OK, I already know this one will be controversial. But seriously, why does England or the UK in general have no superheroes?
When it comes to America, there’s Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, Captain America, the Incredible Hulk and soooo many others. I could list them all day.
But what does the UK have? Literally the main answer I have is Banana Man. That is a character that was created in England and is English.
Beyond that who is there?
I asked this question recently on a video on the Geek Battle Instagram and TikTok channels, and there were loads of replies. Most of them were either wrong or lame half answers.
The other most impressive answer was Super Ted. Just like Banana Man, it’s basically a 1980s cheap children’s cartoon that died off as soon as it began.
Oh, and then of course, Super Gran. Exact same thing. British children’s show from decades ago.
When we get more serious with the answers, people point to Captain Peggy Carter from the MCU. Well, yes. But whilst the character is English, she is also an American creation. Beyond that, is the only one we can point to a patriotic character that is complete clone of Captain America?
Speaking of which, there is Captain Britain. When I said this was another Captain America clone people lost their minds. But the name and costume are just another Captain America clone.
People will argue that in other ways he’s very different to Steve Rogers. To those I will point out that Falcon AKA Sam Wilson is also very different to Steve Rogers, but they still made him Captain America. And the thing that makes him also a Captain America clone is the name and the costume. Just like Captain Britain.
After this people pointed to Blade, who is in the comics from England. I didn’t know this, because to the wider world, the character is most closely associated with Wesley Snipes, the American actor who played him in the movies and in no way tried to play the role as English.
But even then…Blade. He’s a vampire and a vigilante anti-hero more than a traditional superhero.
Same deal with Constantine. Again, in my head, I think of the movie with Keanu Reeves, but I also don’t think of the character as a superhero. Antio-hero yes. Spandex Superhero no.
I do guess with Constantine, his creator was Alan Moore is at least English, even though he debuted in an American produced comic.
And people will point to the likes of Charles Xavier from the X-Men, who although played by Patrick Stewart and James McAvoy was written as an American character and is from New York. So, he kinda is an American character who was played as English…ish.
And from here, people would start to say the likes of Robin Hood and James Bond and the Doctor from Doctor Who.
All of these are hero characters, but none are superheroes. Robin Hood is a fictional character/legend who was a thief and heroic, but not a superhero. James Bond may be a super spy, but he is not a superhero. And the Doctor is a sci-fi character, not a superhero.
The list continues with the likes of Desparate Dan and Dan Dare. Not superheroes.
People will also point to the British character Marvelman. Well, Marvelman was actually just a actual rip off of the DC Captain Marvel character with panel by panel recreations repurposed as a character called Marvelman. The original Captain Marvel went on to be renamed Shazam.
And if you’re wondering about Miracleman, well, that is Marvelman who was renamed to avoid issues with Marvel and Captain Marvel.
Finally, there is the likes of Judge Dredd. Absolutely an English creation, and absolutely fits the superhero comic book character mould. However, the character is American.
To say that Judge Dredd is English would be like saying that The Mighty Thor is American or that Wonder Woman is American. Nope, these characters are not American, even if they were created by Americans. Thor is from Asgard and Wonder Woman is from Themyscira.
So, after all this, I still ask the question – why are there no obvious British Superheroes?
Why is there not an English hero that could stand up shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Batman or Superman?
I still think the best example is Banana Man…
