Uri-On
Encyclopedia
Uri-On is a fictional
comic book
superhero
created by Israeli-American artist Michael Netzer, in partnership with Jonathan Duitch and Yossi Halpern in 1987.
The publication elicited criticism and controversy for its serious and patriotic Israeli superhero, whose author was considered to harbor right-wing political sentiment as a West Bank
resident, at a time when Israeli culture was seen to have grown past such idealism. In the letter columns
of the comic book, Netzer rebutted these claims by stressing the support for a peaceful solution to the plot conflict in the series storyline, and the cultural abundance of patriotism seen in American superheroes, on which Uri-On was based.
Many mistakenly consider "Uri-On" to be the first Israeli superhero. "Uri-On" is the first Israeli superhero to be published in color, but the first Israeli superhero was actually "Sabraman
" which was created by Uri Fink
and published in black-and-white
in the late 1970s.
Uri-On was named after the Israeli news commentator Uri Orbach, Netzer's friend and roommate at the time he created the character.
called "The Israeli Institute of Advancement in Special Technologies" discovers that aliens from the star Alianos plan an invasion to earth, they enlist the Israeli soldier Uri Ben-David and transform him into "Uri-On" – a super hero with extraordinary powers in a blue suit with a logo of a Menorah on his chest (the Israeli national symbol). Uri-On uses his powers to defend the state of Israel from the invaders targeting the Israel Negev desert, where they had buried large supplies of ores needed for their planet's survival, more than 4,000 years before. They invaders intend to take the ores - and threaten to destroy anyone who stands in their way. During the battle over the Negev desert, Uri-On discovers that amongst the invaders is an Earth man, Idan, who willingly joined them during their first visit to Earth, and who became nearly immortal on Alianos. Together, they effect an overthrow of the militant leadership of the invading army, and succeed in bringing a peaceful resolution to the invasion effort.
In the series continuation, Uri-On also attempts to help an Israeli pilot named Yoram Harel, who transformed into a monstrous Scorpion-Man, during the battle with the invaders. The Scorpion-Man manages to reach his town, but cannot speak and explain who he is. People treat him with hostility, and as a result he becomes extremely violent, and denies his human past. But Uri-On, who guesses correctly that Scorpion-Man is Yoram Harel, manages to heal him.
In addition, Uri-On is equipped with two "bracelets of truth" on his arms, which enable him to read the minds of his enemies and cause them to speak the truth. He also uses his costume belt and bracelet pellets as a sling
, evoking the weapon used by King David against Goliath, with which he is able to control forces of nature.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
created by Israeli-American artist Michael Netzer, in partnership with Jonathan Duitch and Yossi Halpern in 1987.
The comic book
The adventures of Uri-On were initially published in Israel in 1987, in four-color comic books, and continued later in the children's magazine Kulanu , for several years.The publication elicited criticism and controversy for its serious and patriotic Israeli superhero, whose author was considered to harbor right-wing political sentiment as a West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
resident, at a time when Israeli culture was seen to have grown past such idealism. In the letter columns
Comic book letter column
A comic book letter column is a section of a comic book where readers' letters to the publisher appear. Comic book letter columns are also commonly referred to as letter columns , letter pages, letters of comment , or simply letters to the editor...
of the comic book, Netzer rebutted these claims by stressing the support for a peaceful solution to the plot conflict in the series storyline, and the cultural abundance of patriotism seen in American superheroes, on which Uri-On was based.
Many mistakenly consider "Uri-On" to be the first Israeli superhero. "Uri-On" is the first Israeli superhero to be published in color, but the first Israeli superhero was actually "Sabraman
Uri Fink
Uri Fink is an Israeli comic book artist and writer, and creator of the comics series Zbeng!. Fink is considered to be one of Israel's leading comic book artists.-Biography:...
" which was created by Uri Fink
Uri Fink
Uri Fink is an Israeli comic book artist and writer, and creator of the comics series Zbeng!. Fink is considered to be one of Israel's leading comic book artists.-Biography:...
and published in black-and-white
Black-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
in the late 1970s.
Uri-On was named after the Israeli news commentator Uri Orbach, Netzer's friend and roommate at the time he created the character.
Background
After a secret technological institute in the NegevNegev
The Negev is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The Arabs, including the native Bedouin population of the region, refer to the desert as al-Naqab. The origin of the word Neghebh is from the Hebrew root denoting 'dry'...
called "The Israeli Institute of Advancement in Special Technologies" discovers that aliens from the star Alianos plan an invasion to earth, they enlist the Israeli soldier Uri Ben-David and transform him into "Uri-On" – a super hero with extraordinary powers in a blue suit with a logo of a Menorah on his chest (the Israeli national symbol). Uri-On uses his powers to defend the state of Israel from the invaders targeting the Israel Negev desert, where they had buried large supplies of ores needed for their planet's survival, more than 4,000 years before. They invaders intend to take the ores - and threaten to destroy anyone who stands in their way. During the battle over the Negev desert, Uri-On discovers that amongst the invaders is an Earth man, Idan, who willingly joined them during their first visit to Earth, and who became nearly immortal on Alianos. Together, they effect an overthrow of the militant leadership of the invading army, and succeed in bringing a peaceful resolution to the invasion effort.
In the series continuation, Uri-On also attempts to help an Israeli pilot named Yoram Harel, who transformed into a monstrous Scorpion-Man, during the battle with the invaders. The Scorpion-Man manages to reach his town, but cannot speak and explain who he is. People treat him with hostility, and as a result he becomes extremely violent, and denies his human past. But Uri-On, who guesses correctly that Scorpion-Man is Yoram Harel, manages to heal him.
Powers and abilities
Uri-On's arsenal of powers includes:- Super-strength, enabling him to lift hundreds of tons effortlessly.
- Ability to fly
- Super-Speed - Uri-On is capable of moving at tremendous speeds, faster than the speed of soundSpeed of soundThe speed of sound is the distance travelled during a unit of time by a sound wave propagating through an elastic medium. In dry air at , the speed of sound is . This is , or about one kilometer in three seconds or approximately one mile in five seconds....
. - Immunity against bullets.
- Ability to stay at the outer space.
In addition, Uri-On is equipped with two "bracelets of truth" on his arms, which enable him to read the minds of his enemies and cause them to speak the truth. He also uses his costume belt and bracelet pellets as a sling
Sling
The word sling may refer to:* Sling , a device used to hurl projectiles* Sling is an item of climbing equipment consisting of a sewn loop of webbing that can be wrapped around sections of rock or tied to other pieces of equipment.* Sling * Ski jumping sling is an item of sports training...
, evoking the weapon used by King David against Goliath, with which he is able to control forces of nature.