Comic booksuperheroes andprofessional wrestling characters have long been viewed in the same vein of entertainment as colorful characters that are larger than life, and numerous wrestlers have appeared or been referenced incomic books.
Spider-Man's first costumed appearance was the result ofPeter Parker's need for a colorfulgimmick, as he planned to enter and win a wrestling challenge.
Invasion from Planet Wrestletopia written by Ed Kuehnel & Matt Entin, illustrated by Dan Schkade, colors by Marissa Louise and lettered by Dave Lanphear. Published by Suspicious Behavior Productions[8]
"Arachnaman" (portrayed byBrad Armstrong) appeared inWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW) in the early 1990s wearing a costume resembling that ofSpider-Man's aside from its yellow coloration instead of red. His gimmick included shooting 'webs' upon his ring entrance.
Sting changed from a colorful flamboyant performer to a dark brooding figure after being falsely accused of betrayal in thenWo storyline in late 1996. As a result, he adopted a black and white look and brooded in the rafters of the arenas, mimickingThe Crow byJames O'Barr in appearance to the point of actual birds appearing as well.Scott Hall suggested the idea to Sting, knowing of the concept but not having seen or read any of the materials himself.
Tiger Mask was originally a popular Japanesemanga character; as a result,New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) decided to capitalize on this by employing the youngSatoru Sayama to play the character as an actual wrestler. The resultant success led to the character being reassigned, following Sayama's retirement, to other wrestlers, namely the now high-profileMitsuharu Misawa andKoji Kanemoto. The current incarnation is the fourth, played byYoshihiro Yamazaki.
Gangrel was avampire character from the White Wolf brand of comics and role-playing games.World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) employed a wrestler previously known as theVampire Warrior (real name: David Heath) to play the character, as the leader of a cult-like faction calledThe Brood, which also consisted of the wrestlersEdge andChristian.
Rob Van Dam is an avid collector, who citesGhost Rider as his favorite character, and operates his own store,RVD's Five Star Comics, in California, and plans to write his own series.
Raven wrote an issue ofSpider-Man's Tangled Web for Marvel Comics. The issue featured a partial rewrite of Spider-Man's history, and focused onCrusher Hogan, the wrestler whom Spider-Man first tested his powers on.
CM Punk has also been hired as a writer for Marvel Comics.
