It's A Time For Superheroes

Not many people know this, but Superman and Batman made their debuts in 1938 and 1939 respectively, when the United States were still getting back on its feet after suffering through the Great Depression. They were created by a largely-Jewish group of artists who wanted to provide some escapism for weary Americans. It's ironic how superheroes are making a massive resurgence recently – right smack in the middle of the global economic slowdown.

I'm probably going to anger the guys at theultimatejoker.com by saying this, but the Joker wasn't the first villain that Batman encountered. Back then the caped crusader was named “The Bat-Man,” and he basically cleaned the town of thieves, embezzlers, corrupt higher-ups – in other words, the villains of the Great Depression. It wasn't until later that he and Superman were pitted against Hitler and the Nazi, when World War II broke out a few years later.

I remember reading an old Superman comic book in my youth – it was obviously very old. In it, Superman and Batman were captured by a Nazi officer who used a kryptonite ray to zap old Supes of his powers. The two heroes were then forced to work in a concentration camp, digging trenches. I don't know what happened afterwards (the comic book frustratingly ended “to be continued”), but the story was gripping enough to give me a sense of the grim World War II reality the world had to live through.

Today, I'm looking forward to seeing some pretty good animated superhero movies to be released this year. I've already seen “Hulk Vs.” and “Wonder Woman,” and I'm looking forward to seeing “Green Lantern: First Flight” in a few months. There's also word that Warner Brothers' next animated superhero movie will feature – get this – Superman and Batman.

The movie, “Superman/Batman: Public Enemies,” features the two heroes caught up in the evil US President Lex Luthor's plans and end up enemies of society. What follows is a plethora of superheroes and super-villains out to get them, looking to cash in on the $1 billion bounty on their heads. Superman and Batman have to work together, enlist some support from their super-friends, and find a way to thwart Luthor's biggest evil plan yet – a kryptonite asteroid in a direct collision course with Earth.

Yowza.
(Yes, I know nobody says "Yowza" anymore.)

What would you like the next big superhero animated movie to feature? In keeping with the tradition of using the world's current predicament as the villains, I'd like to see the Hulk clear Wall Street of all the arrogance, incompetence and greed ;)