Golden Age of Comics (part 5)]

Super-Hero Teams!

The New Great War is over, but the comic industry is here to stay. The Golden Age was the beginning and the foundation for many of the characters and formulas that we know, and adore today.

Some of the clear examples are: Superhero teams, crossovers, and super-villains.

After the Treaty of Visegrad, while the propaganda still existed, it was reduced to some extent.

You had to look at other issues and issues, besides the fact that the public and the writers always wanted something new.

In all art there is originality, subversion and reinterpretation of ideas. It is something very beautiful.

But we would be deviating from the topic, starting with the superhero teams, we have the regional publishers and publishers created particular teams.

Based on published heroes, propaganda and regionalisms.

* Justice League: The Justice League is the team of National Comics (NK) star superheroes, present in Eurasia (especially in the Russian Empire).

It is a team composed of Winter Soldier, Black Widow, Perun, Batman, The Bear / Medved, Ocean Emperor, Martian Manhunter, Doctor Fate

The aim of said group was good, commercial and ideological within NK, to maintain a cohesive and unified universe for the Russian comic industry.

From an in-universe perspective, the Justive League was created so that the superheroes of the region could fight crime as a single unit, against crises that they could not fight alone.

These Crisis events would become some of the most famous arcs in NK.

* The Defenders of America:With Timely Comics and American politics heavily changed after the New Great War, the Defenders of America was created.

A patriotic superhero team dedicated to defending the United States of America against internal and external threats ... Sometimes interfering in affairs outside the US, but that's another matter.

It is a team made up of Super Patriot, Superwoman, Crimson Avenger, Roman the Sub-Mariner, the American Crusader, the Eagle and Citizen Wonder.

Simply Timely and the in-universe superheroes didn't want things like the invasion of New England to repeat themselves, defending the world's beacon of freedom was too important.

Needless to say, the team was notoriously popular within the United States, with heavily planned crossovers and bows throughout various stages of the Golden Age.

* The European Defense Alliance: With the Union of Socialist Europe markets and lax copyright laws in those countries, it is not surprising that crossovers are VERY common in their editorials.

With this in mind, a joint project was designed, a team of superheroes from Red Europe, the European Defense Alliance (although they act outside Europe at times, their base is there).

It is a team composed of The Flash, Green Lantern, Superman, Aqua-homme, Doctor Star and Plastic Man. The most powerful heroes on Earth (within their universe), dedicated to the fight for human rights and the fight against crime.

Speaking of crossovers, a crossover within a publishing house was 'straightforward'. A team of writers and cartoonists was needed, but it was simple at the time.

The most iconic heroes and minor teams had joint issues, to entertain fans, tell stories and raise money.

But after the New Great War, important international projects also emerged.

The copyright and licensing laws of the time allowed NK (Russia) and the public publishing houses of Red Europe to occasionally crossover between universes.

Which were truly fascinating, mainly because of how rare these were (some tried a more organic fusion and others talked more about travel between dimensions or similar).

Also because it was fascinating to read about a foreign hero, not so well known in those parts of the world.

While NK and Red Europe could work every few years, Timely and the other publishers were not as cooperative.

At least not in the first 20 years of the comic industry.

Nowadays the cooperation between publishers is much more usual, we can see crossovers in series, video games and comic issues.

Super-Villains!

*[Russia]

Produced by National Comics (NK).

Kraven the Hunter (Крэйвен Охотник, Kreyven Okhotnik).

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(Kraven the Hunter, from Marvel Comics)

Biography: Sergei Kravinoff (Сергей Кравинов) is an aristocrat of an ancient family of the Russian Empire, while most nobles wasted time in vain things, Sergei was passionate about hunting and fighting.

Sergei became obsessed with big-game hunting, going so far as to hunt the most dangerous animals and endangered species, perfecting his body and abilities for himself. He becoming arrogant and proud.

While Sergei still has a sense and code of honor, his obsession with being the best and living up to his title (leaving a legacy and so on) has led him to become a villain, whose sole goal is to surpass some of the most powerful heroes on the planet.

His biggest targets on his list, Winter Soldier and Black Widow.

Kraven serves as a criticism of the aristocracy of the Russian Empire and other countries, in addition to criticizing illegal hunting.

One of his most famous stories is Kraven Last Hunt, which is less about the hunt itself and more about the psychology of Kraven and his opponents.

Koschei 'the Deathless' (Кощей Бессмертный, Koshchey Bessmertnyy).

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(Koschei, from Hellboy)

Biography: Koschei 'the Deathless' (sometimes also called The Immortal) is NK's version of one of the classic antagonists of Russian Folklore.

The Koschei of NK is basically a lich king, originating from an ancient pagan ritual from the lands of the Caucasus. A powerful wizard who has developed magic and tricks to be nearly impossible to kill.

After having achieved these powers, Koschei is dedicated to trying to corrupt and curse the lands and people that inhabit the Earth, to be the king of everything and enslave humanity.

Koschei is an active villain of the superhero Perún, the god of thunder.

Joker (Джокер, Dzhoker).

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(Joker, from DC Comics).

Biography: It does really matter?

In the opinion of the Joker ... and his writers. If the Joker has an origin story, it better be a multiple choice story.

The only constant detail is a very bad day, and the Batman.

Because Batman is practically an obsession for the clown prince of crime, the Joker's goal is to break Batman, who represents a great antithesis of the Joker.

Today Joker is one of the most recognized supervillains in NK, especially for a lot of the Batman issues.

(OOC: There is also this...Russian Joker from Batman:the brave and the bold, in the Jokers of all nations, but yeah. We aren't going to use that)

*[USA]

Produced by Timely Comics.

Aztec, Champion of Camazotz.

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(I don't know exactly where this is from)

Biography:Who is or who was Aztec? It is a difficult question, the most common answer is that he was a child kidnapped by Native Americans and turned into what he is now. The champion of the murderous bat god, Camazotz.

Aztec is now a beast that attacks and terrorizes in the arid southern United States.

One of humanity's greatest enemies (since Aztec and his god want another extermination of the planet's dominant race) and of the American Crusader.

Donar, god of Thunder.

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(Modi in a concept of God of War).

Biography: Donar is the berserker of thunder, a god (associated with storm, lightning, thunder and force) from the mysterious plane of Ásgarðr. His father, Wuotan the All-Father, believed that Donar was getting 'soft' by eating, feasting and drinking.

Aeons ago the gods and other inhabitants of Ásgarðr came down to earth to gain tribute and quench their desire for combat, but that had changed after the gods clashed with the pantheon of Greek gods.

The Greek gods forced the gods of Ásgarðr to leave Earth.

But now it had changed, and the Greeks themselves were expelled from most earthly affairs.

Donar had to lead the charge of a new invasion, and he did so (invading Canada and the United States with a team of followers), coming into conflict with Superwoman, one of the defenders of humanity.

Due to Superwoman's intervention, Donar was trapped on Earth (the rainbow bridge was destroyed and he cannot cross the abyss). But now the god has the whole Earth to himself ...

If he could defeat the mightiest heroes, Earth would bow down to him in tribute and he could quench his endless desire to party and fight.

That is the dream of the Thunder Berserker.

*[Red Europe]

Alejandro Santos.

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(Lex Luthor, DC Comics).

Biography: Alejandro Santos is a son of a really old Spanish aristocracy, expelled after the Iberian Socialist revolutions. Now Alejandro uses his vast wealth to try to fight the Iberian Union and its heroes, especially Superman.

Alejandro has basically turned Puerto Rico and several other (fictitious) Caribbean islands into his personal domain, which he leads with an iron fist and abusing the population through terrible capitalist practices.

A brilliant man with a lot of potential to improve humanity, he is a genius after all, but he spends his full potential fighting Superman and seeking little revenge.

Antonio Saglimbeni.

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(Black Mask, DC Comics).

Biography:Antonio Saglimbeni, sometimes called Black Mask, is a mysterious Mafia boss who represents a recurring villain for the Flash and Plastic Man (among other heroes of Socialist Italy).

Originally his origin was a mystery, one day simply Black Mask arrived and took control of the northern Italian mafia.

'Eating' of the good citizens of the country through crime and corruption.

It turns out that Black Mask, or Antonio Saglimbeni, was originally the bastard son of a mob boss, who lost his mother after she was assassinated by a rival mob.

With her scarred face now hidden by his mask, Saglimbeni returned to take control of the crime and never be weak again.

Abusing others as they once abused him.