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Page 1

194

0–4

1

Sup

erher

oes

Tim

elin

eSUPERLATIVES

Ther

e ar

e pl

enty

of

“sup

erhu

man

s” in

GW

R 2

018

– in

clud

ing

man

y or

dina

ry p

eopl

e w

ho h

ave

done

ext

raor

dina

ry

thin

gs. B

elow

, how

ever

, we

pres

ent

a ch

rono

logy

of

clas

sic

supe

rher

oes,

ord

ered

in t

erm

s of

the

ir fi

rst

appe

aran

ce

– w

heth

er t

hat

be in

a c

omic

boo

k, a

mov

ie o

r el

sew

here

– a

nd s

how

n in

the

ir o

rigi

nal c

ostu

mes

.

194

1–6

2

Sta

n Le

e an

d J

ack

Kir

by’s

firs

t co

-p

rod

uct

ion

, Th

e Fa

nta

stic

Fou

r #

1 h

it t

he

shel

ves

in N

ov 1

961.

Th

ey

wer

e M

arve

l’s fi

rst

sup

erte

am a

nd

con

trib

ute

d to

th

e co

mp

any’

s m

eteo

ric

rise

in t

he

196

0s.

196

1 Fan

tast

ic F

our

196

2–7

4

1974

–20

04

Dow

nlo

ad t

his

post

er: g

uinn

essw

orld

reco

rds.

com

/20

18

196

0T

he

Ju

stic

e Le

agu

e

Als

o kn

own

as t

he

Ju

stic

e Le

agu

e of

Am

eric

a (J

LA

), t

his

su

per

gro

up

of D

C s

tars

deb

ute

d in

Oct

–Nov

196

0. B

atm

an a

nd

Su

per

man

, alt

hou

gh

par

t of

th

e or

igin

al li

ne-

up,

sel

dom

ap

pea

red

in t

he

grou

p’s

adve

ntur

es, w

hile

Mar

tian

Man

hun

ter (

bel

ow, f

ar

righ

t) e

nde

d h

is in

itia

l sti

nt w

ith

the

JL

A in

196

8. T

he

quin

tet

bel

ow

app

eare

d on

th

e co

ver

of t

hei

r fir

st is

sue.

194

1W

ond

er W

oman

DC

Com

ics’

Am

azon

ian

her

oin

e b

urs

t on

to

the

scen

e in

All

Sta

r C

omic

s #

8 (c

over

-dat

ed

Dec

194

1), a

lth

oug

h sh

e d

idn’

t g

et h

er

own

com

ic b

ook

un

til s

um

mer

194

2.

The

hit

19

93 T

V s

erie

s ga

ve r

ise

to a

num

ber

of

Pow

er R

ange

rs c

omic

s pu

blis

hed

by

Ham

ilton

fr

om N

ov 1

994

. Mar

vel C

omic

s su

bse

qu

entl

y p

ub

lish

ed t

wo

seri

es o

f th

eir

own

. Mar

20

16

saw

a c

omic

-boo

k re

boo

t by

Boo

m! S

tud

ios,

w

hic

h re

fere

nce

d th

e or

igin

al s

erie

s.

199

3M

igh

ty M

orp

hin

Pow

er R

ang

ers

Pro

du

ced

by P

ixar

, th

e In

cred

ible

s (U

SA

) mov

ie

pre

mie

red

on 2

7 O

ct 2

00

4 an

d g

ave

the

com

pan

y w

hat

was

th

en it

s h

igh

est

open

ing-

wee

ken

d g

ross

. Fi

ve y

ears

late

r, B

oom

! Stu

dio

s b

egan

pu

blis

hin

g a

com

ic-b

ook

min

iser

ies

bas

ed o

n th

e fil

m. A

seq

uel

to

th

e or

igin

al m

ovie

is d

ue

to a

pp

ear

in J

un

2018

.

20

04

Th

e In

cred

ible

s

193

6–4

0

193

9B

atm

an

The

crea

tion

of

arti

st B

ob K

ane

and

wri

ter

Bill

Fin

ger

(b

oth

US

A),

th

e “C

aped

Cru

sad

er”

deb

ute

d in

Det

ecti

ve C

omic

s #

27. K

ane’

s ea

rly

dra

fts

for

Bat

man

’s c

ostu

me

invo

lved

a b

rig

ht

red

tun

ic, w

ing

s an

d a

bla

ck e

ye m

ask;

Fin

ger

mad

e so

me

key

sug

ges

tion

s to

tra

nsf

orm

th

e ou

tfit

into

so

met

hin

g al

tog

eth

er m

ore

thre

aten

ing

.

Firs

t g

limp

sed

in

the

last

pan

el o

f Th

e In

cred

ible

Hu

lk

#18

0 (O

ct 1

974)

, th

e cl

awed

Can

adia

n w

as r

ecru

ited

as

an

oth

er o

f P

rofe

ssor

X’s

g

ifte

d yo

un

gst

ers

in 1

975’

s G

ian

t-S

ize

X-M

en #

1.

1974

Wol

veri

ne

Cre

ated

by

Len

Wei

n (w

rite

r) a

nd

Ber

nie

W

rig

hts

on (a

rt),

D

C’s

un

sett

ling

char

acte

r w

as

first

see

n in

Hou

se

of S

ecre

ts

#9

2 (J

ul 1

971)

b

efor

e g

etti

ng

his

ow

n co

mic

th

e fo

llow

ing

year

.

1971

Sw

amp

Th

ing

The

X-M

en #

1 w

as

pu

blis

hed

on

10 S

ep

196

3, b

ut

the

den

izen

s of

Pro

fess

or X

’s S

choo

l fo

r G

ifte

d Yo

un

gst

ers

wer

e or

igin

ally

to

be

know

n as

“Th

e M

uta

nts

”.

Mar

vel’s

pu

blis

her

, Mar

tin

Goo

dm

an, t

hou

gh

t th

e n

ame

mig

ht

pu

zzle

rea

der

s,

so S

tan

Lee

chan

ged

it.

Tale

s of

Su

spen

se

#39

(Mar

196

3) s

aw

the

app

eara

nce

of

Tony

Sta

rk’s

su

per

-p

ower

ed a

lter

eg

o. T

he

six

film

s to

dat

e st

arri

ng

Rob

ert

Dow

ney

Jr

(US

A)

as t

he

man

in t

he

iron

su

it h

ave

mad

e h

im

the

mos

t su

cces

sfu

l su

per

her

o ac

tor.

196

3Ir

onm

an

196

3T

he

X-M

en

Two

com

ic-b

ook

char

acte

rs h

ave

a cl

aim

to

bei

ng

the

firs

t fe

mal

e su

per

her

o. F

anto

mah

was

th

e fir

st f

emal

e su

perh

ero

wit

h su

perh

uman

pow

ers

to a

pp

ear

in p

rin

t, in

Ju

ng

le C

omic

s #

2 (F

eb 1

940

). T

he

first

mas

ked

and

cost

um

ed s

up

erh

eroi

ne

(an

d of

“n

atu

ral”

bir

th),

how

ever

, was

th

e W

oman

in R

ed, c

reat

ed b

y R

ich

ard

Hu

gh

es a

nd

Geo

rge

Man

del

for

Th

rilli

ng

Com

ics

#2

(Mar

194

0).

Cre

ated

by

arti

sts

Joe

Sim

on a

nd

Jac

k K

irby

, th

is s

tar-

span

gle

d su

per

her

o d

ebu

ted

in C

apta

in

Am

eric

a C

omic

s #

1,

cove

r-d

ated

Mar

194

1.

Cap

’s s

ign

atu

re r

oun

d sh

ield

(in

set)

rep

lace

d th

e tr

ian

gu

lar

vers

ion

in is

sue

#2.

194

1C

apta

in A

mer

ica

194

1A

qu

aman

DC

’s w

ater

bor

ne

won

der

w

as c

reat

ed b

y P

aul N

orri

s an

d M

ort

Wei

sin

ger

an

d d

ebu

ted

in M

ore

Fun

Com

ics

#73

fro

m

Nov

194

1. H

e w

ent

on

to b

ecom

e on

e of

th

e fo

un

der

s of

th

e J

ust

ice

Leag

ue

of A

mer

ica.

Su

per

man

’s s

ucc

ess

insp

ired

D

C t

o d

evis

e a

fem

ale

cou

nte

rpar

t –

nam

ely

his

co

usi

n, K

ara

Zor

-El.

Cre

ated

by

Ott

o B

ind

er (w

rite

r)

and

Al P

last

ino

(art

), s

he

first

ap

pea

red

in A

ctio

n C

omic

s #

252

in M

ay 1

959.

195

9S

up

erg

irl

193

8S

up

erm

an

The

“Man

of

Ste

el”

first

ap

pea

red

in A

ctio

n C

omic

s #

1, n

ow t

he

mos

t va

luab

le c

omic

. Su

per

man

w

as t

he

firs

t su

per

her

o w

ith

sup

erp

ower

s: o

ut-

of-t

his

-w

orld

ab

iliti

es t

hat

en

able

d h

im

to r

un

fast

er t

han

an

exp

ress

tr

ain

and

leap

tal

l bu

ildin

gs

in a

si

ng

le b

oun

d. I

n la

ter i

ssue

s, h

e de

mon

stra

ted

X-ra

y vi

sion

, sup

er

stre

ng

th a

nd

the

abili

ty t

o fl

y.

Ther

e ar

e a

nu

mb

er o

f C

apta

in M

arve

ls

in t

he

Mar

vel U

niv

erse

, bu

t th

e on

e se

en

her

e d

ebu

ted

in W

hiz

Com

ics

#2

(cov

er-

dat

ed F

eb 1

940

) an

d is

now

ow

ned

by

DC

. H

e p

rove

d so

pop

ula

r in

th

e 19

40

s th

at

sale

s of

his

com

ic b

ooks

ou

tsol

d th

ose

feat

uri

ng

Sup

erm

an. H

e’s

also

kn

own

as

“Sh

azam

”, af

ter t

he

cry

that

ch

ange

s th

e b

oy

Bill

y B

atso

n in

to t

he

mig

hty

Cap

tain

Mar

vel.

193

9C

apta

in M

arve

l

The

firs

t su

per

her

o te

am, t

he

JS

A w

ere

init

ially

see

n on

th

e co

ver

of A

ll S

tar

Com

ics

#3

(win

ter

issu

e 19

40

–41)

. Th

e fo

un

din

g m

emb

ers,

sh

own

left

to

rig

ht

abov

e, w

ere:

Th

e A

tom

, D

octo

r Fa

te, G

reen

Lan

tern

, Haw

kman

, Th

e Fl

ash

, Th

e S

and

man

, Hou

rman

(th

en k

now

n as

Hou

r-M

an) a

nd

The

Sp

ectr

e.

On

the

subj

ect

of

New

Mu

tan

ts, #

98

(Feb

19

91)

saw

th

e ap

pea

ran

ce o

f th

e “M

erc

wit

h a

mou

th”.

In

itia

lly a

vill

ain

, D

ead

poo

l mor

ph

ed in

to

an a

mb

igu

ous

anti

her

o,

and

in 1

993

got

his

ow

n m

inis

erie

s, T

he

Cir

cle

Ch

ase.

Th

e 20

16

mov

ie D

ead

poo

l (U

SA

) is

the

hig

hes

t-g

ross

ing

R-r

ated

mov

ie.

199

1D

ead

poo

l

Mik

e M

ign

ola’

s d

emon

ic s

up

erh

ero

deb

ute

d –

in

pro

toty

pe

form

– o

n th

e co

ver

of It

alia

n fa

nzi

ne

Dim

e P

ress

#

4 (M

ar 1

993

) b

efor

e em

erg

ing

as a

fu

lly f

orm

ed

char

acte

r in

San

D

ieg

o C

omic

-Con

C

omic

s #

2 (A

ug

1993

).

199

3H

ellb

oy

194

0T

he

Flas

h

Cre

ated

by

arti

st

Har

ry L

amp

ert

and

wri

ter

Gar

dn

er

Fox,

th

e “S

carl

et

Sp

eed

ster

” or

igin

ally

ap

pea

red

in F

lash

Com

ics

#1

(cov

er-d

ated

Jan

19

40

). In

itia

lly, h

is a

lter

eg

o w

as J

ay G

arri

ck,

alth

oug

h th

e ch

arac

ter

has

bee

n th

rou

gh

seve

ral i

nca

rnat

ion

s.

194

0

Th

e C

omet

Jan

194

0 s

aw t

he

deb

ut

of T

he

Com

et

in P

ep C

omic

s #

1. In

is

sue

#17

, he

bec

ame

the

firs

t su

per

her

o to

die

, alt

hou

gh

the

char

acte

r w

ould

go

on

to b

e re

vive

d se

vera

l ti

mes

fro

m t

he

196

0s

onw

ard

s.

196

2T

he

Hu

lk

Gam

ma

rad

iati

on

turn

ed D

octo

r R

ober

t B

ruce

B

ann

er in

to a

ra

mp

agin

g G

reen

G

olia

th, a

nd

one

of

Mar

vel’s

mos

t en

du

rin

g ch

arac

ters

. Th

e In

cred

ible

H

ulk

deb

ute

d in

May

196

2.

193

6T

he

Ph

anto

m

Cre

ated

by

Lee

Falk

(U

SA

),

the

firs

t su

per

her

o w

as

The

Ph

anto

m, w

ho

debu

ted

in h

is o

wn

new

spap

er c

omic

st

rip

on 1

7 Fe

b 19

36

. It

reco

un

ted

the

adve

ntu

res

of K

it W

alke

r, w

ho

don

ned

a

mas

k an

d p

urp

le o

utfi

t to

b

ecom

e Th

e P

han

tom

– a

ka

“th

e gh

ost

wh

o w

alks

”.

The

char

acte

r’s

wh

ited

-ou

t ey

es, w

ith

no

visi

ble

pupi

ls, b

ecam

e a

feat

ure

of m

any

late

r sup

erh

eroe

s,

incl

udin

g B

atm

an, G

reen

La

nter

n an

d G

reen

Arr

ow.

198

4Te

enag

e M

uta

nt

Nin

ja T

urt

les

In M

ay 1

984

, “h

eroe

s in

a h

alf

shel

l” M

ich

elan

gel

o,

Leon

ard

o, D

onat

ello

an

d R

aph

ael g

ot t

hei

r ow

n co

mic

, pu

blis

hed

by

Mir

age

Stu

dio

s. A

n an

imat

ed

TV

ser

ies

follo

wed

in 1

987.

Th

e q

uar

tet

was

in

itia

lly c

reat

ed (

by K

evin

Eas

tman

an

d P

eter

La

ird

) as

a sa

tire

of

fou

r h

it c

omic

s of

th

e ti

me:

R

onin

, Cer

ebu

s, D

ared

evil

and

New

Mu

tan

ts.

Mar

vel’s

icon

ic w

eb-

slin

ger

mad

e h

is d

ebu

t in

A

maz

ing

Fan

tasy

#15

(Au

g 19

62)

, wh

ile T

he

Am

azin

g S

pid

er-M

an a

pp

eare

d in

M

ar 1

963

. Th

e ch

arac

ter

was

dev

ised

by

Sta

n Le

e an

d ar

tist

Ste

ve D

itko

.

196

2S

pid

er-M

an

194

0J

ust

ice

Soc

iety

of

Am

eric

a

194

0Fa

nto

mah

/Wom

an in

Red