To Better Know A Hero

Though Superman hasn’t always been the most popular superhero (these days, Batman, Spider-Man, Wolverine and heck, probably Iron Man and a few other Avengers most likely outpace him in that department), he was the first superhero, and superhero comics as they exist today wouldn’t without Superman. Even beyond the blatant knockoffs that cropped up in the wake of his immense popularity shortly after his debut (issues of his comics routinely sold in the millions throughout the forties), Superman can be pointed to as either a direct or indirect inspiration for nearly every superhero that followed. The entire field of superhero comics, the most dominant form of sequential art in American comic books, exists because of Superman.

Since then, Punisher has remained a viable character and maintained a consistent publishing presence, though his heyday of carrying multiple books and making routine guest appearances in all corners of the Marvel Universe are long behind him. And, really, that’s for the best: on his own, the Punisher is a compelling character. A shattered soldier, driven to extremes by the death of his family. He’s a Batman who eschews the theatricality of a costume and has no qualms about killing bad guys, and that type of character can be engaging and entertaining. But Punisher works less well as a protagonist in a shared superhero universe. Put him side-by-side next to guys like Daredevil or Captain America, and everyone gets watered down: the Punisher doesn’t kill anyone (because the heroes won’t let him), and the heroes look like idiots for not capturing this guy who willingly operates so far outside their usual “no killing” code.

Ant-Man is a superhero identity that’s actually been used by three different characters of note and, despite the fact that Lang is the character being used in the Marvel Studios feature film, he is, arguably, the least of the three characters. Hank Pym originated the identity and though he quickly discarded it in favor of the more overtly powerful Giant-Man (using his size-changing Pym Particles to get bigger instead of smaller, a switch Pym-creator Stan Lee has said was triggered by artists failing to depict the world around the shrunken Pym in proper perspective), it was as Ant-Man that Pym helped co-found the Avengers (and come up with their name), and though he quickly left the specific Ant-Man identity behind, Pym remains a stalwart member of the Avengers.

Quicksilver Real Name Pietro Django Maximoff First Appearance X-Men #4, March 1964 Nicknames & Aliases Pietro Frank, Matheo Maximoff, Powers & Abilities Quicksilver possess the mutant ability to move and think exceedingly fast. He can run at speeds up to Mach 5, and his body is designed to survive the rigors of moving at such …

Daredevil is a character more or less defined by two extended runs by two specific creators. Created in 1964 by Stan Lee and Bill Everett in a clear attempt to tap into the success of Spider-Man, Daredevil has one of the all time great superhero hooks: he’s a blind lawyer who puts on a superhero costume and takes the law into his own hands. Unfortunately, that hook only takes the character so far, and like the X-Men, Daredevil existed in his early years as something of an also-ran at Marvel

Storm, easily Marvel’s most high-profile female African-American character (and of the first such characters in superhero comics), is a character whose most prominent and well-executed storyline occurred nearly two decades ago. In the mid-80s, longtime X-Men scribe Chris Claremont crafted a long story arc for Storm, which found her shedding her ethereal, goddess-esque image in the face of the burden of leadership and a desire to experience life more fully in favor of a more striking punk look and sensibility. Then, she lost her mutant powers and was forced to prove her worth as leader of the X-Men on her non-superpowered skills alone, a feat she accomplished with aplomb, continuing to lead the X-Men through some of their darkest hours (including the massacre of the Morlocks) before ultimately finding a way to restore her superpowers.

First Appearance Avengers #54, July 1968 (unnamed cameo), Avengers #55, August 1968 (full appearance) Nicknames and Aliases Crimson Cowl, Ultimate Ultron, Mark 12, Ultron Pym Powers and Abilities Ultron is an artificial intelligence capable of learning and evolving. To wit, he builds increasingly stronger and more powerful bodies for himself, usually comprised of some form …

      Real Name Oliver “Ollie” Queen First Appearance More Fun Comics #73 (1941) Nicknames and Aliases The Emerald Archer, The Battling Bowman, The Arrow, The Hood. Powers and Abilities Green Arrow is a phenomenal archer, considered one of the best in the DC Universe, as well as an accomplished hand-to-hand combatant, swordsman, and detective. Weaknesses …

Real Name Barry Allen First Appearance Showcase #4 October 1956 Nicknames and Aliases The Scarlet Speedster, Fastest Man Alive. Powers and Abilities Super-speed, including the ability to run up walls and over water, to create powerful updrafts of air by running in a circle, and to vibrate his molecules at such a speed as to …

First Appearance X-Men #1, September 1963 Roll Call Founding Members: Professor X, Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Beast, Iceman and Angel Members: Mimic, Changeling, Polaris, Havok, Petra, Sway, Darwin, Vulcan, Nightcrawler, Wolverine, Banshee, Storm, Sunfire, Colossus, Thunderbird, Phoenix, Kitty Pryde, Rogue, Phoenix II, Magneto, Psylocke, Longshot, Dazzler, Forge, Jubilee, Gambit, Bishop, Revanche, Cannonball, Joseph, Cecilia Reyes, Maggot, …

Real Name Max Eisenhardt First Appearance X-Men #1, Sept. 1963 Nicknames and Alias Erik Magnus Lensherr, Master of Magnetism, Erik the Red, Michael Xavier, Creator, Grey King, Buckethead Powers and Abilities Magneto has the ability to manipulate electromagnetic energy, principally magnetism, allowing him to move and control magnetic metals from small (the iron in blood) …

Real Name Charles Francis Xavier First Appearance X-Men #1 (September 1963) Nicknames and Aliases Chuck, Baldy, the Entity, Onslaught Powers and Abilities Xavier possess the foremost mutant mind on Earth, and is a telepathy of vast power and skill, including the ability to read minds and projects thoughts, even at great distances, take control of …

Real Name Peter Parker First Appearance Amazing Fantasy #15, Aug. 1962 Nicknames and Aliases Spidey, Webslinger, Scarlet Spider, Ben Reilly, Ricochet, Prodigy, Dusk, Hornet. Powers and Abilities Spider-Man has the proportionate strength, speed, agility, and reflexes of a spider. He can climb walls/most surfaces and possesses a “spider sense” that instinctively warns him of immediate …

Real Name Sam Wilson First Appearance Captain America #117, September 1969 Nicknames and Aliases Snap Wilson, Blackwing, Blackbird. Powers and Abilities Falcon possesses the ability to communicate telepathically with his trained falcon, Redwing, and with other birds as well, enabling him to see through their eyes, access their memories and, to a limited extent, control …

Real Name James ‘Bucky’ Buchanan Barnes aka The Winter Soldier First Appearance Captain America Comics #1, March 1941 Fun Fact Named after the 15th President of the United States, James Buchanan Powers & Abilities Advanced hand to hand combat skills. Advanced weapons training. Advance covert tactics. Fluent language skills. Equipped with a cybernetic arm granting …

Real Name Steve Rogers First Appearance Captain America Comics #1, March 1941 Nicknames and Aliases Cap, Sentinel of Liberty, Living Legend, the Star-Spangled Avenger, Winghead, the Captain, Nomad, Weapon I Powers and Abilities Thanks to the Super Soldier serum, Captain America’s strength, speed, agility, endurance and durability have been heightened to the highest levels possible …

Real Name Natalia Alianovna Romanova First Appearance Tales of Suspense #52, April 1964 Nicknames and Aliases Natasha Romanoff (Anglicized name). Powers and Abilities Heightened (but not superhuman) physical abilities, stamina and longevity thanks to an offshoot of Captain America’s super solider serum. Black Widow is also an accomplished hand-to-hand combatant, marksman, linguist, acrobat and espionage …

First Appearance X-Men #1, September 1963 Nicknames and Aliases Marvel Girl, Phoenix, Dark Phoenix, Red, Redd Dayspring Powers and Abilities Jean is a mutant born with tremendous telepathic and telekinetic abilities, enabling her to read and control minds, project her thoughts, enter the Astral Plane, mentally lift and move objects, and fly by levitating herself, …