Each year on April 28th, National Superhero Day honors superheroes, both real and fictional.
Batman, Superman, Captain America, Wonder Woman, Iron Man, Hulk, and Spiderman are just some of the superheroes whose names we recognize. Even though they are fictional, these superheroes are great role models for our children. They serve and protect while fighting evil.
- 1936 – The First Superhero, Phantom, is created. The character’s whited-out eyes became a feature of many later superheroes, including Batman
- 1940 – The First Female Superhero is Introduced. The very first female superhero, Fantomah, is introduced with the release of “Jungle Comics #2.”
- 1950s -The word brainiac comes from the 1950s Superman villain of the same name, and was quickly brought into modern-day vernacular.
- 1960s – the period in which Spider-Man’s catchy theme song was released.
- 1962 – Spiderman’s first appearance is in the 15th edition of “Amazing Fantasy.”
- 1966 – the year when Archie Andrews became the superhero alter ego Captain Pureheart.
- 1978 – The current superhero takeover at the cinemas can be traced back to the success of “Superman” in 1978.
- 1984 – Everyone’s favorite fighting turtles get their own comic, which later becomes a television show.
- 1989 – the year when Marvel Comics introduced Mr. Immortal, whose only superpower was that he couldn’t die.
- 1995 – Superhero Day first got its start in 1995, when Marvel Comics employees went out into the world to ask what superpowers kids would want to have.
- 2005 – Superman is a vegetarian. Before 2005 the writers of Superman did not think about this. Since Superman’s senses are sharper than a human’s, he is aware of when a life aura ends. So, he was made a vegetarian.
- 2009 – The 2009 Amazing Spider-Man comic has Spidey meet President Barrack Obama, and they even share a fist bump.
- Heroes are ordinary people who make themselves extraordinary. ~ Gerard Way
- Our real-life superheroes may not have superpowers or wear capes, but they are also great role models who serve and protect while fighting evil. Military personnel, police officers, firefighters, nurses, doctors and teachers are just a few of the heroes who protect us daily.
- Other superheroes include everyone who has been on the frontline during this Coronavirus pandemic. Bus drivers, supermarket workers, sanitation workers and the list goes on and on.
- Superman was supposed to be a bald character, obsessed with dominating the world.
- What if your favorite X-men character, Wolverine was to be named after a rodent? Yes, Wolverine was originally the Badger who was supposed to battle with the Hulk.
- Wonder Woman was made out of clay by her mother and was brought to life by the Greek Gods.
- We know that the Hulk is green. But did you know that originally the Hulk was supposed to be grey? Since green looked better in print, the color of the Hulk was changed to green.
- Bruce Wayne has an IQ of 192, beating out both Stephen Hawking (160) and Albert Einstein (160).
- Joker was originally supposed to die in his second appearance but was saved by the editor, Whitney Ellsworth, who saw the potential for a perfect arch-nemesis to Batman. Joker went on to appear in 9 of Batman’s first 12 issues.
- There is a course at the University of Victoria, called Science of Batman, where students can study the Dark Knight.
- One of Thor’s powers is “All-Tongue”, the ability to speak and have anybody understand him.
- Daredevil can hear people talking through a soundproof wall and can recognize a heartbeat from 20 feet away. He can also tell if someone is lying based on changes to their heartbeat.
- There are over 50 Iron Man suits, some designed to go to the depths of the oceans, others to take on the Avengers, with one having a backup of Tony Stark’s mind, allowing it to function in the event Tony Stark is rendered incapacitated.
- Stan Lee created Spider-Man after watching a fly on the wall and realized he needed a hero that could stick to surfaces.
- Superman once had his mind controlled by a villain named Sleez who convinced him to record a sex tape with Barda, Mr. Miracle’s wife!
- Wonder Woman’s creator, William Moulton Marston, did a lot of work that contributed to the real-life polygraph test, demonstrating a relationship between raised blood pressure and telling lies. Possible connection with Wonder Woman’s Lasso of Truth?
- In the Injustice storyline, Joker tricks Superman into killing Lois Lane, by flying her to outer space. She dies in his arms, which then detonates a nuclear bomb that destroys Metropolis.
- The Green Lantern and Wonder Woman were supposed to become a couple, but a reader suggested it in a letter, so due to legal reasons it was scrapped
- The Joker once served as the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations.
- Writer Bill Finger was thinking of a name for the fictional city (not wanting to go with New York) and while flipping through the phonebook came across the name, ‘Gotham Jewelers.’ The name stuck and has been Batman’s home ever since.
- Although Superman might be the most well-known DC Superhero, Batman has made the most appearances in comics, totaling 6,250.
- 192 – the IQ of Bruce Wayne.
- 20 feet – the distance at which Daredevil can recognize a heartbeat.
- 50 – the total number of Iron Man suits.
- $600 million – the amount of money it would cost someone to be Batman, according to comic book editor Darren Hick.
- 640 lbs – the weight of Thor.
- 7,200 – the number of currently active Green Lanterns.
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