Silver Streak (character)
Silver Streak is a superhero created by Joe Simon that first appeared in Silver Streak Comics #3 (cover-dated March 1940), from Lev Gleason Publications.[1] He is believed to be the second-ever comic book superhero whose primary power is speed;[1]All-American Publications' The Flash preceded him by two months.[2] However, Silver Streak beat out National Allied Publications' Johnny Quick (who debuted in 1941)[3] as the first superhero whose two powers were speed and flight. Silver Streak has a kid sidekick called "Mercury" (soon changed to "Meteor"); he is also assisted by a falcon named "Whiz".[4]
Publication history
Silver Streak Comics was originally published by Arthur Bernhardt's Rhoda Publications, and the title was inspired by Bernhardt's car, a PontiacSilver Streak. With issue #3, the title was taken over by Lev Gleason Publications and Silver Streak himself first appeared.[5] Silver Streak appeared in Silver Streak Comics until issue #19 (March 1942); the title itself ended with #21, and was renamed Crime Does Not Pay.[1] Also during this run, Silver Streak appeared in Lev Gleason's Daredevil #1.
In 1945, Silver Streak appeared in the only issue of Dime Comics, and in 1946 he appeared in the 22nd and 23rd final issues of the briefly revived Silver Streak Comics.[1][6] Since then, the character has fallen into the public domain. In the mid-1980s, Roy Thomas featured the "Scarlet Streak" in his limited series Alter Ego.
In 2008, he appeared in issue #141 of The Savage Dragon, along with a score of other Golden Age heroes. Also in 2008, Silver Streak appeared in flashbacks in issue #0 of Dynamite Entertainment's Project Superpowers, a title that uses mostly public domain Golden Age characters. In the one-shot Project Superpowers: Chapter Two Prelude.[7] He later appeared in the related Dynamite miniseries The Death-Defying ’Devil. Editor Erik Larsen's "Next Issue Project" (Image Comics) published Silver Streak Comics "#24" (Dec. 2009), featuring Silver Streak in one story, written and illustrated by Paul Grist.
Fictional biography
Lev Gleason Publications
In Supermen! The First Wave of Comic Book Heroes, Greg Sadowski says that "Silver Streak's origin... is one of the most contrived and convoluted stories of the early golden age, and that's saying something".[8] In 1940, a taxicab driver (name unknown) applied for a position as a race car driver (all of the previous drivers of the "Silver Streak" having been killed by a giant fly sent by a mad scientist named Dr. Katan) and was hypnotized by a mysterious swami (name unknown) into believing: "You are the Silver Streak—the strongest, bravest, fastest man in the world". The cab driver was apparently killed in a crash caused by the fly and was buried, but the swami believed it was "merely a hypnotic trance" and used his mystical powers to bring him back to life, after which the swami declared: "It is as I feared, the hypnosis has become part of his mind... he is now all-powerful, a man to be feared!"[9] Motivated by a strong desire to make the world a better place, he donned a colorful costume and fought against crime, Nazi spies, and The Claw, calling himself "Silver Streak". He changed costumes a few times over the years, but one detail that remained constant was the arrowhead-shaped emblem on his chest with the shape-fitting "SS" inside it; Don Markstein emphasized that the Silver Streak's costume "didn't contain a single silver-colored thread".[1]
علم لاحقًا أن أي شخص يتلقى نقل دم منه يكتسب سرعة فائقة عندما يسرقه شيخ لحقن صقر أليف (يُطلق عليه اسم "ويز" في العدد التالي) والذي اكتسب على الفور سرعة وقرابة مع سيلفر ستريك، [ 10 ] ومع ميكي أوتول، وهو مساعد صغير يُدعى في البداية "ميركوري" [ 11 ] ولكنه سرعان ما أصبح "ميتيور". [ 12 ]
في العدد الخامس من مجلة "سيلفر ستريك كوميكس " (يوليو 1940)، خاطب جاك كول ، الذي كان في ذلك الوقت يكتب ويرسم مغامرات الشخصية، القراء مباشرة وشرح دوافع البطل:
"هدفه في الحياة هو مساعدة الآخرين، ومساعدة المحتاجين. يبذل سيلفر ستريك قصارى جهده لجعل هذا العالم مكانًا مثاليًا للعيش فيه، عالمًا نملك فيه أنا وأنت ما نرغب فيه بشدة."
وهو مصمم على القضاء على كل القوى التي تقف في طريق مُثله. إنه يُقاتل بشراسة! قوته نابعة من صوابه، وسرعته تكمن في حاجته للسرعة لهزيمة أعدائه.
سيلفر ستريك هو بطلي، وآمل أن يكون بطلك أيضًا، لأنه يفعل الأشياء التي كنا سنفعلها أنا وأنت لو كانت لدينا قواه! [ 13 ]
يرتدي ستريك خاتمًا منقوشًا عليه حرف "V" للدلالة على النصر؛ وفي إحدى القصص، ينقذ ميركوري من النازيين، ويلكم أدولف هتلر في وجهه، تاركًا علامة "V" على وجه الديكتاتور. [ 6 ]
مشروع القوى الخارقة
في مرحلة ما بعد الحرب العالمية الثانية ، سُجن سيلفر ستريك وأبطال آخرون في جرة باندورا الغامضة على يد المقاتل الأمريكي الضال . بعد عقود، تحطمت الجرة وأُطلق سراح الأبطال؛ وظهر سيلفر ستريك (مرتديًا زيًا أحمر وفضيًا مشابهًا لزيه الأصلي) في الوقت المناسب لمساعدة حليفه السابق، المحارب الشجاع، ضد هجوم إرهابي. يبقى أن نرى الدور الذي سيلعبه هذا البطل في العالم الحديث.
أساطير حية
قدمت سلسلة "الأساطير الحية" الصادرة عن دار "ميتاهيومان برس" نسخة جديدة من شخصية "سيلفر ستريك". هذه الشخصية أنثى آسيوية، من سكان مدينة "ريكابور" الخيالية، موطن " المخلب" .
مراجع
- 1 2 3 4 5 The Silver Streak at Don Markstein's Toonopedia تم أرشفة النسخة الأصلية في 3 يونيو 2017.
- ↑ فلاش كوميكس #1 (منشورات أول أمريكان، يناير 1940).
- ↑ المزيد من القصص المصورة الممتعة # 71 (منشورات الحلفاء الوطنيين، سبتمبر 1941).
- ↑Nevins, Jess (2013). Encyclopedia of Golden Age Superheroes. High Rock Press. p. 242. ISBN 978-1-61318-023-5.
- ↑Benton, Mike (1992). Superhero Comics of the Golden Age: The Illustrated History. Dallas: Taylor Publishing Company. p. 181. ISBN 0-87833-808-X. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
- 12Mougin, Lou (10 January 2020). Secondary Superheroes of Golden Age Comics. McFarland. p. 185. ISBN 978-1-4766-3860-7.
- ↑Project Superpowers: Chapter Two Prelude at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
- ↑Sadowski, Greg (2009). Supermen!: The First Wave of Comic Book Heroes 1936-1941. Fantagraphics Books. p. 190. ISBN 978-1560979715.
- ↑Mitchell, Kurt; Thomas, Roy (2019). American Comic Book Chronicles: 1940-1944. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 50. ISBN 978-1605490892.
- ↑Johns, Ralph (w, a)."Silver Streak"Silver Streak Comics,vol. 1,no. 6,pp. 2–9(September 1940).New York, NY:Your Guide Publications.
- ↑Wood, Bob (w, a)."Introducing Mercury the Boy Streak"Silver Streak Comics,vol. 1,no. 11,pp. 59–65(June 1941).New York, NY:New Friday Publications.
- ↑Rico, Don (w, a)."The Adventure of the Laughing Hyena"Silver Streak Comics,vol. 1,no. 13,p. 11(August 1941).New York, NY:New Friday Publications.
- ↑Cole, Jack. Silver Streak Comics #5 (June 1940), archived at Angelfire.com. Accessed Nov. 15, 2011.
External links
- Silver Streak Comics at the Grand Comics Database
- Silver Streak Comics at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
- 1939 comics debuts
- 1946 comics endings
- Comics characters introduced in 1939
- Dynamite Entertainment characters
- Savage Dragon characters
- Golden Age superheroes
- American comics characters
- Characters created by Joe Simon
- Characters created by Jack Binder
- Fictional taxi drivers
