QUOTE(nightvisiongoggles @ Sep 23 2008, 12:56 PM) [snapback]3934874[/snapback]
These are good characters. I like them...
Mars Ravelo, on the other hand, is just a mere copycat. Darna=Wonder Woman; Captain Barbell=Captain Marvel; Lastikman=Mr. Fantastic, etc. Even Bondying=Baby Huey!
On DarnaSimilarities and inspirations
Some may point out that Darna is very similar to (or less charitably, is a rip-off of) Western superheroes, particularly Wonder Woman.
Aside from the bullet deflection misconception (perpetrated by the Viva Films movies), Darna's similarity to Wonder Woman is superficial, if anything. Besides the fact that super strength, flight, and super speed are common and hardly unique powers among superheroes, the character has several differences with her purported source material. She has always possessed the
power of flight from the very beginning (as Varga in 1947, and as Darna in
1950), while Wonder Woman only gained the power to "glide on the air currents" in the 60's and the real power of flight in the
1987 relaunch of her title after the Crisis on Infinite Earths changed the DC Universe.
She does not require bracelets to deflect bullets with, because they already bounce off her body (like Superman). It seems that only Viva Films' rendition of Darna copies Wonder Woman, because they have her deflect bullets with her bracelets. It should be noted that bullets also don't kill Wonder Woman if hit directly unless the force is stronger than human technology or weaponry. Her bracelets are used for style to demonstrate superhuman reflexes and deflection of any form of projectile, not just bullets, and she's nearly as durable as Superman. Strength levels are also different, as Wonder Woman is many times stronger than Darna, being one of the DC Comics' characters who helped move the earth's moon using brute strength. Also, Darna is not nor has she ever been an "Amazon princess". She is an "Adarna Warrior" from an alien race called Adranika from the Planet Marte (a.k.a. "Nibiru").
Darna's chief inspirations did not include Wonder Woman, but were rather Superman and Captain Marvel, whose comics Ravelo regularly read.
According to confirmed sources, the reason why Mars Ravelo chose to create a female superhero rather than a male one was because Ravelo grew up with an absent father; thus, he never had a father-figure and he considered his mother as his biggest hero growing up. His mother represented Darna, and young Mars Ravelo represented the kid sidekick, Ding.
Captain BarbellThe original version of Captain Barbell depicted him as shirtless because during the more whimsical comics age in the Philippines that occurred in the 1960s, (Silver Age), Mars Ravelo based the good Captain's look on circus strongmen, but with the addition of a mask. Since the original Enteng's look was a really thin guy in a tank top (emphasizing his bony features), it was decided that Captain Barbell's "shirtless circus strongman" look could provide a much more dramatic contrast to his mortal persona. Recent comics depicted him wearing a long-sleeved yellow shirt instead of being shirtless.
