Fascinated by superheroes? Want to learn more about how and when your favorite superheroes appeared in comic books and movies?
Let’s take a look at the list of appearances of the classic superheroes that we have all come to love and adore so much!
- 1936 – Phantom
Phantom was the first superhero and was created by Lee Falk in 1936. He debuted in a comic strip in a newspaper on 17 Feb 1936. His whited-out eyes became a feature for many superheroes to come, including Green Arrow, Green Lantern, and Batman, along with a few more. The comic recounted the famous adventures of Kit Walker as he donned the mask and outfit to become ‘’the ghost who walks’’ aka The Phantom.
- 1938 – Superman
Superman first appeared in Action Comics #1. He was the first superhero to have out-of-this-world abilities and superpowers. Whether you need to write a superhero essay for your class, or you are simply looking to learn about superheroes to win trivia night, this list will help you! In later comics, he showed super strength, X-ray vision, ability to fly, etc. as well.
- 1939 – Batman
Batman was the creation of Bill Finger and Bob Kane and this caped crusader appeared in Detective Comic #27 for the first time. The early drafts by Kane for the costume of Batman involved wings, a bright red tunic, as well as a black eye mask.
- 1939 – Captain Marvel
In the same year, Captain Marvel made the first appearance. In the Marvel Universe, there are various Captain Marvels. However, for the first time, Captain Marvel appeared in Whiz Comics #2.
- 1940 – The Comet
In Jan 1840, the Comet debuted in the Pep Comics 31. He was the first superhero to die when he perished in issue #17. However, the character was revived several times in the years to come.
- 1940 – The Flash
The Scarlet Speedster was created by Gardner Fox and Harry Lampert in Flash Comic #1 in 1940. His alter ego initially was Jay Garrick but the character has undergone various incarnations since then.
- 1940 – Fantomah
Fantomah was the first-ever female superhero that appeared in Jungle Comics in 1940 and opened a whole new world of female superheroes. The first masked superhero was the Woman in Red who appeared in Thrilling Comics #2.
- 1940 – Justice Society of America
The Justice Society of America was the first superhero team that was presented in the All-Star Comics #3. The members were: Doctor Fate, Hawkman, Green Lantern, The Flash, The Atom, Hourman, the Sandman, and the Spectre.
- 1941 – Captain America
The star-spangled superhero was created by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon and debuted for the first time in 1941 in Captain America Comics #1. The shield was rectangular which was replaced by a round Captain America shield in the later issues.
- 1941- Aquaman
The waterborne wonder by DC was created by Mort Weisinger & Paul Norris. He debuted in the More Fun Comics #73. Later, he became one of the founding members of the JSA.
- 1941 – Wonder Woman
The Amazonian hero by DC was featured in the All-Star Comics #8. She got her own comic book the next year.
- 1959 – Supergirl
The success of Superman inspired DC Comics to create his female counterpart – the cousin of Superman, Kara Zor-El. She first appeared in 1959 in Action Comics #252.
- 1960 – The JLA
The Justice League of America debuted in 1960 and is a supergroup of DC superheroes we have all come to admire. Use this detail in the batman essay or learn it for trivia night and impress your friends! Superman and Batman were part of the original line-up of JLA, but they didn’t appear in a lot of adventures of JLA.
- 1961 – The Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four was the first co-production of Jack Kirby and Stan Lee and the comics hit the shelves in 1961. They were the first superteam of Marvel and resulted in huge interest by the public in Marvel Comics.
- 1962 – The Hulk
The green goliath in the form of Dr. Bruce banner debuted in 1962 and is one of the most loved and popular superheroes Marvel characters.
- 1962 Spider-Man
The iconic web-slinging superhero, spider-man, made his debut in 1962 in Amazing Fantasy. Spiderman was the creation of Steve Ditko and Stan Lee.
- 1963 – Iron Man
The first appearance of the beloved alter ego of Tony Stark, the Iron Man, first appeared in March 1963. Robert Downey Junior is the most successful superhero actor due to the famous six-iron man films to date.
- 1963 – The X-Men
The X-Men was actually published in 1963. It was named as the mutants but the Marvel Publisher thought that the name will puzzle the readers and it was later changed.
- 1971 Swamp Thing
This unsettling character by DC saw the light of the day in 1971 in the House of Secrets #92. Later, it got its own comic.
- 1974 – Wolverine
We all love wolverine. For the first time, The Wolverine was glimpsed in The Incredible Hulk #180 and he was then recruited as Professor’s X gifted youngsters later and got his place in X-Men.
- 1991 – Deadpool
Who hasn’t seen Deadpool and fallen in love with his quirky ways and sense of humor? The Merc with a mouth first appeared in 1991. Initially, he was a villain who later morphed into an anti-hero and got his own miniseries in 1993. The movie in 2016 is one of the highest-grossing superhero movies!
- 1993 – Hellboy
Hellboy first appeared on the cover of the Dime Press #4 before he fully emerged as a formal character in the San Diego comics.
- 2004 – The Incredibles
The Incredibles movie premiered in Oct 2004 and five years later, Pixar Studios began publishing a miniseries based on the film and we got new comics to read!
Equipped with this info about your favorite superheroes, you can now impress your friends and win trivia competitions!
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