ORIGINAL ORIGINS

[TordelBack]

"And he was clever and well-adjusted because of all the reading materials."

IMHO, the beauty of Tom Strong as a character was that he was far from 'well-adjusted'.  Despite his retro-comics-are-fun-again appearance, he never came to terms with the effects of his cold manipulative father or the oddness of his gravity-chamber years.  This is beautifully explored by Alan in the various Paul Saveen-Fingel Parallax-Tom Stone sequences (and less well by Steve elsewhere), culminating in the elegiac 'End of the World' final issue.  But yes, Tom has a truly classic 'Science Hero' origin - it's just a lot more complex than it first appears!

[TordelBack]

I should have added that this difficult childhood didn't make Tom Strong into yet another grim-n-gritty disturbed anti-hero.  He kept these emo-type problems where they belonged - in his head, and got on with the business of being a straightforward hero despite his upbringing.  You go, Tom!

[Tiplodocus]

Intrigued about THE PHANTOM.  Do they have a full timeline showing all of the Phantom's and when they lived etc?

One of the things about Superman is that he isn't meant to be small scale.  He deals with the alien invasions, Batman deals with the gangsters.  

I've also noted when watching Superman the Movie with Tiny Tips that he keeps asking to FF to the next fight.  I have to explain that there aren't many fights - it's mainly about Superman rescuing people.  Which actually works better in a film than a comic (and is less boring - the reason I disliked Spiderman (the movie) et al is that the last half hour just tends to be a big extended fight scene of yawnsome proportions).

What's the focus of Superman Returns (without spoilers); Rescue or Fight?

Having siad that - The Incredibles manages to finish with a fight and do it pretty well.

[Wils]

Axel Pressbutton: Florist gets attacked and mostly digested by a carnivorous, telepathic, empathic plant (that keeps apologising to him telepathically as it eats him) and is left a pyschotic, plant-hating cyborg with a huge cleaver as an arm and a button on his chest that makes him orgasm.

[I, Cosh]

Axel Pressbutton: Florist gets attacked and mostly digested by a carnivorous, telepathic, empathic plant (that keeps apologising to him telepathically as it eats him) and is left a pyschotic, plant-hating cyborg with a huge cleaver as an arm and a button on his chest that makes him orgasm.

I am unfamiliar with this classic-sounding, all-ages character. Where does one learn more?

[Wils]

Here's a link with a potted history and details about him.

http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/a/axel.htm" target="_blank">Axel Pressbutton at International Hero

[BrianO]

Forbush Man.
Got hit on the head with a saucepan. It stuck and he became convinced it gave him super-powers instead of concussion.