A superhero (sometimes rendered super-hero or super hero) is a type of stock character possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers" and dedicated to protecting the public.

Superheroes will sometimes combat other threats such as aliens, magical/fantasy entities, natural disasters, political ideologies such as Nazism or communism (and their proponents), and godlike or demonic creatures.

[2] A similar device was used in the Marvel Comics universe in the mid-2000s, where a "Superhero Registration Act" is passed, that requires superpowered individuals to not only register with the government, but to make themselves available to be drafted to respond to emergencies.

In an essay Ethan Faust argued that the depiction of superheroes in the 2004 film The Incredibles is used to examine societal attitudes towards those with disabilities, first by showing them through the prism of ableism in providing unwanted help to people they view as unable to help themselves and later as those forced to hide their differences that are now an object of discrimination.

[4] A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies, and science fiction in various media.

Even without actual physical, mystical, superhuman or superalien powers, the supervillain often possesses a genius intellect that allows him to draft complex schemes or create fantastic devices.

Over the history of the comic book genre, writers for major characters' series were required to produce material to strict regular publishing schedules that often ran for years.

The mythologies of many ancient civilizations feature pantheons of gods and goddesses with superhuman powers, as well as heroes such as Hanuman, Gilgamesh, Perseus, Odysseus and David and demigods like Heracles.

The hero's journey is a well-known archetypal story type in which the protagonist undertakes a quest to achieve both material advantage and psychological and ethical maturity, and is generally considered to function as a metaphor and guide for children transitioning to adulthood or from egoism to altruism as the core concept of the self.

Antecedents of the superhero archetype include such folkloric heroes as Robin Hood, who adventured in distinctive clothing, and King Arthur, who possessed a supernatural weapon,[13] Penny dreadfuls, shilling shockers, dime novels, radio programs, and other popular fiction of the late 19th and early 20th centuries featured mysterious, swashbuckling heroes with distinct costumes, unusual abilities and altruistic missions.

The 1903 play The Scarlet Pimpernel and its spinoffs further popularized the idea of a masked avenger and the superhero trope of a secret identity;[13] such characters as the Green Hornet and the Scarecrow of Romney Marsh, would follow.

[17] The first masked crime-fighter created for comic books was writer-artist George Brenner's non-superpowered detective the Clock,[18][19] who debuted in Centaur Publications' Funny Pages #6 (Nov. 1936).

In August 1937, in a letter column of the pulp magazine Thrilling Wonder Stories, the word superhero was used to define the title character of the comic strip Zarnak by Max Plaisted.

[20][21] Historians point to the first appearance of Superman, created by Jerome "Jerry" Siegel and designed by Joseph "Joe" Shuster, in Action Comics #1 (June 1938) as the debut of the comic-book archetype of the superhero.

[22] Outside the American comics industry, superpowered, costumed superheroes, such as Ōgon Bat (1931) and the Prince of Gamma (ガンマ王子) (early 1930s), were visualized in painted panels used by kamishibai oral storytellers in Japan.

[25][26][27] By 1914, his abilities included superhuman strength, chanting incantations, appearing and disappearing, jumping to the top of the highest trees, riding on clouds, conjuring the elements (water, fire and wind), and transforming into other people or animals.

During World War II, superheroes grew in popularity, surviving paper rationing and the loss of many writers and illustrators to service in the armed forces.

By the mid-1950s, only Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman retained a sliver of their prior popularity, although effort towards complete inoffensiveness led to stories that many consider silly, especially by modern standards.

These comics continued DC's use of science fiction concepts (radiation was a common source of superpowers) but placed greater emphasis on personal conflict and character development.

For example, the Fantastic Four were a superhero family of sorts, who squabbled and even held some unresolved acrimony towards one another, and Spider-Man was a teenager who struggled to earn money and maintain his social life in addition to his costumed exploits.

This trend was reinforced in 2016 with the outstanding success of the critically lauded Deadpool, a film adaptation of a relatively minor Marvel Comics character that premiered at over $100 million in February, a time of year generally considered poor for movie audience interest.

[33] It was an observation further confirmed in 2018 when Black Panther was an even grander success with a $235 million debut in the same time of year,[34] and later became the first superhero film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Original superheroes with basis in older trends have also been made for television, such as Disney's Gargoyles by Greg Weisman and Cartoon Network's Ben 10 franchise and Nickelodeon's Danny Phantom.

In the 1990s and 2000s, Marvel and DC released novels adapting such story arcs as "The Death of Superman", "Planet Hulk", "Wonder Woman: Earth One", "Spider-Man: Birth of Venom" and Batman's "No Man's Land".

With the rise of e-book readers like Kindle and Nook, a host of superhero stories have been self-published, including R. R. Haywood's Extracted (2017), R. T. Leone's Invinciman (2017), and Mike Vago's Selfdestructible (2018).

Japanese superheroes date back to the 1930s, when some of the earliest superpowered costumed heroes appeared in Japan's kamishibai, a form of street theater where scenes are visualized in painted panels used by oral storytellers.

Additionally, Moonlight Mask, Ultraman, Kamen Rider, Super Sentai (the basis for Power Rangers), Metal Hero Series and Kikaider have become popular in Japanese tokusatsu live-action shows, and Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, Casshern, Devilman, Dragon Ball,[63][64] The Guyver, One-Punch Man, My Hero Academia and Sailor Moon are popular series of Japanese anime and manga.

In 1947, Filipino writer/cartoonist Mars Ravelo introduced the Asian superheroine Darna, a young Filipina country girl who found a mystic talisman-pebble from another planet that allows her to transform into an adult warrior-woman.

Biały Orzeł (White Eagle) is a Polish mainstream superhero created by brothers Adam and Maciej Kmiołek (and colored by Rex Lokus who also working for DC and Marvel).

Earlier attempts of introduction superhero convention in Poland includes Leopold Tyrmand's novel Zły - also known as The Man With White Eyes, Andrzej Kondratiuk's parodistic movie Hydrozagadka about Superman's-spoof As (Ace), Bond-esque cosmic superspy Tajfun (Typhoon) created by Tadeusz Raczkiewicz,[69] and cult following underground punk Likwidator (Liquidator) by Ryszard Dąbrowski, about anti-hero ecoterrorist anarchist vigilante comparable to Lobo and The Punisher.