Of Marvels and Superheroes

It was the usual work day, well, thinking it would be one as I dragged my butt off the bed. It was pretty unusual because we don’t usually open the television on a working not even on an early time like that.

But it was kind of nostalgic… yup! That’s the word I used… nostalgic.



A quite old cartoon I used to watch on a local channel sometime around my childhood days during weekends. Now, I was able to see it on one cable channel. Nostalgic… made me not work for a while. Savored the moment… then it hit me... again.

Damn! I’m f***ing old.

Oh well…

So I just thought, time and technology did really “impose” change. Or let’s consider it as innovation. As proof…



That my friends, is the first SUPERFRIENDS that I know of… remember? The Wonder Twins and their naughty monkey sidekick (which I forgot the name)… Aquaman (without the beard, mustache and lengthy hair).

But there’s this one which I believe is OLDER than what I showed above…



Aquaman “flying”, Robin as part of the team, Green Lantern look like Christopher Reeves in a mask, and HawkMAN.

And now…



This is where the JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA or just plain JLA of today came from. I first saw JLA in the US at Cartoon Network I think around
2001 (sorry I’m bad at dates). I always wait for it, watch it and its late-night reruns religiously. If I know I’d be missing it, I’d make sure our VCR will be programmed to record it. JLA showed each superhero a deeper persona, a more variant on the nationality if I may say so (i.e. an afro-American Green Lantern) and gender issues or equivalence (HawkGIRL). And a new character for me, Martian who I think took the place of Robin, was introduced in their pilot episode as the mere survivor of their “species” who have come to earth to warn humans about the other aliens who wiped out and devoured his planet. But ever since I got a day-job and came back to my “reality”, I never got to watch it that often. Until I found this…



Ok, unlimited may be associated to “extended”… in this photo, aside from seeing Aquaman in long hair, beard, mustache and ala-Captain Hook left hand (which by the way was an episode or two in JLA), you can see Supergirl and Batgirl (which I haven’t seen in ANY episodes yet, only in Warner Brothers website Gotham Girls series). I have watched a couple of episodes of this “extended” JLA and there are a lot and I mean A LOT of those superheroes which I haven’t even thought be included under the team. I’m not sure f my eyes have deceived me but I’m sure I’ve seen The Lone Ranger there. I’m sure its like crossovers on comics and God! love stories, romance and ala-soap opera love triangles… huh?

Ok, before I get lost and rant on storylines that I really find quite off track, as seen on above photos how evolution is embodied in another imagery. Call it improvement, innovation or adaptation… whatever it is, cartoon is cartoon. I love them since childhood. An escape perhaps or the reality we dwell but one thing surely it did to me that day… I went back ;)

The day was started in a weird but right way. I am somehow pleased. And a child in me was smiling –– happily.