List of Superheroes

Superheroes are fictitious characters who possess great strength, many different skills and also a few special powers. They have ruled the world of comics, animated serials and movies for a long time. 

Mandrake the Magician, introduced to the world in 1934 was probably the earliest superhero character. These characters have become popular among children and comic books have thrived on their popularity for years.

Even today, we like to watch movies featuring Batman, Superman, Spider-Man and other superheroes. There are also few female characters that have become popular. Child superheroes like Astro Boy also are quite popular. Superhero characters have always had a special place in the hearts of kids. Here are few interesting facts about your favorite characters.

The list contains the most popular superheroes; some of them featured in comics, movies and cartoons. Let us have a look at the information about these characters one-by-one.

Created by Lee Falk, Mandrake first appeared in a newspaper comic strip in 1934. Mandrake has mastered many different mystic arts from a school near Tibet. He fights evil forces in the form of mad-scientists, criminals, aliens, etc. He uses his hypnotic technique against such people. Lothar is Mandrake's companion in fighting off criminals. 

He is one of the most popular characters in the list of comic superheroes. The character was brought to light by 'DC Comics'. Created in the year 1932 by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster from USA and Canada respectively, Superman, owing to its immense popularity, became an American cultural icon. The ability to fly and immense physical power are his strengths.

The Silver Surfer is a superhero character created by Jack Kirby and which appears in Marvel Comics. Silver Surfer is one of the 'Fantastic Four' characters which made its first appearance in March, 1966. Originally an astronomer (Norrin Radd) by profession, Silver Surfer acquires great powers in a bargain made with 'Galactus', a cosmic entity. 

Norrin Radd serves as a herald for Galactus and saves the destruction of his home world. In return, he gets a part of the 'Power Cosmic' from Galactus. The surfboard on which Silver Surfer travels at a speed greater than light is one of his important tools.

The fictional character of Batman which is also known by names like 'the Dark Knight', 'the Caped Crusader' and 'the World's Greatest Detective' was created by Bob Kane (artist) and Bill Finger (writer). It first appeared in DC Comics in the month of May, 1939.

The lead character of a media franchise, 'Master of the Universe', He-Man is a twin brother of She-Ra and the alter-ego of Prince Adam. The duty of He-Man is to defend the secrets of 'Castle Grayskull' located on a fictional planet called 'Eternia'. The villain against whom He-Man and his friends fight is known as the 'Skeletor'. 

The superhero named Spider-Man was the creation of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. The former is an artist and editor while the latter a co-plotter. Along with strength and agility, Spider-Man has the ability to cling to different surfaces. 

The greatest paranormal investigator of the world, Hellboy fights off evil forces. He was found by US soldiers in the year 1944 and was named Hellboy. Originally a demonic force, Hellboy is a tough guy. Hellboy is also known for his sarcastic sense of humor. 

A superhero character created by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon, Captain America featured in Marvel Comics in March, 1941. The comic series in which the superhero character first appeared was 'Captain America Comics #1'. The costume which bears the motif of the American flag is the specialty of this superhero. 

Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the Hulk is a fictional character that features in Marvel Comics. This superhero appeared in 'The Incredible Hulk #1' for the first time. An impulsive and emotional character, Hulk is an alter ego of physicist, Dr. Bruce Banner who is a bit reserved in nature.

Fictional character of the superhero, Iron Man appeared in Marvel Comics in March 1963. The series in which Iron Man first appeared was 'Tales of Suspense #39'. This superhero is a creation of the artists Jack Kirby & Don Heck, scripter Larry Lieber and writer/editor Stan Lee.

The Phantom is a superhero created by Lee Falk. He fights criminals and operates from Bengalla, a fictional country in Africa. The Phantom appeared in films, on television and also in video games.

A superhero character that featured in 'Image Comics', first appeared in the 'Spawn #1' series (1992). Character of Spawn is the creation of Todd McFarlane.

A Canadian superhero who appeared in Marvel Comics, Wolverine possesses great physical strength and keen animal senses. Mutant by nature, Wolverine is known as Logan. This character was created by Len Wein a writer and John Romita Sr., an art director at Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in October 1974 in the 'Incredible Hulk #180' series. 

It is the name of a series of superhero characters which appeared in DC Comics. The first superhero character named Alan Scott was the creation of artist Martin Nodell and writer Bill Finger; it featured in the 'All-American Comics #16' series of June 1940.

The X-Men is actually a team of superheroes created by Stan Lee (writer) and Jack Kirby (artist). This team consists of superheroes like Iceman, Cyclops, Angel, Jean Gray and Beast. The 'X-Gene' possessed by these superheroes gives them special powers. The X-Men superheroes first appeared in 'X-Men #1' published by Marvel Comics.

The character of Aquaman was created by Mort Weisinger and Paul Norris in November, 1941. The superhero first appeared in 'More Fun Comics #73' published by DC Comics.

The superhero character, Flash which first appeared in 'Flash Comics #1' of DC Comics, is actually an identity shared by a series of characters. This character possesses the power to move swiftly. The name, 'Flash' has been shared by the following superhero characters: Jay Garrick, Barry Allen, Wally West and Bart Allen. 

The Hawkman was created by Gardner Fox. 'Flash Comics #1' published by All-American Publications was the book in which Hawkman appeared for the first time. After that, Hawkman made regular appearances in DC Comics. The Hawkman is armed with archaic weaponry and has got artificial wings. 

The Punisher cannot be called a superhero if compared to earlier characters in this list who possessed special powers. Created by Gerry Conway and John Romita Sr., this character first appeared in 'Amazing Spider-Man #129' (1974) (published by Marvel Comics). Ability to handle different types of guns is one of the skills possessed by the Punisher. 

The Thing was the first superhero to have a monster-like appearance. Created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee for Marvel Comics, the Thing is one of the members of the Fantastic Four. He is basically a tough-guy with a skin which bears resemblance to rocky plates that are orange in color.

This superhero character is unique in a sense because he is blind. However, the other senses of Daredevil are amazingly sharp. The Daredevil turned blind in his childhood after coming in contact with radioactive waste. His real name is Matthew Michael Murdock. 

The character of Ghost Rider was created by Roy Thomas, Mike Ploog and Gary Friedrich for Marvel Comics. The Ghost Rider symbolizes the 'Spirit of Vengeance'. His mission is to save humanity from sin.

George Papp and Mort Weisinger created this superhero character. Green Arrow first appeared in the 73rd issue of 'More Fun Comics' in the year 1941. He is known as the protector of Star City. The finest archer among DC Comics characters, Green Arrow is one of the members of the Justice League.

He is also known as the 'Protector of the Universe'. Captain Marvel, (initially Mar-Vell) started off by defending the Earth against a tyrannical empire. This superhero character was created by artist Gene Colan and writer Stan Lee. Captain Marvel first appeared in the Marvel Super-Heroes #12 issue named 'The Coming of Captain Marvel'. 

This superhero character first appeared in the Adventures of Superman #500. Superboy is a genetic clone of Superman created after the latter's death. Superboy is created in a DNA Project named Project Cadmus and is artificially aged as a teenager. 

His first encounter as a superhero is with Sidearm. Tom Grummett and Karl Kesel created this character and it first appeared in the June, '93 issue named 'Adventures of Superman' (#500).

• Mister Miracle
• Black Panther
• Nightwing
• Ant-Man
• Black Fox (Dr. Robert William Paine)
• Orpheus
• Haunt
• Mr. Fantastic
• Human Torch
• Colossus
• Archangel

• Magneto
• Hal Jordan
• Cannonball
• Havok
• Wonder Man
• Iron Fist
• Captain Britain
• Kyle Rayner
• Cyborg
• Falcon
• Plastic Man

Important women characters from the comics and films can be found in the list given here. In this list you'll find some of the popular names including the female counterparts of male superheroes.

This character is a female counterpart of the superhero called Batman. 'Detective Comics #233', published by DC Comics was the first book in which Batwoman made her first appearance. Batwoman was created by Sheldon Moldoff and Bob Kane in 1956.

It is one of the fictional characters which appeared in the Marvel Comics series. In the fictional world called 'Shared Universe' created by Marvel Comics, Andromeda belongs to the Homo mermanus race. Members of this race live in Atlantis, a place in the Shared Universe. 

Created by Frank Miller, Elektra is a fictional character that appears in Marvel Comics. Elektra is a character of Greek descent and basically is a ninja assassin. A weapon called 'sai' is her trademark. Elektra first appeared in the 'Daredevil #168' series in January, 1981.

A fictional character from Marvel Comics, Marvel Girl is also known as Jean Grey, Phoenix and Dark Phoenix. The Marvel Girl has telekinetic and telepathic powers. Basically a born mutant, the Marvel Girl dies many times during this series.

It is a fictional character from the 'Matrix' series. The Matrix is a science-fiction trilogy created by Wachowski Bros. The Oracle from the Matrix is actually a sapient program which guides and advises the human beings who fight the Matrix. 

This character was created by Stan Lee. She-Hulk is the alter-ego of Jennifer Walters, a cousin of Hulk (Bruce Banners). Jennifer, after being shot by a crime boss, Nicholas Trask is saved by Hulk - who donates his blood to her. Hulk's radioactive blood transforms Jennifer into She-Hulk.

Created by artist George Perez and writer Marv Wolfman in 1980, the character of Star Fire was originally known as Princess Koriand'r. She came from Tamaran, a destroyed planet. Start Fire is associated with the 'Outlaws'.

The artists Wally Wood & Ric Estrada and writer Gerry Conway created the character of Power Girl in 1976. Her original name is Kara Zor-L and she is a member of the Justice Society of America.

The brainchild of psychologist, William Moulton Marston, Wonder Women was created as a reaction to the prominence of male superheroes. She is from the race of Amazon Warriors. Wonder Woman was born and raised on the Paradise Island. Her intention behind coming to America is fighting for truth, justice and peace.

• Ms. Marvel
• Spider-Woman
• Wasp
• Invisible Woman
• Kitty Pryde
• Mera
• Harley Quinn
• Catwoman
• Atom Girl
• Darkstar
• Firebird
• Fighting Spirit
• Hawkgirl

• Jolt
• Elastigirl
• Moonstone
• Oracle (DC)
• Spider-Girl
• Meltdown
• Phoenix
• Psylocke
• Renata Soliz
• Phantom Girl
• Tigra
• Thor Girl
• Ultragirl

Here are some of the popular child superheroes. Some of them like Captain Marvel Jr. are the junior counterparts of male superheroes.

Osamu Tezuka created this superhero character. As the story goes, Astro Boy (real name: Atom) was created by Dr. Tenma. Tobio, the son of Dr. Tenma gets killed in a car accident after which he decides to create a robot called Atom. This 'Atom' robot goes on to become the greatest superhero, Astro Boy.

Captain Marvel Jr. first appeared in the Whiz Comics #25. The alter-ego of a crippled orphan boy, Freddy Freeman, Captain Marvel Jr. is the sidekick of Captain Marvel. He is the member of Young Justice, Marvel Family, Teen Titans and Outsiders. 

Created by Masashi Kishimoto, this anime superhero is basically a teenage ninja and comes from the village of Konohagakure. The 'Nine-Tailed Demon Fox' sealed in his body leads to Naruto being ostracized by villagers. Powers of the 'Nine-Tailed Demon Fox' sealed inside Naruto show up in the form of a red tail (that possesses the vital energy of the Red Fox).

• Airboy
• Ben Tennyson
• Klara Prast
• Ben Tennyson
• Jack-Jack
• Dash
• Bart Allen
• Aqualad
• Molly Hayes
• Bucky
• Kid Flash
• Mary Marvel
• Danny Phantom
• Speedy

The four cartoon superheroes viz., Popeye, Might Mouse, Inspector Gadget and Centurions are profiled in the list here.

The Mighty Mouse character first appeared in 'The Mouse of Tomorrow' (Terrytoons) on 16th October, 1942. Different powers possessed this cartoon superhero include flying, X-ray vision and super-hypnosis.

The power of super-hypnosis allows the Mighty Mouse to reverse the time and control inanimate things. This cartoon character was created by Paul Terry and Isadore Klein.

Created by Elzie Seagar, Popeye appeared in cartoons in the year 1932 that were produced by Fleischer Studios. Popeye gains strength by eating spinach. A sailor by profession, Popeye has enemies in the form of Bluto, Brutus, and Sea Hag.

The fictional character of Inspector Gadget is armed with equipment such as helicopter blades, bionic limbs, roller skates, etc. He has all the equipment in-built. A police detective by profession, Inspector Gadget has got enemies like 'Mad Cat' and 'Dr. Claw'.

The cartoon superheroes included in the Centurions are the Ace McCloud, Max Ray, Jake Rockwell, John Thunder and Rex Charger. Their mission is to protect the earth from criminal masterminds. Enemies of The Centurions are Doctor Terror, Amber and Hacker.

• Tom and Jerry
• Donald Duck
• Yogi Bear
• Eric Cartman
• Dora the Explorer

List of superheroes given here is just a short one. An attempt to present information about superhero qualities, powers, etc. in a concise manner is made here.