LAGIM: The First Long Running Superhero

Lagim photo courtesy of Comicvine

SUPERHERO PROFILE

Name:  Lagim
Creator:  Cris Caguintuan
First Appearance:  Pilipino Komiks #1, 1947
Power/abilities:  Lagim gets his power from a headgear given to him by a scientist named Dr. Malasakit. The headgear makes Lagim's strength twice that of a man.
Sidekick:  Levy - a boy he saved who later became his sidekick
Enemies/Villains:  Japanese forces who would not surrender
Synopsis:  Lagim was a veteran of World War II who wishing to help clear out isolated Japanese forces that refused to surrender got help from Dr. Malasakit a scientist who had invented a helmet that doubled the strength of anyone who wore it.  Devising a costume to go with the helmet Lagim took on both his initial task as well as other menaces that arose with nothing but pluck, luck, his wits, twice the strength of a normal man, and a huge revolver. He later gained a sidekick named Levy.
Trivia: While there was a short lived superhero character in the 30’s called Ipo-Ipo who was the Philippines first superhero, Lagim, was the first long running superhero to appeared at the start of the comics explosion that started in the late 40’s. After his run in Pilipino Komiks starting in 1947 Lagim also appeared in Lagim Komiks into the 60’s.

Sources: Dennis Villegas' Pilipinokomiks, Comicvine

IPO-IPO: The First Costumed Pinoy Superhero



Photo grabbed from Gerry Alanguilan's Komikero Blog

As posted in Dennis Villegas' Pilipinokomiks blog:

Ipo-Ipo is an interesting character, he gets his superpowers from the whirlwind. He acquires the speed of the wind and bullets fired into him just pass through his body.
Fresh from the horrors of the Japanese invasion, Abrena and Del Rosario pitted Ipo-ipo against the ruthless Japanese soldiers who refused to surrender, even after the unconditional capitulation of Japan in 1945."

SUPERHERO PROFILE

Name:  Ipo-Ipo
Creators:  Lib Abrena and Oscar del Rosario
First Appearance:  Magasin ng Pagilang #3 (April 5, 1947)Power/abilities:  Tornado, speed of the wind and invulnerability
Enemies:  Ruthless Japanese soldiers who refused to surrender, even after the unconditional capitulation of Japan in 1945.
Not to be confused with:  Bertong Ipu-ipo

Is SIOPAWMAN the First Pinoy Komiks Superhero?

As posted in Dennis Villegas' Pilipinokomiks blog:

"The very first Pinoy komiks superheroes appeared in 1946, right at the birth of the Philippine comics industry. Incidentally, that year also marked the independence of the Philippines from the United States, after surviving the destructive three-year Japanese Occupation.

After the war, a few enterprising individuals started the very first komiks-magazines in the Philippines: Halakhak Komiks and Pilipino Komiks. Although Halakhak Komiks did not contain any serious superhero story, it had, on the other hand, a Pinoy funny superhero called Siopawman, created by a young cartoonist named Larry Alcala.

Siopawman by Larry Alcala may be the first, albeit fumbling, Pinoy komiks superhero."


SUPERHERO PROFILE

Name:  Siopawman
Nickname:  Siops
Creator:  Larry Alcala
First Appearance:  Halakhak Komiks, 1946
Power/abilities:  Super stomach. His big tummy is bullet proof, elastic (he can bounce with it and leap to greater heights) and has super strength
Sidekick:  Okboy
Enemies:  Jelloman, Man-Hid, She-Mangot, She-Pilyo, She-Bat, She-Pon, She-Feet, Chopperman
Origin/Backstory:  In Planet Siopaw, a baby was born different from any other being in the planet. He has a nose, similar to the inhabitants of Planet Earth.  Her mother might have been watching Planet Earth creatures when she was conceiving.  Because of this, the parents decided to send the baby in Planet Earth.  The spacerocket with white fluffy mass of siopaw baby drops to Philippines in the hands of a poor couple (the husband's name is Teryo). However, the couple noticed the boy's unusual apetite. Through an incident, the grown-up boy discovered that only eating Siopao could satisfy his apetite (Siopao is to Siopawman as Spinach is to Popeye), plus he was able to learn that he his stomach becomes bulletproof, has superstrength and is elastic upon eating siopao.  When he discovered this, he pledged to use them in fighting crime, injustice and the preservation of his favorite food, the siopao. That's the story of the fumbling superhero SIOPAWMAN.

Updates:  In 2003, Unitel Productions, Inc. of Tony Gloria and ToonManila posted a Siopawman Trailer in YouTube.  The team might be brewing a cartoon TV series or a full-length movie on the material. As of December 2010 however, there were no updates on the project.   

Database of Pinoy Superheroes

Each of us has our own favorite superhero.  As a kid, I'm sure each of us was fascinated by the superpowers and superstories of Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Wonderwoman, etc.  The Philippines has a lot of these superheroes as well, and through this blog, I will introduce them to you.  The goal of this blog is to launch a database of all Pinoy Superheroes.

All the trivias and articles written in this blog are made through readings and researches made via the net.  Contributions are accepted, and you will be credited for the article made. Should there be any corrections or additional trivia, kindly e-mail me at superpinoyheroesblog@yahoo.com.