Any self-respecting superhero will have a real name, surely? Whether it’s an earth name given to hide their identity or just an alias to protect them from prying eyes, what and why do our comic book superheroes have an alias?

Not all superheroes need to hide, as some are happy to be the cape-wearing saviour all the time, but if you are blessed with superpowers and a bright-coloured uniform, do you really want to be that person day and night?

Some of our superheroes are from Earth and have a regular life, like Peter Parker, but some have come from a galaxy far, far away and need to adopt an alias in the form of a human name, such as Clark Kent.

A Brief History Of Superheroes

Clark Kent Becoming Superman
Superman has the real name of Clark Kent

The first comic book superhero was Superman, and he dates back to 1938. Superman’s creators, writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster had unsuccessfully tried to sell the series to newspaper syndicates as a daily strip.

He was part of Action Comics but was eventually taken up by DC Comics, which had been operating since 1935 but was not a superhero comic book franchise at the time.

Marvel responded to the popularity of the DC Comics franchise with its first superhero edition in 1939, which contained not one but three heroes, Human Torch, Angel, and Namor the Sub-Mariner.

Superheroes Of Marvel And DC

If you are a comic book reader, then I am sure that you are aware of the two camps that are the most predominant in the comic book scene: Marvel and DC and whilst both have an array of fascinating characters, we are not here to decide who is the best but give you their real names, aliases or pseudonyms.

Marvel became the Marvel Universe in 1961, in which writers and creators Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and Bullpen would link characters and storylines together.

DC Comics had tended to keep their superheroes apart with a few exceptions and have even teamed up with Marvel when Batman met Spiderman, for instance.

Alliteration

Stan Lee on a cover of a book
Stan Lee was the king of alliteration

Many superhero names and their alias are alliterative but why? Originally the alliteration was usually given to the hero’s name for dramatic effect, Caped Crusader, Wonder Woman and so on. Still, the real name alliteration was predominantly used by the Marvel Universe and, in particular, its primary creator, Stan Lee.

When asked about this, he was quoted as saying that he has such a bad memory and had to give them alliterative names so that he wouldn’t forget them. That said, can you imagine a world without them?

More Than One Real Name!

Some of our characters will have more than one real name, Ant Man and The Green Lantern, for example, and this isn’t very clear to a fan as to a non-comic book reader.

Some of the heroes were rewritten, reborn and forgotten about and ended up with more than one alias.

As the franchises grew and television and cinema became more popular the opportunity to remake and update characters also grew so as the humans grew older they could pass their superpowers onto the next generation as with Ant Man for instance!

Maybe that is why the superhero and supervillain has always been popular with so many generations. One persons Hank Pym is another persons Scott Laing!

A model of ant man
Some superheroes have more than one real name

Heroes And Villains

Some of our esteemed superheroes also end up on the Supervillains list as they may, over the course of time, have taken the wrong path or got in with the wrong crowd, but hey, we are not here to judge them; just reveal their real names:

NameAlter-Ego's

Marvel

Ant-ManJohnathon "Hank Pym/ Scott Laing
The Avenger XCressida
Black KnightDane Whitman
Black PantherT'Challa
Black WidowNatalia Alianovna Romanova/(Natasha Romanoff (alias)
Captain AmericaSteven Grant Rogers
Captain MarvelCarol Susan Jane Danvers
Deadpool Wade Wilson

The Defenders

DaredevilMatt Murdock
Jessica JonesJessica Jones
Luke CageCarl Lucas
Iron Fist Daniel Thomas/ Rand K'ai
Doc SavageClark Savage Jr
Doctor Strange Stephen Vincent Strange
ElektraElektra Natchios (Hero & Villain)
FalconSamuel Thomas Wilson

Fantastic Four

Mister FantasticReed Richards
Human TorchJonathan Lowell Spencer "Johnny" Storm/Jim Hammond (alias).
Invisible WomanSusan "Sue" Storm-Richards (nee Storm)
The ThingBenjamin Jacob Grimm
Ghost RiderJohnathon Blaze
Green ArrowOliver Jonas Queen

Guardians of the Galaxy

Star LordPeter Jason Quill
GamoraGamora Zen Whoberi Ben Titan.
Drax the DestroyerArthur Sampson Douglas
MantisBrandt
HawkeyeClinton Francis Barton
Incredible HulkRobert Bruce Banner
Iron ManAnthony Edward "Tony" Stark
MarvelmanLuc-Vell/ Lucas Lawson
QuicksilverPietro Maximoff (formerly Pietro Frank)
The RocketeerCliff Secord
Scarlet WitchWanda Maximoff/ (formerly Wanda Frank)
She HulkJennifer Walters
Spider-ManPeter Benjamin Parker
Spider WomanJessica Miriam Drew
Sub-MarinerNamor McKenzie (Hero & Villain)
Swordsman Jacques Duquesne (and later) Phillip Javert
ThorThor Odinson
VisionVictor Shade (alias)
The Wasp - Janet van Dyne/(formerly Janet Pym)
Winter Soldier (Captain America)James Buchanan Barnes
WolverineJames "Logan" Howlett

DC Comics

AquamanOrin / Arthur Curry
The AtomRay Palmer
BatgirlBetty Kane (later) Barbara Gordon
BatmanBruce Wayne
BatwomanKathy Kane (later Kate Kane)
Black CanaryDinah Laurel Lance
CatwomanSelina Kyle (Hero & Villain)
The Flash Barry Allen
Green Lantern - Hal Jordan/John Stewart/ Kyle Rainer/ Guy Gardner
Robin/ Nightwing -Dick Grayson
The ShadowKent Allard
Shazam/ Captain Marvel/ Black AdamBilly Batson
SupergirlKara Zor-El / Linda Lang
SupermanKal El/ Clark Kent
Ultra BoyJo Nah
Wonder WomanPrincess Diana / Diana Prince
ZatannaZatanna Zatara

 

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David Dooley
Every home needs a bit of DIY, and it's fast becoming a lost skill. David Dooley is our resident DIYer and former landscape gardener and handyman. David started work in the building industry at 14 to earn some pocket money and has not looked backwards since. His father was his first boss and instilled into him the mantra “that’ll do will never do” and to this day it is his ethos. Having worked in London, Dublin, Paris and Sydney he is now resident in Brighton and has renovated a number of homes. His current project is finishing his own place much to the joy of his wife and two children.