List of Superheroes

The superheroes are fictional characters who possess immense power, skills and capabilities. These characters have ruled the world of comics, animated serials and movies for a long time. Superhero characters are most popular among children and therefore, comic books have thrived on this popularity quotient for years. The list presented below includes famous superheroes, superheroines and few cartoon superheroes.

Superheroes can be classified into the most popular ones, the cartoon superheroes and similar criteria. Here is an attempt to enlist as many superhero characters as possible. The list of superheroes and their powers are included in the content given below. The list of Marvel superheroes holds a significant number in the superhero characters mentioned below.

List of Famous Superheroes
The list of famous superheroes given below contains 27 characters; some of them featured in comics, movies and cartoons. Let have a look at information about these characters one-by-one.

Superman
He is one of the most popular character in the list of comic superheroes. The character was brought to light by 'DC Comics'. Created in the year 1932 by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster from USA and Canada respectively, the character of Superman, owing to the immense popularity, became an American cultural icon. The ability to fly and immense physical power are strengths of Superman.

Silver Surfer
It is a superhero character created by Jack Kirby and which appears in Marvel Comics. Silver Surfer is one of the 'Fantastic Four' characters which made its first appearance in March, 1966. Originally an astronomer (Norrin Radd) by profession, Silver Surfer acquires great powers in a bargain made with 'Galactus', a cosmic entity. Norrin Radd serves as a herald for Galactus and saves the destruction of his home world. In return, he gets a part of 'Power Cosmic' from Galactus. The surfboard on which the Silver Surfer travels at speeds greater than light is one of his important tools.

Batman
The fictional character of Batman which is also known as 'the Dark Knight', 'the Caped Crusader' or 'the World's Greatest Detective' was created by Bob Kane (artist) and Bill Finger (writer). It first appeared in the DC Comics in the month of May, 1939.

He-Man
The lead character of a media franchise, 'Master of the Universe', He-Man is a twin brother of She-Ra and alter-ego of Prince Adam. The duty of He-Man is to defend the secrets of 'Castle Grayskull' present on a fictional planet called 'Eternia'. The villain whom He-Man and friends fight is known as the 'Skeletor'.

Spiderman
The superhero named Spiderman was the creation of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. The former being an artist and editor while the latter a co-plotter. Along with strength and agility, Spiderman has the ability to cling to different surfaces.

Captain America
It is a superhero character created by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon that featured in Marvel Comics in March, 1941. The series of comics in which the superhero appeared first was 'Captain America Comics #1'. The costume bearing motif of American flag is the specialty of this superhero.

The Hulk
Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the Hulk is a fictional character which features in Marvel Comics. The superhero appeared in 'The Incredible Hulk #1' for the first time. An impulsive and emotional character, the Hulk is an alter ego of a physicist, Dr. Bruce Banner who is a bit reserved in nature.

Iron Man
Fictional character of the superhero, Iron Man appeared in Marvel Comics in March 1963. The series in which Iron Man appeared first was 'Tales of Suspense #39'. The superhero is a creation of artists Jack Kirby & Don Heck, scripter Larry Lieber and writer/editor Stan Lee.

The Phantom
The Phantom is a superhero created by Lee Falk. He fights criminals and operates from Bengalla, a fictional country in Africa. The Phantom appeared in films, on television and also in video games.

Spawn
A superhero character that featured in 'Image Comics', first appeared in the 'Spawn #1' series (1992). Character of Spawn is the creation of Todd McFarlane.

Wolverine
A Canadian superhero who appeared in Marvel Comics, Wolverine possesses great physical strength and keen animal senses. Mutant by nature, Wolverine is commonly known as Logan. This superhero character was created by Len Wein a writer and John Romita Sr., an art director at Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in October 1974 in the 'Incredible Hulk #180' series.

Green Lantern
It is the name of a series of superhero characters which appeared in DC Comics. The first superhero character named Alan Scott was created by an artist Martin Nodell and writer Bill Finger; it featured in the 'All-American Comics #16' series of June 1940.

X-Men
It is actually a team of superheroes created by Stan Lee (writer) and Jack Kirby (artist). The team consists of different superheroes such as Iceman, Cyclops, Angel, Jean Gray and Beast. The 'X-Gene' possessed by these superheroes gives them special powers. The X-Men superheroes first appeared in 'X-Men #1' published by Marvel Comics.

Aquaman
The character of Aquaman was created by Mort Weisinger and Paul Norris in November, 1941. The superhero first appeared in 'More Fun Comics #73' published by DC Comics.

The Flash
The superhero character, Flash which first appeared in 'Flash Comics #1' of DC Comics, is actually a name shared by a series of characters. The special ability of this character is to move swiftly. The name, 'Flash' has been shared by the following superhero characters: Jay Garrick, Barry Allen, Wally West and Bart Allen.

Hawkman
The Hawkman was created by Gardner Fox. 'Flash Comics #1'published by All-American Publications was the book in which Hawkman appeared for the first time. After that, Hawkman made regular appearances in DC Comics. The Hawkman is armed with archaic weaponry and possesses artificial wings.

Punisher
The Punisher cannot be called a superhero if compared to earlier characters who possessed special powers. Created by Gerry Conway and John Romita Sr., this character first appeared in 'Amazing Spider-Man #129' (1974), published by Marvel Comics. Ability to handle different types of guns is one of the skills he possesses.

List of Women Superheroes
The list of women superheroes or superheroines includes some of the important characters from comics and films.

Batwoman
This character is a female counterpart of the superhero, Batman. 'Detective Comics #233', published by DC Comics was the first book in which Batwoman made its first appearance. This fictional character was created by Sheldon Moldoff and Bob Kane in the year 1956.

Andromeda
It is one of the fictional characters which appears in Marvel Comics series. In the fictional universe known as 'Shared Universe' created by Marvel Comics, Andromeda belongs to a race known as Homo mermanus. Members of this race live in Atlantis a location in the Shared Universe.

Elektra
Created by Frank Miller, Elektra is a fictional character which appears in Marvel Comics. Elektra is a character of Greek descent and is a ninja assassin. The weapon called 'sai' is her trademark. Elektra first appeared in the 'Daredevil #168' series in January, 1981.

Marvel Girl
A fictional character from Marvel Comics, the superheroine called Marvel Girl is also known as Jean Grey, Phoenix or Dark Phoenix. Marvel Girl possesses telekinetic and telepathic powers. Basically a born mutant, the Marvel Girl dies many times throughout the entire series.

The Oracle
It is a fictional character of the 'Matrix' series. The Matrix is a science-fiction trilogy created by Wachowski Bros. The Oracle is actually a sapient program that guides and advises human beings who fight the Matrix.

List of Cartoon Superheroes
The four cartoon superheroes viz., Popeye, Might Mouse, Inspector Gadget and Centurions are profiled in the following list.

Mighty Mouse
The Mighty Mouse character first appeared on 16th October, 1942 in 'The Mouse of Tomorrow' (Terrytoons). The different powers of this cartoon superhero are flying, X-ray vision and super-hypnosis. The power of super-hypnosis allows the Mighty Mouse to reverse time and control inanimate things. This cartoon character was created by Paul Terry and Isadore Klein.

Popeye
Created by Elzie Seagar, Popeye appeared in cartoons in the year 1932 which were produced by Fleischer Studios. Popeye gains strength by eating spinach. A sailor by profession, Popeye has enemies in the form of Bluto, Brutus, and Sea Hag.

Inspector Gadget
The fictional character of Inspector Gadget is armed with different equipment such as helicopter blades, bionic limbs, roller skates, etc. Inspector Gadget has all these equipment in-built. A police detective by profession, Inspector Gadget has enemies in the form of 'Mad Cat' and 'Dr. Claw'.

The Centurions
The cartoon superheroes included in the group called Centurions are Ace McCloud, Max Ray, Jake Rockwell, John Thunder and Rex Charger. Their mission is to protect the earth from criminal masterminds. Enemies of The Centurions are Doctor Terror, Amber and Hacker.

List of superheroes mentioned in the article above is just a short one that provides snapshot of the huge list. The above article thus, attempts to give information about superhero qualities, powers, etc. in a concise manner.