Samson is a

fictional Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places Place may refer to: Geography * Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population ** Census-designated place, ...

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

that appeared in

comic books A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

published by

Fox Feature Syndicate Fox Feature Syndicate (also known as Fox Comics, Fox Publications, and Bruns Publications, Inc.) was a comic book publisher from early in the period known to fans and historians as the Golden Age of Comic Books. Founded by entrepreneur Victor S. ...

. He first appeared in '' Fantastic Comics'' #1 (Dec. 1939). The writer was uncredited, but is believed to be Will Eisner; the artist was Alex Blum, using the pseudonym "Alex Boon".

Publication history

After appearing in ''Fantastic Comics'' in 1939, Samson was given his own title in the fall of 1940. He simultaneously appeared in ''Big 3'' comics, along with The Flame and the Blue Beetle. Samson's origin story was revealed in ''Samson'' comics #1. ''Fantastic Comics'' ceased publication in November 1941 with issue #23. After six issues, ''Samson'' comics was changed to ''Captain Aero'' (September 1941) and Samson no longer had his own title. Finally, Samson was replaced in ''Big 3'' comics in issue #7 (Jan. 1942; this issue proved to be last) by the patriotic hero V-Man. A short-lived revival appeared in 1955 from another publisher, Ajax-Farrell. Samson is among the public domain characters

Image Comics Image Comics is an American comic book publisher and is the third largest comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry in both unit and market share. It was founded in 1992 by several high-profile illustrators as a venue for creator-ow ...

revived in a new

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

title, ''

The Next Issue Project The Next Issue Project is a series of American comic-book anthology one-shots published by Image Comics beginning in February 2008. The multi-title project, edited by Erik Larsen, creator of Savage Dragon, features comic book characters that have ...

'', which premiered in December 2007. '' Project Superpowers'', a similar golden-age revival project from

Alex Ross Nelson Alexander Ross (born January 22, 1970) is an American comic book writer and artist known primarily for his painted interiors, covers, and design work. He first became known with the 1994 miniseries ''Marvels'', on which he collaborated wi ...

and Dynamite Entertainment also announced in 2007, also features a character that is ostensibly the Fox Features Samson, though the visual design seems to have been inspired by the Gold Key Comics character

Mighty Samson ''Mighty Samson'' was a comic book series published Gold Key Comics. A post-apocalyptic adventure, it was set in the area around New York City, now known as "N'Yark", on an Earth devastated by a nuclear war. The series was created by writer Otto B ...

Background

Samson (he had no secret identity, although he was called "Sam" the few times he was shown wearing street clothes) was a direct descendant of the biblical figure. Like his ancestor, Samson had immense strength and endurance, but could lose his powers when his hair was cut. Samson only learned about his heritage when he was a grown man, after his mother revealed his ancestry. While in college, his friend Professor Brun showed him a new invention, an "iconoscope", which allowed the viewer to watch remote scenes without a transmitter. The iconoscope picked up the image of an eastern holy man, who was praying for a higher power to send someone to battle evil. Samson used his superpowers to visit the holy man, and agreed to be that champion. According to ''Jess Nevins' Encyclopedia of Golden Age Superheroes'', Samson fights "giant robots, monsters, mad scientists, thugs, dinosaurs, dictators, warmongers, zombies, and radium thieves". Kurt Mitchell and Roy Thomas wrote: "Pitting his superhuman strength against whole armies, Samson's feats outdid the contemporary

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

but he was far more ruthless, killing his foes barehanded without batting an eye". In issue #10 of ''Fantastic Comics'', Samson gained a young orphan sidekick whom he named David (his real name was unrevealed). David had no apparent superpowers yet was the sole survivor of a plane crash. Orphaned after the crash, Samson took him into his care. David's role mainly consisted of being rescued by Samson after being captured by criminals.

Powers and abilities

Samson, due to his relation to the Biblical character, had super strength and endurance, and invulnerability. He lost these powers if his hair was cut. These powers were restored once his hair regrew. Samson's hair grew at an accelerated rate.

Footnotes

References

Background on Samson and other Fox heroes
{{Samson Dynamite Entertainment characters Fox Feature Syndicate superheroes Fox Feature Syndicate titles Comics characters introduced in 1939 Golden Age superheroes Public domain comics