I don’t think that then Japanese “Golden Bat” “violates” any rules. I’m surprised, however, that something that looks like puppet theater can be as long lasting as this, and have an acknowledged “creator”. Certainly I’m surprised that anything like a Suyperhero could have originated in something other than comic books or pulp fiction magazines.
The origin of superheroes flying is actually of considerable importance. We think of it as obvious today, having grown up with the idea, but it isn’t by any means obvious. Clearly Siegel and Schuster didn’t think it obvious (despite having done comics with a flying hero previously, as this thread indicates), and Superman didn’t start out flying, but sort of grew into it. I could see Hawkman flying – he had those damned big wings, after all. But it’s not obvious that Green Lantern should fly. Nor is it obvious that an undersea superbeing should fly – what does flying have to do with the ocean? And, has been pointed out, his winged feet are ludicrously tiny (and badly placed). The whole idea of the Humasn Torch itself is compleytely off-the-wall (He’s not even human, for starters – he’s an android) Once youaccept the idea of a constantly combusting humanoid, though, the flying part doesn’t seem so ridiculous – flame goes up, after all. And, if he didn’t fly everywhere, he’d constantly be setting whatever room he was in on fire. Maybe Namor had to fly just to be considered his opponent.
Heroes had flown before – in nGreek mythology the Boreades, the sons of the North Wind who were on the Argo, flew. So did Perseus, after he got his flying slippers (with ridiculous tiny wings on them, like Namor’s) . But they didn’t fly in the clasasic comic book hands-out-front pose. Nor can I think of anyone else who did. That bodysurfer pose, and the idea of flying non-demigod heroes, seems to have been a creatyion of the 19430s.
