Zenith is probably my all-time favourite strip in 2000ad and one of the things I love about it is the wealth of unanswered questions and lack of backstory for the myriad of superhumans seen in Phase II and beyond.
One aspect of this is that a number of superhumans in the story seem to have the likeness of famous people, mostly musicians, some of whom are really obvious - Miss Wonderstarr - whilst others are quite ambiguous due to Yeowell's sparse, stylish, stylised art and only seeing some characters briefly. I think a few of these have been admitted to by the creators and a few spotted by readers but I've no idea if it was Morrisson or Yeowell's idea to put them in and how many of the superhumans are actually meant to look like musical celebrities. I met Yeowell once and forgot to ask - D'oh!
Here is a list of the ones I've spotted, and my suspicions about others:
Zenith: Possibly Morrissey from the Smiths or even Rick Astley
Peter St John: Michael Hesseltine, Tory MP, real-life Defence Secretary
Red Dragon: Macho, Welsh - Tom Jones?
Dr Beat: (Zenith's Father) the beret and glasses suggest Captain Sensible (a drummer, get it?)
White Heat: (Zenith's Mother): Another 60's star? Dusty Springfield?
Lux: clearly Jim Morrison
Spook: Unknown
Voltage: Unknown
Miss Wonderstarr: Obviously Souxie Sioux
Unnamed Villain (ally of Miss Wonderstarr): Unknown, but distinctive features and big nose suggest he's based on a real person
Prince Mamba: David Bowie
Hotspur: John Lydon (Johnny Rotten)
Scott Wallace: (the non-superhuman entrepreneur in Phase II) Richard Branson
Domino: Unknown, but possibly a punk. Sid Vicious? Shane McGowan?
DJ Chill: The Reverend Run (Run DMC)
93 Mantra: Unknown
Smiley Sun: Unknown
Jimmy Quick: Jimmy Sommerville / the comic character Billy Whizz
Red Star Robinson: (not named in story): Ian Brown (Stone Roses) see link below
Black Hawk: (not named in story): Clint Boon (Inspiral Carpets) see link below
Some of the superhumans are seemingly based on British comic characters:
Big Ben: Desperate Dan from the Dandy (his home town is Caucusville against Dan's Cactusville, and he is absurdly strong although he is Russian rather than American)
Johnny Quick: Billy Whizz from the Beano
There are plenty more, most of which I didn't spot. Extensive detail here: Mhttp://www.internationalhero.co.uk/s/scorcard.htm
What do you think and anyone got any more?
One aspect of this is that a number of superhumans in the story seem to have the likeness of famous people, mostly musicians, some of whom are really obvious - Miss Wonderstarr - whilst others are quite ambiguous due to Yeowell's sparse, stylish, stylised art and only seeing some characters briefly. I think a few of these have been admitted to by the creators and a few spotted by readers but I've no idea if it was Morrisson or Yeowell's idea to put them in and how many of the superhumans are actually meant to look like musical celebrities. I met Yeowell once and forgot to ask - D'oh!
Here is a list of the ones I've spotted, and my suspicions about others:
Zenith: Possibly Morrissey from the Smiths or even Rick Astley
Peter St John: Michael Hesseltine, Tory MP, real-life Defence Secretary
Red Dragon: Macho, Welsh - Tom Jones?
Dr Beat: (Zenith's Father) the beret and glasses suggest Captain Sensible (a drummer, get it?)
White Heat: (Zenith's Mother): Another 60's star? Dusty Springfield?
Lux: clearly Jim Morrison
Spook: Unknown
Voltage: Unknown
Miss Wonderstarr: Obviously Souxie Sioux
Unnamed Villain (ally of Miss Wonderstarr): Unknown, but distinctive features and big nose suggest he's based on a real person
Prince Mamba: David Bowie
Hotspur: John Lydon (Johnny Rotten)
Scott Wallace: (the non-superhuman entrepreneur in Phase II) Richard Branson
Domino: Unknown, but possibly a punk. Sid Vicious? Shane McGowan?
DJ Chill: The Reverend Run (Run DMC)
93 Mantra: Unknown
Smiley Sun: Unknown
Jimmy Quick: Jimmy Sommerville / the comic character Billy Whizz
Red Star Robinson: (not named in story): Ian Brown (Stone Roses) see link below
Black Hawk: (not named in story): Clint Boon (Inspiral Carpets) see link below
Some of the superhumans are seemingly based on British comic characters:
Big Ben: Desperate Dan from the Dandy (his home town is Caucusville against Dan's Cactusville, and he is absurdly strong although he is Russian rather than American)
Johnny Quick: Billy Whizz from the Beano
There are plenty more, most of which I didn't spot. Extensive detail here: Mhttp://www.internationalhero.co.uk/s/scorcard.htm
What do you think and anyone got any more?