Character and Archetypes

This is a very famous character that just by looking at the chest symbol and heroic figure you would know its Superman. The character Superman was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in 1933 but then sold to Dc comics in 1938. The super hero Superman became the conventional hero in the comic book industry with his physical physique becoming a being which everyone wish they could be.  “The epitome of the modern adolescent fantasy, superman was the ideal that spawned an industry”. When superman isn’t saving the world from an evil terror he disguises himself as an ordinary office worker with glasses as shown in the image on the right. When superman disguises himself he become weak compared to superman.  “Superman didn't become Superman. Superman was born Superman. When Superman wakes up in the morning, he's Superman. His alter ego is Clark Kent... That's the costume Superman wears to blend in with us. Clark Kent is how Superman views us. And what are the characteristics of Clark Kent. He's weak... he's unsure of himself... he's a coward. Clark Kent is Superman's critique on the whole human race.” (1). so was superman just a just a character that Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster fantasized to be themselves and Cark Kent (Superman’s alter ego) to be as what they visualise themselves to be. Even though superman may look all superior he does have a weakness which to me doesn’t make him that powerful if he weakened by something humans is immune to. But this also puts the character “Superman” back to reality making us feels like he is just another helpless person. “Kryptonite, a radioactive substance cast off by the exploding planet Krypton. Usually seen in the form of a glowing green crystalline rock, Kryptonite has a lethal effect on anyone from Krypton. If exposed to it, Superman will instantly weaken, and prolonged exposure to it will kill him.” (2).

References

(1)     Quentin Taranotino  paragraph 1 https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/64495.Quentin_Tarantino

(2)     Paragraph 5 http://www.batman-superman.com/superman/cmp/superman.html

 Here are two images of the legendary Goku from the series “Dragonball Z” created by Akira Toriyama who was created in 1984. Looking at these two images of a tall, built up, heroic man we automatically thing of superman and maybe that was Akira Toriyama’s intensions. With superman being sold to DC comics and being a worldwide success was it possible that the character “Goku” was Superman inspired; there have been posts and debates on blog s on this topic. “Superman is an old character, one of the first superheroes to be created in modern times (the 20th Century). So I don't find it surprising that he could've influenced the creation of other recent superheroes, like Goku, for instance” (1).

There is also other similarities like the fact Superman and Goku both come from different planets sent to earth in a space pod, birth planets both destroyed by an evil terror, and both known for saving the earth countless of times. However other bloggers have been saying that Akira Toriyama inspirations were from a completely different character called “Monkey King”. Maybe it is possible that the early stories of Goku when he was a child from the previous manga “Dragonball” was inspired from “Monkey King” as the early character Goku had a monkey’s tale, but as time moved on Akira Toriyama wanted Goku to become a symbol like Superman taking ideas and used his own interpretations of the character in his culture.

With Japanese manga characters they are usually over the top and really exaggerated Akira Toriyama had made Goku’s super powers the main point about Goku. However unlike superman who was able to use his powers willingly not having to train and just born that way, Goku had to train but also having adventures whilst progressing into the superman like character he is now. “The biggest difference is that Japanese super powers are based around a growth mindset. The hero must train hard to unlock his hidden potential... Most American super heroes were born with their powers or gained it all at once through some happenstance beyond their control. They will usually go through an awkward period of learning how their powers work, but it will be more about discovery than training” (2).

As you can see in the picture on the left Goku has a completely different hairstyle and that is because when he gets stronger his hair gets longer and turns blonde and they start glowing. You don’t see this happen  with American comics as it would be strange and wouldn’t appeal to their audience on the other hand it become well known throughout the world because of its Japanese manga unique style compared to superman and in a way found another Superman. “Superman has a "unique" hairstyle: his trademark "S" in front of his forehead... Goku has a "unique" hairstyle: spiky hair.” (1). Heroes they usually have their conventional main villain that never dies out causing havoc to the world waiting for the hero to save the day, like Batman has the Joker, and superman has Lex Luther. However in the series Goku never has an ongoing evil villain there have usually been new villains entering in and out of for each saga for the manga “Dragonball “Dragonball Z” and the sequel “Dragonball GT” so the audience can’t really fall in love with one villain. That is how the character “Goku” has managed to stay loved as much as Superman because it was a different race of a super human that was just as strong which people could wish they was.  

References

1)      IGN Legacy account- top post  http://www.ign.com/boards/threads/goku-was-inspired-on-the-superman-character.17013763/

2)      Nickquest, Roboart- paragraph 2 http://roboheart.com/2012/02/12/japanese-vs-american-hero-archetypes/