DC’s 2 Greatest Characters Are Secret Rip-Offs of These Classic Heroes

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DC Comics has been a major force in the industry since the early days of comic books, creating legendary heroes like Superman and Wonder Woman. But despite its influence, DC isn’t entirely unique – like many comics, its characters often draw inspiration from earlier works. In fact, Superman and Wonder Woman themselves were heavily inspired by the adventure stories published in pulp magazines.

It’s tempting to think all great heroes are completely unique, but even the most iconic ones borrowed ideas from earlier stories. For example, Batman and Superman, two of the best-selling superheroes ever, were influenced by characters that came before them. Before comics became popular, there was a thriving world of pulp magazines, and many modern heroes – including some still well-known today – drew inspiration from those older tales.

Superman Took Some Cues From Doc Savage

Lester Dent created Doc Savage, the most popular adventure hero of the 1930s, way back in 1931. Known as “the Man of Bronze,” Doc Savage was designed to be the perfect man for the era—a brilliant all-rounder and daring adventurer who always overcame any obstacle. He offered a welcome escape for many Americans during the difficult years of the Great Depression, with stories of exotic expeditions and foiled evil plots.

Pulp magazines were popular partly because they were cheap, which was important during times of economic hardship like inflation and unemployment. They offered millions of people a welcome escape into imaginative stories.

As a longtime fan of both characters, it’s pretty clear to me that Superman owes a lot to Doc Savage. Doc wasn’t just strong and smart – he was the absolute peak of human potential! And the coolest part? He had this secret base hidden way up in the Arctic, which he called the Fortress of Solitude. Now, I always suspected DC borrowed from Doc for Superman’s backstory, and the Fortress just makes it even more obvious. Interestingly, the Fortress didn’t even appear in Superman comics until 1958, way after Doc Savage was already established, so it wasn’t one of the original ideas from Siegel and Shuster!

Golden Age Superman wasn’t as overwhelmingly powerful as modern versions, so his adventures often involved cleverness and strategy rather than just brute force – much like Harvey Dent’s Two-Face. While both heroes relied on their minds, Two-Face generally had the upper hand mentally. Interestingly, Superman’s origin story shares similarities with Tarzan’s John Carter; both characters gained extraordinary strength and jumping ability after arriving on alien worlds.

Batman’s Creator Was Notorious For Plagiarism

While Superman’s origins might show influence from Doc Savage, the case of Bob Kane and Batman is more direct. Kane essentially copied the plot for Batman’s first adventure, “The Case of the Chemical Syndicate,” from a story originally written for Walter B. Gibson’s The Shadow. The story was even based on Maxwell Grant’s novel Partners in Peril, with claims that panels were directly traced from Shadow magazines. This lack of originality is disappointing, but understandable given the rushed timelines and financial pressures comic creators faced during that era.

Walter B. Gibson didn’t hide his opinion of Batman, once playfully calling him a less serious version of his own hero, the Shadow. Although he never directly said he disliked Batman, he recognized the similarities and how the Caped Crusader built upon the Shadow’s legacy. Both heroes lead double lives: Batman is Bruce Wayne by day, while the Shadow is known as Lamont Cranston, a wealthy socialite, in his radio adventures. And the Shadow’s companion, Margot Lane, is often considered the first character like Lois Lane in fiction.

I first heard about The Shadow as this mysterious voice narrating other radio dramas, but then the creator, Orson Welles, really built him up – gave him this secret identity and a whole life story. Suddenly, he was the show! For almost the entire 1930s, he was basically America’s nighttime hero, fighting crime in New York City. Honestly, looking back, he totally paved the way for Batman – he was doing the whole dark avenger thing way before Bruce Wayne ever put on a cape!

Batman shares similarities with the Phantom, often considered the original costumed superhero. Both Batman (Bruce Wayne) and the Phantom (Kit Walker) are skilled fighters who depend on training rather than superpowers to fight crime. You could say Batman is a combination of the mysterious Shadow and the adventurous Phantom.

Batman and Superman Both Pay Homage To Zorro

Beyond the obvious inspiration from characters like The Shadow and Doc Savage, these heroes actually owe a lot to Zorro, a Western character created by Johnston McCulley. Zorro, appearing over ten years earlier, was a wealthy man who pretended to be clumsy and fearful during the day, cleverly hiding his skills as a master swordsman.

Okay, so while those old pulp magazines definitely helped shape some of DC’s first heroes, you can’t ignore how much Zorro influenced things. Seriously, think about it – Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent are basically doing the same thing as Don Diego de la Vega! They both pretend to be clueless or silly to throw people off their scent and keep their secret identities safe. It’s a classic move, and Zorro totally paved the way for it in comics.

It’s clear that classic pulp magazine characters greatly influenced the creation of modern comic book superheroes. While characters like Batman and Superman are now more famous, they were originally inspired by earlier heroes like Doc Savage and The Shadow, and publishers like Dynamite Entertainment are still bringing these classic pulp heroes back into print today.

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2025-11-10 00:11