Inspiration can come from so many different sources. Art, history, modern society, the events that spark thought surround us daily. That being said, what if I told you that one Marvel Comic's most terrifying villains was inspired by a delicious frozen treat? You should sit down, this is about to get weird.
Debuting in "Captain America Comics #7" in 1941, The Red Skull was set as the title character's archenemy. To put his origin simply, Red Skull was a Nazi so evil even Hitler didn't want him around. How evil is that evil? Well, recently Red Skull removed the brain of Professor X and attached said brain to his own brain, giving Red Skull telepathic powers. A Nazi and a brain surgeon? The ultimate evil, ladies and gentlemen. Anyway, the thing about The Red Skull you may not know is that his creator Joe Simon got the idea for the character from a hot fudge sunday. While Joe was having lunch and trying to come up with a new villain for his comic, he found inspiration in the hot fudge sunday lying before him. The fudge had apparently melted into the shape of limbs, prompting Joe to originally think of a character made of molten chocolate, naming him Hot Fudge. Thankfully he retreated on this idea and spotted the cherry on top of the sunday. Now seeing a chocolaty body with a red head, the idea for Red Skull began and the finished character became a hit among Marvel's villains.
The creation of a fictional Nazi being conceived from an ice cream sunday is like giving a horror writer a show on Nickelodeon (points to people that get that joke). Regardless, this story just proves to me that sources of fiction are not always generational. Original characters aren't always inspired by classical characters, some of histories greatest characters are modeled from belief or experience. It just so happens that this character was inspired from a dessert dish. Then again it was the 40's, you couldn't exactly Google popular works of fiction. I guess they had libraries back then, whatever those are. Ah, sweet sarcasm. Now I'm hungry. Nazis, anyone?
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