A secret formula that instantaneously grants powers does not correlate to an alien arriving on Earth as a child and developing his powers throughout the years.
Well there is another similarity and that is that they both were raised in a farm and pretended to be weak and pathetic in front of other people.He was a pulp fiction hero and Superman gained other powers such as laser eyes in other series so the viewers might be interested in him more than gladiator because that person was not working in a comic publishing company like DC and Marvel that their writers are communist and all.Most stories goes success such as Superman because when one singer produces a good song and the other people like it so you know what his new songs are they are based on that song but said and done in a different way.You are just being hypothetical.Gather some info on him.
did you read what i wrote GA superman wasn't raised in a farm.
GA Clark Kent wasn't like the Byrne Clark.Look it up GA Clark is anything than weak a willfull strong reporter ready to defend his ideals.
Look, you really have no idea of superman's backstory as a character.You are embarassing yourself by trying to defend a false argument.If superman is based on someone that would be Doc Savage to a digree.
Wow so just because someone before Supes had the same powers that makes him a rip off? Pff, then everything ever is a rip off with that rationale. It's called influence. Every creation gets an influence from somewhere. That shouldn't take away from Supes at all. Also who even knows or cares about this Gladiator guy? Virtually no one. Superman on the otherhand has resonated with people for decades. So even if Supes was a rip off, which he isn't as he's his own character (Im pretty sure Kryptonians didn't exist until him - thats sarcasm by the way), it doesn't really matter as he's still a far better character.
Also, Batman was inspired by the Shadow and Zorro. But that doesn't make him a rip off. Is he not more recognizable than both of those characters now for good reason? People called Green Arrow a Batman and Robin Hood rip off, but Ollie has been around for decades. He has his own show now! Come off it man, this rationale is stupid. Characters and their traits have been borrowed from and used for years, doesn't make them a rip off. Nobody has a monopoly on superpowers or character traits.
I did not want to go there but this had to be said.Why is Sentry considered a Superman rip off cause he is not an alien nor was raised in a farm.Then why do you call him a Superman rip off when he is an inspiration by your hypocritical logic.If Superman had powers before Gladiator,Sentry and Hyperion so you are denying the other statement you guys made that these characters are a rip off so according to your logic Sentry is 100% not a rip off cause he just has similar powers but anything else making him similar to Superman cause that ain't a rip off that is an inspiration.Then why do you idiots say that he is a rip off.Stop calling them a rip off and start calling them an inspiration.The reason you guys are debating against the fact is that you are in denial that he is not an original.It is hard to cope with your losses and I understand that that.You have my sympathies.PS if anyone is personally offended by me then you guys should know that it was not my intention.
@omegma: Sentry and Supes have more in common than powers.
Same Genre (which is more important than you think)
Both have the Sun-God place on their respective Universe's.Sentry has the power of "a million exploding Suns".Even the cover of Sentry #1 has him pose like a Bright Sun god.
The concept was directly inspired by superman "Wizard ... magazine reported that following (Artie) Rosen’s death, his widow discovered a box labeled “Marvel Comics” containing comics, papers and files. She returned the box to Marvel, where it was promptly lost until writer Paul Jenkins accidentally picked it up. Jenkins discovered an old comic in the box, Startling Stories #1, featuring the debut of a Superman-like hero called The Sentry.
Their Personalities.Sentry is a superhuman Samaritan, a socially accepted superhero,optimistic like ........guess who.
I admit i don't know a lot about Sentry so i cant find any more simillarities.
@omegma: First off, why have you clumped me together with others and then proceeded to call us idiots when I've been nothing but respectful and offered my own opinion? Secondly, what makes you think people will consider having a conversation with someone as insulting and angry as you? Maybe if you were nicer to those who reply to a thread YOU created, people would engage you intelligently. You now have one less person who cares to talk to you.
This thread put me to sleep. Honestly, who cares? Do you really hate Superman that much you would attempt to "ruin" him for other people? News flash: Nope.
@omegma: Sentry and Supes have more in common than powers.
Same Genre (which is more important than you think)
Both have the Sun-God place on their respective Universe's.Sentry has the power of "a million exploding Suns".Even the cover of Sentry #1 has him pose like a Bright Sun god.
The concept was directly inspired by superman "Wizard ... magazine reported that following (Artie) Rosen’s death, his widow discovered a box labeled “Marvel Comics” containing comics, papers and files. She returned the box to Marvel, where it was promptly lost until writer Paul Jenkins accidentally picked it up. Jenkins discovered an old comic in the box, Startling Stories #1, featuring the debut of a Superman-like hero called The Sentry.
Their Personalities.Sentry is a superhuman Samaritan, a socially accepted superhero,optimistic like ........guess who.
I admit i don't know a lot about Sentry so i cant find any more simillarities.
Same can be said that Gladiator (Wylie) and Superman have more in common than powers.
1- Same Genre which you will deny.
2- Both are Solar powered because the formula which gave gladiator his superpowers was chemical fused with radiated sun rays.That means he is solar powered.
3- His cover in which he blew up like a sun was called the exploding sun God.
4- His father was a genius and his nickname was the wizard which Wylie made a title in his short mini story telling Galdiator origins.
5- He had a double life and was a news reporter like guess who.
6- His first girlfriend was held in his arms and flew across the town like Superman and was also a news reporter like Lois Lane.
If you say that Supes is not a rip off then so Sentry is a not a rip off.I admit that similarities and appearances are a lot but so supes is in a way a rip off but it does not mean that you don't have to stop liking him.Sure like him but know the truth about how your character is made and what he is based on.
Do I win the internet back for Super-fans? Next time you copy and paste, post your source....especially when talking about ripping off! Because regardless of your intentions, people might mistaken you as the original author!
BTW Superman ripped off Gladiator but Gladiator then ripped off Superman...since that sounds symmetrical; Karma dictates Superman and Gladiator are even!
2- Both are Solar powered because the formula which gave gladiator his superpowers was chemical fused with radiated sun rays.That means he is solar powered.
3- His cover in which he blew up like a sun was called the exploding sun God.
4- His father was a genius and his nickname was the wizard which Wylie made a title in his short mini story telling Galdiator origins.
5- He had a double life and was a news reporter like guess who.
6- His first girlfriend was held in his arms and flew across the town like Superman and was also a news reporter like Lois Lane.
If you say that Supes is not a rip off then so Sentry is a not a rip off.I admit that similarities and appearances are a lot but so supes is in a way a rip off but it does not mean that you don't have to stop liking him.Sure like him but know the truth about how your character is made and what he is based on.
Superman was the first of the superhero genre and you know it,actually the whole world knows it.Gladiator is a pulp fiction hero.
In superman's early years his powers were attributed to earth's light gravity (superman #1).
Superman couldn't fly at first.He could only jump high.
We didn't know who superman's father was.We only knew that Supes was a survivor of a doomed planet.Most of the details of Superman's origin came years after his creation.
Some people will do anything to try and discredit Superman. Superman was the original world reknowned super-hero with powers, so deal with it. Hyperion and Sentry are rip offs....
Some people will do anything to try and discredit Superman. Superman was the original world reknowned super-hero with powers, so deal with it. Hyperion and Sentry are rip offs....
No one really cares and superman isn't a "rip-off", if you looked at every other famous fictional book/movie you will notice that they're all "rip offs" because they're all inspired by something, which doesn't make them rip offs.
No one really cares and superman isn't a "rip-off", if you looked at every other famous fictional book/movie you will notice that they're all "rip offs" because they're all inspired by something, which doesn't make them rip offs.
OP's argument is invalid.
He isn't really, most of the similarities with those other heroes came after. I mean the stronger points of the OP were the sun based powers (which Superman gained during the Silver age, years after his creation), the flight (another power that came years after) and the genius father (this is another element that was created years and years after Superman's creation). The only similarity I agree and is actually a fact, is that both were reporter's in their alter-ego.
Everything is inspired by or similar to something that has already been done, that's just how life works, there are only so many things that can be done. While there are many combinations of things that might still be possible there's always going to be aspects that are similar to something else.
We should try and not get so hung up on what is similar to what and try to enjoy things that work.
Everything is inspired by or similar to something that has already been done, that's just how life works, there are only so many things that can be done. While there are many combinations of things that might still be possible there's always going to be aspects that are similar to something else.
We should try and not get so hung up on what is similar to what and try to enjoy things that work.
No not really. His creator's may have drawn inspiration from the likes of Samson and Hercules, but you gotta hand it to him as he did supposedly give birth to an entire genre or at least defined and set a rough blueprint that most people follow.
Everything is inspired by or similar to something that has already been done, that's just how life works, there are only so many things that can be done. While there are many combinations of things that might still be possible there's always going to be aspects that are similar to something else.
We should try and not get so hung up on what is similar to what and try to enjoy things that work.
Most of the points of the OP are false for various reasons.
Lets start with the powers.
Superman's powers in the Golden Age were attributed to his biology. The sun based powers came later, decades later.
The X-rays came also later from Superman's publication.
Also Superman in his first years on publication was raised in an orphanage so origin-wise there are no similarities. The kent farm origin came to life years later just so DC can give a valid excuse for the SUPERBOY title.
Guys, whether or not Superman is a "rip-off" of gladiator doesn't matter anymore. Gladiator is public domain, now. You can't rip-off of something that is public domain. That's like saying Marvel's Thor is a rip-off of Viking mythology.
But the resemblance doesn't end there. Both Superman and Hugo Danner grew up in a small farming town.
Except the original version had Superman grow up in an orphanage... So this point is ussless
both had a special place where they went to be alone: Superman had his fortress of solitude in the Arctic, and Donner had his own place in northern Canada.
@squalleon: actually superman flew four month's before captain marvel in a radio serial. captain marvel didnt fly until whiz comics #5. four months after superman. also captain marvel didnt start out flying, he leaped first.
@squalleon: actually superman flew four month's before captain marvel in a radio serial. captain marvel didnt fly until whiz comics #5. four months after superman. also captain marvel didnt start out flying, he leaped first.
Οh! Very interesting, but i find it weird that no one point it out before.
@squalleon: yes, the serial aired in feb 1940. in the comics superman hadnt flew until action comics 35 (April 1941). in the serial, a child asks who is the flying man in the second episode iirc.
whiz comics #2
whiz comics #3
whiz comics #4
cap flew first in the comics. but superman flew first.
Every hero has been inspired on something. From gods, to half-deities, to all kinds of mystical creatures and forms of magic.
Even the Gladiator was most likely based on something that came before. How many stories does mythology holds about regular people that ate or drank something magical or divine and gained superhuman powers.
Funny thing is: one can't admit that same power set, close origen background is a ripoff (Gladiator/Superman) calls inspiration but different background and power set is a ripoff (Superman/Sentry)
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