The original super team

When I was but a young lad, I recall my weekdays and weekends with Nickelodeon.  In the weekday afternoon, they would have Nick, Jr.  Basically, they were children shows from 9 a.m. until 2 or 3 pm.  One show that stood out was Grimm's Fairy Tales.  It was an animated re-telling of the various fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm.  What made the animation memorable was that it was done by a Japanese animation studio, and voiced by the ever-popular Ocean Group from Vancouver and/or Kris Zimmerman's voice crew that made Metal Gear Solid awesome.  This post is about a story I remember fondly to this very day.  I look back on it and smile every time I think about it.  The story is called "The Six Who Went Far in the World" or "The Six Soldiers of Fortune."


Here's the breakdown:

One day a soldier had returned to his kingdom after spending long years in combat. He was a jack of various trades and had served the kingdom faithfully. Upon returning, he was ridiculed, his exploits downplayed, and was denied his severance pay and recognition for his service to the kingdom.  Vowing justice, he promised to return to collect what he deserved.  So, he traveled through the kingdom's countryside in order to find some reinforcements.  But, who could he possibly hope to find that would go up against a tyrannical king and his powerful army?  That's where this story gets interesting.  The Soldier came across five different men with five different skills.  One was a very large and strong man who was considered the strongest person in the kingdom.  One was a sharp-shooter who could hit a target from large distances.  One was a man with a lead boot, who wore it only because without it, he would walk and then run at incredible speeds.  One was a man with an unusually large nose, who could inhale deep breaths of air and exhale tremendous winds at possibly gale force.  And lastly, one was an old man who could cause snow storms and freezing temperatures to form around him once he takes off his hat.  The Soldier enlisted all 5 of these men, unique abilities and all to go far in the world, doing well for themselves.  But, their first order of business was to return to the castle and exact some justice on the king, the princess, and the soldiers there.  I won't go into the details or spoil the story for you.  You'll just have to read on for yourself.


This story was an awesome story to me back when I was younger, and it still remains awesome to me today.  A combination of six men coming together under the leadership of an honorable man to fight the forces of evil?  And each person have a specific skill that stands out in its uniqueness and usefulness?  It just screams "cool" (well, if you're me, at least).  This is one of the few Grimm fairy tales that have yet to truly be transcribed into any current adaptation.  So, the only memory I have of this story in action is the animated television show I saw many years ago.  But, if you think about it, you may see that this story may very well be the first story containing super heroes working together in a team.  In other words, before Marvel's Avengers, there was Grimm's Six who went far in the world.


In a way, the teams draw comparisons.  The live-action movie adaptation of the Avengers, to me, draw comparisons to the animated adaptation of the Six who went far in the world.  The soldier who was a jack-of-all-trades fought for justice and took part as a soldier for the kingdom for many years.  Sounds to me like he's your Captain America.  Cap had proven his bravery as a potential soldier for the U.S. Army, but his size was lacking.  So, he was injected with a mysterious super serum as part of an experiment for the U.S. government.  He then gained super physical attributes, the ability to heal, and the inability to age.  Both of them became the leaders of their respective groups primarily for their leadership skills on the field as well as off the field.  Both being honorable men, there's no doubt that they are the go-to guys for leadership.


Next, we have the strong man.  He only wishes to get his task done first before he can help the soldier.  Once the soldier helps him, the strong man is indebted to him and utilizes his great strength whenever he can.  This is your Incredible Hulk character, to say the least.  The Hulk is literally "The Strongest There Is."  He gets stronger and stronger every time he gets angrier.  In fact, the man behind The Hulk only turns into the Hulk when he gets very angry.  These two are similar mostly due to their amazing strength.


Then there's the sharp-shooting hunter.  His eyes are sharp and can hit a target from a great distance.  If there's anyone that is accurate in his or her aim, it's Hawkeye.  Not only does he have an arrow for practically any situation, but he knows which one to use and when.  All he has to do is feel for it, grab it, and let it fly.  From arrows with sound waves to arrows with explosive tips, this archer has it all.  And both of these hunters are crack shots.  They never miss, even in the tightest of spots.


The old man with the ability to channel the cold comes to mind next.  All he needs to do is raise his hat, aim his hairs to stand up on top of his head, and he's generating a blizzard, literally.  Who could control such power on the Avengers?  The mighty Thor, god of thunder.  With his trusty hammer, Mjolnir, he can call upon the most powerful of lightning bolts and thunderstorms.   The old man came through for his crew in a pinch with his abilities when it was needed most.  Thor does the same and proves to be one very key Avenger in battle.  Sometimes the weather can play a very critical role in battle.  These two have found a way to take that role into their hands.


The man with the lead boot comes to mind next with his ability to literally run non-stop and for great distances without the boot.  His natural ability to run very fast does remind me of Quicksilver, an Avenger to be debuted in upcoming films and has quite a reputation in the comics.  Quicksilver has the power to run faster than any being on the planet.  But wait, he's not in the first film as an original member of the six.  So, how is this going to work?  Well, the lead boot is something of a necessary handicap for the very fast runner for without it, he can't stop his natural ability.  I know of someone who needs the metal on his body as an Avenger, for without it, he's a millionaire, playboy, and one of the smartest men on the planet.  However, his duty to keep the peace is something he holds very dear after seeing the good his intellect can do when it comes to technology.  I'm talking about Iron Man, of course.  With his impressive intellect and his cadre of suits of armor, there's no telling what this guy can do in battle.  Both men need a little handicap, as it would seem, but it suits the talents they bring to the table.  Hence why their handicaps are actually advantages.



Lastly, we come to the short fellow with the big nose.  His ability is to puff out gale force winds from his nose after taking a deep breath.  To me, he seems very unassuming, as if you don't think he could possibly do anything special.  And this is mostly due to the fact that his other comrades have more amazing abilities or at least look to have them.  But, underestimating this fellow could come at a very costly price.  The same can be said about the Black Widow.  Yea, she just looks like a cute, little redhead in a black jumpsuit.  But, what you fail to realize is that she is adept in various martial arts, combat savvy to the nines, and may also be able to heal, just like Captain America (rumor has it that her body is full of nanomachines that repair her upon damage).  The point here: don't underestimate either of these two, especially on the battle field.



Before Earth's Mightiest Heroes became a reality on the big screen or on the comic book page, there were the "Six who went far in the world".  The Brothers Grimm had their very own super team of heroes on their hands, way before the idea was popularized in the 1960s.  That's one pretty cool concept, if I do say so myself.  If you have never read the story, you definitely need to.  It's one of those rare classics that fly under the radar, that is definitely worth a look.