Comic book names in Finnish
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In Finland it is very common to translate though not always localise the names of comic-book characters. The latter is mainly practiced in more comedy-oriented comics like Garfield (Karvinen), Donald Duck (Aku Ankka), Asterix or Dilbert where the names may for instance contain puns that Finnish readers may not necessarily understand.
- Teräsmies is the Finnish name for Superman. The name may have originated due to the fact that there is no suitable replacement word for super, but it may have also originated from the character's Swedish name Stålmannen of which the Finnish name is a straight translation. The name means quite literally "The Man of Steel" which is Superman's secondary title. Although some Finns occasionally use the Superman title the Finnish equavalent has proven quite popular.
- Pakkasherra is the name for the Batman villain Mr. Freeze. The name translates roughly as "The Master of Winter/Frost/Cold" and is also used as the name for the Russian Santa Claus.
- Ryhmä-X is the name for the X-Men and translates as The Group-X or X-Team.
- Painajainen is the Finnish name for the X-Men character Nightcrawler. The name actually mean nightmare and was probably chosen since the straight translation of the original name would not work well in Finnish.
[edit] List of straight name translations
- Hämähäkkimies = Spider-Man
- Tri. Mustekala = Dr. Octopus
- Vihreä Menninkäinen = Green Goblin
- Jokeri = The Joker
- Pingviini = The Penguin
- Kissanainen = Catwoman
- Arvuuttaja = The Riddler
- Kaksinaama = Two-face
- Myrkkymuratti = Poison Ivy
- Kostajat = Avengers
- Kapteeni Amerikka = Captain America
- Haukansilmä = Hawkeye
- Hulktar = She-Hulk
- Rautamies = Iron Man
- Varjokissa = Shadowcat
- Kolossi = Colossus
- Ihmeneloset = The Fantastic Four
- Herra Fantastinen = Mr. Fantastic
- Näkymätön Nainen = Invisible Woman
- Liekki = Human Torch (literally "flame")
- Möykky = The Thing (literally "lump")
