After Mickey Mouse, it is the turn of another piece of comic book history to lose (some of) its ‘exclusivity’.

Following the same fate as the very first version of Mickey Mouse (from the Steamboat Willy cartoon, in which the world’s most famous mouse appeared in black and white, with a pointed nose, black beady eyes and a long tail), the character of Popeye (‘Braccio di Ferro’ in Italian) has also entered the public domain, as the term of copyright protection, which, in the USA lasts 95 years, has expired.

As of 1 January 2025, therefore, all 1929 creations (including Popeye) can be copied, modified and used freely by anyone in the United States, thus opening the way for new artists or publishers who wish to use these characters to publish new comics, make films, series or shows without the need to seek permission or pay royalties.

Popeye, however, is not alone in this voyage into the ‘open sea’: the most famous sailor man of all time is accompanied by the TinTin character, the adventurer-reporter created by Hergé, whose first episode was set in Bolshevik Russia in 1929.

The story of Popeye

Popeye was created by Elzie Crisler Segar, and made his first appearance on 17 January 1929 in the comic strip Thimble Theatre, which was later renamed ‘Popeye’.

Following the success of the daily and Sunday comic strips, Popeye made the big leap in 1933, when a series of animated film shorts dedicated to the biggest forearms in cartoons was made by Fleischer Studios, and immediately became a cult.

Over the years, this was followed by other comic strips, TV cartoons, video games and even advertisements, until Popeye became the lead character of the 1980 film, directed by Robert Altman.

Even in the new millennium, Popeye’s fame has never waned, so much so that Segar’s sailor earned 20th place in the hall of fame of the ‘50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time’ according to the US magazine ‘TV Guide’ in 2002, and even eighth place in the ‘LiveAbout’ ranking of the same name.

The future: a career in horror

Many aficionados will shudder at the very idea (in every sense of the word, no doubt), but according to the first rumours and images already circulating on the web, it is now certain that Popeye’s future lies on the big screen, with the world of horror-fiction looking forward to turning him into a new star of the genre.

After all, the route that starts as ‘children’s hero’ and ends as ‘adults’ nightmare’ has already been taken by several illustrious predecessors, including none other than Winnie The Pooh and his entire ‘gang’, who have already starred in two horror films: ‘Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey’, 2023, which even led to a sequel: ‘Winnie-the-Pooh: All Blood and No Honey’ in 2024, both available on Amazon Prime Video, for fans of the genre…

And so, in the wake of what the little bear in the Hundred Acre Wood has already had to endure, in 2025 it will be Popeye’s turn: indeed, the trailers of no less than three horror films starring Popeye are already online: ‘Popeye’, directed by William Stead and starring the indomitable Will Smith; ‘Shiver me timbers’ by Paul Stephen Mann and ‘Popeye: The Slayer Man’ by Robert Michael Ryan.

It is often said that the secret to a long career is to be able to reinvent yourself… although sometimes the risk is of ‘going too far’.

Time will tell.