6 Superstars Whose Gimmicks Were Totally Ripped Off From Comics

4. The Hurricane And Green Lantern

Green Lantern Hurricane This connection is glaringly obvious. Gregory Helms was a good in-ring technician who came from the same wrestling vein as the Hardy Boyz and Shannon Moore. He didn€™t do much in WCW, other than that questionable time when he was a part of 3-Count, which was supposed to be a knock-off of the Backstreet Boys. So when he joined the WWE, he was given one of the most out-of-place gimmicks possible. He became the Hurricane, WWE€™s resident superhero. He began to wear a green face mask covering the upper half of his face; his now wore green wrestling attire, and for his entrance he wore a green cape. How exactly this color scheme is supposed to reflect hurricanes or storms is beyond me. The Hurricane€™s most obvious comic book connection is with the Green Lantern. While some might make the connection to the Green Goblin, the problem is that the latter was a villain, and the Hurricane was a comedic hero. However, while the appearance of both characters might seem like the most obvious connection, it isn€™t the only connection. Gregory Helms has a tattoo of the Green Lantern€™s ring on his right arm, and the ring is supposed to represent willpower. This connection is also important, as Gregory Helms had demonstrated will power not only by persevering through the life of a WWE Superstar, which is in itself very challenging, but by taking a comic gimmick and running with it, going so far as to win the Wrestling Observer Newsletter€™s Best Gimmick award for 2002. Furthermore, the Green Lantern, like other superheroes, fights evil in some great setting. While Hal Jordan€™s Green Lantern fought evil across the Universe, the Hurricane fought evil in the form of his fellow wrestlers, notably in hilarious segments between himself and the Rock, who made the hilarious connection between the Hurricane€™s mask and the Hamburglar€™s mask. Helms would later ditch the superhero gimmick, wrestle under his own name, win the WWE Cruiserweight Championship, and hold onto it for 385 days. Not bad for a guy who pretended to fly in his entrance video.
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Alexander Podgorski is a writer for WhatCulture that has been a fan of professional wrestling since he was 8 years old. He loves all kinds of wrestling, from WWE and sports entertainment, to puroresu in Japan. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Queen's University in Political Studies and French, and a Master's Degree in Public Administration. He speaks English, French, Polish, a bit of German, and knows some odd words and phrases in half a dozen other languages.