Crime comics

"Cyclops, Storm, Nightcrawler, Wolverine, Colossus. Children of the atom, students of Charles Xavier. MUTANTS-feared and hated by the world they have sworn to protect. These are the STRANGEST heroes of all! Stan Lee presents: The Uncanny X-Men!"

"For me, the whole idea was that the number was small enough that they could be expunged if the world got determined about it. You know, that it was something that the Avengers, if they wanted, could deal with. That was what gave Magneto so much of his passion and focus. In terms of defending his people, they really were dancing along the edge of extinction and they really did need someone like him. The difference, and the reason that the school was so intent on remaining clandestine, was that if they were exposed, they could be destroyed."

"The problem is not staying on for 16 or 17 years -- I mean, theoretically anybody could do that. But the thing that made X-Men unique in its day was that the first iteration of the series that Stan and Jack created in 1962 had run its course. It wasn't a success. So when Dave Cockrum and Len Wein worked together to build the new X-Men, we were essentially starting with a clean slate. Aside from Charles Xavier being the mentor and Scott Summers showing up to run the shop, everything was brand new. And the way the industry is structured now, the way that Marvel or DC or Image are structured now, that's unlikely to happen again. You don't have that mainstream series that you can recreate in public before everyone's eyes and come up with something completely new and different. So I don't think that opportunity will come again. I just happened to have the ridiculous good fortune of being in the precisely great place at the precisely great time, and I got to run with it."

"I like the very large themes that are in this and the comic books which were originally kind of an allegory for the Malcolm X/Martin Luther King debate."

"The X-Men, I did the natural thing there. What would you do with mutants who were just plain boys and girls and certainly not dangerous? You school them. You develop their skills. So I gave them a teacher, Professor X. Of course, it was the natural thing to do, instead of disorienting or alienating people who were different from us, I made the X-Men part of the human race, which they were. Possibly, radiation, if it is beneficial, may create mutants that’ll save us instead of doing us harm. I felt that if we train the mutants our way, they’ll help us - and not only help us, but achieve a measure of growth in their own sense. And so, we could all live together."

"This was a period when we were experimenting with the atom bomb. People were wondering what the effects would be. Everybody worried ‘Would we all become mutants? We played around with this ‘mutation thing’ and I came up with the X-Men, who were associated with radiation and its effects on humanity."

"I couldn't have everybody bitten by a radioactive spider or exposed to a gamma ray explosion. And I took the cowardly way out. I said to myself, 'Why don't I just say they're mutants. They were born that way."

"Magneto’s an old terrorist bastard. I got into trouble—the X-Men fans hated me because I made him into a stupid old drug-addicted idiot. He had started out as this sneering, grim terrorist character, so I thought, Well, that’s who he really is. [Writer] Chris Claremont had done a lot of good work over the years to redeem the character: He made him a survivor of the death camps and this noble antihero. And I went in and shat on all of it. It was right after 9/11, and I said there’s nothing f*****g noble about this at all."

"Remember, the X-Men universe was created in the early '60s in the height of the American Civil Rights movement. So, these ideas of bigotry, tolerance, fear, war ... I think are perpetual ideas. We've had them for thousands of years, ever since man recognized his fellow man and that two people had two different color hair."

"Scott Summers: Hanks articulate as anything, but what people see is mostly ... well, a beast. Emma's a former villain, Logan's a [[thug. And me .. I can lead a team. But I haven't looked anybody in the eye since I was fifteen."

"I'll say this once, we're not the same. You took an oath to uphold the law. You help people. I gave that up a long time ago. You don't do what I do. Nobody does. You boys need a role model? His name's Captain America, and he'd be happy to have you.... If I find out you are trying to do what I do, I'll come for you next."

"I was fascinated by the Don Pendleton Executioner character, which was fairly popular at the time, and I wanted to do something that was inspired by that, although not to my mind a copy of it. And while I was doing the Jackal storyline, the opportunity came for a character who would be used by the Jackal to make Spider-Man's life miserable. The Punisher seemed to fit."

"To me, it's disturbing whenever I see authority figures embracing Punisher iconography because the Punisher represents a failure of the Justice system. ... The vigilante anti-hero is fundamentally a critique of the justice system, an example of social failure, so when cops put Punisher skulls on their cars or members of the military wear Punisher skull patches, they're basically sided with an enemy of the system."

"Heidegger, who took Kierkegaard's philosophy further, comes even closer to describing the Punisher: 'Since we can never hope to understand why we're here, if there's even anything to understand, the individual should choose a goal and pursue it wholeheartedly, despite the certainty of death and the meaninglessness of action.' That's sure the Punisher as I conceived him: a man who knows he's going to die and who knows in the big picture his actions will count for nothing, but who pursues his course because this is what he has chosen to do."

"Frank Castle has spent years exacting vengeance for the deaths of his family by punishing criminals everywhere. His skull insignia inspires fear throughout the underworld. But Punisher's appeal rests on more than his ability to do what the rest of Marvel's heroes won't. He's a tragic figure – even a profoundly selfish one in some ways. The sad truth is that Frank Castle can't survive without killing, and his new job fulfills him in ways his family never could."

"Gerry Conway was writing a script and he wanted a character that would turn out to be a hero later on, and he came up with the name the Assassin. And I mentioned that I didn't think we could ever have a comic book where the hero would be called the Assassin, because there's just too much of a negative connotation to that word. And I remembered that, some time ago, I had had a relatively unimportant character ... [who] was one of [the cosmic antagonist] Galactus' robots, and I had called him the Punisher, and it seemed to me that that was a good name for the character Gerry wanted to write—so I said, 'Why not call him the Punisher?' And, since I was the editor [sic; Lee had been named publisher in 1972], Gerry said, 'Okay.'"

"Like Batman, he's motivated by direct personal tragedy, but unlike Batman (most of the time), the men that destroyed his family are alive, known and active criminals. Like Daredevil, Frank Castle looking to clean up the streets of Hell's Kitchen. But unlike Matt Murdock, Bruce Wayne or Clark Kent, Frank doesn't have the skills, influence or education needed to interact with the legal system in any substantive way. Instead, he's just very, very good at killing people, and very, very motivated to do so."

"Criminals are a superstitious cowardly lot. So my disguise must be able to strike terror into their hearts. I must be a creature of the night, black, terrible..."

"I believe in Jim Gordon. I believe in Harvey Dent. I believe in Gotham City."

"[To Superman] I want you to remember Clark, In all the years to come, in your most private moments, I want you to remember my hand at your throat, I want you to remember the one man who beat you."

"[To Mutant Leader] You don't get it, boy... this isn't a mudhole... it's an operating table. And I'm the surgeon."

"Sometimes it's only madness that makes us what we are."

"Criminals are a terror. Hearts of the night. I must disguise my terror. Criminals are cowardly. A superstitious terrible omen. A cowardly lot. My disguise must strike terror. I must be black. Terrible. Criminals are a superstitious cowardly lot. I must be a creature. I must be a creature of the night. Mommy's dead. Daddy's dead. Brucie's dead. I shall become a bat."

"That vase was from the Ming Dynasty. Alfred will forgive me... eventually."

"Batman: (to the Joker) Hello. I came to talk. I've been thinking lately. About you and me. About what's going to happen to us in the end. We're going to kill each other, aren't we? Perhaps you'll kill me. Perhaps I'll kill you. Perhaps sooner. Perhaps later."

"Batman: (to the Joker) Don't you understand? I don't want to hurt you. I don't want either of us to end up killing the other. But we're both running out of alternatives, and we both know it. Maybe it all hinges on tonight. Maybe this is our last chance to sort this whole bloody mess out. If you don't take it, then we're both locked onto a suicide course. Both of us. To the death. It doesn't have to end like that. I don't know what it was that bent your life out of shape, but who knows? Maybe I've been there too. Maybe I can help. We could work together. I could rehabilitate you. You needn't be out there on the edge anymore. You needn't be alone. We don't have to kill each other. What do you say?"

"Without warning, it comes...crashing through the window of your study, and mine...I have seen it before...somewhere. It frightened me as a boy... frightened me. Yes, father. I shall become a bat."

"Ladies. Gentlemen. You have eaten well. You've eaten Gotham's wealth. Its spirit. Your feast is nearly over. From this moment on -- none of you are safe."

"I made a promise on the grave of my parents that I would rid this city of the evil that took their lives. By day, I am Bruce Wayne, billionaire philanthropist. At night, criminals, a cowardly and superstitious lot, call me... Batman."

"Criminals, by nature, are a cowardly and superstitious lot. To instill fear into their hearts, I became a bat. A monster in the night. And in doing so, have I become the very thing that all monsters become - alone?"

"Deep down, Clark's essentially a good person... and deep down, I'm not."

"They say that when you kill a man you not only take away what he was, but all he will ever be."

"I have been to too many funerals."

"by Jeph Loeb with art by Jim Lee"

"People think it's an obsession. A compulsion. As if there were an irresistible impulse to act. It's never been like that. I chose this life. I know what I'm doing. And on any given day, I could stop doing it. Today, however, isn't that day. And tomorrow won't be either."

"(to Superman) Everyone looks up to you. They listen to you. If you tell them to fight, they'll fight. But they need to be inspired. And let's face it "Superman"... the last time you really inspired anyone -- was when you were dead."

"(to the Joker) And when you're sitting here alone in the middle of the night, unsleeping in the dark, remember -- every breath you take you owe to me."

"And as the sun, that had been too afraid to show its face in this city, started to turn the black into grey, I smiled. Not out of happiness. But because I knew... that one day, I wouldn't have to do this anymore. One day, I could stop fighting. Because one day... I would win. One day, there will be no pain, no loss, no crime. Because of me, because I fight. For you. One day, I will win."

"Did I finally reach the limits of reason? And find the Devil waiting? And was that fear in his eye?"

""Any man can transform himself into something else, something beyond reason..beyond supermen.- Michael Setzer"

""You want justice served? You want vengeance taken? You want honor restored? Then do it yourself. That's omertà. When blood cries for blood, you answer the call. And you answer it alone." - Batman: Huntress: Cry for Blood"

"(to Nightwing) "I don't want your help. I don't need your help. Now, get out of my home." - Batman: Huntress: Cry for Blood"

""There were so many flowers. My mother had been shot in the chest. Her casket was open. But my father and my brother, they'd been shot in the face, and there was no way the mortician could repair that damage. I was eight years old and my family was dead and all I thought was that people loved us. It wasn't grief that brought the flowers. It was joy." - Batman: Huntress: Cry for Blood"

""Actually - I play a little rough for Batman's taste." - Nightwing/Huntress"

""Maybe I have something to prove--to him or myself or both. Or maybe I care because I've been alone most of my life. Ever since I was a child. Alone in every kind of darkness. Hunting evil or just waiting for the dawn. It must be some kind of comfort to have a partner. Someone to trust at your back. So maybe when I see him with Robin I want to see me. He's like me--a loner--yet he and his partner somehow make a perfect team." - Batman 80 Page Giant #1"

""If there's a lesson tonight, it's that there's no room for chance in this "business." Lives depend on my being certain. Reason. Intellect. Skill. Nothing else must matter." - Batman 80 Page Giant #2"

"(To a vision of Batman) "It's...It's beautiful. Can I keep it? I won't lose it. Don't go. I want to show you what I can do. I'll make you proud. Say Something!" - Gotham Knights #38"

"(To Batman) "So, nothing condescending to say about my new costume? You weren't exactly focused the last time you saw it. You're welcome by the way." - Gotham Knights #40"

"(To an unconscious Batman) "[darn] you. Not going down. Not in front of you." - Batman: Hush"

"(Batman on Huntress) "Huntress. After all we've been through she still fights for my life. So much rage. Not sure I ever saw it...before. She's better than she knows but wastes too much energy proving it. So much like I when I started out. No wonder the others haven't accepted her..." - Batman: Hush"

""I could stop their screaming with one bolt. Wouldn't stop a ... thing. Seven days since Gotham has been left to rot like Gomorrah. We're better than that. I'm sure of it. Unfortunately, I've seen nothing to so far to support that faith." - Batman No Man's Land #0"

""I hate losing. I hate running away. I don't know what else to do. They don't fear me. Not like they fear him. Where is the Batman? He's all over me when I screw up when I don't play by his rules. "My City!" he says, never let's me forget it. So why isn't he putting the fear of... Are they roasting a bat?" - Batman No Man's Land #0"

"(On her first night as Batgirl) "Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable. I didn't need to raise a fist. I didn't need to say a word. They took one look at me, one look at my shadow and they ran. No. Not my shadow. No I get it and I like it." - Batman No Man's Land #0"

"I should put this spike in his throat...he'd do it to me. He'd kill me and not blink. Kill him and not blink. Why not? In No Man's Land why...not? (sees Batsymbol reflected on the glass drops knife and lets thug go). Batman No Man's Land #0"

""I'm not even that fond of real cops. But wannabe cops... now they just tick me right off." - Birds of Prey #69"

""You guys sure you want to fire your sidearms around gas pumps? Just asking." - Birds of Prey #69"

""I was brought here at gunpoint and in cuffs, Mr. Brusaw. I don't think a hug is entirely the correct response here." - Birds of Prey #69"

""You. You ratted me out to Brushaw's fake police officers. Now was that polite?" - Birds of Prey #69"

"(upon finding Black Canary bound by tree branches) "This might take a while. I forgot my chainsaw." - Birds of Prey #76"

"(after shooting a crossbow bolt through a crooked cop's hand, Black Canary and John are staring at her) "What? He'll be fine. We're in a hospital." - Birds of Prey #80"

"Nightwing: You want to know a secret? Everyone but me thinks you're nuts, there's a secret!"

"Black Canary: Hey, how'd you know about Cheetah's healing factor?"

"Tom: I don't talk to women who wear make-up, anyway. It's unclean. So just shut up."

"Talia: And Who are you? The Detective's consort? His woman?"

"Remember, Remember, the 5th of November, the gunpowder treason and plot. I know of no reason why the gunpowder treason should ever be forgot."

"Good evening, London. I thought it time we had a little talk. Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin … I suppose you're wondering why I've called you here this evening. Well you see, I'm not entirely satisfied with your performance lately…. I'm afraid your work's been slipping, and … and well, I'm afraid we've been thinking about letting you go. Oh, I know, I know. You've been with the company a long time now. Almost … Let me see. Almost ten thousand years! My word, doesn't time fly? It seems like only yesterday… I remember the day you commenced your employment, swinging down from the trees, fresh-faced and nervous, A bone clasped in your bristling fist … "Where do I start, sir?" You asked, plaintively. I recall my exact words: "There's a pile of dinosaur eggs over there, youngster," I said smiling paternally the while. "Get sucking." Well, we've certainly come a long way since then, haven’t we? And yes, yes, you're right, in all that time you haven’t missed a day. Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Also please don't think I've forgotten about your out-standing service record, or about all of the invaluable contributions that you've made to the company … Fire, the wheel of agriculture … It's an impressive list, old-timer. A jolly impressive list. Don't get me wrong. But … well, to be frank, we've had our problems, too. There's no getting away from it. Do you know what I think a lot of it stems from? I'll tell you … It's your basic unwillingness to get on within the company. You don't seem to want to face up to any real responsibility, or to be your own boss. Lord knows, you've been given plenty of opportunities … We've offered you promotion time and time again, and each time you've turned us down: "I couldn't handle the work, Guv'nor," you wheedled. "I know my place" To be frank, you're not trying, are you? You see, you've been standing still for far too long, and it's starting to show in your work … And I might add, in your general standard behaviour. The constant bickering on the factory floor has not escaped my attention … Nor the recent bouts of rowdiness in the staff canteen. Then of course there's … Hmmmm. Well, I didn't really want to have to bring this up, but … Well, you see I've been hearing some disturbing rumours about your personal life. No, never you mind who told me. No names, no pack drill … I understand that you are unable to get on with your spouse. I hear that you argue. I am told that you shout. Violence has been mentioned. I am reliably informed that you always hurt the one you love … The one you shouldn't hurt at all. And what about the children? It's always the children who suffer, as you're well aware. Poor little mites. What are they to make of it? What are they to make of your bullying, your despair, your cowardice and all your fondly nurtured bigotries? Really, it's not good enough, is it? And it's no good blaming the drop in work standards upon bad management, either … Though, to be sure, the management is very bad. In fact, let us not mince words … the management is terrible! We've had a string of embezzlers, frauds, liars and lunatics making a string of catastrophic decisions. This is plain fact. But who elected them? It was you! You who appointed these people! You who gave them the power to make your decisions for you! While I'll admit that anyone can make a mistake once, to go on making the same lethal errors century after century seems to me nothing short of deliberate. You have encouraged these malicious incompetents, who have made your working life a shambles. You have accepted without question their senseless orders. You have allowed them to fill your workspace with dangerous and unproven machines. All you had to say was "NO." You have no spine. You have no pride. You are no longer an asset to the company. I will however, be generous. You will be granted two years to show me some improvement in your work. If at the end of that time you are still unwilling to make a go of it … You're fired. That will be all. You may return to your labors."

"Happiness is a prison, Evey. Happiness is the most insidious prison of all."

"I didn't put you in a prison, Evey. I just showed you the bars."

"Though recognition's been delayed by its circuitous construction, now the pattern, long concealed, emerges into view. Is it not fine? Is it not simple, and elegant, and severe? How strange, after the long exacting toil of preparation, it takes only the slightest effort and less thought to send this brief, elaborate amusement on its breathless, hurtling race. The merest touch, no more, and everything falls into place. The pieces can't perceive as we the mischief their arrangement tempts. Those stolid law-abiding queues, so pregnant with catastrophe. Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late."

"There's no flesh or blood within this cloak to kill. There's only an idea. Ideas are bulletproof."

"Everybody is special. Everybody. Everybody is a hero, a lover, a fool, a villain, everybody. Everybody has their story to tell…"

"Anarchy wears two faces, both Creator and Destroyer. Thus Destroyers topple empires; make a canvas of clean rubble where creators can then build a better world. Rubble, once achieved makes further ruins' means irrelevant. Away with our explosives, then! Away with our Destroyers! They have no place within our better world. But let us raise a toast to all our bombers, all our bastards, most unlovely and most unforgivable, let's drink their health, then meet with them no more."

"Why does everything need a big demonstration? I ask the simplest question and it's like Alice In Wonderland."

"I give up on the puzzles. I just want to turn the page upside down and read the answers."

"My name is Adam Susan. I am the leader. Leader of the lost, ruler of the ruins. I am a man, like any other man. I lead the country that I love out of the wilderness of the twentieth century. I believe in survival. In the destiny of the Nordic race. I believe in fascism. Oh yes, I am a fascist. What of it? Fascism… a word. A word whose meaning has been lost in the bleatings of the weak and the treacherous. The Romans invented fascism. A bundle of bound twigs was its symbol. One twig could be broken. A bundle would prevail. Fascism … strength in unity. I believe in strength. I believe in unity. And if that strength, that unity of purpose, demands a uniformity of thought, word and deed then so be it. I will not hear talk of freedom. I will not hear talk of individual liberty. They are luxuries. I do not believe in luxuries. The war put paid to luxury. The war put paid to freedom. The only freedom left to my people is the freedom to starve. The freedom to die, the freedom to live in a world of chaos. Should I allow them that freedom? I think not. I think not. Do I deserve for myself the freedom I deny to others? I do not. I sit here within my cage and I am but a servant. I, who am master of all that I see… I see desolation. I see ashes. I have so very much. I have so very little. I am not loved, I know that. Not in soul or body. I have never known the soft whisper of endearment. Never known the peace that lies between the thighs of a woman. But I am respected. I am feared. And that will suffice. Because I love. I, who am not loved in return. I have a love that is far deeper than the empty gasps and convulsions of brutish coupling. Shall I speak of her? Shall I speak of my bride? She has no eyes to flirt or promise. But she sees all. Sees and understands with a wisdom that is Godlike in its scale. I stand at the gates of her intellect and I am blinded by the light within. How stupid I must seem to her. How childlike and uncomprehending. Her soul is clean, untainted by the snares and ambiguities of emotion. She does not hate. She does not yearn. She is untouched by joy or sorrow. I worship her though I am not worthy. I cherish the purity of her disdain. She does not respect me. She does not fear me. She does not love me. They think she is hard and cold, those who do not know her. They think she is lifeless and without passion. They do not know her. She has not touched them. She touches me, and I am touched by God, by Destiny. The whole of existence courses through her. I worship her. I am her slave. No freedom ever was so sweet. My love, I would stay with you forever, would spend my life with you. I would wait upon your every utterance and never ask the merest splinter of affection. Fate… Fate… I love you."

"You will be SILENT, Mr Almond! Your incompetence has cost us our oldest symbol of authority and a jarring propaganda defeat! Do you understand what happened last night? … And you allowed them to do it. I want this creature and his associates found Mr Almond. I want his head … or by God I'll have yours instead! You will consult Mr Dascombe at Jordan Tower before making any official pronouncements. That will be all, Mr Almond. England prevails."

"Laughing, cheering, crying: They at least have not forsaken me … But why can't I feel anything for them? There's only me here, isn't there? I've known since childhood no one else is real. Just me and God. No boil upon the driver's neck; no stinking leatherette, no crowds, … I'd talk to my creator, about Nigger boys on the estate; and men, naked in bed, rubbing together, rubbing, pushing … When I grew weak, we'd talk. I talked to God, while colleagues laughed … but I was vindicated: God was real, embodied in a form that I could love. When I first saw her screens, her smooth unyielding lines … not as a woman, with strange sweat and ugly body hair, but something cold, hard; sensual. We loved, my God and I. But then … them she betrayed me. Now there's nothing. Now I am alone … except for them; waving beyond the glass. I'll try to love them more. They're all I have. Should I wave back? It mustn't look rehearsed, or insincere, but be instead a gesture from the heart … as spontaneous as their own. They love me. I pass on. England prevails."

"I think he's a psychopath, leader. I use the word in the most precise sense."

"I still don't know who codename V is, but I think I know what he is."

"Despite their faults those two men were human beings; and he slaughtered them like cattle."

"What's holding me back in my life … what's holding me back except..me?"

"Keep flying, son. And watch that potty mouth!"

"Weapons down or I will not be responsible for what comes next."

"Ninety percent of the casualties of World War I were soldiers, fraulein. But half the people who died in World War II were civilians... Half of sixty-one million. I know why I'm fighting, fraulein. I don't want to see World War III."

"A soldier with a voice that could command a god... and does."

"I'm loyal to nothing, General.. except the Dream."

"I fought your kind every day of that war, Zemo! You mocked democracy and said that free men were weak! Well feel this grip, Zemo — it's the grip of a man who loves liberty! Look into the eyes of your foe, and know that he will die for his freedom! The world must never again mistake compassion for weakness! And while I live — it had better not!"

"Avengers assemble!"

"Doesn't matter what the press says. Doesn't matter what the politicians or the mobs say. Doesn't matter if the whole country decides that something wrong is something right. This nation was founded on one principle above all else: the requirement that we stand up for what we believe, no matter the odds or the consequences. When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth, and tell the whole world — "No, you move.""

"Do you actually think the fact that you know how to program a computer makes you more of a human being than me? That I'm out of touch because I don't know what you know? I know what freedom is. I know what it feels like to fight for it and I know what it costs to have it. You know compromise."

"Captain America is not here to lead the country. I'm here to serve it. If I'm a captain, then I'm a soldier. Not of any military branch, but of the American people. Years ago, in simpler times, this suit and this shield were created as a symbol to help make America the land it's supposed to be... to help it realize its destiny. Ricocheting from super-villain duel to super-villain duel doesn't always serve that purpose. There's a difference between fighting against evil and fighting for the common good. I'm not always able to choose my battles... but effective immediately, I'm going to make an effort to choose the battles that matter. Battles against injustice, against cynicism, against intolerance. I will still serve with the Avengers. I will continue to defend this nation from any and all threats it may face. But as of today, I am not a "super hero." Now and forevermore, I am a man of the people. Together, you and I will identify and confront America's problems. Together, we will figure out what we are and what we can be. Together, we will define the American Dream and make it an American reality."

"Listen to me -- all of you out there! You were told by this man -- your hero -- that America is the greatest country in the world!"

"Courage, Honor, Loyalty, Sacrifice. You're braver than you think."

"These are dark and desperate times. I know that some of you are afraid. It's alright. It's perfectly natural. But I want you to know that I am not. I am not afraid to die this day because what we do here is necessary. It may seem impossible, our enemies may appear to be endless, but that doesn't matter. Because there is no one else. Look at me. I believe in an idea, an idea that a single individual who has the right heart and the right mind that is consumed with a single purpose, that one man can win a war. Give that one man a group of soldiers with the same conviction, and you can change the world."

"...so we worked our way up from the south and met with leaders from the Maquis to help plan the attack. I've seen a lot of combat...and I'd seen a lot before I got to France...but the savagery inflicted on these people. I never saw anything like it until we got to Buchenwald. That's why it galls me when I hear my own people dismissing the French as cowards. We're talking about a people who never gave up fighting the Nazi occupation. Their country may have surrendered, but they didn't..."

"Surrender??!! You think this letter on my head stands for France?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna fight you. You know why? Because I fought besides Russians during World War 2. They were good and decent men, and they made terrible painful sacrifices to save their country. And to their country then turn around and put monsters in prisons with nuclear landmines... to see people like you, proudly complicit in this nightmare... Yeah, I'll fight you. You've waited forty years for me in this hellhole, I feel it'd be impolite not to kick your head in."

"What are you ladies waiting for, Christmas?!"

"When Captain America throws his mighty shield, All those who chose to oppose his shield must yield! If he's led to a fight and a duel is due, Then the red and the white and the blue will come through, When Captain America throws his mighty shield!""

"Freedom Prevails!"

"Thumbs up, Soldier!"

"Good Work, Soldier!"

"For Truth, Justice, and the American way!"

"Believe in your country, but believe in yourself!"

"Stars and Stripes!!! (when performing his "Stars and Stripes" special attack)"

"Charging Star!!! (when performing his "Charging Star" special attack)"

"Final Justice! (when performing his "Final Justice" super move)"

"Your kind's got no shot--not while I'm around."

"The day I fall to the likes of you is the day I hang up my shield. (After defeating M.O.D.O.K. in Marvel vs. Capcom 3)"

"We Avengers will always fight the good fight! (When winning with the Avengers team in Marvel vs. Capcom 3)"

"You think I'm going down to some pampered punk like you? (when up against Iron Man in Marvel vs. Capcom 3)"

"Your name's Zero? Hope you don't fight like one. (when up against Zero in Marvel vs. Capcom 3)"

"On Olympus, we measure Wisdom against Athena, Speed against Hermes, Power against Zeus. But we measure Courage ... against Captain America."

"In a story from the early 1980s, Captain America uses his amazing powers to destroy a renegade American intelligence agency that is plotting an attack on the Soviet Union in order to make the United States the last remaining superpower. Confronting the plotters, the comic-book hero makes one of many declarations of faith that resound throughout his more than 70-year-long career as a fighter against evil: “I represent the American dream! A dream that has precious little to do with borders, boundaries, and the kind of blind hatred your ilk espouses!”"

"When he first appeared in March 1941, Captain America was the alter ego of Steve Rogers, a skinny art student from New York who had been transformed into a super-soldier by the U.S. army. Trying to enlist, but rejected because of his scrawny physique, Rogers agrees to be used as a subject in a secret project. Injected with a special serum and exposed to a course of radiation with “Vita-Rays,” the scrawny young man acquires astonishing strength, resourcefulness and courage. Captain America isn’t a superman; he is an average human being whose powers have been enhanced to the nth degree. It may be the fact that he is so recognizably human that makes him the most modern of the comic superheroes."

"Appearing in the run-up to U.S. entry into a world-shaking conflict, the Captain has always embodied the good in human beings. In his new book, Virtues of Captain America: Modern-Day Lessons on Character from a World War II Superhero, Mark D. White argues that there can be no better model of ethical behavior today: “Cap’s ‘old-fashioned’ moral code is exactly what we need to restore civility and respect in the 21st century in both our personal lives and our political debates. He is what ancient philosophers—yes, more ancient than Cap—called a moral exemplar.”"

"For White, who teaches philosophy at City University of New York and who has published widely on ethics as well as written about other comic-book heroes, the Captain is loyal to “timeless principles of freedom, equality and justice.” These principles are distinctively American, White believes, but he is keen to dispel “any illusion that Captain America is a jingoist flag-waver ... Instead he embodies an inclusive patriotism that balances idealism with clear-eyed pragmatism.” His principles are universal: as White puts it, he believes “American ideals apply to everyone—not just all Americans, but all people around the world.”"

"Captain America was a product of the way I felt at the time. I come from New York City and – especially on the block where I lived – there was plenty of action. There were fights and people would come from the next block and we would fight and either win or lose. That would be the routine. I grew up with that type of activity and I accepted it in my professional work. I believe it was also the times in general. Hitler was in power. The world was immersed in a general atmosphere of war. The war was coming and so there was a lot of turbulence. It was a very turbulent period and people reacted in a turbulent fashion. When I met partner Joe Simon, we immediately got our heads together and came up with Captain America who was typical of times. He was a patriot. He was a fighter. We were Americans and, in our plu cial[sic] minds, we were winners. Captain America was a winner. And sales were phenomenal."

"I didn't have a lot of objections to putting a crew on the first issue ... There were two young artists from Connecticut that had made a strong impression on me. Al Avison and Al Gabriele often worked together and were quite successful in adapting their individual styles to each other. Actually, their work was not too far from [that of] Kirby's. If they worked on it, and if one inker tied the three styles together, I believed the final product would emerge as quite uniform. The two Als were eager to join in on the new Captain America book, but Jack Kirby was visibly upset. "You're still number one, Jack," I assured him. "It's just a matter of a quick deadline for the first issue." "I'll make the deadline," Jack promised. "I'll pencil it [all] myself and make the deadline." I hadn't expected this kind of reaction ... but I acceded to Kirby's wishes and, it turned out, was lucky that I did. There might have been two Als, but there was only one Jack Kirby ... I wrote the first Captain America book with penciled lettering right on the drawing boards, with very rough sketches for figures and backgrounds. Kirby did his thing, building the muscular anatomy, adding ideas and pepping up the action as only he could. Then he tightened up the penciled drawings, adding detailed backgrounds, faces and figures.""

"I was always thinking about heroes and villains, with all sorts of ideas swimming around in my head…I had a hot fudge sundae sitting in front of me, with the vanilla ice cream, and the hot fudge is running down the side. It was intriguing. The hot fudge looked like limbs—legs, feet, and hands—and I’m thinking to myself. Gee, this’d make an interesting villain, I mused. We’ll call him Hot Fudge … Just put a face on him, and have him ooze all over the place. But I looked again at the sundae, and I saw the big cherry on top. The cherry looked like a skull. “Wow,” I said to myself. “Red Skull … that sounds good.”"

"We knew what was going on over in Europe. World events gave us the perfect comic-book villain, Adolf Hitler, with his ranting, goose-stepping and ridiculous moustache. So we decided to create the perfect hero who would be his foil. I did that first sketch of Captain America, and Jack and I did the entire first issue before showing it to (publisher) Martin Goodman at Timely Comics. He loved it immediately."

"But when Captain America came out, America wasn't yet in the war, so the American Nazis weren't happy with what we did to their beloved Fuhrer. ... We had a couple of personal encounters with the Bund (an American Nazi group). But that didn't stop us. If anything, it added fuel to the fire."

"You're all talk, Nefaria! If I had half the guts or savvy of the other Avengers, you'd be pulp by now!"

"Wonders are many, and nothing is more wonderful than man. - Epitaph"

"I love you, Jan. I always have... even through the bad times."

"Long have I accepted that my friends' lives would end before mine, that a mortal life is as a candle-flicker to an immortal's - BUT CAPTAIN AMERICA IS MORE THAN A MAN! He is among the best of his people - and he should not have died thus! Blow, winds! For by my hammer, he shall be - avenged!"

"Let the heavens run red with blood, but in the end as always Thanos stands triumphant."

"Destiny awaits."

"My name is Thanos, and my name means Death."

"Who would have thought that becoming God would be such a back stamping victory."

"I now hold omnipotence. What should I do with such almighty power? The answer to that is actually quite simple: Anything I want. Anything. I am incapable of error. Any result that displeases me I can simply reverse. There is nothing I need to worry on, for I am Thanos. And Thanos is supreme. Supreme god."

"Am I not Thanos?! Did I not butcher the woman who gave me birth, who force-fed me into this hell called life?! Is not the wake of my passing crimson with the blood of my enemies and allies alike?! Death is with me every second of the day! My every moment is spent in either dealing out death or worshipping it! So tell me, who under the stars is better suited than I to be Death's consort?"

"The Universe will now be set right. Made over to fit my unique view of what should be. Let Nihilism reign supreme!"

"I would prefer death to imprisonment! Pride: my one fatal flaw."

"I should have known I couldn't fool you."

"Adam Warlock, a being who wished nothing more than to spend the rest of his days within the peaceful environment of the Soul Gem. He now possesses the Infinite Power and the responsibility that goes with it. While I, whose entire life was dedicated to the pursuit of power, now find myself scraping out a living from the soil. Irony worthy of the drama. Yet strangely enough though, I envy not Adam Warlock. Somehow I feel, that in the long run, Thanos of Titan came out ahead in this particular deal."

"Your politics bore me. Your demeanor is that of a pouty child."

"But return to me again empty handed... And I will bathe the starways with your blood."

"Fine, I'll do it myself."

"Fun isn't something one considers when balancing the universe, but this (laughs) does put a smile on my face."

"I know what it's like to lose. To feel so desperately that you're right, yet to fail nonetheless. It’s frightening, turns the legs to jelly. I ask you to what end? Dread it. Run from it. Destiny still arrives all the same. And now it's here. Or should I say, I am."

"No resurrections this time."

"Reality is often disappointing. That is, it was. Now, reality can be whatever I want."

"Pretty, isn't it? Perfectly balanced, as all things should be."

"Little one, it's a simple calculus. This universe is finite, its resources finite. If life is left unchecked, life will cease to exist. It needs correction."

"A small price to pay for Salvation."

"I ignored my destiny once, I cannot do that again, even for you. I'm sorry, little one."

"It was... and it was beautiful. Titan was like most planets, too many mounds not enough to go around, and when we faced extinction, I offered a solution. Dispassionate; to rich and poor alike, and they called me a mad man. I'm a survivor."

"With all six stones I could simply snap my fingers and it would all cease to exist; and that, I call mercy."

"I'll finally rest and watch the sun rise on a grateful universe. The hardest choices require the strongest wills."

"You're full of tricks, wizard. But you never once used your greatest weapon, a fake."

"You have my respect, Stark. When I'm done, half of humanity will still be alive. I hope they'll remember you."

"You should have gone for the head."

"Today I lost more than you can know. But now is no time to mourn. Now... is no time at all."

"Gone, reduced to atoms."

"I used the Stones to destroy the Stones. It nearly killed me. But the work is done and it always will be."

"Impossible."

"In all my years of conquest, violence, slaughter, it was never personal. But I'll tell you now, what I'm about to do to your stubborn, annoying little planet...I'm going to enjoy it. Very, very much."

"I... am... inevitable"

"You could not live with your own failure. And where did that bring you? Back to me."

"I thought that by eliminating half of life, the other half would thrive. But you have shown me... that's impossible. As long as there are those that remember what was, there will always be those that are unable to accept what can be. They will resist."

"I'm thankful... because now... I know what I must do. I will shred this universe down to its last atom and then, with the Stones you've collected for me, create a new one teeming with life that knows not what it's lost... but only what it has been given. A grateful universe."

"They'll never know it... because you won't be alive to tell them"

"I don't even know who you are."

"I shall shed my light over dark evil. For the dark things cannot stand the light, The light of the Green Lantern!"

"In days of peace, in nights of war Obey the Laws forever more Misconduct must be answered for Swear us the chosen: The Alpha Corps!"

"In brightest day, in blackest night, No evil shall escape my sight Let those who worship evil's might, Beware my power...Green Lantern's light!"

"In forest dark or glade beferned, No blade of grass shall go unturned Let those who have the daylight spurned Tread not where this green lamp has burned."

"You who are wicked, evil and mean I'm the nastiest creep you've ever seen! Come one, come all, put up a fight I'll pound your butts with Green Lantern's light! Yowza."

"In loudest din or hush profound My ears catch evil's slightest sound Let those who toll out evil's knell Beware my power, the F-Sharp Bell!"

"Green Arrow: Like what you've seen? Listen, I hope you enjoyed playing super-hero out there...I hope it did a lot of good for your ego."

"I picked out the name from the train man on the tracks who was waving a lantern, going from red to green.... Green meant go and I decided that was it. Then I needed a colorful and interesting costume. I was interested in Greek mythology and so the costume took on elements of that. It just all fell into place. When I sent it in, I waited into the second week before I heard the word to come in. I was ushered into Mr. [[w:Max Gaines|[Max] Gaines]] office, publisher, and after sitting a long time and flipping through the pages of my presentation, he announced, 'We like it!' And then, 'Get to work!' I did the first five pages of an eight page story, and then they called in Bill Finger to help. We worked on it for seven years."

"Green Arrow: That's right, Lantern... apologize. Grovel in front of that walking mummy. You call yourself a hero! Chum, you don't even qualify as a man. You're no more than a puppet... and the Guardians pull your strings. Listen... forget about chasing around the galaxy! And remember America. It's a good country... beautiful... fertile... and terribly sick! There are children dying, honest people cowering in fear, disillusioned kids ripping up campuses. On the streets of Memphis a good black man died... and in Los Angeles, a good white man fell. Something is wrong. Something is killing us all! Some hideous moral cancer is rotting our very souls."

"Wonder Woman: Priscilla’s hobby is collecting chains – mine is breaking them! (111)"

"If it means interfering in an ensconced, outdated system, to help just one woman, man or child…I’m willing to accept the consequences."

"If the prospect of living in a world where trying to respect the basic rights of those around you and valuing each other simply because we exist are such daunting, impossible tasks that only a superhero born of royalty can address them,then what sort of world are we left with? And what sort of world do you want to live in?""

"Wonder Woman, Wonder Woman."

"A significant reason Wonder Woman became verboten soon after she debuted was her then-implicit bisexuality, having come from a land populated solely by women."

"She does not believe that Wonder Woman tends to masochism or sadism. Furthermore, she believes that even if it did-you can teach either perversion to children-one can only bring out what is inherent in the child. However she did make the reservation that if the woman slaves wore chains (and enjoyed them) for no purpose whatsoever, there would be no point in chaining them."

"I never really thought of Wonder Woman as a super-racy character. She wasn’t out there being predatory. She was saying: “You have a problem with a strong woman? I am who I am, get over it.” I never played her as mousy. I played her being for women, not against men. For fair play and fair pay."

"I still have women at airports coming up to me saying: “Oh, you don’t know what it meant to me. That show got me through this difficult time, that difficult time.” That’s really where the fantasy became a reality, where Wonder Woman became something much more than a TV show or a comic book. And I’ll tell you this, when women recognize me in airports, I hold them in my arms and they cry. If a guy comes up and says, “Oh my God, I had such a crush on you when I was a teenager,” I say: “Talk to the hand. I don’t want to know"."

"In 1968, under Denny as scripter and Mike Sekowsky as editor, they'd taken away Wonder Woman's powers and sexy costume to remain in "Man's World" rather than accompany her fellow Amazons back to Paradise Island, in Denny's words to me, "to solve the Superman problem," that is: if she can deflect bullets with her bracelet and tie up criminals with a magic lasso and fly around in a magic transparent plane, you run out of stories pretty fast—as well."

"Wonder Woman failed to challenge the long-standing prejudice that the feminine ideal was white. Not only were Wonder Woman and her sister Amazon's all fair skinned, the Wonder Woman comic books reinforced racism by debasing minority characters. While the grotesque and evil "Jap" enemies that populated Wonder Woman's adventures were the most frequent illustration of this racism, the comic book was rife with other degrading characterizations, like the dim-witted African American porter and duplicitous Mexican "hussy" who make an appearance in Wonder Woman #1, (Summer 1942) (187). Hateful depictions of Asian, African American and Mexican characters reinforced the racist association of "white with "right". This inherint racism undercut Marston's message of women's freedom and empowerment and would have required minority readers to negotiate some serious obstacles in accepting or rejecting, his comic book superheroine as a feminist role model. On top of this racism, Marston's view that women deserved to be in power because that were intrinsically virtuous and would use their power to bring about peace and happiness further complicates Wonder Woman's feminist claims. Although Marston aimed to elevate women, arguments that base women's right to power on a set of assumptions about "the female character" ultimately reinforce the idea that women must adhere to the standards identified by the dominant culture as appropriately feminine. Those women who fail to meet society's expectations, whether by circumstance or by choice, risk being denied the rights that "acceptable" behavior would presumably earn them. For such individuals, Marston offered a rather unsympathetic solution: conform."

"Careful to show that women's strength and assertiveness did not unsex them, Wonder Woman adhered to the dominant standards of a acceptable femininity. Marston's Amazon princess was kind, nurturing and self-sacrificing; she was also quite beautiful. Wonder Woman was tall and svelte and had a womanly, if athletic body with "perfect modern Venus' measurements" (Marston and Peter, Wonder Woman #6, 139). She had long eyelashes, painted lips, and long, thick shiny hair. She was also very fashionable and knew how to accessorize with earrings, bracelets, a tiara and knee-high high heeled boots. This keen fashion sense undoubtedly came from her interest in shopping, which was one of the first things she did upon arriving in America (Marston and Peter, Sensation Comics #1, 20). Occasionally yielding to a "girlish impulse, "Wonder Woman could be caught dressing up and admiring her appearance from time to time. She even mooned over Steve Trevor, who was known in their comic world as "the strong girl's weakness" (Marston and Peter, Wonder Woman #6, 118) Rather than emasculate Steve with her incredibly strength, Wonder Woman often played the coquette, protesting for him to stop teasing her while thinking to herself "But I hope he won't!" (Marston and Peter, Sensation Comics #22, 166). Attractive, flirtatious and occasionally frivolous, Wonder Woman delivered a healthy dose of traditionally expected femininity."

"Not only was Wonder Woman a more enduring character than Rosie, her contribution to the war effort was also more direct. Rosie's war job was to make planes, weapons and ammunition that would help men win the war. She was the quintessential woman behind the man behind the gun, Wonder Woman, on the other hand, fought alongside men on the front lines of battle; she was the woman who led the man who held the gun. Defying convention that relegated woman to the role of man's submissive helpmate, Wonder Woman fought not for men, but for liberty and freedom and all womankind!" (Marston and Peter, All Star Comics #8, 15). Whereas Rosie suggested that women work in order to help men, Wonder Woman encouraged women to work because it enabled their independence from men. When misogynistic Dr. Psycho hypnotizes his wife, Marva, and forces her to help him in his plot to enslave American women in Wonder Woman #5 (Jun./Jul. 1943), Marva bitterly laments: "Submitting to a cruel husband's domination has ruined my life! But what can a weak girl do?". Wonder Woman of course, has the answer: "Get strong! Earn your own living- join the WAACS or WAVES and fight for your country! Remember - the better you fight, the less you'll have to!" Because Marston believed that women's economic independence was a necessary step towards their empowerment, he used Wonder Woman to encourage women and girls to pursue work outside of the home for the sake of their own autonomy and personal fulfillment. In doing so, his character directly challenged traditional gender roles in a way that Rosie did not."

"Intentionally or otherwise the strip is full of significant sex antagonisms and perversions. Personally I would find an out-and-out striptease less unwholesome than this kind of symbolism."

"The idea was to make the character of Wonder Woman the face of a U.N. social media campaign to promote women's rights via tweets and facebook callouts. Women's rights advocates exploded in outrage, and nearly 45,000 people signed a petition against the decision. "It's an insult, frankly," said Anne Marie Goetz at the time. Goetz, a professor of global affairs at New York University and a former adviser on peace and security issues to the United Nations agency, U.N. Women, said a big issue was the timing."

""It's frivolous, it's fatuous and it reduces an extremely serious human rights problem experienced by half of the world to a cartoon," she said. And not just any cartoon, added Goetz. Wonder Woman in her view was tantamount to a Barbie/Playboy pinup. Like most female comic action figures, she has big breasts bursting out of a skimpy outfit and an impossibly tiny waist. "The message to girls is that you are expected to meet a male standard in which your significance is reduced to your role as a sexual object," said Goetz."

"It was the Amazon Princess' origins in wartime, though - the critical moment of her arrival - that have helped to give her the staying power she has shown as a character. Because her appearance coincided with a moment in history when women were called upon to take on duties, responsibilities, and aspects of gender identity formerly in men's domain, her demonstration of "masculine" qualities was seen as appropriate for the times. Further, she was held to the same standards of female behavior as the World War II women she inspired and represented: her masculinity and power over men were managed, and she maintained her femininity no matter the circumstances. From her inception, beyond merely being entertainment for children, Wonder Woman represented a vision of women's qualities that were equal to or greater than men's and exemplified a mix of gender qualities that adult women and men recognized as necessary to the Allied effort. Wonder Woman rode a wave of wartime feminism that permitted her to show that her greatest qualities were ones that helped win the war. Those same qualities enabled her use as an image of strength, self-reliance and self-belief that were the basis of the Second Wave, pushing women further up the shore to equality."

"We look at the strong, healthy character for some of the same reasons recent psychologists now charge psychology with a criticism her creator made long ago. Too much of psychology has focused on that which is abnormal without exploring that which is normal-hence Marston's classic book, Emotions of Normal People. Whereas other psychologists and other fictional characters might views humankind pessimistically, William Moulton Marston and Wonder Woman look for the best in us all and hope for our world. In the twenty-first century, a psychologist best known for studying the causes and consequences of learned helplessness promotes positive psychology on the belief that psychology has overemphasized the worst parts of human nature to the neglect of trying to understand the best."

"Wonder Woman isn’t only an Amazonian princess with badass boots. She’s the missing link in a chain of events that begins with the woman's suffrage campaigns of the 1910s and ends with the troubled place of feminism fully a century later. Feminism made Wonder Woman. And then Wonder Woman remade feminism, which hasn’t been altogether good for feminism. Superheroes, who are supposed to be better than everyone else, are excellent at clobbering people; they’re lousy at fighting for equality."

"Marston was a scholar, a professor, and a scientist; Wonder Woman began on a college campus, in a lecture hall, and in a laboratory. Marston was a lawyer and a filmmaker; Wonder Woman began in a courthouse and a movie theater. The women Marston loved were suffragists, feminists, and birth control advocates. Wonder Woman began in a protest march, a bedroom, and a birth control clinic. The red bustier isn’t the half of it. Unknown to the world, Margaret Sanger, one of the most influential feminists of the twentieth century, was part of Marston’s family."

"Who needs consciousness-raising and equal pay, when you’re an Amazon with an invisible plane?"

"On one hand, said Lepore, the character has solid feminist roots. She was invented in 1941 by William Moulton Marston, a Harvard-trained Ph.D. psychologist-cum-advice columnist for Family Circle magazine. Marston had been brought on board by the company that eventually became DC Comics to help deal with a public relations problem. The company's first two superheroes, created in the late 1930s, had become controversial. "Superman looked a bit like a fascist — he's an ubermensch. Batman carried a gun and was quite violent," explained Lepore."

"According to Lapore, "Marston said, 'You know, you need a female superhero because she will embody the nurturing values of womanhood. She will be about peace not war.'" The character he set about creating drew largely on a real-life woman Marston knew personally and greatly admired: Margaret Sanger, the co-founder of Planned Parenthood."

"In the comic book — and now in the new movie — Wonder Woman is a princess of the Amazons of Greek mythology, living on an island where there are no men. That story, said Lepore, "comes not from science fiction but from feminist utopian fiction" popular with Sanger and other early feminists of the progressive era."

"A lot of people started to say, 'Why is she the symbol of women's power? She's just so obviously made for men to look at and ogle,'" said Lepore. So it's no surprise that she continues to raise conflicting feelings to this day. "Part of the richness of this character is that there are many layers to understanding her. Wonder Woman is always going to have a mixed legacy."

"...exhorted women to become physically and mentally strong, promoted paid female employment, and critiqued over-masculinized aspects of American culture."

"Wonder Woman breaks the bonds of those who are slaves to evil masters but she doesn't leave the freed ones free to assert their own egos and uncontrolled self-gratification. Wonder Woman binds the victims again in love chains - that is, she makes them submit to a loving superior ... Wonder Woman is trying to show children - who understand this far better than adults - that it's much more fun to be controlled by a loving person that [sic] to go ranting round submitting to no one."

"A male hero, at best, lacks the qualities of maternal love and tenderness which are as essential to a normal child as the breath of life. Suppose your child's ideal becomes a superman who uses his extraordinary power to help the weak. The most important ingredient in the human happiness recipe still is missing-love. It's smart to be strong. It's big to be generous. But it's sissified according to exclusively masculine rules, to be tender, loving affectionate, and alluring. "Aw, that's girls stuff!" snorts our young comics reader. "Who wants to be a girl?" And that's the point. Not even girls want to be girls so long as our feminine archetype lacks force, strength, and power. Not wanting to be girls, they don't want to be tender, submissive, peace-loving as good women are. Women's strong qualities have become despised because of their weakness. The obvious remedy is to create a feminine character with all the strength of Superman plus all the allure of a good and beautiful woman."

"Wonder Woman and her sister Amazons have to wear heavy bracelets to remind them of what happens to a girl when she lets a man conquer her. The Amazons once surrendered to the charm of some handsom Greeks and what a mess they got themselves into. The Greeks put them in chains of the Hitler type, beat them, and made them work like horses in the fields. Aphrodite, goddess of love, finally freed these unhappy girls. But she laid down the rule that they must never surrender to a man for any reason. I know of no better advice to give modern women than this rule that Aphrodite gave the Amazon girls."

"As to chains and bonds - my whole strip is aimed at drawing the distinction in the minds of children and adults between love bonds and male bonds of cruelty and destruction.""

"I have given Wonder Woman this dominant force but have kept her loving, tender, maternal and feminine in every other way."

"Oh yes, but not until women control men. Wonder Woman – and the trend toward male acceptance of female love power, which she represents, indicates that the first psychological step has actually been taken. Boys, young and old, satisfy their wish thoughts by reading comics. If they go crazy over Wonder Woman, it means they’re longing for a beautiful, exciting girl who is stronger than they are. These simple, highly imaginative picture stories satisfy longings that ordinary daily life thwarts and denies. Superman and the army of male comics characters who resemble him satisfy the simple desire to be stronger and more powerful than anybody else. Wonder Woman satisfies the subconscious, elaboratedly disguised desire of males to be mastered by a woman who loves them."

"This my dear friend is the one truly great contribution of my Wonder Woman strip to moral education of the young. The only hope for peace is to teach people who are full of pep and unbound force to enjoy being bound--enjoy submission to kind authority, wise authority, not merely tolerate such submission. Wars will only cease when humans enjoy being bound."

"Wonder Woman was from the start a character founded in scholarship."

"Frankly, Wonder Woman is psychological propaganda for the new type of woman who, I believe, should rule the world."

"Normal men retain their childish longing for a woman to mother them. At adolescence a new desire is added. They want a girl to allure them. When you put these two together, you have the typical male yearning Wonder Woman satisfies."

"Men, (Greeks) were captured by predatory love-seeking females until they got sick of it and made the women captive by force. But they were afraid of them (masculine inferiority complex) and kept them heavily chained lest the women put one over as they always had before. The Goddess of Love comes along and helps women break their chains by giving them the greater force of real altruism. Were upon men turned about face and actually helped the women get away from domestic slavery - as men are doing now. The New Women thus freed and strengthened by supporting themselves (on paradise Island) developed enormous physical and mental power. But they have to use it for other people’s benefit or they go back to chains, and weakness."

"Marston’s Diana was a doctor, a healer, a scientist."

"When Wonder Woman creator William Moulton Marston died in 1947, they got rid of the pervy elements, and instantly sales pummeted. Wonder Woman should be the most sexually attractive, intelligent, potent woman you can imagine. Instead she became this weird cross between the Virgin Mary and Mary Tyler Moore that didn't even appeal to girls."

"The focus [of the U.N.] was on her feminist background, being the first female superhero in a world of male superheroes and that basically she always fought for fairness, justice and peace."

"Ong has no quarrel with the old-style comics like Mr. & Mrs., The Gumps, Gasoline Alley, and he seems to have a sneaking admiration for Li'l Abner ("sexy and synthetic pastoralism" done with "manifest cleverness.") But, he says, "there seems to be nothing in the good comics which keeps readers from liking the others." He saves his sharpest slings for Superman's female counterpart, a four-year-old character named Wonder Woman, who is described by her creator as "the girl from Paradise Isle, beautiful as Aphrodite, wise as Athena, stronger than Hercules and swifter than Mercury." Wonder Woman swears "By Zeus!" and regularly prays to Aphrodite—which Ong says is Hitlerite paganism."

"Wonder Woman is only a female Superman, preaching "the cult of force, spiked, by means of her pretentiously scanty 'working' attire, with a little commercial sex. . . . When not in her outré 'working' clothes she habitually wears a suitcoat and tie among the jeweled guests at luncheon parties and at formal evening affairs." Walter Ong finds Wonder Woman sexy, but "this is not a healthy sex directed toward [marriage]] and family life, but an antisocial sex, made as alluring as possible while its normal term in marriage is barred by the ground rules.""

"Developed as a frank appeal to male fantasies of sexual domination."

"Some heroes get tied up more than others."

"Throughout the [Marston] period...she accomplished her remarkable feats without any apparent definition in her biceps or thighs. Her calf muscles, highlighted by the red boots, are developed only to-but not beyond-the point required for "nice legs" in the pinup sense."

"If you need to stop an asteroid, you call Superman. If you need to solve a mystery, you call Batman. But if you need to end a war, you call Wonder Woman."

"[Wonder Woman's] creator has...seen straight into my heart and understood the secret fears of violence hidden there. No longer did I have to pretend to like the "pow!" and "Crunch" style of Captain Marvel or the Green Hornet. No longer did I have nightmares after reading ghoulish comics filled with torture and mayhem, comics made all the more terrifying by their real-life setting in World War II....Here was a heroic person who might conquer with force, but only a force that was tempered by love and justice."

"If we had all read more about Wonder Woman and less about Dick and Jane the new wave of the feminist revolution might have happened less painfully and sooner."

"Wonder Woman emerged in the 1940s just as American entered World War II. As women entered the war production in various capacities, the image of Wonder Woman spoke to the promise of the future for women strong, independent and career-minded. When the war ended, Fredric Wertham fought to contain that image of the strong, independent, career-minded woman or he felt it threatened the American family and American society. His attempts to contain Wonder Woman forced her, like so many women during the 1950's, to struggle with the tension between family and career. In the end, Wertham may have contained the symbol of the 1940s Wonder Woman - strength and independence - but the 1950s Wonder Woman - having to choose between marriage and career - spoke to and inspired another generation."

"The iconic Wonder Woman fictional character was named an Honorary Ambassador for the Empowerment of Women and Girls on 21 October 2016, in support of Sustainable Development Goal 5 – to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. The designation ceremony coincided with the 75th anniversary of Wonder Woman's first appearance in a comic book in 1941. Wonder Woman has since then been depicted in movies and TV series. She is a global citizen and universally recognized for her commitment to justice, peace and equality and is seen as a model of strength, fairness and compassion becoming a symbol of empowerment for women and girls in much of the world. Women and girls represent half of the world’s population and therefore also half of its potential. But today, gender inequality persists everywhere and stagnates social progress. In many parts of the world women endure physical and sexual violence, face barriers to opportunities for leadership and education and receive less pay than men for equal work among other forms of discrimination."

"The homosexual connotation of the Wonder Woman type of story is psychologically unmistakable. The Psychiatric Quarterly deplored in an editorial the "appearance of an eminent child therapist as the implied endorser of a series...which portrays extremely sadistic hatred of males in a framework which is plainly Lesbian." For boys Wonder Woman is a frightening image. For girls she is a morbid ideal. Where Batman is anti-feminine, the attractive Wonder Woman and her counterparts are definitely anti-masculine. Wonder Woman has her own female following. They are all continuously being threatened, captured, almost put to death. Her followers are the "Holiday girls", i.e. the holiday girls, the gay party girls, the gay girls. Wonder Woman refers to them as "my girls"."

"Wonder Woman is physically very powerful, tortures men, has her own female following, is the cruel 'phallic' woman. While she is a freightening figure for boys, she is an undesirable ideal for girls, being the exact opposite of what girls are supposed to be."

"Fans know that she carries a golden lasso that compels anyone caught in it to tell the truth. But fewer realize that her creator, psychologist William Moulton Marston, also helped develop the first real-life lie detector. Marston, who earned his PhD from Harvard in 1921, and his wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston (who earned a master's degree in psychology at Radcliffe), conducted the first research that linked systolic blood pressure to emotion—a key part of the modern polygraph."

"Marston set the foundation for what to expect from Wonder Woman comics in the early 1940s. Stories that take place after Marston' death carry the same elements, although not as overtly. Wonder Woman relies on inducement to lead others and fought against the practice of domination, sometimes in the form of corrupt regimes or abusive men. Compliance, including fear, is a cause of concern for Wonder Woman as she protects others. She approaches her enemies with inducement rather than domination, extending her hand when she can. Diana submits when appropriate, especially to her gods and her mother. Without Marston's theory of emotions laying the foundation for his superheroine, Wonder Woman would not embody the spirit of loving submission readers have seen over the decades."

"My favorite thing was the bracelets. I mean, the bracelets are cool, but how do I make that work? In the original comic book, they needed them because they fire guns on Paradise Island. I don't think I'm going there."

"There was a lot in these stories to suggest that Wonder Woman was not so much a pitch to ambitious girls as an object for male sexual fantasies and fetishes."

""Wonder Woman" was conceived by Dr. Marston to set up a standard among children and young people of strong, free, courageous womanhood; to combat the idea that women are inferior to men, and to inspire girls to self-confidence and achievement in athletics, occupations and professions monopolized by men....Since millions of young people are reading "wonder Woman" today, it is quite possible that their acceptance of this womanly ideal may alter our whole standards, as to what is admirable in women. Children who admire the heroic type of woman will no longer have any use for the timid, physically weak, dependent and emotionally possessive woman of the old school, and will model themselves on the self-reliant, strong comradely woman who can be honest and fearless because she is not dependent upon a man for her living."

"I am Promethea, the child who stands Between fixed earth and insubstantial air, a dream thought who yet treads matter's rain-swept strands, And mortals are the sandals that I wear. I am Promethea. From Mind’s pure light I stoop into Earth's dark gloom, From Fables’ day Descending into Facts’ cold weighty night, From lyric atmospheres to mammal clay. I am Promethea, the rumored one, The mythic bough that Reason strains to bend. I am that voice left, once the book is done... I am the dream that waking does not end."

"Promethea: Don't worry, some symbols always means the same thing...and the archetype of wisdom is eternal."

"Mayor Sonny Baskerville is currently stalling any investigation by demanding separate hearings for each of his forty two personalities. This is TEXTure."

"Andras: You ask alot of questions, bitch. Too bad the rules say we gotta answer 'em. Goetia means howling. It's the chittering of a billion insects in the night. It's what it sounds like where we live."

"Daredevil (thinking): No! I should have known he'd try that! He can't stand being handicapped! He's got to prove to himself that he can cope! But he's swinging in too low an arc!"

"Spider-Man: I wont take anymore! I'I'd rather be dead than..."

"Daredevil (thinking): I should have expected this! He's starting tocome apart-- lashing out at me as his guts tear him inside-out! I could dodge his blows until he exhausts himself! -- But that's not going to bring him to grips with his blindness!"

"Spider-Man: I'm no good to anyone--now--not to myself...not to anyone! I'm a joke! A sick, pitiful--pathetic--joke..."

"The Thing: If you want to fly to the stars, than you pilot the ship! Count me out! You know we haven't done enough research into the effect of cosmic rays! They might kill us all out in space!"

"Invisible Girl: Johnny! What is it? What's happening to you?"

"Mr. Fantastic: Somehow the cosmic rays have altered your atomic structure...making you grow invisible!"

"Mr. Fantastic: Thank heavens!! You're all right, my darling!"

"Human Torch: You've turned into monsters both of you!! It's those rays! Those terrible cosmic rays! Now I know why I've been feeling so warm! Look at me!! They've affected me, too! When I get excited I can feel my body begin to blaze! I'm lighter than air!!I can fly!! Look...I can fly!!"

"Mr. Fantastic: Listen to me, all of you! That means you' too, Ben! Together we have more power than any humans have ever possessed!"

"Fantastic Four No. 1 arrived as a comic book on newsstands exactly 54 years ago this Saturday, August 8th. Written by Stan Lee and drawn by Jack Kirby, the comic book —priced at $0.10 — now looks hopelessly goofy. A dozen exclamation points punctuate the cover alone, which depicts a green monster bursting up through a street in "Central City," because Lee and Kirby had not yet decided to locate their super-team in the nonfictional borough of Manhattan. "I-I can't turn invisible fast enough!!" cries the half-transparent blonde struggling to escape the creature's grasp. But in its time, Fantastic Four was revolutionary. Its heroes wore no uniforms (though they would later). They had no secret identities. They bickered among themselves like any family. Most intriguingly, they often regarded their superpowers as a curse. Reed "Mr. Fantastic" Richards could stretch his body like taffy. Sue "Invisible Girl" Storm could vanish from sight, but also developed telekinesis and the ability to project force fields. Her brother Johnny turned into the The Human Torch, a flying fireball, just by saying "Flame on!" You probably wouldn't want to sit next to him on the bus, but at least Johnny could flame-off when he wanted. Poor Ben Grimm, the blue-collar kid on the team, was permanently transmogrified into giant orange rock monster. Pitifully christened "The Thing," his yearning to be made flesh again gave the early Fantastic Four stories an undercurrent of pathos."

"Category:Marvel Comics"

"Category:Science fiction comics"

"Category:Fantasy comics"

"Category:Crime comics"