Cartoon Heros

Over the years, since cartoons and comics first started there has been a multitude of heroes.
In the 1980's a number of cartoons were launched to help promote lines of toys. As of the 1990's, the same could also be said of cartoons created to promote computer game characters.
Whatever the reasons behind their origins, they are still cartoon superheroes.

Mighty Mouse

Izzy Klein originally proposed a character called Super Fly, but Terrytoons boss Paul Terry didn't like that idea, and vetoed it. A little later Terry took the same basic idea, changed it to a mouse, and passed it off as his own, original idea. The character was originally called Super Mouse, and his costume was initially very similar to Superman's, even down to the colour scheme (it would eventually change to the yellow version at a later date). Super Mouse's first cartoon was prepared for theatrical release for October 1942, but before it was released (and during the production of the second story), it was discovered that an ex-Terrytoons employee had gone to work for Nedor Publishing Co., which was now about to publish it's own Super Mouse comic, due out with an October cover date too. Rather than promote another company's character, Paul Terry decided to change the Terrytoon character's name to Mighty Mouse. The first cartoon however ended with the narrator saying "Thus ends the adventure of Super Mouse...he seen his job and he done it!", although they would later redub the name on re-release.

He got into the comics in 1945, in Terrytoon Comics, which went through a variety of publishers. He got his own title in 1946, which ran until the 1960's. In 1990 Marvel published a short lived series for him.

Some of Mighty Mouse's early cartoons were operas. He is also one of the few superheroes to be nominated for an Oscar, for the cartoon Gypsy Life in 1945. Terrytoons sold it's library to TV in the fifties, and Mighty Mouse became the first cartoon character ever to appear on Saturday mornings, appearing on CBS on December 10th 1955 as part of "The Mighty Mouse Playhouse" (which ran for eleven years, which broke another record - it's the longest lasting Saturday morning cartoon series). Through this run his voice was provided by Roy Halee.

He's been through a range of cartoons and production companies since then, but it wasn't until Ralph Bakshi did a version in 1987 that Mighty Mouse gained a secret identity (Mike Mouse) and a larger supporting cast than just his girlfriend (Pearl Pureheart was joined by Scrappy, for example).

Thanks to Neil Beck for identifying his home town.

Chuck Turai remembers a slightly different origin for the character: "there was another version where he was just a mouse and he gained his powers by taking vitamins starting with Vitamin a then b.c.etc until he reached the final jar which was a large jar labeled XYZ, when he emerged from jar XYZ he was Mighty Mouse." At this time I'm unable to confirm if there are two versions of Mighty Mouse's origin or not.

Flash Gorgon