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A new type of superhero, brought to us by Marvel...

As Marvel became an increasingly influential entity in the 60s, it was apparent that as a comic book company, it would really be creating a new dynamic both with its characters and its content. I'm actually really happy that Marvel went the route it did because without it, we really wouldn't have the very human and often somewhat dark/tortured personas (such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, and the X-Men) that just weren't present in the other superheroes of the time. They also adopted a much more personable and close connection with the readers, which really helped people identify with them in a personal way.

Despite the fact that these new heroes were also representative of the mood growing in the nation at the time, it really surprised me that the children of the 1960s, the same children who had always been pampered and hadn't ever had to toil as their parents had, were rebelling against the very systems that had created and nurtured them. I guess that no revolution is completely negative if it affects change, but this one seemed to arise more out of boredom and a need to have a cause then anything. I can't say, however, that I'm not very happy that these same teenagers and young adults needed heroes they could really connect with - without this kind of mindset, the wonderful fledgling heroes and anti-heroes of the Marvel Universe would never have survived.

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