I think you mean Black Spider. “What If… Spider-Man used his powers to be a criminal”
No doubt about it, Aquaman comes after Namor.
Batman was apparently knocked off some other works.
Batman’s Creators Admitted His First Appearance Was Plagiarism
PUBLISHED SEP 23, 2022
Bob Kane and Bill Finger crossed the line from simple inspiration to blatant plagiarism when creating the “original” character of Batman.
If there is any truth to the popular Oscar Wilde quote “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” then that must make Batman’s first appearance one of the most famous compliments ever given. That’s because the Dark Knight’s creators Bob Kane and Bill Finger assembled Batman’s first appearance through various acts of blatant plagiarism.
During the Golden Age of Comics, writers and artists gathered much of their inspiration from the “pulps” of the 1930s. Pulps were cheap fiction magazines, comprised of mostly text with limited illustrations, nicknamed after the inexpensive wood pulp paper used in their printing process. Technically speaking, true originality is impossible because everything any creator experiences influences their work to some degree. In Bob Kane’s autobiography Batman and Me, he claims three sources of inspiration for the character of Batman: Leonardo da Vinci’s sketches of a bat-winged flying machine, the 1920 Western romance film The Mark of Zorro, and the 1930 mystery film The Bat Whispers. However, Batman’s co-creator Bill Finger admitted that Bob Kane neglected to mention the primary inspiration for Batman: The Shadow.
RELATED:Batman Was Named After Two REAL Historical Heroes
Walter B. Gibson, a writer and professional magician, originally created the Shadow as a mysterious radio show narrator. The Shadow transformed into a pulp fiction character based on popular demand from his audience. Listeners found the sinister announcer more compelling than the radio show itself. The Shadow created the foundation for the superhero archetype including stylized imagery, sidekicks, supervillains, and a secret identity. Bill Finger confessed that the first appearance of Batman in Detective Comics #27, written by Bill Finger and illustrated by Bob Kane, “was a take-off on a Shadow story” in Jim Steranko’s History of Comics. In the biography Walter B. Gibson and The Shadow, Gibson makes the accusation that “Batman is just a clowned-up version of The Shadow.”
Superman can be traced back to
His name is Clark and his father (later murdered) raised him to be a savior to humanity. He possesses superhuman strength and finely tuned senses. He is the world’s greatest detective, an inventor, chemist, surgeon and martial artist. Villains the world over want him dead, but through his intelligence, strength, cunning and technological prowess he’s always able to defeat them – all while staying faithful to a personal edict to spare all lives.
No, he’s not a mash-up of Superman and Batman; rather, he’s Clark (Doc) Savage, Jr, a character created in 1933 by Lester Dent. And he actually served as inspiration for Superman and Batman.
Savage’s height of popularity was during the chaos of the Depression and World War II. (He also experienced a brief resurgence through reprints of the original novels during the Vietnam era.)
To many, he is the greatest superhero to ever appear, the source of hundreds of iterations – first in “pulps,” later in comics, radio and film.
You can give DC credit for Wonder Woman fairly cleanly.
I wasn’t saying who came first, was just making the comparisons between similar characters. The archetypes.
Spider-Man was lifted as well…
That is so incredibly interesting. Really a neat piece of history. I am sure there was some stealing involved by not only Ditko or Kirby but Stan Lee as well.
No idea is original anymore, honestly.
I’m pretty certain my oldest is now the biggest Moon Knight fan. He’s not here on the forums but he even drives me nuts with his love of Moon Knight now…
Coincidences as well. I’m sure it’s possible for two people to have the same idea (same time frame or different, doubt Lee, Ditko and whoever never even saw that original spider costume).
Spiders are popular. Creating heroes based on insects and animals is pretty popular. It was bound to happen from someone.
Looks like the new Punisher could be canceled after only four issues. No new issues coming up as solicited.
After all, Stan Lee did originally tap Kirby to draw Spider-Man, and the artist reportedly created five pages before Lee changed his mind and gave the assignment to Ditko. (According to Ditko, Kirby’s version of Spider-Man looked nothing like the hero we know today — though everyone involved has a different recollection. Marvel declined comment through a representative.)
Ben Cooper’s records were destroyed in a 1989 fire, and the company was sold in 1992, but rumor has it that in the 1950s, Kirby worked briefly for the company. Could he have designed that 1950s Spider Man costume before repurposing it for Marvel a few years later?
I think you missed that part. It implies Kirby may have designed the original costume and had 5 pages of material for Ditko to copy from or take inspiration by. Kirby was also around while Tarantula was being introduced in 1941.
Muddy waters we never know the truth about at best.
I was just speaking in more general type of terms… he might of seen it to inspire his design but we can’t say that for sure either. Even if Kirby or Ditko never created Spider-Man, it was bound to happen is what I’m trying to imply.
Nobody buying it
It was solicited as an ongoing.
Are there firsts in the TMNT Ronin 2 - have not been filling along - any spec here?
Ah, the good old stealth cancellation where you act like it was always a mini-series!
I’m sure in a way Marvel is happy - now they can relaunch Punisher with another #1 yet again. Which they would have anyway, it’ll just likely be sooner than planned.
I had also read somewhere that it was a planned 4 issues.
It ended on kind of a cliff hanger. I remember CB Cebulski talking about they were pulling all the elements of the punisher that they felt still worked and doing away with what they felt was dated. Couple of sites saying it was canceled.
Will Marvel Fans Accept A Blonde Punisher? (bleedingcool.com)
A new PUNISHER will make his vengeful debut in an all-new ongoing comic series!
BC announced it as an ongoing so that all but guarantees it was going to be a mini. I’m still waiting for Rich to get around to admitting Doctor Strange wasn’t cancelled at #10 now that #13 is on the shelves and still going strong.