In the city, again, in September, when a fire engine clanged and whooped through the streets, he followed and carried a woman from a blazing roof as if by a miracle. He had repeated the act sometime later… After that, he sought deliberately to go where he might be of assistance. The strength that could slay was also a strength that could succour. The reaction to that was small, but it was definite. All along the way Danner has a difficult time finding his path in life, as his powers prevent him from having any kind of stable job or relationship.ĭespite amping up the angst that would most certainly come from such a human being, there are flashes in the story of Hugo Danner becoming a hero as well:
#Inspiration wylie pro#
Hugo’s amazing abilities lead him away from his hometown to New York City, where he attends university, is featured as a strongman in a Coney Island sideshow, and goes through all manner of other career attempts, including pro boxer, seaman and soldier in WWI. Like the Golden Age version of the Man of Steel, the super strength of the child can be seen almost immediately after birth, as he begins to move his metal crib while still an infant, and boulders when he becomes an adolescent. “Gladiator” begins with a crackpot scientist from rural Colorado whose breakthrough of bestowing superpowers on lab animals is successfully transferred to his own son while his wife is still pregnant with him. To be sure, creators are always inspired by others who precede them, but flat out plagiarism was rampant during the Golden Age (read a little about Bob Kane and you’ll see what I’m talking about). “Gladiator” has been mentioned so many times in comic book history books I’ve read that I decided to check out a copy of its latest printing from 2015. I’m always fascinated by stuff like this, the primordial ingredients from which the superhero genre was fashioned. Everything from being raised in small town America to playing on the high school football team are elements that were picked up later on in Superman’s history, either by Jerry Siegel or writers after him.
The parallels with Siegel and Shuster’s character are staggering, and not just in the realm of pure power. His third novel, “Gladiator,” which preceded Superman’s first appearance by eight years, is a story about Hugo Danner, a man with superhuman strength, speed and bulletproof skin.
Throughout the 1930s and well beyond, Philip Wylie published many successful novels which inspired other writers and were later adapted to film and television. You can certainly make a case for Doc Savage, the Shadow, Samson, Hercules and many others (for an excellent analysis on the source material Siegel drew from, check out the superb “Super Boys” by Brad Ricca, although many others have written about this origin story as well). Edgar Rice Burroughs’ famous hero of Balsoom, John Carter, who could leap huge distances, fight with bestial strength and save an oppressed race that was not his own, would probably win my vote if I had to pick one source that had the greatest influence. Jerry Siegel drew from many sources throughout his life and as a sci-fi fan, and there were many: books, films, pulps, the Old Testament, the list goes on. Search new homes Search Please enter a valid location or select an item from the list.It’s no secret that the Man of Steel is a conglomeration of several characters and elements of science fiction prior to 1938.
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