In comic book terminology, an origin story is an account or back-story revealing how a character or team gained their superpowers and/or the circumstances under which they became superheroes or supervillains.
In order to keep their characters current, comic book companies frequently rewrite the origins of their oldest characters. This goes from adding details that do not contradict earlier facts to a totally new origin which make it seem that it is an altogether different character.
"Origin story" or pourquoi story is also a term used in the study of myths. It can refer to narratives of how the world began, how creatures and plants came into existence, and why certain things in the cosmos have certain qualities.
Read more about Origin Story: Notable Examples, Comic Book Depictions
Famous quotes containing the words origin and/or story:
“For, though the origin of most of our words is forgotten, each word was at first a stroke of genius, and obtained currency, because for the moment it symbolized the world to the first speaker and to the hearer. The etymologist finds the deadest word to have been once a brilliant picture.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“My story being done,
She gave me for my pains a world of sighs;
She swore, in faith ‘twas strange, ‘twas passing strange;
‘Twas pitiful, ‘twas wondrous pitiful.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)