- They didn't know we had
the power of invisibility. - They did not. What a surprise. - So when the first modern comic books were released in 1933
in the United States, they immediately became a huge hit that would prove to be
successful for decades to come. - And although comic books themselves aren't as popular as they once were, many characters from the comics
are more popular than ever. Like Batman, Superman,
Spiderman, and Iron Man. - But what you might not know is some of the fictional
characters from the comics that we've come to
love, are actually based on real life people. - So today, we gathered those characters that you never knew
weren't based on fiction. So, here they are. - Ten comic book characters
inspired by real people. Number one is the Joker. First appearing in Batman
#1 on April 25, 1940, the Joker's become one of the most well-known villains, not
just in the Batman franchise, but of all time. The Joker's distinctive
look was inspired by German actor Conrad Veidt. Everything, including
his wide smile, haircut, and even the looks in his eyes, inspired the design of
the Clown Prince of Crime. In the German Expressionist
film, The Man Who Laughs from 1928, Veidt played
a man whose face was disfigured into a permanently wide smile, further inspiring the look of the Joker. Conrad went on to star in such films as Casablanca, but the
Joker, upon introduction, was labeled as a psychopath
with a warped sense of humor, which wasn't too favorable with audiences. However, by the late
1950's, the character became more goofy in response to
the Comics Code Authority. The Joker is one of my favorites for sure. A great example of how an innocent smile can get really creepy if
you hold it for too long. - Number two is John Constantine. First appearing in the
Saga of the Swamp Thing #25 in 1984, John Constantine
is a working-class magician, a cold detective, and
conman stationed in London. His creator, Steve
Bissette and John Totleben wanted to draw a character that looked like the musician Sting, as
they were fans of his music. They created a character
named John Constantine who was similar to Sting in looks and age, but made him a street-wise,
chain smoking mystic. After appearing in the Swamp Thing, Constantine starred in
his own Hellblazer comic for 300 issues, before refreshing
the character for D.C.'s New 52 Universe, naming
this new series Constantine. The character was finally
brought to the screen in both a 2005 film starring Keanu Reeves, and most recently, in
an NBC television series starring Matt Ryan. And for those who think
it's odd to base Constantine off Sting because Sting isn't magic, hello, have you heard him sing? If that's not magic, I don't know what is. - Number three is Tintin. Made famous from the long running Belgian comic series by the then cartoonist Hergé, Tintin the globe-trotting comic reporter first made his appearance
in Tintin in the Land of the Soviets, in 1929. The real life inspiration
for the character came from the Danish boy
scout named Palle Huld. After winning a contest to
reenact A Trip Around the World In 80 Days, based on the novel, he caught Hergé's
attention, who was inspired. Tintin was created the following year, and the first series of
Tintin stories, along with his other collected works, have since sold over 200 million volumes,
becoming internationally beloved. Tintin is huge in his home of Belgium, so much so that the
Hotel Amigo in Brussels opened two special Tintin rooms, including a huge mural of
Tintin and his dog, Snowy. I find it intriguing that
Tintin became so popular. I mean, who wants to be entertained by a nerdy, skinny dude? - (clears throat) I am literally sitting right next to you. - (chuckles nervously) - Number four is The Hellfire Club. The Hellfire Club is a fictional society within the Marvel Comics universe, that often battles the X-Men. First introduced in the
Uncanny X-Men #129, in 1980. Multiple members of the
club were inspired by actors who Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, its creators, were familiar with. Mastermind was designed to look like a young Vincent Price. Robert Shaw inspired Sebastian Shaw, Donald Sutherland inspired Donald Pierce, Orson Welles inspired Harry Leland, and Diana Rigg inspired Emma Frost. The Hellfire Club became longstanding antagonists to the X-Men, and vital parts of The Phoenix Saga. Both Sebastian Shaw and Emma Frost can be seen in the film
X-Men: First Class, at their regular spots, The Hellfire Club. Interestingly, a Hellfire
Club was historically a nickname for places in the 18th century, that were known for immoral acts such as gentlemen's establishments. And now you know the secret connection between X-Men and strip clubs, which explains their stage
names, especially Cyclops. - Number five is Magneto and Professor X. Both Magneto and
Professor X first appeared in the X-Men #1, in September 1963, around the height of the
Civil Rights movement. Since many of the X-Men could be a parable to the fight of any equal rights groups, it's not surprising
that the opposing forces of Magneto and Charles Xavier were based off of Malcolm X and
Martin Luther King Jr. Like Malcolm X and King, both men worked to fight the oppression of their people, but each go about doing it differently. Magneto opts for more forceful
approach, like Malcolm X, while Xavier works with the opposition diplomatically, like King. The characters have
been vital figure heads in the longstanding X-Men comic series, and can be seen in a series of X-Men films played by Ian McKellen
and Patrick Stewart. While Magneto and Professor
X may not see eye-to-eye, but have you seen Ian
McKellen and Patrick Stewart's photos from their days out friendshipping? It's adorable. - Number six is Iron Man. Iron Man first appeared
in Tales of Suspense #39 in 1963, and has been ranked highly as one of the top comic
book characters of all time. Tony Stark, the man
within the Iron Man suit, was inspired by American
icon, Howard Hughes. Hughes was a business tycoon, investor, aviator, inventor, filmmaker, engineer, and philanthropist, and during his life, was one of the richest men in the world. Hughes' handsome, rich,
and Renaissance man persona are what Stark's
character were based upon. In addition, Hughes' internal struggles have also popped up in Stark's
battles with alcoholism. Inspiration goes even
further when you know that Tony's father is
actually named Howard Stark. Tony Stark and his superhero
persona of Iron Man have become huge pop culture icons, since the 2008 film, Iron Man. If only Hughes had built an Iron Man suit that maybe, maybe, people
wouldn't have thought that he was so nuts for
hoarding jars of his own pee. Yeah, that happened, and I do it, too. Come at me. - Number seven is Lucifer Morningstar. First appearing in Jimmy
Olsen #65, in 1962, the character of Lucifer Morningstar is a modern interpretation of Satan. During the late 1980's,
Neil Gaiman was aiming to redesign the character of Lucifer, that had appeared in earlier D.C. Comics for his own comic, The Sandman. He wanted the devil to draw people in, and naturally knew that
the one other person that could easily do that was David Bowie. Bowie was not only a singer-songwriter and actor, he ended up
having the exact look Neil was looking for. The Sandman went on to
be incredibly successful, and was one of the few graphic novels to be in The New York
Times best seller list, along with the Watchmen and
The Dark Knight Returns. In fact, as of February of this year, Fox and Warner Brothers are planning a TV adaptation for the character called, you guessed it, Lucifer. I don't blame game, and
Bowie is quite devilish. I mean, especially those eyes. Those eyes. - Number eight is Harley Quinn. Harley Quinn was introduced
in the highly regarded Batman: The Animated Series cartoon, and then made her comic book appearance in the Batman Adventures #12, in 1993. Paul Dini was working to develop some new henchmen characters for the Joker, and thought to add a woman to the group. He recalled a scene from
the daytime soap opera, Days of Our Lives, where his friend, Arleen Sorkin, played a court
jester in a fantasy sequence. Dini got Sorkin involved and together, they developed the character into Dr. Harleen Quinzel, better
known as Harley Quinn. Snorkin even voiced the character with a little splash of Southern belle. Harley Quinn has since
become one of the most popular Batman villains, and soon will make her first live action appearance in the upcoming movie Suicide Squad, set for 2016. Did I mention she's going to
be played by Margot Robbie? Yeah, I'm seeing this movie. - Number nine is J. Jonah Jameson. J. Jonah Jameson is the editor in chief at The Daily Bugle, and was
introduced in the first issue of The Amazing Spiderman #1, in 1963. Believe it or not, he was inspired by the one and only Stan Lee. Between the silver sides of
hair and the stylish mustache, the similarities are striking. Jameson is always demanding
photos of Spiderman because Stan himself
would do that all the time with his artists, along
with being somewhat grumpy and irritable at times. Stan Lee has become the
face of Marvel Comics, thanks to his early work with Jack Kirby, creating some of the most well-known Marvel characters, and
the many cameos he's had in pretty much every Marvel film that has, and will, come out. Stan Lee has to be one of the
coolest old men on the planet, just behind Chuck Norris. Nobody beats Chuck Norris. - And number ten is Darkseid. Just by looking at Darkseid,
it's not hard to see why Adolf Hitler was the inspiration for the longstanding Superman villain. First introduced in Superman's
Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 in 1970, the supreme ruler of the planet Apocalypse Darkseid was
created by Jack Kirby, following the move to D.C. from his long time work at Marvel. When it came to developing the villain, Kirby took visual inspiration
from actor Jack Palance, but his personality from the
infamous Nazi Party leader. Darkseid is considered one of the most powerful enemies in the D.C. Universe. And since debuting, has appeared in four decades of comics. Darkseid would also
serve as the inspiration for the Marvel villain, Thanos, my all time favorite purple supervillain. There was also once a character created called Thanoseid, that
merged the two characters. But that's just too much
awesomeness for this video. Don't want to damage your brain and all. You need that for thinking, and watching more videos. - And that's it for this video, guys. Thank you so much for watching. Big thanks to Jake, A.K.A Vsauce3, A.K.A my baby bird, (makes bird squawking sounds) for helping me with this video. And if you enjoyed this one, you should definitely check out the video that we just shot for his channel, called - What if Quicksilver Ran Past You? - Featuring, of all people,
they're not really people, The Muppets. - The Muppets and Matthew Santoro. - And me. So, if you guys want to check that out, I will put an annotation
right here for you to click, and there will be a
link in the description that you guys should
definitely click and check out. One more time, thank you Jake. - Thank you, baby snake.
- Baby bird. - (in unison) And, as
always, thanks for watching. Peace! (electronic music)
