Monday, January 13, 2014

The Superman Family and Gladiator



There have been a lot of Superman analogues, and a few have been able to step away from his shadow to become interesting heroes in their own right.  Gladiator of The Imperial Guard (itself an homage to the Legion of Super-Heroes) is one such character.  I always liked his look and the way that he could hold his own against just about anyone in the Marvel Universe.

6 comments:

Dr. OTR said...

Never heard of the Gladiator before. You ought to team him up with OMAC -- they shared the same barber! Throw in Al Rothstein from his Nuklon days and you've got yourself a Mohawk team-up!

Bob Buethe said...

Gladiator was a member of the Imperial Guard, an analogue of the Legion of Shper-Heroes created by Dave Cockrun to fight the X-Men back in the 1970s. This drawing of Gladiator is from the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, and is the only piece of artwork that Curt Swan ever did for Marvel. Very appropriate, Ross!

Bob Buethe said...

Of course I meant "Super," not "Shper." And "Cockrum," not "Cockrun." I need more coffee.

Uncle Twitchy said...

This is my favorite that you've done to date. And that's saying a lot.

Ross said...

Thanks, finding the Curt Swan Gladiator really helped on this one...

Kent G. Hare said...

Heh. I never knew Gladiator's real name was "Kallark." (Which is what I assume from your cover text.)

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