s-h-j

by lefalcon on March 25, 2009  •  Permalink
Posted in Things Richard Dreyfuss Might Like

Posted by lefalcon on March 25, 2009

https://losthunderlads.com/2009/03/25/2795/

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6 Comments

  1. acilius

     /  March 25, 2009

    He was the inspiration for Batman, right?

  2. cymast

     /  March 25, 2009

    SPRING-HEELED JACK

    Now that’s my fav super hero name. I imagine him rolling the R in SPRRRRRING when he leaps up and shouts his name at the bad guys.

    The feather and ribs are dandy, too.

  3. lefalcon

     /  March 25, 2009

    I came across Spring-Heeled Jack when I was fiddling around on the Internet, trying to find early precursors of the modern costumed, crime-fighting “superhero.” I doubt whether there’s a direct connection between SHJ and Batman. Apparently SHJ was an urban legend in Britain in the 1800s: a man of terrific jumping abilities who was actually sighted on various occasions. The name “Spring-Heeled Jack” is tremendous: clearly a cousin of “Paste Pot Pete.”

  4. acilius

     /  March 26, 2009

    I’m sure your doubts are well founded, but I actually did read in some book years ago speculation that Spring Heeled Jack might have been the inspiration for Batman. It was probably something I read 30 years ago when I was interested in comics, so I don’t remember much about it. The name “Spring Heeled Jack” stuck in my mind.

  5. cymast

     /  April 3, 2009

    Turns out Spring-Heeled Jack was a bad guy . .

  6. acilius

     /  April 3, 2009

    I read someplace decades ago that it wasn’t clear when the Bat Man was first introduced whether he was a good guy or a bad guy. So a connection to Spring Heeled Jack could have been useful in keeping that ambiguity alive.