Get out of the house more often, Case! Go to the movies once in a while.
Oh-kay. Anyone?
Update to Distaff:
Corollary B: Daughters, neices, girlfriends and wives of male heroes often become a Distaff. Examples: Spider-Girl; Hawkgirl; Huntress; Jonny Quick / Jessie Quick. Sons, nephews, boyfriends and husbands do not do the equivilent.
Case. Edna Mode, superhero costumer in Pixar’s THE INCREDIBLES, hates capes. That’s her line. I have not the right nor authority to revoke your posting privileges for not knowing this, but your geek cred just took a serious hit upside the head, son.
**Captain Gutgore *Blooddrink’s Chaspomonome or C.S.O. (character specific onomatopoeia * ** should be #49.
**Menocchio’s ** entires are numbered correctly.
Kaitlyn’s definition for distaff is #39.
- turf, a general area considered to be under a super-villain’s domain for exploitation and criminal activity. Turf is sometimes used to describe a hero’s base of operations.
Ah. Thanks for the info. Smilies notwithstanding, nice to see someone isn’t too hip to answer a simple question. Alas, the geek cred of those of us with young children tends to suffer when we’re forced to wait for the DVD.
The DVD comes out March 15th, & the flick is idea for adults geeks, kids & non-geeks alike.
It promises to have neat extra features, too.
- Legacy - When a new character takes up the name, powers and usually a variant on the costume, of an earler Mystery Man or Superhero. These are legacies. Sometimes a legacy is passed by blood (Hawkgirl, Black Canary), sometimes by being under the same mentor (Robin, Speedy), sometimes the two characters are unrelated, aside from powers and/or origin (Green Lantern, Flash). It’s not unknown for multiple incarnations of a given legacy to be active under the name at the same time. Green Arrow I and II, Flash I and III, and…multiple Green Lanterns fall into this group. It’s also not unknown for an earlier incarnation of the character is still active under another name when the new one becomes active - Robin I/Nightwing and Robin III, Speedy I/Arsenal and Speedy II, and Kid Flash I/Flash III and Kid Flash II are examples of this.
That should be 54.
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Paraphernalia. Broad name to describe the additional tools, offensive and defensive devices and power sources needed to both fight crime and perpetrate it. Major kinds of paraphernalia include Weapons, Vehicles, Communications Devices, Power Rings, Utility Belts, Force Fields, Computing Systems and Armor.
Note: each entry to be defined later. -
**Gloves. ** Protective coverings for the hands, typically made from leather, flexible metals or xenomaterials. Used to conceal fingerprints as well as prevent hand injury from fighting or exposure to temperature extremes. May include hidden compartments, weapons, tools. VAR., Gauntlet. Mitten, Kurokote.
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Sheathe. A protective covering to convey and safely house weapons, partcularly those with a sharp edge or point: i.e. daggers, spears, swords or bayonets – but may hold other weapons such as whips, lassos and guns. VAR. Quiver, Utility Belt, Scabbard, Holster.
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Mask. Facial covering primary used to conceal one’s identity with special emphasis on disguisng or obscuring eyes, noses and hair. May offer limited protection for same. Many old-school masks were affixed using theatrical spirit gum. SYN. and VAR., Cowl, Hood.
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Boots. Protective covering for one’s feet and lower legs. Often constructed to include hidden weapons and “surprise” gimmicks to delpoy wheels, spring-loaded knives, rocket thrusters, suction cups and wings. SYN. and VAR. Footgear, shoes, sandals, heels.
60.) Vest. Protective covering for the chest and back. Frequently emblazoned with emblems and constructed for added protection to the heart. Often bulletproof. If vest is mechanical in nature, this is where the power source is frequently located, as well as various weapons systems. SYN. and VAR., Exoskeleton, Harness, Breastplate, Girdle, Skin.
It should be noted that #20 Superhero only refers to powered crime-fighters in the Marvel and DC universes as the term is a shared registered trademark between the two companies. No other company is legally allowed to use the term in that manner without permission.
Update: **superhero, superheroes ** are generic. The two-word, capitalized, plural term “Super Heroes” is a shared trademark. Cite.
Toonopedia helpfully points out that Marvel and DC have a spotty record enforcing that trademark and that it’s never been challenged in court. Cite2
- Crossover. A story or miniseries in which characters that ordinarily would not appear together in the same story do so.
Originally even comic titles put out by the same publisher stayed separate. But then the idea arose of having characters from one title “guest star” or “team up” in another. Then comic publishers began having permanent titles with several of their most popular characters appearing together, such as DC comic’s Justice Society of America. Eventually it became standard for most of the titles put out by a common publisher to be presumed to be taking place in the same fictional universe. So today appearences by one character in another’s main title are too unremarkable to be called crossovers.
The term crossover is now used mainly to denote when characters belonging to two entirely different publishers appear together as a joint project between the two publishers. Formerly this never happened because comic publishers presumed that they were direct competitors in a zero-sum market. However in recent times declining sales have spurred crossovers that appeal to fan interest. They are usually limited one-time efforts, but a major exception was the 62. Amalgam miniseries published jointly by DC and Marvel comics.
This miniseries depicted a conflict between two hyperentities representing the respective DC and Marvel continuities, with the result that the two universes were temporarily melded into a whole, with characters based on fusions between characters from each universe. A second joint miniseries also featured interaction between characters from each universe. At the time of it’s publication, Marvel Comics was facing increasing financial difficulty, and it was speculated that the Amalgam series might have been a prelude to a possible byout of Marvel by DC comics, with the miniseries serving as a preliminary step to incorporating the Marvel characters into the DC continuity.
It should be noted that inter-publisher crossovers transcend the usual meaning of parallel universes, as that term is usually applied entirely within a single fictional continuity.
I apologize. I just realized I forgot about my own request re: alphabetizing within posts on my last contribution.
62.) Death. In superhero and supervillain parlance, death usually marks a period of inactivity when the world believes in the hero’s demise before the hero’s return. This may even involve a superhero funeral, which proceeds even the absence of a body. In many instances the superhero’s homocide is either a mistaken passing or a deliberate hoax. In rare instances, supernatural forces are at play to bring about a miraculous resurrection. Note: Superhero funeral to be defined later.
63.) Informer. Much as in traditional law enforcement, an informer is a person who’s aware of impending and recent criminal activity: who was involved, what was stolen, where they are hiding out. Through intimidation, an informer can be persuaded to tell what they know. SYN., Snitch, stoolie, pigeon. SEE #44, henchman.
64.) Sidekick. The protege, or apprentice, of a more experienced hero. Often after years of training a sidekick grows into a capable hero in their own right and often assumes the mantle, or legacy, of their mentor. SEE #55, Legacy.
65} Vehicles - These are almost exclusively the provenance of the well-financed hero or team {or villain and henchmen}, and often figure advanced technology incorporating offensive and defensive capabilities beyond the reach of all but the most well-financed military industrial complex: they are usually custom-built, frequently upgraded, and hence require a large base for storage, maintenance, and concealment. They often display the hero or team’s emblem or symbol {to be defined later}, and are used for swift transport and enhanced capabilities to enable more effective crime-fighting {or law-breaking}.
Vehicles are commonly, although not exclusively:
A} Cars {the Batmobile}
B} Aircraft {Wonder Woman’s invisible plane, which for obvious reasons doesn’t display her emblem}
C} Motorcycles {Judge Dredd’s Lawmaster: this is a slight exception to the above definition, given Dredd’s official legal status - Lawmasters are standard Justice Department issue}
Sea or space-borne transport is less common, given the hero’s usually defined and limited turf, however vehicles such as Captain Nemo’s submarine {from The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen} are not unheard of, and the Justice Department maintain a fleet of spacecraft: not being a Judge’s usual transport and only being required for special missions, however, they probably lie outside the terms of this definition.
- Fluctuation: A hero’s powers will fluctuate towards the power level of whomever they are fighting. For example, Spider-Man can under the right circumstances take on the entire Fantastic Four or Avengers at once and walk away, and have difficulty sparring with an ordinary guy with pointy shoes or a blind man with a billy club.
By the way, bloody great thread, Askia: a slow burner, but loads of potential.
67] The British Invasion - An influx of British writing and drawing talent, almost exclusively 2000 AD alumni, who cut their teeth on Judge Dredd and other popular strips {Rogue Trooper, Strontium Dog, Nemesis the Warlock, ABC Warriors, D.R. and Quinch, Halo Jones, Zenith} into the American comics industry: the “invasion”, styled after the British music invasion into the American charts in the 60’s, began in the mid-80’s after creators’ dissatisfaction with low pay and lack of royalties, and has continued to the present day. British “invaders” have included such well-known figures as:
A] Writers: Alan Grant, John Wagner, Alan Moore, Grant Morrison and Pat Mills.
B] Artists: Brian Bolland, Dave Gibbons, Steve Dillon and Simon Bisley {see under Anatomy for more on Bisley}
I need help finishing definitions for #55, Paraphernalia. I mean, I could do it, but you all bring great insights to your posts, like Lumpy’s bringing up outside influences that comics borrowed (canon and continuity, to name two) and Kaitlyn’s tackling various nuances, as is her wont (I particularly enjoyed fluctuation – I wouldn’t have thought of that, but SO true). The diversity is more interesting than one or two people doing it.
Here are some terms I brought up, that still need defining. PLEASE help. Tackle whatever’s interesting – first come, first served.
Weapons
Vehicles - Case Sensitive already defined this.
**Communications Devices
Power Rings
Utility Belts
Force Fields
Computing Systems
Armor
GLOVES
Gauntlet
Mitten
Kurokote
SHEATHES
Quiver
Utility Belt
Scabbard
Holster
MASKS
Cowl
Hood
FOOTGEAR** I changed this from my own post because, upon reflection, “footgear” is a better generic term for the category even though most superfolks wear boots.
**Boots
Shoes
Sandals
Heels
VEST
Exoskeleton
Harness
Breastplate
Girdle
Skin**
Additional information is still permitted – like if someone defined force fields without even mentioning Brainiac Five or the Invisible Girl, or example.
And knock yourselves out if you think up anything overlooked.
Numbering should start from #68.
Me again, huh? Ah, well.
See, if y’all don’t help, I’m going to ramble. You’ve been warned.
- Power Rings. One of the more interesting motifs in the superhero genre is the proliferation of rings of power: banded jewelry worn on the fingers and enbued with supernatural energies, alien technology or advanced engineering properties which present the bearer of the ring as a unique and sometimes godlike powerful being who can, by using the ring as power source on conduit for an innate ability, induce forgetfulness, bend people to his or her will, read minds, cloud minds, turn invisible, work feats of apparent magic and great teleparthic will – or sometimes simpler feats, as with the Flash or The Phantom…
Interestingly the idea of a magic ring has a small, almost minor existence in popular fiction, world mythology and the occult prior to the 20th century, specifically until the period between the Great Wars, when there was a confluence of sych stories at once.
1936. Lee Falk introduced the syndicated strip, The Phantom. Inheritor of a legacy of piracy and smuggling, and although possessing no extraordinary powers or magical ablities, the Phantom nonetheless wore TWO rings which left indelible martks on whatever he touched-- one with a death’s head skull that marked his enemies; one a “good mark” of overlappings Ps that warned that the person so marked was his friend and under his protection. The rings are notable but possess no extraordinary powers nor abilities beyond the trace marks of the symbols they bore.
The immediate analogue for what we would consider a power ring today emerges from the science fiction pulp writings of E.E. Smith, writer of the* Lensman * series. In Triplanetary, published in 1934 in Amazing presents the lens as a powerful conductive wire or band, fitted to the skin, which, once wielded, bestows the Lensman telepathic abilities as long as it is connected by an electrically conductive wire or band to the skin of its user. In particular, it is impossible to lie to a Lensman, and Lensmen communicate perfectly in any language to any ethnic group. This short story version of Triplanetary was rewritten as a novel and published in 1937.
Almost concurrently yet independently of Smith, and also published in 1937, J.R.R. Tolkien was at work on The Hobbit, featuring the eponymous Ring of all High Fantasy: the One Ring to Rule Them all. This ring was destroyed, in ages lost to us, in the hot lavas of Mount Doom.
In 1939, Alan Scott forged his own power ring by shaving a strip of it from a magic lantern. It was illuminated by a great green flame which granted him immunity to metals and bullets but which was itself vulnerable to wood.
In the mid-50s, Tolkien published the entirety of his Lord of the Rings trilogy, which detailed the events that led to the destruction of the One Ring…
Twenty years after Alan Scott’s debut, a new Green Lantern mythos was introduced with Hal Jordan, borrowing many of the trappings of the Lensman series. Here, Jordan became the greatest of an 3,600 intergalactic Corps of ring-wielding Guardians, each bore a fantastic weapon that responded to its bearers thoughts to rebd solid light constructs from the rings energies, vulnerable to the color yellow.
In 1061. the Flash was reintroduced with a new look: not only a fullbodied, streamlined runners suit, but a ring with a hidden compartment that allowed him to compress and store the suit until needed; a release mechanism released the suit and allowed it to expand upon contact with the air.
Soon after, in the early 60s, the Chinese “Yellow Peril” Marvel comics supervillain the Mandarin was introduced, with his ten rings, each with a startling power.
Lastly (Though by no means finally) there are the telepathic-controlled flight rings from the 30th century Legion of Superheroes, also introduced in the early sixties.
…Just to be thorough, I thought I’d link to the (archive) of the defunct Gamerjargon.com, which has at least a few RPG-based “super” terms.