the first superhero was...?

[Kirby101]

I reject Jack's narrow "must be Superman" definition, and see one much broader more inclusive .

A hero that has some super human abilities. That's it. The earliest hero to be that gets my vote.

[Powerboy]

I reject Jack's narrow "must be Superman" definition, and see one much broader more inclusive .

A hero that has some super human abilities. That's it. The earliest hero to be that gets my vote.

Then that would be Gilgamesh. There obviously was stuff before that but that is the earliest myth to be written down and he was superhuman.

There were earlier writings. I don't know if any of them referred to superhuman beings such as gods but I'm pretty sure the Gilgamesh Epic is the oldest recorded story.

[Kirby101]

Then that would be Gilgamesh. There obviously was stuff before that but that is the earliest myth to be written down and he was superhuman.

There were earlier writings. I don't know if any of them referred to superhuman beings such as gods but I'm pretty sure the Gilgamesh Epic is the oldest recorded story.

Agreed, the earlist we have from the earliest writing. No doubt there were oral stories before that, but they are lost to time.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

At this point, people are refusing to distinguish a hero from a superhero, and basically just playing fast and lose with categories so that nothing has any meaning anymore.

[Kirby101]

Or not narrowly defining superhero to only fit Superman.

[Powerboy]

At this point, people are refusing to distinguish a hero from a superhero, and basically just playing fast and lose with categories so that nothing has any meaning anymore.

And yet there are characters who fit every needed factor. Because they are also mythical or pulp does not automatically mean they do not also meet the qualities of a superhero.

Rather than a definition that simply takes the qualities of Superman and says, that's the definition of a superhero, we're just asking two questions.

One: Would the individual be considered a hero?

Two: Is he superhuman?

For it to have any meaning, you have to define what qualifies a character as a superhero. What would prove they are a superhero? How would it be disproven? The Scientific method.

To say a character meets every reasonable requirement but they don't count because Superman has to be literally the first, not just the first to popularize the term or the best, is meaningless.

You presented a list of requirements to qualify as a superhero. It was shown there were characters that fit that list. Then you expanded the list of requirements. When a character still qualified, you expanded it again.

You've ignored that, by your own requirements, plenty of superheroes don't qualify as superheroes. The FF don't have secret IDs which was one of your requirements. You even disqualified characters that don't normally fight superhuman opponents which was your last new requirement when someone still qualified who was before Superman.

Sorry, it's pretty obvious you will disqualify anybody who is not Superman regardless of specific factors because you esoterically feel he is the first when I think you really mean the best and the one who popularized the word. So, yes, this is pointless.

[TheRay]

I think we also need to acknowledge that his very name lent itself to people starting to call him a superhero as opposed to Zorro or the Shadow (a Zorro hero or a Shadow hero?). But that Siegal and Schuster had created something special made it stick.

I suppose that is important, yes, but it detracts from the argument a little bit. In that it suggests that the term "superhero" was applied to Superman retroactively, which would mean that we would have to count characters/people that fit the bill that appeared before Superman regardless of when the term was popularized.

[Bruce Wayne]

Then that would be Gilgamesh. There obviously was stuff before that but that is the earliest myth to be written down and he was superhuman.

There were earlier writings. I don't know if any of them referred to superhuman beings such as gods but I'm pretty sure the Gilgamesh Epic is the oldest recorded story.

Gilgamesh the person isn't a myth. He is a semi-historical person attested to in other sources like inscriptions and the Sumerian Kings List. He is more like King David or Alexander the Great in that the Epic of Gilgamesh like the Book of Samuel or the Alexander Romance are constructed as a genre that tries to justify the position of a current ruler through the glorification of a larger than life ancestor/predecessor.

[Starter Set]

First name i thought of is Hercules. Not cause he's the oldest super powered dude around, cause he isn't, but cause he pretty much was the ancient world equivalent of a popular comic book character in terms of how he was perceived by people back then.

He was superman and his stories were talked about as we talk about comic stories now.

[Powerboy]

Gilgamesh the person isn't a myth. He is a semi-historical person attested to in other sources like inscriptions and the Sumerian Kings List. He is more like King David or Alexander the Great in that the Epic of Gilgamesh like the Book of Samuel or the Alexander Romance are constructed as a genre that tries to justify the position of a current ruler through the glorification of a larger than life ancestor/predecessor.

That's true. I think the only connection between the name Gilgamesh, the historical figure, and the myth, is the name. I don't think we know anything about the historical person except he was a king.

Anyway, I think the thread would have gone better had the question not been, "Who, before Superman, was a superhero regardless that the term didn't exist yet?" It would have been better to just ask, "Who were the most significant forerunners of Superman?" or even, "What characters were strong influences on the character known as Superman?"

[Kirby101]

Anyway, I think the thread would have gone better had the question not been, "Who, before Superman, was a superhero regardless that the term didn't exist yet?" It would have been better to just ask, "Who were the most significant forerunners of Superman?" or even, "What characters were strong influences on the character known as Superman?"

Doc Savage and Phillip Wylie's Gladiator

[Powerboy]

Doc Savage and Phillip Wylie's Gladiator

Also, John Carter of Mars.

Also, just the basic generic Circus Strongman was a powerful influence in terms of costuming and presentation.

[Kirby101]

Also, John Carter of Mars.

Also, just the basic generic Circus Strongman was a powerful influence in terms of costuming and presentation.

Yes. And speaking of John Carter, not the first, but fits in with being an earlier superhero.

[Powerboy]

Yes. And speaking of John Carter, not the first, but fits in with being an earlier superhero.

Yes and was quite possibly the first fully fleshed out alien planet. It also introduced the idea that a being from a planet with heavier gravity with be effectively stronger on a planet with less gravity than his own, would be capable of tremendous leaps, etc.

[TheRay]

The Clock.

Do Triathlon and Northstar count?