Superhero firsts have popped up all over the comic universe, from Victorian legends to modern blockbusters. In this roundup we’ll count down the ten trailblazers who first broke the mold and changed the way we think about capes, masks, and secret identities.
Why These Superhero Firsts Matter
Understanding superhero firsts gives us a glimpse into the cultural moments that sparked the genre. Each pioneer listed here introduced a new kind of power, identity, or representation that paved the way for the heroes we love today.
10 Heeled Jack The First Superhero
The most obvious choice for the first superhero is Superman, who burst onto the scene in Action Comics #1 (April 1938). He was certainly the first comic‑book superhero, and the word “superhero” itself is derived from his name.
But long before the Man of Steel, there were costumed crime‑fighters in newspaper strips. Lee Falk’s The Phantom appeared in February 1936, and the swashbuckling Zorro debuted in the serialized novel The Curse of Capistrano back in 1919.
To find the very first character that fits our modern definition, we have to travel back to 19th‑century England. Reports from the era describe a bizarre figure in oilskins and a horned helmet who could leap astonishing distances.
That figure was Spring‑Heeled Jack, said to materialize out of nowhere, spit balls of blue fire, and escape by springing over walls and rooftops. Early fictional treatments painted him as a criminal, but the 1867 penny‑dreadful serial Spring‑Heeled Jack: The Terror of London recast him as a wronged nobleman who robbed the rich to give to the poor.
The 40‑part serial ran in cheap “penny dreadful” magazines. Its authorship is a bit murky; it was published under the pen name “Charleton Lea,” which may have been a pseudonym for either George A. Sala or Alfred Burrage.
9 Fantomah The First Female Superhero
Wonder Woman, who first appeared in All Star Comics #8 (December 1941), is the most widely recognized superheroine, but several heroines preceded her. Canada’s Nelvana of the Northern Lights debuted in August 1941, as did Quality Comics’ Miss America and Phantom Lady.
DC’s Hawkgirl entered the scene in July 1941, while the comic‑strip heroine Invisible Scarlet O’Neil showed up in June 1940. The original Red Tornado, a parody character, debuted in June 1939—she was a brawny housewife named Ma Hunkel who wore red long johns and a cooking‑pot helmet.
Although Red Tornado can be considered the first female costumed hero, she was a parody. The first genuine female superhero to meet our criteria was Fantomah, who arrived in Jungle Comics #2 (February 1940).
Created by writer‑artist Fletcher Hanks, Fantomah began as an Egyptian princess revived in the 20th century to guard African jungles. She typically appeared as an attractive blonde in a scanty costume, fitting the jungle‑princess mold of the time.
When she confronted evil, Fantomah transformed into a towering, blue‑skinned, blonde figure with a skull‑like face, wielding virtually unlimited sorcerous powers to deliver imaginative, grotesque deaths to evildoers.
Hanks’ art was stylish yet clunky, and his plots were bizarre, but Fantomah never gained the popularity of her more conventional rivals and eventually faded into obscurity.
8 Black Panther The First Black Superhero
Unlike many of these early firsts, the first black superhero is still active today. The Black Panther made his debut in Fantastic Four #52 (July 1966), a creation of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. In his civilian guise, he is T’Challa, king of the fictional African nation of Wakanda.
T’Challa is an inventive genius and athletic prodigy who gains enhanced strength, agility, and senses from a rare heart‑shaped herb. He’s played pivotal roles in major Marvel storylines, including his marriage to the African superheroine Storm.
For a brief period, the character was renamed Black Leopard in Fantastic Four #119 (February 1972) after Marvel feared confusion with the Black Panther Party. Editor‑in‑chief Stan Lee quickly restored the original name when the new moniker proved unpopular.
Black Panther entered the Marvel Cinematic Universe, portrayed by Chadwick Boseman in Captain America: Civil War (May 2016), and later headlined his own feature film in 2018.
7 Green Turtle The First Asian Superhero
Asian sidekicks date back to the 1930s. Wing teamed up with DC’s Crimson Avenger in October 1938, and Kato, the Green Hornet’s assistant, debuted on radio on January 31, 1936.
Kato eventually became an equal partner, a shift largely thanks to Bruce Lee’s portrayal in the 1966 Green Hornet TV series. Unfortunately, both Wing and Kato began as broad racial stereotypes.
Surprisingly, a short‑lived Asian superhero with his own title emerged in Blazing Comics #1 (June 1941). The Green Turtle was the brainchild of Chu F. Hing, who wanted to create a Chinese hero.
When publishers claimed there was no market for a Chinese character, Hing responded by leaving the Turtle’s race and nationality ambiguous. The hero’s secret identity and unmasked face were never revealed.
Armed with seemingly limitless resources, the Green Turtle was a master fighter and detective who battled Japanese forces in occupied China, aided by a young sidekick named Burma Boy.
Blazing Comics ran only briefly, and the character faded into the background. In 2014, Gene Luen Yang and Sonny Liew revived the Green Turtle in the six‑issue miniseries The Shadow Hero, giving him the secret identity of American‑born Hank Chu. All six issues have been collected in trade paperback form by First Second Books.
6 Chief The First Native American Superhero
Super‑Chief was created for DC by Gardner Fox and Carmine Infantino, debuting in All‑Star Western #117 (March 1961). The character’s real name, Saganowahna—meaning “Flying Stag”—identifies him as an Iroquois warrior from pre‑Columbian North America who prayed to Manitou for aid against his rivals.
When Flying Stag discovered a meteorite that dropped a mysterious stone, the stone granted him the strength of a thousand bears, the speed of a thousand deer, and the leaping ability of a thousand wolves—for one hour each day. He kept the “Manitou Stone” and used its powers to fight for justice.
The hero shares his name with a famous train, an ironic nod to the impact railroads had on Native American peoples. Unfortunately, the series suffered from cultural inaccuracies: although labeled Iroquois, the character used Algonquian terms like “manitou,” and the name “Saganowahna” appears to have no meaning in any North American language.
Later writers introduced descendants of Saganowahna who also wielded the Manitou Stone, resulting in new versions of Super‑Chief—some heroic, one even a villain who tangled with Superman.
5 Seraph The First Jewish Superhero
While many influential creators in the Golden and Silver Ages were Jewish, pinpointing the first Jewish superhero is tricky. The earliest overtly Jewish hero was Funnyman, who debuted in Funnyman #1 (January 1948). Created by the same team behind Superman—Joe Siegel and Jerry Shuster—Funnyman used gag items like peashooters and joy buzzers to fight crime, but he was a parody and doesn’t fit our definition.
Other candidates include DC’s Sandman (Adventure Comics #40, July 1939), Marvel’s Thing (Fantastic Four #1, November 1961), and X‑Men’s Iceman (X‑Men #1, September 1963), among many others. The difficulty lies in the fact that readers weren’t told these characters were Jewish until years—or even decades—after their debut, as religion was rarely discussed in early comics.
Stan Lee has mentioned that the Thing was intended to be Jewish, while Ragman’s creators likely never considered his Jewishness, despite his alter ego being named Rory Regan.
Although the distinction could belong to the Thing or Sandman, the first unambiguously Jewish superhero is DC’s Seraph. He’s also undeniably super‑Jewish.
Seraph first appeared in Super Friends #7 (October 1977). He is Chaim Levon, an Israeli schoolteacher entrusted with magical artifacts that grant him powers drawn from the Torah.
The Ring of Solomon bestows teleportation, the mantle of Elijah shields him from harm, and the Staff of Moses can extend to any length, transform into a serpent, part bodies of water, or summon water from stone. His long hair gives him the strength of Samson.
In one issue, Seraph even appealed to God to temporarily freeze time, a nod to the biblical story of Joshua.
4 Northstar The First Openly Gay Superhero
Gay and lesbian superheroes are common today, but in the late 1970s the very idea was forbidden. The Comics Code Authority and Marvel editor‑in‑chief Jim Shooter barred any overt references to homosexuality.
When Northstar debuted in Uncanny X‑Men #120 (April 1979), creators John Byrne and Chris Claremont intended him to be gay, but they could only hint at it. His civilian identity, skiing champion Jean‑Paul Beaubier, consistently ignored the advances of attractive women, though the writers couldn’t explain why.
It wasn’t until Alpha Flight #106 (March 1992) that Northstar finally declared, “I am gay.”
Northstar is a mutant with the powers of flight and superspeed. He has a twin sister, Jeanne‑Marie, who shares his abilities and fights as Aurora. When the siblings join hands, they unleash a blinding burst of light.
Northstar also made history as the first comic‑book character to enter into a same‑sex marriage, wedding supporting character Kyle Jinadu in Astonishing X‑Men #51 (June 2012)—coinciding with the date same‑sex marriage was recognized in New York.
3 Doctor Mid‑Nite The First Superhero With A Disability
The best‑known disabled hero is arguably Marvel’s Daredevil, whose Netflix series raised his profile dramatically. Daredevil is blind, but his other senses are hyper‑enhanced, allowing him to function better than many sighted heroes.
Other heroes with disabilities include Professor X (paralyzed), Jericho (mute), Box (multiple amputee), and Cyborg (prosthetic limbs). However, the very first disabled superhero was Doctor Mid‑Nite, who dealt with blindness four decades before Daredevil.Doctor Mid‑Nite first appeared in All‑American Comics #25 (April 1941). After being blinded in an accident, physician Charles McNider mysteriously gained the ability to see in total darkness. He capitalized on this power by creating “blackout bombs” that extinguished all light in a room, making him the only person who could see.
He also had a trained owl named Hootie (or Hooty) to assist him. While he hasn’t seen much recent action, Doctor Mid‑Nite was a key member of DC’s Golden Age Justice Society of America.
2 Madame Fatal The First Cross‑Dressing Superhero
Comics have yet to explore cross‑dressing heroes seriously. The earliest examples date back to the late 1930s. One was Ma Hunkel, who dressed as a man to fight crime as the Red Tornado—a parody character whose cross‑dressing was purely for comic effect.
But the very first cross‑dressing superhero arrived even before Red Tornado. Madame Fatal, billed as “crime’s worst enemy,” debuted in Crack Comics #1 (May 1940) and was created by Art Pinajian.
Richard Stanton, a wealthy and athletic dilettante, chose to disguise himself as an elderly woman—complete with dress, makeup, and a wig—to blend into crowds and catch criminals off guard. He also wielded his cane as a weapon.
Stanton’s backstory involved a retired acting career as a female impersonator, a kidnapped two‑year‑old daughter, and a relentless quest for vengeance. Unfortunately, the series was canceled before the story could be resolved.
The concept of a cross‑dressing hero drew ridicule in the 1930s, leading to Madame Fatal’s early cancellation. DC later acquired the rights to the character, but he has only reappeared a few times, often as the butt of a joke—highlighting how far comics have come in representing LGBTQ+ characters.
1 Arabian Knight The First Muslim Superhero
Teenager Kamala Khan (Ms. Marvel) currently enjoys a lot of publicity as a Pakistani‑American Muslim hero, but she isn’t the first Muslim superhero.
She was pre‑dated by DC’s Sirocco, Sandstorm, and Simon Baz (who briefly served as Green Lantern), as well as Marvel’s Dust, an X‑Man with a Muslim background.
The first Muslim superhero appears to be Marvel’s Arabian Knight, who debuted in Incredible Hulk #257 (March 1981). Abdul Qamar, a Bedouin chief from either Saudi Arabia or Egypt, was entrusted with magical weapons left by a heroic ancestor.
The character was created just before Marvel’s Contest of Champions miniseries, which introduced new heroes from around the world—often rendered as walking stereotypes. Arabian Knight fit that pattern, riding a flying carpet and wielding a magic scimitar, occasionally uttering “by Allah,” but lacking any deeper connection to his faith or culture.
The evolution from such caricatures to complex, fully realized characters like Ms. Marvel demonstrates a growing commitment to authentic representation in comics.