We’ve followed their adventures with excitement, secretly wished to have their superpowers, good looks or charm. Kid or adult, these fictional characters have been at the centre of thousands of comic book pages, film reels, television shorts, pop culture and the like for half a century. Let’s wish these superheroes a very happy 50th birth year. Spider-Man: Created in August, 1962, by Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko, Spiderman became the first ever teen superhero. Peter Parker was a character many teens identified with, also dealing with issues such as loneliness, social awkwardness, girl issues and rejection. One of the most commercially successful superhero franchises of all time, Spider-Man was adapted on screen by Tobey Maguire with Andrew Garfield taking over the spider suit in the to-be-released reboot ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’. Thor: Based on the thunder god from Norse mythology, Thor debuted in August, 1962 with the science fiction title ‘Journey into Mystery #83’. Banished to earth by the king of Norse gods, for being too arrogant, Thor finds his place among the mortals, finally being part of the super-group ‘The Avengers’. The Hulk: The man best known for his anger issues, The Hulk is the emotional and impulsive monster of an alter ego of Dr Bruce Banner. The Hulk has been represented in various media from television series to three films-‘Hulk’ (played by Eric Bana), ‘The Incredible Hulk’ (with Edward Norton) and he will appear in ‘The Avengers’ played by Mark Ruffalo. James Bond (of the film series): The first film adaptation from Ian Fleming’s James Bond series of novels, Dr No, premiered in British theatres in October, 1962. Now, fifty years later, James Bond, the womanising, deadly yet affable British MI6 agent has come to stand for class, style, and suavity. Portrayed first by Scottish actor Sean Connery, 007 has since been played by George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Pierce Brosnan and currently, by Daniel Craig who will return onscreen with the new Bond film, ‘Skyfall’.
