Superheroes & insignias Pt. 2
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Superheroes & insignias Pt. 2

A feature so nice, we had to do it twice. The first part of our Superhero Insignia feature explained the significance of superheroes having their very own insignias as part of their identities, so without further ado, here's the remaining of the list all the way down to number one!

 


17. Aquaman
Aquaman aka. Arthur Curry or Orin, is the superhero ruler of the seas. He basically controls most of the planet as the king of all underwater territories. Aquaman's abilities include super-strength, invulnerability, super-speed and telepathy, which he uses to communicate with sea-life. His aquatic based life means he requires water constantly to avoid dehydration, although he is perfectly capable of staying on land for extended periods of time. Aquaman's insignia is a golden 'A' to represent his royalty of the seas and of course, as an initial to 'Aquaman'.

16. Thor
The son of Odin, the King of Asgard, Thor is the mighty God of Thunder. The Viking God wields Mjolnir, the mythical hammer enchanted with his father's magic that possesses him with remarkable power. Although Thor has no instant recognisable symbol, his hammer from ancient myth and in the comic book represents his identity. Hidden among the Nordic runes of the hammer is the ancient triquetra symbol, which was used by Neopagans by inscripting it in Runestones or ancient art. After appearing in his own big-screen adaptation this year, Thor will appear in the Joss Whedon directed live-action movie; "The Avengers" scheduled to be released in 2012.

15. Daredevil
Raised in Hell's Kitchen, a dark neighbourhood of New York City, Matt Murdock becomes a superhero through a tragic event. While walking down a street one day, a toxic waste truck gets into an accident causing the radioactive waste it's carrying to spill, with some of it going into Matt's eyes. With his vision forever perished, Matt's remaining senses becomes heightened, and he discovers he's able to see using a radar-like sense, that shows outlines and shapes of objects close to him. With his newfound powers, Matt becomes the Daredevil donning a blood-red costume with "DD" initials strewn across his chest to represent his superhero identity.

14. Elektra
Elektra Natchios was a student in Columbia University, but after her parents' murder, Elektra in her distress heads to China to train in martial arts. She ends up joining the Hand organisation, which proceeds to make her their assassin, but she soon breaks free of the Hand's control to seek vengeance for her family as the one-woman assassin Elektra. Armed with a pair of Sais, an ancient Japanese weapon of long daggers with slender sharp blades and prongs, Elektra is probably the most deadliest female superhero there is. Although Elektra, just like Thor does not posses an obvious insignia, who could leave out a worthy female superhero in a superhero universe dominated by man? Elektra's symbol which is inspired by her Sais, is not prominently featured in the comic or even in the 2005 live-action film.

13. The Incredibles
The Incredibles are a superhero family of five. Mr.Incredible and Elastigirl who were very famous heroes during their prime, decide to slow things down when they have a daughter, Violet, and two sons, Dash and Jack Jack. When Mr.Incredible gets kidnapped by Syndrome in Disney and Pixar's "The Incredibles", the whole family has no choice but to confront their crime-fighting superhero abilities as "The Incredibles". The Incredibles don similar red costumes and their symbol consists of the letter "I", which lights up when any one of them is in danger.

12. The Punisher
Born in the war-ridden Vietnam and basked with the blood of his murdered family, Frank Castle begins fighting a one-man war against crime as a headstrong anti-hero. Driven by his lust for combat and a need for vengeance, he becomes the ultimate vigilante known as The Punisher. The white skull became the Punisher's insignia when the vision stuck with him while on duty in Vietnam. The symbol that is inspired by death, upon which The Punisher brings to his enemies, made the anti-hero a popular character in the 70's due to his brutal nature and willingness to kill without questions asked.

11. Captain America
Created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, Captain America debuted in 1941. He was depicted fighting Adolph Hitler on the cover of his first comic even though the United States had yet to enter World War II. When the first issue sold nearly one million copies, Captain America became Marvel's most popular and best-selling character. Also the leader of the Marvel superhero group, The Avengers, Captain America's logo is a very patriotic looking take of the star and stripes inspired by the US flag.

10. The Avengers
The Avengers is the apex superhero team of the Marvel Universe. They unite to fight foes that no single superhero could defeat alone, hence their famous cry of "Avengers Assemble!". The Avengers originally consisted of Ant-Man, Wasp, Thor, Iron Man and the Hulk, all of whom were popular, established superheroes. Based on the comic book, Captain America joins the team later on only when the Hulk leaves. Whether or not the same story is adapted into the live-action 2012 film, is yet to be known.

9. Fantastic Four
Reed, Sue, Johnny and Ben are a team of space explorers that accidentally received their powers after being exposed to a radiation storm during a space expedition. As they get used to their newfound powers, the group calls themselves the Fantastic Four and decides to use their powers for the benefit of humanity in defeating the evil Dr.Doom. Johnny calls himself the Human Torch, Sue calls herself the Invisible Woman, Ben calls himself the Thing and Reed decides to call himself Mr. Fantastic (self absorbed much?).

8. Justice League
The Justice League of America is DC Comic's premier superhero team that comprises of its most powerful and recognisable characters. When the world's greatest heroes were unable to prevent an alien invasion individually, the Martian Manhunter, Flash, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Superman and Batman, combined forces as a team to defeat the invaders. These heroes continued to work together as the Justice League of America, after realizing they worked well together, being another superhero team for DC just like how the Avengers are for Marvel.

7. Wonder Woman
During the World War II, early comic book characters were predominantly male; therefore Wonder Woman was created opposite famous existing superheroes such as Superman, Batman, and the Flash. Born on Paradise Island to the race of Amazons, Wonder Woman is a princess as well as a great warrior. She is one of the founding members of the Justice League of America who uses her God given powers to fight for justice. Comic book geeks note that Wonder Woman is very closely based as the patriotic female version of Marvel's Captain America, as the US flag inspires both of their costumes and symbols.

6. SHIELD
SHIELD was formed by Nick Fury, after World War II. As a United Nations affiliated intelligence agency that deals chiefly with terrorism and superhuman threats, SHIELD was initially founded by the U.S. government. Acting like a police force, SHIELD is an intelligence and anti-terrorism group similar to the FBI, only it is an international corporation that spans all over the world. SHIELD keeps close ties to the superhuman community and they often call on the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, and Captain America for help.

5. Catwoman
Catwoman also known as Selina Kyle, made her first appearance on 1940 in Batman #1. Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, Catwoman and the Joker were Batman's first two enemies although she was not considered to be an adversary of Batman. Catwoman is a cat burglar with an on-off romantic relationship with Batman, whom she knows is millionaire Bruce Wayne. With her cat-like behaviour and stubbornness, whether or not Catwoman is a superhero or a villain is constantly debated as her persona is morally conflicted. As expected, the eye of a cat inspires Catwoman's sleek and feline symbol.

4. Green Lantern
Hal Jordan was chosen to be the Green Lantern by the dying alien, Abin Sur. He is also the co-founder of the Justice League of America as well as a temporary member of the other corps. Despite some character flaws, Hal Jordan was given the power ring and its power battery garnering him the abilities of a superhero. The live-action feature that will be released this year stars Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan. Apart from the costume, the Green Lantern symbol is also seen on Hal Jordan's power ring.

3. Spider-Man
As a geeky teenager, Peter Parker was bitten by a radioactive spider granting him the abilities and agilities of a spider. After the death of his Uncle Ben; a death he could have prevented, Peter learned that with great power comes great responsibility and vowed to never let another innocent person get hurt. Fighting crime as Spider-Man, Peter possesses the uncanny speed, agility and reflexes of a spider that surpasses that of the finest human athletes. Spider-Man's insignia is non-other than a spider inspired by the species that bit him.

2. Batman
After witnessing the murder of his parents, Bruce Wayne dedicates his life into eradicating Gotham City of crime. Bruce endured years of intense physical and mental training, and made use of his vast fortune to create his special weapon laden bat inspired costume and the popular bat mobile. He became a figure that strikes fear into the hearts of criminals by using the very thing that invoked his fear as a child; bats. Bruce Wayne embodies his fear by scaring away criminals as the Dark Knight. The bat logo is seen prominently on Batman's chest, his belt and also the bat-signal.

1. Superman
Although Superman's origin story has been retold about a dozen times in the comic books that are set in different universes, there has always been a basic origin story which most people know. Superman is one of the few survivors of the planet Krypton and is one of the most famous and powerful superheroes there is. He grew up on Earth and hides behind the guise of Clark Kent, a reporter for the Daily Planet newspaper. The Superman logo is perhaps the most recognizable of the superhero logos because of its simple design therefore earning the top spot on our list. Although the shape of the symbol is too ordinary to represent the extraordinary man, it still represents strength, because it's the shape of the world's toughest mineral, the diamond.


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