It's not a bird, it's not a plane, it's not Superman. The Marvel movie superhero had barely landed in theaters and was already generating controversy. And it is that ikaris began to arouse suspicion among DC fans for its great resemblance to man of steel. But… are they so identical?
Who created Ikaris and The Eternals?
El grupo The Eternals (The Eternals in Spanish) was the brainchild of Jack Kirby in 1976 after his return to Marvel Comics. The American cartoonist and writer had been working for DC for 5 years –oh wow what things-, where he did not achieve the professional success he was looking for. Upon his reinstatement, the author did not want to reintegrate into the main Marvel universe. She had a head full of new plans and totally innovative concepts. In addition, he disliked the idea that cartoonists and scriptwriters Fantastic 4 removed from their work so he could regain control. Marvel listened to his words and gave him complete freedom to create his new projects.
That's how the franchise came to be. The Eternals of Kirby, born with the inspiration of the pseudoscientific hypotheses of Erich von Däniken. These hypotheses defend that the development of our species was conditioned by extraterrestrial influence. This, added to his previous work in DC with New Gods (new gods), formed the perfect base to build his new universe of superheroes.
The group consisted of superheroes created by the Celestials to defend the Earth with their superhuman abilities. The list of names is long, including Sersi, Thena, Sprite, Ajak, Phastos... and one of the protagonists of this story who also happens to be the leader of the gang: Ikaris.
The origin of the controversy between Ikaris and Superman
Now that we know that the origin of The Eternals and of Ikaris have some influence from DC, it's time to delve into the controversy that has formed between Ikaris and Superman. He started out as a typical Marvel movie joke in one of his promo videos. A boy was pointing at Ikaris and saying "It's Superman! With his cape and shooting laser beams from his eyes! ». To which Ikaris replied "I don't wear a cape."
Since then, there is no shortage theories about who Ikaris really is. And it is that for many, Marvel has crossed a new frontier by accepting a DC character into its own cinematographic universe, what is known as the MCU.
Others go much further and their theories defend that Marvel simply has accepted the existence of DC comics in his cinematic universe. An even funnier twist that further fuels this debate while providing a strong counterbalance to counter accusations of plagiarism.
Similarities between Ikaris and Superman
These are the qualities that the two Marvel and DC superheroes share.
Both characters fulfill the function of "The Messiah"
Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster surely weren't very subtle when it came to building the character of Superman. These two artists from jewish origin they were inspired by their own religion to create this superhero. Perhaps the most obvious clue is the hero's own given name, Kal-el, which means "the voice of God" in Hebrew.
This fact has become more and more evident and constant over time, bringing the character of Superman closer and closer to the Christianity. In The Man of Steel (Zack Snyder, 2013), the analogy is repeated in each scene of the film. Snyder's Clark Kent, for example, gets his start working on a fishing boat, where he seems to have a supernatural gift for spotting schools of fish. He also repeats himself constantly throughout the film the age of the character, making it clear to the viewer that the hero will not die in this film.
El origin of ikaris is found on the other hand based on the Greek mythology. The great parallelism of his between the myth of Icarus and the legend of Noah's Ark is also quite evident.
Neither Superman nor Ikaris are simple superheroes. Its roots are built with the same fibers as our own culture. They exist in fiction, but its origins are present in our society, culture and religious beliefs. This is something that the director of the film has defended on numerous occasions to give consistency to the characters in her work.
alien origin
The man of steel was but a child when he set out in a ship of Krypton, his home planet. His parents, Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van managed to save his life by launching him into space just before the planet collapsed.
On the other hand, Ikaris was born on our planet. Specifically in Polaria (Siberia). However, as we have already explained to you, it was spawned by "The Celestials", some extremely powerful and humanoid-looking beings.
In addition to not belonging to our world, these characters have kept a great mystery about their origin for years.
Attorney
Both Superman and Ikaris can fly, possess superhuman strength and speed, and are capable of shooting lightning through their eyes.
To this we must add that both are invulnerable. They cannot be pierced by a bullet, nor can they be burned. They are also immune to fatigue, which makes them a really tough pair of heroes to take down.
Differences between Ikaris and Superman
Let's now review the biggest differences between these two characters
aesthetic differences
If we stick to the part purely hairsalon, we must defend that the original Ikaris from the comics it is not so similar to the Superman that has reached our days.
Starting with the casting, the choice of the Scotsman Richard Madden doesn't seem wrong. At the end of the day, an actor with similar traits to the original character. This does not mean that issues such as the exact shade of hair or its length have not been respected, since tracing these attributes to the letter would be really exaggerated on the big screen.
Costume what do we see in the film by Chloe Zhao has been completely redesigned compared to the original concept. The Ikaris's clothing from the comic was much more similar to that of Superman of his time if we compare both the design and the colors.
However, the Superman that we have been able to see recently on the big screen does not correspond to the one reflected in the original comics either. Snyder took a dark approach to the character and that has been recorded in our retina. Superman's muted blue and red tones seem to be here to stay. That is probably the bottom of the question of the resemblance between the two characters.
Not all powers are identical
The Ikaris from the comics possesses some powers that the man of steel does not enjoy.
The differences between these two supermen is found in the way in which they obtain their abilities. Superman receives his powers from the Sun. However, Ikaris receives his power from cosmic energy. He doesn't fly, but levitates by controlling gravity. Similarly, the character controls the telekinesis and can even transmute matter, although he is a complete beginner in the latter.
A clear weak point
Even the least placed in the world of comics (or superhero movies) knows about Superman's great weakness: the kryptonite. This material, resulting from the fusion of uranium, according to the stories of the DC character, is capable of weakening the man of steel and disabling his powers thanks to the radiation he emits.
In the case of Ikaris, we do not know of any element capable of doing something similar, although that does not mean that the Marvel superhero is immortal… Well more or less. In the comics, this character manages to commit suicide by heading squarely towards the Sun, although it is true that he is then reborn. In the film directed by Chloé Zhao, he also ends up ending his life in the same way (he says goodbye to his great love, Sersi, and flies towards the great star), it seems that in a definitive way according to those responsible of the. And it is that Ikaris is not able to bear the weight of guilt after having betrayed his family, so he only finds a solution by leaving forever and disappearing.
And his real name is...
Finally, there is one more difference between these two heroes. While the man of steel was dubbed Kal-el by his parents on his home planet, Clark Kent by his adoptive family, and Superman by American society, the Ikaris given name It has been unknown to date. It is true that he has had other aliases throughout his history, but no official human name with which to identify him as clearly and directly as we do with the superhero in the red cape.