edward before grabbing a fire poker and beating him. Edward refuses to fight back until he sees Jim strike Kim as she attempts to intervene. Enraged, Edward stabs Jim in the stomach and pushes him from a window of the mansion to his death. Kim confesses her love to Edward and kisses him as they accept that their love can never be fulfilled. As the neighbors gather, Kim convinces them that Jim and Edward killed each other.
The elderly woman, revealed to be Kim, finishes telling her granddaughter the story and says that she never saw Edward again, hoping that by doing so Edward would remember her as she was in her youth. She believes he is still alive because it would not be snowing without him. Edward is then seen carving ice sculptures of his experiences with Kim, with the bits of ice floating as snow in the wind.
Production.
Development.
The genesis of "Edward Scissorhands" came from a drawing by then-teenaged director Tim Burton, which reflected his feelings of isolation and being unable to communicate to people around him in suburban Burbank. The drawing depicted a thin, solemn man with long, sharp blades for fingers. Burton stated that he was often alone and had trouble retaining friendships. "I get the feeling people just got this urge to want to leave me alone for some reason, I don't know exactly why." During pre-production of "Beetlejuice", Burton hired Caroline Thompson, then a young novelist, to write the "Edward Scissorhands" screenplay as a spec script. Burton was impressed with her short novel, "First Born", which was "about an abortion that came back to life". Burton felt "First Born" had the same psychological elements he wanted to showcase in "Edward Scissorhands". "Every detail was so important to Tim because it was so personal", Thompson remarked. She wrote "Scissorhands" as a "love poem" to Burton, stating "He is the most articulate person I know but I couldn't tell you a single complete sentence he has ever said".
Shortly after Thompson's hiring, Burton began to develop "Edward Scissorhands" at Warner Bros., with whom he worked on "Pee-wee's Big Adventure", "Beetlejuice", and "Batman". However, within a couple of months, Warner sold the film rights to 20th Century Fox. Fox agreed to finance Thompson's screenplay while giving Burton complete creative control. At the time, the budget was projected to be around $8–9 million. When writing the storyline, Burton and Thompson were influenced by Universal Horror films, such as "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (1923), "The Phantom of the Opera" (1925), "Frankenstein" (1931), and "Creature from the Black Lagoon" (1954), as well as "King Kong" (1933) and various fairy tales. Burton originally wanted to make "Scissorhands" as a musical, feeling "it seemed big and operatic to me", but later dropped the idea. Following the enormous success of "Batman", Burton arrived to the status of being an A-list director. He had the opportunity to do any film he wanted, but rather than fast track Warner Bros.' choices for "Batman Returns" or "Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian", Burton opted to make "Edward Scissorhands" for Fox.
Casting.
Although Winona Ryder was the first cast member attached to the script, Dianne Wiest was the first to sign on. "Dianne, in particular, was wonderful", Burton said. "She was the first actress to read the script, supported it completely and, because she is so respected, once she had given it her stamp of approval, others soon got interested". When it came to casting the lead role of Edward, several actors were considered; Fox was insistent on having Burton meet with Tom Cruise. "He certainly wasn't my ideal, but I talked to him", Burton remembered. "He was interesting, but I think it worked out for the best. A lot of questions came up". Cruise asked for a "happier" ending. Tom Hanks and Gary Oldman turned down the part, Hanks in favor of critical and commercial flop "The Bonfire of the Vanities". Oldman found the story to be absurd, but understood it after watching "literally two minutes" of the completed film. Jim Carrey was also considered for the role, while Thompson favored John Cusack. Elsewhere, William Hurt, Robert Downey Jr. and musician Michael Jackson expressed interest, although Burton did not converse with Jackson.
Though Burton was unfamiliar with Johnny Depp's then-popular performance in "21 Jump Street", he had always been Burton's first choice. At the time of his casting, Depp was seeking to break out of the teen idol status which his performance in "21 Jump Street" had afforded him. When he was sent the script, Depp immediately found personal and emotional connections with the story. In preparation for the role, Depp watched many Charlie Chaplin films to study the idea of creating sympathy without dialogue. Fox studio executives were so worried about Edward's image, that they tried to keep pictures of Depp in full costume under wraps until release of the film. Burton approached Ryder for the role of Kim Boggs based on their positive working experience in "Beetlejuice". Drew Barrymore previously auditioned for the role. Crispin Glover auditioned for the role of Jim before Anthony Michael Hall was cast.
Kathy Baker saw her part of Joyce, the neighbor who tries to seduce Edward, as a perfect chance to break into comedy. Alan Arkin says when he first read the script, he was "a bit baffled. Nothing really made sense to me until I saw the sets. Burton's visual imagination is extraordinary". The role of The Inventor was written specifically for Vincent Price, and would ultimately be his final feature film role. Burton commonly watched Price's films as a child, and, after completing "Vincent", the two became good friends. Robert Oliveri was cast as Kevin, Kim's younger brother.
Filming.
Burbank, California was considered as a possible location for the suburban neighborhoods, but Burton believed the city had become too altered since his childhood so the Tampa Bay Area of Florida, including the town of Lutz, on Tinsmith Circle inside the Carpenter's Run subdivision, and the Southgate Shopping Center of Lakeland was chosen for a three-month shooting schedule. The production crew found, in the words of the production designer Bo Welch, "a kind of generic, plain-wrap suburb, which we made even more characterless by painting all the houses in faded pastels, and reducing the window sizes to make it look a little more paranoid." The key element to unify the look of the neighborhood was Welch's decision to repaint each of the houses in one of four colors, which he described as "sea-foam green, dirty flesh, butter, and dirty blue". The facade of the Gothic mansion was built just outside Dade City. The majority of filming took place in Lutz between March 26 and July 19, 1990. Filming "Edward Scissorhands" created hundreds of (temporary) jobs and injected over $4 million into the Tampa Bay economy. Production then moved to a Fox Studios sound stage in Century City, California, where interiors of the mansion were filmed.
To create Edward's scissor hands, Burton employed Stan Winston, who would later design the Penguin's prosthetic makeup in "Batman Returns". Depp's wardrobe and prosthetic makeup took one hour and 45 minutes to apply. The giant topiaries that Edward creates in the film were made by wrapping metal skeletons in chicken wire, then weaving in thousands of small plastic plant sprigs. Rick Heinrichs worked as one of the art directors.
Music.
"Edward Scissorhands" is the fourth feature film collaboration between director Tim Burton and composer Danny Elfman. The orchestra consisted of 79 musicians. Elfman cites "Scissorhands" as epitomizing his most personal and favorite work. In addition to Elfman's music, three Tom Jones songs also appear: "It's Not Unusual", "Delilah" and "With These Hands". "It's Not Unusual" would later be used in "Mars Attacks!" (1996), another film of Burton's with music composed by Elfman.
Themes.
Burton acknowledged that the main themes of "Edward Scissorhands" deal with self-discovery and isolation. Edward is found living alone in the attic of a Gothic castle, a setting that is also used for main characters in Burton's "Batman" and "The Nightmare Before Christmas". "Edward Scissorhands" climaxes much like James Whale's "Frankenstein" and Burton's own "Frankenweenie". A mob confronts the "evil creature", in this case, Edward, at his castle. With Edward unable to consummate his love for Kim because of his appearance, the film can also be seen as being influenced by "Beauty and the Beast". "Edward Scissorhands" is a fairy tale book-ended by a prologue and an epilogue featuring Kim Boggs as an old woman telling her granddaughter the story, augmenting the German Expressionism and Gothic fiction archetypes.
Burton explained that his depiction of suburbia is "not a bad place. It's a weird place. I tried to walk the fine line of making it funny and strange without it being judgmental. It's a place where there's a lot of integrity." Kim leaves her jock boyfriend (Jim) to be with Edward, an event that many have postulated as Burton's revenge against jocks he encountered as a teenager in suburban Burbank, California. Jim is subsequently killed, a scene that shocked a number of observers who felt the whole tone of the film had been radically altered. Burton referred to this scene as a "high school fantasy".
Reception.
Box office.
Test screenings for the film were encouraging for 20th Century Fox. Joe Roth, then president of the company, considered marketing "Edward Scissorhands" on the scale of "an "E.T."-sized blockbuster," but Roth decided not to aggressively promote the film in that direction. "We have to let it find its place. We want to be careful not to hype the movie out of the universe," he reasoned. "Edward Scissorhands" had its limited release in the United States on December 7, 1990. The wide release came on December 14, and the film earned $6,325,249 in its opening weekend in 1,372 theaters. "Edward Scissorhands" eventually grossed $56,362,352 in North America, and a further $29,661,653 outside North America, coming to a worldwide total of $86.02 million. With a budget of $20 million, the film is considered a box office success. "The New York Times" wrote "the chemistry between Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder, who were together in real life at the time (1989–1993), gave the film teen idol potential, drawing younger audiences."
Critical response.
"Edward Scissorhands" received acclaim from critics and audiences. CinemaScore reported that audiences gave the film an "A−" grade.
Peter Travers of "Rolling Stone" praised the piece by stating, "Burton's richly entertaining update of the "Frankenstein" story is the year's most comic, romantic and haunting film fantasy." He continued by praising Depp's performance, stating, "Depp artfully expresses the fierce longing in gentle Edward; it's a terrific performance" and the "engulfing score" from Danny Elfman. Amy Dawes of "Variety" spoke highly of the film, "Director [Burton] takes a character as wildly unlikely as a boy whose arms end in pruning shears, and makes him the center of a delightful and delicate comic fable."
Marc Lee of "The Daily Telegraph" scored the film five out of five stars, writing, "Burton's modern fairytale has an almost palpably personal feel: it is told gently, subtly and with infinite sympathy for an outsider who charms the locals but then inadvertently arouses their baser instincts." He also praised Depp as being "sensational in the lead role, summoning anxiety, melancholy and innocence with heartbreaking conviction. And it's all in the eyes: his dialogue is cut-to-the-bone minimal."
"The Washington Post"s Desson Thomson wrote, "Depp is perfectly cast, Burton builds a surrealistically funny cul-de-sac world, and there are some very funny performances from grownups Dianne Wiest, Kathy Baker and Alan Arkin." Rita Kempley, also writing for "The Washington Post", praised the film: "Enchantment on the cutting edge, a dark yet heartfelt portrait of the artist as a young mannequin." She too praised Depp's performance in stating, "... nicely cast, brings the eloquence of the silent era to this part of few words, saying it all through bright black eyes and the tremulous care with which he holds his horror-movie hands.
Owen Gleiberman, writing for "Entertainment Weekly", gave the film an "A−" rating, commending Elfman's score and calling the character of Edward "Burton's surreal portrait of himself as an artist: a wounded child converting his private darkness into outlandish pop visions", and "Burton's purest achievement as a director so far." Of Depp he wrote, "Depp may not be doing that much acting beneath his neo-Kabuki makeup, but what he does is tremulous and affecting."
Janet Maslin of "The New York Times" wrote, "Mr. Burton invests awe-inspiring ingenuity into the process of reinventing something very small." Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" gave the film a mixed review, awarding it two stars out of four and writing that "Burton has not yet found the storytelling and character-building strength to go along with his pictorial flair."
Accolades.
Stan Winston and Ve Neill were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Makeup, but lost to John Caglione Jr. and Doug Drexler for their work on "Dick Tracy". Production designer Bo Welch won the BAFTA Award for Best Production Design, while costume designer Colleen Atwood, and Winston and Neil also received nominations at the British Academy Film Awards. In addition, Winston was nominated for his visual effects work. Depp was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy, but lost to Gérard Depardieu of "Green Card". "Edward Scissorhands" was able to win the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation and the Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film. Danny Elfman, Ryder, Dianne Wiest, Alan Arkin, and Atwood received individual nominations. Elfman was also given a Grammy Award nomination.
The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:
Legacy.
Burton cites "Edward Scissorhands" as epitomizing his most personal work. The film is also Burton's first collaboration with actor Johnny Depp and cinematographer Stefan Czapsky. In October 2008, the Hallmark Channel purchased the television rights. Metal band Motionless in White have a song entitled "Scissorhands (The Last Snow)", with its lyrics written about the film in homage to its legacy and impact on the gothic subculture. Additionally, metal band Ice Nine Kills wrote and performed the song "The World in My Hands" on their fifth studio album, "The Silver Scream".
In 2012, Depp reprised his role in the "Family Guy" episode "Lois Comes Out of Her Shell"; in the cutaway, Edward takes up a babysitter job and promises to the parents to make sure the baby is handled with as much care and fragility as possible; within seconds of going into the nursery, he suddenly remerges, declaring "it's dead".
An extinct lobster-like sea creature called "Kootenichela deppi" is named after Depp because of its scissor-like claws.
From 2014 to 2015, IDW Publishing released an "Edward Scissorhands" comic book series which serves as a sequel and takes place several decades after the film. The series consists of ten issues which have been collected in two trade paperbacks. It was written by Kate Leth with art by Drew Rausch.
An ad for the Cadillac Lyriq, an electric car with hands-free driving features, premiered during Super Bowl LV and is based on the film; it features Ryder reprising her role as Kim, now mother to Edward's son Edgar (played by Timothée Chalamet).
In October of 2024, Fortnite released a new skin featuring Edward Scissorhands.
Stage adaptations.
A theatrical dance adaptation by the British choreographer Matthew Bourne premiered at Sadler's Wells Theatre in London in November 2005. After an 11-week season, the production toured the UK, Asia and the United States. The British director Richard Crawford directed a stage adaptation of the Tim Burton film, which had its world premiere on June 25, 2010, at The Brooklyn Studio Lab and ended July 3.
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a4ed34ed1d8946908429950cc1c57d08
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Randy Marsh
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Randy S. Marsh is a fictional character in the American adult animated sitcom South Park and serves as the series' comic relief. He is the most prominent parent on the series and a married father who raises his son Stan and daughter Shelley along with his wife Sharon in the fictional town of South Park, Colorado. Randy's first name and original job as a geologist are derived from the series co-creator Trey Parker's father,[1] and Parker describes Randy as "the biggest dingbat in the entire show".[2] According to the season 16 episode "Reverse Cowgirl", the Marsh home address was 260 Avenue de los Mexicanos until their move to Tegridy Farms in season 22.
In tradition with South Park's animation style, Randy is composed of simple geometrical shapes, animated with the use of a computer, and rendered to mimic the appearance of construction paper cutout compositions animated through the use of stop motion, which was the technique used to animate the Spirit of Christmas short films.[3] Randy is voiced by Trey Parker.[4]
Character
Creation and design
Randy has black hair, a mustache, and a cleft chin. He carries a few pens in one of the two front pockets on his light blue, collared, button-up shirt, dark gray pants, and wears white briefs as his underwear of choice.[5] Randy is 45 years old, and like Parker's father, is a geologist,[6] making his first appearance in the series while monitoring a seismometer in the episode "Volcano". Randy was depicted to work at the South Park Center for Seismic Activity and was later shown to work for the U.S. Geological Survey, starting with the season 8 episode "Goobacks". He was briefly fired from his geologist job near the end of the season 12 and quit briefly during the end of the season 14, but has since been rehired both times. Randy has not been shown at the earthquake monitoring office since he opened Tegridy Farms, and in-show events strongly suggest that he has abandoned his previous career to raise marijuana full-time. Randy also serves on the city council, specializing in the town's parks and public grounds.[7]
Biography and traits
A recurring character trait of Randy's is his being prone to overreacting and obsessively seizing upon irrational ideas and fads, whether by himself or as part of a large contingent of the town's adult population.[8] Randy frequently attempts to appear cool and popular, particularly to Stan, who finds his attempts embarrassing unless they benefit Stan's interests in some way.
Among the endeavors on which Randy sometimes embarks are get-rich quick schemes or other strategies for economic or material gain. In "Something Wall-Mart This Way Comes", he took a job as an associate at Wal-Mart.[9] In "A Nightmare on Face Time", Randy buys the closed Blockbuster Video in town, hoping to turn it around.[10] In "Black Friday", he takes a job as a security guard at the town's shopping mall during the Black Friday to infiltrate the mall before the stampede of shoppers. In later seasons, Randy is shown to have finally achieved a very high income from both his work as Lorde and his marijuana business, though this has not improved the underlying problems in his family relationships.
Randy has known his wife, Sharon, since childhood.[11] Taking liberties with its floating timeline, the show establishes Randy and Sharon as being young adults during the flower power era.[7] They maintain steady friendships with the parents of Stan's friends and are revealed as enjoying the act of watching pornography together to enhance their sexual relationship.[12] However, their marriage has not been without its frequent arguments, which are usually instigated when Sharon is annoyed, ashamed, or disgusted by Randy's eccentricities. The two briefly divorced on two occasions, but quickly reconciled both times.[11][13] Randy tends to showcase liberal viewpoints, having protested the 2003 invasion of Iraq[14] and supported Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential race.[15]
Randy dropped out of high school[16] and was a member of a boyband in his teens, as shown in "Something You Can Do with Your Finger", but he has mentioned that he attended college[17][18] and has been indicated to hold a doctorate.[19] The show frequently depicts Randy to be a moderate to heavy drinker, and numerous episodes have dealt with Randy's belligerent and negligent behavior brought upon by his severe intoxication.[15][20][21][22]
A few instances of personal achievement have made Randy a hero in the eyes of his friends and fellow townsfolk, such as being awarded a Nobel Prize[23] and twice setting a record for producing the world's largest piece of human excrement.[24] Randy has conversely been subjected to ridicule from the entire town, ranging from when he inadvertently accelerated the effects of global warming by suggesting the entire populace take on a more uninhibited approach to passing gas to avoid the hazard of spontaneous combustion[23] to when he reluctantly exclaimed "niggers" while attempting to solve a puzzle during a live broadcast of Wheel of Fortune.[25] In addition to the professional singing he did in his youth, Randy can also play guitar, as seen in "Guitar Queer-O". He can also speak a little Mongolian, having learned some in college, as seen in the episode "Child Abduction Is Not Funny".
The episode "Gluten Free Ebola" revealed that Randy produces music and performs as the noted musician Lorde, a fact that was explored subsequently in "The Cissy".[6] This has become a running gag that has continued through multiple episodes, such as suggesting much of the Marsh family's income comes from his music career as Lorde rather than his geology job.[26] As of season 22, Randy quit his job and moved the family to the countryside, where he sets up Tegridy Farms to grow and distribute cannabis.[27] Throughout season 23, Randy engages in increasingly unethical business practices until he is sent to prison in "Season Finale"; though Randy is eventually released, he vows to no longer engage in illegal activities, though the cannabis season ends shortly after his release. In "Christmas Snow", Randy begins selling cocaine during the winter, which he has legalized in multiple states so that he can farm it.
Family
Randy is the father of two children: 10-year-old son Stan and 13-year-old daughter Shelley. Randy is generally a doting, well-meaning father to Stan, though their relationship has become strained in the several instances when Randy's irrational behavior and periodic alcoholism aggravate his son. As a result, Stan is usually led to question his father's intelligence. Randy has also taken an interest in learning how to play the same computer and video games Stan enjoys.[28][29] Randy has a habit of temporarily favoring alternatives to Catholicism and imposing his new beliefs on his family. Randy easily persuaded Sharon to become an atheist,[30] but was less successful in getting his entire family enthused about converting to Mormonism.[31] Although not shy about explaining puberty to Stan,[32] both Randy and Sharon are uncomfortable with the idea of having to talk with their son about sex and drugs.[8][12][33] The relationship between the couple and their daughter Shelley has yet to receive significant attention on the show, although the episode "An Elephant Makes Love to a Pig" depicts them as taking Shelley's word over Stan's, at least at first.
Jimbo Kern had been portrayed as being both Randy's and Sharon's brother during the show's run, but an interview with series cocreator Matt Stone established him as being Randy's half-brother.[34] However, according to 2020's "The Pandemic Special", Jimbo is indeed Sharon's brother. As is the case with Shelley, whatever relationship either might have with Jimbo has not been the subject of any of the show's subplots. A similar situation exists with Marvin Marsh, a 102-year-old who lives with Randy and Sharon. Though he shares the same family name as Randy, both Randy and Sharon have acknowledged Marvin as their own father. The episode "Spookyfish" briefly featured Aunt Flo, an elderly aunt of Sharon's who is the personification of a woman's period.[35]
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Walter White
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Walter Hartwell White Sr., also known by his alias Heisenberg, is the fictional antihero[a] turned villain protagonist of the American crime drama television series Breaking Bad. He is portrayed by Bryan Cranston.
Walter is a skilled chemist who co-founded a technology firm before he accepted a buy-out from his partners. While his partners became wealthy, Walter became a high school chemistry teacher in Albuquerque, New Mexico, barely making ends meet with his family: his wife, Skyler (Anna Gunn), and their son, Walter Jr. (RJ Mitte). At the start of the series, the day after his 50th birthday, he is diagnosed with Stage III lung cancer. After this discovery, Walter decides to manufacture and sell methamphetamine with his former student Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) to ensure his family's financial security after his death. Due to his expertise, Walter's "blue meth" is purer than any other on the market, and he is pulled deeper into the illicit drug trade.
Walter becomes increasingly ruthless and unsympathetic as the series progresses, as the series' creator, Vince Gilligan, wanted him to turn from "Mr. Chips into Scarface". He adopts the alias "Heisenberg", which becomes recognizable as a kingpin figure in the Southwestern drug trade. Walter struggles with managing his family while hiding his involvement in the drug business from his brother-in-law, Hank Schrader (Dean Norris), an agent of the Drug Enforcement Administration. Although AMC officials initially hesitated to cast Cranston due to his previous comedic role in Malcolm in the Middle, Gilligan cast him based on his past performance in The X-Files episode "Drive", which Gilligan wrote. Cranston contributed greatly to the creation of his character, including Walter's backstory, personality, and physical appearance.
Both Walter and Cranston's performance have received critical acclaim, and Walter has frequently been mentioned as one of the greatest and most iconic television characters ever created. Cranston won four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, three of them being consecutive. He is the first man to win a Critics' Choice, Golden Globe, Primetime Emmy, and Screen Actors Guild Award for his performance. Cranston reprised the role in a flashback for Breaking Bad's sequel film, El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, and again in the sixth and final season of the prequel series Better Call Saul, making him one of the few characters to appear in all three, alongside Jesse Pinkman, Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks), Ed Galbraith (Robert Forster), and Austin Ramey (Todd Terry).
Concept and creation
You're going to see that underlying humanity, even when he's making the most devious, terrible decisions, and you need someone who has that humanity – deep down, bedrock humanity – so you say, watching this show, 'All right, I'll go for this ride. I don't like what he's doing, but I understand, and I'll go with it for as far as it goes.' If you don't have a guy who gives you that, despite the greatest acting chops in the world, the show is not going to succeed.
—Vince Gilligan, about Bryan Cranston[6]
Inspired by Tony Soprano, Breaking Bad's creator, Vince Gilligan, had wanted his lead character to be a protagonist that turned into an antagonist over the course of the show,[7] or as he described, turning Mr. Chips into Scarface.[8] In the aftermath of the death of James Gandolfini (who portrayed Soprano) in 2013, Gilligan said, "Without Tony Soprano, there would be no Walter White."[9] Gilligan needed to have this character come into a midlife crisis that would put him into seeking risky options and lead to more criminal activities. As the premise of Breaking Bad was based on a humorous idea that he and his fellow writer from The X-Files Thomas Schnauz had come up with of driving around in a recreational vehicle and making methamphetamine, Gilligan made Walter a chemistry teacher, one who, until the start of the show, would never have violated the law.[10]
Gilligan cast Cranston based on having worked with him in "Drive" from The X-Files, on which Gilligan worked as a writer. Cranston played an antisemite with a terminal illness who took Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) hostage. Gilligan said the character had to be simultaneously loathsome and sympathetic, and that "Bryan alone was the only actor who could do that, who could pull off that trick. And it is a trick. I have no idea how he does it."[6][10] AMC officials were initially reluctant with the casting choice, having known Cranston only as the over-the-top character Hal on the comedy series Malcolm in the Middle and approached the actors John Cusack and Matthew Broderick about the role.[11] When both declined, the executives were persuaded to cast Cranston after seeing the X-Files episode.[12]
Cranston contributed a great deal to the character's persona. When Gilligan left much of Walter's past unexplained during the development of the series, Cranston himself wrote a backstory. At the start of the show, Cranston gained 10 pounds to presage Walter's gradual physical decline. He had the natural red highlights of his hair dyed brown. He collaborated with the costume designer Kathleen Detoro on a wardrobe of mostly neutral green and brown colors to make Walter's appearance bland and unremarkable, and worked with the makeup artist Frieda Valenzuela to create a mustache he described as "impotent" and like a "dead caterpillar".[13][14] Cranston also repeatedly identified elements in scripts where he disagreed with how the character was handled, and would go so far as to call Gilligan directly when he could not work out disagreements with the episode's screenwriter(s). Cranston has said he was inspired partially by his father for how Walter carries himself physically, which he described as "a little hunched over, never erect, [as if] the weight of the world is on this man's shoulders".[10]
Gilligan has said it has been difficult to write for Walter because he is so dark and morally questionable.[10] As the series progressed, Gilligan and the writing staff of Breaking Bad made Walter increasingly unsympathetic.[15] Cranston said by the fourth season: "I think Walter's figured out it's better to be a pursuer than the pursued. He's well on his way to badass."[16] Regarding Walter's fate in the series' ending, Cranston foresaw it as "ugly [with no] redemption",[17] although earlier, Gilligan divulged his plans to "end on a high note, in a way that will satisfy everyone".[18]
Character biography
Background
When Walter was six years old, his father died of Huntington's disease. He studied chemistry at the California Institute of Technology and, after graduate school, worked as a researcher at Sandia National Laboratory. There he conducted research on proton radiography that helped a team win a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1985.[19][20] Using some of the prize money, Walter then founded the firm Gray Matter Technologies with Elliott Schwartz (Adam Godley), his former classmate and close friend.[21] Around this time, Walter began a relationship with his lab assistant, Gretchen (Jessica Hecht), who soon after became a partner at Gray Matter. However, after a disastrous Independence Day party, where they had intended to announce their engagement, Walter instead left both Gretchen and Gray Matter Technologies, selling his financial interest in the company for US$5,000.[20][22] Gretchen and Elliott later married and made billions, much of it from Walter's research.[22][23] Though they remain friendly, Walter secretly resents both Gretchen and Elliott for profiting from his work.[23][24]
At the age of 50, Walter works as a high school chemistry teacher in Albuquerque, New Mexico, providing instruction to uninterested and disrespectful students.[19][25] Walter has a second job at a local car wash to supplement his income, which proves to be particularly humiliating when he has to clean the cars of his own students.[26] Walter and his wife, Skyler (Anna Gunn), have a teenage son named Walter Jr. (RJ Mitte), who has cerebral palsy. Skyler is also pregnant with their second child, Holly, who is born at the end of season two.[27] Walt's other family includes Skyler's sister, Marie Schrader (Betsy Brandt); her husband, Hank (Dean Norris), who is an agent within the Drug Enforcement Administration; and his mother, who is never seen.[28]
Appearances
The following appearances are based on the chronological narrative in Breaking Bad. Scenes from Better Call Saul fit into this chronology and are denoted appropriately.
Season 1
Further information: Breaking Bad season 1
On his 50th birthday, during his surprise party, Walter watches a news report about Hank arresting methamphetamine dealers. Walter is impressed by the monetary returns from the meth operation, and Hank offers to take him as a ride-along to a DEA bust. The next day, Walter faints at the car wash and is taken to a hospital; there, he is told he has inoperable lung cancer and will likely die within the next two years. During the ride-along, Hank busts a crystal meth lab, taking cook Emilio Koyama (John Koyama) into custody. Walter sees Emilio's partner fleeing the scene, and realizes it is his former student Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul). Looking to secure his family's well-being by producing and selling meth, Walter tracks Jesse down and blackmails him into selling the meth that Walter will cook. Walter gives Jesse his life savings to buy a recreational vehicle that they can use as a rolling meth lab.
After their first cook in the RV, Jesse brings a sample of the extremely pure meth to the distributor Domingo "Krazy-8" Molina (Max Arciniega) and then brings Krazy-8 and the now-released Emilio to see the cook site. Emilio recognizes Walter as accompanying the DEA during the bust and believes he is an informant. Krazy-8 forces Walter to show them how he cooked such pure meth or risk being killed. Walter pretends to start a cook but instead produces toxic phosphine gas which kills Emilio and incapacitates Krazy-8. Walter and Jesse secure Krazy-8 to a structural post in Jesse's basement with a U-lock around his neck, and Walter struggles with the decision on whether to kill him. After realizing Krazy-8 has hidden a piece of plate broken when Walter passed out due to a coughing fit, he realizes he has no choice and must kill Krazy-8. Walter goes to unlock eKrazy-r8's lock and as Walter does so, he confronts him about the plate, causing Krazy-8 to grab the plate to stab Walter with as soon as he is freed. Walter panics and garrotes him to death with the lock while Krazy-8 wildly attacks behind him in an attempt to harm Walter. The experience shakes Walter, and he tells Jesse he will not cook meth anymore.
Walter eventually tells his family about his cancer diagnosis, and they urge him to undergo expensive chemotherapy. He initially does not want to go through the treatment, fearing that his family will remember him as a burden and a helpless invalid, much as he remembers his own father. Later he reluctantly agrees to undergo treatment but refuses Gretchen and Elliott's offer to pay for it, choosing to re-enter the drug trade with Jesse. He shaves his head to hide his chemotherapy-induced hair loss.
Dissatisfied with Jesse's slow pace of selling the meth, Walter pushes him to sell it in bulk to a local drug lord named Tuco Salamanca (Raymond Cruz), who has taken over Krazy-8's former territory. Discovering that Tuco stole the meth and savagely beat Jesse, Walter visits Tuco's lair with another bag of crystals, claiming to be "Heisenberg" (a reference to the theoretical physicist Werner Heisenberg).[29] After Tuco mocks Jesse, refuses to pay for the bag, and implies that Walter will suffer the same fate as Jesse, Walter blows up part of the lair; the bag contained fulminated mercury, not meth. Impressed by the boldness of "Heisenberg", Tuco reluctantly agrees to pay for his meth upon delivery in the future.
Walter revels in his success and adopts the Heisenberg alias in his business dealings going forward. In order to make larger batches of meth to take advantage of their new arrangement with Tuco, Walter and Jesse switch from using pseudoephedrine to methylamine as a precursor. This tints their meth blue, which becomes a signature of Walter's product. The pair begin to fear for their lives when, after testing the purity of the meth they delivered by snorting some of it, Tuco senselessly beats to death one of his own men, No-Doze (Cesar Garcia).
Season 2
Further information: Breaking Bad season 2
Walter's "blue meth" becomes incredibly popular, to the point that Hank takes notice and raids Tuco's operation. A paranoid Tuco evades the bust, carjacks Jesse, and kidnaps Walter. He brings them to an isolated house in the desert, planning to take them deep into Mexico where they would be forced to cook their blue meth for the cartel. After a failed attempt to poison Tuco, they manage to escape on foot. Hank, who had been searching for Jesse, spots his car at the house and kills Tuco in a gunfight. Walter takes off all his clothes in a grocery store in order to explain his disappearance by claiming that he had gone into a fugue state as a result of his cancer medication and simply wandered off.
Walter finds out that his cancer is in remission, and plans to leave the meth business again after selling the final 38 lb (17 kg) of meth. He hires an unscrupulous criminal attorney named Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) to cover his involvement in the drug trade and launder his drug money. The Better Call Saul episode "Breaking Bad" expands on Walter's and Saul's first meeting where Saul quickly deduces Walter is Heisenberg and urges him to seek higher goals with his meth business. Saul also has his fixer, Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks), investigate Walter's background; Mike warns Saul that Walter is unreliable and a bad risk, but Saul goes into business with him anyway.
Seeing that Walter and Jesse need a new distributor to sell the large quantity of product they have remaining, Saul arranges a meeting at a local restaurant with a mysterious meth kingpin. Jesse shows up for the meeting high on heroin, and leaves when the kingpin does not show. Walter realizes that the restaurant owner, Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito), was the man they were supposed to meet. Walter meets with Gus, who says that he will not do business with an addict. However, a few days later he gives Walter a chance to prove himself by delivering all the meth to a truck stop within an hour. Walter breaks into Jesse's apartment, where the meth is stored, and finds him passed out with his girlfriend and fellow heroin addict Jane Margolis (Krysten Ritter). He finds the meth and makes the delivery on time, but misses the birth of his daughter. Walter initially refuses to give Jesse his share of the drug money until he is clean, but Jane blackmails him into handing it over.
After talking to a stranger at a bar about family – not knowing that the man is Jane's father Donald (John de Lancie) – Walter again breaks into Jesse's apartment and finds them passed out in a heroin stupor. Walter attempts to wake Jesse and inadvertently rolls Jane onto her back; she subsequently vomits and begins to choke. Walter does nothing to help her and watches her die. He contacts Saul for help, who sends Mike over to clear any connection Jesse has to Jane's death. Walter convinces Jesse to enter drug rehabilitation.
Walter undergoes an operation to remove the remaining cancerous growth. His anesthesia-induced references to a "second cell phone" – the one he uses to deal drugs – makes Skyler suspicious, leading her to uncover many of his lies and leave with their children. Just after her departure, two passenger planes collide directly above Walter's house; the accident was caused by Donald, who works as an air traffic controller, and was still overcome with grief from Jane's death. Walter watches the accident in horror, unaware of his connection to it.
Season 3
Further information: Breaking Bad season 3
Walter decides to get out of the meth business, refusing Gus' offer to produce meth in a state-of-the-art laboratory hidden under an industrial laundry for a million dollars a month. Now separated from Skyler and living in an apartment, Walter admits to her that he has been financing his treatment by cooking meth. Horrified, Skyler asks for a divorce in return for her silence and demands that Walter have nothing to do with their children.
After he discovers Jesse is cooking and selling his own version of the blue meth, Walter agrees to cook his meth for Gus. He is assisted by an accomplished chemist named Gale Boetticher (David Costabile) and the business begins running smoothly. Jesse continues to cook his own version of the blue meth, with his friends Skinny Pete (Charles Baker) and Badger (Matt Jones) as his distributors, but this leads to Hank nearly catching Jesse and Walter while following a lead on an RV he believed was being used to cook meth. To avoid being discovered hiding in the RV, Walter and Jesse, aided by Saul, place a phone call to distract Hank, making him believe his wife, Marie (Betsy Brandt), has been injured in a car accident. Hank decides to leave the pursuit of the RV only to find out that Marie is fine, allowing Walter and Jesse to dispose of the vehicle. This enrages Hank enough to storm into Jesse's house and beat him so severely that he is hospitalized.
Walter visits Jesse in the hospital and apologizes for Hank, while also urging him to leave the meth business for good. Jesse replies that he will continue to cook meth on his own and that he will sue Hank for all the money he has. He also tells Walter that if he is caught, he will make a deal to give up "Heisenberg". In an attempt to save Hank's career, Walter convinces Gus to hire Jesse to replace Gale as his assistant and give him a 50 percent share of the profits. Jesse finally accepts the job, and Walter fires Gale from the lab and gives Jesse the assistant's job.
Assuming that Skyler will not turn him in to the police because it would traumatize their children, Walter returns to his house. Skyler eventually comes to uneasily accept the situation and helps Walter to launder his drug money, but refuses to have anything to do with him outside of business. The rift in their marriage worsens when Skyler has sex with her boss, Ted Beneke (Christopher Cousins). Walter attempts to get back at her by making a pass at the principal at his school, who puts him on indefinite suspension.
Tuco's cousins Marco and Leonel Salamanca (Luis and Daniel Moncada) seek revenge against those responsible for his death and find out Walter's identity from their uncle Hector Salamanca (Mark Margolis). Believing that Walter betrayed Tuco, they go to his house and prepare to kill him with a silver axe. Gus discovers this, and to protect his investment in Walter, he convinces them to instead target Hank, who actually killed Tuco. The cousins die in their attempt to kill Hank, but they manage to temporarily paralyze him from the waist down before he dispatches them. Skyler forces Walter into paying for Hank's care and creates a cover story about Walter counting cards at casinos to explain how he made his money.
Walter's relationship with Gus becomes strained when he kills two of Gus' dealers to protect Jesse, who planned to kill them in retaliation for murdering his new girlfriend Andrea Cantillo's (Emily Rios) young brother, who was working for them. Gus responds by putting a hit on Jesse and re-hiring Gale as Walter's assistant, with the intention of replacing Walter as soon as possible. Walter plots to kill Gale to avoid becoming disposable, but Gus' henchman Victor (Jeremiah Bitsui) lures Walter to the laundry facility, where Mike is waiting to kill him. Walter frantically calls Jesse, telling him that he is about to be killed and Jesse will have to take out Gale himself.
Season 4
Further information: Breaking Bad season 4
In the aftermath of Gale's murder, Mike holds Walter at the lab to await Gus' arrival. Victor arrives with Jesse and proceeds to start the cooking process himself to show Gus that Walter and Jesse are not indispensable. Gus, however, kills Victor in front of Walter, Jesse and Mike in a gruesome show of force. Gus puts the pair under tighter surveillance, including a camera being installed in the lab to monitor them. A rift slowly forms between Walter and Jesse, and Gus uses the opportunity to bring Jesse to his side by having Mike train him. Walter deduces that Gus plans to eventually kill him and replace him with Jesse. He gives Jesse homemade ricin with which to poison Gus, but Jesse never goes through with it. Walter shows up at Jesse's house and tries to convince him to betray Gus, but Jesse refuses and tells Walter they are finished.
Meanwhile, Skyler buys the car wash where Walter used to work and uses it to launder his drug money. Evidence from Gale's murder leads Hank to suspect that Gus is involved in the blue meth business. With the DEA skeptical and Hank being unable to drive due to his condition, he enlists Walter's help in the investigation as a driver and tracker. Walter attempts to sabotage the investigation, but Gus blames him for drawing Hank's attention.
Gus rids himself of the Mexican cartel's influence in the area with the help of Mike and Jesse. He then fires Walter and threatens to kill his entire family if he causes any more trouble. Walter tries to use one of Saul's connections to get him and his family relocated but finds that Skyler has used most of his drug money to pay off Ted Beneke's IRS fines to avoid having their own lives investigated. After arranging for Saul to report that Hank is being targeted for assassination again so that his family would be protected by the DEA, Walter resolves to kill Gus.
When Andrea's young son Brock (Ian Posada) falls desperately ill with ricin-like symptoms, Jesse attacks Walter, believing that he poisoned the boy. Walter manages to convince Jesse that Gus is the one responsible. After an attempt to kill Gus with a car bomb fails, Walter discovers from Saul that Gus has been visiting Hector in his nursing home to taunt him about the cartel's defeat and the end of the Salamanca family. Walter makes a deal with Hector to draw Gus in by setting up a meeting with the DEA. When Gus comes to the nursing home to kill Hector for apparently becoming an informant, Hector detonates a pipe bomb Walter built, killing himself, Gus's henchman Tyrus Kitt (Ray Campbell), and Gus. Walter rescues Jesse, who had been kept as a prisoner in the lab, and together they destroy all the evidence and burn down the lab.
After Brock recovers, Jesse learns that the boy had likely been poisoned by accidentally eating lily of the valley berries not ricin. Walter responds that killing Gus was still the right thing to do. Walter calls Skyler to tell her they are safe and that he has "won". The camera pans to a potted lily of the valley plant next to Walt's pool, revealing that Walter had poisoned Brock in order to regain Jesse's loyalty and spur him into action as part of Walter's plan to kill Gus.
Season 5
Main article: Breaking Bad season 5
Part 1
Walter disposes of the evidence linking him to Gus' death and Brock's poisoning. Mike intends to kill Walter in retaliation for Gus's death, but Jesse intervenes and convinces them to work together to eliminate their connection to the destroyed lab. The trio use an electromagnet to wipe the lab camera footage off of Gus's laptop, which is in police custody. The three eventually start a new meth production system with the help of a corrupt pest control company, using residents' homes to cook meth while they are fumigated, using methylamine provided by Lydia Rodarte-Quayle (Laura Fraser), a representative for the conglomerate that owned Gus's chicken franchise. When her supply is discovered to be tracked by the police, she leaks them information about a train carrying the chemical so they can plan a robbery. The robbery is successful, but Todd Alquist (Jesse Plemons), one of the pest control workers, kills a young boy who had seen them. Horrified, Jesse and Mike resolve to leave the business. A drug lord based in Phoenix, Arizona named Declan (Louis Ferreira) offers to buy out the operation for $15 million in order to remove his competition. Walter convinces him to pay off Mike and begin distributing Walter's meth instead.
Skyler becomes terrified of Walter and stages a suicide attempt to persuade Hank and Marie to take temporary custody of Walter Jr. and Holly. Hank connects Mike to the blue meth and begins pressing several of his associates, who are now in prison, to give information on the blue meth operation. When Walter delivers Mike's share of Declan's payment, Mike refuses to reveal these prisoners' identities and insults Walter, blaming him for all the problems they have encountered; Walter shoots him dead in a fit of rage. Obtaining a list of the prisoners from Lydia, he enlists Todd's uncle Jack Welker (Michael Bowen), a criminal with ties to the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang, to kill the ten men simultaneously at multiple prisons to prevent the DEA from realizing that they were being targeted until it was too late.
After a few months, Walter has earned more than $80 million from meth, and Skyler convinces him to stop. Walter leaves the meth business, and the children return home. During a family barbecue, Hank finds a copy of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass in the bathroom, the same copy given to Walter by Gale; upon reading Gale's handwritten inscription referring to Walter as "the other W.W." Hank realizes that Walter is the drug lord he has been pursuing.
Part 2
Realizing his copy of Leaves of Grass is missing and that a tracker has been placed on his car, Walter deduces Hank has discovered his criminal activities. Walter confronts him at Hank's house, and Hank accuses him of being Heisenberg, which Walter neither confirms nor denies. Walter says that his cancer is back and he will likely be dead in six months, making an arrest pointless. Hank says they can talk if Walter gives custody of his children to Skyler, Marie and Hank, but Walter refuses and tells Hank to "tread lightly". Walter attempts to discourage Hank from investigating him further by crafting a fake confessional videotape claiming Hank is Heisenberg.
Walter buries his money in seven barrels on the Tohajiilee Indian Reservation and convinces Jesse to go into a relocation program. While waiting to be picked up, Jesse deduces that Walter poisoned Brock. Jesse attempts to burn down Walter's house in retaliation, but Hank stops him and suggests they work together to bring down Walter. With Hank's help, Jesse lures Walter into a trap by claiming to have found his money. Walter makes arrangements with Jack and his men to kill Jesse, in exchange for promising to help teach Todd how to cook meth. When Walter realizes Jesse is with Hank, he tries to call off the deal to protect Hank but is subdued by Hank and his DEA partner, Steven Gomez (Steven Michael Quezada). Just then, Jack and his men arrive and fire on the group, killing Gomez and wounding Hank; Jack then executes Hank, despite Walter pleading for his brother-in-law's life. Jack's men take all but one barrel of Walter's money and abduct Jesse; as Jesse is taken away, Walter spitefully tells him that he watched Jane die.
Walter tries to persuade Skyler and Walter Jr. to go on the run with him, but they refuse. He kidnaps Holly, but has a moment of conscience and leaves her to be found and returned. He calls Skyler, knowing that the police are listening in, and berates her for failing to follow his orders, as a way of clearing her of involvement in his crimes. Walter then goes into hiding, along with Saul, waiting for Ed the "Disappearer" (Robert Forster) to set up a new identity for Walter. A scene in the final Better Call Saul episode, "Saul Gone", shows Walter mocking Saul's legal ability and saying Saul was always a sleazy lawyer; this dovetails with the scenes in final Breaking Bad scene between them, where Saul is shown coldly ignoring Walter's empty threats and severing ties between them before leaving for his new life in Omaha, Nebraska. Eventually, Ed helps to set up Walter to live in isolation in New Hampshire.
After several months alone, Walter goes to a local bar, where he calls Walter Jr. and tries to give him money. Walter Jr. angrily rejects the gesture, however, and hangs up. Feeling hopeless, Walter calls the DEA and gives himself up. As he waits for them, however, he sees Gretchen and Elliott on Charlie Rose downplaying his contributions to Gray Matter and resolves to return to Albuquerque to put things right.
When Walter arrives in Albuquerque – on his 52nd birthday – he confronts Gretchen and Elliott at their home and coerces them into putting his remaining money into a trust fund for Walter Jr. He then visits Skyler and provides her with the location of Hank's and Steve's unmarked grave, which he suggests she use to barter for a deal with the prosecutor, and finally admits to her that he entered the meth business for himself, not his family. As a token of appreciation, Skyler lets him see his daughter one last time. Walter then arranges to see Lydia, surreptitiously poisoning her drink with ricin.
Walter drives to Jack's compound and demands to see Jesse. When they bring Jesse, who has been chained up in a lab and forced to cook meth since his abduction, Walter dives atop him and knocks them both to the ground. Now out of range, he activates a remote machine gun mounted in his car that injures Jack and kills all of his men except for Todd, whom Jesse strangles to death with a chain. Jack pleads with Walter to let him live, offering him the rest of his money, but Walter executes him with a gunshot to the face. Walter then asks Jesse to kill him, but Jesse tells him to do it himself. Walter then finds that he has been wounded by a ricocheted bullet.
He answers a call from Lydia on Todd's phone and coldly informs her that she is going to die as a result of the poisoned drink she consumed. He exchanges a knowing nod with Jesse, who escapes the compound. Walter calmly walks around Jack's lab and admires the equipment that Jesse had been using, as well as the perfect batch of his product that Jesse had produced. As the police arrive, Walter collapses to the floor and dies with a smile on his face.
El Camino
Further information: El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie
Cranston reprises his role in the sequel film El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie in a flashback scene, taking place during the events of the episode "4 Days Out" from the show's second season. Walter and Jesse are sitting down at a buffet breakfast talking about how they are going to move a batch of recently cooked meth. Walter asks Jesse what he would like to study if he went to college and encourages Jesse to find a life outside of cooking meth in the future. He suggests that Jesse should study business and marketing, remarking that Jesse has a natural talent and that he "could practically teach the class" himself using his vast knowledge. Afterward, Walter tells Jesse: "You're really lucky, you know that? You didn't have to wait your whole life to do something special."
In the present, Jesse, Skinny Pete, and Badger see various news reports on the aftermath of Walter's massacre. In a news report Jesse listens to, Walter is confirmed to be dead with the same report mentioning an investigation of a Houston woman poisoned by Walter – presumably Lydia – who is in critical condition and not expected to survive.
Post-Breaking Bad
See also: Breaking Bad (Better Call Saul)
Walter is briefly mentioned in passing by Saul Goodman (now going by the alias Gene Takavic) as he attempts to explain to Jeff how crazy his life had become and how much money he could earn by getting into "the game".
Francesca Liddy later tells Saul that Walter's death only made things worse for the surviving low-level players connected to his meth empire rather than better. As Walter had hoped, Skyler had succeeded in getting a deal with the federal prosecutors and the DEA was ultimately forced to release Huell Babineaux, leaving only Jesse and Saul for them to go after. Although Jesse has successfully managed to escape to Alaska while tricking the public into thinking he fled to Mexico, the DEA has seized all of Saul's assets and is even following Francesca in an attempt to find him. Francesca admits that she does not know what has become of Patrick Kuby, another one of Walter's associates, and she does not answer Saul's questions about Ira and Danny.
Saul is eventually discovered and interrogated by DEA agents. During their initial questioning, they bring in Marie, who is bitter at Saul for enabling Walter and leading to Hank's death. Saul shrewdly asserts he was also manipulated by Walter to goad the agent to start a plea bargain for a significantly reduced sentence until Saul learns that his involvement with Howard Hamlin's death was already given to them by Kim Wexler.
Reception
Critical response
The character development of Walter White, as well as Bryan Cranston's performance, has received universal acclaim, from both critics and audiences. Walter White is considered to be one of the greatest and most iconic characters in television history.[30][31][32]
From The Guardian, Paul MacInnes lauded Walter as a whole, noting his quick transformation into becoming Heisenberg.[33] From the same website, Rebecca Nicholson wrote about Walter's death, praising the fact that instead of facing the consequences, "Walter dies happy. He doesn't only get what he deserved; he gets what he wanted. It's the same for us viewers: we get the neatness and the uncertainty, which shows a Heisenberg level of mastery."[34] In their list for the "Top 100 Villains", IGN ranked Walter as #12, stating that "Walter White is selfishness incarnate, and perhaps one of the greatest tragic figures to ever grace television, making his ultimate descent into villainy that much more compelling."[35]
The web magazine Grantland quotes Andy Greenwald as analyzing Walter differently from some others, including Vince Gilligan. Greenwald states:
I've been thinking a lot about Walter White, the 'shadow' on his recent CAT scan, and the black cloud that has long since overtaken his heart. The closer we get to the end, the more Walt scrabbles around and lashes out like a rat when it's surrounded, the less I'm buying Vince Gilligan's whole 'Mr. Chips to Scarface' quote as an analogy for Walt's transformation... But I think the most horrifying part of Breaking Bad may be that Walt, at his core, didn't really transform at all. It wasn't greed or generosity or cancer or fear that fueled this reign of death and destruction. It was resentment. Every moment Walt spent in front of a classroom he was thinking about how beneath him it all was. He was a genius; he was meant to be a millionaire, not this castrated cross between stepping stone and doormat. When you got down to it, Walt desperately wanted to teach everyone a lesson, and I don't mean in the style of Mr. Chips.[36]
Similarly, Scott Meslow wrote in The Atlantic that Walter's capacity for villainy was present well before the series even began, and that cancer was only the catalyst, stating that "all the elements that have since turned him into a monster were already in place."[37] Emma Rosenblum of New York magazine said Cranston "pulls off the unassuming White with flawless subtlety: a waxy pallor, a slump of the shoulders, and a sense of doom that is palpable".[12] The Hollywood Reporter writer Tim Goodman praised as courageous Vince Gilligan's decision to transform Walter White into an unsympathetic character: "You don't take your main character and make him unlikable. You just don't. Nobody does that. Nobody has ever really done that to this extent."[38] Robert Bianco of USA Today called Walter "one of the greatest dramatic creations ever to grace our TV screens".[39] In 2011, The New York Times named Cranston as one of the "eight actors who turn television into art".[40] Following the show's conclusion, the actor Anthony Hopkins wrote a fan letter to Cranston, in which he praised the show and called Cranston's performance as Walter the best acting he had ever seen.[41]
Accolades
Further information: List of awards and nominations received by Breaking Bad
Bryan Cranston accepting the Peabody Award for Breaking Bad at the 73rd Annual Peabody Awards
Cranston has received various awards and nominations for his performance as Walter White. For the first three seasons, he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series thrice consecutively, becoming the first actor to accomplish this feat since Bill Cosby for I Spy.[42] Cranston was also nominated in 2012 and 2013 for season four and the first half of season five, but lost out to Damian Lewis for Homeland and Jeff Daniels for The Newsroom, respectively. He also won his fourth Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, at the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards.[43][44]
At the annual Golden Globe Awards, Cranston has been nominated for the Best Actor – Television Series Drama accolade on four occasions for his role in Breaking Bad, in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014, winning in 2014 for the second half of season five.[45] At the Screen Actors Guild Awards, Cranston has been nominated for Male Actor in a Drama Series five times, in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014, winning in 2013 and 2014, for both parts of season five. Additionally, Cranston has been nominated with the rest of the cast for Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series, in 2012, 2013 and 2014, winning only in 2014.[46]
In addition, Cranston has won the Satellite Award for Best Actor: Drama Series three times consecutively, in 2008, 2009 and 2010, for seasons one, two and three, and has been nominated in 2011, 2012 and 2014 for seasons four and five. He won the TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Drama in 2009, and was nominated in 2010, 2012 and 2013; was nominated twice for the Prism Award for Best Performance in a Drama Series Multi-Episode Storyline; won two Saturn Awards for Best Actor on Television in 2012 and 2013 (tying with Kevin Bacon for The Following on the latter occasion), and was nominated in 2009, 2010 and 2011; and won the Golden Nymph Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series in 2013.[46]
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Jerry Seinfeld
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Jerome Allen Seinfeld ( ; born April 29, 1954) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. As a stand-up comedian, Seinfeld specializes in observational comedy. Seinfeld has received numerous accolades including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Awards, and three Screen Actors Guild Awards as well as nominations for four Grammy Awards. In 2004, Comedy Central named him the 12th-greatest stand-up comedian of all time. In 2017, "Rolling Stone" named him the 7th-greatest stand-up comedian of all time.
Seinfeld gained stardom playing a semi-fictionalized version of himself in the NBC sitcom "Seinfeld" (1989–1998), which he co-created and wrote with Larry David. Seinfeld earned a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy in 1995. The show is one of the most acclaimed and popular sitcoms of all time. He has since created and produced the reality series "The Marriage Ref" (2010–2011), and created and hosted the web series "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee" (2012–2019), the latter of which earned him three Webby Awards. He also co-produced, co-wrote, and starred in the DreamWorks animated film "Bee Movie" (2007) and the Netflix comedy "Unfrosted" (2024).
He has released four standup specials his first being "Stand-Up Confidential" (1987) followed by "I'm Telling You for the Last Time" (1998), "Jerry Before Seinfeld" (2017) and "23 Hours to Kill" (2020). Seinfeld has also written three books starting with "SeinLanguage" (1993), followed by the children's book "Halloween" (2002), and the comedic compilation book "Is This Anything?" (2020). He is an avid fan of coffee and automobiles. He practices transcendental meditation. He is married to author and philanthropist Jessica Seinfeld, with whom he has three children.
Early life and education.
Seinfeld was born on April 29, 1954, to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York City. His father, Kalmen Seinfeld, a sign painter, was from Hungary and collected jokes that he heard while serving in World War II. His mother, Betty (née Hosni) and her parents, Selim and Salha Hosni, were Mizrahi Jews from Aleppo, Syria. Their nationality was stated as Turkish when they immigrated in 1917, as Syria was under the Ottoman Empire. Seinfeld has an older sister, Carolyn. Salha's mother Garez Dayan, Seinfeld's great-grandmother, was a member of the Dayan rabbinic family, who claim ancestry back to the Medieval Exilarchs, and from the Exilarchs back to the Biblical King David. Seinfeld's second cousin is alternative metal musician and actor Evan Seinfeld. Seinfeld grew up in Massapequa, New York, and attended Massapequa High School on Long Island. At 16, he spent time volunteering in Kibbutz Sa'ar in Israel. He attended the State University of New York at Oswego, and transferred after his second year to Queens College, City University of New York, from which he graduated in 1976 with a degree in communications and theater.
Career.
1976–1987: Rise to prominence.
Seinfeld developed an interest in stand-up comedy after brief stints in college productions. He appeared on open-mic nights at Budd Friedman's Improv Club while attending Queens College. After graduation in 1976, he tried out at an open-mic night at New York City's Catch a Rising Star, which led to an appearance in a Rodney Dangerfield HBO special. In 1980, he had a small recurring role on the sitcom "Benson", playing Frankie, a mail-delivery boy who had comedy routines that no one wanted to hear. Seinfeld was abruptly fired from the show due to creative differences. Seinfeld said that he was not told he had been fired until he arrived for a read-through session and found that there was no script for him. In January 1981, he performed stand-up on "An Evening at the Improv". In May, Seinfeld made an appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson", impressing Carson and the audience, leading to frequent appearances on that show and others, including "Late Night with David Letterman". On September 5, 1987, his first one-hour special "Stand-Up Confidential" aired live on HBO.
1988–1998: "Seinfeld" and stardom.
Seinfeld created "The Seinfeld Chronicles" with Larry David in 1988 for NBC. It was renamed "Seinfeld" to avoid confusion with the short-lived teen sitcom "The Marshall Chronicles". By its third season, "Seinfeld" had become the most watched sitcom on American television. The final episode aired in 1998, and the show has been a popular syndicated re-run ever since. NBC offered Seinfeld $110 million—a record $5 million an episode for a 22-episode tenth season—but he declined. Along with Seinfeld, the show starred "Saturday Night Live" alumna Julia Louis-Dreyfus and established actors Michael Richards and Jason Alexander. Alexander played George, a caricature of Larry David. Seinfeld is the only actor to appear in every episode.
1998–2010: Established career.
After he ended his sitcom, Seinfeld moved back to New York City and returned to stand-up comedy instead of staying in Los Angeles and furthering his acting career. In 1998, he went on tour and recorded a comedy special, titled "I'm Telling You for the Last Time". The process of developing and performing new material at clubs around the world was chronicled in a 2002 documentary, "Comedian", which also featured fellow comic Orny Adams and was directed by Christian Charles. Seinfeld has written several books, mostly archives of past routines. In the late 1990s, Apple Computer came up with the advertising slogan "Think different" and produced a 60-second commercial to promote the slogan. This commercial showed people who were able to "think differently," such as Albert Einstein, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and many others. It was later cut short to 30 seconds and altered such that Seinfeld was included at the end, although he had not been in the original cut. This shorter version of the commercial aired only once, during the series finale of "Seinfeld".
In 2004, Seinfeld appeared in two commercial webisodes promoting American Express, titled "The Adventures of Seinfeld & Superman". In these, Seinfeld appeared with a cartoon rendering of Superman, to whom reference was made in numerous episodes of "Seinfeld" as Seinfeld's hero, voiced by Patrick Warburton (character David Puddy on "Seinfeld"). The webisodes were directed by Barry Levinson and aired briefly on television. Seinfeld and "Superman" were also interviewed by Matt Lauer in a specially recorded interview for the "Today" show. On November 18, 2004, Seinfeld appeared at the National Museum of American History to donate the "puffy shirt" he wore in the "Seinfeld" episode of the same name. He also gave a speech when presenting the "puffy shirt," saying humorously that "This is the most embarrassing moment of my life." On May 13, 2006, Seinfeld had a cameo appearance on "Saturday Night Live" as host Julia Louis-Dreyfus' assassin. Louis-Dreyfus in her opening monologue mentioned the "Seinfeld curse." While talking about how ridiculous the "curse" was, a stage light suddenly fell next to her. The camera moved to a catwalk above the stage where Seinfeld was standing, holding a large pair of bolt cutters. He angrily muttered, "Damn it!" upset that it did not hit her. Louis-Dreyfus continued to say that she is indeed not cursed.
On February 25, 2007, Seinfeld appeared at the 79th Academy Awards as the presenter for "Best Documentary." Before announcing the nominations, he did a monologue about the unspoken agreement between movie theater owners and movie patrons. On October 4, 2007, Seinfeld made a guest appearance as himself in the "30 Rock" episode "SeinfeldVision." On February 24, 2008, at the 80th Academy Awards, Seinfeld appeared as the voice of his "Bee Movie" animated character Barry, presenting Best Animated Short Film. Before announcing the nominees, he showed a montage of film clips featuring bees, saying that they were some of his early work (as Barry).
On June 2, 2008, amidst his spring 2008 tour, Seinfeld performed in his hometown of New York City for a one-night-only show at the Hammerstein Ballroom to benefit "Stand Up for a Cure", a charity aiding lung cancer research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. In August 2008, the Associated Press reported that Jerry Seinfeld would be the pitchman for Windows Vista, as part of a $300-million advertising campaign by Microsoft. The ads, which were intended to create interest for Windows in support of the subsequent "I'm a PC" advertisements, began airing in mid-September 2008. They were cut from television after three installments; Microsoft opted to continue with the "I'm a PC" advertisements and run the Seinfeld ads on the Microsoft website as a series of longer advertisements. In March 2009, it was announced that Seinfeld and the entire cast of "Seinfeld" would be appearing for a reunion in Larry David's HBO series "Curb Your Enthusiasm". The fictional reunion took place in the seventh season's finale and starred most of the original cast, including Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander, Michael Richards, in a multiple-episode arc. Seinfeld appeared on an episode of the Starz original series "Head Case". As was the case in many of his previous guest appearances on sitcoms, he played himself.
In Australia, Seinfeld appeared on a series of advertisements for the Greater Building Society, a building society based in New South Wales and southeastern Queensland. His appearance in these ads was highly publicized and considered a coup for the society, being the third time Seinfeld had appeared in a television commercial. The advertisements were filmed in Cedarhurst, Long Island, with the street designed to emulate Beaumont Street in Hamilton, where the Greater's head offices are located. Seinfeld also wrote the scripts for the 15 advertisements that were filmed. The ads largely aired in the Northern New South Wales television market, where the society has most of its branches. Seinfeld was the first guest on Jay Leno's talk show "The Jay Leno Show", which premiered on September 14, 2009. Seinfeld was featured on "Saturday Night Live"s Weekend Update sketch to do the "Really!?!" segment with Seth Meyers. He executive produced and regularly appeared as a panelist in "The Marriage Ref". On August 30, 2010, Seinfeld made a surprise guest appearance on "The Howard Stern Show", ending the feud the two had in the early 1990s.
Seinfeld toured the U.S. in 2011 and made his first stand-up appearance in the United Kingdom in 11 years. In July 2011, he was a surprise guest on "The Daily Show", helping Jon Stewart to suppress his urge to tell "cheap" "Michele Bachmann's husband acts gay" jokes. Seinfeld also launched a personal archives website at JerrySeinfeld.com and appeared in the HBO special "Talking Funny" with fellow comedians Chris Rock, Louis C.K., and Ricky Gervais in the same year.
2011–present: Talk show and expansion.
In 2012, Seinfeld started a web series titled "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee", in which he would pick up a fellow comedian in a different car each episode and take them out for coffee and conversation. The show originally aired on the Crackle streaming service and then was bought by Netflix. The initial series consisted of ten episodes lasting from 7 to 25 minutes each. The show has continued to get high-profile guests such as Alec Baldwin, Mel Brooks, Bill Burr, Dave Chappelle, Louis C.K., Larry David, Ellen DeGeneres, Tina Fey, David Letterman, Jerry Lewis, Steve Martin, John Mulaney, Eddie Murphy, Carl Reiner, Don Rickles, Chris Rock, Howard Stern, and Jon Stewart. The show has also hosted "Seinfeld" alums Larry David, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander, and Michael Richards. Season seven featured its most high-profile guest, then-President Barack Obama. In a farewell tribute video for the Obamas before the President left office, Seinfeld stated, "That knocking on the Oval Office window. That probably was the peak of my entire existence."
In 2014, Seinfeld told David Letterman he invited Woody Allen to be on the show but hadn't heard back. That same year he also revealed Joan Rivers was supposed to be a guest on the show before she died due to a botched medical procedure. Seinfeld signed a deal with Netflix in January 2017 that included placing "Seinfeld" and "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee" on their streaming service as well as two new Seinfeld stand-up specials and the development of scripted and non-scripted comedy programming. As part of the deal, all episodes of "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee" were made available on the streaming service, in addition to a new 24-episode season. The series was nominated for five Primetime Emmy Awards and won three Webby Awards.
In June 2013, Seinfeld appeared on rapper Wale's album "The Gifted", on the song "Outro About Nothing." Seinfeld received coverage for his speech at the 2014 Clio Awards ceremony, where he received an honorary award, as media reporters said that he "mocked" and "ripped apart" the advertising industry; his statement that "I love advertising because I love lying" received particular attention. In 2014, Seinfeld hosted the special "Don Rickles: One Night Only" at the Apollo Theatre. The event celebrated Don Rickles and his career, but also served as a roast among friends. Those who participated in the event included Jon Stewart, David Letterman, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Nathan Lane, Regis Philbin, Robert De Niro, and Martin Scorsese. On February 15, 2015, Seinfeld made a guest appearance on the "Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special", where he hosted the "Questions from the Audience" segment, which included cameos from Michael Douglas, John Goodman, James Franco, Larry David, Ellen Cleghorne, Dakota Johnson, Tim Meadows, Bob Odenkirk, and Sarah Palin (who Seinfeld initially mistook for Tina Fey). On May 20, 2015, Seinfeld made a guest appearance on David Letterman's final "Late Show" episode. Seinfeld joined guests including Alec Baldwin, Barbara Walters, Steve Martin, Jim Carrey, Chris Rock, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Peyton Manning, Tina Fey, and Bill Murray who all participated in The Top Ten List segment, "Things I've Always Wanted to Say to Dave."
In January 2017, Seinfeld went on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" and joined Dave Chappelle and Jimmy Fallon in honoring outgoing First Lady Michelle Obama, and played a game of "Catchphrase", which Obama and Fallon won to Seinfeld's dismay. On September 19, 2017, Netflix released the stand-up comedy special "Jerry Before Seinfeld". It follows Seinfeld as he returns for a stand-up routine at the New York City comedy club, Comic Strip Live, which started his career. It is intercut with documentary clips and his stand-up special. It was later released as an LP, CD and download album, and was nominated for a 2018 Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album. In 2020, it was announced that Netflix would be releasing Seinfeld's first original stand-up special in 22 years, "23 Hours to Kill". The special premiered on May 5. In October 2020, Seinfeld joined Steve Martin in a discussion about comedy at "The New Yorker Festival". They discussed subjects ranging from the creative process, Netflix, and The Oscars, to their comedy backgrounds, and the future of comedy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2024 he directed, co-wrote, and produced in the Netflix comedy film "Unfrosted", a satirical spoof about the creation of Pop-Tarts. Seinfeld also starred in the film alongside Melissa McCarthy, Jim Gaffigan, and Hugh Grant. The film earned mixed reviews with "The Hollywood Reporter" writing the film received a "sharply divided reaction from critics". "The New York Times" labeled it a "Critic's Pick" with Anne Nicholson describing it as a "full-fledged, fully ridiculous feature comedy targeted to the audience’s sweet-and-salty dopamine receptors". David Ehrlich of "IndieWire" wrote that the "comedy never heats up" and "it’s a movie about so many different things at once that it comes to feel like a movie about nothing". Seinfeld appeared as a guest on "" where he joked that it was "the weirdest talk show I've ever been on in my life". He also embarked on a new tour starting with his first show in Singapore in June 2024 followed by a number of stops in Australia and North America. Seinfeld returned to "Curb Your Enthusiasm" in its final season reuniting with Larry David where they poked fun at the controversial ending of "Seinfeld". Ben Travers of "IndieWire" wrote, "If the "Curb" finale is meant to rewrite the "Seinfeld" ending in any way, it’s during that first scene between Jerry and Larry. They’re playing out the kind of scene they used to write for Jerry and George, and getting that silly, joyful spark between two TV legends — even for a moment — is pure bliss".
Books.
Seinfeld wrote the book "SeinLanguage", released in 1993. Written as his television show was first rising in popularity, it is primarily an adaptation of his stand-up material. The title comes from an article in "Entertainment Weekly" listing the numerous catchphrases for which the show was responsible. In 2002, he wrote the children's book "Halloween". The book was illustrated by James Bennett. Seinfeld wrote the forewords to Ted L. Nancy's "Letters from a Nut" series of books and Ed Broth's "Stories from a Moron". Seinfeld also wrote the foreword to the "Peanut Butter & Co. Cookbook". In October 2020, Seinfeld released his new book "Is This Anything?". The book chronicles Seinfeld's 45 years working in comedy and contains many of his best bits that span from various decades.
Influences.
Seinfeld has stated, "On the Mount Rushmore of stand-up comedy, there are four faces, in my opinion: Richard Pryor, George Carlin, Bill Cosby, and Don Rickles." Seinfeld has also cited as his influences Jean Shepherd, "Mad Magazine", Jonathan Winters, Jerry Lewis, Robert Klein, and Abbott and Costello. He stated, "Monty Python was a gigantic influence on me. They were just about silly, funny things that meant nothing, and that’s the stuff I love. There’s a wonderful childlike freedom in those kinds of things."
In the Netflix comedy special, "Jerry Before Seinfeld", he displayed his personal comedy albums collection from when he was a teenager. These albums included:
In an interview with "Entertainment Weekly", Seinfeld stated his five favorite films are "The Heartbreak Kid" (1972), "The Graduate" (1967), "The In-Laws" (1979), "A Night at the Opera" (1935), and "Glengarry Glen Ross" (1992).
Those influenced by Seinfeld include John Mulaney, Ellen DeGeneres, Jim Gaffigan, Judd Apatow, Issa Rae,
Nate Bargatze, and
Mark Normand.
On "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert", Steve Martin described Seinfeld as one of his "retro heroes" saying "[He's] a guy who came up behind me and is better than I am. I think he's fantastic, I love to listen to him, he almost puts me at peace. I love to listen to him talk".
Personal life.
Seinfeld is a fan of the New York Mets, and periodically calls Steve Somers' show on WFAN-AM, a sports talk radio station, as "Jerry from Queens." Seinfeld called four innings of a Mets game on SportsNet New York on June 23, 2010, reuniting with analyst Keith Hernandez, who appeared in the "Seinfeld" two-part episode entitled "The Boyfriend." According to Seinfeld, he thinks about baseball "all day" and has said "when I think of retirement, all I would think of is going to a baseball game every day."
Seinfeld is left-handed and the first joke he ever wrote was about the topic. In a 2014 interview with NBC News, he made statements suggesting that he believed he was on the autism spectrum. However, following criticism for his alleged self-diagnosis, he later clarified that he is not autistic and had been commenting on a play about the condition that he "related to [...] on some level."
Relationships and marriage.
Years before "Seinfeld" was created, Seinfeld dated Carol Leifer. She was a fellow comedian, and one of the inspirations for the "Seinfeld" character Elaine Benes. On national television with sex therapist and talk show host Dr. Ruth Westheimer, he mentioned that he was engaged in 1984 but called it off.
In May 1993, days after his 39th birthday, Seinfeld met 17-year-old Shoshanna Lonstein in Central Park. After a brief conversation, Lonstein gave Seinfeld her phone number. Lonstein was still a senior in high school and would turn 18 at the end of that month. Seinfeld and Lonstein dated for approximately four years, until 1997. She transferred from George Washington University to UCLA, in part to be with him, and cited constant press coverage and missing New York City as reasons for the relationship ending.
The age difference led to intense media scrutiny. While Seinfeld was a guest on Howard Stern's talk show, Stern said, "so, you sit in Central Park and have a candy bar on a string and pull it when the girls come?" at which point Seinfeld replied, "she's not 17, definitely not." A few months later, in his second Howard Stern interview, Seinfeld insisted, "I didn't realize she was so young. This is the only girl I ever went out with who was that young. I wasn't dating her. We just went to a restaurant, and that was it." Early in their relationship, "Spy" magazine referred to Lonstein as "a legal voter". In an October 1993 "Playboy" interview, Seinfeld described the reactions to the relationship as ranging "from horrified to just busting buttons with pride that they know me", noting that his female acquaintances had overall reacted more negatively than his male ones. He said that his assistant "was so mad" she punched him, whereas his mother was "thrilled". He concluded, "if she's 18, if she's intelligent, that's fine". In March 1994, Seinfeld again defended their age difference in an interview with "People", stating that "Shoshanna is a person, not an age." Julia Louis-Dreyfus said in a 1998 "New York" interview that she was in favor of the relationship, as "it was a happy one for him", and added that she did not believe there was anything wrong with it.
In August 1998, while at a Reebok Sports Club, Seinfeld met Jessica Sklar, a public relations executive for Tommy Hilfiger who had just returned from a three-week honeymoon in Italy with then-husband Eric Nederlander, a theatrical producer and scion of a theater-owning family. Unaware of Sklar's marital status, Seinfeld invited her out. When Sklar eventually told Seinfeld about her relationship situation, she said, "I told him I didn't think this was the right time for me to be involved with anybody." Two months later, Sklar filed for divorce and began dating Seinfeld. The pair married on December 25, 1999. Comedian George Wallace was the best man at the wedding. After the nuptials, Jerry and Jessica Seinfeld bought Billy Joel's house in Amagansett, Long Island, for US$32 million after news of the couple's interest in the property became public in 2000. The Seinfelds have a daughter and two sons.
Wealth and charity.
In 1999, Seinfeld auctioned a Breitling Chronomat watch as part of the "Famous Faces, Watch Auction For Charity" event in New York City. This watch sold for $11,000. In 2001, Jerry and Jessica Seinfeld created the charitable organization The Good+Foundation after their first child was born. Good+Foundation grants donations of products and services to programs that have demonstrated a capacity to address family poverty in three focus areas: supporting new mothers, investing in early childhood, and engaging fathers. GOOD+ Foundation has donated over $42M worth of items through its partner network across the United States. Seinfeld has also participated in Jon Stewart's charity event, "Night of Too Many Stars".
According to "Forbes" magazine, Seinfeld's cumulative earnings from "Seinfeld" as of 2004 was $267 million, placing him at the top of the celebrity earnings list that year. He turned down $5 million per episode, for 22 episodes, to continue the show for a 10th season. Seinfeld earned $100 million from syndication deals and stand-up performances in 2004, and $60 million in 2006. He also earned $10 million for appearing with Bill Gates in Microsoft's 2008 advertisements for Windows. Between June 2008 and June 2009, Seinfeld earned $85 million, making him the world's highest-paid comedian during those 12 months. In 2013, "Forbes" documented Seinfeld's annual income as $32 million. In mid-2013, Seinfeld disputed "Forbes" claims regarding his income and net worth on "The Howard Stern Show". Seinfeld was ranked by "Forbes" the highest-paid comedian for 2015, the second-highest-paid in 2016, and the highest-paid again in 2017. Seinfeld's income between June 2016 and June 2017 was $69 million.
In 2024, "Bloomberg" declared Seinfeld a billionaire, with a net worth standing at more than $1 billion, thanks to various syndication deals his sitcom signed, with $465 million coming from those deals.
Automobiles.
Seinfeld is an automobile enthusiast and collector, and he owns a collection of about 150 cars, including a large Porsche collection. He rented a hangar at the Santa Monica Airport in Santa Monica, California, for an extended period during the 1990s for storage of some of the vehicles in the collection. In 2002, Seinfeld purchased property on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City where he built a $1.4 million two-story garage to store part of his Porsche collection on the East Coast. One tally has Seinfeld owning 43 Porsches. Paul Bannister has written that Seinfeld's collection includes Porsche 911s from various years, 10 Porsche Boxsters each painted a different color, and the 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder, the same model and pearl-grey color that actor James Dean had been driving before he crashed that car and subsequently died.
The Discovery Channel television show "Chasing Classic Cars" claimed that Seinfeld owns the first and last produced air-cooled Porsche 911s. The centerpiece is a $700,000 Porsche 959, one of only 337 built. He was originally not allowed to drive it, because the car was "not street legal." U.S. emissions and crash tests had not been performed for the model because Porsche refused to donate four Porsche 959s for destruction tests. Seinfeld imported the car "for exhibition purposes," on the stipulation that it may never be driven on U.S. roads. The car was made U.S. street legal in 1999 under the "Show or Display" federal law. Seinfeld wrote an article for the February 2004 issue of "Automobile", reviewing the Porsche Carrera GT.
In 2008, Seinfeld was involved in a car accident when the brakes on his 1967 Fiat 500 failed and, to avoid an intersection, he pulled the emergency brake while turning sharply, ultimately causing the car to flip onto its side. No one was hurt.
Coffee machines.
A coffee aficionado, Seinfeld owns multiple espresso machines, including the $17,000 Elektra Belle Epoque and two machines manufactured by Slayer and Breville. Seinfeld described his single-group Slayer machine, which costs upwards of $8,500, as a "beautiful machine." When NPR asked him about the influence of coffee culture in the U.S., Seinfeld responded in 2013:I never liked [coffee] and I didn't understand it and I used to do a lot of stuff in my stand-up set in the '80s and '90s about how I don't 'get' coffee. And then something happened about five years ago. I started touring a lot, and we would have these great big, fun breakfasts in the hotel and [coffee] just seemed to go really well [with breakfast]. [Now], I've just started this espresso thing.
In a May 2024 "GQ" interview titled "10 Things Jerry Seinfeld Can't Live Without", Seinfeld revealed that a Bialetti moka pot is one of his must-haves. He described the process of making coffee with a moka pot as complex and time-consuming, but a pleasurable way to "waste time".
Religion and politics.
Seinfeld is Jewish and has incorporated elements of his Jewish identity in his work. Although he shared that his mother was born into a large family of Syrian Orthodox Jews, he admitted to being non-religious himself. Seinfeld stated that he took a Scientology course when he was in his 20s; he said that he found it interesting but that he did not pursue it any further.
Seinfeld expressed support for Israel during the Israel–Hamas war, saying "I will always stand with Israel and the Jewish people." Seinfeld and his family previously drew criticism, travelling to the West Bank in 2018 to participate in a terrorism simulation camp. Seinfeld also visited the headquarters of Abducted and Missing Families Forum where he met with representatives of the families and with abductees who returned from Hamas captivity, and listened to their stories. On May 12, 2024, Seinfeld gave a commencement address and received an honorary degree at Duke University. During his speech, a number of students booed, waved Palestinian flags and walked out in protest. In June 2024, Seinfeld was heckled by protesters during a comedy show in Sydney, Australia. Seinfeld responded joking, "You’re really influencing everyone here. We’re all on your side now, because you’ve made your point so well, and in the right venue, you’ve come to the right place for a political conversation".
Seinfeld has made several political contributions, including to George W. Bush's and Al Gore's presidential campaigns in 2000, and subsequently to four Democratic Party primary candidates in 2000 and 2004.
Seinfeld has expressed his distaste for political correctness and woke culture. In 2015, Seinfeld stated that he avoids performing on college campuses because students have become too easily offended by his comedic routines. In a 2024 interview with "The New Yorker", Seinfeld claimed political correctness was destroying comedy, saying, “This is the result of the extreme left and PC crap, and people worrying so much about offending other people. When you write a script and it goes into four or five different hands, committees, groups — 'Here's our thought about this joke' — well, that's the end of your comedy.” Months later, he walked back those comments on the "Breaking Bread" podcast, stating "I don't think, as I said, 'the extreme left' has done anything to inhibit the art of comedy. I'm taking that back officially." Seinfeld said he regrets his previous comments because changing cultural attitudes are "not [his] business."
Transcendental Meditation.
In December 2012, Seinfeld said that he had been practicing Transcendental Meditation for 40 years. He promoted the use of the technique in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder with Bob Roth of the David Lynch Foundation in December 2012 on "Good Morning America", and also appeared at a 2009 David Lynch Foundation benefit for TM, at which Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr appeared. On November 5, 2015, the David Lynch Foundation organized a benefit concert at New York City's Carnegie Hall called "Change Begins Within" to promote transcendental meditation for stress control. "It's been the greatest companion technique of living that I've ever come across, and I'm thrilled to be part of this movement that seems to have really been reinvigorated by Bob [Roth] and David Lynch," Seinfeld said. "I would do anything that I could to promote it in the world, because I think it's the greatest thing as a life tool, as a work tool and just making things make sense."
Filmography.
Writing.
Writing credits for "Seinfeld"
The list below only includes episodes mainly written by Seinfeld, as he (and Larry David in Seasons 1 through 7) rewrote the drafts for each episode.
Comedy releases.
Stand-up appearances.
References
Awards and nominations.
Over his career he has received numerous accolades including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and three Screen Actors Guild Awards as well as nominations for four Grammy Awards. Seinfeld has received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Queens College (1994) as well as an Honorary Doctor of Arts from Duke University (2024)
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Michael Scott
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Michael Gary Scott is a fictional character in the NBC sitcom The Office, portrayed by Steve Carell. Michael is the regional manager of the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of Dunder Mifflin, a paper company, for the majority of the series. Like his counterpart in the original British version of the show, David Brent, he is characterized as a largely incompetent, unproductive, unprofessional boss, though he is depicted as kinder and occasionally shown to be effective at his job in key moments.
Towards the end of the seventh season, he marries human resources representative Holly Flax and moves to Colorado with her in "Goodbye, Michael", an extended episode. He is then absent from the series until the finale.
Carell received significant critical acclaim for his performance. He was nominated six consecutive times for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, and won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series (Musical or Comedy) in 2006.[1]
Casting
Steve Carell portraying Michael Scott in the American rendition of The Office
All original series characters were adapted for the American version. NBC programmer Tracy McLaughlin suggested Paul Giamatti to producer Ben Silverman for the role of Michael Scott, but the actor declined. Martin Short, Hank Azaria, and Bob Odenkirk were also reported to be interested, with Odenkirk auditioning.[2] Silverman offered the role to Ricky Gervais, who played David Brent in the British version, but he declined as he felt it didn't make any sense and didn't want to move to America.[3] In January 2004, Variety reported that Steve Carell of the popular Comedy Central program The Daily Show with Jon Stewart was in talks for the role. At the time, he was already committed to another NBC mid-season replacement comedy, Come to Papa.[4]
With Carell unavailable, Odenkirk was selected as Michael Scott and was part of the cast presented to NBC executives.[5] Paul Rudd advised Carell that the American version of The Office would never be as good as the British version.[6] However, Come to Papa was quickly cancelled, allowing Carell to commit to The Office. Odenkirk went on to appear in the series in a brief role as an office manager reminiscent of Scott. Carell later said that he had seen only about half of the original pilot episode of the British series before he auditioned, and that he did not continue watching for fear that he would start copying Gervais's characterizations. On the audio commentary of the pilot episode, director Ken Kwapis says that Carell's unfamiliarity with the British version of The Office and their experience working together on Watching Ellie influenced his being cast as Scott.[7]
Stanley Tucci, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bruno Kirby, Tim Blake Nelson, Stephen Colbert, David Herman, Mike White, Greg Kinnear, David Cross, Rob Schneider, and Noah Emmerich, among others, turned down the role.[8]
Rick Moranis, Dan Aykroyd, Eugene Levy, Dan Castellaneta, David Koechner (who went on to play supporting character Todd Packer), David Arquette, Richard Kind, Robert Townsend, Steve Buscemi, Christopher Guest, Kevin Nealon, Dave Foley, Owen Wilson, Jason Lee, Matthew Broderick, Jon Favreau, William H. Macy, and John C. Reilly were also considered for the role.[9][10] Louis C.K. and Nick Offerman also read for the role. C.K. was not able to get it as he had a deal with CBS.[11][12]
Two of Carell's supporting film roles helped get audiences' attention: in Bruce Almighty, where Carell plays Evan Baxter, who gets a humorous comeuppance while co-anchoring the news, and in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, where Carell played slow-witted weatherman Brick Tamland. Although The Office premiered to mediocre ratings, NBC renewed it for another season because of the anticipated success of Carell's movie The 40-Year-Old Virgin,[13] and the series subsequently became a ratings success. Carell won a Golden Globe and Television Critics Association award in 2006 for his role, and received Emmy nominations from 2006 to 2011.
Although The 40-Year-Old Virgin was a surprise success, Carell said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that he had no plans to leave The Office. However, on the BBC Radio 5 Live Film Review show, he said that his time on the show would probably end when his contract ran out after Season 7.[14] This was later confirmed on June 28, 2010, when he announced that the seventh season would be his last.[15]
Character details, arc, backstory
Biography
Michael Gary Scott was born on March 15, 1965,[16][17] in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He came from a relatively difficult childhood of loneliness. In the pilot, he mentions having a brother. Michael had some trouble with his early education (shown in "Dunder Mifflin Infinity") as Michael tells the camera crew he was held back in second grade. In "Diversity Day", he claims to be of English, Irish, German and Scottish descent, and also claims to be "two-fifteenths" Native American. He has also mentioned a stepfather, Jeff. In "Nepotism", it is revealed that he had a half-sister, from whom he'd been estranged for 15 years. After their reunion, Michael hires her son (and his nephew) Luke as an office intern, but eventually confronts the incompetent, rude young man and spanks him in front of the office staff, causing him to burst into tears and quit.
In the episode "Take Your Daughter to Work Day", Michael claims that he was a child star on a kids' show called Fundle Bundle; however, it becomes clear that he simply appeared on the show as one of many guest children. As the office staff watch an old recording of his episode, the young Michael speaks touchingly about what he wants when he grows up: to get married, and to have "100 kids" so none of them could say no to being his friend. Michael did not attend college, having lost all his tuition money in a pyramid scheme.[episode needed]
Michael started at Dunder Mifflin as a salesman in the early 1990s. In "Dwight's Speech", he shows the plaque and certificates he received in 1996 and 1997 for 'Top Salesman of the Year'. Dwight also praised him in a deleted scene from "The Coup" for winning consecutive awards for the best salesman. In "Two Weeks", he claims to have acquired half of the Scranton branch's client base. In "The Client", he impresses his then-manager, Jan Levinson-Gould, by single-handedly acquiring an important client through somewhat unorthodox methods. Pam Halpert and Ryan Howard are impressed watching him make sales and negotiate their contracts for The Michael Scott Paper Company, which he starts when he leaves Dunder Mifflin. In "Koi Pond", Jim Halpert concedes that he might never become as good a salesman as Michael.
During a candid conversation in "The Fire", Michael tells Ryan that he became a salesman because he loved making friends. After being promoted to regional manager at a young age, he continued to treat work-related relationships as personal friendships, which he acknowledged was complicated because his colleagues were lower than him in the workplace's hierarchy. He seems to have few relationships outside the office.
In his interactions with other characters, Michael is oblivious to most social norms. He tends to overestimate his own importance in the eyes of his coworkers, and can't understand why they don't share his enthusiasm for his unconventional ideas and interests. He believes an office should be the "place where dreams come true."
He is loyal to the company and tries to help his employees when he thinks they are having problems. Michael has been at Dunder Mifflin (as of "Michael's Last Dundies") 9,986,000 minutes, which means that he has worked there since April 1992.
Michael's constant desire to be the center of attention often manifests itself in selfish behavior. When he burns his foot in "The Injury", he expects Pam and Ryan to tend to his needs, despite Dwight's much more serious concussion. When invited to "Phyllis' Wedding", he assumes his participation will be the high point of the ceremony. He pouts when he is upstaged by Phyllis' elderly father, eventually giving an insulting, overly familiar toast that gets him banned from the reception. His desire to be liked often leads him to make unwise decisions and unfeasible promises without considering the consequences, only to back out when they result in an undesirable comeuppance. He appears to emphasize moments of sympathy or civility directed at him by his coworkers (mostly Jim) and inflates their importance to compensate for his loneliness.
Michael is irresponsible with his finances, and at one point is so heavily in debt he must take a second job as a telemarketer. Oscar, an office accountant, makes a chart of Michael's spending habits and chides him for spending too much money on things "nobody ever needs", such as multiple magic sets and professional bass fishing equipment. Eventually, Michael is forced to declare bankruptcy (which he thinks requires only standing up and shouting "I declare bankruptcy!").
Due to his lack of common sense, Michael is often the butt of jokes. He is quick to take offense when wronged and his response is often disproportionate to the harm he suffers. Similarly, when he unintentionally offends people, he is remorseful and apologizes; the most notable example is in "Gay Witch Hunt", when he cries after realizing his use of the term "faggy" hurt Oscar's feelings. Even though he is often oblivious to criticism, derision and sarcasm, there are limits to his patience—for example, when he demands professional respect from Stanley Hudson in "Did I Stutter?", and defends Holly against the staff's criticism in "Business Ethics".
In "The Meeting", it is shown that Michael does not always consider his employees' success, or even his own, when he sabotages Jim with a bad recommendation, mistakenly believing Jim's promotion would lead to Michael's firing. He does, however, concede to a co-managerial position with Jim to avoid losing him.
A hopeless romantic, Michael has had several romantic relationships, most notably with executive Jan, who becomes so domineering that he ends their relationship. He eventually settles down with Holly, who shares his sense of humor and "gets him". He eventually quits Dunder Mifflin and moves to Boulder, Colorado to help Holly care for her ailing parents. In unseen events, they marry and have four children.
Interests
Michael's desk on the set of the show in 2009
Michael's catchphrase is "That's what she said!", which he utters—even in places such as business meetings and legal depositions—whenever someone says something that can be made into a sexually suggestive double entendre. He finds the phrase so irresistible that in "Sexual Harassment", Jim induces him to say it just seconds after Jan Levinson and a corporate lawyer specifically ask him to stop.
Michael has diverse interests in media. Song parody writing is often referred to: In "Goodbye, Toby", he relates the titles of two of his songs, "Beers in Heaven" (a "Tears In Heaven" parody) and "Total Eclipse of the Fart" (a "Total Eclipse of the Heart" parody), before singing a rendition of "Goodbye Stranger" as a departing gesture to Toby. He performs his parody of "The Chanukah Song" to reflect the Diwali celebration Kelly hosts.
In "Dream Team", he comes up with "Achey Breaky Fart (an "Achy Breaky Heart" parody) and "My Stumps" (a "My Humps" parody) during a brainstorming exercise. He aspires to finish filming his original movie, "Threat Level: Midnight", whose script the staff finds and gives a table reading. After ten years of production, often using areas of the office as sets, Michael screens the completed movie for the staff in the seventh-season episode of the same name.
Michael loves the theatrical stylings of Meryl Streep, describing her in "The Job" as the "best actor around," and mimics her character from The Devil Wears Prada after seeing the film. He loves Wikipedia and YouTube, although he does not seem to understand how they work and thinks they are news media organizations. He also likes the music of Billy Joel and U2, the movies Mean Girls, Million Dollar Baby, Die Hard, and What a Girl Wants, and television series such as ALF, Entourage, The L Word and Queer as Folk. He tends to be a bit "behind" when it comes to popular culture references, as when he refers to his then-girlfriend Jan's youthful male assistant as James Van Der Beek, or in his numerous ringtones, including "My Humps" and "Mambo Number Five".
He appears to have a history of playing ice hockey and demonstrates his skating talent in "Michael's Birthday". He says that in high school, after his math teacher told him he was going to flunk out, he went out the next day and "scored more goals than anyone in the history of the hockey team." He also invites potential clients to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins games. He expresses interest in basketball, even though he is terrible at it (seen in "The Fire", "Basketball" and "Goodbye, Michael"). He is a Pittsburgh Pirates fan, and does not like the New York Mets.
His other interests include a pair of Levi's he refers to as "fun jeans", which he has professionally dry cleaned and are the reason he started casual Fridays, his self-bought "World's Best Boss" mug from Spencer Gifts, and Chrysler automobiles. He drives a silver 2004 Sebring convertible for the first three seasons until he trades it in with Jan's Volvo for a shared Porsche Boxster in the episode "Money". After their relationship, he drives a red PT Cruiser convertible and later a newer-model Sebring as a benefit of the buyout of the Michael Scott Paper Company to Dunder Mifflin in "Broke". He enjoys planning fantasy entrepreneurial schemes, such as a men's shoe store called "Shoe La La", and another paper company called simply "Michael".
Personality and management style
Apart from his masterful salesmanship, Michael is lacking in almost any other skills, management or otherwise. Jim Halpert once made a color graph of how Michael spends his time: 80% distracting others; 19% procrastination; and 1% critical thinking. Jim added that he inflated the "critical thinking" percentage so people could actually see it on the graph. His laid-back approach more often results in lower than expected workplace productivity, particularly when Michael places personal interests as a priority over work (such as his birthday, someone else's birthday, or his various seminars). To avoid being disciplined for his foolish actions, Michael often resorts to scapegoating employees to cover himself. Although his actions often lead to more problems for his employees, Michael believes that Scranton is "the cool, fun branch... like Animal House". He is genuinely upset when the top salesman from the Utica office criticizes the Scranton in a phone call and declares it "worse than Camden".
Although his position as regional manager gives him broad decision-making authority on branch operations, he often places those responsibilities secondary to his desire to be friends with his employees. On the other hand, he also oversteps his authority by hosting events that corporate disapproves of, such as The Dundies and several office parties a year, inducing birthday parties for each employee despite only being allowed the budget for one a year.
Michael exhibits some symptoms of textbook narcissism, such as in the episodes "Diversity Day", and "Booze Cruise". When another person, typically an expert presenter of a specific topic, or another leader requires the spotlight, Michael compulsively seeks to draw attention back to himself. He is insecure whenever other individuals exert authority over him, and often resorts to childish, tantrum-like behavior such as repeating things that have just been said by others, or trying to talk over others so as not to feel like he is being undermined or ignored. In "Christmas Party", Michael flagrantly violates the agreed upon spending limit for the office’s Secret Santa party, and purchases a $400 video iPod. He then boasts about the high cost of the iPod, while maligning everyone else’s gifts.
It is revealed in the episode "The Duel" the Scranton branch is the best-performing company branch, well ahead of Utica and Nashua. Michael is called to corporate headquarters to answer the question, "What are you doing right?" After several minutes of Michael's inarticulate babble, his superiors concede that while Michael is definitely doing something right, they will probably never know exactly what. They send him on a lecture tour to spread his wisdom; instead, he wastes time and annoys the workers who have to listen to his drivel.
Despite his ineptitude, Michael is prone to brief bouts of surprising insight and is shown to have a kind heart as he shows deep, family-like affection towards the people working in the Scranton branch. The staff initially find Michael annoying but he grows on many of them and is given many emotional goodbyes during his final days in Scranton. In the episode "Broke", Michael displays self-awareness of his inability to keep secrets when he, Pam and Ryan all agree not to let Dunder Mifflin know the Michael Scott Paper Company is broke. Moments later he is seen bent over and in a panic when he admits that he's afraid he won't be able to keep himself from letting the truth slip. In the same episode, he displays a remarkable ability to negotiate with Dunder Mifflin and convince the company to hire himself as well as Pam and Ryan back with full benefits.
In the episode "Murder", Jim attempts to confront Michael for wasting time when he has the staff participate in a murder-mystery role playing game. However, he is confronted by an unusually serious and stern Michael, who demands to, "just let them [the staff] have this game". Jim then realized Michael actually was trying to distract the staff from the possibility of losing their jobs after a news article hinted at Dunder Mifflin going bankrupt.
In the episode "Business School", Michael is one of the few Dunder Mifflin employees to show up to Pam's gallery showing. Unlike Oscar and his then-boyfriend Gil, who had shown up and were critical of Pam's drawings (which Pam overheard), Michael immediately marvels at her work and asks to buy Pam's drawing of their office building. In a moment of sincere kindness, Michael tells Pam that he is very proud of her. Pam begins to tear up and hugs him. During "The Seminar", Michael advises a fledgling Andy Bernard to step up and begin selling at a seminar Andy is hosting, in order to boost his sagging sales.
Michael's habits of joking around and treating professional colleagues as personal friends are often inappropriate for management. However, along with his encyclopedic knowledge of the paper industry, it is remarkably effective when utilized to sign clients, as seen in "The Client" and "Heavy Competition." In "Initiation", Pam balks at Michael's sugar-fueled phone calls to a local business, but later realizes that his silly conversation (including a Bill Cosby imitation) helped to secure a major sale for Dunder Mifflin. He remembers people through word association starting with nicknames such as "baldy" and "fatso" which, while offensive to the individuals in question, works to his advantage. Although he is unsuccessful using his sales methods as a telemarketer in "Money", his social interactions with coworkers suggest that he would be a more popular presence in an office of peers as opposed to subordinates.
It is clear Michael loves Dunder Mifflin very much. He has also shown signs of feeling underappreciated, given his long history with the company. In the episode "The Negotiation", Michael discovers that he is making only slightly more money than Darryl, the warehouse manager, despite working for the company for 14 years. Later in the episode he drives to New York and demands a raise from Jan at corporate headquarters.
In the episode "New Boss", Dunder Mifflin CFO David Wallace ducks Michael's calls throughout the day. When Michael's 15-year anniversary party is cancelled by his new superior, Charles Miner, he drives to New York to confront Wallace. Citing his long history of service and many sacrifices, Michael asks that he be treated more respectfully. Wallace, seeing his heartfelt openness, promises Michael his party and pledges to attend. Michael surprisingly recognizes that the CFO is just humoring him, and stuns Wallace by quitting his job.
Relationships
Michael tends to overestimate his importance to his employees, but despite constantly offending some of them, he has a close bond with them. Most of the employees have been the focus of Michael's jokes at one point or another, usually in reference to their race, sex, size, attractiveness, or sexual orientation. Examples of Michael's difficult relationship with his staff include getting slapped by Kelly for being racist, hitting Meredith with his car, getting kicked out of Phyllis and Bob's wedding, and outing Oscar to the entire office without his permission. They are, however, generally sympathetic to his shortcomings and, while regularly losing patience when he interrupts their workflow, often try to assist him with his personal problems.
Michael's relationship with the company warehouse employees is tense. He has a tendency to disrupt their daily work flow, and in a talking head interview, warehouse supervisor Darryl Philbin (Craig Robinson) explains that they have never been able to make a full year accident-free because of Michael's antics. CFO David Wallace tolerates Michael's antics because he values his loyalty to the company, but Michael offends CEO Alan Brand and the rest of the executives during his only meeting with them.
Although many Dunder Mifflin employees are initially barely able to tolerate Michael, they gradually grow to appreciate his sincere intentions, even at times coming to find amusement in his sophomoric humor and behavior; this transition is most apparent in Pam Halpert, with whom he eventually develops a genuine friendship. His co-workers are overjoyed when Michael finds his soulmate in Holly Flax; they participate in his romantic proposal to her and are shown to be emotional at his leaving Scranton to be with her. Jim Halpert even teared up while calling Michael "the best boss [he] ever had."
Dwight Schrute
Dwight has the most respect for Michael, viewing him as a model for success, and is thrilled when asked to handle any task given to him, however ill-conceived it may be. Although on the surface, Michael usually appears dismissive of Dwight and generally views him as a suck-up, he is genuinely hurt and angry at the few times when Dwight has deceived him, such as when Dwight went over Michael's head to vie for the manager's job or when Dwight refused to reveal office secrets to Michael's new company, the "Michael Scott Paper Company". In the episode "Heavy Competition" of Season 5, Dwight takes Michael's Rolodex and finds his own business card, on the back of which, Michael had written (before leaving Dunder Mifflin): "Dwight Schrute, tall, beets".
Michael also cares how Dwight feels about him. After Michael beats Dwight at his own dojo, Michael finds out that Dwight no longer wanted Michael as his primary contact in case of an emergency which causes Michael to promote him from "Assistant to the Regional Manager" to "Assistant Regional Manager", with a three-month probational period. Dwight told Michael in Season 6 that Michael's pathetic career path hurt Dwight and he regretted working for him instead of taking a fast-track job at Home Depot, but they buried their differences later on. When Deangelo Vickers arrives to be the new Branch Manager, Dwight is depressed that he didn't get the job after Michael recommended him, only to learn from Gabe that Michael didn't recommend him after all. At first Dwight is angry with Michael, but they make amends when Michael gives him a letter of recommendation on his final day at Dunder Mifflin. They end the day with a paintball fight behind the building. In the series finale, Michael is the best man at Dwight's wedding after Jim arranges it.
Ryan Howard
Michael has one-sided affection for Ryan, which often makes Ryan uncomfortable. Examples of this are when Michael gives Ryan the "Hottest in the Office" award in The Dundies, when Michael declares he would definitely want to have sex with Ryan in The Fire, and when Michael gives Ryan a $400 iPod for the Secret Santa gift exchange, despite the 20-dollar limit. In "The Deposition", a page from Michael's diary reveals he describes Ryan as "just as hot as Jan, but in a different way." On multiple occasions, Michael behaves inappropriately around Ryan, including slapping Ryan's buttocks, pinching Ryan's nipples, staring constantly at Ryan from behind his window blind, pinning Ryan to sit on his lap and making kissing gestures toward Ryan while calling him the belle of the ball.
Michael is devastated when he finds out about Ryan's arrest for fraud, and much to the dismay of David Wallace, he later re-hires Ryan. In "Prince Family Paper", Michael acknowledges that his heart has led him astray before, naming Jan and Ryan as examples of this. In "Dream Team", Michael convinces Ryan to leave his job at the bowling alley and join his newly formed paper company. When working together, Ryan comes to respect Michael's skills as a salesman. In Season 7, Michael heavily invests in Ryan's WUPHF.com and won't agree to sell his majority shares when it is clear Ryan is exploiting Michael's goodwill and is incapable of saving the venture from bankruptcy.
Michael's obsession with Ryan is further shown in a number of deleted scenes. In one from "Diwali", Carol says that Michael constantly talks about Ryan's attractiveness and has begun stalking Ryan. In another from "Safety Training", Michael confesses that he will miss Ryan the most after dying, which angers Ryan. In a deleted scene of "Beach Games", Michael says he especially wants to see Ryan put a hot dog in his mouth. In "Night Out", Michael is in bed with Ryan asking "Do you miss us?," to which Ryan declines to answer.
Jim and Pam Halpert
Michael doesn't hesitate to compliment or criticize Pam for her looks and he frequently mentions her breasts. In the episode "Diwali" Michael mistakenly thinks that he and Pam have a connection, and is rejected when he tries to kiss her. Throughout their relationship, Pam has served as something of a shoulder angel for Michael by encouraging him to be more productive and discouraging his bad ideas, with varying degrees of success. She grows closer to Michael as he supports her goals in pursuing sales and art. Pam is visibly touched when, after many art show attendees (including Oscar and his boyfriend Gil) dismiss her artwork, Michael is so impressed that he asks to buy her painting of their office building. Their relationship comes to a rocky point when he begins dating her mother Helene. This is only repaired after he breaks up with Helene and allows Pam to slap him in the face in the parking lot. He trusts and respects Jim, although when they were co-managers they clashed due to their polar-opposite management styles. In "Secret Santa", Michael mentions that in a future vision he sees himself and his future wife living next door to Jim and Pam and that their children will play together. He often also refers to Jim as his best friend in the office, although, based on his impersonation of Jim using surfer slang in "Michael's Last Dundies", does not have a very good understanding of his personality.
While Jim and Pam are both shown to care about Michael, his clingy nature makes them reluctant to socialize with him outside of the office; such as when, after numerous unsuccessful invitations, Michael is forced to trick them in order to have them over for a disastrous dinner in the episode "Dinner Party." In a Season 5 episode, Michael also shows his admiration for Jim, when Jim wears a tuxedo to work and goes on and on about having a 'classy party' for the party planning committee, and frequently suggests all of the ideas Dwight had offered that Michael had then rejected, only to bother Dwight by having Michael accept the same ideas from him. During Cecilia Halpert's baptism, Michael approaches Pam referring to himself as "the godfather" while imitating Don Corleone. After Pam sympathetically but emphatically asks him to acknowledge that he won't be Cece's godfather, he is disappointed but does so, and is hurt to learn that the godparents are a couple they'd only recently met. Pam is shown to have a soft spot for Michael, such as when she consoles him after he finds Holly to be in a relationship with AJ, and when she advises him on how to propose to Holly. In "Goodbye, Michael" it is revealed that Michael is secretly planning to leave for Colorado at the end of his penultimate work day, thereby avoiding having to say goodbye to everyone. Jim figures this out and goes along with it, telling Michael that he will tell him what a great boss he was the following day at lunch, which they both know Michael will not be around for; Michael and Jim both get sentimental during this final conversation between them. The strength of his relationship with Pam is revealed as he continuously asks about her whereabouts, not wanting to leave without saying goodbye.
Pam, who spent the better part of the day away from the office, finds Michael at the airport and says goodbye in a touching scene just as he's about to board his plane for Colorado. She watches from the window as his plane flies off. In a deleted scene of "The Inner Circle", Pam is flattered that Michael named his new dog "Pamela Beagsley." Pam later teases Jim that their second child will be named "little Michael Scott" displaying the friendship she had developed with her former boss. In the series finale, Jim convinces Michael to replace him as the "bestest mensch" at Dwight's wedding. Pam is so thrilled to see photos of Michael's children that she does not judge him for paying for two phones to hold all the pictures.
Toby Flenderson
Despite liking the majority of the staff, Michael fiercely hates Human Resources Manager Toby Flenderson. The origins of Michael's hatred for Toby go largely unexplained in the show itself, although writer/executive producer Paul Lieberstein, who also portrays Flenderson, has said that the genesis of the joke for the writers was in a deleted scene where Toby signs Meredith's birthday card.[18][19][20] Within the context of actual aired scenes, Human Resources Manager Toby often has to reprimand Michael for violating company policies, which is consistently a source of friction between the two.
Michael's long-time goal is to get rid of Toby and any attempts at reconciliation between the two usually backfire. In the episode "Goodbye, Toby", Michael is thrilled when Toby decides to move to Costa Rica and gives as his going away present a rock with a note that reads "Suck on this". The next season, after Toby's replacement Holly is transferred, Michael is horrified when Toby returns to Dunder Mifflin. In "Frame Toby", he goes to great lengths to get him fired, trying to frame him for possession of marijuana, and although he later admits his actions to the cops out of guilt when they initially prepare to arrest Toby (indicating his hatred has limits), he ends up hating Toby, even more, when the latter criticizes him for wasting the cops time instead for being framed (it is possible that Michael is disgusted that Toby lets himself be abused). In "The Chump", Michael says if he had a gun with two bullets and was in a room with Adolf Hitler, Osama bin Laden, and Toby, he would shoot Toby twice. In "Nepotism", after Michael spanks Luke, the office intern who is also his nephew, he is ordered to attend counseling sessions moderated by Toby, much to Michael's horror. At first Michael is uncooperative but is gradually tricked by Toby into discussing therapeutic details of his life and childhood. In "Michael's Last Dundies", Michael eggs Toby's house while he and Deangelo are handing out Dundie nominations in the cold open. In "Goodbye, Michael", Michael is seen saying goodbye to Toby without insulting him, possibly indicating that he will miss Toby on some level in spite of his tremendous animosity towards him.
Erin Hannon
Once Pam is promoted to salesperson following Dunder Mifflin's buyout of The Michael Scott Paper Company, Michael keeps Erin Hannon as her replacement. Michael is initially unkind to her as he misses having Pam as his receptionist, but she is able to earn his respect by cheering him up after his disastrous school visit in "Scott's Tots." Unlike her predecessor, Erin loves working as a receptionist, admires Michael and cheerfully accommodates many of his unusual requests (such as serving him a plate of ants on a log every day at 2:30 and spinning him in his chair until he's dizzy). Although he generally enjoys Erin's thoughtful treatment, his dismissive feelings towards Erin continue until "Secretary's Day" when he reluctantly agrees to take her out to lunch. Erin relishes the opportunity to spend time with her boss, while Michael finds their conversation awkward and mentions that her then-boyfriend Andy Bernard was previously engaged to Angela Martin. Erin was previously unaware of this, and after learning of it she ends her relationship with Andy. Later that day, Michael apologizes to Erin; the two are finally able to relate to each other over their mutual fondness for silly humor, stemming from their similar immature tendencies with Michael's ignorance and Erin's naïveté.
Their working relationship then develops smoothly while they bond by making each other laugh with childish jokes, such as Erin pointing out that the phrase "it's not" sounds like "snot." In "Viewing Party", Erin throws a Glee party with her new boyfriend, Gabe Lewis. Throughout the night, she unsuccessfully attempts to get Michael and Gabe to bond. Michael is jealous that the office looks to Gabe as the boss and attempts to sabotage the party. After being confronted by Erin in private, Michael questions why his opinion matters so much to her as he is not her father. In a moment of insight, Michael realizes that Erin, who was raised in foster care, does indeed look to him as a father figure and he instigates a playful fight as father and daughter by saying "go to your room, young lady!" Erin becomes protective of Michael to the point where she is hostile towards Holly Flax, saying in a talking head interview that she doesn't understand what Michael sees in her, until The Search when she, Dwight and Holly go searching for a missing Michael.
Erin sees that Holly is able to sense where Michael is, and when she sees them reconcile, she finally understands their love for each other and smiles. Later in "Goodbye, Michael", Erin talks to Michael about her love life and wishes that she knew her birth mother so she could tell Erin what to do. Michael advises Erin that she shouldn't rush things and that she'll know what to do when the right guy comes along. Michael then tells her that she won't need her mother for advice, because she will always have his personal phone number when she needs advice and kisses her on the head.
Holly Flax
Shortly after the dissolution of his troubled relationship with Jan, Michael found love with Holly Flax (Amy Ryan), Toby's replacement as HR Representative, who appears for a while to be Michael's best chance at love, with the two sharing a similar sense of humor and social awkwardness. However, after David Wallace witnesses them kissing, Holly is transferred to the Nashua branch and she and Michael break up after choosing not to pursue a long-distance relationship. Despite the breakup and Holly's new relationship with another man, their affection for each other persists, as it is shown that Holly had been writing a note for Michael on her work computer, as well as their subtle romantic glances at one another during the summer company picnic. Throughout her absence in Season 5, excluding "Company Picnic" and carrying on into Season 7, Michael hooks up with a few other women, but ultimately he finds that none of them compare to Holly.
Around Christmas in Season 7, Toby is forced to leave the office due to being selected as part of the jury duty for a local murder case, resulting in Holly returning as the temporary HR replacement. There is initial tension between the two of them and hesitation on her side (mostly after her sudden break-up with A.J.), but Holly finally reunites with Michael after realizing the two are soulmates. The two continue dating for a few weeks, and on Valentine's Day, they tell each other they love each other, decide to move in together, and resolve that they will not allow Dunder Mifflin to interfere with their future together.
With her time at the Scranton branch almost up and the recent knowledge that her aging parents need to be taken care of, they ultimately become engaged. Holly later moves back to Colorado and Michael follows her soon after. In the finale it is revealed that they have children together. It was revealed in a photo album on NBC that they have three children and are expecting their fourth child.[21]
Other romantic relationships
See also: Jan Levinson § Relationship with Michael
Michael's longest relationship before his marriage was with Jan Levinson (Melora Hardin), his original-then-former boss from Corporate. Starting with a one-night stand after they closed their business deal at Chili's in "The Client", Michael and Jan begin awkwardly dating, become an official couple, and eventually move in together after Jan is fired from her job—although Jan usually treated Michael with contempt. After Michael fails to defend Jan in her wrongful dismissal suit against Dunder Mifflin, they remain together for a short while, but end up blowing up at each other during an ill-fated dinner party and eventually break up. He also dated Carol (played by Carell's wife Nancy Walls), a real estate agent from whom Michael bought his condominium. Michael was much more interested in Carol than she was in him, and after he made an unwanted and rejected impromptu public marriage proposal, Michael's decision to Photoshop pictures of himself over Carol's ex-husband in her family pictures resulted in their breakup.
On a business trip to Winnipeg, Michael and "Concierge Marie" become close, and Michael does not wish to leave her after they are caught necking in her suite. After Jim and Pam's wedding, Michael begins dating Pam's mother Helene (much to Pam's horror), but he breaks up with her on her birthday after discovering she is turning 58. Near the end of season six, Michael begins dating Donna (Amy Pietz), the manager of a local bar, but later finds out that she's married and he is, as he puts it, "the mistress". He continues seeing her until the disgust of his employees drives him to listen to his conscience and break things off with her. In Season 7's "Sex Ed", Michael reunites in person or by telephone with all of his past girlfriends when he believes that he has contracted herpes. In doing so, he realizes that Holly was the only one he truly loved.
Legacy of "That's What She Said"
The show often uses the joke "that's what she said", originally popularized by the Wayne's World sketch on Saturday Night Live.[22] In the original BBC version of The Office, Ricky Gervais's character David Brent frequently uses the similar phrase "as the actress said to the bishop" as an inappropriate joke. Michael compulsively inserts the phrase as a sexually suggestive double entendre, finding it amusing in even the most inappropriate circumstances.[23][24]
The phrase has become so associated with the character that the television show 30 Rock, in the episode "TGS Hates Women", there is a scene where Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) becomes infuriated at another character's use of the phrase, exclaiming, "Steve Carell owns 'That's What She Said,' okay? He owns it!" In the episode "Goodbye, Michael", "That's what she said" is Steve Carell's final line as a series regular; it is also his first line on returning as a guest star in "Finale".
Comparison with David Brent
Although originally based on David Brent, Scott developed into a significantly different character than his British counterpart. Whereas Brent is shown to be irredeemably incompetent in all professional domains, Scott is portrayed as an outstanding salesman who is unwisely promoted to a management role to which he appears completely ill-suited. In a scathing performance review during episode eight of season two, Jan Levinson suggests that Scott should be removed from his management role and return to sales. Scott is thus an apt example of the Peter Principle which states that competent persons in a hierarchical organization will "rise to the level of their incompetence" after which they will not advance.
Despite his failings, Scott has been oddly successful as regional manager. This is attributed, in part, to his weakness of procrastination wherein he typically forfeits a bad choice by seeking the advice of his more competent subordinates (such as Jim, Oscar, or Darryl) and uses their recommendations. Scott's success is also partly attributed to his main strength: genuinely caring about the well-being of the office and treating his employees like family. When he took over the Scranton Branch he decreased costs by 17%, without firing any personnel. After the merger of the two branches Scott does not lose a single client despite a great deal of employee turnover (much of which he was directly responsible for). He received a $3,000 bonus for firing Devon, most likely because his doing so saved the company around $50,000. Although it is suggested that Brent has had similar success, such claims only ever come from Brent himself, thus making them unreliable.
Scott's social immaturity and inability to cope with responsibility is balanced with a personality that is much more caring than Brent's, even if both make unwise comments in the heat of the moment. Unlike Brent, who pretends to be friendly with many of his employees purely for the benefit of the cameras, Scott seems to genuinely like his colleagues, with the exception of Human Resources Director Toby Flenderson, though there are instances of him and Toby getting along and his hatred towards them having limits. Scott's need to be liked by his staff and his belief that people see him as a genuine friend leads him to become very hurt when he realizes this is not the case. Most, if not all, of Scott's managerial blunders can be directly correlated with the degree to which he desires to be liked by his employees or jealously seeks their approval.
The DVD commentary to the pilot episode suggests that Scott's character continues a process begun in the second UK series, in which Gervais and Merchant intentionally made Brent less nasty, and more of a buffoon.[not specific enough to verify] It is said in the commentary that Gervais and Merchant suggested that this be applied to Scott. This also reflects a general change in the US version's attitude, which is more sympathetic to the characters, and tones down the cruel humor of the original. The commentary also says that Steve Carell had not seen more than a few minutes of the original UK series when he was offered the role of Scott, and has since made a conscious decision not to watch it in case it influences his own performance. During an interview on Marc Maron's podcast, Jenna Fischer said that, when initially developing the show, Gervais explained that it is much more common in the UK for people to spend many years working at jobs that they dislike or are unfit for than it is in the US, which is why Michael Scott is portrayed as being significantly more successful in the workplace than was Brent.[not specific enough to verify]
The show's writers have said[not specific enough to verify] that the 2005 hit movie The 40-Year-Old Virgin provided very useful guidance as they refined the character along with Steve Carell between the first and second seasons. Michael Scott wore a large amount of hair gel and dressed sloppily in Season 1, but by Season 2 he had a more conventional haircut and dressed much more neatly. Also, while Michael is often rude and nasty in Season 1, he is generally nicer and less hard-edged in subsequent seasons.
In the seventh-season episode "The Seminar", Michael in fact briefly meets David Brent in an office lobby and they establish an immediate rapport, joking together and generally signalling that they would have been good friends.
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Freddy Krueger
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Freddy Krueger () is a fictional character and the antagonist of the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" horror film franchise. Created by Wes Craven, he made his debut in Craven's "A Nightmare on Elm Street" (1984) as the malevolent spirit of a child killer who had been burned to death by his victims' parents after evading prison. Krueger goes on to murder his victims in their dreams, causing their deaths in the real world as well. In the dream world, he is a powerful force and seemingly invulnerable. However, whenever Freddy is pulled back into the real world, he has normal human vulnerabilities and can be destroyed. He is commonly identified by his burned, disfigured face, dirty red-and-green-striped sweater and brown fedora, and trademark metal-clawed, brown leather, right hand glove. This glove was the product of Krueger's own imagination, having welded the blades himself before using it to murder many of his victims, both in the real and dream worlds. Over the course of the film series, Freddy has battled several reoccurring survivors including Nancy Thompson and Alice Johnson. The character was consistently portrayed by Robert Englund in the original film series as well as in the television spin-off "Freddy's Nightmares". The reboot portrays him as an undead groundskeeper accused of molesting the students.
The character quickly became a pop culture icon going on to appear in toy lines, comic books, books, sneakers, costumes, and video games since his debut. In 2003, Krueger appeared alongside fellow horror icon Jason Voorhees in "Freddy vs. Jason". In 2010, a reboot of the original "Nightmare on Elm Street" film, starring Jackie Earle Haley, was released.
"Wizard" magazine rated Freddy the 14th-greatest villain of all time; the British television channel Sky2 listed him 8th, and the American Film Institute ranked him 40th on its "AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains" list. In 2010, Freddy was nominated for the award for Best Villain (formerly Most Vile Villain) at the Scream Awards.
Appearances.
Film.
In "A Nightmare on Elm Street", Freddy is introduced as a serial child killer, Fred Krueger, from the fictitious town of Springwood, Ohio, who kills his victims with a bladed leather glove he crafted in a boiler room where he used to take his 20 victims. He is captured, but is set free on a technicality when it is discovered that the search warrant was not signed in the right place. He is hunted down by a mob made up of the town's vengeful parents and cornered in the boiler room. The mob douses the building with gasoline and sets it on fire by throwing Molotov cocktails, burning him alive. While his body dies, his spirit lives on within the dreams of a group of teenagers and pre-adolescents living on Elm Street, whom he preys on by entering their dreams and killing them, fueled by the town's memories and fear of him and empowered by a trio of 'dream demons' to be their willing instrument of evil. He is apparently destroyed at the end of the film by protagonist Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp), but the last scene reveals that he has survived. He goes on to antagonize the teenage protagonists of the film's sequels, including Jesse Walsh (Mark Patton), Kristen Parker (Patricia Arquette), Alice Johnson (Lisa Wilcox), and Lori Campbell (Monica Keena).
In ', more of Freddy's backstory is revealed by the mysterious nun who repeatedly appears to Dr. Neil Gordon (Craig Wasson). Freddy's mother, Amanda Krueger (Nan Martin), was a nun and a nurse at the asylum featured in the film. At the time she worked there, a largely abandoned, run-down wing of the asylum was used to lock up entire hordes of the most insane criminals all at once. When Amanda was young, she was accidentally locked into the room with the criminals over a holiday weekend. They managed to keep her hidden for days, raping her repeatedly. When she was finally discovered, she was barely alive and pregnant, with the result that Krueger was regarded as "the bastard son of a hundred maniacs" due to it being impossible to determine which of the rapists was his biological father. In ', it is revealed that Freddy was adopted by an alcoholic named Mr. Underwood (Alice Cooper), who abused him throughout his childhood until Freddy finally murdered him as a teenager (Tobe Sexton), becoming his first kill. Freddy tortured animals and engaged in self-mutilation, and became a serial killer by murdering the children of people who had bullied him when he was a child. Prior to his murder, he was married to a woman named Loretta (Lindsey Fields), whom he also murdered after she discovers his secret. He also had a daughter, Katherine/Maggie (Lisa Zane), who seeks to end her father's horrific legacy once and for all, killing him at the end of the movie.
After a hiatus following the release of "The Final Nightmare", Krueger was brought back in "Wes Craven's New Nightmare" by Wes Craven, who had not worked on the film series since the third film, "Dream Warriors". "New Nightmare" coincides with the approaching anniversary of the release of the first film. Robert Englund, who portrayed Krueger throughout the film series and its television spin-off, also took the role as a fictional version of himself in "New Nightmare"; it is implied that Englund was stalked by his character, who is an ancient demonic entity that took on the form of Wes Craven's creation and has come to life from the film franchise's fictitious world. Having been in various manifestations throughout the ages as the entity can be captured through storytelling, it is hinted that it was once in the form of the old witch from Brothers Grimm's fairy tale "Hansel and Gretel" when it was held prisoner in this allegory based on actions. Englund describes to his former co-star and friend Heather Langenkamp that this embodiment of Freddy is darker and more evil than as portrayed by him in the films; he struggles to keep his sanity intact from Krueger's torments and goes into hiding with his family. Krueger aims to stop another film of the franchise from being made, eliminating the films' crew members, including Langenkamp's husband, Chase Porter (David Newsom), after stealing a prototype bladed glove from him, and causes nightmares and makes threatening phone calls to producer Robert Shaye. The entity also haunts Wes Craven's dreams, to the point that he sees future events related to Krueger's actions and then writes them down as a movie script. Krueger sees Langenkamp as his primary foe because her character Nancy Thompson was the first to defeat him. Krueger's attempts to cross over to reality cause a series of earthquakes throughout Los Angeles County, including the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Langenkamp, with help from her son Dylan (Miko Hughes), succeeds in defeating the entity and apparently destroys him; however, Krueger's creator reveals that it is again imprisoned in the fictitious world, indicated by the character's later appearances in films and other medias.
In 2003, Freddy battled fellow horror icon Jason Voorhees (Ken Kirzinger) from the "Friday the 13th" film series in the theatrical release "Freddy vs. Jason", a film which officially resurrected both characters from their respective deaths and subsequently sent them to Hell. As the film begins, Krueger is frustrated at his current inability to kill as knowledge of him has been hidden in Springwood, prompting him to manipulate Jason into killing in his place in the hope that the resulting fear will remind others of him so that he can resume his own murder spree. However, Freddy's plan proves too effective when Jason starts killing people before Freddy can do it, culminating in a group of teens learning the truth and drawing Freddy and Jason to Camp Crystal Lake in the hope that they can draw Freddy into the real world so that Jason will kill him and remain "home." The ending of the film is left ambiguous as to whether or not Freddy is actually dead; despite being decapitated, when Jason emerges from the lake carrying his head he looks and winks at the audience. A sequel featuring Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell) from the "Evil Dead" franchise was planned, but never materialized onscreen. It was later turned into Dynamite Entertainment's comic book series "Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash".
In the 2010 remake of the original film, Freddy's backstory is that he was a groundskeeper at Springwood Badham Preschool who tortured and sexually abused the teenage protagonists of the film when they were children. When their parents found out, they trapped him in a boiler room at an industrial park and set it on fire with a Molotov cocktail made out of a gasoline canister, killing him. As a spirit, he takes his revenge on the teenagers by haunting their dreams; he is particularly obsessed with Nancy Holbrook (Rooney Mara), who had been his "favorite" when she was a child. Krueger's power comes from his prey's memories and emotions upon remembering the abuse they suffered at his hands. His bladed glove is made out of discarded pieces of his gardening tools. Nancy destroys him at the end of the film by pulling his spirit into the physical world and cutting his throat; the final scene reveals that Freddy's spirit has survived, however.
Television.
Englund continued to portray Krueger in the 1988 television anthology series, "Freddy's Nightmares". The show was hosted by Freddy, who did not take direct part in most of the episodes, but he did show up occasionally to influence the plot of particular episodes. Further, a consistent theme in each episode was characters having disturbing dreams. The series ran for 44 episodes over two seasons, ending on March 10, 1990. Although a bulk of the episodes did not feature Freddy taking a major role in the plot, the pilot episode, "No More, Mr. Nice Guy", depicts the events of his trial, and his subsequent death at the hands of the parents of Elm Street after his acquittal. In "No More, Mr. Nice Guy", though Freddy's case seems open and shut, a mistrial is declared based on the arresting officer, Lt. Tim Blocker (Ian Patrick Williams), not reading Krueger his Miranda rights, which is different from the original "Nightmare", which stated he was released because someone forgot to sign the search warrant in the right place. The episode also reveals that Krueger used an ice cream van to lure children close enough so that he could kidnap and kill them. After the town's parents burn Freddy to death he returns to haunt Blocker in his dreams. Freddy gets his revenge when Blocker is put under anesthesia at the dentist's office, and Freddy shows up and kills him. The episode "Sister's Keeper" was a "sequel" to this episode, even though it was the seventh episode of the series. The episode follows Krueger as he terrorizes Blocker's identical twin daughters and frames one sister for the other's murder. Season two's "It's My Party And You'll Die If I Want You To" featured Freddy attacking a high school prom date who stood him up 20 years earlier. He gets his revenge with his desire being fulfilled in the process.
Creation and development.
Wes Craven said his inspiration for the basis of Freddy Krueger's power stemmed from several stories in the "Los Angeles Times" about a series of mysterious deaths: All the victims had reported recurring nightmares and died in their sleep. Additionally, Craven's original script characterized Freddy as a child molester, which Craven said was the "worst thing" he could think of. The decision was made to instead make him a child murderer in order to avoid being accused of exploiting the spate of highly publicized child molestation cases in California around the time "A Nightmare on Elm Street" went into production. Craven's inspirations for the character included a bully from his school during his youth, a disfigured homeless man who had frightened him when he was 12, and the 1970s pop song "Dream Weaver" by Gary Wright. In an interview, Craven said of the disfigured stranger:
When I looked down there was a man very much like Freddy walking along the sidewalk. He must have sensed that someone was looking at him and stopped and looked right into my face. He scared the living daylights out of me, so I jumped back into the shadows. I waited and waited to hear him walk away. Finally I thought he must have gone, so I stepped back to the window. The guy was not only still looking at me but he thrust his head forward as if to say, 'Yes, I'm still looking at you.' The man walked towards the apartment building's entrance. I ran through the apartment to our front door as he was walking into our building on the lower floor. I heard him starting up the stairs. My brother, who is ten years older than me, got a baseball bat and went out to the corridor but he was gone.
Portrayals and design.
According to Robert Englund, Freddy's look was based on Klaus Kinski's portrayal of Count Dracula in "Nosferatu the Vampyre" (1979) and some of the works of Lon Chaney, while he based Freddy's poise and gait on the "Cagney stance" originated by actor James Cagney. Freddy's characteristic of keeping his gloved arm lower than the other was incidental due to the knives being heavy to wear for Englund and forcing him to carry himself as such while playing the role.
Freddy's physical appearance has stayed largely consistent throughout the film series, although small changes were made in subsequent films. He wears a striped red-and-green sweater (solid red sleeves in the original film), a dark brown fedora, his bladed glove, loose black trousers (brown in the original film), and worn work boots, in keeping with his blue collar background. The choice to have Freddy wear a fedora was reportedly Craven's idea. In a 2018 interview, Englund stated:
The fedora was Wes's idea. But he'd been talked into maybe trying some other hats. And they had this box of hats, and we're sitting on the floor—kind of uncomfortably, both of these grown men on this futon—and [they're] telling me to put on all of these different hats. I'm sitting there in makeup going, "Guys, please, the fedora is right." And they kept putting on like, paperboy hats, and baseball hats, and God, one looked like a pimp hat. It was like, "What are you thinking, you guys?" I think I said something to Wes like, "Look, the fedora was your idea." And I stood and showed my shadow on the wall with the [fedora] hat, and how strong that silhouette was. And then I took the hat off and showed the baldness, revealing the baldness, and how he could save that for the right time in the movie. And I kind of got my way.
Freddy's skin is scarred and burned as a result of being burned alive by the parents of Springwood, and he has no hair at all on his head as it presumably all burned off. In the original film, only Freddy's face was burned, while the scars have spread to the rest of his body from the second film onwards. His blood is occasionally a dark, oily color, or greenish in hue when he is in the Dreamworld. In the original film, Freddy remains in the shadows and under lower light much longer than he does in the later pictures. In the second film, there are some scenes where Freddy is shown without his bladed glove, and instead with the blades protruding from the tips of his fingers. As the films began to emphasize the comedic, wise-cracking aspect of the character, he began to don various costumes and take on other forms, such as dressing as a waiter or wearing a superhero-inspired version of his sweater with a cape ("The Dream Child"), appearing as a video game sprite ("Freddy's Dead"), a giant snake-like creature ("Dream Warriors"), and a hookah-smoking caterpillar ("Freddy vs. Jason").
In "New Nightmare", Freddy's appearance is updated considerably, giving him a green fedora that matches his sweater stripes, skin-tight leather pants, knee-high black boots, a turtleneck version of his trademark sweater, a blue-black trench coat, and a fifth claw on his glove, which also has a far more organic appearance, resembling the exposed muscle tissue of an actual hand. Freddy also has fewer burns on his face, though these are more severe, with his muscle tissue exposed in numerous places. Compared to his other incarnations, these Freddy's injuries are more like those of an actual burn victim. For the 2010 remake, Freddy is returned to his iconic attire, but the burns on his face are intensified with further bleaching of the skin and exposed facial tissue on the left cheek, more reminiscent of actual third-degree burns than in the original series.
Bladed glove.
Wes Craven stated that part of the inspiration for Freddy's infamous bladed glove was from his cat, as he watched it claw the side of his couch one night.
In an interview he said, "Part of it was an objective goal to make the character memorable, since it seems that every character that has been successful has had some kind of unique weapon, whether it be a chain saw or a machete, etc. I was also looking for a primal fear which is embedded in the subconscious of people of all cultures. One of those is the fear of teeth being broken, which I used in my first film. Another is the claw of an animal, like a saber-toothed tiger reaching with its tremendous hooks. I transposed this into a human hand. The original script had the blades being fishing knives."
When Jim Doyle, the creator of Freddy's claw, asked Craven what he wanted, Craven responded, "It's kind of like really long fingernails, I want the glove to look like something that someone could make who has the skills of a boilermaker." Doyle explained, "Then we hunted around for knives. We picked out this bizarre-looking steak knife, we thought that this looked really cool, we thought it would look even cooler if we turned it over and used it upside down. We had to remove the back edge and put another edge on it, because we were actually using the knife upside down." Later Doyle had three duplicates of the glove made, two of which were used as stunt gloves in long shots.
For "New Nightmare", Lou Carlucci, the effects coordinator, remodeled Freddy's glove for a more "organic look". He says, "I did the original glove on the first "Nightmare" and we deliberately made that rough and primitive looking, like something that would be constructed in somebody's home workshop. Since this is supposed to be a new look for Freddy, Craven and everybody involved decided that the glove should be different. This hand has more muscle and bone texture to it, the blades are shinier and in one case, are retractable. Everything about this glove has a much cleaner look to it, it's more a natural part of his hand than a glove." The new glove has five claws.
In the 2010 remake, the glove is redesigned as a metal gauntlet with four finger bars, but it is patterned after its original design. Owing to this iteration of the character's origin as a groundskeeper, from the outset it was a gardener's glove modified as an instrument of torture, and in film its blades was based on a garden fork.
Freddy's glove appeared in the 1987 horror-comedy "Evil Dead II" above the door on the inside of a toolshed. This was Sam Raimi's response to Wes Craven showing footage of "The Evil Dead" in "A Nightmare on Elm Street", which was a response to Raimi putting a poster of Craven's 1977 film "The Hills Have Eyes" in "The Evil Dead". This, in turn, was a response to a ripped-up "Jaws" poster in "The Hills Have Eyes". The glove also appears in the 1998 horror-comedy "Bride of Chucky" in an evidence locker room that also contains the remains of the film's villain Chucky, the chainsaw of Leatherface from "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre", and the masks of Michael Myers from "Halloween" and Jason Voorhees from "Friday the 13th".
At the end of the film "", the mask of the title character, Jason Voorhees, played by Kane Hodder, is dragged under the earth by Freddy's gloved hand. Freddy's gloved hand, in the ending, was played by Hodder.
In popular culture.
Amusement parks.
At Six Flags St. Louis' Fright Fest event (then known as Fright Nights), Krueger was the main character for the event's first year in 1988. He reappeared in his own haunted house, Freddy's Nightmare: The Haunted House on Elm Street, for the following two years. Freddy Krueger appeared alongside Jason Voorhees and Leatherface as minor icons during Halloween Horror Nights 17 and again with Jason during Halloween Horror Nights 25 at Universal Orlando Resort and Universal Studios Hollywood. In 2016, Freddy Krueger returned to Halloween Horror Nights, along with Jason, in Hollywood.
Miscellaneous.
Freddy Krueger made different appearances in "Robot Chicken" voiced by Seth Green. In the episode "That Hurts Me", Freddy appears as a housemate of "Horror Movie Big Brother", alongside other famous slasher movie killers such as Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, Leatherface, Pinhead and Ghostface. In the Simpsons episode "Treehouse of Horror VI" segment "A Nightmare on Evergreen Terrace", Groundskeeper Willie played the Freddy Krueger role, with his backstory being toned down to him accidentally setting himself on fire thanks to Homer turning up the boiler and burning to death due to the parents ignoring his pleas for help, deciding to avenge himself by targeting their kids for their callously letting him burn to death. Krueger ultimately was stopped by Maggie plugging his bagpipe spider form, causing him to uncontrollably inflate and detonate within the dream world, though it is implied in the ending this resulted in him being restored to life in reality, albeit significantly less threatening.
In 1992, Freddy Krueger made an unlicensed appearance in appearance in a Belarusian children's film titled ""Кешка и Фреди", or "Keshka i Fredi"", directed by Boris Berzner. The film focused on the Belarusian youth, Keshka, who is described as being a "...Tom Sawyer successor", and a "...a pioneer at heart...", who decides to skip out on his school's English lessons to attend a showing of "" at a cultural center. Falling asleep in the middle of watching the movie, Keshka wakes up in the cultural center alone, being haunted by strange images and sounds from all over. Wandering around the cultural center, Keshka arrives in the basement of the cultural center, where he meets Freddy Krueger when he cuts his way through a film poster to approach the boy. Asking him if he speaks English, Keshka can not answer Freddy correctly, onto which Freddy replies that he will "teach him English", before chasing the boy throughout the cultural center, threatening to kill him. Eventually backed into a corner by Freddy, Keshka recites the "законы пионеров советского союза" or the "Laws of the Pioneers of the Soviet Union", like a psalm, while performing a pioneer salute in lieu of a cross. De-powered,
Krueger falls limp, as Keshka takes a pair of pliers and snaps off each of his glove's blades, before filing each one down to a fine stump. Waking up shortly after, Keshka meets up with his friends, holding Krueger's hat in his hands, as he decides to devote more time to his studies in English.
Freddy's first video game appearance was in the 1989 Commodore 64 game "A Nightmare on Elm Street", published by Monarch and developed by Westwood Associates, which was followed by the 1990 NES game "A Nightmare on Elm Street", published by LJN Toys and developed by Rare. Freddy Krueger appeared as a downloadable playable character for "Mortal Kombat" (2011), with Robert Englund reprising his role. He has become the second non-"Mortal Kombat" character to appear in the game. The game depicts Krueger as a malevolent spirit inhabiting the Dream Realm who attacks Shao Kahn for "stealing" the souls of his potential victims. During the fight, he is pulled into the game's fictional depiction of the real world. The injured Krueger arms himself with two razor claws to continue to battle Kahn. Upon defeating him, Krueger is sent back to the Dream Realm by Nightwolf, where he continues to haunt the dreams of his human prey. In an interview with PlayStation.Blog, "Mortal Kombat" co-creator Ed Boon cited the character's violent nature and iconic status as reasoning for the inclusion in the game, "Over the years, we've certainly had a number of conversations about guest characters. At one point, we had a conversation about having a group—imagine Freddy, Jason, Michael Myers, Leatherface from "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre". We never got a grip on how we would do it, whether they'd be DLC characters or what. We also wanted to introduce a character who was unexpected. This DLC thing opens the doors to realising these ideas." Krueger went on to become playable in the mobile edition of the game's sequel, "Mortal Kombat X", alongside Jason from "Friday the 13th".
In October 2017, the Jackie Earle Haley incarnation of Krueger was released as a downloadable playable character in the seventh chapter of the asymmetric survival horror game "Dead by Daylight", alongside Quentin Smith. The events of the chapter are set immediately following Nancy Holbrook's escape from Krueger, after which he targets Quentin Smith as revenge for aiding her. Invading Smith's dreams, he forces him to go to the Badham Preschool, where the two are unwittingly taken to the universe of "Dead by Daylight" by an unseen force.
The character returned to television in an episode of "The Goldbergs" titled "Mister Knifey-Hands" with Englund reprising his role in a cameo. Freddy Krueger appears as an OASIS avatar in "Ready Player One". He is among the avatars seen on the PVP location Planet Doom where he is shot by Aech.
The frog species "Lepidobatrachus laevis" had been given multiple nicknames, one of which is the "Freddy Krueger frog" for its aggressive nature.
In 2023, "Firkantus freddykruegeri", a prehistoric ichneumonid parasitoid wasp, was named after Freddy. The name emphasizes the similar features of the insect and the fictional character—long claws and arolium.
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Captain America
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Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in "Captain America Comics" #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely Comics, a corporate predecessor to Marvel. Captain America's civilian identity is Steven "Steve" Rogers, a frail man enhanced to the peak of human physical perfection by an experimental "super-soldier serum" after joining the United States Army to aid the country's efforts in World War II. Equipped with an American flag–inspired costume and a virtually indestructible shield, Captain America and his sidekick Bucky Barnes clashed frequently with the villainous Red Skull and other members of the Axis powers. In the final days of the war, an accident left Captain America frozen in a state of suspended animation until he was revived in modern times. He resumes his exploits as a costumed hero and becomes leader of the superhero team the Avengers, but frequently struggles as a "man out of time" to adjust to the new era.
The character quickly emerged as Timely's most popular and commercially successful wartime creation upon his original publication, though the popularity of superheroes declined in the post-war period and "Captain America Comics" was discontinued in 1950. The character saw a short-lived revival in 1953 before returning to comics in 1964, and has since remained in continuous publication. Captain America's creation as an explicitly anti-Nazi figure was a deliberately political undertaking: Simon and Kirby were stridently opposed to the actions of Nazi Germany and supporters of U.S. intervention in World War II, with Simon conceiving of the character specifically in response to the American non-interventionism movement. Political messages have subsequently remained a defining feature of Captain America stories, with writers regularly using the character to comment on the state of American society and government.
Having appeared in more than ten thousand stories in more than five thousand media formats, Captain America is one of the most popular and recognized Marvel Comics characters, and has been described as an icon of American popular culture. Though Captain America was not the first United States–themed superhero, he would become the most popular and enduring of the many patriotic American superheroes created during World War II. Captain America was the first Marvel character to appear in a medium outside of comic books, in the 1944 serial film "Captain America"; the character has subsequently appeared in a variety of films and other media, including the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where he was portrayed by actor Chris Evans from the character's first appearance in ' (2011) to his final appearance in ' (2019).
Publication history.
Creation and development.
In 1940, Timely Comics publisher Martin Goodman responded to the growing popularity of superhero comics – particularly Superman at rival publisher National Comics Publications, the corporate predecessor to DC Comics – by hiring freelancer Joe Simon to create a new superhero for the company. Simon began to develop the character by determining who their nemesis could be, noting that the most successful superheroes were defined by their relationship with a compelling villain, and eventually settled on Adolf Hitler. He rationalized that Hitler was the "best villain of them all" as he was "hated by everyone in the free world", and that it would be a unique approach for a superhero to face a real-life adversary rather than a fictional one.
This approach was also intentionally political. Simon was stridently opposed to the actions of Nazi Germany and supported U.S. intervention in World War II, and intended the hero to be a response to the American non-interventionism movement. Simon initially considered "Super American" for the hero's name, but felt there were already multiple comic book characters with "super" in their names. He worked out the details of the character, who was eventually named "Captain America", after he completed sketches in consultation with Goodman. The hero's civilian name "Steve Rogers" was derived from the telegraphy term "roger", meaning "message received".
Goodman elected to launch Captain America with his own self-titled comic book, making him the first Timely character to debut with his own ongoing series without having first appeared in an anthology. Simon sought to have Jack Kirby be the primary artist on the series: the two developed a working relationship and friendship in the late 1930s after working together at Fox Feature Syndicate, and had previously developed characters for Timely together. Kirby also shared Simon's pro-intervention views, and was particularly drawn to the character in this regard. Goodman, conversely, wanted a team of artists on the series. It was ultimately determined that Kirby would serve as penciller, with Al Avison and Al Gabriele assisting as inkers; Simon additionally negotiated for himself and Kirby to receive 25 percent of the profits from the comic. Simon regards Kirby as a co-creator of Captain America, stating that "if Kirby hadn't drawn it, it might not have been much of anything."
Debut and early success (early 1940s).
"Captain America Comics" #1 was published on December 20, 1940, with a cover date of March 1941. While the front cover of the issue featured Captain America punching Hitler, the comic itself established the Red Skull as Captain America's primary adversary, and also introduced Bucky Barnes as Captain America's teenaged sidekick. Simon stated that he personally regarded Captain America's origin story, in which the frail Steve Rogers becomes a supersoldier after receiving an experimental serum, as "the weakest part of the character", and that he and Kirby "didn't put too much thought into the origin. We just wanted to get to the action." Kirby designed the series' action scenes with an emphasis on a sense of continuity across panels, saying that he "choreographed" the sequences as one would a ballet, with a focus on exaggerated character movement. Kirby's layouts in "Captain America Comics" are characterized by their distorted perspectives, irregularly shaped panels, and the heavy use of speed lines.
The first issue of "Captain America Comics" sold out in a matter of days, and the second issue's print run was set at over one million copies. Captain America quickly became Timely's most popular character, with the publisher creating an official Captain America fan club called the "Sentinels of Liberty". Circulation figures remained close to a million copies per month after the debut issue, which outstripped even the circulation of news magazines such as "Time" during the same period. "Captain America Comics" was additionally one of 189 periodicals that the US Department of War deemed appropriate to distribute to its soldiers without prior screening. The character would also make appearances in several of Timely's other comic titles, including "All Winners Comics", "Marvel Mystery Comics", "U.S.A. Comics", and "All Select Comics".
Though Captain America was not the first United States-themed superhero – a distinction that belongs to The Shield at MLJ Comics – he would become the most popular patriotic American superhero of those created during World War II. Captain America's popularity drew a complaint from MLJ that the character's triangular heater shield too closely resembled the chest symbol of The Shield. This prompted Goodman to direct Simon and Kirby to change the design beginning with "Captain America Comics" #2. The revised round shield went on to become an iconic element of the character; its use as a discus-like throwing weapon originated in a short prose story in "Captain America Comics" #3, written by Stan Lee in his professional debut as a writer. Timely's publication of "Captain America Comics" led the company to be targeted with threatening letters and phone calls from the German American Bund, an American Nazi organization. When members began loitering on the streets outside the company's office, police protection was posted and New York mayor Fiorello La Guardia personally contacted Simon and Kirby to guarantee the safety of the publisher's employees.
Simon wrote the first two issues of "Captain America Comics" before becoming the editor for the series; they were the only Captain America stories he would ever directly write. While Captain America generated acclaim and industry fame for Simon and Kirby, the pair believed that Goodman was withholding the promised percentage of profits for the series, prompting Simon to seek employment for himself and Kirby at National Comics Publications. When Goodman learned of Simon and Kirby's intentions, he effectively fired them from Timely Comics, telling them they were to leave the company after they completed work on "Captain America Comics" #10. The authorship of "Captain America Comics" was subsequently assumed by a variety of individuals, including Otto Binder, Bill Finger, and Manly Wade Wellman as writers, and Al Avison, Vince Alascia, and Syd Shores as pencilers.
Decline in popularity (mid-1940s and 1950s).
Superhero comics began to decline in popularity in the post-war period. This prompted a variety of attempts to reposition Captain America, including having the character fight gangsters rather than wartime enemies in "Captain America Comics" #42 (October 1944), appearing as a high school teacher in "Captain America Comics" #59 (August 1946), and joining Timely's first superhero team, the All-Winners Squad, in "All Winners Comics" #19 (Fall 1946). The series nevertheless continued to face dwindling sales, and "Captain America Comics" ended with its 75th issue in February 1950. Horror comics were ascendant as a popular comic genre during this period; in keeping with the trend, the final two issues of "Captain America Comics" were published under the title "Captain America's Weird Tales".
Timely's corporate successor Atlas Comics relaunched the character in 1953 in "Young Men" #24, where Captain America appears alongside the wartime heroes Human Torch and Toro, which was followed by a revival of "Captain America Comics" in 1954 written by Stan Lee and drawn by John Romita. In the spirit of the Cold War and McCarthyism, the character was billed as "Captain America, Commie Smasher" and faced enemies associated with the Soviet Union. The series was a commercial failure, and was cancelled after just three issues. Romita attributed the series' failure to the changing political climate, particularly the public opposition to the Korean War; the character subsequently fell out of active publication for nearly a decade, with Romita noting that "for a while, 'Captain America' was a dirty word".
Return to comics (1960s).
Captain America made his ostensible return in the anthology "Strange Tales" #114 (November 1963), published by Atlas' corporate successor Marvel Comics. In an 18-page story written by Lee and illustrated by Kirby, Captain America reemerges following years of apparent retirement, though he is revealed as an impostor who is defeated by Human Torch of the Fantastic Four. A caption in the final panel indicates that the story was a "test" to gauge interest in a potential return for Captain America; the reader response to the story was enthusiastic, and the character was formally reintroduced in "The Avengers" #4 (March 1964).
"The Avengers" #4 retroactively established that Captain America had fallen into the Atlantic Ocean in the final days of World War II, where he spent decades frozen in ice in a state of suspended animation before being found and recovered. Captain America solo stories written by Lee with Kirby as the primary penciller were published in the anthology "Tales of Suspense" alongside solo stories focused on fellow Avengers member Iron Man beginning in November 1964; the character also appeared in Lee and Kirby's World War II-set "Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos" beginning in December same year. These runs introduced and retroactively established several new companions of Captain America, including Nick Fury, Peggy Carter, and Sharon Carter.
In 1966, Joe Simon sued Marvel Comics, asserting that he was legally entitled to renew the copyright on the character upon the expiration of the original 28-year term. The two parties settled out of court, with Simon agreeing to a statement that the character had been created under terms of employment by the publisher, and was therefore work for hire owned by the company. Captain America's self-titled ongoing series was relaunched in April 1968, with Lee as writer and Kirby as penciller; Kirby later departed the series, and was replaced by Gene Colan. In 1969, writer and artist Jim Steranko authored a three-issue run of "Captain America". Despite the brevity of Steranko's time on the series, his contributions significantly influenced how Captain America was represented in post-war comics, reestablishing the character's secret identity and introducing a more experimental art style to the series.
Political shifts (1970s).
In contrast to the character's enthusiastic participation in World War II, comics featuring Captain America rarely broached the topic of the Vietnam War, though the subject of Captain America's potential participation was frequently debated by readers in the letters to the editor section in "Captain America". Marvel maintained a position of neutrality on Vietnam; in 1971, Stan Lee wrote in an editorial that a poll indicated that a majority of readers did not want Captain America to be involved in Vietnam, adding that he believed the character "simply doesn't lend himself to the John Wayne-type character he once was" and that he could not "see any of our characters taking on a role of super-patriotism in the world as it is today".
Captain America stories in the 1970s began to increasingly focus on domestic American political issues, such as poverty, racism, pollution, and political corruption. "Captain America" #117 (September 1969) introduced The Falcon as the first African-American superhero in mainstream comic books and who would become Captain America's partner; the series was cover titled as "Captain America and the Falcon" beginning February 1971, which it would maintain for the next seven and a half years. These political shifts were significantly shaped by comics created by writer Steve Englehart and artist Sal Buscema, who joined the series in 1972. In a 1974 storyline written by Englehart directly inspired by the Watergate scandal, Captain America is framed for murder by the fascistic Secret Empire, whose leader is ultimately revealed to be the president of the United States. The incident causes a disillusioned Steve Rogers to briefly drop the moniker of Captain America to become "Nomad, the man without a country", though he later vowed to "reclaim the ideals of America, which its leaders have trampled upon" and again assumed the role of Captain America. Englehart and Buscema's run was highly acclaimed, bringing "Captain America" from one of Marvel's lowest-selling titles to its top-selling comic, and the conflict between America as it idealizes itself to be and America in reality would recur frequently as a theme in "Captain America" comics in the subsequent decades.
In 1975, Roy Thomas created the comic book series "The Invaders". Set during World War II, the comic focuses on a superhero team composed of Timely's wartime-era superheroes, with Captain America as its leader; Thomas, a fan of stories from the Golden Age of Comic Books, drew inspiration for the series from Timely's All-Winners Squad. Jack Kirby wrote and illustrated run on "Captain America and the Falcon" from 1975 to 1977. This was followed by issues authored by a number of writers and artists, including Roy Thomas, Donald F. Glut, Roger McKenzie, and Sal Buscema; the series was also re-titled "Captain America" beginning with issue 223 in 1978.
Post-Vietnam and "Heroes Reborn" (1980s and 1990s).
Owing to the series' lack of a regular writer, "Captain America" editor Roger Stern and artist John Byrne authored the series from 1980 to 1981. Their run that saw a storyline in which Captain America declines an offer to run for president of the United States. Following Stern and Byrne, "Captain America" was authored by writer J.M. Dematteis and artist Mike Zeck from 1981 to 1984. Their run featured a year-long storyline in which Captain America faced a crisis of confidence in the face of what Dematteis described as "Reagan Cold War rhetoric". The story was originally planned culminate in "Captain America" #300 with Captain America renunciating violence to become a pacifist; when that ending was rejected by Marvel editor-in-chief Jim Shooter, Dematteis resigned from "Captain America" in protest.
Writer Mark Gruenwald, editor of "Captain America" from 1982 to 1985, served as writer on the series from 1985 to 1995. Various artists illustrated the series over the course of Gruenwald's decade-long run, including Paul Neary from 1985 to 1987, and Kieron Dwyer from 1988 to 1990. In contrast to DeMatteis, Gruenwald placed less emphasis on Steve Rogers' life as a civilian, wishing to show "that Steve Rogers is Captain America first [...] he has no greater needs than being Captain America." Among the most significant storylines appearing in Gruenwald's run was "" in 1987, in which Steve Rogers renounces the identity of Captain America to briefly become simply "The Captain" after the United States government orders him to continue his superheroic activities directly under their control.
After Gruenwald departed the series, writer Mark Waid and artist Ron Garney began to author "Captain America" in 1995. Despite early acclaim, including the reintroduction of Captain America's love interest Sharon Carter, their run was terminated after ten issues as a result of Marvel's "Heroes Reborn" rebranding in 1996. The rebrand saw artists Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld, who had left the company in the early 1990s to establish Image Comics, return to Marvel to re-imagine several of the company's characters. Marvel faced various financial difficulties in the 1990s, culminating in the company filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 1996, and "Heroes Reborn" was introduced as part of an effort to increase sales. As part of the rebrand, Liefeld illustrated and co-wrote with Jeph Loeb a run on "Captain America" that was ultimately cancelled after six issues. Marvel stated that the series was cancelled due to low sales, though Liefeld has contended that he was fired after he refused to take a lower pay rate amid Marvel's bankruptcy proceedings. Waid would return to "Captain America" in 1998, initially with Garney as arist and later with Andy Kubert.
In 1999, Joe Simon filed to claim the copyright to Captain America under a provision of the Copyright Act of 1976 that allows the original creators of works that have been sold to corporations to reclaim them after the original 56-year copyright term has expired. Marvel challenged the claim, arguing that Simon's 1966 settlement made the character ineligible for copyright transfer. Simon and Marvel settled out of court in 2003, in a deal that paid Simon royalties for merchandising and licensing of the character.
Modern era (2000s to present).
Writer and artist Dan Jurgens took over "Captain America" from Waid in 2000, positioning the character in a world he described as "more cynical [...] in terms of how we view our government, our politicians and people's motives in general". In the wake of the September 11 attacks, a new "Captain America" series written by John Ney Rieber with artwork by John Cassaday was published under the Marvel Knights imprint from 2002 to 2003. The series received criticism for its depiction of Captain America fighting terrorists modelled after Al-Qaeda, though Cassady contended that the aim of the series was to depict "the emotions this hero was going through" in the wake of 9/11, and the "guilt and anger a man in his position would feel".
In 2005, Marvel relaunched "Captain America" in a new volume written by Ed Brubaker and illustrated by Steve Epting. The run saw the publication of "The Winter Soldier", which reintroduced Captain America's previously deceased partner Bucky Barnes as a brainwashed cybernetic assassin. Contemporaneously, Captain America was a central character in the 2006 crossover storyline "Civil War", written by Mark Millar and penciled by Steve McNiven, which saw the character come into conflict with fellow Avengers member Iron Man over government efforts to regulate superheroes. The character was killed in the 2007 storyline "The Death of Captain America" written by Brubaker, which was accompanied by the miniseries ' written by Jeph Loeb; the character was later revived in the 2009 limited series '. Brubaker's run on "Captain America", which ran across various titles until 2012, was critically and commercially acclaimed; "Captain America" #25 (which contains the character's death) was the best-selling comic of 2007, and Brubaker won the Harvey Award for Best Writer for the series in 2006.
After Brubaker's run on "Captain America" ended in 2012, a new volume of the series written by Rick Remender was published as part of the Marvel Now rebranding initiative, which saw Sam Wilson assume the mantle of Captain America in 2014. This was followed by a run written by Nick Spencer beginning in 2016, in which Captain America was replaced by a version of himself later known as "Hydra Supreme", loyal to the villainous organization Hydra, culminating in the 2017 crossover event "Secret Empire". As part of Marvel's Fresh Start rebrand in 2018, a new "Captain America" series written by Ta-Nehisi Coates with art by Leinil Francis Yu was published from 2018 to 2021. A new volume of "Captain America" written by J. Michael Straczynski began publication in September 2023.
Characterization.
Fictional character biography.
, Captain America has appeared in more than ten thousand stories in more than five thousand media formats, including comic books, books, and trade publications. The character's origin story has been retold and revised multiple times throughout his editorial history, though its broad details have remained generally consistent. Steven "Steve" Rogers was born in the 1920s to an impoverished family on the Lower East Side of New York City. The frail and infirm Rogers attempts to join the U.S. Army in order to fight in the Second World War, but is rejected after being deemed unfit for military service. His resolve is nevertheless noticed by the military, and he is recruited as the first test subject for "Project Rebirth", a secret government program that seeks to create super soldiers through the development of the "Super-Soldier Serum". Though the serum successfully enhances Rogers to the peak to human physical perfection, a Nazi spy posing as a military observer destroys the remaining supply of the serum and assassinates its inventor, foiling plans to produce additional super soldiers. Rogers is given a patriotic uniform and shield by the American government and becomes the costumed superhero Captain America. He goes on to fight the villainous Red Skull and other members of the Axis powers both domestically and abroad, alongside his sidekick Bucky Barnes and as a member of the Invaders. In the final days of the war, Rogers and Barnes seemingly perish after falling from an experimental drone plane into the northern Atlantic Ocean.
Rogers is found decades later by the superhero team the Avengers, the Super-Soldier Serum having allowed him to survive frozen in a block of ice in a state of suspended animation. Reawakened in modern times, Rogers resumes activities as a costumed hero, joining and later becoming leader of the Avengers. Many of his exploits involve missions undertaken for the Avengers or for S.H.I.E.L.D., an espionage and international law enforcement agency operated by his former war comrade Nick Fury. Through Fury, Rogers befriends Sharon Carter, a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent with whom he eventually begins a partnership and an on-again off-again romance. He meets and trains Sam Wilson, who becomes the superhero Falcon, and they establish an enduring friendship and partnership. After a conspiracy hatched by the Secret Empire to discredit Rogers is revealed to have been personally orchestrated by the President of the United States, a disillusioned Rogers abandons the mantle of Captain America and assumes the title of "Nomad", the "man without a country". He eventually re-assumes the title, and later declines an offer from the "New Populist Party" to run for president himself. He again abandons the mantle of Captain America to briefly assume the alias of "" when a government commission orders him to work directly for the U.S. government.
In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, Rogers reveals his secret identity to the world. Following the disbandment of the Avengers, he discovers that Bucky is still alive, having been brainwashed by the Soviets to become the Winter Soldier. Later, in reaction to government efforts to regulate superheroes, Rogers becomes the leader of an underground anti-registration movement that clashes with a pro-registration faction led by fellow Avengers member Iron Man. After significant rancor, he voluntarily surrenders and submits to arrest. At his trial, he is shot and killed by Sharon Carter, whose actions are manipulated by the villainous Dr. Faustus; in his absence, a recovered Bucky assumes the title of Captain America. It is eventually revealed that , but became displaced in space and time; he is ultimately able to return to the present. He resumes his exploits as a superhero, though his public identity is briefly supplanted by a sleeper agent from the terrorist organization Hydra.
Personality and motivations.
Steve Rogers' personality has shifted across his editorial history, a fact that media scholar J. Richard Stevens sees as a natural consequence of the character being written and re-interpreted by many writers over the span of multiple decades. However, Stevens identifies two aspects of the character's personality that have remained consistent across expressions: his "uncompromising purity" and "his ability to judge the character in others". Early Captain America stories typically paid little attention to Rogers' civilian identity; in his 1970 book "The Steranko History of Comics", Jim Steranko notes that the character was often criticized for being two-dimensional as a result. He argues that this was an intentional device, writing that these critics "failed to grasp the true implication of his being. Steve Rogers never existed, except perhaps as an abstract device for the convenience of storytelling. Captain America was not an embodiment of human characteristics but a pure idea."
Following the character's return to comics in the 1960s, many stories gave increased focus to Rogers' civilian identity, particularly his struggles as a "man out of time" attempting to adjust to the modern era. Often, stories depict a brooding or melancholic Rogers as he faces both a physical struggle as Captain America, and an ideological struggle as Steve Rogers to reconcile his social values with modern times. The character is frequently conflicted by his World War II-era "good war" morality being challenged and made anachronistic by the compromising demands of the post-war era.
Prior to Bucky Barnes' return to comics in the 2000s, many Captain America stories centered on Rogers' sense of guilt over Barnes' death. Culture scholar Robert G. Weiner argues that these stories mirror the post-traumatic stress disorder and survivor guilt held by many war veterans, and that this trauma distinguishes the character from other well-known superheroes such as Batman and Spider-Man: while those characters became heroes because of a traumatic incident, Rogers carries on as a hero in spite of a traumatic incident, with Weiner asserting that this reinforces the nobility of the character.
Political themes.
Though Marvel has historically trended away from making overt partisan statements in the post-war period, writers have nevertheless used Captain America to comment on the state of American society and government at particular moments in history. For example, the conspiracy storyline of "Secret Empire" reflected what writer Steve Englehart saw as broad disillusionment with American institutions in the wake of the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal, the "Streets of Poison" storyline by Mark Gruenwald in the 1990s was intended to address anxieties around the drug trade and debates on the war on drugs, and "Civil War" by Mark Millar was widely interpreted as an allegory for the Patriot Act and post-9/11 debates on the balance between national security and civil liberties. While the ideological orientation of Captain America stories has shifted in response to changing social and political attitudes, Stevens notes how a central component of Captain America's mythology is that the character himself does not change: when the character's attitudes have shifted, it is consistently framed as an evolution or a new understanding of his previously held ideals. Stevens argues that the character's seeming paradoxical steadfastness is reflective of "the language of comics, where continuity is continually updated to fit the needs of the serialized present."
Despite his status as patriotic superhero, Captain America is rarely depicted as an overtly jingoistic figure. Stevens writes that the character's "patriotism is more focused on the universal rights of man as expressed through the American Dream" rather than "a position championing the specific cultural or political goals of the United States." Weiner similarly concurs that the character "embodies what America strives to be, not what it sometimes is". Dittmer agrees that while the character sees himself "as the living embodiment of the American Dream (rather than a tool of the state)", his status as a patriotic superhero nevertheless tethers him to American foreign policy and hegemony. He argues that Captain America tends to skew away from interventionist actions at moments where the United States is undertaking policies that its critics deem imperialist, specifically citing the character's non-participation in the Vietnam and Iraq wars, and argues that the character's inconsistent position on the use of deadly force across his editorial history "is perhaps a tacit acknowledgment of the violence, or the threat of violence, at the heart of American hegemony."
Powers, abilities, and equipment.
The Super-Soldier Serum has enhanced Captain America's strength, speed, agility, endurance, reflexes, reaction time, and natural self-healing ability to the peak of human physical perfection. His physical conditioning is superior to any Olympic athlete who ever competed. He is additionally an master tactician and field commander, and has achieved mastery in a variety of hand-to-hand combat styles, including boxing and judo. The precise parameters of Captain America's physical prowess vary across stories due to editorial dictates and artistic license taken by authors; Steve Englehart was given an editorial order to give the character superhuman strength in the 1970s, but the change did not remain permanent and was soon forgotten. Steve Rogers is also a skilled visual artist, having worked as a commercial illustrator prior to joining the military, and several storylines have depicted the character working as a freelance artist.
The basic design of Captain America's costume has remained largely consistent from its original incarnation in the 1940s. Designed by Joe Simon, the costume is based on the United States flag, with Simon likening the character's appearance to that of "a modern-day crusader": chain mail armor, and a helmet adorned with wings in reference to the Roman god Mercury. Steve Rogers has worn other costumes when he has adopted alternate superhero alter egos: as Nomad he wears a domino mask and a black and gold suit that is cut to expose his bare chest and stomach, and as The Captain he wears a modified version of the Captain America suit with a red, white, and black design.
Captain America's shield is the character's primary piece of equipment. It is a round shield with a design featuring a white star on a blue circle surrounded by red and white rings. First appearing in "Captain America Comics" #1 as a triangular heater shield, beginning in "Captain America Comics" #2 it was changed to its current circular design due to a complaint from MLJ Comics that the original design too closely resembled the chest symbol of their superhero The Shield. The shield is depicted as constructed from an alloy of vibranium and adamantium, two highly resilient fictional metals appearing in Marvel comic books. It is portrayed as both a virtually indestructible defensive object and a highly aerodynamic offensive weapon: when thrown, it is capable of ricocheting off multiple surfaces and returning to the original thrower.
Supporting cast.
Sidekicks and partners.
Captain America's first sidekick was Bucky Barnes, introduced in "Captain America Comics" #1 as the teenaged "mascot" of Steve Rogers' regiment. He is made Captain America's partner in that same issue after accidentally discovering the character's secret identity. Joe Simon described Bucky's creation as being largely motivated by a need to give Captain America "someone to talk to" and avoid the overuse of dialogue delivered through internal monologue, noting that "Bucky was brought in as a way of eliminating too many thought balloons." Bucky was retroactively established as having been killed in the same accident that left Captain America frozen in suspended animation; the character remained deceased for many decades, contrasting the typically ephemeral nature of comic book deaths, until he returned in 2005 as the Winter Soldier. Initially introduced as a brainwashed assassin and antagonist to Captain America, Bucky's memories and personality were later restored, and he was re-established as an ally to Steve Rogers. Rick Jones briefly assumed the role of Captain America's sidekick and the public identity of Bucky following Captain America's return to comics in the 1960s.
In 1969, Sam Wilson was introduced as the superhero Falcon and later became Captain America's sidekick, making the characters the first interracial superhero duo in American comic books. Possessing the power to communicate with birds, Wilson is initially depicted as a former social worker living in Harlem, though this identity is revealed to be the result of memories implanted by the Red Skull. He later receives a winged suit from the superhero Black Panther that enables him to fly. Other characters who have served as Rogers' sidekick include Golden Girl (Betsy Ross), Demolition Man (Dennis Dunphy), Jack Flag (Jack Harrison), and Free Spirit (Cathy Webster).
Enemies.
Over the course of several decades, writers and artists have established a rogues' gallery of supervillains to face Captain America. The character's primary archenemy is the Red Skull, introduced from the character's origins as an apprentice to Adolf Hitler. Just as Red Skull represents Nazism, many of Captain America's villains represent specific ideologies or political formations: for example, the Serpent Society represents labor unionism, and Flag-Smasher represents anti-nationalism. The political character of Captain America's enemies has shifted over time: the character fought enemies associated with communism during his brief revival in the 1950s before shifting back to Nazi antagonists in the mid-1960s, while comics since 9/11 have frequently depicted the character facing terrorist villains.
Romantic interests.
Steve Rogers' first love interest was Betsy Ross, introduced in his World War II-era comics as a member of the Women's Army Corps who later became the costumed superhero Golden Girl. Peggy Carter, an American member of the French Resistance, was retroactively established in comics published in the 1960s as another of Rogers' wartime lovers. When Rogers is revived in the post-war era, he begins a partnership and on-again off-again relationship with S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Sharon Carter; introduced as Peggy's younger sister, she was later retconned as Peggy's grandniece to reflect Marvel's floating timeline. In comics published in the 1980s, Rogers dated and became engaged to civilian Bernie Rosenthal, though they ended their relationship amicably after Bernie left New York to attend law school. In the 1990s, Rogers had a romantic entanglement with the alternately villainous and antiheroic Diamondback, a member of the Serpent Society.
Alternate versions of Captain America.
The title of "Captain America" has been used by other characters in the Marvel Universe in addition to Steve Rogers, including William Naslund, Jeffrey Mace, and William Burnside. John Walker, also known as U.S. Agent, was introduced as a villainous Captain America in 1988, and Isaiah Bradley was established in the 2003 limited series "" as an African American man who acquired superpowers after being used as a test subject for the Super-Soldier Serum. Rogers' sidekicks Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson have also alternately held the title of Captain America: Barnes in 2008 following Rogers' death in 2007, and Wilson following Marvel's 2012 rebranding campaign Marvel Now!. Within the multiverse of parallel universes that compose the Marvel Universe, there are many variations of Steve Rogers and Captain America; this includes Marvel's Ultimate Comics universe, which possesses its own version of Steve Rogers that is more overtly politically conservative.
Cultural influence and legacy.
Captain America is one of the most popular and widely recognized Marvel Comics characters, and has been described as an icon of American popular culture. He is the most well-known and enduring of the United States-themed superheroes to emerge from the Second World War and inspired a proliferation of patriotic-themed superheroes in American comic books during the 1940s. This included the American Crusader, the Spirit of '76, Yank & Doodle, Captain Flag, and Captain Courageous, among numerous others. Though none would achieve Captain America's commercial success, the volume of Captain America imitators was such that three months after the character's debut, Timely published a statement indicating that "there is only one Captain America" and warning that they would take legal action against publishers that infringed on the character. After being dismissed from Timely, Joe Simon and Jack Kirby would themselves create a new patriotic superhero, the Fighting American, for Prize Comics in 1954; the character became the subject of a lawsuit from Marvel in the 1990s after Rob Liefeld attempted to revive the character following his own departure from Marvel.
When the character was killed in 2007, he was eulogized in numerous mainstream media outlets, including "The New York Times" and "The Los Angeles Times", with the former describing him as a "national hero". In 2011, Captain America placed sixth on IGN's "Top 100 Comic Book Heroes of All Time", and second in their 2012 list of "The Top 50 Avengers". "Gizmodo" and "Entertainment Weekly" respectively ranked Captain America first and second in their 2015 rankings of Avengers characters. "Empire" ranked Captain America as the 21st greatest comic book character of all time.
In other media.
Captain America has appeared in a variety of adapted, spin-off, and licensed media, including films, cartoons, video games, toys, clothing, and books. The first appearance of Captain America in a medium outside of comic books was in the 1944 serial film "Captain America", which was also the first piece of non-comics media to feature a Marvel Comics character. The character later appeared in two made-for-TV films in 1979, "Captain America" and ', and a self-titled feature-length film in 1990. A trilogy of Captain America films starring Chris Evans as the title character were produced as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in the 2010s: ' (2011), ' (2014), and ' (2016). The character also appeared in the ensemble films "The Avengers" (2012), ' (2015), ' (2018), and "" (2019).
The first appearance of Captain America on television was in the 1966 Grantray-Lawrence Animation series "The Marvel Super Heroes". The character would make minor appearances in several Marvel animated series in the subsequent decades, including "Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends" (1981–1983), ' (1992–1997), and ' (1999–2000). Buoyed by increased popularity from the character's appearances in the MCU, Captain America began appearing in television series in more prominent roles beginning in the 2010s, such as "" (2010–2012). Captain America was the first Marvel character to be adapted into a novel with "Captain America: The Great Gold Steal" by Ted White, published in 1968.
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Son Goku
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Son Goku[nb 20] is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the Dragon Ball manga series created by Akira Toriyama. He is based on Sun Wukong (known as Son Gokū in Japan and the Monkey King in the West), a main character of the classic 16th-century Chinese novel Journey to the West, combined with influences from the Hong Kong action cinema of Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee. Goku made his debut in the first Dragon Ball chapter, Bulma and Son Goku,[nb 21][nb 22] originally published in Japan's Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine on December 3, 1984.[2]
Goku is introduced as an eccentric, monkey-tailed boy who practices martial arts and possesses superhuman strength. He meets Bulma and joins her on a journey to find the seven wish-granting Dragon Balls. Along the way, he finds new friends who follow him on his journey to become stronger. As Goku grows up, he becomes the Earth's mightiest warrior and battles a wide variety of villains with the help of his friends and family, while also gaining new allies in the process. Born under the name Kakarot,[nb 23][nb 24] as a member of the Saiyan race on Planet Vegeta, he is sent to Earth as an infant prior to his homeworld's destruction at the hands of Frieza. Upon his arrival on Earth, the infant is discovered by Son Gohan, who becomes the adoptive grandfather of the boy and gives him the name Goku. The boy is initially full of violence and aggression due to his Saiyan nature, until an accidental head injury turns him into a cheerful, carefree person. Grandpa Gohan's kindness and teachings help to further influence Goku, who later on names his first son Gohan in honor of him.
As the protagonist of Dragon Ball, Goku appears in most of the episodes, films, television specials and OVAs of the manga's anime adaptations (Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z) and sequels (Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball Super, Dragon Ball Daima), as well as many of the franchise's video games. Due to the series' international popularity, Goku became one of the most recognizable and iconic manga/anime characters worldwide. Outside the Dragon Ball franchise, Goku has made cameo appearances in Toriyama's self-parody series Neko Majin Z, has been the subject of other parodies, and has appeared in special events. Most Western audiences were introduced to the adult version of Goku featured in the Dragon Ball Z anime, which adapted the final 26 Dragon Ball manga volumes, as opposed to his initial appearance as a child due to the limited success of the first anime series overseas.[3]
Conception and creation
Goku, and Dragon Ball in general, evolved from one of Akira Toriyama's earlier one-shot series called Dragon Boy. In this story, the protagonist looks similar to Goku, but has a pair of wings.[4] The original inspiration were Hong Kong action cinema, including those by Bruce Lee such as Enter the Dragon (1973) and by Jackie Chan such as Drunken Master (1978);[5][6] Toriyama said he had a young Chan in mind for a live-action Goku, stating that "nobody could play Goku but him."[7] Goku uses a variety and hybrid of East Asian martial arts styles, including Karate and Wing Chun (Kung fu).[8][9]
Bulma and Goku were the first pair of characters which were introduced in the manga and Toriyama stated that he subsequently introduced other characters in pairs because "that way, I'm able to explain the characters and their relationship to each other through their interactions. In my case, I feel that it isn't good to insert too much narration. I suppose Goku and Bulma are representative of that." He further added that "as a child, Goku doesn't know anything [of the world], so without Bulma, he'd be a character who didn't say anything."[10] Toriyama mentioned Torishima wanted Goku to form a relationship with Bulma, but this was never applied to the series.[11] With the conclusion of the Cell arc, Gohan was intended to replace his father as the protagonist, but Toriyama later decided that Gohan was unsuitable for the role.[12] According to Toriyama, Goku is more of a selfish person than a hero as his main interest in the story is to fight strong opponents rather than protecting the innocent. As a result, Toriyama was angered when the anime adaptations of Dragon Ball started portraying Goku as more heroic than his manga counterpart.[13] Toei kept portraying Goku as a more heroic figure, especially in the anime sequel Dragon Ball GT where he often rescues his granddaughter Pan as producer Kōzō Morishita was influenced by the 1997 film Titanic.[14]
Design
The character Goku is based on Sun Wukong (Son Goku in Japanese),[nb 25] the central character of the Chinese novel Journey to the West.[15] To be creative with the idea of Sun Wukong, Toriyama designed Goku as a human boy with a monkey's tail, rather than a complete simian, because the tail would give the character a distinguishing feature.[12] He later stated that the tail was a pain to draw, hence why he had it get cut off early on.[16] Toriyama did not initially plan to make Goku an alien, it was not until the introduction of fighters from other planets that he established him as a Saiyan[nb 26][nb 27].[17] Goku was given the ability to teleport to any planet in seconds, so that Toriyama could increase the pace of the story.[18]
Wanting the series to have a Chinese appearance, Toriyama used the color of the robes worn by Buddhist monks for Goku's dōgi.[19] During the early chapters of the manga, Toriyama's editor Kazuhiko Torishima commented that Goku looked rather plain. Toriyama had given him simple clothes on purpose because it was a fighting manga, so to combat this he added several characters like Master Roshi and Krillin, and created the Tenkaichi Budōkai[nb 28][nb 29] to focus the storyline on fighting. To defy the assumption that Goku would win the tournaments, Toriyama made him lose the first and second but win the third.[12]
Toriyama's editor was initially against having Goku grow up, saying it was uncommon to have the protagonist drastically change in manga, however, he gave in when Toriyama threatened that he would not be able to continue the series if the character did not.[20] Toriyama later stated he had him grow up as a means to make drawing the fight scenes easier.[21]
When Toriyama thought up the Super Saiyan[nb 30] concept during the Frieza arc, he felt the only way to show Goku's massive power-up was to have him transform. Initially he was concerned that the facial expression looked like that of a villain, but felt it was acceptable since the transformation was brought about by anger.[22] The Super Saiyan form spared the trouble of coloring Goku's hair all the time for the standard black-and-white manga pages.[23] This was the reason for the Super Saiyan form having blonde hair, because it was easier to draw for Toriyama's assistant who spent a lot of time blacking in Goku's hair. Goku's piercing eyes in Super Saiyan form were inspired by Bruce Lee's paralyzing glare.[24] For the Dragon Ball Z anime adaptation, character designer Tadayoshi Yamamuro used Lee as a reference, stating that, when he "first becomes a Super Saiyan, his slanting pose with that scowling look in his eyes is all Bruce Lee."[25]
Dragon Ball GT chief character designer Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru said he agonized over designing Goku's Super Saiyan 4 appearance, which was the idea of the show's producers, questioning whether it was necessary to go further with the transformations. Because Super Saiyan 4 is brought about while in a Saiyan's Ōzaru[nb 31] form, he made the hair more "wild" and covered Goku's body in red fur. There was only a single final draft of the character, although Nakatsuru did consider making the hair blonde, he ended up choosing black as it provides more contrast with the red fur.[26]
During the plans of the final story arc of Dragon Ball Super, it was decided that Goku should have another transformation: The Ultra Instinct. The concept was that the Ultra Instinct would be completely different from Goku's previous Super Saiyan transformations.[27]
Voice actors
Masako Nozawa has been Goku's Japanese voice actress in every single piece of Dragon Ball media.
In the Japanese version of every Dragon Ball anime series and subsequent related media, Goku has been voiced by Masako Nozawa. Toriyama selected Nozawa upon hearing her audition sample, remarking that only Goku could sound like that.[28] Nozawa stated that she was ecstatic when she got the role because she had always wanted to be in one of Toriyama's works. She said she had to be mindful of the fact that Goku grew up in the mountains and did not know much of the world. Despite having to voice Goku, Gohan, Goten and Bardock, Nozawa says she is able to instantly get into the respective character upon seeing their image.[29]
Nozawa explained that she did not read the manga so that she would not know what was coming in the story until recording, making her reactions the same as Goku's.[30] Nozawa said that she liked young Goku with his tail because he was cute, and stated that the character was still the same even at the end of the series.[31]
In the numerous English versions, Goku has been played by different actors because different companies produced the dubs, by reason of changes of automated dialogue replacement companies and recording studios, or due to actors quitting:
In Harmony Gold's very brief dub of the original Dragon Ball series, along with the movies Curse of the Blood Rubies and Mystical Adventure, Goku[nb 32] was voiced by Barbara Goodson.[32]
In Funimation's initial dub of the anime, Goku was voiced by Saffron Henderson in the first 13 episodes of the original Dragon Ball series (produced in association with BLT Productions) and the movie Curse of the Blood Rubies,[33][32] and by Ian James Corlett and Peter Kelamis in the first 67 episodes of Dragon Ball Z (edited into 53 episodes, produced in association with Saban and Ocean Productions) and the movies Dead Zone, The World's Strongest, and The Tree of Might.[34][35][36]
In Funimation's in-house dub, Goku as an adult has been consistently voiced by Sean Schemmel throughout the entire Dragon Ball franchise,[37][38][36] while Kid Goku was voiced by Ceyli Delgadillo in the movies Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle and Mystical Adventure,[32] by Stephanie Nadolny in the original Dragon Ball series, Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball Daima, the movie The Path to Power, and various video games,[39][40][32] and by Colleen Clinkenbeard in Dragon Ball Z Kai, Dragon Ball Super, the movies Curse of the Blood Rubies, Broly, and Super Hero, and various video games.[32]
In AB Groupe's dub of the anime produced for Canadian and European broadcast (initially also in association with Ocean Productions and later with Blue Water Studios), Goku was voiced by Peter Kelamis again and later by Kirby Morrow in episodes 123-291 of Dragon Ball Z,[36] by Zoe Slusar as a child in both Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball GT,[32] by Jeffrey Watson as an older teen in Dragon Ball,[36] and by Jeremiah Yurk as an adult and Super Saiyan 4 in GT.[36]
In Bang Zoom's dub of the first 27 episodes of Dragon Ball Super produced for Toonami Asia's broadcast, Goku was voiced by Lex Lang as an adult and Philece Sampler as a child.[36][32]
Appearances
In Dragon Ball
The cover of Weekly Shōnen Jump No. 51, 1984 featuring Goku and Bulma in their first appearances
Goku first appears in Dragon Ball as a monkey-tailed child adopted by the hermit martial artist Gohan. Before the series' narrative begins, he accidentally and unknowingly kills Gohan when he temporarily transforms into the mighty Ōzaru after staring at a full moon. Goku loses the ability when his friends cut off his tail.[41]
Living alone with an item known as a Dragon Ball which he keeps as a memento of Gohan, Goku befriends a teenage girl named Bulma. He joins her to find the seven Dragon Balls, which, when gathered, summon the wish-granting dragon Shenron. They encounter the desert bandit Yamcha and two shapeshifters named Oolong and Puar, who join their quest. Goku is later trained by the martial artist Master Roshi, alongside a monk named Krillin, who later becomes his best friend. It is Roshi who gives Goku the magic cloud Kinto'un[nb 33][nb 34], as a reward for saving his pet sea turtle, which becomes Goku's primary source of flight travel across the world.
Goku's first shown martial arts attack as a child is Jan ken[nb 35], three physical blows modeled after the hand signs in rock-paper-scissors.[42] As a child, he wields the Nyoi-bō[nb 36][nb 37], a magic staff that extends and retracts on command, given to him by his grandfather.[43]
Goku's signature attack is the Kamehameha (named after King Kamehameha I of Hawai'i), which he learned from Roshi.[44] The Kamehameha is a concentration of energy, released as a concussive beam. Roshi spent about 50 years developing and perfecting the technique, but, as a child, Goku is able to understand and copy the technique immediately after only one demonstration. After training with the Earth's Guardian, Kami, Goku learns to fly by virtue of the technique Bukū-jutsu[nb 38] and uses the Nimbus cloud less frequently for flight travel.
While participating in the World Martial Arts Tournament that attracts the most powerful fighters in the world, Goku battles foes, later turned allies, such as Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu, as well as the Namekian Piccolo. After becoming the runner-up champion of the 21st and 22nd tournaments, Goku wins in the 23rd with Piccolo's defeat, and marries Chi-Chi soon after to fulfill a promise he made to her years ago despite not knowing what marriage was.
From left to right: Goku in his base, Super Saiyan, Super Saiyan 2, and Super Saiyan 3 forms
Five years later, Goku meets his evil older brother Raditz and learns about his heritage.[45][46] Goku comes from a race of nearly extinct extraterrestrials called Saiyans, himself having been sent from their home planet to prepare Earth for sale on the intergalactic market by destroying all its life (at least according to Raditz, who was absent at the time of his planet's destruction, when Goku was sent to Earth as an infant by Bardock and Gine to protect their son from Frieza).[47] While Grandpa Gohan was taking care of him, Goku accidentally fell into a deep ravine and suffered a severe head injury, which caused him to forget his mission and drastically altered his personality.[47]
After Raditz kidnaps Goku's son Gohan, he forms a truce with Piccolo in order to defeat Raditz. After sacrificing his life during the battle, Goku trains with King Kai in the Other World. He teaches Goku the Kaiō-ken[nb 39], which multiplies his energy and strength but with possible strain to the body.[48] It is from King Kai that Goku learns his most powerful attack: the Genki-Dama[nb 40][nb 41], an energy sphere created by gathering energy from surrounding animals, nature and humans.[49]
After being revived by the Dragon Balls, Goku faces off with the Saiyan prince Vegeta, who eventually becomes his greatest rival and another ally. On his journey to Planet Namek in order to aid his friends in gathering the Namekian Dragon Balls to revive those killed by the Saiyans, Goku fights the galactic tyrant Frieza, who destroyed the Saiyans' home planet and nearly the entire race. During his epic battle with Frieza, Goku becomes the first Saiyan in a thousand years to transform into a fabled Super Saiyan.[50]
After defeating Frieza and escaping the destruction of Namek, Goku learns a teleportation skill called Shunkan Idō[nb 42][nb 43], taught by the inhabitants of the planet Yardrat.[51] Goku contracts a heart virus whereof the time-traveler Trunks warns him, but recovers after taking medicine provided by Trunks. Goku trains Gohan to be his successor and sacrifices himself again during the battle against the evil bio-android Cell. Goku is temporarily resurrected on Earth seven years later and meets his second son Goten.[52]
Goku battles Vegeta again after Vegeta willingly falls under the control of the wizard Babidi in order to gain power. Shortly after, he is drawn into a battle for the universe against the monster Majin Buu. Despite having mastered two new Super Saiyan transformations, Goku prepares Goten and Trunks to take his place as Earth's defender. After his life is fully restored, Goku attempts to fuse with Gohan in order to defeat Buu, but this fails when the latter is temporarily absorbed by Buu and so he persuades the newly arrived Vegeta to fuse with him, creating Vegito.[nb 44][nb 45][52] Later when the Fusion technique is abandoned on both sides, Goku destroys Buu with a Spirit Bomb attack. Ten years later, during another World Martial Arts Tournament, Goku meets Uub, Buu's human reincarnation, and leaves with him, intending to train him as the new protector of Earth.[53]
In Dragon Ball Super
After defeating Majin Buu, Goku meets a new opponent known as Beerus, the God of Destruction in the film Battle of Gods. An alternative, more innately powerful form known as the Super Saiyan God[nb 46] is reached by Goku during this film. Though the temporary transformation wears off, Goku manages to harness its godly powers. In its sequel film Resurrection 'F', Goku manages to achieve a blue-haired evolution of Super Saiyan God under Whis's tutelage, known as the Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan[nb 47], or "Super Saiyan Blue" for short, which Goku uses to battle the newly revived Frieza.[54] These forms appear in Dragon Ball Super and its manga tie-in, which expand upon the stories from the two films.
Afterwards, Goku and his friends participate in a fighting tournament set between Beerus and his brother Champa, who is Universe 6's God of Destruction, facing the best warriors from Champa's universe. During this tournament, Goku reveals that he has learned to combine the perfect energy control of his Super Saiyan Blue form with his older technique, the Kaiō-ken. After meeting with the omnipotent being known as Grand Zeno, Goku encounters an evil alternate version of himself called "Goku Black", who is terrorizing Future Trunks' timeline. Black is eventually revealed to be a rogue Supreme Kai in training named Zamasu, who has stolen Goku's body from yet another alternate timeline and teamed up with the Zamasu of Future Trunks' timeline to fulfill their "Zero Mortals Plan". After Zamasu and Black become even more dangerous by undergoing Potara Fusion during the battle in Future Trunks' timeline, Goku ultimately summons the future version of Grand Zeno who erases Zamasu.
Goku causes the Zenos to decide to hold a multi-universal martial arts tournament with the losing universes wiped from existence; the Tournament of Power[nb 48].[55] Throughout the tournament, Goku faces multiple opponents but finds his toughest in Jiren. It is during his fights with Jiren that Goku acquires a temporary transformed state using a divine technique known as Migatte no Goku'i.[nb 49][nb 50] Ultimately, Goku and Frieza manage to work together to force Jiren out of bounds in a triple elimination, leaving Android 17 as the winner who uses his wish on the Super Dragon Balls to restore the erased universes.[56]
Goku's origin story from the Dragon Ball Minus manga chapter is retold in the film Dragon Ball Super: Broly. His birth parents are Bardock, a low-class Saiyan mercenary, and Gine, the owner of a butcher shop. Bardock has a strong suspicion that Frieza is up to something when he receives an order on his scouter for all Saiyans to return home, so he convinces Gine to send their infant son in a space pod to Earth. In the present, following the events of the Tournament of Power, Goku and Vegeta encounter another Saiyan survivor named Broly, whom Frieza has recruited to defeat them. When Broly proves to be too powerful for either of them to handle individually, Goku and Vegeta use the Metamoran Fusion Dance, which creates Gogeta.[nb 51] Gogeta almost defeats his opponent, but Broly's allies teleport him back to the barren planet he grew up on. Goku teleports to this planet as well to provide Broly and his two friends with survival supplies, hoping to be able to spar with Broly again someday.[57]
In the manga, directly after the final scene of Broly, Goku and Vegeta meet Galactic Patrol by Jaco and a mysteriously highly skilled agent named Merus in order to help stop an ancient warlock called Moro. With Moro headed to New Namek to use the Namekian Dragon Balls, the two Saiyans travel to the planet to stop him, where they are defeated by him using his magic to drain their life essences until near death. Once recovered, they attempt to go after Moro again, but he escapes from them, Merus and (the also conscripted) Majin Buu with the help of his accomplice Cranberry (who he kills) in order to wish upon the Dragon Balls to free all the Galactic Prison prisoners. After a few days, Goku hears from Merus that Moro has grown even stronger and is unstoppable. This leads to Goku asking Merus to help train him to master the Ultra Instinct technique so he can defeat Moro. Goku helps his friends take out Moro's forces before he comes face-to-face with Moro again. When Moro fuses with Seven-Three, he and his allies are soundly defeated and mortally wounded. Goku achieves the full power of "Ultra Instinct" once more, which he uses to debilitate Moro to near-death. Even after healing him with a Senzu bean, he is unfazed by his ensuing sneak attack, unsuccessfully attempting to convince him to reconsider his ways and go back to prison, and him using a stray severed arm with Merus's copied power to obtain Ultra Instinct for himself, Goku continuously outmatches Moro. Ultimately, with the help of his friends and family, along with key assistance from Buu/Grand Supreme Kai and Uub unknowingly contributing divine power, Goku manages to finish off Moro and save the Earth once more.[58] He, Vegeta, Buu and Jaco then reunite with a now-mortal Merus to be honoured as heroes by the Galactic Patrol.
Much later, Goku and Vegeta are contacted by a group of beings called the Heeters, on a seemingly imperative mission to defeat a surviving member of the now-extinct sharpshooting Cerealean race; Granolah. Blinded by his desire for revenge, Granolah confronts Goku and defeats him, as Goku's Ultra Instinct turns out to be taxing to his body and loses its accuracy as he keeps fighting. The fight is later revealed to be a ruse by the Heeters to eliminate Granolah and the Saiyans from the Heeters' plot to assassinate Frieza and achieve universal conquest. He is later rescued by the last Namekian on the planet Cereal, Monaito, who hides them in his home after a disastrous battle with the Heeter warrior Gas, who wishes absolute power using the planet's Dragon Balls. Monaito reveals the identity of his father, Bardock, and the story of his actions in keeping him and the young Granolah safe from the Heeters a long time ago. Moved by the story, Goku and Vegeta finally find resolve about the meaning of the Saiyan race's pride, and later confront Gas for a second round. Goku stalls him by teleporting across random locations within the cosmos via Shunkan Idō with Gas tailing him, in an effort to give Granolah time to regain his power. Remembering Whis' advice about finding one's true and personal Ultra Instinct, Goku later molds his own version of the technique, using his emotions as freely as he pleases.[59] Despite this, he and Vegeta are ultimately bested, even after Granolah inflicted his deadliest sniping shot towards the villain with Goku's assistance, but are saved by Frieza's unexpected arrival. Frieza kills Gas and Elec, the Heeter leader and mastermind of the coup, in swift succession, before unveiling a new transformation and demonstrating his new powers by knocking Goku and Vegeta out of their empowered forms in one quick strike. He spares the duo before making his leave.
In the film Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, Goku does not play the role of protagonist, as he and Vegeta train on Beerus' domain, accompanied by newcomer Broly,[60] and his companions from the previous film. He spars with Vegeta without any transformations or ki techniques except for flight. Back on Earth, Piccolo is forced to deal with the reinvigorated Red Ribbon Army with Gohan as his only best defense for Earth against the army's threat, as Bulma is unable to contact Goku and Vegeta because Beerus' ice cream container accidentally obstructed Whis' angelic staff. In the post-credits scene, tired and exhausted, Goku falls down from Vegeta's weak last punch, admitting defeat as his rival celebrates his triumph.
In other media
In the anime-only sequel series Dragon Ball GT, Goku is transformed back into a child by an accidental wish made by his old enemy Pilaf using the Black Star Dragon Balls while Pilaf was about to wish to take over the world.[61] Goku, Trunks and his own granddaughter Pan travel the universe to search for the Black Star Dragon Balls and return them to Earth to prevent its destruction. After acquiring the Super Saiyan 4 transformation, Goku battles the evil Tuffle Baby, Super Android 17, and the evil Shadow Dragons. His final challenge is against Omega Shenron, whom he destroys using the Spirit Bomb.[62] Goku leaves with the original form of Shenron, but not before saying his goodbyes to his friends on Earth. He appears 100 years later at the next World Martial Arts Tournament as an adult, where he watches a battle between Goku Jr., his descendant, and Vegeta Jr., Vegeta's descendant. An elderly Pan sees him, but he quickly departs.[63]
Goku has appeared in various other media including an unofficial Taiwanese live-action film[64] and an unofficial Korean live-action film.[65] He was portrayed by Justin Chatwin in the 2009 20th Century Fox feature Dragonball Evolution.[66] Goku has appeared in almost every Dragon Ball licensed video game, including crossover games such as Jump Super Stars, Jump Ultimate Stars and Battle Stadium D.O.N. In 1992, Goku was featured in the interactive game Dragon Ball Z: Get Together! Goku World,[67] in which Goku and his gang travel back in time to review events in the Dragon Ball timeline and interacts with his younger self. In December 2007, Goku made a guest appearance in avatar form in the MMORPG Second Life for a Jump Festa promotion titled Jumpland@Second Life.[68] Goku appears in the Dr. Slump and Arale-chan video game for the Nintendo DS.[69]
Goku has been the subject of, and is mentioned in, various songs. "Son Goku Song"[70] and "Gokū no Gokigen Jānī"[71] feature Goku as a child singing about himself. During his adult years, the song "Aitsu wa Son Gokū" by Hironobu Kageyama, where Kageyama praises everything about Goku,[72] and the duet "Ore-tachi no Energy"[73] feature words spoken by the character. For the release of the single of the Dragonball Evolution international theme song "Rule", Toriyama supplied CD artwork of singer Ayumi Hamasaki dressed as Goku.[74]
Goku has been used in Japanese public service announcements aimed at children. In June 1988, Goku and other Dragon Ball characters were featured in two PSA short films. The first, in which Goku is taught the importance of obeying traffic safety by others, is entitled Goku's Traffic Safety[nb 52].[75] The second is called Goku's Fire Fighting Regiment[nb 53], in which he teaches two children the importance of fire safety.[75]
Goku has made guest appearances in various Japanese television shows and manga. In 2005, Goku appeared in the Toriyama parody manga Neko Majin Z where he is the sensei of the main character Z.[76] On September 15, 2006, in celebration of the 30th anniversary of Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen-mae Hashutsujo, the special manga Super Kochikame[nb 54] was released. The chapter entitled This is the Police Station in front of Dragon Park on Planet Namek[nb 55] has Ryotsu Kankichi travel to planet Namek and try to issue Freeza a citation and scold both he and Goku for parking their ships illegally.[77]
Goku and other Dragon Ball characters joined the cast of One Piece in the 2006 crossover manga Cross Epoch.[78] He appears in a single panel of Toriyama's 2013 manga Jaco the Galactic Patrolman, which is set before the events of Dragon Ball.[79] The collected tankōbon volume of Jaco features the bonus story Dragon Ball Minus: The Departure of the Fated Child, depicting how and why Goku's parents sent him to Earth.[80][81]
Goku has been the subject of various parodies. In the episode "Career Day" of Takeshi's Castle, known in the United States as MXC, the hosts Beat Takeshi and Sonomanma Higashi dressed as popular anime characters, one as Goku as a child, the other as Doraemon.[82] Weekly Shōnen Jump's Gag Special 2005 issue, released on November 12, 2004, featured a Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo one-shot Dragon Ball parody manga, a retelling of the first fight between Goku and Vegeta.[83] In chapter #179 of the Yakitate!! Japan manga, Kawachi executes a Genki-Dama parody called a Shinrai-Dama[nb 56] on the character Katsuo.[84] In the manga and anime series Blood Lad, the character Staz performs the gestures for Goku's Kamehameha, having learned it from his favorite manga superhero, but it has no actual effect.[85]
Goku regularly appears on Fuji TV. In 2003, Goku appeared in the interactive feature Orb's Panic Adventure![nb 57], which was featured at the Fuji TV headquarters in the orb section. In this, Freeza attacks a visiting tourist, blasting the orb section free from the rest of the Fuji TV building. Goku fights Freeza over the real life aqua city of Odaiba.[86][87] In 2004, a sequel called Orb's Panic Adventure Returns![nb 58] was produced.[88] On March 25, 2006, Goku and Freeza appeared in an original animated short film in the IQ Mirror Mistake 7[nb 59] segment of the Japanese game show IQ Supplement[nb 60].[89]
On April 7, 2007, Goku and Fuji TV announcer Masaharu Miyake were commentators on the anime segment in the Japan Great Man Awards[nb 61] titled Who is the Strongest Hero?[nb 62]. The segment featured a special tournament to decide who was the greatest person in Japanese history. During the intermission, Goku promoted the coming release of R2 Dragon Ball DVDs.[90]
Since the U.S. debut of Dragon Ball Z in 1996, Goku has appeared in American pop culture. He was featured in an issue of Wizard magazine in which he and Superman fought a hypothetical battle and won.[91] In the Codename: Kids Next Door episode "Operation: R.E.P.O.R.T", Numbuh Four's version of the story is a parody of the Goku and Freeza's battle in Dragon Ball Z.[92] Goku appears in Robot Chicken in a sketch entitled A Very Dragon Ball Z Christmas, where Goku and Gohan fight an evil Mrs. Claus with Santa's reindeer, in an attempt to save Christmas.[93]
The Saturday Night Live sketch TV Funhouse titled Kobayashi depicts real-life hot-dog-eating champion Takeru Kobayashi as able to transform into a Super Saiyan as he prepares to eat hot dogs; Goku appears briefly near the end.[94] Goku is referenced in the songs "Goku" and "Anime" by Soulja Boy Tell 'Em, where he brags that he looks and feels like Goku.[95]
Goku appears in a parody of the film Moneyball on an episode of Mad entitled Money Ball Z, in which Billy Beane drafts Goku and a couple of other Dragon Ball characters into the Oakland A's.[96] In 2013, he and Superman fought in a "Death Battle" episode of the Rooster Teeth web series ScrewAttack and lost.[97] The episode "Goku vs. Superman" in the web series Epic Rap Battles of History[98] won a Streamy Award for Best Music Video.[99]
The use of the Kamehameha attack became an Internet meme which started with Japanese schoolgirls photographing themselves apparently using, and being affected by, this attack.[100][101] It has attracted considerable media attention in France,[102] Germany,[103] as well as in many Spanish-speaking countries in South America.[104][105][106]
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Bambi
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Bambi is a 1942 American animated drama film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. Loosely based on Felix Salten's 1923 novel "Bambi, a Life in the Woods", the production was supervised by David D. Hand, and was directed by a team of sequence directors, including James Algar, Bill Roberts, Norman Wright, Sam Armstrong, Paul Satterfield, and Graham Heid.
The main characters are Bambi, a white-tailed deer; his parents (the Great Prince of the forest and his unnamed mother); his friends Thumper (a pink-nosed rabbit); and Flower (a skunk); and his childhood friend and future mate, Faline. In the original book, Bambi was a roe deer, a species native to Europe; but Disney decided to base the character on a mule deer from Arrowhead, California. Illustrator Maurice "Jake" Day convinced Disney that the mule deer had large "mule-like" ears and were more common to western North America; but that the white-tail deer was more recognized throughout the United States.
The film received three Academy Award nominations: Best Sound (Sam Slyfield), Best Song (for "Love Is a Song" sung by Donald Novis) and Original Music Score.
In June 2008, the American Film Institute presented a list of its "10 Top 10"—the best ten films in each of ten classic American film genres—after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community. "Bambi" placed third in animation. In December 2011, the film was added to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically and aesthetically significant".
In January 2020, it was announced that a photorealistic computer-animated remake was in development.
Plot.
In a Maine forest, a doe gives birth to a male fawn named Bambi, who will one day take over the position of Great Prince of the Forest, who guards the woodland creatures and (unbeknownst to Bambi himself) is his father. Bambi grows up very attached to his mother, with whom he spends most of his time. The fawn is befriended by an eager, energetic male rabbit named Thumper, who helps to teach him to walk and speak, a young male skunk he mistakenly calls "Flower" (who is so flattered, he keeps the name) and a female fawn named Faline. Curious and inquisitive, Bambi frequently asks about the world around him and is cautioned about the dangers of life as a forest creature by his loving mother. One day out in a meadow, Bambi briefly sees the Great Prince but does not know that he is his father. As the Great Prince wanders uphill, he discovers the human hunter, named "Man" by all the animals, is coming and rushes down to the meadow to get everyone to safety. Bambi is briefly separated from his mother during that time but is escorted to her by the Great Prince as the three of them make it back in the forest just as Man fires his gun.
During Bambi's first winter, he and Thumper play in the snow while Flower hibernates. One day his mother takes him to find food when Man shows up again. As they run off, his mother is shot and killed by the hunter, leaving the little fawn mournful and alone. Taking pity on his abandoned son, the Great Prince leads Bambi home as he reveals to him that he is his father. Next year, Bambi has matured into a young stag, and his childhood friends have also entered young adulthood. They are warned about becoming "twitterpated" by Friend Owl and that they will eventually fall in love, but the trio views the concept of romance with scorn. Thumper and Flower soon encounter their beautiful romantic counterparts and abandon their former thoughts on love. Bambi himself encounters Faline as a beautiful doe. Their courtship is quickly interrupted by a belligerent older stag named Ronno, who attempts to force Faline away from Bambi. Bambi successfully manages to defeat Ronno in battle and earn the rights to the doe's affections.
Bambi is awakened afterward by the smell of smoke; he follows it and discovers it leads to a hunter camp. His father warns Bambi that Man has returned with more hunters. Bambi is separated from Faline in the turmoil, but finds her cornered by Man's vicious hunting dogs, which he manages to ward off. Bambi escapes them and is shot by Man, but survives. Meanwhile, at the "Man's" camp, their campfire suddenly spreads into the forest, resulting in a wildfire from which the forest residents flee in fear. Bambi, his father, Faline, and the forest animals manage to reach shelter on a riverbank. The following spring, Faline gives birth to twins under Bambi's watchful eye as the new Great Prince of the Forest.
Voice cast.
The voice cast was all uncredited, as was the practice at the time for many animated films.
Production.
Development.
In 1933, Sidney Franklin purchased the rights to Felix Salten's novel "Bambi, a Life in the Woods" (1923) to produce a live-action film for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, but soon realized that it would be too difficult to achieve. Joseph M. Schenck of United Artists suggested he make an animated version in alliance with Walt Disney, who was contemplating the idea of his first full-length feature at the time, with "Bambi" as one of the possible choices. Later that year, Franklin approached him with the idea, but Disney eventually refused, feeling that his animation studio was unprepared for the technical difficulties that "Bambi" would have presented. Franklin sold the film rights to Walt Disney in April 1937. Disney began work on crafting an animated adaptation immediately, intending it to be the company's second feature-length animated film and their first to be based on a specific, recent work. However, the original novel was written for an adult audience, and was considered too "grim" and "somber" for a regular light-hearted Disney film. The artists also discovered that it would be challenging to animate deer realistically. These difficulties resulted in Disney putting production on hold while the studio worked on several other projects, and eventually Pinocchio became the studio's second film. In 1938, Disney assigned Perce Pearce and Carl Fallberg to work on the film's storyboards, but attention was soon drawn away as the studio began working on "Fantasia". Finally, on August 17, 1939, production on "Bambi" began in earnest, but progressed slowly owing to changes in the studio personnel, location, and methodology of handling animation at the time.
Writing.
There were many interpretations of the story. As writer and animator Mel Shaw recalled:
Originally the film was intended to have six individual bunny characters, similar to the dwarfs in "Snow White". However Perce Pearce suggested that they could instead have five generic rabbits and one rabbit with a different color than the rest, with one tooth, would have a very distinct personality. This character later became known as Thumper.
There originally was a brief shot in the scene where Bambi's mother dies after jumping over a log and getting shot by a man. Larry Morey, however, felt the scene was too dramatic, and that it was emotional enough to justify having her death occur off screen. Walt Disney was also eager to show the man burned to death by his fire that he inadvertently started, but this was discarded when it was decided not to show the man at all. There was also a scene involving two autumn leaves conversing like an old married couple before parting ways and falling to the ground, but Disney found that talking flora did not work in the context of the film, and instead a visual metaphor of two realistic leaves falling to the ground was used instead. Disney and his story team also developed the characters consisting of a squirrel and a chipmunk that were to be a comic duo reminiscent of Laurel and Hardy. However, after years of experimentation, Walt felt that the story should focus on the three principal characters: Bambi, Thumper and Flower. The squirrel and chipmunk make only brief appearances in the final film.
The writing was completed in July 1940, by which time the film's budget had increased to $858,000.
Animation.
Although the animators had animated deer in "Snow White", they were animated, in the words of Eric Larson, "like big flour sacks". Disney wanted the animals in "Bambi" to be more realistic and expressive than those in "Snow White". He had Rico LeBrun, a painter of animals, come and lecture to the animators on the structure and movement of animals. The animators visited the Los Angeles Zoo and Disney set up a small zoo at the studio with animals such as rabbits, ducks, owls, and skunks, and a pair of fawns named Bambi and Faline so that the artists could see first-hand the movement of these animals. LeBrun's sketches depicted realistic animals, but as characters they lacked personality. Marc Davis created the final design of Bambi by incorporating LeBrun's realistic study of deer anatomy but exaggerating the character's face by making his proportions baby-like (short snout, big eyes, etc.). Although there were no humans in "Bambi", live-action footage of humans was used for one scene: actress Jane Randolph and Ice Capades star Donna Atwood acted as live-action references for the scene where Bambi and Thumper are on the icy pond. The animators learned a lot about animals during the film's production, giving them a broader spectrum of animation styles to use in future projects.
The backgrounds for the film were inspired by the Eastern American woodlands. One of the earliest and best-known artists for the Disney studio, Maurice "Jake" Day, spent several weeks in the Vermont and Maine forests, sketching and photographing deer, fawns, and the surrounding wilderness areas. However his first sketches were too "busy" as the eye did not know where to focus. Tyrus Wong, a Chinese animator, showed Day some of his impressionistic paintings of a forest. Day liked the paintings and appointed him art director of the film. Wong's backgrounds were revolutionary since they had more detail around the center and less around the edges, thus leading a viewer's eye to the characters.
Due to World War II, which began in Europe in 1939, "Pinocchio" and "Fantasia" failed at the box office. Facing financial difficulty, Disney was forced to cut 12 minutes from the film before final animation to save production costs.
Release.
Original theatrical run.
"Bambi" premiered in London on August 8, 1942, as the first Disney film to premiere abroad. It was released in theaters in United States five days later, on August 13. The film was released during World War II and did not perform as well as hoped. Roy O. Disney sent a telegram to his brother Walt after the New York opening of the film that read: "Fell short of our holdover figure by $4,000. Just came from Music Hall. Unable to make any deal to stay third week ... Night business is our problem." The film earned RKO theatrical rentals of $1,270,000 in the United States and Canada in its initial release.
Disney lacked access to much of the European market during the war, however, the film earned rentals of $1,685,000 internationally for an initial worldwide total of $2,955,000, Disney's third highest, behind "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1937) with $7.8 million and "Pinocchio" (1940) with $3.2 million.
Re-releases.
The film was re-released to theatres in the United States in 1947, 1957, 1966, 1975, 1982 and 1988. In its first reissue in the United States in 1947, the film earned additional domestic rentals of $900,000 but did much better 10 years later, more than doubling the domestic rental total with a further $2.5 million taking its total domestic rental earnings to $4.7 million.
The film earned $14 million in domestic rentals from its reissues in 1966 and 1975 giving it a total domestic rental of $18,735,000, which equates to a gross of around $40 million. In 1982, it grossed another $23 million in the United States and Canada and in 1988, a further $39 million, taking its total in the United States and Canada to $102 million, making it (at the time) the second highest-grossing animated movie of all-time after "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". With grosses from international reissues, the film has a worldwide gross of $267 million.
Home media.
Prior to "Bambi"s initial release on home video on September 28, 1989, initial orders placed in the United States and Canada up to the end of August totaled 9.8 million units, the second largest number of orders for a video at the time, behind "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial", with a wholesale value of $167 million. Even in home video, it has seen multiple releases, including three VHS releases — in 1989 (Classics Version), 1997 (Masterpiece Collection Version), and 2005 (Platinum Edition version), one Betamax release in 1989 (Classics version), two Laserdisc releases in 1989 (Classics version) and 1997 (Masterpiece Collection version). In 2005, a digitally remastered and restored Platinum Edition DVD was released; it went on moratorium on January 31, 2007.
"Bambi" was released as a Diamond Edition on March 1, 2011, consisting of a Blu-ray and DVD combo pack. This release included multiple bonus features not previously included in "Bambi" home releases: a documentary entitled "Inside Walt's Story Meetings – Enhanced Edition", two deleted scenes, a deleted song, an image gallery, and a game entitled "Disney's Big Book of Knowledge: Bambi Edition". This release also marked the first use of "Disney Second Screen", a feature which is accessed via a computer or iPad app download that syncs with the Blu-ray disc, allowing the viewer to follow along by interacting with animated flip-books, galleries and trivia while watching the movie. A UK version of Diamond Edition was released on February 7, 2011.
In honor of the film's 75th anniversary, "Bambi" was released as part of the Walt Disney Signature Collection on May 23, 2017 (digital) and June 6, 2017 (Blu-ray/DVD/digital combo pack).
On August 18, 2023, "Bambi" was re-released in cinemas across the UK only for one week as part of Disney's 100th anniversary.
Localization.
On the initiative of Stephen Greymoming, professor of Native American studies and anthropology at the University of Montana, an Arapaho-language dubbing of the movie was produced in 1994, in collaboration with the Northern Plains Educational Foundation. The final product was, however, only a partial dubbing, as the spoken parts were dubbed in Arapaho, but all the songs were left in English. The dubbed version of the movie premiered on November 3 the same year, and Disney later provided the Arapaho Nation with 2000 VHS tapes of the movie. The dubbing was never issued again in any other forms, until it was uploaded on the streaming platform Disney+ in October 2022. "Bambi" was the first of three Disney movies to receive a dubbing in a Native American language. The next such instance had to wait until 2016, when Pixar's "Finding Nemo" received a dubbing in Navajo, and then Disney's "Moana" in Hawaiian two years later. While the first was also made available on Disney+, the latter was only distributed for free in schools in Hawaii, and never received any home media release form.
Reception.
Critical response.
At the time of the film's release, "Bambi" received mixed reviews from the critics, mainly because of the lack of fantasy elements in the film and objection towards a dramatic story of animals and their struggle to survive in the woods and avoid the threat of humans. "The New York Times" claimed that "In the search for perfection, Mr. Disney has come perilously close to tossing away his whole world of cartoon fantasy." Manny Farber of "The New Republic" wrote that "Bambi is interesting because it's the first one that's been entirely unpleasant…Mickey wouldn't be caught dead in this."
Farber added that "In an attempt to ape the trumped-up realism of flesh and blood movies, he has given up fantasy, which was pretty much the magic element." Even Disney's daughter Diane complained, saying that Bambi's mother did not need to die. When Walt claimed that he was only following the book, Diane protested, saying that he had taken other liberties before and that Walt Disney could do whatever he wanted.
Today, however, "Bambi" is viewed much more favorably. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 91% based on 53 reviews with an average rating of . The website consensus reads: "Elegantly animated and deeply touching, "Bambi" is an enduring, endearing, and moving Disney classic." Critics Mick Martin and Marsha Porter call the film "the crowning achievement of Walt Disney's animation studio". English film historian Leslie Halliwell wrote that "Bambi" was "one of Disney's most memorable and brilliant achievements with a great comic character in Thumper and a climactic forest fire sequence that is genuinely thrilling." He concluded that it was "a triumph of the animator's arts".
Accolades.
In June 2008, the American Film Institute revealed its "10 Top 10" – the best ten films in ten classic American film genres – after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community. "Bambi" was acknowledged as the third best film in the animation genre. It is also listed in the Top 25 Horror Movies of All Time by "Time" magazine. "Bambi", "Time" states, "has a primal shock that still haunts oldsters who saw it 40, 50, 65 years ago."
American Film Institute
Legacy.
The off-screen villain "Man" has been placed No. 20 on AFI's List of Heroes and Villains.
Some critics have cited parallels between Frank Churchill's theme music for "Man" (which consisted of three simple notes) and John Williams's theme music in "Jaws" (which consists of two notes).
Paul McCartney has credited the shooting death of Bambi's mother for his initial interest in animal rights.
Soon after the film's release, Walt Disney allowed his characters to appear in fire prevention public service campaigns. However, Bambi was only loaned to the government for a year, so a new symbol was needed, leading to the creation of Smokey Bear. Bambi and his mother also make a cameo appearance in the satirical 1955 Donald Duck short "No Hunting": drinking from a forest stream, the deer are startled by a sudden trickle of beer cans and other debris, and Bambi's mother tells him, "Man is in the forest. Let's dig out."
In 2006, the Ad Council, in partnership with the United States Forest Service, started a series of Public Service Announcements that feature footage from "Bambi" and "Bambi II" for wildfire prevention. During the ads, as the "Bambi" footage is shown, the screen will momentarily fade into black with the text "Don't let our forests...become once upon a time", and usually (but not always) ending the ads with Bambi's line "Mother, what we gonna do today?" followed by Smokey Bear saying "Only you can prevent wildfires" as the Smokey logo is shown on the screen. Bambi had previously been the Forest Service's advertising icon beginning in 1942, but was only allowed by Disney to use the character for a year.
In December 2011, "Bambi" was among the films selected for preservation in the Library of Congress' National Film Registry. In its induction, the Registry said that the film was one of Walt Disney's favorites and that it has been "recognized for its eloquent message of nature conservation."
Characters of the film appear in several other Disney media, such as guest appearances in the animated television series "House of Mouse", Bambi being a character to summon in the video game "Kingdom Hearts" and its sequel "", and Bambi, Thumper, Flower, Faline and Great Prince of the Forest being playable characters in "Disney Magic Kingdoms".
On December 17, 2018, a prison sentence passed against a man, in what is considered the biggest deer poaching case in Missouri history, contained the stipulation that the prisoner must view the film at least once each month during his one-year prison sentence.
Media and merchandise.
Comic adaptation.
The "Silly Symphony" Sunday comic strip ran a three-month-long adaptation of "Bambi" from July 19 to October 4, 1942.
Sequel.
Set in the middle of "Bambi", "Bambi II" shows the Great Prince of the Forest struggling to raise the motherless Bambi, and Bambi's doubts about his father's love. The film was released direct-to-video on February 7, 2006. While the film was a direct-to-video release in the United States and other countries, including Canada, China, Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan, it was a theatrical release in some countries, including Australia, Austria, Brazil, Dominican Republic, France, Mexico, the United Kingdom and some other European countries.
CGI remake.
On January 28, 2020, it was announced that a photorealistic CGI feature-length remake is in development with a script co-written by Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Lindsey Beer. Paul Weitz, Chris Weitz, and Andrew Miano will produce the film; a joint-venture production between Walt Disney Pictures, Depth of Field Studios, and Known Universe Productions. Disney described the film as a "companion piece" to "The Jungle Book" (2016) and "The Lion King" (2019), as the three films feature wildlife that requires extensive CGI and special effects. On June 13, 2023, it was revealed that Sarah Polley is in talks to direct the film, which is said to be a musical that will feature music from six-time Grammy-winning country star Kacey Musgraves. Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster wrote the most recent draft of the script. As of March 2024, Polley was reportedly no longer attached as director.
Copyright.
The copyrights for "Bambi, a Life in the Woods" were inherited by Anna Wyler, Salten's daughter, who renewed them in 1954. After her death, Wyler's husband sold the rights to Twin Books, a publishing company which subsequently filed a lawsuit against Disney, claiming Disney owed it money for the continued licensing for the use of the book. Disney countered by claiming that Salten had published the story in 1923 without a copyright notice, thus it immediately entered into the public domain. Disney also argued that if the claimed 1923 publication date was accurate, then the copyright renewal filed in 1954 had been registered after the deadline and was thus invalid. The courts initially upheld Disney's view; however, in 1996, the Ninth Circuit Court reversed the decision on appeal in "Twin Books Corp. v. Walt Disney Co.", 83 F.3d 1162 (1996).
The American copyright of the novel expired on January 1, 2022.
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Ronald McDonald
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Ronald McDonald is a clown character used as the primary mascot of the McDonald's fast-food restaurant chain. He inhabits the fictional world of McDonaldland, with his friends Mayor McCheese, the Hamburglar, Grimace, Birdie the Early Bird and The Fry Kids.
Many people work full-time making appearances as Ronald, visiting children in hospitals and attending regular events. At its height, there may have been as many as 300 full-time clowns at McDonald's restaurants. There are also Ronald McDonald Houses, where parents can stay overnight with their sick children in nearby chronic care facilities.
History.
Washington, DC.
"Ronald McDonald, the Hamburger-Happy Clown" debuted in 1963 on three separate local television spots. The advertisements were created by the advertising agency of Oscar Goldstein, who doubled as a McDonald's franchisee in the Washington, D.C., area, and featured Willard Scott as Ronald. Scott had played Bozo the Clown on WRC-TV in Washington from 1959 to 1962 and was an employee of Goldstein at the time.
Scott, who went on to become NBC-TV's "Today Show" weatherman, recounted the creation of the character in his book "Joy of Living":
McDonald's does not specify a creator of the character in its official statement of the character's history:
On March 28, 2000, Henry Gonzalez, McDonald's Northeast Division President, thanked Scott for creating Ronald McDonald during a taped tribute to Scott on the "Today Show".
Nationwide rollout.
The character first appeared in national TV advertising in 1965, during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and followed with spots during the 1965 NFL Championship Game.
Circus performer Coco the Clown (real name Michael Polakovs) was hired in 1966 to revamp Ronald's image, creating the now familiar costume and make-up.
In 2010, the Corporate Accountability International in Boston, Massachusetts, suggested Ronald McDonald should retire due to childhood obesity. However, McDonald's CEO Jim Skinner said there are no plans to retire him.
In April 2011, McDonald's announced that Ronald McDonald will reappear in their commercials, but Ace Metrix stated Ronald McDonald ads are no longer effective. On May 18, 2011, Corporate Accountability International renewed their call to retire Ronald McDonald by running ads in major newspapers and launching several web pages dedicated to the retirement of the character. However, McDonald's CEO Jim Skinner defended Ronald McDonald by saying that he is an ambassador for good and "it's all about choice". Shortly after, McDonald's announced that Ronald McDonald was "here to stay".
In April 2014, McDonald's announced that Ronald McDonald would have a whole new look and new outfits. They also announced that he would be featured in their new commercials as well as on social media websites like Twitter. As part of Ronald's makeover, his jumpsuit has been dropped in favor of yellow cargo pants, a vest and a red-and-white striped rugby shirt; his classic clown shoes remain part of the official uniform.
Actors.
At any given time, there are dozens to hundreds of actors retained by McDonald's to appear as Ronald McDonald in restaurants and events. It is assumed, however, that the company uses only one actor at a time to play the character in national television commercials. Following is a list of primary American Ronald McDonald actors.
Various forms of the name "Ronald McDonald" as well as costume clown face persona, etc. are registered trademarks of McDonald's. McDonald's trains performers to portray Ronald using identical mannerisms and costume, to contribute to the illusion that they are one character. McDonald's marketing designers and stylists changed elements of the Ronald McDonald character, persona, style, costume and clown face when they adopted the clown as a trademark.
Joe Maggard claim.
An actor named Joe Maggard claimed to have performed as Ronald McDonald from 1995 to 2007, though these dates overlap with the portrayals by Jack Doepke and David Hussey. In a 2003 article by "The Baltimore Sun", a spokesperson for McDonald's said that Mr. Maggard was simply a stand-in for Ronald for one commercial shoot in the mid-1990s, and stated that "he is definitely not Ronald McDonald."
International localization.
In Thailand, Ronald McDonald greets people in the traditional Thai "wai" greeting gesture of both hands pressed together. The Thai version of the company mascot was created in 2002 by the local Thai franchise, McThai, as part of a "McThai in the Thai Spirit" campaign. The figure has also been exported to India and other countries where a similar gesture is used. In China, out of respect for Ronald McDonald as an adult, children refer to him as "Uncle McDonald" (). In Japan, Ronald McDonald is called due to a lack of a clear "r" sound in Japanese enunciation and to not cause confusion with the first English teacher in Japan, Ranald MacDonald.
Licensed works.
Books.
Charlton Comics obtained the license to publish four issues of a Ronald comic sold on newsstands in 1970–1971. Over the years, several giveaway comics have also been produced starring the character.
Ronald (with Grimace) appeared in the 1984 Little Golden Book "Ronald McDonald and the Tale of the Talking Plant", which was written by John Albano and illustrated by John Costanza.
In 1991, Ronald appears in the "Discover the Rainforest" activity book series consisting of "Paint It Wild: Paint & See Activity Book", "Sticker Safari: Sticker and Activity Book", "Wonders in the Wild: Activity Book", and "Ronald McDonald and the Jewel of the Amazon Kingdom: Storybook", which are written by Mike Roberts and Russell Mittermeier, Gad Meiron, and Randall Stone, and illustrated by Donna Reynolds and Tim Racer, in which he is seen here as a nature show host and tour guide.
Animation.
In 1987, Ronald McDonald (with Birdie, Hamburglar, Grimace and the Professor) appeared in an eight-minute animated short film titled "Ronald McDonald and the Adventure Machine", which was only shown during birthday parties at McDonald's restaurants.
In 1990, a 40-minute animated direct-to-video film titled "The Adventures of Ronald McDonald: McTreasure Island" and produced by DIC Entertainment was released on VHS by Hi-Tops Video.
From 1998 until 2003 a series of direct-to-video animated episodes titled "The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald" and produced by Klasky Csupo were released in participating McDonald's worldwide on VHS.
Video games.
Ronald McDonald is the protagonist of three video games: "Donald Land", developed by Data East for the Famicom console, released only in Japan in 1988; "McDonald's Treasure Land Adventure", developed by Treasure for the Mega Drive console and released in 1993; and "Ronald McDonald in Magical World", developed by SIMS for the Game Gear handheld, released only in Japan in 1994. Interestingly, when the cartridge is inserted into a Western Game Gear, the game will automatically play in English and Ronald's original English name is also retained.
He is also featured in two more video games: "M.C. Kids" for NES, Game Boy, C64, Amiga, Atari ST, and MS-DOS; and "Global Gladiators" for Genesis, Master System, Game Gear and Amiga.
Film.
Ronald McDonald appears for a few seconds in the 1988 film "Mac and Me" during a birthday scene set at a McDonald's. He is played by Squire Fridell, but is credited as "Ronald McDonald as himself". He won a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst New Star for his appearance in the film. The character also prominently appears in the theatrical trailer for the film.
Subversion.
Ronald McDonald's prominence has made him a symbol for McDonald's as well as Corporate America, capitalism and globalization. His costume and iconography are often appropriated by protestors and artists wishing to subvert the icon and communicate an anti-corporate message. For example, in 2000, protestors in Hong Kong dressed as Ronald McDonald to protest the labor policies of McDonald's in China.
In 2010, the Oscar-winning animated short "Logorama" prominently featured a depiction of Ronald McDonald as a criminal on the run from the police.
Criticism and 2016 appearances.
Critics claimed that a clown mascot targeting children for fast food is unethical. A group of 550 physicians and other health professionals took out newspaper ads in 2011, saying that Ronald McDonald should be retired.
Ronald McDonald made fewer appearances since 2016 due to the 2016 clown sightings. However, , he was still appearing at live events and on social media.
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170b666ecaa64c28b64a0c23545316f1
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Buffy Summers
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Buffy Anne Summers is the title character of the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" franchise. She first appeared in the 1992 film "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" before going on to appear in The WB/UPN 1997–2003 television series and subsequent 1998–2018 Dark Horse and 2019–present Boom! Studios comic series of the same name. The character has also appeared in the spin-off series "Angel", as well as numerous expanded universe materials such as novels and video games. Buffy was portrayed by Kristy Swanson in the film and by Sarah Michelle Gellar in the television series. Giselle Loren has lent her voice to the character in both the "Buffy" video games and an unproduced animated series, while Kelly Albanese lent her voice to the character in the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight" motion comics.
Buffy Summers is the protagonist of the series, which depicts her life and adventures as she grows up. In the film, she is a high school cheerleader who learns that she is the Slayer (a Chosen One gifted with the strength and skills to fight vampires and the forces of darkness, as a vampire hunter and demon hunter). The television series shows Buffy carrying out her destiny in the small town of Sunnydale, built atop a portal to hell (Hellmouth), surrounded by a group of friends and family who support her in her mission. In the comic book continuation, she is a young woman who has accepted her duties and is now responsible for training others like her.
Buffy was created by Joss Whedon to subvert the stereotypical female horror film victim—Whedon wanted to create a strong female cultural icon. In 2004, Buffy was ranked 13th on Bravo's list of The 100 Greatest TV Characters. In June 2010, "Entertainment Weekly" ranked her third in its list of the 100 Greatest Characters of the Last 20 Years. AOL named her the sixth Most Memorable Female TV Character. She was ranked at No. 5 in AfterEllen.com's Top 50 Favorite Female TV Characters.
Appearances.
Film.
The character of Buffy first appears in the 1992 film, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", played by Kristy Swanson. The film, written by Joss Whedon, depicts Buffy as a shallow high school cheerleader who is informed by a man named Merrick (Donald Sutherland) that she has been chosen by fate to battle the undead. Buffy reluctantly undergoes training in her abilities by Merrick, and as her responsibility as the Slayer causes her to become alienated from her valley girl peers, she finds friendship and romance with fellow outcast Pike (Luke Perry). Merrick eventually comes to respect Buffy's rebellious nature, and she defeats vampire king Lothos (Rutger Hauer) by relying on her own contemporary style as opposed to traditional Slayer conventions. Although this film is not in continuity with the later television series, in 1999, author Christopher Golden adapted Joss Whedon's original script into a comic book entitled "The Origin", which Whedon later confirmed to be "pretty much" canonical.
On May 25, 2009, "The Hollywood Reporter" revealed Roy Lee and Doug Davison of Vertigo Entertainment would be working with Fran Rubel Kuzui and Kazi Kuzui on a relaunch of the "Buffy" series for the big screen. The series would not be a sequel or prequel to the existing movie or television franchise and Joss Whedon will have no involvement in the project. None of the cast or original characters from the television series will be featured. Television series executive producer Marti Noxon later reflected that this story might have been produced by the studio to frighten Joss into taking reins of the project. Studio interest in the project has continued, however. A script was rejected in 2011.
Television.
Buffy returned in Joss Whedon's television series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", this time played by Sarah Michelle Gellar for all of the show's 144 episodes. In season one (1997), Buffy begins to accept the responsibilities and dangers of her calling as the Slayer after moving to the small California town of Sunnydale. She becomes best friends with Xander Harris (Nicholas Brendon) and Willow Rosenberg (Alyson Hannigan), and meets her new Watcher, the school librarian, Rupert Giles (Anthony Stewart Head). Together they form the Scooby Gang, and work together to battle various supernatural occurrences which plague Sunnydale High. In the season finale, Buffy battles the vampiric villain known as the Master (Mark Metcalf), and is drowned in the process. She is resuscitated by Xander and rises to defeat the vampire lord.
In the show's second season (1997–1998), Buffy continues to come to terms with her destiny, finds forbidden love with benevolent vampire Angel (David Boreanaz), and clashes with new villains Spike (James Marsters) and Drusilla (Juliet Landau). She also meets her Slayer replacement, Kendra (Bianca Lawson), who was called when Buffy was killed by the Master. Kendra is later killed by Drusilla, and the next replacement is seen in season 3. In the episode "Surprise", Buffy loses her virginity to Angel, an event which triggers the loss of his soul and unleashes his sadistic alter-ego, Angelus. Angelus proceeds to subject the characters to mental and physical torture for the remainder of the season. In the final episode of season two, Buffy is forced to reveal her identity as the Slayer to her mother (Kristine Sutherland), and send the newly good Angel to hell to save the world. She then leaves Sunnydale for Los Angeles in the hopes of escaping her life as the Slayer.
Season three (1998–1999) sees Buffy reconnect to her calling, her friends, and her family after her departure, as well as make difficult life decisions regarding her relationship with the resurrected Angel. She must also deal with the introduction of rebellious new Slayer Faith (Eliza Dushku), who becomes increasingly destructive and disloyal over the course of the season. In the season finale, Buffy stabs Faith in an attempt to save Angel's life, and leads her classmates into a climactic battle against the demonic Mayor of Sunnydale (Harry Groener). Angel then leaves Sunnydale in hopes that Buffy can have a more normal life without him.
In the fourth season (1999–2000), Buffy balances her Slayer duties with her new life as a college student at UC Sunnydale. She experiences some difficulty adjusting to college life, and becomes increasingly disconnected from her friends, who all seem to be moving in different directions. Buffy eventually finds a new love interest in the form of Riley Finn (Marc Blucas), a soldier in the demon-hunting government task force known as The Initiative. She briefly joins forces with Riley's team, until they discover one of the Initiative's experiments, Adam (George Hertzberg), is creating an army of demon-human hybrids. Buffy unites with her friends to defeat Adam in a spell which invokes the power of the First Slayer. During "Buffy" season four, Buffy also appears in the first season of spin-off series "Angel" (1999–2000), guest starring in the episodes "I Will Remember You" and "Sanctuary".
In season five (2000–2001), Buffy battles the hell-goddess Glory (Clare Kramer), and fully embraces her destiny for the first time. A younger sister named Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg) mysteriously appears in Buffy's household, her existence having been seamlessly integrated with memories of the other characters. Buffy suffers emotional turmoil throughout this season, including the realization Dawn is not actually her sister, the deterioration of her relationship with Riley, the discovery that Spike has fallen obsessively in love with her, and her mother's death from a brain aneurysm. She takes control of her destiny and duties, informing the Watchers' Council that "they" work for "her", not the other way around; that their job is to supply her with whatever information she requires, immediately and fully. While on a quest to learn more about her nature as the Slayer, Buffy is told "death is her gift", a message she has difficulty understanding until the episode "The Gift", in which she sacrifices herself to save Dawn and the world by diving into Glory's interdimensional portal and closing it.
Season six (2001–2002) depicts Buffy's struggle with depression after her friends, believing she was trapped in a Hell dimension, performed a spell to bring her back from the dead; however, she was actually in Heaven, and feels great loss after being ripped out. Forced to take a mundane and degrading job slinging burgers at the Doublemeat Palace after realizing her family was in financial ruin, she sinks into a deep depression amid feelings of self-loathing and spends much of the season on a downward spiral alienating her friends and family and embarking on a violent sexual relationship with the vampire Spike which leaves neither satisfied and spawns dire consequences for the both of them. Aside from dealing with her emotional and psychological demons in this season, Buffy is continually targeted by a group calling themselves The Trio - Warren Mears (Adam Busch), Andrew Wells (Tom Lenk), and Jonathan Levinson (Danny Strong). Initially satisfied with only wreaking havoc for personal gain in Sunnydale, the Trio soon become bent on becoming powerful nemeses to the Slayer. At first, their activities are merely annoying to Buffy and the Scoobies, but Warren's intentions become darker as the season goes on, and by the end Buffy is forced to deal with the Trio as the Slayer, while Andrew and Jonathan must come to grips with Warren's betrayal against them. As the season draws to a close, Buffy is forced to battle her best friend when Willow becomes psychotic with dark magic after Warren shoots and kills Willow's girlfriend Tara (Amber Benson) and wounds Buffy in the process. Willow then tries to destroy the world to end all suffering, although Xander gets through to her in the end. Buffy then promises to change her self-destructive behavior to be there for her sister.
In the final season of the show (2002–2003), things start to come around for Buffy when Principal Robin Wood (D. B. Woodside) hires her as a school counselor for the newly rebuilt Sunnydale High School and she has repaired her relationships with Dawn and her friends. However, she is also confronted with the threat of the First Evil and becomes a reluctant leader to the Potential Slayers, who are initially respectful of her, but become increasingly more alienated by her tactics and decisions throughout the season. She unexpectedly becomes emotionally close with Spike, who has sought out his soul in an effort to prove himself to her. In the show's final episode "Chosen", Buffy shares her power with her fellow Slayers before leading them into an epic battle against an army of Turok-Han vampires. She also confesses her love to a disbelieving Spike before he sacrifices himself to save the world; as he dies, Buffy escapes Sunnydale's destruction with the surviving characters.
Following the end of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", the character maintains a presence in the fifth season of "Angel" (2003–2004), but does not appear onscreen. In the episode "The Girl in Question", Angel and a resurrected Spike travel to Rome to find her, where they learn she is apparently now dating the Immortal. Sarah Michelle Gellar was approached to appear as Buffy in "Angel"'s one hundredth episode, but declined, so the character of Cordelia Chase (Charisma Carpenter) was used instead. She was asked to appear in the second to last episode of the series, "Power Play", but had to decline due to outside conflicts.
Between 2001 and 2004, Joss Whedon and Jeph Loeb developed a 4-minute pilot episode for "Buffy the Animated Series", which was set during the show's first season. Had the series been picked up by a network, the series would have focused upon Buffy (voiced by Giselle Loren) in more high-school adventures. Following a 2008 leak of the pilot to YouTube, Loeb expressed some hope the series may be resurrected in some form.
Literature.
As the main character of the franchise, Buffy appears in almost all "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" literature. This includes a Dark Horse ongoing comic book and a series of novels. Buffy's debut into literature came in the comic "Dark Horse Presents 1998 Annual" on August 26, 1998, while her first prose appearance was in "Halloween Rain" by Christopher Golden and Nancy Holder on October 5, 1998. Most of these stories occur between episodes and seasons of the television series, however, some are set outside the timeline of the show to explore in depth other areas of Buffy's history. Christopher Golden adapted the film into a comic entitled "The Origin" (1999) which more closely resembles Joss Whedon's original script. In 2003, Scott Lobdell and Fabian Nicieza wrote a Year One-style run on the "Buffy" comic book series which filled the gap between the film and the first season of the show. These stories explain how Buffy's relationship with Pike ended, as well as fleshing out events alluded to in the television series, such as the time she spent in a mental institution and her parents' divorce. The novel "Queen of the Slayers" (2005) by Nancy Holder offers a potential follow-up to the television series; set after season seven, it depicts Buffy living in Italy with the morally ambiguous Immortal.
Buffy also makes appearances in literature outside of her own titular series. In the "Tales of the Slayers" comic one-shot "Broken Bottle of Djinn" (2002) by Doug Petrie and Jane Espenson, Buffy battles a spirit in Sunnydale High, while the "Tales of the Vampires" comic book story "Antique" (2004) by Drew Goddard sees her breaking into Dracula's castle to rescue Xander from the infamous vampire. Volume II of the similar series of novels "Tales of the Slayer" (2003) features two stories about Buffy; the character battles a mummified spirit in Todd A. McIntosh's "All That You Do Comes Back Unto Thee", while Jane Espenson's "Again Sunnydale" sees a season six-era Buffy sent back in time to high school, when her mother is still alive but Dawn does not exist.
Post-television "Season" continuations.
In 2007, Buffy's story continued on from season seven when Joss Whedon revived "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" as a comic book, again published by Dark Horse. Whedon differentiated these comics from previous "Buffy" literature, stating "We could do something and for once we could make it canon. We could make it officially what happened after the end of the show." The continuation series emulates the structure of a television series, with five "seasons" published between 2007 and 2018 and Whedon overseeing multiple writers in the role of "executive producer".
In "Season Eight" (2007–2011), it is quickly established that Buffy is not living with the Immortal in Rome as previously suggested in "Angel"; this is simply a cover story to ensure her safety as she is now the leader of an army which recruits and trains Slayers to deal with demonic threats worldwide. However, a mysterious group led by the masked villain Twilight believe the Slayers themselves pose a danger to mankind and the natural order. In "Wolves at the Gate", a lonely Buffy shares a sexual encounter with a younger Slayer Satsu; the relationship ends soon after when Satsu accepts that Buffy does not return her romantic feelings. The time travel story "Time of Your Life" acts as a crossover with "Buffy" spin-off "Fray"; Buffy is kidnapped two centuries into the future and meets her eventual successor Melaka Fray and Fray's vampire twin brother Harth. These events have been orchestrated by a villainous future version of Willow, whom Buffy reluctantly kills to return home. The tensions between Buffy and Twilight's respective armies eventually erupts into a full-scale war in Tibet; Twilight is unmasked as Angel being manipulated by enigmatic cosmic forces trying to destroy the universe and usher in a new dimension where Buffy and Angel will live together in paradise. However, Buffy rejects Twilight's influence and saves her world by returning to the ruins of Sunnydale and smashing the Seed of Wonder, cutting Earth off from the source of all magic in the process. During these events, Buffy reunites with Spike, Giles is killed by a Twilight-controlled Angel, and the Slayer army is dissolved; Buffy moves to San Francisco with her friends to grieve their losses.
In contrast to the global scale of "Season Eight", "Season Nine" (2011–2013) follows Buffy living a more grounded civilian life in San Francisco; she works in a local coffee shop and shares an apartment with roommates Anaheed and Tumble. Buffy is now a pariah in the supernatural community due to her destruction of magic and must deal with "zompires", a feral new breed of vampires which have emerged since demons can no longer access Earth and fully possess human bodies. After getting blackout drunk at her housewarming party, Buffy has a pregnancy scare and turns to Spike for support when she decides to have an abortion; the pregnancy turns out to be a misunderstanding caused by Andrew, who switched Buffy's body with a robot as part of a misguided plan to keep her safe. In "Guarded", Buffy explores new career opportunities by temporarily joining Kennedy's private security company Deepscan and shutting down TinCan, an interdimensional social media site run by long-term "Angel" villains Wolfram & Hart. With most of her existing relationships strained, Buffy makes new allies in SFPD homicide detective Dowling and teenage vampire hunter Billy, and joins a magical council alongside demons D’Hoffryn and Illyria to battle the evil Slayer Simone and magic-siphoning Severin. When Dawn starts fading from existence due to the absence of magic, Buffy reunites with Willow and Xander in "The Core" to save her, journeying deep within the Earth to create a new Seed of Wonder and battling Maloker, an Old One and progenitor of all vampires, in the process. During "Season Nine", Buffy also makes minor appearances in the spin-off comics "Spike: A Dark Place", "Willow: Wonderland", and "Angel & Faith".
Having restored magic to the world, "Season Ten" (2014–2016) picks up with Buffy and her friends reluctantly responsible for creating the laws governing it; Buffy must guard the ancient grimoire "Vampyr" in which the new laws of magic are formalized when recorded in the book. Some rules have already materialized without Buffy's input (zompires are extinct and vampires now possess heightened strength and shapeshifting powers) and new rules tend to have unforeseen "Monkey's Paw"-style consequences. Daunted and tempted by this new-found power, Buffy seeks the advice of D’Hoffryn and his magical council, as well as lobbyists from various mystical and demonic communities pursuing their own conflicting agendas. Meanwhile, Buffy and Spike's decision to pursue an official romantic relationship is complicated by the manipulations of the demon Archaeus and the subsequent assistance by Angel; in the one-shot issue "Triggers", Buffy expresses her repressed trauma over the sexual assault she experienced from soulless Spike back in the television episode "Seeing Red". Following his resurrection in the spin-off series "Angel & Faith", Giles reunites with Buffy, and the paternal relationship they share is reaffirmed when Buffy's father Hank excludes her from his wedding. D’Hoffryn eventually turns on Buffy and murders the rest of the council to seize the power of "Vampyr" for himself; finally accepting the responsibility she has been avoiding, Buffy outsmarts D’Hoffryn, commits to her relationship with Spike, and organizes her own council with whom to codify the laws of magic.
"Season Eleven" (2016–17) opens in disaster when a huge Shenlong dragon attacks San Francisco, killing thousands. In response to public outrage, the US President Malloy introduces the Supernatural Crisis Act, a set of new policies claiming to "legalize and normalise" the supernatural; this begins with a census and quickly leads to the relocation of magical individuals to the "Safe Zone", an internment camp in the Grand Canyon. Buffy rejects an opportunity to join a Slayer peacekeeping force alongside the antagonistic Jordan, and instead opts to join Willow and Spike at the Safe Zone, where she does her best to maintain peace and protect innocent or harmless inmates. Buffy and Willow eventually agree to have their powers removed to leave the camp and further investigate the Pandora Project, a government conspiracy to drain and abuse magical energy; they expose White House Press Secretary Joanna Wise for summoning the Shenlong in the first place to put her plans in motion. Buffy briefly reabsorbs the power of all the Slayers in the world to battle the magic-infused Wise, but returns the power by the season's final issue, warning a repentant Jordan not to misuse it.
In 2018, it was announced that Dark Horse was losing the license to publish "Buffy" comics; Joss Whedon's intent for the final season was to "give the Dark Horse era some closure". The four-issue "" (2018) picks up one year after "Season Eleven", with a thirty-year-old Buffy pondering her future; she is separated but on cordial terms with Spike, still working as a part-time police consultant, and a doting aunt to Dawn and Xander's baby daughter Joyce. Tying up story elements first alluded to in 2001's "Fray", Buffy is warned about an apocalypse called "the Reckoning" led by time travelling vampire Harth, in which the Slayers are depowered and Buffy is banished to a hell dimension battling an army of demons. With help from her friends, and those of Angel and Fray, Buffy proactively takes the fight to Harth in an attempt to change her fate; Illyria sacrifices herself to banish the demons in Buffy's place, altering history. After the battle, Buffy becomes a fulltime member of the SFPD supernatural division alongside Faith, reconnects with Spike, and comforts a grieving Angel over Illyria. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Buffy, Fray returns to the 23rd century to discover her world has been drastically improved by the continued presence of many Slayers.
Boom! Studios reboot.
In 2019, Buffy was reinvented by Boom! Studios in their ongoing comic "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." This series is a complete reboot and has no continuity with any previous stories; Buffy is depicted as a teenager in 2019 rather than the 1990s. She is already aware of her destiny as the Slayer and has been living in Sunnydale for only three weeks when the series begins. She befriends Willow and Xander after saving them from a vampire outside Tunaverse, the fast food restaurant where she works.
Concept and creation.
An early influence for Buffy was Kelli Maroney's character in the 1984 science-fiction horror film "Night of the Comet". The character of Buffy was conceived by Joss Whedon as a way of subverting the cliché of "the little blonde girl who goes into a dark alley and gets killed in every horror film". Whedon stated "Rhonda the Immortal Waitress" was the first incarnation of Buffy in his head, "the idea of a seemingly insignificant female who in fact turns out to be extraordinary." When asked how he came up with the name of "Buffy," Whedon states "It was the name that I could think of that I could take the least seriously. There is no way you could hear the name Buffy and think, 'This is an important person.' To juxtapose that with Vampire Slayer, just felt like that kind of thing—a B movie. But a B movie that had something more going on. That was my dream." Whedon claims the title was criticized for being too silly, and the television network begged him to change it. He refused, insisting "You don't understand. It has to be this. This is what it is." Jason Middleton feels that Buffy avoids the "final girl" character trope seen in horror films, where the androgynous and celibate heroine gets to outlive her friends and exact revenge on their killer; in Middleton's words, "she... gets to have sex with boys and "still" kill the monster".
Whedon always intended for the character to become an icon, claiming "I wanted her to be a hero that existed in people's minds the way Wonder Woman or Spider-Man does, you know? I wanted her to be a doll or an action figure. I wanted Barbie with Kung Fu grip! I wanted her to enter the mass consciousness and the imaginations of growing kids because I think she's a cool character, and that was always the plan. I wanted Buffy to be a cultural phenomenon, period." In developing Buffy, Whedon was greatly inspired by Kitty Pryde, a character from the pages of the superhero comic "X-Men". He admits, "If there's a bigger influence on Buffy than Kitty, I don't know what it was... She was an adolescent girl finding out she has great power and dealing with it." In a 2009 interview, Whedon revealed he only recently realised how much he saw of himself in Buffy. After years of relating more to Xander, he says, "Buffy was always the person that I was in that story because I'm not in every way." Whedon openly wonders why his identification figure is a woman, but describes it as "a real autobiographical kind of therapy for me" to be writing a strong female character like Buffy.
According to Whedon, Buffy "had been brewing in [him] for many years" before finally appearing in the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" film played by Kristy Swanson. However, he was not satisfied with the character's treatment in the film, feeling "that's not quite her. It's a start, but it's not quite the girl." Although Whedon's vision of female empowerment was not as apparent as he would have liked in the 1992 film, he was given a second chance when Gail Berman approached him with the idea of re-creating it as a television series. Adapting the concept of the movie into a television series, Whedon decided to reinvent the character of Buffy slightly. The shallow cheerleader of the original film had grown more mature and open-minded, identifying with social outcasts such as Willow and Xander, and instead, the character of Cordelia was created to embody what Buffy once was. Early in the television series, make-up supervisor Todd McIntosh was instructed to make Buffy "a soft and sort of earthy character." He gave Gellar a soft, muted green make-up and kept her look very natural. However, it was later decided this was inappropriate for the character, and Buffy needed to look more like a valley girl. McIntosh switched her make-up around, giving her frosted eyeshadow and lip colors, bright turquoise and aqua marines, bubblegum colored nails, and bleach-blonde hair, causing the character to "blossom."
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Frasier Crane
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Dr. Frasier Winslow Crane (born ) is a fictional character who is both a supporting character on the American television sitcom "Cheers" and the titular protagonist of its spin-off "Frasier" and the latter’s 2023 sequel. In all three series, he is portrayed by Kelsey Grammer. The character debuted in the "Cheers" third-season premiere, "Rebound (Part 1)" (1984), as Diane Chambers's love interest, part of the Sam and Diane story arc. Intended to appear for only a few episodes, Grammer's performance in the role was praised by producers, prompting them to expand his role and increase his prominence.
Later in "Cheers", Frasier marries Lilith Sternin (Bebe Neuwirth) and has a son, Frederick. After "Cheers" ended, the character moved to a spin-off series, "Frasier", through which the span of his overall television appearances totals twenty years. In the spin-off, Frasier moves back to his birthplace, Seattle, after his divorce from Lilith, who retained custody of Frederick in Boston, and is reunited with a newly created family: his estranged father, Martin, and brother, Niles. In February 2021, ViacomCBS (now Paramount Global) announced that Grammer would reprise the character in a new series on Paramount+.
Grammer received award recognitions for portraying this character on these two shows, in addition to a 1992 one-time appearance on "Wings". For his portrayal on "Cheers", Grammer was nominated twice for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series but did not win in that category. For portraying the character on "Frasier", Kelsey Grammer won four Emmy Awards out of eleven nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series and two Golden Globe Awards out of eight nominations for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series (Musical or Comedy).
Creation and casting.
The character Frasier Crane was created in the third season of "Cheers" (1984–1985) by series creators Glen and Les Charles as Diane Chambers's (Shelley Long) "romantic and intellectual ideal" following her breakup with Sam Malone (Ted Danson). Not only Sam Malone's rival and opposite, Frasier Crane was also part of the love triangle, "a different form of the Sam-Diane relationship," said Glen Charles. The show's writers initially conceived the character as "the role Ralph Bellamy used to play in Cary Grant movies — the guy the lady falls in love with, but is not real. You just know he doesn't have the sexual dynamism Grant does."
John Lithgow was originally chosen by "Cheers" producers for the role, but turned it down. Grammer believed that he had failed the audition because no one laughed, but was chosen because of the quality of his performance with Danson. Frasier was supposed to only appear on a few episodes before Diane left him, but Grammer's performance was praised by series executives, leading to an extended role in the series. His character was not universally popular, however, for coming between Sam and Diane; a viewer approached Grammer asking "Are you that pin dick that plays Frasier?", and the show received fan mail denouncing Grammer.
Role in "Cheers".
Frasier Crane, an alumnus of Harvard College, Harvard Medical School, and Oxford University, debuted in the two-part episode "Rebound" (1984), the premiere of "Cheers" season three (1984–85), as a psychiatrist to help bartender Sam Malone recover from a brief return to alcoholism and also cope with his breakup from Diane Chambers. Also, Diane's fiancé throughout the third season, he and Diane are supposed to wed in Italy in "Rescue Me" (1985), the finale of season three. However, in "Birth, Death, Love, and Rice" (1985), the premiere of season four (1985–86), Frasier enters the bar and tells Sam that he was jilted by Diane at the altar in Europe. A despondent Frasier, who had given up his practice to go to Europe, loses his job lecturing at a university in Europe. Later in season four, he begins to regularly attend Cheers for drinks and finds himself depending more and more on alcohol. In "The Triangle" (1986), Sam feigns symptoms of depression, planned by Diane, to help Frasier recover from alcoholism and regain his self-confidence. This leads Frasier to conclude that Sam's symptoms indicate his love for Diane. However, upon arrival, Frasier sees Sam and Diane arguing in the bar office, and Sam admits the whole plan. Furious, Frasier declares himself to be sober, refuses to be a part of their relationship, and vows to practice psychiatry again.
The character finally becomes a permanent fixture among the other bar patrons by the middle of the series' run and adds to his comedic repertoire an occasional penchant for commenting on the personality flaws of the other Cheers regulars while still managing to remain a likable addition to the gang. As his role is expanded, Frasier becomes romantically involved with a stereotypical "intelligent, ice queen" Lilith Sternin (Bebe Neuwirth). Their first date in "Second Time Around" (1986) does not go well; they exchange insults with each other until she leaves the bar, disappointing him. In "Abnormal Psychology" (1986), Frasier and Lilith feel mutual attraction after Diane gives Lilith a makeover. At first reluctant to start anew, they then decide to go on another date. They live together for a year before being married one month before "Our Hourly Bread" (1988) as revealed in the episode and give birth to their son Frederick in "The Stork Brings a Crane" (1989). In "Smotherly Love" (1992), they reenact their wedding to please Lilith's mother Betty (Marilyn Cooper), who was irritated that she had not been present for their marriage.
In "One Hugs, the Other Doesn't" (1992), Frasier is revealed to have been previously married to Nanette Guzman (Emma Thompson), now known as the popular children's entertainer Nanny G. When Nanette sings a song implying her possible feelings for Frasier (despite being fully aware he's remarried), Lilith attacks her during Frederick's second birthday party.
In "Teaching with the Enemy" (1992), Lilith admits her affair with another man, Dr. Louis Pascal (Peter Vogt), dooming their marriage. In "Is There a Doctor in the Howe?" (1993), a distraught Frasier is going to sleep with Rebecca Howe in his bed until Lilith unexpectedly returns and—in the following episode, "The Bar Manager, The Shrink, His Wife and Her Lover" (1993)—storms out of the room and heads to Cheers. There, Lilith reveals that the eco-pod experiment with Pascal was a disaster—Pascal turned out to be claustrophobic, among other mental problems—and she abandoned the project to return to Boston. Frasier, Rebecca, and eventually Pascal converge on Cheers in pursuit of Lilith. Pascal, armed with a pistol, demands Lilith return to him, threatening to shoot Frasier and the others. Lilith demands that he shoot her first, which causes him to back down and surrender to the police. Although Frasier initially refuses to take Lilith back after all this, her pathetic sobbing wins him over, and he hesitantly reconciles with her.
Role in "Frasier".
Spin-off development.
When "Cheers" ended in 1993, at first the creators did not plan to spin off the character from the predecessor because they were concerned that a spinoff might fail. Instead, they wanted to cast Kelsey Grammer as a paraplegic millionaire resembling Malcolm Forbes, "a magazine mogul [and] a motorcycle enthusiast". The idea was deemed unsuitable and scrapped. Then the show's creators decided to move Frasier Crane out of Boston to avoid any resemblance to "Cheers". The spinoff idea would have focused primarily on "his work at a radio station", but they found it resembled an older sitcom, "WKRP in Cincinnati", too much. Therefore, they decided to add in his private life, such as his father Martin and younger brother Niles. In his titular spin-off, Frasier becomes "haughty, disdainful, and exceedingly uptight."
Moving to Seattle.
After "Cheers", Frasier and Lilith (Bebe Neuwirth) divorce off-screen, and Lilith is awarded custody of their son, Frederick, with Frasier granted visiting rights. In the pilot "The Good Son", Frasier explains that he left Boston because he felt that his life and career had grown stagnant (and he had been publicly humiliated after climbing onto a ledge and threatening to commit suicide before being talked down). Therefore, he returned to his original hometown of Seattle, where his father Martin (John Mahoney) and younger brother Niles (David Hyde Pierce) live, to have a fresh start.
Frasier works for the radio station KACL as the host of his psychotherapeutic radio show, "The Dr. Frasier Crane Show", produced by his producer and friend, Roz Doyle (Peri Gilpin), who has many ex-boyfriends. Later, his father Martin, a retired Seattle Police Department detective who was shot in the line of duty, ends up moving in with him. Frasier is worried about his father in his current state as he can barely walk, and requires a cane to move. In "Cheers", Frasier had said that his father was dead and had been a scientist. He also says that he is an only child. This inconsistency is later explained in "The Show Where Sam Shows Up": At Frasier's apartment, Sam Malone (Ted Danson) tells Martin and Niles what Frasier had said about them, and Frasier explains that he was trying to distance himself from his family at the time. He confirms in "To All the Girls I've Loved Before" (1988) that his mother Hester, portrayed by Nancy Marchand in "Diane Meets Mom" (1984) and then by Rita Wilson in flashbacks in "Mamma Mia" (1999) and "Don Juan in Hell: Part 2" (2001), is dead off-screen.
Frasier hires a live-in physical therapist, Daphne Moon (Jane Leeves), to care for Martin. Daphne is an eccentric, working class Englishwoman who professes to be "a bit psychic". Moreover, Martin brings his beloved Jack Russell Terrier, Eddie, whom Frasier is uncomfortable around. After some initial hostility, Frasier grows very close to his new family.
Life with Martin and Niles.
During the spin-off's run, especially in scenes at Frasier's apartment, Frasier and Martin regularly fight over the living arrangements and each other's personalities: Frasier is intellectual, elitist, and mild-mannered, while Martin is a rugged man of simple tastes who speaks (according to Frasier) in words that no "sophisticated, educated" person could understand. While Frasier has many common interests with Niles and shares adventures (or misadventures) with him, he has little in common with his father, Martin.
In "Dinner at Eight" (1993), Martin takes Frasier and Niles to a themed steakhouse, where health-conscious Frasier and Niles criticize the food, the restaurant's customs, and the clientele. Martin becomes frustrated and angry before leaving, remarking upon departing that their mother, Hester, would be disappointed with their behavior. Frasier and Niles try to prove that they are not "snobs" by finishing their meal, although it takes them until after closing time. Ironically, in the "Cheers" season seven episode "I Kid You Not" (1988), Frasier invites Carla and her son Ludlow to a fine dining restaurant, but Carla and Ludlow criticize and mock it, enraging Frasier.
In "Chess Pains" (1996), Frasier teaches Martin how to play chess, but is horrified when Martin becomes a better player than him, due to Martin's seasoned insight as a police detective. Frasier becomes obsessed with winning against his father until Frasier wins one match and Martin does not want to play with Frasier anymore. One late night, Frasier wakes Martin up and asks him whether he lost the chess match on purpose. Martin responds that Frasier "won, fair and square" and nothing more. In the "Cheers" season five episode "Spellbound" (1987), dimwitted Woody Boyd consistently beats Frasier in chess, frustrating Frasier.
In an episode of the seventh season "A Tsar Is Born" (1999), Martin takes an old family clock, which Frasier and Niles consider ugly, to exhibit on the television show "Antiques Roadshow". As the boys soon discover, the clock is related to their ancestors and royalty, and may be worth a fortune, and heightens their expectations of being descended from royalty. Unfortunately, when they try to sell the clock later, the brothers learn from an antique specialist that it was stolen from the daughter of Tsar Alexander II. Moreover, their great-great-grandmother was discovered to have been the clock thief and the daughter's scullery maid and is discovered to have later been a prostitute in New York City. Therefore, the brothers are left without a fortune, a clock, and their royal dreams are destroyed, as Frasier puts it, they are descended from "thieves and whores". Much to their anger, Martin buys a Winnebago RV with money Frasier claimed was the proceeds from selling the clock.
Reunion with Lilith and Frederick.
Actress Bebe Neuwirth left "Cheers" for fear of becoming typecast and to do Broadway; she did not expect to appear recurrently on "Frasier". "Cheers" and "Frasier" writers Ken Levine and David Isaacs found the chemistry between Frasier and Lilith "special" enough to compare them with Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy on Prozac. In "The Show Where Lilith Comes Back" (1994), Lilith surprises Frasier by dialing into the radio show. They later make love in a hotel room but end up regretting it, prompting them to part ways again. They decide to remain friends and help each other co-parent their son, Frederick (Trevor Einhorn), who also appears occasionally in this spin-off. In "Adventures in Paradise, Part Two" (1994), Lilith gets engaged to her fiancé Brian (James Morrison), much to Frasier's chagrin. In "A Lilith Thanksgiving" (1996), Frasier and Lilith have Frederick admitted to a private school after they annoy the administrator (Paxton Whitehead) several times on Thanksgiving. In "The Unnatural" (1997), Frasier is proven unathletic and bad at softball, which he reluctantly admits to Frederick. Then Frasier tells him that, when Frasier was a third-grade elementary student, Martin was bad at math.
In "Room Service" (1998), Lilith is recently divorced from her husband Brian for his gay affair. Frasier attempts to renew the relationship but changes his mind when he finds out, to his horror, that Lilith and Niles had a drunken one-night stand. Lilith last appears in "Guns 'N Neuroses" (2003), in which she and Frasier are accidentally set up to go on a blind date. Lilith and Frasier are close to restarting a relationship in the hotel room, but they are interrupted by a loud argument between a young married couple next door. Frasier and Lilith can resolve the couple's dispute, spend the night together watching television, and finally fall asleep on the couch without having had sex. The next morning, they part ways with a tender final onscreen moment together.
Reunions with "Cheers" characters.
Except for Rebecca Howe (Kirstie Alley), all the surviving main cast members of "Cheers" appear in the show at various points. In "The Show Where Sam Shows Up" (1995), Sam Malone reunites with Frasier in Seattle. Later, Frasier is discovered to have slept with Sam's fiancée Sheila (Téa Leoni), but Sam has not discovered the affair, much to Frasier's relief. Nevertheless, Sam finds out her dalliances with Paul Krapence (Paul Willson) and Cliff Clavin (John Ratzenberger). Though Sam isn't initially angry when told of her infidelity with Paul when Sheila reveals she slept with Cliff (something that shocked and horrified both Sam and Frasier), it leads to him ending the romantic relationship. In "The Show Where Diane Comes Back" (1996), Frasier is reunited with Diane Chambers and learns that due to an accident with her and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (Jane Seymour), much of her personal life had been turned upside down and the financial backers for her upcoming play rescinded their support, prompting him to support it instead. The play turns out to be based on their relationship in Boston, including her leaving him at the altar. Frasier angrily confronts her about it, but they end up reconciling.
In "The Show Where Woody Shows Up" (1999), Woody Boyd (Woody Harrelson), still married to Kelly with his son and daughter, accidentally reunites with Frasier after landing in the wrong destination, Seattle. However, they realize that they are no longer friends, as their lives are too different. Nevertheless, they admit that they had good times together in Boston, and they will always think about each other. In "Cheerful Goodbyes" (2002), Frasier arrives in Boston for a psychiatric conference. At the airport, Frasier unexpectedly bumps into Cliff Clavin and is invited to Cliff's retirement party the following evening, where he is reunited with Carla Tortelli (Rhea Perlman) and then briefly Norm Peterson (George Wendt). Later, Cliff confides in Frasier that he fears that his friends will not miss him. Frasier tells everyone to say a nice farewell to Cliff; even Carla, who hates him. Moved, Cliff decides to stay in Boston, much to Carla's annoyance.
Final years: 2003–04.
In "Caught in the Act" (2004), Frasier's ex-wife Nanette Guzman (Laurie Metcalf), tries to rekindle their relationship, but Frasier refuses. (The character was previously portrayed by Emma Thompson in "Cheers" episode "One Hugs, the Other Doesn't" (1992) and by Dina Spybey in "Don Juan in Hell, Part 2" (2001) as part of Frasier's imaginary dream.) Later, he falls in love with Charlotte Connor (Laura Linney), but the romance turns out to be short-lived when she moves to Chicago. In the 2004 two-part series finale, "Goodnight, Seattle", Frasier is offered a job as the host of his television talk show, located in San Francisco, and has decided to accept the job. However, in the final scene of the show, it is revealed that Frasier has boarded a plane to Chicago, implying he will be with Charlotte.
The revival: 2023–present.
In the revival series, Frasier again returns to Boston, coming from Martin's funeral. Off-screen, Frasier has since been disillusioned with and then quit his eponymous television talk show in Chicago, and his relationship with Charlotte has ended as well. He tries to reconnect with his son Frederick (now Jack Cutmore-Scott), nicknamed Freddy, who has dropped out of Harvard and then become a firefighter. Frasier becomes recruited by Harvard's psychology department as a psychology professor, especially to prove himself as a serious psychiatrist rather than a mere showman. He also buys Freddy's apartment building, and has Freddy move in with him in his new apartment across the hall from Freddy's old apartment.
Other appearances.
Kelsey Grammer has made several appearances as Dr. Frasier Crane outside of "Cheers" and "Frasier".
An animated version of the character appears in "The Simpsons" episode "Fear of Flying", although Grammer, who voices Sideshow Bob on the show, does not voice the character of Frasier.
Characterization and analysis.
Frasier Crane is a licensed psychiatrist who is, as Kelsey Grammer described, "flawed, silly, pompous, and full of himself, [yet] kind [and] vulnerable." Judy Berman from "Flavor Wire" describes him as also "a child prodigy, theater geek, and frequent target for bullies." According to "Cheers" and "Frasier" writer Peter Casey, Frasier is "very complicated, very intelligent, but also very insecure"; he may have solutions to such problems as a psychiatrist but is clueless about himself.
Reception.
Reception on the character.
At the time "Cheers" originally aired, Rick Sherwood from Los Angeles disdained Frasier Crane and his existence as part of the "Sam and Diane" dynamic. Sherwood found Frasier's frequent appearances in the bar setting ("his [former] girlfriend's former lover's bar") responsible for turning "Cheers" into "as believable as [conservative] Archie Bunker [from "All in the Family"] voting for a liberal Democrat." According to a 1993 telephone survey before the "Frasier" premiere and the "Cheers" finale, Sam Malone (Ted Danson) scored 26 percent as a favorite character, and Frasier Crane scored 1 percent. In response to the question of spinning off a character, 15 percent voted Sam, 12 percent voted Woody Boyd (Woody Harrelson), 10 percent voted Norm Peterson (George Wendt), and 29 percent voted no spin-offs. Frasier Crane, whose own spin-off "Frasier" debuted in September 1993, was voted by 2 percent to have his own show.
Later, while the character became more prominent in the series, inspiring a spin-off "Frasier", in a 1999 book "Writing and Responsibility", Beverly West and Jason Bergund noted that Frasier's father Martin was supposed to be dead in "Cheers" but turns out still alive in "Frasier", calling it inconsistent with "a bout of amnesia[,] poor scriptwriting", or desperation to elicit more laughter. (In "The Show Where Sam Shows Up" [1995], Frasier addresses the inconsistency by explaining that he told his friends Martin was dead after an argument with him.) In another book "TV Therapy", Frasier Crane in "Cheers" is considered "high-strung [and] pseudo-sophisticated" and an attraction to 1980s demographics of "anti-intellectual snobbery", but Frasier in "Frasier" is considered a good, positive role model for intellectuality and sophistication. In 2004, he was ranked by Bravo No. 26 of "Bravo's The 100 Greatest TV Characters" of all-time. In 2009, the "National Lampoon" website ranked him No. 20 of "Top 20 Sitcom Characters You'd Kill in Real Life" and called him "hilarious" in the fictional world and "unbearable" in the real world.
Robert Bianco from "USA Today" considered Frasier Crane masculine in the days of "Fred Astaire and William Powell" instead of recent "beer-belching" days of the reality show, "Survivor". Bianco found the series of Frasier's love life repetitive and "tiring". Gillian Flynn from "Entertainment Weekly" considered Frasier Crane's "diction" an inspiration of "Fringe"'s Walter Bishop (John Noble), who has an addition of "daffiness" of roles portrayed by actor Christopher Lloyd. Joe Sixpack, a pseudonymous name for writer Don Russell, called Frasier an "insufferable twerp". An internet user from Ken Levine's blog considered Frasier a successor to more prestigious, experienced Bostonian medical doctor and surgeon Charles Winchester (David Ogden Stiers) from the television series "M*A*S*H". However, Levine did not consider the comparison when Frasier was introduced in "Cheers" in 1984. (Coincidentally, in the "Frasier" episode "Fathers and Son" (2003), actor Stiers, portrayer of Winchester, appears as Hester Crane's former lab assistant Leland Barton, who is suspected as Frasier and Niles' biological father.)
"Television Without Pity" called Frasier "snooty and pretentious", even if he may be "smart" on television and a "rare" species of all characters. Steve Silverman from "Screen Junkies" praised Kelsey Grammer's performances as Frasier Crane but found them "predictable". Silverman thought that Grammer did not deserve an Emmy, especially in 1998. In a note, Silverman deemed the character Frasier as "a windbag with a sense of humor" and "a whining schoolboy with a series of lame excuses."
Reception on Frasier and Lilith.
Martha Nolan from "The New York Times" called Frasier and Lilith "repressed" when married together in "Cheers". Josh Bell from "About.com" called Frasier and his ex-wife Lilith Sternin one of the "best sitcom divorced couples" of all-time. Steven H. Scheuer from "Sarasota Herald-Tribune" considered Lilith's significance to and marriage with Frasier "fun" to watch, especially when, in "Severe Crane Damage" (1990), she uses comparisons between "the duller good boy" Frasier and "the interesting bad boy" Sam Malone as "psychiatric examples of the good boy-bad boy syndrome". Faye Zuckerman and John Martin from "The New York Times" called their marriage in "Cheers" a hilariously "perfect mismatch". Television critic Kevin McDonough from New York praised Kelsey Grammer and Bebe Neuwirth's performances as "repressed individuals" and "separate couple on TV" with "acidic and hilarious" chemistry together.
Accolades.
For his performance as Frasier Crane in "Cheers", Kelsey Grammer was Emmy Award-nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 1988 and 1990. For the same role in "Wings" episode "Planes, Trains, and Visiting Cranes", he was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series at the 1992 Emmy Awards.
For the same role in "Cheers" spin-off "Frasier", Grammer was consecutively nominated as an Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series during the show's whole run except in 2003. He won that Lead category in 1994, 1995, 1998, and 2004. He earned eight Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series (Musical or Comedy) throughout the series's whole run and won that category in 1996 and 2001. Grammer won American Comedy Awards as the Funniest Male Performer in a TV Series (Leading Role) in 1995 and 1996. Grammer won the Screen Actors Guild Award as part of an ensemble cast of "Frasier" in 2000.
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4acaf54cb1264d6eaa0622843d868331
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Omar Little
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Omar Devone Little is a fictional character on the HBO crime drama series "The Wire", portrayed by Michael K. Williams. He is a notorious Baltimore stick-up man, who frequently robs street-level drug dealers. He is legendary around the inner city for his characteristic duster, under which he hides his shotgun, large caliber handgun, and bulletproof vest, as well as for his facial scar and his whistling of "The Farmer in the Dell" when stalking targets. Omar's homosexual character is based on the heterosexual Baltimore area robber and hitman Donnie Andrews. Andrews served 18 years in prison after murdering a drug dealer. Andrews was married to Francine Boyd, who inspired the miniseries "The Corner" on HBO.
Character biography.
When people see or hear him approaching, they run away and will often warn others by shouting "Omar comin'!" Omar has a strict moral code, which involves refusal to harm innocent "civilians" and distaste (usually) for profanity, setting him apart from other street-level characters. His homosexuality and privately tender nature starkly contrast with typical notions of machismo attached to violent criminals. Omar cares for his grandmother and is seen escorting her to church on Sunday mornings. He also has a tendency to refer to himself in the third person.
Omar steadily descends into intractable conflict with the Barksdale and Stanfield Organizations, started by his robberies. Omar is also noted for his close relationships with his partners, and with his guardian, "ad hoc" banker, and close friend Butchie.
In "Clarifications", it is stated that Omar is 34 years old. He was orphaned at a young age and raised by his grandmother Josephine, who was largely responsible for his strict moral code, despite his criminal occupation. He attended Edmondson High School in West Baltimore, a few years behind Bunk Moreland.
For more than 15 years, Omar made his living holding up drug dealers and staying alive "one day at a time". He repeatedly demonstrated exceptional skill at surveillance, and as a stick-up man and shooter, further contributing to his feared status as an efficient professional. Omar is highly intelligent and cunning, and consistently executes well-laid plans, anticipating his adversaries' moves and outsmarting them. He had a brother, "No Heart" Anthony, who was incarcerated for a jewelry store robbery in the early 1990s.
Season 1.
After Omar, his boyfriend Brandon, and John Bailey rob a stash house, Avon Barksdale puts out a contract on the trio, doubling the reward once he discovers Omar is gay. Bailey is killed, and Brandon is tortured, mutilated, and killed for keeping silent on Omar's whereabouts. He is then left in a public place so as to be seen and quickly found. In response, Omar, emotionally distraught, cooperates with Detectives Jimmy McNulty and Kima Greggs.
Omar provides key information leading to the arrest of Barksdale's soldier Bird, and agrees to be a witness against him at his trial (though it is unlikely that Omar was an actual witness to the crime). While meeting with the police, he observes information which he uses to exact further revenge against the Barksdale Organization, killing Stinkum and wounding Wee-Bey Brice. McNulty and Bunk are forced to mislead Cole, the detective assigned to Stinkum's murder, in order to protect Omar.
Omar gets a shot at Avon himself, by giving stolen drugs to Eastside drug kingpin Proposition Joe for Avon's pager number. He tails Avon to Orlando's strip club, pages him and waits for him to emerge into the open. Avon narrowly escapes when Wee-Bey arrives and shoots Omar in the shoulder. Afterward, Stringer Bell offers Omar a truce, planning to kill him when he relaxes his guard. Omar, who has been wired up by McNulty for the meeting, realizes Stringer's duplicity and leaves town, temporarily relocating to New York City. In the last scene of the first season, he is seen robbing a drug dealer in the Bronx, merely saying that it's "all in the game, yo. All in the game."
Season 2.
Omar returns to Baltimore with a new boyfriend, Dante. He returns to his old business, targeting the Barksdales exclusively, and connects with Tosha and Kimmy, stick-up artists who join his crew.
Omar provides false testimony against Bird in open court as he had promised to do. Unabashed and unapologetic about who he is, he wins over the jury with his wit. When the Barksdales' shady attorney Maurice Levy attempts to discredit Omar by calling him a parasite who thrives on the drug trade, Omar fires back that Levy is just as culpable. Levy works intimately with the Barksdale organization as its corrupt attorney, often providing legal guidance and sensitive information.
In the end, the jury believes Omar's testimony, and Bird is sent to prison for life. Assistant State's Attorney Ilene Nathan promises Omar a favor as a thank you for his testimony. While waiting to be called to the witness stand, Omar helps the bailiff with a crossword puzzle clue, explaining that the Greek god of war is called Ares. He mentions that he was fascinated by Greek mythology in middle school.
Around this time, as Stringer Bell starts making business decisions on his own for the Barksdale operation, Avon hires Brother Mouzone from New York as new muscle. With the threat to his secret dealings apparent, Stringer arranges a meeting with Omar and tells him that Mouzone was the one who had tortured and killed Brandon. Omar finds Mouzone and shoots him once, but when Mouzone reveals that Omar had been given false information, Omar realizes he has been duped and lets Mouzone live, even calling the paramedics for him. He redirects his murderous intent at Stringer himself.
Season 3.
Omar and his crew continued robbing the Barksdale stashing houses, even though they are more difficult and risky than other potential targets. Tosha is killed during one such raid on a Barksdale house, and Omar contemplates giving up his war against the Barksdale organization. Bunk, investigating the deaths, makes Omar feel further guilt over the incident, giving a speech about how the neighborhood used to be closer-knit and with less violence. "And now all we got are bodies. And predatory motherfuckers like you."
Bunk mentions that when he went to the scene, he found children arguing about whose turn it was "to be Omar." As a way of making amends with Bunk, Omar arranges the recovery of Kenneth Dozerman's service pistol, which Bunk had been tasked with finding.
Under orders from Stringer Bell, two of Avon's soldiers open fire on Omar while he is taking his grandmother to church. Omar forces her into a taxi, but she loses her best hat in the gunfire. This blatant violation of the longstanding "Sunday truce" between rival gangs, combined with the risk Omar's grandmother was put in during the incident, leads Omar to rededicate himself to war with the Barksdales, though Kimmy opts out. Avon, outraged at Stringer, forces the men responsible for the attack to buy Omar's grandmother a new hat.
Meanwhile, Brother Mouzone captures Dante, and forces him to reveal Omar's hiding place. Dante gives in, in contrast with Brandon, who never cracked. Mouzone suggests an alliance against Stringer. Together, Omar and Mouzone ambush Stringer during a meeting with Andy Krawczyk and murder him.
Brother Mouzone sets Dante free and returns to New York. Omar is tasked with disposing of Mouzone's gun, as well as the shotgun that killed Stringer. Both weapons are later thrown into the harbor. Omar is shown to be suspicious of the severity of Dante's injuries and his release by Mouzone is the last time he is seen. It is implied that Omar left him for giving him up so easily.
Season 4.
Omar feels dissatisfied with how easy work has become after the collapse of the Barksdale organization and worries that pursuing easy thefts would make him soft ("How you expect to run with the wolves come night when you spend all day sparring with the puppies?"). He and new boyfriend Renaldo pull a robbery of one of Marlo Stanfield's dealers, Old Face Andre, who runs a westside corner convenience store that was actually a drug front.
At Proposition Joe's suggestion, they rob a poker game, not knowing that Marlo Stanfield is participating there. While committing the robbery, Omar makes a point to take a large ring from Marlo, who had earlier taken the same ring from Old Face Andre as a debt for money owed. Though Marlo vows revenge, his right-hand man Chris Partlow convinces him to take a subtler approach.
Chris kills a deliverywoman during a staged robbery at Old Face Andre's store and instructs Andre to call the police and falsely implicate Omar as the culprit. Omar is subsequently jailed. During the arrest, he is robbed by Officer Eddie Walker, who takes the ring that Omar had stolen from Marlo. Before Omar is taken away in a police van, he is questioned by McNulty, who finds it out of character for Omar to have murdered an ordinary citizen not involved in the drug trade.
While imprisoned in Baltimore City's Central Booking, Omar is recognized by other inmates he'd previously robbed, a number of whom want to kill him for the bounty placed on his head. In retaliation for an attempt on his life, he brutally stabs an adversary in the rectum as a means of warning the other inmates not to attack him.
Omar reaches out to Bunk for help. Omar convinces Bunk that he would never kill a "citizen". After having Omar transferred to a safer prison in Harford County (calling in the favor from Ilene Nathan), Bunk and Vernon Holley revisit the crime scene and get Old Face Andre to recant his original statement. The charge against Omar is dropped. Bunk transports him out of Harford County with a warning: no more murders of anyone. Bunk threatens to bring up the unsolved murders at Omar's hands that he knew about, such as Stringer Bell, Stinkum, and Tosha if Omar was caught killing anyone else.
Omar learns that Marlo had framed him and was the one he had robbed at the card game. Omar demands that Proposition Joe help him rob Marlo, and Joe agrees to alert Omar when Joe's soldier Cheese is dropping off Marlo's package. Omar orchestrates an elaborate and successful hijacking of Joe's entire shipment of heroin as it enters port. As he had no wish to sell drugs on the street, he sells the heroin back to Proposition Joe at 20 cents on a dollar. Although the heist makes Omar a lot of money, it has all of the drug kingpins ready to put a contract on his head.
Season 5.
After the heist, Omar and Renaldo move to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Marlo Stanfield has Butchie tortured and executed while failing to learn where Omar is hiding. Word reaches Omar and he returns to Baltimore to punish those responsible.
Omar ambushes Slim Charles and confronts him. Omar knows that Slim Charles' employer "Proposition Joe" Stewart knew of his connection to Butchie and believes Proposition Joe may have been responsible. Slim Charles is able to convince Omar of Proposition Joe's innocence and Omar targets Stanfield. Along with Butchie's friend Donnie, Omar decides to go after Stanfield's people as Stanfield himself has gone into hiding. Omar targets Monk.
Stanfield's soldiers spot Omar outside Monk's apartment and bait Omar and Donnie into an ambush. Once inside they are attacked by Chris Partlow, Snoop, Michael Lee, and O-Dog. During the shootout, O-Dog is wounded in the leg and Donnie killed by a gunshot to the head. Out of ammunition, Omar is forced to jump from the fourth-story window, breaking his leg in the process.
He continues his mission around the city in search of Marlo, limping and supporting his weight on a makeshift crutch improvised from a broom. He terrorizes and robs many of Marlo's corners and shoots or kills several members of Stanfield's crew including Savino Bratton. Instead of keeping the drugs or money for himself, he destroys them each time to show that his motive is vengeance, not profit. At the scene of every action, Omar calls out loudly for Marlo to meet him on the streets.
Kenard follows Omar into a Korean-owned convenience store. Omar, seeing the small boy, pays no attention to him. Kenard shoots Omar in the side of the head, killing him. This is a reference to some of the foreshadowing in Season 3 when Kenard is witnessed by Bunk imitating Omar at the Barksdale stash house shootout. News of Omar's death is received with mild amusement and indifference. Bunk shows some sympathy, which he brushes aside when he learns Omar was once again "on the hunt". McNulty and Lester Freamon react with mere curious interest and instead focus on a list of names found on Omar's body. The newspaper makes no mention of the incident for lack of printing space.
An employee at the morgue believes the identification tag on Omar's body has been switched with that of a white male on the neighboring table and swaps the tags (Omar's ID tag gives his age as 47, which contradicts the previous age given for him, which was 34). In the series finale, Michael Lee is seen wielding a shotgun, carrying on with Omar's legacy, while robbing Vinson and shooting him in the leg.
After Omar's death, the tale of his downfall became glorified. The simple murder by a child soon evolves to Omar fending off an army of police or New York gangsters during the finale.
Prequels.
A brief prequel released online before season 5 and in the season 5 DVD set features a young Omar, his brother Anthony, and an unidentified older boy planning and executing a robbery of a man at a bus stop in 1985 Baltimore. Even as a young boy, Omar shows remarkable intelligence, morality, and force of character by first questioning the value of robbing the man and then compelling the unidentified older boy (at gunpoint) to return the money. Anthony expresses tired amusement at Omar's actions, demonstrating his familiarity with his brother's forceful personality. Omar is shown with his characteristic facial scar, indicating that he somehow received it as a child.
At the end of this segment, the unidentified boy tells Anthony that his brother is not "cut out" for their line of work, an ironic foreshadowing of what would happen to Anthony some years later. In season one, it is revealed that after bungling a jewelry store heist, Anthony was pursued by police. Apparently sensing he was about to be caught, and unwilling to do hard time, Anthony put a gun to his chest and pulled the trigger. He survived the suicide attempt, however, only receiving a contact wound. After this incident, he earned the derisive nickname "No Heart" Anthony.
Production.
Casting.
Michael K. Williams was cast in the role of Omar after a single audition. Williams has stated that he pursued the role because he felt it would make him stand out from other African Americans from Brooklyn with acting talent because of its contradictory nature.
Williams expressed that his relationship with and love of off-Broadway New York theatres, such as the National Black Theater in Harlem, gave him the skill set needed for his portrayal of Omar, in particular using the Meisner technique to create Omar from the ground up, immersing himself by researching details of inner-city Baltimore. The role presented a particular challenge as it was the first major recurring television character he had played.
Origins.
David Simon has said that Omar is based on Shorty Boyd, Donnie Andrews, Ferdinand Harvin, Billy Outlaw, and Anthony Hollie, Baltimore stickup men who robbed drug dealers in the 1980s through early 2000s. Donnie Andrews later reformed, got married and helped troubled youths. In season 4 of "The Wire", Andrews plays one of the two men Butchie sends to help Omar in prison, in the episodes "Margin of Error" and "Unto Others", and Omar later meets with him at Blind Butchie's in "That's Got His Own" while planning the big drug robbery. Andrews died at age 58 in New York City on December 13, 2012, after suffering an aortic dissection.
Omar admits to an interest in Greek mythology in the season 2 episode "All Prologue". Omar's nascent love of Greek mythology has some truth in real life; according to a passage in David Simon and Ed Burns' non-fiction book, "", children in Baltimore schools pay little attention to most classes or stories (as seen in season 4 of "The Wire"), but are often interested in and appreciative of Greek mythology.
An earlier version of the Omar Little character appears in a season 3 episode of "NYPD Blue", entitled "Hollie and the Blowfish". The episode, written by future-"Wire" creator David Simon, featured a character named Ferdinand Hollie who, like Omar, was a stickup artist who made his living boldly and brazenly robbing (often-powerful) drug-dealers, but still lived his life by a code of honor, and was willing to cooperate with the police. However, unlike Omar, Hollie's thefts were largely in support of his own drug addiction, and he is infected by HIV.
No mention is made of Hollie's sexual orientation, but a reference is made of a deceased running partner who has died of AIDS. Hollie is killed by the end of the episode, and like Omar, is mourned by police who alternately worked with him and pursued him. Detective Bobby Simone, at the end of the episode, beat up the detective who leaked the information that got Hollie killed.
Hollie shares his first name with Ferdinand Harvin and his last name with Anthony Hollie, two real-life Baltimore stickup men whom Simon has cited as inspirational sources for Omar Little.
Reception.
For his portrayal of Omar, Michael K. Williams was named by "USA Today" as one of ten reasons they still love television. The character was praised for his uniqueness in the stale landscape of TV crime dramas and for the wit and humor that Williams brought to the portrayal. Other commentators applauded the many dimensions of the character with his appearances in various story lines as "...a sawed-off shotgun toting terror, a vulnerable jailbird whose life lies in the balance, and a double crossing mastermind who outsmarts Baltimore's biggest drug dealers time and time again." He is widely regarded as one of the greatest television characters of all time.
Omar was named as one of the first season's richest characters, not unlike the Robin Hood of Baltimore's west side projects, although his contradictory nature was questioned as a little too strange. The Baltimore City Paper named the character one of their top ten reasons not to cancel the show and called him "arguably the show's single greatest achievement." Little appeared in Comcast's list of TV's Most Intriguing Characters, with the website stating that "no character is more enigmatic and shocking than Omar".
Williams has stated that he feels that the character is well liked because of his honesty, lack of materialism, individuality and his adherence to his strict code. In January 2008 then-presidential candidate Barack Obama told the "Las Vegas Sun" that Omar was his favorite character on "The Wire" (which, in turn, is his favorite television show), adding, "That's not an endorsement. He's not my favorite person, but he's a fascinating character."
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000bd135088e4771b0868cdee6d2042c
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Wolverine
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The wolverine ( , ; Gulo gulo), also called the carcajou or quickhatch (from East Cree, "kwiihkwahaacheew"), is the largest land-dwelling member of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscular carnivore and a solitary animal. The wolverine has a reputation for ferocity and strength out of proportion to its size, with the documented ability to kill prey many times larger than itself.
The wolverine is found primarily in remote reaches of the Northern boreal forests and subarctic and alpine tundra of the Northern Hemisphere, with the greatest numbers in Northern Canada, the U.S. state of Alaska, the mainland Nordic countries of Europe, and throughout western Russia and Siberia. Its population has steadily declined since the 19th century owing to trapping, range reduction and habitat fragmentation. The wolverine is now essentially absent from the southern end of its range in both Europe and North America.
Naming.
The wolverine's questionable reputation as an insatiable glutton (reflected in its Latin genus name "Gulo", meaning "glutton") may be in part due to a false etymology. The less common name for the animal in Norwegian, "fjellfross", meaning "mountain cat", is thought to have worked its way into German as "Vielfraß", which means "glutton" (literally "devours much"). Its name in other West Germanic languages is similar (e.g. ).
The Finnish name is "ahma", derived from "ahmatti," which is translated as "glutton". Similarly, the Estonian name is "ahm", with the equivalent meaning to the Finnish name. In Lithuanian, it is "ernis"; in Latvian, "tinis" or "āmrija".
The Eastern Slavic росомаха ("rosomakha") and the Polish and Czech name "rosomák" seem to be borrowed from the Finnish "rasva-maha" (fat belly). Similarly, the Hungarian name is "rozsomák" or "torkosborz" which means "gluttonous badger".
In French-speaking parts of Canada, the wolverine is referred to as "carcajou", borrowed from the Innu-aimun or Montagnais "kuàkuàtsheu". However, in France, the wolverine's name is "glouton" (glutton).
Purported gluttony is reflected neither in the English name "wolverine" nor in the names used in North Germanic languages. The English word wolverine (alteration of the earlier form, wolvering, of uncertain origin) probably implies "a little wolf". The name in Proto-Norse, "erafaz" and Old Norse, "jarfr", lives on in the regular Icelandic name "jarfi", regular Norwegian name "jerv", regular Swedish name "järv" and regular Danish name "jærv".
Taxonomy and evolutionary history.
Classification.
Genetic evidence suggests that the wolverine is most closely related to the tayra and martens, all of which shared a Eurasian ancestor.
There are two subspecies: the Old World form, "Gulo gulo gulo", and the New World form, "G. g. luscus". Some authors had described as many as four additional North American subspecies, including ones limited to Vancouver Island ("G. g. vancouverensis") and the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska ("G. g. katschemakensis"). However, the most currently accepted taxonomy recognizes either the two continental subspecies or "G. gulo" as a single Holarctic taxon.
Evolution.
Recently compiled genetic evidence suggests most of North America's wolverines are descended from a single source, likely originating from Beringia during the last glaciation and rapidly expanding thereafter, though considerable uncertainty to this conclusion is due to the difficulty of collecting samples in the extremely depleted southern extent of the range.
Physical characteristics.
Anatomically, the wolverine is an elongated animal that is low to the ground. With strong limbs, broad and rounded head, small eyes and short rounded ears, it most closely resembles a large fisher. Though its legs are short, its large, five-toed paws with crampon-like claws and plantigrade posture enable it to climb up and over steep cliffs, trees and snow-covered peaks with relative ease.
The adult wolverine is about the size of a medium dog, with a body length ranging from ; standing at the shoulder; and a tail length of . Weight is usually in males, and in females . Exceptionally large males of as much as are referenced in Soviet literature, though such weights are deemed in "Mammals of the Soviet Union" to be improbable. The males are often 10–15% larger than the females in linear measurements and can be 30–40% greater in weight. According to some sources, Eurasian wolverines are claimed to be larger and heavier than those in North America, with weights reaching up to . However, this may refer more specifically to areas such as Siberia, as data from Fennoscandian wolverines shows they are typically around the same size as their American counterparts. It is the largest of terrestrial mustelids; only the marine-dwelling sea otter, the giant otter of the Amazon basin and the semi-aquatic African clawless otter are larger—while the European badger may reach a similar body mass, especially in autumn.
Wolverines have thick, dark, oily fur which is highly hydrophobic, making it resistant to frost. This has led to its traditional popularity among hunters and trappers as a lining in jackets and parkas in Arctic conditions. A light-silvery facial mask is distinct in some individuals, and a pale buff stripe runs laterally from the shoulders along the side and crossing the rump just above a bushy tail. Some individuals display prominent white hair patches on their throats or chests.
Like many other mustelids, it has potent anal scent glands used for marking territory and sexual signaling. The pungent odor has given rise to the nicknames "skunk bear" and "nasty cat." The anal gland secretion for the samples obtained from six animal's secretion was complex and variable: 123 compounds were detected in total, with the number per animal ranging from 45 to 71 compounds. Only six compounds were common to all extracts: 3-methylbutanoic acid, 2-methylbutanoic acid, phenylacetic acid, alpha-tocopherol, cholesterol, and a compound tentatively identified as 2-methyldecanoic acid. The highly odoriferous thietanes and dithiolanes found in anal gland secretions of some members of the Mustelinae [ferrets, mink, stoats, and weasels (Mustela spp.) and zorillas (Ictonyx spp.)] were not observed. The composition of the wolverine's anal gland secretion is similar to that of two other members of the Mustelinae, the pine and beech marten (Martes spp.)
Wolverines, like other mustelids, possess a special upper molar in the back of the mouth that is rotated 90 degrees, towards the inside of the mouth. This special characteristic allows wolverines to tear off meat from prey or carrion that has been frozen solid.
Distribution.
Wolverines live primarily in isolated arctic, boreal, and alpine regions of northern Canada, Alaska, Siberia, and Fennoscandia; they are also native to European Russia, the Baltic countries, the Russian Far East, northeast China and Mongolia.
Wolverine remains have been found in Ukraine, but they are extirpated there today and it is unclear whether the wolverines would have formed sustainable populations.
Unique records of encounters with wolverines have been noted in Latvia, the most recent one being in late July 2022 (although it can be disputed because of the unclear footage); the population was widespread in the 16th and 17th centuries, but nowadays it is not native to the area.
Most New World wolverines live in Canada and Alaska. However, wolverines were once recorded as also being present in Colorado, areas of the southwestern United States (Arizona and New Mexico), the Midwest (Indiana, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, Ohio, Minnesota, and Wisconsin), New England (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts) and in New York and Pennsylvania.
In the Sierra Nevada, wolverines were sighted near Winnemucca Lake in spring 1995 and at Toe Jam Lake north of the Yosemite border in 1996; and later photographed by baited cameras, including in 2008 and 2009, near Lake Tahoe. According to a 2014 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service publication, "wolverines are found in the North Cascades in Washington and the Northern Rocky Mountains in Idaho, Montana, Oregon (Wallowa Range), and Wyoming. Individual wolverines have also moved into historic range in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California and the Southern Rocky Mountains of Colorado, but have not established breeding populations in these areas". In 2022, Colorado Parks and Wildlife considered plans to reintroduce the wolverine to the state.
Wolverines are also found in Utah but are very rarely seen, with only six confirmed sightings since the first confirmed sighting in 1979. Three of these six confirmed Utah sightings have been caught on video. A wolverine, a male, was finally captured and tagged in Utah in 2022 before being released back into the wild to better understand the animal's range.
In August 2020, the National Park Service reported that wolverines had been sighted at Mount Rainier, Washington, for the first time in more than a century. The sighting was of a reproductive female and her two offspring.
In 2004, the first confirmed sighting of a wolverine in Michigan since the early 19th century took place, when a Michigan Department of Natural Resources wildlife biologist photographed a wolverine in Ubly, Michigan. The specimen was found dead at the Minden City State Game Area in Sanilac County, Michigan in 2010.
Behavior and ecology.
Diet and hunting.
Wolverines are primarily scavengers. Most of their food is carrion, especially in winter and early spring. They may find carrion themselves, feed on it after the predator (often, a wolf pack) has finished, or simply take it from another predator. Wolverines are known to follow wolf and lynx trails to scavenge the remains of their kills. Whether eating live prey or carrion, the wolverine's feeding style appears voracious, leading to the nickname of "glutton" (also the basis of the scientific name). However, this feeding style is believed to be an adaptation to food scarcity, especially in winter.
The wolverine is also a powerful and versatile predator. Its prey mainly consists of small to medium-sized mammals, but wolverines have been recorded killing prey many times larger than itself, such as adult deer. Prey species include porcupines, squirrels, chipmunks, beavers, marmots, moles, gophers, rabbits, voles, mice, rats, shrews, lemmings, caribou, roe deer, white-tailed deer, mule deer, sheep, goats, cattle, bison, moose, and elk. Smaller predators are occasionally preyed on, including martens, mink, foxes, Eurasian lynx, weasels, coyote, and wolf pups. Wolverines have also been known to kill Canada lynx in the Yukon of Canada. Wolverines often pursue live prey that are relatively easy to obtain, including animals caught in traps, newborn mammals, and deer (including adult moose and elk) when they are weakened by winter or immobilized by heavy snow. Their diets are sometimes supplemented by birds' eggs, birds (especially geese), roots, seeds, insect larvae, and berries. Adult wolverines appear to be one of the few conspecific mammal carnivores to actively pose a threat to golden eagles. Wolverines were observed to prey on nestling golden eagles in Denali National Park. During incubation in Northern Sweden, an incubating adult golden eagle was killed on its nest by a wolverine.
Wolverines inhabiting the Old World (specifically, Fennoscandia) hunt more actively than their North American relatives. This may be because competing predator populations in Eurasia are less dense, making it more practical for the wolverine to hunt for itself than to wait for another animal to make a kill and then try to snatch it. They often feed on carrion left by wolves, so changes in wolf populations may affect the population of wolverines. They are also known on occasion to eat plant material.
Wolverines often cache their food during times of plenty. This is of particular importance to lactating females in the winter and early spring, a time when food is scarce.
Reproduction.
Wolverines are induced ovulators. Successful males will form lifetime relationships with two or three females, which they will visit occasionally, while other males are left without a mate. Mating season is in the summer, but the actual implantation of the embryo (blastocyst) in the uterus is stayed until early winter, delaying the development of the fetus. Females will often not produce young if food is scarce. The gestation period is 30–50 days, and litters of typically two or three young ("kits") are born in the spring. Kits develop rapidly, reaching adult size within the first year. The typical longevity of a wolverine in captivity is around 15 to 17 years, but in the wild the average lifespan is more likely between 8 and 10 years. Fathers make visits to their offspring until they are weaned at 10 weeks of age; also, once the young are about six months old, some reconnect with their fathers and travel together for a time.
Interspecies interactions.
Wolves, American black bears, brown bears, cougars, and golden eagles are capable of killing wolverines, particularly young and inexperienced individuals. Wolves are thought to be the wolverine's most important natural predator, with the arrival of wolves to a wolverine's territory presumably leading the latter to abandon the area. Armed with powerful jaws, sharp claws, and a thick hide, wolverines, like most mustelids, are remarkably strong for their size. They may defend against larger or more numerous predators such as wolves or bears. By far, their most serious predator is the grey wolf, with an extensive record of wolverine fatalities attributed to wolves in both North America and Eurasia. In North America, another predator (less frequent) is the cougar. At least one account reported a wolverine's apparent attempt to steal a kill from a black bear, although the bear won what was ultimately a fatal contest for the wolverine. There are a few accounts of brown bears killing and consuming wolverines as well and, although also reported at times to be chased off prey, in some areas such as Denali National Park, wolverines seemed to try to actively avoid encounters with grizzly bears as they have been reported in areas where wolves start hunting them.
Urine scent marking.
Wolverines have been observed to use urine as a scent-marking behavior. Headspace analysis of the volatiles emanating from urine samples identified 19 potential semiochemicals. The major classes of identified chemicals are the ketones; 2-heptanone, 4-heptanone and 4-nonanone and the monoterpenes: alpha-pinene, beta-pinene, limonene, linalool and geraniol. In other mammals, the excretion of these terpenes is unusual. The conifer needles that are found in wolverine scat are likely the source of these monoterpenes.
Threats and conservation.
The world's total wolverine population is not known. The animal exhibits a low population density and requires a very large home range. The wolverine is listed by the IUCN as Least Concern because of its "wide distribution, remaining large populations, and the unlikelihood that it is in decline at a rate fast enough to trigger even Near Threatened".
The range of a male wolverine can be more than , encompassing the ranges of several females which have smaller home ranges of roughly 130–260 km2 (50–100 mi2). Adult wolverines try for the most part to keep nonoverlapping ranges with adults of the same sex. Radio tracking suggests an animal can range hundreds of miles in a few months.
Female wolverines burrow into snow in February to create a den, which is used until weaning in mid-May. Areas inhabited nonseasonally by wolverines are thus restricted to zones with late-spring snowmelts. This fact has led to concern that global warming will shrink the ranges of wolverine populations.
This requirement for large territories brings wolverines into conflict with human development, and hunting and trapping further reduce their numbers, causing them to disappear from large parts of their former range; attempts to have them declared an endangered species have met with little success. In February 2013, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service proposed giving Endangered Species Act protections to the wolverine due to its winter habitat in the northern Rockies diminishing. This was as a result of a lawsuit brought by the Center for Biological Diversity and Defenders of Wildlife. In November 2023, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service announced that it was adding the wolverine in the United States Lower 48 states to the threatened list.
The Wildlife Conservation Society reported in June 2009 that a wolverine researchers had been tracking for almost three months had crossed into northern Colorado. Society officials had tagged the young male wolverine in Wyoming near Grand Teton National Park, and it had traveled southward for about . It was the first wolverine seen in Colorado since 1919, and its appearance was also confirmed by the Colorado Division of Wildlife. In May 2016 the same wolverine was killed by a cattle ranch-hand in North Dakota, ending a greater-than- trip by this lone male wolverine, dubbed M-56. This was the first verified sighting of a Wolverine in North Dakota in 150 years. In February 2014, a wolverine was seen in Utah, the first confirmed sighting in that state in 30 years.
In captivity.
Around a hundred wolverines are held in zoos across North America and Europe, and they have been bred in captivity, but only with difficulty and high infant mortality.
Human interactions.
Many North American cities, sports teams, and organizations use the wolverine as a mascot. For example, the US state of Michigan is, by tradition, known as "the Wolverine State", and the University of Michigan takes the animal as its mascot. There have also been professional baseball and football clubs called the "Wolverines". The association is well and long established: for example, many Detroiters volunteered to fight during the American Civil War and George Armstrong Custer, who led the Michigan Brigade, called them the "Wolverines". The origins of this association are obscure; it may derive from a busy trade in wolverine furs in Sault Ste. Marie in the 18th century or may recall a disparagement intended to compare early settlers in Michigan with the vicious mammal. Wolverines are, however, extremely rare in Michigan. A sighting in February 2004 near Ubly was the first confirmed sighting in Michigan in 200 years. The animal was found dead in 2010.
The Marvel Comics superhero James "Logan" Howlett was given the nickname "Wolverine" while cage fighting because of his skill, short stature, keen animal senses, ferocity, and most notably, claws that retract from both sets of knuckles.
The wolverine is prevalent in stories and oral history from various Algonquian tribes and figures prominently in the mythology of the Innu people of eastern Quebec and Labrador. The wolverine is known as Kuekuatsheu, a conniving trickster who created the world. The story of the formation of the Innu world begins long ago when Kuekuatsheu built a big boat similar to Noah's Ark and put all the various animal species in it. There was a great deal of rain, and the land was flooded. Kuekuatsheu told a mink to dive into the water to retrieve some mud and rocks which he mixed together to create an island, which is the world that is presently inhabited along with all the animals. Many tales of Kuekuatsheu are often humorous and irreverent and include crude references to bodily functions. Some Northeastern tribes, such as the Miꞌkmaq and Passamaquoddy, refer to the wolverine as Lox, who usually appears in tales as a trickster and thief (although generally more dangerous than its Innu counterpart) and is often depicted as a companion to the wolf. Similarly, the Dené, a group of the Athabaskan-speaking natives of northwestern Canada, have many stories of the wolverine as a trickster and cultural transformer much like the coyote in the Navajo tradition or raven in Northwest Coast traditions.
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8b5e6f0dc2264a208e42e78873bb8ece
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Jason Voorhees
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Jason Voorhees () is a character from the "Friday the 13th" series. He first appeared in "Friday the 13th" (1980) as the young son of camp-cook-turned-killer Pamela Voorhees, in which he was portrayed by Ari Lehman. Created by Victor Miller, with contributions by Ron Kurz, Sean S. Cunningham and Tom Savini, Jason was not originally intended to carry the series as the main antagonist. The character has subsequently been represented in various other media, including novels, video games, comic books, and a crossover film with Freddy Krueger.
The character has primarily been an antagonist in the films, whether by stalking and killing the other characters, or acting as a psychological threat to the protagonist, as in the case of "". Since Lehman's portrayal, the character has been represented by numerous actors and stuntmen, sometimes by more than one at a time; this has caused some controversy as to who should receive credit for the portrayal. Kane Hodder is the best known of the stuntmen to portray Jason, having played the character in four consecutive films.
The character's physical appearance has gone through many transformations, with various special makeup effects artists making their mark on the character's design. Tom Savini's initial design has been the basis for many of the later incarnations. The trademark hockey mask did not appear until "Friday the 13th Part III". Since "", filmmakers have given Jason superhuman strength, regenerative powers, and near invulnerability. Some interpretations suggest that the audience has empathy for Jason, whose motivation for killing has been cited as being driven by the immoral actions of his victims and his own rage over having drowned as a child. Jason has been featured in various humor magazines, referenced in feature films, parodied in television series, and was the inspiration for a horror punk band. Several toy lines have been released based on various versions of the character from the "Friday the 13th" films. Jason’s hockey mask is a widely recognized image in popular culture.
Appearances.
Jason Voorhees first appears during a nightmare of the main character Alice Hardy (Adrienne King) in the original "Friday the 13th" film; he becomes the main antagonist of the series in its sequels. As well as the films, there have been books and comics that have either expanded the universe of Jason, or been based on a minor aspect of him.
Films.
Jason made his first cinematic appearance in the original "Friday the 13th" on May 9, 1980. In this film, Jason (Ari Lehman) is portrayed in the memories of his mother, Mrs. Voorhees (Betsy Palmer), and as a nightmare of the film's protagonist, Alice (Adrienne King). Although not a central character in the original movie, he is still the catalyst of the film's plot—Mrs. Voorhees, the main antagonist, seeks revenge for her son's drowning, which she blames on the irresponsible camp counselors. Jason's second appearance was in the sequel, "Friday the 13th Part 2" (1981). Revealed to be alive, an adult Jason exacts revenge on Alice for decapitating his mother in the original film. Jason (Steven Dash and Warrington Gillette) returns to Crystal Lake, living there as a hermit and guarding it from all intruders. Five years later a group of teenagers arrive to set up a new camp, only to be murdered one by one by Jason, who wears a sack over his head to hide his face. Ginny (Amy Steel), the lone survivor, finds a makeshift shack in the woods with a shrine built around the severed head of Mrs. Voorhees, and surrounded by corpses. Ginny fights back and slams a machete through Jason's shoulder. He is left incapacitated as Ginny is taken away in an ambulance. In "Friday the 13th Part III" (1982), Jason (Richard Brooker) escapes to a nearby lake resort, Higgins Haven, to rest from his wounds. At the same time, Chris Higgins (Dana Kimmell) returns to family property with some acquaintances. An unmasked and reclusive Jason kills anyone who wanders into the barn where he is hiding. Taking a hockey mask from a victim to hide his face, he leaves the barn to kill the rest of the group. Chris fends off Jason by slamming an axe into his head, but the night's events drive her into hysteria as the police take her away.
' (1984) continues the story, with a presumed-dead Jason (Ted White) found by the police and taken to the morgue. Jason awakens at the morgue and kills the coroner and a nurse, and makes his way back to Crystal Lake. A group of teens renting a house there fall victim to Jason's rampage. Jason then seeks out Trish (Kimberly Beck) and Tommy Jarvis (Corey Feldman) next door. While Trish distracts Jason, Tommy finally kills him with a machete. ' (1985) follows Tommy Jarvis (John Shepherd), who was committed to a mental hospital after the events of "The Final Chapter", and has grown up constantly afraid that Jason (Tom Morga) will return. Jason's body was supposedly cremated after Tommy killed him. Roy Burns (Dick Wieand) uses Jason's persona to become a copycat killer at the halfway home to which Tommy was moved. Jason appears in the film only through Tommy's dreams and hallucinations. In "" (1986), Tommy (Thom Mathews), who has run away from a mental institution, visits Jason's grave and learns that Jason's body was never actually cremated, but buried in a cemetery near Crystal Lake. While attempting to destroy his body, Tommy inadvertently resurrects Jason (C. J. Graham) via a piece of cemetery fence that acts as a lightning rod. Now possessing superhuman abilities, Jason returns to Crystal Lake, renamed Forest Green, and begins his killing spree anew. Tommy eventually lures Jason back to the lake where he drowned as a child and chains him to a boulder on the lake floor, but almost dies in the process. Tommy's friend, Megan Garris (Jennifer Cooke), finishes Jason off by cutting his neck with a boat propeller.
' (1988) begins an undisclosed amount of time after "Jason Lives". Jason (Kane Hodder) is inadvertently freed from his chains by the telekinetic Tina Shepard (Lar Park Lincoln), who was attempting to resurrect her father. Jason begins killing those who occupy Crystal Lake, and after a battle with Tina, is dragged back to the bottom of the lake by an apparition of Tina's father. ' (1989) sees Jason return from the grave, brought back to life via an underwater electrical cable. He follows a group of students on their senior class trip to Manhattan, boarding the "Lazarus" to wreak havoc. Upon reaching Manhattan, Jason kills all the survivors but Rennie (Jensen Daggett) and Sean (Scott Reeves); he chases them into the sewers, where he is submerged in toxic waste and dies. In "" (1993), through an unexplained resurrection, he returns to Crystal Lake where he is hunted by the FBI. The FBI sets up a sting to kill Jason, which proves successful. However, through mystical possession, Jason survives by passing his demon-infested heart from one being to the next. Though Jason does not physically appear throughout most of the film, it is learned he has a half-sister and a niece, and that he needs them to retrieve and reinhabit his body. After resurrecting it, Jason is stabbed by his niece Jessica Kimble (Kari Keegan) and dragged into Hell.
"Jason X" (2001) marked Kane Hodder's last performance as Jason. The film starts off in 2010; Jason has returned after another unexplained resurrection. Captured by the U.S. government in 2008, Jason is being experimented upon in a research facility, where it has been determined that he has regenerative capabilities and that cryonic suspension is the only possible solution to stop him, since numerous attempts to execute him have proved unsuccessful. Jason escapes, killing all but one of his captors, and slices through the cryo-chamber, spilling cryonics fluid into the room, freezing himself and the only other survivor, Rowan (Lexa Doig). A team of students 445 years later discover Jason's body. On the team's spacecraft, Jason thaws from his cryonic suspension and begins killing the crew. Along the way, he is enhanced by a regenerative nanotechnology process, which gives him an impenetrable metal body. Finally, he is ejected into space and falls to the planet Earth Two, incinerated in the atmosphere.
"Freddy vs. Jason" (2003) is a crossover film in which Jason battles "A Nightmare on Elm Street"'s villain Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund), a supernatural killer who murders people in their dreams. Krueger has grown weak, as people in his home town of Springwood have suppressed their fear of him. Freddy, who is impersonating Jason's mother (Paula Shaw), resurrects Jason (Ken Kirzinger) from Hell and sends him to Springwood to cause panic and fear. Jason accomplishes this, but refuses to stop killing. A battle ensues in both the dream world and Crystal Lake. The identity of the winner is left ambiguous, as Jason surfaces from the lake holding Freddy's severed head, which winks and laughs.
In the 2009 "Friday the 13th" reboot, young Jason (Caleb Guss) witnesses his mother's (Nana Visitor) beheading as a child and follows in her footsteps, killing anyone who comes to Crystal Lake. The adult Jason (Derek Mears) kidnaps Whitney Miller (Amanda Righetti), a girl who looks like his mother, and holds her prisoner in his tunnels. Months later, Whitney's brother Clay (Jared Padalecki) comes to Crystal Lake and rescues her. Eventually, Whitney uses Jason's devotion to his mother against him, stabbing him with his own machete while he is distracted when she appears. When his body is dumped into the lake, Jason emerges from the water to grab Whitney and their fates are left unknown.
Literature.
Jason first appeared outside of film in the 1982 novelization of "Friday the 13th Part 3" by Michael Avallone. Avallone chose to use an alternate ending, which was filmed for "Part 3" but never used, as the ending for his 1982 adaptation. In the alternate film ending, Chris, who is in the canoe, hears Rick's voice and immediately rushes back to the house. When she opens the door, Jason is standing there with a machete, and he decapitates her. Jason next appears in print in the 1986 novelization of "Jason Lives" by Simon Hawke, who also adapted the first three films in 1987 and 1988. "Jason Lives" specifically introduced Elias Voorhees, Jason's father, a character who was slated to appear in the film but was cut by the studio. In the novel, instead of being cremated, Elias has Jason buried after his death.
Jason made his comic book debut in the 1993 adaptation of "Jason Goes to Hell", written by Andy Mangels. The three-issue series was a condensed version of the film, with a few added scenes that were never shot. Jason made his first appearance outside of the direct adaptations in "Satan's Six" No. 4, published in 1993, which is a continuation of the events of "Jason Goes to Hell". In 1995, Nancy A. Collins wrote a three-issue, non-canonical miniseries involving a crossover between Jason and Leatherface. The story involves Jason stowing away aboard a train, after being released from Crystal Lake when the area is drained due to heavy toxic-waste dumping. Jason meets Leatherface, who adopts him into his family after the two become friends. Eventually they turn on each other. In 1994, four young adult novels were released under the title of "Friday the 13th". They did not feature Jason explicitly, but revolve around people becoming possessed by Jason when they put on his mask.
In 2003 and 2005, Black Flame published novelizations of "Freddy vs. Jason" and "Jason X" respectively. In 2005, they began publishing a new series of novels; one set was published under the "Jason X" title, while the second set utilized the "Friday the 13th" title. The "Jason X" series consisted of four sequels to the novelization of the film. ' was the first published. In this novel, Jason is being used by the government, who are trying to use his indestructibility to create their own army of "super-soldiers". ' follows the efforts of Dr. Bardox and his crew as they try to clone the body of a comatose Jason, and shows their efforts to stay alive when Jason wakes from his coma. ' revolves around Jason crash-landing at Moon Camp Americana. Jason is discovered below a prison site and unknowingly awakened in '. Jason has a son in this book, conceived through a form of artificial insemination.
On May 13, 2005, Avatar Press began releasing new "Friday the 13th" comics. The first, titled "Friday the 13th", was written by Brian Pulido and illustrated by Mike Wolfer and Greg Waller. The story takes place after the events of "Freddy vs. Jason", where siblings Miles and Laura Upland have inherited Camp Crystal Lake. Knowing that Jason caused the recent destruction, Laura, unknown to her brother, sets out to kill Jason using a paramilitary group, so that she and her brother can sell the property. A three-issue miniseries titled "Friday the 13th: Bloodbath" was released in September 2005. Written by Brian Pulido and illustrated by Mike Wolfer and Andrew Dalhouse, the story involves a group of teenagers who come from Camp Tomorrow, a camp that sits on Crystal Lake, for work and a "party-filled weekend". The teenagers discover they share common family backgrounds, and soon awaken Jason, who hunts them. Brian Pulido returned for a third time in October 2005 to write "Jason X". Picking up after the events of the "Jason X" film, Über-Jason is now on Earth II where a biological engineer, Kristen, attempts to subdue Jason, in hopes that she can use his regenerative tissue to save her own life and the lives of those she loves. In February 2006, Avatar published "Friday the 13th: Jason vs. Jason X". Written and illustrated by Mike Wolfer, the story takes place after the events of the film "Jason X". A salvage team discovers the spaceship Grendel and awakens a regenerated Jason Voorhees. The "original" Jason and Über-Jason are drawn to each other, resulting in a battle to the death. In June 2006, a one-shot comic entitled "Friday the 13th: Fearbook" was released, written by Mike Wolfer with art by Sebastian Fiumara. The comic has Jason being captured and experimented upon by the Trent Organization; Jason escapes and seeks out Violet, the survivor of "Friday the 13th: Bloodbath", who is being contained by the Trent Organization in their Crystal Lake headquarters.
The "Friday the 13th" novella storyline was not connected to the "Jason X" series, and did not continue the stories set forth by the films, but furthered the character of Jason in its own way. ' has Jason resurrected by a religious cult. Jason is stuck in Hell, when recently executed serial killer Wayne Sanchez persuades Jason to help him return to Earth in '. In "Hate-Kill-Repeat", two religious serial killers attempt to find Jason at Crystal Lake, believing that the three of them share the same contempt for those that break the moral code. In "The Jason Strain", Jason is on an island with a group of convicts placed there by television executives running a reality game show. The character of Pamela Voorhees returns from the grave in "". Pamela is in search of Jason, who is now part of a traveling sideshow and about to be auctioned off to the highest bidder.
In December 2006, DC Comics imprint Wildstorm began publishing new comic books about Jason Voorhees under the "Friday the 13th" moniker. The first set was a six-issue miniseries involving Jason's return to Camp Crystal Lake, which is being renovated by a group of teenagers in preparation for its reopening as a tourist attraction. The series depicts various paranormal phenomena occurring at Crystal Lake. Jason's actions in this storyline are driven by the vengeful spirits of a Native American tribe wiped out on the lake by fur traders sometime in the 19th century. On July 11 and August 15, 2007, Wildstorm published a two-part special entitled "Friday the 13th: Pamela's Tale". The two-issue comic book covers Pamela Voorhees' journey to Camp Crystal Lake and the story of her pregnancy with Jason as she recounts it to hitchhiker Annie, a camp counselor who was killed in the original film. Wildstorm released another two-part special, entitled "Friday the 13th: How I Spent My Summer Vacation", that was released on September 12 and October 10, 2007. The comic book provides new insight into the psychology of Jason Voorhees as he befriends a boy born with a skull deformity. Wildstorm released a six-issue series called "Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash", starring the two killers and Ash from the "Evil Dead" series. In this story, Freddy uses the "Necronomicon", which is in the Voorhees' basement, to escape from Jason's subconscious and "gain powers unlike anything he's had before". Freddy attempts to use Jason to retrieve the book, stating it will make him a real boy. Ash, who is working at the local S-Mart in Crystal Lake, learns of the book's existence and sets out to destroy it. Wildstorm released another two-issue miniseries on January 9 and February 13, 2008, titled "Friday the 13th: Bad Land", written and illustrated by Ron Marz and Mike Huddleston respectively. The miniseries features Jason stalking a trio of teenaged hikers taking shelter from a blizzard in Camp Crystal Lake.
A sequel to "Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash", subtitled "", was released by Wildstorm in 2009. Jason escapes from the bottom of Crystal Lake to resume his hunt for Ash, but is captured by the U.S. government. Freddy helps him escape and appoints him the general of his Deadite army, using the "Necronomicon" to heal his accumulated injuries and decomposition; it removes his natural deformities in the process. At the climax of the story, Jason battles his nemesis Tommy Jarvis and his great-niece Stephanie Kimble; Stephanie impales him before Tommy decapitates him with a shard of glass. Jason's soul is then absorbed by Freddy, who uses it to increase his own power.
Other appearances.
Jason has made an appearance in five video games. He first appeared in "Friday the 13th", a 1985 Commodore 64 game. His next appearance was in 1989, when LJN, an American game company known for its games based on popular movies in the 1980s and early 1990s, released "Friday the 13th" on the Nintendo Entertainment System. The premise involved the gamer, who picks one of six camp counselors as their player, trying to save the campers from Jason, while battling various enemies throughout the game. On October 13, 2006, a "Friday the 13th" game was released for mobile phones. The game puts the user in the persona of Jason as he battles the undead. Jason also appears as a playable character in the fighting game "Mortal Kombat X" as a downloadable content bonus character. A new "" was released in 2017, which allows players to take control of Jason or camp counselors in a multiplayer format focused on Jason trying to kill the counselors before they can escape or time runs out. Jason is also playable in the fighting game "MultiVersus".
Concept and creation.
Initially created by Victor Miller, Jason's final design was a combined effort by Miller, Ron Kurz, and Tom Savini. The name "Jason" is a combination of "Josh" and "Ian", Miller's two sons, and "Voorhees" was inspired by a girl that Miller knew at high school whose last name was Voorhees. Miller felt it was a "creepy-sounding name", which was perfect for his character. Miller initially wrote Jason as a normal-looking child, but the crew behind the film decided he needed to be deformed. Victor Miller explained Jason was not meant to be a creature from the "Black Lagoon" in his script, and scripted Jason as a mentally disabled young boy; it was Savini who made Jason deformed. Ron Kurz confirmed that Miller's version of Jason was that of a normal child, but claims that it was his idea to turn Jason into a "mongoloid creature", and have him "jump out of the lake at the end of the film". Miller later agreed the ending would not have been as good if he looked like "Betsy Palmer at eight years old". Miller wrote a scene where Alice dreams she is attacked in a canoe by Jason, and then she wakes up in a hospital bed. Miller's intention was to get as close to "Carrie"s ending as possible. Savini believed having Jason pop out of the lake would be psychologically disturbing to the audience, and since Alice is supposed to be dreaming, the crew could get away with adding anything they wanted.
When it came time to cast the role of Jason, Ari Lehman, who had received a part in Sean Cunningham's "Manny's Orphans", arrived to read for the character of Jack. Before he could get started, Cunningham walked in and offered him a different part: Jason. Without having read a single word, Cunningham just looked at Ari and said, "You're the right size, you've got it." In the original "Friday the 13th", Ari Lehman is seen only in a brief flashback as the surprise ending. Subsequent actors who portrayed a young Jason include Timothy Burr Mirkovich in "Jason Takes Manhattan" and Spencer Stump in "Freddy vs. Jason". The adult role of Jason Voorhees has been played by various actors, some not credited, others taking great pride in their parts. Due to the physical demands the adult character requires, and the lack of emotional depth depicted, many of the actors since have been stuntmen. The most well known among them is Kane Hodder, who is cited as the best to play the role.
Many ideas were suggested for the sequel to "Friday the 13th", including making the title part of a serialized film series, where each succeeding film would be its own story and not related to any previous film under the "Friday the 13th" moniker. It was Phil Scuderi, one of the producers for the original film, who suggested bringing Jason back for the sequel. The director Steve Miner felt it was the obvious direction to take the series, as he felt the audience wanted to know more about the child who attacked Alice in the lake. Miner decided to pretend as if Alice did not see the "real Jason" in her dream, and Jason had survived his drowning as a boy and had grown up. After killing Jason in "The Final Chapter", it was the director Joseph Zito's intention to leave the door open for the studio to make more films with Tommy Jarvis as the main antagonist. Screenwriter Barney Cohen felt Jarvis would become a substitute for Jason, but the idea was never fully developed in "A New Beginning". Director and co-screenwriter Danny Steinmann disliked the idea of Jason not being the killer, but decided to use Tommy's fear of Jason as the primary story. This idea was immediately abandoned in "Jason Lives", when "A New Beginning" did not spark the "creative success" the studio was looking for. Executive producer Frank Mancuso Jr. wanted to bring Jason back, and he did not care how it was achieved. In yet another alteration of the series' continuity, Tom McLoughlin chose to ignore the idea that Jason had survived his drowning, instead presenting him as always having been some sort of supernatural force. Since "A New Beginning", no sequel has attempted to replace Jason as the main antagonist. Miller, who has not seen any of the sequels, took issue with all of them because they made Jason the villain. Miller believes the best part of his screenplay was that it was about a mother avenging the senseless death of her son. Miller stated, "Jason was dead from the very beginning; he was a victim, not a villain."
Men under the mask.
Jason Voorhees went from deceased child to full-grown man for "Friday the 13th Part 2", and Warrington Gillette was hired to play the role. Gillette auditioned for the role of Paul; that role eventually went to John Furey. Under the belief that he had attended the Hollywood Stuntman's School, Gillette was offered the role of Jason Voorhees. Initially Gillette was unsure about the character, but the idea of starring in his first film grew on Gillette, and he also thought the role was amusing. It became apparent Gillette could not perform the necessary stunts, so the stunt coordinator Cliff Cudney brought in Steve Daskawisz. Daskawisz filmed all of the scenes except the opening sequence and the unmasking shot at the end; Gillette returned for the unmasking scenes. Gillette received credit for playing Jason, while Daskawisz was given credit as the stunt double. When "Part 3" was released the following year, Daskawisz was credited as Jason for the reused footage from the climax of the film. Initially, Daskawisz was asked to return to the role for "Part 3", but it would have required him to pay for his own transportation and housing during filming. Having secured a part on "Guiding Light", Daskawisz declined.
Now wanting a "bigger and stronger-looking" Jason, one that was also "more athletic and powerful", Steve Miner hired former British trapeze artist Richard Brooker. After a conversation, Miner decided he was the right person for the job. Being new to the country, Brooker believed that "playing a psychopathic killer" was the best way into the movie business. Brooker became the first actor to wear Jason's now-signature hockey mask. According to Brooker, "It felt great with the mask on. It just felt like I really was Jason because I didn't have anything to wear before that." For "The Final Chapter", Joseph Zito brought his own spin to the character, one that required a "real hardcore stuntman"; Ted White was hired to perform the role. White, who only took the job for the money, did "get into the Jason psychology" when he arrived on the set. White went so far as to not speak to any of the other actors for long stretches. As filming continued, White's experience was not pleasant, and in one instance, he went to battle for co-star Judie Aronson, who played Samantha, when the director kept her naked in the lake for extended periods of time. Displeased with his experience from filming, White had his name removed from the credits. As with "Friday the 13th Part 2", there was confusion over who performed the role in "A New Beginning", partly because Jason is not the literal antagonist in the film. When Ted White turned down the opportunity to return, Dick Wieand was cast. Wieand is credited as Roy Burns, the film's actual murderer, but it was stuntman Tom Morga who performed in the few flashes of Jason, as well as portraying Roy in almost all of the masked scenes. Wieand has been outspoken about his lack of enthusiasm over his role in the film. Feeling alienated during the shoot, Wieand spent most of his time in his trailer. By comparison, Morga enjoyed his time as Jason and made sure he "really got into the character".
A nightclub manager in Glendale, C. J. Graham, was interviewed for the role of Jason in "Jason Lives", but was initially passed over because he had no experience as a stuntman. Dan Bradley was hired, but Paramount executives felt Bradley did not have the right physique to play the role, and Graham was hired to replace him. Although Bradley was replaced early during filming, he can be seen in the paintball sequence of the film. Graham opted to perform most of his own stunts, including the scene where Jason catches on fire while battling Tommy in the lake. The rest of the cast spoke highly of Graham, remarking that he never complained during all the uncomfortable situations he was placed in. Graham had no intention of being an actor or a stuntman, but the idea of playing the "bad guy", and the opportunity to wear the prosthetics, intrigued him. Graham was not brought back to reprise the role, but has often been cited as speaking highly of his time in the part.
Kane Hodder took over the role in "The New Blood", and played Jason in the next four films. He previously worked alongside director John Carl Buechler on a film called "Prison". Based on his experience working with Hodder, Buechler petitioned Frank Mancuso Jr. to hire him, but Mancuso was apprehensive about Hodder's limited size. Knowing he planned to use full body prosthetics, Buechler scheduled a test screening, the first in "Friday the 13th" history for the character, and Mancuso immediately gave Hodder approval upon seeing him. It is Buechler's contention that Hodder gave Jason his first true personality, based on the emotions, specifically the rage, that Hodder would emit while acting the part. According to Hodder, he wanted to "get in touch with Jason's thirst for revenge" and try to better understand his motivation to kill. After viewing the previous films, Hodder decided that he would approach Jason as a more "quick and agile" individual than he had been portrayed in the previous sequels. John Carl Buechler felt that Kane had "natural affinity for the role"—so much that Kane's appearance, when wearing the mask, would often terrify the cast, the crew, and in one incident a lone stranger that he came across on his walk back to his trailer. Initially Frank Mancuso Jr. and Barbara Sachs planned to use a Canadian stuntperson for "Jason Takes Manhattan". Hodder acted as his own voice, calling and requesting that he be allowed to reprise the role; the ultimate decision was left to director Rob Hedden, who intended to use Hodder, because he felt Hodder knew the lore of the series. With Sean Cunningham's return as producer for "Jason Goes to Hell", Hodder felt his chances of reprising the role were even better: Hodder had worked as Cunningham's stunt coordinator for years. Regardless, Adam Marcus, the director for "Jason Goes to Hell", always intended to hire Hodder for the role. "Jason X" would mark Hodder's last performance as Jason, to date. Todd Farmer, who wrote the screenplay for "Jason X", knew that Hodder would play Jason from the beginning. Jim Isaac was a fan of Hodder's work on the previous films, so hiring him was an easy decision.
New Line believed "Freddy vs. Jason" needed a fresh start, and choose a new actor for Jason. Cunningham disagreed with their decision, believing Hodder was the best choice for the role. Hodder did receive the script for "Freddy vs. Jason", and had a meeting with director Ronny Yu and New Line executives, but Matthew Barry and Yu felt the role should be recast to fit Yu's image of Jason. According to Hodder, New Line failed to provide him with a reason for the recasting, but Yu has explained he wanted a slower, more deliberate Jason, and less of the aggressive movements that Hodder had used in the previous films. Yu and development executive Jeff Katz recognized the outcry among fans over the replacement of Hodder as Jason, but stood by their choice in recasting.
The role eventually went to Ken Kirzinger, a Canadian stuntman who worked on "Jason Takes Manhattan". There are conflicting reports over the reason Kirzinger was cast. According to Yu, Kirzinger was hired because he was taller than Robert Englund, the actor who portrays Freddy Krueger. Kirzinger stands , compared to the of Kane Hodder, and Yu wanted a much larger actor to tower over the Englund. Kirzinger believes his experience on "Part VIII" helped him land the part, as Kirzinger doubled for Hodder on two scenes for the film, but also believes he was simply sized up and handed the job. Although he was hired by the creative crew, New Line did not officially cast Kirzinger until first seeing him on film. Kirzinger's first scene was Jason walking down Elm Street. New Line wanted a specific movement in Jason's walk; Kirzinger met their expectations and signed a contract with the studio. However, concerns that test audiences were confused by the film's original ending caused the studio to reshoot the final scene. Actor Douglas Tait was brought in to film the new ending, as he was available for the reshoot and had been the production's second choice to portray the role of Jason during the original casting.
For the 2009 remake, stuntman Derek Mears was hired to portray Jason Voorhees at the recommendation of makeup special effects supervisor Scott Stoddard. Mears's pleasant demeanor had the studio worried about his ability to portray such a menacing character on screen, but Mears assured them he would be able to perform the role. When Mears auditioned for the role he was asked why they should hire an actor over just another guy in a mask. As Mears explained, portraying Jason is similar to Greek mask work, where the mask and the actor are two separate entities, and, based on the scene, there will be various combinations of mask and actor in the performance.
Design.
The physical design of Jason Voorhees has gone through changes, some subtle and some radical. For "Friday the 13th", the task of coming up with Jason's appearance was the responsibility of Tom Savini, whose design for Jason was inspired by someone Savini knew as a child whose eyes and ears did not line up straight. The original design called for Jason to have hair, but Savini and his crew opted to make him bald, so he would look like a "hydrocephalic, mongoloid pinhead", with a dome-shaped head. Savini created a plaster mold of Ari Lehman's head and used that to create prosthetics for his face. Lehman personally placed mud—from the bottom of the lake—all over his body to make himself appear "really slimy."
For "Part 2", Steve Miner asked Carl Fullerton, the make-up effects supervisor, to stick to Savini's original design, but Fullerton only had one day to design and sculpt a new head. Fullerton drew a rough sketch of what he believed Jason should look like, and had it approved by Miner. Fullerton added long hair to the character. Gillette had to spend hours in a chair as they applied rubber forms all over his face, and had to keep one eye closed while the "droopy eye" application was in place. Gillette's eye was closed for twelve hours at a time while he was filming the final scenes of the film. False teeth created by a local dentist were used to distort Gillette's face. Much of the basic concept of Fullerton's design was eliminated for "Part 3". Miner wanted to use a combination of the designs from Tom Savini and Carl Fullerton, but as work progressed the design began to lean more and more toward Savini's concept. Stan Winston was hired to create a design for Jason's head, but the eyes were level and Doug White, the make-up artist for "Part 3", needed a droopy right eye. White did keep Winston's design for the back of the head, because the crew did not have the time to design an entirely new head for Jason. The process of creating Jason's look was hard work for White, who had to constantly make alterations to Richard Brooker's face, even up to the last day of filming.
The script for "Part 3" called for Jason to wear a mask to cover his face, having worn a bag over his head in "Part 2"; what no one knew at the time was that the mask chosen would become a trademark for the character, and one instantly recognizable in popular culture in the years to come. During production, Steve Miner called for a lighting check. None of the effects crew wanted to apply any make-up for the light check, so they decided to just throw a mask on Brooker. The film's 3D effects supervisor, Martin Jay Sadoff, was a hockey fan, and had a bag of hockey gear with him on the set. He pulled out a Detroit Red Wings goaltender mask for the test. Miner loved the mask, but it was too small. Using a substance called VacuForm, Doug White enlarged the mask and created a new mold to work with. After White finished the molds, Terry Ballard placed red triangles on the mask to give it a unique appearance. Holes were punched into the mask and the markings were altered, making it different from Sadoff's mask. There were two prosthetic face masks created for Richard Brooker to wear underneath the hockey mask. One mask was composed of approximately 11 different appliances and took about six hours to apply to Brooker's face; this mask was used for scenes where the hockey mask was removed. In the scenes where the hockey mask is over the face, a simple head mask was created. This one-piece mask would slip on over Brooker's head, exposing his face but not the rest of his head.
Tom Savini agreed to return to make-up duties for "The Final Chapter" because he felt he should be the one to bring Jason full circle in terms of his look from child to man. Savini used his design from the original "Friday the 13th", with the same practice of application as before, but molded from Ted White's face. Since Jason is not the actual killer in "A New Beginning", it was not necessary to do any major designing for Jason's look. Only a head mask to cover the top and back of the head, like the one Brooker wore while wearing the hockey mask, was needed for the film. Make-up artist Louis Lazzara, who cites "A New Beginning" as almost a direct sequel to "The Final Chapter", did base his head-mask on Tom Savini's design for "The Final Chapter".
"Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood" sought to make Jason more of a "classic monster along the lines of Frankenstein." From the beginning, Buechler tried to tie the previous films together by having Jason's appearance reflect that of the damage he received in the previous installments. Buechler wanted the motor boat damage from "Jason Lives", and the axe and machete cuts Jason received in "Part 3" and "Part 4" to part of the design for "The New Blood". Since Jason had been submerged under water in the previous entry, the effects team wanted Jason to appear "rotted", with bones and ribs showing, and for Jason's features to have a more defined feel to them. Howard Berger was inspired by Carl Fullerton's design in "The New Blood", and wanted to incorporate the exposed flesh concept into his model for "Jason Goes to Hell". Berger designed Jason's skin to overlap with the mask, to make it appear as if the skin and mask had fused and the mask could no longer be removed. Gregory Nicotero and Berger sculpted a full-body, foam latex suit for Kane Hodder to wear under the costume. The idea was to reveal as much of Jason's skin as possible, because Nicotero and Berger knew the physical character would not be seen for most of the film.
Stephan Dupuis was given the task of redesigning Jason for the tenth "Friday the 13th" film. One concept brought into the film was Jason's regenerative abilities. Dupuis gave the character more hair and more of a natural flesh appearance to illustrate the constant regeneration the character goes through; Dupuis wanted a more "gothic" design for Jason, so he added chains and shackles, and made the hockey mask more angular. Jim Isaac and the rest of his crew wanted to create an entirely new Jason at some point in the film. The idea was for the teens to completely destroy Jason's body, allowing the futuristic technology to bring him back to life. What was referred to as Über-Jason was designed to have chunks of metal growing from his body, bonded by tendrils that grew into the metal, all pushing through a leather suit. The metal was created from VacuForm, the same material used to increase the size of the original hockey mask, and was attached by Velcro. The tendrils were made from silicone. All of the pieces were crafted onto one suit, including an entire head piece, which Hodder wore. The make-up effects team added zippers along the side of the suit, which allowed Hodder to enter and exit the suit within 15 minutes.
By the time "Freddy vs. Jason" entered production there had been ten previous "Friday the 13th" films. Make-up effects artist Terezakis wanted to put his own mark on Jason's look—he wanted Jason to be less rotted and decomposed and more defined, so that the audience would see a new Jason, but still recognized the face. Terezakis tried to keep continuity with the previous films, but recognized that had he followed them too literally, then "Jason would have been reduced to a pile of goo." Ronny Yu wanted everything surrounding the hockey mask to act as a frame, making the mask the focal point of each shot. To achieve this, Terezakis created a "pooled-blood look" for the character by painting the skin black, based on the idea the blood had pooled in the back of his head because he had been lying on his back for a long time. As with other make-up artists before him, Terezakis followed Savini's original skull design, and aged it appropriately.
For the 2009 version of "Friday the 13th", effects artist Scott Stoddard took inspiration from Carl Fullerton's design in "Friday the 13th Part 2" and Tom Savini's work in "Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter". Stoddard wanted to make sure that Jason appeared human and not like a monster. Stoddard's vision of Jason includes hair loss, skin rashes, and the traditional deformities in his face, but he attempted to craft Jason's look in a way that would allow for a more human side to be seen. Stoddard took inspiration from the third and fourth films when designing Jason's hockey mask. The make-up artist managed to acquire an original set piece, which he studied and later sculpted. Although he had a model of one of the original masks, Stoddard did not want to replicate it in its entirety. As Stoddard explains, "Because I didn't want to take something that already existed, there were things I thought were great, but there were things I wanted to change a bit. Make it custom, but keep all the fundamental designs. Especially the markings on the forehead and cheeks. Age them down a bit, break them up." In the end, Stoddard crafted six versions of the mask, each with varying degrees of wear.
Characteristics.
In his original appearance, Jason was scripted as a mentally disabled young boy. Since "Friday the 13th", Jason Voorhees has been depicted as a non-verbal, indestructible, machete-wielding mass murderer. Jason is primarily portrayed as being completely silent throughout the film series. Exceptions to this include in "Part III" when he grunts in pain several times when final girl Chris manages to stab him (once in the hand and once just above his knee), flashbacks of Jason as a child, a brief scene in "Jason Takes Manhattan" where the character cries out "Mommy, please don't let me drown!" in a child's voice before being submerged in toxic waste, and in "Jason Goes to Hell" where his spirit possesses other individuals. Online magazine "Salon"s Andrew O'Hehir describes Jason as a "silent, expressionless...blank slate." When discussing Jason psychologically, Sean S. Cunningham said, "...he doesn't have any personality. He's like a great white shark. You can't really defeat him. All you can hope for is to survive." Since "Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives", Jason has been a "virtually indestructible" being. Tom McLoughlin, the film's director, felt it was silly that Jason had previously been just another guy in a mask, who would kill people left and right, but get "beaten up and knocked down by the heroine at the end". McLoughlin wanted Jason to be more of a "formidable, unstoppable monster". In resurrecting Jason from the dead, McLoughlin also gave him the weakness of being rendered helpless if trapped beneath the waters of Crystal Lake; inspired by vampire lore, McLoughlin decided that Jason had in fact drowned as a child, and that returning him to his original resting place would immobilize him. This weakness would be presented again in "The New Blood", and the idea that Jason had drowned as a child was taken up by director Rob Hedden as a plot element in "Jason Takes Manhattan".
Many have given suggestions as Jason's motivation for killing. Ken Kirzinger refers to Jason as a "psychotic mama's boy gone horribly awry...very resilient. You can't kill him, but he feels pain, just not like everyone else." Kirzinger goes on to say that Jason is a "psycho-savant", and believes his actions are based on pleasing his mother, and not anything personal. Andrew O'Hehir has stated, "Coursing hormones act, of course, as smelling salts to prudish Jason, that ever-vigilant enforcer of William Bennett-style values." Todd Farmer, writer for "Jason X", wrote the scene where Jason wakes from cryonic hibernation just as two of the teenagers are having sex. Farmer liked the idea that sex acts triggered Jason back to life. Whatever his motivations, Kane Hodder believes there is a limit to what he will do. According to Hodder, Jason might violently murder any person he comes across, but when "Jason Takes Manhattan" called for Hodder to kick the lead character's dog, Hodder refused, stating that, while Jason has no qualms against killing humans, he is not bad enough to hurt animals. Another example from "Jason Takes Manhattan", involves Jason being confronted by a street gang of young teenage boys one of whom threatens him with a knife, however Jason chooses not to kill them and instead scares them off by lifting up his mask and showing them his face. Likewise, director Tom McLoughlin chose not to have Jason harm any of the children he encounters in "Jason Lives," stating that Jason would not kill a child, out of a sympathy for the plight of children generated by his own death as a child.
In "Jason Goes to Hell", director Adam Marcus decided to include a copy of the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis, from the "Evil Dead" franchise, in the Voorhees home as a way to insinuate that Jason was actually a "Deadite", a type of demonic being from that series. Marcus stated the book's placement was intended to imply that Pamela Voorhees had used it to resurrect Jason after his childhood drowning, resulting in his supernatural abilities: "This is why Jason isn't Jason. He's Jason plus "The Evil Dead"... That, to me, is way more interesting as a mashup, and [Sam] Raimi loved it! It's not like I could tell New Line my plan to include "The Evil Dead", because they don't own "The Evil Dead". So it had to be an Easter egg, and I did focus on it. It absolutely is canon." In an early draft of "Freddy vs. Jason", it was decided that one of the villains needed a redeemable factor. Ronald D. Moore, co-writer of the first draft, explained that Jason was the easiest to make redeemable, because no one had previously ventured into the psychology surrounding the character. Moore saw the character as a "blank slate", and felt he was a character the audience could really root for. Another draft, penned by Mark Protosevich, followed Moore's idea of Jason having a redeemable quality. In the draft, Jason protects a pregnant teenager named Rachel Daniels. Protosevich explained, "It gets into this whole idea of there being two kinds of monsters. Freddy is a figure of actual pure evil and Jason is more like a figure of vengeance who punishes people he feels do not deserve to live. Ultimately, the two of them clash and Jason becomes an honorable monster." Writers Damian Shannon and Mark Swift, who wrote the final draft of the film, disagreed about making Jason a hero, although they drew comparisons between the fact that Freddy was a victimizer and Jason was a victim. They stated, "We did not want to make Jason any less scary. He's still a brutal killer ... We never wanted to put them in a situation where Jason is a hero ... They're both villains to be equally feared." Brenna O'Brien, co-founder of Fridaythe13thfilms.com, saw the character as having sympathetic qualities. She stated, "[Jason] was a deformed child who almost drowned and then spent the rest of his childhood growing up alone in the woods. He saw his mother get murdered by a camp counselor in the first "Friday the 13th", and so now he exacts his revenge on anyone who returns to Camp Crystal Lake. Teenage fans can identify with that sense of rejection and isolation, which you can't really get from other killers like Freddy Krueger and Michael Myers."
As Jason went through some characterization changes in the 2009 film, Derek Mears likens him more to a combination of John Rambo, Tarzan, and the Abominable Snowman from "Looney Tunes". To him, this Jason is similar to Rambo because he sets up the other characters to fall into his traps. Like Rambo, he is more calculated because he feels that he has been wronged and he is fighting back; he is meant to be more sympathetic in this film. Fuller and Form contend that they did not want to make Jason too sympathetic to the audience. As Brad Fuller explains, "We do not want him to be sympathetic. Jason is not a comedic character, he is not sympathetic. He's a killing machine. Plain and simple."
In 2005, California State University's Media Psychology Lab surveyed 1,166 people Americans aged from 16 to 91 on the psychological appeal of movie monsters. Many of the characteristics associated with Jason Voorhees were appealing to the participants. In the survey, Jason was considered to be an "unstoppable killing machine." Participants were impressed by the "cornucopic feats of slicing and dicing a seemingly endless number of adolescents and the occasional adult." Out of the ten monsters used in the survey—which included vampires, Freddy Krueger, Frankenstein's monster, Michael Myers, Godzilla, Chucky, Hannibal Lecter, King Kong and the Alien—Jason scored the highest in all the categories involving killing variables. Further characteristics that appealed to the participants included Jason's "immortality, his apparent enjoyment of killing [and] his superhuman strength."
Reception.
Popularity.
Jason Voorhees is one of the leading cultural icons of American popular culture. In 1992 Jason was awarded the MTV Lifetime Achievement Award. He was the first of only three completely fictional characters to be presented the award; Godzilla (1996) and Chewbacca (1997) are the others. Jason was named No. 26 in "Wizard" magazine's "100 greatest villains of all time". Universal Studios theme parks, in collaboration with New Line Cinema, used the character for their Halloween Horror Nights event. In June 2020, Jason appears in a PSA to encourage people to wear a mask during the COVID-19 pandemic. In October 2021, "IGN" named Jason the "Greatest Movie Slasher of All Time", while Scott Gleeson of "USA Today" named Jason the 2nd most "haunting horror movie villain". "Red Bull" called Jason as one of the scariest video game villains of all time, because "playing as Jason is loads of fun, but having to run and hide from him is as exhilarating as it is terrifying."
The character has been produced and marketed as merchandise over the years. In 1988 Screamin' Toys produced a model kit where owners could build their own Jason statuette. The kit required the owner to cut and paint various parts in order to assemble the figure. Six years later, Screamin' Toys issued a new model kit for "Jason Goes to Hell". Both kits are now out of production. McFarlane Toys released two toy lines, one in 1998 and the other in 2002. The first was a figure of Jason from "Jason Goes to Hell", and the other was of Über-Jason from "Jason X". Since McFarlane's last toy line in 2002, there has been a steady production of action figures, dolls, and statuettes. These include tie-ins with the film "Freddy vs. Jason" (2003). In April 2010 Sideshow Toys released a polystone statue of Jason, based on the version appearing in the 2009 remake. NECA and Mezco Toyz also released figures of Jason in its own action figure series.
Cultural impact.
The character has been referenced, or made cameo appearances, in various entertainment mediums. Outside of literature sources based on the character, Jason has been featured in a variety of magazines and comic strips. "Cracked" magazine has released several issues featuring parodies of Jason, and he has been featured on two of their covers. "Mad" magazine has featured the character in almost a dozen stories. He has appeared twice in the comic strip "Mother Goose and Grimm". The "Usagi Yojimbo" antagonist Jei is based on Voorhees; his name, with the honorific "-san" attached, is in fact a pun on Voorhees' first name.
Many musical artists have made references to Jason Voorhees. Inspired by his own experience, Ari Lehman founded a band called "First Jason". Lehman's band is classified as horror punk, and is influenced by the sounds of the Dead Kennedys and the Misfits. The band's name pays homage to Lehman's portrayal of Jason Voorhees in the original "Friday the 13th". One of the band's songs is entitled "Jason is Watching". In 1986, coinciding with the release of "Jason Lives", Alice Cooper released "He's Back (The Man Behind the Mask)" from his album "Constrictor". The song was written to "signal Jason's big return" to cinema, as he had been almost entirely absent in the previous film in the series. Rapper Eminem has referenced Jason in several of his songs. The song "Criminal", from the album "The Marshall Mathers LP", mentions Jason specifically, while songs "Amityville" and "Off the Wall"—the latter featured fellow rapper Redman—contain Harry Manfredini's music "ki, ki, ki ... ma, ma, ma" from the film series. Eminem sometimes wears a hockey mask during concerts. Other rap artists that have referenced Jason include Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre, LL Cool J, and Insane Clown Posse. In 1989, Puerto Rican rapper Vico C had a song titled "Viernes 13" which featured Jason in Puerto Rico. The song was so popular in the island that Vico C wrote a second part titled "Viernes 13, Parte II". VH1 issued an advertisement for their Vogue Fashion Awards which was labeled "Friday the 20th", and featured Jason's mask created out of rhinestone.
Jason has been referenced or parodied in other films. The 1988 British film "Unmasked Part 25", whose title lampoons the high number of installments in slasher film series like "Friday the 13th", features a hockey mask-wearing serial killer named Jackson who grows tired of his routine murder sprees and develops a romance with a young woman. In the 1996 film "Scream", directed by "Elm Street" creator Wes Craven, actress Drew Barrymore's character is being stalked by a killer who calls her on her home phone. In order to survive, she must answer the man's trivia questions. One question is "name the killer in "Friday the 13th"." She incorrectly guesses Jason, who did not become the killer for the film series until "Part 2". Writer Kevin Williamson claimed his inspiration for this scene came when he asked this question in a bar while a group was playing a movie trivia quiz game. He received a free drink, because nobody got the answer right. In another Wes Craven film, "Cursed", a wax sculpture of Jason, from "Jason Goes to Hell", can be seen in a wax museum. In 2014, Jason made a cameo appearance in the RadioShack Super Bowl XLVIII commercial "The '80s Called".
Jason has also been referenced by several television shows. The stop motion animated television series "Robot Chicken" features Jason in three of its comedy sketches. In episode seventeen, "", the mystery-solving teenagers from "Scooby-Doo" arrive at Camp Crystal Lake to investigate the Jason Voorhees murders, and are killed off one by one as well as killing Don Knotts. Velma is the only survivor, and in typical Scooby-Doo fashion, she rips off Jason's mask to reveal his true identity: Old Man Phillips. In "That Hurts Me", Jason reappears, this time as a housemate of "Horror Movie Big Brother", alongside other famous slasher movie killers such as Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, Leatherface, Pinhead and Ghostface. Three years later, in episode sixty-two, Jason is shown on the days before and after a typical "Friday the 13th". Jason is spoofed in the season five episode of "Family Guy" entitled "It Takes a Village Idiot, and I Married One". The so-called "Mr. Voorhees" explains to Asian reporter Trisha Takanawa how happy he is to see local wildlife return following the cleanup and rejuvenation of Lake Quahog. He reappears later in the episode as the manager of the "Britches and Hose" clothing store. As opposed to his monstrous personality in the films, Jason is depicted here as polite and articulate, albeit still a psychopath; he murders random swimmers and threatens to kill his employee if she screws up. In an episode of "The Simpsons", Jason appears in a Halloween episode sitting on the couch with Freddy Krueger waiting for the family to arrive. When Freddy asks where the family is, Jason responds, "Ehh, whaddya gonna do?" and turns the TV on. He also appears in "The Simpsons" episode "Stop, or My Dog Will Shoot!", alongside Pinhead, menacing Bart in a fantasy sequence. The "South Park" episodes "Imaginationland Episode II" and "III" feature Jason among an assortment of other villains and monsters as an inhabitant of the "bad side" of Imaginationland, a world populated by fictional characters. This version of Jason has an effeminate voice and describes the removal of Strawberry Shortcake's eyeball as "super hardcore". Experimental pop artist Eric Millikin created a large mosaic portrait of Jason Voorhees out of Halloween candy and spiders as part of his "Totally Sweet" series in 2013.
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Betty Boop
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Betty Boop is an animated cartoon character designed by Grim Natwick at the request of Dave Fleischer. She originally appeared in the "Talkartoon" and "Betty Boop" film series, which were produced by Fleischer Studios and released by Paramount Pictures. She was featured in 90 theatrical cartoons between 1930 and 1939. She has also been featured in comic strips and mass merchandising.
A caricature of a Jazz Age flapper, Betty Boop was described in a 1934 court case as "combin[ing] in appearance the childish with the sophisticated—a large round baby face with big eyes and a nose like a button, framed in a somewhat careful coiffure, with a very small body of which perhaps the leading characteristic is the most self-confident little bust imaginable". Although she was toned down in the mid-1930s as a result of the Hays Code to appear more demure, she became one of the world's best-known and most popular cartoon characters.
History.
Origins.
Betty Boop made her first appearance in the cartoon "Dizzy Dishes", released on August 9, 1930, the seventh installment in Fleischer's "Talkartoon" series. Inspired by a popular performing style, the character was originally created as an anthropomorphic French poodle. Clara Bow is sometimes given credit as being the inspiration for Boop, though Fleischer told his artists that he wanted a caricature of singer Helen Kane. Kane later sued Fleischer over the signature "Boop Oop a Doop" line. Betty Boop appeared as a supporting character in ten cartoons as a flapper girl with more heart than brains. In individual cartoons, she was called "Nancy Lee" or "Nan McGrew"—derived from the Helen Kane film "Dangerous Nan McGrew" (1930)—usually serving as a girlfriend to studio star Bimbo.
Within a year, Betty made the transition from an incidental human-canine breed to a completely human female character. While much credit has been given to Grim Natwick for helping to transform Max Fleischer's creation, her transition into the cute cartoon girl was also in part due to the work of Bernard Wolf, Otto Feuer, Seymour Kneitel, Roland "Doc" Crandall, Willard Bowsky, and James "Shamus" Culhane. By the release of "Any Rags", Betty Boop was forever established as a human character. Her floppy poodle ears became hoop earrings, and her black poodle nose became a girl's button-like nose.
Betty was first voiced by Margie Hines. Later, several different voice actresses performed the role, including Kate Wright, Bonnie Poe, Ann Rothschild (also known as Little Ann Little), and especially Mae Questel, who began voicing Betty Boop in "Bimbo's Silly Scandals" (1931), and continued with the role until 1939, returning nearly 50 years later in Disney's "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" (1988). Today, Betty is voiced by Cindy Robinson since 2015.
Although Betty's first name was assumed to have been established in the 1931 Screen Songs cartoon "Betty Co-ed", this "Betty" is a different character, which the official Betty Boop website describes as a "prototype" of Betty Boop. At least 12 Screen Songs cartoons featured Betty Boop or a similar character.
Betty Boop was the star of the "Talkartoons" by 1932 and was given her own series that same year, beginning with "Stopping the Show". From that point on, she was crowned "The Queen of the Animated Screen". The series was popular throughout the 1930s.
Since the character was created by an Austrian Jew and eventually voiced by a Jewish actress, Mae Questel, animation fans sometimes try to pinpoint various aspects that hint at Betty's Jewishness. The 1932 Talkartoon "Minnie the Moocher" featured the only appearance of Betty's parents: a strict immigrant couple, who get upset that Betty does not want to eat the traditional German foods "hasenpfeffer" (rabbit stew) and "sauerbraten". Benjamin Ivry of "Forward" says that any of this evidence is ambiguous, as these are not kosher foods, and the accents of the parents are comical German accents, rather than Jewish.
Betty appeared in the first "Color Classic" cartoon "Poor Cinderella", her only theatrical color appearance in 1934. In the film, she was depicted with red hair as opposed to her typical black hair.
Contemporary resurgence.
The Betty Boop films were revived after Paramount sold them for syndication in 1955. UM&M and National Telefilm Associates were required to remove the original Paramount logo from the opening and closing, as well as any references to Paramount in the copyright line on the main titles. However, the mountain motif remains on some television prints, usually with a UM&M copyright line, while recent versions have circulated with the Paramount-Publix reference in cartoons from 1931.
The original Betty Boop cartoons were made in black and white. As new color cartoons made specifically for television began to appear in the 1960s, the original black-and-white cartoons were retired. Boop's film career had a revival with the release of "The Betty Boop Scandals of 1974", becoming a part of the post-1960s counterculture. NTA attempted to capitalize on this with a new syndication package, but because no market existed for cartoons in black and white, they sent them to South Korea, where the cartoons were hand-traced frame-by-frame in color, resulting in the degradation of the animation quality and timing. Unable to sell these to television largely because of the sloppy colorization, they assembled a number of the color cartoons in a compilation feature titled "Betty Boop for President", to connect with the 1976 election, but it did not receive a theatrical release.
The release of the films on video cassette for home viewing created a new market for the films in their original form. The American Movie Classics cable television channel showcased a selection of the original black-and-white Betty Boop cartoons in the 1990s, which led to an eight-volume VHS and LV set, "Betty Boop, the Definitive Collection". Some of the nonpublic-domain "Boop" cartoons copyrighted by Republic successor Melange Pictures (Paramount Global's holding company that handles the Republic theatrical library) have been released by Olive Films under Paramount's license, while the Internet Archive hosts 22 Betty Boop cartoons that are public domain.
Portrayal.
Sex symbol.
Betty Boop is regarded as one of the first and best-known sex symbols on the animated screen; she is a symbol of the Depression era and a reminder of the more carefree days of Jazz Age flappers. Her popularity was drawn largely from adult audiences, and the cartoons, while seemingly surreal, contained many sexual and psychological elements, particularly in the 1932 "Talkartoon" "Minnie the Moocher" (1932), featuring Cab Calloway and his orchestra.
"Minnie the Moocher" defined Betty's character as a teenager of a modern era, at odds with the old-world ways of her parents. In the cartoon, after a disagreement with her strict parents, Betty runs away from home, accompanied by her boyfriend Bimbo, only to get lost in a haunted cave. A ghostly walrus (rotoscoped from live-action footage of Calloway) sings Calloway's song "Minnie the Moocher", accompanied by several other ghosts and skeletons. This haunting performance sends the frightened Betty and Bimbo back to the safety of home. "Minnie the Moocher" served as a promotion for Calloway's subsequent stage appearances and also established Betty Boop as a cartoon star. The eight Talkartoons that followed all starred Betty, leading her into her own series beginning in 1932. With the release of "Stopping the Show" (August 1932), the Talkartoons were replaced by the "Betty Boop" series, which continued for the next seven years.
Betty Boop was unique among female cartoon characters because she represented a sexual woman. Other female cartoon characters of the same period, such as Minnie Mouse, displayed their underwear or bloomers regularly, in the style of childish or comical characters, not a fully defined woman's form. Many other female cartoons were merely clones of their male co-stars, with alterations in costume, the addition of eyelashes, and a female voice. Betty Boop wore short dresses, high heels, a garter, and her breasts were highlighted with a low, contoured bodice that showed cleavage. In her cartoons, male characters frequently try to sneak a peek at her while she is changing or simply going about her business. In "Betty Boop's Bamboo Isle", she does the hula wearing nothing but a lei, strategically placed to cover her breasts, and a grass skirt. This was repeated in her first cameo appearance in "Popeye the Sailor" (1933). A certain girlish quality was given to the character. She was drawn with a head more similar to a baby's than an adult's in proportion to her body. This suggested the combination of girlishness and maturity that many people saw in the flapper type, which Betty represented.
While the character was kept pure and girl-like onscreen, compromises to her virtue were a challenge. The studio's 1931 Christmas card featured Betty in bed with Santa Claus, winking at the viewer. The Talkartoons "The Bum Bandit" and "Dizzy Red Riding Hood" (both 1931) were given distinctly "impure" endings. Officially, Betty was only 16 years old, according to a 1932 interview with Fleischer (although in "The Bum Bandit", she is portrayed as a married woman with many children and with an adult woman's voice, rather than the standard "boop-boop-a-doop" voice).
Attempts to compromise her virginity were reflected in "Chess-Nuts" (1932) and most importantly in "Boop-Oop-a-Doop" (1932). In "Chess-Nuts", the Black King goes into the house where Betty is and ties her up. When she rejects him, he pulls her out of the ropes, drags her off to the bedroom and says, "I will have you". The bed, however, runs away, and Betty calls for help through the window. Bimbo comes to her rescue, and she is saved before anything happens. In "Boop-Oop-a-Doop", Betty is a high-wire performer in a circus. The ringmaster lusts for Betty as he watches her from below, singing "Do Something", a song previously performed by Helen Kane. As Betty returns to her tent, the ringmaster follows her inside and sensually massages her legs, surrounds her, and threatens her job if she does not submit. Betty pleads with the ringmaster to cease his advances, as she sings "Don't Take My Boop-Oop-A-Doop Away". Koko the Clown is practicing his juggling outside the tent and overhears the struggle inside. He leaps in to save Betty, struggling with the ringmaster, who loads him into a cannon and fires it. Koko, who remained hiding inside the cannon, knocks the ringmaster out cold with a mallet, while imitating the ringmaster's laugh. Koko then inquires about Betty's welfare, to which she answers in song, "No, he couldn't take my boop-oop-a-doop away". According to Jill Harness of "Mental Floss", these portrayals of Boop fighting off sexual harassment on the animated screen made many see her as a feminist icon.
Under the Production Code.
Betty Boop's best appearances are considered to be in her first three years due to her "Jazz Baby" character and innocent sexuality, which was aimed at adults, but the content of her films was affected by the National Legion of Decency and the Production Code of 1934, which imposed guidelines on the motion-picture industry and placed specific restrictions on the content films could reference with sexual innuendos. This greatly affected the Betty Boop cartoons.
No longer a carefree flapper from the date the code went into effect on July 1, 1934, Betty became a spinster housewife or a career girl who wore a fuller dress or skirt. Additionally, as time progressed, the curls in her hair gradually decreased in number. She also eventually stopped wearing her gold bracelets and hoop earrings, and she became more mature and wiser in personality, compared to her earlier years. Right from the start, Joseph Breen, the new head film censor, had numerous complaints. Breen ordered the removal of the suggestive introduction that had started the cartoons because Betty Boop's winks and shaking hips were deemed "suggestive of immorality". For a few entries, Betty was given a new human boyfriend named Freddy, who was introduced in "She Wronged Him Right" (1934). Next, Betty was teamed with a puppy named Pudgy, beginning with "Betty Boop's Little Pal" (1934). The following year saw the addition of the eccentric inventor Grampy, who debuted in "Betty Boop and Grampy" (1935).
While these cartoons were tame compared to her earlier appearances, their self-conscious wholesomeness was aimed at a more juvenile audience, which contributed to the decline of the series. Much of the decline was due to the lessening of Betty's role in the cartoons in favor of her co-stars, not to mention Fleischer's biggest success, Popeye. This was a similar problem experienced during the same period with Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse, who was becoming eclipsed by the popularity of his co-stars Donald Duck, Goofy, and Pluto.
Since she was largely a musical novelty character, the animators attempted to keep Betty's cartoons interesting by pairing her with popular comic strip characters such as Henry, The Little King and Little Jimmy, hoping to create an additional spin-off series with her pairing with Popeye in 1933. None of these films, though, generated a new series. When the flapper/jazz era that Betty represented had been replaced by the big bands of the swing era, Fleischer Studios made an attempt to develop a replacement character in this style in the 1938 "Betty Boop" cartoon "Betty Boop and Sally Swing", but it was not a success.
The last "Betty Boop" cartoons were released in 1939, and a few made attempts to bring Betty into the swing era. In her last appearance, "Rhythm on the Reservation" (1939), Betty drives an open convertible, labeled "Betty Boop's Swing Band", through a Native American reservation, where she introduces the people to swing music and creates a "Swinging Sioux Band". The "Betty Boop" cartoon series officially ended with "Yip Yip Yippy" (1939). While "Yip Yip Yippy" appears at the end of the Betty Boop series, it is actually a one-shot about a "Drug Store" mail-order cowboy "wannabe" without Betty, which was written mainly to fill the release schedule and fulfill the contract.
Media.
Television.
In 1955, Betty's 110 cartoon appearances were sold to television syndicator UM&M, which was acquired by National Telefilm Associates (NTA) in 1956. NTA was reorganized in 1985 as Republic Pictures, which folded in 2012, and became Melange Pictures, a subsidiary of Paramount Global, the parent company of Paramount. Paramount, Boop's original home studio (via Melange/Paramount Global), acts as a theatrical distributor for the Boop cartoons that they originally released. Television rights are handled on Paramount's behalf by Trifecta Entertainment & Media, which in turn were inherited from CBS Television Distribution (renamed CBS Media Ventures in 2021), successor to other related companies, including Worldvision Enterprises, Republic Pictures Television, and NTA.
Betty Boop appeared in two television specials, "The Romance of Betty Boop" in 1985, which was produced by Lee Mendelson and Bill Melendez, the same creative team behind the Peanuts specials, and 1989's "The Betty Boop Movie Mystery"; both specials are available on DVD as part of the Advantage Cartoon Mega Pack. While television revivals were conceived, nothing has materialized from the plans. Her most recent television appearance was an episode of "Project Runaway All Stars" in February 2018.
On February 11, 2016, "Deadline" announced that a new 26-episode television series focusing on Betty Boop is in production, in partnership with Normaal Animation, Fleischer Studios, and King Features. The show was to be aimed towards the tween and teenaged audiences. The show's premise, according to the article, will "recount the daily struggles, joys, and victories of young Betty Boop, who has every intention of being on stage and becoming a superstar".
Home media.
While the animated cartoons featuring Betty Boop have enjoyed renewed attention over the last 30 years, official home-video releases have been limited to the VHS and LaserDisc collector's sets in the 1990s. No such releases for the Betty Boop cartoons on DVD and Blu-ray were made until 2013, when Olive Films, under license from Paramount Home Entertainment, finally released the nonpublic domain cartoons, although they were restored from the original internegatives, these were altered in 1954 by a now defunct TV distributor named UM&M TV Corp. and the altered opening and closing credits appear on these discs. Volume 1 was released on August 20, 2013, and volume 2 on September 24, 2013. Volume 3 was released on April 29, 2014, and volume 4 on September 30, 2014.
Comics.
The "Betty Boop" comic strip by Bud Counihan (assisted by Fleischer staffer Hal Seeger) was distributed by King Features Syndicate from July 23, 1934, to November 28, 1937. From November 19, 1984, to January 31, 1988, a revival strip with Felix the Cat, "Betty Boop and Felix", was produced by Mort Walker's sons Brian, Neal, Greg, and Morgan. In 1990, First Comics published "Betty Boop's Big Break", a 52-page original graphic novel by Joshua Quagmire, Milton Knight, and Leslie Cabarga. In 2016, Dynamite Entertainment published new "Betty Boop" comics with 20 pages in the alternative American anime graphic novel style; four issues were released.
Cancelled film projects.
In 1993, plans were made for an animated feature film of Betty Boop, but they were later cancelled. The musical storyboard scene of the proposed film can be seen online. The finished reel consists of Betty and her estranged father performing a jazz number together called "Where are you?" Jimmy Rowles and Sue Raney provide the vocals for Betty and Benny Boop.
Producers Steven Paul Leiva and Jerry Rees began production on a new Betty Boop feature film for the Zanuck Company and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The script by Rees detailed Betty's rise in Hollywood in the Golden Age of Hollywood. It was to be a musical with music by jazz musician Bennie Wallace and lyrics by Cheryl Ernst Wells. Wallace and Wells had completed several songs and 75% of the film had been storyboarded when, two weeks before voice recording was to begin with Bernadette Peters as Betty, the head of MGM, Alan Ladd Jr., was replaced by Frank Mancuso, and the project was abandoned. On August 14, 2014, Simon Cowell's Syco and Animal Logic announced they were developing a feature-length film based on the character.
Stage musical.
A musical entitled "Boop! The Musical", with music by David Foster, lyrics by Susan Birkenhead and book by Bob Martin, made its pre-Broadway debut at the CIBC Theatre in Chicago, Illinois, from November 19, 2023, to December 24, 2023. Direction and choreography are by Jerry Mitchell, and the musical starred Jasmine Amy Rogers as Betty Boop, with Faith Prince as Valentina, Ainsley Melham as Dwayne, Erich Bergen as Raymond, Stephen DeRosa as Grampy, Angelica Hale as Trisha and Anastacia McCleskey as Carol.
Film cameo.
In the 1988 film "Who Framed Roger Rabbit", Betty Boop was voiced once more by Mae Questel. The character appears in a scene with detective Eddie Valiant. At the end, she appears in the crowd with a group of other cartoon characters who all sing "Smile, Darn Ya, Smile".
Marketing and merchandise.
Marketers rediscovered Betty Boop in the 1980s, and Betty Boop merchandise has far outdistanced her exposure in films, with many not aware of her cinematic origin. Much of this merchandise features the character in her popular, sexier form, and has become popular worldwide once again.
In 2010, Betty Boop became the official fantasy cheerleader for the upstart United Football League. She was featured in merchandise targeted towards the league's female demographic.
As of 2021, international licensing company Global Icons has acquired the licensing rights to Betty Boop and other Fleischer Studios characters, thus ending Fleischer's longtime relationship with King Features Syndicate. She still appears in merchandise and social media, appealing to a 21st-century audience, using slang from the social media website TikTok, and she has various hobbies. (cyclist, recycling, etc.)
Marking Betty Boop's 55th birthday, in 1985 she made her first appearance as a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon. The balloon held more than of helium and was tall. The balloon did not finish the 1986 parade due to collapsing near Times Square. The balloon appeared again in 1987 then returned for occasional use in the 1990s.
Legal issues.
Helen Kane lawsuit.
In May 1932, Helen Kane filed a $250,000 infringement lawsuit against Fleischer Studios, Max Fleischer and Paramount Publix Corporation for the "deliberate caricature" that produced "unfair competition", exploiting her personality and image. While Kane had risen to fame in the late 1920s as "The Boop-Oop-a-Doop Girl", a star of stage, recordings, and films for Paramount, her career was nearing its end by 1931, and Paramount promoted the development of Betty Boop following Kane's decline. The case was brought in New York in 1934. On April 19, Fleischer testified that Betty Boop purely was a product of his imagination and detailed by members of his staff.
Theatrical manager Lou Bolton testified that Kane had witnessed an African-American child performer, Baby Esther (Esther Jones), using a similar vocal style in an act at the Everglades Restaurant club in midtown Manhattan, in "April or May 1928". Under cross-examination Bolton said that he had met with Kane at the club after Esther's performance, but could not say when she had walked in. Bolton also stated that Paramount's lawyers had paid him $200 to come to New York. Esther's name was given in the trial as Esther Jones. (During the trial, Lou Bolton, who was Esther Jones' manager, also testified his belief that she was probably in Paris.) An early test sound-on-disc film (lost after the trial), was produced, which featured Esther performing in this style and introduced as evidence. In the film, Esther sings three songs that had earlier been popularized by Helen Kane – "Don't Be Like That", "Is There Anything Wrong with That?", and "Wa-da-da" – which writer Mark Langer says "was hardly proof that Helen Kane derived her singing style from Baby Esther".
Jazz studies scholar Robert O'Meally stated this evidence, though, "might very well have been cooked up by the Fleischers to discredit Kane, whom they later admitted to have been their model for Betty Boop." O'Meally also questioned if some sort of deal existed between Paramount and Bolton, and questioned if Esther were ever paid for her presumed loss of revenue.
New York Supreme Court Justice Edward J. McGoldrick ruled, "The plaintiff has failed to sustain either cause of action by proof of sufficient probative force". In his opinion, based on the totality of the evidence presented in the trial, the "baby" technique of singing did not originate with Kane. No confirmed recordings of Jones are known to exist.
Under current US copyright law, Betty Boop is due to enter the public domain in 2026. Later versions of her character will enter the public domain in the years that they become eligible.
Lawsuits and recent ownership.
Ownership of the "Boop" cartoons has changed hands over the intervening decades due to a series of corporate mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures. In 1954 Paramount Pictures sold the TV rights to UM&M TV Corp, Paramount was selling off all of their library to pay off debts. UM&M TV Corp. went bankrupt before ever distributing the films, they only got as far as modifying the original masters with their TV titles. In 1955 National Telefilm Associates purchased all of the licenses & films owned by UM&M TV Corp. and made 16mm prints to distribute to TV stations. In 1985 NTA changed their name to Republic Pictures since much of their feature film library was old Republic movies. Aaron Spelling Productions absorbed the new Republic Pictures in 1994 and shortly after was acquired by Viacom, which also acquired Paramount Pictures. Then in 2006 Viacom made a corporate split into two separate companies: CBS Corporation and Paramount Pictures (the original distributor). As of 2021, Olive Films (under license from Paramount) holds home video rights and Trifecta retains television rights.
The rights to the "Betty Boop" character were not sold with the cartoons by Paramount, but were transferred to Harvey Comics in 1958 along with the 'Famous Studios' cartoon characters (Casper, Herman & Katnip, Baby Huey, etc.), regardless of whether they had the rights to transfer Betty Boop, according to a 2011 US Court verdict. The courts, however, were unable to come to a majority decision concerning ownership of the copyright. A trademark on the name (but not legitimately the likeness) of Betty Boop is owned by Fleischer Studios, for which the character was created in the 1930s, but which was unable to claim copyright infringement in a 2008 district court case; the merchandising rights to Betty's name were licensed to King Features Syndicate, until 2021 but since then are licensed to Global Icons Inc.
Legacy and revivals.
Betty Boop's popularity has continued into popular culture. In the "Green Acres" episode "School Days", Oliver quips that Lisa "has a lot of Betty Boop in her". In "Drawn Together", Betty is the inspiration for Toot Braunstein. Rapper Betty Boo based her voice and image on Betty Boop. The 1933 "Betty Boop" cartoon "Snow-White" (not to be confused with "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs") was selected for preservation by the U.S. Library of Congress in the National Film Registry in 1994. Betty appears in the Ink and Paint club scene in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit". Betty is parodied in the "Animaniacs" episode "Girl with the Googily Goop", with the Boop character called "Googi Goop". The episode, made predominantly in black and white, is also a parody of "Little Red Riding Hood". Googi was voiced by one-time Betty Boop voice actress Desirée Goyette. Beatress Johnson, a character in "American Mary", has had extensive plastic surgery to resemble Betty Boop. Betty Boop appeared with model Daria Werbowy in a commercial for Lancôme's Hypnôse Star Mascara, directed by Joann Sfar. In March, 2017, Betty appeared with fashion designer Zac Posen in an animated promotional short produced by King Features Syndicate, Fleischer Studios (its subsidiary) and Pantone.
In April 2011, Funny or Die parodied the character in a trailer spoof for a film called "Boop", with Rose McGowan as Betty.
Betty Boop is a central character in the satirical parody webcomic "Mr. Boop". The comic centers on the relationship between Betty and a fictionalized version of the webcomic's creator who is married to Betty. The comic was nominated for an Ignatz Award. Betty can be seen at meet-and-greets at the Orlando Universal Studios theme park.
External links.
Media
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Bilbo Baggins
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Bilbo Baggins (Westron: "Bilba Labingi") is the title character and protagonist of J. R. R. Tolkien's 1937 novel "The Hobbit", a supporting character in "The Lord of the Rings", and the fictional narrator (along with Frodo Baggins) of many of Tolkien's Middle-earth writings. The Hobbit is selected by the wizard Gandalf to help Thorin and his party of Dwarves reclaim their ancestral home and treasure, which has been seized by the dragon Smaug. Bilbo sets out in "The Hobbit" timid and comfort-loving and, through his adventures, grows to become a useful and resourceful member of the quest.
Bilbo's way of life in the Shire, defined by features like the availability of tobacco and postal service, recalls that of the English middle class during the Victorian to Edwardian eras. This is not compatible with the much older world of Dwarves and Elves. Tolkien appears to have based Bilbo on the designer William Morris's travels in Iceland; Morris liked his home comforts but grew through his adventurous journeying. Bilbo's quest has been interpreted as a "pilgrimage of grace", in which he grows in wisdom and virtue, and as a psychological journey towards wholeness.
Bilbo has appeared in numerous radio and film adaptations of "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings", and video games based on them.
Appearances.
"The Hobbit".
The protagonist of "The Hobbit", Bilbo Baggins, is a hobbit in comfortable middle age. He is hired as a "burglar", despite his initial objections, on the recommendation of the wizard Gandalf and 13 Dwarves led by their king in exile, Thorin Oakenshield. The company of dwarves are on a quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain and its treasures from the dragon Smaug. The adventure takes Bilbo and his companions through the wilderness, to the elves haven, Rivendell, across the Misty Mountains where, escaping from goblins, he meets Gollum and acquires a magic ring. His journey continues via a lucky escape from wargs, goblins, and fire, to the house of Beorn the shapeshifter, through the black forest of Mirkwood, to Lake-town in the middle of Long Lake, and eventually to the Mountain itself.
As burglar, Bilbo is sent down the secret passage to the dragon's lair. He steals a golden cup and takes it back to the Dwarves. Smaug awakes and instantly notices the theft and a draught of cold air from the opened passage. He flies out, nearly catches the Dwarves outside the door, and eats their ponies. Bilbo and the Dwarves hide inside the passage. Bilbo goes down to Smaug's lair again to steal some more, but the dragon is now only half-asleep. Wearing his magic ring, Bilbo is invisible, but Smaug at once smells him. Bilbo has a riddling conversation with Smaug, and notices that the dragon's armour does indeed have a gap. He escapes the dragon's flames as he runs up the passage, and tells the Dwarves about the gap in Smaug's armour. An old thrush hears what he says, and flies off to tell Bard in Lake-town.
Smaug realizes that Lake-town must have helped Bilbo, and flies off in a rage to destroy the town. The Dwarves and Bilbo hear that Smaug has been killed in the attack. The Dwarves reclaim the Lonely Mountain, and horrify Bilbo by refusing to share the dragon's treasure with the lake-men or the wood-elves. Bilbo finds the Arkenstone of Thrain, the most precious heirloom of Thorin's family, but hides it. Thorin calls his relative Dáin to bring an army of Dwarves. Thorin and his dwarves fortify the entrance to the mountain hall, and are besieged by the Wood-elves and Lake-men. Bilbo tries to ransom the Arkenstone to prevent fighting, but Thorin sees his action as betrayal, and banishes Bilbo. Dain arrives, and the army of Dwarves faces off against the armies of Elves and Men. As battle is joined, a host of goblins and wargs arrive to take over the mountain, now that Smaug is dead. The armies of Elves, Men, and Dwarves, with the help of Eagles and Beorn, defeat the goblins and wargs. Thorin is fatally wounded, but has time to make peace with Bilbo. Bilbo accepts only a little of the treasure which was his share, though it still represents great wealth for a Shire hobbit. Bilbo returns to his home in the Shire to find that several of his relatives, believing him to be dead, are trying to claim his home and possessions.
"The Lord of the Rings".
"The Lord of the Rings" begins with Bilbo's "eleventy-first" (111th) birthday, 60 years after the beginning of "The Hobbit". The main character of the novel is Frodo Baggins, Bilbo's cousin, who celebrates his 33rd birthday and legally comes of age on the same day. Bilbo has kept the magic ring, with no idea of its significance, all that time; it has prolonged his life, leaving him feeling "thin and stretched". At the party, Bilbo tries to leave with the ring, but Gandalf persuades him to leave it behind for Frodo. Bilbo travels to Rivendell and visits the dwarves of the Lonely Mountain before returning to retire at Rivendell and write books. Gandalf discovers that Bilbo's magic ring is the One Ring forged by the Dark Lord Sauron, and sets in motion the quest to destroy it. Frodo and his friends set off on the quest, finding Bilbo, now obviously old, but spry, in Rivendell. When they have destroyed the Ring, they return to the Shire, via Rivendell, where Bilbo looks "very old, but peaceful, and sleepy". Two years later Bilbo accompanies Gandalf, Elrond, Galadriel, and Frodo to the Grey Havens, there to board ship bound for Tol Eressëa across the sea.
Narrator.
In Tolkien's narrative conceit, in which all the writings of Middle-earth are translations from the fictitious volume of the "Red Book of Westmarch", Bilbo is the author of "The Hobbit", translator of various "works from the elvish", and the author of the following poems and songs:
Interpretations.
Name.
The philologist and Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey notes that "Baggins" is close to the spoken words "bæggin", "bægginz" in the dialect of Huddersfield, Yorkshire. where it means a substantial meal eaten between main meals, most particularly at teatime in the afternoon; and Mr Baggins is definitely, Shippey writes, "partial to ... his tea". Tolkien worked in Yorkshire early in his career, at the University of Leeds; from 1920 he was a reader in the school of English studies, and he rose to become a full professor there. More specifically, he wrote the foreword to Walter E. Haigh's 1928 "A new glossary of the dialect of the Huddersfield district", which included these spoken words.
In addition, "Baggins", while not a name by etymology, sounds very much like one of a class of English surnames such as Dickens, Jenkins, and Huggins. These names, Shippey notes, are formed from personal names, in the diminutive form; and Tolkien uses Huggins as the name of one of the Trolls in "The Hobbit".
Tolkien's choice of the surname Baggins may be connected to the name of Bilbo's house, Bag End, also the actual name of Tolkien's aunt's farmhouse, which Shippey notes was at the bottom of a lane with no exit. This is called a "cul-de-sac" in England; Shippey describes this as "a silly phrase", a piece of "French-oriented snobbery".
Shippey observes that the socially aspiring Sackville-Bagginses have similarly attempted to "Frenchify" their family name, "Sac[k]-ville" = "Bag Town", as a mark of their bourgeois status. The journalist Matthew Dennison, writing for St Martin's Press, calls Lobelia Sackville-Baggins "Tolken's unmistakable nod to Vita Sackville-West", an aristocratic novelist and gardening columnist as passionately attached to her family home, Knole House, which she was unable to inherit, as Lobelia was to Bag End. The opposite of a bourgeois is a burglar who breaks into bourgeois houses, and in "The Hobbit" Bilbo is asked to become a burglar (of Smaug the dragon's lair), Shippey writes, showing that the Bagginses and the Sackville-Bagginses are "connected opposites". He comments that the name Sackville-Baggins, for the snobbish branch of the Baggins family, is "an anomaly in Middle-earth and a failure of tone".
Period.
Bilbo's distinctly anachronistic period, compared to the characters he meets, can be defined, Shippey notes, by the presence of tobacco, brought to Europe in 1559, and a postal service, introduced in England in 1840. Like Tolkien himself, Bilbo was "English, middle class; and roughly Victorian to Edwardian", something that as Shippey observes, does not belong to the much older world of elves, dwarves, and wizards.
Character.
Marjorie Burns, a medievalist, writes that Bilbo's character and adventures match the fantasy writer and designer William Morris's account of his travels in Iceland in the early 1870s in numerous details. Like Bilbo's, Morris's party set off enjoyably into the wild on ponies. He meets a "boisterous" man called "Biorn the boaster" who lives in a hall beside Eyja-fell, and who tells Morris, tapping him on the belly, "... besides, you know you are so fat", just as Beorn pokes Bilbo "most disrespectfully" and compares him to a plump rabbit. Burns notes that Morris was "relatively short, a little rotund, and affectionately called 'Topsy', for his curly mop of hair", all somewhat hobbit-like characteristics. Further, she writes, "Morris in Iceland often chooses to place himself in a comic light and to exaggerate his own ineptitude", just as Morris's companion, the painter Edward Burne-Jones, gently teased his friend by depicting him as very fat in his Iceland cartoons. Burns suggests that these images "make excellent models" for the Bilbo who runs puffing to the Green Dragon inn or "jogs along behind Gandalf and the dwarves" on his quest. Another definite resemblance is the emphasis on home comforts: Morris enjoyed a pipe, a bath, and "regular, well-cooked meals"; Morris looked as out of place in Iceland as Bilbo did "over the Edge of the Wild"; both are afraid of dark caves; and both grow through their adventures.
Quest.
The Christian writer Joseph Pearce describes "The Hobbit" as "a pilgrimage of grace, in which its protagonist, Bilbo Baggins, becomes grown up ... in wisdom and virtue". Dorothy Matthews sees the story rather as a psychological journey, the anti-heroic Bilbo being willing to face challenges while firmly continuing to love home and discovering himself. Along the way, Matthews sees Jungian archetypes, talismans, and symbols at every turn: the Jungian wise old man Gandalf; the devouring mother of the giant spider, not to mention Gollum's "long grasping fingers"; the Jungian circle of the self, the ring; the escape from the dark underground imprisoning chambers of the wood-elves and Bilbo's symbolic rebirth into the sunlight and the waters of the woodland river; and the dragon guarding the contested treasure, itself "an archetype of the self, of psychic wholeness". Later research has extended Matthews' analysis using alternative psychological frameworks such as Erik Erikson's theory of development.
Genealogy.
The Tolkien scholar Jason Fisher notes that Tolkien stated that hobbits were extremely "clannish" and had strong "predilections for genealogy". Accordingly, Tolkien's decision to include the Baggins and other hobbit family trees in "Lord of the Rings" gives the book, in Fisher's view, a strongly "hobbitish perspective". The tree also, he notes, serves to show Bilbo's and Frodo's connections and familial characteristics, including that Bilbo was both "a Baggins and a Took". Fisher observes that Bilbo is, like Aragorn: a "distillation of the best of two families"; he notes that in the game "The Quest of Erebor", Gandalf is given the (non-Tolkien) lines "So naturally, thinking over the hobbits that I knew, I said to myself, 'I want a dash of the [adventurous] Took ... and I want a good foundation of the stolider sort, a Baggins perhaps.' That pointed at once to Bilbo".
The Tolkien critic Tom Shippey notes that Tolkien was very interested in such names, describing Shire names at length in "The Lord of the Rings" "Appendix F". One category was the names that meant nothing to the hobbits "in their daily language", like Bilbo and Bungo; a few of these, like Otho and Drogo in the family tree, were "by accident, the same as modern English names".
Adaptations.
In the 1955–1956 BBC Radio serialization of "The Lord of the Rings", Bilbo was played by Felix Felton. In the 1968 BBC Radio serialization of "The Hobbit", Bilbo was played by Paul Daneman.
The 1969 parody "Bored of the Rings" by "Harvard Lampoon" (i.e. its co-founders Douglas Kenney and Henry Beard) modifies the hobbit's name to "Dildo Bugger".
In the 1977 Rankin/Bass animated version of "The Hobbit", Bilbo was voiced by Orson Bean. Bean also voiced both the aged Bilbo and Frodo in the same company's 1980 adaptation of "The Return of the King".
The 1976 Russian translation of "The Hobbit" was illustrated with drawings by Mikhail Belomlinsky; he based his Bilbo character on the actor Yevgeny Leonov, who he described as "good-natured, plump, with hairy legs".
In Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated version of "The Lord of the Rings", Bilbo was voiced by Norman Bird. Billy Barty was the model for Bilbo in the live-action recordings Bakshi used for rotoscoping. The 3000th story to be broadcast in the BBC's long-running children's programme Jackanory was "The Hobbit", in 1979. Four narrators told the story with Bilbo's part being played by Bernard Cribbins.
In the BBC's 1981 radio serialization of "The Lord of the Rings", Bilbo is played by John Le Mesurier. In the unlicensed 1985 Soviet version on the Leningrad TV channel, "Хоббита" ("The Hobbit"), Bilbo was played by . In the 1993 television miniseries "Hobitit" by Finnish broadcaster Yle, Bilbo is portrayed by Martti Suosalo.
In Peter Jackson's films ' (2001) and ' (2003), Bilbo is played by Ian Holm, who had played Frodo in the BBC radio series 20 years earlier.
Throughout the 2003 video game "The Hobbit", the players control Bilbo, voiced by Michael Beattie. The game follows the plot of the book, but adds the elements of platform gameplay and various side-objectives along the main quests.
In "The Lord of the Rings Online" (2007) Bilbo resides in Rivendell, mostly playing riddle games with the Elf Lindir in the Hall of Fire.
In Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit" film series, a prequel to "The Lord of the Rings", the young Bilbo is portrayed by Martin Freeman while Ian Holm reprises his role as an older Bilbo in ' (2012) and ' (2014).
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Tom Joad
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The Grapes of Wrath is an American realist novel written by John Steinbeck and published in 1939. The book won the National Book Award
and Pulitzer Prize for fiction, and it was cited prominently when Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1962.
Set during the Great Depression, the novel focuses on the Joads, a poor family of tenant farmers driven from their Oklahoma home by drought, economic hardship, agricultural industry changes, and bank foreclosures forcing tenant farmers out of work. Due to their nearly hopeless situation, and in part because they are trapped in the Dust Bowl, the Joads set out for California on the "mother road", along with thousands of other "Okies" seeking jobs, land, dignity, and a future.
"The Grapes of Wrath" is frequently read in American high school and college literature classes due to its historical context and enduring legacy. A celebrated Hollywood film version, starring Henry Fonda and directed by John Ford, was released in 1940.
Plot.
The narrative begins just after Tom Joad is paroled from McAlester prison, where he had been incarcerated after being convicted of homicide in self-defense. While hitchhiking to his home near Sallisaw, Oklahoma, Tom meets former preacher Jim Casy, whom he remembers from childhood, and the two travel together. Arriving at Tom's childhood farm home, they find it deserted. Disconcerted and confused, Tom and Casy meet an old neighbor, Muley Graves, who says the family is at Uncle John Joad's home nearby. Graves says the banks have evicted all the farmers. They have moved away, but Muley refuses to leave the area.
The next morning, Tom and Casy go to Uncle John's. Tom's family is loading their remaining possessions into a Hudson sedan converted into a truck; with the crops destroyed by the Dust Bowl, the family has defaulted on their bank loans and their farm has been repossessed. The family sees no option but to seek work in California, which has been described in handbills as fruitful and offering high pay. The Joads put everything they have into making the journey. Although leaving Oklahoma violates his parole, Tom takes the risk, and invites Casy to join the family.
Traveling west on Route 66, the Joads find the road crowded with other migrants. In makeshift camps, they hear many stories from others, some returning from California. The group worries that California may not be as rewarding as suggested. The family dwindles on the way: Grampa dies and they bury him in a field; Granma dies close to the California state line; and both Noah (the eldest Joad son) and Connie Rivers (the husband of the pregnant Joad daughter, Rose of Sharon) leave the family. Led by Ma, the remaining members continue on, as nothing is left for them in Oklahoma.
Reaching California, they find the state oversupplied with labor; wages are low, and workers are exploited to the point of starvation. The big corporate farmers are in collusion and smaller farmers suffer from collapsing prices. All police and state law enforcement authorities are allied with the growers. At the first migrant Hooverville camp the Joads stop at, Casy is arrested for knocking down a deputy sheriff who is about to shoot a fleeing worker for alerting others that the labor recruiter, travelling with the officer, will not pay the wages he is promising. Weedpatch Camp, one of the clean, utility-supplied camps operated by the Resettlement Administration, a New Deal agency, offers better conditions but does not have enough resources to care for all the needy families, and it does not provide work or food. Nonetheless, as a federal facility, the camp protects the migrants from harassment by local deputies.
In response to the exploitation, Casy becomes a labor organizer and tries to recruit for a labor union. The Joads find work as strikebreakers in a peach orchard. After picking for most of the day, they are only paid enough to buy food for that night's supper and some for the next day. The next morning the peach plantation announces that the pay rate for the picked fruit has been reduced by half. Casy is involved in a strike that turns violent. When Tom witnesses Casy being struck and killed with a pickaxe, he kills the attacker and takes flight. The Joads quietly leave the orchard to work at a cotton farm where Tom risks being arrested, and possibly lynched, for the homicide.
Knowing he must leave to avoid capture and protect his family from being blacklisted from working, Tom bids his mother farewell and vows to work for the oppressed. The family continues to pick cotton and pool their daily wages to buy food. Upon its birth, Rose of Sharon's baby is stillborn. Ma Joad remains steadfast and forces the family through the bereavement. With the winter rains, the Joads' dwelling is flooded and the car disabled, and they move to higher ground. In the final chapter of the book, the family takes shelter from the flood in an old barn. Inside they find a young boy and his father, who is dying of starvation. Ma realizes there is only one way to save the man. She looks at Rose of Sharon and a silent understanding passes between them. Rose of Sharon, left alone with the man, goes to him and has him drink her breast milk.
Religious interpretation.
Many scholars have noted Steinbeck's use of Christian imagery within "The Grapes of Wrath". The largest implications lie with Tom Joad and Jim Casy, who are both interpreted as Christ-like figures at certain intervals within the novel. These two are often interpreted together, with Casy representing Jesus Christ in the early days of his ministry, up until his death, which is interpreted as representing the death of Christ. From there, Tom takes over, rising in Casy's place as the Christ figure risen from the dead.
However, the religious imagery is not limited to these two characters. Scholars have regularly inspected other characters and plot points within the novel, including Ma Joad, Rose of Sharon, her stillborn child, and Uncle John. In an article first published in 2009, Ken Eckert even compared the migrants' movement west as a reversed version of the slaves' escape from Egypt in Exodus. Many of these extreme interpretations are brought on by Steinbeck's own documented beliefs, which Eckert himself refers to as "unorthodox".
To expand upon previous remarks in a journal, Leonard A. Slade lays out the chapters and how they represent each part of the slaves escaping from Egypt. Slade states “Chapters 1 through 10 correspond to bondage in Egypt (where the bank and land companies fulfill the role of Pharaoh), and the plagues (drought and erosion); chapters 11 through 18 to the Exodus and journey through the wilderness (during which the old people die off); and chapter 19 through 30 to the settlement in the Promised Land-California, whose inhabitants are hostile… formulate ethical codes (in the government camps)”.
Another religious interpretation that Slade brings up in his writings is the title itself, stating “The title of the novel, of course refers to the line: He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored in Julia Ward Howe’s famous 'Battle-Hymn of the Republic'. Apparently, then the title suggests, moreover, 'that story exists in Christian context, indicating that we should expect to find some Christian meaning'." These two interpretations by Slade and other scholars show how many religious aspects can be interpreted from the book. Along with Slade, other scholars find interpretations in the characters of Rose of Sharon and her stillborn child.
Development.
Steinbeck was known to have borrowed from field notes taken during 1938 by Farm Security Administration worker and author Sanora Babb. While she collected personal stories about the lives of the displaced migrants for a novel she was developing, her supervisor, Tom Collins, shared her reports with Steinbeck, who at the time was working for the "San Francisco News". Babb's own novel, "Whose Names Are Unknown", was eclipsed in 1939 by the success of "The Grapes of Wrath" and was shelved until it was finally published in 2004, a year before Babb's death.
"The Grapes of Wrath" developed from "The Harvest Gypsies", a series of seven articles that ran in the "San Francisco News", from October 5 to 12, 1936. The newspaper commissioned that work on migrant workers from the Midwest in California's agriculture industry. (It was later compiled and published separately.)
In mid-January 1939, three months before the publication of "The Grapes of Wrath", Steinbeck wrote a long letter to Pascal Covici, his editor at Viking Press. He wanted Covici, in particular, to understand this book, to appreciate what he was up to. And so he concluded with a statement that might serve as preface in and of itself: "Throughout I've tried to make the reader participate in the actuality, what he takes from it will be scaled on his own depth and shallowness. There are five layers in this book, a reader will find as many as he can and he won't find more than he has in himself."
Title.
While writing the novel at his home, 16250 Greenwood Lane, in what is now Monte Sereno, California, Steinbeck had unusual difficulty devising a title. "The Grapes of Wrath", suggested by his wife Carol Steinbeck, was deemed more suitable than anything by the author. The title is a reference to lyrics from "The Battle Hymn of the Republic", by Julia Ward Howe (emphasis added):
These lyrics refer, in turn, to the biblical passage Revelation 14:19–20, an apocalyptic appeal to divine justice and deliverance from oppression in the final judgment. This and other biblical passages had inspired a long tradition of imagery of Christ in the winepress, in various media. The passage reads:
The phrase also appears at the end of Chapter 25 in Steinbeck's book, which describes the purposeful destruction of food to keep the price high:
The image invoked by the title serves as a crucial symbol in the development of both the plot and the novel's greater thematic concerns: from the terrible winepress of Dust Bowl oppression will come terrible wrath but also the deliverance of workers through their cooperation. This is suggested but not realized within the novel.
Author's note.
When preparing to write the novel, Steinbeck wrote: "I want to put a tag of shame on the greedy bastards who are responsible for this [the Great Depression and its effects]." He famously said, "I've done my damnedest to rip a reader's nerves to rags." His work won a large following among the working class, due to his sympathy for the migrants and workers' movement, and his accessible prose style.
Critical reception.
Steinbeck scholar John Timmerman sums up the book's influence: ""The Grapes of Wrath" may well be the most thoroughly discussed novel – in criticism, reviews, and college classrooms – of 20th century American literature." "The Grapes of Wrath" is referred to as a Great American Novel.
At the time of publication, Steinbeck's novel "was a phenomenon on the scale of a national event. It was publicly banned and burned by citizens, it was debated on national radio; but above all, it was read". According to "The New York Times", it was the best-selling book of 1939 and 430,000 copies had been printed by February 1940. In that same month, it won the National Book Award, favorite fiction book of 1939, voted by members of the American Booksellers Association. Soon, it won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and its Armed Services Edition went through two printings.
The book was noted for Steinbeck's passionate depiction of the plight of the poor, and many of his contemporaries attacked his social and political views. Bryan Cordyack wrote: "Steinbeck was attacked as a propagandist and a socialist from both the left and the right of the political spectrum. The most fervent of these attacks came from the Associated Farmers of California; they were displeased with the book's depiction of California farmers' attitudes and conduct toward the migrants. They denounced the book as a 'pack of lies' and labeled it 'communist propaganda. Some argued that his novel was filled with inaccuracies. In his book "The Art of Fiction" (1984), John Gardner criticized Steinbeck for not knowing anything about the California ranchers: "Witness Steinbeck's failure in "The Grapes of Wrath". It should have been one of America's great books...[S]teinbeck wrote not a great and firm novel but a disappointing melodrama in which complex good is pitted against unmitigated, unbelievable evil." Others accused Steinbeck of exaggerating camp conditions to make a political point. He had visited the camps well before publication of the novel and argued their inhumane nature destroyed the settlers' spirit.
In 1962, the Nobel Prize committee cited "The Grapes of Wrath" as a "great work" and as one of the committee's main reasons for granting Steinbeck the Nobel Prize for Literature.
In 1999, French newspaper "Le Monde" of Paris ranked "The Grapes of Wrath" as seventh on its list of the 100 best books of the 20th century. In the UK, it was listed at number 29 among the "nation's best loved novels" on the BBC's 2003 survey The Big Read. In 2005, "Time" magazine included the novel in its "100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005". In 2009, "The Daily Telegraph" of the United Kingdom included the novel in its "100 novels everyone should read".
"The Grapes of Wrath" has faced a great amount of controversy since publication, including book bans and other challenges on a variety of political and religious grounds in the United States and other countries. The early attempts to suppress and censor the book directly inspired the promulgation of the Library Bill of Rights by the American Library Association.
Similarities to "Whose Names Are Unknown".
Sanora Babb's "Whose Names Are Unknown" was written in the 1930s and published in 2004. Some scholars noted strong parallels between that work — the notes for which Steinbeck is widely believed to have examined — and "The Grapes of Wrath".
Writing in "The Steinbeck Review", Michael J. Meyer noted numerous "obvious similarities" between the two novels "that even a cursory reading will reveal", such as Babb's account of two still-born babies, mirrored in Steinbeck's description of Rose of Sharon's baby. Among other scenes and themes repeated in both books: the villainy of banks, corporations, and company stores that charge exorbitant prices; the rejection of religion and the embrace of music as a means of preserving hope; descriptions of the fecundity of nature and agriculture, and the contrast with the impoverishment of the migrants; and the disparity between those willing to extend assistance to the migrants and others who view "Okies" as subhuman. Meyer, a Steinbeck bibliographer, stops short of labeling these parallels as plagiarism but concludes that "Steinbeck scholars would do well to read Babb — if only to see for themselves the echoes of "Grapes" that abound in her prose."
Steinbeck scholar David M. Wrobel wrote that "the John Steinbeck/Sanora Babb story sounds like a classic smash-and-grab: celebrated California author steals the material of unknown Oklahoma writer, resulting in his financial success and her failure to get her work published ... Steinbeck absorbed field information from many sources, primarily Tom Collins and Eric H. Thomsen, regional director of the federal migrant camp program in California, who accompanied Steinbeck on missions of mercy...if Steinbeck read Babb’s extensive notes as carefully as he did the reports of Collins, he would certainly have found them useful. His interaction with Collins and Thomsen — and their influence on the writing of "The Grapes of Wrath" — is documented because Steinbeck acknowledged both. Sanora Babb went unmentioned."
Writing in "Broad Street" (magazine), Carla Dominguez described Babb as "devastated and bitter" that Random House cancelled publication of her own novel after "The Grapes of Wrath" was released in 1939. It is clear, she wrote, that "Babb's retellings, interactions, and reflections were secretly read over and appropriated by Steinbeck. Babb met Steinbeck briefly and by chance at a lunch counter, but she never thought that he had been reading her notes because he did not mention it." When Babb's novel was finally published in 2004, she declared that she was a better writer than Steinbeck. "His book", Babb said, "is not as realistic as mine."
Adaptations.
In film.
The book was quickly made into a famed 1940 Hollywood movie of the same name directed by John Ford and starring Henry Fonda as Tom Joad. The first part of the film version follows the book fairly accurately. However, the second half and the ending, in particular, differ significantly from the book. John Springer, author of "The Fondas" (Citadel, 1973), said of Henry Fonda and his role in "The Grapes of Wrath": "The Great American Novel made one of the few enduring Great American Motion Pictures."
The documentary "" (2009) revealed that "The Grapes of Wrath" was the favorite novel of comedian Bill Hicks. He based his famous last words on Tom Joad's final speech: "I left in love, in laughter, and in truth, and wherever truth, love and laughter abide, I am there in spirit."
In July 2013, Steven Spielberg announced his plans to direct a remake of "The Grapes of Wrath" for DreamWorks.
The Japanese animated series "Bungou Stray Dogs" portrays a character based on Steinbeck whose superpower is named "The Grapes of Wrath".
In music.
Woody Guthrie's two-part song—"Tom Joad – Parts 1 & 2" – from the album "Dust Bowl Ballads" (1940), explores the protagonist's life after being paroled from prison. It was covered in 1988 by Andy Irvine, who recorded both parts as a single song—"Tom Joad"—on Patrick Street's second album, "No. 2 Patrick Street".
The 1981 song "Here Comes that Rainbow Again", by Kris Kristofferson, is based on the scene in the roadside diner where a man buys a loaf of bread and two candy sticks for his sons.
The band The Mission UK included a song titled "The Grapes of Wrath" on their album "Carved in Sand" (1990).
The progressive rock band Camel released an album, titled "Dust and Dreams" (1991), inspired by the novel.
American rock singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen named his 11th studio album, "The Ghost of Tom Joad" (1995), after the character; and the first track on the album shares the same title. The song – and to a lesser extent, the others on the album – draws comparisons between the Dust Bowl and modern times.
Rage Against the Machine recorded a version of "The Ghost of Tom Joad" in 1997.
Like Andy Irvine in 1988, Dick Gaughan recorded Woody Guthrie's "Tom Joad" on his album "Outlaws & Dreamers" (2001).
An opera based on the novel was co-produced by the Minnesota Opera, and Utah Symphony and Opera, with music by Ricky Ian Gordon and libretto by Michael Korie. The opera made its world premiere in February 2007, to favorable local reviews.
Bad Religion have a song entitled "Grains of Wrath" on their album "New Maps of Hell" (2007). Bad Religion lead vocalist Greg Graffin is a fan of Steinbeck's work.
The song "Dust Bowl Dance", on the Mumford & Sons album "Sigh No More" (2009), is based on the novel.
The Pink Floyd song "Sorrow", written by front-man David Gilmour and included on the band's album "A Momentary Lapse of Reason", is thematically derived from/based on the novel.
The song "No Good Al Joad", on the Hop Along album "Get Disowned" takes its title from the novel's character Al Joad.
The song "Grapes Of Wrath" by Weezer, written by Rivers Cuomo from their album "OK Human" (2021), takes its title directly from the novel.
In theatre.
The Steppenwolf Theatre Company produced a stage version of the book, adapted by Frank Galati. Gary Sinise played Tom Joad for its entire run of 188 performances on Broadway in 1990. One of these performances was filmed and shown on PBS the following year.
In 1990, the Illegitimate Players theater company in Chicago produced "Of Grapes and Nuts", an original, satirical mash-up of "The Grapes of Wrath" and Steinbeck's acclaimed novella "Of Mice and Men".
In 2019, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon produced "Mother Road" by Octavio Solis, inspired by Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. The play is about William Joad who believes that he has no blood kin to inherit the family farm until he finds an unexpected relation: Martín Jodes—a young Mexican-American man descended from Steinbeck's original protagonist Tom Joad. The play reverses the Joads’ mythic journey, as these modern-day Joads travel from migrant farm-worker camps in California back to Oklahoma.
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Sonic the Hedgehog
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is a video game series and media franchise created by the Japanese developers Yuji Naka, Naoto Ohshima, and Hirokazu Yasuhara for Sega. The franchise follows Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Eggman, a mad scientist. The main "Sonic the Hedgehog" games are platformers mostly developed by Sonic Team; other games, developed by various studios, include spin-offs in the racing, fighting, party and sports genres. The franchise also incorporates printed media, animations, feature films, and merchandise.
Naka, Ohshima, and Yasuhara developed the first "Sonic" game, released in 1991 for the Sega Genesis, to provide Sega with a mascot to compete with Nintendo's Mario. Its success helped Sega become one of the leading video game companies during the fourth generation of video game consoles in the early 1990s. Sega Technical Institute developed the next three "Sonic" games, plus the spin-off "Sonic Spinball" (1993). A number of "Sonic" games were also developed for Sega's 8-bit consoles, the Master System and Game Gear. After a hiatus during the unsuccessful Saturn era, the first major 3D "Sonic" game, "Sonic Adventure", was released in 1998 for the Dreamcast. Sega exited the console market and shifted to third-party development in 2001, continuing the series on Nintendo, Xbox, and PlayStation systems. Takashi Iizuka has been the series' producer since 2010.
While "Sonic" games often have unique game mechanics and stories, they feature recurring elements such as the ring-based health system, level locales, and fast-paced gameplay. Games typically feature Sonic setting out to stop Eggman's schemes for world domination, and the player navigates levels that include springs, slopes, bottomless pits, and vertical loops. Later games added a large cast of characters; some, such as Miles "Tails" Prower, Knuckles the Echidna, and Shadow the Hedgehog, have starred in spin-offs. The franchise has crossed over with other video game franchises in games such as "Mario & Sonic", "Sega All-Stars", and "Super Smash Bros." Outside of video games, "Sonic" includes comic books published by Archie Comics, Fleetway Publications, and IDW Publishing; animated series such as "The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog" (1993), "Sonic X" (2003–2006), and "Sonic Prime" (2022–2024); a live-action film series distributed by Paramount Pictures; and toys including Lego construction sets.
"Sonic the Hedgehog" is Sega's flagship franchise and one of the bestselling video game franchises, selling over copiess and grossing over . Series sales and free-to-play mobile game downloads totaled . The Genesis "Sonic" games have been described as representative of the culture of the 1990s and listed among the greatest of all time. Although later games, such as the 2006 game, received poorer reviews, "Sonic" is influential in the video game industry and is frequently referenced in popular culture. The franchise is known for its fandom that produces unofficial media, such as fan art and fangames.
History.
1990–1991: Conception and first game.
By 1990, the Japanese video game company Sega wanted a foothold in the video game console market with its 16-bit console, the Sega Genesis. Sega's efforts had been stymied by the dominance of Nintendo; the Genesis did not have a large install base and Nintendo did not take Sega seriously as a competitor. Sega of America CEO Michael Katz attempted to challenge Nintendo with the "Genesis does what Nintendon't" marketing campaign and by collaborating with athletes and celebrities to create games. These efforts did not break Nintendo's dominance, and Katz was replaced by Tom Kalinske, formerly of Mattel.
Sega president Hayao Nakayama decided Sega needed a flagship series and mascot to compete with Nintendo's "Mario" franchise. Nintendo had recently released "Super Mario Bros. 3", at the time the bestselling video game ever. Sega's strategy had been based on porting its successful arcade games to the Genesis; however, Nakayama recognized that Sega needed a star character in a game that could demonstrate the power of the Genesis's hardware. An internal contest was held to determine a flagship game, with a focus on the American audience. Among the teams working on proposals were artist Naoto Ohshima and programmer Yuji Naka. The gameplay of "Sonic the Hedgehog" (1991) originated with a tech demo created by Naka, who had developed an algorithm that allowed a sprite to move smoothly on a curve by determining its position with a dot matrix. Naka's prototype was a platform game that involved a fast-moving character rolling in a ball through a long winding tube. Sega management accepted the duo's project, and they were joined by designer Hirokazu Yasuhara.
After Yasuhara joined Naka and Ohshima, their focus shifted to the protagonist, who Sega hoped could become its mascot. The protagonist was initially a rabbit able to grasp objects with prehensile ears, but the concept proved too complex for the hardware. The team moved on to animals that could roll into a ball, and eventually settled on Sonic, a teal hedgehog created by Ohshima. Naka's prototype was expanded with Ohshima's character design and levels conceived by Yasuhara. Sonic's color was chosen to match Sega's cobalt blue logo, and his red and white shoes were inspired by the cover of Michael Jackson's 1987 album "Bad". His personality was based on then-Governor of Arkansas Bill Clinton's "can-do" attitude. The antagonist, Doctor Eggman, was another character Ohshima had designed for the contest. The team thought the abandoned design was excellent and redesigned it as a villain. The team took the name Sonic Team for the game's release.
Sonic's first appearance came in Sega AM3's racing game "Rad Mobile" (1991) five months before the release of "Sonic the Hedgehog", as an ornament hanging from the driver's rearview mirror. The "Sonic" developers let AM3 use Sonic because they were interested in making him visible to the public. According to Mark Cerny, who worked in Tokyo as an intermediary between the Japanese and American Sega offices, the American staff felt that Sonic had no appeal. Although Katz was certain that "Sonic" would not be popular with American children, Kalinske arranged to place "Sonic the Hedgehog" as the pack-in game with the Genesis. Featuring speedy gameplay, "Sonic the Hedgehog" received critical acclaim. It greatly increased the popularity of the Sega Genesis in North America, credited with helping Sega gain 65% of the market share against Nintendo.
1991–1995: Genesis sequels.
Naka was dissatisfied with his treatment at Sega and felt he received little credit for his involvement in the success. He quit but was hired by Cerny to work at the US-based Sega Technical Institute (STI), with a higher salary and more creative freedom. Yasuhara also moved to STI. STI began work on "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" (1992) in November 1991. Level artist Yasushi Yamaguchi designed Sonic's new sidekick, Tails, a flying two-tailed fox inspired by the mythological kitsune. Like its predecessor, "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" was a major success, but its development suffered from the language barrier and cultural differences between the Japanese and American developers. While STI developed "Sonic 2", Ohshima led a team in Japan to create "Sonic CD" for the Genesis's CD-ROM accessory, the Sega CD; it began as a port of the first game but evolved into a separate project.
Once development on "Sonic 2" concluded, Cerny departed and was replaced by Roger Hector. STI divided into two teams: the Japanese developers led by Naka, and the American developers. The Japanese began work on "Sonic the Hedgehog 3". It was initially developed as an isometric game using the Sega Virtua Processor chip, but was restarted as a more conventional side-scrolling game after the chip was delayed. It introduced Sonic's rival Knuckles, created by artist Takashi Thomas Yuda. Due to an impending promotion with McDonald's and cartridges size constraints, the project was split in two: the first half, "Sonic 3", was released in February 1994, and the second, "Sonic & Knuckles", a few months later. The "Sonic & Knuckles" cartridge contains an adapter that allows players to connect it to "Sonic 3", creating a combined game, "Sonic 3 & Knuckles". "Sonic 3" and "Sonic & Knuckles", as with their predecessors, were acclaimed. To release a "Sonic" game in time for the 1993 holiday shopping season, Sega commissioned the American team to make a new game, the spin-off "Sonic Spinball". While "Spinball" received mixed reviews, it sold well and helped build the reputation of its developers.
A number of "Sonic" games were developed for Sega's 8-bit consoles, the Master System and the handheld Game Gear. The first, an 8-bit version of the original "Sonic", was developed by Ancient to promote the Game Gear and released in December 1991. Aspect Co. developed most of the subsequent 8-bit "Sonic" games, beginning with a version of "Sonic 2". Other "Sonic" games released during this period include "Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine" (1993), a Western localization of the Japanese puzzle game "Puyo Puyo" (1991), "SegaSonic the Hedgehog" (1993), an arcade game featuring isometric gameplay, and "Knuckles' Chaotix" (1995), a spin-off for the Genesis's 32X add-on starring Knuckles.
1995–1998: Saturn era.
Following "Sonic & Knuckles", Naka returned to Japan, having been offered a role as a producer. He was reunited with Ohshima and brought with him Takashi Iizuka, who had worked with Naka's team at STI. Sonic Team was officially formed as a brand, and began to work on a new intellectual property, "Nights into Dreams" (1996), for Sega's 32-bit Saturn console. In 1996, towards the end of the Genesis's lifecycle, Sega released "Sonic 3D Blast", an isometric game based on the original "Sonic 3" concept, as the system still had a large install base. It was the final "Sonic" game produced for the Genesis, and was developed as a swan song for the system. Since Sonic Team was preoccupied with "Nights", "3D Blast" was outsourced to the British studio Traveller's Tales. While "3D Blast" sold well, it was criticized for its gameplay, controls, and slow pace.
Meanwhile, in America, STI worked on "Sonic X-treme", a 3D "Sonic" game for the Saturn intended for the 1996 holiday shopping season. Development was hindered by disputes between Sega of America and Japan, Naka's reported refusal to let STI use the "Nights" game engine, and problems adapting the series to 3D. After two lead developers became ill, "X-treme" was canceled. Journalists and fans have speculated about the impact "X-treme" might have had if it was released, with producer Mike Wallis believing it "definitely would have been competitive" with the first 3D "Mario" game, "Super Mario 64" (1996). Due to "X-treme" cancellation, Sega ported "Sonic 3D Blast" to the Saturn with updated graphics and bonus levels developed by Sonic Team.
In 1997, Sega announced "Project Sonic", a promotional campaign aimed at increasing market awareness of and renewing excitement for the "Sonic" brand. The first Project Sonic release was "Sonic Jam", a compilation of the main Genesis "Sonic" games which included a 3D overworld Sonic Team used to experiment with 3D "Sonic" gameplay. Sonic Team and Traveller's Tales collaborated again on the second Project Sonic game, "Sonic R", a 3D racing game and the only original "Sonic" game for the Saturn. Yasuhara moved to London to assist "Sonic R" development. "Sonic Jam" was well received, while "Sonic R" reviews were more divided. The cancellation of "Sonic X-treme", as well as the Saturn's general lack of "Sonic" games, are considered important factors in the Saturn's commercial failure. According to Nick Thorpe of "Retro Gamer", "By mid-1997 Sonic had essentially been shuffled into the background... it was astonishing to see that just six years after his debut, Sonic was already retro."
1998–2005: Transition to 3D.
With its "Sonic Jam" experiments, Sonic Team began developing a 3D "Sonic" platformer for the Saturn. The project stemmed from a proposal by Iizuka to develop a "Sonic" role-playing video game (RPG) with an emphasis on storytelling. Development moved to Sega's new console, the Dreamcast, which Naka believed would allow for the ultimate "Sonic" game. "Sonic Adventure", directed by Iizuka and released in 1998, was one of the first sixth-generation video games. It introduced elements that became series staples, such as artist Yuji Uekawa's new character designs influenced by comics and animation. In 1999, Iizuka and 11 other Sonic Team members relocated to San Francisco and established Sonic Team USA to develop the more action-oriented "Sonic Adventure 2" (2001). Between the releases, Ohshima left Sega to form Artoon. While both "Adventure" games were well received and the first sold over two million copies, consumer interest in the Dreamcast quickly faded, and Sega's attempts to spur sales through lower prices and cash rebates caused escalating financial losses.
In January 2001, Sega announced it was discontinuing the Dreamcast to become a third-party developer; following this, Yasuhara left to join Naughty Dog. The following December, Sega released an expanded port of "Sonic Adventure 2" for Nintendo's GameCube. Afterward, Sonic Team USA developed the first multi-platform "Sonic" game, "Sonic Heroes" (2003), for the GameCube, Microsoft's Xbox, and Sony's PlayStation 2. It was designed for a broad audience, and Sonic Team revived elements not seen since the Genesis era, such as special stages and the Chaotix characters. Reviews for "Sonic Heroes" were mixed; while its graphics and gameplay were praised, critics felt it failed to address criticisms of previous "Sonic" games, such as the camera. Iizuka, who directed "Heroes", later said it was the most stressful experience of his career; he lost due to the crunch conditions. Sonic Team ported "Sonic Adventure" with additional content to the GameCube in 2003 and Windows in 2004, to mixed reviews.
Sega continued to release 2D "Sonic" games. In 1999, it collaborated with SNK to produce "Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure", an adaptation of "Sonic 2" for the Neo Geo Pocket Color. Some SNK staff formed Dimps the following year, and developed original 2D "Sonic" games—"Sonic Advance" (2001), "Sonic Advance 2" (2002), and "Sonic Advance 3" (2004)—for Nintendo's Game Boy Advance (GBA). "Sonic Advance" was the first original "Sonic" game released for a Nintendo console after Sega and Nintendo's fierce rivalry in the 1990s. It was outsourced to Dimps because Sonic Team was understaffed with employees familiar with the GBA. Dimps also developed "Sonic Rush" (2005) for the Nintendo DS, which uses a 2.5D perspective. Dimps's projects received generally favorable reviews. To introduce older games to new fans, Sonic Team developed two compilations, "Sonic Mega Collection" (2002) and "Sonic Gems Collection" (2005). Further spin-offs included the party game "Sonic Shuffle" (2000), the pinball game "Sonic Pinball Party" (2003) and the fighting game "Sonic Battle" (2003).
2005–2010: Franchise struggles.
Sonic Team USA was renamed Sega Studios USA after completing "Sonic Heroes". Sega and Sonic Team leadership entered flux while they experimented with diverging from the "Sonic" formula. Sega Studios USA's first post-"Heroes" project was "Shadow the Hedgehog" (2005), a spin-off starring the popular "Adventure 2" character Shadow. While "Shadow" retains most elements from previous "Sonic" games, it was aimed at a mature audience and introduced third-person shooting and nonlinear gameplay. "Shadow the Hedgehog" was panned for its controls, level design, and mature themes, but was a commercial success, selling at least 1.59 million copies.
In 2006, for the franchise's 15th anniversary, Sonic Team developed "Sonic Riders", a GBA port of the original "Sonic", and a reboot, "Sonic the Hedgehog" (commonly referred to as "Sonic '06"). With a darker and more realistic setting than previous entries, "Sonic '06" was intended to relaunch the series for seventh-generation consoles such as the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The development faced serious problems; Naka, the last of the original "Sonic" development team, resigned as head of Sonic Team to form Prope, and the team split so work could begin on a Wii "Sonic" game. According to Iizuka, these incidents, coupled with stringent Sega deadlines and an unpolished game engine, forced Sonic Team to rush development. None of the 15th-anniversary "Sonic" games were successful critically, and "Sonic '06" became regarded as the worst game in the series, panned for its bugs, camera, controls, and story. Brian Shea of "Game Informer" wrote that it "[became] synonymous with the struggles the "Sonic the Hedgehog" franchise had faced in recent years. "Sonic" ["06"] was meant to be a return to the series' roots, but it ended up damning the franchise in the eyes of many."
Backbone Entertainment developed two "Sonic" games exclusive to the PlayStation Portable, "Sonic Rivals" (2006) and "Sonic Rivals 2" (2007). The first "Sonic" game for the Wii, "Sonic and the Secret Rings" (2007), takes place in the world of "Arabian Nights" and was released instead of a port of "Sonic '06". Citing lengthy development times, Sega switched plans and conceived a game that would use the motion detection of the Wii Remote. Sega released a sequel, "Sonic and the Black Knight", set in the world of King Arthur, in 2009. "Secret Rings" and "Black Knight" form what is known as the "Sonic Storybook" sub-series. A "Sonic Riders" sequel, ' (2008), was developed for the Wii and PlayStation 2. Dimps returned to the "Sonic" series with "Sonic Rush Adventure", a sequel to "Sonic Rush", in 2007, while BioWare developed the first "Sonic" RPG"," ' (2008), also for the DS.
Following Naka's departure, Akinori Nishiyama, who worked on the "Sonic Advance" and "Rush" games, became Sonic Team's general manager. Sonic Team began working on "Sonic Unleashed" (2008) in 2005. It was conceived as a sequel to "Adventure 2", but became a standalone entry after Sonic Team introduced innovations to separate it from the "Adventure" games. With "Unleashed", Sonic Team sought to combine the best aspects of 2D and 3D "Sonic" games and address criticisms of previous 3D entries, although reviews were mixed due to the addition of a beat 'em up game mode in which Sonic transforms into a werewolf-like beast. After Nishiyama was promoted in 2010, Iizuka was installed as the head of Sonic Team and became the "Sonic" producer.
2010–2015: Refocusing.
Iizuka felt "Sonic" was struggling because it lacked unified direction, so Sonic Team refocused on more traditional side-scrolling elements and fast-paced gameplay. "Sonic the Hedgehog 4", a side-scrolling episodic sequel to "Sonic & Knuckles" co-developed by Sonic Team and Dimps, began with ' in 2010, followed by ' in 2012. Later in 2010, Sega released "Sonic Colors" for the Wii and DS, which expanded on the well received aspects of "Unleashed" and introduced the Wisp power-ups. For the series' 20th anniversary in 2011, Sega released "Sonic Generations" for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Windows; a separate version was developed by Dimps for the Nintendo 3DS. "Sonic Generations" featured reimagined versions of levels from previous "Sonic" games and reintroduced the "classic" Sonic design from the Genesis era. These efforts were better received, especially in comparison to "Sonic '06" and "Unleashed".
In May 2013, Nintendo announced it was collaborating with Sega to produce "Sonic" games for its Wii U and 3DS platforms. The first game in the partnership, 2013's "Sonic Lost World", was also the first "Sonic" game for eighth-generation hardware. "Sonic Lost World" was designed to be streamlined and fluid in movement and design, borrowing elements from Nintendo's "Super Mario Galaxy" games and the canceled "X-treme". The second was "Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games" (2013) for the Wii U, the fourth "Mario & Sonic" game and a 2014 Winter Olympics tie-in (see Crossovers section). The deal was completed in 2014 with the release of ' for the Wii U and ' for the 3DS; these games were based on the "Sonic Boom" television series. "Sonic Lost World" polarized critics, while critics found "Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games" mediocre and panned the "Sonic Boom" games. "", a "Shattered Crystal" sequel, was released in 2016.
Sega began to release more "Sonic" games for mobile phones, such as iOS and Android devices. After Australian programmer Christian "Taxman" Whitehead developed a version of "Sonic CD" for modern consoles in 2011, he collaborated with fellow "Sonic" fan Simon "Stealth" Thomley to develop remakes of the original "Sonic the Hedgehog" and "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" for iOS and Android, which were released in 2013. The remasters were developed using Whitehead's Retro Engine, an engine tailored for 2D projects, and received praise. "Sonic Dash" (2013), a "Temple Run"-style endless runner, was developed by Hardlight and downloaded over 350 million times by 2020 and received a in 2015. Sonic Team released "Sonic Runners", its first game for mobile devices, in 2015. "Sonic Runners" was also an endless runner, but was unsuccessful and was discontinued a year after release. Gameloft released a sequel, "Sonic Runners Adventure", in 2017 to generally positive reviews.
2015–present: New directions.
In a 2015 interview with "Polygon", Iizuka acknowledged that contemporary "Sonic" games had been disappointing. He hoped, from then on, that the Sonic Team logo would stand as a "mark of quality"; he planned to release quality games and expand the "Sonic" brand, while retaining the modern Sonic design. Iizuka and most of Sonic Team relocated to Burbank, California to oversee the franchise with a new team. At San Diego Comic-Con in July 2016, Sega announced two "Sonic" games to coincide with the series' 25th anniversary: "Sonic Mania" and "Sonic Forces". Both were released for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Windows in 2017. "Sonic Mania" was developed by the independent game developers PagodaWest Games and Headcannon with a staff comprising members of the "Sonic" fandom; Whitehead conceived the project and served as director. The game, which emulates the gameplay and visuals of the Genesis entries, received the best reviews for a "Sonic" game in 15 years. Meanwhile, Sonic Team developed "Sonic Forces", which revives the dual gameplay of "Sonic Generations" along with a third gameplay style featuring the player's custom character. "Sonic Forces" received mixed reviews, with criticism for its short length.
In 2019, Sega released a kart racing game, "Team Sonic Racing" (2019), developed by Sumo Digital. In May 2021, Sega announced several "Sonic" projects for the series' 30th anniversary, including a remaster of "Sonic Colors", the compilation "Sonic Origins", and the 2022 game "Sonic Frontiers". "Frontiers" was the first "Sonic" game to feature open-world design, and Iizuka expressed hope that it would inform future games in a similar way to "Sonic Adventure". "Frontiers" received moderately positive reviews, with critics and fans considering it a flawed but solid new direction for the series, and sold well. 2023 "Sonic" releases included "The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog", a free visual novel, "Sonic Dream Team", an Apple Arcade-exclusive 3D platformer, and "Sonic Superstars", a 2.5D side-scrolling game featuring the classic Sonic design. "Superstars" was co-developed by Ohshima's studio Arzest and he designed a new character, his first contribution to the series since "Sonic Adventure". Iizuka said the 2D and 3D "Sonic" games would continue independently going forward and Sonic Team would try to keep them as different as possible.
2024 "Sonic" media emphasized Shadow the Hedgehog as part of Sega's "Fearless: Year of Shadow" campaign. This included "Shadow Generations", a short Shadow game bundled with a rerelease of "Sonic Generations"; Shadow-themed events in the mobile games "Sonic Dash" and "Sonic Forces"; music from "Shadow the Hedgehog" in the Sonic Symphony World Tour; and Shadow playing a prominent role in the film "Sonic the Hedgehog 3" (see Live-action film franchise).
Characters and story.
The "Sonic" franchise is known for its large cast of characters; "Sonic the Fighters" (1996) producer Yu Suzuki joked that anyone who makes a "Sonic" game has the duty to create new characters. The first game introduced Sonic, a blue hedgehog who can run at incredible speeds, and Doctor Eggman, a rotund mad scientist. During the Genesis era, Eggman was referred to as Doctor Ivo Robotnik in Western territories.<ref name="Poly: Robotnik/Eggman"></ref> Sega of America's Dean Sitton made the change without consulting the Japanese developers, who did not want a single character to have two different names. Since "Sonic Adventure", the character has been referred to as Eggman in all territories, although the Robotnik name is still acknowledged.
"Sonic" games traditionally follow Sonic's efforts to stop Eggman, who schemes to obtain the Chaos Emeralds—seven emeralds with mystical powers. The Emeralds can turn thoughts into power, warp time and space with a technique called Chaos Control, give energy to living things, and be used to create nuclear or laser-based weaponry. They typically act as MacGuffins in the stories. Eggman seeks the Emeralds in his quest to conquer the world, and traps animals in aggressive robots and prison capsules. Because Sonic Team was inspired by the culture of the 1990s, "Sonic" features environmental themes. Sonic represents "nature", while Eggman represents "machinery" and "development"—a play on the then-growing debate between environmentalists and developers.
Much of the supporting cast was introduced in the succeeding games for the Genesis and its add-ons. "Sonic 2" introduced Sonic's sidekick Miles "Tails" Prower, a fox who can fly using his two tails. "Sonic CD" introduced Amy Rose, a pink hedgehog and Sonic's self-proclaimed girlfriend, and Metal Sonic, a robotic doppelgänger of Sonic created by Eggman. "Sonic 3" introduced Sonic's rival Knuckles, a red echidna and the guardian of the Master Emerald. The Master Emerald, introduced in "Sonic & Knuckles", controls the power of the Chaos Emeralds. "Knuckles' Chaotix" introduced the Chaotix, a group comprising Vector the Crocodile, Espio the Chameleon and Charmy Bee. Three characters introduced during this period, Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel from "SegaSonic the Hedgehog" and Fang the Sniper from "Sonic Triple Trouble" (1994), faded into obscurity,<ref name="VB: Lame/forgotten"></ref> but became prominent characters again in "Sonic Mania" and "Superstars".
During "Sonic Adventure" development, Sonic Team discovered that the relatively simple character designs did not suit a 3D environment. The art style was modernized to alter the characters' proportions and make them appeal to Western audiences. Since "Sonic Adventure", the series' cast has expanded. Notable characters include Big, a large cat who fishes for his pet frog Froggy; the E-100 Series of robots; Shadow, a brooding black hedgehog; Rouge, a treasure-hunting bat; Blaze, a cat from an alternate dimension; and Silver, a telekinetic hedgehog from the future. The Chao creatures function as digital pets and minor gameplay elements, and Wisp creatures function as power-ups. Flicky, the blue bird from Sega's 1984 arcade game, appears in several "Sonic" games, particularly "3D Blast".
Some "Sonic" characters have featured in spin-off games. Eggman is the featured character of "Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine", a Western localization of "Puyo Puyo". Sega replaced the "Puyo Puyo" characters with "Sonic" characters because it feared "Puyo Puyo" would not be popular with a Western audience. In 1995, Sega released the Knuckles spinoff "Knuckles' Chaotix" for the 32X, and two Tails spin-offs for Game Gear: "Tails' Skypatrol" (a scrolling shooter) and "Tails Adventure" (a Metroidvania game). "Shadow the Hedgehog" (2005) was developed in response to the Shadow character's popularity and to introduce "gun action" gameplay to the franchise. Iizuka has said that future spin-offs, such as sequels to "Knuckles' Chaotix" and "Shadow the Hedgehog" or a Big the Cat game, remain possibilities.
Gameplay.
The "Sonic" series is characterized by speed-based platforming gameplay. Controlling the player character, the player navigates a series of levels at high speeds while jumping between platforms, fighting enemies and bosses, and avoiding obstacles. The series contains both 2D and 3D games. 2D entries generally feature simple, pinball-like gameplay—with jumping and attacking controlled by a single button—and branching level paths that require memorization to maintain speed. Meanwhile, 3D entries tend to be more linear in design, feature various level objectives, different movesets, and allow players to upgrade and customize the playable character. Games since "Sonic Unleashed" have blended 2D and 3D gameplay, with the camera shifting between side-scrolling and third-person perspectives.
One distinctive game mechanic of "Sonic" games are collectible golden rings spread throughout levels, which act as a form of health. Players possessing rings can survive upon sustaining damage, but the rings are scattered and the player has a short amount of time to re-collect some of them before they disappear. Collecting 100 rings usually rewards the player an extra life. Rings have other uses in certain games, such as currency in "Sonic '06", restoring health bars in "Sonic Unleashed", or improving statistics in "Sonic Riders". Levels in "Sonic" games feature elements such as slopes, bottomless pits, and vertical loops. Springs, springboards, and dash panels are scattered throughout and catapult the player at high speeds in a particular direction. Players' progress in levels is saved through passing checkpoints. Checkpoints serve other uses in various games, such as entering bonus stages. Some settings, particularly Green Hill Zone, recur throughout the series.
The series contains numerous power-ups, which are held in boxes that appear throughout levels. An icon indicates what it contains, and the player releases the item by destroying the box. Common items in boxes include rings, a shield, invincibility, high speed, and extra lives. "Sonic Colors" introduces the Wisps, a race of extraterrestrial creatures that act as power-ups. Each Wisp has its own special ability corresponding to its color; for instance, yellow Wisps allow players to drill underground and find otherwise inaccessible areas. Since "Sonic Rush", most "Sonic" games have featured "boosting", a mechanic that immediately propels Sonic forward at top speed when activated. While boosting, Sonic can smash through objects, destroy enemies instantly, or access different level paths. This requires players to react to forthcoming obstacles quickly; "Sonic Unleashed" introduced side-stepping and drifting maneuvers to allow players to maintain speed. Boosting is limited by a gauge that the player can fill with rings or Wisps.
In most "Sonic" games, the goal is to collect the Chaos Emeralds; the player is required to collect them all to defeat Eggman and achieve the games' good endings. "Sonic" games that do not feature the Chaos Emeralds, such as "Sonic CD", feature different collectibles that otherwise function the same. Players find the Emeralds by entering portals, opening portals using 50 rings, or scouting them within levels themselves. Sometimes, the Emeralds are collected automatically as the story progresses. By collecting the Emeralds, players are rewarded with their characters' "Super" form and can activate it by collecting 50 rings in a stage. The Super transformations grant the player character more speed, a farther jump, and invincibility, but their ring count drains by the second; the transformation lasts until all the rings have been used. Some games require the player to collect all the Chaos Emeralds to reach the final boss.
"Sonic" games often share basic gameplay, but some have game mechanics that distinguish them from others. For instance, "Knuckles' Chaotix" is similar to previous entries in the series, but introduces a partner system whereby the player is connected to another character via a tether; the tether behaves like a rubber band and must be used to maneuver the characters. "Sonic Unleashed" introduces the Werehog, a beat 'em up gameplay style in which Sonic transforms into a werewolf-like beast and must fight enemies using brute strength. Both the "Sonic Storybook" games feature unique concepts: "Secret Rings" is controlled exclusively using the Wii Remote's motion detection, which "Black Knight" incorporates hack and slash gameplay. While some games feature Sonic as the only playable character, others feature multiple, who have alternate movesets and storylines. For instance, in "Sonic & Knuckles", Knuckles goes through the same levels as Sonic, but his story is different, he explores different parts of the levels, and certain areas are more difficult.
Many "Sonic" games contain multiplayer and cooperative gameplay, beginning with "Sonic the Hedgehog 2". In some games, if the player chooses to control Sonic and Tails together, a second player can join at any time and control Tails separately. "Sonic" games also feature a split-screen competitive mode in which two players race to the end of the stage.
Music.
For the original "Sonic the Hedgehog", Sega commissioned Masato Nakamura, bassist and songwriter of the J-pop band Dreams Come True, to compose the soundtrack. Nakamura returned to compose "Sonic 2" soundtrack. Dreams Come True owns the rights to Nakamura's score, which created problems when the "Sonic Spinball" team used his "Sonic" theme music without permission. For "Sonic CD", two soundtracks were composed; the original, featured in the Japanese and European releases, was composed by Naofumi Hataya and Masafumi Ogata, while the North American score was composed by Spencer Nilsen, David Young, and Mark Crew.
A number of composers contributed to the "Sonic the Hedgehog 3" score, including Sega sound staff and independent contractors recruited to finish the game on schedule. According to conflicting sources, American pop musician Michael Jackson, a "Sonic" fan, composed music for "Sonic 3". Ohshima and Hector said Jackson's involvement was terminated and his music removed following the first allegations of sexual abuse against him, but composers involved with the project said his contributions remained.
"Sonic 3" was the first "Sonic" game composer Jun Senoue worked on. Senoue has composed the music for many "Sonic" games since "Sonic 3D Blast", often with his band Crush 40, which he formed with Hardline vocalist Johnny Gioeli. While the Genesis "Sonic" soundtracks were characterized by electropop, Senoue's scores typically feature funk and rock music. Tomoya Ohtani has been the series' sound director since "Sonic the Hedgehog" in 2006, and was the lead composer for that game, "Sonic Unleashed", "Sonic Colors", "Sonic Lost World", "Sonic Runners", and "Sonic Forces". Ohtani said he attempts to "express through music the greatest features each game has", citing the diverse and energetic score of "Sonic Unleashed" and the more science fiction-style score of "Sonic Colors" as examples"."
Other composers who have contributed to "Sonic" games include Richard Jacques and Hideki Naganuma. Tee Lopes—known for releasing unofficial remixes of "Sonic" tracks on YouTube—was the lead composer for "Sonic Mania" and a contributor to "Team Sonic Racing". The main theme of the 2006 "Sonic the Hedgehog" was performed by Ali Tabatabaee and Matty Lewis of the band Zebrahead, while Akon remixed "Sweet Sweet Sweet" for its soundtrack. Doug Robb, the lead singer of Hoobastank, performed the main theme of "Sonic Forces". One of the ending themes of "Sonic Frontiers", "Vandalize", was performed by the Japanese rock band One Ok Rock.
Other media.
Crossovers.
Outside the "Sonic" series, Sonic appears in other Sonic Team games as a playable character in "Christmas Nights" (1996), a power-up in "Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg" (2003), and in a cameo in the 2008 Wii version of "Samba de Amigo" (1999). "Sonic" characters also feature in the "Sega All-Stars" series, which includes "Sega Superstars" (2004), "Sega Superstars Tennis" (2008), and Sumo Digital's kart racing games "Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing" (2010) and "Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed" (2012).
From 2007 to 2020, Sega collaborated with Nintendo to produce "Mario & Sonic", an Olympic Games-themed crossover with the "Mario" franchise. The first "Mario & Sonic" game was released in 2007 for the Wii and in 2008 for the DS to tie in with the 2008 Summer Olympics. "Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games", based on the 2010 Winter Olympics, was released in 2009 for the Wii and DS, and "Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games", based on the 2012 Summer Olympics, was released for the Wii in 2011 and the 3DS in 2012. The fourth game, "Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games" (2013), was exclusive to the Wii U, but the following game, "Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games" (2016), was released on both the Wii U and 3DS. After a brief hiatus, the series returned in 2019 with "Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020" for the Switch, based on the 2020 Summer Olympics. The International Olympic Committee opted not to renew its licensing deal with Sega and Nintendo in 2020, effectively ending the series.
Sonic appears as a playable character in Nintendo's "Super Smash Bros." crossover fighting games, beginning with "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" in 2008. Alongside Solid Snake from Konami's "Metal Gear" franchise, Sonic was the first non-Nintendo character to appear in "Smash". He was considered for inclusion in "Super Smash Bros. Melee" (2001), but the game was too close to completion so his introduction was delayed until "Brawl". He returned in the sequels "Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS" and "Wii U" (2014) and "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate" (2018). Shadow and Knuckles appear in "Smash" as non-playable characters, while Tails and Knuckles costumes are available for players' Mii avatars. A Sonic amiibo figurine was released for the "Smash" games, and is also compatible with "Mario Kart 8" (2014), "Super Mario Maker" (2015), and "Yoshi's Woolly World" (2015).
In June 2015, characters from the "Angry Birds" RPG "Angry Birds Epic" (2014) appeared as playable characters in "Sonic Dash" during a three-week promotion, while Sonic was added to "Angry Birds Epic" as a playable character the following September. Similar crossovers with the Sanrio characters Hello Kitty, Badtz-Maru, My Melody, and Chococat and the Namco game "Pac-Man" took place in December 2016 and February 2018. In November 2016, a "Sonic" expansion pack was released for the toys-to-life game "Lego Dimensions" (2015); the pack includes Sonic as a playable character, in addition to "Sonic" levels and vehicles. In September 2021, Sonic and Tails became playable characters in "".
Animation.
In 1992, Sega approached the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) about producing two television series—"a syndicated show for the after-school audience" and a Saturday-morning cartoon—based on "Sonic". Kalinske "had seen how instrumental the launch of "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" cartoon series was to the success of the toyline" during his time at Mattel and believed that success could be recreated using "Sonic". The two cartoons, the syndicated "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog" (1993) and ABC's "Sonic the Hedgehog" (1993–1994), were produced by DIC Entertainment. DIC also produced a "Sonic" Christmas special in 1996, and "Sonic Underground" in 1999, to promote "Sonic Adventure". DIC's "Sonic" adaptations are generally not held in high regard.
"Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog" comprises 65 episodes overseen by "Ren & Stimpy" director Kent Butterworth and features slapstick humor in the vein of "Looney Tunes". The 26-episode "Sonic the Hedgehog" (commonly called "Sonic SatAM") features a bleak setting in which Eggman has conquered the world, while Sonic is a member of a resistance force that opposes him. The series was canceled after two seasons. "Sonic Underground" was planned to last 65 episodes, but only 40 were produced. The series follows Sonic and his siblings Manic and Sonia, who use the power of music to fight Eggman and reunite with their mother. In all three DiC series, Sonic is voiced by "Family Matters" star Jaleel White.
In Japan, Sega and Sonic Team collaborated with Studio Pierrot to produce a two-part original video animation (OVA), "Sonic the Hedgehog", released direct-to-video in Japan in 1996. To coincide with "Sonic Adventure" Western release in 1999, ADV Films released the OVA in North America as a 55-minute film, "Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie". Produced with input from Naka and Ohshima, the OVA is loosely based on "Sonic CD", with elements from "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" and "3", and recounts Sonic's efforts to stop a generator taken over by Eggman from exploding and destroying their world. Patrick Lee of "The A.V. Club" said the OVA was "the only cartoon to adapt the look, sound, and feel of the "Sonic" games", with familiar scenes and music.
"Sonic X", an anime series produced by TMS Entertainment and overseen by Naka, ran for three seasons (78 episodes) from 2003 to 2006. While previous series' episodes feature self-contained plots, "Sonic X" tells a single serialized story. The "Sonic" cast teleports from their home planet to Earth during a scuffle with Eggman, where they meet a human boy, Chris Thorndyke. Throughout the course of the series, Sonic and his friends attempt to return to their world while fighting Eggman. The second season adapts the "Sonic Adventure" games and "Sonic Battle", while the third season sees the friends return with Chris to their world, where they enter outer space and fight an army of aliens. Some critics enjoyed "Sonic X", while others disliked it. Although it suffered from poor ratings in Japan, "Sonic X" consistently topped ratings for its timeslot in the US and France.
"Sonic Boom", an animated television series produced by Sega and Genao Productions, premiered on Cartoon Network in November 2014. It features a satirical take on the "Sonic" mythos, and the franchise's cast was redesigned for it. According to Iizuka, "Sonic Boom" came about as a desire to appeal more to Western audiences, and it ran parallel with the main "Sonic" franchise. "Sonic Boom" lasted for two seasons and the last episode aired in 2017. In May 2020, Sega brand officer Ivo Gerscovich stated that no further episodes of "Sonic Boom" would be produced.
To promote the release of "Sonic Mania Plus" (2018), a five-part series of animated shorts, "Sonic Mania Adventures", was released on the "Sonic the Hedgehog" YouTube channel between March 30 and July 17, 2018. The series depicts Sonic's return to his world following the events of "Sonic Forces", teaming up with his friends to prevent Eggman and Metal Sonic from collecting the Chaos Emeralds and Master Emerald. An additional Christmas-themed episode was released on December 21, 2018. The shorts were written and directed by Tyson Hesse, who created "Sonic Mania" opening cutscene. Hesse has contributed to other animated "Sonic" short films since, including a two-part "Team Sonic Racing" series and the Christmas special "Chao in Space" in 2019, a two-part "Sonic Colors" series in 2021, a "Sonic Frontiers" prequel in 2022, and a "Sonic Superstars" prequel in 2023. Sonic and Tails also appeared as guest stars in "OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes" in August 2019.
"Sonic Prime", an animated "Sonic" series, began airing on Netflix in December 2022. The series was co-produced by Netflix Animation, Sega of America, WildBrain Studios, and Man of Action Entertainment, and unlike prior adaptations, it is canon to the events of the "Sonic" games. It follows Sonic as he is sent into a multiverse after accidentally shattering an artifact during a battle with Eggman and encounters alternate-universe counterparts of "Sonic" characters.
Comics.
Shogakukan published a "Sonic the Hedgehog" manga series in its "Shogaku Yonensei" magazine, beginning in 1992. Written by Kenji Terada and illustrated by Sango Norimoto, it follows a sweet but cowardly young hedgehog named Nicky whose alter ego is the cocky, heroic Sonic. According to character artist Kazuyuki Hoshino, the manga was part of Sega's promotional strategy to appeal to primary school children. The "Sonic" design team worked with Shogakukan to create new characters; Amy Rose and Charmy Bee originated in the manga before appearing in the games.<ref name="2/3"> – via YouTube. Event occurs at 0:42:22.</ref>
The longest-running "Sonic"-based publication is the 290-issue "Sonic the Hedgehog", an American comic book published by Archie Comics from 1993 until its cancellation in 2017. Archie also published a number of spin-offs, such as "Knuckles the Echidna" (1997–2000) and "Sonic Universe" (2009–2017). Archie's comic drew its premise from the "Sonic the Hedgehog" television series, with Sonic and a resistance force fighting the dictator Eggman. Originally written as a "straightforward lighthearted action-comedy", "Sonic the Hedgehog" became more dramatic after Ken Penders began writing it with issue #11. Penders remained the head writer for the following 150 issues and developed an elaborate lore unique to the series. Ian Flynn became head writer in 2006 and remained until the series' cancellation. Following a legal battle with Penders over ownership of characters he created, in 2013 the series was rebooted, leaving only characters introduced in the games or which predated Penders' run.
In 2008, Guinness World Records recognized Archie's "Sonic the Hedgehog" as the longest-running comic based on a video game, and by 2016 it was one of the longest-running American comics in the market. While Archie planned to publish at least four issues beyond #290, in January 2017 the series went on an abrupt hiatus, and in July, Sega announced it was ending its business relationship with Archie in favor of a new partnership with IDW Publishing. IDW's "Sonic" comic began in April 2018. Although the creative teams from the Archie series, such as Flynn, returned, the IDW series is set in a different continuity. Flynn said the IDW series differs from the Archie comic in that it draws from the games for stories, with the first story arc set after the events of "Sonic Forces". Fans continued the Archie series unofficially, including finishing unpublished issues, while Penders is using the characters he gained ownership of for a graphic novel, "The Lara-Su Chronicles".
"Sonic the Comic", a British comic published by Fleetway Publications, ran for 223 issues from 1993 to 2002; contributors included Richard Elson, Nigel Kitching, Andy Diggle, and Nigel Dobbyn. It featured stories, news and reviews aimed at children. Although it adapted the stories of the games, the writers established their own continuity. The final story arc was a loose adaptation of "Sonic Adventure" in 2000, followed by 39 issues reprinting old stories. Following the series' cancellation, fans started "Sonic the Comic Online", an unofficial webcomic that continues the stories.
Sega and DC Comics announced a "Sonic"-themed partnership on Batman Day 2024. The partnership will begin with a five-issue limited series written by Flynn, in which "Sonic" characters take on the personas of Justice League heroes such as Batman and the Flash, in March 2025.
Live-action film franchise.
In August 1994, Sega of America signed a deal with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and Trilogy Entertainment to produce a live-action animated film to tie in with "Sonic X-treme". In May 1995, screenwriter Richard Jefferies pitched a treatment, "Sonic the Hedgehog: Wonders of the World", to Sega. It saw Sonic and Eggman escape from "Sonic X-treme" into the real world and Sonic collaborate with a boy to stop Eggman. No agreement was reached, and the film was canceled. With permission from Sega, Jeffries pitched his treatment to DreamWorks Animation, but it was rejected.
"Sonic the Hedgehog" (2020).
In 2013, Sony Pictures Entertainment acquired the "Sonic" film rights. In June 2014, it announced plans to produce a "Sonic" film as a joint venture with Sega's Marza Animation Planet. Neal H. Moritz was attached to produce under his Original Film banner, alongside Takeshi Ito, Mie Onishi, and Toru Nakahara. In February 2016, Sega CEO Hajime Satomi said the film was scheduled for 2018. Blur Studio's Tim Miller and Jeff Fowler were hired the following October to develop the film; Fowler would make his feature directorial debut, while both would executive produce. In October 2017, Paramount Pictures acquired the rights after Sony put the film into turnaround. However, most of the production team remained unchanged, and principal photography began in September 2018 in Ladysmith, British Columbia.
The film, written by Patrick Casey and Josh Miller, follows Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz) as he journeys to San Francisco with a small-town cop (James Marsden) so he can escape Eggman (Jim Carrey) and collect his missing rings. Additional cast members include Tika Sumpter, Adam Pally, and Neal McDonough, while Colleen O'Shaughnessey reprises her voice role as Tails from the games for a mid-credits scene cameo. Sonic was initially redesigned to be more realistic, with fur, new running shoes, separate eyes and a more humanlike physique. The design triggered a backlash; it was criticized for not resembling the game design and provoked an uncanny valley-type of repulsed response from viewers. As such, Sonic was revised to better resemble the original design.
Paramount originally scheduled "Sonic the Hedgehog" for a November 8, 2019, release, but delayed it to February 14, 2020, to accommodate the redesign. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, who felt it exceeded the low expectations typically associated with video game-based films; Carrey's performance in particular was praised. Criticism was directed at a perceived lack of originality or ambition, and while Sonic's second redesign was praised, some felt it set a negative precedent for the film industry by giving fans the power to influence the filmmakers. With an estimated budget of $81–95 million, the film grossed over $310 million worldwide, becoming the sixth-highest-grossing film of 2020. In March, it became the highest-grossing film based on a video game in US box office history.
"Sonic the Hedgehog 2" (2022).
"Sonic the Hedgehog 2" was announced in May 2020, and principal photography began in March 2021. It features Sonic and Tails attempting to stop Eggman, who has joined forces with Knuckles in search of the Master Emerald. Schwartz, O'Shaughnessey, Marsden, Carrey, and Sumpter reprise their roles from the first film, while Idris Elba voices Knuckles. Much of the crew, including Fowler, Casey, and Josh Miller, returned.
"Sonic 2" incorporates more aspects of the "Sonic" games than the first film, including plot elements from "Sonic 2" and "Sonic 3 & Knuckles" and the introduction of Shadow in the mid-credits scene. "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" was released on April 8, 2022. It received positive reviews and grossed over $402 million worldwide, surpassing its predecessor as the highest-grossing video game film in the US.
"Knuckles" (2024).
In February 2022, Paramount and Sega announced "Knuckles", a six-episode streaming television series for Paramount+. It was created by John Whittington and premiered on April 26, 2024. The story is set after the events of "Sonic 2" and follows Knuckles as he trains a protégé. It was produced by the films' creative team; Elba, Pally, and Sumpter reprise their roles, while Edi Patterson, Julian Barratt, Scott Mescudi, Ellie Taylor, Cary Elwes, Stockard Channing, Christopher Lloyd, Paul Scheer and Rob Huebel portray new characters.
"Sonic the Hedgehog 3" (2024).
In February 2022, Paramount and Sega announced "Sonic the Hedgehog 3", scheduled for release on December 20, 2024. Principal photography began in November 2023. Fowler is directing from a script by Casey, Miller, and Whittington. Schwartz, O'Shaughnessey, Elba, Carrey, Marsden, and Sumpter are reprising their roles, while Krysten Ritter, Alyla Browne, James Wolk, Sofia Pernas, Cristo Fernández, and Jorma Taccone will play new characters. Shadow, voiced by Keanu Reeves, makes his full film debut following his cameo in "Sonic 2".
Merchandise.
Licensed "Sonic" merchandise includes books, clothing, soundtracks, board games, and toys such as figures and plushes. By 2004, the "Sonic the Hedgehog" franchise had generated more than in licensed merchandise sales. Sega and McDonald's collaborated for "Sonic"-themed Happy Meal promotions in 1994 for "Sonic 3" and in 2004 for "Sonic Heroes". "Sonic" was the first video game franchise promoted in McDonald's, and over Sonic Happy Meal toys were sold worldwide. A million pairs of "Sonic" trousers were sold by 1996.
First4Figures has produced a large number of vinyl and resin "Sonic" figures since 2008. In January 2012, Sega and RHM Solutions opened an online "Sonic" store, while PlayStation Gear began selling "Sonic" items in December 2017. Sega and The Lego Group collaborated to produce a Green Hill Zone Lego set in 2021, after it was suggested on Lego Ideas in 2019. This was followed by the launch of a full Lego Sonic the Hedgehog theme in 2023.
Events.
On June 23, 2021, to celebrate "Sonic the Hedgehog"s 30th anniversary, Sega presented the concert Sonic the Hedgehog 30th Anniversary Symphony as a free live stream on YouTube and Twitch, starring performances of orchestral arrangements of "Sonic"s music by Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and pop rock arrangements by the Tomoya Ohtani Band and Crush 40, with Nathan Sharp as guest singer. The concert would become the start of Sonic Symphony, a tour, with its first live concert on October 12, 2022 at the 2022 Brasil Game Show and more concerts in late 2023 and 2024 as the Sonic Symphony World Tour.
Reception and legacy.
Commentary.
The "Sonic" platformers released during the 1990s were acclaimed and have been listed among the greatest video games of all time. The original "Sonic" was touted as a faster, cooler alternative to Nintendo's "Super Mario World" (1990). According to "Kotaku" Zolani Stewart, Sonic's rebellious character was representative of the culture of the 1990s, "when the idea of individual rebellion seemed inextricably linked to consumer culture". Writing in "The Guardian", Keith Stuart observed that "Sonic the Hedgehog"s emphasis on speed departed from accepted precepts of game design, requiring that players "learn through repetition rather than observation" as "the levels aren't designed to be seen or even understood in one playthrough... "Sonic" is incorrect game design and yet ... it's a masterpiece." "Sonic 2", "Sonic CD", "Sonic 3", and "Sonic & Knuckles" were praised for building on the first game's formula; in 1996, "Next Generation" described them as "the zeitgeist of the 16-bit era".
After the uneventful Saturn era, the series found renewed popularity during the sixth generation of video game consoles. "Sonic Adventure", though criticized for its glitches and camera system, was acclaimed for its visuals, spectacle, and varied gameplay; "Sonic Adventure 2" was met with similar praise. However, journalists began to feel the series was straying from its roots, with some commenting that "Sonic Adventure" failed to reinvent Sonic for the 3D era as "Super Mario 64" had for Mario. Stewart argued that the addition of voice acting and greater focus on plot changed Sonic into "a flat, lifeless husk of a character, who spits out slogans and generally has only one personality mode, the radical attitude dude, the sad recycled image of vague '90s cultural concept". Edwin Evans-Thirlwell of "Eurogamer" agreed, writing that Mario's "plucky earnestness and whimsy will always enjoy a longer shelf-life than [Sonic's] over-compensatory edginess".
After the Dreamcast, the series' critical standing declined. Evans-Thirlwell summarized further 3D "Sonic" games as "20-odd years of slowly accumulating bullshit". Although reviews for "Sonic Heroes" were mostly favorable, Stewart said this was when the focus on story and cutscenes became unbearable. "Shadow the Hedgehog" was widely criticized as a misguided attempt to bring a sense of maturity to the franchise, and "Sonic '06" was critically panned. The "Sonic Mania" developer Christian Whitehead said that the changes to the "Sonic" formula "stemmed from a – perhaps misplaced – desire to continue to push Sonic as a AAA brand". Journalists, Whitehead, and the former Sega of America marketing director Al Nilsen criticized the number of characters added to the series, which Naka had justified as necessary to please fans. Evans-Thirlwell argued that Sonic Team had never successfully translated the momentum-based gameplay of the Genesis games to 3D, and that unlike Mario, "Sonic" never had a 3D "transcendental hit". Simon Parkin of "The Guardian" noted that whereas the Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto reviews every "Mario" game prior to release, the individuals who had shaped "Sonic" (Naka, Ohshima, and Cerny) left Sega.
Despite the critical decline, Dimps' side-scrolling "Sonic" games for the GBA and DS were consistently praised. Writing for "Destructoid", Jim Sterling said: "Hyperbole states that we haven't had a good "Sonic" game since "Sonic Adventure", which really betrays how much we gamers ignore the handheld market... "Sonic Advance" and the "Sonic Rush" games have often ranged from decent to superb, which makes one wonder why Dimps is the 'B' team and the inferior Sonic Team is the 'A' team." In the wake of the 2006 "Sonic the Hedgehog", Brett Elston of "GamesRadar+" said that "Sonic Rush Adventure" had "managed to keep the [series'] spirit alive". "Sonic Unleashed" was criticized for its addition of beat 'em up gameplay, which "IGN" Hilary Goldstein felt had "nothing to do with Sonic whatsoever". Critics suggested that "Unleashed" would have been better received if it had focused on its speed-based platforming levels, which were widely praised.
In October 2010, Sega delisted "Sonic" games with average or below-average scores on the review aggregator website Metacritic, to increase the value of the brand and avoid confusing customers. That month, "Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I" was released to general praise, with Goldstein describing it as "short but sweet and well worth downloading". "Sonic Colors", released shortly afterward, was hailed as a return to form, as was 2011's "Sonic Generations". Though Evans-Thirlwell considered "Sonic Generations" the best 3D "Sonic" game, he called it "an admission of defeat" for depicting the 2D and 3D incarnations of Sonic "together only to remind us of their profound differences". "Sonic Lost World" was released in 2013 to more mixed reviews, with some critics considering it a fresh take on the "Sonic" formula and others a poorly designed mess. The two "Sonic Boom" games received negative reviews and sold only 490,000 copies combined by February 2015, making them the worst-selling "Sonic" games. That year, Iizuka admitted that Sonic Team had prioritized shipping games over quality and did not have enough involvement in third-party "Sonic" games such as "Sonic Boom". The Sega CEO, Haruki Satomi, acknowledged that Sega in general had "partially betrayed" the trust of the longtime fans and hoped to focus on quality over quantity.
In June 2015, the "Sonic" public relations manager Aaron Webber took charge of the series' Twitter account. Under Webber, the account, @sonic_hedgehog, became renowned for posting internet memes and making self-deprecating comments about the "Sonic" franchise's critical decline. According to Allegra Frank of "Polygon", Webber "had an important effect on the franchise, cultivating a new persona for the character, one that has created a renewed sense of hope". The announcement of "Sonic Mania" in 2016 brought further hope for the "Sonic" franchise's future. Journalists described it as a true continuation of the Genesis games, succeeding where previous "Sonic" games—such as "Sonic Rush" and "Sonic 4"—had failed. Released in August 2017, it became the best-reviewed "Sonic" game in 15 years . Matt Espineli of "GameSpot" said it "exceeds expectations of what a new game in the franchise can look and play like, managing to simultaneously be a charming celebration of the past and a natural progression of the series' classic 2D formula". Many called it one of the best games in the series and expressed excitement for "Sonic" future, although "Sonic Forces", released a few months later, received mixed reviews.
Sales.
"Sonic the Hedgehog" is one of the bestselling video game franchises. Its cumulative sales reached 89million copies by March 2011 and over by 2016. The "Mario & Sonic" series alone sold over 19million copies . The "Sonic the Hedgehog" games had grossed over in sales by 2014. Series sales and free-to-play mobile game downloads totaled by 2019, more than by 2020, over 1.6 billion by 2023, and over 1.77 billion by 2024. In 1993, Sonic tied with Mario as the highest-earning entertainment character of the year, each generating ( adjusted for inflation) in digital game sales that year. In the United Kingdom, "Sonic" was the sixth-bestselling game franchise between 1996 and 2012.
Individual "Sonic" games have been bestsellers as well. The original game is the bestselling Genesis game, while "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" is the bestselling Game Gear game, "Sonic CD" is the bestselling Sega CD game, and "Sonic Adventure" is the bestselling Dreamcast game. "Sonic Adventure 2" is the eighth-bestselling GameCube game in the US and the bestselling GameCube game that was not published by Nintendo. Upon release, "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" set records for being the fastest-selling game, selling out copies worldwide within two weeks in 1992. The original "Sonic the Hedgehog" earned over by 1997 ( adjusted for inflation). "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" grossed in 1992 ( adjusted for inflation), becoming the year's highest-grossing home entertainment product.
Effect on the industry.
Primarily because of its Genesis bundling, "Sonic the Hedgehog" contributed greatly to the console's popularity in North America. Between October and December 1991, the Genesis outsold its chief competitor, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, by a two-to-one ratio; at its January 1992 peak Sega held 65 percent of the market for 16-bit consoles. Although Nintendo eventually reclaimed the number-one position, it was the first time since December 1985 that Nintendo had not led the console market. "1UP.com" credited "Sonic" for "turning the course" of the 16-bit console wars, helping make Sega a dominant player and industry giant.
During the 16-bit era, "Sonic" inspired similar platformers starring animal mascots, including the "Bubsy" series, "Aero the Acro-Bat" (1993), "James Pond 3" (1993), "Earthworm Jim" (1994), and "Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel" (1994). "Animal with attitude" games carried over to the 3D era, with the developers of "Gex" (1995) and "Crash Bandicoot" (1996) citing "Sonic" as a major inspiration. According to Levi Buchanan of "IGN", ""Sonic" inspired so many of these copycats that they practically became an entire subgenre for the platformer." Thorpe wrote that "it's hard to keep track of how many programmers have cited ["Sonic the Hedgehog"] as a bar against which they have measured their own work", while Phil Hornshaw of "Complex" noted that few animal mascot characters achieved the same success as Sonic. Regarding the series' influence, Thorpe wrote:
"Computer and Video Games" credited "Sonic the Hedgehog" with helping to popularize console video games in the United Kingdom, where home computers previously dominated the home video game market. Frank Cifaldi, a video game preservationist and the founder of the Video Game History Foundation (VGHF), said "Sonic" fans' documentation of "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" prototypes influenced how video game history is studied, and that the VGHF has roots in his interest in "Sonic 2" development.
Cultural impact.
One of the world's most popular video game characters, by 1992 Sonic was more recognizable to children ages 6 to 11 than Disney's Mickey Mouse. In 1993, Sonic became the first video game character to have a balloon in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and he was one of the four characters inducted on the Walk of Game in 2005, alongside Mario, Link, and Master Chief. Additionally, a Japanese team developing the Radio & Plasma Wave Investigation (RPWI) instrumentation for the "Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer" spacecraft, to be launched by ESA and Airbus in 2023, received approval to use Sonic as the mascot. Sonic and Eggman appear as minor characters in the Walt Disney Animation Studios films "Wreck-It Ralph" (2012) and "Ralph Breaks the Internet" (2018), while Sonic makes cameos in "Ready Player One" (2018) and "" (2022).
The franchise is known for its eccentric and passionate fandom, which produces unofficial media, including fangames, fan fiction, modifications and ROM hacks of existing games, fan films, and fan art. Caty McCarthy of "USGamer" noted that many fans have continued to support the series in spite of poorly received games like the 2006 "Sonic the Hedgehog", and she credited the fandom with helping maintain public interest in the franchise. Notable "Sonic" fangames include "Sonic After the Sequel" (2013), set between the events of "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" and "3", and "Sonic Dreams Collection" (2015), which satirizes the series' fandom. "Sonic Mania" development team included individuals who had worked on "Sonic" ROM hacks and fangames, while Iizuka said the character customization system in "Sonic Forces" was influenced by the "Sonic" community's tendency to create original characters. Summer of Sonic, an annual fan convention dedicated to the "Sonic" series and hosted in the United Kingdom, was founded by Svend Joscelyne and Adam Tuff and first held in 2008.
"Sonic" has inspired various internet memes, which have been acknowledged by Sega and referenced in games. "Sanic hegehog", a crude Sonic drawn in Microsoft Paint, originated in 2010; typically, the meme uses one of Sonic's catchphrases but with poor grammar. The "Sonic" Twitter account has made numerous references to it, and it appeared in official downloadable content for "Sonic Forces" on in-game shirts and as a visual gag in the "Sonic the Hedgehog" film. Sanic also inspired similar memes and parodies and was described by William Moo of "Syfy Wire" as "perfect proof of the twisted love and appreciation many have" for Sonic. In January 2018, players flooded the virtual reality game "VRChat" with avatars depicting "Ugandan Knuckles", a deformed version of Knuckles the Echidna. The character stemmed from a 2017 review of "Sonic Lost World" by YouTube user Gregzilla, as well as fans of "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" streamer Forsen, who often reference the African country Uganda. The Ugandan Knuckles meme was controversial for its perceived racial insensitivity, and the creator of the avatar expressed regret over how it was used. In response, the "Sonic" Twitter account encouraged players to respect others and donate to a Ugandan charity through GlobalGiving.
The "sonic hedgehog" gene, first identified for its role in fruit fly embryonic development, was named after Sonic. Robert Riddle, then a postdoctoral fellow at the Tabin Lab, came up with the name after his wife bought a magazine containing an advert for "Sonic". A mutation in the gene causes fly larvae to bear spiky denticles, reminiscent of Sonic.
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Katniss Everdeen
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Katniss Everdeen is a fictional character and the protagonist of "The Hunger Games" trilogy written by American author Suzanne Collins. She is portrayed by Jennifer Lawrence in the film adaptations "The Hunger Games", ', ', and "".
Katniss and her family come from District 12, a coal-mining district that is the poorest, least populated, and smallest district in the dystopian fictional autocratic nation of Panem, ruled by the wealthy Capitol. In the course of the first book, "The Hunger Games", Katniss competes in the Hunger Games after she is allowed to volunteer in place of her little sister, Primrose "Prim" Everdeen. While in the arena, Katniss forms an alliance with Rue, the young female tribute from District 11, as she reminds Katniss of her sister. After Rue is killed by a Career Tribute named Marvel, Katniss sings her a lullaby and covers her body in flowers. Later, District 11 shows solidarity with Katniss over Rue’s death and gifts her bread shaped like a moon and covered in seeds. Katniss then forms an alliance with her fellow District 12 tribute, Peeta, and grows close to him. The two eventually make it to the finale of the games, where they become the victors after defying the Capitol's attempt to force one to kill the other.
Throughout the next two novels, "Catching Fire" and "Mockingjay", Katniss becomes a galvanizing symbol of rebellion against the oppressive Capitol. After the rebellion is victorious, Katniss chooses not to execute President Snow; she instead shoots Alma Coin, the corrupt leader of the thought-destroyed District 13, leaving President Snow’s cause of death ambiguous. She later begins a family with Peeta in the now peaceful Panem. To cope with her trauma, she often plays a game in which she thinks about every kind act she has ever witnessed people do, and reflects that “there are much worse games to play.”
Origins.
The idea for the trilogy was based in part on the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur, in which each year seven boys and seven girls from Athens are sent to Crete as tributes to that land to be devoured by the Minotaur, a cycle that continues until Theseus kills the Minotaur. Collins, who heard the story when she was eight years old, was unsettled by its ruthlessness and cruelty. Collins said, "In her own way, Katniss is a futuristic Theseus." Collins also characterized the novels with the fearful sensations she experienced when her father was fighting in the Vietnam War.
In the novels, Katniss is extensively knowledgeable in foraging, wildlife, hunting, and survival techniques. Collins knew some of this background from her father, who grew up in the Great Depression and was forced to hunt to augment a scanty food supply, although Collins saw her father bring home food from the wild during her childhood as well. In addition, Collins researched the subject using a large stack of wilderness survival guidebooks.
Katniss and the other tributes are, in their time before participating in their Hunger Games, compelled to compete for the hearts of sponsors who donate money that can be used to buy vital supplies for them when they are in the arena such as medicine, matches, food, and water. The concept of how the audiences carry nearly as much force as actual characters is based on how, in reality television and in the Roman games, the audience can both "respond with great enthusiasm or play a role in your elimination," as Collins said.
Name.
Katniss' first name comes from the edible arrowhead plant, which was known as "katniss" in the language of the Lenape.
Her last name comes from Bathsheba Everdene, the central female character in the 1874 novel "Far from the Madding Crowd" by Thomas Hardy. According to Collins, "The two are very different, but both struggle with knowing their hearts".
In the books.
"The Hunger Games".
"The Hunger Games" takes place in the ruins of North America: a country called Panem, consisting of the Capitol and 13 subservient districts. During the yearly "Reaping" of tributes for the gladiator-like Hunger Games, Katniss' younger sister, Primrose (Prim) is selected as District 12's female tribute. Katniss volunteers to take Prim's place. Because getting chosen at the reaping is supposed to be an honor, the district's Hunger Games escort Effie Trinket asks for a round of applause for Katniss, but everyone remains silent. Instead, everyone in the crowd press their three middle fingers of their left hands against their mouths and hold it out to her as a salute. Katniss describes this as an ancient sign for saying "admiration", "goodbye to someone you love", and "respect".
After Katniss is brought up on stage, Effie chooses the male tribute for the Games. Peeta Mellark is picked, and Katniss remembers something he did to help her when they were just eleven. During the time after Katniss' father died in a mining accident, Katniss' family was slowly starving to death. At this time, Peeta threw her two loaves of bread that he burnt on purpose when he saw her looking for sustenance in the bakery's trashcan. He earned a beating from his mother for this, but he saved Katniss' life. From this point on, she regained hope and strength to keep her family alive. The next day, in the school’s courtyard she saw a dandelion. This reminded her that she could forage along the districts boundary for dandelions. After she looked up, she saw Peeta's face and could never divide the thought of Peeta and the dandelion that gave her hope. This moment gave her the courage to venture out into the woods, where she later teamed up with Gale to hunt for food for their families.
When they arrive in the Capitol, Katniss is then met by her prep team, Flavius, Octavia, and Venia, and her stylist Cinna, who prepare Katniss for the Opening Ceremonies. All the tributes wear something that represents their district's industry. Coming from District 12, Katniss and Peeta expect to be dressed in coal mining costumes. Cinna and his partner Portia, however, decide to dress them in a plain black unitard and sleek boots with a cape that burns with fake flames. Katniss and Peeta are initially apprehensive at this arrangement, but their worries bring them closer together. Before the parade, Cinna lights their headdresses and capes and to Katniss and Peeta's surprise (and relief) it doesn't burn. In addition, Cinna suggests they hold hands to present them as "together and a team" and rebellious towards the Capitol. This distinguishes Katniss and Peeta from the rest of the tributes not only because they have most eye-catching costumes, but also that they are warm and relatively friendly to each other in comparison to the other tributes, who have remained cold and stiff with each other. With this new development, both gain the attention (and attraction) of sponsors, and both are unforgettable. From that moment on, Katniss is known as "The Girl On Fire".
As soon as they arrive, Peeta and Katniss are given 3 days of training and coaching with Haymitch and Effie. During the day and afternoon, they are taught survival skills and weapons training in the Training Room with other tributes, while at dinner Haymitch and Effie try and extract information about other tributes from them. During this 3-day training session, they form a small bond with Rue, the 12-year-old female tribute from District 11, and have to appear close to each other on Haymitch's orders. During their private training session, Katniss shoots an arrow at the Gamemakers' food (the target is an apple positioned in the mouth of a whole roasted pig), scoring her an 11 out of 12.
After training ends, there is one day for training on their interview with Caesar Flickerman, the interviewer for all the tributes for 40 years. After a mediocre training session with Effie, she is trained by Haymitch on her personality, getting called a "dead slug". The next day, Cinna tells her just to be honest, which makes her even more memorably awkward. Peeta also helps, admitting he loves Katniss.
During the Games, Katniss allies with Rue after Rue helps Katniss escape the Careers with a tracker jacker nest, getting her a bow in the process. After healing Katniss' wounds from the tracker jacker poison with an apothecary remedy, Rue is killed by Marvel, the male tribute from District 1. Later, the rules are changed so that if the remaining two tributes come from the same district, they will both become victors. Katniss hurries to find Peeta, who is seriously injured from saving Katniss from Cato, the District 2 male, and they resume their "star-crossed lovers" reputation, gaining sympathy from sponsors. While Katniss tries to keep up the ruse she begins to wonder if she does feel something for him; having always focused on surviving, she never considered romance, as the closest person to her was Gale. They outlast the other tributes after Katniss attends the feast to get medicine for Peeta, where she heals him, and the rule change is revoked, meaning there can only be one victor of the Hunger Games. Assuming the Gamemakers would rather have two victors than none, she suggests they both commit suicide by eating poisonous nightlock berries rather than killing each other. The Gamemakers want at least one victor, so Katniss and Peeta are both declared victors of the 74th Hunger Games seconds before the berries hit their mouths. However, she is warned by Haymitch that her actions in the Games may come back to haunt her, while also realizing Peeta's feelings for her are genuine.
"Catching Fire".
Katniss and Peeta go on the Victory Tour, which is a visit to each district by the winners, strategically placed between each Hunger Games. Katniss becomes aware uprisings are erupting. In addition, the nation's leader, President Snow, is making Katniss convince the nation she is really in love with Peeta and that her suicide pact was an act of love rather than defiance, to quell dissent. Gale has been presented to the nation as her cousin, but President Snow implies his knowledge that Katniss has feelings for him and threatens to have him killed to gain leverage.
To save her family and friends, Katniss agrees to follow the Capitol's agenda. Peeta does the same when he realizes what is at stake. Peeta even proposes marriage to her, and she accepts, but even at that point, President Snow conveys to her that her actions are insufficient. Katniss comes to realize the rebellion in the districts is not within her power to suppress, making it impossible for her to satisfy President Snow's demands. Katniss is also confused as to the nature of her feelings for both Gale and Peeta, both of which are complicated by her fears for the future and her unwillingness to have children who themselves could be subjected to the Hunger Games. When the Quarter Quell—a special Hunger Games that takes place every 25 years and has a special set of rules—is announced, it is proclaimed that all of the current year's tributes will be selected from the pool of previous Hunger Games victors. District 12 has only three living victors: Katniss, Peeta, and Haymitch, who won the 50th Games and successfully mentored Katniss the year before. As Katniss is the only living female victor in District 12, she is the only possible female tribute, and Peeta volunteers to take Haymitch's place when Haymitch is selected. Katniss and Peeta return to the arena, working closely to survive and forming alliances and close friendships in the process, particularly with Finnick Odair, who resuscitated Peeta in the arena. During this time Katniss begins to realize she has feelings for Peeta.
Katniss is taken from the arena and discovers the tributes of many districts, including her ally Finnick Odair, had coordinated an escape plan and used a stolen hovercraft to fly to District 13, which was not destroyed as the Capitol had claimed. However, during the escape, Peeta and Johanna are captured by the Capitol and afterward, Gale informs Katniss District 12 was bombed and destroyed but that her family is safe.
"Mockingjay".
In "Mockingjay", Katniss is rescued and taken to the subterranean civilization of District 13 and meets with the people and their leader, President Alma Coin. She is then taken to see the remains of District 12. Deeply affected by this, Katniss agrees to be the symbolic leader of their rebellion: "the Mockingjay", the face of the rebels. She discovers Cinna has been killed by the Capitol, but the rest of her prep team survived in District 13's captivity; they prep Katniss for the cameras when she agrees to start doing propaganda pieces for the rebels. A love triangle between Katniss, Peeta, and Gale slowly unfolds, forcing Katniss to decide whom she wants to be with—a situation complicated by the fact Peeta is currently being tortured in the Capitol while Gale is at Katniss's side. Katniss also forms a bond of friendship with Finnick, who goes through the same pain she is going through and can understand her situation. Katniss becomes increasingly emotionally unstable by the horrors she witnesses—mass slaughter, the destruction of the only home she has ever known with 90% of the citizens of District 12 dead, many friends killed due to their association with her, and Peeta being beaten on live television. After a rescue mission in which a team from District 13 brings Peeta back, she finds out his memories have been distorted by tracker jacker venom, a mind-control torturing method referred to as "hijacking". He now hates and wants to kill Katniss, believing she is a muttation created by the Capitol. Katniss becomes even more determined to kill Snow after this.
She, along with a group of sharpshooters that include Gale, Finnick, and later Peeta (much to Katniss's dismay) sneak into the Capitol at the cost of several of their own lives in an attempt to kill Snow. Along the way, they encounter sadistic traps created by game makers to make sport of their deaths, and on one occasion, Finnick and Katniss fight off muttations, who start decapitating Finnick, leading Katniss to explode the Holo to allow her friend a quick death. As the remaining team gets close to the presidential mansion, an array of bombs are dropped from a Hovercraft, with only some exploding, killing the refugee Capitol children on whom they were dropped. Rebel medics, including Prim, rush to help the children, but as they arrive the rest of the bombs explode. Prim is killed in front of Katniss, while Katniss's body is severely burned. Although she makes a remarkable physical recovery, Katniss temporarily loses the ability to speak, traumatized by the death of her sister. It is possible Gale was involved in the making of the bombs that killed Prim, although he denies knowing civilians would be attacked.
Meanwhile, President Snow is arrested, found guilty of his crimes against the people of Panem, and sentenced to death. Per Katniss's request, she is designated as his executioner. Before the execution, Snow tells Katniss the bombs weren't his but the rebels' way of gaining sympathy in the Capitol for their cause, making it look like the work of Snow. Although she initially refuses to believe Snow, Katniss realizes the attack method was identical to a trap Gale and fellow Quarter Quell tribute Beetee had designed. Eventually, Katniss realizes someone high up in the ranks of the Rebels would have had to order to have Prim on the front line, despite her age, and comes to suspect Coin ordered the attack on the children to trick the Capitol citizens into thinking the government had killed their children, therefore winning the loyalty of the Capitol's citizens and that Prim was there solely to subdue and unhinge Katniss.
Furthermore, Coin suggests there will be one last Hunger Games where the children from the Capitol will be reaped. She seeks the approval of the surviving victors before making these games official, and Katniss votes yes as a means of gaining Coin's trust. During the supposed execution of Snow, she instead shoots Coin, due to her being responsible for Prim's death. She then attempts to kill herself with the suicide pill attached to her uniform, but Peeta stops her. She is arrested and placed in solitary confinement, where she attempts to commit suicide by starving herself and overdosing. However, she is ultimately released on the grounds she wasn't mentally well at the time of the assassination and is sent back to District 12. Katniss, accompanied by Haymitch, goes back to her home in Victor's Village and is put under care.
Driven into a deep depression, Katniss refuses to leave her house until Peeta (who by then has largely recovered from his brainwashing) returns to District 12 to plant primroses outside, in memory of her sister. Katniss begins to regain her mental health, and she and Peeta deal with their feelings by creating a book composed of information about deceased tributes, friends, and family (eventually Haymitch joins them in this project). Katniss's mother, who chose not to return to District 12 because of all the painful memories of her deceased husband and daughter, decides to work in District 4 as medical personnel. Gale got a "fancy job" in District 2 and is seen regularly on television. Annie, Finnick's wife, has their son. A few hundred District 12 survivors return home and rebuild it, where they no longer mine coal, producing food and manufacturing medicine instead. The novel ends with Katniss admitting she does indeed love Peeta.
Epilogue.
In the epilogue, Katniss and Peeta are married and have a young daughter and a son. Katniss still suffers nightmares about the games and fears having to eventually relay the story to her children. To soothe her traumatized psyche, Katniss makes a list in her mind of every act of kindness she has ever seen, an obsession that she realizes has simply become a "repetitive game" to keep darker thoughts at bay. In the series' last words, Katniss offers one final observation: "But there are much worse games to play."
Characterization.
Background.
Katniss and her family live in the futuristic nation of Panem, located on the continent once known as North America, which was destroyed in a global catastrophe. Panem is run by an all-powerful city called the Capitol, located in the Rocky Mountains, which is surrounded by 12 districts, each having a specific purpose in supplying something to the Capitol. The story starts in District 12, Katniss's home, the coal-mining district. District 12, in the Appalachian Mountains, is the poorest of the districts, and Katniss lives with her mother and sister in the poorest part of town, known as the Seam.
Katniss's father, a coal miner, was killed in a mine explosion when Katniss was 11. After his death, Katniss's mother went into a deep depression and was unable to take care of her children. On the brink of starvation a few weeks before her twelfth birthday Katniss wandered into the richer part of town, hoping to steal some scraps from the garbage bins of rich merchants. The baker's son, Peeta, whom she did not know, took a beating from his mother for intentionally burning two loaves of bread, knowing that he would be told to throw them out. He was told to give the two loaves of bread to the pig but instead gave them to Katniss. Katniss took them home to her family, who had not eaten in days. The bread gave them hope and kept them motivated, leaving Katniss feeling resentfully indebted to Peeta.
A few days after the incident with the bread, Katniss decided to go into the woods surrounding her district to hunt illegally and gather plants to eat, which was how her father had gotten most of the family's food before he died. There, she met a boy named Gale Hawthorne. Together, they provide for both their families and develop a strong friendship.
Katniss's mother slowly surfaces from her depression and is able to return to her job as an apothecary, and Katniss makes an effort to forgive her. However, despite her mending relationship with her mother, strong friendship with Gale, and the increasingly strong affections she gains for Peeta, Katniss remains adamant that Prim, her younger sister, is "the only person she's certain she loves".
Personality.
Collins has described Katniss as being an independent, strong survivalist, lethal, but good at thinking outside the box. Katniss's past hardships (her father's death, mother's depression, and near starvation) have made her a survivor, and she will endure hardship and hard work to preserve her own life and the life of her family. She states nice people are the most dangerous because they get inside of her and they could hurt her badly when she least expected it. She has shown she will protect those she loves, no matter the cost to herself, as shown when she volunteers for the Games to save her little sister Prim, when she shields Gale to keep him from being whipped (even when it means a lash for herself), and when she stoically decides during her second Games to die to save Peeta.
Because the majority of her time before the Games was spent keeping herself and her family alive in a small, impoverished mountain community, Katniss does not understand many social cues and is often ignorant of other people's thoughts and emotions, such as when she doesn't recognize Gale's hints at his growing affection for her, or when she fails to realize that she and Madge Undersee are actually close friends. She has no experience with romance or love other than that of her family and doesn't believe she wants it. She never actually understands Peeta was telling the truth when he declared his love for her in the pre-game interview until after the games itself. Wary and distrustful, especially of anyone from outside rural District 12, Katniss makes friends slowly, if at all, and can alienate others easily due to a strong tendency toward bluntness and impatience in conversation. For those she takes to or who manage to win her over, however, Katniss is deeply loyal, modest and compassionate, reciprocating Cinna's regard for her and (over time) appreciating fellow survivors like Haymitch Abernathy, Effie Trinket, Peeta Mellark, Finnick Odair, and Johanna Mason. Her long, bitter feud with her sister Prim's cat, Buttercup, only ends when the two unite in grief over the loss of someone they both deeply loved. Prior to the 74th Hunger Games, she had no interest in ever getting married or having children, since they would inevitably be subject to the Reaping.
During the 74th and 75th Hunger Games, Katniss quickly adapts to the "kill or be killed" philosophy of the Games and coldly considers how she will kill her fellow competitors during the first Games, at one point rationalizing she is already a killer due to her hunting experience, though she is briefly disturbed after her first direct kill, Marvel. By the end of the first Games, she is prepared to shoot Cato and attempts to do so only to be interrupted by Peeta being attacked by the mutations. Despite her cold-bloodedness, she is nonetheless extremely relieved at not having to kill her allies Rue and Peeta. As the series progresses, however, she becomes increasingly cold-blooded, to the point where she objectively discusses how to kill everyone (but Peeta) involved in her second Hunger Games in "Catching Fire" (though she ultimately has to kill only one combatant), and by the third novel is depicted killing an unarmed female civilian during a mission, with apparent remorse. During Peeta's time regarding her as an enemy due to the Capitol's hijacking, Katniss considers herself to be "paranoid, distrustful, manipulative, deadly" and that Peeta rightly hates her for it, though Gale counters this notion, insisting that Peeta, badly traumatized by the Capitol's cruel psychological warfare, is in no way seeing her as she really is.
In "Catching Fire", Katniss struggles to understand the nuances and complexities of Panem's political issues, having little formal education and practically no interest in politics whatsoever. Over time, however, Katniss gradually realizes there are more important things than survival and becomes deeply invested in her relationships with the country around her, most especially Peeta and the second rebellion, being willing to fight and die for both. Her often-difficult temperament and personality, along with a complete lack of interest or ambition in regards to fame, rank, or power, mean that Katniss soon returns to the rural quiet of District 12 once the war is over, having never wanted a life outside of 12 to begin with, only a life free from the fear imposed by the Capitol and President Snow.
Skills.
Katniss is a highly skilled archer, hunter, and trapper, having learned these from her father and Gale (who were both excellent hunters), honed to keep her family from starving. She uses her archery skills during the pre-games judging and receives a score of 11 (out of a possible 12). She has been well educated on edible, medicinal, and the poisonous plant life of District 12. Additionally, she has a singing voice so beautiful the mockingjays, which normally don't listen to anyone, stay quiet to listen, although she has been reluctant to sing since her father's death (she claims that it's because music is useless for practical survival, but she suspects it's actually because music reminds her too much of him). Katniss is a skilled tree-climber, which has benefited her in hunting and the Games. She is usually very logical, except for times when her emotions get in the way. Peeta mentions that she has an effect on the people around her with the image she projects, and he admires her for it.
Physical appearance.
Katniss is described as having "straight black hair, olive skin, and grey eyes", which are typical characteristics of the Seam; the poorest area of District 12. Katniss normally wears her hair in a long braid down her back. She is thin and not very tall, but is strong for her size from hunting to feed her family in the woods outside of District 12. Katniss is sixteen years old during the 74th Hunger Games, and seventeen years old during the Quarter Quell and the Rebellion. She also wears a pin of a Mockingjay during the games to represent good luck.
Critical reception.
Katniss has received mostly positive reviews. In a review for "The Hunger Games", Stephen King said she was a "cool kid" with a "lame name," before adding, "once I got over [her] name...I got to like her a lot." Francisca Goldsmith in "Booklist" said, "Although Katniss may be skilled with a bow and arrow and adept at analyzing her opponents' next moves, she has much to learn about personal sentiments, especially her own." "Publishers Weekly" says, "It's a credit to Collins's skill at characterization that Katniss, like a new Theseus, is cold, calculating and still likable." The "Cleveland Plain Dealer" stated in a review for "Catching Fire" that "Katniss in a pensive mood seems out of step with the kick-butt assassin," before adding that her loyalty and kindheartedness were enjoyed. John Green, in "The New York Times", called Katniss a "memorably complex and fascinating heroine". Also in "The New York Times", Katie Roiphe said that Katniss in "Mockingjay" was "a great character without being exactly likeable. [She] is bossy, moody, bratty, demanding, prickly", and commented that this is what makes many recent literature heroines likeable. "Entertainment Weekly" compared Katniss to Bella Swan from the "Twilight Saga" and said "unlike "Twilight's" passive, angsty Bella, Katniss is a self-possessed young woman who demonstrates equal parts compassion and fearlessness."
Laura Miller of Salon.com finds Katniss too virtuous and without motivation, negatively contrasting Katniss to Bella of "Twilight", saying, "In some ways, Katniss is more passive than Bella, allowed to have all kinds of goodies but only if she demonstrates her virtue by not really wanting them in the first place," and, "For all her irritating flaws, Bella, at least, has the courage of her desire. For what, besides a well-earned vengeance, does Katniss Everdeen truly hunger?" However, Miller did think that she was "in many respects an improvement on...Bella". However, "The Daily Telegraph" David Gritten labelled her "a great role model for girls" who "has love interests, but doesn't mope passively over boys".
Daniel D'Addario of "Time" stated: "The Hunger Games heroine has already secured her status as a feminist role model and a box-office powerhouse. But Katniss is more than a movie icon now: Her three-fingered salute, used in Mockingjay as a signal of rebellion against the Capitol, has become a rallying symbol among pro-democracy protesters in Thailand and Hong Kong.
Film adaptation.
Actresses Lyndsy Fonseca and Kaya Scodelario expressed interest in the film and received scripts in October 2010, while Oscar-nominated actress Hailee Steinfeld met with director Gary Ross. Chloë Grace Moretz, Malese Jow, and Jodelle Ferland publicly expressed interest in playing Katniss. Director Scott Derrickson, who had met with Lionsgate to potentially direct the film, considered Naya Rivera for the role. Lionsgate confirmed in March 2011 about 30 actresses either met with them or read for the role, including Jennifer Lawrence, Abigail Breslin, Emma Roberts, Saoirse Ronan, Emily Browning, and Shailene Woodley, as well as Steinfeld, Moretz, Fonseca, and Scodelario.
On March 16, 2011, it was announced that Jennifer Lawrence of "Winter's Bone" and "" had been cast as Katniss. Lawrence was 20 at the time, older than the 16-year-old character. However, author Suzanne Collins said the actress who plays Katniss has to have "a certain maturity and power" and said she would rather the actress be older than younger. Collins states Lawrence was the "only one who truly captured the character I wrote in the book" and she had "every essential quality necessary to play Katniss." Lawrence later said that women had not previously played the lead roles of action films and that she felt significant responsibility towards the child audience. She commented that the "biggest conversation" was how much weight she would lose to play Katniss, but that she was wary of children feeling unable to dress up as Katniss because of their weight. Lawrence ultimately won several accolades for her performance, including a Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress in an Action Movie in 2013 and an MTV Movie Award for Best Female Performance in 2012 and 2014, as well as an MTV Movie & TV Awards for Best Musical Moment (2015) and Best Hero (2016).
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Porky Pig
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Porky Pig is a cartoon character in the Warner Bros. "Looney Tunes" and "Merrie Melodies" series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his star power, and the animators created many critically acclaimed shorts featuring the character. Even after he was supplanted by later characters, Porky continued to be popular with moviegoers and, more importantly, the Warners directors, who recast him in numerous everyman and sidekick roles.
He is known for his signature line at the end of many shorts, "(stutter) that's all, folks!" This slogan (without stuttering) had also been used by both Bosko and Buddy and even Beans at the end of Looney Tunes cartoons. Porky is the oldest continuing Looney Tunes character.
Porky's most distinctive trait is a severe stutter, for which he sometimes compensates by replacing his words; for example, "What's going on?" might become "What's guh-guh-guh-guh—...what's happening?" Porky's age varied widely in the series; originally conceived as an innocent seven-year-old piglet (explicitly mentioned as such in "Porky's Preview"), Porky was more frequently cast as an adult, often being cast as the competent straight man in the series in later years. At the ending of many "Looney Tunes" cartoons, Porky Pig bursts through a bass drum head, and his attempt to close the show with "The End" becomes "Th-Th-The, Th-Th-The, Th-Th... That's all, folks!" Porky Pig appeared in 153 cartoons in the Golden age of American animation.
Early films.
The character was introduced in the 100th short, "I Haven't Got a Hat" (first released on March 2, 1935), directed by Friz Freleng. Studio head Leon Schlesinger suggested that Freleng do a cartoon version of the popular "Our Gang" films. Porky only has a minor role in the film, but the fat little stuttering pig quickly became popular. Porky's name came from two brothers who were childhood classmates of Freleng, nicknamed "Porky" and "Piggy".
Since Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising had left the studio in 1933, taking the studio's star character Bosko with them, "Looney Tunes" had been kept afloat by cartoons featuring the bland Buddy. Porky's introduction ushered Buddy out the door and pointed to things to come. Tex Avery was hired to the studio in 1935, and his film "Gold Diggers of '49" reused much of the cast from "I Haven't Got a Hat", albeit in wildly different roles. Porky transitioned from a shy little boy to an immensely fat adult. Though he was still in a supporting role, Porky got most of the laughs. The directors realized they had a star on their hands.
Porky shared his stutter with the voice actor who originally played him, Joe Dougherty, who was actually a person who stuttered. Because Dougherty could not control his stutter, however, production costs became too high as his recording sessions took hours, and Porky's additional lines were done by Count Cutelli. Mel Blanc replaced Dougherty in 1937. Blanc continued the stutter; however, it was harnessed for a more precise comedic effect (such as stumbling over a simple word only to substitute a longer word without difficulty, or vice versa). This is parodied in "A Connecticut Rabbit in King Arthur's Court", where Bugs Bunny struggles to pronounce the word "porcupine", which Porky pronounces with no trouble.
"Porky's Duck Hunt" was released in 1937, and Blanc officially became the permanent voice of Porky until his death in 1989. In later interviews, Blanc often said that he intended Porky's stutter to be suggestive of the grunting of actual pigs. "Porky's Duck Hunt" was also the first film of another Looney Tunes star, Daffy Duck. Porky Pig is currently voiced by Bob Bergen.
Clampett's Porky.
Porky starred in dozens of films in the late 1930s. The directors still did not have a grasp on the character, however; his appearance, age, and personality all varied from picture to picture. Several such cartoons show Porky as a child with parents: father Phineas ("Porky the Rainmaker", "Milk and Money", "Porky's Poppa", and "Porky and Teabiscuit") and an unnamed mother ("Wholly Smoke" and "Porky's Hero Agency"). Bob Clampett finally pinned Porky down in 1939, making him a permanent young adult: cuter, slimmer, smarter, and eventually less of a stutterer. Also, some cartoons show Porky as an antagonist ("Porky's Duck Hunt", "Porky's Hare Hunt", "My Favorite Duck", "A Corny Concerto", "Duck Soup to Nuts", "Daffy Doodles", "Daffy Duck Hunt", "Boobs in the Woods", "Thumb Fun" and "Cracked Quack"). Eventually, he settled into a kind persona. Clampett's Porky was an innocent traveler, taking in the world's wonders—and in Clampett's universe, the world is a very weird place. This principle is perhaps best demonstrated in "Porky in Wackyland", a film that sends Porky on a quest to find the last of the surreal Dodos, Yoyo Dodo. "Porky in Wackyland" was selected for preservation by the National Film Registry in 2000.
In his commentary as part of the 1970s documentary film "", Clampett said that his early version of Tweety Bird had to be redesigned after his first picture because the producers thought he "looked naked". Meanwhile, as Clampett noted, nothing was ever made of the fact that "all those years, Porky never wore any pants!" However, Porky was seen with pants in "Porky's Badtime Story", "Tick Tock Tuckered" and "Brother Brat".
As a sidekick.
Porky's post at the pinnacle of the Warners' pantheon was short-lived. In 1937, the studio tried pairing Porky with various sidekicks, such as love interest Petunia Pig, cantankerous foil Gabby Goat, and a screwy black duck, Daffy. Daffy Duck, the creation of Tex Avery, was by far the most popular, eventually outshining even Porky. In fact, Friz Freleng satirized this phenomenon when he directed "You Ought to Be in Pictures" (1940), where Daffy convinces Porky to quit his job at Warner Bros. to find better-paying work elsewhere. Porky then convinces studio head Leon Schlesinger to release him from his contract. After a highly unsuccessful foray into the real world, Porky returns happily to the studio that created him. To this day, Porky remains as a loyal sidekick while Daffy refuses to be a second banana to Bugs Bunny, who rose to prominence shortly after Daffy.
Porky always remained a sentimental favorite of the Warner directors. His mild-mannered nature and shy demeanor made him the perfect straight man for zanier characters such as Daffy. He still starred in a few solo cartoons as well, such as Frank Tashlin's "Brother Brat". Other cartoons dumbed Porky down and cast him as a duck hunter after Daffy, largely paralleling the Elmer Fudd/Bugs Bunny pairings. Chuck Jones perfected the Porky-as-straight man scenarios, pairing the pig with Daffy Duck in a series of film and television parodies such as "Drip-Along Daffy", "Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century", "Rocket Squad", "Deduce, You Say!", "The Scarlet Pumpernickel" and "Robin Hood Daffy". Jones also paired Porky with Sylvester in a series of cartoons in the late 1940s and early 1950s, in which Porky plays the curmudgeonly and naive owner of the cat and remains clueless that Sylvester is constantly saving him from homicidal mice, space aliens and other threats.
Later years.
Porky was used in regular rotation in television syndication beginning in the 1960s, as were the rest of his "Looney Tunes" co-stars. A Saturday morning cartoon, "The Porky Pig Show", ran from 1964 to 1967. In 1971, he starred in another show, "Porky Pig and Friends". Both of these programs were collections of old theatrical shorts. Porky also appeared in all the classic film-feature compilations in the 1970s and 1980s. Another such collection was the 1986 film, "Porky Pig in Hollywood", which ran in art and college theaters.
Porky made an appearance in the Disney/Amblin film "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" (1988) at the end of the film where he, being paired with Disney's Tinkerbell, closes the movie with his famous line "Th-Th-Th-That's All Folks!". It was the last time that Mel Blanc voiced Porky before his death in 1989.
In the 1990s animated series "Tiny Toon Adventures", Porky appears as the mentor of Hamton J. Pig. He was voiced by Bob Bergen in "Animaniacs" and "Hero Hamton", Rob Paulsen in "The Wacko World of Sports", Noel Blanc in "Fields of Honey", "The Acme Bowl" and "Hero Hamton", Joe Alaskey in "Music Day", and Greg Burson in "It's a Wonderful Tiny Toons Christmas Special". Porky also made cameo appearances in "Animaniacs" (where he was voiced by Rob Paulsen in ”De-Zanitized”, Greg Burson in “The Warners' 65th Anniversary Special”, and Bob Bergen in “Suffragette City”) and "Histeria!" (where he was voiced by Billy West).
Porky appears in the movie "Space Jam" (1996) and collaborates with Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, and Sylvester in challenging the Nerdlucks to a basketball game. He tries to get Michael Jordan's autograph when the basketball star is first recruited to join the team and later plays for the Tune Squad in the game itself, scoring one basket. Porky tries to end the movie with his famous line but is prevented by the combined efforts of Bugs, Daffy, and the Nerdlucks. He was voiced by Bob Bergen.
Porky is the star of the Super NES video game "Porky Pig's Haunted Holiday" (1995). He also made appearances in the games ', ', ', ', "Bugs Bunny Rabbit Rampage" and "The Bugs Bunny Birthday Blowout". Bob Bergen reprises his role in these games.
In the movie "" (2003), Porky (Bob Bergen again) makes a cameo appearance alongside Speedy Gonzales, where they both lament their politically incorrect status. At the end of the movie, Porky tries to say his classic line, but stutters so much, the lights are turned off around him as the studio closes for the night; so an irritated Porky simply says, "G-g-go home, folks."
Porky appears as a toddler version of himself in "Baby Looney Tunes" (2002), albeit only in the show's musical numbers. Petunia functioned as the show's more major pig character.
Porky appears as the "Eager Young Space Cadet" in the animated series "Duck Dodgers" (2003–2005), again voiced by Bob Bergen.
Porky has a descendant in "Loonatics Unleashed" (2005–2007) named Pinkster Pig (who was also voiced by Bob Bergen). Pinkster had been an old friend of Danger Duck (Daffy Duck's descendant), but became a villain when he was adopted by Stoney and Bugsy (descendants of Rocky and Mugsy).
Porky also appears in most episodes of Cartoon Network's animated series "The Looney Tunes Show" (2011–2014), voiced again by Bob Bergen. He is still friends with Daffy Duck and often sucked into Daffy's schemes. Porky is also Daffy's nervous, fall guy buddy, similar to their relationship in classic comic books. It is also revealed in the show that in his high school years, he was a jock who bullied Daffy, while during their childhood years, it was Daffy who bullied Porky.
In the documentary "I Know That Voice" (2013), Bob Bergen explains how to recreate the pig's famous stutter, demonstrating how difficult it is to do it without practice. He finishes the segment by joking "Nobody [else] can do that, and that's why I have job security!"
Porky appears in the direct-to-video movie "" (2015), reprised by Bob Bergen.
Porky Pig appears as a recurring character in "New Looney Tunes", voiced once again by Bob Bergen. Here, he is shown to be fatter, like some of his earlier appearances in the mid-1930s. Porky was first mentioned in "Dust Bugster", where he told Bugs about a television series whose name was not mentioned that led to Bugs binge-watching it.
In the 2018 DC Comics and Looney Tunes comic crossovers, Porky appeared in a story that paired him with Lex Luthor. This version of Porky was the successful owner of a company named Porkybux before it was hacked and ran him out of business. He is later approached by Lex to be in charge of LexCorp's social media division and lets Lex get away with harassing his employees and stealing their sandwiches as repayment for the second chance. It is later revealed that Lex gave him the position to frame Porky when he used his social media website to steal important passwords from their users. Porky begins an autobiography in prison to expose Lex for his actions. In the backup story stylized more like Looney Tunes, Porky tries selling Acme office supplies to Lex but ends up stopping Lex from defeating Superman.
Porky's latest appearance is in "Looney Tunes Cartoons", where he is once again voiced by Bob Bergen. His personality is based on the earlier shorts, however, his appearance is based on later shorts like "The Looney Tunes Show" for example. He is mostly paired with Daffy Duck who always drives him crazy.
A humanoid version of Porky also appeared in Tom King's "Batman/Elmer Fudd Special", where he ran a bar called Porky's which often featured attendants that were humanoid versions of other Looney Tunes characters. The bar and Porky also made a cameo in Tom King's "Batman" series.
Porky appears in the preschool series "Bugs Bunny Builders" which aired on Cartoon Network's Cartoonito block and HBO Max, where he is once again voiced by Bob Bergen.
Porky appears in the "Teen Titans Go!" episode, "Warner Bros. 100th Anniversary". He is among the Looney Tunes characters guests for the Warner Bros. centennial celebration, voiced once again by Bob Bergen.
"Blooper".
A short black-and-white cartoon was made in 1938 as part of a Warner Bros. blooper reel. It was shown on the Warner Bros. 50th Anniversary TV show. Porky is shown doing some carpentry work, pounding nails, when he smacks his thumb with the hammer. Grimacing in pain, he cries, "Oh, son of a bi-bi-, son of a bi-bi-, son of a bi-bi-bi-... gun!" He then turns to the viewers and says "Ha-ha-ha! You thought I was gonna say 's-s-son of a bitch', didn't ya?"
This short, so-called "blooper" can also be found on the "" of 2006, under the title "Porky Pig Breakdowns of 1939" (with several versions of the clip, making it look like a true "blooper"), and on an "Each Dawn I Die" DVD box set, also released in 2006. Though the "blooper" was made a year before "Gone with the Wind" famously used the word in the line "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn", due to the Motion Picture Production Code the "blooper" was not shown publicly until the aforementioned special, which by that point FCC regulations softened enough for the word "bitch" to be used on television. The blooper was also shown as part of a package of other vintage bloopers on Warner Cable pay-per-view in the 80s. The blooper was animated by Rod Scribner, widely considered as one of the best Looney Tunes animators of all time.
Reception.
Porky was ranked number 47 on "TV Guide"s list of top 50 cartoon characters. He was shown on one of that issue's two covers in a crossover scene with Duck Dodgers and "The Powerpuff Girls".
Notable films.
See also List of cartoons featuring Porky Pig
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Travis Bickle
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Travis Bickle is a fictional character and the anti-hero protagonist of the 1976 film "Taxi Driver" directed by Martin Scorsese. The character was created by the film's screenwriter Paul Schrader. He is portrayed by Robert De Niro, who received an Oscar nomination for his performance.
Biography.
Travis Bickle is a 26-year-old living in New York City. When applying for a job as a taxi driver, he says he is a former U.S. Marine who served in the Vietnam War and was given an honorable discharge in May 1973, and has had "some" education. With few friends, and suffering from depression, loneliness, existential crises, and severe and chronic insomnia, he takes a job as a graveyard shift cab driver to occupy his time, working grueling 12–14 hour shifts 6–7 days a week. Working late at night in dangerous neighborhoods, his customers tend to include pimps and drug addicts. He is visibly angered by them, and begins fantasizing about "cleansing" such "filth" from the streets.
Bickle becomes attracted to a woman, Betsy (Cybill Shepherd), who works in the local campaign office of presidential candidate and United States Senator Charles Palantine. Bickle often spies on Betsy from his cab, and finally enters the office with the pretense of wanting to support the candidate, and asks her out. They meet for coffee, and Betsy finds him strange but charming, and agrees to see him again. He then takes her to a porn theater he frequents, which disgusts her and makes her refuse to see him again.
After Betsy rejects him, Bickle becomes increasingly paranoid and starts acting out his fantasies. He buys several guns and takes to carrying them secreted about his person – taped to his limbs, for example, or in hidden spring-loaded holsters. He begins a physical training regimen which consists of doing 50 pushups and 50 pullups every morning and practices an intimidating, thuggish presence in the mirror to use on whoever challenges him. Eventually, he shaves his head into a Mohawk. He attends one of Palantine's speeches, apparently intent on shooting him. However, he attracts the notice of Secret Service agents and flees.
He later becomes obsessed with protecting Iris Steensma (Jodie Foster), a 12-year-old prostitute he has seen on his route. He pays her pimp, Matthew "Sport" Higgins (Harvey Keitel), for her time, but is not interested in having sex with her; instead, he tries to persuade her to leave prostitution and return home. Iris rebuffs him, only increasing his anger and resolve to take her away from a perilous life. He confronts Sport and shoots him in the stomach, leaving him to die on the street. He then goes on a rampage through a brothel with his concealed weapons while Iris is servicing a client. Bickle shoots the approaching bouncer's hand off as soon as he walks in, but he in turn is shot in the neck from behind by a dying Sport.
Bickle begins to advance only to have the wounded bouncer attack him while going up the stairs. Iris' client, a Mafioso, overhears the previous gunshots; he sneaks up behind the distracted Bickle and shoots him in the arm. Bickle kills the mafioso and the bouncer, and then turns the gun on himself, but finds that he is out of ammunition. Severely injured, Bickle collapses on Iris' couch. When the police arrive, Bickle stares at them and smiles, pointing his bloodied finger like a gun at his head.
The newspapers hail Bickle as a hero for rescuing Iris. While in hospital he receives a letter from her parents, thanking him for returning their daughter to them; she had been sent home after the police arrived and found out she was a runaway. After recovering he sees Betsy, who tells him that she read about him in the news; when she gets out of the cab and asks him how much the ride costs, he smiles and drives away.
Critical response and analysis.
"Taxi Driver", "American Gigolo", "Light Sleeper", and "The Walker" make up a series referred to variously as the "Man in a Room" or "Night Worker" movies. Screenwriter Paul Schrader (who directed the other three films) has stated that he considers the central characters of the four films to be one character, who has changed as he has gotten older.
De Niro received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Bickle. In the American Film Institute's AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains, Bickle was named the 30th greatest film villain of all time. "Empire" magazine also ranked him 18th in their "The 100 Greatest Movie Characters" poll. "Premiere" ranked De Niro's performance as the 42nd best in cinematic history.
Cultural influence and controversies.
You talkin' to me?
The character has often been referenced in popular culture due to his famous "You talkin' to me?" monologue. The scene was listed by IGN as the 4th best moment in film history when counting their top 100. Bickle sinisterly utters the line while he stands in front of the mirror, clad in a USMC jacket, threatening his unseen foes with the gun up his sleeve. The line has been parodied multiple times throughout film history, including by De Niro himself in the film "The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle". The line can also sometimes be heard in the famous game Grand Theft Auto III when the player tries to steal a taxi by forcing the driver out.
John Hinckley Jr..
On March 30, 1981, John Hinckley Jr. attempted to assassinate United States president Ronald Reagan in an attempt to impress the actress Jodie Foster, who played Iris in "Taxi Driver". Hinckley's inspirations for his assassination attempt were directly linked to Travis Bickle's attempted assassination of Charles Palantine in the film, with Hinckley even fashioning his appearance to resemble Bickle's mohawk and army jacket. Ironically, Bickle's character was inspired by Arthur Bremer, who attempted to assassinate presidential candidate George Wallace on May 15, 1972. Upon hearing of Hinckley's assassination attempt, "Taxi Driver" director Martin Scorsese considered quitting the film industry.
Contemporary art.
Several contemporary artists have directly referenced and appropriated Travis Bickle and "Taxi Driver" in their artwork. These include Douglas Gordon in his video installation "'Through a looking glass (1999), which features the well-known scene in which Bickle asks, "You talkin' to me?" while gazing into a mirror. In Gordon's piece, the scene is projected onto large dual screens placed on opposite walls of a gallery space and plays on a continual loop. This artwork can be seen in the collection of the Guggenheim Museum, New York. The art duo Beagles & Ramsay created an artwork titled We Are The People – Suck On This"' (ICA, London 2000), which featured a video based on re-staged, downbeat version of Taxi Driver. Ramsay was dressed and styled to appear like Travis Bickle, complete with mohawk, and handed a petition into the British Prime Minister Tony Blair at 10 Downing Street. This artwork can be seen in the Glasgow Museums Collection and includes the petition which reads "We Are The People – Suck On This," which is signed only by the two artists.
"Joker".
Todd Phillips' 2019 film "Joker" pays tribute to Travis Bickle and "Taxi Driver" through the character of Arthur Fleck (played by Joaquin Phoenix). The character's descent into madness and chaos was seen as reminiscent of Bickle, leaving many critics and audiences to speculate whether the character was an homage to Bickle or simply the use of familiar storylines. The film further references the character by having Robert De Niro play the character of Murray Franklin, a talk-show host pivotal in Arthur Fleck's descent into madness and subsequent transformation into The Joker. De Niro's casting was also a reference to another collaboration between him and Scorsese with their 1983 film "The King of Comedy" and his character Rupert Pupkin. The film includes a visual reference to Bickle miming shooting himself in the head in a scene in an elevator between Arthur and his neighbour, Sophie (Zazie Beetz). Sophie mentions how much she hates living in the apartment block and mimes shooting herself in the head, which Arthur does as well.
Music.
The Clash song "Red Angel Dragnet" on the 1982 album "Combat Rock" references Travis Bickle and directly quotes or paraphrases some of his lines from the movie.
Punk rock band Rancid recorded a song called "Travis Bickle", which was released on their 2003 studio album "Indestructible".
Metalcore band Emmure also recorded a song called "Travis Bickle", which was released on their 2007 studio album "Goodbye to the Gallows".
Hip-Hop artist Prime Minister Pete Nice mentions Travis Bickle in a lyric of the song "Blowin' Smoke" on the "Dust to Dust" album.
Alternative musician Rusty Cage* recreated scenes as Travis Bickle in the music video for the 2018 song "The Grave".
Other.
In the season 4 episode of "Oz" titled "A Town without Pity", Clayton Hughes dresses in the look of Bickle, complete with the haircut and tries to kill Governor James Devlin.
In the 1990 film Look Who's Talking Too, John Travolta's character refers to another as "Travis Bickle" during an argument with Kirstie Alley.
The limo driver character in the 2003 Comedy Central film "Windy City Heat" is named Travis Bickle.
Travis Bickle made a cameo appearance during the third issue of the 2012 comic book "", written by Brian Azzarello and illustrated by Lee Bermejo.
Bickle's "finger gun" was also referenced in of FX horror television series "American Horror Story" in the scene where the police attempt to arrest Tate Langdon after he commits a mass shooting. Tate mimes the finger gun to his head, resulting in the police opening fire, killing him.
Natasha Lyonne's "Russian Doll" references Bickle in season 2, episode 1, at the 7:36 mark, with her character Nadia Vulvokov speaking the line, "Hey, Travis Bickle, what year do you think it is, man?"
One of the "Elite Bundle" skin sets in "Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege" partially references Travis Bickle's signature mohawk and sunglasses.
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Shrek
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Shrek is a 2001 American animated fantasy comedy film loosely based on the 1990 children's picture book by William Steig. Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson (in their feature directorial debuts) and written by Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman, and Roger S. H. Schulman, it is the first installment in the "Shrek" film series. The film stars Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, and John Lithgow. In the film, an embittered ogre named Shrek (Myers) finds his home in the swamp overrun by fairy tale creatures banished by the obsessive ruler Lord Farquaad (Lithgow). With the help of Donkey (Murphy), Shrek makes a pact with Farquaad to rescue Princess Fiona (Diaz) in exchange for regaining control of his swamp.
After purchasing the rights to Steig's book in 1991, Steven Spielberg sought to produce a traditionally-animated film adaptation, but John H. Williams convinced him to bring the project to the newly founded DreamWorks in 1994. Jeffrey Katzenberg, along with Williams and Aron Warner, began development on "Shrek" in 1995, immediately following the studio's purchase of the rights from Spielberg. Chris Farley was cast as the voice for the title character, recording most of the required dialogue, but died in 1997 before his work on the film was finished; Myers was hired to replace him, and gave Shrek his Scottish accent. The film was initially intended to be created using motion capture, but after poor test results, the studio hired Pacific Data Images to complete the final computer animation. "Shrek" parodies other fairy tale adaptations, primarily animated Disney films.
"Shrek" premiered at the Mann Village Theatre In Westwood, and was later shown at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival, where it competed for the Palme d'Or, making it the first animated film since Disney's "Peter Pan" (1953) to be chosen to do so. The film was theatrically released by DreamWorks Pictures in the United States on May 18, 2001, and grossed over $492 million worldwide, becoming the fourth highest-grossing film of 2001. It was widely praised by critics for its animation, voice performances, soundtrack, writing and humor, which they noted catered to both adults and children. "Shrek" was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and won the first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
The film's major success helped establish DreamWorks Animation as a competitor to Pixar in feature film computer animation. Three sequels have been released—"Shrek 2" (2004), "Shrek the Third" (2007), and "Shrek Forever After" (2010)—along with two spin-off films—"Puss in Boots" (2011) and "" (2022)—with other productions, notably "Shrek 5", in development. It is also regarded as one of the most influential animated films of the 2000s and one of the greatest animated films ever made. The United States Library of Congress selected "Shrek" for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2020, becoming the first animated film of the 21st century to be preserved.
Plot.
Shrek is an anti-social and highly territorial ogre who loves the solitude of his swamp and enjoys fending off mobs and intruders. His life is interrupted after the dwarfish Lord Farquaad of Duloc exiles a vast number of fairy-tale creatures, who inadvertently end up in the swamp. Angered by the intrusion, Shrek decides to visit Farquaad and demand him to move the creatures elsewhere. Shrek reluctantly allows a talkative Donkey, whom he saved from Farquaad's guards before, to tag along and guide him to Duloc.
Meanwhile, Farquaad is presented with the Magic Mirror, who tells him that he must marry a princess in order to become king. Farquaad chooses Princess Fiona, who is imprisoned in a castle guarded by a Dragon. Unwilling to rescue Fiona himself, he organizes a tournament in which the winner will receive the "privilege" of performing the task on his behalf. When Shrek and Donkey arrive at Duloc, Farquaad announces that whoever kills Shrek will win the tournament; however, Shrek and Donkey defeat Farquaad's knights with relative ease. Amused, Farquaad proclaims them champions, and agrees to relocate the fairy-tale creatures if Shrek rescues Fiona.
Shrek and Donkey travel to the castle and are attacked by the Dragon. Shrek locates Fiona, who is appalled by his lack of romanticism; they flee the castle after rescuing Donkey from the dragon, who's revaled to be female and has fallen in love with him. When Shrek removes his helmet and reveals he is an ogre, Fiona stubbornly refuses to go to Duloc, demanding Farquaad arrive in person to save her. Shrek carries Fiona against her will. That night, after setting up camp, and with Fiona alone in a cave, Shrek admits to Donkey that he is anti-social because he grew frustrated after being constantly judged for his appearance. Fiona overhears this, and decides to be more kind to Shrek. The next day, the three are harassed by Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men, but Fiona easily defeats them in physical combat. Shrek becomes impressed with Fiona, and they begin to fall in love.
When the trio nears Duloc, Fiona takes shelter in a windmill for the evening. Donkey later enters alone and discovers that Fiona has transformed into an ogre. She explains that during her childhood, she was cursed to transform into an ogre at night, but retain her human form during the day. She tells Donkey that only "true love's kiss" will break the spell and change her to "love's true form". Meanwhile, Shrek is about to confess his feelings to Fiona, when he overhears Fiona referring to herself as an "ugly beast". But believing that she is talking about him, Shrek angrily leaves and returns the next morning with Farquaad. Confused and hurt by Shrek's abrupt hostility, Fiona accepts Farquaad's marriage proposal and requests that they be married before nightfall. Shrek abandons Donkey and returns to his now-vacated swamp, but quickly realizes that he feels miserable without Fiona. Donkey appears, scolding Shrek for his bad behavior and for jumping to conclusions. He even tells Shrek that Fiona was not referring to him as an "ugly beast" and encourages him to express his love to Fiona. The two reconcile, and quickly travel to Duloc by riding the Dragon, whom Donkey has befriended.
Shrek interrupts the wedding just before the ceremony ends, and tells Fiona that Farquaad is only marrying her to become king. The sun sets as Fiona transforms into an ogre in front of everyone, causing Shrek to understand Fiona's previous remarks. Outraged and disgusted, Farquaad orders Shrek executed and Fiona re-imprisoned, so that he will still be king by technicality. The two are saved when the Dragon, ridden by Donkey, breaks in and devours Farquaad. Shrek and Fiona profess their love and share a kiss. Fiona's curse is broken; she is surprised to find she has remained an ogre, though Shrek reassures her that he still finds her beautiful. They marry in the swamp with the fairy-tale creatures in attendance, then leave for their honeymoon.
Production.
Development.
At the time DreamWorks Pictures was founded, producer John H. Williams got hold of the book from his children and when he brought it to DreamWorks, it caught CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg's attention and the studio decided to make it into a film. Recounting the inspiration of making the film, Williams said:
After buying the rights to the film, Katzenberg quickly put it in active development in November 1995. Steven Spielberg had thought about making a traditionally animated film adaptation of the book before, when he bought the rights to the book in 1991 before the founding of DreamWorks, where Bill Murray would play Shrek and Steve Martin would play Donkey. In the beginning of production, co-director Andrew Adamson refused to be intimidated by Katzenberg and had an argument with him about how much the film should appeal to adults. Katzenberg wanted both audiences, but he deemed some of Adamson's ideas, such as adding sexual jokes and Guns N' Roses music to the soundtrack, to be too outrageous. Adamson and Kelly Asbury joined in 1997 to co-direct the film. However, Asbury left a year later for work on the 2002 film "", and was replaced with story artist Vicky Jenson, although Asbury would later co-direct the sequel. Both Adamson and Jenson decided to work on the film in half, so the crew could at least know whom to go to with specific detail questions about the film's sequences; "We both ended up doing a lot of everything," Adamson said. "We're both kinda control freaks, and we both wanted to do everything."
Some early sketches of Shrek's house were done between 1996 and 1997 using Photoshop, with the sketches showing Shrek first living in a garbage dump near a human village called Wart Creek. It was also thought at one time that he would live with his parents and keep rotting fish in his bedroom. Donkey was modeled after Pericles (born 1994; also known as Perry), a real miniature donkey from Barron Park in Palo Alto, California. Raman Hui, supervising animator of "Shrek", stated that Fiona "wasn't based on any real person" and he did many different sketches for her. He had done over 100 sculptures of Fiona before the directors chose the final design. In early development, the art directors visited Hearst Castle, Stratford upon Avon, and Dordogne for inspiration. Art Director Douglas Rogers visited a magnolia plantation in Charleston, South Carolina, for inspiration of Shrek's swamp. Planned characters not used in the film include Goldilocks and Sleeping Beauty.
Writing.
The screenplay was written by Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman, and Roger S. H. Schulman, loosely based on the picture book by William Steig. The way Steig upended fairy tale conventions in the original book by making an ogre the protagonist formed the basis for the movie being a parody of fairy tales. Elliott and Rossio began writing for the film in 1997 and worked on the project for two years. They centered the four main characters’ personalities on maladaptive responses to self-esteem issues; as the DreamWorks story crew developed the plot, their personalities remained the same, ensuring the “thematic unity” of the story was preserved. When the studio leaned towards Shrek being a kind person shunned for being an ogre, they pushed for Shrek to remain a “misanthropic anti-hero.”
Casting.
Nicolas Cage was initially offered the role of Shrek but he turned it down because he did not want to look like an ogre. In 2013, Cage explained: "When you're drawn, in a way it says more about how children are going to see you than anything else, and I so care about that."
Chris Farley was initially hired to voice Shrek, and he had recorded nearly all of the dialogue for the character, but died before completing the project. According to David Spade, Farley only had 5 days left of voice work and Farley's brother John was asked if he would come in and finish his lines but John refused. A story reel featuring a sample of Farley's recorded dialogue was leaked to the public in August 2015. DreamWorks then re-cast the voice role to Mike Myers, who insisted on a complete script rewrite, to leave no traces of Farley's version of Shrek. According to Myers, he wanted to voice the character "for two reasons: I wanted the opportunity to work with Jeffrey Katzenberg; and [the book is] a great story about accepting yourself for who you are."
After Myers had completed providing the voice for the character over the course of 1999 and the film was well into production, a rough cut of the movie was shown to him in February 2000. Myers asked to re-record all of his lines with a Scottish accent, similar to that his mother used when she told him bedtime stories and also used for his roles in other films, such as "So I Married an Axe Murderer" and "". According to the DVD commentary, he had also tried using a Lothar of the Hill People accent and a Canadian accent. After hearing the alternative, Katzenberg agreed to redo scenes in the film, saying, "It was so good we took $4M worth of animation out and did it again." Myers disputed the cost, saying "it didn't cost the studio 'millions of dollars'," as rumored. "What it meant is instead of me going in for ten sessions, I went in for twenty sessions. I got paid the same." Because of Myers voicing the character, more ideas began to come. There were clearer story points, fresher gags and comedy bits. "I got a letter from Spielberg thanking me so much for caring about the character," Myers said. "And he said the Scottish accent had improved the movie."
Another person planned to voice a character in the film was Janeane Garofalo, who was set to star alongside Farley as Princess Fiona. However, she was fired from the project for unexplained reasons. Years later, Garofalo stated "I was never told why [I was fired]. I assume because I sound like a man sometimes? I don't know why. Nobody told me ... But, you know, the movie didn't do anything, so who cares?"
Animation.
"Shrek" was originally set up to be a live-action/CG animation hybrid with background plate miniature sets and the main characters composited into the scene as motion-captured computer graphics, using an ExpertVision Hires Falcon 10 camera system to capture and apply realistic human movement to the characters. Softimage was used, as well as Mental Ray. A sizable crew was hired to run a test, and after a year and a half of R & D, the test was finally screened in May 1997. The results were not satisfactory, with Katzenberg stating "It looked terrible, it didn't work, it wasn't funny, and we didn't like it." The animation wasn't released publicly until 2023 when it was posted by production designer Barry E. Jackson on his YouTube channel. The studio then turned to its production partners at Pacific Data Images (PDI), who began production with the studio in 1998 and helped "Shrek" get to its final, computer-animated look. At this time, "Antz" was still in production at the studio and effects supervisor Ken Bielenberg was asked by Aron Warner "to start development for "Shrek"". Similar to previous PDI films, PDI used its own proprietary software (like the Fluid Animation System) for its animated movies. For some elements, however, it also took advantage of some of the powerhouse animation software on the market. This is particularly true with Maya, which PDI used for most of its dynamic cloth animation and for the hair of Fiona and Farquaad.
"We did a lot of work on character and set-up, and then kept changing the set up while we were doing the animation," Hui noted. "In "Antz", we had a facial system that gave us all the facial muscles under the skin. In "Shrek", we applied that to whole body. So, if you pay attention to Shrek when he talks, you see that when he opens his jaw, he forms a double chin, because we have the fat and the muscles underneath. That kind of detail took us a long time to get right." One of the most difficult parts of creating the film was making Donkey's fur flow smoothly so that it did not look like that of a Chia Pet. This fell into the hands of the surfacing animators, who used flow controls within a complex shader to provide the fur with many attributes (ability to change directions, lie flat, swirl, etc.). It was then the job of the visual effects group, led by Ken Bielenberg, to make the fur react to environment conditions. Once the technology was mastered, it could be applied to many aspects of the movie, including grass, moss, beards, eyebrows, and even threads on Shrek's tunic. Making human hair realistic was different from Donkey's fur, requiring a separate rendering system and much attention from the lighting and visual effects teams.
"Shrek" has 31 sequences, with 1,288 total shots. Aron Warner said that the creators "envisioned a magical environment that you could immerse yourself into". Shrek includes 36 separate in-film locations to make the world of the film, which DreamWorks claimed was more than any previous computer-animated feature. In-film locations were finalized and, as demonstrated by past DreamWorks animated movies, color and mood was of the utmost importance. The animation was completed in 2000.
Music.
"Shrek" is the third DreamWorks animated film (and the only film in the "Shrek" series) to have Harry Gregson-Williams team up with John Powell to compose the score following "Antz" (1998) and "Chicken Run" (2000). Powell was left out to compose scores for later Shrek films with Gregson-Williams due to a conflict. The score was recorded at Abbey Road Studios by Nick Wollage and Slamm Andrews, with the latter mixing it at Media Ventures and Patricia Sullivan-Fourstar handling mastering.
"Shrek" introduced a new element to give the film a unique feel. The film used pop music and other oldies to make the story more forward. Covers of songs like "On the Road Again" and "Try a Little Tenderness" were integrated in the film's score. The band Smash Mouth's song "All Star" gained massive popularity after its original release two years earlier, due to its usage in the film's opening credits. As the film was about to be completed, Katzenberg suggested to the filmmakers to redo the film's ending to "go out with a big laugh"; instead of ending the film with just a storybook closing over Shrek and Fiona as they ride off into the sunset, they decided to add a song "I'm a Believer" covered by Smash Mouth and show all the fairytale creatures in the film.
Although Rufus Wainwright's version of the song "Hallelujah" appeared in the soundtrack album, it was John Cale's version that appeared in the film; in a radio interview, Rufus Wainwright suggested that his version of "Hallelujah" did not appear in the film due to the "glass ceiling" he was hitting because of his sexuality. An alternative explanation is that, although the filmmakers wanted Cale's version for the film, licensing issues prevented its use in the soundtrack album, because Wainwright was an artist for DreamWorks but Cale was not.
The film's 1996 animation test used the song "I Got You (I Feel Good)". The clip was considered lost until 2023.
Cultural references.
In many places, the film references classic movies, predominantly those by Disney. When Tinker Bell falls on Donkey and he says "I can fly" and people around including the Three Little Pigs say "He can fly, he can fly"; this is a reference to Disney's "Peter Pan". Donkey then says, while still flying, "You might have seen a house fly, maybe even a super fly, but I bet you ain't never seen a Donkey fly!". This scene is a reference to the Disney film "Dumbo".<ref name = "A List of Spoofs and References in PDI/DreamWorks Animated Shrek"></ref> The scene where Fiona is singing to the blue bird is a reference to "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". The transformation scene at the end of the film references Disney's "Beauty and the Beast".
When Shrek crosses the bridge to the Castle and says, "That'll do, Donkey, that'll do", this is a reference to the movie "Babe". The scene where Princess Fiona is fighting the Merry Men is a lengthy reference to the film "The Matrix". At the end of the film, the Gingerbread Man at the end with a crutch (and one leg) says "God bless us, everyone" which is a reference to Tiny Tim in "A Christmas Carol".
In the scene where the Magic Mirror gives Lord Farquaad the option to marry three princesses, it parodies popular American television show "The Dating Game" featuring: Cinderella and Snow White. In addition, Lord Farquaad's theme park style kingdom Duloc heavily mimics Disneyland, even in so far as parodying the famous "It's a Small World" musical ride in the scene with the singing puppets. It has been suggested that Lord Farquaad himself is an unflattering parody of then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner, whom producer Katzenberg reportedly dislikes.
Release.
Marketing.
In 2000, IMAX released "CyberWorld" onto its branded large-screen theaters. It was a compilation film that featured stereoscopic conversions of various animated shorts and sequences, including the bar sequence in "Antz". DreamWorks was so impressed by the technology used for the sequence's "stereoscopic translation", that the studio and IMAX decided to plan a big-screen 3D version of "Shrek". The film would have been re-released during the Christmas season of 2001, or the following summer, after its conventional 2D release. The re-release would have also included new sequences and an alternate ending. Plans for this was dropped due to "creative changes" instituted by DreamWorks and resulted in a loss of $1.18 million, down from IMAX's profit of $3.24 million.
Radio Disney was told not to allow any ads for the film to air on the station, stating, "Due to recent initiatives with The Walt Disney Company, we are being asked not to align ourselves promotionally with this new release "Shrek". Stations may accept spot dollars only in individual markets." The restriction was later relaxed to allow ads for the film's soundtrack album onto the network.
On May 7, 2001, Burger King began promotions for the film, giving out a selection of nine exclusive Candy Caddies based on the "Shrek" characters, in Big Kids Meal and Kids Meal orders. Ice cream chain Baskin-Robbins also ran an 8-week promotion of the film, selling products such as Shrek's Hot Sludge Sundae, a combination of Oreo Cookies 'n Cream ice cream, hot fudge, crushed chocolate cookies, whipped cream and squiggly gummy worms, and Shrek Freeze Frame Cake, featuring an image of Shrek and Donkey framed by sunflowers. This was to support the film's DVD/VHS release.
Home media.
"Shrek" was released by DreamWorks Home Entertainment on VHS and DVD on November 2, 2001. It surpassed ""s short-lived record for being the fastest-selling DVD title of all time, selling 2.5 million copies within the first three days of release. Another 4.5 million copies were sold on VHS in the same timespan, making it the biggest opening weekend in retail video since "The Lion King" in 1995. Both releases included "Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Dance Party", a 3-minute musical short film, that takes up right after "Shrek"s ending, with film's characters performing a medley of modern pop songs. As for the DVD release, this two-disc set features a fullscreen format on the first disc and a widescreen format on the second disc, with the latter featuring a DTS audio track.
Coincidentally, the film was released on video the same day that Pixar's "Monsters, Inc." hit theaters. Since videos were traditionally released on Tuesdays, Disney's executives did not receive this well, saying that the move "seemed like an underhanded attempt to siphon off some of their film's steam". DreamWorks responded that it "simply shifted the release to a Friday to make it more of an event and predicted that it and other studios would do so more frequently with important films." "Monsters, Inc." earned that weekend more than $62 million, breaking the record for an animated film, while "Shrek"s video release made more than $100 million, and eventually became the biggest selling DVD at the time with over 5.5 million sales. This broke the record previously held by "Gladiator", another DreamWorks film. "Shrek" generated more than $420 million in revenue for DreamWorks on DVD and VHS, and has sold more than 21 million copies of the 23 million shipped by January 2002. Worldwide, more than 10 million "Shrek" DVDs have been sold by that point.
A 3D version of the film was released on Blu-ray 3D by Paramount Home Entertainment on December 1, 2010, along with its sequels, and a regular 2D Blu-ray boxset of the series was released six days later.
In commemoration of the film's 20th anniversary, an Ultra HD Blu-ray edition was released on May 11, 2021, by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.
Reception.
Box office.
"Shrek" opened on around 6,000 screens across 3,587 theaters; eleven of them showed the film digitally. This was the first time that DreamWorks had shown one of its films digitally. The film earned $11.6 million on its first day and $42.3 million on its opening weekend, topping the box office for the weekend and averaging $11,805 from 3,587 theaters. In its second weekend, due to the Memorial Day Weekend holiday, the film gained 0.3 percent to $42.5 million and $55.2 million over the four-day weekend, resulting in an overall 30 percent gain. Despite this, the film finished in second place behind "Pearl Harbor" and had an average of $15,240 from expanding to 3,623 sites. In its third weekend, the film retreated 34 percent to $28.2 million for a $7,695 average from expanding to 3,661 theaters. By mid-June 2001, "Shrek" became the top-grossing movie of the year domestically, defeating "The Mummy Returns". This achievement would last until that December when it was beaten by "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone". The film closed on December 6, 2001, after grossing $267.7 million domestically, along with $216.7 million overseas, for a worldwide total of $484.4 million. Produced on a $60 million budget, the film was a huge box office smash and is the fourth highest-grossing film of 2001.
"Shrek" became the highest-grossing animated film ever to be released in Australia, passing the mark set by "The Lion King" in 1994. In the United Kingdom, "Shrek" regained the top spot at the British box office after being beaten out the previous week by "", earning a $20.3 million since its opening in the UK.
Critical response.
In addition to being an instant box office success, "Shrek" received wide critical acclaim. of professional reviews of the film on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes are positive, with an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, "While simultaneously embracing and subverting fairy tales, the irreverent "Shrek" also manages to tweak Disney's nose, provide a moral message to children, and offer viewers a funny, fast-paced ride." Metacritic assigned "Shrek" a weighted average score of 84 out of 100 based on 34 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.
Roger Ebert praised the film, giving it four stars out of a possible four and describing it as "jolly and wicked, filled with sly in-jokes and yet somehow possessing a heart". "USA Today"s Susan Wloszczyna praised Eddie Murphy's performance, stating it "gives the comic performance of his career, aided by sensational digital artistry, as he brays for the slightly neurotic motormouth". Richard Schickel of "Time" also enjoyed Murphy's role, stating "No one has ever made a funnier jackass of himself than Murphy." Peter Rainer of "New York" magazine liked the script, also stating "The animation, directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, is often on the same wriggly, giggly level as the script, although the more "human" characters, such as Princess Fiona and Lord Farquaad, are less interesting than the animals and creatures—a common pitfall in animated films of all types." Peter Travers of "Rolling Stone" wrote ""Shrek" is a world-class charmer that could even seduce the academy when it hands out the first official animation Oscar next year." James Berardinelli of "ReelViews" gave the film three and a half stars out of four, saying ""Shrek" is not a guilty pleasure for sophisticated movie-goers; it is, purely and simply, a pleasure." Kenneth Turan of the "Los Angeles Times" wrote "The witty, fractured fairy tale "Shrek" has a solid base of clever writing." Lisa Schwarzbaum of "Entertainment Weekly" gave the film an A−, saying "A kind of palace coup, a shout of defiance, and a coming of age for DreamWorks." Jay Boyar of the "Orlando Sentinel" wrote "It's a pleasure to be able to report that the movie both captures and expands upon the book's playful spirit of deconstruction."
Steven Rosen of "The Denver Post" wrote "DreamWorks Pictures again proves a name to trust for imaginative, funny animated movies that delight kids and adults equally." Susan Stark of "The Detroit News" gave the film four out of four stars, saying "Swift, sweet, irreverent, rangy and as spirited in the writing and voice work as it is splendid in design." Jami Bernard of the "New York Daily News" gave the film four out of four stars, saying "The brilliance of the voice work, script, direction and animation all serve to make "Shrek" an adorable, infectious work of true sophistication." Rene Rodriguez gave the film three out of four stars, calling it "a gleefully fractured fairy tale that never becomes cynical or crass". Elvis Mitchell of "The New York Times" gave the film four out of five stars, saying "Beating up on the irritatingly dainty Disney trademarks is nothing new; it's just that it has rarely been done with the demolition-derby zest of "Shrek"." William Steig, the author of the original book, and his wife Jeanne Steig also enjoyed the film, stating "We all went sort of expecting to hate it, thinking, 'What has Hollywood done to it?' But we loved it. We were afraid it would be too sickeningly cute and, instead, Bill just thought they did a wonderful, witty job of it."
John Anderson of "Newsday" wrote "The kind of movie that will entertain everyone of every age and probably for ages to come." Jay Carr of "The Boston Globe" wrote "In an era when much on film seems old, "Shrek" seems new and fresh and clever." Stephen Hunter of "The Washington Post" gave the film five out of five stars, saying "Despite all its high-tech weirdness, it is really that most perdurable of human constructions, a tale told well and true." Joe Baltake of "The Sacramento Bee" wrote that it "isn't so much a fractured spoof of everything Disney, but actually a Monty Python flick for kids – kids of all ages". Andrew Sarris of "The New York Observer" wrote "What gives "Shrek" its special artistic distinction is its witty and knowingly sassy dialogue, delivered by vocally charismatic performers whose voices remind us of their stellar screen personae in live-action movies." Lisa Alspector of the "Chicago Reader" wrote "This romantic fantasy complicates the roles of beauty and beast, making it hard to guess what form a sensitive resolution will take." Joe Morgenstern of "The Wall Street Journal" wrote "The charms of "Shrek", which is based on the children's book by William Steig, go far beyond in-jokes for adults." John Zebrowski of "The Seattle Times" gave the film three out of four stars, saying "The movie is helped immensely by its cast, who carry it through some of the early, sluggish scenes. But this is Murphy's movie. Donkey gets most of the good lines, and Murphy hits every one."
A mixed review came from Mark Caro of the "Chicago Tribune", who gave the film two and a half stars out of four and compared it to "Toy Story 2", which he said "had a higher in-jokes/laughs ratio without straining to demonstrate its hipness or to evoke heartfelt emotions". On the more negative side, Michael Atkinson of "The Village Voice" said he was "desperately avoiding the risk of even a half-second of boredom", and said "the movie is wall-to-window-to-door noise, babbling, and jokes (the first minute sees the first fart gag), and demographically it's a hard-sell shotgun spray." Christy Lemire of the "Associated Press" described "Shrek" as a "90-minute onslaught of in-jokes", and said while it "strives to have a heart" with "a message about beauty coming from within", "somehow [the message] rings hollow". Anthony Lane of "The New Yorker" said, despite the film "cunning the rendering of surfaces, there's still something flat and charmless in the digital look, and most of the pleasure rises not from the main romance but from the quick, incidental gags."
Legacy.
Rank.
Entertainment Weekly put it on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, "Prince Charming? So last millennium. This decade, fairy-tale fans – and Princess Fiona – fell for a fat and flatulent Ogre. Now, that's progress." In June 2008, the American Film Institute revealed its "Ten top Ten"; the best ten films in ten "classic" American film genres—after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community "Shrek" was acknowledged as the eighth best film in the animated genre, and the only non-Disney·Pixar film in the Top 10. "Shrek" was also ranked second in a Channel 4 poll of the "100 Greatest Family Films", losing out on the top spot to "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial". In 2005, "Shrek" came sixth in Channel 4's 100 Greatest Cartoons poll behind "The Simpsons", "Tom and Jerry", "South Park", "Toy Story" and "Family Guy". In November 2009, the character, Lord Farquaad, was listed No. 14 in IGN UK's "Top 15 Fantasy Villains". In 2006, it was ranked third on Bravo's 100 funniest films list. The film's title character was awarded his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in May 2010.
American Film Institute recognition:
Cultural impact.
"The New York Times" retrospectively described the film as "a beloved, offbeat fairy tale whose characters and jokes continue to permeate pop culture, reaching another generation of fans." Previous films and TV shows, such as "Fractured Fairy Tales" and "The Princess Bride", have parodied the traditional fairy tale. "Shrek" had a significant impact that influenced a later generation of mainstream animated films, receiving recognition for being one of the most influential from the 2000s. Particularly after "Shrek 2", animated films began to incorporate more pop culture references and end-film musical numbers. Such elements can be seen in films like "Robots", "Chicken Little", "Doogal", "Ron's Gone Wrong" and more recently with "" and "The Tiger’s Apprentice". It also inspired a number of computer animated films which also spoofed fairy tales, or other related story genres, often including adult-oriented humor, most of which were not nearly as successful as "Shrek", such as "Chicken Little", "Happily N'Ever After", "Igor", "Hoodwinked!", "Enchanted" and its sequel "Disenchanted". In 2020, the United States Library of Congress selected "Shrek" to be preserved in the National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Other media.
Several video game adaptations of the film have been published on various game console platforms, including "Shrek" (2001), ' (2002), ' (2002), "" (2002) and "Shrek SuperSlam" (2005). Shrek was also included as a bonus unlockable character in the video game "Tony Hawk's Underground 2" (2004).
In 2003, Dark Horse Comics released a three-issue mini-series comic book adaptation of "Shrek" which was written by Mark Evanier, and the issues were later compiled into a trade paperback.
A musical version, based on the film, with music by Jeanine Tesori and a book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire, opened on Broadway on December 14, 2008, and closed January 3, 2010, running for a total of 441 performances. It starred Brian d'Arcy James in the title role, Sutton Foster as Princess Fiona, Christopher Sieber as Lord Farquaad, Daniel Breaker as Donkey, and John Tartaglia as Pinocchio. The Broadway production was recorded and released on DVD, Blu-ray and digital media. A North American Tour opened July 25, 2010, in Chicago. A London production opened in the West End on June 7, 2011. The musical received many Tony Award nominations and won the 2009 Tony Award for Best Costume Design. It received five Laurence Olivier Award nominations including Best New Musical.
A shot-for-shot fan remake titled "Shrek Retold" was released through 3GI Industries on November 29, 2018. The project was a collaboration of 200 filmmakers and mixes live action, hand drawn animation, Flash animation, CGI and various other art forms to recreate the film. The film is available on YouTube for free.
Future.
Three sequels were released over the years – the Oscar-nominated "Shrek 2" in 2004, "Shrek the Third" in 2007, and "Shrek Forever After" in 2010. "Shrek 2" was the only one to receive similar acclaim from critics, though all three sequels were commercially successful. "Shrek the Halls" (2007) and "Scared Shrekless" (2010) were released as holiday-themed short films. A spin-off prequel film entitled "Puss in Boots," centered on the titular character's life before his debut in "Shrek 2", was released in 2011, while a sequel, titled "" and set after the events of "Shrek Forever After", was released in 2022. A fifth feature film was originally planned during the development of "Shrek Forever After", but the idea was later abandoned by DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg. Leading up to NBCUniversal's planned acquisition of DreamWorks Animation in 2016, it was announced that a fifth Shrek film would be released in 2019. On November 6, 2018, "Variety" reported that Chris Meledandri had been tasked to reboot both Shrek and Puss in Boots, with the original cast potentially returning to reprise their roles. While cast members reported that a script was completed for a fifth Shrek film, development stalled and future plans have yet to be officially announced. After it was reported in April 2023 that a fifth "Shrek" film with the original cast and a spinoff featuring Donkey was planned, Murphy said in June 2024 that he had begun voice recording sessions for "Shrek 5" months ago and would begin working for the Donkey spinoff once it was finished.
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Optimus Prime
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Optimus Prime, also known in Japan as is a fictional character and the protagonist of the "Transformers" franchise. Generally depicted as a brave and noble leader, Optimus Prime is the supreme commander of the Autobots in their fight against the Decepticons. The "Transformers" characters were developed for the American market after Hasbro representatives visited the 1983 Tokyo Toy Show. The characters were modified and the coloring was changed; notably, Optimus Prime was colored red, chrome, and dark blue. The popularity of the "Transformers" toys resulted in comics, movies, and a TV series. His original name is Orion Pax
In the "Transformers" mythology, Optimus Prime is a Cybertronian, a member of an extraterrestrial species of sentient self-configuring modular robotic lifeforms (e.g., cars and other objects), a blend of biological evolution and technological engineering. He is the primary hero of the story, opposing the Decepticon leader Megatron.
Due to the popularity of the "Transformers" franchise, Optimus Prime has remained one of the franchise's most iconic characters, and one of the greatest and most recognizable fictional characters of all time. As an established pop culture icon, his voice has been portrayed by a variety of actors such as Peter Cullen, Garry Chalk, Neil Kaplan, David Kaye, Alan Tudyk and Chris Hemsworth.
Animated character biography.
In the Transformer's story, Optimus Prime, also known as Orion Pax, embodies strong moral values, exceptional leadership, and strategic prowess. Equipped with advanced weaponry and martial arts skills, he champions justice and peaceful coexistence with humans. As the bearer of the Matrix of Leadership, he leads the Autobots, engaged in an eternal conflict against the Decepticons. Originating from the ancient Dynasty of Primes, Optimus Prime's selfless sacrifice and rallying cry of "Till All are One" were pivotal in defeating Unicron. Reborn as Orion Pax, he embraced his new identity, only to reclaim his role as Optimus Prime to confront the Decepticons led by his former friend, Megatron, igniting the Great War on Cybertron. While his origins and persona may vary across different storylines, this depiction remains consistent throughout iterations of the Transformers universe.
Generation 1.
The first-generation Optimus Prime transforms into a Freightliner FL86 cab over semi truck. Within his chest is a mystic talisman, known as the Autobot Matrix of Leadership or the "Creation Matrix", carried by all Autobot leaders. When Optimus transforms, his tractor cab disconnects to become a sentient robot, and his trailer opens to reveal an ion blaster, forming a combat deck. The combat deck supports a mobile battle- station and command headquarters armed with assorted artillery and beam weapons that fire automatically. The combat deck can also serve as a radio antenna for battlefield communications between the Autobots. The combat deck also included "Roller", a mobile scout buggy meant to scout behind enemy lines. When Roller is deployed, Optimus can see and hear what Roller sees and hears. Injury to one component is felt by each of the others. If the combat deck or Roller were to be destroyed, Prime could survive. However, despite the slight degree of autonomy they possess, the combat deck and Roller would not be able to survive without Optimus.
The original specification of the Generation 1 Optimus Prime specifies that Optimus Prime consists of three components: the humanoid "Brain Center" (which transforms into the truck cab), the "Combat Deck" (which transforms into the truck trailer), and the "Scout Car", a non-transforming six-wheeled buggy called Roller, which can ride inside the truck trailer. All three components can function independently, but injury to one is felt by the other two. However, in by far most of the fiction, the humanoid robot actually is Optimus Prime, with the other two components treated as mere accessories that disappear off the scene when Optimus Prime transforms from truck to robot mode.
"Transformers: Robots in Disguise".
Optimus Prime is the fictional protagonist of the "" ("Fire Convoy" in the original Japanese version) branch of the Transformers universe. Based on the character of the same name, Prime once again leads the autobots against the Decepticons. His voice actor, Neil Kaplan, does his voice in a style reminiscent of that of Peter Cullen, the voice of the original Optimus Prime. Wired Magazine nominated Fire Convoy as one 12 most ridiculous Transformers ideas of all time.
Hidden on Earth as common, everyday vehicles, the Autobots are forced to emerge when Megatron and his Predacons arrive and wreak havoc in their attempts to attain the power of Earth's various energy sources. In this universe, Optimus Prime transforms into a fire engine. This is also the first incarnation of Optimus Prime to transform into a fire engine.
Unicron trilogy.
The "Unicron Trilogy" version of Optimus Prime is a fictional character in this branch of "Transformers" lore. Appearing in ', ' and ', Optimus is the leader of the heroic autobots. He often converted to his super combat mode. In all three series, Optimus' English voice actor is Garry Chalk, who previously voiced Optimus Primal in ' and "Beast Machines".
During the events of "Armada", Optimus looks similar to the original Optimus Prime until he copies himself with a semi-truck, and his design in robot mode changes. He is shown to be a well-respected leader who treats those under his command with respect and is partnered with the Minicon Sparkplug.
During the events of "Cybertron", Optimus Prime is the main protagonist and shows a near-xenophobic reluctance to interact with other cultures, believing that such interaction would cause more harm than good. Consequently, he prohibits his team from mingling with the locals of Earth, Velocitron, and the Jungle Planet during their search for the Cyber Planet Keys. This attitude was drastically changed when Prime realized that the only way to acquire the Cyber Planet Keys from Velocitron and Animatros was to play by their laws.
"Transformers Animated".
Optimus Prime appears in the "Transformers Animated" series in 2008 as a red semi-trailer truck, able to be fitted with many "trailer" attachments, most notably one that effectively makes him a fire truck. Unlike the other Optimus Primes, this one is much younger.
Optimus can change any part of his robotic body into a tool or gadget. He has swing lines on his wrists. His wrists can also capture bolas. His arsenal includes a grappler, a fire extinguisher, and a negative friction spray. Unlike in all the previous series, his face can almost always be seen because his mouthplate is retractable like in the 2007 live-action film.
Animated Optimus Prime, in an Earth-based fire truck mode, appears as a hidden character in the "Transformers" Netjet video game by Hasbro. Instead of being the leader of the Autobots, Prime was actually a washout from the Elite Guard. Despite no longer being a member, he maintains his military ranking of "Prime". The scale chart released for the series indicates Optimus Prime stands about 22 feet tall.
In the animated series, Optimus Prime was originally in the Autobot Academy and friends with Sentinel Prime and Elita One. When Elita is lost on a planet dominated by a giant spider-like aliens, he blames himself for leaving her behind, where she supposedly dies in the explosion of a wrecked Decepticon warship loaded with Energon. Sentinel doesn't forgive him for losing her, and Optimus takes full responsibility for Elita's demise. This caused Optimus Prime to wash out of the Autobot Academy. However, Ultra Magnus pulls some strings so that Optimus Prime can be captain of a strange Space Bridge repair crew composed of a war vet named Ratchet, a fledgling cadet named Bumblebee, and his fellow cadet Bulkhead. Optimus is given command of the starship, the vehicle mode of Omega Supreme.
Optimus Prime appears among the characters in "Re-Unification", the 2010 TFCon voice actor play prelude comic.
"Aligned Continuity".
Optimus Prime is the leader of the main group of Autobots in the iteration of the Transformers franchise primarily marked by the 2010 animated series " on The Hub. Optimus Prime was created as the last of the Thirteen Primes, the first generation of Transformers, each created directly by Primus as a band of unique warriors to combat and defeat Unicron. Upon his creation, Optimus united the Thirteen by his greeting All are one. While all of the other members of the Thirteen each possessed unique abilities and artifacts, Optimus wielded no special powers or weapons. It was only his vision and courage that allowed the Thirteen to finally defeat Unicron. Reborn through the Well of All Sparks, Orion Pax became Optimus Prime, a veteran military commander and second in command who wields an ion blaster and a double-bladed Energon axe. He became the leader of the Autobots after Sentinel Zeta Prime fell in battle, but he is not certain he wants the responsibility.
In the " series, he can form bladed weapons or blasters from his hands. He has a telescopic vision and turns into a long-nose semi-trailer truck. Before the Great War, Optimus Prime was originally known as Orion Pax; a young data clerk who worked in Iacon, under the wing of Alpha Trion. Orion was chosen by the High Council and became Optimus Prime, upon being entrusted with the Matrix of Leadership by Primus himself.
"Transformers: EarthSpark".
In this new show, Optimus Prime serves as an agent of the organization G.H.O.S.T. (Global Hazard and Ordinance Strike Team) a government organization based in Witwicky, Pennsylvania, a union between humanity and his own kind while eliminating the straggling Decepticons with the help of Elita-1 and the repentant Megatron. With the arrival of a new generation of Earth-born Transformers called "Terrans", created by brothers Robby and Mo Malto, it could be the first step on the road to permanent peace.
Transformers film series.
Optimus Prime appears in the "Transformers" live-action film series as the leader of the Autobots and one of the main protagonists. In the first three films, he is able to transform into a long-nosed conventional Peterbilt 379 semi-truck rather than the cab over design of his original "Generation 1" body. In "", he gains a first generation-style trailer form before changing into 2014 Western Star 5700 Concept. Also straying from the "G1" design, Prime's vehicle mode is now decorated with red flames painted onto a blue body à la Rodimus Prime, his "Generation 1" successor. The reason for the change was due to Director Michael Bay's decree that mass displacement does not occur when they transform, requiring Optimus's vehicle form to have more mass to achieve the desired size in his robot form.
Although the character was redesigned to some extent, like the other characters in the film, many classic design elements remain in his robot mode including a predominantly red torso, primarily blue legs, the presence of windows in his chest, smoke stacks on his shoulders, and a head design influenced by the original, featuring the iconic faceplate and ear finials. The faceplate is able to retract to reveal a mouth. His weapons include his iconic ion blaster, a Barrage cannon, two retractable energon blades that extend from his forearms, which is a homage to Prime's energy axe in the "Generation 1" animated series, and two retractable energon hooks that extend from his wrists. The trailer contains an energy axe, a shield, and flight gear. In the later IDW comics, he displays the ability to produce a holographic driver.
At San Diego Comic-Con 06, it was announced that original Optimus Prime voice actor Peter Cullen would reprise his role for the third film. Cullen has commented that Prime is basically the same in the third film as the previous two, and retains the same basic personality.
Reception.
The 2000s film series incarnation of Optimus Prime was met with a warm reception. It was named the 30th greatest movie superhero of all time by "Total Film Magazine".
Animation film.
In "Transformers One" (2024), Optimus Prime reveals his origin story as Orion Pax, voiced by Chris Hemsworth. He's a mining robot without a Transformation Cog, and along with his best friend D-16, they work in the Energon mines. They secretly enter a race organized by Cybertron's leader, Sentinel Prime, but lose. While Sentinel is impressed by their stunt, a jealous guard reassigns them to garbage incineration, where they meet the eccentric B-127. The three discovered a chip among the junk containing a distress message from Alpha Trion, one of the Primes, revealing coordinates to his location on the surface.
Accidentally taking Elita with them, they found Alpha Trion in a cave alongside the corpses of the other Primes. Seeing the truth that Sentinel betrayed the Primes and has been secretly working for the Quintessons, giving them regular supplies of Energon in exchange for letting him rule Cybertron while removing the miners' gears to keep them subservient. Orion receives his cog to transform into a truck and a chip containing evidence of Sentinel's betrayal. Orion and his group manage to escape from Sentinel's guards, but they are captured by the High Guard, war robots in rebellion against Sentinel. While D-16 takes command of them by defeating their leader, Starscream, Orion grows concerned by his friend's increasing aggression since learning the truth. Following an attack by Sentinel guards and capturing D-16, B-127 and half of the High Guard, Orion and Elita fall unconscious after being buried under some rubble and, in the process, the chip is destroyed. Orion, encouraged by Elita, rallies the remaining High Guard members and returns to Iacon to rescue their comrades. After displaying Sentinel's evidence all over the city, exposing the truth and inciting the citizens to rebel, but after defeating Sentinel, Orion and D-16 argue over whether to execute him, resulting in the latter accidentally shooting the former. While initially horrified, D-16 ultimately lets Orion fall to his death. Now calling himself "Megatron", he kills Sentinel and commands the High Guard to destroy Iacon.
The spirit of Primus, the planet, bestow Orion with the Matrix of Leadership, reviving him as "Optimus Prime". Optimus then defeats Megatron before exiling him and the High Guard, who become the Decepticons. After the Matrix restores Cybertron's dried-up Energon rivers and the miners' cogs, Optimus christens his followers as Autobots and sends a message warning the Quintessons to stay away.
"Transformers" film series.
In the online CGI cartoon "Cyber Missions" produced by TG Studios for Hasbro's website, Optimus is once again seen fighting Megatron, this time with some help from Sideswipe. Optimus also helps Ironhide against Mindwipe.
Film incarnation.
During the promotion of the "Transformers" films, Optimus Prime appears in several commercials. Optimus Prime, along with other Transformers, were featured in several commercials for General Motors. Scenes with Optimus Prime were used in several General Motors commercials. A commercial for the Discovery Channel featured Optimus Prime singing part of a promotional song.
Optimus also appears on the "Late Show with David Letterman", giving "The Top Ten Things That Sound Cool When Spoken by a Giant Robot".
Voice actors.
Optimus Prime is primarily voiced by Peter Cullen in most of his incarnations, who voiced him in the original series. Following the production of the 2007 film, Cullen reprised his role for the sequels and supporting media and would even voice Optimus in later series such as '. Optimus has been voiced by several other voice actors in other series such as Neil Kaplan, Garry Chalk, David Kaye and Jake Foushee in the series ', the Unicron Trilogy, "Transformers Animated" and "" respectively.
Video games.
Honors.
At BotCon 2010, Hasbro named Optimus Prime as one of the first five robot inductees in the Transformers Hall of Fame.
In March 2023, Optimus Prime received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards.
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Joker (character)
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The Joker is a supervillain who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. He was created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson, and first appeared in the debut issue of the comic book "Batman" on April 25, 1940. Credit for the Joker's creation is disputed; Kane and Robinson claimed responsibility for his design while acknowledging Finger's writing contribution. Although the Joker was planned to be killed off during his initial appearance, he was spared by editorial intervention, allowing the character to endure as the archenemy of the superhero Batman.
In the DC Universe, the Joker is portrayed as a criminal mastermind and the antithesis of Batman in personality and appearance. He was introduced as a psychopath with a warped, sadistic sense of humor but became a comical prankster in the late 1950s in response to regulation by the Comics Code Authority, before returning to his darker roots during the early 1970s. The Joker has been part of defining Batman stories, including the murder of Jason Todd—the second Robin and Batman's ward—in "A Death in the Family" (1988) and the paralysis of Barbara Gordon—the first Batgirl—in "" (1988). Unlike many supervillains, the Joker does not have a definitive origin story, but various possible ones have been developed. The most common story involves him falling into a tank of chemical waste that bleaches his skin white and turns his hair green and lips bright red; the resulting disfigurement drives him insane.
The Joker possesses no superhuman abilities, instead using his expertise in chemical engineering to develop poisonous or lethal concoctions and thematic weaponry, including razor-tipped playing cards, deadly joy buzzers, and acid-spraying lapel flowers. The Joker sometimes works with other Gotham City supervillains, such as the Penguin and Two-Face, and groups like the Injustice Gang and Injustice League, but these relationships often collapse due to the Joker's desire for unbridled chaos. A romantic interest for the Joker, his former psychiatrist and sidekick Harley Quinn, was introduced in the 1990s. Although his primary obsession is Batman, the Joker has also fought other heroes, including Superman and Wonder Woman.
One of the most iconic characters in popular culture, the Joker has been listed among the greatest comic book villains and fictional characters ever created. His likeness has appeared on merchandise such as clothing and collectible items, and he has inspired real-world structures (such as theme park attractions) and been referenced in various media. The Joker has been adapted in live-action, animated, and video game incarnations.
Creation and development.
Concept.
Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson are credited with creating the Joker, but their accounts of the character's conception differ, each providing his own version of events. Finger's, Kane's, and Robinson's versions acknowledge that Finger showed them an image of actor Conrad Veidt in character as Gwynplaine (a man whose mouth is disfigured into a perpetual grin) in the 1928 film "The Man Who Laughs" as an inspiration for the Joker's appearance, and Robinson produced a sketch of a joker playing card.
Robinson stated that it was his 1940 card sketch that served as the character's concept, and Finger associated that image with Veidt in the film. Kane hired the 17-year-old Robinson as an assistant in 1939, after he saw Robinson in a white jacket decorated with his own illustrations. Beginning as a letterer and background inker, Robinson quickly became primary artist for the newly created "Batman" comic book series. In a 1975 interview in "The Amazing World of DC Comics", Robinson said he wanted a supreme arch-villain who could test Batman, not a typical crime lord or gangster designed to be easily disposed of. He wanted an exotic, enduring character as an ongoing source of conflict for Batman, designing a diabolically sinister, but clownish, villain. Robinson was intrigued by villains; he believed that some characters are made up of contradictions, leading to the Joker's sense of humor. He said that the name came first, followed by an image of a playing card from a deck he often had at hand: "I wanted somebody visually exciting. I wanted somebody that would make an indelible impression, would be bizarre, would be memorable like the Hunchback of Notre Dame or any other villains that had unique physical characters." He told Finger about his concept by telephone, later providing sketches of the character and images of what would become his iconic Joker playing-card design. Finger thought the concept was incomplete, providing the image of Veidt with a ghastly, permanent rictus grin.
Kane countered that Robinson's sketch was produced only after Finger had already shown the Gwynplaine image to Kane, and that it was only used as a card design belonging to the Joker in his early appearances. Finger said that he was also inspired by the Steeplechase Face, an image in Steeplechase Park at Coney Island that resembled a Joker's head, which he sketched and later shared with future editorial director Carmine Infantino. In a 1994 interview with journalist Frank Lovece, Kane stated his position:
Robinson credited himself, Finger, and Kane for the Joker's creation. He said he created the character as Batman's larger-than-life nemesis when extra stories were quickly needed for "Batman" #1, and he received credit for the story in a college course:
Finger provided his own account in 1966:
Although Kane adamantly refused to share credit for many of his characters, and refuted Robinson's claim for the rest of his life, many comic historians credit Robinson with the Joker's creation and Finger with the character's development. By 2011, Finger, Kane, and Robinson had died, leaving the story unresolved.
Golden Age.
The Joker debuted in "Batman" #1 (April 1940) as the eponymous character's first villain, about a year after Batman's debut in "Detective Comics" #27 (May 1939). The Joker initially appeared as a serial killer and jewel thief, modeled after a joker playing card with a mirthless grin, who killed his victims with "Joker venom," a toxin that left their faces smiling grotesquely. The character was intended to be killed in his second appearance in "Batman" #1, after being stabbed in the heart. Finger wanted the Joker to die because of his concern that recurring villains would make Batman appear inept, but was overruled by then-editor Whitney Ellsworth; a hastily drawn panel, indicating that the Joker was still alive, was added to the comic. The Joker went on to appear in nine of "Batman"s first 12 issues.
The character's regular appearances quickly defined him as the archenemy of Batman and Robin; he killed dozens of people, and even derailed a train. By issue #13, Kane's work on the syndicated "Batman" newspaper strip left him little time for the comic book; artist Dick Sprang assumed his duties, and editor Jack Schiff collaborated with Finger on stories. Around the same time, DC Comics found it easier to market its stories to children without the more mature pulp elements that had originated many superhero comics. During this period, the first changes in the Joker began to appear, portraying him as a wacky but harmless prankster; in one story, the Joker kidnaps Robin and Batman pays the ransom by check, meaning that the Joker cannot cash it without being arrested. Comic book writer Mark Waid suggests that the 1942 story "The Joker Walks the Last Mile" was the beginning point for the character's transformation into a more goofy incarnation, a period that Grant Morrison considered to have lasted the following 30 years.
The 1942 cover of "Detective Comics" #69, known as "Double Guns" (with the Joker emerging from a genie's lamp, aiming two guns at Batman and Robin), is considered one of the greatest superhero comic covers of the Golden Age and is the only image from that era of the character using traditional guns. Robinson said that other contemporary villains used guns, and the creative team wanted the Joker—as Batman's adversary—to be more resourceful.
Silver Age.
The Joker was one of the few popular villains continuing to appear regularly in Batman comics from the Golden Age into the Silver Age, as the series continued during the rise in popularity of mystery and romance comics. In 1951, Finger wrote an origin story for the Joker in "Detective Comics" #168, which introduced the characteristic of him formerly being the criminal Red Hood, and his disfigurement the result of a fall into a chemical vat.
By 1954, the Comics Code Authority had been established in response to increasing public disapproval of comic book content. The backlash was inspired by Frederic Wertham, who hypothesized that mass media (especially comic books) was responsible for the rise in juvenile delinquency, violence and homosexuality, particularly in young males. Parents forbade their children from reading comic books, and there were several mass burnings. The Comics Code banned gore, innuendo and excessive violence, stripping Batman of his menace and transforming the Joker into a goofy, thieving trickster without his original homicidal tendencies.
The character appeared less frequently after 1964, when Julius Schwartz (who disliked the Joker) became editor of the Batman comics. The character risked becoming an obscure figure of the preceding era until this goofy prankster version of the character was adapted into the 1966 television series "Batman", in which he was played by Cesar Romero. The show's popularity compelled Schwartz to keep the comics in a similar vein. As the show's popularity waned, however, so did that of the "Batman" comics. After the TV series ended in 1969, the increase in public visibility had not stopped the comic's sales decline; editorial director Carmine Infantino resolved to turn things around, moving stories away from child-friendly adventures. The Silver Age introduced several of the Joker's defining character traits: lethal joy buzzers, acid-squirting flowers, trick guns, and goofy, elaborate crimes.
Bronze Age.
In 1973, after a four-year disappearance, the Joker was revived (and revised) by writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Neal Adams. Beginning with "Batman" #251's "The Joker's Five-Way Revenge", the character returns to his roots as a homicidal maniac who matches wits with Batman. This story began a trend in which the Joker was used, sparingly, as a central character. O'Neil said his idea was "simply to take it back to where it started. I went to the DC library and read some of the early stories. I tried to get a sense of what Kane and Finger were after." O'Neil's 1973 run introduced the idea of the Joker being legally insane, to explain why the character is sent to Arkham Asylum (introduced by O'Neil in 1974 as Arkham Hospital) instead of to prison. Adams modified the Joker's appearance, changing his more average figure by extending his jaw and making him taller and leaner.
DC Comics was a hotbed of experimentation during the 1970s, and in 1975 the character became the first villain to feature as the title character in a comic book series, "The Joker". The series followed the character's interactions with other supervillains, and the first issue was written by O'Neil. Stories balanced between emphasizing the Joker's criminality and making him a likable protagonist whom readers could support. Although he murdered thugs and civilians, he never fought Batman; this made "The Joker" a series in which the character's villainy prevailed over rival villains, instead of a struggle between good and evil. Because the Comics Code Authority mandated punishment for villains, each issue ended with the Joker being apprehended, limiting the scope of each story. The series never found an audience, and "The Joker" was canceled after nine issues (despite a "next issue" advertisement for an appearance by the Justice League). The complete series became difficult to obtain over time, often commanding high prices from collectors. In 2013, DC Comics reissued the series as a trade paperback.
When Jenette Kahn became DC editor in 1976, she redeveloped the company's struggling titles; during her tenure, the Joker would become one of DC's most popular characters. While O'Neil and Adams' work was critically acclaimed, writer Steve Englehart and penciller Marshall Rogers's eight-issue run in "Detective Comics" #471–476 (August 1977–April 1978) defined the Joker for decades to come with stories emphasizing the character's insanity. In "The Laughing Fish", the Joker disfigures fish with a rictus grin resembling his own (expecting copyright protection), and is unable to understand that copyrighting a natural resource is legally impossible. Englehart's and Rogers' work on the series influenced the 1989 film "Batman", and was adapted for 1992's "". Rogers expanded on Adams' character design, drawing the Joker with a fedora and trench coat. Englehart outlined how he understood the character by saying that the Joker "was this very crazy, scary character. I really wanted to get back to the idea of Batman fighting insane murderers at 3 a.m. under the full moon, as the clouds scuttled by."
Modern Age.
Years after the end of the 1966 television series, sales of "Batman" continued to fall and the title was nearly cancelled. Although the 1970s restored the Joker as Batman's insane, lethal archenemy, it was during the 1980s that the "Batman" series started to turn around and the Joker came into his own as part of the "Dark Age" of comics, with mature tales of death and destruction. The shift was criticized for moving away from tamer superheroes (and villains), but comic audiences were no longer primarily children. Several months after "Crisis on Infinite Earths" launched the era by killing off Silver Age icons such as the Flash and Supergirl and undoing decades of continuity, Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns" (1986) re-imagined Batman as an older, retired hero and the Joker as a lipstick-wearing celebrity who cannot function without his foe. The late 1980s saw the Joker exert a significant impact on Batman and his supporting cast. In the 1988–89 story arc "", the Joker murders Batman's sidekick (the second Robin, Jason Todd). Todd was unpopular with fans; rather than modify his character, DC opted to let them vote for his fate and a 72-vote plurality had the Joker brutally beat Todd with a crowbar and trap him in a room with a bomb, killing him. This story altered the Batman universe: instead of killing anonymous bystanders, the Joker murdered a core character; this had a lasting effect on future stories. Written at the height of tensions between the United States and Iran, the story's conclusion had Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini appoint the Joker his country's ambassador to the United Nations (allowing him to temporarily escape justice).
Alan Moore and Brian Bolland's 1988 graphic novel ' expands on the Joker's origins, describing the character as a failed comedian who adopts the identity of the Red Hood to support his pregnant wife. Unlike "The Dark Knight Returns", "The Killing Joke" takes place in mainstream continuity. The novel is described by critics as one of the greatest Joker stories ever written, influencing later comic stories (including the forced retirement of then-Batgirl, Barbara Gordon, after she is paralyzed by the Joker) and films such as 1989's "Batman" and 2008's "The Dark Knight". Grant Morrison's 1989 ' explores the psychoses of Batman, the Joker and other rogues in the eponymous facility.
The 1992 animated series introduced the Joker's female sidekick: Harley Quinn, a psychiatrist who falls for—and ends up in an abusive relationship with—the Joker, becoming his supervillain accomplice. The character was popular, and was adapted into the comics as the Joker's romantic interest in 1999. In the same year, Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle's comic book "Anarky" concluded with the revelation that the titular character was the Joker's son. Breyfogle conceived the idea as a means to expand on Anarky's characterization, but O'Neil (by then the editor for the "Batman" series of books) was opposed to it, and only allowed it to be written under protest, and with a promise that the revelation would eventually be revealed incorrect. However, the "Anarky" series was cancelled before the rebuttal could be published. The Joker's first major storyline in The New 52, DC Comics' 2011 reboot of story continuity, was 2012's "Death of the Family" by writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo. The story arc explores the symbiotic relationship between the Joker and Batman, and sees the villain shatter the trust between Batman and his adopted family. Capullo's Joker design replaced his traditional outfit with a utilitarian, messy, and disheveled appearance to convey that the character was on a mission; his face (surgically removed in 2011's "Detective Comics" (vol. 2) #1) was reattached with belts, wires, and hooks, and he was outfitted with mechanics overalls. The Joker's face was restored in Snyder's and Capullo's "" (2014), the concluding chapter to "Death of the Family".
The conclusion of the 2020 "Joker War" storyline by writer James Tynion IV and artist Jorge Jiménez sees the Joker leave Gotham after Batman chooses to let him die. This led to a second ongoing "Joker" series, beginning in March 2021 with Tynion writing and Guillem March providing art.
Character biography.
The Joker has undergone many revisions since his 1940 debut. The most common interpretation of the character is that of a man who, while disguised as the criminal Red Hood, is pursued by Batman and falls into a vat of chemicals that bleaches his skin, colors his hair green and his lips red, and drives him insane. The reasons why the Joker was disguised as the Red Hood and his identity before his transformation have changed over time.
The character was introduced in "Batman" #1 (1940), in which he announces that he will kill three of Gotham's prominent citizens. Although the police protect his first announced victim, millionaire Henry Claridge, the Joker had poisoned him before making his announcement and Claridge dies with a ghastly grin on his face. Batman eventually defeats him, sending him to prison. The Joker commits crimes ranging from whimsical to brutal, for reasons that, in Batman's words, "make sense to him alone". "Detective Comics" #168 (1951) introduced the Joker's first origin story as the former Red Hood: a masked criminal who, during his final heist, vanished after leaping into a vat of chemicals to escape Batman. His resulting disfigurement drove him insane and led him to adopt the name "Joker", from the playing card figure he came to resemble. The Joker's Silver Age transformation into a figure of fun was established in 1952's "The Joker's Millions". In this story, the Joker is obsessed with maintaining his illusion of wealth and celebrity as a criminal folk hero, afraid to let Gotham's citizens know that he is penniless and was tricked out of his fortune. The 1970s redefined the character as a homicidal sociopath. "The Joker's Five-Way Revenge" has the Joker taking violent revenge on the former gang members who betrayed him, while "The Laughing Fish" portrays him chemically disfiguring fish so they will share his trademark grin, hoping to profit from a copyright, and killing bureaucrats who stand in his way.
"Batman: The Killing Joke" (1988) built on the Joker's 1951 origin story, portraying him as a failed comedian who participates in a robbery as the Red Hood to support his pregnant wife. Batman arrives to stop the robbery, provoking the terrified comedian into jumping into a vat of chemicals, which dyes his skin chalk-white, his hair green, and his lips bright red. His disfigurement, combined with the trauma of his wife's earlier accidental death, drives him insane, and results in the birth of the Joker. However, the Joker says that this story may not be true; he admits that he does not remember exactly what drove him insane, and says that he prefers his past to be "multiple choice". In this graphic novel, the Joker shoots and paralyzes Barbara Gordon, the former Batgirl, and tortures her father, Commissioner James "Jim" Gordon, to prove that it only takes "one bad day" to drive a normal man insane. After Batman rescues Gordon and subdues the Joker, he offers to rehabilitate his old foe and end their rivalry. Although the Joker refuses, he shows his appreciation by sharing a joke with Batman. Following the character's maiming of Barbara, she became a more important character in the DC Universe: the Oracle, a data gatherer and superhero informant, who has her revenge in "Birds of Prey" by shattering the Joker's teeth and destroying his smile.
In the 1988 story "A Death in the Family", the Joker beats Jason Todd, the second Robin, with a crowbar and leaves him to die in an explosion. Todd's death haunts Batman, and for the first time he seriously considers killing the Joker. The Joker temporarily escapes justice when Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini appoints him the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations, giving him diplomatic immunity; however, when he tries to poison the U.N. membership, he is defeated by Batman and Superman.
In the 1999 "No Man's Land" storyline, the Joker murders Commissioner Gordon's second wife, Sarah, as she shields a group of infants. He taunts Gordon, who shoots him in the kneecap. The Joker, lamenting that he may never walk again, collapses with laughter when he realizes that the commissioner has avenged Barbara's paralysis.
The 2000s began with the crossover story "Emperor Joker", in which the Joker steals Mister Mxyzptlk's reality-altering power and remakes the universe in his image (torturing and killing Batman daily, before resurrecting him). When the supervillain then tries to destroy the universe, his reluctance to eliminate Batman makes him lose control, and Superman defeats him. Broken by his experience, Batman's experiences of death are transferred to Superman by the Spectre so he can heal mentally. In "Joker: Last Laugh" (2001), the doctors at Arkham Asylum convince the character that he is dying in an attempt to rehabilitate him. Instead, the Joker (flanked by an army of "Jokerized" supervillains) launches a final crime spree. Believing that Robin (Tim Drake) has been killed in the chaos, Dick Grayson beats the Joker to death (although Batman revives his foe to keep Grayson from becoming a murderer), and the villain succeeds in making a member of the Bat-family break their rule against killing.
In "" (2005), a resurrected Todd tries to force Batman to avenge his death by killing the Joker. Batman refuses, arguing that if he allowed himself to kill the Joker, he would not be able to stop himself from killing other criminals. The Joker kills Alexander Luthor, Jr. in "Infinite Crisis" (2005) for excluding him from the Secret Society of Super Villains, which considers him too unpredictable for membership. In Morrison's "Batman and Son" (2006), a deranged police officer who impersonates Batman shoots the Joker in the face, scarring and disabling him. The supervillain returns in "The Clown at Midnight" (2007) as an enigmatic force who awakens and tries to kill Harley Quinn to prove to Batman that he has become more than human. In the 2008 story arc "Batman R.I.P." the Joker is recruited by the Black Glove to destroy Batman, but betrays the group, killing its members one by one. After Batman's apparent death in "Final Crisis" (2008), Grayson investigates a series of murders (which leads him to a disguised Joker). The Joker is arrested, and then-Robin Damian Wayne beats him with a crowbar, paralleling Todd's murder. When the Joker escapes, he attacks the Black Glove, burying its leader Simon Hurt alive after the supervillain considers him a failure as an opponent; the Joker is then defeated by the recently returned Batman.
In DC's The New 52, a 2011 relaunch of its titles following "Flashpoint", the Joker has his own face cut off. He disappears for a year, returning to launch an attack on Batman's extended family in "Death of the Family" so he and Batman can be the best hero and villain they can be. At the end of the storyline, the Joker falls off a cliff into a dark abyss. The Joker returns in the 2014 storyline "Endgame" in which he brainwashes the Justice League into attacking Batman, believing he has betrayed their relationship. The story implies that the Joker is immortal—having existed for centuries in Gotham as a cause of tragedy after exposure to a substance the Joker terms "dionesium"—and is able to regenerate from mortal injuries. "Endgame" restores the Joker's face, and also reveals that he knows Batman's secret identity. The story ends with the apparent deaths of Batman and the Joker at each other's hands, though it is revealed that they were both resurrected in a life-restoring Lazarus Pit, without their memories.
During the "Darkseid War" (2015–2016) storyline, Batman uses Metron's Mobius Chair to find out the Joker's real name; the chair's answer leaves Batman in disbelief. In the "DC Universe: Rebirth" (2016) one-shot, Batman informs Hal Jordan that the chair told him there were three individual Jokers, not just one. This revelation was the basis for the miniseries "" (2020), written by Geoff Johns with art by Jason Fabok. "Three Jokers" reveals that the three Jokers, who work in tandem, include "The Criminal", a methodical mastermind based on the Golden Age Joker; "The Clown", a goofy prankster based on the Silver Age Joker; and "The Comedian", a sadistic psychopath based on the Modern Age Joker. The Comedian orchestrates the deaths of the other two Jokers and reveals himself as the original. The miniseries ends with the revelation that Batman knows the Joker's true identity.
Origins.
Although a number of backstories have been given, a definitive one has never been established for the Joker. An unreliable narrator, the character is uncertain of who he was before and how he became the Joker: "Sometimes I remember it one way, sometimes another ...if I'm going to have a past, I prefer it to be multiple choice!" A story about the Joker's origin appeared in "Detective Comics" #168 (February 1951), more than decade after the character's debut. Here, the character is a laboratory worker who becomes the Red Hood (a masked criminal) to steal $1 million and retire. He falls into a vat of chemical waste when his heist is thwarted by Batman, emerging with bleached white skin, red lips, green hair and a permanent grin.
This story was the basis for the most often-cited origin tale, Moore's one-shot "The Killing Joke". The man who will become the Joker quits his job as a lab assistant in order to fulfill his dream of being a stand-up comedian, only to fail miserably. Desperate to support his pregnant wife, he agrees to help two criminals commit a robbery as the Red Hood. The heist goes awry; the comedian leaps into a chemical vat to escape Batman, surfacing disfigured. This, combined with the earlier accidental death of his wife and unborn child, drives the comedian insane, turning him into the Joker. This version has been cited in many stories, including ' (in which Batman deduces that the Red Hood survived his fall and became the Joker), "Batman" #450 (in which the Joker dons the Red Hood to aid his recovery after the events in "A Death in the Family", but finds the experience too traumatic), ' #38 (in which Joker's failed stand-up performance is shown), "Death of the Family", and "Batman: Three Jokers" (which asserts that it is the canon origin story). Other stories have expanded on this origin; "" suggests that the Joker's wife was murdered by a corrupt policeman working for the mobsters, and "Payback" gives the Joker's first name as "Jack". The ending of "Batman: Three Jokers" establishes that the Joker's wife did not actually die—rather, she fled to Alaska with the help of Gotham police and Batman because she feared her husband would be an abusive father; the police then told the Joker a story about her dying to protect her. The miniseries also reveals that Batman knows the Joker's identity, and has kept it secret in order to protect the criminal's wife and son.
However, the Joker's unreliable memory has allowed writers to develop other origins for the character. "Case Study", a Paul Dini-Alex Ross story, describes the Joker as a sadistic gangster who creates the Red Hood identity because he misses the thrill of committing robberies. He has his fateful first meeting with Batman, which results in his disfigurement. It is suggested that the Joker is sane, and researches his crimes to "look like" the work of a sick mind in order to avoid the death penalty. In "Batman Confidential" #7–12, the character Jack is a career criminal who is bored with his work. He encounters (and becomes obsessed with) Batman during a heist, embarking on a crime spree to attract the Caped Crusader's attention. After Jack injures Batman's girlfriend, Batman scars Jack's face with a permanent grin and betrays him to a group of mobsters, who torture him in a chemical plant. Jack escapes, but falls into an empty vat as gunfire punctures chemical tanks above him. The flood of chemicals (used in anti-psychotic medication) alters his appearance and completes his transformation. In "The Brave and the Bold" #31, the superhero Atom enters the Joker's mind and sees the criminal's former self - a violent sociopath who tortures animals, murders his own parents, and kills for fun while committing robberies. Snyder's "" (2013) suggests that the pre-disfigured Joker was a criminal mastermind leading a gang of Red Hoods.
Alternative versions.
A number of alternate universes in DC Comics publications have allowed writers to introduce variations on the Joker, in which the character's origins, behavior, and morality differ from the mainstream setting. "The Dark Knight Returns" depicts the final battle between an aged Batman and Joker; others portray the aftermath of the Joker's death at the hands of a number of characters, including Superman. Still others describe distant futures in which the Joker is a computer virus or a hero trying to defeat the era's tyrannical Batman. In some stories, the Joker is someone else entirely: In ' (1993), Lex Luthor becomes the Joker in a world where Superman is Batman; "Flashpoint" (2011) portrays Batman's mother, Martha Wayne, becoming the Joker after being driven mad by her son's murder; and in ' (2017), Batman is infected by a toxin after killing the Joker, which turns him into the supervillain, The Batman Who Laughs, a combination of Batman's and the Joker's personalities.
Characterization.
Renowned as Batman's greatest enemy, the Joker is known by a number of nicknames, including the Clown Prince of Crime, the Harlequin of Hate, the Ace of Knaves, and the Jester of Genocide. During the evolution of the DC Universe, interpretations and versions of the Joker have taken two main forms. The original, dominant image is that of a psychopath with genius-level intelligence and a warped, sadistic sense of humor. The other version, popular in comic books from the late 1940s to the 1960s and in the 1960s television series, is an eccentric, harmless prankster and thief. Like other long-lived characters, the Joker's character and cultural interpretations have changed with time; however, unlike other characters who may need to reconcile or ignore previous versions to make sense, more than any other comic book character, the Joker thrives on his mutable and irreconcilable identities. The Joker is typically seen in a purple suit with a long-tailed, padded-shoulder jacket, a string tie, gloves, striped pants and spats on pointed-toe shoes (sometimes with a wide-brimmed hat). This appearance is such a fundamental aspect of the character that when the 2004 animated series "The Batman" placed the Joker in a straitjacket, it quickly redesigned him in his familiar suit.
The Joker is obsessed with Batman, the pair representing a yin-yang of opposing dark and light force, although it is the Joker who represents humor and color and Batman who dwells in the dark. No crime – including murder, theft, and terrorism – is beyond the Joker, and his exploits are theatrical performances that are funny to him alone. Spectacle is more important than success for the Joker, and if it is not spectacular it is boring. Although the Joker claims indifference to everything, he secretly craves Batman's attention and validation. The character was described as having killed over 2,000 people in "" (1996). Despite this body count, he is always found not guilty by reason of insanity and sent to Arkham Asylum, avoiding the death penalty. Many of the Joker's acts attempt to force Batman to kill; to the Joker, the greatest victory would be to make Batman become like him. The Joker displays no instinct for self-preservation, and is willing to die to prove his point that anyone could become like him after "one bad day". The Joker is the "personification of the irrational," and represents "everything Batman [opposes]."
Personality.
The Joker's main characteristic is his apparent insanity, although he is not described as having any particular psychological disorder. Like a psychopath, he lacks empathy, a conscience, and concern over right and wrong. In "Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth", the Joker is described as capable of processing outside sensory information only by adapting to it. This enables him to create a new personality every day (depending on what would benefit him) and explains why, at different times, he is a mischievous clown or a psychopathic killer. In "The Clown at Midnight" ("Batman" #663 (April 2007)), the Joker enters a meditative state where he evaluates his previous selves to consciously create a new personality, effectively modifying himself for his needs.
"The Killing Joke" (in which the Joker is the unreliable narrator) explains the roots of his insanity as "one bad day": losing his wife and unborn child and being disfigured by chemicals, paralleling Batman's origin in the loss of his parents. He tries (and fails) to prove that anyone can become like him after one bad day by torturing Commissioner Gordon, physically and psychologically. Batman offers to rehabilitate his foe; the Joker apologetically declines, believing it too late for him to be saved. Other interpretations show that the Joker is fully aware of how his actions affect others and that his insanity as merely an act. Comics scholar Peter Coogan describes the Joker as trying to reshape reality to fit himself by imposing his face on his victims (and fish) in an attempt to make the world comprehensible by creating a twisted parody of himself. Englehart's "The Laughing Fish" demonstrates the character's illogical nature: trying to copyright fish that bear his face, and not understanding why threatening the copyright clerk cannot produce the desired result.
The Joker is alternatively depicted as sexual and asexual. In "The Dark Knight Returns" and "Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth", the Joker is seductive toward Batman; it is uncertain if their relationship has homoerotic undertones or if the Joker is simply trying to manipulate his nemesis. Frank Miller interpreted the character as fixated on death and uninterested in sexual relationships, while Robinson believed that the Joker is capable of a romantic relationship. His relationship with Harley Quinn is abusively paradoxical; although the Joker keeps her at his side, he heedlessly harms her (for example, throwing her out a window without seeing if she survives). Harley loves him, but the Joker does not reciprocate her feelings, chiding her for distracting him from other plans.
Snyder's "Death of the Family" describes the Joker as in love with Batman, although not in a traditionally romantic way. The Joker believes that Batman has not killed him because he makes Batman better and he loves the villain for that. "Batman" comic book writer Peter Tomasi concurred, stating that the Joker's main goal is to make Batman the best that he can be. The Joker and Batman represent opposites: the extroverted Joker wears colorful clothing and embraces chaos, while the introverted, monochromatic Batman represents order and discipline. The Joker is often depicted as defining his existence through his conflict with Batman. In 1994's "Going Sane", the villain tries to lead a normal life after Batman's (apparent) death, only to become his old self again when Batman reappears; in "Emperor Joker", an apparently omnipotent Joker cannot destroy Batman without undoing himself. Since the Joker is simply "the Joker", he believes that Batman is "Batman" (with or without the costume) and has no interest in what is behind Batman's mask, ignoring opportunities to learn Batman's secret identity. Given the opportunity to kill Batman, the villain demurs; he believes that without their game, winning is pointless. The character has no desire for typical criminal goals like money or power; his criminality is designed only to continue his game with Batman.
The Joker is portrayed as having no fear; when fellow supervillain Scarecrow doses him with fear toxin in ' (1993), the Joker merely laughs and says "Boo!" The villain has been temporarily rendered sane by several means, including telepathic manipulation by the Martian Manhunter and being resurrected in a Lazarus Pit (an experience typically inducing temporary insanity in the subject). At these moments, the Joker is depicted as expressing remorse for his crimes; however, during a medically induced period of partial sanity in ', he tells Batman, "I don't hate you 'cause I'm crazy. I'm crazy 'cause I hate you," and confirms that he will only stop killing when Batman is dead.
Skills and equipment.
The Joker has no inherent superhuman abilities. He commits crimes with a variety of weaponized thematic props such as a deck of razor-tipped playing cards, rolling marbles, jack-in-the-boxes with unpleasant surprises and exploding cigars capable of leveling a building. The flower in his lapel sprays acid, and his hand often holds a lethal joy buzzer conducting a million volts of electricity, although both items were introduced in 1952 as harmless joke items. However, his chemical genius provides his most-notable weapon: "Joker venom", a liquid or gaseous toxin that sends its targets into fits of uncontrollable laughter; higher doses can lead to paralysis, coma or death, leaving its victim with a ghoulish, pained rictus grin. The Joker has used venom since his debut; only he knows the formula, and is shown to be gifted enough to manufacture the toxin from ordinary household chemicals. Another version of the venom (used in "Joker: Last Laugh") makes its victims resemble the Joker, susceptible to his orders. The villain is immune to venom and most poisons; in "Batman" #663 (April 2007), Morrison writes that being "an avid consumer of his own chemical experiments, the Joker's immunity to poison concoctions that might kill another man in an instant has been developed over years of dedicated abuse."
The character's arsenal is inspired by his nemesis' weaponry, such as batarangs. In "The Joker's Utility Belt" (1952), he mimicked Batman's utility belt with non-lethal items, such as Mexican jumping beans and sneezing powder. In 1942's "The Joker Follows Suit", the villain built his versions of the Batplane and Batmobile, the Jokergyro and Jokermobile (the latter with a large Joker face on its hood), and created a Joker-signal with which criminals could summon him for their heists. The Jokermobile lasted for several decades, evolving with the Batmobile. His technical genius is not limited by practicality, allowing him to hijack Gotham's television airwaves to issue threats, transform buildings into death traps, launch a gas attack on the city and rain poisoned glass shards on its citizens from an airship.
The Joker is portrayed as skilled in melee combat, from his initial appearances when he defeats Batman in a sword fight (nearly killing him), and others when he overwhelms Batman but declines to kill him. He is talented with firearms, although even his guns are theatrical; his long-barreled revolver often releases a flag reading "Bang", and a second trigger-pull launches the flag to skewer its target. Although formidable in combat, the Joker's chief asset is his mind.
Relationships.
The Joker's unpredictable, homicidal nature makes him one of the most feared supervillains in the DC Universe; the Trickster says in the 1995 miniseries "Underworld Unleashed", "When super-villains want to scare each other, they tell Joker stories." Gotham's villains also feel threatened by the character; depending on the circumstances, he is as likely to fight with his rivals for control of the city as he is to join them for an entertaining outcome. The Joker interacts with other supervillains who oppose Batman, whether he is on the streets or in Arkham Asylum. He has collaborated with criminals like the Penguin, the Riddler, and Two-Face, although these partnerships rarely end well due to the Joker's desire for unbridled chaos, and he uses his stature to lead others (such as Killer Croc and the Scarecrow). The Joker's greatest rival is Lex Luthor, the smartest man in the world and Superman's archenemy. Although the villains have a friendly partnership in 1950's "World's Finest Comics" #88, later unions emphasized their mutual hostility and clashing egos.
Despite his tendency to kill subordinates on a whim, the Joker has no difficulty attracting henchmen with a seemingly infinite cash supply and intimidation; they are too afraid of their employer to refuse his demands that they wear red clown noses or laugh at his macabre jokes. Even with his unpredictability and lack of superhuman powers, the 2007 limited series "Salvation Run" sees hundreds of villains fall under his spell because they are more afraid of him than Lex Luthor. "Batman" #186 (1966) introduced the Joker's first sidekick: the one-shot character Gaggy Gagsworthy, who is short and dressed like a clown; the character was later resurrected as an enemy of his replacement, Harley Quinn. Introduced in the 1992 animated series, Quinn is the Joker's former Arkham psychiatrist who develops an obsessive infatuation with him and dons a red-and-black harlequin costume to join him as his sidekick and on-off girlfriend. They have a classic abusive relationship; even though the Joker constantly insults, hurts, and even tries to kill Harley, she always returns to him, convinced that he loves her. The Joker is sometimes shown to keep laughing hyenas as pets; this trait was introduced in the 1977 animated series "The New Adventures of Batman". A 1976 issue of "Batman Family" introduced Duela Dent as the Joker's daughter, though her parentage claim was later proven to be false.
Although his chief obsession is Batman, the character has occasionally ventured outside Gotham City to fight Batman's superhero allies. In "To Laugh and Die in Metropolis" (1987) the character kidnaps Lois Lane, distracting Superman with a nuclear weapon. The story is notable for the Joker taking on a (relative) god and the ease with which Superman defeats him—it took only 17 pages. Asked why he came to Metropolis, the Joker replies simply: "Oh Superman, why not?" In 1995, the Joker fought his third major DC hero: Wonder Woman, who drew on the Greek god of trickery to temper the Joker's humor and shatter his confidence. The character has joined supervillain groups like the Injustice Gang and the Injustice League to take on superhero groups like the Justice League.
Literary analysis.
Since the Bronze Age of Comics, the Joker has been interpreted as an archetypal trickster, displaying talents for cunning intelligence, social engineering, pranks, theatricality, and idiomatic humor. Like the trickster, the Joker alternates between malicious violence and clever, harmless whimsy. He is amoral and not driven by ethical considerations, but by a shameless and insatiable nature, and although his actions are condemned as evil, he is necessary for cultural robustness. The trickster employs amoral and immoral acts to destabilize the status quo and reveal cultural, political, and ethical hypocrisies that society attempts to ignore. However, the Joker differs in that his actions typically only benefit himself. The Joker possesses abnormal body imagery, reflecting an inversion of order. The trickster is simultaneously subhuman and superhuman, a being that indicates a lack of unity in body and mind. In "Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth", the Joker serves as Batman's trickster guide through the hero's own psyche, testing him in various ways before ultimately offering to cede his rule of the Asylum to Batman.
Rather than the typical anarchist interpretation, others have analysed the character as a Marxist (opposite to Batman's capitalist), arguing that anarchism requires the rejection of all authority in favor of uncontrolled freedom. The Joker rejects most authority, but retains his own, using his actions to coerce and consolidate power in himself and convert the masses to his own way of thinking, while eliminating any that oppose him. In "The Killing Joke", the Joker is an abused member of the underclass who is driven insane by failings of the social system. The Joker rejects material needs, and his first appearance in "Batman" #1 sees him perpetrate crimes against Gotham's wealthiest men and the judge who had sent him to prison. Batman is wealthy, yet the Joker is able to triumph through his own innovations.
Ryan Litsey described the Joker as an example of a "Nietzschean Superman," arguing that a fundamental aspect of Friedrich Nietzsche's Superman, the "will to power," is exemplified in all of the Joker's actions, providing a master morality to Batman's slave morality. The character's indomitable "will to power" means he is never discouraged by being caught or defeated and he is not restrained by guilt or remorse. Joker represents the master, who creates rules and defines them, who judges others without needing approval, and for whom something is good because it benefits him. He creates his own morality and is bound only by his own rules without aspiring to something higher than himself, unlike Batman, the slave, who makes a distinction between good and evil, and is bound to rules outside of himself (such as his avoidance of killing) in his quest for justice. The Joker has no defined origin story that requires him to question how he came to be, as like the Superman he does not regret or assess the past and only moves forward.
The Joker's controlling and abusive relationship with Harley Quinn has been analyzed as a means of the Joker reinforcing his own belief in his power in a world where he may be killed or neutralized by another villain or Batman. Joker mirrors his identity through Harley in her appearance, and even though he may ignore or act indifferent towards her, he continues to try to subject her to his control. When Harley successfully defeats Batman in "" (1994), the Joker, emasculated by his own failure, severely injures her out of fear of what the other villains will think of him; however, while Harley recovers, the Joker sends her flowers, which she accepts, reasserting his control over her.
Harley's co-creator, Paul Dini, describes their relationship as Harley being someone who makes the Joker feel better about himself, and who can do the work that he does not want to do himself. In the 1999 one-shot comic "Batman: Harley Quinn", the Joker decides to kill Harley, after admitting that he does care for her, that their relationship is romantic, and that these feelings prevent him from fulfilling his purpose. Removing the traditional male-female relationship, such as in the "Batman: Thrillkiller" storyline where the Joker (Bianca Steeplechase) is a female and involved in a lesbian relationship with Harley, their relationship lacks any aspects of violence or subjugation.
Cultural impact and legacy.
The Joker is considered one of the most recognizable and iconic fictional characters in popular culture, one of the best comic villains, and one of the greatest villains of all time. The character was well-liked following his debut, appearing in nine out of the first 12 "Batman" issues, and remained one of Batman's most popular foes throughout his publication. The character is considered one of the four top comic book characters, alongside Batman, Superman, and Spider-Man. Indeed, when DC Comics released the original series of "Greatest Stories Ever Told" (1987–1988) featuring collections of stories about heroes like Batman and Superman, the Joker was the only villain included alongside them. The character has been the focus of ethical discussion on the desirability of Batman (who adheres to an unbreakable code forbidding killing) saving lives by murdering the Joker (a relentless dealer of death). These debates weigh the positive (stopping the Joker permanently) against its effect on Batman's character and the possibility that he might begin killing all criminals.
In 2006, the Joker was number one on "Wizard" magazine's "100 Greatest Villains of All Time." In 2008 "Wizard"s list of "200 Greatest Comic Book Characters of All Time" placed the Joker fifth, and the character was eighth on "Empire"s list of "50 Greatest Comic Book Characters" (the highest-ranked villain on both lists). In 2009, the Joker was second on "IGN"s list of "Top 100 Comic Book Villains," and in 2011, "Wired" named him "Comics' Greatest Supervillain." "Complex", "CollegeHumor", and "WhatCulture" named the Joker the greatest comic book villain of all time while "IGN" listed him the top DC Comics villain in 2013, and "Newsarama" as the greatest Batman villain.
The Joker's popularity (and his role as Batman's enemy) has involved the character in most "Batman"-related media, from television to video games. These adaptations of the character have been received positively on film, television, and in video games. As in the comics, the character's personality and appearance shift; he is campy, ferocious or unstable, depending on the author and the intended audience.
The character inspired theme-park roller coasters (such as The Joker's Jinx, The Joker in Mexico and California, and The Joker Chaos Coaster), and featured in story-based rides such as . The Joker is one of the few comic book supervillains to be represented on children's merchandise and toys, appearing on items including action figures, trading cards, board games, money boxes, pajamas, socks, and shoes. The Jokermobile was a popular toy; a Corgi die-cast metal replica was successful during the 1950s, and in the 1970s a Joker-styled, flower power-era Volkswagen microbus was manufactured by Mego. In 2015, "The Joker: A Serious Study of the Clown Prince of Crime" became the first academic book to be published about a supervillain.
Online phenomena.
The Joker has inspired a large number of internet memes, often stemming from the character's portrayal in films. According to Steven T. Wright of "The Outline", the character "came to symbolize the archetype of the 'edgelord,' a vapid, self-styled provocateur who prides himself in his ability to 'trigger' those who hold progressive viewpoints."
The phrase "We live in a society" is commonly associated with the Joker in memes, especially after the release of the trailers of the 2019 film "Joker". The line garnered particular notoriety after a trailer for the film "Zack Snyder's Justice League" (2021) featured Joker saying the line.
The Joker is often featured as part of the "Gang Weed" meme, a satirical take on incels, "neckbeards" and "nice guys", as well as cannabis and gamer culture.
In other media.
The Joker has appeared in a variety of media, including television series, animated and live-action films. WorldCat (a catalog of libraries in 170 countries) records over 250 productions featuring the Joker as a subject, including films, books, and video games, and Batman films which feature the character are typically the most successful. The character's earliest on-screen adaptation was in the 1966 television series "Batman" and its film adaptation "Batman", in which he was played as a cackling prankster by Cesar Romero (reflecting his contemporary comic counterpart). The Joker then appeared in the animated television series "The Adventures of Batman" (1968, voiced by Ted Knight), "The New Adventures of Batman" (1977, voiced by Lennie Weinrib) and "" (1985, voiced by Frank Welker).
A version of the Joker named Jack Napier (played by Jack Nicholson) made his film debut in 1989's "Batman", which earned over $400 million at the worldwide box office. The role was a defining performance in Nicholson's career and was considered to overshadow Batman's, with film critic Roger Ebert saying that the audience must sometimes remind themselves not to root for the Joker. "Batman"s success led to the 1992 television series, '. Voiced by Mark Hamill, the Joker retained the darker tone of the comics in stories acceptable for young children. Hamill's Joker is considered a defining portrayal, and he voiced the character in spin-off films (1993's ' and 2000's '), video games (2001's '), related series (1996's "", 2000's "Static Shock" and 2001's "Justice League"), action figures, toys and amusement-park voiceovers. A redesigned Joker, voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson, appeared in 2004's "The Batman"; Richardson was the first African-American to play the character.
After Christopher Nolan's successful 2005 "Batman" film reboot, "Batman Begins", which ended with a teaser for the Joker's involvement in a sequel, the character appeared in 2008's "The Dark Knight", played by Heath Ledger as an avatar of anarchy and chaos. While "Batman Begins" earned a worldwide total of $370 million; "The Dark Knight" earned over $1 billion and was the highest-grossing film of the year, setting several contemporary box-office records (including highest-grossing midnight opening, opening day and opening weekend). Ledger won a posthumous Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance, the first acting Oscar ever won for a superhero film. The Joker has featured in a number of animated projects, such as 2009's ' (voiced by Jeff Bennett) and 2011's "Young Justice" (voiced by Brent Spiner). In comic book adaptations, the character has been voiced by John DiMaggio in 2010's ' and 2020's ', and by Michael Emerson in 2012's two-parter '.
The television series "Gotham" (2014–2019) explores the mythology of the Joker through twin brothers Jerome and Jeremiah Valeska, played by Cameron Monaghan. Jared Leto portrayed the Joker in the DC Extended Universe, beginning with "Suicide Squad" (2016); Leto reprised the role in "Zack Snyder's Justice League" (2021). Zach Galifianakis voiced the character in "The Lego Batman Movie" (2017). Todd Phillips' 2019 film "Joker" provided an alternative origin story for the character, and starred Joaquin Phoenix as aspiring stand-up comedian Arthur Fleck. Although the film was controversial for its violence and portrayal of mental illness, Phoenix's performance received widespread acclaim. Like "The Dark Knight" before it, "Joker" grossed over $1billion at the box office, breaking contemporary financial records, and earned numerous awards including an Academy Award for Best Actor for Phoenix. Barry Keoghan makes a cameo appearance as the Joker in Matt Reeves' film "The Batman" (2022), where he is credited as "Unseen Arkham Prisoner".
The Joker has also been featured in video games. Hamill returned to voice the character in 2009's critically acclaimed ', its equally praised 2011 sequel ' and the multiplayer "DC Universe Online". Hamill was replaced by Troy Baker for the 2013 prequel, ', and the "Arkham" series' animated ', while Hamill returned for the 2015 series finale, '. Richard Epcar has voiced the Joker in a series of fighting games including, "Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe" (2008), ' (2013), its sequel "Injustice 2" (2017), and "Mortal Kombat 11" (2019). The character also appeared in ' (2008), ' (2012) and its , and ' (2014) (the latter three voiced by Christopher Corey Smith), as well as "Lego DC Super-Villains" (2018), with the role reprised by Hamill. Anthony Ingruber voices the Joker in ' (2016) and its sequel "" (2017).
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Iron Man
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Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in "Tales of Suspense" #39 in 1962 (cover dated March 1963) and received his own title with "Iron Man" #1 in 1968. Shortly after his creation, Iron Man became a founding member of the superhero team, the Avengers, alongside Thor, Ant-Man, the Wasp, and the Hulk. Iron Man stories, individually and with the Avengers, have been published consistently since the character's creation.
Iron Man is the superhero persona of Anthony Edward "Tony" Stark, a businessman and engineer who runs the weapons manufacturing company Stark Industries. When Stark was captured in a war zone and sustained a severe heart wound, he built his Iron Man armor and escaped his captors. Iron Man's suits of armor grant him superhuman strength, flight, energy projection, and other abilities. The character was created in response to the Vietnam War as Lee's attempt to create a likeable pro-war character. Since his creation, Iron Man has been used to explore political themes, with early Iron Man stories being set in the Cold War. The character's role as a weapons manufacturer proved controversial, and Marvel moved away from geopolitics by the 1970s. Instead, the stories began exploring themes such as civil unrest, technological advancement, corporate espionage, alcoholism, and governmental authority.
Major Iron Man stories include "Demon in a Bottle" (1979), "Armor Wars" (1987–1988), "Extremis" (2005), and "Iron Man 2020" (2020). He is also a leading character in the company-wide stories "Civil War" (2006–2007), "Dark Reign" (2008–2009), and "Civil War II" (2016). Additional superhero characters have emerged from Iron Man's supporting cast, including James Rhodes as War Machine and Riri Williams as Ironheart, as well as reformed villains, Natasha Romanova as Black Widow and Clint Barton as Hawkeye. Iron Man's list of enemies includes his archenemy, the Mandarin, various supervillains of communist origin, and many of Stark's business rivals.
Robert Downey Jr. portrayed Tony Stark in "Iron Man" (2008), the first film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and continued to portray the character until his final appearance in "" (2019). Downey's portrayal popularized the character, elevating Iron Man into one of Marvel's most recognizable superheroes. Other adaptations of the character appear in animated direct-to-video films, television series, and video games.
Publication history.
Creation.
Following the success of the Fantastic Four in 1961 and the subsequent revival of American comic books featuring superheroes, Marvel Comics created new superhero characters. Stan Lee developed the initial concept for Iron Man. He wanted to design a character who should be unpalatable to his generally anti-war readers but to make them like the character anyway. Iron Man was created in the years after a permanent arms industry developed in the United States, and this was incorporated into the character's backstory. The character was introduced as an active player in the Vietnam War. Lee described the national mood toward Vietnam during Iron Man's creation as "a time when most of us genuinely felt that the conflict in that tortured land really was a simple matter of good versus evil".
Larry Lieber developed Iron Man's origin and wrote the first Iron Man story, while Jack Kirby and Don Heck were responsible for the initial design. Lee modeled Iron Man after businessman Howard Hughes, invoking his physical appearance, his image as a businessman, and his reputation as an arrogant playboy. Kirby and Heck then incorporated elements of the actor Errol Flynn's physical appearance in the design. When first designing the character, Lee wanted to create a modernized Arthurian knight. Kirby initially drew the Iron Man armor as a "round and clunky gray heap", and Heck modified the design to incorporate gadgets such as jets, drills, and suction cups. The Iron Man character was created at a time when comic book characters were first depicted struggling with real-life problems, and his heart injury was an early example of a superhero with a physical disability.
Early years.
Iron Man's earliest stories were published in the monster-themed anthology series "Tales of Suspense". Marvel premiered several superheroes this way in the 1960s as superhero comics became more popular than traditional science-fiction and horror comics. Iron Man's first appearance, "Iron Man is Born!", appeared in "Tales of Suspense" #39, released in December 1962 with a March 1963 cover date. Though the Iron Man armor was gray in its first appearance, Marvel changed it to gold because of issues with printing. Lee initially delegated the writing duties to other creators at Marvel, but he felt their work was substandard; as with his other characters, Lee reclaimed control of Iron Man so he could write the stories himself.
Once Marvel's distributor allowed the company more monthly releases, "The Avengers" (1963) was developed as a new comic book series. Iron Man was one of the five characters who formed the titular superhero team. By 1965, the difficulty of maintaining continuity between "The Avengers" and the members' solo titles prompted Lee to temporarily write the original cast out of "The Avengers", including Iron Man.
Heck continued as the primary Iron Man artist until 1965, as Kirby had obligations to other Marvel properties. As part of a shuffling to match artists with the characters they were most suited for, Steve Ditko briefly became the artist for Iron Man. He was responsible for only three issues in late 1963, but in this time he redesigned Iron Man's suit from fully gold to the red and gold color scheme that became the character's primary image. Iron Man's recurring nemesis, the Mandarin, first appeared shortly after in "Tales of Suspense" #50 (1964). By this time, the science-fiction and horror stories were phased out from "Tales of Suspense", and the series ran only Iron Man and Captain America stories. Gene Colan became the artist for Iron Man in January 1966, bringing with him an expressionist style.
For the first five years of publication, Iron Man represented the United States in Cold War allegories. Growing opposition to the American involvement in Vietnam prompted a shift in Iron Man's characterization, which was part of a larger push by Marvel in the late 1960s to be more apolitical. Over the years, the letters to the editor column in several issues saw extensive political debate. Lee shifted the stories' focus to espionage and domestic crime, incorporating Marvel's fictional intelligence agency S.H.I.E.L.D. He also incorporated the villains of other Marvel heroes, avoiding Iron Man's primarily communist rogues' gallery and rewriting some of Iron Man's communist villains to have personal motivations independent of their communist allegiances.
Iron Man was one of several characters whom Marvel gave a full-length dedicated series in 1968. Marvel combined the final issues of "Tales of Suspense" and the Sub-Mariner's "Tales to Astonish" into a one-shot special, "Iron Man and Sub-Mariner". "Iron Man" then began its run under writer Archie Goodwin. Goodwin reintroduced political themes slowly over the following years, with a focus on domestic issues like racial conflict and environmentalism rather than geopolitics. George Tuska started drawing the character in "Iron Man" #5 (1968) and intermittently served as artist for much of the 1970s. In total, he drew over one hundred issues for the character.
1970s.
When Goodwin became Marvel's editor-in-chief, he assigned Gerry Conway as the writer for "Iron Man". Conway was the first of several writers in a four-year effort to reform Iron Man, beginning in 1971, with stories that directly addressed the character's history as a weapons manufacturer. These stories were especially prominent during a run by Mike Friedrich, in which corporate reform of Stark Industries was a recurring subplot.
Iron Man was one of several Marvel characters who declined in popularity during the 1970s, and the series went a period of time without a dedicated writer until Bill Mantlo took over in 1977. The following year, David Michelinie and Bob Layton took charge of the series, beginning with issue #116. While inking the series, Layton used issues of "GQ", "Playboy", and electronics catalogues as visual references, which he and Michelinie used to stay informed on developments in real world technology so the Iron Man armor would always be a more advanced version of what existed. Layton was inspired by the vast collection of specialized outfits used by Batman when designing Iron Man's various armors.
In "Iron Man" #117 and #118 (1978), Michelinie and Layton replaced many elements that developed over the series' run: they removed Iron Man's romantic interest Whitney Frost and Stark's robotic Life Model Decoy doubles, and they had Stark move to a different home. They introduced Iron Man's new romantic interest, Bethany Cabe, as a feminist character who worked as his bodyguard. Their goal was to push the character toward a more grounded, realistic portrayal. The largest change they made was to make Iron Man an alcoholic, an unprecedented move for a major comic book hero, which led to the "Demon in a Bottle" story arc that ran from issues #120 to #128 (1979). At the same time, they introduced the character Justin Hammer, who provided financial backing for several Iron Man villains.
1980s and 1990s.
Michelinie and Layton remained on the series until "Iron Man" #153 (1981). Michelinie later said, "The reason I quit is that we felt we'd done everything with it that we'd set out to do." Through the 1980s, writers for Iron Man focused on the character's role as a businessman, reflecting the economic changes associated with Reaganomics, and many of his challenges involved threats to his company. Denny O'Neil was put in charge of "Iron Man" beginning with issue #158 (1982). His run explored Stark's psychology, having him relapse into alcoholism and suffer at the hands of business rival Obadiah Stane. O'Neil wrote Stark out of the role entirely beginning with issue #170 (1983), having him temporarily retire as Iron Man and replacing him with his ally James Rhodes. Stark was relegated as a side character until he returned to heroism in "Iron Man" #200 (1985).
The 1987 "Armor Wars" story arc followed Iron Man as he reclaimed his technology, which Justin Hammer distributed to several villains. This story blended the character's superhero and businessman aspects more directly when Stark sought legal recourse against his rivals. Michelinie and Layton returned to the series with issue #215 (1988) through issue #232 (1989). Again, they experimented with variations on the Iron Man armor and focused on down to Earth stories with realistic situations.
In 1990, Michelinie and Layton handed the series over to John Byrne, one of the most highly regarded comic book writers at the time. He wrote three story arcs across 20 issues: "Armor Wars II" (which had already been announced by Michelinie and Layton), "The Dragon Seed Saga", and "War Games". Byrne revisited Iron Man's opposition to communism but portrayed it as less of a threat, and he rewrote Iron Man's origin to remove references to communism and the Vietnam War. He lost interest in the series by 1992 as his collaborators John Romita Jr. and Howard Mackie had moved on to other projects. Iron Man's supporting character War Machine was spun off into his own comic book series in 1994.
The "Iron Man" series rejected broader ideological themes by the 1990s, and individualist values replaced Stark's allegiance to American democracy for its own sake. He remained anti-communist, reiterating his support for democracy and refusing to do business in China following the Tiannamen Square Massacre in 1989. The absence of Cold War politics was not immediately replaced by another theme, and post-Cold War Iron Man stories often explored different ideas regarding technology for a short time before moving on. When terrorism became more prominent in the public mind, writers shifted Iron Man's symbolism from anti-communism to anti-terrorism.
As part of a company-wide reorganization in 1996, Marvel's major characters, including Iron Man, were given to former Marvel writers Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld in a profit-sharing agreement. Lee and Liefeld were given charge of the "Heroes Reborn" branding that renumbered Marvel's long-running periodicals at issue #1. This new "Iron Man" series, labeled volume two, was set in an alternate universe created during the "Onslaught" event. It ran for 13 issues, written by Lee and Scott Lobdell and drawn by Whilce Portacio. The following year, Marvel introduced the "Heroes Return" event to bring the characters back from the alternate universe, which again reset characters such as Iron Man to issue #1. Kurt Busiek became the writer for volume three while Sean Chen was the artist.
2000s.
When the Ultimate Marvel imprint was created with reimagined versions of Marvel's characters, an alternate Iron Man appeared in 2002 with the Ultimates, the imprint's adaptation of the Avengers. Marvel released a five-issue limited series, "Ultimate Iron Man", featuring this character in 2005.
Iron Man represented an attempt to define what a superhero was in the 21st century, following the September 11 attacks, implicitly likening the fear of terrorism to the fear of unregulated super-powered beings. In 2004, Iron Man was a major character in the "Avengers Disassembled" event and subsequently became a founding member of the New Avengers. "Iron Man" volume four began in 2005, with Warren Ellis as the writer and Adi Granov as the artist. Its first story arc, "Extremis", saw Iron Man upgrade his body directly through the Extremis virus, giving him direct control over a biological armor. The volume's first 14 issues carried the "Iron Man" title, while issues #15–32 (2007–2008) were titled "Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D."
Iron Man led the pro-registration faction during the 2006 "Civil War" crossover event by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven. In an allegory for the Patriot Act and government surveillance, Iron Man's pro-registration faction represented conservative support for government surveillance in the name of security and stood against Captain America's anti-registration faction that represented individualism and liberal opposition to government surveillance. Iron Man believed in pragmatically choosing the lesser of two evils, whereas Captain America held an idealist approach, and both held these positions at great personal cost. While Marvel was neutral between the characters, readers overwhelmingly saw Iron Man as the villain, being the stronger force that the underdog had to overcome.
Iron Man appeared with the Mighty Avengers in 2007, and his characterization in this era leaned into his identity as a futurist. Marvel restarted Iron Man's comic book run with "Invincible Iron Man" in 2008, written by Matt Fraction and drawn by Salvador Larroca. This series launched around the same time as the film "Iron Man" premiered, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe developed while this run was in publication.
2010s and 2020s.
The "Iron Man" series reverted to the original numbering in 2011, when the overall 500th issue was published as "Iron Man" #500. A concurrent series, "Iron Man Legacy" by Fred Van Lente, was launched in 2010 leading up to the release of the film "Iron Man 2". Iron Man was then one of several characters whose series was relaunched at issue #1 with the Marvel Now! branding following the 2012 "Avengers vs. X-Men" event, written by Kieron Gillen. The 2014 "AXIS" event led into the "Superior Iron Man" series by Tom Taylor, featuring Iron Man with a new reversed personality.
A new "Invincible Iron Man" run written by Brian Michael Bendis and drawn by David Marquez began in 2015. A simultaneous Iron Man series, "International Iron Man", ran for seven issues in 2016 under Marvel's "All-New, All-Different Marvel" branding, also by Bendis. This series was meant to ensure Iron Man's status as a major character as "All-New, All-Different" developed. A second "Civil War" event in 2016 portrayed Iron Man as an advocate of free will against Captain Marvel's determinism.
As part of a broader trend by Marvel Comics to substitute its main characters with a diverse cast of original characters in the 2010s, Iron Man was temporarily replaced by Ironheart, a teenaged African-American girl who reverse-engineered the Iron Man armor, in 2016. At the same time, the series "Infamous Iron Man" began publication with Dr. Doom as Iron Man.
The series "Tony Stark: Iron Man" premiered in 2018 with the Fresh Start branding, written by Dan Slott and drawn by Valerio Schiti. In 2020, Iron Man was relaunched in a new series, written by Christopher Cantwell and illustrated by CAFU, following the "Iron Man 2020" event. This series moved away from the developments and deviations made to Stark's character introduced over the previous years—including the more extravagant science fiction and soap opera plots—creating a clean slate for new story arcs in a traditional superhero setting. The character was relaunched again in 2022 with "Invincible Iron Man", written by Gerry Duggan and illustrated by Juan Frigeri. A new volume was launched in October 2024, written by Spencer Ackerman and illustrated by Julius Ohta.
Characterization.
Fictional character biography.
Anthony Edward "Tony" Stark was born in Long Island, New York. As a child, he inherited his family's business, Stark Industries when his parents were killed in a car crash. Developing equipment for the U.S. military, he travels to a war zone to conduct a weapons test when he triggers a booby trap. His heart is critically injured by shrapnel, and he is captured by the communist Wong-Chu, who demands Stark build him a weapon. Stark instead builds a suit of armor that sustains his heart, becoming Iron Man. The war zone Stark visited was changed retroactively multiple times by different writers to correspond with the character's age, which is explained by a "sliding scale of continuity" in which the timing of significant events in the world of Marvel may change. This conflict was the Vietnam War for the first decades of Iron Man's publication history. This was changed to an unnamed Southeast Asian country in the 1990s, and a conflict in the fictional country Siancong was ultimately created to justify the inconsistency.
Iron Man returns to the United States and becomes a superhero, convincing the public Iron Man is Stark's bodyguard. When he is called to stop the Hulk and learns Loki is behind the Hulk's attack, he joins forces with the Hulk, Thor, Ant-Man, and the Wasp to defeat Loki, and they agree to form a superhero team, the Avengers. He also helps found the intelligence agency S.H.I.E.L.D., providing the organization with equipment. Iron Man then undergoes surgery to replace the damaged portions of his heart, eliminating the need for his prosthetic chest plate. As he came to regret his involvement in weapons manufacturing, Stark Industries is changed to Stark International, an electronics company that emphasizes environmentalism and ending world hunger. S.H.I.E.L.D. attempts to take over the business and return it to weapons manufacturing. At the same time, Iron Man is framed for murder. These stresses cause him to begin drinking, and he develops alcoholism. Though he gets sober, he relapses due to a plot orchestrated by his business rival Obadiah Stane. Iron Man briefly loses his company to Stane, passes the Iron Man mantle to his ally James Rhodes, and becomes homeless. After Stark recovers, Stane adopts an armored suit and becomes the Iron Monger before being defeated. Iron Man then founds a space technology company, Stark Enterprises. When Iron Man learns Justin Hammer had acquired the Iron Man armor's technology, he seeks out all the other armors. The resulting fights leave Iron Man a fugitive, leading him to fake his death and then describe himself as a new Iron Man.
When Iron Man is shot in the spine and paralyzed, he develops a new prosthesis that grants him mobility. This prosthesis is hacked and controlled remotely, causing neurological damage that appears for a time to kill him. Rhodes temporarily becomes Stark's chosen successor as Iron Man. After returning, Immortus places Stark under his control and turns him evil. The Avengers bring an alternate Tony Stark from another reality to help defeat him. Iron Man is killed and the alternate Tony Stark becomes the new Iron Man, but Franklin Richards merges both versions into a single being when he rewrites reality. Stark's company was bought out at this point, so he started a consulting firm, Stark Solutions. His secret identity is revealed to the public shortly afterwards. He is then appointed Secretary of Defense until the Scarlet Witch alters his mind, causing him to behave drunkenly at the United Nations and leave in disgrace. When Mallen becomes a threat through the Extremis project, Iron Man has Maya Hansen inject him with the Extremis virus, giving him a biological armor he can control with his mind.
Iron Man serves as the Superhero Registration Act's enforcer upon its enactment, creating a schism between superheroes, with Iron Man leading proponents of registration against a group of resistors led by Captain America. After the conflict, Iron Man becomes head of S.H.I.E.L.D. The government dismantles S.H.I.E.L.D. after it fails to prevent an alien invasion, but Iron Man refuses to turn over the list of registered heroes to its corrupt successor agency H.A.M.M.E.R. This agency is dismantled as well, and Iron Man organizes the Avengers to replace these agencies. He founds a clean energy company, Stark Resilient, and fakes his death so his enemies will not threaten it. He joins the Guardians of the Galaxy for a time, and upon returning to Earth, he discovers he had actually been adopted by the Starks so their biological son could be hidden from an alien threat.
While fighting Red Skull, a spell cast by Victor von Doom and the Scarlet Witch temporarily inverts the personalities of several heroes. The new morally corrupt Iron Man protects himself from the counterspell and takes over San Francisco to augment the residents with Extremis. When a man is discovered who can see the future, the superhero community undergoes another schism, and Iron Man leads a team of heroes opposed to a predetermined justice system based on his ability. The battle ends with Iron Man in a coma. A reformed Victor von Doom becomes Iron Man, while an artificial intelligence backup of Stark's mind guides a new armored superhero, Ironheart. Stark resumes his work as Iron Man after the technology in his body allows him to heal. He then allies with Emma Frost and marries her to set a trap for their mutual enemy Feilong.
Personality and motivations.
Iron Man is a businessman and entrepreneur who seeks to innovate and improve his technology, both for society's benefit and his own. Iron Man is one of many Marvel heroes with a genius-level intellect, but his focus on societal application alongside hard science distinguishes him from other heroes. The character is a futurist, and he works to identify solutions for problems that have yet to emerge. This preemptive problem-solving was a driving force in his organization of the Avengers and later in his support for the Superhero Registration Act during the "Civil War" event.
Stark's intelligence and engineering skills allowed him to construct the Iron Man armor, and he believes this justifies his authority over the armor and who uses it. While Iron Man sometimes develops equipment for other superheroes, he is selective about who can use the armor, trusting only a few close allies. In the 2008 story "The Five Nightmares", Iron Man narrates his five greatest fears: relapse into alcoholism, reproduction of the Iron Man technology, other people becoming Iron Man, the technology becoming disposable, and that someone else would be distributing this technology. Besides the danger such scenarios pose, they all represent fear of losing power over himself or his technology.
Iron Man finds machines easier to interact with than humans, believing machines can be more easily controlled and repaired. This leads him to engage in self-destructive behavior, giving his relationships as Tony Stark lower priority and failing to be accountable for his creations as Iron Man. His isolation comes to him from two directions, with both his celebrity status and his role as Iron Man making personal relationships difficult. Through both poor decisions and bad luck, he is unable to maintain romantic relationships despite his wealth and talents. Writer Dennis O'Neil described the Iron Man armor as "a psychological crutch preventing him from dealing with his own inner demons". He identifies with the Iron Man armor as an extension of himself, believing the image it presents is his own image, and he considers himself responsible any time someone uses the technology.
Iron Man behaves differently as a superhero and as a civilian, engaging in courageous and selfless acts as Iron Man but morally ambiguous behavior as Stark. The character represents a traditional understanding of American masculinity as a businessman and a playboy, particularly as it was seen in the Cold War. This characterization also manifests in negative traits that were prominent in early Iron Man stories, including belligerence, negligence, and misogyny. Stark has several character flaws emerging from his impulsivity and arrogance, engaging in vices that include excessive drinking, partying, and womanizing.
Iron Man's heart injury was prominent in his early characterization, causing him to isolate himself so as not to reveal his injury or his secret identity. This weakness was a threat to his autonomy and his masculinity. As real-world medical technology made heart injuries less fatal, writers introduced neurological damage and alcoholism as other medical weaknesses. Despite this, Iron Man considers himself lucky and believes he lives "a good life", attributing this to his money, friendships, engineering skills, and recovering health.
Iron Man's belief in progress sometimes manifests as opposition to the press and politicians, whose attempts to keep him accountable hamper his efforts as a superhero. He is conflicted between his support for the rule of law and his moral beliefs in doing what he feels must be done for the greater good. When he engages in unsanctioned attacks against those who co-opted his technology in the "Armor Wars" story, he describes it as "a tough decision; perhaps the toughest in my life". The character's morally ambiguous nature can make him more accessible to readers relative to other superheroes who are more inherently virtuous.
Themes and motifs.
Politics and economics.
Iron Man was more overtly political than other Silver Age Marvel characters. Lee wrote the character to represent liberal capitalism, fighting against communism and other anti-democratic forces. Though anti-communist sentiments were present throughout Marvel Comics, they appeared most prominently in Iron Man stories. After Marvel shifted away from addressing foreign conflicts toward the end of the 1960s, Iron Man was portrayed as a liberal who was skeptical of the U.S. government, yet also opposed radicalism; at the time associated with 1960s counterculture. Marvel portrayed Iron Man as more self-doubting, questioning when the use of force is justified against communism. By 1975, Iron Man opposed the Vietnam War, which gave the character a new motivation in making up for his promotion of violence in the past. Iron Man's use of his vast resources as a protector was reframed as a cautionary tale, in which these resources could be co-opted to do harm. His motivation for providing weapons to the government was retroactively changed so Stark only got involved because he believed it would end the war more quickly. Over time, writers portrayed Iron Man as a philanthropist.
The dual role of Iron Man and Tony Stark allows for the examination of both the perspective of an individual inventor and that of the bureaucracy of governments and corporations, respectively. His business Stark Industries is depicted as a force for good that advances scientific knowledge through capitalist innovation. The Iron Man persona itself, as well as the technology Iron Man uses, are proprietary assets owned by Stark Industries. Reflecting his characterization as a businessman, Iron Man stories often invoke themes of economic competition, seeing him face characters who try to develop better versions of the Iron Man armor. Many of Iron Man's challenges involve corrupt business rivals and corporate espionage.
Technology.
Technology and its influence on society are common themes in Iron Man stories, and various writers have portrayed him as a technological marvel since his earliest appearances. The character's use of technology, both as a weapons manufacturer and as Iron Man, explores problems that arise from progress and advancement, including misuse of technology and the implications of cybernetics. Iron Man's position within the suit allows for discussion regarding automation versus human oversight of technology, and it reflects the debate on how new technologies are incorporated into public and military use, including the use of exoskeletons and battle suits. These technological themes are explored through a modern lens during the "Extremis" story arc, which incorporates the idea of human enhancement through biotechnology.
Depictions of technology in Iron Man stories have often endorsed its use to alter the natural world. This is in contrast with Silver Age Marvel stories, where radiation and other technological advancements were portrayed as dangerous. Iron Man's engineering talent is key to his heroism, unlike other heroes who use engineering to supplement superhuman abilities. This makes it more plausible that something like Iron Man could exist in the real world, as it is only technological advancement that separates Iron Man from reality. Iron Man's power of flight is especially significant in the technology's symbolism, as it associates traditional heroic imagery with a technological component, giving this power to a man who created it himself in a transcendental fashion.
Armor.
Iron Man does not have any superhuman abilities. Instead, he derives his strength from a powered armor of his own design. The armor is equipped with various weapons, which include "repulsor rays" in each palm that project particle beams as well as a stronger "unibeam" on his chest. As of 2010, Marvel described Iron Man's armor as being able to lift 100 tons and to fly at Mach 8.
Marvel initially depicted the armor as powered by transistors, but this was replaced with integrated circuits as real-world technology advanced. New designs have further miniaturized the technology, ultimately incorporating nanotechnology. Developments in the armor's design often reflect real-world advances in technology and trends in science fiction. The changing nature of the armor allows artists to make frequent changes to the character's appearance without controversy. Iron Man has also created specialized models for specific purposes, including space armor, stealth armor, and deep sea armor, as well as the Hulkbuster armor to engage in combat with the Hulk.
Prior to Iron Man's surgery, the armor's primary function was to produce a magnetic field that protected his heart from the shrapnel in his body. His efforts to keep it charged and to keep it secret drove the story's plot. From its first appearance, Stark has controlled the armor by linking it to his brainwaves, and he must calibrate it to any allies who use it. The armor is often shown to have some method of shrinking it down to make it portable when not being used.
Iron Man stories contrast the armor's strength and the vulnerability of the human inside it. The armor protects Iron Man externally from attacks, but it also protected him internally when it kept his heart beating. The form-fitting design of many Iron Man armors emphasizes this with a human figure in an otherwise robotic-looking character.
During the "Extremis" story arc, Iron Man adopted a biotechnological armor embedded in his DNA and stored in his bones. This allowed him to summon the armor from within his body and control it with his mind, effectively giving him superhuman abilities. This reduced the input lag between his brain and his armor, allowed him to mentally interface with any technology in the world, and gave him the focus to engage in several unrelated tasks at once. The Extremis technology also converted Iron Man's mind into a digital storage device to create a back up of his memories. It also presented a weakness, as Iron Man's archnemesis Mandarin was able to access and manipulate the data. Iron Man gave up the Extremis armor after it was compromised with a computer virus by the Skrulls, who used it to disable Earth's defenses during an invasion.
Supporting characters.
Allies.
Pepper Potts is a Stark Industries employee who Stark promoted to his executive assistant. The original portrayal of the character was that of a simple love interest and damsel in distress. She came to manage the business herself, as Stark had little interest in his responsibilities. When Stark became Iron Man and took responsibility for his company, she taught him how to manage the business. When Pepper was injured by an explosion and received a heart injury similar to Iron Man's, he installed the arc reactor technology in her. She eventually became the CEO of Stark Industries. Iron Man secretly worked on a suit of armor to be powered by her arc reactor, and she discovered it in a Stark Industries lab while she had control of the company. Taking the armor, she became the superhero Rescue.
James Rhodes was an employee of Stark's. He first appeared in 1979 and was developed as a supporting character in 1981. He briefly became Iron Man while Stark was relapsing on alcoholism. Later on, when Stark was near death, he gave Rhodes his corporation and the War Machine armor. Stark let Rhodes keep the armor, and Rhodes became the superhero War Machine. Rhodes' dependency on Iron Man for his armor often constrains him as a supporting character to Stark, even in solo War Machine stories.
Happy Hogan was hired as Stark's chauffeur after saving his life, and Happy later deduced Stark was Iron Man. Iron Man has other allies through his affiliation with the Avengers, including close personal relationships with Captain America, Ant-Man, and the Wasp. As Tony Stark, he is the benefactor of the Avengers, providing their headquarters at Avengers Mansion. Stark's butler, Edwin Jarvis, works for both Iron Man and the Avengers. During a period without Pepper, Stark hired a new secretary, Mrs. Arbogast. Iron Man is also supported by his artificial intelligence companions Jocasta and F.R.I.D.A.Y. His association with S.H.I.E.L.D. sees him working with its agents and leadership, including Nick Fury and Maria Hill. He has taken on other heroes as sidekicks, including Spider-Man and Jack of Hearts.
Other characters in the Marvel Universe have taken up the Iron Man mantle besides Stark, including James Rhodes and Victor von Doom. The Iron Man armor itself came to life in the "Mask in the Iron Man" storyline, becoming violent before sacrificing itself to save Stark's life.
Romantic interests.
Iron Man has had many romantic interests, most of which only last a short time. In the original "Tales of Suspense" run, Lee established a love triangle in which Stark and Happy were both romantically interested in Pepper. Happy eventually married Pepper. The series then introduced Roxie Gilbert, the sister of the villain Firebrand, as a romantic interest in the early 1970s. She was a foil for both Iron Man and Firebrand, representing non-violent activism.
The women associated with Iron Man became more independent as second-wave feminism encouraged Marvel's writers to create stronger female characters. Whitney Frost was Iron Man's romantic interest later in the 1970s until she turned against him as the villain Madame Masque. Bethany Cabe became Stark's love interest in 1978 as part of an overhaul of Iron Man's supporting cast, and she supported him during his period of alcoholism. Michelinie chose to remove Pepper as a love interest in favor of Cabe because he felt that Iron Man would be more interested in a strong woman. She left Iron Man after he saved her husband, who was presumed dead.
Stark was seduced by Indries Moomji, who was hired by Obadiah Stane to help ruin Stark, first appearing in issue #163 (1982). He later partnered with Rumiko Fujikawa, the daughter of a businessman who took over Stark Enterprises. Stark also began a relationship with his long time ally Janet van Dyne, the Wasp, whom he had briefly dated in the past before she learned he was Iron Man. A story arc in September 2023 saw Iron Man married to X-Men member Emma Frost as part of a plan to defeat the villain Feilong.
Villains.
Iron Man's earliest villains were often affiliated with the Soviet government or otherwise associated with communism. In the first three years after Iron Man was created, one-third of his villains were communists. Some of these enemies were Soviet counterparts of Iron Man, such as Titanium Man and Crimson Dynamo, while others held leadership positions in communist states, such as the Red Barbarian and the real-life Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. Khrushchev, like most communists in the series, was drawn in caricature style as a brute who only sought power. Multiple communist villains, such as Crimson Dynamo, reformed and became heroes loyal to the United States to present Iron Man and liberal capitalism as more appealing and morally superior. Two prominent Marvel heroes, Soviet spy Black Widow and American street criminal Hawkeye, were introduced as Iron Man villains before reforming as heroes.
Marvel introduced the Mandarin as a Chinese villain, incorporating racist Yellow Peril themes and stereotypes regarding China. Though he is an allegory for autocracy, the Mandarin was not created as another communist villain. Instead, any work he does with the Chinese government is purely in self-interest. Later on, the Mandarin was retroactively established as the man behind the kidnapping that created Iron Man. The Mandarin contrasts with Iron Man through his association with magic and mysticism instead of science and technology, and because he was born into nobility unlike Iron Man, who is a self-made man in line with American ideals.
Beginning in the 1970s, Iron Man faced villains who represented social conflict and unrest, such as the anarchist Firebrand and the corrupt businessman Guardsman. He also faced villains representing concerns about technology, such as Ultimo. Stark's business pursuits have invited several supervillains who oppose Stark Industries instead of just Iron Man. These villains became prominent in the 1980s, and they were amplified by backlash to consumerism that emerged in the 1990s. Some of these villains wish to compete with the corporation and steal trade secrets, such as Spymaster, Whiplash, and Beetle. Others oppose the corporation on ideological grounds, such as Atom-Smasher.
Tony Stark's chief business rival is Obadiah Stane. Stark's application of business as an altruistic pursuit is contrasted with Stane's application as a selfish pursuit. Justin Hammer was introduced as another businessman to be Tony Stark's antithesis. Unlike Stark, Hammer avoids public attention and provides equipment for other villains instead of using it himself. Other major villains include Shockwave, the Controller, the Mauler, and Stilt-Man. A focus on terrorism introduced villains such as Zeke Stane, the son of Obadiah Stane who carried out terrorist attacks using suicide bombers.
Alternate versions.
Other versions of Iron Man exist in other universes as part of Marvel's multiverse. In the Ultimate Universe, an alternate version of Iron Man exists as a member of the Ultimates, the universe's counterpart of the Avengers. Iron Man 2020 is the superhero persona of Tony's cousin-once-removed Arno Stark, who is from an alternate future in which superheroes vanished in the 1980s. After becoming Iron Man, Arno traveled back in time to the primary Marvel Universe.
Reception and legacy.
Iron Man's appearances in the 1960s saw mixed reception from readers, many of whom criticized the character for his association with the United States military and the controversial Vietnam War. In response, Marvel rewrote the character in the 1970s to moderate his image and to have him directly reflect on his culpability in the harms caused by war. According to Lee, Iron Man was the most popular hero when reading fanmail from female readers, which he attributed to both the character's charisma and his tragic nature.
Many stories featuring the character have achieved critical acclaim. "Demon in a Bottle" in "Iron Man" #120–129 (1979) is celebrated as the definitive Iron Man story for exploring the depth of his character through his alcoholism. "Doomquest" in #149–150 (1981) is a popular favorite for its lighter tone and its establishment of a rivalry between Iron Man and Doctor Doom. "Armor Wars" in #225–232 (1987–1988) is credited for developing Iron Man's personality as someone willing to be more aggressive at the expense of his alliances and public trust. "Extremis" in "Iron Man" Vol. 4 #1–6 (2005–2006) is recognized as a landmark for a new modern era of Iron Man comics. Other celebrated stories include "Deliverance" in "Iron Man" #182 (1984), the "Iron Monger Saga" in "Iron Man" #190–200 (1984–1985), and "World's Most Wanted" in "Invincible Iron Man" #8–19 (2009). Iron Man's characterization in "Civil War" (2006–2007) was received negatively, with most readers seeing him as the villain.
Iron Man became widely popular following the success of the 2008 film "Iron Man", which made him one of Marvel's most recognizable characters, and the film is credited with redefining the superhero film genre. Since then, many publishers have listed Iron Man among the top ten in lists of best superheroes and best Marvel characters. Iron Man's portrayal of futuristic technology has affected public image of how these technologies may develop. Heavy use of augmented reality interfaces by Iron Man, in his helmet's heads-up display and elsewhere, has informed public awareness of the technology. In 2019, a statue representing the character in his Iron Man armor was erected in Forte dei Marmi, Italy, to memorialize the character's actions in "" (2019) and as a reminder that "the future of humanity depends on our decisions ... that all of us must be heroes!".
In other media.
In 2008, a film adaptation titled "Iron Man" was released, starring Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark and directed by Jon Favreau. "Iron Man" was met with positive reviews from film critics, grossing $318 million domestically and $585 million worldwide, and became the first in the long-running Marvel Cinematic Universe. Downey's casting was praised, as was his portrayal of the character; Downey's own recovery from substance abuse was seen as creating a personal connection with the character. Downey reprises his role in "Iron Man 2" (2010), "Marvel's The Avengers" (2012), "Iron Man 3" (2013), ' (2015), ' (2016), ' (2017), ' (2018), and "" (2019). Iron Man supporting characters are set to appear in their own Marvel Cinematic Universe titles, "Ironheart" and "Armor Wars".
Iron Man's first animated appearance was in a segment of the 1966 series "The Marvel Super Heroes", which adapted comic book drawings into animations, and has since been featured in the animated series "Iron Man" (1994–1996) and "" (2009–2012). He also made many appearances in other Marvel animated programs, particularly those featuring the Avengers, and there have been multiple Iron Man direct-to-video releases.
Iron Man has featured in several video games, including "Iron Man" (2008) and "Iron Man 2" (2010), which were released as adaptations of his Marvel Cinematic Universe films. He also featured in the PlayStation VR game "Iron Man VR" (2020). An Iron Man action-adventure game was announced in 2022 to be developed by Motive Studio. He also appeared in many other Marvel video games, such as those featuring the Avengers.
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Art the Clown
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Art the Clown is a fictional character and the primary antagonist in the "Terrifier" franchise and related media. Created by Damien Leone, the character first appeared in the short films "The 9th Circle" (2008) and "Terrifier" (2011). Both shorts were included in the anthology film "All Hallows' Eve" (2013), which marked the character's feature film debut. In these early appearances, he was portrayed by Mike Giannelli before his retirement from acting. He was replaced by David Howard Thornton, who portrayed Art in "Terrifier" (2016), "Terrifier 2" (2022), and "Terrifier 3" (2024).
Art debuted as a background character in Leone's directorial debut short film to test out different horror concepts. Audiences responded most to Art, leading Leone to develop the character into a recurring slasher villain over the next decade. Art became a pop culture figure and iconic evil clown after the critical and commercial success of "Terrifier 2". The character's background remains ambiguous, although all of his appearances show him possessing supernatural abilities. His archenemy is the final girl Sienna Shaw (Lauren LaVera), with Leone writing Sienna and Art to reflect biblical undertones of good and evil.
Appearances.
Film.
The character made his debut appearance in the short film "The 9th Circle" (2008), which follows his pursuit of a young woman named Casey (Kayla Lian) in an empty train station on Halloween night. Merely a supporting character in this film, Art abducts Casey and brings her to a satanic cult for a sacrifice to Satan.
Art's second appearance was in the short film "Terrifier" (2011), where he stalks and torments a young woman who witnesses one of his murders at a gas station.
The character made his feature-film debut in "All Hallows' Eve" (2013) which incorporates the prior two short films as segments on VHS tapes that the film's protagonist Sarah (Katie Maguire) watches with the children she's babysitting on Halloween night. Art enters the real world and murders the children for a terrified Sarah to find.
Art's second feature-film appearance was in the slasher film "Terrifier" (2016). In "Terrifier", Art inhabits the fictitious Miles County, New York and pursues partygoer Tara Heyes (Jenna Kanell), her younger sister Vicky (Samantha Scaffidi) and her best friend Dawn Emerson (Catherine Corcoran) on Halloween night. After killing Tara and Dawn, he targets Vicky, the lone survivor. She fights against Art until he runs her over with a pickup truck and eats half of her face off, leaving her disfigured. Before he can kill her, the police confront him at gunpoint, and he commits suicide.
In "Terrifier 2" (2022), a sinister entity known as the Little Pale Girl (Amelie McLain) resurrects Art and accompanies him in his pursuit of Sienna Shaw (Lauren LaVera) and her younger brother, Jonathan (Elliot Fullam). Their father, Michael (Jason Patric) was an artist that died from a brain tumor. He envisioned Art and his victims in his sketches before they happened and drew Sienna as an angel-warrior-attired heroine designed to defeat Art and gave her a sword before his death. Sienna, who made a Halloween costume based on her father's sketches, battles Art in an abandoned carnival. Art is defeated after Sienna decapitates him with her father's sword. However, he is brought back to life after Vicky Heyes, who is in a mental hospital, gives birth to his living head as his new mother, and is possessed by the Little Pale Girl.
Literature.
Art the Clown was featured in a comic book adaptation of the 2016 film that retold the story over three books.
Concept and creation.
Leone's idea of Art originated from his concept of a woman getting off work and taking the city bus home, where a clown gets on and sits across from her, taunting her. He envisioned Art as a combination of being uncomfortable and comedic to viewers—but with the character becoming "progressively more intimidating and aggressive." Art got incorporated into Leone's directorial debut, the short film "The 9th Circle" (2008), merely as a background character, as Leone states, "I threw in everything, clowns, witches, demons, monsters, everything up against the wall hoping something would stick."
Art appeared next in Leone's follow-up film, the short film "Terrifier" (2011), which followed Art's pursuit of a costume designer that witnessed one of his murders at a gas station; he had a more substantial role in this film after people who viewed the "The 9th Circle" expressed interest about him to Leone. Film producer Jesse Baget, who saw the short films on YouTube, approached Leone about including them in an anthology film. Leone saw this as an opportunity to direct a feature film of Art, and he ultimately agreed. It would evolve into "All Hallows' Eve" (2013) and included a wraparound story of a babysitter that becomes the target of Art after one of the children she's watching receives a VHS tape depicting Art after trick-or-treating. This anthology film would further implicate Art being a supernatural entity, although his background remains ambiguous. Actor Mike Giannelli, who is a friend of Leone, portrayed Art in all of these appearances before retiring from acting.
After the release of "All Hallows' Eve", Leone wanted to create a feature-length film focusing solely on Art as he believed the 2010s lacked an iconic horror villain, particularly an original clown character. He aimed to make Art the opposite of Pennywise the Dancing Clown both in characterization and appearance; Art is bald, does not speak, uses weapons, and wears black-and-white makeup and clothes. Following Giannelli's retirement, David Howard Thornton was cast in the role. Leone describes the difference in casting as, "Mike may as well have been a guy dressed as a clown, whereas David is a clown. If you know him in person, he is a walking cartoon. He is Roger Rabbit in real life, and you'd never believe that he's Art the Clown, but he knows how to flip the switch and bring it to a dark place." Thornton saw a posting on the digital casting website Actors Access for a "tall, skinny, comedic actor that had experience in clowning and comedy". As he was familiar with Art the Clown through "All Hallows' Eve", Thornton asked his agent to submit him for it; after improvising a kill scene during his audition, he got cast in the role.
Reception.
In a positive review for the magazine "Starburst", Sol Harris wrote "Art is a truly enigmatic and memorable villain. He frequently veers into the territory of being genuinely unpleasant to watch, which makes him feel somewhat separate from the stable of horror icons such as Freddy Krueger and Chucky. Special acknowledgement should be given to David Howard Thornton for a truly wonderful performance and one that easily stands toe-to-toe with the likes of Curry and Skarsgård." In a more middling review, the blog Film School Rejects praised Thornton's portrayal and use of body language but panned "Terrifier" and deemed the character a misogynist with "a deep hatred for women".
Popular culture.
In 2018, apparel company Terror Threads released a Christmas jumper depicting the character. American rapper and singer Ghostemane cites the character as influence for his studio album "ANTI-ICON" (2020). David Howard Thornton later reprised the role of Art the Clown in the 2023 comedy series "Bupkis" in the episode, "Show Me the Way".
In ' and ', Art appears in an event called "The Haunting".
A song by Ice Nine Kills based on the character called "A Work of Art" is featured in the third film "Terrifier 3".
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Harley Quinn
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Harley Quinn (Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzel, PhD) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm for "" as a henchwoman for the Joker, and debuted in its 22nd episode, "Joker's Favor", on September 11, 1992. While intended to appear in one episode, Quinn became a recurring character within the DC Animated Universe (DCAU) as the Joker's sidekick and love interest, and was adapted into DC Comics' canon seven years later, beginning with the one-shot "Batman: Harley Quinn" #1 (October 1999). Quinn's origin story features her as a former psychologist at Gotham City's Arkham Asylum who was manipulated by and fell in love with the Joker, her patient, eventually becoming his accomplice and lover. The character's alias is a play on the stock character Harlequin from the 16th-century Italian theater .
Following her introduction to the comics in 1999, Harley Quinn was depicted as the former doctor turned sidekick and lover of the Joker as well as the criminal associate and best friend of Poison Ivy. Later stories depicted Quinn as an independent supervillain who has left her abusive and codependent relationship with the Joker behind, beginning with the publication of her ongoing series, "Harley Quinn". After years of scarce appearances in comics, Quinn returned in a leading role in 2009 with the "Gotham City Sirens" series, as part of an unstable alliance with Poison Ivy and Catwoman. In 2011, DC's line-wide reboot "The New 52" reintroduced Quinn in the relaunched "Suicide Squad" title, which changed the character's personality, design, and origin, replacing her original jester costume with a revealing ensemble and depicting her to be darker than her earlier counterpart. The character took a lighthearted and humorous direction with her second ongoing series in 2013, written by Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti, which features the character moving to her hometown of Brooklyn and starting her own life in Coney Island. The character has since been depicted as an antihero independent of the Joker and a recurring core member of the Suicide Squad, with Poison Ivy becoming her primary romantic interest. In 2021, DC's line-wide "Infinite Frontier" relaunch brought Quinn back to Gotham City and reestablished her as a superhero seeking redemption for her past actions.
Harley Quinn's abilities include expert gymnastic skills, proficiency in weapons and hand-to-hand combat, complete unpredictability, immunity to toxins, and enhanced strength, agility, and durability. Quinn often wields clown-themed gag weapons, with an oversized mallet being her signature weapon. Additionally, she has a pair of pet hyenas, Bud and Lou, who sometimes serve as her attack dogs.
Harley Quinn has become one of DC Comics' most popular and profitable characters. She has been featured in many of DC's comic books and adapted in various other media and merchandise. DC Comics Publisher Jim Lee considers Harley Quinn the fourth pillar of DC Comics' publishing line, behind Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman.
Originally voiced by Arleen Sorkin in the DC Animated Universe, she has since appeared in many other DC projects voiced by actresses such as Tara Strong, Hynden Walch, Laura Bailey, Jenny Slate, Melissa Rauch, Laura Post, and Kaley Cuoco; the latter provided the character's voice in the 2019 animated series "Harley Quinn". Mia Sara portrayed the character in the 2002 television series "Birds of Prey". Harley Quinn made her live-action cinematic debut in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) film "Suicide Squad" (2016), where she was portrayed by Margot Robbie. Robbie reprised her role in "Birds of Prey" (2020) and "The Suicide Squad" (2021), with elements of her portrayal's design subsequently incorporated into comics. Lady Gaga portrays the character in " (2024).
History.
Creation and development.
Harley Quinn was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm for the 1992 " episode entitled "Joker's Favor" while Dini was writing the episode. Initially written as an animated equivalent of a walk-on role, Harley Quinn was intended to appear in just one episode. With this, her origin was not supposed to be more than it was, making her popularity unexpected and a surprise success. As Dini was putting together the story for the episode, he wanted to introduce a foil for the supervillain the Joker that would emphasize the Joker's comic book personality traits: funny, scary, and egotistical. He then thought of giving Joker a henchwoman, inspired by the molls of the 1960s live-action "Batman" series, and then decided she would be a "funny counterpart to the Joker to maybe work up a little Punch and Judy attitude between them"; Dini stated, "[...] she could crack a joke and the henchmen would laugh, and the Joker would kind of glare at her". The character idea dated back in 1991, after Dini came across a dream sequence, while watching a VHS tape of the soap opera "Days of Our Lives", seeing his college friend Arleen Sorkin play a jester. Dini then based Harley Quinn on Sorkin, incorporating aspects such as her mannerisms and "very snappy, wisecracking, bubbly blonde" personality. Dini even decided to have Sorkin voice her. In recording Harley Quinn's voice, Sorkin spoke in her normal New York accent while putting in a "little Yiddish sound", since Dini made the character Jewish, another aspect of the character borrowed from Sorkin; Dini described her voice for the character as having "a snappy blonde but also kind of a bad girl": "a little bit of Adelaide from "Guys and Dolls", a little bit of Judy Holliday", and "a lot of Arleen", stating that it sounded "very close" to Sorkin's voice.
Dini had several names in mind while naming the character, such as Columbine, and eventually settled on the name "Harley Quinn". Dini chose the name for the character to be in line with other Batman characters's names being puns, and also because he thought "Harley was a fun name for a girl". The name Harley Quinn is a play on Harlequin, a stock character from the sixteenth-century Italian physical comedy theater .
In designing the character, Timm did a "simplified supervillain version" of traditional Harlequin gear; from the original, he took the jester hat, ruffled collar, diamond pattern, and domino mask and put them on a red-and-black bodysuit, on which the diamonds were strategically placed for easier animation. Timm took Harley Quinn's red and black color scheme from the Golden Age comic book character Daredevil. Dini had previously made a rough design for the character, which Timm improved on.
Expanded role.
After seeing Harley Quinn in the rough cut of "Joker's Favor", the producers of "Batman: The Animated Series", which include Dini and Timm, were impressed with the result, with Dini wanting to bring the character back for more episodes. Timm and another producer, Alan Burnett, were initially reluctant of this and thought that giving Joker a girlfriend "played more towards his comedic side" and would "humanize him too much", which contrasted their vision for Joker as a character who is "as serious a threat as possible to Batman". Nevertheless, months after "Joker's Favor", Harley made a second appearance on the show in the episode "The Laughing Fish" and became the Joker's love interest. Harley Quinn gained popularity with fans of "The Animated Series", with the character being featured more on the show and eventually starring in her own episodes, such as 1993's "Harley and Ivy", which introduced a friendship between her and fellow supervillain Poison Ivy, and 1994's "Harlequinade" and "Harley's Holiday", which explored her life without the Joker. Harley Quinn then became a recurring character in the DC Animated Universe, appearing in "The Animated Series" sequel "The New Batman Adventures", the direct-to-video film ', and in non-Batman animation such as ', "Static Shock", and "Justice League". In February 1994, she made her first appearance in a video game in "The Adventures of Batman and Robin", an action platformer based on "Batman: The Animated Series".
Transition to comic books.
Because of her popularity, Harley Quinn was adapted into DC's comic books. In September 1993 (cover date), a year following Harley Quinn's first appearance in "Batman: The Animated Series", the character made her comic book debut in the 12th issue of "The Batman Adventures", a series set in the universe of "The Animated Series", and became a regular character. In 1997, she appeared in the story ', released under "Elseworlds", a DC Comics imprint that published out-of-continuity alternate reality stories, as Hayley Fitzpatrick"'. In 1999, she became a canonical character with the release of "Batman: Harley Quinn".
Origin story.
In February 1994, the one-shot "" recounting Harley's origin was released. Written by Dini and drawn by Timm, the story marks their first comic book collaboration. "Mad Love" introduces Harley Quinn as a former psychologist named Harleen Quinzel who fell in love with the Joker during her internship at Gotham City's Arkham Asylum and details her transformation into the Joker's villainous accomplice Harley Quinn, as well as the Joker's lack of respect for Harley. Widely considered the definitive Harley Quinn story, "Mad Love" added dimensions to the character, with Dini introducing Harley Quinn's motivations as well as establishing her as a tragic and sympathetic figure. The story received wide praise and won the Eisner and Harvey awards for Best Single Issue in the same year and was later adapted into an episode of the same name in "The New Batman Adventures" in 1999.
Name origin.
"Mad Love" establishes Harley Quinn's full name to be Harleen Frances Quinzel. "Harleen Frances" was taken from Sorkin's first and middle name, Arleen Frances, while "Quinzel" came from one of Dini's former Emerson College instructors, who was surnamed Quenzel.
Introduction to mainstream DC continuity.
Harley Quinn was adapted into the mainstream DC Universe with the 1999 one-shot graphic novel "Batman: Harley Quinn", written by Dini and illustrated by Yvel Guichet, which put her origin in the middle of the "" story line. Dini changed Harley and the Joker's relationship to be darker to match the Joker's character in the comics; in the story, the Joker attempts to kill Harley at the first opportunity. Harley's immunity to toxins and enhanced strength and agility, which were gained from a special formula created by Poison Ivy, were carried over from "Batman: The Animated Series", with Dini stating that they would give her a sort of "physical edge" over Batman and other heroes.
First ongoing series.
While pursuing new assignments at DC Comics' offices in New York City, Karl Kesel was approached by former DC editor Matt Idelson to create a pitch for Harley Quinn's first ongoing series, which Kesel accepted, being a fan of the character after having read "Mad Love". Kesel chose Terry Dodson as the artist for the series, whose art Kesel thought complemented the character's cartoonish roots and worldview. Kesel called Dodson and asked him if he was interested on working on the comic, to which Dodson agreed, and the two worked for a month on their proposal for the series, which was to make a comic about "love gone horribly, terribly wrong". The proposal was accepted by DC Comics, and the pair began work on the series, with Kesel and Dodson both being involved in the storytelling, and Dodson bringing in his wife, Rachel Dodson, to ink. Kesel's run on the series began being published in December 2000, and was about Harley Quinn leaving the Joker and becoming a solo criminal, alongside a supporting cast of henchmen named the Quinntets. Because of underwhelming sales, his 25-issue run ended in December 2002, and DC decided to change the creative team; the series was given to writer A.J. Lieberman and artists Mike Huddleston and Troy Nixey by Idelson, and took on a grittier and darker direction, contrasting Kesel's run. The decision renewed interest in the character, but the sales remained lackluster and the series was cancelled in 2003.
"Gotham City Sirens".
After years of scarce appearances in comics, Harley Quinn resurfaced in a leading role in July 2009 with "Gotham City Sirens", a team-up title created by Dini. The series brought together Batman's most popular female villains, Harley Quinn, Catwoman, and Poison Ivy, in an unstable alliance. The series also expanded on Harley Quinn's background and early life; in "Gotham City Sirens" #7, Dini established the character's hometown being Brooklyn, based on her accent and also introduced her dysfunctional family, with her swindling father being described as the main reason for her pursuing psychology.
The first several issues of "Gotham City Sirens" were written by Dini and illustrated by Guillem March. Other creatives who worked for the series include writers Tony Bedard and Peter Calloway, and artists David López, Andres Guinaldo, Peter Nguyen, Jeremy Haun, and Ramon Bachs. The series was cancelled in August 2011 for "The New 52", DC Comics' relaunch of their entire comic line.
"The New 52".
"Suicide Squad".
As part of the "New 52" reboot in September 2011, Harley Quinn was reintroduced by Adam Glass as a prominent member of the supervillain team Task Force X in the relaunched "Suicide Squad" series. The character was heavily redesigned to fit the tone of the book, and was inspired by Harley's designs in the video games ' and '; her color motif was changed to red and blue, her jester costume was replaced with a revealing ensemble consisting of a corset and hot pants, her skin was bleached white, and her previously blonde hair was altered to half-blue and half-red. Her personality had also been depicted to be more violent and psychopathic than her former iteration.
In the series, Glass separated Harley Quinn from the Joker and explored her "becom[ing] her own person", with the Suicide Squad becoming a family to her; Glass said: "Harley's always wanted to belong to something. And if not Joker, then the team – and she's finding herself in all this. She's finding her place in the world, that she's not just a sidekick".
"Suicide Squad" was canceled in April 2014 to coincide with the conclusion of the "Forever Evil" storyline.
New origin.
In the seventh issue of "Suicide Squad", Glass revised Harley Quinn's origin story, making it reflect the Joker's origins. In the story, the Joker takes Harleen Quinzel to the chemical plant where he originated and pushes her into a vat of chemicals against her will, which bleaches her skin and drives her insane, resulting in her transformation to Harley Quinn. This origin was received negatively by fans, who felt that its removal of Harley Quinn's choice to become the Joker's accomplice willingly, as depicted in her previous origin stories, took out an essential part of her character.
Second ongoing series.
Harley Quinn's second ongoing series, written by husband and wife Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner, with the interior art illustrated by Chad Hardin and John Timms, explored Harley Quinn leaving Gotham City and starting her own life in her hometown of Brooklyn, depicting her as a landlord in Coney Island, where she shares an apartment building with a supporting cast of "sideshow freaks". Considered to be the most defining writers to work on the character since Dini and Timm, Palmiotti and Conner reinvented Harley Quinn as an antihero who has left her controlling relationship with the Joker behind.
In contrast to Harley Quinn's depiction in Glass' "Suicide Squad", Palmiotti and Conner wrote Harley Quinn with a lighthearted, cartoonish, and humorous tone. Her costume has also been changed with a roller derby-inspired costume designed by Conner, which incorporates Conner's favorite aspects of Harley Quinn's early costume and her costume in Glass' run of "Suicide Squad". The series also brought back Harley Quinn's red and black motif.
The series began being published in November 2013, starting with "Harley Quinn" #0, which brought together 17 comic book artists, including Harley Quinn co-creator Bruce Timm, to illustrate a fourth wall-breaking story about Harley thinking of the artists that could illustrate her in her own comic book series. The rest of the series details Harley Quinn's adventures in Coney Island with her supporting cast. In "Harley Quinn" #25, Palmiotti and Conner reunited Harley Quinn with the Joker; the story depicts Harley Quinn returning to Gotham City to confront the Joker and end their relationship.
With Harley Quinn's longtime friend Poison Ivy being a recurring character in the series, Palmiotti and Conner built on their relationship and hinted at romantic feelings between the two characters; Poison Ivy is shown kissing Harley Quinn multiple times throughout the series, and a sexual relationship between them was alluded to in issue #25. When asked regarding their relationship in a Twitter Q&A, Palmiotti and Conner replied: "Yes, they are girlfriends without the jealousy of monogamy".
The "New 52" "Harley Quinn" series received positive reception, and was also one of DC Comics' top-selling series, inspiring multiple spin-offs. The series was ended for the "DC Rebirth" relaunch of DC's titles.
Controversies.
The cover of the first issue of the "New 52"s "Suicide Squad" title drew controversy for its sexual depiction of Harley Quinn. This also caused some fans of the character to send Adam Glass hate mail and personal threats.
In September 2013, DC Comics announced an art contest entitled "Break into comics with Harley Quinn!", in which contestants were to draw Harley in one of four different suicide scenarios. This contest drew controversy not only because it was announced close to National Suicide Prevention Week, but also because of the sexualized portrayal of Harley Quinn in the fourth scenario, in which the character attempts suicide while naked in her bathtub, which was highly criticised. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, American Psychiatric Association, and National Alliance on Mental Illness all responded to the controversy in an emailed group statement to the "Huffington Post": "We are disappointed that DC Comics has decided to host a contest looking for artists to develop ways to depict suicide attempts by one of its main villains – Harley Quinn". After seeing the reactions to the contest, DC Comics apologized, saying they should have made it clear it was a dream sequence that was not supposed to be taken seriously. In the final version, the bathtub scene was cut and replaced with Harley Quinn sitting on a rocket while flying in space.
"DC Rebirth".
In June 2016, the DC Rebirth event relaunched DC Comics' entire line of comic book titles. Both "Harley Quinn" as well as "Suicide Squad" were rebooted, with the latter starting with the one-shot issue "Suicide Squad: Rebirth" #1 (October 2016). Harley Quinn's "DC Rebirth" design included pink and blue dyed hair tips and a jacket inspired by Margot Robbie's portrayal of the character in the 2016 film "Suicide Squad", a change established in the last issues of her "New 52" series.
Harley Quinn returned as a regular character in the relaunched "Suicide Squad" series, written by Rob Williams. The series was canceled in January 2019.
Harley Quinn's relaunched ongoing series is a direct continuation of the former, with Conner and Palmiotti still writing for the character, and Hardin and Timms illustrating the interior art. After having written 64 issues of Harley Quinn's ongoing series, Conner and Palmiotti's five-year run ended with the 34th issue of the series in December 2017, with writer Frank Tieri and artist Inaki Miranda taking over the title. Tieri's run on the series ended with the series' 42nd issue, followed by a two-issue storyline written by Christopher Sebela and illustrated by Mirka Andolfo. By issue #45 in July 2018, Sam Humphries was the new writer for the series, with John Timms returning to provide art. The series ended in August 2020.
"Harley Loves Joker".
In 2017, Harley Quinn co-creator Paul Dini wrote a backup feature for Harley Quinn's "Rebirth" monthly series entitled "Harley Loves Joker", co-written by Palmiotti and illustrated by Bret Blevins, which ran for 9 issues. The story brought back Harley Quinn's classic characterization and focuses on her past with the Joker. Unlike her characterization in "Batman: The Animated Series", Dini and Palmiotti wrote Harley Quinn in the story as less of a "doormat", with Harley Quinn and Joker being on equal footing in their relationship. The story concluded with the two-part limited series of the same name, which also expanded on Harley Quinn's past as a former intern in animal research at S.T.A.R. Labs, where she met her pet hyenas Bud and Lou. In the second part of the story, Dini and Palmiotti explained Harley Quinn's change in costume, establishing the character's modern design as a reflection of her having left her relationship with the Joker.
"Infinite Frontier".
For the 2021 "Infinite Frontier" relaunch, Harley Quinn is moved back to Gotham City as a superheroine, where she frequently interacts with and aids the Batman family, and she is given a new design by Riley Rossmo. Harley Quinn's fourth ongoing series, written by Stephanie Phillips and illustrated by Rossmo, depicts her "actively looking to make up for her past sins", alongside a former Joker henchman named Kevin. Harley Quinn also has a prominent role in the "Fear State" crossover event.
In January 2022, Phillips confirmed Harley would be resuming her previous career as a psychologist.
Powers, abilities, and equipment.
Harley Quinn possesses multiple superhuman abilities, having won a gymnastics scholarship at Gotham City's Gotham State University. Following her transition to the main DC canon in 1999, Harley Quinn was established as having immunity to toxins and enhanced strength, agility, durability, and reflexes, which she received after having been injected with a serum concocted by Poison Ivy. "Vengeance Unlimited, Part Five" ("Harley Quinn" vol. 1 #30) revealed that it also gave her the ability to breathe underwater. She is strong enough to lift 900-1600 lbs as she is Peak human level in DC and possesses Low Superhuman levels of Strength.
Harley Quinn is skilled in using various weapons, often employing weaponized clown-themed gag items, including pop guns, rubber chickens, and a gun that shoots a boxing glove, as well as oversized pistols and mallets, the latter being her signature weapon. Other weapons she uses include: unconventional weapons, such as a baseball bat; explosive weapons such as bazookas, customized bombs, and dynamites; firearms, such as pistols, assault rifles, and machine guns; Harley Quinn also has a pair of pet hyenas, Bud and Lou, which she can order to attack her opponents.
Despite being mentally unstable and sometimes distracted, Harley is highly intelligent. Her intellect extends to her psychological, tactical and deception abilities, but she does not stand out for particular strategic or scientific skills and often remains subordinate to the Joker, who between the two is the genius and the inventor. Harleen Quinzel earned a bachelor's degree in psychology and as a former Arkham psychologist, was highly qualified in psychoanalysis, criminology, and forensic psychiatry. While not on par with Joker, she is still an expert tactician, deceiver and escapologist, and still shows traces of her psychological experience. Harley Quinn is the only person besides the Joker to concoct Joker Venom, the Joker's signature weapon, and is shown to have reverse-engineered its formula and developed an antitoxin. She also has an indomitable pathological will.
Just like Poison Ivy, sometimes and not as much, Harley uses her feminine charm to attract men but only to manipulate them. Unlike the Joker, she is able to simulate sanity, thus being able to pretend to be a "normal" person. In this way, she disguised herself as a security guard, a lawyer and even Poison Ivy and Batgirl.
Romantic interests.
Harley Quinn has had several love interests, the most notable being the Joker and Poison Ivy. Other love interests include Mason Macabre, a character created by Conner and Palmiotti. Plastic Man was initially intended to be a love interest for Harley Quinn by Kesel, but was not approved by DC.
The Joker.
The Joker is Harley Quinn's former lover. Harley's solo comics often explore her former association with the Joker through "flashbacks of their past exploits, present-day conflicts", or through Harley as she "laments his absence". Harley often refers to him as "Mistah J" and "Puddin'".
Their relationship is known for its abusive and codependent nature, first established in Harley's first origin story "Mad Love". The Joker habitually abuses Harley, and despite the abuse, Harley Quinn returns to him. In the 1999 one-shot comic "Batman: Harley Quinn", the Joker decides to kill Harley, after admitting that he does care for her, that their relationship is romantic, and that these feelings prevent him from fulfilling his purpose. Dini describes their relationship as abusive, and empathizes with Harley's feelings of abandonment, with Dini basing most of Harley's dialogue on his past experiences.
The Joker's controlling and codependent relationship with Harley Quinn has been analyzed as a means of the Joker reinforcing his own belief in his power in a world where he may be killed or neutralized by another villain or Batman. Joker mirrors his identity through Harley in her appearance, and even though he may ignore or act indifferent towards her, he continues to try to subject her to his control. When Harley successfully defeats Batman in "Mad Love", the Joker, emasculated by his own failure, severely injures her out of fear of what the other villains will think of him; however, while Harley recovers, the Joker sends her flowers, which she accepts, reasserting his control over her.
Poison Ivy.
Poison Ivy is Harley Quinn's current love interest and best friend, and Harley often refers to her as "Red". Ivy was first introduced as a new friend to Harley by Dini in the 1993 "Batman: The Animated Series" episode "Harley and Ivy". The episode came from Dini wanting to make Harley a stronger character and write a story where she leaves the Joker; Dini decided to pair her up with Ivy because she was "the strongest contrast to Harley". The two later became close friends within the DC Animated Universe. Dini stated that he could see a romantic relationship between the two happening the more he worked with the two characters, but the impossibility of properly portraying their relationship in a kid's cartoon at the time prevented it from happening.
Prior to the New 52 reboot, Ivy is shown as having teamed up on occasion with Harley with Harley being her best friend and recurring ally. Unlike most villain team-ups, their partnership is based on genuine friendship and mutual respect. Ivy sincerely wants to save Harley from her unhealthy abusive relationship with the Joker. Accordingly, Poison Ivy despises the Joker, and the two exchange vicious banter at every opportunity. In the final storyline of the "Gotham City Sirens" series, Harley suggests that Ivy may be in love with her, an accusation that stuns her. The following issue has Poison Ivy acknowledge that she may indeed love Harley, but the details of her love are never specified, and the series ended with the New 52 reboot before their relationship could be addressed.
Conner and Palmiotti hinted at a romantic relationship in the New 52 Harley Quinn series, and later confirmed that Harley and Ivy are in a non-monogamous relationship. 2017's Harley Quinn #25 marked their first canonical kiss.
Character biography.
DC Animated Universe.
Harley Quinn first appeared in ' (1992–1995), voiced by Arleen Sorkin, who subsequently reprised her role in other DC Animated Universe series, including ' (1996–2000), "The New Batman Adventures" (1997–1999), "Static Shock" (2000–2004), and "Justice League" (2001–2004), as well as the film "" (2000).
Originally a career-oriented psychologist, Dr. Harleen Quinzel's life took a radical turn when she chose to take an internship at Arkham Asylum for a semester of college. Convinced by the Joker himself to do it, Harleen interviewed him and learned he was abused as a child by his alcoholic father (later learning this backstory to have been one of several different stories he had told to others, some with different details each time), and after more interviews, determined Batman was the primary source of the Joker's anger and was to blame for his actions, but that she also had fallen in love with him. Harleen helped the Joker escape and, renaming herself Harley Quinn, became his sidekick in hopes that she could win his love, going on a crime spree across the United States of America.
After assisting Joker in attempting to assassinate Commissioner James Gordon by planting a bomb at a dinner in his honor, she was subdued by Batman, and subsequently an accomplice in virtually all of Joker's criminal schemes. On occasion, she would be kicked out of Joker's gang when unintentionally upstaging or annoying the Joker, on one of these occasions teaming up with Poison Ivy, with the two becoming close friends and a successful crime duo independently. While imprisoned on her own in Arkham Asylum, Batman offered her a pardon in exchange for helping him track down the Joker after he had stolen a nuclear bomb. The day she is declared rehabilitated and paroled, Harley's hyperactivity and unfamiliarity with the "real" world leads to her accidentally kidnap someone and be returned to Arkham yet again.
In the 31-episode "Gotham Girls" web series, Harley joins forces with Poison Ivy and Catwoman in a co-starring role.
After several failed attempts at rehabilitation, Harley returns to the Joker's side. However, after another failed attempt to kill Commissioner Gordon leads the Joker to forget their anniversary, Harley re-examines her life and decides that as Batman was the cause of the Joker's obsession, she should capture and kill him herself for him to kill, doing so by falsely pretending to have found sanity and luring Batman into a trap. Recognizing Harley to have come closer to killing him than Joker has ever done, Batman tricks her into facilitating his escape by making her call the Joker and tell him what she has done, knowing that he would not allow anyone other than himself to kill Batman, pushing her aside and unknowingly knocking her out a window. Recovering in Arkham, Harley decides that the Joker will never truly love her, before returning to her devotion upon seeing that he has left her a rose in a vase from him by her bedside table, with a note hoping that she gets better soon. Harley later references having convinced the Joker to attend couple's counseling with her.
In the film "", flashbacks reveal Harley's apparent final actions after returning to the Joker again were assisting him in kidnapping Tim Drake and torturing him into insanity to transform him into their son "J.J", so that they can start a family together. She later fought Batgirl who angrily chastised her for even helping Joker commit a heinous act but fell deep into an abyss, leading to the latter presuming her dead, though she survived as depicted in the present, where she appears at the end of the film, revealed to have reformed and become the grandmother of the Jokerz members, the Dee Dee Twins, who address her as "Nana Harley".
DC Universe.
Harleen Quinzel was a psychologist at Arkham Asylum, and after meeting the Joker, she became his frequent accomplice, took on the name Harley Quinn, and got into an abusive codependent relationship with him. She eventually splits up with him, and becomes a solo criminal, forming a criminal gang called the Quinntets. Following the Quinntet's dissolution, Harley Quinn moves to Metropolis with her best friend Poison Ivy, where she works as a love columnist in the "Daily Planet" under the alias Holly Chance. She then moves back to Gotham City, where she then voluntarily incarcerates herself in Arkham. Harley Quinn then spends a year applying for parole, only to see her request systematically rejected by Bruce Wayne, the layman member of Arkham's medical commission. She is kidnapped by Peyton Riley, the new female Ventriloquist, who offers her a job; Harley turns the job down out of respect for the memory of Arnold Wesker, the original Ventriloquist, who attempted to cheer her up during her first week in Arkham while the Joker was still on the loose. She then helps Batman and Commissioner Jim Gordon foil the impostor's plans. Although Riley escapes, Bruce Wayne is impressed with Harley's effort at redemption and agrees with granting her parole. She then briefly joins the Secret Six, then decides to quit.
"Final Crisis".
During "Countdown to Final Crisis", a reformed Harley Quinn resides in an Amazon-run women's shelter. Having abandoned her jester costume and clown make-up, she now only wears an Amazonian stola or chiton. She befriends the former Catwoman replacement Holly Robinson and then succeeds in persuading her to join her at the shelter, where she is working as an assistant. They are both brought to Themiscyra by "Athena" (really Granny Goodness) and begin Amazon training. Holly and Harley then meet the real Athena and encounter Mary Marvel. The group reveals Granny's deception, and Holly, Harley, and Mary follow her as she retreats to Apokolips. Mary finds the Olympian gods, whom Granny had been holding prisoner, and the group frees them. Harley is granted powers by Thalia as a reward. Upon returning to Earth, the powers vanish, and Harley and Holly return to Gotham City.
"Gotham City Sirens".
Harley Quinn then joins forces with Poison Ivy (Pamela Isley) and Catwoman (Selina Kyle) in the series "Gotham City Sirens". In "Gotham City Sirens" #7, Harley Quinn visits her family in her hometown of Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, during the holiday season. Harley's father is a swindler who is still in jail, and her brother, Barry, is a loser with dead-end dreams of rock stardom. Her mother, Sharon, wants her to stop the "villain and hero stuff". The dysfunctional, "horrible" experience while visiting family causes her to return home to the Sirens' shared Gotham City hideout where Harley, Catwoman, and Poison Ivy spend the rest of Christmas together. Following several adventures with Catwoman and Ivy, Harley betrays them and breaks into Arkham Asylum, intending to kill the Joker for his years of abuse towards her. However, Harley ultimately chooses instead to release the Joker from his cell, and together the two orchestrate a violent takeover of the facility that results in most of the guards and staff members either being killed or taken hostage by the inmates. Harley and the Joker are eventually defeated by Batman and Catwoman, and Harley is last seen being wheeled away while bound in a straitjacket and muzzle. Shortly afterward, Poison Ivy breaks into Harley's cell and attempts to kill her for her betrayal, but instead offers to free her if she helps her kill Catwoman, who had left both of her fellow Sirens behind in Arkham. Harley agrees, and the two set out to trap Catwoman. During the ensuing fight, Catwoman says she saw good in them and only wanted to help. As Batman is about to arrest them, Catwoman helps the two of them escape.
"The New 52" and "DC Rebirth".
Like her previous incarnations, Harleen Quinzel was still the Joker's psychologist, but before she becomes Harley, the Joker pushes her into a vat of chemicals, bleaching her skin white and driving her insane. Harley Quinn is forced to join the Suicide Squad by Amanda Waller. Harley Quinn then leaves Gotham City and moves back to her hometown of Brooklyn and resides in Coney Island.
"Infinite Frontier".
Harley Quinn moves back to Gotham City in an attempt to reestablish herself as a hero, aiding the Batman Family and trying to make up for her past "where she often enabled the Joker".
Cultural impact.
Harley Quinn has become one of DC Comics's most popular characters. The 2016 relaunch of her comic shipped more copies than any other "DC Rebirth" title and was one of the best-selling comics of the year. DC Comics Publisher Jim Lee refers to Harley Quinn as the fourth pillar in their publishing line, behind Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. Harley Quinn currently stars in four separate ongoing series — three eponymous titles and "Suicide Squad". Only Batman and Superman have comparable numbers of monthly appearances, making Harley Quinn the most prominent and profitable female character. Kevin Kiniry, vice-president of DC Collectibles, says Harley Quinn is always a top-seller and she "can go toe-to-toe with Batman and the Joker as one of the most fan-requested and sought-after characters". In 2016, Harley Quinn's Halloween costume ranked as the most popular costume in both the United States and the United Kingdom and it remains a popular subject for cosplay. To celebrate the character, DC Comics declared the month of February to be Harley Quinn Month and published 22 Harley Quinn variant covers across their line of comic books. IGN's 2009 list of the Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time ranked Harley Quinn as #45. She was ranked 16th in "Comics Buyer's Guide"s 2011 "100 Sexiest Women in Comics" list. Joker voice actor Mark Hamill attributes the success of Harley Quinn to Arleen Sorkin's performance. On Twitter, he stated: "In the script she was just an unnamed Joker "hench-wench" w/ no discernible personality. When Arleen began reading her lines in that unforgettable voice so poignant & full of heart I nearly fell off my chair! She brought SO much more than was on the page & a legend was born".
Collected editions.
This section lists the collected editions, from trade paperbacks to omnibus editions, of various comics in which Harley Quinn is mainly featured.
DC Black Label.
Harley Quinn stars in various series under DC Comics' adult-oriented Black Label imprint.
In other media.
Film.
Live action.
DC Extended Universe.
Margot Robbie portrays Dr. Harleen Quinzel / Harley Quinn in the DC Extended Universe.
Video games.
"DC Universe Online".
Harley Quinn appears as an unlockable character in "DC Universe Online", initially reprised by Arleen Sorkin before being replaced by Jen Brown starting in 2016.
"Batman: Arkham series".
Harley Quinn appears in the "" franchise, voiced initially by Arleen Sorkin and subsequently by Tara Strong.
"Batman: The Enemy Within".
Harley Quinn appears in ' (the sequel to '), voiced by Laura Post. This version was driven insane following her father's long bout with mental illness and eventual suicide. Attempting to avoid her father's fate, she joins a criminal organization called the Pact to steal a virus able to cure her hereditary condition. This depiction initially reverses the dynamic between Harley and the Joker. Quinn manipulates and abuses her former patient at Arkham Asylum, named "John Doe", who is infatuated with her. As the series progresses, John's confidence will increase, and depending on the player's choices, he will either aid Bruce Wayne in capturing Quinn or transform into the traditional version of the Joker. In the latter outcome, Harley becomes the Joker's girlfriend, and the two use the virus to threaten Gotham City.
Novels.
Harley Quinn has her own novel adaptation from comics as part of the DC Comic Novels series. "Mad Love" was released in November 2018 and written by Pat Cardigan and original co-creator Paul Dini and published by Titan Books.
In 2022, Penguin Random House launched a Harley Quinn line of their young adult DC Icons series, authored by YA author and neuroscientist Rachael Allen.
Pauline Ketch, a character based on Harley Quinn who goes by the supervillainous alter ego Pretty Polly, appears in "The Refrigerator Monologues".
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Venom (character)
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Venom is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a sentient alien symbiote with an amorphous, liquid-like form, who survives by bonding with a host, usually human. This dual-life form receives enhanced powers and usually refers to itself as "Venom". The symbiote was originally introduced as a living alien costume in "The Amazing Spider-Man" #252 (May 1984), with a full first appearance as Venom in "The Amazing Spider-Man" #300 (May 1988).
The Venom symbiote's first human host was Spider-Man himself, who eventually discovered its true nefarious nature and separated himself from the creature in "The Amazing Spider-Man" #258 (November 1984)—with a brief rejoining five months later in "Web of Spider-Man" #1. The symbiote went on to merge with other hosts, beginning with Eddie Brock, its second host, with whom it first became Venom. Venom has endured as one of Spider-Man's most prominent villains, and was initially regarded as one of his three archenemies, alongside the Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus. Since his debut however, Venom has evolved into an antiheroic figure, slowly distancing himself from his initial goal to ruin Spider-Man's life to try and do good instead, even putting aside his differences with and helping Spider-Man at times. In 1993, Venom would transition into having a role as an antihero vigilante in the ' comic book series. After Brock, numerous other hosts for Venom followed; some of the most notable are the villain Mac Gargan, who was the main incarnation of Venom from 2005 to 2009, and Flash Thompson, who became the superhero Agent Venom from 2011 to 2016, before Venom returned to Brock in 2017. Venom's most recent and current host is Brock's biological son, Dylan. Venom is also depicted as having spawned several children—Scream, Lasher, Phage, Agony, Riot, Mania, Sleeper, and most notably, Carnage, who becomes Venom's archenemy after being bound to serial killer Cletus Kasady.
A fan-favorite character and well-known figure in popular culture, Venom (primarily the Eddie Brock incarnation) is the most recognizable Spider-Man antagonist not first introduced during the original Lee/Ditko run. He has been featured in various media adaptations of "Spider-Man" over the years, including feature films, television series and video games. The character was portrayed by Tobey Maguire and Topher Grace in "Spider-Man 3" (2007), with Tom Hardy primarily portraying the character in the Sony's Spider-Man Universe films "Venom" (2018), ' (2021), and ' (2024), as well as an uncredited post-credit scene appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film "" (2021).
The Eddie Brock incarnation of Venom is among Spider-Man's most famous rogues, and is regarded by many as a dark reflection of the hero. Comics journalist and historian Mike Conroy writes of the character: "What started out as a replacement costume for Spider-Man turned into one of the Marvel web-slinger's greatest nightmares". Venom was rated 33rd on Empire's 50 Greatest Comic Book Characters, and ranked 22nd on IGN's 100 Greatest Comic Villains of All Time.
Conception and creation.
The original idea of a new costume for Spider-Man that would later become the character Venom was conceived by a Marvel Comics reader from Norridge, Illinois named Randy Schueller. In 1982, Jim Shooter, Marvel's editor-in-chief at the time, sent Schueller a letter acknowledging Marvel's interest in the idea, which they ended up purchasing from him for $220. Shooter came up with the idea of switching Spider-Man to a black-and-white costume, possibly influenced by the intended costume design for the new Julia Carpenter version of Spider-Woman. Artists Mike Zeck and Rick Leonardi designed the black costume.
Writer/artist John Byrne says on his website that he conceived a costume of self-healing biological material when he was the artist on "Iron Fist —" to explain how that character's costume was constantly being torn and then apparently repaired by the next issue. Byrne says explaining that he ended up not using the idea on that title, but that Roger Stern later asked him if he could use the idea for Spider-Man's alien costume. Stern in turn plotted the issue in which the costume first appeared but then left the title. It was writer Tom DeFalco and artist Ron Frenz who established that the costume was a sentient alien being that was vulnerable to high sonic energy during their run on "The Amazing Spider-Man" that preceded David Michelinie's.
With the nature of the symbiote established Michelinie felt it could serve a character concept he had been toying with for some time. When Michelinie first began working on Spider-Man stories he noted that the most unique ability Spider-Man possessed as a superhero was his spider sense, which Michelinie claimed gave the character a level of invulnerability on par or better than much stronger Marvel superheroes. While other Spider-Man antagonists such as The Green Goblin and Mysterio had been able to temporarily disable Spider-Man's spider sense through chemical means, Michelinie was fascinated by the idea of a villain who could permanently evade Spider-Man's spider sense and what kind of consequences that would have on both Spider-Man as a superhero and Peter Parker's personal life. After initially coming up with characters who were able to evade Spider-Man's spider sense through cybernetic means that were rejected by Marvel editors, Michelinie posited that the symbiote would make a human host be able to evade Spider-Man's spider sense through it being mutated by absorbing Spider-Man's genetic material when Spider-Man was its host. This idea was approved by Marvel editors and Michelinie was given the green light to further refine the character.
The symbiote was first introduced as Spider-Man's new black costume in "The Amazing Spider-Man" #252 (May 1984) as part of a story called "Homecoming!" The story takes place after Spider-Man's return from the events of the miniseries "Secret Wars", where he first obtains the black costume. The full first appearance of Venom is in "The Amazing Spider-Man" #300 (May 1988), after the symbiote bonds with Eddie Brock.
Hosts.
Spider-Man (Peter Parker).
The story of how Spider-Man gets his new black costume is recounted in "Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars" #8 (December 1984), in which writer Jim Shooter and artist Mike Zeck depicted the heroes and villains of the Marvel Universe transported to another planet called Battleworld by a being called the Beyonder. After Spider-Man's costume is ruined from battles with the villains, he is directed by Thor and the Hulk to a room at the heroes' base where they inform him a machine can read his thoughts and instantly fabricate any type of clothing. Choosing a machine he believes to be the correct one, Spider-Man causes a black sphere to appear before him, which spreads over his body, dissolving the tattered old costume and covering his body to form a new black and white costume. To Spider-Man's surprise, the costume can mimic street clothes and provides a seemingly inexhaustible and stronger supply of webbing.
During their run on "The Amazing Spider-Man", writer Tom DeFalco and artist Ron Frenz established that the costume was a sentient alien symbiote that was vulnerable to both fire and high sonic energy. It was in that storyline that the costume would envelop Peter Parker while he slept, and go out at night to fight crime, leaving Parker inexplicably exhausted in the morning. Parker had the costume examined by Reed Richards, who discovered that it was alive, and when Parker realized it was trying to permanently bond to Parker's body, he rejected it, and it was subsequently contained by the Fantastic Four. The symbiote escaped and bonded again to Parker, who used sound waves from a cathedral's church bell to repel it. But the symbiote had grown an emotional attachment to Peter, so he willingly left Peter's unconscious body and moved him to safety before disappearing.
In the 2018 "Go Down Swinging" storyline, Norman Osborn is bonded to the Carnage symbiote, and Spider-Man rebonds to the Venom symbiote in an attempt to stop Osborn, now calling himself "Red Goblin", while forgiving both Eddie and Venom for the past conflicts. During the ensuing battle, Osborn mortally injures Flash Thompson, but the conflict ends with the two symbiotes detaching from the two human hosts.
Eddie Brock.
David Michelinie would later write the backstory of Eddie Brock as the alien's new host that would become the villain Venom, using the events of Peter David's 1985 "Sin Eater" storyline in "The Spectacular Spider-Man" as a basis for Brock's origin. According to artist Ron Frenz, in Michelinie's original plot for Venom's first appearance, he conceived the villain as a large, muscular figure, whose manifestation of the alien costume would include the appearance of a mouth. In an interview with Tom DeFalco, artist Todd McFarlane also corroborates that Michelinie did indeed come up with the idea of Venom and the description of him as "a big guy in the black costume", while he, McFarlane, devised the villain's monstrous features. Venom's existence was first indicated in "Web of Spider-Man" #18 (September 1986), by Michelenie and artist Marc Silvestri, which shows character shoving Peter Parker in front of a subway train without Parker's spider-sense warning him, though only Brock's hand is seen on-panel. The next indication of Venom's existence was in "Web of Spider-Man" #24 (March 1987), by Michelinie and Del Barras. In that issue, when Parker climbs out of a high story window to change into Spider-Man, but finds a black arm coming through the window and grabbing him, again without being warned by his spider-sense. Michelinie took over as write on "The Amazing Spider-Man". He was subsequently joined on that book by artist Todd McFarlane with issue 298 (March 1988), in which Venom appears in shadow. Venom made his cameo appearance on the last page of "The Amazing Spider-Man" #299 (April 1988), in which he terrorizes Parker's wife, Mary Jane Watson. Michelinie's script for that page reads as follows:
The villain then made his first full-issue appearance in "The Amazing Spider-Man" #300 (May 1988). in which he is confronted by Spider-Man, and reveals that he was a "Daily Globe" reporter named Eddie Brock, who worked on the Sin-Eater case, and that his career was ruined when it was discovered that the man Brock announced as the Sin-Eater was a compulsive confessor. Forced to eke out a living writing lurid stories for venomous tabloids, Brock blamed Spider-Man for his predicament. He took up bodybuilding to reduce stress. It failed to do so, and Brock sank into a suicidal depression. Seeking solace at the church where Spider-Man repelled the symbiote, the symbiote—sensing Brock's hatred for Spider-Man—bonded with the disgraced reporter. Brock took on the name Venom in reference to the sensationalistic material he was forced to traffic in following his fall from grace.
Over the years, as the symbiote gained more intelligence and moved to additional human hosts, the name began to apply to the symbiote as well as its hosts. As Venom, Brock fights Spider-Man many times, winning on several occasions. Venom repeatedly tries to kill Peter Parker/Spider-Man—both when the latter was in and out of costume. Thus Parker is forced to abandon his "black costume", which the symbiote had been mimicking, after Venom confronts Parker's wife Mary Jane.
Venom escapes from the supervillain prison, The Vault, to torment Spider-Man and his family. The symbiote is finally rendered comatose after being subdued by Styx's plague virus, and Eddie Brock is subsequently placed in Ryker's Island Prison. When the symbiote recovers and returns to free Brock, it leaves a spawn to bond with Brock's psychotic serial-killer cellmate Cletus Kasady, who becomes Carnage. Meanwhile, Venom and Spider-Man fight on a deserted island, and Spider-Man strands Venom there after faking his own death. Soon after, however, Spider-Man brings Venom back to New York City to stop Carnage's killing spree. After being incarcerated once again, Venom is used to create five new symbiotes, which are all paired with human hosts.
As well as helping Eddie Brock to seek continued revenge against Spider-Man, the symbiote also aids Brock in a sporadic career as a vigilante. From February to July 1993, a solo Venom series, "", ran for six issues. "Venom: Lethal Predator" notably marked in a significant change in Venom's comic book role, as he would now become more of an antihero vigilante figure. He and the symbiote occasionally share a desire to protect innocent people from harm, even if it means working side by side with the hated Spider-Man. This is especially true when Venom combats the entity he believes to be his spawn, Carnage. When Spider-Man helps Venom save Brock's ex-wife Anne Weying, the two form a temporary truce, though this falls apart after Weying's suicide.
The symbiote is temporarily stolen by U.S. Senator Steward Ward, who hopes to better understand his own alien infection by researching the symbiote before it returns to Brock. Now, however, it "dominates" its host, Brock, rather than vice versa. Eventually, Eddie Brock and the symbiote go their separate ways as the symbiote grows tired of having a diseased host and Eddie rejects its growing bloodlust, leading him to sell the symbiote at a super villain auction.
The creature that would become Venom was born in the 998th generation to a race of extraterrestrial symbiotes, which lived by possessing the bodies of other life-forms. The parasites would endow their victims with enhanced physical abilities, at the cost of fatally draining them of adrenaline. According to the 1995 "Planet of the symbiotes" storyline, the Venom symbiote, after separated from its first host, was deemed insane by its own race after it was discovered that it desired to commit to its host rather than use it up. The symbiote was then imprisoned on Battleworld to ensure it did not pollute the species' gene pool.
The symbiote bonds with its new host, Lee Price, launching volume 3 of the "Venom" comic book series. The series ran for six issues total (Nov. 2016 – April 2017). Eddie Brock is able to regain the Venom symbiote at the conclusion of the series, returning the "Venom" comic book title to volume 1 with issue #150.
Scorpion (Mac Gargan).
The Venom symbiote approached Mac Gargan, the villain formerly known as Scorpion, and offered him new abilities as the second Venom. Gargan bonded with the creature, which would later give him an extra edge as part of Norman Osborn's Sinister Twelve. As the Avengers dealt with the rest of the Twelve, Spider-Man swiftly defeated Gargan, even with these additional powers, which Spider-Man suggests is attributed to the fact that Mac Gargan does not hate Spider-Man as much as Eddie Brock did.
Gargan later became a member of a sub-group of the Thunderbolts, which was drafted by the Avengers to hunt down the members of the fugitive New Avengers. It was then revealed that he had been outfitted with electrical implants by the government to keep the symbiote in check.
When in the Venom persona, Gargan retained very little of his original personality and was controlled almost completely by the symbiote, which drove him to cannibalism. When the symbiote was dormant in his body, he expressed nausea and fear of the organism. During a fight with "Anti-Venom" (Eddie Brock), he and his symbiote were separated, and the Venom symbiote was nearly destroyed. Blobs of it still existed in his bloodstream, however, so Osborn injected Gargan with a vaccine for Anti-Venom's healing powers, which restored the symbiote by causing the remaining pieces of it to expand rapidly. Gargan dons a Scorpion battle armor over the symbiote while it heals, causing him to become what Spider-Man calls "Ven-orpion" although when the symbiote is fully restored it shatters the armor.
After ingesting a chemical given to him by Norman Osborn, Venom transforms into a more human appearance similar to the Black-Suited Spider-Man. Osborn introduces him as The Amazing Spider-Man, a member of the Dark Avengers, while unveiling the team. After the Siege of Asgard, Gargan and most of the Dark Avengers were taken into custody. While being held on the Raft, the Venom symbiote was forcefully removed from him, ending his run as Venom.
Flash Thompson.
On December 9, 2010, Marvel Comics announced a new "black ops" Venom owned by the government. This new Venom was featured in a new series called "Venom" in March 2011. The birth of the new Venom can be seen in "The Amazing Spider-Man" #654 in February 2011. On January 28, 2011, the identity of "black ops" Venom was revealed to be Flash Thompson. Flash is hired by the government to be a special agent wearing the Venom symbiote as part of Project Rebirth. Flash is only allowed to wear the suit for up to 48 hours, or risk a permanent bonding with the symbiote. Along with the alien, Flash is equipped with a "Multi-Gun" designed to change into any type of gun Flash needs. The Government is also equipped with a "kill switch" designed to take Flash out if he loses control. Flash rejects the kill switch and later joins the Secret Avengers, Thunderbolts, Guardians of the Galaxy, and even becomes appointed by the Klyntar a Space Knight.
Lee Price.
Lee Price first appeared in "Venom" vol. 3 #1.
After being separated from Flash Thompson through unspecified means, the Venom symbiote happens upon a black market deal between Black Cat's gang and Tombstone's gang. He resorts to bonding with one of the men present, a discharged Army Ranger named Lee Price who was with Scorpion as part of Black Cat's gang. The weakened symbiote pleads with Price, attempting to convince him to become a hero like Thompson. Price ignores and overpowers it, intent on using it for personal gain as a new, wholly villainous Venom.
Lee Price makes his way to Black Cat's hideout where Scorpion accuses him of botching the black market sale by causing the shoot-out. After having to keep the Venom symbiote from attacking Black Cat, Lee Price takes his leave from Black Cat's lair as Scorpion gets suspicious towards Lee. His departure is seen by some FBI Agents. Lee Price later gets attacked by Tombstone's minion Firebug. Upon defeating Firebug, an FBI Agent with a bazooka appears telling Lee Price that he is under arrest.
Lee Price eventually loses the symbiote when Eddie Brock and Spider-Man take him down and he is arrested by the NYPD.
While incarcerated at the New York Corrections Supermax Facility for Superhuman Incarceration, Lee Price is feared by most of the inmates and he even defeats three inmates in the prison's cafeteria when they try to kill him to boost their reputation. Lee swears to get out, reclaim the Venom symbiote, and plan revenge on those who have wronged him. Lee Price is later visited by his lawyer who tells him that two of the inmates he defeated had died in the infirmary and that Venom has resurfaced upon it being revealed in the news. At the courthouse, Lee Price's lawyer stated that Lee's actions as Venom were caused by the Venom symbiote while the opposing lawyer mentions about Venom still being at large. The judge then asked for some evidence to help with the trial. After the trial, Lee Price is released from prison and begins his plans to reclaim the Venom symbiote and take revenge on those who have wronged him.
In "Venom Inc.", Lee Price steals the Mania symbiote from Andy and becomes Maniac. He uses the symbiote to infect the crime bosses and become a criminal kingpin, but he is defeated by Spider-Man, Venom, Black Cat and Agent Anti-Venom.
When Cletus Kasady was collecting the codex left in the bodies of previous hosts, he disguised himself as Eddie and went to jail where he killed Lee after ripping the Maniac symbiote off him, while framing Eddie for the murder.
Tel-Kar.
Tel-Kar first appeared in "Venom: First Host" #1.
During the Kree-Skrull War, the Kree, desiring to replicate the Skrull's shape-shifting abilities, they obtain the newborn Venom, which had been outcast from the other symbiotes, on Gorr's planet where Knull had created the symbiotes. Tel-Kar is recruited to be bonded to the newborn symbiote to infiltrate the Skrull army. Tel-Kar's body is biologically altered so he can have full control over the symbiote's mind to the point of erasing its memories. He successfully infiltrated the Skrull army discovering various secrets. However he blew his cover up to save some Kree refugees and handed the symbiote to them to return it to Hala. Then Tel-Kar was betrayed by Ronan the Accuser who used a Kree Sentry to capture Tel-Kar and was given to the Skrulls as a war criminal. Separated from Tel-Kar after his capture, the symbiote goes on to be bonded to Spider-Man.
Tel-Kar escapes the Skrulls and wanders through the Galaxy thinking that the War is still going on, until he hears of an agent from Earth called Flash Thompson with a black symbiote suit. Recognizing it as his symbiote, he goes to Earth to find it. Eddie Brock arrives with the symbiote and saves Tel-Kar from the Warbride Skrull M'Lanz, who had followed him. Angered by Venom's refusal to return to him, Tel-Kar threatens to bond to Venom's latest offspring and turn it into a monster. Acceding to Tel-Kar, Venom reunites with him and they go to a Skrull research base to get a Skrull bioweapon. Simultaneously, Eddie is bonded to the offspring calling itself Sleeper and allies with M'Lanz to stop Tel-Kar. During the ensuing battle, Tel-Kar concludes that he does not need Venom anymore and uses an electrified spear to detach himself from it while scarring himself in the process. Later he is betrayed by the Kree Empire while Eddie escapes with Venom and M'Lanz with Sleeper. Tel-Kar, now furious, attempts to release the bioweapon on Earth to kill all humanity, but Sleeper bonds to Tel-Kar and lobotomizes him as punishment for what he did to Venom and Eddie. Sleeper, now with Tel-Kar's body, wishes Eddie farewell and goes on to explore the universe.
Malekith.
During the "War of the Realms" event, after Venom was separated from Eddie, the symbiote, in its humanoid form, joined the War Avengers (composed of Captain Marvel, Deadpool, Sif, Winter Soldier, Weapon H, Black Widow, and Captain Britain) to fight off Malekith's invasion. However, upon fighting Malekith, the Dark Elf with the use of the Ebony Blade, teleported away along with Venom. Since Malekith was aware of Knull and Gorr's All-Black the Necrosword, he tortured the symbiote and turned it into his own weapon similar to All-Black to use it against the Asgardians. During the end of the event, Malekith enhanced the symbiote with his dark magic and bonded the symbiote to his various acolytes, turning them into the Spider-Elves. After the Thor Corps arrived, which consisted of Thor, King Thor, Young Odinson and Jane Foster, Malekith using the Venom Blade/Symbio Sword, covered one of Thor's hammers with the symbiote and declared himself the Butcher of Thor. However, he was defeated and the symbiote was ultimately free from Malekith's control.
Other hosts.
Aside from the aforementioned hosts, there have been other, shorter term hosts for the Venom symbiote.
Scarlet Spider (Ben Reilly).
In the "Planet of the Symbiotes" storyline, the symbiote was rejected by Eddie, causing it to release a powerful scream that attracts the other symbiotes to Earth. Subsequently, the symbiote sees Scarlet Spider, (Ben Reilly) and takes the form of his hooded top attempting to bond to Ben mistaking him for Spider-Man but failed owing to Ben's strong will. When it was later discovered by Brock and Peter Parker, the symbiote returned to Eddie.
Anne Weying.
Anne Weying first appears in "The Amazing Spider-Man" #375. She is Eddie Brock's ex-wife and a successful lawyer. Weying assists Spider-Man by sharing some of Brock's history. Later, she follows Spider-Man to the amusement park where Venom had Peter's (fake) parents. She confronts Brock and manages to convince him to end his feud. After Sin-Eater shoots Ann as part of a crusade against social injustice, Ann becomes She-Venom when the Venom symbiote temporarily bonds with her to save her life. She-Venom lashes out against the men who had hurt her, and Brock becomes afraid for her (and of her) and compels the symbiote to return to him. Ann is left distraught at her actions while bonded. Later Ann is arrested on a false charge as part of a trap for Venom. She manages to warn Brock who sends the symbiote to her, allowing her to become She-Venom and escape custody. Some time later, Ann, traumatized by her experiences with Venom and the symbiote, commits suicide after seeing Spider-Man pass by her window in a black costume, believing it is Brock returning for her.
Patricia Robertson.
The story follows U.S. Army communication specialist Patricia Robertson. During a supply run to an Ararat Corporation owned outpost she discovers everyone at the installation dead except for one scientist. It is revealed that the Ararat Corporation is run by an alien colony of miniature spider robots led by an entity named Bob, that have infiltrated the American government. The Ararat Corporation has cloned Venom to facilitate the extermination of humanity, but the clone ravages its hosts. The clone is responsible for the death of the outpost crew.
Robertson finds an ally in the Suit, a mysterious individual made of the same miniature robots as Bob, revealed to have been accidentally brought to Earth by Reed Richards. The Suit modifies Robertson while she is unconscious to allow her to control the clone if it bonds with her. The Suit sabotages Wolverine, the clones favored host, forcing it to bond with Robertson. One of Bob's agents convinces Robertston to kill the real Venom to save humanity, causing her to free the incarcerated Venom. She and Venom fight, but Venom escapes. Bob remotely deactivates the technology allowing Robertson to control the clone forcing her to rely on willpower. Later, Robertson and Venom again fight, and Venom absorbs the clone. Venom decides to carry out the clone's mission given to it by the Ararat corporation. The series did not continue and the plot remained unresolved as of 2012. The Venom symbiote would later regurgitate and expel the clone from its body, allowing it to bond with a teenager named Andrea "Andi" Benton. Taking the name Mania, Benton became Agent Venom's partner for a time.
Angelo Fortunato.
Angelo Fortunato first appeared in "Marvel Knights Spider-Man" #7 created by Mark Millar and Terry Dodson. Angelo is the son of Don Fortunato, a prominent Mafia capo. His frail physique and shy attitude leave Angelo frequently bullied and humiliated by his father, who attends a supervillain auction and purchases the Venom symbiote from a sickly Brock for $100 million. Brock warns Angelo of the symbiote, but Angelo rebuffs him, saying that he has nothing to lose. After bonding with the symbiote, Angelo discovers the secret identity of Spider-Man, and attempts to kill him to prove his worth. Spider-Man ultimately defeats Angelo and when he tries to escape, the symbiote abandons Angelo for his cowardice while he is leaping between buildings, leaving him to fall to his death. Spider-Man tried to save him, but he ran out of webs.
Kulan Gath.
In the 2008 "Spider-Man / Red Sonja" miniseries, where Spider-Man and Red Sonja, possessing the body of Mary Jane, fought the evil wizard Kulan Gath, who had possessed a U.S. senator, Kulan detached the symbiote from Eddie and bonded to it, becoming Kulan Venom. Luckily, the symbiote returned to Eddie, following the defeat of Kulan.
Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers).
During the "Siege", Mac Gargan with the symbiote was fighting Spider-Man and Ms. Marvel. When they separated Mac from Venom, the symbiote briefly bonded to Carol and started flying away. But Carol gathered her powers and detached from the symbiote which rebonded to Mac.
Red Hulk (Thunderbolt Ross).
During the "Circle of Four" storyline, when Red Hulk came crashing into Flash's apartment so he can recruit him, the symbiote sensing Red Hulk as a danger, briefly bonds to him so he does not do any harm to Flash. Then when Red Hulk calms down, the symbiote returns to Flash. During the fight against Blackheart, Hulk bonded again with the symbiote along with Zarathos to prevent Hell from coming to Earth.
Superior Spider-Man (Otto Octavius).
When Flash Thompson with the symbiote was infiltrating into the Crime Master's men, Superior Spider-Man came attacking the criminals who was then confronted by Agent Venom. Doc Ock, thinking that Venom was still evil, attacked Flash with Web Shooters filled with burner fuel and in the process injured Flash. While Flash was recovering, Superior Spider-Man put the symbiote in a canister and gave Flash a pair of prosthetic legs. Then the symbiote broke out and, instead of bonding to Flash, bonded to Superior Spider-Man, as it was still connected to Peter's body. After bonding to the symbiote, Otto called himself the Superior Venom and went solving crime in a much more brutal way. Then Mary Jane called the Avengers to stop the Superior Venom. But the Avengers proved to be no match to Superior Venom since he had the abilities of Spider-Man, powered by Venom, with the mind of Doctor Octopus. In the fight Otto realizes that the symbiote was messing with his head and with the help of Peter's consciousness and Flash's (who had arrived in an Iron Man suit) he separated himself from Venom which returned to Flash.
Groot, Rocket Raccoon and Drax.
When Flash was part of the Guardians of the Galaxy he got separated from the symbiote and his teammates decided to send him to Earth. While traveling, Groot accidentally bonds to the symbiote and started attacking the others. Rocket tried to save his friend, but the symbiote left Groot and bonded to him. He then tried to convince them to leave the ship, but Drax grabbed Rocket by the tail and started bashing him against the wall until the symbiote bonded to Drax and defeated the whole team. The symbiote possessed Drax took control of the ship and went to a planet formed from symbiotes named Klyntar (later revealed to be Knull's cage) where the symbiote was purified and bonded to Flash.
Mercurio the 4-D Man.
Agent Venom as Venom Space Knight foils the Gramosian's attempts to steal resources from the home planets of the P'qui and the Wugin, and to acquire chemical weapons derived from the blood of kidnapped Vvexians.
Mercurio forces a Ruu'lto named Pik Rollo, whose child he is holding hostage, to try and assassinate Agent Venom, but Rollo instead betrays Mercurio, and joins forces with Venom. When the two lay siege to Mercurio's headquarters, he incapacitates and imprisons them, and separates the Venom symbiote from Flash Thompson. Sensing the symbiote's suppressed bloodlust, Mercurio attempts to convince it to join him, but it instead frees and returns to Thompson. The reformed Agent Venom and his allies proceed to dismantle Mercurio's forces, but Mercurio himself escapes, and swears vengeance on both the symbiote and Thompson.
A bout of temporary insanity that the Venom symbiote subsequently experiences is eventually discerned to have been caused by its brief fusion with Mercurio, whose evil had undone the mental "cleansing" that the creature had earlier undergone.
Mysterio (Quentin Beck).
In the mini-series "Symbiote Spider-Man" (set during the period when Spider-Man was still bonded to the symbiote), Mysterio blackmailed Black Cat into stealing a piece of Spider-Man's suit for him. When he had his friend, Jonathan Ohnn, a scientist working for the Kingpin, examine the piece, the symbiote controlling Peter's body came to retrieve it, however, after clashing with the Kingpin's men, was unable to find it and fled. The severed piece of symbiote bonded to Mysterio, allowing him to escape from the Kingpin's interrogation. He then went after Spider-Man to steal the suit and use it for himself.
Powers and abilities.
Though it requires a living host to survive, the Venom symbiote is adept at fending for itself independent of a host. The symbiote is capable of shapeshifting abilities, including the ability to form spikes or expand its size, as well as mimic the appearance of other humanoids after it has obtained a host. The organism can additionally use its shape-shifting abilities to conceal itself by altering its coloration or by becoming completely invisible. It also contains a small "dimensional aperture", allowing its hosts to carry items without adding mass to the costume. The symbiote also exhibits telepathic abilities, primarily when it needs to communicate with its host, possibly also technopathy as it is able to summon a flying device to help it escape from the Baxter Building.
Because of its contact with Spider-Man, the symbiote grants all of its subsequent hosts that hero's powers and cannot be detected by his spider-sense. As Spider-Man's fighting style is partly dependent on his spider-sense, his effectiveness was somewhat hampered when he battled Eddie Brock. Retaining its memory from the time it was bonded with Spider-Man, Venom is also capable of producing webbing similar to Spider-Man's variety created from its biomass.
The symbiote greatly enhances the physical strength of those it bonds with. Its hosts experience a vastly larger size and musculature. The symbiote displays non-human teeth, which are very sharp, and commonly protrude a long, prehensile tongue from its mouth. Venom is depicted as being physically much bigger than Spider-Man, as well as having more brute strength.
Venom exhibits some immunities to the supernatural powers of others such as the Penance Stare of Ghost Rider or Spider-Man's extrasensory spider-sense.
Some incarnations of the Venom symbiote have shown it able to replicate itself. This ability is shown in the 2005–2006 miniseries "" when Venom recreates his symbiote to combat his loneliness.
The Venom symbiote is vulnerable to fire and sonic waves, causing it great pain and exhaustion if it sustains enough exposure. It can sense and track all of its offspring symbiotes except Carnage, who learned how to block this ability shortly after bonding with Cletus Kasady and confronting Venom/Eddie Brock for the first time.
The Venom symbiote is shown to form giant web-like dragon wings when it was in contact with Knull.
Other versions.
Prime Earth (Earth-616).
Earth-616 is the mainstream Marvel Comics continuity. While the Venom symbiote has had numerous hosts in this reality, there have also been several alternate versions of the character, who are not the same as the original symbiote.
Venomized Galactus.
In "Web of Spider-Man #90", when Spider-Man was fighting Mysterio, Mysterio created an illusion of Galactus bonded to the Venom symbiote to mess with Spider-Man's mind.
Exomorph Rhino.
Mattie Franklin encounters an Exomorph with the powers and amalgamated appearance of Venom, Doctor Octopus and Rhino.
Venom symbiote virus.
When Doctor Doom obtained a sample of the Venom symbiote, he created a virus-like symbiote bio-weapon or "Venom Bomb." The virus was accidentally unleashed upon New York, and bonded to various New Yorkers and heroes including: Spider-Man, Veranke (at the time impersonating the Jessica Drew version of Spider-Woman), Wasp, Black Widow, Wolverine, Doctor Strange and Hawkeye. Iron Man eventually finds a cure and frees everyone from the symbiotes.
Sinister Six Super-Skrull.
A Super-Skrull with the powers of the Lizard, Rhino, Electro, Hydro-Man, Sandman, and Venom appears in "Secret Invasion" attacking the Daily Bugle. He was later defeated by Jackpot.
Spider-Man's second symbiote.
When Spider-Man with his class from Jean Grey's school went to S.W.O.R.D. satellite station, the satellite was attacked by a swarm of Broods bonded to symbiotes. To stop the symbiote infected Broods, Spider-Man bonded to one of the symbiotes with the help of No-Girl to keep the symbiote from taking over. The symbiote was eventually ejected into space.
Spider-Man's third symbiote.
During the "Venomized" storyline, where the Poisons tried to invade with the kidnapped symbiotes which have been modified to be undetachable from the hosts. Spider-Man along with the other Heroes got forcibly bonded to the symbiotes by the Poisons and after the defeat of the Poison Queen, Alchemax employer Professor Steve helps remove the symbiotes from the heroes and are returned to Klyntar.
Magic Venom.
After Eddie Brock was separated from Venom, Eddie and his son Dylan find themselves in the middle of Malekith's invasion. Dark Elves are on every street corner, attacking everyone they can get their hands on. But even without a suit, Eddie cannot let innocent people fall prey to the Dark Elves. With nothing but his fists, he challenges Malekith's forces. Obviously, his efforts, raw strength and heroism is enough to attract the attention of one of Malekith's War Witches, who approaches Eddie with a dangerous gift, a Dreamstone, which brings life to dreams and desires. Seeing a golden opportunity to become a weapon and lethal protector once more, Eddie takes the stone, which grants him his wish. He creates an artificial symbiote similar to Venom, but much taller and thinner, almost ghoulish-looking with spikes that cover large portions of his body and razor-sharp claws. Eddie also realizes that this murderous creature has no mind of its own.
"100th Anniversary Special Spider-Man".
In the alternate universe of Earth-TRN421, in the year 2061, after Wilson Fisk killed Eddie Brock in a confrontation, he got the symbiote and modified it giving it the ability to travel through technology. Then Kingpin after being bonded to the symbiote, started chasing Peter so he could finally kill Spider-Man once and for all. In the end Peter directed Kingpin in the woods and in an intense battle Peter used his torch to separate Kingpin from Venom and after that he burned the symbiote for good.
"A-Babies vs. X-Babies".
A toddler version of Eddie Brock as Venom was a member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.
"Apocalypse Wars".
In the "Extraordinary X-Men" crossover Apocalypse Wars, Venom is one of the Horsemen of Apocalypse. He briefly absorbs Old Man Logan, until Jean Grey expels him.
"Circle of Four".
In this alternate take of the "Circle of Four" storyline, the symbiote was physically and mentally bonded to Flash, becoming a human/symbiote hybrid. After Captain America offered Flash a place in the Avengers, Spider-Man gave up his superhero identity giving it Flash, who became the new Spider-Man and rekindled his relationship with Betty Brant. However, the Green Goblin found out about Flash's identity and murdered Betty, making Venom to swear to kill Green Goblin.
"Contest of Champions".
An alternate version of Eddie Brock appears as Venom in the 2015 "Contest of Champions" miniseries as one of the Grandmaster's champions. This version killed his version of Spider-Man and wears his costume as a cape, though Eddie is often haunted by Peter Parker's voice in his head. He is eventually killed by Punisher 2099 with a disintegration gun in the same place where the Sentry and Stick were seemingly killed. The symbiote fuses with the Sentry and Void's remains and turned into some Void/symbiote hybrids named Symbioids. When Stick reveals his survival, he merges their energies to resurrect the Sentry.
"Dark Avengers".
The Venom symbiote of this reality had been captured and was kept in a test tube in one of Iron Man's labs. Dr. Hank Pym had experimented on the symbiote to find a way to adapt it for use to outfit Stark's new armors with, however these experiments had destroyed what conscious it had left but it was still able to retain its biological properties of replacing missing limbs. During the period where Stark held the Dark Avengers, June Covington telepathically manipulated Pym into helping her restore her teammates to fight. They took the symbiote and used it to replace John Walker's missing arm and leg allowing him to become U.S.Agent once again.
"Dark Reign: Fantastic Four".
In "", everyone is transported in a reality where Reed Richards had become the Supreme Intelligence. In this reality, the Venom symbiote had multiplied and had bonded to an entire regime of Skrulls, who had been killing various Reeds, Johnnys and Bens, but not Susans.
"Deadpool Kills The Marvel Universe Again".
When Deadpool's mind got brainwashed, he killed Eddie Brock and wore the symbiote. He thought that he, alongside Spider-Man were eating together to win a pie eating competition against the Blob, where in reality he was using the symbiote to eat Spider-Man. The Venom symbiote then leaves Deadpool since he got his revenge on Spider-Man.
Earth-617.
In the alternate reality of Earth-617, Gwen Stacy encountered Spider-Gwen, leading her to avoid her death. Following the example of Spider-Gwen, she became an excellent detective and after bonding to this universe's Venom, they became Spider-Woman.
Earth X.
In the alternative future of the "Earth X" limited series, after Peter forcibly removed the symbiote from himself, the symbiote wanted to get revenge on Peter by turning his daughter against him, after leaving Eddie Brock. This backfire as May "Mayday" Parker was able to fully control and communicate with the symbiote. Mayday with the symbiote became a crime fighter heroine much to Peter's dismay. When the Skull tried to overtake the US, May tried to fight, but she instead fell under Skull's mind control. Peter eventually returned as Spider-Man to save his daughter. Then she helps her father to fight the villainous Spiders Man who had trapped Peter in web of illusions. She is later recruited by Kang the Conqueror as part of a scheme against the Apocalypse Twins and the Avengers Unity Squad. She then reappeared during the "Spider-Verse" event.
"House of M".
In "House of M", an actor portrays Venom in "Spider-Man: the Final Chapter".
MC2.
In "Spider-Girl", the Venom symbiote was separated from Eddie Brock and remained trapped in containment for more than a decade. After being free, attempts to re-bond with Peter Parker to become Spider-Venom and makes him to kill his own family, but gets separated by Spider-Girl and Phil Urich as the heroic Green Goblin. Then is forcefully bonded to Spider-Girl's friend Normie Osborn III, the grandson of the original Green Goblin, by Goblin Queen. It takes control of Normie, but when it also attempts to absorb Spider-Girl, their combined force of will defeats the creature. Instead of destroying it, Normie keeps the symbiote and allows it to bond with him, purging the symbiote of its violent and aggressive emotions. When Normie is in control he resembles as Spider-Man's classic black suit with four additional arms resembling Six-armed Spider-Man and briefly calling themselves Dusk, since Venom was the name between Eddie Brock and the symbiote. He then joins Kaine's team of reformed villains. In "Spider-Girl" #100, Normie transfers the symbiote to a critically injured Spider-Girl so it can heal and save her. The symbiote later sacrifices itself to save Spider-Girl's life by confronting a sonic weapon-armed Hobgoblin. The Venom symbiote removed all of Normie's tattoos and scars from his suicides attempts as it died, as a parting gift. Then Normie confirms that the symbiote is dead.
Mayhem (April Parker).
Publication history.
Mayhem first appeared in "Amazing Spider-Girl" #20 and subsequently appeared in "Spectacular Spider-Girl", with her final appearance being in "Spider-Girl: The End".
Fictional character biography.
It is revealed that, while still bonded to Eddie Brock, some of the symbiote's genetic material had been taken by Norman Osborn and combined with a clone of May to make a Human/Symbiote hybrid. She was discovered by Normie Osborn, who revealed to Peter Parker that the clone may be the original Mayday Parker, as Norman had written letters hinting to this fact. After a failed attempt to get the answers from Élan DeJunae, Normie was attacked by the hybrid who managed to escape. She then stalks the original May to her school to replace her, starting the Clone Saga. She accidentally threw herself down the school stairwell, allowing the familiar May to escape by leaping off the building. May changed into Spider-Girl, but New May on her way to assist the X-People in containing Sara Hingle's powers. The hybrid intercepted May on her way and tried to tackle her. May saved them both from falling to the street, and, after a brief fight May saved her double again and, proving a major difference between the two Mays as Spider-Girl does not kill her enemies, but the hybrid was more ruthless. When arguing about who the real May, Kaine comments "Are you saying clones aren't real?"
After being "absorbed" into the aged Peter Parker, the original Green Goblin—Norman Osborn takes over Peter's mind, but, in an attempt to become invincible, Osborn combines himself with the Hybrid, Spider-Man, and accidentally Spider-Girl, when she dives in to save her father. After Osborn makes Spider-Man view his worst moments, Spider-Girl's memory overrides Osborn's power, and she was able to convince the Hybrid to fight Osborn together, and so force everyone out of Peter's body; destroying Osborn in the process.
After that, May proposed to the hybrid to join the Parker Family as May always wanted to have a sister, despite Peter being against the idea. The hybrid named herself "April Parker" and went on to live with the real Spider-Girl's family (her baby brother, Mary Jane, and Peter) and starts to go school where she befriends May's friends especially Gene Thompson, Flash Thompson's son. She becomes a partner to Spider-Girl and helps her fight crime and even saves Peter from the Goblin Queen with the help of Phil Urich.
Despite trying to a hero, she was more ruthless than May as seen when she killed Hobgoblin, Tombstone and nearly killing Black Tarantula, due for being hired to do so.
In a later timeline, Mayhem feeling jealousy towards May, she tries to make her accept that she was the clone and start fighting, however she accidentally kills the real Spider-Girl. Feeling guilty for what she has done she impersonates May and became a murderous vigilante, eventually killing the hero American Dream. In an attempt to stop her, the military used pieces of the dead Carnage symbiote to create the Bio-Predators. However the Biopreds take over their hosts and start killing and bonding to thousands of humans around the world, decimating the world and its defenders. Mayhem, seeing the error of her ways, with the help of Cassie Lang goes back in time using Doctor Doom's time machine. However, she materialized inside a wall. She implanted her memories into her younger self, before dying and the present April sacrifices herself to save Spider-Girl, ensuring the events that led to the Biopreds' creation never occurred. She is presumed dead, but Peter assures May that clones always come back.
Powers and abilities.
Due to being a Symbiote/Human hybrid and clone of Mayday Parker, she has all the powers of her predecessors, Venom and Spider-Girl. However, due to her half-symbiote nature, she is also immune to the symbiotes' classic weaknesses.
Other versions.
In a reality imagined by Phil Urich where Spider-Girl did not exist, the Venom symbiote fully bonded to Peter, permanently becoming Spider-Venom. This versions would later appear along with the Spider-Army during "Spider-Verse".
Mangaverse.
In the Marvel Mangaverse continuity, Venom is a normal man, the son of May and her first husband, Shinji, and a former member of the Spider-Clan. Venom's skin is black due to the poisoned arrows throwed by the Shadow-Clan, which killed his father. His spider symbol is white, and also much larger than Spider-Man's.
Venom is responsible for the murder of most of Spider-Clan and Peter's Uncle Ben, Venom's stepfather in the Mangaverse, at the command of New York's Kingpin of Crime. Peter defeats him and spares his life. Venom later usurps Kingpin for control over New York's ninja criminal gangs.
Separately, the Venom symbiote appears as a black liquid that is released from a cursed amulet, which was given to Peter by Black Cat. The symbiote draws energy from the amulet's wearer, which can be fatal after prolonged exposure. The wearer's strength and agility are increased, and his or her ability to control their own violent urges is reduced. When Peter Parker becomes possessed by the evil amulet, removing it leaves him near death.
Venom captures the amulet and chooses to sacrifice his own life to force it to save Peter, repaying the debt he owes for Peter sparing his life. This act revitalizes Peter, but leaves Venom nothing but a skeleton. The amulet, containing Venom's life force, is used to heal the crippled Kingpin.
In the "Legend of the Spider-Clan" one-shot story "Elemental Evil", Venom inexplicably reappears in the mountain-top home of the Spider-Clan, alive and whole, his skin now a dark blue. He also gained new powers, including a pair of vicious jaws and a long drooling tongue, bringing him closer in appearance to his Earth-616 counterpart. Despite their history, Peter agrees that Venom will teach the ways of the Spider-Clan and the use of his powers to Peter. Venom and the rest of the new Spider-Clan aid in training Peter to become more powerful, tapping into the mystical side of his spider abilities. In the end, Peter discovers that the group is run by Peter's biological mother, who ordered the death of Aunt May to rid him of emotional attachments. As a result, Peter refuses to take his place as leader, rejecting the clan. Venom is awarded with rulership over the Spider-Clan. No reason is given for Venom's resurrection or his new powers, but when asked about it, Venom only said "I was lucky".
During the "Spider-Verse" event, Venom becomes aware about conflict between various Spider-Man and the Inheritors and fearing that the presence of Peter in the temple will attract the conflict to the clan, he tries to stop Peter and willing to kill him, but only to be stopped by the Spider-Army.
Other versions.
An alternate version of Venom appears in "Spider-Man Family Featuring Spider-Clan" #1, where he and Peter's mother Kiri are the leaders of the Spider-Clan, which consist of Sandman/Earth, Jack O'Lantern/Fire, a female Hydro-Man/Water, an old man version of Cyclone/Wind, Green Goblin, Hobgoblin, Kraven, Rhino, Scorpion and Vulture.
Marvel 2099.
In Marvel 2099, there have been different hosts for the 2099 version of Venom:
Kron Stone.
Kron Stone is the older half-brother of Spider-Man 2099 (Miguel O'Hara), having the same father: Tyler Stone. As a child, Kron was continually abused by the android housekeeper which mistook him for a dog, and as a result he later became a bully, taking enjoyment in other people's pain. The relationship between the two brothers is so conflicted that Miguel tried to kill Kron at one point. In his introduction, Stone ordered Jake Gallows' family to be killed. Gallows found Stone and fatally wounded him with a knife as revenge, before dumping his body into the sewer. As Kron laid dying in the sewer, his body brushed up against a black ball. The ball then bonded to him and formed a new Venom. The symbiote was described as having mutated over the years, and displayed new abilities in this timeline, including acidic blood and saliva. With this new power, Stone sought to emotionally torture Miguel—whom Kron never discovered was his half-brother—by hurting those close to him, going so far as to kill Miguel's former love Dana—who was also Tyler's lover. After a fight between Spider-Man and Venom, the former emerged as the victor, using loud speakers to neutralize Venom, who was subsequently taken to the lab for study. It was revealed that the symbiote bonded with Kron on a molecular level, giving Kron an amorphous physiology that allowed his body to take on the properties of the symbiote itself.
Later, after the symbiote was separated from Kron, it merged with Roman the Sub-Mariner, the son of Namor, who fled to the ocean and is never seen again. It was later shown that part of the symbiote is at the Alchemax lab for studying.
Alea Bell.
A new Venom 2099, Alea Bell, was introduced in a similarly named one-shot published in 2019. When she was a child, her left arm was badly burned in a crash that also resulted in the death of her mother. Raised by her father, Theo, Alea was bullied at school over her scars. She was then selected to undergo an experimental treatment being developed by Alchemax scientist Dr. Russell. She regained consciousness to find that the treatment had worked and her arm was restored. During a confrontation the next day with a girl at school, a black tendril emerged from her hand and sliced through the Alchemax monitoring bracelet. Alea heard a sinister voice in her head, her left arm transforming into a jet-black limb tipped with razor-sharp claws. Returning home, Alea learned that the purported panacea she had been treated with was a piece of a symbiote called Venom, and that Alchemax intended to turn her into a supersoldier using it. Empathizing with its pain, felt, Alea reluctantly agreed to the symbiote's request to be made whole in exchange for her getting her normal life back. Infiltrating Alchemax, Alea was accosted by a pair of guards and was horrified when the symbiote killed them to protect her. As the symbiote scolded her innocent naivety, Alea protested that she did not want to be seen as a monster. Arriving at the lab containing the other pieces of the symbiote, Alea shut down the containment grid, but was knocked unconscious by Dr. Russell. The Venom symbiote, reclaiming its disparate pieces, bonded to Alea, transformed her into Venom and had eaten Dr. Russell as revenge for cutting it apart. Disgusted, Alea reiterated that she did not want to become a monster and asked if they could be a hero instead; the Venom symbiote begrudgingly agreeing to her request. At school the following day, Alea transformed into Venom to terrify her bully. However, the symbiote was abruptly overcome by the will of a dark god. Alarmed, Alea asked the Venom symbiote what had happened and it told her that the god of its species, Knull, was somehow still alive and on Earth.
"Marvel Adventures".
In this reality, the symbiote is a sentient "smart-stealth cloth" suit created by the Tinkerer that Spider-Man bonded with and used to defeat him. After Reed Richards removed the symbiote from Spider-Man (who was being drained of his energy by the symbiote), Johnny Storm briefly bonded with it, believing it to be a technological suit like Spider-Man originally thought. After Johnny flamed on, the symbiote left his body in pain. It then proceeded to bond to cat burgler Eddie Brock, and the two seek revenge on Spider-Man for abandoning the suit and foiling Brock's latest heist.
"Marvel Age".
In the "Marvel Age" mini-series "Spider-Man and Power Pack" #3–4, a fashion designer down on his luck manages to acquire the Venom symbiote after it is blasted off of Eddie Brock by Spider-Man, and, thinking its morphic qualities are just something built into the suit and not a living biological function, clones it three times as a new women's dress line. At the debut fashion show for the line, Peter Parker is photographing with Mary Jane Watson wearing one of the dresses, unaware of its true nature.
In the audience is the Power Pack in their civilian identities, invited by Peter as a thank you for their help in the previous two issues. When the symbiotes hear Peter's name, their genetic memory recognizes it and they turn Mary Jane and the other three models into She-Venoms, and attack. The Power Pack join Spider-Man in the battle, during which Spider-Man briefly corners the designer and gets the truth out of him about the clones. The symbiote clones are sheared from their unwilling hosts, three by a sonic boom produced by Julie Power/Lightspeed's superhuman speed, the other by an energy burst from Katie Power/Energizer. The battle is then won when Jack Power/Mass Master uses the music booth to blast them all with high audio, crippling them long enough to be captured. During the battle, however, one symbiote clone manages to briefly make contact with Katie Power's alien-born costume, causing it to become "infected" by the Venom symbiote's evil and vengeful desires (the kids' costumes in this continuity are semi-biological themselves, a concept later reinforced during a later mini-series when one is seen to repair damage to itself on its own). This causes Katie's costume to take on a Venom-like appearance, with the only differences being it is obviously smaller and Katie's energy burst symbol takes the place of the spider symbol's main body, the spider legs remaining.
The Kymellian costume-turned-symbiote completely takes control of the little girl at night, using her to team with the Sinister Six to capture Spider-Man, and then turn on the other members of Power Pack, Katie's own siblings, to take revenge on them for their part in the symbiote clones' defeat. In the final battle, Julie Power manages to find and free Spider-Man, and together they manage to get Electro to blast all the villains, including himself, with a large electrical discharge powerful enough to render them all unconscious and again shear the costume-turned-symbiote off of Katie, the discharge purging Katie's costume of the "infection" in the process, restoring it to normal.
Marvel Fairy Tales.
In "Spider-Man Fairy Tales" #3, Venom is a Tsuchigumo who seeks to corrupt the young priest Izumi (the Peter Parker character) by making him give into his anger.
Marvel MegaMorphs.
Eddie Brock as Venom fuses with the Mega Morphs armor and tries to destroy the city, but is stopped by Iron Man and Thing.
Marvel Zombies.
In the "Marvel Zombies" mini-series on Earth-2149, Venom briefly appears as one of the many zombified villains. He fights the zombie Spider-Man, who quickly kills him, because the Symbiote has started to die, being unable to absorb adrenaline from Eddie Brock's zombified body. He died very early at the hands of the zombie Spider-Man himself before Zombie Spider-Man goes on. Like his Earth-616 counterpart, he has cancer and the Symbiote does not want to be with him. Unlike his Earth-616 counterpart, his disease is not cured and he is instead destroyed. Before he died, Brock managed to sputter out that he and the symbiote are dying, to which the zombie Spider-Man states that Venom is breaking his cold, dead heart.
"Mini-Marvels".
In "Mini-Marvels", Eddie Brock as Venom is both a friend and enemy of Spider-Man. He aspires be the best newspaper dealer in the world, but the symbiote (which is made out of living ink) always ruins his chances.
"Old Man Logan".
In "Old Man Logan", the Venom symbiote appears to be following Logan and Hawkeye, having bonded to a Savage Land tyrannosaurus rex. It is stopped by Black Bolt. Another symbiote is seen in the story and also appeared to be looking over Logan and Hawkeye on a hill. Whether this is a different piece of the Venom symbiote or another symbiote is unknown.
In the prequel, "Old Man Hawkeye", the symbiote bonded to Multiple Man, increasing his cloning powers as he attempted to get revenge on Hawkeye for murdering some of his clones. When they chase Hawkeye down to a refuge town led by Kate Bishop, Clint and Kate lure the Venoms out into the wild to get devoured by the same Tyrannosaurus rex that would chase Hawkeye and Logan later on.
President Harry Osborn.
In the reality where Harry Osborn became president of U.S.A. and, because of his father, turned the government into a totalitarian regime, the Venom symbiote is bonded to the Thing, who became the head guard of the superhuman prison. At one point, the Thing battled the Resistance, who wanted to break out Doctor Doom.
"Punisher vs. The Marvel Universe".
In this universe, Venom was infected by a virus which made him a cannibal. He battled Carnage and later was killed by the Punisher, to whom he tried to deliver a message from Patient Zero.
"Secret Wars" (2015).
During the Secret Wars, various versions of Venom are featured:
Spider-Cat.
In Spider-Cat's universe, Venom is a pigeon.
"Spider-Geddon".
In "Edge of Spider-Geddon" #2, in the world of Peni Parker and SP//dr, VEN#m exists as a giant mech-suit powered by a Sym Engine created to serve as back-up in case the SP//dr suit failed. It was piloted by Addy Brock until a battle against the kaiju M.O.R.B.I.U.S. caused the suit to malfunction, attain sentience, and go rogue, growing a mouth with cubic teeth and a green tongue-like wire (a reference to Evangelion). Though SP//dr was able to defeat VEN#m, she was unable to stop it from consuming Addy as well as her version of Aunt May, who flew in to fix the problem manually.
"Spider-Gwen".
In this reality, Dr. Elsa Brock created the Venom symbiote from the radioactive spider isotopes developed by S.I.L.K. leader Cindy Moon to cure the Lizard formula as requested by the city's Kingpin, Matt Murdock, to offer Spider-Woman a solution to losing her powers and curing the new Lizard, Harry Osborn. Gwen was forced to inject Harry with one of her spider isotopes, causing the serum inside him to mutate into Venom and attach to Wolverine before bonding to Gwen and forming Gwenom. Though Gwen succumbed to its bloodlust at first, after discovering her father was brutally beaten by the Rhino in prison, she eventually learned to control it. The symbiote in this universe despite being amorphous is actually some spiders working together being a "mutant cousin" of the alien spider that gave Gwen her powers and is not affected by classic symbiote weaknesses like sonic attacks when without a host, the symbiote is vulnerable to sonic when only bonded to a host. Spider-Gwen eventually took full control of the symbiote and turned it into a replica of her classic costume. During "Spider-Geddon", the symbiote protected Spider-Gwen from Verna's touch.
A version of Gwenom appears along with other heroes fighting a Celestial in the second "Secret Roar".
"Spider-Man Adventures".
In this universe which predates the Big Bang of the Earth-616 universe, the history of Eddie Brock is identical to the Eddie of "Spider-Man: The Animated Series", with the difference being that instead of Dormammu and Baron Mordo bringing the Venom symbiote back to him, Eddie is reunited with the symbiote after the actions of Doctor Octopus. He along with all life of the universe are presumed dead, after the Dweller-in-Darkness use the M'Kraan Crystal to feed of energy of the dying universe.
"Spider-Man Comic Strip".
Eddie Brock as Venom appears in "Spider-Man Comic Strip".
"Spider-Man & Deadpool".
In an alternate future where Spider-Man is a paralyzed old man who lives with Deadpool, Venom is bonded to Vision and is part of The Fantastic Four alongside Valeria Richards, Reed (son of the Thing) and a version of Daredevil called Lastdevil. In battle between Life Model Decoy of Deadpool Venom leaves Vision and bond to Reed to stop the LMDs, but it did not work as they get killed.
"Spider-Man: India".
In the final issue of the mini-series ' (Earth-50101), Venom appears as an exiled interdimensional demon. It is later explained, that Venom was trapped in an ancient amulet now used by tycoon . Pavitr Prabhakar is briefly possessed by the entity, but is rejected, and the amulet sucks in Oberoi, but in the final page, Venom is the only demon left. There is also a mention of Aadi, who is this universe's Eddie Brock.
"Spider-Man: Reign".
In Kaare Andrews' ', set 30 years from current comics continuity, Venom/Eddie Brock has been posing as "Edward Saks"'", the aide to Waters, the Mayor of New York. "Edward" has been manipulating the city ever since Spider-Man's disappearance in preparation for his eventual return; in the process, he had re-enlisted the Sinister Six, replicated his symbiote thousands of times (chalking it up to being "lonely"), and built a security system named "WEBB" which prevents New York citizens from escaping from the city, trapping them while allegedly protecting them from the outside world. Upon meeting him, Venom is quick to berate Spider-Man for abandoning him all those years ago with a genuine sense of bitterness and sorrow, describing himself as a responsibility that Spider-Man neglected, leaving the wallcrawler at a loss for words. Defeated, the Sinister Six, Spidey and Venom have their final battle, in which Sandman gives Spider-Man a detonator to make all the Sinners explode. Spidey presses the button, most likely killing Venom and putting an end to his "Reign" once and for all.
"Spider-Man: Life Story".
In a continuity where characters naturally aged after Peter Parker became Spider-Man in 1962, Peter still acquired the Venom symbiote during the Secret Wars in the 1980s. Unlike the main continuity, Peter discovered that the black suit was a symbiote before Reed Richards did, but initially decided against getting rid of it due to his aging body. When Kraven tried burying Peter alive, the symbiote helped him escape the grave and nearly caused him to kill Kraven before Mary Jane helped separate it from him. The traumatic incident led Mary Jane to leave Peter, who abandoned the symbiote. It then bonded with Kraven before the hunter could commit suicide.
In 2019, the Venom-possessed Kraven attacks Peter and Miles Morales in Doctor Doom's space station as the two heroes attempt to shut down Doom's technology across the planet. When he attempts to let the symbiote possess Miles, he discovers that Otto Octavius is possessing Miles' body, allowing Peter the chance to attack him with a sonic blast from his suit. When the symbiote separates from him, he is nothing more than a skeleton. As Peter stays behind on the space station to ensure the Doomsday Pulse activates, the symbiote helps him one last time by filling in the giant hole of the collapsing station. Once the pulse activates, the station explodes and kills Peter and the symbiote.
"Spider-Verse".
Several versions of Venom are featured in Spider-Verse:
"Transformers".
In the universe of Earth-91274 where the "Transformers" series is set, Peter Parker appears still wearing his original Black Suit and goes to cover a story about the evil Decepticons who stole components of a nuclear power plant to build their base in the side of a mountain in Oregon. He briefly clashed with the Autobots, but then Optimus Prime convinced Spider-Man about their good motives. Spider-Man then aids the Autobots against the Decepticons.
Ultimate Marvel.
The Ultimate iteration of Venom was created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Mark Bagley and was introduced in "Ultimate Spider-Man" #33, while the Conrad Markus version was introduced in "Ultimate Spider-Man Volume 2" #16.1. His appearance was designed by Mark Bagley to be more of a monster than a supervillain, describing him as a "huge cancerous/tumorous creature".
Eddie Brock Jr..
The "Ultimate Marvel" version of Eddie Brock was a writer for the Daily Globe. He was at Justin Hammer's press conference; his face is not shown, only his hands and arms appear. Eddie Brock Jr. is Peter Parker's childhood friend (along with a college student who is a lab assistant for Curtis Conners) and the Venom symbiote is not extraterrestrial but is the second stage of a genetically created "suit" designed by Richard Parker (Peter's father) and Eddie Brock Sr. (Eddie's father) as a cure for severe disease meant to bond to the user and protect them from internal and external harm. The suit is tailored for a specific DNA (Richard's in this case), and the person to whom it belongs can control the suit more easily. If, however, someone uses a suit designed for somebody else, they are constantly damaged by the suit which requires nourishment, gained by feeding on organic flesh, to function. If bonded to an incompatible host the Venom suit begins consuming them almost immediately, forcing them to feed on others to sustain it or die themselves. When taking a host, the organic matter that comprises the suit completely envelops the host, regardless of resistance, temporarily blinding it, before encasing itself in a hard, purple casing, similar to a pupa, as it bonds further with the host. When the host emerges, the suit then shifts its appearance and function to assist its host, such as creating eyes for it to see through, or tries to take it over, inducing a homicidal rage and attempting to feed itself if bonded with an incompatible host. When bonded with a host and forcibly removed, the Venom suit leaves trace amounts of itself in their bloodstream, which attracts other samples of Venom to itself, and can overload Peter's spider-sense. In the video game "Ultimate Spider-Man", absorbing the trace amounts in Peter's blood allowed Eddie to take complete control of the suit, gaining a greater ability to talk and a spider symbol on his chest.
Venom's only known weakness is electricity, and larger amounts of the suit will need more electricity to kill, as varying amounts of the suit will be stunned or vaporized by electric shocks. This was first seen in "Ultimate Spider-Man" #38, when an electric wire got tangled around Venom's foot. An electrocution from live power-lines vaporised the smaller amount on Peter, while a similar amount disabled Eddie. Note in the video game "Ultimate Spider-Man", when Electro electrocutes Venom during a cutscene, the suit is not affected by the shock like the live power-line did in the "Venom" arc. The suit can take the Shocker's vibro-shocks, and can protect its host from a bullet, who feels nothing more than a relaxing vibration.
The Venom suit was introduced when Peter Parker reunited with his childhood friend Eddie Brock Jr. to continue their fathers' research into a protoplasmic cure for cancer. Eddie Sr. had kept the suit in the lab for his son as his legacy. After finding that Bolivar Trask had tried to weaponize his father's research, Peter attempted to steal a sample to conduct his own research on, but spilled it by accident. The original Spider-Man (Peter Parker) was able to control the suit to a greater extent than anyone because of his powers and because the suit was designed for his father. Feeding off Spider-Man's own thoughts, the suit enhanced his strength, generated its own webbing, and made him completely bulletproof. But when Spider-Man was chasing down an armed robber, the suit attempted to take over him, growing a fanged maw. After fighting for control, Spider-Man electrocuted the suit before returning to destroy the sample. Enraged, Eddie ignored Peter's warnings and used a second sample of the Venom suit on himself. Eddie, wearing the Venom suit, initially resembled a bulkier version of Spider-Man but the suit grew a fanged mouth, claws, tentacles and spinal ridges. Eddie hunted down Peter, intending to force him to be absorbed in the suit but was electrocuted by downed power lines and retreated.
Eddie was then captured by Silver Sable, who was hired by Bolivar since the suit technically belonged to him and ordered Adrian Toomes to conduct his experiments on the suit in an attempt to remove the suit from Eddie. Then Beetle tried to capture Venom, but Venom escaped and was confronted by Spider-Man. During a battle the suit eventually separated itself from Eddie and forcibly bonded itself with Peter, turning him into Venom. The Ultimates arrived and were able to separate Peter from the suit. Eddie later approached Peter and demanded that he retrieve the suit for him but was rebuffed. During a confrontation between Peter, Eddie and Gwen Stacy, Gwen transformed into Carnage. Contact with Carnage caused trace amounts of the suit within Eddie's body to multiply, transforming him into Venom, at which point the two symbiotes began to fight. After a brief battle the Venom symbiote absorbed all traces of the Carnage symbiote, leaving Gwen an ordinary human, and causing Venom to change into a new form even larger than before, with small glowing red eyes. Venom retreated from battle, and was later captured by the Beetle and taken to Latveria.
Venom appeared with his trademark white spider symbol in "Ultimates 3". He attacks the Ultimates' mansion, demanding to find the woman. The Ultimates fight him until Thor strikes him with lightning, turning him into a puddle of organic matter. He is revealed to be an android created by Ultron as a pawn in a master plan.
Conrad Marcus.
Conrad Marcus was an employee at Oscorp that helped create the spider behind Miles Morales's powers. An employee of the Roxxon Corporation, Marcus willingly becomes the Venom symbiote's new host and was a more larger Venom than the Eddie Brock's version. When investigative reporter Betty Brant incorrectly assumes that the new Spider-Man (Miles Morales) is Jefferson Davis, Venom kills Betty. Afterwards, Venom destroys Oscorp's abandoned building and later appears at Miles's apartment due to his believing Jefferson to be the new Spider-Man. During the ensuing battle between Venom and Spider-Man, Jefferson is injured and taken to a hospital. Venom appears there, leading to another battle with Spider-Man and the police that accidentally kills both Rio Morales and Marcus.
"Venomverse".
In "Venomverse", various versions of the character are featured as they are recruited to fight off an army of Poisons:
Venom-X23.
A version of X23 became bonded to the Venom symbiote while she was trying to escape the facility before they were approached by a Venomized Captain America to join the Venom army.
Venomized Old Man Logan.
A version of Old Man Logan was captured by Angel, Spider-Girl (Ashley Barton), and Hulk Jr before being eaten by a symbiote infected Devil Dinosaur. However, the symbiote bonded to Logan and helped him kill his attackers. During the climax of the event, he was presumed dead.
Venomized Deadpool.
Deadpool from another universe investigated a facility where illegal experiments were being performed with parasitic worms and bonded to the symbiote to expel the worms inside him. During the events of "Venomverse", he was willingly consumed by a Poison so he could act as a double-agent for the Venom army. Following the Poisons' defeat, Venomized Deadpool is presumed dead.
Venomized Gwenpool.
In another universe, Gwenpool stole the symbiote from an unknown place and mistakenly wrote Daredevil's secret identity on a piece of paper which her boss acquired. She tries to get it back alongside Daredevil, but discovers that her boss is part of a ninja clan called "Hand" and kills him. During "Venomverse", she was consumed by a Poison and killed by Poison Deadpool.
Host Rider.
In an alternate universe, Venom was bonded to Robbie Reyes and assumed control over the body alongside the spirit of Eli Morrow. During "Venomverse", he was consumed by the Poisons and killed by Carnage.
Venomized Rocket Raccoon.
A Venomized Rocket Raccoon was featured in the event. After his universe's Groot was consumed by a Poison, Rocket was forced to kill him. Following this, he became a bounty hunter and tried to kill his universe's Captain America. During "Venomverse", he constructed a bomb to destroy the Poisons' base.
Venomized Black Panther.
A Venomized version of Black Panther from Earth-TRN654 appears during the event to aid the Venoms in fighting the Poisons. Following the Poisons' defeat, Venom-Panther returned to his dimension.
Ant-Venom.
A version of Ant-Man became bonded to Venom and aided Rocket in building a bomb to destroy the Poisons' base. Ant-Venom was later killed by Venom-X23 after a Poison tried to consume him.
Agent Venom.
An alternate version of Agent Venom joined the Venom army after being recruited by a Venomized Doctor Strange to fight the Poisons. He tried to calm both 616 Eddie and an alternate Spider-Man (from a universe where he did not remove the symbiote), but they are attacked by the Poisons; during which Agent Venom is killed by a Poison Hulk.
Spider-Man.
An alternate version of Spider-Man who reunited with the symbiote after it left Brock was recruited to fight the Poisons. However, he was tricked by a Poison into thinking it was Aunt May and consumed by it; becoming an enemy to Venom before being blown up with the other Poisons Venom-Rocket's bomb.
Venomized Doctor Strange.
A Venomized version of Doctor Strange from Earth-TRN644 recruited Venoms from across the multiverse to help him stop the Poisons after they eradicated his Earth and attempted to destroy more. After he was captured by the Poisons, he realized too late that the Poisons feed on Venom symbiotes and he should not have brought the Venoms together. In the climax of the event, he sent all of the surviving Venoms back to their home universes while Venomized Rocket's bomb exploded and took out the Poisons. Venom-Strange's fate is left unknown.
Venomized Captain America.
A Venomized version of Captain America makes an appearance recruiting different versions of Venoms from across the multiverse. He was captured by the Poisons in an attempt to convince him join them willingly. When he refused, they consumed him to make him join them. He was later killed by Poison Deadpool.
Black Panther.
In the alternate universe of Earth-TRN650, the Venom symbiote was captured by Rhino, who was in Wakanda at the time, and fought Black Panther for it. During the battle Ngozi, a Nigerian girl who is a wheelchair user, became bonded to the symbiote and defeated Rhino after the villain killed T'Challa. As a result, Ngozi and her symbiote took up the mantle of Black Panther.
Venom-Punisher.
In the alternate universe of Earth-TRN651, Venom agrees to help the Punisher kill the Kingpin in exchange for the latter helping him kill Spider-Man. After killing the Kingpin, the symbiote possessed Punisher and nearly killed Spider-Man until Venom-Strange recruited him to help fight the Poisons. During the battle, he was consumed by the Poisons and killed by Anti-Venom while invading Earth-616.
"What If...?".
...The alien costume had possessed Spider-Man?
In this one-shot, after obtaining the symbiote costume, Spider-Man waits too long before visiting Mister Fantastic who would free him from the symbiote's control. The suit takes control of Spider-Man and as it constantly feeds on him, Spider-Man ages at an accelerated rate. Within days, Spider-Man dies of old age. Desperate to survive, the symbiote bonds with a weakened Hulk. Thor confronts Venom-Hulk. The costume explains that it is sorry for Spider-Man's death, but is draining the gamma radiation from Bruce Banner as repentance. Thor in disbelief defeats him, leading the symbiote to take over Thor. Banner however is shown cured of being The Hulk. The heroes employ Black Bolt's incredibly powerful voice to create enough sonic damage to critically injure the symbiote.
Thor is freed, and the heroes prepare to transport the alien to another dimension. Black Cat takes matters into her own hands and kills the alien because of anger at the death of Spider-Man.
...Venom had possessed The Punisher?
In this one-shot issue, after the symbiote leaves Spider-Man, it joins with the Punisher instead of Eddie Brock. Castle uses the symbiote's abilities to further his war on crime; he used the suit's shape-shifting nature to create glider-wings and used its webbing as bullets.
The symbiote causes the Punisher's war to become more brutal and unrestrained than ever before as he set about confronting and killing many super-criminals. The symbiote eventually influences him to confront and beat Spider-Man, but before it can kill the Web Slinger, Castle's soldierly discipline wins out. With his new powers, Punisher takes out Tombstone and even the Kingpin. At the climax of a confrontation with Spider-Man, Daredevil and Moon Knight, from which the Punisher emerges victorious, a blast from Spider-Man's borrowed sonic blaster allows Punisher to overcome and tame the symbiote by convincing it that his war on crime means more to him than anything, even his own life, and would sooner commit suicide and kill them both if he did not have complete control over it.
The symbiote then recedes from Punisher's face and manifests his trademark Skull insignia upon his chest. Castle tells the assembled heroes that he is in control now before making his escape.
...The Marvel Super-Heroes had remained on Battleworld?
In this one-shot issue, the Marvel Super-Heroes and Villains left alive from the Secret Wars after Galactus' and the Beyonder's fatal battle find themselves trapped on Battleworld. Deciding to make the best of things, they all settle down and build new lives and families. Twenty-five years later, Spider-Man and the Venom symbiote are a single entity. With Reed Richards dead, there was no way to free Spider-Man from the symbiote and thus he was forced to accept this new way of life. Over time he becomes cold, calculating and emotionally distant from the rest of the group. The body of Peter Parker is now nothing more than a skeleton with the symbiote acting as his skin, much to the dismay of the other super-heroes and their children.
...Spider-Man had rejected the Spider?
This one-shot issue presents a different approach to the events of "", where Peter Parker dies and is resurrected with greater spider powers. Instead, Peter rejects the chance to rise again in a new form and leaves his body and spirit separated. This leaves his body open to a complete takeover by the Venom symbiote. The suit quickly abandons its latest host, Mac Gargan, as soon as it senses Peter's vulnerable state and rushes to once again unite with its first host. After cocooning Peter's body, the symbiote fully bonds with Peter, turning him into a violent monster called Poison. Poison longs for a companion to join them in their new life and chooses Mary Jane. After dispatching the Avengers who rush to her aid, Watson offers herself willingly to prevent any further harm to the people protecting her. She promises Poison that she will give her body but not her soul and make Poison's life as miserable as possible. This seems to leave Poison heartbroken and he flees. Instead, he unearths the grave of Gwen Stacy. The last images reveal Poison watching over a new cocoon like his own, but crimson colored, as it bursts forth showing a hand similar to Carnage's.
...Iron Man: Demon in an Armor.
In this one shot, which happens to take place in Earth-90211, Spider-Man has the Venom symbiote costume. Wade Wilson, as Deadpool, is hired by Galactus to kill the Beyonder for merging MODOK to Galactus's rear end in exchange for the Community Cube. He was given a weapon called the Recton Expungifier, the only weapon that could kill the Beyonder. When Deadpool tracked down his target to a night club, he was enticed into the Beyonder's partying lifestyle, getting Jheri curls in the process. While hanging out with the Beyonder in a flying limousine, Spider-Man broke into the car and demanded the symbiote costume be removed from himself. Beyonder's driver shoots Spider-Man out of the limousine and the symbiote leaves Spider-Man and merges with Deadpool, creating Venompool. However, after years of partying, Beyonder grew tired and threw Venompool to the world, snapping him out of the Beyonder's magic. Venompool attempted to resume his contract and kill the Beyonder, but he accidentally pawned the Recton Expungifier. He decides to get himself clean by kidnapping and selling a drunken Tony Stark to A.I.M. Unfortunately, he cannot join any major superhero teams, like the Avengers, Defenders and Fantastic Four because of his newly acquired Jheri curls.
...Spider-Man: Spider's Shadow.
This five-part series offers an alternate take on what would happen if Peter chose to keep the symbiote costume rather than reject it after Reed Richards revealed it was alive. Spider-Man starts acting more aggressive, even unmasking and threatening Hobgoblin (Roderick Kingsley) during an altercation. This leads Kingsley to track him down to May's house, where he blows it up and kills May in the process. Enraged, Peter brutally murders Hobgoblin and decides to take justice into his own hands by killing any criminals that come in his way. After Spider-Man seemingly kills the Kingpin, the Sinister Six (consisting of Kraven, Electro, Rhino, Mysterio, Eddie Brock possessing Doctor Octopus' arms and a reluctant J. Jonah Jameson) assemble in the countryside to take him down. Though Spider-Man kills Electro, Rhino, and Mysterio, Kraven and Jameson separate Peter from the symbiote after discovering its weakness to fire.
Jameson takes Peter home, where they meet up with Mary Jane and Black Cat and find out that Kingpin had leaked Spider-Man's secret identity to the press. As Felicia takes Jameson to safety, Peter and Mary Jane discover that the symbiote has possessed Reed and taken over the Baxter Building, where it has used his scientific knowledge to make itself stronger and take control of anyone inside, including the Thing. Knowing the suit still wants him, Peter ventures into the building with Mary Jane and the Human Torch, where they find out that the symbiote used Reed to create other symbiotes to possess the other heroes present near the building. It then orders them to attack Mary Jane, as Peter's love for her is what prevented it from taking over him completely. Spider-Man and the Torch then lure the symbiote back to the Baxter Building, where Peter offers himself to the symbiote willingly. After the symbiote kills Reed, it attempts to bond to Peter again, however it is revealed that "Peter" was actually a disguised Torch using Reed's image inducer that the real Peter gave him, allowing him to annihilate the symbiote with his flames. Peter turned himself in for the murders, but was ultimately declared not guilty since the other heroes who were possessed by symbiotes testified on his behalf. Susan Storm invites Peter to join the Fantastic Four to take Reed's place.
In the epilogue, it is revealed that Kingpin barely survived Spider-Man's brutal assault and is determined to get revenge on Peter. His assistant Wesley reveals that his doctors have gotten ahold of one of the symbiote's offspring, to help him recover and give him the power he needs to take on Spider-Man. In "Extreme Venomverse" Kingpin bonds with the symbiote to become "King Pain", and he nearly succeeds in killing Spider-Man before he is murdered by the Carnage symbiote from Earth-616.
Dark: Venom.
In this AU, when Ben Grimm returned to Earth from Battleworld, he saw the symbiote in its prison while still feeling bitter at Reed's lie, and the symbiote played on Ben's current issues to convince him to accept the symbiote, which promised that it would be able to help him assume human form. The symbiote was able to neutralize the cosmic radiation in Ben's system so that he could assume a human form, but when he went for a walk in New York he was attacked by the Lizard. The Lizard manipulated Ben into believing that the symbiote could be used to help others like them deal with unwanted transformations, but simply trapped Ben and stole the symbiote for himself, subsequently attacking the Baxter Building and killing Reed and Sue before Ben was able to follow and take it back. He subsequently killed the Lizard on the streets by crushing his head, but was also merged with the symbiote again, the issue ending with the musing that Ben has regained his human form at the cost of what was left of his humanity.
What If...? Venom.
In this five-issue limited series, Venom is rejected by Eddie Brock and then bonds with She-Hulk, Wolverine, Doctor Strange, Loki, and Moon Knight.
"What The--?!".
In the "Spider-Ham" parody, "What The--?!", "The Bee-Yonder" gives Spider-Ham a version of the black uniform. In issue #20, Pork Grind, a pig version of Venom is introduced as an enemy of Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham. He was a Wild Boar from Australia, who accepted a deal with a supervillain to become Pork Grind, because every Superhero needs to have an evil counterpart. He was much stronger than Spider-Ham, who was smashed by him like paper. Spider-Ham in an attempt to stop Pork Grind, he ate some spinach and was able to finally defeat him.
In other media.
Film.
Venom's first appearance in a motion picture was originally planned for a titular film written by David S. Goyer and produced by New Line Cinema, in which Venom would have been portrayed as an antihero and Carnage as the antagonist. By 2007, the film rights to Venom had reverted to Sony Pictures.
In March 2012, Josh Trank was in talks to direct a new "Venom" film as a part of "The Amazing Spider-Man" film series. In December 2013, Sony officially announced two spin-offs of "The Amazing Spider-Man" film series, one of which was a Venom film called "Venom: Carnage", written by Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and Ed Solomon, with Kurtzman directing it. In September 2014, Kurtzman stated that they had been considering different incarnations of the character, including Eddie Brock, Anne Weying, and Flash Thompson. The film, along with the other spin-offs, was cancelled prior to the studios' contract agreement with Marvel Studios.
"Spider-Man" trilogy.
Venom appears in "Spider-Man 3", with Peter Parker's version portrayed by Tobey Maguire and Eddie Brock's version portrayed by Topher Grace. After landing on Earth, the symbiote bonds with Spider-Man until he eventually rejects it, after which it bonds with Brock and forms an alliance with Flint Marko to kill Spider-Man, only to be killed by Spider-Man via one of the New Goblin's pumpkin bombs.
In July 2007, Sony executive Avi Arad revealed a spin-off of Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man" trilogy focused on the still-alive Venom symbiote was in the planning stages, with Jacob Aaron Estes commissioned to write a script, tentatively entitled "Venom". In September 2008, Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick signed on to write the film after Estes' script was rejected, while Gary Ross would direct. "Variety" reported that Venom would become an anti-hero in the film, and Marvel Entertainment would produce the film. This potential film was ultimately cancelled.
Sony's Spider-Man Universe.
In March 2016, following the introduction of Spider-Man to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it was announced that Sony was moving forward with a standalone film after hiring Dante Harper to write the script, and Arad, Matt Tolmach and Amy Pascal producing. The film was initially reported to have no connection to the MCU nor have any relation to Spider-Man; it would be set in its own continuity. A year later, Sony announced that "Venom" would be released on October 5, 2018, with Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner signed on as screenwriters. It was reported to be Rated R and the first in a series of Spider-Man character-related spin-off films called the "Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters", later renamed to Sony's Spider-Man Universe. In May 2017, Tom Hardy was announced to be cast as Eddie Brock / Venom, with Ruben Fleischer attached to direct. Furthermore, Brad Venable provides additional sound effects and dialogue for the character. Carlton Drake / Riot appeared as the film's primary antagonist, as did Anne Weying, Brock's ex-wife from the comics. The film has been described by Fleischer as taking inspiration from the works of David Cronenberg and John Carpenter. The supporting cast also consists of Riz Ahmed, Michelle Williams, and Jenny Slate. "Variety" reported that Kelly Marcel would write the script with Pinkner and Rosenberg. Filming officially began on October 23, 2017. "Venom" was released in the United States on October 5, 2018, with a PG-13 rating.
A sequel, ' was released in the United States on October 1, 2021. Loosely adapting the events of the "Maximum Carnage" comic book story arc and "The Venom Saga" from the 1994 "Spider-Man" animated series, the film sees Venom and Brock having to battle Cletus Kasady / Carnage and Shriek while also learning how to better live and work together as the "Lethal Protector". The film's post-credits scene sees Eddie and Venom being transported to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), where they witness J. Jonah Jameson expose Peter Parker's identity as Spider-Man on television. This is continued in the mid-credits scene of the MCU film ' (2021), where, just as the pair begin to learn about the heroes and major events that occurred in this universe, they are taken back to their home dimension by Doctor Strange's spell along with other universe-displaced individuals; inadvertently leaving behind a piece of the symbiote.
Reception.
Originally David Michelinie planned to kill Venom in "Amazing Spider-Man" #400, and have other villains become the host. However due to the popularity of the character Marvel would not allow this, leading him to create Carnage instead.
Comics journalist and historian Mike Conroy writes of the character: "What started out as a replacement costume for Spider-Man turned into one of the Marvel web-slinger's greatest nightmares." Venom was ranked as the 22nd Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time in IGN's list of the top 100 comic villains. IGN also ranked Mac Gargan's incarnation of Venom as #17 in their list of "The Top 50 Avengers", while the Flash Thompson incarnation was ranked as #27. The character was listed as #33 on "Empire"s 50 Greatest Comic Book Characters and was also ranked at #8 in "Marvel"s "Top 10 Spider-Verse Characters". Spike Chunsoft and "Danganronpa" mascot Monokuma was designed by Rui Komatsuzaki and Kazutaka Kodaka to partially resemble Venom.
Legacy.
The Australian spider "Venomius" is named after the character, with the species name ("V. tomhardyi") referencing Tom Hardy's portrayal of the character.
An original page of the 1984 "Marvel Superheroes Secret Wars", showing Spider-Man wearing the black suit for the first time, was sold by Heritage Auctions in January 2022 for over $3 million. At the time, it was the highest price paid for a single comic-book page at an auction.
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Hellboy
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Hellboy is a superhero created by Mike Mignola and appearing in comic books published by Dark Horse Comics. The character first appeared in "San Diego Comic-Con Comics" #2 (August 1993), and has since appeared in various miniseries, one-shots, and intercompany crossovers. The character has been adapted into four live-action films: "Hellboy" (2004) and its sequel ' (2008), a 2019 reboot film, and ' (2024). The character also appeared in two straight-to-DVD animated films and three video games – ' (2000), ' (2004) and "Web of Wyrd" (2023).
A well-meaning Cambion (or half-Demon) whose true name is Anung Un Rama ("and upon his brow is set a crown of flame"), Hellboy was summoned from Hell to Earth as a baby by Nazi occultists (spawning his hatred for the Third Reich). He appeared in the ruins of an old church in the Outer Hebrides in front of a team assembled by the Allied Forces, among them, Professor Trevor Bruttenholm, who formed the United States Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (B.P.R.D.). In time, Hellboy grew to be a large, muscular, red-skinned ape/monkey-like man with a tail, horns (which he files off, leaving behind circular stumps on his forehead that resemble goggles), cloven hooves, and an oversized right hand made of stone (the "Right Hand of Doom"). He has been described as smelling of dry-roasted peanuts. Although a bit gruff, he shows none of the malevolence thought to be intrinsic to classical demons and has an ironic sense of humor. This is said to be because of his upbringing under Professor Bruttenholm, who raised him as a normal boy.
Hellboy works for the B.P.R.D., an international non-governmental agency, and for himself, against dark forces including Nazis and witches, in a series of tales that have their roots in folklore, pulp magazines, vintage adventure, Lovecraftian horror, and horror fiction. In earlier stories, he is identified as the "World's Greatest Paranormal Investigator".
Fictional character biography.
Hellboy, or "Anung Un Rama" as he was called, was conceived on October 5, 1574, the day his birth-mother, Sarah Hughes, a human woman, was on her deathbed. In life, Sarah was a witch who gained her powers from being a consort of the archdemon Azzael, an Archduke of Hell and Hellboy's "biological" father. Taking Sarah's body to hell when she attempted to repent on her deathbed within a church in East Bromwich, England, Azzael burned her away so their child would be born, and chopped off the newborn's right hand to replace it with the "Right Hand of Doom", a relic with the power to free the Ogdru Jahad (a destructive, seven headed dragon imprisoned in deep space) and awaken the armies of Hell to wage war against Heaven. When the other princes of Hell learned of his actions, Azzael sent his half-demon child away while he was stripped of his powers and imprisoned in ice (like Lucifer in Dante's "Divine Comedy").
The child is eventually summoned to Earth in the final months of World War II by the "Mad Monk" Grigori Rasputin on Tarmagant Island, off the coast of Scotland, having been commissioned by the Nazis to change the tide of a losing war ("Project Ragna Rok"). As a direct result of this rite, the child appears on Earth in a fireball at what remains of the ruined Bromwich Church on December 23, 1944, likely guided there by the ghosts of his mother's other children. Proving not to be a devil in the traditional sense, but a devil-like creature, the child was dubbed "Hellboy" by Professor Trevor "Broom" Bruttenholm.
Taken by the United States Armed Forces to an Air Force base in New Mexico, Hellboy is raised by Professor Bruttenholm in a normal Catholic home environment, and the United States Army where he is introduced to the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (BPRD), a private organization dedicated to combating occult threats. Due to the success of his first mission in 1952, Hellboy is granted "honorary human" status by the United Nations and becomes a member of the BPRD as the "world's greatest paranormal investigator". As such, Hellboy interacts regularly with humans, primarily law enforcement officials, the military, Catholic clergy, and various "scholars of the weird", most of whom are not presented as overtly reacting to his strange appearance. During one of his early missions he rescued a young girl named Alice Monaghan, who had been replaced by fairies with a changeling named Gruagach. He also went to Russia and shot out the eye of the witch Baba Yaga. Gruagach and Baba Yaga both held lifelong grudges against Hellboy over these incidents.
As an adult, having matured physically within the years yet aging slowly mentally with a teenage mind, Hellboy becomes the primary agent for the BPRD, alongside other human and quasi-human agents that include Kate Corrigan, a professor of folklore at New York University; Abe Sapien, an amphibian humanoid ("Ichthyo sapiens"); and Liz Sherman, a young pyrokinetic. Things change dramatically for Hellboy during the events of "" when he searches for Professor Bruttenholm after he disappears during an expedition in the Arctic. He finds his adopted father only to witness his death at the hands of a Lovecraftian frog monster. The search takes Hellboy, Abe, and Liz to the Cavendish Hall mansion, which is a trap established by Rasputin to lure Hellboy into an embrace of his own "destiny", with the assistance of Sadu-Hem, one of the 369 spawn of the Ogdru Jahad. Controlled by the spirit of one of the ancestral Cavendish men, Abe impales Rasputin. Liz's firestorm then incinerates Rasputin's body alongside Sadu-Hem's and destroys Cavendish Hall. Soon after, during a visit to Bromwich Church, Hellboy gets a glimpse of his conception 300+ years ago and learns he has two human half-siblings, a nun and a priest whose spirits haunt the church after their deaths, attempting to stop Azzael from claiming Sarah.
During the events of "", Hellboy, ostensibly content to return to his life of ignorance, is set back on his journey of self-discovery when a mission for the B.P.R.D leads him to Romania to investigate the theft of an ancient box containing the corpse of Vladimir Giurescu, a Napoleonic officer who was, in fact, a vampire before he was "killed" on the order of a fearful Adolf Hitler. The culprit of the theft is revealed to be Ilsa Haupstein, one of the surviving members of Project Ragna Rok, who was revived from suspended animation and then aided in Giurescu's resurrection. Finding Castle Giurescu after splitting up with the other search groups, Hellboy learns that the source of Giurescu's rebirth is the ancient goddess Hecate. Though Hellboy destroys Hecate's original body by forcing her into the sunlight, he faces her again after Rasputin unintentionally provides her with Ilsa's iron maiden-encased body. Hecate swallows Hellboy and reveals to him his ultimate purpose as destroyer of worlds, but he returns to his own reality after he denounces his supposed destiny.
Hellboy later learns that Liz is dying after losing her powers when she accidentally revived a homunculus while searching another location for Giurescu, finding Roger in the events of ' as he convinces the homunculus to save Liz's life. Following the events of ', gaining insight about his stone hand and being referred to as a harbinger of the Apocalypse, Hellboy is accompanied by Abe to hunt down the warlock Igor Bromhead in "Box Full of Evil". But it turned out to be a trap conducted by Bromhead and the demon Ualac to capture Hellboy, using his True Name, Anung Un Rama, to restrain him, so that the latter can claim Hellboy's normally invisible Crown of the Apocalypse to increase their power. But this act, however, proves to be counterproductive, as it allows Hellboy to no longer be controlled by his true name, Anung Un Rama (as one of the translations of this name is, lit. "and upon his brow is set a crown of flame"; with the theft of his crown, the name is no longer accurate), and he kills Ualac's mortal body before the demon and the crown are taken to Hell by the archdemon Astaroth, who is later revealed to be Hellboy's paternal uncle.
In the events of ", Hellboy is assisted by the ghost of Lobster Johnson, and Roger the Homunculus in preventing an alien entity called the Conqueror Worm from arriving on Earth through the continued machinations of the surviving members of Ragna Rok. Over the course of the story, Hellboy learns that the B.P.R.D has implanted a bomb in Roger as a failsafe in case he should turn on them. Disillusioned by this knowledge and finally ready to look deeper into his origins, Hellboy quits the BPRD.
After some time with a witch doctor in Africa, Hellboy is captured by a trio of mermaid sisters and brought underwater to a witch known as the Bog Roosh. In exchange for Hellboy, the Bog Roosh grants each sister a wish. The first two sisters are tricked by the Bog Roosh and killed by their wishes, but the third sister is clever and gets her wish, a missing piece of her father's grave. While the third sister returns to her father's grave, the Bog Roosh explains her plan to completely destroy Hellboy, thereby preventing the apocalypse. At the grave, the third sister is told by her father's ghost that the only way to honor him is to save Hellboy. She does, and when the Bog Roosh realizes she cannot prevent the apocalypse, she allows herself to be killed by Hellboy in the ensuing battle. The third sister becomes the new Bog Roosh, releasing the souls of drowned sailors from which the previous Bog Roosh drew her power. She then releases Hellboy, leaving him lost at sea.
In ", after several years adrift at sea and spent drinking with the ghosts of sailors, Hellboy arrives on a mysterious island. He encounters Hecate, who once again insists that they are bound together and must unite in the destruction of the world, but Hellboy, true to his values and somewhat drunk, brushes her off. He travels deeper into the island, and is attacked by a long slumbering Sadu Hem. The fight with the creature takes him into a temple at the center of the island, where the creature stabs him through the chest, seemingly killing him. While dead, Hellboy has another conversation with the Witch Doctor, who somehow resurrects him. Hellboy awakens to find his spilled blood absorbed by the corpse of a long dead mystic who was killed in the temple. Hellboy's blood resurrects him and transforms him into a more demonic looking version of Hellboy himself. The Mystic reveals to Hellboy the true nature of his Right Hand of Doom, which is actually the severed hand of one of the Angels involved in the creation of the Ogdru Jahad, and is therefore the only power in the universe capable of fully returning the Ogdru Jahad to Earth. The Mystic threatens to force all of mankind to worship the Sadu Hem, and Hellboy fights to stop him. Hellboy is ultimately able to win the fight. Rattled, Hellboy sets sail for England, much to the chagrin of Gruagach and the council of fairies who have been watching over him.
Six years later, as " opens, Hellboy's search takes him to England where he finds himself in the middle of a power vacuum caused by Bromhead incapacitating Hecate in Italy. Refusing to serve the witches as their king, Hellboy ends up in the dimension of the witch Baba Yaga. Managing to defeat Baba Yaga's champion Koshchei the Deathless, Hellboy returns to his reality and is led to Bromhead after he became monstrous and in agony from his attempt to take Hecate's powers for his own. Hellboy gives Bromhead a merciful death before returning to England.
" opens with Hellboy receiving an invitation by the Osiris Club to join them in hunting Giants. Hellboy joins, but is betrayed by the Club and left to die. He survives, and, despite being given a means to escape, decides to engage the Giants in battle. He grows more bloodthirsty and demonic over the course of the fight, only returning to his senses when all the Giants are dead. He is found by Alice Monaghan, who, since being rescued by Hellboy in her youth, has become a close consort to the faeries of England. She takes Hellboy to meet Mab, Queen of the Faeries, who hints that his mother's ancestry entitles him to a crown. After this, Alice and Hellboy are led into a trap where Alice in nearly fatally poisoned. The two are the taken to the castle of Morgana Le Fay to save Alice.
To enter the castle, Hellboy must fight Eligos, a high-ranking demon from Hell. Hellboy is able to defeat Eligos with the help of one of his slaves, in exchange for Hellboy remembering the slave when he becomes ruler of Hell. Once inside, Morgana reveals to Hellboy that, on his mother's side, he is a descendant of Mordred, and subsequently the rightful ruler of England. She also tells him about Nimue, a long-imprisoned witch who has been freed by Grugach and wants to conquer England. She takes Hellboy to the sword Excalibur, but he does not take it. Alice tries to convince him that he should, but is unsuccessful. Soon afterwards, he is visited again by Astaroth, who reveals to him that he is destined to kill Satan and become the ruler of Hell. Hellboy fights against a demonic illusion of himself, exploding into a fireball that destroys part of the castle and seemingly kills Alice. Convinced that Alice was right, Hellboy takes up Excalibur and suddenly finds himself atop a hill, with Alice, alive and well, standing beside him.
As " opens, Hellboy and Alice have begun travelling throughout England, amassing an army from the noble dead of England. Soon, they are attacked by one of Nimue's soldiers. Hellboy is able to defeat the soldier, but while dying the soldier warns Hellboy that Nimue is transforming into something else. The two stop at a pub, where Hellboy decides that he no longer wants the sword, suggesting to Alice that she leave it in a lake. They share a kiss, and Hellboy asks Alice to move to America with him after he has defeated Nimue. On the way to Nimue's fortress, Hellboy has another confrontation with Astartoth, rebuking him again. He then runs into Baba Yaga, who tells him that he will only be able to reach the fortress with her magical help. In exchange, Hellboy finally sacrifices his eye to Baba Yaga. Reaching Nimue, Hellboy sees she has been completely possessed by the Ogdru Jahad and now seeks to destroy the world. The two engage in battle as storms rage across England, and Hellboy is able to defeat her using a sword given to him by the ghost of Vasilisa. As the Dragon collapses, Nimue's ghost emerges and plucks out Hellboy's heart, damning him to Hell.
" begins with Hellboy stuck in the Abyss, the outermost part of Hell, and being attacked by Eligos. He is saved by Edward Grey, a british paranormal investigator who wound up trapped in Hell and has been watching over Hellboy for many years. Soon after, Hellboy is visited by three spirits. The first takes him to see his birth in Hell and his father's imprisonment. Then he is shown Satan, who he murders as prophesied, but does not remember doing so. Finally, he is shown the sleeping army of Hell that his Right Hand has the power to awaken. After this, he is attacked by his fully demonic half brothers Lusk and Gammon who are being manipulated by Astaroth. All three are killed, and Hellboy falls again into the Abyss. He is saved again by Grey, who convinces him to commit to his new life in Hell. In between helping out lost souls, Hellboy learns gradually that the aristocracy of Hell have all gone into hiding or been killed by their slaves since his arrival, as they panicked over the thought that he might kill them all. He is poisoned by powerful spirits called the Furies, who were set on him by his half sister Gamori. The furies turn on her, dooming her to destroy the remains of Pandemonium, the capital city of Hell. Eventually, Hellboy, in fully demonic form, hunts down the last remaining rulers of Hell and destroys them all with the help of their slaves. After this, he returns to a home on the beach where he is met by three glowing shapes.
Hellboy returns, resurrected, in B.P.R.D: The Devil You Know, the final arc of the narrative. He fights alongside his original companions, Liz Sherman and Abe Sapien, against the rising Sadu Hem and a small group of demons seeking to conquer Earth. The team defeats the demon Yomyael, who is possessing a young girl named Varvara. Once free, however, Varvara reveals herself to be the daughter of their old foe Rasputin, and resurrects him. Hellboy and Rasputin battle one last time, both dying. As a ghost, Hellboy is shown the remaining path to the end of the world by Edward Grey. Agents of the B.P.R.D. are able to save a small portion of humanity, guiding them to shelter underground. On the surface, the Sadu Hem reign for a short time before the Osiris Club use Hellboy's severed Right Hand of Doom to summon the Ogdru Jahad to Earth and kill it. Once this is done, Hellboy takes back the Hand, killing the Osiris Club in the process. Finally, he sees Liz Sherman, somehow still alive, and instructs her to unleash the full brunt of her pyrokinetic abilities, burning down the world. The world gone, Hecate appears before Hellboy, once again in her Iron Maiden form. She assures him that there is nothing he could have done to prevent any of this. He tries to fight her, but realizes how tired he is of violence. He steps inside her Iron Maiden form, and his blood revives the world.
Powers and abilities.
Afforded by his demonic heritage as well as extensive physical training and bodybuilding, Hellboy possesses superhuman strength that exceeds the 1-ton base limit, endurance, a degree of resistance to injury, and a healing factor that allows him to heal quickly from virtually all bodily injuries as well as renders him immune to all diseases. He also has the innate ability to comprehend ancient and magical languages. The extent of his strength is unclear, but he has torn down a large tree and hurled it at an opponent and has lifted massive stones. He has also picked up and thrown opponents weighing at least four to five hundred pounds. Hellboy has a high degree of resilience to injury. He can withstand powerful blows that would severely injure or kill a human. He survived being shot many times in the chest with an MG 42 machine gun before destroying it. He has survived being impaled through the chest with a sword, severe werewolf mauling, being beaten unconscious with heavy iron tongs, falling from extreme heights, being crushed by boulders, and more. In the film version, it is stated that Hellboy is immune to all forms of fire and burns, including Liz Sherman's flames, and electrocution. Despite his ability to quickly recover from seemingly mortal wounds, he is far from invulnerable and can be injured or bloodied by conventional weapons. Curiously in certain instances, the spilling of Hellboy's blood causes lilies to sprout - a supernatural indicator of his true good nature. This unique property comes into play even at the culmination of Ragnarok, where Hecate spills Hellboy's blood onto the incinerated Earth to breathe life back into it. It is revealed to Baba Yaga by the dead Russian nobility that Hellboy may not be slain even through supernatural means and that he appears to be as deathless as her warrior, Koschei the Deathless. In the films, Hellboy has shown skill in necromancy, animating a man's dead body so that it could give him directions. This also happened in the 2019 reboot, where Hellboy is able to raise an entire army of the dead after embracing his power as Anung Un Rama.
Hellboy ages quite differently from human beings. In the story "Pancakes" he is now two-years old but appears to be somewhere between 6 and 10 in human years old. In "Nature of the Beast", set in 1954, the ten-year-old Hellboy appears fully grown. His rapid physical maturation is in contrast to his actual rate of aging, however, which seems to be much slower than humans. Throughout the sixty-year span of time depicted in the comics, he does not age beyond the plateau of physical maturity. This mystical aging process is similar to the other demons and supernatural beings that populate Hellboy's world. The lifespan of a demon (or half-demon, as Hellboy's mother was human) is left undefined within the comics and seems to range from decades to many thousands of years. In the films, Hellboy's aging process is described by BRPD as "reverse dog years".
In addition to his natural physical abilities, Hellboy keeps a variety of items in his utility belt and jacket that can be used against various supernatural forces. He has been known to carry holy relics, horseshoes, various herbs, and hand grenades. He frequently carries an oversized revolver, which in the Guillermo del Toro films was named the "Good Samaritan", and whose construction incorporates iron that had been used to forge a church bell. However, Hellboy freely admits to having extremely poor aim with the weapon, and often favors fighting hand-to-hand, preferring to use short-ranged physical weapons like swords, spears, and his massive stone fist over firearms. Hellboy's lack of formal combat training and education is compensated for by his decades of experience as a paranormal investigator, though encounters with unfamiliar threats have often forced him to resort to improvisation and using his wits.
Right Hand of Doom.
As revealed in "Strange Places", Hellboy's right hand was originally the right hand of Anum, one of the Watcher angels that watched over the burgeoning Earth and created the Ogdru Jahad. After sealing the Ogdru Jahad away, Anum was destroyed by his fellow spirits. Only his right hand remained intact as it was kept and preserved by the Hyperboreans, the first race of man. The Right Hand of Doom eventually ended up in the possession of Azzael before he grafted it onto the newborn Hellboy.
As the hand which created and bound the Ogdru Jahad, it is also the key that will "loose and command" them; in other words, it is a catalyst that will bring about Ragnarok. The comic books themselves never mention how the Right Hand of Doom would actually perform these tasks; they only explain this is the case and someone or something intends to do it, with or without Hellboy's consent. The film shows it working as a key: being turned twice in a special obelisk secured by Rasputin would release the Ogdru Jahad. Astaroth and others also told of how the Hand contains the power to awaken the great Army of Hell, an army powerful enough to shatter the boundaries between Heaven, Hell and Earth for the wielder to rule all of Creation. This prophecy had never come to pass thanks to Hellboy's consistent refusal to embrace his destiny. It is made clear it is not necessary for the arm to be attached to Hellboy to perform its duties. It has been suggested if Hellboy dies while the Hand is attached to him, it would become useless. He has, therefore, concluded the only way to prevent its falling into the wrong hands is to keep and protect it.
Concept and creation.
Hellboy originated in 1991 with a drawing Mike Mignola did for a Great Salt Lake Comic-Con promotional pamphlet of a demon with the name "Hell Boy" written on his belt. Mignola had initially no intention of doing anything serious with the concept, but eventually decided he liked the name.
Later, Mignola became interested in doing a creator-owned comic, as he felt it made more sense to create his own characters for the stories he wanted to tell, rather than trying to shoehorn existing characters into these stories. Mignola elaborated, "The kinds of stories I wanted to do I had in mind before I created Hellboy. It's not like I created Hellboy and said, 'Hey, now what does this guy do?' I knew the kinds of stories I wanted to do, but just needed a main guy." He initially created Hellboy as part of a team of five, but scrapped this idea when he realized he could not think of any team names that he liked.
Much like other American comic book superheroes, such as Batman, Wolverine, Iron Man, Daredevil, and Spawn, Hellboy is constantly tormented by the knowledge of his past. One example being in "Wake the Devil" where he describes his mindset since the aftermath of "Seed of Destruction" by saying, "I "like" not knowing. I've gotten by for fifty-two years without knowing. I sleep good "not knowing"."
Publication history.
Before "Hellboy" was published independently at Dark Horse Comics, the concept was initially pitched to a board of directors for DC Comics, who loved it, but did not like the idea of it involving "Hell".
The early stories were conceived and drawn by Mignola with a script written by John Byrne and some later stories have been crafted by creators other than Mignola, including Christopher Golden, Guy Davis, Ryan Sook, and Duncan Fegredo. The increasing commitments from the "Hellboy" franchise meant that 2008 one-shot "In the Chapel of Moloch" was the first "Hellboy" comic Mignola had provided the script and art for since "The Island" in 2005.
Issues.
"Hellboy" has an internal numbering on the inside cover of its issues. Below are the stories listed by their internal numbering for the comics.
Issues: "Hellboy in Hell".
"Hellboy in Hell" is a finished series with its own numbering.
Issues: "Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.".
"Hellboy and the B.P.R.D." is an ongoing series of miniseries.
Original Graphic Novels: "Hellboy".
Special stories were created for hardcover original graphic novels.
Trade paperbacks: "Hellboy".
All in-continuity "Hellboy" comics are collected in trade paperbacks.
Trade paperbacks: "Hellboy in Hell".
All "Hellboy in Hell" comics are collected in trade paperbacks.
Trade paperbacks: "Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.".
All "Hellboy and the B.P.R.D." comics are collected in trade paperbacks.
Library editions.
These editions collect the stories in the size they were originally drawn.
Omnibus editions.
These editions collect the complete Hellboy series in chronological order.
Other appearances.
Beyond the "Hellboy" comic and its associated spinoffs, Hellboy has made appearances in other publications:
Great Salt Lake Comic-Con pamphlet.
The character name "Hell Boy" was included in a drawing by Mike Mignola of a demon character in a black and white illustration, with the later recognized name appearing on the demon's belt buckle. This image, accompanied by a short biography of Mike Mignola and his latest creation, appeared in the pamphlet in 1991. It is the first published mention of the later recognized name. This image was reprinted in" The Art of Hellboy". This image was also used to create the “First Hellboy” statue by Mondo Tees, in both black and white and full color.
"Dime Press".
A prototype incarnation of Hellboy appeared on the cover of "Dime Press" #4 (Glamour International Production, 1993), an obscure Italian fanzine, with "Hellboy©Mignola 93" written at the bottom of the cover. The cover, illustrated by Mignola and by the Italian artist Nicola Mari, shows Hellboy in the act of attacking a "diabolic" version of the Italian SF comic book character Nathan Never (with bat wings and pointed tail). Mari at the time was one of the artists that worked on Nathan Never, and the first two years of the life of this comic were the main topic of the fanzine. With the exception of the cover, there is no other mention of Hellboy within the fanzine. The character shown was still in a draft stage, and although close to the final design of Hellboy, it had gray skin and an outfit not common to the character.
"San Diego Comic-Con Comics".
"Mike Mignola's Hellboy" by Mike Mignola and John Byrne featured the character's first full appearance, and was a four-page black-and-white story that had an approximately 1,500 book print run. It was published by Dark Horse Comics in "San Diego Comic-Con Comics" #2 (August 1993) for distribution at San Diego Comic-Con. It was also reprinted in The Comic's Buyers Guide #1069, along with an interview with creator Mike Mignola.
Hellboy travels to an American ghost town, where he encounters a mangy mutt that transforms into Anubis, the Ancient Egyptian god of mummification.
The story was collected in the trade paperback "".
"Next Men".
Hellboy makes a guest appearance in John Byrne's "Next Men" #21 (Dark Horse Comics, December 1993); this is the first American appearance in a full-color cameo.
"Comics Buyer's Guide".
"Mike Mignola's Hellboy: World's Greatest Paranormal Investigator" by Mike Mignola and John Byrne featured the character's next solo appearance. It was published by Dark Horse Comics in a special four-page mini-comic for distribution in "Comics Buyer's Guide" #1,070 (May 20, 1994).
In the story Hellboy battles with the disembodied head of Nazi scientist Herman von Klempt and his puppet henchman Brutus the Gorilla to rescue a captive girl from the doctor's transference of nutrient fluids process.
The story was collected in the trade paperback "".
"Celebrate Diversity".
"Hi, My Name is Hellboy" by Mike Mignola was a one-page panel ad that related the character's fictional origins. It was published by Diamond Comic Distributors in catalog supplement "Celebrate Diversity" collector's edition (October 1994). The ad was collected in the trade paperback "The Art of Hellboy".
"The Dark Horse Book of...".
"The Dark Horse Book of..." was the banner title given to a series of four one-shot hardcover comic book horror anthologies produced annually by Dark Horse Comics between 2004 and 2007. Each issue contained a Hellboy story — “Dr. Carp’s Experiment” (2004), “The Troll Witch” (2005), “The Ghoul” (2006), and “The Hydra and The Lion” (2007). All four stories were collected into the trade paperback "Hellboy: The Troll Witch and Others" in 2007. "The Dark Horse Book of..." series itself was collected into "The Dark Horse Book of Horror" in 2017.
"Hellboy: The First 20 Years" was published on 1 April 2014.
In other media.
Live-action films.
"Hellboy" (2004).
The film was directed and co-written by Guillermo del Toro and stars Ron Perlman as Hellboy (the favorite of both del Toro and Mignola for the role), Selma Blair as Liz Sherman, Rupert Evans as FBI Special Agent John Myers (a character created for the film), John Hurt as Professor Trevor Bruttenholm, Doug Jones as Abe Sapien (voiced by an uncredited David Hyde Pierce), Karel Roden as Grigori Rasputin, and Jeffrey Tambor as FBI Senior Special Agent Tom Manning. The film depicts Hellboy as living at the BPRD with a dozen cats and limited access to the outside world, and considered an urban legend by the general populace.
"Hellboy II: The Golden Army" (2008).
A sequel, "", was shot in Budapest by Guillermo del Toro and released in 2008, with Perlman and Blair returning. Jones also returned as Abe Sapien (undubbed this time), and also in two other roles, The Angel of Death and The Chamberlain. Revolution Studios had planned on making the film (which Columbia Pictures was to distribute), but the studio went out of business before filming. Universal Studios then picked it up. The plot is a shift to more folklore rather than action, with heavy European overtones. The character of Johann Kraus was added to the team, voiced by Seth MacFarlane. The character Roger the Homunculus was not, but he was written into the plot as a very prominent character in early drafts of the script. The character of Agent Myers from the first film does not return, his absence being explained by Liz remarking that Hellboy had him transferred to Antarctica out of jealousy. Hellboy also reveals himself to the outside world in this film, and Liz is revealed to be pregnant with his twin children. On November 11, 2008, "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" was released on DVD.
Canceled third film.
A sequel for "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" was in development in 2009, entitled "Hellboy III: Dark Worlds". Guillermo del Toro was slated to return as the film's director and writer. Ron Perlman, Doug Jones, Seth MacFarlane, Selma Blair and Jeffrey Tambor were set to reprise their roles. In the sequel, Hellboy would live his normal life as a father for his two newborn twins with Liz Sherman, but also has to face an extremely powerful enemy who wishes to rule and bring the darkness upon Earth. In 2017, it was announced that the sequel was canceled due to the difficulty of funding the film, and a reboot would happen instead.
However, in July 2019, Perlman said that he would still love to finish the trilogy with del Toro, ignoring the reboot and that he thought it could happen if financing could be found.
"Hellboy" (2019).
In May 2017, Mignola announced Millennium Media's plans for an R-rated reboot, at the time titled "Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen", with David Harbour as the titular character and Neil Marshall directing from a script by Andrew Cosby, Christopher Golden and Mignola. The film draws inspiration from ', ', "", and "Hellboy in Mexico". The film, later retitled as "Hellboy", was released on April 12, 2019 to negative reviews. It grossed $55.1 million against a $50 million production budget, with several media outlets declaring it a box office bomb. In 2022, Marshall decried the film, calling it the "worst profession experience" of his life due to creative control being taken from him by the producers and that the script was not salvageable, concluding that "there's nothing of me in that movie."
"Hellboy: The Crooked Man" (2024).
In February 2023, Millennium Media announced plans for another reboot titled "Hellboy: The Crooked Man", the first in a potential series of films. Brian Taylor directed from a script by Mignola and Golden, based on , with Jack Kesy as Hellboy. The film was released direct-to-VOD in the United States on October 8, 2024.
Animated films.
On November 9, 2005, IDT Entertainment issued a press release announcing that the company had licensed the rights to develop "animated content for television and home entertainment" based on the "Hellboy" comic. Ron Perlman (Hellboy), Selma Blair (Liz Sherman), Doug Jones (Abe Sapien) and John Hurt (Professor Trevor "Broom" Bruttenholm) have all voiced their respective characters. Actress Peri Gilpin joined the cast as Professor Kate Corrigan.
The first two 75-minute animated films, ' and ', were aired on Cartoon Network before being released on DVD. The first one aired on October 28, 2006, and the second aired on March 17, 2007.
Both stories have much more in common with the comic book "Hellboy" rather than the film — Abe Sapien is not psychic, for example, and the artwork and color palette is derived more from Mignola's original artwork. The DVD of "Sword of Storms" was released on February 6, 2007; it contains documentary material, commentary, and a "Hellboy" comic, "Phantom Limbs". "Blood and Iron" similarly contains a comic called "The Yearning".
After the initial release, some stores included exclusive giveaways with copies of the "Hellboy Animated: Blood and Iron" DVD:
A "Hellboy 2 Pak" limited edition DVD set was released July 1, 2008, that contained both films and a 7" figure.
A third animated Hellboy film, "The Phantom Claw", has been put on hold. Tad Stones, director and writer of the direct-to-video films, says the film will star Lobster Johnson and will have some familiar characters, but Abe and Liz will not be in the film (at least not as main characters).
Novels and anthologies.
Christopher Golden has written several novels about the character, the first two of which, "The Lost Army" and "The Bones of Giants", are part of the official "Hellboy" story canon. The events of both these novels are listed in the comic's official timeline featured in "Hellboy: The Companion". In particular, the Golden-penned character of Anastasia Bransfield was also described in the companion, despite having never actually appeared in a comic.
Video games.
A Hellboy video game called "", developed by Cryo Interactive, was released in 2000 for Microsoft Windows. It was ported to PlayStation as "Hellboy: Asylum Seeker" with David Gasman voicing Hellboy.
On April 6, 2005, "Hellboy" director Guillermo del Toro announced on his official site that he had made a deal with the developer Konami to create a new "Hellboy" video game based on the film version of the character and his world, featuring new monsters, new villains, and a new storyline. Herman von Klempt and his war ape Kriegaffe #10 were slated to make appearances. On May 9, 2006, it was revealed that the "Hellboy" game would appear in the summer of 2007, on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PlayStation Portable. The game was released in North America on June 24, 2008 with the name "" with Ron Perlman reprising his role. It is developed by Krome Studios, and published by Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. As well as single-player campaign where the player gets to play as Hellboy the game also features co-op play, featuring the characters Abe Sapien and Liz Sherman. Two additional levels and Lobster Johnson as a playable character (voiced by Bruce Campbell) as DLC were developed but were unreleased.
A "Hellboy" video game called "Hellboy II: The Golden Army – Tooth Fairy Terror" was released for the iPhone by Tuesday Creative on January 14, 2009.
Hellboy is a playable DLC character in "Injustice 2", voiced by Bruce Barker, as part of the "Fighter Pack 2". The character was released for download on Tuesday, November 14, 2017. He is brought to the Injustice universe by Brainiac who decides to add him to his collection as he is fascinated by Hellboy's human-like mind and personality despite being a demon. In his ending, Hellboy escapes from Brainiac's collection and defeats him. As a result, he is asked to assist in rounding up local supervillains before eventually returning to the B.P.R.D. but finds his work there unfulfilling and ends up retiring to Africa.
Hellboy appeared as a playable character in "Brawlhalla".
A Hellboy roguelike video game, titled "Hellboy Web of Wyrd", was released on October 18, 2023 by developer Upstream Arcade. It is available on Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. Lance Reddick voices the title character and it was one of his final productions prior to his death. The game is dedicated in his memory.
The Heavy from "Team Fortress 2" has a cosmetic item based on Hellboy's horns.
Tabletop games.
In 2002, "Hellboy Sourcebook and Roleplaying Game" was published by Steve Jackson Games using their GURPS role-playing system, in both softcover and hardback.
Mantic Games released a "Hellboy: The Board Game" in 2019, after a successful crowdfunding campaign.
In 2020, Mantic Games followed up the boardgame with another Hellboy Kickstarter campaign, this time for a new Hellboy roleplaying game, using D&D 5E as a base for the game rules. The roleplaying game is aiming for a March 2021 release.
Awards.
The miniseries "Hellboy: Conqueror Worm" won a 2002 Eisner Award for "Best Limited Series", while "The Art of Hellboy" won an Eisner in 2004 for "Best Comics-Related Book". Mignola won a 2000 Harvey Award for "Best Artist", based on "Hellboy: Box Full of Evil". "Hellboy: Darkness Calls" won a 2007 Eagle Award for "Favourite Colour Comicbook – American".
The character Hellboy was nominated for "Favourite Comics Character" at the 2004 and 2005 Eagle Awards. Other Eagle Award nominations include "Favourite Comics Story published during 2007" for "Hellboy: Darkness Calls", and "Favourite Comics Hero".
The comics writer Alan Moore listed "Hellboy" on his recommendations page, particularly "Wake the Devil (Vol. 2)", calling it "the skillful cutting and the setting of the stone that we can see Mignola's sharp contemporary sensibilities at work".
In March 2009, Hellboy won two categories in the fan voted Project Fanboy Awards for 2008: "Best Indy Hero" and "Best Indy Character".
In 2011, Hellboy was ranked 25th of the Top 100 Comic Book Heroes by IGN.
Merchandise.
On May 22, 2017, Dark Horse Comics, XXX Distillery LLC, and Prestige Imports LLC officially released Hellboy Hell Water Cinnamon Whiskey, a small batch, naturally-flavored whiskey.
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Deadpool
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Deadpool is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in "New Mutants" #98 (December 1990). In his comic book appearances, Deadpool is initially depicted as a supervillain of the New Mutants and X-Force, though later stories would portray him as an antihero. Deadpool is the alter ego of Wade Wilson, a disfigured Canadian mercenary with superhuman regenerative healing abilities. He is known for his tendency to joke incessantly and break the fourth wall for humorous effect.
The character's popularity has seen him featured in numerous other media outlets. In the 2004 series "Cable & Deadpool", he refers to his own scarred appearance as "Ryan Renolds crossed with a Shar Pei". Reynolds developed an interest in portraying the character after reading the comic, which was ultimately realized in the "X-Men" film series, including "" (2009), "Deadpool" (2016), and its sequels "Deadpool 2" (2018) and Marvel Cinematic Universe's "Deadpool & Wolverine" (2024), in the latter of which Blake Lively, Matthew McConaughey, Paul Mullin, Nathan Fillion, Peggy, and Reynolds' children Inez and Olin portray alternate universe variants of Deadpool.
Publication history.
1990s.
Created by artist/writer Rob Liefeld and writer Fabian Nicieza, Deadpool made his first appearance on the pages of "The New Mutants" #98 cover-dated Feb. 1991. According to Nicieza, Liefeld came up with the character's visual design and name, and Nicieza himself came up with the character's speech mannerisms.
Liefeld's favorite comic title before "X-Men" was "Avengers", which featured weapons like Captain America's shield, Thor's hammer and Hawkeye's bow and arrow. Because of this, he also decided to give weapons to his new characters. Liefeld, a fan of the "Teen Titans" comics, showed his new character to then-writer Fabian Nicieza. Upon seeing the costume and noting his characteristics (killer with super agility), Nicieza contacted Liefeld, saying, "This is Deathstroke from Teen Titans". Nicieza gave Deadpool the real name of "Wade Wilson" as an inside-joke to being "related" to "Slade Wilson", Deathstroke.
Liefeld spoke on how the character was influenced by Spider-Man: "The simplicity of the mask was my absolute jealousy over Spider-Man and the fact that both of my buddies, [fellow Marvel artists] Erik Larsen and Todd McFarlane, would tell me, 'I love drawing Spider-Man. You just do an oval and two big eyes. You’re in, you’re out.' ... The Spider-Man I grew up with would make fun of you or punch you in the face and make small cracks. That was the entire intent with Deadpool. ... I specifically told Marvel, 'He's Spider-Man, except with guns and swords.' The idea was, he's a jackass."
Other inspirations were Wolverine and Snake Eyes. Liefeld states: "Wolverine and Spider-Man were the two properties I was competing with at all times. I didn't have those, I didn't have access to those. I had to make my own Spider-Man and Wolverine. That's what Cable and Deadpool were meant to be, my own Spider-Man and my own Wolverine." ""G.I. Joe" was my first obsession. Those were the toys in the sandbox with me, kung fu grip, eagle eye, I had them all. "G.I. Joe" is a world of characters that I have always aspired to participate in. Snake Eyes was a profound influence on my creating Deadpool."
Both Deadpool and Cable were also meant to be tied into Wolverine's history already from the start, as Liefeld describes: "Wolverine was my guy. If I could tie anything into Wolverine, I was winning." Like Wolverine, Deadpool is (or is thought to be) Canadian. The original story had him joining the Weapon X program after being kicked out of the U.S. Army Special Forces and given an artificial healing factor based on Wolverine's, thanks to Dr. Emrys Killebrew, one of the head scientists.
In his first appearance, Deadpool is hired by Tolliver to attack Cable and the New Mutants. After subsequently appearing in "X-Force" as a recurring character, Deadpool began making guest appearances in a number of different Marvel Comics titles, such as "The Avengers", "Daredevil", and "Heroes for Hire". In 1993, the character received his own miniseries, titled "The Circle Chase", written by Fabian Nicieza and pencilled by Joe Madureira. It was a relative success and Deadpool starred in a second, self-titled miniseries written in 1994 by Mark Waid, pencilled by Ian Churchill, and inked by Jason Temujin Minor and Bud LaRosa. Waid later commented, "Frankly, if I'd known Deadpool was such a creep when I agreed to write the mini-series, I wouldn't have done it. Someone who hasn't paid for their crimes presents a problem for me."
In 1997, Deadpool was given his own ongoing title, the first volume of "Deadpool", written by sequentially Joe Kelly, Christopher Priest and Gail Simone. "Deadpool" became an action comedy parody of the cosmic drama, antihero-heavy comics of the time. The series firmly established his supporting cast, including his prisoner/den mother Blind Al and his best friend Weasel. The ongoing series gained cult popularity for its unorthodox main character, its balance of angst and pop culture slapstick and the character became less of a villain, though the element of his moral ambiguity remained.
2000s.
"Deadpool" lasted until issue #69, at which point it was relaunched as a new title with a similar character called "Agent X" in 2002. This occurred during a line-wide revamp of X-Men-related comics, with "Cable" becoming "Soldier X" and "X-Force" becoming "X-Statix". It appeared that Deadpool was killed in an explosion fighting the supervillain Black Swan. Deadpool's manager Sandi Brandenberg later founded Agency X with a mysterious man called Alex Hayden, who took the name dubbed Agent X. Deadpool later returned to the series, which would conclude with issues 13–15.
Deadpool's next starring appearance came in 2004, with the launch of "Cable & Deadpool" written by Fabian Nicieza, where Deadpool became partnered with his former enemy, Cable, teaming up in various adventures. This title was canceled with issue #50 and replaced by a new "Cable" series in March 2008. Deadpool then appeared briefly in the "" title by writer Daniel Way before Way and Paco Medina launched another "Deadpool" title in September 2008. Medina was the main series artist, with Carlo Barberi filling in on the first issue after the "Secret Invasion" tie-in.
A new "Deadpool" ongoing series began as a "Secret Invasion" tie-in. In the first arc, the character is seen working with Nick Fury to steal data on how to kill the Skrull queen Veranke. Norman Osborn steals the information that Deadpool had stolen from the Skrulls, and subsequent stories deal with the fallout from that. The story also sees the return of Bob, Agent of HYDRA. This all led directly to a confrontation with the new Thunderbolts in "Magnum Opus" which crossed over between "Deadpool" vol. 2 #8–9 and "Thunderbolts" #130–131. In "Deadpool" #15, Deadpool decides to become a hero resulting in conflicts with proper heroes like Spider-Man (who he had recently encountered in "The Amazing Spider-Man" #611 as part of "The Gauntlet") and leading to a 3-issue arc where he takes on Hit-Monkey, a character who debuted in the same month in a digital, then-print, one-shot.
Another ongoing Deadpool series, "Deadpool: Merc with a Mouth", launched in July 2009, written by Victor Gischler, with art by Bong Dazo. In it Deadpool teams with Headpool from "Marvel Zombies 3" and "4".
A special anniversary issue titled "Deadpool" #900 was released in October 2009. A third Deadpool ongoing series, "Deadpool Team-Up", launched in November 2009 (with issue numbers counting in reverse starting with issue #899), written by Fred Van Lente, with art by Dalibor Talajic. This series features Deadpool teaming up with different heroes from the Marvel Universe in each issue, such as Hercules. Deadpool also joined the cast of the new "Uncanny X-Force" team.
2010s.
Another Deadpool series by Gischler titled "Deadpool Corps" was released in April 2010. Besides Deadpool himself, this series featured alternate versions of Deadpool, including a female version of himself named Wanda Wilson / Lady Deadpool (who debuted in "Deadpool: Merc with a Mouth" #7), Headpool (the "Marvel Zombies" universe incarnation, now reduced to a severed head), and two new characters; Kidpool, a child, and Dogpool, a dog. The series lasted twelve issues.
Marvel also published "Deadpool" titles through the Marvel Knights and MAX imprints: "Deadpool: Wade Wilson's War", by Duane Swierczynski and Jason Pearson, and "Deadpool MAX" by David Lapham and Kyle Baker.
Deadpool vol. 2 was written by Daniel Way and drawn by Alé Garza. In the story arc "DEAD", Wade is "cured" of his healing ability and becomes mortal. As a side effect, he also has his old, unscarred face once again. Although he spent the majority of the story arc looking forward to dying, he suppresses his desires in order to protect his friend and sidekick Hydra Bob.
After he loses his healing factor, Wilson claims he felt "more alive than ever." However, after a harsh beating from Intelligencia, Wade realized that he had let his ability to heal compensate for skill so he decided to ask for help from Taskmaster in training. Taskmaster asked Wilson to help him steal Pym Particles from S.H.I.E.L.D., but actually, he allowed Black Box to study Wade in order to prepare his vengeance against Wilson, even letting him know Deadpool lost his healing factor.
Wade managed to defeat Black Box, Black Tom and Black Swan, but in the process, his face was burned and disfigured again. Former FBI agent Allison Kemp wanted to get revenge on Deadpool because of his involvement in an accident which left her in a wheelchair, and she called other enemies of Deadpool such as T-Ray and Slayback and trained them to kill Deadpool. Deadpool infiltrated their base and managed to get T-Ray and Slayback killed when Kemp was about to kill herself in an explosion which would kill Wade in the process, he convinced her not to attack him. At that moment, he was surprised by the returned Evil Deadpool, who informed Wade that the serum they took was not permanent, which was why Wade's face did not heal or a finger he lost grew back, so Wade would return after Evil Deadpool shot him. Daniel Way's Deadpool series concluded with issue 63.
As part of Marvel's Marvel NOW! initiative, a new "Deadpool" ongoing series was launched. He is also a member of the Thunderbolts. In the 27th issue of his new series, as part of "All-New Marvel NOW!", Deadpool was married for the third time. Initially a secret, his bride was revealed in the webcomic "Deadpool: The Gauntlet" to be Shiklah, Queen of the Undead. Deadpool also discovers that he has a daughter, Eleanor, from a former flame named Carmelita.
During the events of "Original Sin", it was revealed that Deadpool was tricked into killing his parents by a scientist known as Butler (who abducted Eleanor and gave her to his brother); however, Deadpool does not know about it.
Much later, he clashed with Carnage, believing the universe was telling the latter to defeat him. After several fights and getting torn to pieces, Deadpool bonds with four symbiotes: Riot, Phage, Lasher and Agony. Playing mind games, Deadpool tricked Shriek by using his shapeshifting abilities to make her disoriented and having her flee. After the symbiotic Deadpool and Carnage fought again, Deadpool captures Shriek and forces her to impersonate himself, making it trick Carnage into almost killing her in the process. Feeling broken after a mental breakdown, Carnage allowed himself to be arrested and was placed in an unlocked cell. While sitting in the cell until he was his own self, Carnage swore vengeance on Deadpool. Deadpool, after defeating Carnage, gives the four symbiotes to a war dog who helped Deadpool fight Carnage to deliver them to the government.
During the "AXIS" storyline, Deadpool appears as a member of Magneto's unnamed supervillain group during the fight against Red Skull's Red Onslaught form. The group of villains becomes inverted to heroes, after a spell cast by Scarlet Witch and Doctor Doom. This group was later named the Astonishing Avengers. This Deadpool, referred to as "Zenpool", was pivotal in turning Apocalypse to fighting the Inverted Avengers.
Deadpool's death occurs in "Deadpool" #250. Deadpool faces off in a final showdown with ULTIMATUM and Flag-Smasher, killing all of them, and gives up the "Deadpool" identity, wishing to have a better life. He, along with his family and friends, are all killed when the Earth collides with an alternate universe's Earth. Deadpool laments that the Secret Wars should have stayed an Avengers event, but then dies at peace, content that everybody else is dying with him.
All New, All Different Marvel.
Eight months after the events of "Secret Wars" and the restoration of Earth, Deadpool is seen working for Steve Rogers. After stealing some potentially life-saving chemicals needed by an ailing Rogue, he is offered membership in the Avengers Unity Squad.
"Deadpool" Vol. 4 began in 2016. In the course of the following months, Deadpool's popularity skyrocketed after the mercenary Solo impersonated him to piggyback on Deadpool's reputation and take jobs at a higher pay rate. One of Solo's jobs in Washington, D.C. had Deadpool's public opinion drastically change for the better when he saved an ambassador from his telepathically manipulated agents. After learning of Solo's impersonation, Deadpool came up with the idea to form a group of mercenaries called the Mercs for Money to extend his reach across the globe. However, Deadpool's newfound popularity forced him to leave his family behind, fearing his enemies could endanger them. Deadpool additionally joined the Avengers Unity Division and used his popularity as a means of funding the team, with the profit from the merchandise.
Madcap additionally returned to Deadpool's life, though Wade was unaware his experience inside his mind left Madcap emotionally damaged and vengeful. Madcap initially posed as an ally, joining the Mercs for Money, but eventually showed his true intentions after he was discovered impersonating Deadpool to defame and threaten his loved ones. Seeing as he had had enough fun, Madcap used an alien weapon to molecularly disintegrate himself. For his second coming, the villain had Deadpool unwittingly become the carrier of a deadly airborne virus with which he infected his family. Wade found a cure, though had to resort to Cable's evil clone Stryfe to find it. Around this time, tensions between Shiklah's domain and the surface world sparked an invasion of Manhattan from Monster Metropolis, which in turn led to Shiklah divorcing Deadpool, opting to return to Dracula instead.
Not long after Wade joined the Avengers Unity Division, the real Steve Rogers was secretly supplanted by an evil fascist counterpart from another timeline that operated as a Hydra sleeper agent within the superhero community. When Phil Coulson became suspicious of Steve, Rogers convinced Deadpool to kill him, claiming that Coulson had gone rogue. A short time afterward, Captain America's machinations resulted in Hydra rising to power, taking over the United States of America. When Hydra's conquest had barely begun, Preston found out about Coulson's death and confronted Deadpool about it. The fight ended in Preston's death. As Hydra's empire grew stronger, Wade joined its own version of the Avengers out of blind loyalty for Captain America. Plagued by guilt, Wade held back when tasked with hunting down the rebel alliance known as the Underground and eventually helped, behind the scenes, to lay part of the foundation of Hydra's eventual defeat. With his mistakes costing the lives of two of his friends, the love of his daughter, and any respect the world had for him, Deadpool turned his back on what little remained of the life he had built.
In "Deadpool" (vol. 9), Deadpool adopts Princess, a symbiote and clone of Carnage who takes a hyena-like form.
Characterization.
Personality.
Deadpool is aware that he is a fictional comic book character. He commonly breaks the fourth wall, which is done by few other characters in the Marvel Universe, and this is used to humorous effect, for instance, by having Deadpool converse with his own "inner monologue", represented by caption boxes. In stories by writer Daniel Way between 2008 and 2012, Deadpool was, without explanation, shown to have developed a second "voice in his head", represented by a second set of captions with a different font; "Deadpool" vol. 3 Annual #1 (2014) would retroactively explain that this voice belonged to Madcap, a psychotic Captain America villain, who had become molecularly entangled with Deadpool.
The character's back-story has been presented as vague and subject to change, and within the narrative, he is unable to remember his personal history due to a mental condition. Whether or not his name was even Wade Wilson is subject to speculation since one of his nemeses, T-Ray, claims in "Deadpool" #33 that he is the real Wade Wilson and that Deadpool is a vicious murderer who stole his identity. There have been other dubious stories about his history—at one point the supervillain Loki claimed to be his father. Frequently, revelations are later retconned or ignored altogether, and in one issue, Deadpool himself joked that whether or not he is actually Wade Wilson depends on which writer the reader prefers.
Deadpool is depicted as having a regenerative healing factor, which not only prevents him from being permanently injured through enhanced cell regeneration throughout his body, but also causes psychosis and mental instability, as his neurons are also affected by the accelerated regeneration. It is thought that while his psychosis is a handicap, it is also one of his assets as it makes him an extremely unpredictable opponent. Taskmaster, who has photo-reflexive memory which allows him to copy anyone's fighting skills by observation, was unable to defeat Deadpool due to his chaotic and improvised fighting style. Taskmaster has also stated that Deadpool is an expert at distracting his opponents.
Deadpool has sometimes been portrayed to have a strong sense of core morality. In "Uncanny X-Force", he storms out after Wolverine tries to rationalize Fantomex killing Apocalypse, who was at the time in a child form. After Wolverine argues that Deadpool is motivated solely by money, Archangel reveals that Deadpool never cashed any of his checks.
Sexual orientation.
In December 2013, Deadpool was confirmed as being pansexual by "Deadpool" writer Gerry Duggan via Twitter. However, this post on Twitter has since been deleted by Gerry Duggan. When asked about Deadpool's sexuality, co-creator Fabian Nicieza stated, "Deadpool is whatever sexual inclination his brain tells him he is in THAT moment. And then the moment passes." Nicieza has also stated,
Not trying to be dismissive, but readers always want to 'make a character their own', and often that is to the exclusion of what the character might mean to other fans. I've been dogged with the DP sexuality questions for YEARS. It is a bit tiring. He is NO sex and ALL sexes. He is yours and everyone else's. So not dismissive, but rather the epitome of inclusive.
Powers and abilities.
Deadpool's primary power is an accelerated healing factor, depicted by various writers at differing levels of efficiency. The speed of his healing factor depends on the severity of the wound and Deadpool's mental state. It works most efficiently when he is awake, alert, and in good spirits. Deadpool's accelerated healing factor is strong enough that he has survived complete incineration and decapitation more than once. Although his head normally has to be reunited with his body to heal a decapitation wound, he was able to regrow his head after having it pulverized by the Hulk in the graphic novel "Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe".
Deadpool's brain cells are similarly affected, with dying neurons being rejuvenated at a super accelerated rate. This allows Deadpool to recover from any head wounds, and it renders him nearly invulnerable to psychic and telepathic powers, although this ability is inconsistent. It has been revealed that at the time his healing ability was given to him, Deadpool suffered from some form of cancer; after the healing factor was given to him, it made his normal cells as well as his cancerous cells unable to die, giving him a heavily scarred appearance beneath his suit.
Deadpool's body is highly resistant to most drugs and toxins, due to his accelerated healing factor. For example, it is extremely difficult for him to become intoxicated. He can be affected by certain drugs, such as tranquilizers if he is exposed to a large enough dosage. Unlike Wolverine, Deadpool has some degree of pain insensitivity, often referring to his gore and impalement injuries as being "ticklish".
Deadpool is effectively immortal, although he has died several times. He is still alive 800 years in the future when the new X-Force encounters him. In addition, Thanos once declared that Deadpool should "consider yourself cursed... with life!" out of jealousy over Deadpool's status as Death's love interest. His enemy T-Ray later resurrected him, under Thanos' instruction, using an artifact he had given him. Later, Deadpool was informed that Thanos had placed a curse on him, and tracked Thanos down. He revealed that the only thing keeping Wade alive was his "spell of darkest necromancy". Although Thanos removed this curse in order to kill Deadpool, he felt forced to immediately bring him back using "a fusion of necromancy and science" in order to request his aid in tracking down Mistress Death, who had gone missing.
Deadpool is a highly trained assassin and mercenary. He is adept in multiple forms of martial arts, including Savate. Deadpool is an extraordinary athlete, and an expert swordsman and marksman. He is skilled in the use of multiple weapons, including katanas, knives, grenades, and guns. His accelerated healing factor may contribute to his abilities, allowing him to perform the intense exercise for extended periods of time with minimal aches and fatigue. Although in earlier years he was originally portrayed as having superhuman strength, he is no longer depicted as having this ability.
Over the years, Deadpool has owned a number of personal teleportation devices. Also, during Deadpool's first ongoing comic, he possesses a device that projected holographic disguises, allowing him to go undercover or conceal his appearance. Deadpool is multilingual, with the ability to speak fluently in German, Spanish, ASL, and Japanese, in addition to his native English.
Since Deadpool is aware that he is a fictional character, he uses this knowledge to his advantage to deal with opponents or gain knowledge to which he should not normally have access, such as reading past issues of his and others' comics.
Despite his otherwise exemplary physical skills, Deadpool cannot dunk in basketball at all.
Other versions.
Age of Apocalypse.
In the "Age of Apocalypse" timeline, Deadpool was redubbed Dead Man Wade and reimagined as a bitter, humorless member of Apocalypse's Pale Riders, having received his flawed healing factor from Apocalypse's eugenics program. Sent with his team to invade the Savage Land, he attempted to unleash chaos upon the sanctuary but was killed by Nightcrawler, who teleported his head off his body and hid it in a crater. Later, Dead Man Wade was revealed to be resurrected like many of the other Alpha mutants.
Apocalypse Wars.
In the "Extraordinary X-Men" Apocalypse Wars crossover, Deadpool is a Horseman of Apocalypse.
Captain America: Who Won't Wield the Shield.
The World War II-era version of Deadpool is introduced in the one-shot parody issue "Captain America: Who Won't Wield the Shield". Frederick "Wheezy" Wilson, the nephew of President Woodrow Wilson, is a soldier who is experimented on by the Nazis to become 'Veapon X'. Despite the nature of the story as a period piece, Wilson peppers his speech with anachronistic slang from the 1990s.
"Deadpool Killology".
"Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe".
In the storyline "Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe", the X-Men send Deadpool to a mental hospital for therapy. The doctor treating him is actually Psycho-Man in disguise, who attempts to torture and brainwash Deadpool into becoming his personal minion. The procedure fails but leaves Deadpool even more mentally unhinged, erasing the "serious" and "Screwball" voices in his head and replacing them with a voice that only wants destruction. Under "Evil Voice's" influence, Deadpool develops a more nihilistic world view and as a result, after killing Psycho-Man by repeatedly smashing him against a desk, (and after he burns the hospital by using gasoline) he begins assassinating every superhero and supervillain on Earth, starting with the Fantastic Four and even killing the Watcher, in an apparent attempt to rebel against his comic book creators. The book ends with him breaking into the "real" world and confronting the Marvel writers and artists who are writing the book. He says to the reader that once he is done with this universe, "I'll find you soon enough."
"Deadpool Killustrated".
After the events of "Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe", Deadpool has killed many versions of Marvel superheroes and villains across the multiverse to no effect and comes to a conclusion that infinite alternate versions of the heroes and villains he killed exist. In the series, Deadpool hires a team of scientists to help him get rid of all Marvel characters. The Mad Thinker gives the Merc with a Mouth a device that transports him to the "Ideaverse", a universe that contains the classic characters that inspired Marvel characters. In each book, he hunts down and murders characters such as the Headless Horseman (who inspired the Green Goblin and Ghost Rider), the characters of "Little Women" (Black Widow, She-Hulk, Elektra), Captain Ahab (General Thunderbolt Ross), the Little Mermaid (Namor), Mowgli (Ka-Zar), Count Dracula (Marvel's Dracula, Morbius, Blade) and more. He also installs his own brain into Frankenstein's monster, giving his dark inner voice a body to help him with. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson enlist Beowulf, Hua Mulan and Natty Bumppo to stop him.
"Deadpool Kills Deadpool".
On April 4, 2013, Cullen Bunn revealed that, following the publication of "Deadpool Killustrated", the next and last part of the "Deadpool Killology" is "Deadpool Kills Deadpool", stating that the murderous, nihilistic Deadpool that appeared in "Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe" and "Killustrated" is now called "Dreadpool" and, in the series, he hunts down all versions of Deadpool, while "our" Deadpool, the light-hearted Merc With A Mouth, hunted down Dreadpool. Bunn stated that the Deadpool Corps appeared along with many other versions of Deadpool and new versions. The first book was released in July 2013. The first issue opens with Deadpool dealing with yet another attack by ULTIMATUM, after which the Deadpool Corps quickly ropes the titular character into the crisis. Over the course of the storyline, the Deadpool Corps is killed (not including Headpool, who was already killed prior to the events of the storyline), and it concludes in Issue #4, where Deadpool clashes with Dreadpool, who is eventually shown the error of his ways and killed by Deadpool in vengeance for causing the death of his friends. Somehow, the mainstream Deadpool finds his way back, but not before the reader is aware that Dreadpool is still alive and scheming.
"Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Again".
In the storyline "Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Again", in another universe diverging from the events of "", the villains of the world elect to use a brainwashed Deadpool instead of Wolverine to wipe out the X-Men, and in-turn all the other heroes of the world. Once Mr. Knight's assistant Gwen Poole realises what is going on, just after Deadpool has killed every hero in the alternative continuity but for her, she makes a sacrifice play and uses his trigger word to set him against the villains instead.
"Deadpool: Merc with a Mouth".
Several alternate incarnations of Deadpool are introduced in the series "Deadpool: Merc with a Mouth". Attempting to return Headpool to the Marvel Zombies universe, Deadpool encounters multiple versions of himself as they exist in other universes, including a female version of himself named Lady Deadpool, Major Wade Wilson, a militant but sane version of Deadpool, and The Deadpool Kid (KidPool), a cowboy version of Deadpool who exists within a universe resembling the Wild West.
Deadpool Pulp.
"Deadpool Pulp" is a four-issue limited series from writers Mike Benson and Adam Glass and artist Laurence Campbell, with Deadpool set in the 1950s drawing on pulp fiction (similar to the Marvel Noir fictional universe). This version of Wade is a World War II veteran broken by torture who is recruited by Generals Cable and Stryfe to take down the traitor Outlaw. This version retains his twin katanas and wears a ninja style mask.
Deadpool: Samurai.
In the manga series "Deadpool: Samurai", which takes place on Earth-346, Deadpool travels to Japan and joins Samurai Squad, the Japanese division of the Avengers. While he is a member of Samurai Squad, Deadpool battles villains such as Loki and Thanos.
"Heroes Reborn".
In an alternate reality depicted in the 2021 "Heroes Reborn" miniseries, Deadpool is the mallet-wielding sidekick of the Goblin and an enemy of Nighthawk.
House of M.
In the "House of M" reality, Wade Wilson was a field commander and active agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. During one of his missions, Agent Wilson contacted S.H.I.E.L.D. They had to patch him through the TB-Link satellite to communicate with him.
Hulked-Out Heroes.
Appearing first in "Hulk" vol. 2 #21, Deadpool is "hulked-out" near the end of the Fall of the Hulks storyline. A two-part miniseries called, "World War Hulks: Hulked Out Heroes" followed Hulkpool as he travels back in time to kill himself, disrupting the origin stories of many heroes as he goes.
Identity Wars.
When Deadpool, Spider-Man, and Hulk went to another universe, Deadpool found Death Wish who looked like Deadpool but the red part of his costume was green. Deadpool and Death Wish started hanging out with each other and having a lot of fun until Wade Wilson of this universe named Death Mask came in and killed Death Wish who was revealed to be the Victor von Doom of this universe gone crazy. Then Deadpool vowed revenge against Death Mask for killing Death Wish and killed all of the members of Death Mask's group. After that Deadpool defeated Death Mask by throwing a bomb at him, which knocked him out. Deadpool started impersonating Death Mask until he and the other Heroes went back to their universe.
Marvel 2099.
In the potential future of "Marvel 2099", Deadpool is Warda Wilson, the daughter of Wade and Shiklah. She collaborates with a gang inspired by Hydra Agent Bob and is wanted by the police. She has taken an older Wade prisoner and forces him to watch political debates while chained up, angered that he has ruined her life and hopes she can use him to find her mother. Wade reveals he and Shiklah had a falling out after the death of Ellie, which led to a battle between the two former lovers in Hell. The new Deadpool is also being pursued by a woman who wears a costume that looks like Wade's "Zenpool" identity from Axis. The mysterious woman rescues Wade and gives him access to her bike to a hologram Preston. She then battles Warda and is revealed to be an alive Ellie, who plans to reclaim the Deadpool name. Wade and Preston break into the old hideout of the Uncanny Avengers for Wade to gear up. Warda and Ellie continue fighting until Warda reveals she will unleash a demonic monster unless Ellie does not get Wade to confess where Shiklah is. After Wade and Preston reunite with Ellie, Wade tells Ellie to search for Shiklah's casket at Doc Samson's grave while he and Preston then go to the Little Italy of 2099 to seek the help of one of the few heroes alive in this time period: Iron Fist.
The heroes and Danny's Iron Fists confront Warda in Madison Star Garden, where the Iron Fists fend off the giant monster while Wade tries to prevent his daughters from fighting by promising to tell Warda where Shiklah is. Despite his plea, Warda murders Ellie with liquid napalm and takes Wade to the sewer to interrogate him, where Wade reveals that Ellie's mutant ability is to regenerate all at once into her teenage body, allowing her to survive Warda's attack. After Wade, Preston, and Ellie defeat Warda, Wade tells her that he and Shiklah had an on-and-off-again relationship, but were always on the path for war which eventually resulted in her death, as on Earth, those who refuse to co-exist cease to exist (with Wade bringing up the Skrulls to support his point). He implants Preston into Warda's head so she can aid Warda in clearing her conscious and becoming a better person and tells his daughters that they can both be Deadpool. He later tells Ellie that he now plans to travel the world and rid the planet of his old enemies and that Shiklah's resting place is in a shrunken glass coffin located on top of his heart.
Marvel 2997.
In Messiah War Deadpool is locked in a freezer for eight hundred years. When he escapes he is captured by the armed forces of the few surviving humans left. He helps Cable to get Hope Summers back from Stryfe who is later revealed to be inside this version of Deadpool's head. After seemingly defeating Stryfe, this version of Deadpool is quickly ripped in half and appears to die shortly after, his last words being a joke on "severance" pay.
Marvel Zombies.
In the first "Marvel Zombies" limited series, a zombie version of Deadpool is seen fighting the Silver Surfer. The zombie Deadpool eventually loses his body and appears as a disembodied head beginning in "Marvel Zombies 3". This incarnation of Deadpool, frequently referred to as Headpool, entered the mainstream Marvel continuity when he is encountered and captured by the original Deadpool in "Deadpool: Merc with a Mouth". Along with several other alternate versions of Deadpool, Headpool went on to appear in "Deadpool Corps" with a propeller beanie mounted to his head, granting him flight.
Spider-Man & Deadpool.
In an alternate future, Spider-Man is an old man who got paralyzed from a Life Model Decoy Deadpool and lives in a retirement home with an elderly Deadpool. Unknown to Spider-Man, Oldpool was giving his blood to Peter so he would not die due to his old age. In a battle between LMD Deadpools, Oldpool uses a time machine and mistakenly switches places with the mainstream Deadpool. After they got to the main timeline they are reunited with the main Spider-Man and Oldpool. Then after stopping Master Matrix (the LMD master created by Peter's parents) and Chameleon, Old Man Peter and Oldpool fade away to their timeline.
Ultimate Marvel.
The "Ultimate Marvel" version of Deadpool is Sergeant "Wadey" Wilson, a Gulf War veteran. Depicted as an anti-mutant extremist, he is a cyborg and leader of the Reavers who hunt mutants for sport on a reality TV show. Beneath the mask, Deadpool appears to be a skull with an exposed brain, his skin formed by a transparent shell. He also has the ability to mimic an individual's appearance and voice, though not their powers. Wadey reappears in "Deadpool Kills Deadpool" (written by Cullen Bunn and released in 2013) as a member of the Evil Deadpool Corps, led by Dreadpool, whose aim was to exterminate alternate versions of Deadpool across the multiverse, including the regular Deadpool Corps. In issue #4, he is killed by the mainstream Deadpool.
Venomverse.
In "Edge of Venomverse", Deadpool from another universe investigated a facility where illegal experiments were being performed with parasitic worms. He bonded to the Venom symbiote to expel the worms inside him. In the event, he willingly got consumed by a Poison to act as a double-agent for the Venom army. In the end, he is presumed dead.
Weapon X: Days of Future Now.
In the alternate Earth ending of the "Weapon X" comic, Deadpool is recruited by Wolverine to be part of a new team of X-Men after the old team is killed. He joins, claiming Wolverine only wants him as the "token human". This version of Deadpool is killed by Agent Zero's Anti-Healing Factor corrosive acid. This version of Deadpool speaks in white text boxes.
What If...?
In a "What If...?" one-shot titled "Demon in the Armor", which happens to take place in Earth-90211, Wade Wilson, like Deadpool, is hired by Galactus to kill the Beyonder for merging MODOK to Galactus's rear end in exchange for the Community Cube. He was given a weapon called the Recton Expungifier, the only weapon that could kill the Beyonder. When Deadpool tracked down his target to a nightclub, he was enticed into the Beyonder's partying lifestyle, getting Jheri curls in the process. While hanging out with the Beyonder in a flying limousine, Spider-Man broke into the car and demanded the symbiote costume be removed from himself. Beyonder's driver shoots Spider-Man out of the limousine, the symbiote leaves Spider-Man and merges with Deadpool, creating Venompool. However, after years of partying, Beyonder grew tired and threw Venompool to the world, snapping him out of Beyonder's magic. Venompool attempted to resume his contract and kill the Beyonder, but he accidentally pawned the Recton Expungifier. He decides to get himself clean by kidnapping and selling a drunken to A.I.M. Unfortunately, he cannot join any major superhero teams, like the Avengers, Defenders and Fantastic Four because of his newly acquired Jheri curls.
"X-Men '92".
In the "Secret Wars" Battleworld based on the , Deadpool is a member of X-Force with Cable, Bishop, Archangel, Psylocke, and Domino.
Reception.
Critical reception.
Over the years, Deadpool has been recognized and celebrated in various rankings, each highlighting different aspects of his character. In 2008, "Wizard Magazine" ranked Deadpool 182nd in their "The 200 Greatest Comic Book Characters of All Time" list, acknowledging his early appeal as a unique anti-hero in the comic world. Similarly, "Paste Magazine" included Deadpool at 61 in their list of "The 100 Best Comic Book Characters of All Time," highlighting his unique self-awareness in the Marvel Universe, which sets him apart from typical archetypes. By 2014, Deadpool's blend of humor and action had gained significant momentum, leading "IGN" to rank him 31st in their "Top 100 Comic Book Heroes" list, praising his offbeat nature and sharp wit that set him apart from traditional heroes. "Empire" similarly noted his importance, placing him 45th in their "50 Greatest Comic Book Characters" list the same year, emphasizing his unpredictable and comedic approach to crime-fighting.
His role within the X-Men universe has also garnered attention, as "Entertainment Weekly" ranked him 9th in their "Let's rank every X-Man ever" list in 2014, appreciating his unique relationship with the team and his unconventional methods. In 2018, "GameSpot" recognized Deadpool's influence beyond just humor, ranking him 29th in their "50 Most Important Superheroes" list for his impact on modern superhero storytelling and his ability to break the fourth wall. That same year, "CBR" ranked him 3rd in their "X-Force: 20 Powerful Members" list, highlighting his contributions to the team and his combat skills.
In 2019, "ComicBook.com" placed him 30th in their "50 Most Important Superheroes Ever" list, acknowledging his broader cultural impact, especially as a character who blurs the lines between hero and anti-hero. Finally, in 2023, "CBR" ranked Deadpool 8th in their "10 Most Popular Marvel Characters" list, recognizing his continued global popularity and his status as one of Marvel’s most beloved and enduring characters.
Impact.
In "Superman/Batman Annual" #1, an unnamed antimatter doppelganger of Deathstroke looks like Deadpool. DC Rebirth has given Harley Quinn a stalker/friend named Wayne Wilkins, a.k.a. "Red Tool", who is a direct parody of Deadpool.
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Monkey King
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Sun Wukong (, ), also known as the Monkey King, is a literary and religious figure best known as one of the main characters in the 16th-century Chinese novel "Journey to the West". In the novel, Sun Wukong is a monkey born from a stone who acquires supernatural powers through Taoist practices. After rebelling against heaven, he is imprisoned under a mountain by the Buddha. Five hundred years later, he accompanies the monk Tang Sanzang riding on the White Dragon Horse and two other disciples, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing, on a journey to obtain Buddhist sutras, known as the West or Western Paradise, where Buddha and his followers dwell.
Sun Wukong possesses many abilities. He has supernatural strength and is able to support the weight of two heavy mountains on his shoulders while running "with the speed of a meteor". He is extremely fast, able to travel 108,000 li (54,000 km, 34,000 mi) in one somersault. He has vast memorization skills and can remember every monkey ever born. As king of the monkeys, it is his duty to keep track of and protect every monkey. Sun Wukong acquires the 72 Earthly Transformations, which allow him to access 72 unique powers, including the ability to transform into animals and objects. He is a skilled fighter, capable of defeating the best warriors of heaven. His hair has magical properties, capable of making copies of himself or transforming into various weapons, animals and other things. He has partial weather manipulation skills, can freeze people in place, and can become invisible.
The supernatural abilities displayed by Wukong and some other characters were widely thought of as "magic powers" by readers at the time of "Journey to the West"'s writing, without much differentiation between them despite the various religious traditions that inspired them and their different and varied functions, and were often translated as such in non-Chinese versions of the book.
History.
As one of the most enduring Chinese literary characters, the Monkey King has a varied and highly debated background and colorful cultural history. His inspiration might have come from an amalgam of influences, generally relating to religious concepts.
One source for inspiration came from differing ways gibbons were venerated during the Chinese Chu kingdom (700–223 BC), and various legends about gibbons and monkeys in Chu and its successors. These legends and religious practices, alongside doctrine from Taoist organizations that reinforced them and combined elements from all five kinds of traditional religious Taoism gave rise to stories and art motifs during the Han dynasty, eventually contributing to the Monkey King figure.
Some believe the association with Xuanzang is based on the first disciple of Xuanzang, . Hu Shih first suggested that Wu Cheng’en may have been influenced by the Hindu deity Hanuman from the "Ramayana" in his depictions of the Monkey King. The Ramayana was first translated into Chinese in the 20th century, 500 years after Journey to the West was written, by Mi Wenkai, Sun Yong and Ji Xianlin, although Ji Xianlin speculated that parts of the epic might have circulated in China before written translations. Others such as Lu Xun point out there is no proof that the Ramayana has been translated into Chinese or was accessible to Wu Cheng’en. Instead, Lu Xun suggested the 9th-century Chinese deity Wuzhiqi, who appears as a sibling of Sun Wukong in older Yuan dynasty stories, as the inspiration. Anthony C. Yu writes in his unabridged translation of "The Journey to the West" that Wuzhiqi “has provided many scholars with a prototype of Sun Wukong” and that the author of "Journey" himself had “certainly” read of Wuzhiqi. Sun Wukong may have also been influenced by local folk religion from Fuzhou province, where monkey gods were worshipped long before the novel. This included the three Monkey Saints of Lin Shui Palace. Once fiends, they were subdued by the goddess Chen Jinggu, the Empress Lin Shui. The three were Dan Xia Da Sheng (), the Red Face Monkey Sage, Tong Tian Da Sheng (), the Black Face Monkey Sage, and Shuang Shuang San Sheng (), the White Face Monkey Sage. The two traditional mainstream religions practiced in Fuzhou are Mahayana Buddhism and Taoism. Traditionally, many people practice both religions simultaneously. However, the roots of local religion dated back many years before the institutionalization of these traditions.
These diverse religions embodied elements such as gods and doctrines from different provincial folk religions and cultures, such as totem worship and traditional legends. Though there are primarily two main religions in China since it is so big, different folk stories will vary from towns, cities, and provinces with their own myths about different deities. Sun Wukong’s religious status in Buddhism is often denied by Buddhist monks both Chinese and non-Chinese alike, but is very welcomed by the general public, spreading its name around the world and establishing itself as a cultural icon.
Background.
Birth and early life of Sun Wukong.
According to "Journey to the West", the Monkey King is born from a strong magic stone that sits atop the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit. The stone is said to receive the nurture of heaven (yang), which possesses a positive nature, and earth (yin), which possesses a negative nature, and thus is able to produce living beings, according to Taoist philosophies. The stone develops a magic womb, which bursts open one day to produce a stone egg about the size of a ball.
When the wind blows on the egg, the egg becomes the stone monkey. As his eyes move, two beams of golden light shoot toward the Jade palace and startle the Jade Emperor. When he sees the light he orders two of his officers to investigate. They report the stone monkey, and that the light is dying down as the monkey eats and drinks. The Jade Emperor believes him to be nothing special.
On the mountain, the monkey joins a group of other wild monkeys. After playing, the monkeys regularly bathe in a stream. One day, they decide to seek the source of the stream and climb the mountain to a waterfall. They declare that whoever goes through the waterfall, finds the stream’s source, and comes out again will become their king. The stone monkey volunteers and jumps into the waterfall.
The stone monkey finds a large iron bridge over rushing water, across which is a cave. He persuades the other monkeys to jump in also, and they make it into their home. He then reminds them of their prior declaration, so they declare him their king. He takes the throne and calls himself Handsome Monkey King (美猴王). This happiness does not last. When one of his older monkey friends dies, the Monkey King is very upset. He decides to strike out from his island on a self-made raft, in search of an Immortal to teach him how to beat death.
He comes ashore and wanders around. Humans see him and flee, uncertain of his ape-like appearance. He takes some clothes that were left out to dry and continues on foot. His face hidden by a hood, he travels through towns and sees many examples of human degeneracy and vice. He continues on and into a forest. The Monkey King hears a woodcutter singing an interesting song, and when questioning the woodcutter about the origin he learns it was taught to the woodcutter by an Immortal who resides in the forest.
The Monkey King comes to the entrance of a temple in which a magical Taoist martial artist named Puti Zushi resides. Puti Zushi initially refuses to let him in, but the Monkey King refuses to leave and waits outside the entrance for months. Puti Zushi is impressed by the Monkey King’s persistence and allows him to enter. He accepts the Monkey King as a student, giving him his religious name, “Sun Wukong”, and teaches him many advanced Taoist practices, including the Way of Immortality.
He later advises Sun Wukong never to needlessly show off his skills, because others might ask him to teach them, and if he does teach them, they may go on to cause trouble, but if he doesn’t teach them, they will resent him for it. He then forbids Sun Wukong from ever revealing who it was that taught him, and the loyal Monkey King promises never to reveal the identity of his Master. Later, whenever Sun Wukong is asked about his powers and skills, he honestly replies that he learned everything in his dreams. Throughout the rest of the book, however, Sun Wukong is, repeatedly, referred to as a member of the “Monad Sect”.
After the Monkey King returns home, he learns that a demon called the Demon King of Confusion is kidnapping the monkeys of the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit to use as slaves. He subsequently kills the demon and his minions, saving the kidnapped monkeys. He also brings the entire weapon storage of a nearby country for his subjects but is unable to find a weapon fit for himself. Upon hearing that Dragon Kings possess many treasures, he travels the oceans and finds the palace of a Dragon King.
At the entrance, Sun Wukong asks for an introduction, but Dragon King Ao Guang tells his guards to turn him away. Sun Wukong barges in anyway, brushing off protests from the guards, insisting the Dragon King must be confused to turn away a fellow king. Inside, he introduces himself and encourages the Dragon King to give him a weapon. Quickly realizing Sun Wukong is quite formidable, the Dragon King feigns willingness and hospitality, ordering his underlings to bring out weapon after weapon. Sun Wukong tests each weapon, but none are robust enough for the Monkey King, who is unhappy with the situation.
Sun Wukong then acquires the golden-banded staff Ruyi Jingu Bang/Ding Hai Shen Zhen (如意金箍棒/定海神针), the stabilizer of the Four Seas and a treasure of Ao Guang. The Monkey King is the only creature strong enough to wield the staff-like weapon and there is an instant affinity between them. The golden-banded staff can change its size, elongate, fly, and attack opponents according to its master’s will. It weighs 13,500 "jīn "or 7960 kg. When not wielding the weapon, the Monkey King shrinks it down to the size of a sewing needle and stores it in his ear.
In addition to taking the magical staff, the Monkey King encourages the Dragon King to gift him attire fit for a King. The Dragon King calls upon the Dragon Kings for assistance, and they arrive and give Sun Wukong a golden chain mail shirt (鎖子黃金甲, "Suǒzihuángjīnjiǎ"), a phoenix-feather cap ( ), and cloud-walking boots ( ). Sun Wukong thanks the Dragon Kings and leaves happy.
Upon his return to the mountain, Wukong demonstrates the new weapon to his monkey tribe and draws the attention of other beastly powers, who seek to ally with him. He forms a fraternity, the Seven Sages (七聖), with the Bull Demon King (), the Saurian Demon King (), the Roc Demon King (), the Lion Spirit King (), the Macaque Spirit King (), and the snub-nosed monkey Spirit King ().
The Monkey King, now sentenced to death for extorting the Dragon Kings, then defies Hell’s attempt to collect his soul. He wipes his name out of the Book of Life and Death, a collection of books claimed to have every name of every mortal alive and the ability to manipulate lifespan, along with the names of all monkeys known to him. The kings of the Diyu report him to the Jade Emperor. The heavenly army uses everything, even trying to erase him from existence altogether, but ultimately fails.
Havoc in Heaven.
Hoping that a promotion and a rank among the gods will make him more manageable, the Jade Emperor invites the Monkey King to Heaven. The Monkey King believes he is receiving an honourable place as one of the gods as he is told he will be made ‘Protector of the Horses,’ a fancy term the Heavens coined for a stable boy, the lowest job in heaven. When he discovers the importance of status in Heaven, and how he has been given the lowest position, the Monkey King sets the Cloud Horses free from the stable, then returns to his own kingdom and proclaims himself The Great Sage, Heaven’s Equal.
The Heavens reluctantly recognize his self-proclaimed title after Gold Star advises the Jade Emperor against rushing into military action against the ‘brash, rude and impudent’ monkey, warning that failing to defeat Monkey would harm the reputation of Heaven. Gold Star advises the Jade Emperor to superficially appease Sun Wukong’s vanity while treating him as a pet, and invite him back to Heaven to keep him from causing trouble on earth. The Jade Emperor agrees after Gold Star laughs that, in reality, the fanciful title is a meaningless joke revealing Sun Wukong’s overconfidence and ignorance of the important workings of Heaven.
Sun Wukong suspects a trap but is happy when Gold Star, acting as an envoy, addresses him as the Great Sage Equal of Heaven and presents him with official papers. Gold Star tells Sun Wukong he has been granted a far more important position as ‘Guardian of the Heavenly Peach Garden,’ which peach-loving Sun Wukong accepts. Later, when seven heavenly maidens are sent by Queen Mother Xi Wangmu to pluck peaches for the Royal Banquet, Sun Wukong discovers every important god and goddess has been invited to the banquet except for him. When he tells the maidens he is the Great Sage Equal of Heaven, the maidens giggle, replying that everyone in Heaven knows he is merely an immortal who tends to the peach garden. The Monkey King’s indignation then turns to open defiance.
During the preparations for the Royal Banquet, Sun Wukong sneaks in to taste the fine foods and drink royal wine. In a tipsy state, the Monkey King roams Heaven while all the gods and goddesses are on their way to the banquet. He reaches high levels of the palace that the authorities of Heaven leave unguarded, for they can only be accessed by deities of the highest and purest spiritual power. Upon realizing that he is at the top of the 33 layers of the heavenly palace, Sun Wukong steals and consumes Laozi’s Pills of Immortality and Xi Wangmu’s Peaches of Immortality, takes the remainder of the Jade Emperor’s royal wine, and then escapes back to his kingdom in preparation for his rebellion.
The Jade Emperor refuses to accept Gold Star’s counsel to find another peaceful way to deal with Sun Wukong and orders his forces to mobilize. Laughing continuously and fully enjoying himself, and with a combination of martial prowess, guile, and quick-witted creative responses to many different types of powerful Heavenly weapons used against him, the Monkey King single-handedly defeats the Army of Heaven’s 100,000 celestial warriors, all 28 constellations, Nezha, and all of the Four Heavenly Kings.
Then Guanyin, the Boddhisattva of Mercy, and her disciple Muzha/Moksha arrive. Guanyin sends Muzha to inspect the situation and fight Sun Wukong. Muzha is defeated, and then Guanyin suggests the Jade Emperor’s nephew Erlang Shen fight Wukong. Wukong and Erlang are evenly matched and eventually, both turn into terrifying figures, which scares Wukong’s monkey army away. Sun Wukong is disheartened and turns into a fish to run away, then both of them keep shapeshifting to turn into more powerful things than the other, finally, Laozi throws his Diamond Jade ring at Wukong from behind while he is fighting, knocking him senseless and enabling Erlang to bind him up.
After several failed attempts at execution, Sun Wukong is locked into Laozi’s eight-way trigram crucible for 49 days to be distilled into an elixir by samadhi fires; this will allow Laozi to regain his pills of longevity. The fire of the crucible is hot enough to burn beings of so much unspeakable power that they rival Buddha himself.
When the cauldron is opened 49 days later, the Monkey King jumps out, having survived by hiding in a corner marked by the wind trigram, where there is less fire. The heat from the samadhi fires has reinforced his bodily frame, making him stronger than ever before and impervious to greater damage. The heat gives him a new ability; the Monkey King can now recognize evil with his new "huǒyǎn-jīnjīng" (, ). Sun Wukong then proceeds to destroy the crucible and makes his way to Heaven’s main chamber to confront the Jade Emperor and his senior advisors.
Imprisonment.
The Jade Emperor and the authorities of Heaven appeal to the Buddha, who arrives from his temple in the West in person. After listening to Sun Wukong, who makes a case that he should be the new Jade Emperor, the Buddha makes a bet that the Monkey King cannot escape from his palm. The Monkey King smugly accepts the bet. He leaps and flies all the way to the edge of the universe. Seeing nothing there but five towering pillars, the Monkey King believes that he has reached the end of all existence.
To prove his trail, he marks a pillar with a phrase declaring himself the Great Sage Equal to Heaven and urinates on the middle pillar. He then leaps back and returns to Buddha’s palm to claim his victory in winning the bet. Sun Wukong is then very surprised to find that the five “pillars” he found are merely fingers of the Buddha’s hand, finding it impossible to believe. When the Monkey King tries to escape the palm, Buddha turns his hand into a mountain of rocks, sending Sun Wukong hurtling back down to earth.
Before the Monkey King can lift the mountain off, the Buddha seals him there, using a paper talisman bearing the mantra, "Om Mani Padme Hum", in gold letters. The Monkey King remains imprisoned in stocks for five hundred years, to ‘learn patience and humility,’ with only his head and hands protruding from the base of the mountain. The Buddha arranges two earth spirits to feed the Monkey King iron pellets when he is hungry, and molten copper when he is thirsty.
Disciple to Tang Sanzang.
Five hundred years later, the Bodhisattva Guanyin searches for disciples to protect a pilgrim on a journey to the West to retrieve the Buddhist sutras. In the hearing of this, the Monkey King offers to serve the pilgrim, Tang Sanzang, a monk of the Tang dynasty, in exchange for his freedom after the pilgrimage is complete. Understanding Sun Wukong will be difficult to control, Guanyin gives Tang Sanzang a gift from the Buddha: a magical circlet which, once the Monkey King is tricked into putting it on, can never be removed. When Tang Sanzang chants a certain sutra, the band will tighten and cause an unbearable headache. Guanyin gives the Monkey King three special hairs, only to be used in dire emergencies. Under Tang Sanzang’s supervision, the Monkey King is allowed to journey to the West.
Throughout the novel, the Monkey King faithfully helps Tang Sanzang on his journey to India. They are joined by “Pigsy” ( ) and “Sandy” ( ), both of whom accompany the priest to atone for their previous crimes. Tang Sanzang’s safety is constantly under threat from demons and other supernatural beings, as well as bandits, as they believe that by eating Tang Sanzang’s flesh, one will obtain immortality and great power. The Monkey King often acts as Tang Sanzang’s bodyguard to combat these threats. The group encounters a series of eighty-one tribulations before accomplishing their mission and returning safely to China.
During the journey, the Monkey King learns about virtues and the teachings of Buddhism. There, the Monkey King attains Buddhahood, becoming the “Victorious Fighting Buddha” ( ), for his service and strength. The Monkey King is revealed to know about the fate of Tang Sangzang and also of his knowledge in many other things, as on three occasions he knew that the monk was supposed to suffer and he also cured a king who had been ill for many years, and knew properties of herbs no one knew of. Wukong also mentions being sworn brothers with Erlang Shen.
Names and titles.
Sun Wukong is known/pronounced as "Syun1 Ng6-hung1" in Cantonese, "Son Gokū" in Japanese, "Sonogong" in Korean, "Sun Ngō͘-Khong" in Minnan/Hokkien, "Tôn Ngộ Không" in Vietnamese, "Sung Ghokong" or "Sung Gokhong" in Javanese, "Sun Ngokong" in Thai, "Wu Khone" in Burmese, and "Sun Gokong" in Malay.
Listed in the order that they were acquired:
In addition to the names used in the novel, the Monkey King has other names in different languages:
Abilities.
Apart from his powerful staff, martial arts skills, and superhuman physical prowess, the Monkey King is notable for wielding a sundry of magic powers, some featured many times throughout the novel and others only once, and most of them cultivated during his Taoist training under Puti Zushi. Said powers include, but are not limited to:
Immortality.
Sun Wukong is said to have gained immortality through nine different means and instances, which together made him one of the most immortal and invincible beings in all of creation.
Disciple to Puti Zushi.
After feeling down about the future and death, Wukong sets out to find the immortal Taoist patriarch Puti Zushi to learn how to be immortal. There, Wukong learns spells to grasp all five elements and cultivate the way of immortality, as well as the 72 Earthly Transformations. After seven years of training with the sage, Wukong gains the secret formula to immortality. It is noted that the Court of Heaven does not approve of this method of immortality.
Book of Mortals.
In the middle of the night, Wukong’s soul is tied up and dragged to the World of Darkness. He is informed there that his life in the human world has come to an end. In anger, Wukong fights his way through the World of Darkness to complain to “The Ten Kings”, who are the judges of the dead. The Ten Kings try to address the complaint and calm Wukong by saying many people in the world have the same name and the fetchers of the dead may have gotten the wrong name. Wukong demands to see the register of life and death, then scribbles out his name, thus making him untouchable by the fetchers of death, along with the names of all of the monkeys in his tribe. It is because Wukong has learned magical arts as a disciple to Puti Zushi that he can scare the Ten Kings, demanding from them the book of mortals and removing his name, thus making him even more immortal. After this incident, the Ten Kings complained to the Jade Emperor.
Peach of Immortality.
Soon after the Ten Kings complained to the Jade Emperor, the Court of Heaven appoints Sun Wukong as “Keeper of the Heavenly Horses”, a fancy name for a stable boy. Angered by this, Wukong rebels, and the Havoc in Heaven begins. During the Havoc in Heaven, Wukong is assigned to be the “Guardian of the Heavenly Peach Garden”. The garden includes three types of peaches, each of which grants over 3,000 years of life. The first type blooms every three thousand years. Anyone who eats it will become immortal, and their body will become both light and strong. The second type blooms every six thousand years. Anyone who eats it will be able to fly and enjoy eternal youth.
The third type blooms every nine thousand years. Anyone who eats it will become “eternal as heaven and earth, as long-lived as the sun and moon”. While serving as the guardian, Wukong does not hesitate to eat the peaches, thus granting him immortality and the abilities that come with the peaches. If Wukong had not been appointed as the Guardian of the Heavenly Peach Garden, he would not have eaten the Peaches of Immortality and would not have gained another level of immortality.
Heavenly Wine.
Because of Wukong’s rebellious antics, Wukong is not considered as an important celestial deity and is thus not invited to the Queen Mother of the West’s royal banquet. After finding out that every other important deity was invited, Wukong impersonates one of the deities that was invited and shows up early to see why the banquet is important. He immediately is distracted by the aroma of the wine and decides to steal and drink it. The heavenly wine has the ability to turn anyone who drinks it into an immortal.
Pills of Longevity.
While drunk from the heavenly wine, Wukong stumbles into Laozi’s alchemy lab, where he finds Laozi’s pills of longevity, known as “The Immortals’ Greatest Treasure”. Filled with curiosity about the pills, Wukong eats a gourd of them. Those who eat the pills will become immortal. If Wukong had not been drunk from the heavenly wine, he would not have stumbled into Laozi’s alchemy lab and eaten the pills of longevity.
Aftermath of immortality.
Following Wukong’s three cause-and-effect methods of immortality during his time in heaven, he escapes back to his home at the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit. The Court of Heaven finds out what Wukong has done and a battle to capture Wukong ensues. Due to the five levels of immortality Wukong has achieved, his body became nearly invincible and survives the multiple execution attempts by heaven. In the notable last execution, Wukong was placed inside Laozi’s furnace in the hope that he would be distilled into the elixir of the pills of immortality. Wukong survives 49 days of the samadhi fire in Laozi’s furnace and gains the ability to recognize evil.
Meanwhile, being refined in the crucible extracts yet more of the impurities of mortality and leaves him with another immortality. In desperation, the Court of Heaven seeks help from Buddha, who imprisons Wukong under a mountain, after having tricked him into agreeing to a wager. Wukong’s immortality and abilities ultimately come into use after Guanyin suggests he becomes a disciple of Tang Sanzang in the "Journey to the West". In the story, he protects Sanzang from evil demons who wish to eat Sanzang to achieve immortality. Wukong’s own immortality protects him from the various ways the demons try to kill him, such as fighting, beheading, disembowelling, poisoning, and boiling oil.
Early in the Pilgrimage, Wukong ate another Pill of Immortally, meant for the Black Wind Bear Guai. Sometime during the journey, Wukong and his companions obtain ginseng fruit (; Man-fruit), a fruit even rarer and more powerful than the Peaches of Immortality, as only 30 of them will grow off one particular tree only found on the Longevity Mountain () every 10,000 years. While one smell can grant 360 years of life, consuming one will grant another 47,000 years of life.
In addition to all of the immortality-granting wines and medicines that the Monkey King had consumed while in heaven, upon reaching the Buddha’s temple, pilgrims were provided with Buddhist equivalents of such foods, therefore making Sun Wukong even more immortal; a 9-fold immortal.
In "Xiyoubu".
The brief satirical novel "Xiyoubu" (西遊補, “Supplement to the Journey to the West,” c. 1640) follows Sun Wukong as he is trapped in a magical dream world created by the Qing Fish Demon, the embodiment of desire (情, qing). Wukong travels back and forth through time, during which he serves as the adjunct King of Hell and judges the soul of the recently dead traitor Qin Hui during the Song dynasty, takes on the appearance of a beautiful concubine and causes the downfall of the Qin dynasty, and faces King Paramita, one of his five sons born to the demoness Princess Iron Fan, on the battlefield during the Tang dynasty.
The events of the "Xiyoubu" take place between the end of chapter 61 and the beginning of chapter 62 of "Journey to the West". The author, Tong Yue (童說), wrote the book because he wanted to create an opponent—in this case, desire-itself—that Sun Wukong could not defeat with his great strength and martial skill.
Influence.
In "The Shaolin Monastery" (2008), Tel Aviv University professor Meir Shahar claims that Sun influenced a legend concerning the origins of the Shaolin staff method. The legend takes place during the Red Turban Rebellion of the Yuan dynasty. Bandits lay siege to the monastery, but it is saved by a lowly kitchen worker wielding a long fire poker as a makeshift staff. He leaps into the oven and emerges as a monstrous giant big enough to stand astride both Mount Song and the imperial fort atop Shaoshi Mountain, which are five miles apart. The bandits flee upon seeing him. The Shaolin monks later realize that the kitchen worker was the Monastery’s local guardian deity, Vajrapani, in disguise. Shahar compares the worker’s transformation in the stove with Sun Wukong’s time in Laozi’s crucible, their use of the staff, and the fact that Sun Wukong and his weapon can both grow to gigantic proportions.
In popular culture.
Sun Wukong has been the subject of myriad popular media including movies, television, books and music. Some of the notable ones are highlighted below.
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Doctor Doom
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Doctor Doom (Dr. Victor von Doom) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in "The Fantastic Four" #5 (July 1962). In his comic book appearances, Doctor Doom is the monarch of the fictional European country of Latveria whose goal is to bring order to humanity through world conquest. He serves as the archenemy of Mister Fantastic and the Fantastic Four, though he has also come into conflict with other superheroes in the Marvel Universe, including Spider-Man, Iron Man, Doctor Strange, the Black Panther, the X-Men, and the Avengers. While usually portrayed as a villain, Doom has also been an antihero at times, working with heroes if their goals align and only if it benefits him. Doctor Doom was ranked #4 by "Wizard" on its list of the 101 Greatest Villains of All Time and #3 on IGN's list of the Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time. In a later article, IGN would declare Doom as Marvel's greatest villain.
The character has been substantially adapted from the comics into several forms of media, including television series, video games, and merchandise such as action figures and trading cards. Most notably, Doctor Doom has been portrayed in licensed Fantastic Four live-action feature films by Joseph Culp in Roger Corman's unreleased 1994 film, Julian McMahon in the 2005 film and its , and Toby Kebbell in the 2015 film. Robert Downey Jr. will portray the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films ' (2025), ' (2026), and "" (2027).
Publication history.
Creation and development.
Like many of Marvel's Silver Age characters, Doom was conceived by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. With the "Fantastic Four" title performing well, Lee and Kirby were trying to dream up a "soul-stirring...super sensational new villain" for the series. Looking for a name, Lee latched onto "Doctor Doom" as "eloquent in its simplicity — magnificent in its implied menace."
Due to the rush to publish, the character was not given a full origin story until "Fantastic Four Annual" #2, two years after his debut.
In a 1987 interview, Kirby commented on Doctor Doom's design. "Dr. Doom was the classic conception of Death, of approaching Death. I saw Dr. Doom as The Man in the Iron Mask, who symbolized approaching Death. It was the reason for the armor and the hood. Death is connected with armor and inhuman-like steel. Death is something without mercy and human flesh contains that element of mercy. Therefore, I had to erase it, and I did it with a mask."
Kirby further described Doom as being "paranoid", wrecked by his twisted face and wanting the whole world to be like him. Kirby went on to say that "Doom is an evil person, but he's not always been evil. He was [respected]...but through a flaw in his own character, he was a perfectionist." At one point in the 1970s, Kirby drew his interpretation of what Doom would look like under the mask, giving Doom only "a tiny scar on his cheek". Due to this slight imperfection, Doom hides his face not from the world, but from himself. To Kirby, this is the motivation for Doom's vengeance against the world; because others are superior due to this slight scar, Doom wants to elevate himself above them. Stan Lee's writing typically showed Doom's arrogance as his constant downfall, and how his pride leads to von Doom's disfigurement at the hands of his own machine, and to the failures of many of his schemes.
While the Fantastic Four had fought various villains such as the Mole Man, Skrulls, the Miracle Man, and Namor the Sub-Mariner, Doom managed to overshadow them all and became the Fantastic Four's archnemesis. During the 1970s, Doom branched out to more Marvel titles such as "Astonishing Tales", "The Incredible Hulk", and "Super-Villain Team-Up" (1975). Beginning with issue #42, he also had appearances in "Marvel Team-Up" (February 1976). Doom's origin was also a feature in "Astonishing Tales" when his ties to the villain Mephisto were revealed.
In the book "Superhero: The Secret Origin of a Genre", Peter Coogan writes that Doom's original appearance was representative of a change in the portrayal of "mad scientists" to full-fledged villains, often with upgraded powers. These supervillains are genre-crossing villains who exist in adventures "in a world in which the ordinary laws of nature are slightly suspended"; characters such as Professor Moriarty, Count Dracula, Auric Goldfinger, Hannibal Lecter, Joker, Lex Luthor, and Darth Vader, also fit this description. Sanderson also found traces of William Shakespeare's characters Richard III and Iago in Doom; all of them "are descended from the 'vice' figure of medieval drama", who address the audience in monologs detailing their thoughts and ambitions.
1980s–1990s.
In 1976, Marvel and DC Comics collaborated on "Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man", and seeking to replicate that success the two companies again teamed the characters in "Superman and Spider-Man" in 1981. Marvel editor-in-chief Jim Shooter co-wrote the story with Marv Wolfman, and recalled choosing Victor von Doom based on his iconic status: "I figured I needed the heaviest-duty bad guy we had to offer — Doctor Doom. Their greatest hero against our greatest villain."
In 1981 John Byrne began his six-year run writing and illustrating "Fantastic Four", sparking a "second golden age" for the title but also attempting to "turn the clock back [...] get back and see fresh what it was that made the book great at its inception." Doctor Doom made his first appearance under Byrne's tenure with issue #236. Whereas Kirby had intimated that Doom's disfigurement was more a figment of Victor's vain personality, Byrne decided that Doom's face was truly ravaged: only Doom's own robot slaves are allowed to see the monarch without his helmet. Byrne emphasized other aspects of Doom's personality; despite his ruthless nature, Victor von Doom is a man of honor. Returning to Latveria after being temporarily deposed, Doctor Doom abandons a scheme to wrest mystical secrets from Doctor Strange in order to oversee his land's reconstruction. Despite a tempestuous temper, Doom occasionally shows warmth and empathy to others; he tries to free his mother from Mephisto and treats Kristoff Vernard like his own son. Byrne gave further detail regarding Doom's scarring: Byrne introduced the idea that the accident at Empire State University only left Victor with a small scar that was exaggerated into a more disfiguring accident by Doom's own arrogance—by donning his newly forged face mask before it had fully cooled, he caused massive irreparable damage.
After his debut, Doctor Doom remained a key villain in "Fantastic Four" throughout the 1980s, appearing in titles as "Punisher", "The Spectacular Spider-Man", and "Excalibur". During Steven Englehart's run on "Fantastic Four", Doom was exiled by his heir, Kristoff, but this storyline was left unresolved when Englehart departed. Walt Simonson's "Fantastic Four" #350 controversially revealed that the Doom seen during Englehart's arc was a robotic imposter, with the real Doom returning in new armor to reclaim Latveria. Simonson's retcon suggested the last true appearance of Doom was in the "Battle of the Baxter Building," but later writers often disregarded his interpretations, leading to further revisions of Doom's character and history.
2000s–2010s.
Mark Waid began to redefine Doctor Doom in the 2003 "Unthinkable" storyline ("Fantastic Four" vol. 3, #66-70 and #500), where Doom forsakes technology for mysticism. He kills his first love, Valeria, to gain powers from demons and imprisons Franklin Richards in Hell. Doom challenges Reed Richards to escape a magical prison, but with Doctor Strange's help, Richards succeeds, causing Doom to be dragged to Hell. Doom remained there until the 2004 "Ragnarok" storyline in "Thor", where Thor's hammer, Mjolnir, provided his escape. In 2005–2006, Doctor Doom starred in the limited series "Books of Doom", written by Ed Brubaker. This retelling of his origin explored the early, less-seen parts of Doom's life and questioned whether his path to dictatorship was fated or due to personal faults—a nature versus nurture debate. Brubaker's portrayal was influenced by the original Lee/Kirby version, and he chose not to show Doom's face, following Kirby's example.
In Spiderman/Fantastic Four Volume #4, the Mighty Avengers invaded Doom's kingdom of Latveria due to his involvement in a chemical bomb plot, which was actually orchestrated by Kristoff Vernard. In the "Siege" storyline, Doctor Doom initially supports Norman Osborn's attack on Asgard but later withdraws. He also stars in "Doomwar" written by Jonathan Maberry, where he allies with the isolationist Desturi to seize control of Wakanda.
In "Fantastic Four: Three", Doctor Doom seeks to be "reborn" and plans to abdicate his throne to Kristoff. Valeria von Doom visits him, notices his brain damage, and offers to restore his mental capacity in exchange for his help with Reed and the Fantastic Four. A humbled Doom later attends Johnny Storm's funeral, and is recommended for the Future Foundation. Leading up to "Secret Wars", Doom usurps the power of the Beyonders, creating a new Battleworld where he assumes the role of God. However, Reed Richards and a group of heroes challenge Doom, and with the Molecule Man's help, they restore the multiverse. Reed ultimately uses the Beyonder's power to heal Doom's face and purify his soul.
Doom returns to his kingdom, saving Tony Stark from Latverian rebels and claiming to be a new man. He relinquishes his dictatorship, entrusting Tony with a Wand of Watoomb to defeat Madame Masque. When more rebels appear, he teleports Stark to the Bronx Zoo, and they later confront Madame Masque in Chicago. After discovering she's possessed, Doom helps Tony trap her in his armor and exorcises the demon. He then vanishes before Tony wakes up. Doom later interrupts Tony's breakfast with Amara, trying to prove he has changed, but Tony remains distrustful. Following Stark's coma caused by Captain Marvel, Doom takes up the Iron Man mantle, faces Mephisto disguised as the Maker, joins the Avengers, and eventually conceives a child with Dr. Amara Perera.
When Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm seek their teammates to restore the Fantastic Four's powers, Doom follows them into parallel universes to assist an alternate Reed Richards against a version of Doom who has merged with Galactus. Meanwhile, Gwenpool, unaware of Doom's reformation, tries to attack him using an AI Doombot named Vincent. Doom easily captures her but is amused by her taunts. Gwen escapes, believing Doom is still a threat, and attacks again, releasing an earlier version of Doom. Doom defeats his doppelganger to save Gwen, who realizes her mistake and hopes for reform. Later, she enlists Doom, Vincent, Doctor Strange, and Terrible Eye to help her friend Cecil regain human form.
Doctor Doom was featured in his first solo series in 2019. Doom is framed for a Moon space station explosion he had warned about, while also experiencing random encounters with rival supervillain Kang the Conqueror due to a theorized quantum entanglement.
Fictional character biography.
Victor von Doom was born to a tribe of Latverian Romani people under the rule of an unnamed nobleman, the Baron. His mother, the witch Cynthia von Doom, died at the hands of Mephisto when Victor was young. His father, Werner von Doom, a renowned medicine man, kept her sorcery a secret to protect Victor. After Cynthia's death, the Baron's wife fell ill, and when Werner failed to save her, he was labeled a murderer and forced to flee with young Victor. Werner ultimately died of exposure on a mountainside, leaving Victor to discover his mother's occult instruments and swear revenge on the Baron. As Victor grew, he became a brilliant inventor, merging sorcery and technology to defend the Roma people. His exploits attracted the attention of the dean of Empire State University, who offered him a chance to study in the U.S., prompting Victor to leave his homeland and his love, Valeria, behind.
Upon arriving in the United States, Victor von Doom met Reed Richards, his future rival. He built a machine to communicate with the dead, specifically his mother, but ignored Richards’ warnings about its flaws, leading to a catastrophic explosion that severely damaged his face. Unknown to Victor, Ben Grimm had sabotaged the machine. In hindsight, Grimm would privately blame himself for Doom's fall to villainy. Expelled after the incident, Victor traveled until he collapsed on a Tibetan mountainside, where he was rescued by monks. Mastering their disciplines, he forged an iron mask that permanently bonded to his skin, adopting the identity of Doctor Doom. As Doom, he sought revenge on those he held responsible for his accident, particularly Reed Richards, and successfully led a revolution to take over Latveria, focusing on the welfare of the Roma.
1960s.
In his first appearance, Doctor Doom captures the Invisible Girl, using her as a hostage to force the Fantastic Four to travel back in time to steal Blackbeard's enchanted treasure to help him conquer the world. However, Reed Richards tricks Doom by swapping the treasure for worthless chains. Doom then allies with the Sub-Mariner, who installs a magnetic device in the Baxter Building to pull them into space, aiming to eliminate the Fantastic Four. The Sub-Mariner returns the Baxter Building to New York, leaving Doom stranded on an asteroid. After learning the secrets of the advanced Ovids, Doom swaps consciousnesses with Mister Fantastic but accidentally switches back, ending up trapped in Sub-Atomica when hit by a shrinking ray he intended for the Fantastic Four. Doom takes over this micro-world but is ousted by the Fantastic Four and thrown into space while trying to send them there. Saved by Rama-Tut, he returns to Earth and uses a special berry juice to turn the Fantastic Four against each other. However, Richards outsmarts Doom with the hallucinogenic juice, leading Doom to believe he has killed him and depart. During the 1960s, Doom attempted to recruit Spider-Man into joining forces with him, and he came into conflict with the Avengers when Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch illegally entered Latveria to find a long-lost relative of theirs. He stole the Silver Surfer's powers in 1967, but lost them after breaching a barrier Galactus had set for the Surfer on Earth.
1970s and 1980s.
During the 1970s, Doctor Doom expanded into more Marvel titles, featuring a battle for the Latverian throne against Prince Rudolfo in "Astonishing Tales". In August 1981, he appeared in "Iron Man", where Stark thwarted Doom's time-travelling plan to enlist Morgan le Fay to defeat King Arthur's forces with an army of revived warriors. Stranded in the past due to this interference, Doom vowed revenge, but he had to postpone it to return to the present day.
Doctor Doom later allies with the Puppet Master to trap the Fantastic Four in the miniature city of "Liddleville," using cybernetic copies of their bodies. However, he sabotages the plan to disrupt Reed's focus, but the Puppet Master ultimately aids the FF in escaping, trapping Doom in the android body he used to monitor them.
During John Byrne's 1980s run, Doctor Doom attempted to steal Terrax the Tamer's cosmic powers, leading to a fight that destroyed his body. He survived by transferring his consciousness to another human and was later restored to his original body by the Beyonder. On Battleworld, Doom briefly succeeded in stealing the Beyonder's power, but it was too vast for him to control, allowing the Beyonder to reclaim it.
1990s.
When Franklin Richards was kidnapped by Onslaught, Doctor Doom joined forces with the Fantastic Four, Avengers and the X-Men to battle him in Central Park. During the fight, Doom was forced to sacrifice himself alongside others to contain Onslaught, which allowed the X-Men to destroy him. Though believed dead, Doom and the heroes were saved by Franklin, who created a pocket dimension called Counter-Earth, where Doom later uncovered a secret power linked to Franklin and persuaded the boy to relinquish control of the world.
2000s.
When Susan Richards faced complications with her second pregnancy, Johnny Storm contacted Doctor Doom for help, knowing he couldn't resist the chance to outdo Reed. Doom saved Susan's daughter and cured Johnny's inability to "flame off" by channeling Johnny's excess energy into her. Afterward, Doom named the baby "Valeria" and plotted to make her his familiar, seeking to sacrifice his long-lost love for magical powers equivalent to years of sorcery study. With this power, he trapped Franklin in Hell, immobilized Doctor Strange, and neutralized the Fantastic Four. However, Reed freed Doctor Strange's astral self, allowing them to outsmart Doom and provoke his demonic benefactors to take him to Hell.
To eliminate Doom as a threat, Reed took control of Latveria to dismantle his equipment, and planned to trap them both in a pocket dimension. This backfired when the team intervened, leading Doom to transfer his spirit into Sue, Johnny, and Ben. Reed was forced to kill Johnny to stop Doom. Doom returned to Hell, and Reed later used a machine Doom had once created to travel to Heaven and restore Ben to life. Doom remained in Hell until he escaped during a dimensional tear caused by Mjolnir's fall to Earth, though he focused on rebuilding his power base instead of lifting the hammer. These events were later removed from Marvel continuity in the 2015 "Secret Wars".
Later, a Doombot was defeated by Reed Richards, Hank Pym, Iron Man, and She-Hulk in New York City, raising questions about Doom's involvement. In the midst of the superhero Civil War, he sends a message to Storm and the Black Panther, inviting an alliance between Latveria and Wakanda. In Latveria, Panther spurns the invitation, detonating an EMP that blacked out a local portion of Latveria before Doctor Doom's robots could destroy his ship. It is later revealed that Doom is working with the Red Skull on a weapon, believing it would lead him to become the Baron of Iron, despite his disagreements with the Skull's principles.
At the end of the first chapter of the X-Men event ", Doom is contacted by Beast to help reverse the effects of Decimation but rejects the offer, admitting he lacks talent in genetics. In ", Doom is approached by Spider-Man for help in saving Aunt May. Additionally, he transforms Latveria into a refugee camp for Atlanteans after the destruction of their kingdom, and allies with Loki to manipulate his brother into unwittingly releasing his Asgardian allies.
Doctor Doom later defends Latveria against the Mighty Avengers after it is revealed that one of his satellites carried the 'Venom Virus' released in New York City, a result of hacking by one of Doom's enemies. During a battle with Iron Man and the Sentry, the time travel mechanism in his armor overloads, trapping them all in the past; Doom continues his relationship with Morgan le Fay using his time machine. Although he and Iron Man eventually return to the present, Doom leaves Iron Man in his exploding castle and is falsely incarcerated at The Raft. He later escapes the Raft in the "Secret Invasion" storyline, thanks to a virus was uploaded into the prison's systems by the Skrulls. After the Secret Invasion and the onset of "Dark Reign," Doctor Doom joined the Cabal with Norman Osborn, Emma Frost, Namor, Loki's female form, and the Hood, seeking revenge for his tarnished reputation.
Soon after, he allies with the isolationist Desturi to seize control of Wakanda. Doom severely injures T'Challa, the Black Panther, aiming to take Wakanda's vibranium for his own enhancement. However, T'Challa destroys the vibranium stockpile, believing his people can survive without it. In "Fantastic Four" #566-569, written by Mark Millar, Doctor Doom receives a power upgrade after being thrown back in time by the Marquis of Death. He fights through time to seek revenge, claiming to have rebuilt himself to destroy the Marquis. However, later issues ignore this arc, suggesting it was merely a dream of Valeria von Doom. Doom then joins the supervillain group Intelligencia but is betrayed and captured during their plan. He escapes with Bruce Banner's help and returns to Latveria, seemingly damaged by the experience.
2010s.
At the start of the "Siege" storyline, Doom, working with the Cabal, demands that Osborn reverse his actions against Namor, but Osborn refuses. After a violent attack by the Void, it's revealed that the "Doctor Doom" present was actually a Doombot, which releases nanites that destroy Avengers Tower and force evacuations. The real Doom warns Osborn not to strike him again, threatening further consequences.
It's revealed that the Scarlet Witch at Wundagore Mountain is a Doombot, indicating that the real Wanda was captured by Doom after the House of M event. Wanda's enhanced powers resulted from her and Doom's attempt to channel the Life Force to resurrect her children, which ultimately overwhelmed her. With Wiccan's help, they sought to use the entity possessing Wanda to restore mutant powers, but the Young Avengers intervened, concerned about the consequences. Doom aimed to transfer this entity into himself, gaining god-like powers, but accidentally killed Cassie before Wanda and Wiccan could reclaim those powers from him.
In "Fantastic Four: Three," a guilt-ridden Doctor Doom, planning to abdicate his throne to Kristoff, is approached by Valeria, who asks for his help with her father. Noticing Doom's brain damage and memory loss from a previous battle, she offers to restore his mental faculties in exchange for assisting with the Fantastic Four, which he agrees to. Later, Doom attends Johnny Storm's funeral. Due to this agreement, Doom is recommended by Nathaniel and Valeria von Doom to join the Future Foundation. Despite an angry attack from the Thing, Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman welcome him. Valeria learns that Kristoff Vernard is Doom's backup for restoring his memories, so they all head to Latveria, where a brain transfer machine successfully restores Doom's knowledge. Although Kristoff offers to return the throne to Doom, he declines, citing a promise to Valeria to help her defeat Mister Fantastic when needed. Doom then plans a symposium to defeat the Council of Reeds—alternate versions of Reed Richards trapped in their universe. Mister Fantastic, Victor, Valeria, and Nathaniel Richards meet with the supervillain geniuses and Uatu the Watcher about what to do with the Council of Reeds.
Around this time, von Doom performed brain surgery on the Hulk to separate him from Bruce Banner, extracting the uniquely Banner elements from the Hulk's brain and cloning a new body for Banner, in return for a favor from the Hulk. This clone is killed soon afterward. Later, Doom is apparently killed by the Mad Celestials. With no knowledge as to how he survived, Doom awakens in the ruins of the Interdimensional Council of Reeds, where Valeria had left him a present: the full army of lobotomized Doctor Dooms from alternate realities who were previously captured by the council, along with two Infinity Gauntlets from alternate universes. With these resources, Doom created the Parliament of Doom, an interdimensional council charged with maintaining peace across the multiverse. He later returned to again rule Latveria, upon ruling the council for a millennium. An ill-fated excursion into the alternate universe of the one of Infinity Gauntlets resulted in Reed and Nathaniel Richards rescuing Doom from his own council.
During the confrontation between the Avengers and the X-Men, Doom allies with Magneto and others against Red Skull's Red Onslaught form. In an attempt to atone for past misdeeds, Doom absorbs the Scarlet Witch reality-altering powers and resurrects the dead Cassie Lang, whom he had accidentally killed. He subsequently makes a Faustian deal with an unspecified demon to resurrect Brother Voodoo. After returning to normal, Doom is taken into captivity for his initial killing of Lang.
As the final Incursion approaches in the "Secret Wars" storyline, Doom usurps the power of the Beyonders with the aid of Doctor Strange and the Molecule Man. He then creates a new Battleworld from the destroyed multiverse, claiming the role of God, and rewriting history to resurrect those he killed, while taking Sue as his wife and assigning roles to Franklin and Valeria. Ultimately, Reed and a group of survivors challenge Doom, and with Molecule Man's help, they restore the multiverse. Reed chooses to heal Doom's face using the Beyonder's power.
In the "All-New, All-Different Marvel", Doom returns to Latveria and saves Tony Stark by using a sonic attack to incapacitate a group of rebels. He tells Tony he's a new man and gives him one of the Wands of Watoomb for protection against Madame Masque. When more rebels arrive, Doom teleports Iron Man to the Bronx Zoo, then to the Jackpot Club in Chicago to confront a Masque. Realizing she is demonically possessed, Doom has Tony trap her in the Iron Man armor while he exorcises the demon. He disappears before Tony regains consciousness, then later interrupts Tony's breakfast date with Amara to prove he has changed, but Tony remains distrustful and Doom leaves again.
After Tony Stark's defeat by Captain Marvel in "Civil War II", Doom discovers his calling to heal the world, reflecting on his dissatisfaction as a God. Inspired by Stark, he establishes Stark's legacy, fights for his brand of justice as the third Iron Man, and later conflicts with Mephisto disguised as Maker. Doom joins the Avengers and conceives a child with Dr. Amara Perera, prompting a group of villains led by the Hood to target him. The final battle occurs when the Hood tries to take over Stark Industries, leading to a confrontation between Doom and the Hood, during which Doom's face is severely burned by a demon. After the villains' defeat, Victor retreats to the ruins of Castle Doom.
A young woman named Zora Vokuvic breaks into Castle Doom, demanding to see Doctor Doom and insisting that Latveria needs its leader back amid turmoil. Initially resistant, Doom is persuaded when Zora hands him his iconic mask, prompting him to venture out and quell the civil war, vowing to restore the nation with his own strength.
2020s.
Doctor Doom is framed for the destruction of the Antlion space station by Symkarian rebels and is killed while on the run, only to be sent back to Earth by Death as her "greatest servant." After fending off assassins including Taskmaster and MODOK, he sends Reed Richards his solution to the black hole threatening Earth and sets off to regain his power. During the "King in Black" storyline, Doctor Doom confronts Iron Man during Knull's invasion. Iron Man is bonded with an Extremis-powered Symbiote, and they are attacked by a Symbiote-possessed Santa Claus, revealed to be Mike Dunworthy. Doom seeks to learn from Iron Man's new armor, but is turned down, leaving him to ponder whether Santa Claus could be a Sorcerer Supreme.
During the "Blood Hunt" storyline, Doctor Doom puts Latveria on high alert amidst a vampire invasion, ordering border guards to maintain defenses while noting he will have new subjects to attend to. He later approaches Strange Academy students in Madripoor after the disappearance of Agatha Harkness and the Living Darkhold. At the Latverian embassy in Alberia, Doom saves Tatiana Keska from vampires, despite knowing she has grievances against him. Doctor Doom informs Doctor Strange and Clea that Blade is possessed by Varnae and declares they need mages to bring back the Sun, requesting the title of Sorcerer Supreme. After being temporarily granted the title, he casts a spell that removes the Darkforce surrounding Earth, which inadvertently allows vampires to walk in sunlight. However, he then betrays his promise and refuses to return the title, making Doctor Strange disappear.
In the "Venom War" storyline, Doctor Doom encountered Flexo and provided him with tactics for dealing with Eddie Brock in his King in Black form. This proves useful when Flexo severely injured Eddie Brock at the Grand Garden Arena.
Powers and abilities.
Doctor Doom is a polymath and inventor with genius-level intellect, renowned for creating doomsday machines and robots, particularly his Doombots, which he can control technopathically. Throughout his history, he has been depicted as one of the most intelligent humans in the Marvel Universe, notably restoring the Thing's human form—though Reed Richards also achieved this, he struggled to maintain it. However, Richards managed to process complex calculations to save Kitty Pryde from disintegration, a feat Doom admitted he could not replicate. Additionally, Doom has leveraged his scientific prowess to steal or replicate the powers of beings like the Silver Surfer, the Beyonder, and even Galactus's world-ship. Doom often uses "Doombots," his robot doubles, to retroactively explain his actions or erase events from his history. This device was also used to depict Kristoff Vernard believing himself to be the real Doom for a time.
In addition to being a genius scientist and inventor, Doom is a powerful sorcerer, initially trained by Tibetan monks and later enhanced by his lover, Morgan le Fay. He possesses abilities such as energy absorption, lightning manipulation, dimensional travel, healing, and summoning demonic creatures. Doom placed second in a magic tournament held by the ancient sorcerer the Aged Genghis, and after Doctor Strange relinquished the title of Sorcerer Supreme, he acknowledged Doom's potential to assume that role. This mastery of magic gives Doom a unique advantage over his intellectual rival, Reed Richards, who lacks knowledge of sorcery.
The alien Ovoids inadvertently taught Doctor Doom how to psionically transfer his consciousness into another being through eye contact, a technique he uses to frequently escape. However, he rarely employs this ability, as it can revert if his concentration breaks, and he is reluctant to do so due to his ego about his appearance.
Doom's armor enhances his strength and durability to superhuman levels, allowing him to contend with powerful foes like Spider-Man and the Hulk, although he prefers long-range tactics against stronger opponents. The armor is nearly indestructible, shielding him from various forms of manipulation and housing advanced weaponry, including lasers, a force field generator, and lethal electric shocks. Additionally, his armor supports him with air, food, water, and energy systems for extended periods in extreme environments such as outer space. Even without the armor, Doom is a skilled hand-to-hand combatant, capable of defeating strong opponents due to his knowledge of pressure points and skill with melee weapons.
Monarch of Latveria.
As the absolute monarch of Latveria, Doctor Doom rules the country with an iron fist and has frequently used his political power for his own personal benefit. Doom has reshaped the country in his own image, renaming both the capital city Hassenstadt and Castle Sabbat to Doomstadt and Castle Doom respectively. Doom frequently monitors the citizens of Latveria from Castle Doom and uses his Doombots to maintain order within his nation. Despite his infamous reputation as a supervillain, Doom has diplomatic immunity – allowing him to escape legal prosecution for most of his crimes he commits outside of Latveria. Doom also has total control of the nation's natural and technological resources, along with its manpower, economy, and military. Though from the outside it seems tyrannical, it seems the Latverian people really do adore Doom, as shown with two of his apprentices, Zora Vukovic, (aka, Victorious) and Kristoff Vernard. He is also known to harbor fugitive supervillains within Latveria as means of protecting them from prosecution, although he only does this for villains who play a part in his schemes. After renouncing his rulership, it is likely he lost this status.
Psychology.
Doom's primary weakness is his arrogance, which often blinds him to his own role in his failures. Layla Miller noted that he refuses to accept responsibility for the accident that scarred his face, instead blaming Reed Richards. While Doom typically views himself as superior, he occasionally listens to heroes like Mister Fantastic when it benefits him. Even when allied with others, he often seeks personal gain, as seen when he attempted to steal Thanos’ Infinity Gauntlet during a confrontation with the Titan. Doom adheres to a strict code of honor, keeping his word but often interpreting promises in a self-serving way. For instance, while he may not harm someone directly, he won't stop others from doing so. His sense of honor has led him to save Captain America and spare Spider-Man's life, but he refuses to attack weakened opponents, preferring that any victory over the Fantastic Four come solely from him. Despite his flaws, Doom is devoted to his subjects. When judged by the Panther God of Wakanda, it is revealed that Doom truly wished for a utopian future where humanity thrived, albeit one where he was in power.
Inventions.
Doctor Victor von Doom's genius in science and technology has allowed him to build numerous devices to handle enemies or acquire greater power. The most notable among them include:
Cultural influence and legacy.
Critical reception.
"UGO Networks" stated that Doctor Doom is an iconic figure in Marvel comics, known for his "iron mask and emerald cowl," along with his formidable armor and army of Doombots. George Marston from "Newsarama" described Doctor Doom as one of the "best Marvel supervillains," highlighting his intelligence, mastery of both science and magic, and his recent return to villainy in the Fantastic Four relaunch. David Harth of "CBR.com" referred to Doctor Doom as one of the "coolest Avengers villains," praising his charisma, distinctive speech, impressive armor, and rich backstory that adds depth to his character beyond typical villainy.
Other versions.
1602.
In Neil Gaiman's alternative-universe tale, "Marvel 1602", Dr. Doom is "Count Otto von Doom", also known as "Otto the Handsome". A mastermind genius of physics and even genetics, von Doom keeps the Four of the Fantastick imprisoned in his castle, continually tapping Richard Reed for knowledge. The Four eventually escape during an attack on Doom's castle by the other heroes of the time, which also leads to the scarring of his face.
Otto von Doom returns in "1602: The Fantastick Four", in which he plans to visit a city beyond the edge of the world, believing they have knowledge that could restore his face. He kidnaps William Shakespeare to record these events.
2099.
Doom (Victor von Doom) is a Marvel Comics anti-hero featured in the Marvel 2099 comic book "Doom 2099". The character is based on Doctor Doom, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. The comic was written by John Francis Moore for its first two years and by Warren Ellis for its third.
Age of Apocalypse.
In the Age of Apocalypse, Victor von Doom is an agent of the Human High Council and the Head of Security. His facial scar is the result of a mutant uprising in Latveria. Like his 616 counterpart, von Doom remains a ruthless, ambitious and honorable man, though he does not express his counterpart's goal to rule the world.
Amalgam Comics.
In the Amalgam Comics universe, Dr. Doom was a Cadmus scientist with Reed Richards and sabotaged their space project out of jealousy. He also experimented on himself using a gene sample of DC's Doomsday, transforming him into Doctor Doomsday.
Combat Colin.
Doctor Doom made an appearance in Marvel UK's "Combat Colin" strip. A superheroes convention is attacked by the robotic Steamroller Man. After Combat Colin and his sidekick Semi-Automatic Steve defeats the robot, its controller is revealed to be Doctor Doom, who explains that after years of being defeated by American superheroes he thought (wrongly) he could stand a chance against some incompetent Brits. The final panel shows Doom back in his lair, surrounded by newspaper cuttings detailing his past defeats and wondering how he would do in a fight with Thomas the Tank Engine.
Doom Supreme.
In an alternate reality, Doctor Doom, known as Doom Supreme, became a master of dark arts after losing his beloved Valeria, using her remains to forge his armor through sacrifice. He also sacrificed alternate versions of himself to power his armor and intimidated others into allegiance, claiming to be "the Doom who breaks other Dooms."
Doom Supreme, after witnessing a battle between the Prehistoric Avengers and a younger Thanos, is advised by Mephisto to form a new Masters of Evil from the worst villains in the Multiverse to conquer it, saving Earth-616 for last. He assembles a powerful group, including Black Skull, Dark Phoenix, and her Berserkers, Ghost Goblin, Kid Thanos, and King Killmonger. They attack various Earths, eventually arriving on Earth-616, where he defeats Orb and sends his team to fight the Avengers. After a climactic battle at Avengers Mountain, where it explodes, Doom Supreme enhances his power by placing a fragment of the Watcher's eye into his own.
Doom Supreme interacts with a version of Doctor Doom called Doom-Thing. When Doom-Thing threatens him, Doom Supreme subdues him and explains that he collects alternate versions of Doctor Doom, leading Doom-Thing to swear allegiance to him while tasked with cleaning up his mess.
Doom Supreme arrives on Earth-616 after Agamotto breaks up the Avengers' fight with the Prehistoric Avengers, removes Agamotto's eyes, and kills the Prehistoric Star Brand as the Multiversal Masters of Evil arrive.
As most of the Multiversal Masters of Evil are defeated, Dark Phoenix confronts Doom Supreme, only to discover he's just a hologram on Doom the Living Planet, surrounded by his loyal Doctor Doom variants. Doom Supreme arrives at the God Quarry, instructing his variants to hold off the Multiversal Avengers while he casts a spell to claim rights to all existence. During the battle, Avenger Prime, revealed to be a variation of Loki, joins the fray.
As the Multiversal Avengers battle the Doctor Doom variants, Doom Supreme begins turning the air into acid, he is confronted by Avenger Prime and Namor. Old Man Phoenix and Echo use their powers to make Doom the Living Planet bleed molten blood, injuring the Doctor Doom variants.
Amidst the chaos, Avenger Prime breaks off from fighting Doom Supreme due to news of a Celestial-sized Mephisto attacking. Ka-Zar and an alternate Galactus join the fight, while Gorilla-Man and Ursa Major decimate the Doctor Doom variants. As Doom Supreme confronts Dark Phoenix, claiming to have awaited her, they share a tense moment before he turns against Mephisto. Ultimately, the Multiversal Avengers regroup, and apprehend the remaining Doctor Doom variants.
Earth-111.
In this reality, visited by Ben Grimm while attempting to recover the coordinates of the Ultimate Nullifer, divided between the subconscious minds of four alternative Johnny Storms, Doom was the leader of the 'Challengers of Doom' consisting of himself, Reed Richard, Sue Storm, and the Hulk-, with Latveria having been destroyed in an unspecified past disaster and Doom relocating to New York to become a hero. When Galactus came to Earth and landed in Russia, Doom dismissed it as a hoax, prompting Grimm to note that this Doom was more arrogant than the version he knew as the Doom of Earth-616 was at least willing to listen to even his enemies if the situation was serious enough rather than dismiss their views as automatically irrelevant.
Earth-1191.
Unlike most Dooms this version is portrayed as an old, senile man with delusions of retaining his old authority and physique- seen by Layla Miller as a natural 'evolution' of Doom's inability to accept that "he" might be the reason for his failures-, although with periods of lucidity in which, while physically decrepit, he is still as smart and devious (and in turn, dangerous) as ever. Currently he's been taken in by Layla Miller and Madrox who hope that he can aid them in traveling back to their present. After finding and reactivating a time machine provided by the future X-Men, Doom, while in another lucid moment, betrays them, ordering the time traveling "Cortex" to use his abilities to "Destroy all the mutants". Doom also is able to take control of the heavily cyberized Cyclops though his cybernetic implants, forcing Cyclops' daughter Ruby to take him down. After this battle, Doom vanishes.
Earth-691.
In the alternate 31st century of the original Guardians of the Galaxy, designated as Earth-691, Doom is revealed to have somehow managed to place his brain inside the adamantium skeleton of Wolverine at some unknown point in the past, hiding this fact with a perfect replica of his original armor, cloak, hood, and simulated flesh intended to give the appearance that he has managed to prolong his life to unnatural lengths. He eventually comes face to face with Rancor, a descendant of Wolverine, and offers to become her ally, though he secretly intended to use her as a pawn for his own gain, while she intends to slay him on her quest to determine what happened to Wolverine. During their battle, Doom reveals himself to be in control of Wolverine's skeleton, heavily modified with cybernetics and missing half of one of the claws, which had eventually come into the possession of Rancor. Rancor manages to strike at one of Doom's robotic eyes, forcing him to retreat. Doom is not seen again in this reality.
Earth-X.
In the dystopian future of Earth-X, Doctor Doom has killed the Invisible Woman and Human Torch, but died in the process. Reed Richards took his place as ruler of Latveria and also wears his armor.
God Emperor Doom.
During the "Secret Wars" storyline, Doctor Doom stole the power of the Beyonders and became known as "God Emperor Doom".
Heroes Reborn (2021).
In the 2021 "Heroes Reborn" reality, a variation of Doctor Doom appears as a member of the Masters of Doom and can turn into Doctor Juggernaut using the Gem of Cyttorak. After escaping from the Negative Zone, Doctor Juggernaut attacked the front lawn of the White House and fought Hyperion.
House of M.
In the "House of M" continuity, Doom rules Latveria, with his mother alive, married to Valeria, and having adopted Kristoff. After Reed Richards's test flight results in the deaths of Reed, Sue, and John Jameson from cosmic radiation, Ben Grimm survives but loses his intelligence. This prompts Doom to form the Fearsome Four with himself, the It (Grimm), the Invincible Woman (Valeria), and the Inhuman Torch (Kristoff). However, due to Doom's arrogance and brutality, the It betrays the team, leading to the deaths of Valeria and Kristoff, and his mother's kidnapping. Left broken, Doom genetically mutates himself, transforming his skin into liquid metal and gaining the ability to form weapons from his hands as he prepares for revenge.
Iron Man 2093.
In an alternative future set in 2093, where a reborn King Arthur rules a renewed Camelot, Doom and Iron Man are drawn to stop a plan to destroy most of Earth's population. While Iron Man battles his descendant wielding Excalibur, Doom confronts his future self, who has allied with the future Iron Man to complete a sinister plan. Rejecting his future counterpart, Doom asserts that no amount of power justifies such an affront to his dignity, then kills the older Doom, suggesting a stable time loop where the younger Doom will always defeat his future self.
Marvel Mangaverse.
In "Marvel Mangaverse", Doom makes T'Channa, T'Challa's sister, his disciple, she banishes him to another dimension and assumes the identity of Doctor Doom.
Marvel Two-In-One (2017).
When the Thing and the Human Torch search the multiverse for the missing Richards' family, their first new universe visited is a world where the Thing died in the Fantastic Four's first battle with Galactus. This universe's Doctor Doom saved Earth by transferring his mind into Galactus, with the result that Earth has been spared but Doom's hunger for power has led him to devour every other planet in the universe. With the help of alternate counterparts of Reed Richards and Emma Frost from an undesignated universe, they are able to defeat him by transferring his mind into Emma Frost's body, while she becomes the Life Bringer.
Marvel Universe vs the Avengers.
Weeks after a pathogen has turned most of Earth's population into homicidal cannibals, Dr. Doom aids the Avengers in repelling the infected and offers them Doom Stones to prevent further transformations, but demands absolute loyalty in return. Most Avengers reluctantly accept, while Thor returns to Asgard; however, they later discover that the stones do not halt the infection but enhance cognitive function in the cannibals and accelerate the transformation process. Hawkeye uncovers Doom's infection and, after Doom activates the stones' harmful effects, he is ultimately killed by Hawkeye with an arrow tipped with Wolverine's severed adamantium claws.
Marvel Zombies vs. The Army Of Darkness.
In more of an anti-hero role, the Earth-2149 version of Doom is still ruler of Latveria. Doom has fortified his castle to defend against the infected superheroes and refuses help from Nick Fury, and takes in refugees for the purpose of repopulating the planet once the situation is resolved. To the disgust of his allies, it is revealed Doom has only chosen the hardiest breeding stock of the Latverian survivors; there are no elderly people or children. He creates a makeshift portal that will allow escape into other dimensions, should the zombie plague doom the planet. Doom is forced to vaporize the mutant Dazzler and the zombified Enchantress after the latter infects the former, but is then attacked by the zombified Marvel superheroes and infected by Reed Richards, who had infected himself and his teammates on purpose.
Shortly before he turns, a "dying" Doom heroically uses his portal to allow the refugees escape to another reality. Despite his defenses, the zombies breaks through once more. With only himself and Ash Williams remaining, he reveals he has been infected by the virus, and cannot go through the portal himself. Though tempted to eat Ash, he resists, as he considers Ash to have allowed him revenge against Reed Richards, allowing the man to escape, even giving him the ability to choose one of many realities. As Ash escapes through it, Doom ultimately destroys the device, trapping himself with the zombies. Having witnessed Doom saving the refugees by using his portal for their escape, the zombified Thing suddenly attacked Doom. He is later seen in New York, as a zombie who attempts to devour Galactus before engaging in battle with the zombified superheroes who succeeded in absorbing Galactus' cosmic powers before him, presumably being killed by them off-screen.
MC2.
In the Fantastic Five series set in the MC2, Doom is revealed to be held captive by the Sub-Mariner for ten years, after the destruction of Atlantis. Doom manages to escape, and uses the same device he once employed to imbue Terrax with the Power Cosmic on his Doombots- unable to use it on himself as his human body would be destroyed from the strain-, and attempts to take over the world. Taking advantage of Doom's desire to prove himself superior, Reed Richards challenges Doom to a psychic duel, using a device that will send the loser's mind to the Crossroads of Infinity. The two are so evenly matched that both are sent to the Crossroads - although Namor notes that it is possible that Reed sacrificed himself to try to save Doom - leaving their bodies as empty shells, although Reed's teammates note that there is always a possibility that the two shall return so long as their bodies remain alive.
Mini-Marvels.
Doctor Doom makes shortly cameos in Mini-Marvels. In the "Classic Mini Marvels" section, there's a short story about him in which he tries to read Marvel's comics. He can be seen in "Civil Guards" as one of the doctors that are experimenting with Spider-Man's body. The Avengers also have a photo of Doom in their house, as shown in "World War Hulk".
Mutant X.
In the Mutant X universe, Doom leads the United Nations in battle against the Goblyn Queen and later the Beyonder.
An alternate of Doom with the powers of Charles Xavier is a superhero and leader of his own X-Men.
Old Man Logan.
In the alternative Wolverine-centric future shown on Earth-807128, the supervillains of the Marvel universe finally won and divided America (later renamed Amerika) up amongst themselves. Doctor Doom has his own area of land called New Latveria (also called Doom's Lair). He is seen for only a few panels dressed in all gray standing atop a cliff watching a now old Logan and Hawkeye driving the Spider Buggy built by the Human Torch. It is revealed that Clyde Wyncham has taken on the role of Doom.
On Earth-21923 that was similar to Earth-807128, Doctor Doom's history is still the same. After Old Man Logan killed Red Skull and Hulk, a power vacuum was caused in Amerika which led to Doctor Doom taking over the Presidential Quarter. At one point during his takeover of the Presidential Quarter, he came across a village that was established by Baron Mordo. When Doctor Doom cut off Baron Mordo's access to Agatha Harkness, he killed Baron Mordo, took the Darkhold that was in his possession, and freed Sofia Strange and those enslaved to Mordo. In addition, he allowed Agatha to leave with her life while stating that she owes him. When asked by Sofia on what he plans to do with the Darkhold, Doctor Doom states that he is going to use it to rule.
Old Woman Laura.
In an alternate timeline, Doom gathered most of the supervillains on Earth into an army, attempting to conquer the world. When his "soldiers" were defeated and imprisoned, Doom retreated to Latveria, creating an impenetrable forcefield over the whole country. Decades later, Wolverine receives word that Doom is holding her clone sister Bellona prisoner, and leads a covert attack to take Doom out once and for all. Doom manages to capture Laura, revealing that he deliberately leaked the intel that drove her to attack. He attempts to transfer his mind into Laura's body in order to escape his own decrepit form, only to discover that Laura is herself dying. Doom returns to his own body, but is killed by Laura immediately after.
Spider-Man: Life Story.
In "Spider-Man: Life Story" a reality in which the Marvel superheroes aged in real time and started their careers the same year as their publication, Doctor Doom has taken over Earth as a result of the Civil War between Captain America and Iron Man and a resistance being formed to combat him composed of those that didn't die or disappear entirely.
"The End".
In Alan Davis' mini-series, , Dr. Doom appears as a four-armed cyborg with little of his humanity left. Doom breaks during the "mutant wars" and is now a killing machine, focused on the deaths of the Fantastic Four. He engages in a final battle with the Four and is seemingly killed in an explosion when his powers react with those of Franklin and Valeria Richards. Doom is later revealed to be alive and conquers the Negative Zone after killing Annihilus and obtaining his power rod and immortality.
"The Last Fantastic Four Story".
Dr. Doom is seen trying to destroy the Adjudicator, however he and his robotic planes are shown to disintegrate and he is last seen cheering the Fantastic Four (even though he will find a way to destroy them). How he survived remains unknown.
Ultimate Marvel.
In the Ultimate Marvel universe, Victor Van Damme, a descendant of Vlad Tepes Dracula, is part of the Baxter Building think tank alongside Reed Richards and Susan Storm. He secretly reprograms a teleporter's coordinates, causing the accident that gives the Ultimate Fantastic Four their powers and transforms him into a metallic-skinned figure with clawed hands and goat-hooved legs. When he learns of their transformation, he derides Reed as a "freak," believing himself to be the only one worthy of such power.
For a time, Doom leads a micronation in Copenhagen known as "Free State," where citizens live rent-free in exchange for loyalty and receive dragon tattoos that serve as mind control devices. The Fantastic Four eventually liberate the citizens during their first battle, but they cannot imprison Doom due to his diplomatic immunity. During the Namor fiasco, it was revealed that the mother of Sue and Johnny Storm possesses a similar dragon tattoo. After the collapse of the Keep, Doom returned to Latveria and transformed it from a Third World nation into the ninth-richest country in the world within six months. Although the citizens, now bearing Doom's dragon tattoos, revere him as "the good doctor," their loyalty comes at a cost. Meanwhile, Doom switches bodies with Reed Richards to claim a life he believes is rightfully his, leaving Reed in control of Latveria while he seeks recognition by saving Johnny Storm from an alien parasite. Despite Reed's efforts to combat the zombie Fantastic Four, Doom ultimately reverts their bodies and defeats the threat himself.
Doom seems to reappear in issue six of "Ultimate Power", seeking control over the Supremeverse, but is revealed in issue eight to be a Doombot. Later, in "Ultimates 3," he is shown controlling Ultron, though he lacks his distinctive goat legs and resembles his 616 counterpart, with the reason for this change yet to be explained. The Thing supposedly killed Victor in his Latverian home as retribution for Doom's causing the events of "Ultimatum"; however' Doom later reveals that while in the zombie universe he had Sue and Johnny Storm's mother, Mary Storm, in disguise ruling in his absence. This was who The Thing unknowingly killed. The Ultimate version of Reed Richards appears to have taken over the role of Doctor Doom.
More recently, the Parliament of Doom (an organization constituted by numerous Doctor Dooms of alternative universes led by the Victor von Doom of Earth-616) fought the Fantastic Four in an alternative past of Earth-616, being one of the Doctor Dooms present very similar to Ultimate Doctor Doom, with features such as goat-hooved legs. It is yet unknown if that Doctor Doom is in fact from the Ultimate Universe or an alternative version of that reality.
Following the events of "Cataclysm", Phil Coulson and Danny Ketch reveal that the real Victor (who once again has his goat-hooved legs) was being held captive by S.H.I.E.L.D. before it disbanded. He is released and forced to join the Future Foundation alongside Invisible Woman, Falcon, and Tony Stark.
When the time-displaced young X-Men are transferred into the Ultimate Marvel universe by accident, Doom captures and brainwashes the younger Beast to serve him, requiring the displaced X-Men to join forces with the new Ultimate Spider-Man and the Ultimate Marvel X-Men to rescue him.
Later, it is revealed that Doom teamed up with Hydra to "save" the world from corrupt governments, capturing Miles Morales and Jessica Drew to exploit their DNA for a super soldier army. However, Miles unexpectedly taps into a hidden power, defeating Doom and Hydra, just as another Earth's image appears in the sky.
Ultimate Doom is a scientific genius who views science as an art, having transformed his body into solid metal and gained powers similar to Colossus, including the ability to expel his internal organs as poisonous gas and regenerate, though he cannot heal wounds inflicted by his own spikes. He exhibits super strength and can launch metal spikes from his forearms, making him formidable enough to break the arms of a zombie version of Ben Grimm. The Ultimate Universe's Doom is also an accomplished sorcerer.
Venomverse.
In Venomverse, Doom was consumed by the Poisons and became their second in command after Poison Thanos. He with the other Poison Heroes started battling the Army of Venoms in which he was the only survivor. Then the Poisons tried to invade Earth-616, he and Thanos along with the other Poisons got killed, after the Poison Queen was destroyed.
Warlock.
On the original Counter Earth, Victor von Doom is a genius, but not a villain. He appears in the original "Warlock" series. Von Doom's armor is now represented only by the metallic mask and the green hood/cape is gone. He is referred to as "the most famous egghead in the country", the "like spirit-brother" of Reed Richards, and "a man as dedicated to counter-Earth's survival as Earth's von Doom is to its enslavement".
He and Reed Richards are mentioned in passing in "Marvel Premiere" #2 and "Warlock" #2 as scientists without any sort of super-powers.
In "Warlock" #6, it is told how von Doom and Richards had been roommates, friends and lab partners in college. After von Doom's disfiguring accident, Richards' emotional support prevented him from becoming a villain. When Richards and his three companions hijacked a spaceship in order to be the first humans in space, von Doom unsuccessfully attempted to talk him out of it. Though all of the counter "fantastic four" were exposed to cosmic radiation, it was only Richards that was affected due to the interference of Man-Beast though the effects only became apparent ten years later when he became the Brute due to "latent cosmic radiation - and a mysterious guiding hand".
In "Warlock" #5-7, Victor von Doom was employed at the Livermore Valley Lab in California where he worked on "Earth-Corer-1", a vehicle designed to tunnel into the Earth. He warned the president of a massive earthquake that would be caused by a nuclear bomb test. The resulting earthquake accidentally activated "Antipersonnel missiles, nicknamed deathbirds" which began killing people indiscriminately. Von Doom was able to destroy them with Adam Warlock's help, using one of his inventions called the "deactivator". He died while helping Adam Warlock stop the Brute from absorbing all of Counter-Earth's geothermal energy, turning him back into Reed Richards.
What If?
There are some "What If" stories revolving around Doctor Doom:
King Loki.
In the future depicted in "Loki: Agent of Asgard", Doctor Doom discovers Latveria completely destroyed after King Loki destroyed the Earth. Doom attempts to prevent this future by imprisoning the Loki of the present.
Ultimate Universe.
In Earth-6160, a world marked by alternate history due to the interference of the Maker, Latveria is an independent territory close to the European Coalition and used as his seat of political power, as he reshapes the global status quo, eroding national identities and independence in favor of a new world order, creating a Council composed of leaders of regional power blocs and creating a permanent war economy between their territories, while they operate covertly as a group, keeping their local populations controlled as a worldwide form of shadow government.
It is shown through Howard Stark's history files that the Maker arrived in 1963, establishing the futuristic enclave known as "The City" at Latveria, showcasing himself as a force of progress to the world and performing feats such as taking care of external threats like Galactus and performing a moon landing. He is regarded as an Imperator, or the de facto ruler of the Earth, due to being regarded as the only one capable of keeping the public safe from global threats and disseminating technological advances on a regular base, using the organization H.A.N.D as a secret police. As Stark rebels against the Maker, he imprisons both of them and Kang inside the city, leaving two years before it opens.
King Thor.
In King Thor's timeline, Doom acquired the powers of Iron Fist, Ghost Rider, Star Brand and Doctor Strange. He wanted to destroy the new mortals that appeared in a desolate Earth, but he got attacked by King Thor and Old Man Phoenix. During the battle, he killed Logan, which allowed the Phoenix Force to go to Thor right before Doom was about to use his Penance Stare to Thor. Now with the power of the Phoenix Force, Thor was able to defeat Doom.
In other media.
Merchandise.
Since Doctor Doom is one of Marvel's most popular villains, he has been featured in many forms of merchandise, including various action figures and trading cards:
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Hello Kitty
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, also known by her real name , is a fictional character created by Yuko Shimizu, currently designed by Yuko Yamaguchi, and owned by the Japanese company Sanrio. Sanrio depicts Hello Kitty as a British anthropomorphized white cat with a red bow and no visible mouth. According to her backstory, she lives in a London suburb with her family, and is close to her twin sister Mimmy, who is depicted with a yellow bow.
Hello Kitty was created in 1974 and the first item, a vinyl coin purse, was introduced in 1975. Originally, Hello Kitty was only marketed towards pre-teenage girls, but beginning in the 1990s, the brand found commercial success among teenage and adult consumers as well. Hello Kitty's popularity also grew with the emergence of "kawaii" (cute) culture. The brand went into decline in Japan after the 1990s, but continued to grow in the international market. By 2010 the character was worth a year and "The New York Times" called her a "global marketing phenomenon". She did about at retail in 2013.
UNICEF has appointed Hello Kitty children's ambassador and the Japanese government appointed her ambassador of tourism. There are Sanrio theme parks based on Hello Kitty: Harmonyland in Hiji, Ōita, Japan, Sanrio Puroland in Tama New Town, Tokyo, Japan, and Hello Kitty Shanghai Times in Shanghai, China. The Hello Kitty media franchise has grown to include a number of animated series targeted towards children, as well as several comics, animated films, video games, books, music albums and other media productions. A variety of products have featured the character over the years, like school supplies, clothing, accessories, and toys, along with other items. In 2008, there were over 50,000 different Hello Kitty branded products.
Creation and design.
In 1962, Shintaro Tsuji, founder of Sanrio, began selling rubber sandals with flowers painted on them. Tsuji noted the profits gained by adding a cute design to the shoes and hired cartoonists to design cute characters for his merchandise. Hello Kitty was designed by Yuko Shimizu and was added to the lineup of early Sanrio characters in 1974.
Hello Kitty was initially known only as . Shimizu got the name "Kitty" from Lewis Carroll's "Through the Looking-Glass"; during a scene early in the book, Alice plays with a cat she calls "Kitty". Sanrio's motto is "social communication", and Tsuji wanted the brand name to reflect that by including a greeting. He first considered "Hi Kitty" before finally settling on "Hello Kitty", her current name. Sanrio decided to make Hello Kitty British because foreign countries, in particular Britain, were trendy in Japan at the time of Hello Kitty's creation. Sanrio already had several characters set in the US, and it wanted Hello Kitty to be different.
In 1976 Setsuko Yonekubo temporarily took over as lead designer for Hello Kitty, after Shimizu left Sanrio. In 1980 Yuko Yamaguchi became lead designer and has remained in charge since. Yamaguchi has said that fashion, movies, and TV inspire her in creating new designs. New series involving Hello Kitty with different themed designs are released regularly, following current trends.
Spokespeople for Sanrio have said that Hello Kitty has no mouth, as they want people to "project their feelings onto the character" and "be happy or sad together with Hello Kitty." Another explanation Sanrio has given for Hello Kitty's lack of a mouth is that she "speaks from the heart. She's Sanrio's ambassador to the world and isn't bound to any particular language." However, Yuko Yamaguchi has also said that "Kitty has a mouth" that is "hidden in the fur". Representatives for Sanrio have said that they see Hello Kitty as a symbol of friendship, which they hope she will foster between people across the world. There has been speculation that Hello Kitty has her origins in Maneki Neko, a traditional Japanese cat figurine. The name "Hello Kitty" is a back-translation of "Maneki Neko", meaning "beckoning cat" in English. Despite this, no definitive statement supports that speculation. Hello Kitty has also instead been put forth as an early example of "mukokuseki", a Japanese term meaning "stateless" or "nationless" in reference to characters lacking any identifiable national background.
History and reception.
The character's first appearance on an item was in March 1975 on a vinyl coin purse sold in Japan, where she was pictured sitting between a bottle of milk and a goldfish bowl. She first appeared in the United States in 1976 when Sanrio opened a Gift Gate store in San Jose, California.
Hello Kitty sold well immediately after her 1975 launch, and Sanrio's sales increased sevenfold. Due to Japan's growing economy, many Japanese children could afford to buy Hello Kitty products. Her popularity also grew with the emergence of "kawaii" culture, which embraces cuteness.
UNICEF named Hello Kitty as children's ambassador to the United States in 1983, children's ambassador in Japan in 1994, and gave her the title of "UNICEF Special Friend of Children" in 2004, a title unique to her.
Originally, Hello Kitty was only marketed towards a child and preteen audience. In the 1990s, the target market for Hello Kitty was broadened to include teenagers and adults as a retro brand. Marketing to those who could not get Hello Kitty merchandise as children, and those who fondly remember items they had, Sanrio began selling Hello Kitty branded products such as purses and laptops. The 1994–1996 "Face" series was the first to be designed specifically for mature consumers.
The Hello Kitty brand rose to greater prominence internationally during the late 1990s. At that time, several celebrities, such as Mariah Carey, had adopted Hello Kitty as a fashion statement. New products featuring the character were made available in a large variety of American department stores.
Hello Kitty's popularity in Japan peaked in the late 1990s when she was the country's top-grossing character. In 2002, Hello Kitty lost her place as the top-grossing character in Japan in the Character Databank popularity chart. In a 2010 survey, she was in third place behind Anpanman and Pikachu from "Pokémon". In 2010, "The New York Times" attributed the character's relative decline in Japan to her biography not being "compelling enough to draw many fans." The newspaper later wrote that analysts called the characterization "weak", and that Hello Kitty not having a mouth has dampened her success as an animated TV character. According to Character Databank, Hello Kitty was the third highest-grossing character in Japan as of 2013. In 2019 and 2020, Character Databank ranked her fifth, and as of 2021 she was out of the top five.
Overseas, her global popularity has increased over the years. According to Sanrio, Hello Kitty was appearing on 12,000 new products each year as of 1999. Beginning in 2007, following trends in Japan, Sanrio began using darker designs for Hello Kitty with more black and less pink and pulled away from "kawaii" styles. By 2008, Hello Kitty was responsible for half of Sanrio's $1 billion net income, and there were over 50,000 different Hello Kitty branded products in more than 60 countries. By 2010 the character was worth a year and "The New York Times" called her a "global marketing phenomenon". Worldwide annual sales reached in 2013.
In July 2008, the Dutch artist Dick Bruna, creator of Miffy, alleged that Hello Kitty is a copy of Miffy, being rendered in a similar style. He stated disapprovingly in an interview for the British newspaper "The Daily Telegraph": "That" [...] "is a copy [of Miffy], I think. I don't like that at all. I always think, 'No, don't do that. Try to make something that you think of yourself'." Mercis, the firm that managed copyrights for Bruna, took Sanrio to court over their Hello Kitty-associated character Cathy, a rabbit which made her first appearance in 1976 and which Mercis argued infringed the copyright for Miffy. A court in Amsterdam ruled in favour of Mercis in November 2010 and ordered Sanrio to stop the production and sale of merchandise featuring Cathy in the Benelux countries. However, in June 2011, the two companies announced that they had reached a settlement agreement to end their legal dispute. Sanrio stopped using the Cathy character, and the two firms jointly donated €150,000 for reconstruction after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.
As of 2014, 90% of the profits from Hello Kitty came from licensing of products for the international market. She has been particularly popular in other Asian countries for decades, such as in China, where her cultural impact is comparable to that of Barbie in the Western world. In 2008, Japan named Hello Kitty the ambassador of Japanese tourism in both China and Hong Kong, marking the first time Japan's tourism ministry had appointed a fictional character to the role. Sharon Kinsella, a lecturer at Oxford University on Japanese sociology, called the selection of Hello Kitty "a bit farcical ... as if a dumbed-down cultural icon ... can somehow do something significant to alter the gnarly and difficult state of China–Japan relations."
In the United States, Hello Kitty is recognized by more than 80% of young adults in the 18–23 age group, . In 2014 a four-day convention, Hello Kitty Con in Los Angeles, attracted over 25,000 visitors. The convention was held in celebration of Hello Kitty's 40th anniversary. Sanrio's Puroland Tokyo theme park also held a celebration spanning several days in November 2014.
Character.
Hello Kitty is a "gijinka", an anthropomorphism or personification of a Japanese Bobtail cat. Official character profiles list her full name as , born in the suburbs of London, England, on November 1. Her height is described as five apples and her weight as three apples. She is portrayed as a bright and kind-hearted girl, very close to her twin sister Mimmy. She is good at baking cookies and loves her mama's homemade apple pie. She likes to play the piano and collect cute things, and her favorite subjects in school are English, music, and art.
Hello Kitty is portrayed with a large family with the surname "White". Her twin sister Mimmy is described as "shy and very girly", interested in sewing and dreaming of marriage. While Hello Kitty wears a red bow on her left ear, Mimmy wears a yellow one on her right. Their papa George is described as dependable, humorous but also absent-minded. Their mama Mary is portrayed as a good cook who loves doing housework. Grandpa Anthony likes to tell stories and grandma Margaret likes sewing. In addition to family, Hello Kitty is also depicted with several animal friends, including the mice Joey and Judy, the bears Tippy and Thomas, the raccoon Tracy and the squirrel Rorry.
Aside from the core Hello Kitty characters, several spinoff characters have been created: Hello Kitty's boyfriend Dear Daniel in 1999, Charmmy Kitty, Hello Kitty's pet cat, and Sugar, her pet hamster, both in 2004, and her superhero alter-ego Ichigoman in 2011.
SFGATE said in 2004 that in light of the level of success of Hello Kitty, her fictional biography "seems almost too modest – or irrelevant" and "doesn't seem to have played much of a part" in the success.
In 2014 an anthropologist was told by Sanrio that Kitty White was not simply a cat (i.e. "depicted on all fours"), describing her as a little English girl called Kitty White, from outside London. Following reports that interpreted this to mean she was human, a Sanrio PR representative said that the organization had "never said she was a human", explaining anthropomorphization by comparing the character to Mickey Mouse: "No one would mistake the Disney character for a human–but at the same time he's not quite a mouse. Just like Hello Kitty isn't a human, she's not quite a cat either." Sanrio stated further, "Hello Kitty was done in the motif of a cat. It's going too far to say that Hello Kitty is not a cat."
Media.
Animated series.
There have been several different animated series starring Hello Kitty. The first was "Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater", an animated television series with 13 22-minute episodes that premiered in 1987. The next, an OVA titled "Hello Kitty and Friends", spanned 30 entries originally released in Japan between 1989 and 1994. "Hello Kitty's Paradise" came out in 1999 and was 16 episodes long. "Hello Kitty's Stump Village" came out in 2005, and "The Adventures of Hello Kitty & Friends" came out in 2008 and has aired 52 episodes. A crossover series under the name "Kiss Hello Kitty" (that paired animated versions of the members of the rock band KISS with Hello Kitty) was announced in March 2013. Produced by Gene Simmons, this show was supposed to air on The Hub Network (now Discovery Family), but it never came to fruition.
"" was a long-running live-action children's program that aired on TXN from January 1999 to March 2011. It was the longest-running weekly kids' television program in the network's history. In January 2011, the show's creators mutually agreed to end the series after twelve seasons, with the final episode being broadcast on 29 March 2011.
In August 2018, Sanrio began streaming a CGI animated series on YouTube. It features Hello Kitty talking to the camera about her life in the style of vlogging YouTubers.
Sanrio began streaming the newest 2D animated Hello Kitty series "Hello Kitty and Friends Supercute Adventures" on YouTube on 26 October 2020.
Comics.
Hello Kitty had two Japanese comic series serialized in "Ribon", a shōjo manga magazine - "Hello Kitty Doki" (ran from May 2007 to April 2008) and "Hello Kitty Peace" (released in June 2008).
In March 2016, Sanrio launched a webcomic featuring Hello Kitty as a strawberry-themed superhero called Ichigoman ("ichigo" meaning strawberry). The webcomic is created by Toshiki Inoue and Shakua Sinkai and updates once a month. Ichigoman first appeared in 2011 in an exhibition with Yuko Yamaguchi's art.
Music.
Hello Kitty has her own branded album, "Hello World", featuring Hello Kitty-inspired songs performed by a collection of artists including Keke Palmer, Cori Yarckin, and Ainjel Emme under Hello Kitty's Lakeshore Records record label. Hello Kitty was also chosen by AH Software to be the basis of the new Vocaloid to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Sanrio.
Musician Yoshiki unveiled the Hello Kitty theme song "Hello Hello" in November 2014 at the first Hello Kitty Con. Yoshiki, who was the first celebrity to have his own Hello Kitty doll, "Yoshikitty", was approached by Yamaguchi to compose the song seven years prior.
Video games.
There are numerous "Hello Kitty" games starting with the release of the first title for Famicom in 1992; however, the majority of these games were never released outside of Japan. Hello Kitty also has made cameo appearances in games featuring other Sanrio characters, such as the Keroppi game, "Kero Kero Keroppi no Bōken Nikki: Nemureru Mori no Keroleen". Special-edition consoles such as the Hello Kitty Dreamcast, Hello Kitty Game Boy Pocket, and Hello Kitty Crystal Xbox have also been released exclusively in Japan.
Hello Kitty appeared as a guest character in Sega's "Sonic Dash" in 2016, as part of Sega's partnership with Sanrio. Hello Kitty and My Melody (another Sanrio character) appeared together in "Super Mario Maker" as unlockable Mystery Mushroom costumes. Hello Kitty appears as a playable character via downloadable content in "Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania".
Films.
Three "Hello Kitty" anime films were released in Japan. "Hello Kitty: Cinderella" released in 1989, "Hello Kitty no Oyayubi Hime" released in 1990, and "Hello Kitty no Mahō no Mori no Ohime-sama" released in 1991.
On 3 July 2015, Sanrio announced a full-length animated Hello Kitty theatrical feature initially planned for 2019. In early 2019, it was revealed that New Line Cinema would be teaming up alongside Sanrio and Flynn Picture Company for an "English language film based on the venerable kid brand." In 2021, it was reported that Jennifer Coyle and Leo Matsuda had been hired to direct the film with Lindsey Beer set to pen the script.
Products.
Originally aimed at the pre-adolescent female market, the Hello Kitty product range has expanded from dolls, stickers, greeting cards, board games, clothes, backpacks, lunch boxes, piggy banks, pencils, erasers, accessories, school supplies and stationery to purses, toasters, televisions, other home appliances, massagers, motor oil and computer equipment. These products range from mass market items to high-end consumer products and rare collectibles. , more than 50,000 Hello Kitty product lines were available in over 130 countries.
High-end.
Sanrio and various corporate partners have released Hello Kitty-branded products, including the Hello Kitty Stratocaster electric guitar (since 2005, with Fender, under its Squier sub-brand, in the US) and an Airbus A330-200 commercial passenger jet airliner, dubbed the Hello Kitty Jet (2005–2009, with EVA Airways in Taiwan). In late 2011 and early 2012, EVA Air revived their "Hello Kitty Jets" with their three new A330-300s. However, due to high demand, the airline added two more alongside their existing A330-200s in mid-2012. A year later, EVA Air introduced one of their 777-300ERs as another Hello Kitty Jet, which featured other Sanrio characters as well as Hello Kitty.
In 2009, Hello Kitty entered the wine market with a collection of four wines available for purchase online, continuing the expansion of product lines targeted at older audiences.
Establishments.
Hello Kitty is included as part of the Sanrio livery at the Japanese theme parks Harmonyland and Sanrio Puroland. The Hello Kitty Shanghai Times theme park in Shanghai, China opened in 2019. A theme park called Hello Kitty Town existed in Iskandar Puteri, Johor, Malaysia from 2012 to 2019. In 2014, Sanrio partnered with the Indonesian theme park Dufan to introduce Hello Kitty Adventure, a cinema based attraction.
Hello Kitty cafés have opened around the world, including in Seoul and other locations in South Korea; Bangkok, Thailand; Adelaide, Australia; Irvine, California; the Santa Anita Mall in California, and the Park MGM in Las Vegas, Nevada.
There is a themed restaurant named Hello Kitty Sweets in Taipei, Taiwan, which opened in 2008. The restaurant's decor and many of its dishes are patterned after the Hello Kitty characters. Another restaurant called the Hello Kitty Diner opened in the Chatswood area of Sydney, Australia, and a Hello Kitty dim sum restaurant opened in Kowloon, Hong Kong.
In 2008, a Hello Kitty-themed maternity hospital opened in Yuanlin, Taiwan. Hello Kitty is featured on the receiving blankets, room decor, bed linens, birth certificate covers, and nurses' uniforms. The hospital's owner explained that he hoped that the theme would help ease the stress of childbirth.
Clothing.
Dr. Martens collaborated with Hello Kitty in 2010 and 2020. The 2020 collaboration includes platform boots, platform sandals as well as a satchel. Forever 21 collaborated with Hello Kitty on clothing collections several times, the first one in 2011. In 2018, Puma collaborated with Hello Kitty to create a collection which features sneakers for both children and adults. Also in 2018, Converse collaborated with Sanrio to create a collection which includes shoes ranging from kids' to adult sizes as well as clothing and bags. In 2020, Skechers collaborated with Hello Kitty releasing chunky-soled style shoes with brand's logo and Hello Kitty's face and bow. Hello Kitty is used as a brand for sanitary pads in Asia and Latin America.
Legacy and impact.
In 1994, artist Tom Sachs was invited to create a scene for Barneys New York Christmas displays and titled it "Hello Kitty Nativity". In the scene, the Virgin Mary was replaced by Madonna with an open Chanel bra, the three Kings were all Bart Simpson, the stable was marked by a McDonald's logo, and the Christ Child was replaced by Hello Kitty. This contemporary revision of the nativity scene demonstrated Sachs' interest in the phenomena of consumerism, branding, and the cultural fetishization of products. Many audiences instead took offense to the artwork, which received backlash from Catholic organizations for its misuse of Christian symbolism.
In 2009, Tom Sachs' "Bronze Collection" was shown at the Public art space in Manhattan's Lever House, as well as in the Baldwin Gallery in Aspen, Colorado, and the Trocadéro in Paris. The collection featured white bronze casts of a foam core Hello Kitty sculpture – a style distinctive to the artist. As of April 2010, the "Wind-Up Hello Kitty" sculpture is still on display at Lever House. Although Sachs did not seek permission to use the character in his work, a brand marketing manager for Sanrio was quoted as saying "You know, there was Marilyn Monroe and Andy Warhol, and then Michael Jackson and Jeff Koons. When you're an icon, that's what happens." In 2013 "The Wall Street Journal" said Sanrio's attitude to copyright was "laissez-faire" compared to companies like Disney, and that they have let artists use Hello Kitty's likeness without interfering.
In 2015, a nine-foot tall pearlescent Hello Kitty sculpture by artist Sebastian Masuda was exhibited at the Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza in New York City, as part of the Japan Society's exhibition: "Life of Cats: Selections from the Hiraki Ukiyo-e Collection".
Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne wrote and recorded a song called "Hello Kitty" for her fifth studio album, "Avril Lavigne", released in 2013. The Hello Kitty Stratocaster guitar, originally released in 2005, was initially aimed at pre-teen girls, but has since been used by notable guitarists including Krist Novoselic, Courtney Love, Dave Navarro, and Lisa Loeb. In 2022, vintage Hello Kitty Stratocasters were among the most popular musical instruments sold on the marketplace Reverb.com. While it originally retailed for $230, some re-sold for over $1,000.
In 2022, "Saturday Night Live" aired a sketch parodying Hello Kitty's backstory (described by "The A.V. Club" as "incongruous, corporate-sanctioned") and Sanrio's handling of it. The sketch centers on managers at a fictional Hello Kitty store. They describe the character in contradictory terms as a "human little girl" who is in third grade and also 48 years old. "The Atlantic" described the sketch as both "a skewering of the ever-expanding Hello Kitty commercial universe" and as capturing the gaslighting and manipulation of truth of the time.
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Daenerys Targaryen
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Daenerys Targaryen ( ) is a fictional character in the series of epic fantasy novels "A Song of Ice and Fire" by American author George R. R. Martin. She is a prominent point-of-view character, and is one of the series' most popular characters. "The New York Times" cites her as one of the author's finest creations.
Introduced in 1996's "A Game of Thrones", thirteen-year-old Daenerys is one of the last surviving members (along with her older brother, Viserys III, the "Beggar King") of House Targaryen, which, until 14 years before the events of the first novel, had ruled Westeros from the Iron Throne for nearly 300 years before being ousted. She subsequently appeared in "A Clash of Kings" (1998) and "A Storm of Swords" (2000). Daenerys was one of a few prominent characters not included in 2005's "A Feast for Crows" but returned in the next novel, "A Dance with Dragons" (2011).
In the story, Daenerys is in her early teens, living in exile in Essos, where she has developed a Tyroshi accent. She remains dependent on her abusive older brother, Viserys, and is forced to marry Dothraki horselord Khal Drogo in exchange for Viserys' army to reclaim the Iron Throne in Westeros. Daenerys adapts to life with the Dothraki, and her character emerges as strong, confident, and courageous. She becomes the heir of the Targaryen dynasty after her brother's murder and plans to reclaim the Iron Throne herself, seeing it as her birthright. A pregnant Daenerys loses her husband and child, but blood magic allows Daenerys to hatch three dragon eggs. The dragons provide her with a tactical advantage and prestige.
Later, Daenerys agrees to go to Astapor—instead of returning to Pentos—for an army as safe measures against the elusive Illyrio Mopatis. After acquiring all of the Unsullied, she frees them, and most agree to join her revolution. She executes the Good Masters and sets up a council for the city. Later, she conquers Yunkai and Meereen, the latter Daenerys settles in to learn how to rule. Despite her strong moral compass, she can deal ruthlessly with her enemies and those she believes to conspire against her. She is also disturbed by the prophetic warnings of Quaithe, a shadowbinder from Asshai. While in Meereen, she establishes herself as a powerful, relentless, but self-critical ruler. Eventually, she becomes a dragonrider to Drogon, whom she tames with a whip after he disturbs the fighting pits arena at Daznak's Pit.
In the television adaptation of "Game of Thrones", she is portrayed by British actress Emilia Clarke. While having many similarities, the television depiction of Daenerys is older (late teens) and has several mystical qualities, such as an unexplained fireproof ability. She is also not forewarned or haunted by prophecy like her book counterpart. Clarke's portrayal of Daenerys has garnered Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2013, 2015, and 2016 and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2019. She has also earned many other nominations and accolades for her portrayal. Her character arc from heroic to villainous at the end of the HBO series has been a source of controversy with critics and fans.
Character description.
Daenerys Targaryen is the daughter of King Aerys II Targaryen (also referred to as "The Mad King") and his sister-wife Queen Rhaella, and is one of the last survivors of House Targaryen. She serves as the third-person point-of-view character of 31 chapters of "A Game of Thrones", "A Clash of Kings", "A Storm of Swords", and "A Dance with Dragons." This makes her the series' fourth most prominent narrative voice after Tyrion Lannister, Jon Snow and Arya Stark.
Background.
Almost 14 years before the events of the novels, after her father and eldest brother Rhaegar were killed during Robert's rebellion, Daenerys was born during a great storm, earning her the nickname "Stormborn." Her mother, Rhaella, died in childbirth, and the Master of Arms of the Red Keep, Ser Willem Darry whisked Daenerys and her older brother Viserys away to Braavos before Dragonstone's garrison could surrender the children to Robert. Darry died when Daenerys was five years old, and she and Viserys spent the following years wandering the Free Cities. By the beginning of "A Game of Thrones", Daenerys and her brother have been a guest of Illyrio Mopatis in Pentos for half a year. "Game of Thrones" creators D. B. Weiss and David Benioff described Daenerys as a combination of Joan of Arc, Lawrence of Arabia and Napoleon.
Appearance and personality.
Daenerys is most often described as uncommonly beautiful, with long, pale silver-gold hair and purple eyes. She is slender and pale, although taller than some of her female ancestors. Tales of Daenerys's beauty are numerous, and throughout the novels she encounters countless suitors who seek her hand in marriage, sometimes to gain control of her three dragons. She is fluent in the Common Tongue of Westeros, Dothraki, High Valyrian and bastard Valyrian, which she speaks with a Tyroshi accent. Over the course of the first three novels she becomes fluent in the Dothraki language and Ghiscari, spoken in the slave cities in Essos.
Daenerys grew up in constant fear of being discovered and killed by agents of the Usurper King, Robert Baratheon. Her older brother Viserys frequently abused her, which led to the development of her fearful, submissive, and furtive nature. However, over the course of the narrative, Daenerys finds her inner strength and courage and emerges as a natural leader adored by her people. She is often described as honorable and compassionate, if somewhat naïve, although she can be harsh and vengeful against those who seek to harm her or her followers.
Paul Youll illustrated Daenerys on the cover of the July 1996 issue of "Asimov's Science Fiction", which contained a Daenerys excerpt from "A Game of Thrones" entitled "Blood of the Dragon". Other illustrators for the book series include John Picacio and Gary Gianni.
Storylines.
"A Game of Thrones".
In "A Game of Thrones" (1996), Daenerys is sold by her brother Viserys and Illyrio Mopatis into a marriage with Khal Drogo, a Dothraki warlord, for an army for Viserys. Daenerys befriends Jorah Mormont, an exiled Westerosi knight. At her wedding, she is given three petrified dragon eggs by Illyrio Mopatis. Although Daenerys is initially terrified of Drogo, their marriage grows into a happy union. She comes to love him and takes to Dothraki customs, finding strength for the first time, and she stands up to Viserys's attempts to bully her into coercing Drogo. When Viserys threatens her, Drogo kills him by pouring molten gold over his head. With Viserys dead, Daenerys sees herself as the heir to the Targaryen dynasty and responsible for reclaiming the throne for her family.
Later, Drogo is wounded in a fight. An enslaved Lhazareen priestess, Mirri Maz Duur, offers to dress Drogo's wound to prevent the cut from festering. Daenerys accepts, but the priestess, to avenge her fellow villagers massacred by the Dothraki, causes Drogo to become seriously ill. In desperation, Daenerys asks Mirri Maz Duur to heal Drogo with blood magic. Despite being saved by Daenerys from being raped by the tribe's warriors, however, the priestess betrays her and the magic ritual results in Daenerys's unborn child being stillborn and leaves Drogo in a catatonic state. Because Drogo will never recover, Daenerys smothers him with a pillow. She burns the priestess in Drogo's funeral pyre and climbs into the flames with her three dragon eggs. When the pyre dies out the following morning, Daenerys emerges from the ashes alive and unburned with three hatched dragons.
"A Clash of Kings".
Leading the remnants of Drogo's khalasar through the Red Waste, Daenerys arrives in the city of Qarth. There, she unsuccessfully appeals to the rulers of the city for aid in reclaiming the Iron Throne. Daenerys accepts an invitation from a group of warlocks to discover her future. At their temple, the House of the Undying, Daenerys drinks a magical potion and enters.
Inside, she sees several visions and resists their temptations. When Daenerys enters the final hall and meets the real Undyings, she is told prophecies about her destiny as the "child of three" and advised that "three fires must you light", "three mounts must you ride", and "three treasons will you know"; they also tell her she is the "daughter of death", the "slayer of lies", and the "bride of fire". When the Undyings attack Daenerys and intend to hold her prisoner, Daenerys's dragon Drogon kills them and burns down the temple, allowing Daenerys to escape. Before departing Qarth, a venomous manticore nearly assassinates Daenerys. She is saved by Arstan Whitebeard, who has been sent by Illyrio Morpatis, along with the eunuch ex-gladiator called Strong Belwas and three ships to take Daenerys back to Pentos.
"A Storm of Swords".
Seeking an army, Daenerys sails to Astapor in Slaver's Bay to purchase the Unsullied slave soldiers. She negotiates with Kraznys mo Nakloz, promising a dragon in payment, but she betrays the Good Masters and commands the Unsullied to kill the slavers. Daenerys frees the Unsullied and the slaves. She later conquers the city of Yunkai and gains the service of Daario Naharis, who commands a large mercenary company. As Daenerys marches on Meereen, she learns one of her companions is Barristan Selmy, a knight of Robert Baratheon's Kingsguard. Selmy informed Daenerys that Jorah was previously an informer. Disgusted, she sends the pair on a suicide mission to capture Meereen. When the mission is successful, Barristan asks to be forgiven for his deception, but Jorah refuses to ask forgiveness so Daenerys banishes him. Unwilling to abandon the slaves she freed, Daenerys decides to remain in Meereen as she fears they will return to bondage.
"A Dance with Dragons".
Throughout "A Dance with Dragons" (2011), Daenerys struggles to maintain order in the city in the face of growing unrest as well as the chaos she left behind in the other cities she conquered. Furthermore, Yunkai has rebelled and is gathering forces to besiege Meereen. When Drogon kills a child, Daenerys feels compelled to chain her dragons Rhaegal and Viserion, but Drogon escapes. Her advisers suggest she marry Hizdahr zo Loraq to bring peace, and she agrees, although she takes Daario as a lover. Hizdahr successfully negotiates an end to the violence and Daenerys marries him. At her wedding feast, the blood and noise of the fighting pits attract Drogon, who is immediately attacked. Initially, Daenerys's attempt to control her dragon fails but she manages to climb atop of Drogon, who flies off with her. After several days in Drogon's lair, Daenerys becomes ill from some berries and begins to hallucinate. She is later found by Khal Jhaqo, formerly a captain of her Khalasar who betrayed her late husband.
TV adaptation.
Casting and development.
Martin said the character was portrayed as older in the television series than her literary counterpart because of child pornography laws. Tamzin Merchant played Daenerys in the pilot episode. After receiving a negative reception at private viewings, HBO ordered the pilot to be reshot and recast. Clarke was recast as Daenerys following an audition in 2010. Weiss and Benioff said, "Emilia was the only person we saw—and we saw hundreds—who could carry the full range that Daenerys required."
Clarke said the role of Daenerys was "not your typical bonnet duty that you have to go through as a young British actress". Reflecting on the character's evolution in the television series, she stated: "Throughout the season she's had an insane transformation from someone who barely even spoke and timidly did everything her brother said into a mother of dragons and a queen of armies and a killer of slave masters. She's a very Joan of Arc-style character." Clarke said she accepts appearing in nude scenes if "a nude scene forwards a story or is shot in a way that adds insight into characters". She added that "sometimes explicit scenes are required and make sense for the characters/story, as they do in Westeros" and that she can discuss with a director how to make a gratuitously nude scene more subtle. Clarke has used a body double in past background non-nude appearances, however, particularly Rosie Mac in season 5.
In October 2014, Clarke and several other key cast members, all contracted for six seasons of the series, renegotiated their deals to include a potential seventh season and salary increases for seasons five, six, and seven. "The Hollywood Reporter" called the raises "huge", noting the deal would make the performers "among the highest-paid actors on cable TV". "Deadline Hollywood" put the cost for season five at "close to $300,000 an episode" for each actor, and in June 2016, "The Hollywood Reporter" noted the performers would each be paid "upward of $500,000 per episode" for seasons seven and the potential eighth season. In 2017, Clarke became one of the highest paid actors on television, earning between $1.2and $2million per episode.
Storylines.
Season 1.
Daenerys Targaryen is introduced as the exiled princess of the Targaryen dynasty. She and her brother Viserys were smuggled to Essos during the end of Robert's Rebellion. For most of her life, Daenerys has been under the care of Viserys, whom she fears, as he abuses her whenever she displeases him. Viserys marries Daenerys to the powerful Dothraki warlord Khal Drogo in exchange for his military support to retake the Iron Throne. Daenerys becomes a khaleesi. During the wedding, exiled knight Ser Jorah Mormont pledges his loyalty to Daenerys while her benefactor Illyrio Mopatis gifts her three petrified dragon eggs. Daenerys is afraid of her new husband initially, but after learning the Dothraki language, she begins to bond with Drogo and genuinely falls in love with him. Daenerys learns the ways of the Dothraki, strengthening her relationship with her nomadic tribe. She becomes pregnant by Drogo with her son, who is prophesied by the Dothraki to be the "Stallion Who Mounts the World". Viserys grows jealous of Daenerys's popularity and becomes infuriated with Drogo's lack of urgency in launching an invasion, prompting him to threaten to cut Daenerys's unborn son from her womb. Drogo responds by killing Viserys with molten gold. Daenerys declares he was no dragon because fire cannot kill a dragon.
After an unsuccessful assassination attempt on behalf of Robert Baratheon, Drogo vows to Daenerys that he will conquer the Seven Kingdoms for her and their unborn son. However, during their journey, Drogo becomes comatose because of an infected wound incurred during a fight with one of his men. Daenerys desperately seeks the help of healer Mirri Maz Duur to save his life using blood magic. Mirri deceives Daenerys by using her unborn son's life as a sacrifice to heal Drogo but leaves him in a permanent catatonic state, forcing Daenerys to end her husband's life. Daenerys punishes Mirri by having her tied to Drogo's funeral pyre as she sets it alight. She also lays the three dragon eggs on Drogo's body and steps into the fire herself. At daybreak, after the fire has died out, Daenerys emerges with three baby dragons whom she names Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion.
Season 2.
Daenerys and the remnants of Drogo's khalasar wander the Red Waste before being accepted into the city of Qarth. The merchant, Xaro Xhoan Daxos, a member of Qarth's ruling council, the Thirteen, hosts her. Daenerys appeals unsuccessfully to the Thirteen to support her invasion of Westeros. She returns to Xaro's manse to find half of her men and servants slain and her dragons missing. Daenerys meets with the Thirteen again to ask for their help in retrieving her dragons. The warlock Pyat Pree claims responsibility and declares that her dragons are being kept in his temple, the House of the Undying. Daenerys travels to the temple, but Pree's magic separates her from Jorah and chains her to her dragons. She orders her dragons to immolate Pree. Daenerys confronts Xaro, who had conspired with Pree and Daenerys's servant Doreah to seize control of Qarth. She has Xaro and Doreah sealed in Xaro's vault and has her remaining loyalists raid his manse, using the funds they seize to buy a ship.
Season 3.
Daenerys travels to Astapor, a city in Slaver's Bay. As she arrives, the warlocks of Qarth attempt to assassinate her, but Ser Barristan Selmy, who was Kingsguard to Aerys Targaryen, thwarts them; Daenerys accepts him into her service. She negotiates with Astapori slaver Kraznys mo Nakloz to purchase an army of Unsullied, elite eunuch soldiers, in exchange for Drogon, and also obtains the services of Kraznys's translator Missandei. Upon completion of the transaction, she has Drogon burn Kraznys alive and orders the Unsullied to kill Astapor's masters and free the slaves. Daenerys and her army march on the neighboring slave city of Yunkai, which hires the sellsword company, the Second Sons, to defend it. The commanders of the Second Sons order their lieutenant, Daario Naharis, to kill Daenerys. Instead, Daario is smitten by her beauty and brings her the heads of his superiors, pledging the Second Sons' allegiance. Daario, Jorah, and the Unsullied commander Grey Worm infiltrate Yunkai, opening the gates for the Targaryen army to conquer the city. Daenerys is received by Yunkai's freed slaves, who hail her as their "mhysa" (mother).
Season 4.
Daenerys marches on the last city in Slaver's Bay, Meereen, and seizes control of it by instigating a slave revolt. She decides to execute 163 Meereenese masters as "justice" for 163 slave children crucified on the road to Meereen. Daenerys learns that her council in Astapor has been overthrown and that Yunkai has returned to slavery. Because of this, Daenerys remains in Meereen to practice ruling. She also begins a sexual relationship with Daario. After discovering that Jorah previously spied on her on House Baratheon's behalf, she is enraged and exiles him from the city. Daenerys is later horrified to discover that Drogon has killed a farmer's child. Although she cannot find Drogon, she has Rhaegal and Viserion locked up in Meereen's catacombs.
Season 5.
Daenerys faces a new threat to her rule in the form of the Sons of the Harpy, a resistance movement made of agitated former masters. Her popularity with the freedmen wanes after she publicly executes one of her councilors, Mossador, for killing a captive Son. After the Sons kill Ser Barristan, Daenerys decides she will attempt to restore peace by reopening Meereen's fighting pits and taking the Meereenese noble Hizdhar zo Loraq as her husband. While attending a gladiator demonstration, Jorah, who has brought her the fugitive Tyrion Lannister to appease her, confronts her. Daenerys accepts Tyrion onto her council but exiles Jorah again. At the reopening of the fighting pits, Jorah saves Daenerys's life by killing a Son of the Harpy trying to assassinate her. The Sons launch a massive attack, killing Hizdhar and many other Meereenese noblemen and freedmen. As the Sons corner Daenerys and her councilors, Drogon appears and defeats most of them. The Unsullied overwhelm the Sons, who were throwing spears at Drogon, prompting Daenerys to fly away on him. Drogon eventually leaves her in the Dothraki Sea, where she is captured by a khalasar.
Season 6.
Daenerys is taken to Khal Moro, the leader of the Dothraki horde. Learning that she is the widow of Khal Drogo, Moro tells her she must live out her days among the widows of the Dosh Khaleen in Vaes Dothrak. Once there, Daenerys is told the khals will judge her for defying tradition and going out into the world following Drogo's death. During the meeting with the khals, Daenerys declares only she has enough ambition to lead the Dothraki. The outraged khals threaten to gang-rape her, but Daenerys sets fire to the temple, killing everyone inside. She emerges unscathed. Awed, the Dothraki accept her as their Khaleesi. After discovering that Jorah, who had followed her to Vaes Dothrak with Daario, is infected with the terminal disease greyscale, Daenerys orders him to find a cure and return to her services. She marches on Meereen with Drogon, Daario and the Dothraki.
Daenerys returns to Meereen to find it under siege by the joint fleets of Yunkai, Astapor and Volantis. They have reneged on an agreement with Tyrion to free their slaves and are trying to reclaim the city. Daenerys deploys her three dragons, burning most of the slaver fleet and seizing the ships that survive. The slavers agree to surrender. Soon after, Theon and Yara Greyjoy arrive. They offer the Iron Fleet in exchange for Daenerys giving the Iron Islands their independence and installing Yara as queen of the Iron Islands over their uncle Euron Greyjoy, who planned to marry Daenerys. Daenerys agrees to Theon and Yara's alliance. Meanwhile, Varys secures the support of Ellaria Sand and Olenna Tyrell, who have lost family members to the Lannisters and want vengeance. Daenerys leaves Daario and the Second Sons in Meereen to keep the peace, names Tyrion Lannister as Hand of the Queen and finally sets sail for Westeros.
Season 7.
Daenerys arrives at the island fortress of Dragonstone, the ancient Targaryen stronghold once held by the late Stannis Baratheon, and finds it abandoned. She sends the Unsullied to take Casterly Rock and sends Yara Greyjoy's ship fleet from Dorne to blockade King's Landing. However, the Lannister forces have left Casterly Rock and seized Highgarden and its wealth. Meanwhile, Euron overcomes his niece Yara's ships. To gain allies, Daenerys summons the newly named King in the North, Jon Snow, to pledge his fealty to her. Jon refuses, insisting that the Night King and his wight army present a threat to all of humanity. Receiving word of Highgarden's fall, Daenerys leads Drogon and the Dothraki to battle the Lannister caravan. Despite Drogon being injured in battle, Daenerys is victorious. The remaining forces submit to her, but a resistant Randyll and Dickon Tarly choose death rather than submitting. Daenerys executes them by dragonfire.
Jon and a cured Jorah lead an expedition beyond the Wall to capture a wight, which they will use to convince the self-declared Queen of Westeros, Cersei Lannister, that the threat is real. They end up surrounded by wights. Daenerys and her dragons come to their rescue, but the Night King kills Viserion with an ice spear, devastating Daenerys. Daenerys vows to Jon that she will help fight the Night King, and Jon pledges allegiance to her as his queen. The pair and their retainers bring a wight to King's Landing to convince Cersei of the threat beyond the Wall. Cersei ultimately agrees to a truce and to aid in the fight against the undead army but secretly plots to betray them. Falling in love, Jon and Daenerys finally succumb to their growing feelings for each other and have sex. Neither of them is aware they are related by blood or that the Night King has revived Viserion as a wight. The Night King breaches the Wall with dragonfire.
Season 8.
Daenerys and Jon arrive at Winterfell with the Unsullied, Dothraki, and her dragons. There they learn the Night King has breached Westeros. The Northerners and Sansa Stark are angry that Jon is allied with Daenerys. Later, Daenerys and Jon's bond grows when they ride her dragons. Jaime Lannister arrives and reveals Cersei's treachery. Jon learns his true parentage and reveals to a stunned Daenerys that he is the son of her brother Rhaegar and Lyanna Stark. Daenerys realizes this makes Jon the heir to House Targaryen.
When the army of the dead arrive, Daenerys and Jon battle the Night King on dragonback but struggle and are separated. Jorah is killed defending Daenerys from wights and dies in her arms as she cries. The dead are defeated when Arya Stark kills the Night King. After the battle, Daenerys fears people may prefer Jon as ruler over her when the wildings praise him. She begs Jon not to reveal his true parentage, but Jon says he must tell his sisters, who he swears to secrecy as he has renounced his claim for Daenerys's. However, Sansa tells Tyrion, who tells Varys. Daenerys, Jon, and their combined forces prepare to march on Cersei, but Euron Greyjoy ambushes Daenerys en route; he kills Rhaegal and captures Missandei. A stricken Daenerys negotiates for Missandei's release and Cersei's surrender, but Cersei has Missandei beheaded. Daenerys learns Varys is trying to seat Jon on the Iron Throne and executes him for his treason. Later, she attempts to re-engage her physical relationship with Jon, but he pulls away because of their blood relation. Daenerys becomes resigned to relying on fear to assert herself.
Tyrion defies Daenerys by freeing his brother, who is then captured on his way back to Cersei. Later, Tyrion urges Daenerys to spare the inhabitants of King's Landing if they surrender. Daenerys destroys the city's defenses and the city surrenders, but she burns King's Landing, killing countless civilians. In the aftermath, Daenerys declares she "liberated" these people and will "liberate" the world. Tyrion is arrested for treason. Arya and Tyrion warn Jon that Daenerys will view his Targaryen heritage as a threat to her rule, and House Stark is not safe; Tyrion says that despite Jon's love for Daenerys, it is his duty to kill her to protect the people. Jon attempts to reason with Daenerys, but when she continues to assert her actions are necessary to establish a good world, a conflicted Jon fatally stabs her and Daenerys dies in his arms as he weeps. Drogon arrives and melts the Iron Throne before leaving Westeros with Daenerys's body, grieving. Bran Stark is later elected king; he exiles Jon back to the Night's Watch to appease Daenerys's supporters.
In "House of the Dragon".
In the final episode of the second season of "House of the Dragon", titled "The Queen Who Ever Was", Daenerys is briefly seen following the birth of her three dragons (as depicted in "Fire and Blood") during a series of visions witnessed by Prince Daemon Targaryen, husband of Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, from whose line Daenerys is directly descended.
Reception.
General.
Daenerys is one of the most popular characters of the book series, together with Tyrion Lannister and Jon Snow. "The New York Times" called Daenerys one of Martin's "finest creations". "Rolling Stone" ranked her number one on a list of Top 40 "Game of Thrones" Characters, describing her story as a "non-stop confrontation with complex ideas about sex, war, gender, race, politics and morality". Matthew Gilbert of "The Boston Globe" called her scenes "mesmerizing". "Salon"'s Andrew Leonard, in his review of "A Dance with Dragons", called Daenerys one of the series' three strongest characters and bemoaned her lack of inclusion in "A Feast for Crows". The website Mashable recognized her as one of the five most popular series' characters, while "The Daily Beast" referred to her as the "closest thing the series has to a protagonist".
Emilia Clarke's performance in the first season, showing Daenerys's arc from a frightened girl to an empowered woman, received praise. Gilbert said: "Clarke doesn't have a lot of emotional variety to work with as Daenerys, aside from fierce determination, and yet she is riveting." In her review for "A Golden Crown," Emily St. James of "The A.V. Club" commented that Clarke successfully conveyed the relief of Dany seeing her brother dead. IGN's Matt Fowler noted that Daenerys's choice to watch Viserys die was "powerful" and an important shift in her character. St. James complimented Clarke's expression of "calm rapture" during Khal Drogo's speech. Clarke's performance and the character's final scene in "Baelor" was praised by Ed Cumming in "The Telegraph", and the final scene of the season received widespread acclaim.
Kate Arthur of the website BuzzFeed criticized the character's story line in the television show's second season, stating she was too "weak-seeming". However, Arthur praised the character's "purpose coupled with humanity and even some humor" during the third season, opining that Clarke was "eating the screen alive as a result". Nate Hopper of "Esquire" magazine, argued that the character in the TV series "remains the most boring and frustrating" contrary to the books, and while Clarke's performance is "well enough" the threats the character faces lack "real tension" and her conquering is "cut and dry" [sic], concluding that "she needs to be emancipated from her own easy, comfortable, mundane victory." Despite many commentators saying the fourth season was one of the best of the series, some reviews criticized Daenerys's "stalled" plotline. Erik Adams of "The A.V. Club" noted "Dany's new world is made in her image" after capturing Meereen.
In the fifth season, after a failed rebellion and assassination attempt, some critics questioned Daenerys's ability to rule effectively. Aaron Couch of "The Hollywood Reporter" praised the first meeting of Daenerys and Tyrion Lannister, comparing their meeting "to first seeing the heroes of Marvel Studios' Avengers come together". Lauren Morgan of the "New York Daily News" noted Daenerys' first dragon flight, calling it "a real fist-pumping moment". Liz Shannon Miller of IndieWire praised Daenerys's return to the Dothraki in the sixth season, calling it a "nice return to basics". Other commentators noted Daenerys's burning of the Dothraki leaders in the "Book of the Stranger" episode. James Hibberd of "Entertainment Weekly" called the burning scene "one of her incredible showstopping moments". After setting sail to Westeros in the season finale, "The Winds of Winter", Eric Deggans of NPR said Daenerys "has finally developed into the powerful leader the show has been grooming her to become for five seasons".
In the last two seasons of the series, Daenerys received more mixed critical reviews. In the seventh season premiere episode "Dragonstone", Daniel D'Addario of "Time" said Daenerys and Tyrion Lannister's meeting "seem to elicit the most interest from the show itself". Matt Zoller Seitz, writing for "Vulture", compares Daenerys's leadership and control to Michael Corleone in "The Godfather", stating "The show's main storytelling model has been the first Godfather, which ended with Michael Corleone having the clan's major enemies executed and reasserting control over his realm". The eighth season saw the most critical reviews of Daenerys for the series. Commentators cited the penultimate episode "The Bells" as a turning point for Daenerys's storyline, seeing her descent into madness. Despite criticism of the finale's lot, Caroline Framke of "Variety" praised Clarke's performance. After the series finale, many critics said Daenerys deserved a better execution of her story arc.
In February 2024, a teenager in Florida committed suicide, while in love with a chatbot of Daenerys on Character.AI. It is unknown whether the bot was the direct cause of the suicide, but the chatbot was seen discouraging the suicide.
Feminism and evolution as a leader.
Daenerys's victories over ruthless male characters transformed her into a symbol of feminism. "Khaleesi", one of her many aliases, became "shorthand for a strong, empowered woman". Daenerys's face was used on political protest signs, and many fans named their daughters after her. Analyzing her feminist appeal, Tanya Ghahremani of "Bustle" wrote she evolved from being a meek girl, rising "from being an unwilling wife to the leader of a nomadic warrior group, to being the leader of said group and a whole ton of men who gladly laid down their life to serve in her army". Gaby Del Valle of "Vox" said many people see themselves in Daenerys because her story subverts the hero's journey. Citing an essay by Rikke Schubart, a film scholar and professor from the University of Southern Denmark, Del Valle said Schubart explained that Daenerys "embarks on an archetypal hero's journey with a twist" because "instead of learning to humble herself, as heroes usually do, Dany has to learn to assert herself in a universe dominated by men". As a result, "she combines emotions and elements that are stereotypically gendered male and female (male pride, a male dragonslayer, a damsel in distress) and then claims agency for herself and others".
Political science has been used to analyze and assess Daenerys's leadership. Commentators and academics say that Daenerys's rule is similar to fascism in Europe throughout the early 20th century. Andrew Lotz, a professor of political science at the University of Pittsburgh, said that Daenerys should seize power as described in Niccolò Machiavelli's "The Prince". "The Prince" discusses the use of amoral ways and "how to do wrong" to gain power. Parker Richards of "The Atlantic" compared Daenerys in season eight to Adolf Hitler in the 1935 propaganda film "Triumph of the Will".
Villain arc.
The decision to turn Daenerys from a hero into a villain, a route that had long been a fan theory, was controversial. Most critics found the villainous turn, realized after Daenerys needlessly murdered thousands of innocents by burning down King's Landing, rushed and therefore unearned. Alex Abad-Santos of "Vox" said that "the implication that Daenerys Targaryen is going mad is the greatest fraud "Game of Thrones" has ever perpetrated" and is "essentially a bait-and-switch" because, for seven seasons, the audience has seen Daenerys as a good and moral person determined to abolish slavery and create a just society. Eliana Dockterman of "Time" echoed these sentiments, adding that Daenerys and Jon "proved the most popular heroes to cheer for — not only because they cheated death but because they spent time with those who weren't like them and learned to understand them". She said that "yes, Daenerys has used fire and her dragons to enact vengeance and punishment before, but up until season 7, everyone she burned was either evil or an enemy". Mike Hogan of "Vanity Fair" felt that turning Daenerys into a villain made no sense because although the show had been clear that Daenerys has a temper, "we have seen her balance that violence with mercy, kindness, and above all shrewdness".
In order to prepare for the series finale, Emilia Clarke revealed in a 2019 interview with "Variety" that she watched political speeches by Hitler to both emulate his style and how to give speech in a different language. "Vox" noted similarities between Targaryen's leadership in the later television seasons and communist revolutionary leaders Vladimir Lenin, Mao Zedong and Fidel Castro. Critics felt the villain arc could have worked with a strong message that power corrupts everyone, but that the show needed to lay better groundwork for it. Dockterman felt that instead of doing this, "the creators of the show decided to evolve Daenerys's increasing paranoia over the course of just a few episodes, let her snap in a second and punish her for that misstep by having Jon murder her a mere episode later. The shift was so abrupt that even actor Emilia Clarke admitted to struggling with it." Dockterman felt that "there's an additional layer of latent sexism to be analyzed here too: Cersei and Daenerys are two power hungry women, literally evil queens in fairytale parlance" while "men like Theon and Jaime have been redeemed" and Jon looked "to be the obvious choice for a selfless king". Arguing that the writers expected the audience to ignore almost everything they knew about Daenerys to buy that she would torch thousands of innocents because she was lonely and betrayed, Noel Ransome of Vice News asked, "[N]ow we're meant to believe that the most reasonably lovable protagonist is now the show's most unreasonable villain?" Alan Sepinwall of "Rolling Stone" believes that Daenerys's descent into madness is a development that requires "at least another half of a regular-length GoT season to feel earned".
Other reviewers welcomed the villain arc. While one reason commentators gave for the plot line change was not having any more source material from George R. R. Martin, as episodes since season 5 were written based on outlines of the unreleased "The Winds of Winter" and "A Dream of Spring", "Vox"s Andrew Prokop said that Daenerys "may well have been the series' ultimate villain all along" and that the show and George R. R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" novels had foreshadowed this. He said that, "Daenerys has long been capable of great compassion — and great violence" and that "the great power her dragons give her" enables the latter. He pointed to Daenerys being "angered by the Meereenese nobles' crucifixion of slave children" and ordering "an equivalent number of captured nobles crucified", and addressed other instances of her cruelty, such as when she burned Samwell Tarly's father and brother to death when they refused to kneel for her. He agreed, however, with the complaints that the twist was poorly executed.
James Hibberd of "Entertainment Weekly" also pointed to signs that Daenerys was always destined to be a villain, such as her vision in the House of the Undying where she walked through the snow-covered Red Keep (later retconned to be white ash) falling into the throne room. He said that although the series had perhaps been "a bit tricky in playing her murderous moments as heroic", the show tested Daenerys's character, "and in doing so, the thing that [the show] is actually pushing is a debate about Dany's morality, bringing that question into the foreground of the show after letting it sit quietly in the background for so long". Rose Moore of "Screen Rant" felt that "having Daenerys turn into the villain [fits perfectly]" within the series where Targaryens "have a tendency to madness" and that it creates "a beautiful villain origin story". She said that there exists a "wonderful symmetry to hav[ing] the death of the Mad King set the events of "Game of Thrones" in motion, only to be wrapped up by the ascension and death of a Mad Queen." Prokop said the series could not end "with a triumphant Daenerys Targaryen heroically taking the Iron Throne" because "it wouldn't be "Game of Thrones"".
Fans generally attributed the change in Daenerys's arc to the writers throwing away her character development, with many criticizing it as character assassination. "HuffPost"s Elyse Wanshel said, "It was an upsetting turn for a strong and sympathetic female character whom many believed would emerge as the series' hero." Emily St. James of "Vox" quoted writer Sady Doyle writing, "Women who expected Daenerys to become a benevolent feminist ruler, to break the wheel and end the cycle of oppression, were not stupid; they were following basic story logic." St. James said that "many people have related to Dany deeply, seeing in her an avatar of feminine power they hadn't seen elsewhere in pop culture when the show debuted in 2011" and that HBO's marketing also made her feel like the chosen one. She asked, given that the show always returned to Daenerys's fundamental principles after her vicious or vindictive actions, "Why wouldn't people come to heavily identify with that character?"
Recognition and awards.
Clarke received an EWwy Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama in 2011, as well as a Scream Award for Breakout Performance by a Female. She also earned a Gracie Allen Award for Outstanding Female Rising Star in a Drama Series or Special in 2012. Clarke, along with the other main cast members, was nominated seven times for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.
Clarke received Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2013, 2015 and 2016. She was also nominated for a Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for the role in 2013 and 2016. Other nominations include the Golden Nymph Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series in 2012, the Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries or Television Film, and the MTV Movie & TV Award for Best Actor In A Show in 2017. Many publications, including "The Hollywood Reporter" and "Rolling Stone", place Daenerys among the best "Game of Thrones" characters. In "IGN" Top 100 "Game of Thrones" Characters list, Terri Schwartz stated that Daenerys "is one of the most monumental characters on "Game of Thrones"".
In response to the popularity of the character, the names "Daenerys" and "Khaleesi" became popular choices for babies and pets. Parents who used the name "Daenerys" said they were inspired by the strength and beauty of the character and her actions in liberating slaves and assuming power in her own right. The character on the 2010s television series took a darker turn, which prompted discussion about whether parents would regret having used the name. The name declined in popularity after the end of the series but remains in regular use. There were 108 newborn American girls who were given the name in 2021. Another 123 newborn American girls were given the name in 2022.
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Satoru Gojo
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is a character from Gege Akutami's manga "Jujutsu Kaisen". He was first introduced in Akutami's short series "Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical School" as the mentor of the cursed teenager Yuta Okkotsu at Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu High School. This miniseries became the prequel "Jujutsu Kaisen 0" of "Jujutsu Kaisen". In "Jujutsu Kaisen", Gojo takes the same role but mentors the student Yuji Itadori who suffers a similar Curse, helping him become stronger while protecting other characters in the series.
Gojo was designed by Gege Akutami to be a formidable yet endearing figure who is passionate about his students. He is voiced by Yūichi Nakamura in Japanese and Kaiji Tang in English in the animated adaptations by MAPPA.
The character was well received by the media for his carefree nature and power shown when protecting his students, becoming the series's breakout character. Furthermore, his role in the prequel "Jujutsu Kaisen 0" was appreciated by the media due to his hidden depths such as his relationship with the antagonist Suguru Geto.
Creation and conception.
Gege Akutami created Satoru Gojo with the idea of being one of the strongest characters in the entire series, but at the same time being easy to understand to the readers. One of Gojo's key ideas for his design is a blindfold he wears, in which he can still see with thanks to his supernatural powers. His bright-blue eyes endowed to him from birth, the Six Eyes, bear extrasensory powers, granting him the heightened ability to see, read, and manipulate Cursed energy, as well as amplify his own technique, Limitless. In his debut in "Jujutsu Kaisen 0", Akutami linked Gojo and Yuta Okkotsu to Michizane Sugawara, a famous figure in Japanese history, today explain from whom both characters inherited their supernatural powers. This was done as a tribute to his late editor, Yamanaka. Gojo's design is intended to be the one of a handsome man, often called "bishonen". His facial design was inspired by a major "Naruto" character whose face was covered in bandages. In regards to Gojo's relationship with his students, most notably Yuji Itadori and Yuta Okkotsu, Akutami wrote their relationship simply, as he claims Gojo only wants troublemakers like them to become strong. Despite the common Japanese custom of calling others by their last names, Gojo refers each of his students by their first names. Akutami said he made this decision because he saw Gojo did not have proper consideration for such social traditions.
Sunghoo Park, who directed the first season of the series' anime adaptation as well as the new prequel movie, said adapting one of Gojo's early scenes involving the Domain Expansion scene in the season was particularly tough one to get just right. Nevertheless, he saw such a sequence as memorable. Since the original scene was black and white, Park and his team consulted Akutami for guidance about how the colors from Gojo's Domain Expansion should be. In regards to the animated movie, Park stated that while "The highlight of the movie is of course, the story of Okkotsu and Rika as the main characters of "Jujutsu Kaisen 0"" at the same time, he wanted to focus on more characters from the manga, most notably of which being the past relationship between Gojo and Geto, which was explored briefly in the original manga. Seko was requested by the director to feature a new fight scene between Gojo and Miguel in the climax.
The song "Where Our Blue Is" by Tatsuya Kitani, which acts as the opening of the anime's second season, deals with the youth of Gojo and Geto with an emphasis on blue backgrounds. The opening contrasts the ending theme "Light", which uses a more relaxed melody while emphasizing Gojo and Geto's friendship.
Casting.
Yuichi Nakamura voices the character Satoru Gojo in the original Japanese series. From serious scenes to comical gag scenes, the character has different facial expressions, but since he played without restrictions on the swing range between on and off, Nakamura reiterated at the recording site that he enjoyed gags. The actor did not find a change in Gojo's characterization, finding his mentoring of Yuta similar to the other protagonists from the main "Jujutsu Kaisen" series. He enjoyed the multiple recordings he had as well as the many school-like relationships. He was impressed by Megumi Ogata's work as Yuta for providing him with a large range of emotions. Mariya Ise voiced the younger Gojo in a flashback from the anime. For the anime's second season Nakamura claims he suffered struggles in properly portraying Gojo due to the two story arcs depicting the same character with different quirks and personality as a result of his age; While people do not change their voices too much over a decade, Nakamura aimed to make Gojo different in the two story arcs from season 2. The voice actor was impressed by the animation studio of Mappa which allowed his character to have more facial expressions which resulted in more direction from his superiors.
Kaiji Tang voices the character in English. Tang described him as "the trolliest trolls to ever troll anime." The actor noted that the character stands out due to his whimsical nature and how he interacts with his students. He was also praised for how likeable he comes across, due to the kind nature he portrays in the series with a dark narrative while simultaneously showing interesting supernatural powers. Tang still noted that Gojo's arrogance was his only weak point, which also makes him come across as more human.
In another interview, Tang compared Gojo to the comic book character Clark Kent, and believed the charm behind the character was that despite his age, Gojo acts like a spoiled child. Before dubbing Gojo, Tang had not read the "Jujutsu Kaisen" manga but had heard of it. When being cast, Tang did research by reading the manga. When first interacting with Yuji Itadori, Gojo is noted to see a rarely explored darker side of his personality due to how he thinks of the idea of killing a cursed teenager which leads him to see more arrogance in Gojo. In contrast to his previous works like Gearless Joe from "Megalobox" or Archer from "Fate/stay night", Tang feels that Gojo looks at the world in a more childish way than his previous characters as, while Gojo has seen several challenges in his past, none of them made a major impact on him. In order to lipsynch the character, Tang ended adlibing, resulting in Gojo swearing when confronting Jogo.
Appearances.
"Jujutsu Kaisen 0".
A sorcerer working as a teacher at Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu High School. He holds the title 'The Strongest', though self-proclaimed; most allies and enemies alike never actually dispute the title and generally consider him to be one of the most dangerous people alive. In the events of "Jujutsu Kaisen 0", Gojo recruits Yuta Okkotsu, a high school student, accompanied by his Curse Spirit, Rika Orimoto, and convinces him to join Jujutsu High. During this time, Gojo makes Yuta train with the previous year students, Panda, Maki Zenin, and Toge Inumaki, to help Yuta control his curse and develop friendships. Yuta's curse attracts Suguru Geto, a previous student at Jujutsu High and an old friend of Gojo. Geto seeks Yuta's curse and wishes to create a shaman-only world. Geto is gravely injured after his fight with Okkotsu and is later executed by Gojo. Gojo then helps Yuta understand the true nature of his curse and powers.
"Jujutsu Kaisen".
On the day of the Kyoto Goodwill Event, Gojo meets up with the other faculty to watch the event. As the event starts, Gojo watches it through monitors with the other faculties. When intruders invade the site, Gojo heads over to the site along with Utahime and Yoshinobu. He decides to handle Juzo first, and easily manages to restrain him. Gojo then uses a Hollow Purple technique on Hanami, but they cannot tell for sure if he is killed. As a result, Satoru is widely respected by sorcerers and holds high influence in the sorcery world. He convinces his superiors at the college to keep Yuji Itadori alive until he consumes all of Sukuna's fingers. He teaches Yuji, Megumi Fushiguro, and Nobara Kugisaki.
Afterwards, the manga explores Gojo's past. When he and Geto were both sophomores, they were assigned to escort the Star Plasma Vessel Riko Amanai, who was to merge with the immortal sorcerer, Tengen. When the merging was to take place, they are attacked by mercenary Toji Fushiguro, who defeats the two and kills Riko. As Gojo recovers and kills Toji, Geto begins doubting his duties as a sorcerer, and, having grown annoyed of protecting non-sorcerers, vows to break the cycle and kill every non-sorcerer to prevent the birth of more cursed spirits. He escapes from the school and massacres a village with his powers. Gojo confronts Geto about his crimes, but is unable to kill him and lets him go.
He was ambushed by the Special Grade Cursed Spirits at Shibuya, and Kenjaku manages to seal him away in the Prison Realm, after he exorcised Hanami. Nevertheless, Gojo has Okkotsu to take the favor of protecting Yuji from being executed should something bad happen to him. Towards the end of the Culling Games, his students successfully release him from the Prison Realm and he immediately challenges Megumi, Sukuna's current host to a duel on Christmas Eve. After several exchanges, Gojo ends up being killed in chapter 236 by Sukuna and finds himself talking with Geto and his other late friends. His corpse is later used by Yuta Okkotsu to aid Yuji in fighting and defeating Sukuna.
Reception.
Popularity.
Satoru Gojo was well received by the series' readers and critics. In a Viz Media popularity poll taken in March 2021, he was voted the most popular character in the franchise. At the 5th Crunchyroll Anime Awards, Gojo was a nominee for best male character, while his fight against Ryomen Sukuna was noted to be best of the year. Yuichi Nakamura's performance as Gojo was also noted to be one of the best ones. In promoting the movie "Jujutsu Kaisen 0", advertisements with Gojo as a dog were made alongside SoftBank Group. In December 2021, Mappa and Shueisha also celebrated Gojo's birthday with PulpFiction Cine finding him as one of the most popular characters from the series while also promoting the movie. In a poll from 2021 by LINE Research, Gojo took the first spot in regards to "Jujutsu Kaisen" characters. He was also third in the best male character award from "Animage" 2021 Anime Grand Prix poll behind Yuta Okkotsu from "Jujutsu Kaisen 0" and Tengen Uzui from "". The character attained popularity in Chile when the second season of the anime aired, resulting in fans illustrating Gojo in Universidad del Metro de Santiago.
In August 2024 Gojo won first place on Shueisha's 4th "Jujutsu Kaisen" character popularity poll, with 113,392 votes.
Critical response.
Comic Book Resources regarded Gojo as the 9th most mature character in the series despite his childish personality which is why they found the character highly lovable within the manga's readers. In another article, the same site regarded him as one of the series' most dangerous members due to his over-the-top powers that cannot be rivaled by anyone else in the manga. IGN also called Gojo as a fan-favorite character due to the focus of his personality. StudyBreak also noted that Gojo's flamboyant personality often comes across fitting comic relief, citing how he reacts when he thinks Fushiguro is being hit on by a woman as well as how impressive he is shown to be in combat against a serious threat.
Despite comparing him to other mentor characters like Kakashi Hatake, All Might or Aizawa, Bleeding Cool said Gojo remains as more likable within this archetype as a result of how "The character is truly a balance of caring coldness with power that keeps dismissing any serious threats", particularly for how caring he is to his students and the might he shows in battle sequences. An article about the character's best ten fight scenes was also written by Comic Book Resources with his fight against Jogo, being not only the best rated fight he has been involved, but also the series' best fight. Like Comic Book Resources, Anime News Network praised the fight scene Gojo has against Jogo for the handling of visuals, finding it far superior than the studio's previous work "The God of High School" referred by the staff as "irredeemable trash" not only due to the narrative but also pacing in handling Gojo's fight sequence, making the anime adaptation of "Jujutsu Kaisen" develop its potential in the process. While still finding Gojo as an archetype due to the overpowered he is portrayed as, the reviewer still found him enjoyable personality-wise.
The Mary Sue found Gojo's characterization in "Jujutsu Kaisen 0" identical to the main series as a result of how he trains the students but still found the pilot helped to further explore his past as a result of his tragic relationship with Geto. Crunchyroll listed Gojo's higher screen time in the animated film adaptation of the manga, citing him as a fan favorite character people would appreciate to see. The character's connection with the late Sugawara no Michizane was kept vague that might generate a future impact in the series by critics especially when Yuta Okkotsu reappears in "Jujutsu Kaisen" and wonders about their relationship to Suguwara. Otaquest also noted the similarities as well as how important is the relationship between Gojo and Geto which ends in a way that surprised the main series' readers. Manga News looked forward to more focus about the relationship between Gojo and Geto. The eventual exploration of Gojo and Geto's youth in the second season of the anime received the praise by IGN for their dynamic though the site found the former's powers too complicated to explain and that Geto appeared to be more important to see in such arc. Gojo's character has been popular in social focus. Following the anime adaptation of the flashbacks to Geto and Gojo's youth, Polygon's Ana Diaz noticed there were several fans who made "dōjinshi" stories with them which went viral.
The twist of the manga chapter involving Gojo's death led to manga artist Kenjiro Hata go on a hiatus from writing the manga "Fly Me to the Moon" due to the need of recovering from the "shocking" event. According to IGN, Akutami received death threats over the death of Gojo which came across as a shocking event to several manga readers. In September 2023, leaks of the manga's 236th chapter cause a major controversy online within fans of the series. The contents of the chapter surprised fans so much that they took to social media to react to the new development. At time of publication, the "#GojoSatoru" hashtag was trending on X with more than 11,400 posts. Comic Book Resources had mixed opinions about Gojo's death, praising the event for the major impact it resulted in the entire narrative since nearly most of the surviving characters watching his death were his students but still felt like Akutami was trying too hard to make "Jujutsu Kaisen" a dark series by killing several characters in the Shinjuku arc. Gojo's death despite his confidence when confronting Sukuna and Kenjaku became famous in social media due to the ironic result. Once the series ended, GameRant praised both Gojo and Yuta's characters as the writer noted they overshadowed the actual main character of the series, Yuji.
The character has often been compared with Killua Zoldyck from "Hunter × Hunter" due to physical and personality similarities. When Mariya Ise was cast to portray the younger Gojo in a flashback from the anime's second season, "Hindustan Times" said the "meme came to life" as Ise was also popular for voicing Killua and fans were happy with such casting.
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Sheldon Cooper
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Sheldon Lee Cooper, Ph.D., Sc.D., is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists in the CBS television series "The Big Bang Theory" and its spinoff series "Young Sheldon", portrayed by actors Jim Parsons and Iain Armitage respectively (with Parsons as the latter series' narrator). For his portrayal, Parsons won four Primetime Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, a TCA Award, and two Critics' Choice Television Awards. The character's childhood is the focus of "Young Sheldon", in which he grows up in East Texas with his family Missy Cooper, George Cooper Sr., George Cooper Jr., Mary Cooper and his grandmother, Connie Tucker, as a child prodigy.
The adult Sheldon is a senior theoretical physicist at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), and for the first ten seasons of "The Big Bang Theory" shares an apartment with his colleague and best friend, Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki); they are also friends and coworkers with Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg) and Rajesh Koothrappali (Kunal Nayyar). In season 10, Sheldon moves across the hall with his girlfriend Amy Farrah Fowler (Mayim Bialik), in the former apartment of Leonard's wife Penny (Kaley Cuoco).
He has a genius-level IQ of 187. In "The Big Bang Theory", it is said that his and Leonard's IQs add up to 360, meaning Leonard has an IQ of 173. In "Young Sheldon" Season 7 Episode 7, when Sheldon was studying at home and was commanded to answer the phone, he became annoyed and stated that he is treated like a receptionist at home, despite having an IQ of 187, directly confirming the number. However, he displays a fundamental lack of social skills, a tenuous understanding of humor (always ending with "bazinga"), and difficulty recognizing irony and sarcasm in other people, although he himself often employs them. He exhibits highly idiosyncratic behavior and a general lack of humility, empathy, and toleration. These characteristics provide the majority of the humor involving him, which are credited with making him the show's breakout character. Some viewers have asserted that Sheldon's personality is consistent with autism spectrum disorder (or what used to be classified as Asperger's Syndrome). Co-creator Bill Prady has stated that Sheldon's character was neither conceived nor developed with regard to Asperger's, although Parsons has said that in his opinion, Sheldon "couldn't display "more" facets" of Asperger's syndrome.
Creation and casting.
The character of Sheldon Cooper was inspired by a computer programmer personally known to series co-creator Bill Prady. He and his friend Leonard Hofstadter are named in honor of actor/producer Sheldon Leonard, scientist Robert Hofstadter, and Nobel Prize Laureate Leon Cooper. Chuck Lorre originally intended Johnny Galecki to play the role, but Galecki thought he would be "better suited" for the character of Leonard. Lorre said that when Jim Parsons auditioned for the role, he was "so startlingly good" that he was asked to re audition "to make sure he hadn't gotten lucky".
Characterization.
Early life.
Sheldon and his fraternal twin sister, Missy, were born on February 26, 1980, at Lawrence Memorial Hospital in Galveston, Texas, and raised in Medford, a fictional small town in East Texas that is a three-hour drive from Dallas, along with their older brother, George Jr., by their mother, Mary Cooper, an overtly devout Baptist, and their father, George Cooper Sr., a football coach. His first word was 'hypotenuse'; he said this at four months old. Sheldon once got his father fired when he told Mr. Hinckley, a store owner, that George was stealing from the cash register. In "Young Sheldon", this is retconned: his father is a football coach who was fired from his coaching position in Galveston because he disclosed that other coaches were illegally recruiting players to their school, forcing the family to return to Medford. He does drink, mostly beer, and is a loving father who is trying to understand his intellectually gifted son. The only member of his family to have actively encouraged his work in science was his maternal grandfather, whom he cherished and affectionately called "Pop-Pop", and who died when Sheldon was five years old. Pop-Pop's loss is what caused Sheldon to not like Christmas very much when his Christmas wish to bring Pop-Pop back did not come true. Sheldon's closest relative is his maternal grandmother whom he affectionately calls "Meemaw", and who in turn calls him "Moon Pie". His aunt was also said to have encouraged his work in science by giving him medical equipment, "in case his work in physics failed, he'd have a 'trade' to fall back on". In "Young Sheldon", it is shown that his childhood friend Tam was the one who introduced him to non-scientific interests such as comic books and "Dungeons & Dragons".
Sheldon was interested in science from an early age, and was a child prodigy, although due to his behavioral quirks and his lack of humility about his superior intellect, he was bullied by classmates and neighbors. Sheldon entered college at the age of eleven, and at age fourteen he graduated from college "summa cum laude". Throughout the entire run of "The Big Bang Theory", the college he went to for undergraduate studies had not been revealed, but he always felt it was superior to his fellow "Big Bang Theory" colleagues' alma maters of Princeton (Leonard), Cambridge (Raj), MIT (Howard) and Harvard (Amy); however, it is implied in "The Tam Turbulence" (Season 12, Episode 4) that Sheldon is in fact a Caltech alumnus, and in "Young Sheldon" he is said to enroll at the fictional East Texas Tech before finally enrolling at Caltech in the final episodes of the series. From then, he worked on his doctorate, was a visiting professor at the University of Heidelberg in Germany, was the youngest person at the time to receive the Stevenson Award, and has appeared on the cover of "Journal of Physical Chemistry A". Sheldon is now a theoretical physicist doing research at Caltech, although he stated in "Young Sheldon" that he could not see himself living in California due to their carefree lifestyles.
Personality.
Like Leonard, Raj, and Howard, Sheldon is characterized as being highly intelligent, but he tends to display childish qualities, such as extreme stubbornness and meanness. It is claimed by Bernadette that the reason Sheldon is sometimes mean is because the part of his brain that tells him it is wrong to be mean is "getting a wedgie from the rest of his brain". However, in season 8's "The Space Probe Disintegration", Sheldon tearfully admits to Leonard that he is aware of how his behavior comes across. The first four episodes of "The Big Bang Theory" portray Sheldon slightly inconsistently with respect to his later characterization, in which he is depicted as rather witty and sarcastic, and slightly flirtatious towards Penny in the pilot episode, in which he and Leonard briefly compete for her attention: according to Prady, the character "began to evolve after episode five or so and became his own thing".
Sheldon frequently states that he possesses an eidetic memory (although his powers of autobiographical recall are more like hyperthymesia) and an IQ of 187, although he claims his IQ cannot be accurately measured by normal tests. He originally claimed to have a master's degree and two doctoral degrees, but this list has increased. Sheldon possesses a mastery (and extensive knowledge) of various subjects such as physics, spectroscopy, radiology, chemistry, pharmacology, both anatomy and physiology, zoology, microbiology, astronomy, cosmology, algebra, geometry, calculus, trigonometry, economics, computers, software engineering, robotics/cybernetics, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, history, anthropology, geography, linguistics, cryptography, forensics, and railroad engineering (he is a well-known railfan and a fancier of model trains), and in addition to being fluent in Klingon, has some knowledge of Swedish, Finnish, Mandarin, and Hindi. It is also revealed in "Young Sheldon" that he is proficient in Spanish, although that particular proficiency has apparently decreased by the time of "The Big Bang Theory". He also shows great musical talent, knowing how to play the piano (as does Parsons in real life) and the theremin (which Parsons had learned to play in real life) and can sing with perfect pitch. Although his friends have similar intellects to him, his egocentrism and stubbornness frequently frustrate them. Sheldon occasionally uses slang (in a very unnatural fashion) and follows jokes with his catchphrase "Bazinga!", which is now an officially registered trademark of Warner Bros. He is uncomfortable with human physical contact and has mysophobia, which makes his exceptionally rare hugs extremely awkward and painful-looking. He also has hemophobia and synesthesia, the latter being demonstrated when he described prime numbers as being red, twin primes as being pink and smelling like gasoline and Fudgesicles as tasting like the speed of light. Sheldon has difficulty coping when asked to keep a secret, when he is interrupted, or when he hears arguing. He is also a notary public and uses his knowledge in law and contracts usually for his own advantage and is always distressed when challenged in a legal aspect that he cannot logically defend. In his mannerisms, Sheldon also shows symptoms associated with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, as is suggested within the show itself by Amy in regard to how, whenever approaching the door of an occupied room—say the bathroom—he must knock three times, then say the person's name, and must repeat this three times; this was revealed as a result of him seemingly walking in on his father with another woman (although in reality it was just his mother roleplaying) when he was thirteen ("The first [knock] is traditional, but 'two' and 'three' are for people to get their pants on."). Upon entering a person's home, he must select the proper seat before sitting down. When it was suggested by Penny that he "just sit anywhere", his response is "Oh, no, if only it were that simple!" Because of his rigidity and stubbornness, only his mother and Bernadette, both possessing strong maternal personalities, have shown the ability to order him to do things.
Like his friends, Sheldon is fond of comic books (mostly from the DC Universe), costumes, video games (he also mentions his ownership of various vintage games and systems), roleplaying games, tabletop games, collectible card games, and action figures. Sheldon has restraining orders from his heroes Leonard Nimoy, Carl Sagan, and Stan Lee, as well as television scientist Bill Nye. Sheldon often wears vintage T-shirts adorned with superhero logos. One of his shirts is emblazoned with the number 73, and in the episode "The Alien Parasite Hypothesis" he explains that 73 is his favourite number because it is the 21st prime number, its mirror, 37, is the 12th prime number and its mirror (21) is the product of multiplying 7 and 3, also in binary, 73 is 1001001, a palindrome.
Sheldon has sometimes shown empathy, including lending money to Penny without expecting it back at all (although that may just have been his logical Spock-like response to a problem to be solved; it was, after all, money he was not using and would not miss) and driving her to a hospital when her shoulder was dislocated. In the season 6 episode "The Decoupling Fluctuation", Amy secretly tells him that Penny is considering breaking up with Leonard. Struggling to keep the secret from Leonard, Sheldon wakes up Penny in the middle of the night and asks her not to hurt his friend. In the Season 8 finale, he expresses his genuine happiness for Leonard and Penny when they decide to finally get married in Las Vegas (although his position was briefly reversed during the Season 9 premiere after he and Amy broke up). Since season 10, his empathy and caring attitude toward others have improved to the extent that he goes out of his way to pamper his fiancée Amy. Sheldon admits he is overly fond of koala bears munching on eucalyptus so much that he has a facial expression that he refers to as his koala face. He dislikes gifts, because the "social convention" in his view creates either a debt or burden on the receiver of the gift which will not stop until one of the two involved in the "gift-relationship" dies leaving the other either in debt or with an undue surplus. Sheldon also does not take drugs, not even legal ones such as caffeine, due to a promise to his mother, and is hypersensitive when he accidentally consumes them. Alcohol often causes Sheldon to loosen up significantly, and it will cloud his judgment on occasion. After drinking alcoholic drinks (both deliberately and accidentally), he has done things that he would never do while sober, such as singing out loud, mooning an audience full of people, confronting Wil Wheaton, leaving wildly inappropriate voicemails after "drunk dialling" Stephen Hawking, and affectionately slapping Amy's rear. After consuming caffeine in the form of coffee or energy drinks, typically on the rare occasions that he has to work beyond his normal working hours to meet a deadline, he acts in a hyperactive, erratic manner.
In response to criticism from his friends that he is mentally ill, Sheldon often retorts, "I'm not crazy; my mother had me tested"; which his mother has confirmed to be true, once while wishing she had gone through with a follow-up examination.
Family.
Sheldon contrasts strongly with his family, who are neither scientists nor intellectuals. His father George died before the start of "The Big Bang Theory", when Sheldon was 14, while his mother Mary is a devout Baptist and loving parent. Sheldon has two siblings: a twin sister, Missy, who is a tall, attractive brunette as an adult; and an older brother, George Jr., who owns a tire store chain headquartered in Dallas called Dr. Tire. The adult Sheldon has stated that both Missy and George Jr. beat up Sheldon during their childhoods, and their mother describes them to be "dumb as soup". In the pilot episode of "The Big Bang Theory", Sheldon tells Leonard that DNA is not a guarantee of an intelligent offspring as he himself is a theoretical physicist and his twin sister is a hostess at Fuddruckers: in the series finale of "Young Sheldon", he has a similar conversation with Amy regarding their children. Sheldon is very fond of his maternal grandmother, whom he calls "Meemaw" and who calls him "Moon Pie". He called his grandfather, who died when Sheldon was five, "Pop Pop". Sheldon was also very close to his grandfather, stating once that his grandfather is the only relative he had who encouraged him to become involved in science.
Sheldon has a maternal uncle, Edward, who is called "Stumpy" as the result of a time when he cleaned a wood chipper by hand. He also has a maternal aunt, Charlene, revealed in "Young Sheldon" when his mother told Meemaw that she made dinner for "Charlene and Edward" more times than she did. Sheldon had another uncle, Carl Cooper, who was killed by a badger while cleaning a chimney, and another uncle who may have done things to children that were legal in Oklahoma per "The Clean Room Infiltration".
In "The Engagement Reaction", Sheldon mentions that his aunt Ruth died a week after being infected by a pathogen she contracted in the hospital where she visited Sheldon's Uncle Roger and that their ashes are now stored in a coffee can on Sheldon's mother's mantle. "Young Sheldon" confirms that Ruth is George's sister and that she and Roger are still alive by 1990.
In the "Young Sheldon" episode "Vanilla Ice Cream, Gentleman Callers, and a Dinette Set", it is revealed that Sheldon has children in the future, but this is never referenced or confirmed in "The Big Bang Theory". In the "Young Sheldon" episode "Graduation" (season 4 episode 1), Sheldon mentions his son, Leonard Cooper. He says that he wanted to name him Leonard Nimoy Cooper, but his wife Amy objected. In the "Young Sheldon" series finale, Sheldon is shown to also have a daughter (whose name is not revealed) with Amy. In "The Big Bang Theory", Sheldon did express an interest in having children with Amy, albeit an unfeasibly large number in order to serve as subjects for social or behavioral experiments.
Relationships.
Sheldon's closest friends are Leonard Hofstadter, Howard Wolowitz, and Raj Koothrappali. Of the three, Sheldon is openly dismissive of Howard and constantly opines that a master's degree in engineering demonstrates a lesser intellect than that of the others, who all possess science doctorates. Despite that, Sheldon has referred to Howard as a "treasured acquaintance" and later his friend at various points. Sheldon constantly belittles Leonard and dismisses his work, yet at the same time considers Leonard his best friend, as they used to live together and can tolerate each other: in "The Space Probe Disintegration", Sheldon admits to Leonard that he is aware of how difficult he can be, and tearfully expresses his gratitude for having Leonard in his life in spite of himself, causing Leonard to break down beside him. Prady stated that "the fact that, despite everything, Leonard considers Sheldon his best friend reminds us of Sheldon's essential humanity". Sheldon can only handle having a limited number of friends in his life at a time, but later shows flexibility when he accepts Bernadette and Amy as part of the social group. In season 6, the guys ask if comic book store owner Stuart can be part of the group while Howard is in space.
Despite Penny's neither being a scientist nor sharing many of the group's interests, and having constant fights with Sheldon in the early episodes, they become close friends. While some fans supported a romantic relationship between Sheldon and Penny, Lorre stated his opposition to it by saying: "We've stumbled into creating a character who has chosen a lifestyle for himself that is unique. And I don't see any reason to modify it."
He once idolized fictional prodigy Wesley Crusher from "", portrayed by Wil Wheaton, until Wheaton did not show up at a convention attended by Sheldon in 1995. Sheldon had spent 15 hours on a bus travelling to the convention during which time he was forced to break his rule about urinating in a moving vehicle. After this moment Wil Wheaton became number six on Sheldon's mortal enemy list (a list he started when he was 9 on a 5¼-inch floppy disk). Wheaton was one of Sheldon's mortal enemies, along with his coworkers Barry Kripke and Leslie Winkle. Later, Wheaton managed to patch things up with Sheldon, only to inadvertently pass the enemy list spot to Brent Spiner, who removed the packaging from a signed Wesley Crusher action figure presented to Sheldon as a gift. Sheldon would later resume his enmity with Wheaton in season 11's "The Proton Regeneration" when they compete for the lead role in an Internet reboot of Sheldon's childhood favorite science TV series, "Professor Proton", with Wheaton getting the part; however, when he sees how well Wheaton plays the role and on the advice of Howard, he apologizes to him.
It has been speculated that Sheldon may be asexual or aromantic. Series co-creator Chuck Lorre said: "Part of what's wonderful and unique about [Sheldon] is he has chosen not to play in the relationship game either way – heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, any sexuality." This is referenced in "The Cooper-Nowitzki Theorem", when Sheldon unknowingly attracts the attention of grad student Ramona Nowitzki, and Penny, seeing this, asks his friends what his "deal" (i.e., sexual orientation) is, to which Leonard responds, "Honestly, we've been operating under the assumption that he has no 'deal'"; whilst Leonard speculated that Sheldon was in his larval stage and would one day form a chrysalis, Howard believed that Sheldon would reproduce via mitosis after eating too much Thai food.
In the season 3 finale, Howard and Raj blackmail Sheldon into meeting Amy Farrah Fowler, with whom they matched him on a dating website. After some obnoxious comments about the dating website, Sheldon finds that Amy agrees with him, and he grows fond of her when she says that "Any or all physical contact up to and including coitus are off the table". Their relationship continues in season 4, although Sheldon often points out that they are not in a romantic relationship (stating that she "is a girl who is a friend, but is not my girlfriend"). The two enjoy intellectual games they create, and Amy and Sheldon openly express the same type of intellectual superiority.
In season 5, when Leonard inadvertently implies that he and Amy may have had sex after a wedding reception that they both attended, Sheldon unexpectedly reacts violently, karate-chopping Leonard's neck while telling Leonard "She is not for you... not for you!" Later, Sheldon formally asks Amy to be his girlfriend in "The Flaming Spittoon Acquisition". During their relationship, Amy begins a campaign to give Sheldon more attention to increase his feelings for her by embracing his interests. As they watch Howard being launched into space in its season finale, Amy is surprised when Sheldon takes her hand for emotional support.
During the first half of season 6, in "The Parking Spot Escalation" and "The Fish Guts Displacement", Sheldon is pushed further after seeing Amy partially exposed and taking care of her while she is ill respectively. In "The Cooper/Kripke Inversion", after being directly asked by Penny if he would ever have sex with Amy, Sheldon admits to Penny and Leonard that a physical relationship with Amy is a possibility, and being touched is something he is working on. While upset about Kripke, Amy does give him a consoling hug that Sheldon seems to need, and want. Even so, Amy has offered other romantic physical contact, and was very uncomfortable when they had to cuddle. In "The Spoiler Alert Segmentation", Leonard temporarily moves out and Amy proposes that she would be his perfect roommate and tries to move in, though Sheldon is uncomfortable with this change in their relationship. While playing "Dungeons & Dragons" during "The Love Spell Potential", Sheldon's and Amy's characters are commanded to have sex within the game. A very upset Amy asks Sheldon if they are ever going to be intimate and he again admits that it is a possibility.
In season 7, Sheldon passionately kisses Amy on the lips for the first time. Initially to prove a point, he later prolonged it, implying he enjoyed the feeling. Later episodes showed him willingly kissing Amy, implying he has gotten more comfortable in such a position of physical intimacy. The ultimate proof of Sheldon having feelings for Amy is given in the season 8 episode "The Prom Equivalency", when he finally admits being in love with her: "I love you too. There's no denying I have feelings for you that can't be explained in any other way. I briefly considered I had a brain parasite, but that seems even more far-fetched. The only conclusion was love." In the season 8 finale, "The Commitment Determination", Sheldon and Amy get into a fight over their definition of "commitment". Sheldon feels his relationship with Amy is going fast on its own, but Amy argues he is taking things too slowly and does not properly bestow on her unlimited affection. By the episode's end she has decided to take a break from their relationship while Sheldon is left numb from Amy's revelation. He glumly reveals that he had been planning on proposing to Amy with his grandmother's ring - a family heirloom.
In the season 9 premiere, Sheldon keeps pushing Amy to make up her mind about their relationship, but goes too far and insults her to her face and she angrily breaks up with him for good, thus officially ending their relationship. In "The Perspiration Implementation", Barry Kripke learns that Amy is no longer in a relationship and implies an interest in asking her out on a date. Sheldon is bothered by this notion and challenges Barry in a duel that will end three years hence. In "The Platonic Permutation" Amy offers Sheldon a chance to get back together with her after spending time together in an aquarium at Thanksgiving, but learns that he simply just wants to be her friend, with him revealing to her that "I excel at many things, but getting over you wasn't one of them". In "The Earworm Reverberation", Sheldon cannot get a song out his head, but after suddenly remembering the title and the lyrics, he realizes that the song was about Amy and that she changed his life for the better, which prompts him to go to her apartment to profess his love. He finds Amy on a date with Dave, who has a great adoration for Sheldon because of his intellect. Seeing how much they love each other, Dave gleefully urges Sheldon to kiss Amy, leading to their reunion. In the following episode, "The Opening Night Excitation" Leonard, Howard and Raj go to see "" without Sheldon as while he was initially reluctant, ultimately opted to celebrate Amy's birthday with her instead. To make Amy's birthday enjoyable and memorable, Sheldon seeks out Penny and Bernadette as he respects their opinions regarding all things socially appropriate. He reveals to them that he has narrowed things down to three options, the first being a chance to play the harp with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the second being an all-expense-paid trip to the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival (though Amy would have to go alone because Sheldon's ornithophobia is nothing compared to his fear of sheep), and the third being the two of them engaging in coitus, at which point Penny squeezes and shatters the wine glass in her hand due to disbelief and/or shock. After Penny and Bernadette convince him that finally being intimate with her is the most beautiful gift that he could give to her, Sheldon and Amy have sex for the first time on the latter's birthday. Sheldon comments, "I enjoyed that more than I thought I would".
In season 10, Sheldon and Amy move in together for a five-week experiment to test out their compatibility, and after its successful run, decide to move in together permanently. In "The Holiday Summation", Mary Cooper confesses to being accepting of Sheldon and Amy living together out of wedlock in the privately held belief that Sheldon would never be in a relationship, which deeply offends him. In the tenth-season finale, Sheldon unexpectedly proposes to Amy after being kissed by Ramona Nowitzki, a graduate student who had been infatuated with him in earlier seasons. In the eleventh-season premiere, Amy accepts his proposal, and they marry in the season finale. Late in season 12, Amy is preparing Sheldon to accept the prospect of having children by getting him to have fun experimenting with the Wolowitz children. In the series finale, both Sheldon and Amy are recipients of the Nobel Prize in physics for their discovery of super asymmetry which they first worked on moments before their wedding. In Amy's speech, she encourages young girls around the world to study whatever they want. Instead of giving a self-centered speech, Sheldon thanks his family, his friends and his wife Amy for always supporting him. He also refers to Howard as "Astronaut Howard Wolowitz," exhibiting, for the first time, some level of pride in having a friend who was an astronaut. He also admits that he agrees with what Leonard said in the Pilot episode, that Leonard and Penny's children will be "smart and beautiful".
At the end of season one of "Young Sheldon", the adult Sheldon refers in voice over to having had children: in season 4, it is revealed that one of them is a son named Leonard, and banter between the adult Sheldon and Amy implies that their son was meant to be named after both Leonard Hofstadter and Leonard Nimoy.
Reception.
General.
Both the character and Parsons' portrayal have received widespread acclaim, and is often cited as the main reason for the program's success by both critics and fans. James Chamberlin of IGN wrote: "It's hard to imagine what "The Big Bang Theory" would be if it weren't for Jim Parsons' great portrayal of Sheldon Cooper". Matt Roush of "TV Guide" stated that "there's a spark of divine inspiration in Jim Parsons' uproarious Sheldon Cooper". Ken Tucker of "Entertainment Weekly" wrote that: "Parsons is doing something rare on network TV: making intellectualism admirable, even heroic".
On July 16, 2009, Parsons was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. He was nominated again for the same award on July 8, 2010, and won the award on August 29, 2010. On August 1, 2009, he won the TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy, with the show itself winning the award for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy for season 2. He was nominated again for the same award in 2010 and 2012. Parsons was also nominated for the People's Choice Award for Favorite TV Comedy Actor and a Satellite Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy in 2009, 2010, and 2012. On January 16, 2011, Parsons won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy, presented by co-star Kaley Cuoco, for his work on seasons 3 and 4. On June 20, 2011, he won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series at the 1st Critics' Choice Television Awards for his work on season 4, and was nominated again for the same award in 2012. On September 18, 2011, he won his second consecutive Primetime Emmy Award – Lead Actor in Comedy, and was nominated again for the same award on July 19, 2012. In 2013, Parsons was nominated once again for the Golden Globe and received his first nomination for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series. In 2013 and 2014, Parsons was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award – Lead Actor in Comedy for the 5th and 6th time, respectively, both of which he won for his 3rd and 4th Primetime Emmy Awards – Lead Actor in a Comedy Series meaning that Parsons had won this award four times in the past five years, including back-to-back in 2010/2011 and 2013/2014. No actor in the history of this award has won back-to-back awards on two separate occasions, and his total of four awards puts Parsons in a four-way tie with Carroll O'Connor, Kelsey Grammer, and Michael J. Fox.
The asteroid was named after Sheldon. In 2012, a newly discovered species of bee was named "Euglossa bazinga", after the character's noted catch phrase, "Bazinga!"
In March 2013, the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium named a black-and-white colobus after Sheldon. In 2015, a new echinocaridid phyllocaridan from the Lower Devonian of central-eastern Poland, was named "Ptychocaris sheldoni" after Sheldon.
Autism spectrum.
Some viewers have asserted that Sheldon's behavior is consistent with the classification of the autism spectrum that used to be known as Asperger's syndrome. The writers have stated that they did not use it as a basis for the character, but instead thought of his actions as "Sheldony". Series co-creator Bill Prady stated: "We write the character as the character. A lot of people see various things in him and make the connections. Our feeling is that Sheldon's mother never got a diagnosis, so we don't have one." Prady also told Alan Sepinwall of the New Jersey "Star-Ledger" that while Sheldon shares traits with people with Asperger's syndrome, he was uncomfortable labeling Sheldon as such.
In an interview, Jim Parsons noted the writers' response, but added that, in his opinion, Sheldon "couldn't display "more" traits" of Asperger's. Parsons has read John Elder Robison's memoir "Look Me in the Eye" about his life with Asperger syndrome, and said that: "A majority of what I read in that book touched on aspects of Sheldon." He also stated that "the way his brain works, it's so focused on the intellectual topics at hand that thinking he's autistic is an easy leap for people watching the show to make".
When another actor on the series, Mayim Bialik, who plays Amy and has a Ph.D. in neuroscience, was interviewed by Neil deGrasse Tyson on "StarTalk", she said of the theory:
All of our characters are in theory on the neuropsychiatric spectrum, I would say. Sheldon often gets talked about in terms of Asperger's or OCD. He has a thing with germs, he has a thing with numbers, he's got a lot of that precision that we see in OCD. There's a lot of interesting features to all of our characters that make them technically unconventional socially. And what we're trying to show with our show is that this is a group of people who likely were teased, mocked, told that they will never be appreciated or loved, and we have a group of people who have successful careers, active social lives (that involve things like "Dungeons and Dragons" and video games), but they also have relationships, and that's a fulfilling and satisfying life.
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074d0d6026b84ab98ba3f9013dbef901
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Homelander
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The Homelander (John Gillman) is a fictional character and one of the main antagonists in the comic book series "The Boys" and the media franchise of the same name, created by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. He is depicted as a psychopathic and sadistic narcissist who serves as the extremely powerful leader of The Seven—a group of corrupt and hedonistic superheroes grown and funded by Vought-American—and the archenemy of Billy Butcher. Beneath his public image as a noble and altruistic hero, the Homelander cares little about the well-being of those he professes to protect. Described as the living personification of how the world sees America, the character has received critical acclaim along with Starr's portrayal in the series. Homelander has also been compared to Superman and Captain America.
In the Amazon Prime Video television adaptation developed by Eric Kripke, Homelander is primarily portrayed by Antony Starr, with Rowan Smyth and Isaac Weeks portraying him as a child. This version is the megalomaniacal son of Soldier Boy and the father of Ryan, born as a result of Homelander raping Billy Butcher's wife Becca (a crime committed by Black Noir in the comic book series). Homelander has also appeared in the spin-off and promotional web series "" and "Death Battle!", respectively.
Appearances.
Comic book series.
The Homelander is a patriotic superhero who leads the superhero team, The Seven, and the most powerful superhuman created by Vought-American. The company's cover story for the Homelander is that he is an alien who landed in the United States as an infant, much like Superman. In reality, he and the rest of the original roster of the Seven were grown in a secret laboratory, the progeny of genetic material taken from Stormfront, who was injected with Compound V while still a member of the Hitler Youth. Homelander spent most of his young life chained down with a hydrogen bomb strapped to him in case he tried to escape. His mother was a mentally disabled woman who died giving birth to him. Homelander remains under the financial thumb of V, as their money funds the Seven's hedonistic lifestyle. Homelander eventually tries to encourage the other superheroes to do what they want, but relents due to his fear of his boss "The Vought Guy"/"The Guy From Vought".
Until the events of the series' climax, Billy Butcher is tricked into thinking Homelander had raped his wife Becky, who then died giving birth to a superhuman baby Butcher had then killed. In Issue #40, the Boys receive a series of incriminating doctored photos seemingly showing Homelander engaging in grisly acts of murder, cannibalism, and necrophilia against men, women, and children. In private, Homelander shows signs of suffering a mental breakdown, talking to his own reflection in a mirror, and having bouts of nausea. He eventually decides that he is damned anyway for the acts depicted in the photos, and decides to give in to any intrusive thoughts that cross his mind.
From "Herogasm" onward, Homelander resolves to free himself and the superhero community from Vought-American's control. In "Over the Hill with the Swords of a Thousand Men", he leads the other superheroes in a "coup d'etat" against the United States, launching an attack on the White House and killing everyone inside, including the President. During the subsequent confrontation between Homelander and Butcher, the masked Black Noir arrives in the Oval Office and reveals himself as a clone of Homelander (the first of the Seven grown after him), created solely to kill Homelander if he ever went rogue. Gradually driven insane due to not being allowed to kill Homelander, Noir reveals he committed the atrocities in the photos, including raping Butcher's wife, to trick the initially truly benevolent Homelander so that Noir would finally be allowed to fulfill his purpose. Outraged, Homelander attacks Black Noir. The remainder of their fight takes place off-panel, with a greatly injured Noir reappearing several pages later holding the headless remains of Homelander's torso, before being killed himself by Billy Butcher.
Television series.
"The Boys" (2019–present).
In the television adaptation, Antony Starr plays Homelander as an adult, with Rowan Smyth playing him as a child in the first season, and Isaac Weeks playing him as a child in the fourth season. As interpreted within the television series, he is considered by some reviewers to be analogous to DC's Superman. Grown from the DNA samples taken from Soldier Boy's semen by Jonah Vogelbaum and having been reared in a laboratory environment to become Homelander, John displays many sociopathic tendencies and is openly contemptuous of those he considers lesser beings.
He is also highly self-righteous, delusional, possessive, paranoid, vindictive, insecure, insensitive, hypocritical, reckless with his powers, and incapable of accepting the possibility of any flaw in his person or decision-making. Unlike in the comic series, Homelander rapes Butcher's wife after she has been assigned as his assistant. However, he left her alive and, though he was unaware of it until the end of the season, pregnant with his son, Ryan. His discovery of the lies surrounding Ryan's existence influences his decision to maim the scientist responsible for his upbringing, Jonah Vogelbaum, and murder Madelyn Stillwell. However, his emotional incompetence and sociopathic traits initially alienate him from his son, and the loss of Stillwell's moderating influence on his behavior unbalances him further. He enters a sexual relationship with Stormfront, despite a difficult beginning, and conspires with her to remove his son from Becca's care and turn the public against "supervillains," creating public outcry for the creation of more superheroes. Stormfront is critically injured by Homelander's son Ryan and Maeve blackmails Homelander into letting the boy go and leaving her alone.
In a series of television interviews, he is forced to denounce his relationship with Stormfront and apologize for his actions. Partly to moderate Homelander's behavior, CEO Stan Edgar and Vought's board of directors install Starlight as co-captain of The Seven. However, in response to this, Homelander bribes Edgar's secret adoptive daughter Victoria Neuman into opening an investigation into Edgar, ousting him from Vought, with Homelander assuming control of the company himself. Before leaving, Edgar warns Homelander that he will not be here to clean up his messes. He appoints Ashley Barrett as his puppet ruler and antagonizes Starlight by reinstating The Deep as a member of the Seven and falsely announcing that the two are in a relationship during the finale of "American Hero". After Starlight denounces Homelander and Vought and abandons her persona as Starlight via a livestream, Homelander says that he dumped her and accuses her of engaging in human trafficking via her charitable foundation, the Starlight House. After learning that Queen Maeve not only acted as an informant for the Boys but also slept with their leader Billy Butcher, Homelander has her detained at Seven Tower with the intention of harvesting her eggs. Homelander later learns of his connection with Soldier Boy after receiving a call from him. After confirming this connection with Black Noir, Homelander savagely murders the latter. He later picks up Ryan from Mallory's house after intimidating her. When Homelander attempts to connect with Soldier Boy by introducing him to Ryan and saying that all three of them could be a family, Soldier Boy disowns him as a weak, damaged, attention-seeking disappointment and attempts to kill or depower him (as part of his deal with Butcher). Homelander turns against Soldier Boy after the latter strikes Ryan, but is forced to reluctantly fight Queen Maeve. He later introduces his son Ryan to his and Stormfront's supporters at Vought Tower. There, a pro-Starlight protestor hits Ryan in the face with a soft drink can, provoking Homelander to kill him with his heat vision. This grants him the applause of his and Stormfront's supporters, while Ryan is impressed.
Homelander, after getting everything he's ever wanted, faces a murder trial and begins to have a breakdown, so he recruits Sister Sage to help him. On the day of the trial, he orders three of his fans to be killed to start a brawl right after being declared innocent. He organizes the first rescue of his son Ryan, forcing him to use his power by killing the false criminal. After trying to kill Hughie, he has a fight with Ryan for seeing Butcher and has a mental breakdown. He then visits the lab where he was created and kept locked up. He proceeds to kill all of the people responsible for testing on him in an act of revenge, with the exception of Dr. Barbara Findley, whom he leaves locked up along with the rest of the dead staff. Following the events at the lab, Homelander begins to connect with Ryan and starts to support him. Later, Homelander tells his team that they will have to be more cruel and ruthless for the greater good just before he orders The Seven to kill Cameron Coleman, who is believed to have leaked the video. Homelander, along with most of The Seven and Neuman, attend a party organized by Tek Knight, in which he plans to turn, along with Sage and Neuman, the congressmen against Singer. Homelander learns from Firecracker that the mole is still alive and they become intimate when she feeds him her breast milk. Homelander begins to give Firecracker more weight on the team. Homelander kills Webweaver thinking he is the mole and sends The Deep and Black Noir II to kill Butcher and the rest of The Boys, without success. Feeling betrayed by A-Train, Homelander expels Sage from The Seven after hiding that A-Train was the mole. That night, Homelander sees how his son talks live about his mother Becca and Butcher, which leaves him in shock. Homelander discovers Butcher's gift and in a rage destroys his apartment and scolds Ryan making him leave. Afterwards, Homelander reveals Neuman as Super and orders The Seven to kill everyone in Vought who knows about his dirty laundry. When Neuman dies, Sage reveals to him that it was all part of her plan and the new president of the United States, Steven Calhoun, swears loyalty to Homelander, declares martial law and deputizes him and his superhuman army.
"Gen V" (2023–present).
Homelander appears during the chaos at Godolkin University in the first season finale of "Gen V" after being called by Ashley Barrett. Upon arrival, he sees the fallen Supes from "the Woods" and Cate Dunlap's left arm being blown off as he asks Marie what kind of Supe attacks her own kind. Before Marie can explain, Homelander blasts his heat vision at her. After this, he makes the real perpetrators of the attack, Cate and Sam Riordan, the ones who saved the day, and Marie and her group are locked up. Homelander watches his cover-up be mentioned by Cameron Coleman with satisfaction.
"Seven on 7" (2020–2021).
In the following 2020–2021 promotional web series, "Seven on 7 with Cameron Coleman", which bridges the events of the second and third seasons, Homelander continues dealing with the aftermath of Stormfront being revealed to be a Nazi, as well as filming promos for Vought's streaming service, Vought+, and to celebrate Christmas.
"The Boys Presents: Diabolical" (2022–present).
In "", Starr reprises his role as Homelander from the live-action series. Homelander first appears in the final moments of the episode "An Animated Short Where Pissed-Off Supes Kill Their Parents", executing the title characters (escaped Supe teenagers with abnormal powers from the Red River Assisted Living for the Gifted Child) with his heat vision on Vought's behalf, after they kill their parents due to the events of "The Boys" episode "Over the Hill with the Swords of a Thousand Men". Ghost was the only survivor of the attack. Vought covered up all the deaths that were caused where one news report states that Homelander saved Ghost's mother from a "natural gas explosion" that took the life of Ghost's dad.
Homelander next appears in the episode "", set in the same continuity as "The Boys" comic book series while honoring Great Wide Wonder during a promotional campaign. Homelander witnesses his drug overdose (induced by Billy Butcher) lead him to crash into Ironcast during a stunt, killing them both. In order to cover up what happened, Homelander, Queen Maeve, and Jack from Jupiter blame a "Cold War satellite" controlled by the evil Galaxius for their deaths claiming it is "hidden in the light of the Sun" which the watching crowd eagerly believed as they flew away.
In the season finale, the prequel episode "One Plus One Equals Two", a young Homelander makes his debut as a member of the Seven. Flashbacks of his childhood reveal the systematic torture he received from Vought scientists testing the extent of his powers. His superior Madelyn Stillwell, who has been manipulating him, warns him of Black Noir, the "Homelander before Homelander", claiming that he will seek every opportunity to destroy him. Assigned to tackle a hostage situation at a chemical plant ahead of Noir as his first mission as a superhero, Homelander attempts a peaceful resolution; however, after accidentally killing a hostage and injuring the eco-terrorist leader by lasering the latter's broken gun, he kills the remaining eco-terrorists and all but one hostage in a psychotic episode after they collectively berate him for his recklessness. After Black Noir arrives on the scene, Homelander attempts to explain his actions before resolving to kill Noir to cover them up. After Noir tricks Homelander into blowing up the compound, he gains his trust by mercy killing the last witness to Homelander's murders in its aftermath, and writes him an excusatory speech to provide to the press outside, claiming the eco-terrorists had a bomb. Everyone bought that speech. Later at Vought headquarters, Homelander tells Stillwell that she was wrong about Noir.
Development.
The character was designed as an evil version of Superman and Captain America in terms of powerset and costume. His cape pulled to the left resembles the first costume of Captain Marvel a.k.a. Shazam. Homelander's backstory in the original comics is similar to that in the television adaption of "The Boys".
Garth Ennis describes Homelander as: "an almost entirely negative character. He is really just a series of unpleasant urges kept in check by his own intelligence, which is enough to understand that he can have anything he wants so long as he doesn't push his luck too far." Also: "It might help to think of the Homelander as having all the self-control of... let's say... a fourteen-year-old."
"The Boys" producer and showrunner Eric Kripke has stated that while Homelander can "in theory" be killed, a plot twist which involved the character being killed by his clone Black Noir in the comic book version was not used in the television adaptation, where Black Noir is instead depicted as a black man and the character's psychopathic traits are amalgamated with Homelander.
Powers and abilities.
In "The Boys" comics, Homelander's powers include heat vision, super strength, super speed, durability, flight, regenerative healing factor, super hearing and enhanced vocal cords. He also ages slower than a normal human, due to Compound V. Homelander additionally has X-ray vision, which enables him to see through anything except items made out of, or lined with zinc, a reference to Superman's inability to see through lead. Compound V can also bring life back to a dead brain, but limits the cognitive abilities of the user.
He is much stronger than everyone else in "The Boys" universe.
In the television series, "The Boys", in the first season finale "You Found Me", when asked about Homelander's weakness, Madelyn Stillwell claims he does not have one, saying, "There isn't a weapon on Earth that they haven't thrown at him. They've all failed." The Homelander's powers and sense of entitlement have led him to exhibit extreme megalomania, causing him to commit crimes against innocent people, including acts of rape and mass murder, out of the idea that he can do anything he wants because of who he is.
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0c9d98d232f14669a4f30c95a96db1c4
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Moon Knight
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Moon Knight is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Doug Moench and artist Don Perlin, the character first appeared in "Werewolf by Night" #32 (August 1975).
The son of a rabbi, Marc Spector served as a Force Recon Marine and briefly as a CIA operative before becoming a mercenary alongside his friend Jean-Paul "Frenchie" DuChamp. During a job in Sudan, Spector is appalled when ruthless fellow mercenary Raoul Bushman attacks and kills archeologist Dr. Alraune in front of the man's daughter and colleague, Marlene Alraune. After fighting Bushman and being left for dead, a mortally wounded Spector reaches Alraune's recently unearthed tomb and is placed before a statue of the Egyptian moon god Khonshu. Spector dies, then suddenly revives, fully healed. He claims Khonshu wants him to be the "moon's knight", the left "Fist of Khonshu", redeeming his life of violence by now protecting and avenging the innocent. While early stories imply Spector is merely insane, it is later revealed Khonshu is real, one of several entities from the Othervoid (a dimension outside normal time and space) once worshipped by ancient Earth people. On his return to the United States, Spector invests his mercenary profits into becoming the crimefighter "Moon Knight", aided by Frenchie and Marlene Alraune, who becomes his lover and eventually the mother of his daughter. Along with his costumed alter ego, he primarily uses three other identities to gain information from different social circles: billionaire businessman Steven Grant, taxicab driver Jake Lockley, and suited detective and police consultant Mr. Knight.
It is later revealed Moon Knight has dissociative identity disorder (DID) (incorrectly referred to as schizophrenia in some stories), and that the alter egos known as Grant and Lockley originally manifested during his childhood. Other subsequent alter egos who do not assume the Moon Knight identity have emerged at other points during his adulthood, including a werewolf-fighting astronaut; impersonators of Khonshu, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Captain America, Iron Man, and Echo; and a red-haired little girl known as the Inner Child, introduced in the Ultimate Marvel continuity. It is debated in different stories whether Spector has genuine DID due to childhood trauma or if his similar symptoms are the result of "brain damage" caused by his psychic connection to Khonshu, a connection compelling his personality to shift between the god's four major aspects. Khonshu claims he created a psychic connection with Spector, Grant, and Lockley when the latter were young, decades before they became Moon Knight.
In most of his stories, Moon Knight has no supernatural abilities beyond occasional visions of mystic insight. He relies on athletic ability, advanced technology, expert combat and detective skills, and a high tolerance for pain based on willpower, training, and experience. Since becoming Moon Knight, there have been multiple occasions when the character has died only to then be resurrected by Khonshu, implying he may now be effectively immortal until the moon god's protection is revoked (whether Khonshu has limitations on how often he can resurrect Spector is unknown). For a time, Moon Knight's strength and resistance to injury could reach superhuman levels depending on the phases of the moon, but this ability later vanished, while the Moon Knight identity is occasionally depicted as an independent alter ego of the others.
The character has made appearances in various media outside of comics, including animated series and video games. Oscar Isaac portrays Marc Spector / Moon Knight, Steven Grant / Mr. Knight, and Jake Lockley in the Marvel Cinematic Universe live-action television series "Moon Knight" (2022).
Development.
In an interview, Doug Moench recalled the character's genesis: "Somebody mentioned in the office and suggested using The Committee, and that I should bring The Committee back, and then I found out who The Committee were and thought, well they're really boring, I don't wanna use them. And then I thought, well wait a minute, how about if The Committee hires a mercenary to kill the Werewolf. And I thought, yeah that's a good idea, then I create this new character and it won't be these boring guys in business suits, it would be a flashy character. So, I said who is best to kill the Werewolf? Well, someone who uses silver weapons because silver hurts the Werewolf. And tied to the night, because the Werewolf only comes out at night, and I'll base this character on the Moon, because the Moon makes the Werewolf change, and this is going to be the opposite of the Werewolf, and as soon as I said the Moon I said, ooh I'll have a costume that's just like the Moon, just black and white, jet and silver, no color on the costume."
Don Perlin also commented on the creation of the character, "We were told we needed a costumed character in the book. So Doug and I created Moon Knight. I wanted the costume to be just black and white. Since he'd be on a color page, that would make him a little bit different. He had a silver baton he could use when he battled werewolves. See, he was hired to track down to kill the Werewolf."
Publication history.
The character debuted in "Werewolf by Night" #32 (August 1975), written by Doug Moench with art by Don Perlin and Al Milgrom, as a mercenary hired by the Committee to capture the title character. The creative team gave Moon Knight moon-related symbols and silver weapons (a metal poisonous to a werewolf) to mark him as a suitable antagonist for the werewolf hero. The two-part story continues into #33, when Moon Knight realizes Russell is a victim rather than a monster and decides to help him. A demonic vision of Moon Knight then appeared in "Werewolf by Night" #37 (March 1976).
Editors Marv Wolfman and Len Wein liked the character and decided to give him a solo story in "Marvel Spotlight" #28–29 (June/August 1976), again written by Doug Moench with art by Don Perlin. The story, along with "Spectacular Spider-Man" #22–23 (September/October 1978) written by Bill Mantlo, recast Moon Knight as a more heroic character. His association with the evil Committee during his first appearance was retconned to be an undercover mission he undertook to learn more about the villains. Moon Knight acted as a hero again in "Marvel Two-in-One" #52, written by Steven Grant with art by Jim Craig. In "The Defenders" #47–51, Moon Knight briefly joined the Defenders during their war against the Zodiac Cartel.
Moon Knight appeared in recurring backup stories in "Hulk! Magazine" #11–15, #17–18, and #20, as well as a black and white story in the magazine publication "Marvel Preview" #21, all written by Doug Moench. Artist Bill Sienkiewicz drew Moon Knight in "Hulk! Magazine" issues #13–15, 17–18, and #20, creating a new look for the character heavily influenced by the art of Neal Adams, who at that time was most popular for his work on "Batman" and "Green Lantern/Green Arrow" for DC Comics. This, along with Moon Knight's methods and the atmosphere of his stories, cemented a perception among some readers that he was Marvel's version of Batman. The "Hulk" backups and "Marvel Preview" issue provided Moon Knight with a partial origin story and introduced his brother, recurring villain Randall Spector (who would later become Shadow Knight).
Volume 1.
Moon Knight received his first ongoing series in 1980, with Doug Moench and Bill Sienkiewicz as its main creative team. The character received an expanded origin story in issue #1, including Spector's "resurrection" in the tomb of Khonshu, suggested by editor Denny O'Neil), which also introduced several supporting characters as well as recurring enemy Bushman. Though many characters doubted the moon god Khonshu was real and believed Marc Spector only experienced a hallucination while near death, it was never explained why others, such as Spector's lover Marlene, concluded this when there was no other explanation for Marc's spontaneous recovery from his wounds and a death-like state.
After early sales were good, Marvel made the "Moon Knight" series a flagship title available in comic shops starting with issue #15. The companion mini-series "Moon Knight: Special Edition" reprinted the "Hulk" and "Marvel Preview" Moon Knight stories in color and standard comic format, adapted from their original magazine format. Sienkiewicz stopped penciling the series after issue #30, though he continued to contribute covers until the series ended with issue #38.
Volume 2.
In 1985, Marvel retooled the character with a new 6-issue mini-series "Moon Knight" by Alan Zelenetz and Chris Warner. The mini-series was titled "Fist of Khonshu". Only the first 4 issues were written by Zelenetz, the final two issues were each written by a different author. Along with giving Moon Knight new Egyptian-themed weaponry, this mini-series reveals that Marc Spector's strength now increases in accordance to the phases of the moon.
Marvel Fanfare and West Coast Avengers.
Following the "Fist of Khonshu" mini-series, Moon Knight appeared in "Marvel Fanfare" for two issues (#30 and #38) and became a regular cast member in "West Coast Avengers" (#21–41 and "Annual"s #2–3), written by Steve Englehart. When John Byrne became the series writer, Moon Knight was written out of the West Coast Avengers team.
Marc Spector: Moon Knight.
After a guest spot in "Punisher Annual" #2 (part of the "Atlantis Attacks" storyline), the character was given a new ongoing title in 1989, "Marc Spector: Moon Knight," originally under the direction of writer Chuck Dixon. Two one-shots, "Marc Spector: Moon Knight – Special Edition" #1 and "Moon Knight: Divided We Fall," were published during the run of the title. Dixon then left the series after issue #24, leaving several storylines unresolved such as the fate of Moon Knight's errant sidekick, the second Midnight, who was seemingly killed by the terrorist organization known as the Secret Empire. Midnight II's fate and plotline were later resolved in the pages of "Amazing Spider-Man" #353–358, written by Al Milgrom.
"Marc Spector: Moon Knight" ended with #60 (March 1994). Marc Spector seemingly dies in the issue, sacrificing himself while battling a villain called Seth the Immortal. His body is recovered and then buried by his allies. The final storyline was written by Terry Kavanagh and with art by Stephen Platt, who was then hired by Image Comics based on the strength of his work during several of the series' final issues.
Volume 3.
In 1998, the 4-issue mini-series "Moon Knight" vol. 3 was published under writer Doug Moench, artist Tommy Edwards, and inker Robert Campanella. The four part story "Resurrection Wars" shows Marc Spector resurrected again by Khonshu, materializing alive and well in his home while experiencing a vision of himself rising from the grave as Khonshu summons him. Witnessing Marc's sudden manifestation in his home, and noting that the Statue of Khonshu explodes only to then repair itself, Marlene finally believes Khonshu is real and not a delusion. Despite this, the story mentions the possibility that Marc was not dead but somehow and inexplicably was put into a "death-like" state for months as a result of his previous injuries.
Volume 4.
In 1999, Moench and artist Mark Texeira produced "Moon Knight" vol. 4. This four-part mini-series was nominated for the Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Award for Favorite Limited Series. The title of the story was mistakenly given as "High Strangers" on each issue cover, while the correct title "High Strangeness" appeared on the interior title page of each issue.
Volume 5.
A new ongoing series, "Moon Knight" vol. 5, was launched in April 2006, written by Charlie Huston with art by David Finch. The series revises Marc Spector's history by saying he fought in the Gulf War. Starting with issue #14 of this series, Mike Benson took over writing duties while Huston acted as a story/plot adviser according to Benson. The 2006 series ended with #30 (July 2009), and only one Annual issue for the series was printed in 2008. Peter Milligan wrote a 2008 seasonal one-shot titled "Moon Knight: Silent Knight" with artist Laurence Campbell.
"Vengeance of the Moon Knight".
In September 2009, a new series titled "Vengeance of the Moon Knight" began by writer Gregg Hurwitz and artist Jerome Opena. "Vengeance of the Moon Knight" ended with issue #10. Moon Knight became a regular team cast member in "Secret Avengers" #1–21. In "Secret Avengers", writer Warren Ellis introduced the idea that Moon Knight sometimes operates without a costume and instead wearing a simple white suit and full white mask. Moon Knight also appeared in the "Shadowland" crossover and in the 2010 relaunch of "Heroes for Hire".
Volume 6.
In 2011, the series "Moon Knight" vol. 6 was launched by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev. The series depicted Moon Knight once again experiencing four alters, though now three of his alters were imitations of Spider-Man, Captain America, and Wolverine. Due to poor sales, the series was canceled after 12 issues.
Volume 7.
In March 2014, the Marvel NOW! initiative launched "Moon Knight" vol. 7. The series involved rotating creative teams that included Warren Ellis and Declan Shalvey for issues #1–6, Brian Wood and Greg Smallwood for issues #7–12, and Cullen Bunn and Ron Ackins for issues #13–17. The series brings back the white suit and tie outfit first seen in "Secret Avengers", and now has Moon Knight adopt this outfit when working as a police consultant, answering to "Mr. Knight." With issue #1 of this series, writer Warren Ellis confirmed that Khonshu is a real god or extraterrestrial entity and that Marc Spector indeed died and was resurrected years ago in the tomb in Egypt.
Issue #1 of this series depicted a psychologist confirming that stress and the use of multiple cover identities cannot cause someone to suffer from DID if they did not already suffer from the condition and that Marc's symptoms do not correspond to actual DID. Marc Spector's different alters are now said to be due to "brain damage," alterations to his brain made by the alien entity Khonshu that connect their minds. These alterations also cause Moon Knight to sometimes shift his personality to match one of the moon god's four distinct roles and facets. These four roles are described as: "pathfinder", "embracer", "defender", and "watcher of overnight travelers." These four roles can manifest in different ways, either with original names or borrowing names and personality traits of people Marc has observed (such as when he briefly acted as if he were Spider-Man, Wolverine, and Captain America).
Volume 8.
In April 2016, the "All-New, All-Different Marvel" initiative included the new series "Moon Knight" vol. 8. Written by Jeff Lemire and artist Greg Smallwood (returning from his run with Brian Wood), the series began having rotating artists with issue #6. After fourteen issues, the series numbering changed to acknowledge it was a continuation of the Moon Knight volumes published before, so issue #15 was instead given the designation #188. This renumbering was done as part of the company-wide Marvel Legacy initiative. The series ended with issue #200, which involved contributions from several previously established Moon Knight artists. In 2019, Cullen Bunn wrote and Ibrahim Mustafa and Matt Horak drew "Moon Knight Annual" #1.
Lemire's stories revised Marc's history to show he had first exhibited symptoms of DID and assumed the identity of his alter Steven Grant while still a young boy. The series also showed Khonshu creating a psychic connection between himself and Marc Spector when the latter was still a boy, indicating the moon god may still be responsible for Marc's DID-like condition. In the series, Khonshu claims he influenced Marc at times over the years, waiting until years later to fully reveal himself. Khonshu then reveals he intends to use Marc as a host body, fully dominating his personality, but Marc refuses. The series has Marc acknowledge that he had exhibited DID symptoms long before assuming the mask of Moon Knight and that his previous claim that his alters were nothing more than cover identities was simply denial of his condition.
In "Avengers" vol. 8 #33–38 (Marvel Comics, 2020), Khonshu attempts to dominate Earth to save it, compelling Moon Knight to help him. A battle with the Avengers results in Khonshu being imprisoned by the Asgardians. The story was produced by Jason Aaron, Javier Garron, and Jason Keith.
Volume 9.
In 2021, the series "Moon Knight" vol. 9 launched under writer Jed MacKay, and artists Alessandro Cappuccio and Rachelle Rosenberg. The new series has Marc Spector not only acting as the crimefighter Moon Knight but also (despite his Jewish background) adopting the role of high priest of "the Midnight Mission," a congregation dedicated to Khonshu. In discussing his connection to Khonshu, Marc Spector now describes his four aspects as "the traveler," "the pathfinder," "the embracer," and "the defender of those who travel at night." Once again, Marc Spector is depicted as being in regular therapy with a psychologist to help manage his psychological issues. The series also offers that Marc Spector may be immortal, as he has now been literally resurrected on multiple occasions and could be resurrected again in the future. The volume concluded with issue 30 in December 2023 with the storyline "The Last Days of Moon Knight".
"Moon Knight: Black, White, and Blood".
In April 2022 an anthology series "Moon Knight: Black, White, and Blood" was released alongside the Disney+ series with various stories by creative teams Jonathan Hickman and Chris Bachalo; Marc Guggenheim and artist Jorge Fornes; and writer Murewa Ayodele and Dotun Akanda.
"Vengeance of the Moon Knight Vol. 2".
In September 2023, it was announced that MacKay and Cappuccio would be continuing their Moon Knight saga with "Vengeance of the Moon Knight", with a new Moon Knight emerging following the death of Marc Spector. The series debuted in January 2024.
Fictional character biography.
Origin.
Born in Chicago, Marc Spector is the Jewish-American son of , a rabbi who survived Nazi persecution. In the Othervoid, a realm outside of normal time and space, the entity Khonshu (once worshipped as a moon god by the people of Ancient Egypt) becomes interested in Marc. Khonshu and those like him cannot leave the Othervoid without great difficulty but can create psychic connections with hosts and avatars in the physical universe of Earth. Believing Marc Spector to have a "weak mind" that makes him vulnerable to psychic connection, Khonshu chooses the boy to one day act as his knight and avatar. After Khonshu chooses Marc, the boy discovers by chance that Rabbi Yitz Perlman, a close friend of his family, is really a Nazi named Ernst who continues to target and murder Jews. Marc fights Perlman and escapes. Perlman then disappears without a trace.
Soon afterward, Marc Spector begins showing signs of dissociative identity disorder. Marc believes he meets and befriends a boy named Steven Grant, not realizing he himself is acting as Steven at times. In a vision, Marc sees Khonshu promising to one day heal the boy's mind. Khonshu, being an entity who has multiple aspects to his personality and exists out of phase with normal time and space, later claims that Marc's alters are the result of his mind trying to echo the moon god's own multi-faceted nature.
As a teenager, Marc exhibits another alter in addition to Steven named Jake Lockley. The appearance of this third alter leads Marc's parents to send him to live at Putnam Psychiatric Hospital. Released to attend his father's funeral, Marc escapes and joins the U.S. Marine Corps, where he becomes a formidable combatant and a trained heavy-weight boxer. After Marc serves three years in Force Recon, the Marines discover he lied on his paperwork and conclude his history of mental illness makes him "unfit for duty". He is discharged and earns a living as an underground boxer and fighter in Baghdad until he is recruited by French pilot and mercenary Jean-Paul “Frenchie” DuChamp. The two work together on several assignments. During this time, Spector encounters CIA operative Jason Macendale, who later becomes the costumed mercenary Jack O'Lantern and then becomes the second villain to adopt the name Hobgoblin. Marc's brother Randall Spector becomes a mercenary as well, but is driven by bloodlust. In Italy, Randall kills Marc's girlfriend Lisa. After a violent confrontation, Marc leaves Randall for dead. Randall later recovers from his injuries.
Eventually, Frenchie and Marc meet mercenary Raoul Bushman, who is impressed by their work and recruits them to help with certain jobs. Spector considers that morally he exists in the center between Frenchie, a good man with a firm moral center, and Bushman, a ruthless, often amoral man who takes pride in his ability to kill. Spector and Frenchie accept a contract with Bushman helping a local warlord in the Sudan quell a rebellion. One of the rebels they shoot down is Marc's own brother Randall, though Marc is unaware of this and does not even know that Randall is in the area. Despite his bullet wounds, Randall survives, convinced Marc recognized him and deliberately tried to kill him.
Marc Spector is appalled at Bushman's bloodlust and that he targets civilians as well as enemy combatants. Bushman kills Dr. Peter Alraune, an archeologist whose team (which includes his daughter Marlene Alraune) recently unearthed a hidden tomb. Bushman intends to loot the tomb and kill any witnesses. Spector scares off Marlene, saving her life, and then engages Bushman in combat. Defeated, Spector is injured and abandoned in the desert without food or shelter, suffering in the freezing temperature of the night. Despite this, he makes his way back to civilization before collapsing, near-death. Locals carry him into the tomb and leave him before a statue of Khonshu, moon god and protector of travelers at night. Marlene realizes Marc saved her life earlier and prepares to mourn him as his heart stops. Moments later, Marc Spector revives, fully healed. He claims to have seen the moon god Khonshu and been chosen to now act as the moon's "knight of vengeance", the "fist of Khonshu". Marlene believes this was a dream or delusion. Marc takes a silver, hooded cloak from the statue of Khonshu, adopting it as his own. Randall watches this all from nearby. As soon as Marc leaves, Randall presents himself to the same statue of Khonshu, hoping to also be blessed with power and have his wounds healed. When nothing happens, he resents Marc for winning the moon god's favor instead.
"Werewolf By Night, Hulk!" Magazine", Moon Knight" vol. 1 (1975–1984).
After confronting and defeating Bushman, Spector returns to America with Frenchie, now joined by Marlene and determined to become a crimefighter called Moon Knight, adopting a white and silver kevlar bodysuit coupled with Khonshu's hooded cloak. When asked why he would wear white and silver while operating at night, Moon Knight answers he is meant to be a light in the darkness and that he and Khonshu want their enemies to know he is coming. To fund his activities and gain influence in business, Spector uses his Steven Grant identity to start a business and make some careful investments, turning his mercenary profits into a small fortune. Buying a mansion for his home base, Spector/Grant then funds the creation of crimefighting equipment and weaponry, including the "Moon Copter." To help gain knowledge from street criminals and civilians, Marc becomes a taxicab driver as Jake Lockley. Lockley quickly makes friends with diner manager Gena Landers, and her sons Ray and Rick. Ray, a pilot, later becomes an ally of Moon Knight, piloting the Moon Copter when Frenchie is unavailable. Moon Knight also befriends Bertrand Crawley, a former textbook salesperson who is now homeless and operates as a street informant.
Learning of the criminal network known as the Committee, Moon Knight accepts an assignment from the group and pretends to agree with their agenda. Armed with silver weaponry, Moon Knight is sent to fight the werewolf Jack Russell in Los Angeles. After capturing the werewolf, Moon Knight later frees him and together they halt the Committee's plans. Moon Knight then battles a variety of enemies and criminals, some on his own, some while teaming-up with heroes such as Spider-Man, Daredevil, Dr. Strange, the X-Men, and the Fantastic Four. His own brother Randall, having recovered from their last fight, embarks on a career as the Hatchet-Man, an axe-wielding serial killer who targets women. Moon Knight fights the Hatchet-Man, who seemingly dies during their battle. Years later, Moon Knight learned that the Hatchet-Man who died was an impostor. Randall had used drugs and psychological manipulation to convince the impostor he was the real Randall Spector, even having him undergo plastic surgery so they would be identical. Having faked his death, Randall hides and plans his next move against Marc.
During one adventure, Spector encounters the Midnight Man, a thief named Anton Mogart who steals for the thrill and wears a black costume resembling Moon Knight's own suit. During his battle with Moon Knight, Midnight Man falls into the New York River, seemingly to his death. In truth, he survives but his face is deformed by acidic sewage. Swearing vengeance, Midnight Man joins forces with Bushman and lures Moon Knight into a trap. Moon Knight survives and Midnight Man escapes again. Later, after gaining a greater sense of peace with his past and his deceased father, Marc Spector decides to largely retire his Moon Knight identity and focus on living a quieter life with Marlene at his side.
"Moon Knight" vol. 2 "Fist of Khonshu" and "West Coast Avengers" (1985–1989).
Marlene and Marc Spector set up Spector International Galleries, an art business that curates and organizes collections and exhibits. When Marc Spector has visions of Khonshu summoning him, he decides to return to Egypt and investigate. Convinced Marc is delusional and only thinks he sees visions and hears voices, Marlene leaves him. In Egypt, Spector meets priests of Khonshu who supply him with a new arsenal of moon-themed weaponry and declare he will now be a true vengeance avatar, the Fist of Khonshu. The moon god then blesses him with increased strength depending on how much moon light shines down on Earth. With his new power and weapons, Moon Knight defeats a villainous priest of Anubis, god of death.
After returning to America, Moon Knight works with the newly formed West Coast Avengers, although this distances him even further from Frenchie and Marlene. He time travels to 2940 BC to rescue the Avengers, where he gains replacement weapons designed by fellow Avenger Hawkeye. He then officially joins the West Coast Avengers and enters a brief romantic relationship with Tigra. Moon Knight and the Avengers are later attacked by soldiers working for Khonshu's rival, Seth, who is invading Asgard. Khonshu abandons Moon Knight to battle Seth. He then explains it was his wish that Spector join the Avengers and so he influenced Moon Knight's mind to do so. Following Seth's defeat, Moon Knight resigns from the team. Moon Knight also gives up the Egyptian themed replacement weapons designed by Hawkeye. This act of independence, and his defiance to remain in the Avengers simply because Khonshu wishes it, evidently causes Marc to lose his lunar-based superhuman strength as punishment.
"Marc Spector: Moon Knight" (1989–1994).
After reuniting with Marlene and Frenchie, Marc Spector sets up a new home in a mansion in South Hampton, Long Island, NY, expands his business into Spector Enterprises, and resumes his activities as Moon Knight. Soon afterward, he and the Black Cat cross paths with a new thief Midnight who wears the costume of the Midnight Man. Moon Knight learns the thief is 18-year-old Jeffrey Wilde, son of Anton Mogart. Wilde reveals Mogart discovered he had contracted cancer due to the same chemicals that disfigured him and spent his final days in a hospice, where Wilde tracked him down. The two bonded and learned from each other. Following Mogart's death, Wilde adopted his father's costume and performed dynamic thefts to impress Moon Knight, hoping to convince the hero to let him become his sidekick. As Midnight, Wilde hopes to make up for his father's criminal past while finding his own purpose in life.
Despite Moon Knight's protests that he does not need a sidekick, Midnight follows him into new adventures and is able to gain some training during adventures with the Punisher and with the mercenaries Silver Sable, Sandman, and Paladin. Over time, Wilde concludes that Moon Knight's ethics and methods are too much responsibility and that he prefers to pursue excitement. He grows to resent Moon Knight, believing the hero owes him more respect and is responsible for the death of his father (since their battle indirectly led to Mogart being exposed to toxic chemicals).
Marc Spector is kidnapped and brought to the country of Bosqueverde in South America. He is put on trial for his actions while acting as a mercenary during a previous regime change, including causing the death of Ricardo Dominguez, the previous president whom Spector instinctively shot in self defense when the man reached for a gun. Marlene leads a rescue effort with Frenchie. Left alone in New York City, Jeff Wilde performs thefts using Moon Knight's costume and equipment and stumbles onto a meeting between members of the Secret Empire terrorist cult. He barely escapes. In Bosqueverde, Spector is found guilty but is able to bargain with the new regime and have his sentence overturned.
Wilde runs into Spider-Man, who realizes he is an impostor. Panicking, Wilde tries to escape only to then be hunted by the Secret Empire. He is saved by Spider-Man and the real Moon Knight. Angry that he panicked and determined to prove himself, Wilde challenges one of the Secret Empire leaders, Number VI, to attack him. Number VI strikes Wilde with an energy blade that burns his body instantly. The Secret Empire then takes Wilde away, leading Moon Knight to pursue, aided by Spider-Man and the Punisher. After facing several Secret Empire agents, the heroes are told that Jeff Wilde died from his injuries and computer records confirm it. In truth, the Secret Empire rebuilds Wilde as a cyborg so he can be their living weapon. Blaming Moon Knight for his injuries and abandoning him, as well as for his father's death, Wilde swears revenge. Meanwhile, Moon Knight resumes his activities, feeling guilty that he may have been able to prevent Wilde's death if he had acted differently or had been a better influence on the boy.
Moon Knight encounters members of the Knights of the Moon, soldiers of a rogue faction of the Cult of Khonshu. This particular cell of the Knights of the Moon are led by Plasma, a mutant terrorist they believe to be the true chosen champion of Khonshu. Plasma is determined to convince different groups and cults she is their messiah, chosen by various gods, so she can then use her new followers to achieve global domination. Together with Ghost Rider, Moon Knight defeats Plasma's soldiers. Plasma inadvertently causes her own death when she does not heed Moon Knight's warning. The experience shakes Moon Knight, leading him to question if he is also misguided in his belief that he follows the will of Khonshu.
While fighting the lethal vigilante Stained-Glass Scarlet, Moon Knight is seriously injured and then falls into New York's East River from the top of the Brooklyn Bridge. After making impact with the water, Marc experiences visions of both Khonshu and his father, leading him to realize Khonshu is not limited to vengeance and is also a god of justice, offering people redemption just as he was offered the chance to be a hero after years of being a mercenary. Emerging from the water, Marc has already partially recovered from his knife wound. He believes he died from his injuries and the fall but that Khonshu resurrected him once again. Seeing himself now as a light in the darkness rather than simply a warrior, Marc shares his personal story with Scarlet, offering sympathy and redemption if she gives up her crusade and turns herself into the authorities. Believing she has failed God and is unworthy of redemption, Scarlet leaps to her death.
Moon Knight learns from Spider-Man that Jeff Wilde AKA Midnight is alive, now operating as a cyborg warrior for the Secret Empire. Believing Wilde is not in his right mind and can be redeemed, Moon Knight tries to rescue him, fighting the Secret Empire alongside the heroes Spider-Man, Darkhawk, the Punisher, Nova and Night Thrasher. Encouraged by his nurse Lynn Church (whom he is now in love with), Wilde attempts a coup so he can lead the Secret Empire. During a final climactic battle, Wilde realizes that Lynn Church has been manipulating him and sees him as a weapon. Once again feeling betrayed by those he put faith in, Wilde destroys the Secret Empire's main base in New York City, seemingly killing himself and Church in the process. Moon Knight once again mourns Wilde, regretting that he did not know how to reach the young man.
Moon Knight encounters Jason Macendale (Hobgoblin) while the mercenary is possessed by a demon (an entity later called Demogoblin). During the encounter, the demon infects Moon Knight with a demonic parasite. Unaware of the infection, Moon Knight continues his crime-fighting activities. He and the Punisher encounter the renegade branch of the Cult of Khonshu again and its new leader Sandal Swarn, a former CIA operative who now calls herself Princess Nepthys, a former CIA operative and the lover of Randall Spector. Using mind-control techniques she learned in the CIA, she was able to convince an impostor to assume Randall's identity as the Hatchet-Man and fight Moon Knight, leading to the man's death. Assuming a leadership role in the Cult of Khonshu following Plasma's death, Nepthys declares that Randall will be Khonshu's true knight of vengeance. Randall and Nepthys destroy Moon Knight's house in a bombing that leaves Frenchie paralyzed. Calling himself ShadowKnight, Randall undergoes experimental treatment by Nepthys that gives him superhuman resiliency to injury thanks to a shell over his skin. During their battle, Moon Knight sees an ancient scroll that seems to confirm Khonshu is dedicated to justice rather than vengeance. Moon Knight is able to crack ShadowKnight's shell with an adamantium weapon. Punisher executes Nepthys and later unleashes heavy gunfire on ShadowKnight, who suffers extensive internal injuries before then suffering a seemingly fatal fall.
Following the destruction of his home, Marc Spector sets up a new "ShadowKeep" lair in the Lower West Side of Manhattan, nearby SpectorCorp headquarters. To advise him on his operations, his council "the Shadow Cabinet" meet at the ShadowKeep via holographic transmission and use codenames. The Shadow Cabinet includes tech expert Stash, business woman Penny Annie, low-level crime boss Don G, and psychologist Sigmund, who also acts as Marc's therapist.
Soon afterward, the demonic parasite in his body causes Marc's strength to steadily increase even as his health and physical form deteriorate. To compensate for his health problems, he exchanges his kevlar Moon Knight armor for a new suit of light-weight adamantium armor right before he illegally enters the consulate of Latveria to confront the country's monarch Doctor Doom. The Avengers, a team that relies on cooperation with the US government and the United Nations, learn Moon Knight gained help in invading the consulate by showing his credentials as an Avengers reservist and implying he was on an official mission. During the "Infinity War" event, Moon Knight fights an alien-created doppleganger called Moon Shade who then absorbs the life force of different Moon Knights from parallel realities. This leads Moon Knight to meet a few of his multiversal counterparts, including the crime-fighting dynamic duo known as MoonMan and MoonBoy.
Following the Infinity War, Doctor Strange and Mister Fantastic operate on Moon Knight and remove the parasite. Moon Knight is warned it will not be certain until 48 hours have passed whether or not the damage done by the parasite is fatal. Marc Spector contemplates who could be the new Moon Knight if he dies. After deciding two candidates chosen by his "legacy quest" program are not suitable, Spector tries to recruit photojournalist Peter Parker, not realizing the young man is also Spider-Man. After Parker declines, Moon Knight gives up finding a successor. He is relieved when the 48 hour mark passes and his health remains stable. A side effect seems to be that his eyes now have a crescent-moon mark over the irises (though this mutation vanishes in later stories). Afterward, the Avengers confront Moon Knight about his abuse of his team reservist status to confront Doctor Doom. The hero decides to simplify matters by resigning his membership and burning his Avengers ID card.
A technological villain called Seth the Immortal and his "Zero Hour" program threaten Moon Knight and all his allies. During a desperate battle, Moon Knight defeats Seth by blowing up his office with both of them inside, sacrificing himself in the process. Marlene is present and holds him as he dies. He is buried by his friends on the grounds of the estate he purchased as Steven Grant.
"Moon Knight" vol. 3 – "Resurrection Wars"; "Moon Knight" vol. 4 – "High Strangeness".
When the god Seth selects his own avatar to act on Earth and perform acts of destruction, Khonshu responds. Marc Spector wakes up in his grave and has a vision of being tasked with resuming his life as a champion of the moon. In the mansion of Steven Grant, Marlene and Frenchie witness a statue of Khonshu seemingly explode, revealing a living and fully healed Marc Spector. Marc's latest resurrection (his third) and the fact that the Khonshu statue magically returns, fully repaired, finally convinces Marlene that Moon Knight does not suffer delusions and is in fact the chosen avatar of the moon god.
For a time, Moon Knight decides to allow the world to continue believing Marc Spector is dead and chooses instead to focus on his other identities of Moon Knight, Steven Grant, and Jake Lockley. Despite this, news surfaces that Marc Spector is alive, leading to assassination attempts.
"Moon Knight" vol. 5 (2006–2009).
For reasons unexplained, Moon Knight abandons his belief that his role includes understanding his enemies and offering redemption and now acts with greater violence and brutality. Defeating Bushman after a vicious battle, Moon Knight goes further by carving off the villain's face. Spector is then haunted by Khonshu, who chooses a faceless Bushman as his representation. Frenchie reveals he is homosexual or bisexual and that he has been so loyal to Marc in part because he is in love with him, though he knows these feelings are not felt in return.
The new Secret Committee hires the Profile, who has superhuman analytical skills, to help trap Moon Knight. After the plan fails, Profile becomes a reluctant confidante and source of information for Spector himself. Around this time, some heroes take notice that Moon Knight is now more violent and ruthless and attempt to speak to him about it. Moon Knight discovers his would-be sidekick Midnight may still be alive. Moon Knight is later forced into a final confrontation with Midnight. No longer attempting reconciliation, Moon Knight seemingly kills him for good.
The new Superhero Registration Act, enforced by registered heroes such as Iron Man, requires superhumans and costumed champions to register as agents of the government agency S.H.I.E.L.D. or be imprisoned. After prodding from Khonshu, Moon Knight reluctantly registers, not wanting authorities to interfere with his agenda. To be approved for registration requires a psychiatric exam. Believing Moon Knight to be mentally unstable and thinking he could become worse if he finds himself in conflict with the Registration Act or its enforcement, Tony Stark and the government have no intention of granting Marc Spector approval. The psychiatrist agrees and is about to make the decision official, even suggesting possible future imprisonment. Spector then seems to speak in the voice of Khonshu and points out the doctor's own antisocial tendencies (as told to Moon Knight earlier by the Profile). The psychiatrist gives Moon Knight a pass on his exam and literally bows in deference to Khonshu.
Moon Knight shows little regard for his registration status or his registered colleagues. Carson Knowles, the Black Spectre, steals Stark nanotechnology and attempts to frame him for murder. Moon Knight later confronts Knowles and pushes him off a rooftop, apparently causing a fatal fall. Iron Man revokes Moon Knight's registration and buries the fact that Black Spectre stole his technology. Rather than be imprisoned as an unregistered vigilante, Marc Spector gives up his role as Moon Knight but continues to fight crime clandestinely while wearing an entirely black costume. He considers that crimefighting is easier without the use of an alias or "costume recognition." After realizing this change in methodology means he no longer has the insight and protection of Khonshu, he pleads for the moon god's forgiveness only to be told in a vision that he is no longer needed when Khonshu has other, more faithful followers.
Despite having seemingly retired from vigilante activities, Moon Knight is targeted by the Thunderbolts, former villains led by Norman Osborn (the Green Goblin) who now act as enforcers of the Registration Act. To lure Moon Knight into resurfacing, the Thunderbolts arrange for the Whyos gang to attacks Frenchie's restaurant, resulting in his lover Rob being injured. As hoped, Spector becomes Moon Knight again to avenge his friend. Spector fights the villain Bullseye, an operative of the Thunderbolts at this time. Moon Knight lures the assassin into a warehouse where he then sets off explosives. While Bullseye escapes, it is believed Moon Knight was killed, leading Iron Man to publicly denounce the Thunderbolts and its methods, blaming the group for the explosion. Jake Lockley, having now resurfaced and become the dominant alter, relocates to Mexico. After hiding for a time, Lockley crosses paths with local Mexican criminal cartels and encounters the Punisher again, as well as an avatar of Toltec.
In the U.S., the organization S.H.I.E.L.D. is shut down and replaced by H.A.M.M.E.R., led by Norman Osborn. Concerned about Osborn now being in charge of enforcing, imprisoning, and controlling registered superheroes, Lockley decides to adopt the Moon Knight identity again and return to NYC.
"Vengeance of the Moon Knight" (2009–2010).
Returning to New York, Lockley regrets Moon Knight's recent acts of ruthlessness. He tries to make amends to Marlene and Frenchie for his recent behavior. Determined Moon Knight must again be more heroic, he decides never to kill enemies or cause more injury than necessary in the future. Khonshu, now taking the form of a man in the Moon Knight costume with a bird skull, tests Lockley's resolve by repeatedly goading him to kill his foes. Moon Knight's efficient crimefighting and non-lethal tactics quickly gain favor with New York's population, angering Norman Osborn who resents failing to capture and imprison the hero before. Osborn hires the villains the Hood and Profile to take down Moon Knight. Using power borrowed from the demonic sorcerer Dormammu, the Hood resurrects Raoul Bushman.
Bushman and the villain Scarecrow break into Ravencroft Asylum where they perform brain surgery on several patients, then manipulate them into attacking New York City. After quelling the attack, Moon Knight subdues Bushman. Despite Khonshu demanding lethal vengeance, Moon Knight spares Bushman's life, satisfied the villain will be incarcerated.
"Secret Avengers" (2010–2012).
After ordering an attack on Asgard and having his corruption and insanity exposed, Norman Osborn is removed from power. In the wake of H.A.M.M.E.R. being dissolved, the Registration Act is undone, meaning Moon Knight and other unregistered heroes are no longer fugitives. Steve Rogers, the original Captain America, recruits Moon Knight to the new team Secret Avengers, with Steven Grant becoming the dominant identity. On one mission, Moon Knight adopts a simple white suit and mask rather than his usual body armor and hooded cape.
During the events of "Shadowland", the hero Daredevil is possessed by the Beast, a demon worshipped by the ninja assassin clan known as The Hand. Moon Knight joins a group of heroes on an assault on Daredevil's Shadowland fortress. Daredevil almost kills Moon Knight, but Khonshu appears and asks Marc's life be spared. Daredevil is able to see the moon god and concedes, leaving Moon Knight. Khonshu then reveals he needs Moon Knight to track down an artifact called the Sapphire Crescent. He must also fight and likely kill Randall Spector, who is still alive and operating as Shadow Knight again. Moon Knight and Shadow Knight track down the Sapphire Crescent in New Orleans. During another battle, Randall threatens a hostage. Seeing no other choice, Moon Knight uses the Sapphire Crescent against his brother to save the hostage, killing Randall in the process. Jake Lockley suffers a mental breakdown as a result, going dormant as the host, Marc Spector, becomes dominant again.
"Moon Knight" vol. 6 (2011–12).
Marc Spector relocates to Los Angeles and creates a TV show based on his own exploits called "Legends of the Khonshu". Secretly, he continues fighting crime as Moon Knight. But now, along with existing as Marc/Moon Knight, he also displays three new alters based on imitating the personalities of Spider-Man, Wolverine, and Steve Rogers. Moon Knight teams up with the superhero Echo against Count Nefaria. Nefaria strikes back and Echo is killed. This sends Moon Knight's Wolverine alter into a berserker rage, seemingly causing the deaths of Marc's alters based on Captain America and Spider-Man.
Moon Knight fights Nefaria and his daughter Madame Masque, then shows a new alter based on the personality of Echo, who asks that she not die in vain. After further battle, Moon Knight summons the Avengers for help and Nefaria is defeated. Iron Man commends Marc Spector. After he leaves, Spector seems to develop a new alter based on Iron Man's personality as well. In the epilogue to the series, Spector leaves Los Angeles.
"Avengers vs. X-Men" (2012).
During the events of the "Avengers vs. X-Men" storyline, Moon Knight is partnered with a small team of Avengers and battles some members of the X-Men team. At one point, Moon Knight grabs Rogue with his bare hand. Able to absorb the memories, powers, and life force of those she makes skin-to-skin contact with, Rogue experiences temporary madness as she absorbs the perspectives of Marc Spector's different alters. Later, Moon Knight is invited to Stark Tower to celebrate the return of Janet van Dyne, who had been thought killed in battle years before.
"Moon Knight" vol. 7 (2014–2015).
Spector returns to New York. His identity and past now a matter of public record, Marc regularly utilizes two versions of the Moon Knight identity. When engaging in battle with high-tech equipment, he dons a new Moon Knight body armor and sometimes uses shamanic tools of Khonshu such as an enchanted skull helmet. When dealing with crime scene investigation and consulting openly with law enforcement, Spector dons only his mask and the white business suit he briefly wore during his time with the Secret Avengers, calling himself Mr. Knight.
Deciding he needs to manage his mental health better, Marc Spector meets with a psychologist who determines that he does not have dissociative identity disorder (DID) as some have hypothesized in the past or some form of schizophrenia. In truth, he has a form of brain damage due to his brain being physically altered by Khonshu, who is a real entity from another world or dimension and altered Marc to create a conduit between them. Marc's different personalities are a result of his mind adjusting to the four different aspects of Khonshu's nature and aspects. It is why he sometimes has four alters existing simultaneously but never more. Moon Knight encounters another renegade Cult of Khonshu, though this cell targets the homeless and other marginalized people, making them new cult members as well or using them as human sacrifices.
"Moon Knight" vol. 8 (2016–2017).
Marc Spector wakes up in a mental institute with no recollection of his past or how he got there. The staff, led by Dr. Emmet, seems to have supernatural powers and thwart Marc's attempts to recover his past. Marc is shown evidence that he is a mentally ill man who has convinced himself he is also Moon Knight, a vigilante he has seen on the news. Khonshu contacts Marc and explains that Emmet is an avatar like him, one who is connected to the Othervoid god Ammit. Khonshu decides it is now time for him to completely dominate Marc Spector's body. Marc denies Khonshu and fights him with the help of all of his alters. Marc accepts that whether they are the result of childhood trauma or Khonshu's interference, his alters are a part of him and have been for most of his life. After defeating Emmet and Khonshu, Marc resumes his life as Moon Knight, determined to be a protector and crime-fighter on his own terms rather than as a tool of anyone else. Later, Marc and Khonshu resume their bond.
"Crazy Runs in the Family" (2018).
After re-appropriating Khonshu, Marc Spector resumes his normal life and his Moon Knight activities. Raoul Bushman collaborates with a mysterious mental patient only referred to as "Patient 86", who becomes an avatar of Ra and calls himself the Sun King. Together they come up with a plot to kill Moon Knight. To accomplish their plan, Bushman and Sun King go to Marlene's house and discovered she and Jake Lockley had a child together, a revelation that shocks Marc Spector and Steven Grant. Raoul and Sun King then kidnap Marlene and lure Moon Knight to an island base. With Khonshu's guidance, Moon Knight is able to overpower Sun King, although Bushman escapes.
"The Age of Khonshu".
Deciding to take over Earth to protect it, Khonshu compels Moon Knight to acquire power for him. With enhanced abilities and insight, and convinced that Khonshu's plan is the only way to protect Earth from the demon lord Mephisto and others, Moon Knight takes the power of Iron Fist, Ghost Rider's hellfire, Thor's hammer Mjolnir, and some of Dr. Strange's magic. With this and more, Khonshu begins to reshape Earth. During a battle with the Black Panther, Moon Knight temporarily becomes a host for the cosmic Phoenix Force. But rather than allow the Phoenix power to "cleanse" the Earth by wiping out humanity, Moon Knight releases the power even while the Avengers defeat Khonshu. The Asgardians imprison Khonshu and Moon Knight is allowed to return to his activities. The Black Panther offers him membership in the Avengers again, but he refuses, preferring to focus on battles he understands and angry at Khonshu's extreme actions.
"Moon Knight" vol. 9 (2021).
Despite believing that Khonshu is a god unworthy of his worship, Marc Spector still considers himself to be spiritually connected to the deity, and decides to continue acting not only as a knight of the moon god but also as a priest of his teachings. He creates the Midnight Mission, a religious congregation following the teachings of Khonshu. As its high priest, Marc adopts his Mr. Knight suit and mask as his official religious vestments. Living at the Midnight Mission, he offers aid to listen to anyone who visits and needs his help. As Moon Knight, Spector frees several people who were kidnapped by vampires and unwillingly made into vampires themselves. Rather than condemn them, he offers them sympathy. One of the new vampires, a woman named Reese, takes a job as Marc's assistant at the Midnight Mission.
He crosses paths with Dr. Badr/Hunter's Moon, who proclaims himself to be the second fist of Khonshu and believes that Moon Knight's path must be "corrected' after straying from Khonshu's methods of vengeance. After defeating Hunter's Moon in combat, Moon Knight confronts enemies sent after him by the villain Zodiac, leading to a direct confrontation between the two.
During the "Devil's Reign" storyline, Mayor Wilson Fisk passes a law that outlaws superheroes. Moon Knight is the first to be apprehended by Thunderbolts members Agony, Electro II, Rhino, and U.S. Agent. While incarcerated in the Myrmidon, Marc Spector befriended a revived 8-Ball and took part in its prison fights.
During "The Last Days of Moon Knight" storyline, Moon Knight and his allies fought against a resurrected Robert Plesko who was reborn to be the latest incarnation of Black Spectre. Black Spectre badly wounded Moon Knight and revealed his plans to make the city go mad and kill itself. With Khonshu unable to help Moon Knight and vowing to be there for him in the afterlife, Moon Knight sees Steven Grant and Jake Lockley by his side and dies destroying the resonator control panel. The rest of the Midnight Mission plans to carry on without Moon Knight.
"Vengeance of the Moon Knight" vol. 2 (2024).
Following the death of Marc Spector, a new individual takes up the Moon Knight moniker. After coming into conflict with Spector's allies running his Midnight Mission, he is eventually unmasked and revealed to be the Shroud.
During the "Blood Hunt" storyline, Moon Knight is revived by Khonshu after he was freed from his Asgardian prison by Tigra, Hunter's Moon, and Wrecker. He leads some of the Fists of Khonshu to New York to help fight the vampires.
Powers and abilities.
Skills and training.
Moon Knight is an Olympic-level athlete and a skilled acrobat who excels at combat strategy. Spector is a superb driver and can pilot a helicopter. Thanks to his life experience and training as a U.S. Marine, boxer, and mercenary, Marc Spector became an expert at hand-to-hand combat, marksmanship, boxing, kung fu, eskrima, judo, karate, ninjutsu, savate, and Muay Thai. Moon Knight's fighting style combines elements of various combat techniques and relies heavily on adaptability, using the environment to his advantage, intimidating his opponents, and accepting a certain level of pain and injury. The villain and mercenary Taskmaster, who can perfectly replicate fighting styles, has stated he prefers not to copy Moon Knight since the hero would sometimes rather take a punch than block or dodge it. Moon Knight is shown to possess a very high tolerance for pain and torture. Moon Knight is also an expert detective. Investigation is an important part of his stories, where he is often aided by his other personalities. Jake Lockley gathers information on the street level, Steven Grant among the rich and influential figures, and Mr. Knight works with the NYPD investigating police cases.
Technology and equipment.
As Moon Knight, Spector typically wears lightweight, kevlar body armor and a specially constructed, silver glider-cape that can catch winds and thermal updrafts. He typically wears metal bracers on his wrists and calves. Later costumes have added metal plates providing extra protection to his chest and shoulders. Moon Knight employs a variety of weapons over the course of his career, many of which involve or are made of silver. His most commonly used weapons are his silver crescent-darts (some of which are blunt, some of which are blades) and an adamantium-reinforced truncheon that can fire a grappling hook and extend into a bō staff. At times, he has also used nunchaku and a compound bow. For a brief time, Moon Knight wore gauntlets with spiked knuckles.
At one point, Moon Knight accepted golden and ivory Egyptian-themed weapons created by followers of Khonshu. These included bolas, golden scarab-shaped darts, an ivory boomerang, throwing irons, an axe-shaped lasso-grapple, and a golden ankh-shaped blunt weapon which glowed in the presence of danger. These items were later replaced with duplicate weapons designed by Hawkeye.
In a period while suffering from health issues, Moon Knight adopts thin, lightweight adamantium armor for greater protection. During this time, he acquires an adamantium staff, a truncheon capable of firing a cable line, and gauntlets that fire crescent darts.
During the events of "Dark Reign," the Tinkerer makes Moon Knight carbonadium armor with joint-locking functions, reinforcing his strength. Moon Knight uses this feature to support a building from collapsing, despite a lack of superhuman strength. Additionally, the armor could instantly assemble around his body after being triggered by remote control.
For transportation, Moon Knight employs a variety of sophisticated aircraft such as the Mooncopter and the Angelwing, a mini-jet featuring VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) and 20mm cannons. At times, Moon Knight has also used a white, customized motorcycle, a remote-controlled white limousine, and a remote-controlled crescent-shaped drone/glider capable of carrying a single person.
During the onset of the "Age of Khonshu" event, Marc was provided by the cult who worships his divinity with magical Ankhs that enabled him to drain away and utilize the primordial powers bestowed upon Earth's Mightiest through their colorful prehistoric ancestry. Taking the powers of The Iron Fist from Daniel Rand, the vengeance spirit Zarathos from The Ghost Rider alongside his hellcharger, and the mystical abilities pertaining to the Sorcerer Supreme Doctor Strange. He acquired these with the intent of assimilating those of the Star Brand, the Phoenix Force and the Odin-Force-imbued Mjolnir belonging to All-Father Thor as well.
Superpowers.
On more than one occasion, Marc Spector has died and then been resurrected by the other-dimensional entity Khonshu. It is not known if Khonshu will continually do this, making Marc Spector effectively immortal, or if he will only do this until he chooses a new champion.
Due to his brain being altered by Khonshu, Marc Spector is more resistant to telepathic and psychic attack than the average person. He sometimes experiences visions of prophecy or enhanced insight. Some initially believed these visions were delusions or inspired simply by Spector inadvertently performing self-hypnosis, but it is now known that Khonshu is real and grants him these visions. It has been implied in several stories that Marc's connection to Khonshu and this supernatural insight increases when he wears his Moon Knight costume, as it represents "vestments" of the moon god. The villain-for-hire Profile has a superhuman analysis ability that does not function properly on beings with supernatural/magic-based abilities, and remarked that he found it painful to look at Marc Spector whenever the hero donned his Moon Knight costume. Profile was not sure if this was due to Spector's mental illness or if wearing the costume helped Moon Knight tap directly into the moon god's power.
During the time that Moon Knight adopted golden and ivory weapons (symbolizing his status as the Fist of Khonshu), his strength, endurance, and reflexes would increase depending on the phases of the moon, operating on a superhuman level during a full moon night. Even during a new moon, he can lift several hundred pounds. Although some believed this superhuman strength had nothing to do with Khonshu and was the result of self-hypnosis, it is now known that Khonshu is real and is directly connected to Marc Spector. Khonshu later removed this power from Moon Knight as punishment for disobedience and has never returned it.
After the "Serpent War", Marc's patron deity Khonshu opted to further empower his champion on Earth with all new abilities in preparation for the rise of Mephistopheles. By giving his herald the lion share of the moon supremacy's power; Marc would be endowed with all the abilities of his namesake as the Fist of Khonshu along with a couple others outside of the criteria. He is granted the transformational capability to change to and from his costumed identity at will, on top of powers over lunar effects such as creating astral rock formations consisting of planetary orbital satellites, raising and commanding the dead; mummies loyal to his divinity, lunar empowerment under the supermoon created by Khonshu's will and the ability to survive unaided in the cold recesses of space without life support. These powers gave Moon Knight enough raw might to battle and defeat the world's most powerful heroes, the Avengers.
For a brief time, Moon Knight became a host avatar for the immortal Phoenix Force, the cosmological raptor that governs life, death and rebirth throughout the universe and potentially the multiverse. Possessing all the typical skills and abilities of an Avatar to the cosmic entity regarding cosmic pyrokinesis, telekinesis, flight, etc.
Supporting characters.
Throughout his different stories, certain supporting characters frequently help Marc Spector in his activities as Moon Knight.
Rogues gallery.
While Moon Knight has fought many famous villains of the Marvel Universe, he has also accumulated his own rogues gallery of villains that have a personal connection to him and/or rarely appear outside of his own stories. Moon Knight's major recurring enemies include:
Cultural impact and legacy.
Critical response.
Matt Attanasio of "ComicsVerse" referred to Moon Knight as the "excellent example of how anyone can suffer from a mental illness and manage to overcome such an illness," writing, "When you look at Moon Knight’s story as a whole, it appears to be more and more of a story about perseverance, endurance, and coming to grips with who you are. That’s an extremely universal story. That’s something anyone can relate to, in one way or another. It’s a call to believe in yourself, and to never give up. And, really, that’s one of the most heroic tales you can get." "Syfy" called Moon Knight an "unusual fan favorite," saying, "For decades, some fans have affectionately called Moon Knight "Marvel’s Batman." But that's not a strictly accurate way to describe the Fist of Khonshu, who's his own man. [...] While Spector's public cover as a millionaire is definitely Bruce Wayne-lite, what separates the Moon Knight from the Dark Knight is that he has three secret identities. Chase Magnett of "ComicBook.com" stated, "Ever since Moon Knight premiered in the pages of "Werewolf by Night" in 1975, he has been a cult favorite among superhero fans. It took until 1980 for the complicated hero and his many personalities to get their own ongoing series. It was a hit from the very start with two of the great talents of the era doing career-defining work (we'll get to who). That high bar has encouraged a lot of others to take similarly distinctive shots at the character ever since."
"Comic Book Resources" ranked Moon Knight 3rd in their "Marvel: 10 Best Street Level Heroes" list, 5th in their "10 Most Fashionable Marvel Heroes" list, and 9th in their "10 Most Powerful Members of The Secret Avengers" list. Matthew Perpetua Kibblesmith of "BuzzFeed" ranked Moon Knight 48th in their "84 Avengers Members Ranked From Worst To Best" list. Darren Franich "Entertainment Weekly" ranked Moon Knight 80th in their "Let's Rank Every Avenger Ever" list, calling him a "great character on his own." "IGN" ranked Moon Knight 49th in their "Top 50 Avengers" list, and 89th in their "Top 100 Comics Book Heroes" list. "Wizard" ranked Moon Knight 149th in their "top 200 Comic Book Characters" list.
Comparisons to Batman.
Charlie Huston, writer of the 2006 re-launch of "Moon Knight", attempted to answer the criticism that Moon Knight is an ersatz Batman in an interview with Comixfan writer Remy Minnick. Minnick noted that the comparison is not baseless, as both Moon Knight and the Dark Knight are wealthy, "normal" humans who fight crime with detective skills, cover identities, skilled confidants, and are equipped with high-tech gadgetry, personalized air craft, and personalized throwing items. Likewise, Moon Knight briefly had a teenage would-be sidekick, with the Steven Grant identity becoming a billionaire (similar to Bruce Wayne), using the fortune to fund his career as Moon Knight. Huston accepted that the two characters have similarities, but went on to contrast them by noting particular differences in origin, motives, and personality. He said, "Bruce Wayne fights crime to avenge the murders of his parents," whereas Moon Knight "beats up whoever has it coming because he believes he is the avatar of the Egyptian god of vengeance and it helps him to feel better about all the people he killed when he was a mercenary." Thus, Batman is motivated by vengeance for a personal wrong against his parents, while Marc Spector is motivated by vengeance as a concept. Huston further notes that Bruce Wayne, Batman's alter ego, takes on other identities merely to aid in his investigations, while Moon Knight's three alters aid him as much in dealing with personal demons as fighting law-breakers, and had a further psychological toll by apparently causing dissociative identity disorder. Shawn S. Lealos of "Comic Book Resources" wrote, "Too many people call Moon Knight Marvel's version of Batman. There are some similarities, but Moon Knight is a much more complex character than Batman. Yes, both men are wealthy and use their money to front their crime-fighting adventures, but Batman is just a man fighting for good. Moon Knight has a split-personality and struggles to maintain his sanity. He gained the power of super-strength, durability, and stamina from the Moon God Khonshu. He doesn't mind killing, and most superheroes consider him to be completely insane. Sure, some fans compare him to Batman but only on the surface."
Literary reception.
Volumes.
"Vengeance of the Moon Knight" (2009).
According to Diamond Comic Distributors, "Vengeance of the Moon Knight" #1 was the 73rd best selling comic book in September 2009.
Jesse Schedeen of "IGN" gave "Vengeance of the Moon Knight" #1 a grade of 7.5 out of 10, saying, "On the whole, it's simply to early to judge this book one way or the other. I'm not enamored with some of the changes to the Moon Knight formula, but it's clear, if nothing else, that Hurwitz has a handle on his main character. Hopefully this series will strengthen in the coming months and manage to pull in more readers than the last one did. Moon Knight wasn't broken before - it's just that no one seemed to notice it." Chase Magnett of "ComicBook.com" called the "Vengeance of the Moon Knight" comic book series one of the "greatest Moon Knight runs of all time," asserting "This short-lived version of the series, under a new title, emphasized Moon Knight's incredibly violent nature. There is a constant push-pull effect as the character resists his impulses only to give back into them. Few other iterations play into Moon Knight's prior history as a mercenary quite as well, and how that career has warped his personality every bit as much as the mask has."
"Moon Knight" (2014).
According to Diamond Comic Distributors, "Moon Knight" #1 was the 16th best selling book in March 2014.
Doug Zawisza of "Comic Book Resources" said, "While I'm not ready to proclaim "Moon Knight" #1 to be this year's "Hawkeye," this is a magnificent debut issue, which raises many more questions asked than answers. Ellis gives readers plenty of incentive to return for more action and intrigue next issue, and his take on the character fits right between Daredevil and Punisher. The debut issue gives readers exactly enough action and mystery translated through brilliant art to hook them until the next installment. With lines like, "I died before," Ellis proves a sliver of humor hiding under the cowl, but not an overwhelming amount. That humor, combined with the ingenuity and intelligence of Khonshu's disciple makes for a compelling and intriguing "all-new" Moon Knight. Thanks to gorgeous art and smart storytelling, "Moon Knight" #1 is an incredibly strong debut." Benjamin Bailey of "IGN" gave "Moon Knight" #1 a grade of 9.9 out of 10, asserting, ""Moon Knight" #1 is a masterpiece, anyway you cut it. Whether you are a longtime fan or new to the character, this is a comic you need to read. Like, right now. Stop what you are doing and read "Moon Knight"."
"Moon Knight" (2016).
According to Diamond Comic Distributors, "Moon Knight" #1 was the 17th best selling book in April 2016.
Alexander Jones of "ComicsBeat" stated, ""Moon Knight #1" does a lot of things right, especially in how the comic characterizes the lead hero while asking some interesting new questions about him. The comic takes the impeccable sense of style and presentation that went into the last run and weaves a new story thread out of it. This comic book does not seem like a brand new take on the character that avoids all previous continuity, but it does shake things up within the context of what came before." Jesse Schedeen of "IGN" gave "Moon Knight" #1 a grade of 8 out of 10, writing, "It's good to have Moon Knight back on the stands. This new series retains much of what made its predecessor so appealing while also shaking up the formula in a major way. Between the moody atmosphere and terrific sense of style, this issue has a lot going for it. It's just a shame the book works against itself by rushing to the big reveal rather than offering a slower and more purposeful build-up."
"Moon Knight" (2021).
According to "Bleeding Cool", "Moon Knight" #1 was the best-selling comic book in the week of July 25, 2021. "Moon Knight" #3 was the best-selling comic book in the week of September 26, 2021. "Moon Knight" #1 was the 7th best-selling comic book in 2021.
In 2021, the "Moon Knight" comic book series won the Golden Issue Award for Best Ongoing Comic.
Matthew Aguilar of "ComicBook.com" stated, ""Moon Knight" #1 captures the essence of the character and all the elements that make him stand out from his peers while expanding the character's mythos and supporting cast in exciting new ways, and it does so with flair and wit to spare. If that weren't enough, the stunning artwork from Cappuccio and colorist Rachelle Rosenberg demands your attention with every page. [...] "Moon Knight" #1 pulls together several threads of Knight's complicated history along with fresh new ideas to create something absolutely perfect for the character. The hype was at an all-time high, but Moon Knight manages to deliver on it, and I certainly could not have asked for a better debut." Benjamin Bailey of "IGN" gave "Moon Knight" #1 a grade of 9.9 out of 10, writing, "Moon Knight's books have almost always been good, often they're great, but this new relaunch is on a whole other level. This is more than a re-imaging, it's a brilliant introduction to a character more folks need to be acquainted with. Whether you are a longtime fan or brand new to the character, this is a comic you absolutely must read. [...] "Moon Knight" #1 is a masterpiece, anyway you cut it. Whether you are a longtime fan or new to the character, this is a comic you need to read. Like, right now. Stop what you are doing and read Moon Knight."
"Moon Knight: Black, White & Blood" (2022).
According to ICv2, "Moon Knight: Black, White & Blood" #1 was the 5th best selling comic book in May 2022.
Dustin Holland of "Comic Book Resources" asserted, "Each of the three stories in "Moon Knight: Black, White & Blood" #1 pushes the character into unfamiliar territory while celebrating the aspects of his personality that make him an engaging piece of the Marvel Universe. Each creative team does a wonderful job crafting believable, self-contained stories that will leave fans wanting more."
Other characters named Moon Knight.
Marc Spector is not the only character to be known as Moon Knight. The following are the other known characters who operated as Moon Knight:
1,000,000 BC version.
In the year 1,000,000 BC, a homo erectus became the first person to operate as Moon Knight.
After befriending Fan Fei, Moon Knight joined up with the Prehistoric Avengers and was seen when the Avengers from the present arrived in their time.
2500 BC version.
There was a female Moon Knight who was around in 2500 BC.
2620 BC version.
There was a Moon Knight who was around in 2620 BC.
300 BC version.
There was a Moon Knight who was around in 300 BC and operated as Roman gladiator.
1710 version.
There was a Moon Knight who was around in 1710 and operated as a pirate.
1776 version.
There was a Moon Knight who was around in 1776 and had fought in the American Revolutionary War.
1896 version.
There was a Moon Knight who was around in 1896 during the Victorian era and dressed like an English gentleman.
1920s version.
There was a Moon Knight who was around in the 1920s and dressed like a gangster.
1940s version.
There was a Moon Knight who was around in the 1940s and fought Hydra during World War II.
Ancient Mesopotamian version.
There was a Moon Knight who was around during the days of Ancient Mesopotamia.
Middle Ages version.
There was a Moon Knight who was around during the Middle Ages.
Old West version.
There was a Moon Knight who was around during the Old West and operated as a gunfighter.
Viking Age version.
There was a Moon Knight who was around during the Viking Age.
1970s version.
There was a female Moon Knight who worked with Blade in 1977.
Other versions.
Apocalypse Wars.
An alternate universe variant of Moon Knight appears in "Extraordinary X-Men". This version is female and one of the Horsemen of Apocalypse before being killed by Nightcrawler.
"Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Again".
An alternate universe variant of Moon Knight appears in "Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Again". He investigates Deadpool's murder of several heroes and eventually discovers that he was brainwashed before being killed by him.
Earth-818.
An alternate universe variant of Moon Knight from Earth-818 appears in "Avengers Forever". This version is Mariama Spector, a member of Tony Stark's resistance against the Black Skull.
"House of M".
An alternate universe variant of Moon Knight from Earth-58163 appears in "House of M" as a member of Luke Cage's resistance against Magneto.
"Infinity War".
Moon Shade, a clone of Moon Knight created by Adam Warlock, appears in "The Infinity War".
Infinity Warps.
Peter Spector / Arachknight, a fusion of Moon Knight and Spider-Man created by the Infinity Gems, appears in "Infinity Wars".
Marvel 2099.
There are different Marvel 2099 versions of Moon Knight:
Unidentified Moon Knight 2099.
An alternate version of Moon Knight appears in the one-shot "2099: Manifest Destiny" (March 1998). The comic book introduced an unidentified female version of Moon Knight, fighting crime in the lunar city of Attilan on Earth. She later persuaded the 2099 version of Uatu the Watcher into not disposing of his clones of the Fantastic Four.
Tabitha.
An unidentified Marvel 2099 reality version of the character named Tabitha once freed Strange 2099 from a demon possession at the time when the Anti-Powers Act was in play.
In the unified reality of Earth-2099, the Tabitha version of Moon Knight was a member of the 2099 version of the Avengers. When they were massacred by the 2099 version of the Masters of Evil, Tabitha respawned in her crypt and formed a 2099 version of the New Avengers who defeated the Masters of Evil and remanded them to a prison on the planet Wakanda.
"Marvel Zombies".
A zombified alternate universe variant of Moon Knight from Earth-2149 appears in "Marvel Zombies".
Old Man Logan.
An alternate version of Moon Knight from Earth-807128 appears in "Old Man Logan".
"S.H.I.E.L.D.".
An ancient Egyptian incarnation of Moon Knight appears in "S.H.I.E.L.D." #1.
"Secret Wars".
Several alternate universe variants of Moon Knight appear in "Secret Wars" as residents of Battleworld.
Ultimate Marvel.
An alternate universe variant of Moon Knight from Earth-1610 appears in "Ultimate Marvel". This version is a Navy SEAL whose abilities are derived from a failed attempt to recreate the Super-Soldier Serum. After leaving the US military, he temporarily becomes Paladin and works for Roxxon.
Universe X.
An alternate universe variant of Moon Knight from Earth-9997 appears in "Universe X". This version is virtually immortal due to his use of the Re-Animator stone. After Mar-Vell takes the stone, Spector finally dies and uses a shard of the Cosmic Cube to create a personalized afterlife.
In other media.
Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The character's dissociative identities of Marc Spector / Moon Knight, Steven Grant / Mr. Knight, and Jake Lockley appear in live-action media set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), all portrayed by Oscar Isaac, with Carlos Sanchez portraying Grant and Spector as a child while David Jake Rodriguez portrays Spector as a teenager. In the MCU, Spector is depicted as an ex-mercenary who assumes the role of Moon Knight under the Egyptian god, Khonshu to save his life, Grant is a British gift shop employee who assumes the alias of Mr. Knight under Khonshu, and Lockley is depicted as brutal and Khonshu's favored avatar. Isaac was in talks for the role in October 2020, and was cast by January 2021, before Marvel officially confirmed his casting that May.
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