History of Superheroes
Name That Character (by power)
Name That Character (by origin)
DC or Marvel
True or False
100

Who is considered to be first mainstream hero?

Superman

Superman (est. 1938) is thought to be the first most iconic superhero, but there were more before him. Zorro, Doc Savage, the Green Hornet, and the Phantom are a few characters that have origin stories that may sound familiar to superhero fans, and they all came years before Superman.

100

Can crawl on walls, shoots webs, and quick reflexes

Spider-Man

100

Rich guy nearly dies and starts to spend a lot of money to keep himself alive and look cool at the same time.

Iron Man

100

Who released the superhero movie that made the most money?

Marvel, Avengers Endgame

Marvel didn't release the highest-grossing superhero movie, they released the highest-grossing MOVIE of all time! In fact, as of 11/2020, Marvel has released 9 of the top 30 highest-grossing films of all time. DC has released 2/30. And they are 23rd and 30th on the list.

100

Stan Lee, creator of Marvel characters like Spider-Man, Thor, X-Men, Black Panther, Iron Man, and about 200 others has appeared in every single Marvel movie.

False


While he has had over 60 cameos, there are a few movies where he didn't make an appearance.

200

What year did the word "superhero" originate? 

(range of 10)

1917

The term was used to "describe a public figure of great talents or accomplishments" (Britannica) but it wasn't used to describe characters in the comics until the mid 1940's!

200

Swims really well and can talk with ocean creatures

Aquaman

200

Rich kid sees something tragic and when they grow up vows to spend their life (and money) to make their city a safer place.

Batman

200

Who released the first comic book?

DC Comics

Between the two, DC is the first to create a comic book with all original content (1935). Marvel released their first comic book 4 years later in 1939.

200

Wonder Woman (2017) was the first feature film to have a female superhero lead

False!

Multiple attempts at a female-led superhero film had taken place before Wonder Woman, however, none of them found the same success. Supergirl (1984) is credited as the first female superhero film followed by Catwoman (2004) and Electra (2005), all considered flops.

300

How were superheroes first created? 

A. Books

B. Newspapers/Magazines

C.TV

D. Radio shows 

E. Comic Books, duh

B. Newspapers/Magazines

Before there were comic books, there were comic strips printed in newspapers and magazines. These comics were then taken and put into comic books. When these comics took off, then came the radio and TV shows, and later movies.

300

Entire body lights on fire and can fly

The Human Torch 

300

A surgeon who after an accident, lost the ability to work with his hands. Sought out the help from a higher power.

Doctor Strange

300

Who released the first mainstream superhero movie?

DC, Superman, 1978

Between the two, DC beat it to the box office. However the FIRST superhero movie credit goes to The Mark of Zorro, a silent film from 1920.

Superhero movies didn't really start to pick up until the late 1980's with the release of Batman. Marvel jumped on the bandwagon with the X-Men and Spiderman movies in the early 2000's.

300

Captain America was developed during World War || to boost morale.

True!

Comics saw a huge increase in "patriotic" heroes during the '40s. 

400

What is the first superhero to have its own theme song?

Batman

We got our first superhero theme in 1966. One year later, we'd be gifted with the iconic Spider-Man theme.

400

No super "powers" but is brilliant and uses chemistry to do research into peoples biggest fears. 

Scarecrow

Fun Fact, the actor who portrays the Scarecrow in Batman Begins (2005), Cillian Murphy, originally auditioned to be Batman. He didn't get the part, but the director loved Murphy's acting so much, he wrote Scarecrow to be the movie's villain.

400

Has no memory of their past or their own age. Was tested on because of their mutant abilities. Escaped and only had dog tags as a form of identity.

Wolverine

400

Who created the first superhero "team"?

DC, the Justice Society of America, 1940

Composed of the Flash, the Green Lantern, and some lesser-known heroes, the JSA is credited as the first DC team. Hero teams would start picking up as much attention until 1960 with DC's Justice League. To keep up with the JL's success, Marvel unveiled their first superhero team in 1961... the Fantastic Four! 


400

Kryptonite, Superman's infamous weakness was first mentioned on a radio show.

True!

Listening to radio shows was a popular family past-time in the mid-1900s. When the Superman comics started to become popular, radio decided to jump on the bandwagon as well.

500

The most expensive comic book ever sold was  Action Comics #1... $3 million!

What was the original price of the comic?

$0.10

10 cents in 1938 would equal about $1.78 in today's currency. However if you were to go buy a comic today, that would cost you $2.99-4.99!

This was the first comic to feature Superman!

500

Money and Angst

Batman

500

Brilliant physicist and inventor. Spends their time devoted to work and needed extra arms to get their work done. The use of the arms drive them mad and angry. 

Doctor Octopus 

500

Who at one point, filed for bankruptcy?

Marvel

In 1996, comics weren't selling well and Marvel borrowed more than they could payback. Most movie attempts leading up to 1998 were complete busts. But in 1998, Blade, based on a Marvel comic, helped Marvel see the potential. They came out of bankruptcy and found success with Fox adapting X-Men (2000) and Spiderman (2002) to film. The rest is history.

500

Stan Lee created Wolverine

False.