Before Superman: Superhumans of the Radium Age (MIT Press / Radium Age)
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- Synopsis
- The weird and wonderful stories of the ancestors of today&’s comic-book and cinematic superheroes.Superhumans—humans who have evolved into creatures stronger, smarter, and more gifted than we have any reason to be—first showed up in science-fictional narratives during the genre&’s emergent Radium Age. Originally published between 1902 and 1928, the stories and excerpts anthologized in this volume by Joshua Glenn feature the likes of Marie Corelli&’s Young Diana, who, having been rendered super-alluring via a rejuvenation experiment, seeks revenge on a sexist society; Francis Stevens's Thomas Dunbar, one of the first lab-created superhumans; Zoo and Yva, superwomen who contemplate the extermination of us mere mortals, thanks to George Bernard Shaw and H. Rider Haggard; and Alfred Jarry&’s André Marcueil, a scientist who develops a super-sexual capacity.Hugo Gernsback gives us Ralph 124C 41+, a benevolent super-genius inventor who dwells atop a New York skyscraper. M. P. Shiel tells the story of Hannibal Lepsius, a homeschooled prodigy turned amoral tech bro; and Karel Čapek gives us Rudy Marek, an inventor who, having developed superpowers, wonders whether civilization will survive his latest invention. Thea von Harbou&’s genius scientist, Rotwang, is even less conscientious in his scheming; as is Arthur Conan Doyle&’s ever-irascible Professor Challenger, here in one of his final outings. Finally, Jean de La Hire&’s Nyctalope, a popular French superpowered crimefighter character, makes an appearance; and so does Edgar Rice Burroughs&’s Tarzan of the Apes . . . though reduced to miniature size.
- Copyright:
- 2025
Book Details
- Book Quality:
- Publisher Quality
- Book Size:
- 252 Pages
- ISBN-13:
- 9780262384032
- Related ISBNs:
- 9780262553070
- Publisher:
- MIT Press
- Date of Addition:
- 08/19/25
- Copyrighted By:
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Adult content:
- No
- Language:
- English
- Has Image Descriptions:
- No
- Categories:
- Literature and Fiction, Science Fiction and Fantasy
- Submitted By:
- Bookshare Staff
- Usage Restrictions:
- This is a copyrighted book.
- Edited by:
- Joshua Glenn
- Introduction by:
- Joshua Glenn