do other countries have super heroes?

[bandit86]

Ok I have a question just out of curiosity.  Do other countries besides the USA have super heroes?  Now I don’t mean a super hero from another country but made up by Hollywood or an American comic company.  I mean a superhero from Africa or Japan etc… that is actually from their culture.  Thanks for any insight.

[Doc Twilight]

Yes. There are numerous comic book style super heroes in a number of other countries. I don't think you're going to find a lot of them in, say, S'audi Arabia, but it's fairly common in both Asia and Europe. South America and the other countries of North America as well...

The US does not have a monopoly on Comic Books, Pulps, etc.

-Doc

[The Hooded Claw]

The biggest thing is that cultures identify heroes differently. Japan for example has tons of comics featuring super-powered heroes, but few of them follow the typical American/British model of superheroes. To some cultures the idea of a super-powerful hero may not strike the same chord as it does here in America.

-Eli

[Vanvlak]

Ok, believe me this is an honest to goodness post.
In Malta I have encountered the adventures of 3 superheroes:

The first is actually more of a science fiction hero, but being the first and being such a ridiculous stereotype I have to include him:
Il-Kaccatur (the hunter) - a hunter (of all things; here in Malta many from this lot shoot at anything that moves; anyway, big issue this, not worth going into) with a 70s hairstyle in space....urgh. One comic in the late 70s or possibly slightly later and (thankfully) he disappeared.

The second: Sergeant Valletta (that's our capital city) - a much better effort, and an obvious spoof; he's in fact the hero (of sorts) of a newspaper strip of the political sort. Quite balanced in fact, and occasionally quite good. Sad to say he's been missing for some months.

The third and latest, and closest to being a real superhero: Il-Gawgaw. A sort of Matrix-type character with elements of fantasy and Maltese culture - in fact a Gawgaw is a sort of spirit (in the comic, more of a heroic type) which people born on Christmas day become. This blend of tradition and heroics came out some weeks ago and issue 2 has not hit the market yet but is due soon. They evenm have a website:
http://komikstassikkina.page.tl/Il_Gawgaw-u-l_Imlejka.htm
A second comic by the same crew features a heavy metal band and Gothic stuff - less close to the superhero mould.

And that is my personal experience - there are some other, and as complete a history of Maltese superheroes (and all other comics) as you can get can be found here: http://strixxikli.page.tl/Artisti-tal_comics.htm?PHPSESSID=ddb9d37394aaa183e8bfb8cd7d0a6b6b
In Maltese, I'm afraid.

[The Hooded Claw]

Vanvlak,

Gawgaw sounds like he is indeed a good example of the current crop of heroes. Seem that a good chunk of the new comics in the US ride this line between heroism and some sort of modern arcane/mystic/or supernatural origin. I agree that the blend of cultural elements and hero are a good start. Captain America, for example drew off of American's simple patriotism at the time, but other heroes have drawn from early American history and culture or other "melting pot" sources.

-Eli

[Poliorketes]

We germans have Genschman, though he retired. Allegedly he wasn't even fictional and it's assumed he teared down the wall singlehanded.


Ah yes, and there has been Bettman, a batman-parody in a boobs-magazine of the 70ies.

With comics, I don't know about original german super heroes. In the 50ies Hans-Rudi Wäscher invented a lot of classic pulp heroes, but afaik no super-heroes.

[Hammers]

Yes. Sweden's got...

...Kronblom...



...91:an Karlsson...



...Lilla Fridolf , "Toffelhjälten"...



...och Åsa-Nisse.



Fearsome men, all of them.

[rjandron]

Canada has Captain Canuck, who has gone through no less than three incarnations...here's the latest one:



which is based on this WWII Canadian recruiting poster:



Others include Johnny Canuck and Nelvana  (WWII-era superheroes), Northguard, Fleur de Lys and more. Canadian superheroes tend to be overshadowed by their American brethren (economies of scale when it comes to printing comic books, or creating animations, or films, etc.) Of course, we Canucks retaliate by constantly mentioning that the quintessential American superhero--Superman--has Canadian roots.

http://www.histori.ca/minutes/minute.do?id=10206

[Johan]

We in Belgium have this character Jerom, the golden stuntman. He has superpowers and is aided by a team that gives him powerfull inventions.

[Poliorketes]

Johan, does the marsupilami count as a belgian superhero? I'd say yes.

[white knight]

We in Belgium have this character Jerom, the golden stuntman. He has superpowers and is aided by a team that gives him powerfull inventions.

I was just going to post this:


You beat me to it.
 

[twrchtrwyth]

In the UK you have numerous heroes in 2000AD and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, to name but two groups.

[fbruntz]

No super hero in France but some great personalities such as Fantomas or Arsène Lupin.

Fantomas is very pulpy.

[Plynkes]

The superhero is a very much an American phenomenon, and aren't really in the tradition of other countries' comics. Where they do crop up overseas they are usually mere copies of the American concept, or more likely pastiches or parodies. To be honest I think the superhero became so popular it swamped American comics and drove out other forms. It's a shame really. I think European comics, which have been less effected by the costumed crime-fighter concept, are much more interesting for it.

[Johan]

Johan, does the marsupilami count as a belgian superhero? I'd say yes.

  of course  seriously Polorketes the Marsupilami comes from South America, how can it count as a Belgian super hero?