A Villain can’t exist without his or her Superhero, and vice-versa. So, the companion to last class’s lesson is here!
Below, you can find the lesson plan we learned from when learning about creating our own Superhero. And once you scroll down past that, you can see all the awesome work the Meltdown Uni Comics for Kids Students did last class.
Thanks for reading –!!
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GOOD GUYS –!!
Creating a HERO, or, SUPERHERO, in Your Comics, Drawings, and Stories
The main character in any story is called the HERO. In writing terms, a bigger word for that is “Protagonist.”
1. LET’S QUICKLY REVIEW THE DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN GOOD GUYS AND BAD GUYS
Remember how our last class was about creating “Bad Guys,” or, “Villains?” Remember: a bigger word for the bad guys is the “Antagonist.”
Today, we will focus on the “PROTAGONIST.” Again, that means the main character of the story.
Usually, the “Protagonist” is also the “hero,” or, “The Good Guy.”
That word, Protagonist, means who the story is about, and who we want to win. The difference between the HERO and the VILLAIN, is that the HERO is nice, does good things for people, and often saves lives. The VILLAIN is mean, likes to hurt people, and may even put other people’s lives in danger. Even if the VILLAIN has reasons to be mean and angry, what he does is not right.
LET’S REVIEW: Of BATMAN and THE JOKER, which one is the PROTAGONIST, and which one is the ANTAGONIST?
2. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A HERO AND A SUPERHERO: And, The Importance of ALTER-EGOS
*A HERO is someone who is kind, saves people, and is often SELFLESS. This means they do things to help other people before thinking about themselves.
Being a Firefighter is an example of a real life heroic job, because the job is dangerous, but the workers do it because they care about saving other people. Even if a situation is very dangerous or scary, they care more about helping others than themselves when it is necessary.
*A SUPERHERO is not so different. He, or she, is someone who is kind, saves people, and is often SELFLESS—but, a superhero ALSO has special powers that regular people do not have.
(NOTE: The exception to this is a superhero like Batman, who is a regular man without any powers, but who is still very smart and has built special machines—like the Batmobile—that allow him to do things that most people cannot do.)
Some superheroes are born with powers, and others acquire them.
Do you recognize the superhero below?
It’s Superman, who has superpowers because he was born with them. Actually, Superman is incorrectly named. Technically, he is an alien, and not a regular human or man.
He is the only person who survived from the planet Krypton, which was about to explode in a nuclear chain reaction. His father, Jor-El, sent him in a spacecraft to earth, to save his life. The Kent family found and adopted him, not knowing he had any special powers.
Superman’s OTHER name is CLARK KENT—this is an alter-ego or Alias, which we will discuss later. First, can you think of a superhero who started out as a regular person, and then became a superhero?
Look below—this superhero was a regular high school student, until what happened?
It’s Spiderman! He was bitten by a Radioactive Spider, which gave him he power to jump large distances, sling webs, climb up buildings, and have super strength.
ALIASES AND ALTER-EGOS
The word “Alias” means a false name that a person goes by. “Alter-Ego” means another side of a person. In other words, when a person has to be two different people, and personalities. A lot of the time, a person’s alter-ego is the complete opposite of who they usually are. Many superheroes are shy until they get in costume and fly off to save the day!
Superheroes HAVE to have an alter-ego, for a few reasons. Do you know which superheroes and alter-egos are pictured above?)
One reason is that, if their evil enemies knew who they really were, those enemies would try to hurt the superhero’s friends and families. Not only that, but the friends and families of superheroes might want to stop them from working, because of being afraid for their safety.
Another reason is that they need to be SECRETIVE, in order to get things done and foil evil plans. It’s impossible to be secretive if everyone knows who you are.
And one third reason—which is a little confusing—is that what superheroes are doing is not always -“right.” Let’s explain that a little more. Even though Superheroes do good, technically speaking, and are doing the “right” thing—what they do is often against the law. The way cities and states work is that there are police, and other groups hired by the government, to protect the people. So, a superhero flying in to fix everything, technically, messes up how society is supposed to work.
Here is a list of a few superheroes, and their alter-egos.
- Spiderman is Peter Parker
- Superman is Clark Kent
- Batman is Bruce Wayne
- The Hulk is Doctor Bruce Banner
Can you think of other Superheroes, and Alter-Egos? And how is the regular person different from his or her alter-ego?
Before a superhero even needed an alter-ego, he had to have an ORIGIN STORY. This is what we’ll talk about next.
Remember how in the Villains Lesson we talked about how villains have a BACKSTORY? Something, or some things, that happened to them to make them villains? Well, SUPERHEROES have something called an ORIGIN STORY.
The word ORIGIN means beginning. So, an ORIGIN STORY often is about where your character is from (if, like Superman, he is from another planet), or HOW and WHY he got superpowers, if he was once a regular person. It is a little bit similar to the villain BACKSTORY, especially if the villain is a supervillain and had some kind of chemical change (think of Harry Osborn, Doctor Octopus, and so on).
Not only that, but in a superhero’s origin story, he often makes good choices. Remember how we talked about some villains becoming villains, because they were sad, angry, or bullied? Superheroes may also have sad backstories, but once they get their powers, they decide to use those powers to help–not hurt—other people.
WHEN YOU ARE CREATING YOUR OWN SUPERHERO, AND THINKING OF AN ORIGIN STORY, HERE ARE THINGS TO THINK ABOUT:
1. Give readers a reason to care about your Superhero
Think of a person like Peter Parker. He is a nice person, and a guy a lot of people can relate to, isn’t he? He has friend issues, relationship worries, school worries, and worries about bullies.
Whether you are making a story about a monster, an alien, an animal, or a person, who becomes a hero—it helps to make them likeable to begin with. Even before they have superpowers.
2. Give your Superhero obstacles
Characters who have everything come easily to them get boring. Even if the character is a superhero, he has to have many things to overcome. Again, it helps if he had things to overcome before he got his powers, and even after.
Think of how even Spiderman has to deal with townspeople never being happy—when he’s saving the day, some people are always complaining. And when he stops saving the day, others say he’s abandoned them. Superheroes often have to work hard, even when things are hard in their lives.
3. Think about connecting your Superhero and your Villain
Many times, a villain may have really hurt a superhero. Just the way villains may become evil to get revenge, superheroes may also want revenge against people who have done evil things— especially if it’s personal.
Sometimes, they may have a connection through a mutual person—Norman Osborn, who becomes the Green Goblin, becomes Spiderman’s enemy. However, Spiderman (when he is Peter Parker) is best friend’s with Harry Osborn, Norman’s son. It might be helpful to jot down character names and make a chart, seeing different ways a good guy and a bad guy could actually be connected.
5. Give readers a chance of a happy ending. If the character’s origin story hinges on an overwhelming tragedy, what’s he fighting for? No matter how many criminals Batman gets back at, Bruce Wayne’s parents will still be gone. But if he can save other people, and keep other characters from going through what he went through—he is fighting a good fight, and at least those people can have a happy ending.
4. Now, for the artsy part: DESIGNING your SUPERHEROES!
A) SIZE AND SHAPE
Before you begin, make sure you’ve got a decent idea of what kind of character you want to create. Will they be very muscular, or more like a normal person? Will they have one body type before they are a superhero, and a different one after?
Below is an example of how many types, shapes, and sizes there are of superheroes. Notice, however, apart from a few silly ones they have the same STANCE. Do you know what STANCE means?
In this case, it’s how they are standing. The strong, hands on the hips pose is one superheroes often hold. The diagram shows a focus on the face first. You can work in reverse, if you want, and would like to create the body first! Sometimes, though, making a face first helps you decide what kind of personality your character will have.
B) COSTUMES, SYMBOLS, and BODY BUILDING
Usually, a superhero’s trademark symbol, is on their chest, on their helmet, on their cape, or all three. A symbol, for example, is like the “S” for Superman.
If you wish to omit the emblem for now. Do so. If you’d rather draw it somewhere else… do so in sequence with the rest of the lesson. Just be sure you draw it before the parts around and under it.
Using the diagram above, what kind of powers and names—and therefore, SYMBOLS—does it look like these guys would have?
It’s time to add muscles—a superhero doesn’t have to have them, but often, they do. It comes from having to run, jump, and carry people from crumbling buildings much of the time. However, some are very cartoony, and are either round, or overly thin, as well.
They may also wear gloves, and often, a belt. BELTS are ANOTHER place their special symbols end up –!! See the edited version of this diagram on the next page.
C) Finishing Up: Putting Final Touches on your SUPERHERO DESIGN
This is where you can go crazy, and have fun! If you like stripes, patterns, or colors, you are free to add anything you like to your character’s costume. You can also add fun, silly things if you like. Look at how much fun the bug superhero is having, and how cool the head-part of his costume is!
THE EXAMPLES IN THIS SECTION OF THE PACKET ARE TO SHOW YOU THE TRADITIONAL SIDE OF SUPERHERO DESIGN—SYMBOLS, TIGHT OUTFITS, CAPES, AND BELTS—BUT ALSO TO SHOW YOU THAT A SUPERHERO CAN BE FUN, SILLY, AND LOOK ANY WAY YOU LIKE, IF THAT’S WHAT YOU CHOOSE.
Now for your final instructions!
JUST AS WE DID WHEN MAKING BAD GUYS, START TO CREATE A DRAWING, OR A COMIC THAT FOCUSES ON THE GOOD GUY.
Think about:
1. How did your Good Guy get special powers (or is he a hero, and a normal person—if so, how does that change things)?
2. Why does your Good Guy hate your Bad Guy?
3. Do your Hero and Villain know each other?
4. Think about showing either a flashback, or starting from early in your Hero’s life, so we understand all sides of him.
5. Who are his friends– does he have friends, or a posse? Who are the people he, or she, wants to protect?
6. Is there anything that is a weakness for him, like Kryptonite for Superman?
- If they each have special powers, how are the powers of your Hero and Villain different?
Happy Creating!
And now, scroll down to see the great work our artists did.
First up, we have the work of Jasper Von Studnitz! The Creator of “Treasure Man,” who gets his powers from a ring that he wears on his finger. Check out his comic story below!
First: The Cover!
Page One: The Title Page!
Title Page, Zoomed View!
Page One!
Page Two!
Page Two, Zoomed-In View!
Page Three… That’s All, Until the Next Installment!
Next up, we have the work of Woody Tuttle.
His Superhero? Mothman!
Alter-ego, Rick Jones, a mild-mannered scientist who was bitten by a toxic, scary, otherworldly giant moth: below is Rick…
And here is the aforementinoed toxic, scary, otherworldly giant moth.
And now, for MOTHMAN! He can fly, as part of his superpowers– unfortunately, his weakness is light. Daylight is fine… but come nighttime, should a helicopter or police light shine down on him? We’ll all be in trouble!
Here’s a sample MOTHMAN cover.
And below, the first two panels of a MOTHMAN comic.
And last, Mothman’s projected symbol!
Now, last but not least, the work of Jackson Siegel! His superhero is DJ Slash, and said superhero’s sidekick is Hobo Jon.
DJ Slash is an unusual superhero, in that his day job and his night job are the same! He’s always a D.J. However, when he’s DJ Slash, he can throw sharp CDs out of his wrists as his defense mechanism, and superpower.
Below, check out more DJ Slash, and Salsa man!
And as an added bonus– Jackson wanted to include character re-design and inking work done of Spongebob, from a previous lesson…
And one more character design drawing!
Great job everybody, and stay tuned for our next installment — thank you for reading –!!
