A New Super Hero Everyday? You Better Believe It!

By - 545 words

Language

Reading Level

Listen to Article

If you are a super hero fan you are probably wishing that someone would think up of a new character - After all how many iterations of Superman, Batman and Ironman can one watch? And, while putting them together like they did in The Avengers is fun, that too can get a tad boring! But fear not, because Pixar artist Everett Downing has been sketching brand new 'Supers' as he likes to call them, with all kinds of incredible powers - So far, he has dreamt up over 300 of them, and he is not done yet!

The Oakland-based artist who has worked on animation classics like Ratatouille, UP and Toy Story 3 says his quest began in 2010. Feeling like he was getting into a rut and not sketching enough, he made a New Year's resolution - To sketch a new super hero every day, for 365 days! To ensure that he did not over think the characters, Downing decided to restrict himself to an hour for each one. The results as you can see, are quite impressive.

The artist begins by giving every hero a name - Some like Rick-Saw and Re-Pete are just goofy word plays. Others such as 274X-Ray and Spydra sound cool. The rest? Well they are just random! While this may sound like a strange way to begin creating a super hero, it seems to work really well for Downing, who says that once he has a name, the ideas just start to pour.

Most of his Supers also have a story attached to them. A monster named Mulch, came to life when a horticulturist's grass growing solution accidently exploded all over the human, transforming him into - Yes you guessed it! A monster Mulch! Meat Mitts is a butcher's mutant son who is born with gigantic hands that he uses to administer justice on the streets.

Among the artist's favorites is Lance-a-lot - half man, half unicorn - A mythic crusader, whose weapons of choice are a sword made from righteous light and a wrath rainbow that shoots out from his horn!

Another favorite is a rather wacky superhero team called Dober-man and the Pincher. After getting bitten by his pet who happens to be a genetically altered, enthusiastic Doberman Pinscher, a veterinarian inherits the dog's two superpowers - speed and fury. From then on he and his canine become an invincible team who purse crime with dogged determination!

Since Downing didn't quite live up to his resolution of completing his 365 super hero characters in a year, he decided to add it to his list of things to do in 2013. Given that he has already created 16 so far, we would not be surprised to see him surpass his target!

So what is this amazing artist going to do with all the characters? He hints at maybe creating a stand-alone comic featuring only the best of his characters or perhaps even a guide book to all of the Supers - Unless of course, Pixar decides to license them all first! To see all of Downing's previous creations and keep up-to-date with his new ones check out 365supers. Be sure to let us know which one of them is your favorite, by adding your comments below.

Resources: wired.com, forbes.com,superherohype.com

Cite Article
Learn Keywords in this Article
329 Comments
  • Salmost 12 years
    I LOVE UNICORNS
    • Harshitaalmost 12 years
      cool!!
      • izzyiohad
        izzyiohadalmost 12 years
        If you like this follow me
        • izzyiohad
          izzyiohadalmost 12 years
          My superhero would be one I dreamed of, GREEN DRAGON the list would be too long to name because she has lots of superpowers. Her weakness would be if her family members are in danger.AND GUESS WHAT GREEN DRAGON IS ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!
          • roos213_12
            roos213_12almost 12 years
            His power would be being annoying.His weakness would be smart people.his name would be annoyboy.I came up with that from annoying and he's a boy.
            • roos213_9
              roos213_9almost 12 years
              My superhero's name would be Stargo.Her power's would be making sure that every star is alive.And her weakness is not having enough energy to go up and check the the star's.I came up with it by putting star and go together
              • josiphina
                josiphinaalmost 12 years
                Where's the bad guy?!!
                • josiphina
                  josiphinaalmost 12 years
                  I would make one named mental boy his weakness is water his power mental
                  • roos213_15
                    roos213_15almost 12 years
                    If I made a superhero it would be a boy. His name would be Toast boy. His power would be making awesome toast. His weakness would be freezing things. I came up with it from toast and a boy.
                    • roos213_14
                      roos213_14almost 12 years
                      If I could make a super hero.His name would be elechtroboy. His power would be throwing lightning