History ComicStrip / FlashGordon

* FollowTheLeader: The comic strip was only created to cash in on the popularity of ''ComicStrip/BuckRogers''. Thankfully, it never resorted to outright stealing any of ''Buck's'' storylines, and managed to carve out its own niche.

* MyBreastsAreDownHere: At the beginning Princess Aura would wear this kind of garment.

Although originally a comic strip, there have been several adaptations of the story: first was the [[Film/FlashGordonSerial 1936 serial starring Buster Crabbe as Flash]], which was widely acclaimed and one of the more popular serials of its time. There were [[WesternAnimation/FlashGordon several animated series]], a 1950s live-action series, and a [[Series/FlashGordon 2007 live-action series]] by the Sci-Fi Channel, which is basically ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' hampered by the fact that Flash Gordon is no Franchise/{{Superman}}. (And let's face it: you ''know'' you're in trouble when people say you're not as good as ''Smallville''.) The series arguably improved after a mid-season {{retool}} and concluded its first season in January 2008. Sci-Fi ultimately declined to renew it, however, effectively ending the series on an unresolved cliffhanger.

None of these are nearly as well known or as fun as the 1980 live-action movie adaptation, aptly titled ''Film/FlashGordon''. Starring Sam J Jones as Flash, Creator/MaxVonSydow as Ming the Merciless, Topol as Dr Zarkov, Creator/TimothyDalton as Prince Barin, Creator/BrianBlessed as Prince Vultan, and, if you look carefully, you'll spot Richard O'Brien (aka [[Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow Riff Raff]]) as one of Barin's men. Widely considered a {{cult classic}} and enormously [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff popular in Great Britain]], the movie is pretty much ''exactly'' what would have happened if King Features had ten times the budget, big-name actors and better special effects, and the ''exact same script'', down to Asian stereotyping and completely insane dialogue.

And then you have the animated adaptations... including one in advance of the 1980 movie by Creator/{{Filmation}}, the people who did ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries''. Perhaps best described as a children's version of a sketchy [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SP2CsHNHd8 rock album cover]] come to life, with [[PettingZooPeople lion-men]] instead of [[Film/NapoleonDynamite ligers]].

Flash had comic adaptations as well, including DC Comics' ''ComicBook/FlashGordon1988'' miniseries, and a 2011 comic book adaptation called ''ComicBook/FlashGordonZeitgeist''. The most recent ''Flash Gordon'' series was written by [[Comicbook/AgentsOfAtlas Jeff]] [[Comicbook/{{Aquaman}} Parker]] with Doc Shaner on art, spinning out of Parker's ''King's Watch'' miniseries, a crossover with ComicStrip/ThePhantom and ComicStrip/MandrakeTheMagician. It ran eight issues and was popular enough to kick off an expanded "King-Dynamite" [[SharedUniverse universe]], with follow-up miniseries for Flash, ComicStrip/ThePhantom, ComicStrip/JungleJim, ComicStrip/PrinceValiant and ComicStrip/MandrakeTheMagician.

Trope codifier for SpaceOpera and RaygunGothic, along with ''ComicStrip/BuckRogers'' of course. Famous for the serials' OpeningScroll.

An enormous influence on ''StarWars'': indeed, Creator/GeorgeLucas wanted to make a Flash Gordon movie until Dino De Laurentiis, who held the rights, said no. Considering the massive flop the movie was, Dino might have done better if he'd taken George up on the offer.


!!Adaptations with their own trope pages include:

* ''Film/FlashGordonSerial'' (1930s film serials)
* ''Series/FlashGordon1954'' (1950s live-action series)
* ''WesternAnimation/TheManWhoHatedLaughter'' (1972 animated special featuring all King Features' characters, including Flash)
* ''WesternAnimation/FlashGordon'' (1979 animated series)
* ''Film/FlashGordon'' (1980 movie)
* ''WesternAnimation/DefendersOfTheEarth'' (1986 animated series teaming Flash with King Features' other action heroes, ComicStrip/ThePhantom and ComicStrip/MandrakeTheMagician)
* ''ComicBook/FlashGordon1988'' (1988 comic book miniseries)
* ''WesternAnimation/FlashGordon1996'' (1996 animated series)
* ''Series/FlashGordon'' (2007 live-action series)
* ''ComicBook/FlashGordonZeitgeist'' (2011 comic book series)

* FollowTheLeader: The original comic strip was only created to cash in on the popularity of ''ComicStrip/BuckRogers''. Thankfully, it never resorted to outright stealing any of ''Buck's'' storylines, and managed to carve out its own niche.

* LoveAtFirstSight: In the original comic, Flash starts declaring his love for Dale very early on, after maybe a few hours, and practically no conversation or time to breathe. Ming also wants to marry her on sight, but that's a different trope...

* RuleThirtyFour: There is porn of it. Specifically, ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flesh_Gordon Flesh Gordon]],'' a [[TheSeventies '70s]] softcore romp which has a cult following of its own, largely due to [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38XmSTDO6e4 this]]. (Yes, it's work safe, as long as your boss doesn't hear the expletives.)

** What more need be said than that ''Franchise/StarWars'' was going to be a gritty reboot of ''Flash Gordon'', [[UsedFuture minus some of]] the RaygunGothic aspects, but Creator/GeorgeLucas couldn't secure the rights.

* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: Until the 1980 movie, Flash was always from the future. In the comics, prior to WWII, there was no date given. Following WWII, they were set "ten years into the future".
** The {{Creator/Filmation}} 1970s animated movie (on which the '70s animated TV series was based) has Flash, Dale, and Zarkov leave Earth in the 1940s--which explains the period hairdos on the three Earthlings in the '70s series.
** The 1950s TV show was set over a thousand years in the future.

* YellowPeril: Ming, Ming, Ming! Oddly enough, the theme song to the movie became incredibly popular in Japan. It helps a lot that Ming looks [[ChinesePeople Chinese]] rather Japanese; that the two were at war at the time; and Creator/MaxVonSydow basically plays [[LargeHam himself]] in oriental drag (in the [[Film/FlashGordon 1980 film]]).

None of these are nearly as well known or as fun as the 1980 live-action movie adaptation, aptly titled ''Film/FlashGordon''. Starring Sam J Jones as Flash, Creator/MaxVonSydow as Ming the Merciless, Topol as Dr Zarkov, TimothyDalton as Prince Barin, {{BRIAN BLESSED}} as Prince Vultan, and, if you look carefully, you'll spot Richard O'Brien (aka [[Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow Riff Raff]]) as one of Barin's men. Widely considered a {{cult classic}} and enormously [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff popular in Great Britain]], the movie is pretty much ''exactly'' what would have happened if King Features had ten times the budget, big-name actors and better special effects, and the ''exact same script'', down to Asian stereotyping and completely insane dialogue.

An enormous influence on ''StarWars'': indeed, Creator/GeorgeLucas wanted to make a Flash Gordon movie until Creator/DinoDeLaurentiis, who held the rights, said no. Considering the massive flop the movie was, Dino might have done better if he'd taken George up on the offer.

** What more need be said than that ''StarWars'' was going to be a gritty reboot of ''Flash Gordon'', [[UsedFuture minus some of]] the RaygunGothic aspects, but GeorgeLucas couldn't secure the rights.

''Flash Gordon'' is a classic science fiction comic written and drawn by Alex Raymond in the year 1934 and published by King Features Syndicate. It tells the story of Flash Gordon, an athlete who travels with reporter Dale Arden and Dr Hans Zarkov in a rocket Zarkov built to the planet Mongo, ruled by [[YellowPeril Ming the Merciless]] (Franchise/FuManchu [[AC:[[RecycledINSPACE IN SPACE]]]]). Flash sets to incite revolution. But wait! Dale is in love with him, and so is [[MadScientistsBeautifulDaughter Princess Aura!]] They are aided by Prince Barin of Arboria, Prince Vultan of the Hawkmen and Queen Desira of Tropica. Later stories featured Flash and company traveling to other planets, but the Mongo story arc is by far the most famous.

An enormous influence on ''StarWars'': indeed, George Lucas wanted to make a Flash Gordon movie until Dino De Laurentiis, who held the rights, said no. Considering the massive flop the movie was, Dino might have done better if he'd taken George up on the offer.

* MyBreastsAreDownHere: Princess Aura's at the beginning used to wear this kind of garments.

* ArtEvolution: Alex Raymond's method of drawing notably evolved and improved as the series progressed. For a time he used a dry-brush drawing style with lots of hatching, as was common in PulpMagazine black-and-white interior illustrations. Later, he switched to a clearer line style, used in conjunction with PrinceValiant-esque still images that mimicked paintings.

* IvyLeague: Flash is a Yale man.

* FollowTheLeader: The original comic strip was only created to cash in on the popularity of ''BuckRogers''. Thankfully, it never resorted to outright stealing any of ''Buck's'' storylines, and managed to carve out its own niche.

Trope codifier for SpaceOpera and RaygunGothic, along with ''BuckRogers'' of course. Famous for the serials' OpeningScroll.

And then you have the animated adaptations... including one in advance of the 1980 movie by Creastor/{{Filmation}}, the people who did ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries''. Perhaps best described as a children's version of a sketchy [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SP2CsHNHd8 rock album cover]] come to life, with [[PettingZooPeople lion-men]] instead of [[Film/NapoleonDynamite ligers]].

''Flash Gordon'' is a classic science fiction comic written and drawn by Alex Raymond in the year 1934 and published by Creator/KingFeaturesSyndicate. It tells the story of Flash Gordon, an athlete who travels with reporter Dale Arden and Dr Hans Zarkov in a rocket Zarkov built to the planet Mongo, ruled by [[YellowPeril Ming the Merciless]] (Franchise/FuManchu [[AC:[[RecycledINSPACE IN SPACE]]]]). Flash sets to incite revolution. But wait! Dale is in love with him, and so is [[MadScientistsBeautifulDaughter Princess Aura!]] They are aided by Prince Barin of Arboria, Prince Vultan of the Hawkmen and Queen Desira of Tropica. Later stories featured Flash and company traveling to other planets, but the Mongo story arc is by far the most famous.

''Flash Gordon'' is a classic science fiction comic written and drawn by Alex Raymond in the year 1934 and published by King Features Syndicate. It tells the story of Flash Gordon, an athlete who travels with reporter Dale Arden and Dr Hans Zarkov in a rocket Zarkov built to the planet Mongo, ruled by [[YellowPeril Ming the Merciless]] (Franchise/FuManchu [[AC:[[RecycledINSPACE IN SPACE]]]]). Flash sets to incite revolution. But wait! Dale is in love with him, and so is [[MadScientistsBeautifulDaughter Princess Aura!]] They are aided by Prince Barin of Arboria, Prince Vultan of the Hawkmen and Queen Desira of Tropica. Later stories featured Flash and company traveling to other planets, but the Mongo story arc is by far the most famous.

Flash had comic adaptations as well, including DC Comics' ''ComicBook/FlashGordon1988'' miniseries, and a 2011 comic book adaptation called ''ComicBook/FlashGordonZeitgeist''. The most recent ''Flash Gordon'' series was written by [[Comicbook/AgentsOfAtlas Jeff]] [[Comicbook/{{Aquaman}} Parker]] with Doc Shaner on art, spinning out of Parker's ''King's Watch'' miniseries, a crossover with ComicStrip/ThePhantom and ComicStrip/MandrakeTheMagician. It ran eight issues and was popular enough to kick off an expanded "King-Dynamite" [[SharedUniverse universe]], with follow-up miniseries for Flash, ComicStrip/ThePhantom, ComicStrip/JungleJim, ComicStrip/PrinceValiant and ComicStrip/MandrakeTheMagician

Flash had comic adaptations as well, including DC Comics' ''ComicBook/FlashGordon1988'' miniseries, and a 2011 comic book adaptation called ''ComicBook/FlashGordonZeitgeist''. The most recent ''Flash Gordon'' series was written by [[Comicbook/AgentsOfAtlas Jeff]] [[Comicbook/{{Aquaman}} Parker]] with Doc Shaner on art, spinning out of Parker's ''King's Watch'' miniseries, a crossover with ComicStrip/ThePhantom and ComicStrip/MandrakeTheMagician.

''Flash Gordon'' is a classic science fiction comic written and drawn by Alex Raymond in the year 1934 and published by Creator/KingFeaturesSyndicate. It tells the story of Flash Gordon, an athlete who travels with reporter Dale Arden and Dr Hans Zarkov in a rocket Zarkov built to the planet Mongo, ruled by [[YellowPeril Ming the Merciless]] (Franchise/FuManchu [[AC:[[RecycledINSPACE IN SPACE]]]]). Flash sets to incite revolution. But wait! Dale is in love with him, and so is [[MadScientistsBeautifulDaughter Princess Aura!]] They are aided by Prince Barin of Arboria, Prince Vultan of the Hawkmen and Queen Desira of Tropica. Later stories featured Flash and company traveling to other planets, but the Mongo story arc is by far the most famous.

Flash had comic adaptations as well, including DC Comics' ''ComicBook/FlashGordon1988'' miniseries, and a 2011 comic book adaptation called ''ComicBook/FlashGordonZeitgeist''. The most recent ''Flash Gordon'' series was written by [[Comicbook/AgentsOfAtlas Jeff]] [[Comicbook/Aquaman Parker]] with Doc Shaner on art, spinning out of Parker's ''King's Watch'' miniseries, a crossover with ComicStrip/ThePhantom and ComicStrip/MandrakeTheMagician.

Flash had comic adaptations as well, including DC Comics' ''ComicBook/FlashGordon1988'' miniseries. There is also a 2011 comic book adaptation called ''ComicBook/FlashGordonZeitgeist'', which takes elements from all incarnations of Flash and adds its own twists and turns.

** The {{Filmation}} 1970s animated movie (on which the '70s animated TV series was based) has Flash, Dale, and Zarkov leave Earth in the 1940s--which explains the period hairdos on the three Earthlings in the '70s series.

->''"'''[[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic FLASH!!! Aaaaaaah-aaaaah! Saviour of the universe!]]'''"''
-->-- ''Music/{{Queen}}, in the theme song to the 1980 [[Film/FlashGordon movie]]''

''Flash Gordon'' is a classic science fiction comic written and drawn by Alex Raymond in the year 1934 and published by King Features. It tells the story of Flash Gordon, an athlete who travels with reporter Dale Arden and Dr Hans Zarkov in a rocket Zarkov built to the planet Mongo, ruled by [[YellowPeril Ming the Merciless]] (Franchise/FuManchu [[AC:[[RecycledINSPACE IN SPACE]]]]). Flash sets to incite revolution. But wait! Dale is in love with him, and so is [[MadScientistsBeautifulDaughter Princess Aura!]] They are aided by Prince Barin of Arboria, Prince Vultan of the Hawkmen and Queen Desira of Tropica. Later stories featured Flash and company traveling to other planets, but the Mongo story arc is by far the most famous.

Although originally a comic strip, there have been several adaptations of the story: first was the [[Film/FlashGordonSerial 1936 serial starring Buster Crabbe as Flash]], which was widely acclaimed and one of the more popular serials of its time. There were [[WesternAnimation/FlashGordon several animated series]], a 1950s live-action series, and a [[Series/FlashGordon 2007 live-action series]] by the Sci-Fi Channel, which is basically ''{{Smallville}}'' hampered by the fact that Flash Gordon is no Superman. (And let's face it: you ''know'' you're in trouble when people say you're not as good as ''Smallville''.) The series arguably improved after a mid-season {{retool}} and concluded its first season in January 2008. Sci-Fi ultimately declined to renew it, however, effectively ending the series on an unresolved cliffhanger.

None of these are nearly as well known or as fun as the 1980 live-action movie adaptation, aptly titled ''Film/FlashGordon''. Starring Sam J Jones as Flash, Creator/MaxVonSydow as Ming the Merciless, Topol as Dr Zarkov, TimothyDalton as Prince Barin, {{BRIAN BLESSED}} as Prince Vultan, and, if you look carefully, you'll spot Richard O'Brien (aka [[TheRockyHorrorPictureShow Riff Raff]]) as one of Barin's men. Widely considered a {{cult classic}} and enormously [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff popular in Great Britain]], the movie is pretty much ''exactly'' what would have happened if King Features had ten times the budget, big-name actors and better special effects, and the ''exact same script'', down to Asian stereotyping and completely insane dialogue.

And then you have the animated adaptations... including one in advance of the 1980 movie by {{Filmation}}, the people who did ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries''. Perhaps best described as a children's version of a sketchy [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SP2CsHNHd8 rock album cover]] come to life, with [[PettingZooPeople lion-men]] instead of [[Film/NapoleonDynamite ligers]].

None of these are nearly as well known or as fun as the 1980 live-action movie adaptation, aptly titled ''Film/FlashGordon''. Starring Sam J Jones as Flash, Max von Sydow as Ming the Merciless, Topol as Dr Zarkov, TimothyDalton as Prince Barin, {{BRIAN BLESSED}} as Prince Vultan, and, if you look carefully, you'll spot Richard O'Brien (aka [[TheRockyHorrorPictureShow Riff Raff]]) as one of Barin's men. Widely considered a {{cult classic}} and enormously [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff popular in Great Britain]], the movie is pretty much ''exactly'' what would have happened if King Features had ten times the budget, big-name actors and better special effects, and the ''exact same script'', down to Asian stereotyping and completely insane dialogue.

* YellowPeril: Ming, Ming, Ming! Oddly enough, the theme song to the movie became incredibly popular in Japan. It helps a lot that Ming looks [[ChinesePeople Chinese]] rather Japanese; that the two were at war at the time; and Max Von Sydow basically plays [[LargeHam himself]] in oriental drag (in the [[Film/FlashGordon 1980 film]]).