History of Superheroes Timeline

The first use of the phrase 'super hero' dates back to 1917, when it was merely used to describe a 'public figure of great accomplishments.'

In August 1937, a letter column of a magazine used the word superhero to define the title character, an early application of the term to a fictional costumed figure.

In 1967, Ben Cooper, Inc., an American Halloween costume manufacturer, became the first entity to commercialize the phrase 'super hero' when it registered the mark in connection with Halloween costumes.

In 1972, Mego Corporation, an American toy company, attempted to register the mark 'World's Greatest Superheroes' in connection with its line of action figures.

Image source: Mego Corporation

After Mego jointly assigned its interest in the trademark to DC Comics in 1977, DC and Marvel applied for the mark in connection with comic books in 1979 and were granted it by the United States Patent and Trademark Office in 1981.

DC and Marvel filed a trademark application as joint owners for the mark 'SUPER HEROES' for a series of animated motion pictures in 2009, continuing their joint control of the term.

In 2014, British law student Graham Jules received a cease and desist from DC and Marvel, who claimed his use of the term superhero in his self-help book Business Zero to Superhero would cause confusion and dilute their brands.

In 2024, Superbabies Limited managed to obtain a default judgement and cancel the 'super heroes' trademarks as genericized, except for the animation pictures mark, a major shift in the ownership of the term.

Prince of Gamma, appearing in the early 1930s, was another early Japanese superpowered costumed hero who debuted in kamishibai alongside Ōgon Bat.

Image source: The Golden Bat

Japan's Ōgon Bat (1931) was among the earliest superpowered costumed heroes, first appearing in kamishibai, a kind of hybrid media combining pictures with live storytelling.

In 1952, Osamu Tezuka's manga Tetsuwan Atom, more popularly known in the West as Astro Boy, was published, becoming a foundational work of Japanese superhero media.

Image source: Astro Boy

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.

1958 saw the debut of superhero Moonlight Mask on Japanese television, created by Kōhan Kawauchi, who followed up its success with Seven Color Mask (1959) and Messenger of Allah (1960), both starring a young Sonny Chiba.

In 1963, Astro Boy was adapted into a highly influential anime television series, shaping the future of animated superhero storytelling worldwide.

Image source: Astro Boy (1963 TV series)

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).

Image source: Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster

1966 saw the debut of the sci-fi/horror series Ultra Q created by Eiji Tsuburaya, which would eventually lead to the sequel Ultraman, spawning a successful franchise which pioneered the Kyodai Hero subgenre where superheroes are as big as the kaiju they fight.

Image source: Ultra Q

In 1971, Kamen Rider launched the 'Henshin Boom' on Japanese television in the early 1970s, greatly impacting the tokusatsu superhero genre in Japan.

Image source: Kamen Rider

In 1972, the Science Ninja Team Gatchaman anime debuted, building upon the superhero team idea of live-action Phantom Agents while introducing different colors for team members and special vehicles that could combine into a larger one.

Image source: Science Ninja Team Gatchaman

Go Nagai's Devilman debuted in 1972, part of a trend of darker antiheroic characters that also included Shotaro Ishinomori's Skull Man (1970) and Gerry Conway and John Romita's Punisher (1974).

Image source: Devilman

Go Nagai wrote the manga Cutey Honey in 1973; although the Magical girl genre already existed, Nagai's manga introduced transformation sequences that would become a staple of Magical Girl media.

Image source: Cutie Honey

In 1975 Shotaro Ishinomori's Himitsu Sentai Gorenger debuted on what is now TV Asahi, bringing multi-colored teams and supporting vehicles into live-action and beginning the Super Sentai franchise, later adapted into the American Power Rangers series in the 1990s.

Image source: Himitsu Sentai Gorenger

In 1978, Toei adapted Spider-Man into a live-action Japanese television series, a unique tokusatsu take on the Marvel hero featuring giant robot battles.

Image source: Spider-Man (Japanese TV series)

Superman's launch in 1938 began the Golden Age of Comic Books, whose span, though disputed, is generally agreed to have started with Superman's debut, ushering in the era of the modern superhero.

Image source: Superman

Captain Marvel debuted in 1939 at the beginning of the Golden Age of Comic Books, becoming one of the most popular superheroes of the era.

Image source: Shazam (DC Comics)

At the end of the decade, in 1939, Batman was created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, becoming one of the most enduring and iconic superheroes in history.

Image source: Batman

In 1940, Maximo the Amazing Superman debuted in the Big Little Book series by Russell R., part of the wave of Superman-inspired characters following his success.

Image source: Big Little Book series

Notable early superheroines include the Woman in Red, introduced in Standard Comics' Thrilling Comics #2 in March 1940, predating many other Golden Age superheroines.

Image source: Woman in Red (comics)

Lady Luck debuted in the Sunday-newspaper comic-book insert The Spirit Section on June 2, 1940, among the notable female heroes of the Golden Age.

Image source: Lady Luck (comics)

A few months after other heroines, the Invisible Scarlet O'Neil, a non-costumed character who fought crime and wartime saboteurs using the superpower of invisibility, created by Russell Stamm, debuted in her eponymous syndicated newspaper comic strip on June 3, 1940.

Image source: Invisible Scarlet O'Neil

The comedic character Red Tornado debuted in All-American Comics #20 in November 1940, one of the notable early superheroines of the Golden Age.

Image source: Ma Hunkel

Captain America appeared for the first time in print in December 1940, a year prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor, when America was still in isolationism, making him a patriotic symbol before the US entered World War II.

Image source: Captain America

Wonder Woman debuted in 1941, published by All-American Publications, one of two companies that would merge to form DC Comics in 1944, becoming the most famous Golden Age superheroine.

Image source: Wonder Woman

Miss Fury debuted in her eponymous comic strip on April 6, 1941, created by female cartoonist Tarpé Mills, a landmark for women creators in comics.

Image source: Miss Fury

The Phantom Lady was introduced in Quality Comics Police Comics #1 in August 1941, and the Black Cat was introduced in Harvey Comics' Pocket Comics #1 the same month, adding to the growing roster of Golden Age superheroines.

Image source: Phantom Lady

In the 1943 cartoon parody of Superman, Super-Rabbit, Bugs Bunny ingests 'super-carrots' created by Professor Cannafraz and acquires various super powers including flight, super strength and invulnerability.

Image source: Super Rabbit

During this era DC introduced the likes of Batwoman in 1956, Supergirl, Miss Arrowette, and Bat-Girl; all female derivatives of established male superheroes.

Image source: Batwoman

Kismet, Man of Fate, a Muslim Algerian hero, debuted in 1944 and is considered one of the first Muslim superheroes in comic book history.

Image source: Kismet, Man of Fate

The Green Turtle, created in 1944 by Chinese-American artist Chu F. Hing, is recognized as an early Asian superhero in American comics.

Image source: Green sea turtle

Before mainstream black superheroes, a few characters appeared during the Golden Age, such as those featured in the one-shot All-Negro Comics #1 (1947), though they are not generally considered superheroes in the modern sense.

Image source: All-Negro Comics

In 1966, Marvel introduced the Black Panther, an African monarch who became the first non-caricatured black superhero in mainstream American comics.

Image source: Black Panther (character)

The first African-American superhero, the Falcon, followed Black Panther in 1969, marking a milestone in racial representation in American comic books.

Image source: Falcon (comics)

In 1971, Red Wolf became the first Native American in the superheroic tradition to headline a comic book series.

Three years after the Falcon, Luke Cage, a self-styled 'hero-for-hire', became the first black superhero to star in his own comic book series in 1972.

Image source: Luke Cage

In 1973, Shang-Chi became the first prominent Asian superhero to star in an American comic book, expanding ethnic diversity in mainstream superhero comics.

Image source: Shang-Chi

The X-Men were revived in 1975 with a line-up of characters drawn from several nations, including the Kenyan Storm, German Nightcrawler, Soviet/Russian Colossus, Irish Banshee, and Japanese Sunfire.

Image source: X-Men '97

Kitty Pryde, a member of the X-Men, was an openly Jewish superhero in mainstream American comic books as early as 1978, a milestone in religious representation.

Image source: Kitty Pryde

In 1989, the Monica Rambeau incarnation of Captain Marvel was the first female black superhero from a major publisher to get her own title in a special one-shot issue.

Image source: Monica Rambeau

In 1992, Marvel revealed that Northstar, a member of the Canadian mutant superhero team Alpha Flight, was homosexual, making him considered the first openly gay superhero appearing in mainstream comic books.

Image source: Northstar (character)

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 with characters of many ethnic minorities.

Poison Ivy uses seduction through poison to take over the minds of her victims as seen in the 1997 film Batman and Robin, exemplifying the sexualization of female supervillains.

Image source: Poison Ivy (character)

Alysia Yeoh, a supporting character created by writer Gail Simone for DC's Batgirl ongoing series, received substantial media attention in 2011 for being the first major transgender character written in a contemporary context in a mainstream American comic book.

Image source: Alysia Yeoh

Following The New 52 reboot in 2011, the Golden Age Green Lantern Alan Scott was reimagined as openly gay, part of a broader trend of LGBTQ representation that included Mikaal Tomas (1998), Renee Montoya (2003), Kate Kane (2006), Rictor and Shatterstar (2009), and Iceman (2015).

Image source: Alan Scott

Volume 4 of the X-Men comic book series featured an all-female team as part of the Marvel NOW! branding initiative in 2013, highlighting female-led superhero teams.

Image source: X-Men (comic book)

Marvel in 2014 saw Carol Danvers become Captain Marvel, elevating a female character to one of the publisher's flagship heroic identities.

Harley Quinn in 2016's Suicide Squad uses her sexuality to her advantage, acting in a promiscuous manner, continuing debates about the portrayal of female characters in superhero media.

Image source: Harley Quinn

In 2017, Pluin introduced Sign Gene, a film featuring a group of deaf superheroes whose powers derive from their use of sign language, the first group of deaf superheroes with superpowers through sign language.

Image source: Sign Gene

In 2017's Wonder Woman, she had the power of a god, but was still drawn to a much weaker, mortal male character, reflecting ongoing tensions in the depiction of powerful female heroes.

Image source: Wonder Woman (2017 film)