The Übermensch/Superman in his original definition was 'a highly creative person who sets a new example for society to follow by rejecting the Church in favor of becoming the most powerful person of the state.' Siegel and Schuster's Superman had been the first illustration of this concept in the comics-and thus the first superhero in the genre that created it, science fiction. The very notion of the superhero is rooted in German Existentialist Friedrich Nietzsche's theory of the Übermensch (or Superman)-which first appeared in Nietzsche's tome Thus Spake Zarathrustra. His real name was Ponce De Leon Montgomery Alabama Georgia County Beauregard Possum (southern aristocrat)-but most of the time he was simply referred to as Pogo Possum, rendering his own real name a de facto secret identity.

Like Batman, he was descended from aristocracy-and often used this as a vantage point to assist animals less fortunate than him. Like Superman, Pogo's surface persona was in the newspaper business as a reporter, his missives at the fictional Fort Mudge Moan not being unlike the Man of Steel's own day job as Clark Kent. The elements of the Possum's own depiction have parallels to the two previous comic book heavyweight protagonists. Yet in his actual role in the Swamp and thus the strip that bears his name he was the sole defender of all the other animals of the swamp, he rescued any one that was captured by the remaining swamp critters, he singlehandedly put the swamp back together after the other animals tore it apart due to said idiocy, and successfully stared down anyone who wished to disturb the tranquility of the swamp-all the functions of a superhero. His digetic occupation may have been that of a warm, friendly naif of an unassuming Everypossum, but even Kelly admitted that when he created the Pogo he ' really work at it'. In many ways, Pogo WAS the original animal superhero. But if you study the history of comic books and television cartoons-you will find out that I wasn't being too far from the truth of the character. The image may have disoriented a few Kelly purists-such as one user named Emmet Earwax who wrote that the real threat to the Okefenokee crew was 'their own innate idiocy' and that 'no generic superpowers could deal with THAT!'. Some of you may have seen a piece of fan art I created a few months back showing Everyone's favorite Possum, Walt Kelly's Pogo Possum, dressed up in a superhero's costume and rocketing off into the air. POGO POSSUM: THE ORIGINAL ANIMAL SUPERHERO

Superpowered rags officer simpson