Superhero Origins: Big Hero 6
Superhero Origins: Big Hero 6
Superhero Origins: Raven
With its advanced know-how, Japan could create anything – even a super-hero team. Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we will explore the comic book origin of Big Hero 6. As with most comic book characters, there are often re-imaginations and different versions to a character’s past. We have chosen primarily to follow the storyline which unfolded in 1998’s Sunfire and Big Hero Six #1-3, which was expanded upon in 2008’s Big Hero Six #1. In the Marvel Universe, there are heroes across the world, but most of them tend to cluster in certain areas, such as New York City. For many years, the mighty country of Japan boasted only one A-level hero – Sunfire, whose mutant abilities were powered by the sun itself. All of that changed in 1998 with the first issues of Sunfire and Big Hero Six. When the series began, readers were shocked to learn that the legendary Sunfire had apparently died. Sunfire’s demise was mourned by his greatest fan, a 13-year-old boy named Hiro Takachiho. In addition to being a huge admirer of the fallen super-being, Hiro also happened to be an incredible genius. Among his creations was the massive Baymax, a robot Hiro had created himself and who acted as his guardian, nanny, protector…and best friend. In a flashback to a period before Sunfire’s demise, readers saw Hiro confronted by the Silver Samurai, a sometime-villain who had gone straight. He explained to Hiro that Japan needed a heroic team equivalent to the Fantastic Four or Alpha Flight. The Giri Industrial Corporation was funding the creation of such a team, which was to be named Big Hero 6. Silver Samurai had been charged with forming this battalion, and he wanted Hiro and Baymax to be a part of it. Hiro, however, refused. Later, Hiro located his hero, Sunfire, only to discover that he was dying from a mysterious illness. Baymax, who could transform into a dragonlike creature, protected Hiro from Sunfire’s erratic power fluxes. They were soon joined by the Silver Samurai and his team: Go Go Tamago, who could control huge amounts of energy, and Honey Lemon, who carried a purse that contained every possible gadget needed for any situation. They hoped that Sunfire, Hiro and Baymax would complete the Big Hero 6 squad. Sunfire was taken away for examination by the Samurai and his team, and Hiro and Baymax returned to their home, only to discover a ghostlike being named the Everwraith had kidnapped Hiro’s mother. Hiro alerted Big Hero 6 to this problem, and the team went on the attack. It turned out that Everwraith was created from the spirits of all the souls lost in the atomic attacks on Japan in the 1940s. Over time, he had perversely come to believe that this horrendous attack ended up creating a stronger Japan. Now, he wished to recreate a deadly atomic tragedy to push the Japanese people to even greater heights – and he needed Sunfire’s power to make this happen. Sunfire and Big Hero 6 defeated Everwraith – but apparently at the cost of Sunfire’s life. Fortunately, Hiro suspected otherwise – and was proved right. Sunfire confessed he had faked his own death, a secret that Hiro said he would keep. And thus began the career of Big Hero 6. Although Sunfire and Silver Samurai eventually left the team, they have been replaced by others, such as Fredzilla and Wasabi-No-Ginger. Although popular, the Big Hero 6 team did not initially make the leap to other media. That changed with the 2014 release of the immensely successful Big Hero 6 movie by Disney. There are some changes to the group and its origin in the film version, but it remains faithful to the spirit of the original comic books. Are you a fan of Big Hero 6? For more comic book origins, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.
