A Chronological History of the World's Earliest Superheroes

From super-powered newspaper heroes to the birth of the modern superhero genre

When discussing the beginning of the superhero, Superman inevitably dominates the conversation. His appearance in Action Comics #1 in 1938 transformed the American comic-book industry and established a formula that remains recognizable nearly a century later.

But Superman was not the first heroic character in comics to possess abilities beyond those of an ordinary human. Nor was DC the first publisher to experiment with extraordinary crime fighters, supernatural champions, magical heroes, masked vigilantes, or characters equipped with fantastic technology.

The superhero did not appear fully formed in 1938. It evolved.

Long before Superman lifted that famous automobile over his head on the cover of Action Comics #1, newspaper strips, comic books, pulp fiction, and illustrated storytelling had already begun assembling the individual pieces of what would eventually become the superhero.

1902 — Hugo Hercules

Debut: September 7, 1902

Publication: Hugo Hercules

Format: Sunday newspaper comic strip

Publisher: Chicago Tribune

Creator: Wilhelm Heinrich Detlev Körner

Abilities: Superhuman strength

More than three decades before Superman, a remarkably Superman-like idea appeared in the Sunday comics.

Hugo Hercules was an extraordinarily strong man who wandered through everyday society performing impossible feats with almost ridiculous ease. He lifted enormous objects, dealt with runaway vehicles, rescued people from danger, and demonstrated strength far beyond normal human capability.

His first strip, “Hugo Hercules Obliges Beauty in Distress,” appeared in the Chicago Tribune on September 7, 1902.

Hugo possessed no colorful costume, superhero codename, secret identity, or elaborate rogues' gallery. In appearance he was simply a man. But the central concept is unmistakable: a heroic individual possessing genuinely superhuman physical power and using it to help others.

For that reason, Hugo Hercules is one of the strongest candidates for the earliest super-powered hero ever to appear in comics.

1929 — Popeye

Debut: January 17, 1929

Publication: Thimble Theatre

Format: Newspaper comic strip

Syndicate: King Features Syndicate

Creator: E. C. Segar

Abilities: Extraordinary strength, durability and superhuman physical feats

Popeye was not originally conceived as a superhero. In fact, he was not even the original protagonist of Thimble Theatre.

Nevertheless, the character quickly developed abilities that unquestionably exceeded normal human limitations. Popeye survived extraordinary punishment, displayed tremendous strength and performed increasingly impossible physical feats. His famous association with spinach eventually became one of popular culture's most recognizable forms of temporary superhuman empowerment.

Popeye belongs primarily to comedy and adventure rather than the superhero genre, but historically he demonstrates something important: super-powered heroic characters were already becoming familiar to comic readers before Superman appeared.

1931 — Golden Bat

Debut: Approximately 1930–1931

Original medium: Japanese kamishibai

Country: Japan

Creators traditionally credited: Takeo Nagamatsu and Ichiro Suzuki

Abilities: Superhuman strength, flight, invulnerability and other extraordinary powers

One of the most fascinating early superhero figures did not originate in an American comic book at all.

Japan's Golden Bat, or Ōgon Bat, emerged through kamishibai—a popular form of illustrated street storytelling in which sequential painted cards were displayed while a narrator performed the story.

Golden Bat was an ancient, skull-faced superhuman champion who battled fantastic enemies, most famously the villainous Dr. Nazō.

The resemblance to later superheroes is striking. Golden Bat possessed extraordinary powers, a distinctive visual identity, recurring villains and fantastic adventures centered around a superhuman champion combating evil.

Because his earliest adventures were performed using illustrated kamishibai cards rather than published as conventional newspaper strips or comic books, Golden Bat occupies a slightly different branch of superhero history.

Nevertheless, he demonstrates that the superhero concept was developing internationally before Superman.

1931 — Dick Tracy

Debut: October 4, 1931

Publication: Dick Tracy

Format: Newspaper comic strip

Syndicate: Chicago Tribune–New York News Syndicate

Creator: Chester Gould

Abilities: No innate superhuman powers; exceptional detective skills, combat ability and increasingly advanced technology

Dick Tracy represents another branch of the superhero family tree: the extraordinary crime fighter without biological superpowers.

Tracy battled grotesque, colorful villains and eventually employed fantastic technology, most famously his wrist-mounted communications devices.

Strictly speaking, Dick Tracy is generally classified as a detective rather than a superhero. Nevertheless, characters like Tracy helped establish several elements that would become staples of superhero comics: larger-than-life villains, specialized equipment, relentless crime fighting and a visually distinctive central hero.

This distinction would become increasingly important because the superhero genre would ultimately embrace both super-powered characters such as Superman and technologically equipped human heroes such as Batman.

1934 — Mandrake the Magician

Debut: June 11, 1934

Publication: Mandrake the Magician

Format: Newspaper comic strip

Syndicate: King Features Syndicate

Creator: Lee Falk

Abilities: Extraordinary hypnosis, illusion and apparently magical mental abilities

Mandrake the Magician moved considerably closer to the recognizable superhero.

Elegant, mysterious and visually distinctive, Mandrake fought criminals and fantastic enemies using extraordinary hypnotic abilities capable of making opponents perceive seemingly impossible events.

Later interpretations sometimes attempted to explain his abilities as exceptionally advanced hypnosis rather than literal magic. Functionally, however, Mandrake's abilities frequently operated exactly like superpowers.

He also existed within continuing adventure stories involving recurring enemies and fantastic threats. Mandrake therefore stands as one of the most important bridges between newspaper adventure heroes and the coming superhero genre.

1935 — Doctor Occult

Debut: New Fun #6

Publication year: 1935

Publisher: National Allied Publications, an ancestor of DC Comics

Creators: Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster

Abilities: Magic, supernatural knowledge, mystical artifacts and other paranormal abilities

Doctor Occult represents a major milestone.

Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the same young creators who would eventually give the world Superman, Doctor Occult began as a supernatural investigator battling vampires, monsters and occult threats.

But the character evolved. Siegel and Shuster eventually placed Doctor Occult in an outfit containing elements that would soon become synonymous with superheroes: tights, a cape and a chest emblem. His adventures also incorporated overtly supernatural abilities.

This occurred before Superman was published.

Doctor Occult can therefore reasonably be described as the first super-powered superhero published by the company that eventually became DC Comics.

More importantly, his existence demonstrates that Siegel and Shuster were already experimenting with pieces of the superhero formula before Superman transformed the industry.

1936 — The Phantom

Debut: February 17, 1936

Publication: The Phantom

Format: Newspaper comic strip

Syndicate: King Features Syndicate

Creator: Lee Falk

Abilities: No supernatural powers; exceptional physical conditioning, combat ability, intelligence, weapons and equipment

The Phantom represents another enormous step toward the modern superhero.

Unlike Hugo Hercules or Doctor Occult, the Phantom possessed no genuine supernatural powers. What made him revolutionary was his presentation.

He wore a skin-tight costume. He concealed his identity behind a mask. His mask produced the now-famous appearance of blank white eyes, an artistic convention that would become ubiquitous among later superheroes.

He maintained the illusion that the Phantom was an immortal figure passed through history, earning the title “The Ghost Who Walks.” In reality, generations of men inherited the identity.

The Phantom demonstrates why superpowers alone cannot define a superhero. Batman would appear three years later without innate superhuman abilities, yet nobody seriously questions his place within the superhero genre.

The superhero archetype had expanded beyond merely possessing powers. Identity, iconography, mission, costume, mythology, abilities and methods all contributed to the emerging form.

1938 — Superman

Debut: Action Comics #1

Cover date: June 1938

On sale: April 18, 1938

Publisher: National Allied/National Comics, predecessor of DC Comics

Creators: Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster

Original abilities: Extraordinary strength, speed, durability and tremendous leaping ability

Then everything changed.

Superman was not the first comic character with superhuman strength. He was not the first fantastic crime fighter. He was not the first hero with a secret identity. He was not even the first extraordinary hero created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.

What Superman accomplished was far more important: he brought the pieces together.

Superman possessed extraordinary powers, a colorful costume, an emblem, a superhero identity, a civilian identity, a fantastic origin and continuing adventures centered upon an extraordinary individual using his abilities against evil.

His success was enormous. Publishers quickly recognized that readers wanted more characters like him. The result was an explosion of costumed heroes throughout the American comic-book industry.

For this reason, Superman is properly regarded not necessarily as the first super-powered hero, but as the foundational character of the modern superhero genre.

There were extraordinary heroes before Superman. After Superman, there was a superhero industry.

1939 — Batman

Debut: Detective Comics #27

Cover date: May 1939

Publisher: Detective Comics, Inc., predecessor of DC Comics

Creators: Bob Kane and Bill Finger

Abilities: No innate superpowers; extraordinary training, intelligence, detective ability, physical conditioning, weapons, vehicles and specialized technology

Batman immediately demonstrated that Superman's success did not mean every superhero needed supernatural abilities.

Bruce Wayne instead transformed wealth, training, intellect, theatricality and technology into his arsenal.

His costume established an unmistakable alternate identity. He possessed a mission, specialized equipment, extraordinary capabilities and eventually one of comics' greatest collections of villains.

Batman helped permanently establish the non-powered superhero as an equally legitimate branch of the genre.

1939 — Namor the Sub-Mariner

Debut: Motion Picture Funnies Weekly #1

Year: 1939

Producer: Funnies, Inc.

Creator: Bill Everett

Later publication: Marvel Comics #1, Timely Comics

Abilities: Superhuman strength and durability, amphibious physiology, underwater survival and flight

Namor holds an extraordinary position in Marvel history.

Bill Everett originally created the Sub-Mariner for Motion Picture Funnies Weekly #1, a promotional comic produced by Funnies, Inc. The project received extremely limited distribution, but copies were printed.

Namor therefore existed in print before the launch of Timely Comics' Marvel Comics #1.

His story was subsequently expanded for Marvel Comics #1 in 1939.

Namor was neither a straightforward hero nor conventional villain. He was volatile, destructive and frequently hostile toward humanity, making him one of comics' earliest prominent antiheroes.

Historically, however, his position is remarkable: Namor is the earliest Marvel character to appear in print and the first super-powered hero in the lineage that became Marvel Comics.

1939 — Amazing-Man

Debut: Amazing-Man Comics #5

Cover date: September 1939

Publisher: Centaur Publications

Creator: Bill Everett

Abilities: Extraordinary physical and mystical abilities acquired through intensive training

DC and Marvel were far from alone.

Centaur Publications entered the developing superhero field with Amazing-Man, created by Bill Everett—the same creator responsible for Namor.

John Aman had been raised and trained by a mysterious council in Tibet, developing extraordinary physical and mental abilities.

Centaur Publications would eventually disappear, but Amazing-Man illustrates how rapidly the superhero concept spread throughout the publishing industry following Superman's success.

1939 — The Human Torch

Debut: Marvel Comics #1

Cover date: October 1939

Publisher: Timely Comics, predecessor of Marvel Comics

Creator: Carl Burgos

Abilities: Artificial humanoid capable of generating and controlling fire, surrounding himself with flame and flying

The original Human Torch was not Johnny Storm.

He was Jim Hammond, an artificial human created by Professor Phineas Horton.

Hammond could engulf his body in flame, control fire and eventually fly, making him one of the earliest superheroes whose powers were built around a distinctive elemental theme.

Alongside Namor, the Human Torch became one of the foundational characters of Timely Comics.

1939 — Stardust the Super Wizard

Debut: Fantastic Comics #1

Publisher: Fox Feature Syndicate

Creator: Fletcher Hanks

Abilities: Flight, tremendous strength, energy manipulation, matter transformation and numerous cosmic abilities

Stardust the Super Wizard demonstrates just how quickly superhero power levels escalated.

Where Superman initially possessed strength, durability and tremendous jumping ability, Stardust operated almost like a cosmic deity.

He manipulated matter, traveled through space, transformed enemies and performed feats limited largely by the imagination of creator Fletcher Hanks.

Within barely a year of Superman's debut, comic creators were already exploring the idea of superheroes possessing almost unlimited power.

1940 — The Flash

Debut: Flash Comics #1

Cover date: January 1940

Publisher: All-American Publications, later incorporated into DC

Creators: Gardner Fox and Harry Lampert

Abilities: Superhuman speed

Jay Garrick's Flash represented another major development: the superhero whose entire identity revolved around one specialized superpower.

Rather than possessing a broad collection of extraordinary abilities, the Flash was fundamentally about speed.

This concept would become one of the most successful superhero formulas ever created.

1940 — The Spectre

Debut: More Fun Comics #52

Cover date: February 1940

Publisher: Detective Comics, Inc., predecessor of DC Comics

Creators: Jerry Siegel and Bernard Baily

Abilities: Immortality, flight, enormous strength, size alteration, matter manipulation and vast supernatural power

With the Spectre, superheroes entered almost divine territory.

Police detective Jim Corrigan is murdered and subsequently returned as a supernatural agent charged with combating evil.

The Spectre possessed abilities vastly beyond those of most contemporary superheroes and became one of the earliest examples of the cosmic or godlike supernatural superhero.

1940 — Fantomah

Debut: Jungle Comics #2

Cover date: February 1940

Publisher: Fiction House

Creator: Fletcher Hanks

Abilities: Supernatural transformation, flight, mental abilities, magical manipulation and other extraordinary powers

Fantomah was a mysterious supernatural protector of the jungle who transformed into a frightening, skull-like entity when confronting evil.

Her powers were bizarre and enormous, frequently allowing her to inflict surreal supernatural punishments upon her enemies.

Fantomah is historically significant as one of the earliest—and quite possibly the earliest clearly super-powered female superhero in American comic books.

She appeared before Wonder Woman.

1940 — Doctor Fate

Debut: More Fun Comics #55

Cover date: May 1940

Publisher: Detective Comics, Inc., predecessor of DC Comics

Creators: Gardner Fox and Howard Sherman

Abilities: Sorcery, flight, mystical energy, supernatural protection and extensive magical knowledge

Doctor Fate represents the emergence of the fully realized costumed sorcerer-superhero.

Earlier characters such as Mandrake and Doctor Occult had already explored supernatural crime fighting, but Doctor Fate presented magic within the increasingly recognizable visual and narrative structure of the superhero genre.

Magic was no longer merely part of the mystery surrounding the character. Magic was the superpower.

The Superhero Did Not Begin With a Single Character

Comic-book history becomes considerably more interesting when the superhero is viewed as an evolution rather than an invention that suddenly appeared in 1938.

1902 — Hugo Hercules demonstrated the super-powered heroic individual.

1929 — Popeye brought impossible strength into enormously popular adventure-comedy comics.

1931 — Golden Bat demonstrated an extraordinarily early super-powered champion in Japanese illustrated storytelling.

1931 — Dick Tracy helped develop the larger-than-life technological crime fighter and colorful rogues' gallery.

1934 — Mandrake the Magician brought extraordinary mental and seemingly magical abilities into continuing crime-fighting adventures.

1935 — Doctor Occult brought supernatural powers into the publishing lineage that would become DC Comics.

1936 — The Phantom helped establish the masked, skin-tight-costumed crime fighter.

And then, in 1938, Superman brought these developing ideas together in a form that changed comics permanently.

The distinction is important.

Calling Superman the first superhero oversimplifies more than three decades of comic history that preceded him. Characters possessing individual elements of the superhero archetype existed long before Action Comics #1.

But Superman's historical importance does not depend upon being literally first.

Hugo Hercules has one of the strongest claims to being the earliest super-powered comic-strip hero.

Doctor Occult was the first super-powered hero in the publishing lineage that became DC Comics.

Superman established the modern superhero formula and ignited the superhero publishing industry.

Namor was the first super-powered character in the lineage that became Marvel Comics.

From there, the floodgates opened. Within only a few years, publishers including National/DC, Timely/Marvel, Centaur, Fox Feature Syndicate, Fiction House, Fawcett and numerous others were producing costumed champions, technological vigilantes, magicians, speedsters, artificial humans, supernatural entities and increasingly powerful beings.

The superhero had not been invented in a single moment. It had evolved—and Superman was the character who turned that evolution into a revolution.