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Subgenres/Sci-Fi/Superhero

Superhero

Superhero fiction gives ordinary people extraordinary powers and asks what they do with them. Identity, responsibility and spectacle drive the story.

Parent genre: Sci-FiComics from 1938, novels boomed in the 2010s2,439 books classified in Saga

Where superhero came from

The superhero as we know it took shape in comics. Superman appeared in Action Comics #1 in 1938, and a flood of costumed heroes followed. Prose had a forerunner: Philip Wylie's novel Gladiator (1930), about a man of superhuman strength who can't find a place in the world, is often cited as an influence on Superman.

Superhero prose fiction was slow to grow. George R. R. Martin's Wild Cards anthologies, from 1987, imagined an alien virus giving powers to a random few after the Second World War, and treated the consequences with the seriousness of science fiction. Austin Grossman's Soon I Will Be Invincible (2007), told partly by a supervillain, showed what a novel could do with the form.

The 2010s brought a boom, as superhero films dominated cinema. Brandon Sanderson's Steelheart (2013) imagined a world ruled by villainous superhumans, V. E. Schwab's Vicious (2013) blurred heroes and villains, and Natalie Zina Walschots' Hench (2020) followed a temp worker for supervillains. Online, the web serial Worm built a huge following.

What separates it from neighbouring subgenres

Superhero fiction is defined by powers and the people who have them. Its stories ask what an extraordinary ability does to an ordinary life, and to the society around it.

Urban Fantasy

Urban fantasy hides magic in a modern city, and its heroes often work cases. Superhero fiction makes its powers public, or at least costumed, and its heroes often fight in the open.

Science Fantasy

Superhero powers often have science fiction explanations, such as mutations, radiation or alien origins, alongside outright magic. The genre blends both freely.

Comic Fantasy

Some superhero novels parody the genre's tropes, like capes, lairs and monologues. Others take it entirely seriously.

Progression Fantasy

Some superhero stories, especially web serials, focus on a hero discovering and building powers step by step, which overlaps with progression fantasy.

Superhero fiction asks the oldest question about power, and lets the hero answer in costume.

How it reads

Expect origin stories, secret identities, teams and nemeses, often seen from an angle the comics rarely take: a villain, a sidekick, a bystander or a bureaucracy. Prose superhero fiction often deconstructs the genre, asking how powers would really change politics, law and everyday life.

Action is frequent and cinematic. Series are common, and many books are aimed at young adult readers, with powers standing in for adolescence and identity.

Frequently asked

Where should a new reader start?+

Steelheart is a fast, accessible adventure. For a darker, more adult story, Vicious is a sharp standalone about two former friends turned enemies.

Are there superhero novels that aren't based on comics?+

Yes, most superhero novels are original stories. Wild Cards, Steelheart, Vicious and Hench all created their own worlds and characters.

What was the first superhero novel?+

Philip Wylie's Gladiator (1930) is often cited as a forerunner, since it predates Superman and is thought to have influenced him.

Why do so many superhero novels follow villains or bystanders?+

Prose gives room for interior life that comics and films often don't, and seeing heroes through a villain's or a bystander's eyes is a natural way to question what heroism means.

What is Worm?+

A long web serial by the author known as Wildbow, published online from 2011 to 2013, about a teenage girl with the power to control insects. It has a large and devoted following.

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