However, it is possible the real appeal of these dual-identity heroes is something
else. Like Harrison Ford or Jennifer Garner, we all have several roles to play
and each of these roles may have a name, like Han Solo or Indiana Jones, or Elektra
or Sydney Bristow. As we watch the Lone Ranger or Wonder Woman mete out justice
we have an opportunity to imagine ourselves in yet another role. And since nobody
is supposed to know who the masked one is, it is easy to believe for the moment it
could be us.
This list includes only super heroes with a normal human alter ego. This means that characters
like Captain Comet, who is a
mutant meta-human and does not hide behind a civilian persona, are not shown here.
Hero Name
(Click name for link)
(Cursor on name brings image) |
Civilian Name
(Occupation) |
First Year
(Creator) |
Aquaman
 |
Arthur Curry Orin (king of Atlantis) |
1941 (DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger) |
| Batman
|
Bruce Wayne (billionaire industrialist) |
1939 (DC Comics. Created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger) |
| Black Canary
|
Dinah Drake (florist) |
1947 (DC Comics. Created by writer
Robert Kanigher and artist Carmine Infantino) |
| The Black Hood
|
Kip Burland (policeman) |
1940 (MLJ comics) |
| Captain America
|
Steve Rogers (freelance artist) |
1941 (Marvel Comics. Created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby) |
| Captain Marvel
|
Billy Batson (radio broadcaster) |
1939 (Originally published by Fawcett Comics and later by DC Comics.
Created by artist C. C. Beck and writer Bill Parker) |
| Catwoman
|
Selena Kyle (varingly wife of an abusive man, amnesiac flight attendant,
prostitute) |
1940, 1970s, 1986 (DC Comics. Originally created by
Bill Finger and Bob Kane Batman) |
| The Comet
(1) |
John Dickering (scientist, adventurer) |
1940 (MLJ comics. Created by Jack Cole) |
| The Comet
(1) (Impact Comics) |
Rob Connors (baseball player want-to-be) |
1940 (DC Comics' Impact Comics series. Created by
Tom Lyle and Mark Waid) |
| Daredevil
(old) |
Bart Hill (boomerang marksman) |
1940 (Lev Gleason Publications. Created by Jack Binder) |
| Daredevil
(new) |
Matt Murdock (lawyer) |
1964 (Marvel Comics Universe. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett |
| Doctor Fate
|
Kent Nelson (archaeologist) |
1940 (All-American Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Howard Sherman) |
| Doll Man
|
Darrell Dane (research chemist) |
1940 (Quality Comics--now DC Comics. Created by writer Will Eisner) |
| Durango Kid
|
Steve (last name varied) (cowboy) |
1940 (Columbia Pictures movies; played by Charles Starrett) |
| Flash
(old) |
Jay Garrick (college student) |
1940 (All-American Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert) |
| Flash
(new) |
Barry Allen (police scientist), (1956-1986);
Wally West, nephew of Barry Allen, (1986-2006);
Bart Allen, grandson of Barry Allen, (2006-)
| 1956 (DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox
and artist Harry Lampert) |
| Green Arrow
|
Oliver Queen (billionaire) |
1941 (DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp) |
| Green Hornet
|
Britt Reid (2) (newspaper publisher) |
1936 (Radio station WXYZ in Detroit. Created by Fran Striker) |
| Green Lantern
(old) |
Alan Scott (engineer) |
1940 (All-AMerican Comics. Created by writer
Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell) |
| Green Lantern
(new) |
Hal Jordan (test pilot) |
1959 (DC Comics. Created by John Broome and Gil Kane) |
| Hawkman
|
Carter Hall (archeologist) |
1940 (DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Dennis Neville) |
| Hourman
|
Rex Tyler (chemist) |
1940 (DC Comics. Created by Ken Fitch and Bernard Bailey) |
| The Hulk
|
Bruce Banner (nuclear physicist) |
1962 (Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby) |
| Invisible Woman
|
Susan (Storm) Richards (actress, mother) |
1961 (Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby) |
| Ironman
|
Anthony Stark (inventor) |
1963 (Marvel Comics universe. Created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber,
Don Heck and Jack Kirby) |
| Lone Ranger
|
John Reid (3) (former Texas Ranger) |
1933 (Radio station WXYZ in Detroit. Created by George W. Trendle
and developed by writer Fran Striker) |
| Metamorpho
|
Rex Mason (adventurer) |
1964 DC Comics. Created by Bob Haney) |
| Miss America
(original) |
Joan Dale (reporter) |
1941 (Quality Comics, DC Comics. Created by Elmer Wexler) |
| Miss America
|
Madeline Joyce (heiress, beauty queen) |
1943 (Timely/Marvel Comics. Created by writer
Otto Binder and artist Al Gabriele) |
| The Phantom
|
Kit Walker (crime fighter) |
1936 (King Features comicstrip. Created by Lee Falk,
also creator of Mandrake the Magician) |
| Plastic Man
|
Patrick “Eel” O’Brian (former crook turned crime fighter) |
1941 (Quality Comics and later acquired by DC Comics.
Created by writer-artist Jack Cole) |
| The Punisher
|
Frank Castle (war veteran) |
1974 (Marvel Comics Universe. Created by writer
Gerry Conway and artists John Romita, Sr. and Ross Andru) |
| Sandman
(4) |
Wesley Dodds (financier) |
1940 (DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner
Fox and artist Bert Christman) |
| The Shadow
|
Born Kent Allard, a famed aviator during World War I, faked his death and
became Lamont, wealthy man-about-town |
1930 (Dectective Stories Magazine. Created by Walter B. Gibson) |
| The Shield
|
Joe Higgins (FBI agent) |
1940 (MLJ, now known as Archie Comics. Created by writer Harry Shorten
and artist Irv Novick) |
| Spider-Man
|
Peter Parker (photographer) |
1962 (Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko) |
| The Spirit
|
Denny Colt (crime fighter) |
1940 (In newspapers. Created by Will Eisner) |
| Supergirl
(original) |
Linda Lee Danvers, alias Kara Zor-El (college graduate,
student counseling, news reporting, and TV acting) |
1958 (DC Comics. Created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino) |
| Supergirl
|
Linda Danvers (daughter of a policeman) |
1996 (DC Comics. Created by Peter David and Gary Frank) |
| Superman
|
Clark Kent, alias Kal-El (newspaper reporter) |
1938 (Detective Comics. Created by Jerry Siegel and Canadian artist Joe Shuster) |
| The Wasp
|
Janet Van Dyne (flighty heiress) |
1963 (Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby) |
| Wonder Man
(old) |
Fred Carson (unknown) |
1939 (Wonder Comics. Created by Will Eisner. One issue only
because DC Comics claimed copy infringement with its Superman character and sued.) |
| Wonder Man
|
Simon Williams (industrialist) |
1964 (Wonder Comics. Created by Stan Lee,
and artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby) |
| Wonder Woman
|
Diana Prince (Trevor) (secretary, nurse) |
1941 (All Star Comics. Created by William Moulton Marston) |
| Yellowjacket
(5) |
Henry Pym (biochemist) |
1962 (Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee,
Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby) |
| Yellowjacket
(5) |
Vince Harley (unkown) |
1944 (Charlton Comics. Creators unknown) |
| Zorro
|
Don Diego de la Vega (wealthy ranchero) |
1920 (All-Story Weekly magazine. Created by Johnston McCulley |
——
(1) Not to be confused with Captain Comet or
Comet the superhorse.
(2) grand-uncle of The Lone Ranger
(3) Britt Reid, the Green Hornet,
was the son (or grandson) of the nephew of John Reid, the Lone Ranger.
John and his brother Dan, who was killed in an ambush that led to John becoming
the Lone Ranger, had a silver mine that produced the Reid fortune inherited by Britt.
(4) This is not the Sandman who was Garrett Sanford, or who was
William Baker.
(5) Also known as Ant-Man, Giant-Man, and Goliath.
|
ome characters with
dual identities and anonymity chooses to duck in and out of their invincible
roles rather than adopt it permanently.
Some would say that their masked identity intrigues us because we want uncommon heroes
with virtues and powers we only dream of; that like the Greeks and Romans, we must
have our minor gods too, even if belief in them sprouts only in the entertainment
of our imagination.