Batman v Yeti v Superman

Look, I like the Batman. But he's pretty fun to poke fun at. We josh him because we love him.  Here's my favorite comic parody of Batman:

Batman's gone up against yetis like a bunches. Most famously, it was the Snowman in the comics, one of his rogue's gallery of villains. I previously blogged about it: Snowman 1, Snowman 2, Snowman 3, but there's also the LEGO Batman video game, and most recently, when he teamed up with Frankenstein.

Here's what it look like when Bats battles Yets:  KAPOW!

By Jeff Himes

What I haven't mentioned yet is the kids comic Batman: The Brave and The Bold Vol 1 8.  Here, the Caped Crusader does meet a flurry of real yetis (no relation to Snowman):

In the Not Yeti realm, there's Xavier Simon (blogged about here), but let's move on. He's not even worthy of additional consideration.

One Not Yeti guy I have been remiss in not mentioning is the one and only Clayface:

And strangely enough, this Fisher Price Mr. Freeze Playset includes a Clayface figure made out of ice; in other words, a snowlem:

 
That's enough Bats.  Now it's time to turn our eyes over to the big blue guy with the red S on his shirt... And I ain't talkin' bout Phyllis Diller (that doesn't even make any sense).

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Longtime readers know that Superman is an enemy of this site.   I call him Baron Blackheart because he fights dirty.

Most famously, Double-B fought an Abominable Snowman in the comics. I previously blogged about it here: Comic 1 and Comic 2.

Here are some more panels from this sequence (Source):

Look how B.B. uses debris in a barrage... Tsk, tsk. Not fair, Supes. NOT FAIR. In another word: unsporting.

 

It has a pretty weird solution at the end. Blackheart suspends the Snowman forever a few inches in the air and this "saves the day".  Now that's what I call dirty fighting:

Besides the comics, there's also several examples of Supes vs. Yeti within animated cartoons from the 1960s - I previously blogged about them here: 60s cartoon 1 and 60s cartoon 2.

Someone that I am much more fond of, as you can imagine, is Bizarro, the much-maligned alternate reality Superman.

I discovered recently that Bizarro actually fought yeti in the comics! (source):

And besides Bizarro, I'm cool with Supergirl. She fought a Yeti white gorilla (source):

Actually, she did fight a yeti before.  No, really, and here's another panel to prove it (source):

On a final note, there are three Not Yetis that Superman has fought that I can't help but root for:

Ultra-humanite (1 and 2):

Source

Solomon Grundy:

Doomsday:

Now, if only Batman and Superman would fight each other....

[Snowlem Week] Vs. Superman

In the comic issue "DC Universe Holiday Special '09", a snow golem fights Supes.

And it was a great day.

Superman vs. Yeti

Iron Man 3 comes out this Friday and kicks off the season of inevitable superhero movie sequels and reboots.

So in honor of the season, we'll be focusing this week on superheroes fighting yetis. As they are wont to do.

That's right, I used the phrase "wont to do" as I am wont to do.

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Later in June, we'll get a new Superman movie. Or as I like to call him, "BARON BLACK-HEART".  Why? Because he fights dirty.  Especially when it comes to yeti.

Were you aware? Baron Black-Heart supplanted an entire community of yeti to build his headquarters.  The next time you see his "Fortress of Solitude", think of all those displaced yeti, roaming the vast polar waste without a home. Or jobs.

Were you aware? Baron Black-Heart, using his fake journalist identity, coined the term "Abominable Snowman" and authored many an article mentioning how much yeti smelled bad.   Libel!

Were you aware? When yeti offered to cure Baron Black-Heart of his krypton allergy (a most classy gesture, I'm sure you agree), you know what he did? HE SPIT IN THEIR EYE.

Sure, I blogged the cover of Superman # 266, but now let's take a closer look at that issue and witness B.B.'s treachery first-hand.

Finally, were you aware?  Baron Black-Heart is an alien super-baby that exists in a dream world.  Once he dies, we all wake up. Into the real world...  You know what you have to do.

Check out the rest of the comic here.

Superhero vs. Yeti

This week's theme is "Superhero vs. Yeti".

As longtime readers know, Yeti often does battle with comic book super-heroes.

You name it, he go toe-to-toe:

Captain America
Batman
Wonderwoman
Robin
Hulk (and here)
Hawkman
Hellcat
Silver Surfer
The Thing
Hellboy
Lobster Johnson
Red Sonja
Black Panther
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Perhaps his most famous foe is Superman. Long ago, I blogged about yeti's quarrel with the black-hearted fiend. It's important to realize: the so-called "Man of Steel" and his various punching pursuits are no match for the Yeti's abominable abdominals. Like there was ever a contest. I don't see yeti getting even the slightest rash from some green rock. Not like a certain caped gentleman I could name. (...Is he even a gentleman? And can one even call that a cape? ...I mean without disrespecting actual capes?). Poor Supesy. Hate to knock him. Mostly what I have for him is pity.

To get things started for "Super-hero vs. Yeti" week, it seemed fitting to fill you in on a moment when yeti foiled Superman most effectively. It was 1966-7, the Rudolph special had aired, and kids knew the phrase "The Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas" pretty well. The cartoon show The New Adventures of Superman was on the airwaves, and episode #24, called "The Image Maker", featured mad scientist Professor Nula with a henchman yeti named... ?????

See if you can tell what Luna is calling him. I give up.

Anyway, as you can see from the clip, Superman (in business attire) decides to leave a room, foolishly thinking a yeti won't exit a video screen and kidnap his lady friend. What are you thinking, DUPE-rman. Turn your back and yeti is there. That is in the Encyclopedia Brittanica, as any school-goer would know. First Grade Curriculum.

Still of Superman looking dumbfounded by the sheer genius/audacity of yeti:



Full video clip embedded for viewing:



Nice job carrying Lois, "?????".

Boka? I guess it's Boka. Anyway, you done good, Boka.

Superman is rightfully deshamed.

Not Yeti Friday - Snowlems

When it's winter, you celebrate in a seasonal manner by building snowmen. You just do.**

In 1950, Gene Autry wanted another hit after his "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" song became so popular the previous Christmas. So his writers pitched the idea of a snowman who comes to life.



Frosty the Snowman is the most famous example of a snowlem, or snow golem. Not to be confused with their cousins the ice golems, snowlems are a common trope in fiction. Consult the great TV Tropes to learn more.

The earliest representation of the snowlem as a bit of an evil monster that I could find is this disturbing 1932 cartoon:



Yes, snowlems can be nasty. Allow me to digress for a moment.

We all know the nickname for the yeti is the Abominable Snowman. According to the wikipedia entry, it's all due to a wacky mistake. When learning the Tibetan name for the beast, reporter Henry Newman mistranslated it as "Filthy Snowman", rather than what it actually was: "MAN-BEAR SNOWMAN". Henry did the only sensible thing and took some creative license, changing the name from "Filthy" to "Abominable". I think we're all glad he didn't go with Filthy Snowman.

It seems safe to say we can largely credit Henry for the popularity of the yeti. I mean, just honoring it with the appellation "Abominable" served it very well over the years. It's probably why Hergé, Rankin/Bass, and Looney Tunes put yeti in their stories to begin with. "Abominable" just captures the imagination, and provokes the question, "Is he really that abominable?"

But wow, can you imagine if he'd gotten the translation right? We'd be calling him Man-Bear Snowman! Would we think of him more as a Were-bear, rather than an ape-guy?

Anyway, one thing Henry got right was the "Snowman" part of the name. And forever more, the yeti shares its nickname with a winter holiday icon.

And now, some snowlems...


Source


Source


Source


Source


Source

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One more thing!

Superman has always had a rivalry with yeti. But did you know that Superman had numerous quarrels with snowlems as well? It's inevitable, I know. The guy just never could maintain good relationships.

In 1948, two years before the original "Frosty the Snowman" song, Superman battled a gentlemanly snowlem:



And apparently, last year, in the DC Universe Holiday Special 09, "Dupes" battles a an actual "Snow Golem" with the emet on his forehead and everything.

Superman, stop it!

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** (Like snowmen? For an equivalent of this blog, a sort of "I Love the Snowman", check out History of the Snowman.)

Winner of the Pathetic Award

Well, there's good figures (see last post) and there's pathetic ones...



The above is the South American knock-off of a Columbian knock-off of the Super Powers Collection of DC Comics' superhero action figures from the 1980's. The series' main star is El Capitan Ray, a cheap knock-off of Superman.

And what you are seeing here is an original creation of the knock-offers, not intended to imitate any specific DC superhero. It is Hombre de las Nieves, literally "The Man of the Snows" aka the Abominable Snowman, aka yeti!

It is actually just a recast Incredible Hulk figure painted white and gray.

And oddly enough, Hombre Increible is part of the same series. So maybe they are twins?

This is odd that they'd be part of the same super-team. Hulk and Yeti have a history of battling each other (see also here), and one time Hulk even disguised himself to look like the yeti in order to scare people. Frankly, I don't know which one is more pathetic, this action figure knock-off, or Mr. HULK bulk.

Get a job, Hulk! And quit with the smashing.



Source: Super Powers Archive

Superman No. 266

Who is the toughest and roughest of Superman's foes?

If you guessed the yeti, you'd be right! He can withstand Kryptonian super-punches like they're nothing!

This August 1973 issue reveals the truth: Yeti has Abs of Steel. No, not steel... Diamond.

Not Yeti Friday - Megaloman

A tv show devoted to Megaloman aired on Japanese TV in 1979.



Look at his long white hair.

Is he a yeti underneath that suit and mask?

Uh, probably not.





Megaloman has a similar origin story to Superman's. He is also known as Honô No Senshi, or Warrior of Flame, because he can fling fire out of his hair.



Trivia on Wikipedia is interesting:

"Megaloman has gained popularity on the Internet because of his long-hair (unconventional among sentai armored super-heroes) and especially because his name sounds like 'megalomaniac'. This was most obvious among French-speakers, as French for megalomaniac is 'mégalomane' which pronounces almost exactly like 'Megaloman'."



Above is a fan in a dress-up disguise.




MEGALOMAN, WE LOVE YOU!

We can't get enough of you. We are Megalomaniacs.

Not Yeti Friday - The Ultrahumanite

I've blogged about him before, but he's worth another mention.

The Ultrahumanite is the first ever super-villain mad scientist, going up against Superman in 1939. He's also the first transexual super-villain. To survive death, he put his brain in the body of a woman.

Most recently he's taken on a yeti-like form. Technically, he's a genetically modified albino gorilla.




This guy used the yeti doll from G.I. Joe to make a custom figure:



Ultrahumanite, you are an honorary yeti. This I say.

Not Yeti Friday - Doomsday

The monster that killed Superman looks like yeti to me!

But he's not.