Superheroes. Everybody on these forums probably has a picture that forms in their mind when they hear the word, although those pictures probably vary among us. But where did it come from?
All-Star Comics #3 - as far as I can tell, the first time that these types of characters used a label for themselves - employed the term Mystery Men. By 1958, with the introduction of the Legion of Superheroes (or the Superhero Club, as it was originally known) the term superhero was clearly established as the way of generically describing colorfully-clad adventurers with superhuman abilities and/or extraordinary skills. What happened in between?
What was the first use of the word superhero? When did the word become the description for comics characters of this type?
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06-24-2019, 06:16 AM #1Boisterously Confused
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When exactly did they become superheroes?
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06-24-2019, 06:49 AM #2Extraordinary Member
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I took a look at the SF Encyclopedia, and it had a decent overview of the genre and its themes, but little about the history of the term itself. I might also note that I can't remember encountering the term "superhero" yet in my reread of the Marston Wonder Woman stories (now about a year into publication).
But it's an interesting etymological question!«Speaking generally, it is because of the desire of the tragic poets for the marvellous that so varied and inconsistent an account of Medea has been given out» (Diodorus Siculus, The Library of History [4.56.1])
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06-24-2019, 08:18 AM #3Astonishing Member
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It's crazy that the term 'superman' predates 'super hero'.
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06-25-2019, 12:53 AM #4Astonishing Member
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Well it had a political/philosophical association then whilst theres always been heros with superhuman powers. They were just called heros.
Originally Posted by shooshoomanjoe
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06-25-2019, 01:27 AM #5Astonishing Member
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"The first published use of “super-hero” appears in Alan Bott’s 1917 AIRMAN OUTINGS. It was a complaint then too. Bott was objecting that members of Parliament were exaggerating the powers of British fighter pilots by calling them “the super-heroes of the war.”" - https://thepatronsaintofsuperheroes....om/tag/marvel/
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06-25-2019, 03:56 AM #6Extraordinary Member
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What a great find, Electricmastro!
«Speaking generally, it is because of the desire of the tragic poets for the marvellous that so varied and inconsistent an account of Medea has been given out» (Diodorus Siculus, The Library of History [4.56.1])
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06-25-2019, 06:32 AM #7Boisterously Confused
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Originally Posted by Electricmastro
"The first published use of “super-hero” appears in Alan Bott’s 1917 AIRMAN OUTINGS. It was a complaint then too. Bott was objecting that members of Parliament were exaggerating the powers of British fighter pilots by calling them “the super-heroes of the war.”" - https://thepatronsaintofsuperheroes....om/tag/marvel/
It was indeed! Originally Posted by kjn
I'm particularly interested in the comment "Pulp publishers Street and Smith advertised Doc Savage as a “SUPERMAN!” but in house they were referring to the Shadow and other mystery men as “superheroes” as early as 1932. Future DC publisher Harry Donnefeld launched Super-Detective magazine in 1934, but the prefix had been popular for at least a decade. Bruce Graeme opens his 1925 novel Blackshirt with a complaint: “A super-criminal—bah! It is all tommy-rot, this ‘super’ business."
Still, both as an advertising tag, and an in-universe reference, "superhero" wasn't the standardized, generic term in comics during the late 30s, or even the early 40s. I wonder when that happened.
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