# Who Are the Most Popular Superheroes Not Created/Based in the USA? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 6, 2013, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-popular-superheroes-not-created-based-in-the-usa/670527 "2013-10-06T20:25:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-popular-superheroes-not-created-based-in-the-usa/670527/21 "2013-10-07T03:43:00Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > super sentai… kikaida, kamen rider These should all be capitalized - Super Sentai (the series the Power Rangers are adapted from), Kikaider and Kamen Rider are all series titles (and in Kikaider and Kamen Rider’s cases, the names of characters within the series…sometimes)…Ultraman is within the same Tokusatsu hero genre. Leaving Japan and the anglosphere, we have the Argentine/Italian comic Cybersix…it’s definitely a superhero story, with all the major trappings - a costumed, superpowered hero with a secret identity, a maniacal supervillain, a unique two person love triangle, set in a made up city - save for being very small (Cybersix, her partner, Data Seven, and the villain’s henchmen are the only superpowered beings around)…and very much not child friendly (nudity and sex abound, including at least one rape). It ran throughout the 90s, spawned 2 TV series (one Argentine, one Canadian/Japanese), and has been released in multiple languages (ironically not including English nor Japanese - at least not commercially). ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-popular-superheroes-not-created-based-in-the-usa/670527/22 "2013-10-07T04:28:15Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > These should all be capitalized - Super Sentai (the series the Power Rangers are adapted from), Kikaider and Kamen Rider are all series titles (and in Kikaider and Kamen Rider’s cases, the names of characters within the series…sometimes)…Ultraman is within the same Tokusatsu hero genre. > . You correct spelling for free? 😃 I thought of more…Mexican superheroes have movie runs that rival western serials, el santo, a Mexican wrestler, has like 100 movie credits. Mil mascaras, another wrestler, was popular afterwards. Also, theres tons of Japanese and Chinese martial arts heros who have powers bordering on the superhuman. Abarenbo shogun, ogami Ito, and others have decades long tv shows. The legend of the condor, a Chinese novel, have been made into movies and tv shows hundreds, if not thousands of times. The recent jet li/Jackie chan movie, the forbidden kingdom, is also based on this novel. The monkey king is a Chinese god that is often in film and tv. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-popular-superheroes-not-created-based-in-the-usa/670527/23 "2013-10-07T04:29:46Z")
Kekko Kamen. Just sayin’. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-popular-superheroes-not-created-based-in-the-usa/670527/24 "2013-10-07T06:08:50Z")
[Octobriana](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octobriana), a USSR-based/Czech-created superheroine, has an enduring cult following. Her fans include Billy Idol and David Bowie. [Darna](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darna), a Philippines-based and -created character, is worth a mention. She has elements of Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel to her, and has been spun of into several Filipino films. Nestor Redondo was the first artist to draw her, but plenty of other notable Filipino artists from the 40s-90s also did. TV shows dedicated to her have appeared as recently as 2005. An African superhero called [Powerman](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powerman_%28comics%29) (not to be confused with Marvel’s characters of a similar name) was created by Don Avenall and Norman Worker, and illustrated by Dave Gibbons and Brian Bolland (all British) and distributed in Nigeria. These stories were reprinted in the UK as “Power Bolt” and in the US as “Power Comics.” ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-popular-superheroes-not-created-based-in-the-usa/670527/25 "2013-10-07T06:13:24Z")
> [@Sr\_Siete](#): > > Most celebrated non-US superhero? That would be Canada’s own Wolverine. Created by Americans Len Wein and John Romita. A Canadian creation to consider: Nelvana of the North Wind. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-popular-superheroes-not-created-based-in-the-usa/670527/26 "2013-10-07T06:39:29Z")
The definition of non-US is tricky. Judge Dredd is an American, but was created in the UK for a British audience by UK writers. V for Vendetta is entirely UK based, and V is a (dystopian) superhero (of a sort). I’m not sure where Watchmen would fit? Where does the OP want to draw the line? ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-popular-superheroes-not-created-based-in-the-usa/670527/27 "2013-10-07T06:41:41Z")
Here’s a pretty original one. [Nagraj](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagraj)(Serpent King). Very popular in India(or at least used to be). Used to be published in both English and Hindi, probably still is. [Super commando Dhruv](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Commando_Dhruva) is another, but he’s very similar to Batman in a lot of respects. There’s tonnes of others. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-popular-superheroes-not-created-based-in-the-usa/670527/28 "2013-10-07T06:51:38Z")
For awhile Sailor Moon and her companions were incredibly popular in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-popular-superheroes-not-created-based-in-the-usa/670527/29 "2013-10-07T11:33:03Z")
[The Phantom](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Phantom) is not admissible on the grounds of his creator being American. However, he’s not a US resident, and is still actively published in many other countries, and is Australia’s best-selling comic. The Queensland [Australia] Indigenous health service created a completely different character, who had no resemblance to him at all, called Condoman, to promote safe sex messages. Here’s his poster. He’d certainly count. [Condoman - Be game](http://www.qahc.org.au/files/shared/images/Condoman2.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-popular-superheroes-not-created-based-in-the-usa/670527/30 "2013-10-07T11:49:55Z")
Possibly Gerry Anderson’s creations such as the **[Thunderbirds](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderbirds_(TV_series))**, **[Stingray](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stingray_(TV_series))** and **[Captain Scarlet](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Scarlet_and_the_Mysterons)**.Oh and **[Joe 90](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_90)** and probably a few others I’ve never actually seen. Of those, the Thunderbirds remain popular and even spawned a (not very good) Hollywood movie featuring Ben Kingsley as yet enough vaguely-Oriental villain. ---
**Author:** ![Tanaqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Tanaqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tanaqui)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-popular-superheroes-not-created-based-in-the-usa/670527/31 "2013-10-07T12:26:11Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > At least in theory, there is nothing “super” about his talents; he consistently attempts to teach his methods to others, which indicates that he (at least) believes them to be entirely ordinary. As **Measure for Measure** pointed out upthread, the germane question here really is “what is a superhero, exactly?” By his talents not being “super,” do you mean that they are not extraordinary? Or do you mean that they are not, essentially, supernatural? (Given to him by mutation/radiation/being a god/alien/weird experiments by the US government.) Because… Batman (who attempts to teach his methods to Robin(s).) Also Ironman, as others have pointed out, who actually creates suits for other people as well. Tony Stark’s brain is all natural, as far as I know. As others have pointed out, if we define “superhero” by “someone who wears tights and appears in superhero comics” then, by definition, we are not going to find superheroes created either outside of the US or by a very small niche market attempting to mimic that very specific genre. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-popular-superheroes-not-created-based-in-the-usa/670527/32 "2013-10-07T14:32:45Z")
Inarguably super-heroes created in the UK include Alan Moore’s V and Promethea (the latter not based there, though). Moore’s Tom Strong is either a Superhero or a Science Hero, depending on your level of pedantry. But lots of comic characters are created by UK authors and but set in the US - The Authority come to mind as well. Then there’s Zenith, by Grant Morrison in 2000AD. Not uber-popular or well-known, I suppose, but I just like mentioning him. That was a good comic. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-popular-superheroes-not-created-based-in-the-usa/670527/33 "2013-10-07T14:43:45Z")
I’d consider Superman to be US based. He was raised here, operates here, and his alter ego has citizenship. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-popular-superheroes-not-created-based-in-the-usa/670527/34 "2013-10-07T14:56:08Z")
A very recent Dutch and Flemish super hero is [Mega Mindy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mega_Mindy). She’s got her own original TV show in Dutch and is very popular with the 3 to 9 year old crowd. ---
**Author:** ![GythaOgg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/49beb7/32.png) [@GythaOgg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GythaOgg)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-popular-superheroes-not-created-based-in-the-usa/670527/35 "2013-10-07T15:10:14Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > Well there is [Ultraman](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultraman) who I only know of through the works of Brad Warner- [Hardcore Zen: Punk Rock, Monster Movies, & the Truth about Reality](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardcore_Zen). The Ultraman franchise is HUGE and I’ve heard it described as bigger overall than the Superman one. [This article gives a better idea of the scope](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra_Series) (the link in the above post is only to the entry for the very first series out of the whole thing) ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-popular-superheroes-not-created-based-in-the-usa/670527/36 "2013-10-07T15:27:19Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > I’d consider Superman to be US based. He was raised here, operates here, and his alter ego has citizenship. [Are you sure](http://oblikon.net/wp-content/uploads/superman-red-son.jpg), comrade ? [QUOTE=MrDibble] Inarguably super-heroes created in the UK include Alan Moore’s V and Promethea (the latter not based there, though). Moore’s Tom Strong is either a Superhero or a Science Hero, depending on your level of pedantry. But lots of comic characters are created by UK authors and but set in the US - The Authority come to mind as well. Then there’s Zenith, by Grant Morrison in 2000AD. Not uber-popular or well-known, I suppose, but I just like mentioning him. That was a good comic. [/QUOTE] Also Preacher/Jesse Custer (All American, American-based character, but written by an Irish guy and touching upon Irish politics), John Constantine (Bastard British bloke, popular enough to get a Hollywood movie) and the Invisibles (virtually unknown series, but if you’re into ingesting heroic amounts of LSD you might like it. Or figure out what the fuck it’s about). Special mention for Neil Gaiman’s _Sandman_, who’s quite possibly the least American of all superheroes, ever. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-popular-superheroes-not-created-based-in-the-usa/670527/37 "2013-10-07T15:40:40Z")
Sandman is not what I’d call a superhero though - ditto for John Constantine - and can you get more American that Keanu Reeves 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-popular-superheroes-not-created-based-in-the-usa/670527/38 "2013-10-07T15:48:20Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > and can you get more American that Keanu Reeves 😛 He is a Canadian who was born in Lebanon. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-popular-superheroes-not-created-based-in-the-usa/670527/39 "2013-10-07T16:08:48Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > I’d consider Superman to be US based. He was raised here, operates here, and his alter ego has citizenship. Aquaman, on the other hand . . . ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-popular-superheroes-not-created-based-in-the-usa/670527/40 "2013-10-07T18:02:42Z")
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