Mighty Samson



Mighty Samson was an American Comic Book series about a Superhero living in a post-apocalyptic Earth. Created in 1964 by Otto Binder (best known for having written Captain Marvel) and Frank Thorne (artist for Red Sonja) the series was published by Gold Key comics in staggered runs until 1982.

The series takes place in a ruined future full of mutants (apparently caused by nuclear war) specifically in the city of "Nayark" (obviously New York City). Most humans have reverted to barbarism. Samson himself is a mutant, but a handsome, superstrong one (though he lost an eye in an early battle.) Raised in a special shelter, Samson is better educated than most of the surviving humans, and he soon meets a scientist named Mindor and his daughter, Sharmaine, who becomes his love interest. There were no other regular characters; in fact any character who they met inevitably died by the end of that story. The only exception was an occasional villainess (who for some reason wore a supervillainesque catsuit) who led a faction equipped with advanced technology that wanted to rule the ruined world rather than help the heroes restore it.

Each story always involved some new mutant menace that had to be defeated by Samson's strength or Mindor's science. In general the ambiance of the series was a dark one; despite the heroes' effort things never seemed to improve. Add all the deaths and it was rather somber for a superhero series.

The covers however, were very good. They were fully painted, and usually depicted Samson struggling against some bizarre mutant monster- though not always the same one featured inside.

Tropes seen in this series:

 * Eyepatch of Power: Samson's.
 * Mad Scientist's Beautiful Daughter: Sharmaine.
 * Ms. Fanservice: Sharmaine dressed in the typical a-go-go fashions of the time the comic was published... wonder where she found those clothes in a postapocalyptic future?
 * Pretty in Mink: Samson wore the fur of the monster that blinded him in one eye, including a fur cape.
 * Shout-Out: To the Mythical Samson (and possibly to Hercules).
 * Despite similarities to DC Comics' Kamandi, this series came first.
 * This Samson was said to have inspired the Samson in All Star Superman.
 * Time Travel: One story had a Time Machine accidentally send Samson to the present where, far from having a chance to prevent the war, he ended up being chased by the police around New York.
 * Uncanceled: The series was canceled in 1969, then restarted (with a new creative team, but the same issue numbering) in 1972.
 * Weaksauce Weakness: One particular menace, a swarm of caterpillars that could eat anything, were defeated by... seawater, which dissolved them on contact.
 * What Measure Is a Non-Human?: Some of the mutant monsters they encountered were actually sentient, but they still had to be killed (or were killed by accident.)