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How are you today?

Are you excited for the last post in the year 2020?

Well I am, because tonight, the episode finale of Heroes and Villains: The Miniseries is finally here.

A big thank you to everyone who has been following the miniseries and engaging. You’re the real deal.

If this is your first read in the miniseries, this is the last episode, but fear not, the links to the previous episodes will be attached at the end of this episode.

So, how about a quick recap of our first six episodes!

In our first episode ‘Knights and Cats’, we looked at Gotham’s very own Batman and Catwoman.

Episode 2, ‘Feminine wonder‘ starred Wonderwoman and Harley Quinn.

In Episode 3, ‘Asgardians‘, we saw brothers Thor and Loki in action.

In Episode 4, ‘Iron and Titan‘, we studied Marvel superhero and villain, Ironman and Thanos.

In Episode 5, ‘The Sirens‘, starred the sexy Black Widow and Mystique.

In Episode 6, ‘Magnet & Alloy‘, we looked at X-Men’s Wolverine and Magneto.

And in my last post, I announced the duo that would be ending this miniseries.

An episode I’ve titled ‘Super Villain‘, the duo I’ll be bringing to your screens tonight: The one and only Superman and possibly the greatest villain (strictly my opinion), The Joker

SUPERMAN & JOKER

SUPERMAN

The character ‘Superman’ is a fictional superhero, who first appeared in American comic books published by DC Comics.

First appearance: Action Comics #1 (cover-dated June 1938; published April 18, 1938)
Created by: Jerry Siegel (writer)

Joe Shuster (artist)

Alter ego: Kal-El (birth name)

Clark Joseph Kent (adopted name)

Species: Kryptonian
Place of origin:

Kryptonopolis (Krypton)
Smallville / Metropolis (Earth)

Team affiliations: Justice League, Legion of Super-Heroes, Superman Family
Partnerships

Supergirl (various)
Superboy (various)
Superdog (Krypto)
Batman
Wonder Woman

Notable aliases:

The Man of Steel
The Last Son of Krypton
The Man of Tomorrow

Abilities

Superhuman strength, speed, stamina, agility, reflexes, durability, senses, and longevity

Ocular powers:
Superhuman acuity, Heat vision, Electromagnetic spectrum vision, Microscopic vision, X-ray vision, Telescopic vision, Infrared vision

Superhuman breath:
Freeze breath, Wind breath

Invulnerability

Rapid healing

Flight

Origin story

Superman was born on the planet Krypton and was given the name Kal-El at birth. As a baby, his parents sent him to Earth in a small spaceship moments before Krypton was destroyed in a natural cataclysm. His ship landed in the American countryside, near the fictional town of Smallville. He was found and adopted by farmers Jonathan and Martha Kent, who named him Clark Kent. Clark developed various superhuman abilities, such as incredible strength and impervious skin. His foster parents advised him to use his abilities for the benefit of humanity, and he decided to fight crime as a vigilante. To protect his privacy, he changes into a colorful costume and uses the alias “Superman” when fighting crime. Clark Kent resides in the fictional American city of Metropolis, where he works as a journalist for the Daily Planet.
Superman’s powers are explained as him harnessing the solar radiation from our yellow sun. The reason he would have no powers on Krypton is because Krypton has a red sun.

Let’s dig deeper, shall we?

Although Superman was not the first superhero character, he popularized the superhero archetype and established its conventions. Superheroes are usually judged by how closely they resemble the standard set by Superman. He was the best-selling superhero character in American comic books up until the 1980s.
Superman was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in 1933, but the character didn’t appear in comics until he was sold in 1938 to DC Comics (then known as Detective Comics) for a cool $130. Superman was originally only capable of being able to “leap tall buildings with a single bound.” His ability to fly came about because, for the 1940s cartoon, it was difficult to animate him bending his knees to jump.
The original concept of Superman was as a bald telepathic villain hellbent on world domination. Basically the love child of Lex Luthor and Professor X.
Despite being able to fly faster than the speed of light in a vacuum, Superman is not faster than the Flash.
Superman’s original arch-enemy wasn’t Lex Luthor, but was instead a telepathic ape named Ultra-Humanite. Honestly, Ultra-Humanite sounds less like a super-villain and more like a brand of luggage.
Many of Superman’s romantic interests have had the initials L. L. This includes Lois Lane, Lana Lang, Lori Lemaris, and Lyla Lerrol. But everybody knows Pulitzer Prize-winning star reporter of The Daily Planet and most famous romantic interest of Superman, Lois Lane, right?
Superman once held Thor’s hammer Mjolnir. He managed to lift it not because he’s Superman, but because he was deemed “worthy.”

In 1993, Superman was killed by the villain Doomsday. (I STILL REMEMBER CRYING AND CURSING DOOMSDAY)
The Superman shield, also known as the Superman logo, is the iconic emblem for Superman.
It’s actually a Kryptonian symbol meaning “hope” as well as Superman’s family Crest from his home planet Krypton. Comic book nerds know it as the insignia of the House of El, with its resemblance to a letter S being merely a coincidence. The Sun reports that in 2003, DC Comics writer Mark Waid wrote a story entitled Superman: Birthright. In it, he explains that Superman adopts the logo when he learns it is a symbol for a better tomorrow.

Superman has a dog named Krypto: The Superdog. The dog ended up getting his own animated series.
Most people know that Superman has some of the most extraordinary powers in all of comics, but besides his heat vision, super strength, arctic breath, super-speed, x-ray vision, super-hearing, and flight, the Man of Steel has some other insane capabilities as well. The most recent addition to his already huge array of powers is the explosive Super Flare. This occurs when Superman literally self-combusts and lets out the equal power and radiation of a nuclear bomb. Once released, he is completely human for 24 hours because his cells need at least a day to recharge the amount of radiation that allows him to have his powers in the first place.

With a name like Superman and a nickname like The Man of Steel, one would expect Clark Kent to be practically invulnerable. For the most part, he is, however there are a few things that can bring him to his knees. As most will tell you, the green space rock, Kryptonite, will weaken Superman and leave him vulnerable to attack. Many assume that this is his only weakness and the only way to take on the Man of Steel. Even though Kryptonite is a great way to weaken him, it isn’t the only weakness he has. In fact, one of Superman’s weaknesses that often results in harm is magic. Despite his impressive physical prowess, Superman is not a mystical being. He is a biological life form with enhanced attributes, but he has no foothold in the realm of magic. This is why he can be harmed by things like Aquaman’s trident or Wonder Woman’s sword. Other ways to hurt the Man of Steel are red sun radiation, various colored Kryptonite, nukes, and supersonic sound

Superman and Wonder woman have been an item.
National Superman Day is observed on June 12 every year since DC Entertainment announced it in 2013. The day is celebrated to honor the “Man of Steel”.

Catch Superman in action from the comfort of your home in the below:

Films

Superman (1948)
Atom Man vs. Superman (1950)
Superman and the Mole Men (1951)
Superman (1978)
Superman II (1980)
Superman III (1983)
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
Superman Returns (2006)
Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (2006)
Man of Steel (2013)
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
Justice League (2017)
Shazam! (2019)

Television

Adventures of Superman (1952)
The New Adventures of Superman (1966)
Superboy (1988)
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993)
Superman (1996)
Smallville (2001)
Supergirl (2015)

I cannot wait to see Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)

(Some actors who have portrayed the fictional superhero SUPERMAN)

JOKER

The Joker is a supervillain created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson who first appeared in the debut issue of the comic book Batman (April 25, 1940),

Publisher: DC comics
Species: Human
Place of origin: Gotham
Notable aliases: Red hood
Team affiliations: Injustice League,

Injustice Gang

Notable partnerships:

Harley quinn
Penguin
The Riddler

Abilities

Criminal mastermind

Expert chemist

Uses weaponized props and toxins

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.

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.

The inspiration for the Joker’s image goes back to 1928. Actor Conrad Veidt played the role of Gwynplaine in The Man Who Laughs, and if you take a look at a photo of him in character you’ll see how freakishly close it is to the Joker. The 1928 movie called The Man Who Laughs was based on a novel by the celebrated French novelist Victor Hugo (who also wrote Les Misérables).

Ever since he first appeared in the 1940s, the Joker has been an extremely violent character. However, what many may not realize is that he was more violent in the 1940s and early 1950s than he was often portrayed in later years. Up until the Comics Code came into effect in 1954, the Joker was a vicious murderer who regularly shot and carved up innocent people with a knife.
Many people know of Harley Quinn, the Joker’s partner in crime and bonafide villain in her own right. However, the Joker also had his own sidekick, a little person named Gaggy. This was back in the 40s and 50s.

Alan Moore (one of the greatest graphic novel writers ever) is usually credited with creating the Joker’s origin story, but Moore himself got the idea from the 1951 story “The Man Behind The Red Hood.” This is why the Joker was originally called the Red Hood. In this origin, the Joker was created after he fell into a vat of chemicals.
While the Joker’s real name is Jack Napier, he also went by a professional criminal name prior to being hideously transformed when falling into a vat of chemicals and becoming the Joker. That professional criminal name was “Red Hood” and was the handle Jack Napier used on the streets of Gotham City when he was running around as a low life hustler robbing people in alley ways and knocking over liquor stores. This was also explained in Detective Comics #168, published in 1951, when the Joker’s origin story was first put out for public consumption. The “Red Hood” moniker is one of the little known details of the Joker’s past and has not been raised in any of the film or television depictions of the character.

The Amalgam Comics, a 12-issue miniseries published by both Marvel and DC that saw their characters fused together into new heroes and villains that seemingly had existed for generations. In this universe, the Joker was combined with Marvel villain Sabertooth to become the Hyena, the arch-nemesis to Dark Claw -a Batman/Wolverine hybrid.
Does the Joker have kids? Yes, in a particular universe. The first came from Injustice: Gods Among Us. In this universe, Harley Quinn reveals to Black Canary that she once did have a child with Mista J., but she hid it from him and sent the child away to live with her sister. He also has a (non-biological) daughter in Duela Dent, who dresses up like the clown prince and calls herself “The Joker’s Daughter.”

The Joker and insanity seem to go hand in hand. Why else would somebody dress up like a clown and commit crimes just for fun? What if we told you that the Joker wasn’t insane in the slightest? That the Clown Prince of Crime is actually one of the more sane characters? In Grant Morrison’s Arkham Asylum, it is revealed that the Joker has what they call “Super Sanity.” This mental state of mind means that the villain doesn’t have any real personality, but rather adapts his personality to whatever situation he is in. His brain cannot perceive the sensory stimuli that are coming at him in the outside world, so as a coping mechanism he simply “goes with the flow.”

The Clown Prince of Crime did not appear in any comic books at all between 1964 and 1973.
The Joker’s cinematic debut was in Tim Burton’s Batman movie, as played by Jack Nicholson.
The Joker has inspired many amusement park rides around the world.

Even though the Joker is obsessed with Batman, he has fought other enemies including Superman and Wonder Woman.
No, The Joker and Harley Quinn are no longer an item.

Want to catch the Joker in action?

Film(s)

Batman (1966)
Batman (1989)
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)
The Dark Knight (2008)
Batman: The Killing Joke (2016)
Suicide Squad (2016)
The Lego Batman Movie (2017)
Joker (2019)

Television show(s)

Batman (1966-1968)
Batman: The Animated Series (1992)
The New Batman Adventures (1997)
Justice League (2001)
The Batman (2004)
Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2008)
Justice League Action (2016)
Harley Quinn (2019)
Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)

(Some actors who have portrayed the villain)

And this, folks, is where the journey ends for the Heroes and Villains Miniseries.

Whew!

I hope you liked it, because I sure did.

Question: In the comment section, can you mention one hero and antihero/villain not featured in this miniseries but you would’ve loved to see?

Mine: Captain America and Killmonger