The word superhero was first used generically in 1917 to refer to real people who had great ability and achievements.  In the 1940s, however, the word became forever associated with the “costumed characters” of comic books.

The first of these superhero comic book characters was Superman who made his debut in 1938 in Action Comics #1.  However, for historians, the question is was Superman the first real superhero or just the latest in a long line of the super powered?  After all, the Greek and Roman gods all had special powers, costumes and background stories.  Additionally, masked men with secret identities came before Superman.  Characters like Robin Hood, the Scarlet Pimpernel, Zorro, Gladiator, Doc Savage, the Spider, the Phantom, the Clock and the Shadow preceded him.  Additionally there was Nyctalope in France circa 1911 and Ogon Bat in Japan from 1931 who had special powers.

It really boils down to definition.  What is a Superhero?  The best definition I could find comes from Superhero:  The Secret Origin of a Genre by Peter Coogan which says a superhero is, “A heroic character with a selfless, pro-social mission; with superpowers—extraordinary abilities, advanced technology, or highly developed physical, mental, or mystical skills; who has a superhero identity embodied in a codename and iconic costume, which typically express his biography, character, powers or origin (transformation from ordinary person to superhero); and who is generally distinct, i.e. can be distinguished from characters of related genres (fantasy, science fiction, detective, etc.) by a preponderance of generic conventions.  Often superheroes have dual identities, the ordinary one of which is usually a closely guarded secret.”

This definition would eliminate Greek and Roman mythology because those gods were not trying to do good works for others.  It would also eliminate the “masked men” and crime fighters that came before Superman because they were just men or had not developed themselves into superheroes like Batman.

For historical purposes the definition gets pretty convoluted and sounds more like a way of eliminating heroes prior to Superman.  After all Superman wasn’t even called a superhero until the 1940s.  He was first a “mystery man” and a “costumed character.”

I think a better way to approach the history of superheroes is to acknowledge that a superhero is someone with special powers (either developed or gifted) who usually has a secret identity, costume and is trying to do good things in the world.  This would include heroes prior to Superman who hid their identity and tried to help people but would exclude the gods of Greek and Roman mythology.

This difference then between the superheroes that came before Superman and Superman comes from effect.  Through comics Superman became an international phenomenon that led to many more superheroes.  Therefore, while he may not have been the first superhero, Superman is rightly given the title of first superhero in importance because of his impact in bringing the idea of the superhero to prominence.

From the time of Superman superheroes spread through the Golden Age of comics with the invention of Wonder Woman, Batman, the Green Lantern, and Captain America who all fought the Axis powers.  There was a dip in interest in superheroes after World War II until the late 1950’s when the so called Silver Age of comics occurred.  It brought the Justice League, Fantastic Four and X-men to audiences everywhere.  Televisions shows about superheroes widened their appeal as well.  In the 1980s darker anti-heroes emerged in superheroes like the Watchmen but classics like Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman enjoyed repeated revivals on television and in movies until the present.