Tag Archives: father
Golden Age Showcase: Professor Supermind and Son
Let’s talk about families in comic books.
Sure there are plenty of family figures in comic books.
Heck, there are even a couple of actual families that have proven to be incredibly popular,
but for the most part the purpose of being a family member of a superhero usually means your either an obstacle to the work of a superhero, or you’re dead.
If you’re looking for someone to blame for this trope, blame Batman.
Batman was the first superhero to have a clearly defined origin story and he was the first hero to have his parents tragically killed.
In a way it makes sense for a superhero to not have his/her parents around when things like curfew, homework, and “you’re going out dressed like THAT?!” are a constant roadblocks.
While Batman was the first in the long and proud tradition of orphaned superheroes today’s blog post is about a father and son team who go around and fight crime together.
By which I mean the son does all the heavy lifting and the father sits back, tells his son what to do, and subjects his only child to dangerous experiments.
Today we are talking about Professor Supermind and Son.
Origin and Career
Professor Supermind and his son made their first appearance in the Dell Comics anthology Popular Comics #60 in Febuary of 1941.
I don’t know who created him but apparently he was popular enough to be on the cover for the next couple of issues.
The origin of this superheroic duo is straightforward and simple enough to be described in the first panel of every issue.
The father’s name is Professor Warren, a super scientist who has created two of the greatest inventions mankind has ever witnessed. The first is a television that can view anything in the world which was useful for both spotting where crime and for checking in on what I can only presume are his many ex wives and their new boyfriends.
The second is an “energy builder” which he uses to zap his son with electrical power. Following super hero logic this jolt of energy doesn’t kill him. Instead, it grants him “electric power equal to a thousand horsepower”.
I’m beginning to think that a lot of early comic book creators didn’t really know how science works.
The two men didn’t have much in the way of motivation outside of simply doing the right thing and each of their stories were pretty formulaic for the time. The professor would see a problem going on through his television and send his son to stop it.
One of the better stories in my opinion was when the two fought of, what else, Nazis who were threatening to invade America.
What’s really impressive about this story is the pair’s complete and total disregard for human life since they decide to collapse the tunnel and drown thousands of men unless the Nazis back off.
I mean, I know that they’re Nazis and all, but killing so many people is a bit extreme.
Casual disregard for human life aside, the duo did have something resembling a nemesis outside of the dastardly Germans. Apparently, the Professor had a former pupil who wanted the Professor’s inventions for himself.
The man’s name was Sorel and he was the closest thing the series ever had to a super villain.
Funnily enough, Sorel was actually somewhat capable. He even managed to sneak in to the Professor’s lab and use the power machine on himself.
So what happened?
Despite having a fairly interesting idea and some halfway decent artwork for the time, the father and son team only made twelve appearances.
I don’t know what happened but I can make a pretty good guess. Professor Supermind and his son started out as the cover story and as the first story in each anthology for a couple of issues and then started losing their cover appearances and first story positions to other characters.
It’s safe to say that they just weren’t as popular as Dell Comics hoped.
Looking back it’s pretty easy to see why. Each of the stories were pretty formulaic, the dialogue was wooden, and although the art wasn’t terrible the artist preferred to have the characters stand around and talk rather than act.
Sadly, there is very little chance for these two to make a comeback. Dell Comics was hit pretty hard in the 1950’s and never really recovered. They closed shop in 1972, although their legacy continues with the three superheroes Doctor Solar, Turok, and Magnus Robot Fighter.
Despite the fact that their stories are pretty boring once you get down to it, I do think that Professor Supermind and his son do have some potential. As I stated at the beginning of the article, living biological parents are something of a rarity in comic books so there could be a place for a well written father son team.
The Secret Lives of Villains #179
The Secret Lives of Villains #178
Comparing the two greatest father figures in comics
Happy post Father’s Day Monday everyone!
For our international readers, Father’s Day is an American holiday where we celebrate the role and achievements fathers play in all our lives.
Some would say it’s a chance to give dads the recognition they deserve after Mother’s Day (Mother’s Day was a federally recognized holiday before Father’s Day) and some would say that it’s a cynical attempt for the card companies and power tool companies to sell more stuff.
Whatever you believe in it’s important to recognize that fathers have a huge impact on our personal lives and world view and comic books are a medium that is filled with fatherly influence.
Now, being a dad in a comic book can be rather difficult. It’s even more difficult when you realize that in mainstream American comic books fathers either wind up dead or have to go through hell for their children.
But whether we like it or not, comic book dads fulfill an important role in comic book story telling: they help the main character become the person he/she needs to be in order to become a superhero, and what’s really interesting is that more often than not there are many different ways fathers can teach their biological/surrogate offspring to become a hero.
So today we are going to look at two of the greatest father figures in comic book history: Pa Kent and Uncle Ben.
Pa Kent
Within the Superman mythology Ma Kent is usually the one that’s portrayed as the principal caretaker of Clark considering that Pa Kent winds up dead in quite a few variations of the story.
.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20080905231340)
With that being said, while Ma Kent is usually the one who gets to be the principal caretaker and moral compass for her adopted son, Pa Kent has the honor of being the wise old man that the world’s most powerful being looks up to.
The Kent family has been by Superman’s side since the very beginning.
What I find most impressive is just how capable these two are. In fact, if it wasn’t for this guy
I’d say they were the most capable parents in all of comics.
They are kind, dedicated, and somehow they took the strongest being on Earth and not only managed to keep his existence a secret for a very long time, but they managed to install a moral compass on kid who was practically immune to all forms of punishment. After all, a spanking seems kind of pointless when you have a son who can deflect bullets.
The results speak for themselves and Superman grew up to become one of the most selfless beings on the entire planet instead of the ruler and dictator that so many would expect from a being who possesses such power.
One of the things I like about the Kents is how they’ve managed to go through so much and still remain the kindly couple they are today. They have no trouble hosting aliens who actually look like aliens,
to helping their son learn how to fly.
By the way, the page above is from a series called Superman: American Alien by Max Landis. It is an amazing series and I cannot recommend it enough.
Whether it’s dealing with the emotional loss of Jonathan Kent
or dealing with yet another alien invasion that decides to take place on their front doorstep.
The Kents have remained one of the most steadfast and loyal families in all of comics.
Uncle Ben
You know him or more specifically you know his line.
Say it, say it now.
There used to be a famous saying in the comic book industry: “Nobody dies in comics except Jason Todd, Bucky Barnes, and Uncle Ben”.
Then 2005 happened.
and it just became “Nobody dies in comics except Uncle Ben.”
Uncle Ben has taken a more relaxed attitude towards instilling heroic ideals in his children. Granted, it’s mostly because he’s been dead all this time but the results speak for themselves.
In the brief time we get to see Uncle Ben alive in the comics he comes off as a kind, caring, and compassionate person who only wants the best for his adopted son. In fact, he’s so nice and so good that after he dies Peter is wracked with so much guilt that he decides to dedicate the rest of his life to being one of the most helpful and dedicated superheroes in the Marvel Universe.
Which is saying something considering the amount of pain and suffering Peter has gone through over the years.
So which father figure is better? Honestly I don’t think it matters. Both men provide their adopted sons with the necessary moral guidelines that are needed for being a superhero and both are great father figures.
While Father’s Day may be over it is important to recognize the roll that fathers have in our lives and even though we may not live in a comic book universe, they can help all of us become superheroes.
Cambrian Comics 