Hero.com

Last updated

Hero.com is a series of superhero novels by English screenwriter, graphic novelist, and author Andy Briggs. [1] The novels are published through Oxford University Press [2] in the United Kingdom and various other publishers in other countries.

Contents

The novels follow the exploits of four friends, Toby, Pete, Emily and Lorna. While surfing the internet, they discover the Hero.com website which features nameless icons in a variety of superhero poses. The friends discover that when they click on an icon, they can temporarily download superpowers from the internet to use in the real world.

A spinoff series, Villain.net, soon followed. [3] This series follows school bully Jake Hunter who discovers he has the ability to download villainous superpowers from the internet, leading to a scheme for world domination.

Books

Publishers
CountryPublisher
UK Oxford University Press
USA Walker Books
AustraliaOxford University Press
CanadaOxford University Press
South AfricaOxford University Press
GermanyArena Books
ThailandBright Kids
Czech RepublicComputer Press
RomaniaRao Books
Bulgaria Egmont
English Audio W.F. Howes

Hero.com and Villain.net

Rise of the Heroes

Toby, Pete, Lorna, and Emily are just average kids—until they stumble upon a website called "Hero.com" that allows them to download powers that turn them into superheroes. At first, having the ability to fly, teleport, and shoot lasers from their eyes seems wonderful. But once the supervillain, Doc Tempest, kidnaps Toby and Lorna’s mom, everything takes a darker turn.

Now the heroes must band together and use their newly acquired skills—from super-strength to invisibility—to not only rescue their mom, but also doing the typical superhero activities like fighting evil and trying to save the world from total destruction.

The foursome soon figure out that "Villain.net" is out there too, recruiting teens for the dark side.

Virus Attack

Archfiends Basilisk and the Worm have thought of a plan so cunning it will strike fear into the heart of the bravest superhero. Combining their dastardly skills, they will infect HERO.COM with a virus potent enough to cripple it and ultimately end in the destruction of the Hero HQ. Toby, Lorna, Pete and Emily are tasked to stop them. Hard enough at the best of times, but particularly tricky once Hero.com is on the blink and their superhero powers keep fluctuating. And when Pete is kidnapped and cryogenically frozen by the vile villains, things start going from bad to worse, which can make their friendships torn apart soon. Another superpowered adventure from a master of pen and plot!

Crisis Point

The Hero Foundation is a shadow of its former self and Lord Eon - the most terrible supervillain ever - is still at large. Worse, he has hatched a plan to tear apart time. Toby and his superhero friends should be able to stop him . . . but Pete has woken from his coma a different person and Lorna has disappeared. In the titanic struggle that will follow, friendships will be tested and superhero powers and trusts are strained to the limit as time runs out for the world . . . literally . . .

Chaos Effect

Toby just wants to be a hero and stop the fiendish, schizophrenic cyborg, Nanomite, from turning all life into a synthesized world. But life keeps getting in the way. His sister has gone AWOL, his friend is obsessed with correcting his best mate who is a villain and a new, annoying, pair of downloaders are stealing all the limelight. How big or small does a problem have to be for them to take care of it? With civilization on the brink of disaster-which heroes will save the day?

Relationships in Hero.com

Throughout the series the characters of the two series lives have entwined. Lorna has dated Jake Hunter. A love triangle has developed between Emily, Pete and Toby. Emily now seems to be leaning towards Pete. And a new girl called Jen now fancies Toby.

Toby - Fancied Emily but eventually developed a crush on Jen (book 3 & 4)

Pete - Has always had a crush on Emily resulting in conflict between him and Toby, eventually Toby went for someone else leaving Pete and Emily. The conflict caused him to grow more villainous and was featured more heavily in the Villain.net books after book 2.

Emily - She initially is unsure whether she preferred Toby or Pete originally but is now leaning towards Pete.

Lorna - Has a crush on and Dates Jake Hunter (from Villain.Net). She appears less and less in the Hero.com books after book 2 and begins appearing more in the Villain.net books as she grows closer to Jake.

Jake Hunter - Has a crush on Lorna, but, is unsure how to react when he discovers that she and her friends are heroes (Book 2). His appearances in the Hero.com books are relatively minor, but he is mentioned a lot by Lorna.

Villain.net

Council of Evil

School bully Jake Hunter receives a mysterious email inviting him to join a scheme for world domination. With unlimited power and wealth at his fingertips, how can he resist? But to get it he has to become an arch-criminal, entangled in a plan that threatens the planet. And that could just be a step too far ... 'Council of Evil' is the first book in the action packed new anti-series 'VILLAIN.NET' - the perfect antidote to the series 'HERO.COM', also by screenwriter Andy Briggs.

Dark Hunter

Jake Hunter was once an ordinary schoolboy with a computer. Until he discovered Villain.net. Now he is an extraordinary schoolboy with a dark side, a bad attitude and an addiction to the villainous powers he can download from the website. And when Jake Hunter - aka the Hunter - breaks out of prison, he has one thing on his mind: revenge. He is going to get his family back, avenge himself on hero Psych, who has wiped all memory of him from their minds, and then destroy heroes and villains. But both the Hero Foundation and the Council of Evil have other plans for the vilest villain the world has ever seen. Both sides want him. Who will get him?

Power Surge

Schoolboy supervillain, Jake Hunter, has taken his seat on the Council of Evil. Now he will live his dream - exact revenge on the cruel world. But the cruel world has other plans, and they come in the shape of the Hero Foundation. Jake's not scared of the Hero Foundation. He even has a plan to turn it to the dark side. Until it gets a new member - Jake's own sister. Is he really so villainous as try to get her out of the way?

Collision Course

With the mightiest of superpowers almost within his grasp, being betrayed by almost every person he knows, Jake Hunter is on the edge of true villainous greatness, defeating most of the Council of Evil with ease. Nobody will be able to stop him from toppling the Foundation and Council of Evil once and for all, except for the possibility of every super plus enforcers ready to rumble. But the Dark Hunter is playing a high-stakes game with the world. He needs it to stop the moon. So, how far will he go to complete his plans? And who will he sacrifice for the ultimate power?

Relationships in Villain.Net

Jake - Fancies Lorna, started to fancy Orsina (book 4) but soon pulled away.

Lorna - Fancies Jake, dates him, breaks up with him, makes-up with him. (Disappeared from the Hero.com books after Book 2 and started appearing in the Villain. Net books from book 3.)

Orsina - First appeared in book 4 and fancied Jake.

Chameleon - Jake's nemesis, they are constantly trying to kill each other and their loved ones. Chameleon appeared in the early Hero.com books as a mentor figure to Toby, but they lost contact as Chameleon grows more obsessed with defeating Jake.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Supervillain</span> Variant of the villain character type possessing "supernatural or superhuman powers"

A supervillain or supercriminal is a variant of the villainous stock character. It is sometimes found in comic books, and may possess superhuman abilities. A supervillain is the antithesis of a superhero.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chameleon (character)</span> Supervillain appearing in Marvel Comics

The Chameleon is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #1. The Chameleon is the first ever antagonist of the superhero Peter Parker / Spider-Man. He is a master of disguises who is known for his ability to impersonate virtually anybody. The character is also the half-brother of Kraven the Hunter. This relationship helped evolve him as a major villain compared to his original depiction of being just a solo villain in the original issue of The Amazing Spider-Man. He has also been a member of the Sinister Six and the Sinister Twelve at various points in his history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mysterio</span> Marvel Comics fictional character

Mysterio is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #13. In his comic book appearances, Mysterio is the alias of Quentin Beck, a former special effects artist, illusionist and actor who turns to crime. He is one of the superhero Spider-Man's most enduring enemies and belongs to the collective of adversaries that make up his rogues gallery. He is also a founding member of the supervillain team the Sinister Six, and has fought other heroes, including Daredevil.

The Legion of Super-Villains is a team of supervillains who appear in comic books published by DC Comics, primarily as enemies of the Legion of Super-Heroes. They first appeared in Superman #147.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Klaw (character)</span> Fictional supervillain

Klaw is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted as a human physicist who has been transformed into solid sound, and who wears a sonic emitter on his right wrist as a prosthetic device. He is often in conflict with the Fantastic Four and the Avengers, and he is also an enemy of the Black Panther and Ka-Zar.

<i>Birdman and the Galaxy Trio</i> American animated television series

Birdman and the Galaxy Trio, or simply Birdman or The Galaxy Trio, is an American animated television series made by Hanna-Barbera Productions that debuted on NBC on September 9, 1967, and ran on Saturday mornings until January 20, 1968. The program consists of two segments: Birdman, depicting the adventures of a winged superhero powered by the sun, and The Galaxy Trio, centered around the adventures of a patrol of interstellar superheroes. Each segment was a complete independent story, and the characters of each segment did not interact with those of the other, except for a bumper that has all four heroes defeating a prehistoric monster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armadillo (character)</span> Marvel Comics fictional character

Armadillo is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manhunter (comics)</span> DC Comics superheroes

Manhunter is the name given to several different fictional characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics and Quality Comics. They are depicted as superheroes and antiheroes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swordsman (character)</span> Marvel Comics fictional character

Swordsman is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Don Heck, the character first appeared in The Avengers #19. Although Swordsman was first introduced as an enemy of Hawkeye and the Avengers, the character has since appeared as both a supervillain and a superhero.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deathbolt</span> Fictional supervillain in DC Comics

Deathbolt is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He was created by the Ultra-Humanite to fight the All-Star Squadron.

Characters native to the African continent have been depicted in comics since the beginnings of the modern comic strip. Initially, such early 20th-century newspaper comics as Winsor McCay's Little Nemo depicted the racist stereotype of a spear-carrying cannibal, a comedic convention of the time. African characters later began to appear as another stereotype, the "noble savage"—a similar progression to that of depictions of Native Americans—and eventually as standard human beings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heinrich Zemo</span> Comics character

Heinrich Zemo is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and first made a cameo appearance in The Avengers #4, before officially being introduced in The Avengers #6. He was retroactively added into the history of Captain America upon the superhero's reintroduction in the Silver Age of Comics two issues prior. Baron Zemo is a Nazi scientist and the founder and original leader of the Masters of Evil, and is commonly depicted as one of the greatest enemies of Captain America and the Avengers. He is the twelfth Baron Zemo in his family lineage, and his legacy is continued by his son, Helmut Zemo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Knight (Nathan Garrett)</span> Comics character

Nathan Garrett, also known as the criminal Black Knight, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was a supervillain and descendant of the original Black Knight, and was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist and co-plotter Dick Ayers.

<i>League of Super Evil</i> Canadian animated television series

League of Super Evil is a Canadian animated comedy television series co-created by Philippe Ivanusic-Vallee, Davila LeBlanc and Peter Ricq and developed by Asaph Fipke. Inspired by a comedy sketch entitled "Once Were Heroes" by Ryan Harper-Brown, the series was produced by Nerd Corps Entertainment in association with YTV.

<i>The Awesomes</i> 2010s American animated TV series

The Awesomes is an American adult animated comedy television series created by Seth Meyers and Mike Shoemaker for Hulu. Meyers and Shoemaker serve as executive producers alongside Lorne Michaels. It debuted on August 1, 2013 and ended on November 3, 2015.

<i>The Island of Dr. Destroyer</i> Tabletop role-playing game adventure

The Island of Dr. Destroyer is an adventure published by Hero Games in 1981 for the superhero role-playing game Champions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris King and Vicki Grant</span> Characters from DC Comics

Chris King and Vicki Grant are depicted as two featured duo characters from DC Comics within the series Dial H for Hero. They are portrayed as normal kids who can transform themselves as superheroes replacing Robby Reed during the 1980s.

<i>The Villains of Valley View</i> American comedy television series

The Villains of Valley View is an American comedy television series created by Chris Peterson and Bryan Moore that premiered on Disney Channel on June 3, 2022. The series stars Isabella Pappas, Malachi Barton, Reed Horstmann, Kayden Muller-Janssen, James Patrick Stuart, and Lucy Davis. The series is available to stream on Disney+.

References

  1. "Andy Briggs". Blake Friedmann Literary Agency.
  2. Hawker, Isobel. "Andy Briggs : Children's: Oxford University Press". global.oup.com. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  3. "Villain Net by Andy Briggs". sfbook.com. Retrieved 2022-04-03.