RexMundi
Nov 28th, '09, 08:52 AM
Out of Idle Boredom, and we all know how boredom tends to effect the thought processes, like most fans of any genre I'll often sit back and go, "Hmmm......I wonder who would win?"
So, I compiled a few of these together, and decided to post them here in the various. The rules are simple. Pick your winner, then explain why, and or why not.
Simple really.
SO, to start things off, I offer up, the first batch of contestants.
Contestant 1: The Shadow.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b7/TheShadowComic01.jpg/250px-TheShadowComic01.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5c/Shadow_Death_From_Nowhere.jpg http://www.shadowsanctum.com/blog/cityofcrime.jpg
Now do folks really ned the background of the Shadow? Well I suppose there is a SLIM chance out there that there is a pulp fan that doesn't really know WHO the Shadow is, or worse, only has the Alec Baldwin movie to go by (Rex of course is thankful for the NEW movie coming out that will repair that damage)......For those not in the know:
In print, The Shadow's secret identity is Kent Allard, a famed aviator who fought for the French during World War I. He is known by the alias of The Black Eagle ("The Shadow's Shadow", 1933), although later stories revised this alias as The Dark Eagle ("The Shadow Unmasks", 1937). After the war, Allard seeks a new challenge and decides to wage war on criminals. Allard fakes his death in the South American jungles, then returns to the United States. Arriving in New York City, he adopts numerous identities to conceal his existence.
One of these identities is Lamont Cranston, a "wealthy young man about town." In the pulps, Cranston is a separate character; Allard frequently disguises himself as Cranston and adopts his identity ("The Shadow Laughs," 1931). While Cranston travels the world, Allard assumes his identity in New York. In their first meeting, Allard/The Shadow threatens Cranston, saying that he has arranged to switch signatures on various documents and other means that will allow him to take over the Lamont Cranston identity entirely unless Cranston agrees to allow Allard to impersonate him when he is abroad. Terrified, Cranston agrees. The two men sometimes meet in order to impersonate each other ("Crime over Miami," 1940). Apparently, the disguise works well because Allard and Cranston bear something of a resemblance to each other ("Dictator of Crime," 1941).
His other disguises include businessman Henry Arnaud, elderly gentleman Isaac Twambley, and Fritz, a doddering old janitor who works at Police Headquarters in order to listen in on conversations.
For the first half of The Shadow's tenure in the pulps, his past and identity are ambiguous, supposedly an intentional decision on Gibson's part. In "The Living Shadow," a thug claims to have seen The Shadow's face, and thought he saw "a piece of white that looked like a bandage." In "The Black Master" and "The Shadow's Shadow," the villains both see The Shadow's true face, and they both remark that The Shadow is a man of many faces with no face of his own. It was not until the August 1937 issue, "The Shadow Unmasks," that The Shadow's real name is revealed.
In the radio drama, the Allard secret identity was dropped for simplicity's sake. On the radio, The Shadow was only Lamont Cranston; he had no other aliases or disguises.
As for what he could do, Only the Shadow truly knows, though one could assume the Power to Cloud Mens Minds, and to know what evil lurks in the heart there off, are pretty handy for a Night Stalking Guns Blazing crime fighter, of the sort that was the inspiration for Bat-Man and more. The Shadow, is Very much, a Pulp Icon, one whoose voice is still chilling to hear, especially if one is up to evil deeds.....But then....Is the Shadow up to facing a foe, or a rival, the likes of:
Contestant 2: The SPIDER...MASTER of MEN!
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f4/The_Spider_October_1933.jpg/250px-The_Spider_October_1933.jpg http://homepage.mac.com/cdkalb/spider/pulps/covers/media/4105.jpg http://www.moonstonebooks.com/images/covers/Spider2A.jpg Now the Spider.....THIS, is a really interesting character. One could say, he's a copy of The Shadow, or visa versa.......
For those not in the know of course, and unfortunately I have run into many the pulp fan without a clue as to who The Spider was, we can offer up this as well:
The Spider was created by Harry Steeger at Popular Publications in 1933 as competition to Street and Smith Publications' vigilante hero, The Shadow. Similar to the character of The Shadow, The Spider was in actuality millionaire playboy Richard Wentworth living in New York and unaffected by the Great Depression. Wentworth fought crime by donning a cape, mask, and slouch hat, and terrorizing the criminal underworld with extreme prejudice and his brand of vigilante justice.
The stories often involved a bizarre menace and a criminal conspiracy and were often extremely violent. The first story was written by R. T. M. Scott, but later stories were published under a house name, Grant Stockbridge. Most of the Spider novels were written by Norvell Page. Other authors of the Spider novels included Emile C. Tepperman, Wayne Rogers, Prentice Winchell, and Donald C. Cormack. The Spider was published monthly and ran for 118 issues from 1933 to 1943.
Now the Spider, was known for his Calling Card. A Red Ink Spider left on the foreheads of the Criminals he Slew. Now another Pulp Hero, Lee Falks Phantom, was known for marking folks with his Skull Ring, but in the case of the Spider, his mark was made with the base of his cigarette lighter, invented by a useful minion....Another thing to keep in mind about the Spider. The Spider, was mean. VERY mean. The Spider, would make Frank Castle quake in his Punisher Under-roos......One could say, while the Shadow would have been the inspiration for many the Caped and Cowled or masked Mystery men to come, the Spider, would have been the first True comic style Anti Hero (Not counting the Westerns, different pulp genre there :D ).....
Still, while the Spider was the Master of Men, could he stand before, the Original Super Man?
Contestant 3: Doc Savage
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/97/Docsavage.jpeg/200px-Docsavage.jpeg http://forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/Doc%20Savage%20Lost%20Radio%20Scripts%20Lester%20D ent.jpg http://dailypop.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/batman_doc-savage.jpg?w=481&h=824
Can it POSSIBLY, get more Pulp, then Clark Savage Jr? Physician, surgeon, scientist, adventurer, inventor, explorer, researcher, and, as revealed in The Devil Genghis, a musician? Lester Dent himself described the character as "a mix of Sherlock Holmes' deductive abilities, Tarzan's outstanding physical abilities, Craig Kennedy's scientific education, and Abraham Lincoln's goodness."
There is no doubt to me at least, that Doc is the better HERO, of the three (though by modern standards, Doc Savages techniques may violate more then a few human rights and ethics issues). Still, could he BEAT, the Spider? Could he Beat, the Shadow? 181 original novels, scores of add ons, posters, a (so-so but consider when it was made) movie, comics, magazines, Wold Newton, and more? Pretty impressive Resume I would think, and really no need to describe what the Doc can do, since the guy had a Fortress of Solitude, before even the "other" Superman.
There are lots of similarities between these three characters. They all fought Crime. They all had, Helpers. But out of the three, who will be the last one standing.
I'll with hold my own opinion til a bit later. Debate decor and demeanor if possible. Anyone can root and cheer but the reasoning behind the pick is the fun part.
~Rex
So, I compiled a few of these together, and decided to post them here in the various. The rules are simple. Pick your winner, then explain why, and or why not.
Simple really.
SO, to start things off, I offer up, the first batch of contestants.
Contestant 1: The Shadow.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b7/TheShadowComic01.jpg/250px-TheShadowComic01.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5c/Shadow_Death_From_Nowhere.jpg http://www.shadowsanctum.com/blog/cityofcrime.jpg
Now do folks really ned the background of the Shadow? Well I suppose there is a SLIM chance out there that there is a pulp fan that doesn't really know WHO the Shadow is, or worse, only has the Alec Baldwin movie to go by (Rex of course is thankful for the NEW movie coming out that will repair that damage)......For those not in the know:
In print, The Shadow's secret identity is Kent Allard, a famed aviator who fought for the French during World War I. He is known by the alias of The Black Eagle ("The Shadow's Shadow", 1933), although later stories revised this alias as The Dark Eagle ("The Shadow Unmasks", 1937). After the war, Allard seeks a new challenge and decides to wage war on criminals. Allard fakes his death in the South American jungles, then returns to the United States. Arriving in New York City, he adopts numerous identities to conceal his existence.
One of these identities is Lamont Cranston, a "wealthy young man about town." In the pulps, Cranston is a separate character; Allard frequently disguises himself as Cranston and adopts his identity ("The Shadow Laughs," 1931). While Cranston travels the world, Allard assumes his identity in New York. In their first meeting, Allard/The Shadow threatens Cranston, saying that he has arranged to switch signatures on various documents and other means that will allow him to take over the Lamont Cranston identity entirely unless Cranston agrees to allow Allard to impersonate him when he is abroad. Terrified, Cranston agrees. The two men sometimes meet in order to impersonate each other ("Crime over Miami," 1940). Apparently, the disguise works well because Allard and Cranston bear something of a resemblance to each other ("Dictator of Crime," 1941).
His other disguises include businessman Henry Arnaud, elderly gentleman Isaac Twambley, and Fritz, a doddering old janitor who works at Police Headquarters in order to listen in on conversations.
For the first half of The Shadow's tenure in the pulps, his past and identity are ambiguous, supposedly an intentional decision on Gibson's part. In "The Living Shadow," a thug claims to have seen The Shadow's face, and thought he saw "a piece of white that looked like a bandage." In "The Black Master" and "The Shadow's Shadow," the villains both see The Shadow's true face, and they both remark that The Shadow is a man of many faces with no face of his own. It was not until the August 1937 issue, "The Shadow Unmasks," that The Shadow's real name is revealed.
In the radio drama, the Allard secret identity was dropped for simplicity's sake. On the radio, The Shadow was only Lamont Cranston; he had no other aliases or disguises.
As for what he could do, Only the Shadow truly knows, though one could assume the Power to Cloud Mens Minds, and to know what evil lurks in the heart there off, are pretty handy for a Night Stalking Guns Blazing crime fighter, of the sort that was the inspiration for Bat-Man and more. The Shadow, is Very much, a Pulp Icon, one whoose voice is still chilling to hear, especially if one is up to evil deeds.....But then....Is the Shadow up to facing a foe, or a rival, the likes of:
Contestant 2: The SPIDER...MASTER of MEN!
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f4/The_Spider_October_1933.jpg/250px-The_Spider_October_1933.jpg http://homepage.mac.com/cdkalb/spider/pulps/covers/media/4105.jpg http://www.moonstonebooks.com/images/covers/Spider2A.jpg Now the Spider.....THIS, is a really interesting character. One could say, he's a copy of The Shadow, or visa versa.......
For those not in the know of course, and unfortunately I have run into many the pulp fan without a clue as to who The Spider was, we can offer up this as well:
The Spider was created by Harry Steeger at Popular Publications in 1933 as competition to Street and Smith Publications' vigilante hero, The Shadow. Similar to the character of The Shadow, The Spider was in actuality millionaire playboy Richard Wentworth living in New York and unaffected by the Great Depression. Wentworth fought crime by donning a cape, mask, and slouch hat, and terrorizing the criminal underworld with extreme prejudice and his brand of vigilante justice.
The stories often involved a bizarre menace and a criminal conspiracy and were often extremely violent. The first story was written by R. T. M. Scott, but later stories were published under a house name, Grant Stockbridge. Most of the Spider novels were written by Norvell Page. Other authors of the Spider novels included Emile C. Tepperman, Wayne Rogers, Prentice Winchell, and Donald C. Cormack. The Spider was published monthly and ran for 118 issues from 1933 to 1943.
Now the Spider, was known for his Calling Card. A Red Ink Spider left on the foreheads of the Criminals he Slew. Now another Pulp Hero, Lee Falks Phantom, was known for marking folks with his Skull Ring, but in the case of the Spider, his mark was made with the base of his cigarette lighter, invented by a useful minion....Another thing to keep in mind about the Spider. The Spider, was mean. VERY mean. The Spider, would make Frank Castle quake in his Punisher Under-roos......One could say, while the Shadow would have been the inspiration for many the Caped and Cowled or masked Mystery men to come, the Spider, would have been the first True comic style Anti Hero (Not counting the Westerns, different pulp genre there :D ).....
Still, while the Spider was the Master of Men, could he stand before, the Original Super Man?
Contestant 3: Doc Savage
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/97/Docsavage.jpeg/200px-Docsavage.jpeg http://forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/Doc%20Savage%20Lost%20Radio%20Scripts%20Lester%20D ent.jpg http://dailypop.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/batman_doc-savage.jpg?w=481&h=824
Can it POSSIBLY, get more Pulp, then Clark Savage Jr? Physician, surgeon, scientist, adventurer, inventor, explorer, researcher, and, as revealed in The Devil Genghis, a musician? Lester Dent himself described the character as "a mix of Sherlock Holmes' deductive abilities, Tarzan's outstanding physical abilities, Craig Kennedy's scientific education, and Abraham Lincoln's goodness."
There is no doubt to me at least, that Doc is the better HERO, of the three (though by modern standards, Doc Savages techniques may violate more then a few human rights and ethics issues). Still, could he BEAT, the Spider? Could he Beat, the Shadow? 181 original novels, scores of add ons, posters, a (so-so but consider when it was made) movie, comics, magazines, Wold Newton, and more? Pretty impressive Resume I would think, and really no need to describe what the Doc can do, since the guy had a Fortress of Solitude, before even the "other" Superman.
There are lots of similarities between these three characters. They all fought Crime. They all had, Helpers. But out of the three, who will be the last one standing.
I'll with hold my own opinion til a bit later. Debate decor and demeanor if possible. Anyone can root and cheer but the reasoning behind the pick is the fun part.
~Rex