The Upstarts is an official name given to a team of anti-social young rebels who have been given superpowers by some unknown source. These disenchanted young adults of great wealth and power along with their friend, the Hulk, formed the Upstarts in hopes of playing a practical joke on the authorities. In the course of their humorous yet dangerous antics the Upstarts become an international troublemaker. The team’s exploits became the stuff of legends.
The comic book world of late night cartoons was very fond of these upstart heroes. The Upstarts were introduced as members of the Fantastic Four, a team of superheros who travel the country performing impromptu super hero acts of derangement of evil doers. The Upstarts, with their superior social skills and athletic abilities were given the chance to shine when they teamed up with the Fantastic Four to form the superhero team known as the X-Men.
The Upstarts enjoyed immense popularity throughout their comic book career. There were numerous television series including a special spin-off featured on ABC called X-Men: The Ultimate Guide. There were various comic books based around the Upstarts, most of which focused on their adventures with the X-Men. The team’s popularity soon extended into video games where the young X-Men were depicted as powerful, super human characters with the ability to take on nearly any opponent. The team’s popularity was further highlighted when the release of the X-Men: Children of the X-Men saw the introduction of the young female X-Men named Storm.
In the film X-Men: The Last Stand, the original X-Men characters Professor X and Beast, along with an X-Man known as Gambit were killed while trying to save the world. This movie, like many others, was made popular by the appearance of an elderly Professor X in a wheelchair, which rapidly became a signature look for the entire team. Although the X-Men were without a professor for several years, the character gained a new position of prominence when Scott Summers stepped into the role after Professor X died in the previous film X-Men: The Day the Earth Stood Still. Scott immediately made good on his father’s desire to be a teacher, founding the school named after him in New School, where he trained students in various aspects of life under the tutelage of Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Wolverine.
Scott and Jean Grey then formed the Avengers, a team of powerful telepaths who were called in to battle against Magneto, the leader of the Skrulls. They later went on to fight villains such as the Mandarin and Malefice. The team also included Iron Man, Ant Man, Wasp, and Ghost Rider, forming the superhero team known as the Avengers. When the World War Hulk struck the United States and turned into a monster, the Avengers were powerless to stop the monster from destroying the world, but they did save the Earth.
As you can see, there is a lot more to Upstart than meets the eye. While it didn’t receive the same amount of attention that Wolverine received when he made his return, there is no doubt that he has become a beloved member of the Marvel Universe. His place as one of the founding members of the Avengers is well-deserved, as he showed true strength of character and incredible skills as a fighter. Anyone who considers themselves a fan of the comic should definitely add Upstart to their collection, as the character offers something unique that not all X-Men characters can provide. For anyone who wants to dive into the world of Wakanda, Upstart is the book for you!