[divider]Marvel’s Hercules (1965)[/divider]
Hercules (a.k.a. ‘one of the countless sons of Zeus people actually give a shit about’) was first formally introduced as a rival to Thor in ‘Journey into Mystery’ in 1965. Even though Hercules and Thor have gone head-to-head a couple of times, Hercules was not exactly a villain… just an ass.
Having operated as an Avenger and a frequent ally to the heroes of the Marvel universe, this version of Hercules is, in fact, a lot less of an ass than his mythic counterpart.
[divider]Deadman (1967)[/divider]
This man is no human! That’s not exactly a compliment or an insult… it’s just true since he’s a ghost.
Boston Brand was a circus artist who got murdered during his performance. Due to his sudden death and the dangerous secrets behind it, the somewhat-Hindu God ‘Rama Kushna’ gave Boston’s spirit the power to possess any being on earth and seek vengeance for his murder.
However, he has since decided to stick around and help other crimefighters anyway.
[divider]Etrigan the Demon (1972)[/divider]
First a ghost, now a demon!
Don’t panic! This demon tends to sway to the lighter side more often than not due to his alliances with the good guys of the DC universe.
Another character drawing inspiration from the era of Camelot, Etrigan the demon was bound to the body of Jason Blood, a knight in the service of King Arthur, by Merlin himself.
Now alive for near eternity, Blood and Etrigan work together on their search for magical grievances and to put an end to Evil!
[divider]Captain Planet (1990)[/divider]
Bet you didn’t see this coming.
While only appearing in the cartoon series in ’90s, Captain Planet was pretty much an American spin on the popular Japanese super sentai concept—a concept that will later go global as Power Rangers.
Summoned by the Planeteers, who were chosen by Gaia, the Greek titan and manifestation of the Earth itself, Captain Planet is a superhero who defends the world from pollution and criminal activities.
What makes this animated TV series character so interesting is that Captain Planet’s main weaknesses was the very thing he fought: pollution! This pretty much put him at a disadvantage during the series, but made for more interesting stories.
Fun fact: Don Cheadle, once played Captain Planet in a comedy webseries produced by Funny Or Die. I watched this and could never see War Machine the same way ever again…
Check it out: