Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A fictional figure having superhuman powers or greatly enhanced abilities, usually portrayed as fighting evil or crime.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Any kind of fantasy/science fiction crime-fighting character, often with supernatural powers or equipment, in popular children's and fantasy literature.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

super- +‎ hero

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Examples

  • Robert Downey Jr. returns as Tony Stark and the title superhero himself.

    MTV UK 2010

  • For instance, one almost traditional part of a superhero is the mask.

    Superhero Nation: how to write superhero novels and comic books » Differentiate Your Writing or Else: What Kind of Superhero Story is it? 2009

  • Learned Hand's contribution to the definition of a superhero is as much a myth as Elvis Presley's imitation of Captain Marvel, Jr., or DC planning to cancel Batman in the early 1960s.

    Archive 2009-05-01 2009

  • Learned Hand's contribution to the definition of a superhero is as much a myth as Elvis Presley's imitation of Captain Marvel, Jr., or DC planning to cancel Batman in the early 1960s.

    Judge Hand in the Land of Superheroes 2009

  • And isn't that what being a superhero is all about?

    MIND MELD: The Best Superhero Movie and TV Show 2008

  • The entire story with the obsessed fan becoming a superhero is also very well done, and reveals what it means to be a hero in the first place.

    worlds in a grain of sand Andrew 2004

  • The entire story with the obsessed fan becoming a superhero is also very well done, and reveals what it means to be a hero in the first place.

    Archive 2004-11-01 Andrew 2004

  • He spoke of building relationships one by one with good comic book stores that want to serve a base wider than that of aging superhero fans, and said those stores -- what I call superhero convenience stores -- are actively disinterested in carrying non-superhero works.

    The ADD Blog at Comic Book Galaxy 2009

  • He spoke of building relationships one by one with good comic book stores that want to serve a base wider than that of aging superhero fans, and said those stores -- what I call superhero convenience stores -- are actively disinterested in carrying non-superhero works.

    The ADD Blog at Comic Book Galaxy 2009

  • Everett Collection Robert Downey Jr. as the title superhero in "Iron Man."

    Marvel Shows Strength, 2009

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