Tropes from the Beginning
- Feb 2, 2015
- 2 min read
Reading the early comics anthologized in Supermen! I found it intriguing to see all the tropes that were present in comic books before Superman even existed. In “Comic Predecessors,” an excerpt from Peter Coogan’s book, Superhero: The Secret Origin of a Genre, it’s suggested that while all of these tropes existed before Superman, it took Siegel and Shuster to combine them all together to create Superman.
Going into these early comics, I have to admit that I expected the protagonists to maybe exhibit one trope or so each. However, some of these proto-heroes really blurred the line in my opinion.
Thinking specifically of The Clock, by George E. Brenner, I was very much reminded of superheroes like Batman. The Clock works as a sort of vigilante detective who steals from corrupt businessmen and mobsters. Again with the wealthy, corrupt villains! And though he lacks super strength, Coogan points out that the Clock makes up for this with his boxing prowess and skill in hypnotism. Particular lines of similarity between him and Batman were his reliance on martial arts as well as his double life as a wealthy socialite, and an aversion to killing his enemies.
While Superman may be the first superhero in that he combines the three elements that for Coogan makes a superhero (prosocial mission, above average ability, and secret identity), it’s clear how much lasting influence characters like the Clock have had on the genre, particularly with those “non-powered” heroes like Batman.
Further into Supermen! you can really tell when Superman began to really get popular. More of the characters begin to combine the three elements outlined by Coogan. You get superpowered characters like the Comet, who feature origin stories to ground their abilities in science as well as secret identities and a duty to protect the world from crime. In fact, The Comet by Jack Cole features the now commonplace trope of the hero being tricked into evil.
The Comet actually kills several innocents while under hypnosis, and the comic ends on a cliffhanger: “I’m just a murderer in the eyes of the world. And I will clear my name or die in the attempt!!” (82, panel 8).
The tropes introduced by these proto-heroes and early superheroes, I think are very important as they still hold a recognizable place within the superhero genre today.
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