Update from 04/18/2024: This page will not be updated anymore. It has been replaced by our Comic book Index.
How did Bruce Wayne become Batman? How does Spider-Man get his powers? How did gamma radiation create the Hulk? And who created all those superheroes? Find the answers to those questions and more in our articles about the origin stories of those famous characters.
Before Al Jordan became the Green Lantern, the X-Men were founded and even the most famous turtle brothers trained in ninjutsu, they all had a life before becoming part of the super-hero community and lived adventurous lives.
Beware, those stories are prone to evolve because of changes caused to the main continuity or a writer exploring the past, adding or modifying what we thought we knew about the character.
Some of the following articles explore more than the origins.
Marvel’s Characters’ Origin Stories
- Arno Stark: The History of two men with the same name
- Captain America: The Origin Story of Steve Rogers
- Claire Voyant: The Origins of the First Black Widow
- Clea: Who is Marvel’s Sorceress Supreme and Daughter of the Dark Dimension?
- Galactus: The Origin and Creation of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s Devourer of Worlds
- Hulk: Creation, Origins and his multiple Personalities
- Kang the Conqueror: Everything You Need to Know About the Infamous Marvel Villain
- Kraven the Hunter: The story of Sergei Kravinoff
- Monica Rambeau: the backstory of her various aliases
- Namora: The origin and history of Namor’s Cousin
- Nick Fury: The Origin Story of Marvel’s Legendary Spy
- She-Hulk: Origin Story or the Sensational Idea by Stan Lee
- Spider-Ham: The Origin Story of the coolest anthropomorphic pig from Marvel Comics
- Uatu The Watcher, Marvel’s record keeping immortal
- Werewolf by Night: The origin story of Marvel’s Lycanthrope
- Wilson Fisk: The Origin Story of the Kingpin, Daredevil’s Archenemy
- Wolverine: The Origins of Wolvie, Before he joined the X-Men!
Want to read about those origins yourself? Check out our Marvel Reading Orders.
DC’s Characters’ Origin Stories
- Alan Scott: the comic origins of DC’s First Green Lantern
- Batman: Explore Bruce Wayne’s tragic past in the comics
- Black Adam: The origin story of Shazam’s Villain
- Black Manta: The Origins of Aquaman’s iconic villain
- Doctor Occult: The Creation and Origin of DC’s legendary Ghost Detective
- Madame Xanadu: DC Comics’ Powerful Sorceress
- Metamorpho: Learn more about DC Comics’ Element Man
- Penguin: The Origin Story of Oswald Cobblepot
- Poison Ivy: The Origins of Dr. Pamela Isley
- Wonder Woman: The Inspirations and Multiple Retcons Behind the Amazon’s Creation
Want to read about those origins yourself? Check out our DC Comics Reading Orders.
Other Publishers
- Hellboy: The Creation and Origin Story of Mike Mignola’s Red Monster