185 Fun Facts About Superhero

Which comic book issue featured the first appearance of Superman?

Superman debuted in Action Comics #1, cover-dated June 1938, after Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster had spent years failing to sell him to newspaper syndicates as a daily strip.

In his 1962 origin story, which teenager is bitten by a radioactive spider at a science exhibit?

Peter Parker first cashed in on his powers as a TV novelty act and let a fleeing burglar run past him; the same man later killed his Uncle Ben, and the guilt made him a crime-fighter.

In the MCU films, which fictional metal makes up the shield carried by Steve Rogers?

Vibranium is what Howard Stark says the shield is made of in the films; in the comics it is a one-off alloy that even its own inventor could never recreate.

Which of these was one of the original five X-Men introduced in 1963?

Beast, Hank McCoy, joined Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Angel and Iceman in X-Men #1; he only grew his fur in 1972, after drinking a serum he had developed himself.

In which comic book did Batman make his debut?

Batman debuted in Detective Comics #27, cover-dated May 1939, in a murder mystery whose plot was borrowed from 'Partners of Peril', a 1936 pulp story starring the Shadow.

Which color was the Hulk originally intended to be before printing issues forced a change?

Grey was the Hulk's skin colour in The Incredible Hulk #1 (May 1962), but the colourist could not keep the shade consistent from page to page, so he turned green from issue #2.

What word does Billy Batson shout to transform into his superhero form?

Shazam is the magic word that turns Billy Batson into an adult hero; it spells out the six elders who lend him their powers: Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles and Mercury.

Deadpool's civilian name, Wade Wilson, is an in-joke about which DC character, Slade Wilson?

Deathstroke is Slade Wilson; writer Fabian Nicieza saw the DC assassin in artist Rob Liefeld's new design, so he named Deadpool Wade Wilson as an in-joke between the two of them.

Which Marvel superhero was a billionaire weapons manufacturer before becoming a hero?

Tony Stark ran Stark Industries, a weapons manufacturer, before becoming Iron Man in Tales of Suspense #39 (1963); later writers had him renounce arms dealing.

What is the name of Thor's enchanted hammer?

Mjolnir can only be lifted by the worthy, which in 1983 turned out to include an alien, Beta Ray Bill; Odin had a second hammer, Stormbreaker, made for him.

Which comic-book city bears Washington Irving's 1807 nickname for New York?

Gotham City borrows the mocking nickname Irving gave New York in his satirical magazine Salmagundi; Batman's city was not called Gotham until Batman #4, more than a year after his debut.

Which hero starred in Marvel Comics #1, the 1939 debut of the publisher that became Marvel?

The Human Torch of 1939 was an android, Jim Hammond, who shared that first issue with Namor the Sub-Mariner; the Fantastic Four's hero of the same name arrived only in 1961.

What is the name of the fictional African nation ruled by Black Panther?

Wakanda grew rich on a meteorite of rare metal and hid itself from the outside world so that nobody would come to take it; the kingdom debuted in Fantastic Four #52 (1966).

Which Green Lantern villain is a former Corps member dishonourably discharged for abusing his power?

Sinestro used his post to rule his home planet, Korugar, as a dictator; banished for it, he went on to found his own Sinestro Corps, armed with fear instead of will.

Which scientist debuted as the original Ant-Man, with the power to shrink to the size of an ant?

Hank Pym first shrank in 'The Man in the Ant Hill', a one-off science-fiction tale of 1962 with no costume and no hero name; he returned eight issues later as Ant-Man.

What type of radiation exposure transformed Bruce Banner into the Hulk?

Gamma radiation from a test bomb caught Bruce Banner as he pushed Rick Jones, a teenager who had driven onto the range on a dare, into a trench.

Which character was created for Batman: The Animated Series before ever appearing in a comic?

Harley Quinn was written as a one-off henchwoman for a single 1992 episode, but the producers kept bringing her back, and she reached the comics a year later.

Which of these is one of the six main Infinity Gems?

The six are Mind, Power, Reality, Soul, Space and Time; Marvel later renamed them Stones and recoloured them to match the films.

Which hero was blinded as a child by radioactive chemicals that sharpened his other senses?

Daredevil is Matt Murdock, who as a boy pushed a blind man out of the path of a truck; its radioactive cargo spilled on him, taking his sight but leaving him a radar-like sense.

Which Marvel film was the highest-grossing film of all time from July 2019 until March 2021?

Avengers: Endgame passed Avatar in July 2019; Avatar took the record back with a 2021 re-release in China, and Endgame's own re-release reclaimed it in October 2026.

What is the name of the hidden island of the Amazons where Princess Diana was raised?

Themyscira began life in 1941 as plain Paradise Island; later writers renamed it after the Amazons' ancient home in Greek myth.

Which symbiote-bonded character was partly based on a fan's contest submission that Marvel purchased?

Venom's black costume began as fan Randy Schueller's 1982 contest pitch for Spider-Man, which Marvel bought for $220; the alien suit later became the symbiote Venom.

Which speedster was the original Flash of the 1940s, introduced in Flash Comics #1?

Jay Garrick became the Flash after inhaling hard-water fumes in a college lab accident; Barry Allen did not take over the name until Showcase #4 in 1956.

Kryptonite made its official debut in 1943 in which medium, six years before it reached the comics?

A radio serial, The Adventures of Superman, introduced kryptonite in 1943; a 1940 comic story about a similar 'K-Metal' had been shelved unpublished, so print waited until 1949.

Which Marvel villain collected all six Infinity Stones to wipe out half of all life in the universe?

Thanos kills half the universe in the 1991 comic The Infinity Gauntlet to win the affection of Death herself, the cosmic figure he is in love with.

Which ancient beings from the planet Oa created the Green Lantern Corps?

Guardians of the Universe first policed space with androids, the Manhunters; only after the machines turned on the living did they recruit the Green Lantern Corps.

Psychologist William Moulton Marston, creator of DC's Amazon princess, also co-invented an early prototype of what?

William Moulton Marston's systolic blood-pressure test became an early component of the polygraph, or lie detector; he went on to create Wonder Woman, who debuted in All Star Comics #8 in 1941.

Which superhero, leader of a team empowered by cosmic rays, can stretch his body into any shape?

Mr. Fantastic, Reed Richards, got his powers on an unauthorised test flight of his own rocket, taken to beat the Communists into space despite warnings that its shielding was too thin.

Which metal are Wolverine's claws and skeleton bonded with?

Adamantium was long assumed to be what the claws themselves were made of, until Magneto tore the metal out of Wolverine's body in 1993 and bone claws were left behind.

Bucky Barnes returned from apparent wartime death in 2005 as which brainwashed assassin?

Winter Soldier was Bucky, pulled from the sea by a Soviet submarine, fitted with a bionic arm and kept frozen between missions for decades.

What is the civilian occupation of Barry Allen, the Flash introduced in 1956?

Barry Allen works as a forensic scientist for the Central City Police Department. He gained his super-speed when struck by lightning while surrounded by chemicals in his lab.

Which organization trained Black Widow to become a spy and assassin?

Black Widow was trained in the Red Room, a Soviet program that turned young girls into elite spies and assassins; she later defected and joined S.H.I.E.L.D.

Which villain is the archenemy of the Fantastic Four and rules the fictional nation of Latveria?

Doctor Doom was Reed Richards's college rival; a machine he built to reach his dead mother blew up in his face, and he has blamed Richards for the scars ever since.

What object gives a Green Lantern their abilities?

A ring powers every Green Lantern, though for decades it came with an odd flaw: it could not affect anything coloured yellow, a weakness their enemies were quick to exploit.

Thor made his Marvel debut in 1962 in issue #83 of which anthology title?

Journey into Mystery #83 (August 1962) introduced Thor; the hero took over the anthology so completely that it was renamed Thor with issue #126 in 1966.

Which superhero team operates from the Watchtower, a satellite headquarters orbiting Earth?

The Justice League's Watchtower began in Grant Morrison's JLA as a base on the Moon; only after that one was destroyed did the comics put a satellite Watchtower in orbit.

What is the name of the AI assistant that runs Iron Man's suits in the early MCU films?

J.A.R.V.I.S. is named after Edwin Jarvis, the Stark family's human butler in the comics; in a 2015 sequel the program is uploaded into a synthetic body and becomes the hero Vision.

Which of these is Wonder Woman's signature weapon?

The Lasso of Truth began in the 1940s as a Magic Lasso that made captives obey any command; forcing them to tell the truth came to define it only later.

Each of Nightcrawler's teleports releases a puff of another dimension's air with what smell?

Nightcrawler's teleports leave a smell of brimstone, sulphurous air from the dimension he passes through; the 'Bamf!' sound is air rushing in to fill the space he just left.

Which publisher created Superman and Batman?

DC grew out of National Allied Publications, founded by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson in 1935.

In the MCU, what does the 'H' in S.H.I.E.L.D. stand for?

Homeland sits in the films' Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division; the 1965 comics had 'Supreme Headquarters' and a 1991 rewrite 'Strategic Hazard'.

Which Batman villain was once the respected district attorney Harvey Dent?

Two-Face was born when Sal Maroni, a mob boss he was prosecuting, threw acid in Harvey Dent's face; he now settles every choice with a two-headed coin, scarred on one side.

Spider-Man first appeared in 1962 in issue #15 of which anthology comic?

Spider-Man debuted in Amazing Fantasy #15 (August 1962), the anthology's final issue; sales were strong enough that Marvel launched The Amazing Spider-Man seven months later, in March 1963.

In the X-Men films, what is the real name of the villain Magneto?

Erik Lehnsherr is his name in the films; the comics later revealed it as a forged identity bought by Max Eisenhardt, a German Jew who survived Auschwitz.

Which writer was only added to Batman's 'created by' credit in 2015, decades after his death?

Bill Finger wrote Batman's first stories, but Bob Kane's contract with DC guaranteed Kane the sole credit; Finger died in 1974, and his name was added only in 2015.

Which cosmic Marvel entity, once a mortal man, is known as the 'Devourer of Worlds'?

Galactus was once Galan, an explorer who survived the death of the universe before ours and was reborn in the Big Bang with a hunger only living planets can feed.

Which superhero was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby in 1941?

Captain America punches Adolf Hitler on the cover of his first issue, cover-dated March 1941 but on sale in December 1940, a year before the United States entered the war.

In the DC universe, which hero is the king of Atlantis?

Aquaman was no royal in his 1941 debut, just the son of an undersea explorer who taught him to live underwater; a 1959 retelling gave him a mother from Atlantis.

What is Superman's birth name?

Kal-El is the name his parents gave him before sending him to Earth as a baby; the earliest stories spelt it Kal-L, a spelling DC later kept for the original 1938 Superman of Earth-Two.

Whose name honours a Scottish king and a general?

Bruce Wayne takes his first name from Robert the Bruce and his surname from 'Mad Anthony' Wayne, a Revolutionary War general; his writer said he wanted a name that suggested colonial gentry.

John Byrne's 1986 Superman reboot, which recast Lex Luthor as a corporate tycoon, shares its title with which Superman nickname?

The Man of Steel retold Superman's origin from scratch after Crisis on Infinite Earths reset DC's continuity; the 2013 film Man of Steel borrowed both its title and parts of its story.

What is the name of Thor's home realm?

Asgard was destroyed in Ragnarök, and Thor rebuilt it somewhere unexpected: floating a few feet above the ground outside the small town of Broxton, Oklahoma.

Which telepathic gorilla is a long-running enemy of the Flash?

Grodd comes from Gorilla City, a hidden African city of intelligent, talking gorillas; in one telling, a rock that fell from space gave the apes their minds and Grodd his mental powers.

Which team's original 1963 lineup was Iron Man, Ant-Man, Hulk, Thor, and the Wasp?

The Avengers formed in Avengers #1 (September 1963), when the Wasp named the group after they beat Loki; Captain America joined in issue #4 and the Hulk quit at the end of issue #2.

Which superhero is also known as the 'Merc with a Mouth'?

Deadpool, the wisecracking 'Merc with a Mouth', debuted in New Mutants #98 as a villain, a mercenary sent to collect a bounty on Cable's head.

What newspaper does Clark Kent work for?

The Daily Planet was the Daily Star in Superman's 1938 debut, named by Joe Shuster after the Toronto newspaper he grew up with; it took its famous name in 1940.

Which Batman villain turns to crime to cure his terminally ill wife, Nora?

Mr. Freeze was a gimmick villain called Mr. Zero until the 1960s TV show renamed him; a 1992 animated episode, 'Heart of Ice', gave him Nora and the tragic motive the comics then adopted.

Which X-Man absorbs the powers and memories of anyone she touches?

Rogue absorbs the powers and memories of anyone she touches; she debuted as a villain in Avengers Annual #10 (1981) before joining the X-Men in Uncanny X-Men #171.

In the Iron Man films, what device powers the electromagnet keeping shrapnel from Tony Stark's heart?

The arc reactor powers the electromagnet in Tony Stark's chest; Stark and Yinsen build the first one in a cave, and Obadiah Stane rips the improved version out of him in Iron Man (2008).

Which superhero can run at super speed and is known as the 'Scarlet Speedster'?

The Flash is DC's premiere speedster, with Barry Allen being the most well-known version. He draws his speed from the Speed Force.

What is the real name of the Marvel hero known as Black Widow?

Natasha Romanoff debuted in 1964 as a villain, a spy for the Soviet Union; she later defected to the United States, joined S.H.I.E.L.D. and became an Avenger.

Which New York City address became the Fantastic Four's headquarters in Fantastic Four #3?

The Baxter Building, a 35-story Manhattan tower whose top five floors house the Fantastic Four, appeared in Fantastic Four #3 (1962); after its destruction, Four Freedoms Plaza rose on the site.

Which comic book legend co-created Spider-Man, the X-Men, and the Fantastic Four?

Stan Lee co-created the Fantastic Four with Jack Kirby in 1961, the hit that turned a small publisher then called Atlas into Marvel; Spider-Man, with Steve Ditko, followed a year later.

Which science-fiction novelist scripted Green Lantern comics in the 1940s?

Alfred Bester scripted Green Lantern in the 1940s and is credited with the oath that begins 'In brightest day, in blackest night'; DC's 2009 crossover Blackest Night echoes its second phrase.

Which X-Men villain, born En Sabah Nur in ancient Egypt, styles himself the first mutant?

Apocalypse was abandoned in the desert as a baby for his grey skin and raised by nomad raiders, whose creed, survival of the fittest, he has enforced ever since.

What is the name of the Punisher's real identity?

The Punisher is Frank Castle, a Marine veteran whose wife and children were killed by the mob after witnessing a Central Park murder; he debuted in The Amazing Spider-Man #129 (1974).

Which Daily Bugle publisher debuted in 1963 as Spider-Man's loudest critic?

J. Jonah Jameson was already denouncing Spider-Man in The Amazing Spider-Man #1, the same issue in which the hero saves his astronaut son's falling space capsule.

Which Batman villain is the alter ego of psychology professor Jonathan Crane?

Scarecrow, Jonathan Crane, was bullied at school for his lanky looks; he grew up obsessed with fear, became a psychologist and developed a hallucinogenic fear toxin.

Which DC archer, the billionaire Oliver Queen, fights crime in Star City?

Green Arrow debuted in More Fun Comics #73 (1941) with a quiver of trick arrows; DC killed him off in the 1990s and his son Connor Hawke took up the bow for a time.

Which telepath founded the X-Men and trains young mutants at his Westchester mansion?

Charles Xavier, Professor X, turned his family mansion into a school after the alien Lucifer dropped a stone block on him in the Himalayas, costing him the use of his legs.

Which Kree warrior, once trapped in the Negative Zone, swaps places with teenager Rick Jones?

Mar-Vell and Rick Jones trade places by striking the Nega-Bands together, leaving one of them in the Negative Zone; Marvel's first graphic novel, in 1982, had the Kree hero die of cancer rather than in battle.

Near which fictional town did the infant Superman's rocket land?

Smallville, Kansas is where Jonathan and Martha Kent raised Clark, yet the comics took until 1949 to give the town a name and for years never said which state it was in.

Which identity did Dick Grayson adopt after giving up the Robin role?

Dick Grayson, the original Robin, became Nightwing in Tales of the Teen Titans #44 (1984) and later protected the city of Blüdhaven in his own series.

In the 'Death of Superman' storyline, which villain killed Superman?

Doomsday and Superman beat each other to death in Superman #75 (cover-dated January 1993), whose collector's edition came bagged with a black mourning armband; he returned later that year in 'Reign of the Supermen!'.

On which planet was the Silver Surfer born as Norrin Radd?

Zenn-La was Norrin Radd's peaceful homeworld; the young astronomer offered to serve as herald to the planet-eater threatening it so that his world would be spared, and was remade as the Silver Surfer.

Which superhero team was formed in response to a United Nations charter in DC Comics?

Justice League International (JLI), launched in 1987 by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis, operated under a UN charter with embassies worldwide, giving the team a political dimension.

What is the civilian name of the Green Lantern who is a test pilot from Coast City?

Hal Jordan, a Ferris Aircraft test pilot, was picked as successor by the dying alien Abin Sur, who had crash-landed on Earth; he first appeared in Showcase #22 in 1959.

In which 1988 storyline did a phone vote decide whether Robin (Jason Todd) lived or died?

A Death in the Family let readers phone in a verdict on Jason Todd, and by a narrow margin they chose death; DC later brought him back as the antihero Red Hood.

Which Marvel martial artist gained his power by defeating a dragon in the mystical city of K'un-Lun?

Iron Fist, Danny Rand, beat the dragon Shou-Lao the Undying and drew the power from its molten heart; he debuted in Marvel Premiere #15 (1974).

What was the first major superhero crossover between Marvel and DC, published in 1976?

Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man (1976) was the first superhero crossover between Marvel and DC; tricked into fighting each other by Lex Luthor and Doctor Octopus, the two heroes then team up against them.

Which DC villain, tyrant of the planet Apokolips, did Jack Kirby create after leaving Marvel in 1970?

Darkseid, Kirby's great villain for DC, hunts the Anti-Life Equation, a formula that would strip every living being of free will; he first cameoed in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 (1970).

Which 1991 Barry Windsor-Smith story arc in Marvel Comics Presents depicted the program that experimented on Wolverine?

Weapon X ran in Marvel Comics Presents #72-84 (1991) and showed scientists wiping Logan's mind and bonding metal to his bones; Barry Windsor-Smith wrote, drew, inked and coloured it himself.

In Crisis on Infinite Earths (1985), which hero died fighting the Anti-Monitor?

Supergirl died saving Superman from the Anti-Monitor in Crisis on Infinite Earths #7, and when the universe was rebooted every memory of Kara Zor-El was erased with it.

In which Marvel storyline did the Scarlet Witch say 'No more mutants', stripping most mutants of their powers?

House of M ends when the Scarlet Witch's alternate reality collapses and her three words cut the world's mutants from millions to a few hundred, a fallout Marvel called the Decimation.

Which DC hero, teenager Jaime Reyes, gets his armour from an alien device fused to his spine?

Blue Beetle Jaime Reyes took home a scarab that grafted itself to his spine overnight; it proved to be the technology of an alien race, the Reach, and he debuted in Infinite Crisis #3 (2006).

For how much did Siegel and Shuster sell all rights to Superman in March 1938?

$130 bought every right to Superman from Siegel and Shuster, who spent decades in court trying to win him back; in 2012 the check itself sold at auction for $160,000.

Which 1936 comic-strip hero is credited as the first to fight crime in a skintight costume and mask?

The Phantom was meant to be a rich playboy in disguise until Lee Falk changed his mind mid-story and made him the 21st in a line of masked crime-fighters stretching back over 400 years.

The Justice Society of America, the first superhero team, debuted in which comic?

All Star Comics #3 (Winter 1940-41) gave the Justice Society of America its first meeting but no team battle: the heroes simply gather and take turns telling tales of their solo adventures.

Which Golden Age hero, accused of copying Superman, outsold him in the 1940s before a lawsuit ended his run in 1953?

Captain Marvel's publisher, Fawcett, settled the copyright suit and agreed never to publish him again; two decades later Superman's own publisher leased the hero it had driven off the stands.

Which writer-artist created the masked crimefighter the Spirit in 1940?

Will Eisner created the Spirit, masked crimefighter Denny Colt, for a newspaper comic-book supplement that launched in June 1940; the industry's Eisner Awards are named for him.

How often did the 1960s Batman TV series air during its first two seasons?

Batman aired twice a week on ABC in its first two seasons, with Wednesday cliffhangers resolved on Thursdays; Adam West and Burt Ward's 120 episodes ran from 1966 to 1968.

Superman (1978) was the most expensive film made to that point, with what budget?

Superman (1978) cost about $55 million, the most expensive film made to that point; it grossed some $300 million and premiered at Washington's Kennedy Center.

Who played Jor-El in Superman (1978)?

Marlon Brando played Jor-El on a contract that wrapped all his scenes in twelve days; he would not memorise his lines, so cue cards were placed around the set for him to read.

Heath Ledger's Joker won him a posthumous Oscar in which category?

Best Supporting Actor went to Heath Ledger at the 2009 Oscars, a year after his death, and his family accepted the statuette for him; only Peter Finch had won an acting Oscar posthumously before.

The Dark Knight was the first major motion picture to be shot partly with what?

IMAX cameras filmed several big action sequences, including the opening bank heist; Christopher Nolan reasoned that a camera carried up Mount Everest could cope with a feature film.

Which film-festival prize did Joker (2019) win?

Joker (2019) won the Golden Lion, the Venice Film Festival's top prize, in September 2019; it went on to become the first R-rated film to gross $1 billion.

Which Alan Moore series began as a pitch to reuse the Charlton heroes DC had just bought?

Watchmen began as a story for the Charlton heroes; because it would have left them unusable, DC editor Dick Giordano had Moore invent stand-ins such as Dr. Manhattan, modelled on Captain Atom.

Who voices costume designer Edna Mode in The Incredibles?

Director Brad Bird voiced Edna Mode himself after Lily Tomlin, who was offered the part, heard his version of the voice and told him he did not need her.

Which Spider-Man artist left Marvel to create Spawn, whose 1992 first issue sold 1.7 million copies?

Todd McFarlane pulled Spawn out of his high-school portfolio when he and other star artists walked out of Marvel; the first issue's sales set a record for an independent comic.

Which publisher did seven star artists found in 1992 so that creators could own their characters?

Image Comics was set up by seven artists who felt exploited at Marvel; under its charter the company owns only its name and logo, never a creator's work, and its first release was Youngblood #1.

Which publisher launched Mike Mignola's Hellboy in 1993?

Dark Horse Comics gave Hellboy his debut in a four-page story handed out at the 1993 San Diego Comic-Con; until then Mike Mignola had drawn only other publishers' characters.

In The Boys, which corporation manages the superpowered 'Supes'?

Vought International sells the Supes to the public as heroes while secretly creating them with its own formula, Compound V; Eric Kripke adapted Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson's comic for Prime Video in 2019.

Mark Grayson, hero of Invincible, is the son of which superhero?

Omni-Man, Nolan Grayson, said he had come to protect Earth but had really been sent to conquer it for the Viltrum Empire; Robert Kirkman and Cory Walker introduced him in Invincible #1 (2003).

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are named after what?

Italian Renaissance artists Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo gave the Turtles their names; Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird printed issue one in 1984 on a loan from Eastman's uncle.

Which hero, six years after Black Panther's debut, became Marvel's first African-American superhero to headline his own series?

Luke Cage headlined Hero for Hire #1 in June 1972, the first Marvel series built around an African-American superhero; its creators took their cue from the era's Blaxploitation films.

In which comic did the Falcon, Sam Wilson, debut in 1969?

Captain America #117 (September 1969) introduced the Falcon, drawn by Gene Colan; from issue #134 in 1971 the cover title became Captain America and the Falcon, a billing that lasted most of the decade.

Which Alpha Flight member became Marvel's first openly gay superhero in 1992?

Northstar came out in Alpha Flight #106 (1992) and married his partner Kyle in Astonishing X-Men #51 (2012), Marvel's first same-sex wedding.

Who directed Wonder Woman (2017) after walking away from Marvel's Thor sequel?

Patty Jenkins was hired in 2011 to direct Thor: The Dark World but left within months over creative differences; six years later her Wonder Woman grossed more than $800 million.

Who plays Superman in James Gunn's 2025 film, the first movie of the rebooted DC Universe?

David Corenswet plays a Superman already three years into the job: James Gunn's film skips the origin story and opens with the hero losing a fight for the first time.

Which actor plays a Batman only two years into his crusade in The Batman (2022)?

Robert Pattinson plays a second-year vigilante who hunts the Riddler through a string of murders and finds the trail of corruption leading back to his own family.

Which DC movie was the first to gross over $1 billion worldwide?

The Dark Knight ended its 2008 run just short, at about $997 million; a re-release the next year carried it past $1 billion, the first superhero film from any studio to get there.

What inspired the name and medieval costume of Batman's Boy Wonder sidekick?

Robin Hood gave the Boy Wonder his name and tunic: Jerry Robinson said he sketched the costume from a childhood Robin Hood book illustrated by N.C. Wyeth; Dick Grayson debuted in Detective Comics #38 (April 1940).

Who played Batgirl in the third season of the 1960s Batman TV series?

Yvonne Craig joined for the final season in September 1967; Batgirl had been devised with the show in mind to win female viewers, so the comics introduced Barbara Gordon that January.

After the Joker paralyzed her in The Killing Joke, Barbara Gordon was reinvented as whom?

Oracle debuted in Suicide Squad #23 (1989): writers Kim Yale and John Ostrander, unhappy at how Barbara Gordon had been discarded, revived her as a wheelchair-using information broker for other heroes.

How is Supergirl, Kara Zor-El, related to Superman?

His cousin: Kara is the daughter of his father's brother, and after her 1959 debut Superman kept her hidden in an orphanage as his 'secret weapon' for three years before telling the world.

Which writer-artist brought a 55-year-old Batman out of retirement in The Dark Knight Returns?

Frank Miller's 1986 series ends its hero's ten-year retirement, makes a young girl, Carrie Kelley, the new Robin and has the government send Superman to bring him in.

The backgrounds of Batman: The Animated Series were painted on what unusual surface?

Black paper replaced the usual white, so the artists painted light onto darkness rather than the reverse; the producers called the resulting mix of film noir and Art Deco 'Dark Deco'.

What rule did producers set for the 2001 TV series about a teenage Clark Kent?

'No tights, no flights' was Alfred Gough and Miles Millar's pitch to Warner Bros.: Tom Welling's Clark was not to fly or wear the suit, keeping the show on what turns a farm boy into a hero.

Which director's four-hour cut of Justice League reached HBO Max in 2021 after a fan hashtag campaign?

Zack Snyder had left the 2017 film after his daughter's death, and Joss Whedon reshot much of it; finishing Snyder's own version four years later cost about $70 million.

Which musician wrote the comic behind Netflix's The Umbrella Academy?

Gerard Way trained for a career in comics at New York's School of Visual Arts before he fronted My Chemical Romance; he created The Umbrella Academy with artist Gabriel Bá in 2007.

Why does Ralph in The Greatest American Hero struggle to use his alien suit?

He lost the instruction book the aliens gave him with the suit, so Ralph learns its powers by trial and error; he was briefly renamed from Hinkley to Hanley after John Hinckley shot President Reagan in 1981.

In Unbreakable, David Dunn discovers his powers after surviving what?

A train crash on Eastrail 177 leaves David Dunn the sole survivor, without a scratch; M. Night Shyamalan's early draft also had the villain of Split, whom he cut and saved for that later film.

Which 2008 Will Smith film is about an alcoholic superhero?

Hancock (2008) stars Will Smith as a hard-drinking superhero; Charlize Theron plays Mary, a friend's wife who turns out to have the same powers, and it grossed about $629 million worldwide.

How was Christopher Reeve paralyzed in 1995?

Christopher Reeve was thrown from a horse at an equestrian event in Virginia in May 1995; he had learned to ride for the film Anna Karenina and took up the sport seriously.

Which actor played the title hero in the 2011 film Green Lantern?

Ryan Reynolds won the part over Bradley Cooper, Justin Timberlake and Jared Leto; in a later film's end-credits joke his character travels back in time and shoots him as he finishes reading the script.

Who directed Batman & Robin (1997), which starred George Clooney as Batman?

Joel Schumacher directed Batman & Robin after Batman Forever and said the studio gave him a mandate to make it more 'toyetic'; toy makers reportedly sat in on the pre-production meetings.

Which pop star wrote songs for Tim Burton's Batman (1989)?

Prince's album of songs for the film gave him a US number one with 'Batdance'; the producers had first wanted him only for the villain's music, with Michael Jackson singing the romance songs.

Where does Lee Falk's 'Ghost Who Walks' live, according to the comic strip?

The Phantom lives in the Skull Cave, deep in the jungle of Bangalla, with his wolf Devil and his horse Hero.

What was Kevin Conroy's role in the DC Animated Universe?

The voice of Batman from 1992's Batman: The Animated Series onward, Kevin Conroy gave the hero and his alter ego two different voices, finding the husky one at a cold audition.

In which Manhattan neighbourhood does Doctor Strange keep his Sanctum Sanctorum?

Greenwich Village's 177A Bleecker Street became Doctor Strange's address because Marvel writers Roy Thomas and Gary Friedrich had once shared an apartment there.

Hawkeye debuted in 1964 as an antagonist of which Marvel hero before joining the Avengers?

Hawkeye debuted in Tales of Suspense #57 (1964) as a foe of Iron Man, manipulated by the Black Widow, before joining the Avengers in 1965; artist Don Heck imagined him as a Robin Hood type.

Which villain created the Vision in 1968 to destroy the Avengers?

Ultron built the Vision in Avengers #57 (1968) as a weapon against the team, but the android turned on its maker and joined the Avengers instead.

Which stretchy hero, created by Jack Cole in 1941, began as a crook named Eel O'Brian?

Plastic Man was the crook Eel O'Brian until he was shot and splashed with acid during a robbery; abandoned by his gang, he was nursed by monks whose kindness turned him honest.

Kamala Khan, the Ms. Marvel introduced in 2013, is a teenager of which heritage?

Pakistani-American teenager Kamala Khan, from Jersey City, took the Ms. Marvel name from her idol Carol Danvers; in 2014 she became Marvel's first Muslim character to headline her own comic.

Which DC stage magician casts real spells by speaking her commands backwards?

Zatanna speaks her spells backwards, as her father Zatara did; she debuted in Hawkman #4 (1964), asking the hero to help her find him after he had vanished.

Which dictator does the hero punch on the cover of Captain America Comics #1, on sale in December 1940?

Adolf Hitler takes the punch a full year before Pearl Harbor brought the United States into the war. The issue sold nearly one million copies.

Rocket Raccoon of the Guardians of the Galaxy took his name from a 1968 song by which band?

The Beatles' "Rocky Raccoon" lent the character his name, and in his 1976 comics debut he was simply called Rocky.

Which Marvel spymaster was redrawn to resemble Samuel L. Jackson years before the actor played him on film?

Nick Fury was remodelled on Jackson's appearance and screen persona in Marvel's Ultimate comics, years before a 2008 film first cast the actor in the part.

Which actor's casting as Batman for Tim Burton's 1989 film drew 50,000 protest letters from comic book fans?

Michael Keaton had been typecast as a comedic actor, so many fans doubted he could carry a serious role as the Caped Crusader.

Which costume feature does designer Edna Mode refuse to add to any super-suit in Pixar's The Incredibles?

Capes get a firm "no" from Edna because they contributed to the deaths of heroes such as Thunderhead, Stratogale and Splashdown. One was pulled into a jet turbine.

Which country is the birthplace of the X-Men's Wolverine, who debuted in 1974 as a rival of the Hulk?

Canada got its own hero because Marvel editor Roy Thomas asked for a Canadian character and thought the wolverine a typically Canadian animal.

Which Guardians of the Galaxy member, voiced by Vin Diesel, first appeared in 1960 as an alien invader?

Groot debuted as a tree monster who came to Earth to capture humans for study. Decades later the comics recast the hero as a different member of that species.

Which Oscar-winning 2014 animated film about the inflatable robot Baymax was loosely based on a Marvel comic?

Big Hero 6 was found by director Don Hall while scrolling through a Marvel database. He had never heard of the comic before.

Which institution in Batman comics takes its name from a fictional city in H. P. Lovecraft's stories?

Arkham Asylum has a grim history to match: its own architect became mentally unwell and hacked his workers to death with an axe.

Which martial arts star played Kato, the masked hero's valet and partner, in the 1966 TV series The Green Hornet?

Bruce Lee proved so popular in Hong Kong, where he was raised, that the series was marketed there as The Kato Show.

Which reporter has been the main love interest of Superman ever since his first comic book appearance in 1938?

Lois Lane took her name from actress Lola Lane and her character from Torchy Blane, the headline-hunting reporter of a series of 1930s films.

Which butler, a retired actor and former British intelligence agent, serves as Batman's confidant and father figure?

Alfred Pennyworth was drawn overweight at first, then sent to a health resort to slim down so he would match the trim actor in the 1943 film serial.

Whose murder by a burglar teaches the teenage Spider-Man that with great power must come great responsibility?

Uncle Ben died because Spider-Man had earlier refused to stop that same burglar, saying that catching criminals was not his job.

Which actor played Spider-Man in Sam Raimi's film trilogy, released between 2002 and 2007?

Tobey Maguire returned to the part in Spider-Man: No Way Home in 2021, fourteen years after the trilogy ended.

Which adopted brother of Marvel's Thor, played on screen by Tom Hiddleston, got a Disney+ series of his own in 2021?

Loki went to Hiddleston only after the actor had first been considered for the lead role of the thunder god himself.

Which Marvel terrorist organization is revealed in the MCU to have secretly regrown inside S.H.I.E.L.D. over decades?

Hydra takes its name from the many-headed Lernaean Hydra of Greek myth, hence its boast: "Cut off one head, two more shall take its place."

Which DC team of jailed supervillains takes on deadly government missions in exchange for reduced prison sentences?

Suicide Squad members are run by political operator Amanda Waller, who treats them as expendable assets the government can deny.

Which whip-wielding jewel thief, real name Selina Kyle, has tangled with the Caped Crusader since Batman #1 in 1940?

Catwoman was simply called "the Cat" in that debut, where she disguised herself as an old woman to pull off a burglary.

Which actor played Jackie Robinson, James Brown and Thurgood Marshall before starring in Marvel's Black Panther in 2018?

Chadwick Boseman filmed Black Panther while privately fighting colon cancer, a diagnosis he never spoke about publicly.

Which Star Wars actor first voiced the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series, which began in 1992?

Mark Hamill made the cackling villain his best-known voice role, earning two Annie Award nominations and a BAFTA Game Award.

Which Australian actor landed the part of Wolverine in X-Men (2000) only after Dougray Scott had to drop out?

Hugh Jackman was a last-second choice, cast three weeks into filming, in what became his American debut.

Which villain, Johann Schmidt, played on film by Hugo Weaving in 2011, is Captain America's enduring archenemy?

Red Skull was first unmasked as an American businessman, George Maxon. Later stories recast Maxon as a mere decoy working for the real villain.

Which Spider-Man villain, secretly the industrialist Norman Osborn, kills Gwen Stacy in one of comics' landmark stories?

Green Goblin terrorizes New York with Halloween-themed gear: grenade-like pumpkin bombs, razor-sharp bat-shaped blades and a flying glider.

Which bald New York villain, real name Wilson Fisk, first appeared as a Spider-Man foe in 1967?

Kingpin weighs 450 pounds, most of it muscle rather than fat, and he has trained in sumo wrestling.

Which villain breaks Batman's back and leaves him paraplegic in the Knightfall storyline of the 1990s?

Bane spent his childhood in a Caribbean prison, made to serve the life sentence handed down to his fugitive father.

Which Batman villain did artist Bob Kane say was inspired by the top-hatted mascot of Kool cigarettes?

The Penguin, born Oswald Cobblepot, carries umbrellas that may conceal a gun, a gas sprayer, a knife or even a mini-helicopter.

Which X-Men field commander, real name Scott Summers, must wear ruby-quartz lenses to see safely?

Cyclops fires beams from his eyes that never switch off, so only his own eyelids or a shield of ruby quartz can hold them back.

Which Spider-Man, a Brooklyn teenager introduced in 2011, is the star of the animated Spider-Verse films?

Miles Morales owes his look partly to Donald Glover, whom writer Brian Michael Bendis saw wearing Spider-Man pajamas in the sitcom Community.

Which caped leader of the Seven, a twisted parody of Superman, is played by Antony Starr in The Boys?

In the original comics, Homelander's cover story says he landed in America as an alien infant. In truth he was grown in a secret laboratory.

Which English writer of Watchmen and V for Vendetta is also a practising ceremonial magician and occultist?

Alan Moore objects to Hollywood versions of his comics, yet From Hell, V for Vendetta and Watchmen all reached cinemas anyway.

Which Watchmen character, an atomic physicist caught in a laboratory accident, returns as a glowing blue being?

Dr. Manhattan had planned to be a watchmaker like his father, who pushed him into nuclear physics after the atomic bomb fell on Hiroshima.

Which Marvel hero, twin brother of the Scarlet Witch, was played by different actors for two rival film studios?

Quicksilver fell into a rights dispute between Marvel and 20th Century Fox, so Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Evan Peters each played him on screen.

Which Marvel hero, a former test pilot named Ben Grimm, shouts "It's clobberin' time!" before a fight?

The Thing grew up poor on Yancy Street and earned several advanced engineering degrees before flying for the Marine Corps.

Which bodybuilder played the green-skinned title character in the 1970s TV series The Incredible Hulk?

Lou Ferrigno replaced Richard Kiel after filming had begun, and Arnold Schwarzenegger was turned down for the part as too short.

Which composer of the Jaws and Star Wars scores wrote the main theme for Superman (1978)?

John Williams got the job only when Jerry Goldsmith, the first choice to score the film, dropped out over scheduling conflicts.

Which Irish rock band's singer and guitarist wrote the songs for the Broadway musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark?

U2's Bono and the Edge scored a $75 million show, the costliest Broadway had yet seen, in which several actors were injured performing stunts.

What was the profession of Marvel's Stephen Strange before a car accident ruined his hands and led him to sorcery?

Neurosurgeon Strange was too vain to accept a teaching job, and wasted all his money on failed treatments before he turned to magic.

Which 2021 Marvel series traps the Scarlet Witch in a suburban world styled after decades of American sitcoms?

WandaVision earned 23 Primetime Emmy nominations and won three, one of them for its original music and lyrics.

Which manga and anime follows Izuku Midoriya, born without a "Quirk" in a world where superpowers are commonplace?

My Hero Academia had more than 100 million copies in circulation by April 2024, placing it among the best-selling manga series of all time.

Which director of Inception and Interstellar rebooted Batman on film in 2005 with Christian Bale in the lead?

Christopher Nolan was hired after the studio rejected a Batman origin pitch from Joss Whedon, and his film helped popularize the word "reboot" in Hollywood.

Which petty mugger, not given a name until 1948, kills the parents of the future Batman in most tellings?

Joe Chill was later rewritten as a hitman rather than a random thief, acting on the orders of mob boss Lew Moxon.

Which imp from the fifth dimension goes home only when Superman tricks him into saying his own name backwards?

Mr. Mxyzptlk must then stay away for a minimum of 90 days. When he first appeared in the Golden Age his name was spelled Mxyztplk.

Which number labels the main universe of Marvel comics, a tag first printed in a 1983 Captain Britain story?

616 first served to tell the regular Captain Britain apart from his counterparts in other universes. The villain Mysterio borrows the label in Spider-Man: Far From Home.

Under which name did pulp publisher Martin Goodman found, in 1939, the company that later became Marvel?

Timely Comics opened with a title called Marvel Comics #1 in October 1939, long before the company took the Marvel name for itself in the 1960s.

Which interview-shy artist designed Spider-Man's costume and wrist web-shooters and then created Doctor Strange?

Steve Ditko largely declined interviews, yet he answered fan mail by hand, sending thousands of letters during his lifetime.

Which Superman villain, introduced in 1958, shrank the city of Kandor and kept it in a bottle?

Brainiac's name, a blend of brain and maniac, is believed to have inspired the everyday word for a freakishly intelligent person.

Which Marvel character starred in a 1986 box-office flop that had George Lucas as executive producer?

Howard the Duck was the first Marvel character in cinemas since a 1944 serial, and his film took home four Golden Raspberry Awards.

Which actor, one of Scarlett O'Hara's suitors in Gone with the Wind, became television's Superman in 1952?

George Reeves hoped the role had some adult fans and never learned that Adventures of Superman had them all along.

Which psychiatrist's 1954 book Seduction of the Innocent claimed that comic books turned young readers into delinquents?

Fredric Wertham's campaign, together with Senate hearings that same year, led publishers to censor themselves through the Comics Code Authority.

Which writer's 16-year run on Uncanny X-Men, from 1975 to 1991, produced The Dark Phoenix Saga and Days of Future Past?

Chris Claremont turned a once-underachieving comic into the world's best-seller, and his 1991 spin-off X-Men #1 sold over 8.1 million copies.