Superheroes Galore this summer!

As a kid, growing up in New York City, I used to watch the Old Superman TV series with George Reeves. Superman has, always, amazed me how he used to save the day. I used to get a "kick" on how he could see behind walls with his X-ray vision. As a kid, I had a crush on Lois Lane!(Phyllis Coates) She was the best Lois Lane in my opinion. Tough and a woman ahead of her times, she provided the needed suspense for the series!

Then, I got "addicted" to cliff-hangers that featured the likes of Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers. It used to frustrate me how I had to wait until tomorrow to see the next chapter. Usually, they would have the hero Flash in trouble and about to die and then it would leave you hanging-Thus they would be called Cliffhangers.

Cliffhangers would be a big item in the 40's and '50's. Movies cost 15 cents and for that price, you could see a Cliffhanger episode like Superman, Batman or even Flash Gordon just before the main feature. They would show a chapter a week. Their aim was to get you to go to the movies every week to see the conclusion. Cliffhanger would last 15 episodes. I will post some of them in the links below.

Then, came the fascination with Batman and Robin. I was so amazed at how a man dressed as a Bat could fight crime. I was, in awed, at the brilliant artwork of Bob Kane and the colors he used. Villains like the Joker, Penguin and Riddler would have me at the edge of my seat. I collected comic books and I can remember when you could get a 32 page worth of adventures for 10 cents. For 25 cents, you could get a DC 80 page giant! Most of the kids around my neighborhood collected comics. Nowadays, we have video games and other high tech gadgets that can run any parent hundreds of dollars!

Then came Marvel Comics! Stan Lee, in my opinion, is a comic book genius. Taking the idea of a cliffhanger, he incorporated it into his comic book heroes. At first, I would get angry. I had spent my last 12 cents and I had to buy another comic book to see what happened to my favorite Super Hero? But, Alas, I threw all my concerns and restraints aside, waited until next month, spent my last 12 cents to see if IRON MAN made it alive!

Marvel comics broke some new grounds. They killed off sidekicks like Bucky Barnes, Gwen Stacy died at the hands of the Green Goblin and many more surprises! I remember when Spider man broke his arm fighting the Lizard and even winded up having an ulcer. That, in my opinion, is what made Marvel Comics top dog in my book!

Now, we are seeing an endless stream of Superhero movies coming this summer. First, we have the BATMAN. Second, we got another one made of SPIDERMAN. The third trailer that I saw was THE AVENGERS! My only complaint is that it, sometimes, doesn't follow the true format of the movies. Hollywood changes so many things, that in my opinion, the movie loses something. I had elaborated some of these concerns on my other previous hubs, which will be provided in the links below.

I remember when the first BATMAN movie came out. You had about 4 villains in that movie. Adam West was Batman and Burt Ward was Robin. I like it at the time, but looking back, it was a goofy movie with lots of laughs. I think Adam West did, in my opinion, more harm to the Batman image than any other actor. Sure, he started out good in the first few episodes of Batman on ABC getting out of mortal traps. As time passed by, Batman looked more like a goof ball and I lost interest in the series.

The other Batman movies were good, My all time favorite is with Michael Keaton as Batman. He was mild and easygoing as Bruce, but as Batman, he was a take-no-prisoner crime fighter. Jack Nicholson was outstanding as the maniacal Joker! He was a tough act to follow.

Now we see a new array of Superheroes coming to a theatre near you! Will they stir the people up and leave them wanting for more, or will they become the box office flop of 2012? Only time will tell, my friends! In the meantime, check out some of these links. Here's to a great summer and God bless!