Alexandrea Sams

The archer, one of the most underrated Avengers, Hawkeye. We’ve seen him on the big screen and we will soon see him pass the torch in his own mini series on Disney+, but how many of us actually know his comic book origins?

Probably one of the most well known comic book items, even among those who don’t frequent comic books. Kryptonite; it's a song, an analogy, but more importantly it's Superman’s only known weakness, at least green Kryptonite is his weakness. Kryptonite takes many forms in the comics, some of which we get to see play out on screen in the form of Smallville (the best Superman adaptation that exists I don’t care). With all the changes DC comics has gone through and the many colors Krytonite can take form in, all causing different effects, it can get confusing keeping them straight or even knowing what all of them are. So here we go, here is where we break down all the colors and effects of Kryptonite…

First introduced in the Tales of Suspense #52 in April of 1964. As a recurring character in an Iron Man feature the Black Widow originally acted without her signature costume. A few issues after her introduction she pulls in Hawkeye and a few issues after that she is given her costume and high tech weaponry by the Russian government. She soon becomes a recurring ally of the Avengers in issue #29, in July of 1966. Black Widow was reintroduced wither signature look in the Amazing Spider-Man #86, July of 1970 in her skin-tight black suit and pistols.

The pioneer for female heroes, Wonder Woman was a founding member of the Justice League and made her first appearance in All Star Comics #8 in October of 1941. With her first feature in Sensation Comics issue #1 in September of 1942. Wonder Woman was a consistent presence in the existence of DC comics with the exception of a brief hiatus in 1986. Her character was an early feminist icon holding many feminist ideals and defeating many damsel in distress like tropes.

Those of us who love Marvel comics know exactly who we have to thank for the universe and characters that allow us to escape. Jack Kirby and Stan Lee built a world that we love, and though some say Stan Lee gets too much of the credit for creating this world of characters I think that severely shortchanges all of the other contributions Stan Lee made to the company and its expansion.

Marvel has been around for quite a while and with time, comes new ideas, new characters, and new team-ups. The Avengers, SHIELD, The Sinister Six, the X-Men, X-Force, all teams that are well known within the Marvel comic book universe. But there were many team ups that go overlooked or at the very least underrated.