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A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses superpowers or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their powers to help the World peace, or dedicating themselves to Public safety and fighting crime. Superhero fiction is the genre of fiction that is centered on such characters, especially, since the 1930s, in American comic books (and later in Hollywood films, film serials, television and video games), as well as in Japanese media (including kamishibai, tokusatsu, manga, anime and video games).
Superheroes come from a wide array of different backgrounds and origins. Some superheroes (for example, Batman and Iron Man) derive their status from advanced technology they create and use, while others (such as Superman and Spider-Man) possess non-human or superhuman biology or use and practice magic to achieve their abilities (such as Captain Marvel and Doctor Strange). (2025). 9780471024606, John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9780471024606 The Dictionary.com definition of "superhero" is "a figure, especially in a comic strip or cartoon, endowed with superhuman powers and usually portrayed as fighting evil or crime", and the Merriam-Webster dictionary gives the definition as "a fictional hero having extraordinary or superhuman powers; also: an exceptionally skillful or successful person." Terms such as masked crime fighters, costumed adventurers or masked vigilantes are sometimes used to refer to characters such as the Spirit, who may not be explicitly referred to as superheroes but nevertheless share similar traits.
Some superheroes use their powers to help fight daily crime while also combating threats against humanity from supervillain, who are their criminal counterparts. Often at least one of these supervillains will be the superhero's archenemy or nemesis. Some popular supervillains become recurring characters in their own right.
The Vigilantism of the American Old West also became an influence to the superhero. Several vigilantes during this time period hid their identities using masks. In frontier communities where de jure law was not yet matured, people sometimes took the law into their own hands with makeshift masks made out of Gunny sack. Vigilante mobs and gangs like the San Diego Vigilantes and the Bald Knobbers became infamous throughout that Old West era. April 30, 1992 January 20, 2019 Such masked vigilantism later inspired fictional masked crimefighters in American story-telling, beginning with the character Deadwood Dick in 1877.Gavaler, Chris. On the Origin of Superheroes: From the Big Bang to Action Comics No. 1. University Of Iowa Press; 1 edition (November 1, 2015). p. 132.
The pulp magazines of the 1930s served as a crucial breeding ground for early superhero concepts through their innovative comic features:
In August 1936, Thrilling Wonder Stories published Zarnak by ax Plaisted. In August 1937, a letter column of the magazine, the word superhero was used to define the title character. Another groundbreaking character emerged in August 1937, Olga Mesmer, "The Girl with the X-ray Eyes," featured in a single-page comic strip in Spicy Mystery Stories. In addition to fictional sources, the superhero archetype may also have been influenced by real-life strongmen such as Siegmund Breitbart, Joseph Greenstein, Eugen Sandow, and Charles Atlas. Charles Atlas, in particular, gained lasting cultural visibility through his mail-order fitness program and his iconic advertisements published directly in comic books.
The trends converged in some of the earliest superpowered costumed heroes, such as Japan's Ōgon Bat (1931) and Prince of Gamma (early 1930s), who first appeared in kamishibai (a kind of hybrid media combining pictures with live storytelling). Superman (1938) and Captain Marvel (1939) at the beginning of the Golden Age of Comic Books, whose span, though disputed, is generally agreed to have started with Superman's launch. Superman has remained one of the most recognizable superheroes, and his success spawned a new archetype of characters with secret identities and superhuman powers. At the end of the decade, in 1939, Batman was created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. This era saw the debut of one of the earliest female superheroes, Magician from Mars, created by John Giunta and Malcolm Kildale for Centaur Publications in Amazing-Man Comics. She appeared in five issues (#7-11, Nov 1939 to Apr 1940), predating many other Golden Age superheroines. Jane 6ᴇᴍ35, later known as Q-X3, (2025). 9781476638607, McFarland & Co. ISBN 9781476638607 was a hybrid of Earth and Martian origins born on Mars. As a baby, she was exposed to a beam of cathode rays, which, combined with her hybrid physiology, gave her extraordinary powers, including superstrength, telekinesis, illusion creation, and even matter transformation.
Other pioneering superheroines include Fantomah and The Invisible Scarlet O'Neil. Fantomah, created by Fletcher Hanks, was an ageless ancient Egyptian woman in the modern day who could transform into a skull-faced creature with superpowers to fight evil; she debuted in Fiction House's Jungle Comic #2 (Feb. 1940), credited to the pseudonymous "Barclay Flagg". Fantomah, Mystery Woman of the Jungle at Don Markstein's Toonopedia.
target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> Archived from the original on January 29, 2015. A few months later, The Invisible Scarlet O'Neil, a non-costumed character who fought crime and wartime saboteurs using the superpower of invisibility created by Russell Stamm, would debut in the eponymous syndicated newspaper comic strip a few months later on June 3, 1940.
In 1940, Maximo the Amazing Superman debut in Big Little Book series, by Russell R. Winterbotham (text), Henry E. Vallely and Erwin L. Hess (art). , the "Red Raider of Justice", a superhero appearing in Wow Comics (1940)]] Captain America also appeared for the first time in print in December 1940, a year prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese government, when America was still in isolationism. Created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the superhero was the physical embodiment of the American spirit during World War II.
One superpowered character was portrayed as an antiheroine, a rarity for its time: the Black Widow, a costumed emissary of Satan who killed evildoers in order to send them to Hell—debuted in Mystic Comics #4 (Aug. 1940), from Timely Comics, the 1940s predecessor of Marvel Comics. Most of the other female costumed crime fighters during this era lacked superpowers. Notable characters include The Woman in Red, introduced in Standard Comics' Thrilling Comics #2 (March 1940); Lady Luck, debuting in the Sunday-newspaper comic-book insert The Spirit Section June 2, 1940; the comedic character Red Tornado, debuting in All-American Comics #20 (Nov 1940); Miss Fury, debuting in the eponymous comic strip by female cartoonist Tarpé Mills on April 6, 1941; the Phantom Lady, introduced in Quality Comics Police Comics #1 (Aug. 1941); the Black Cat, introduced in Harvey Comics' Pocket Comics #1 (also Aug. 1941); and the Black Canary, introduced in Flash Comics #86 (Aug. 1947) as a supporting character.Jim Amash & Eric Nolen-Weathington, (2010), Carmine Infantino: Penciler, Publisher, Provocateur p.30-32 The most iconic comic book superheroine, who debuted during the Golden Age, is Wonder Woman. Modeled from the myth of the Amazons of Greek mythology, she was created by psychologist William Moulton Marston, with help and inspiration from his wife Elizabeth and their polyamory Olive Byrne. Wonder Woman's first appearance was in All Star Comics #8 (Dec. 1941), published by All-American Publications, one of two companies that would merge to form DC Comics in 1944.
Pérák was an urban legend originating from the city of Prague during the German occupation of Czechoslovakia in the midst of World War II. In the decades following the war, Pérák has also been portrayed as the only Czech Republic superhero in film and comics.
The 1950s saw the Silver Age of Comics. During this era DC introduced the likes of Batwoman in 1956, Supergirl, Arrowette, and Bat-Girl; all female derivatives of established male superheroes.
In 1957 Japan, Shintoho produced the first film serial featuring the superhero character Super Giant, signaling a shift in Japanese popular culture towards tokusatsu masked superheroes over kaiju giant monsters. Along with Astro Boy, the Super Giant serials had a profound effect on Japanese television. 1958 saw the debut of superhero Moonlight Mask on Japanese television. It was the first of numerous televised superhero dramas that would make up the tokusatsu superhero genre. Japan Pop!: Inside the World of Japanese Popular Culture, p. 262 Created by Kōhan Kawauchi, he followed up its success with the tokusatsu superhero shows Seven Color Mask (1959) and Messenger of Allah (1960), both starring a young Sonny Chiba, a manga adaptation, illustrated by Ippei Kuri (brother of Speed Racer creator Tatsuo Yoshida), was serialized in Bōken Ō magazine. (1995). 9784884758745, 株式会社竹書房 (Takeshobo Co.Ltd.). ISBN 9784884758745
Typically the superhero supergroups featured at least one (and often the only) female member, much like DC's flagship superhero team the Justice League of America (whose initial roster included Wonder Woman as the tokenism); examples include the Fantastic Four's Invisible Woman, the X-Men's Jean Grey (originally known as Marvel Girl), the Avengers' Wasp, and the Brotherhood of Mutants' Scarlet Witch (who later joined the Avengers) with her brother, Quicksilver.
In 1963, Astro Boy was adapted into a highly influential anime television series. Phantom Agents in 1964 focused on ninjas working for the Japanese government and would be the foundation for Sentai-type series. 1966 saw the debut of the sci-fi/horror series Ultra Q created by Eiji Tsuburaya this would eventually lead to the sequel Ultraman, spawning a Ultra Series which pioneered the Kyodai Hero subgenre where the superheroes would be as big as giant monsters ( kaiju) that they fought.
The kaiju monster Godzilla, originally a villain, began being portrayed as a radioactive superhero in the Godzilla films, starting with Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964). By the 1970s, Godzilla came to be viewed as a superhero, with the magazine King of the Monsters in 1977 describing Godzilla as "Superhero of the '70s." (2025). 9780786462469, McFarland & Company. ISBN 9780786462469
The 1970s would see more anti-heroes introduced into Superhero fiction such examples included the debut of Shotaro Ishinomori's Skull Man (the basis for his later Kamen Rider) in 1970, Go Nagai's Devilman in 1972 and Gerry Conway and John Romita's Punisher in 1974.
The dark Skull Man manga would later get a television adaptation and underwent drastic changes. The character was redesigned to resemble a grasshopper, becoming the renowned first masked hero of the Kamen Rider series. Kamen Rider is a motorcycle-riding hero in an insect-like costume, who shouts Henshin (Metamorphosis) to don his costume and gain superhuman powers.
The ideas of second-wave feminism, which spread through the 1960s into the 1970s, greatly influenced the way comic book companies would depict as well as market their female characters: Wonder Woman was for a time revamped as a mod-dressing martial artist directly inspired by the Emma Peel character from the British television series The Avengers (no relation to the superhero team of the same name),"We were all in love with Diana Rigg and that show she was on." Mike Sekowsky, quoted in Les Daniels, Wonder Woman: The Complete History (Chronicle, 2004), p. 129. but later reverted to Marston's original concept after the editors of Ms. magazine publicly disapproved of the character being depowered and without her traditional costume; Wonder Woman Wears Pants: Wonder Woman, Feminism and the 1972 "Women's Lib" Issue , by Ann Matsuuchi, in Colloquy: text theory critique, no.24 (2012); archived at Monash University Supergirl was moved from being a secondary feature on Action Comics to headline Adventure Comics in 1969; the Lady Liberators appeared in an issue of The Avengers as a group of mind-controlled superheroines led by Valkyrie (actually a disguised supervillainess) and were meant to be a caricatured parody of feminist activists; and Jean Grey became the embodiment of a cosmic being known as the Phoenix Force with seemingly unlimited power in the late 1970s, a stark contrast from her depiction as the weakest member of her team a decade prior.
Both major American publishers began introducing new superheroines with a more distinct feminist theme as part of their origin stories or character development. Examples include Big Barda, Power Girl, and the Huntress by DC comics; and from Marvel, the second Black Widow, Shanna the She-Devil, and The Cat. Alter Ego #70 (July 1970): Roy Thomas interview, pp. 49–50 Female supporting characters who were successful professionals or hold positions of authority in their own right also debuted in the pages of several popular superhero titles from the late 1950s onward: Hal Jordan's love interest Carol Ferris was introduced as the Vice-President of Ferris Aircraft and later took over the company from her father; Medusa, who was first introduced in the Fantastic Four series, is a member of the Inhumans and a prominent statesperson within her people's quasi-feudal society; and Carol Danvers, a decorated officer in the United States Air Force who would become a costumed superheroine herself years later.
In 1975 Shotaro Ishinomori's Himitsu Sentai Gorenger debuted on what is now TV Asahi, it brought the concepts of multi-colored teams and supporting vehicles that debuted in Gatchaman into live-action, and began the Super Sentai franchise (later adapted into the American Power Rangers series in the 1990s). In 1978, Toei adapted Spider-Man into a live-action Japanese television series. In this continuity, Spider-Man had a vehicle called Marveller that could transform into a giant and powerful robot called Leopardon, this idea would be carried over to Toei's Battle Fever J (also co-produced with Marvel) and now multi-colored teams not only had support vehicles but giant robots to fight giant monsters with.
With more and more anime, manga and tokusatsu being translated or adapted, Western audiences were beginning to experience the Japanese styles of superhero fiction more than they were able to before. Haim Saban's Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, an adaptation of Zyuranger, created a multimedia franchise that used footage from Super Sentai. Internationally, the shoujo manga, Sailor Moon, is recognized as one of the most important and popular female superheroes ever created. (2004). 9781578591541, The Superhero Book: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Comic Book Icons. . ISBN 9781578591541
In the years leading up to the assignment of the mark, both DC and Marvel battled to register various trademarks involving the phrase “superhero.” However, DC and Marvel quickly discovered that they could only register marks involving the phrase "superhero" if the phrase referenced their own company or a character associated with their company. As a result, DC and Marvel decided to become joint owners of the "superhero" trademark.
Although many consumers likely see DC and Marvel as competitors, the two comic book publishing giants are allies when it comes to protecting the trademark "superhero" and variants thereof. Although joint ownership in a trademark is uncommon, the USPTO will grant joint ownership in a mark. For example, in the case Arrow Trading Co., Inc. v. Victorinox A.G. and Wegner S.A., Opposition No. 103315 (TTAB June 27, 2003), the TTAB held that when "two entities have a long-standing relationship and rely on each other for quality control, it may be found, in appropriate circumstances, that the parties, as joint owners, do represent a single source."
DC and Marvel have continued to expand their commercialization of the "superhero" mark to categories beyond comic books. Now, the two publishers jointly own numerous trademarks for (see Spider-Man, Batman), movies, TV shows, magazines, merchandise, cardboard stand-up figures, playing cards, , , , , and many more. For instance, the companies filed a trademark application as joint owners for the mark "SUPER HEROES" for a series of animated in 2009 (Reg. No. 5613972). Both DC and Marvel also individually owned US Trademark Office cancels Marvel, DC's 'Super Hero' marks Superbabies Ltd v. Marvel Characters Inc, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, Cancellation No. 92085201. trademarks involving the "super hero" mark. Notably, DC owns the mark "Legion of Super-Heroes" for comic magazines and Marvel owns the mark "Marvel Super Hero Island" for story books, fiction books, and children’s activity books.
DC and Marvel have become known for aggressively protecting their registered marks. In 2019, the companies pursued a British law student named Graham Jules who was attempting to publish a self-help book titled Business Zero to Superhero. Much academic debate exists about whether the "super hero" mark has become generic and whether DC and Marvel have created a duopoly over the "super hero" mark. Conversely, DC and Marvel hold that they are merely exercising their right and duty to protect their registered marks.
As mentioned, the two companies also own a variety of other superhero-related marks. For instance, DC owns "Legion of Super-Heroes" and "DC Super Hero Girls" and Marvel owns “Marvel Super Hero Island" and "Marvel Super Hero Adventures."
DC and Marvel have garnered a reputation for zealously protecting their superhero marks. As noted above, one of these instances included a man by the name of Graham Jules, who sought to publish a book entitled Business Zero to Superhero. In 2014, he received a cease and desist from DC and Marvel who claimed that his use of the term superhero would cause confusion and dilute their brands. He was offered a few thousand dollars in settlement to change the name of his book, but he did not concede. A few days prior to the scheduled hearing at the Intellectual Property Office in London, the companies backed down.
A similar scenario occurred when comic book creator Ray Felix attempted to register his comic book series A World Without Superheroes with the USPTO. Felix is one of many who argue that the term "superhero" has become generic (see discussion below). Felix's mark is currently abandoned, but he has stated that he intends to fight against DC and Marvel for use of the term.
In 2024, Superbabies Limited managed to obtain a default judgement and cancel the "super heroes" trademarks as genericized, except for the animation pictures mark. This was unexpected as Marvel and DC had filed a motion to extend time to answer.
Courts have noted that determining whether a term has become generic is a highly factual inquiry not suitable for resolution without considering evidence like dictionary definitions, media usage, and consumer surveys. Central Penn, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4183, at *15-16 Trademark owners can take steps to prevent genericide, such as using the trademark with the generic product name, educating the public, and policing unauthorized uses.Gilson on Trademarks § 2.027b (2023) However, misuse by the public alone does not necessarily cause a trademark to become generic if the primary significance of the term is still to indicate a particular source. Elliot v. Google, Inc., 860 F.3d 1151, 1156-63 (9th Cir. 2017)
Some legal experts argue that, like the once-trademarked terms "aspirin" and "yo-yo," the term "superhero" now primarily refers to a general type of character with extraordinary abilities, rather than characters originating from specific publishers.
Villains, such as Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, use their sexuality to take advantage of their male victims. In the film versions of these characters, their sexuality and seductive methods are highlighted. Poison Ivy uses seduction through poison to take over the minds of her victims as seen in the 1997 film Batman and Robin. Harley Quinn in 2016's Suicide Squad uses her sexuality to her advantage, acting in a promiscuous manner.
Through the overdeveloped bodies of the heroes or the seductive mannerisms of the villains, women in comic books are used as subordinates to their male counterparts, regardless of their strength or power.Rubin, Alexandra. 2015. "The Female Superhero: Fighting Villains and Stereotypes." A Publication of the Critical Writing Program the University of Pennsylvania 3808 Walnut Street Philadelphia, PA 19104-6221:18. Wonder Woman has been subject to a long history of suppression as a result of her strength and power, including American culture's undoing of the Lynda Carter television series. In 2017's Wonder Woman, she had the power of a god, but was still drawn to a much weaker, mortal male character. This can be explained by the sociological concept "feminine apologetic," which reinforces a woman's femininity to account for her masculine attributes (strength, individualism, toughness, aggressiveness, bravery). Women in comic books are considered to be misrepresented due to being created by men, for men.
The Hawkeye Initiative is a website satirizing the sexualized portrayal of women in comics by recreating the same poses using male superheroes, especially Marvel's Hawkeye.
Kitty Pryde, a member of the X-Men, was an openly Jewish superhero in mainstream American comic books as early as 1978.
Comic-book companies were in the early stages of cultural expansion and many of these characters played to specific ; Cage and many of his contemporaries often employed lingo similar to that of blaxploitation films, Native Americans were often associated with shamanism and Totemism, and were often portrayed as kung fu martial artists. Subsequent minority heroes, such as the X-Men's Storm and the Teen Titans' Cyborg avoided such conventions; they were both part of ensemble teams, which became increasingly diverse in subsequent years. The X-Men, in particular, were revived in 1975 with a line-up of characters drawn from several nations, including the Storm, Germany Nightcrawler, Soviet Union/Russians Colossus, Ireland Banshee, and Sunfire. In 1993, Milestone Comics, an African-American-owned media/publishing company entered into a publishing agreement with DC Comics that allowed them to introduce a line of comics that included characters of many ethnic minorities. Milestone's initial run lasted four years, during which it introduced Static, a character adapted into the WB Network animated series Static Shock.
In addition to the creation of new minority heroes, publishers have filled the identities and roles of once-Caucasian heroes with new characters from minority backgrounds. The African-American John Stewart appeared in the 1970s as an alternate for Earth's Green Lantern Hal Jordan, and would become a regular member of the Green Lantern Corps from the 1980s onward. The creators of the 2000s-era Justice League animated series selected Stewart as the show's Green Lantern. In the Ultimate Marvel universe, Miles Morales, a youth of Puerto Ricans and African-American ancestry who was also bitten by a genetically-altered spider, debuted as after the apparent death of the original Spider-Man, Peter Parker. Kamala Khan, a Pakistani-American Islam teenager who is revealed to have Inhumans after her shapeshifting powers manifested, takes on the identity of Ms. Marvel in 2014 after Carol Danvers had become Captain Marvel. Her self-titled comic book series became a cultural phenomenon, with extensive media coverage by CNN, the New York Times and The Colbert Report, and embraced by anti-Islamophobia campaigners in San Francisco who plastered over anti-Muslim bus adverts with Kamala stickers. Other such successor-heroes of color include War Machine as Iron Man and to a lesser extent Riri "Ironheart" Williams, Ryan Choi as the Atom, Jaime Reyes as Blue Beetle and Amadeus Cho as Hulk.
Certain established characters have had their ethnicity changed when adapted to another continuity or media. A notable example is Nick Fury, who is reinterpreted as African-American both in the Ultimate Marvel as well as the Marvel Cinematic Universe continuities.
Many new openly gay, lesbian and bisexual characters have since emerged in superhero fiction, such as Gen13's Rainmaker, Apollo and Midnighter of The Authority, and Wiccan and Hulkling of the Young Avengers. Notable transgender or gender bending characters are fewer in number by comparison: the alter ego of superheroine Zsazsa Zaturnnah, a seminal character in Philippine popular culture, is an effeminate gay man who transforms into a female superhuman after ingesting a magical stone. Desire from Neil Gaiman's The Sandman series, Cloud from Defenders, and Xavin from the Runaways are all characters who could (and often) change their gender at will. Alysia Yeoh, a supporting character created by writer Gail Simone for the Batgirl ongoing series published by DC Comics, received substantial media attention in 2011 for being the first major transgender character written in a contemporary context in a mainstream American comic book.
The Sailor Moon series is known for featuring a substantial number of openly LGBT characters since its inception, as Japan have traditionally been more open about portraying homosexuality in its children's media compared to many countries in the West. Anime, mon amour: Forget Pokémon – Japanese animation explodes with gay, lesbian, and trans themes – video – Charles Solomon Certain characters who are presented as homosexual or transgender in one continuity may not be presented as such in others, particularly with dubbed versions made for international release.
An animated short The Ambiguously Gay Duo parodies comic book superheroes and features Ace and Gary (Stephen Colbert, Steve Carell). It originated on The Dana Carvey Show and then moved to Saturday Night Live.
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