Ask most young Chinese people who they think of when you mention superheroes and chances are they will name Batman, Spider-Man, Superman and other heavyweights from American comic books. Some younger people might answer with heroes of Hollywood fame such as X-Men, Green Lantern or the Incredible Hulk, but one thing is certain: you won't hear any homegrown superheroes. That could be about to change though thanks to the efforts of two Beijing cartoonists whose men of steel range from Hitch Man, Cheer Man and Torture Man. Like their American counterparts they fight crime and strive for justice, albeit with one stark difference: they have a Chinese hukou (household residence permit).

Chinese super 'men'

Ma Boyong is the creator at the helm of a new era of Chinese superhero fiction. His novel titled The Nine Men Team Doom follows nine characters equipped with ancient supernatural powers who defend Beijing in modern times.

The superheroes live along Beijing's ancient city wall, nowadays the Second Ring Road, and like the alter egos of Batman and Superman (Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent respectively), they lead ordinary lives, only transforming into their superhero identities when duty calls.

The superheroes include Ending Man, Torture Man, Choc-Young Man. If the names ring a bell, it's probably because they are play on words of Andingmen, Dongzhimen and Chaoyangmen. The remaining six comprise of True Win Man (Chongwenmen), Cheer Man (Qianmen), Share Wood Man (Xuanwumen), Fortune Man (Fuchengmen), Hitch Man (Xizhimen) and Door Shed Man (Deshengmen).

Athens Qin, the cartoonist better known on microblogging service Weibo as Shituzi (literally the "last angel"), illustrates Ma's superheroes. They are clad in masks and capes that incorporate traditional Chinese characteristics, yet bear Western superhero traits of bulging biceps and washboard abdominal muscles. However, there are some exceptions. True Win Man of Chongwenmen - a neighborhood that literally means "worship literature" - is as an elderly intellectual.

Qin, who lives in the US and works as an architect, also has his own superhero comic series dubbed Captain Pioneer that appears on his Weibo microblog. The hero of the story, Captain Pioneer, is a poster boy of patriotism who serves the Chinese government. He attains his communist superpowers during his youth from reading the People's Daily newspaper and watching endless China Central Television (CCTV) news broadcasts, mimicking the true-life story of a 13-year-old boy who made news in May last year for his obsession with Chinese media and devotion to politics. Captain Pioneer's heroic deeds portrayed in Qin's comic include the assassination of Al Qaeda henchman Osama bin Laden. Later in the series, he exacts revenge on US President Barack Obama, who it's revealed is actually a Chinese traitor and the evil predecessor of Captain Pioneer.

Striving for justice

It's not all fantasy though, with some stories bearing relevance to current affairs. In one edition, readers of Captain Pioneer are introduced to his super heroine ally G-Woman, who blames the Ministry of Railways for causing the deadly high-speed train crash in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, in July last year. Meanwhile, a non-political nemesis of Captain Pioneer emerges in the form of Red Cross Girl, a parody of a scandal last year involving Guo Meimei and the alleged misappropriation of the charity's funds.

Ma was inspired to create his comics after chatting with friends. "We thought the nine ancient gates that surround the Forbidden City would be a good prototype for a story, as they all ended with 'men' and sound similar to Superman, Batman and Spider-Man," said Ma, who works in sales at an appliance company.

Chinese fans of the comics have been drawn to the stories, partly because they can relate to the superheroes' origins better than Batman's Bat Cave or Superman's Fortress of Solitude. University student Zhang Tuqing, 24, noted that aside from The Nine Men Team Doom referring to Beijing's nine gates in Chinese, there were other clever puns. "Team Doom" sounds like tidu, the Chinese name of a government post during the Qing Dynasty (1616-1912).

"The post of tidu and the nine gates were responsible for securing Beijing during the Qing Dynasty," said Zhang. "It took me a while to catch on, but when I found out the cartoonist's play on words I couldn't stop laughing."

Both cartoonists admit Western superheroes influenced their works. It's not hard for fans to tell either, with Captain Pioneer bearing a striking resemblance to Captain America, aside from his weapons of choice -  a hammer and sickle.

"My favorite [Western superhero] is Captain America because he balances morality and politics. In creating a superhero-style comic, I mimicked comics by DC and Marvel," said Qin. "Some of my comics will be familiar to those who have read Western superhero comics."

Conflict between past, present

Comic book superheroes are usually strongly influenced by the period of their birth. Captain America was created in 1941, and was "consciously a political creation" according to it one of its creators Joe Simon. Just a year earlier, the US had been attacked at Pearl Harbor and national confidence was in urgent need of rebuilding. Similarly, Robocop was created in 1987, and symbolized pains surrounding Detroit's fallen auto industry.

Ma insists his comics have emerged amid the confusions experienced by Beijingers at the ancient capital's change. Development has proceeded at breakneck speed throughout the city in recent years, with cultural heritage preservation often conflicting with modern demands to expand. How ancient civilizations struggle to survive and how people regard these changes offers endless inspiration to Ma.

"My nine superheroes are also troubled by these questions, as they used to guard the area within the nine gates on the Second Ring Road. Now, they are lost and wondering whether to stay with tradition or embrace modernity," said Ma.

For Qin, whose comics are more controversial, success lies in resonating and poking fun at readers' ideas of communism, collectivism and patriotism. "I want my comics to be linked to reality, with characters from contemporary China representing different social ideals. Take Captain Pioneer, for example. His political ideals of communism are lost in the capitalist world," Qin explained. "I hope my comics can help improve the current situation."

Although their works are well-received by Chinese readers, neither cartoonist plans to take their superheroes overseas as they regard their stories deeply rooted in Chinese culture.

"Chinese civilization still lacks recognition compared to the West. We know that [Spider-Man's alter ego] Peter Parker is from Queens, New York, but Beijing is mostly known for Tiananmen Square. Few foreign readers know its nine ancient gates," sighed Ma. "Bridging the cultural gap looms as the greatest challenge."