Modern Myths

Manson Everard, who does detective work in the past, refers to Sherlock Holmes.

Malcolm Lockridge, who has been hired to help recover a treasure, refers to James Bond.

Jack Havig, who has the superpower of time travel, refers to Superman.

I am a fan of Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories, of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels and of Superman in some versions, e.g., when written by Alan Moore or in the Smallville TV series.

Holmes, Bond and Superman are modern myths by which I mean fictional characters who are universally known, even by those who have never read the original texts. Others are:

Dracula
Frankenstein
Alice in Wonderland
Rip van Winkle
Peter Pan
Tarzan
the Batman
the Time Traveler
the Invisible Man
the Man in the Iron Mask
the Three Musketeers
the Count of Monte Cristo
the Wizard of Oz

Usually, it is possible to describe a mythical character's distinguishing feature in a single phrase or sentence. I am sure that it would be possible to generate a list of a hundred, although some would need to be verified by opinion polls.

Anderson's characters are not on the list. Each of us appreciates the modern myths and also many less well known characters.