Superhero Writing isn’t easy. Here are 5 Superheroes We All Wish We Wrote. Do You Agree?
Superhero Writing: I Love Superheroes
Ever since the birth of The Phantom and Superman in the 1930’s, superhero writing has fired the imaginations of children and adults alike. Whether they have a series of superhuman skills that were bestowed unto them by a genetic mutation, like the X-Men, or a teenager who happened to be bitten by a spider, we have been encapsulated by them for generations.
These men and women, gifted with incredible powers, are the light in a battle between good and evil that is as old as the ages. It doesn’t matter if we go to the cinema and watch the latest Marvel blockbuster in 3D or walk in the shoes of our ancestors, sharing a story by the side of a roaring fire, good has always had the desire to triumph over evil.
I have a 5-year-old boy and he is going through a phase where Marvel is his world. All he wants to do is watch LEGO Superhero cartoons on Netflix or sit with me and watch a suitable, previously screened movie. I look at him and I know I see a version of myself at the same age, where I pretended that I was Spiderman or Batman, fighting various super villains, like Venom or The Joker.
Many other children are the same. They don’t even need to be watching traditional Marvel or DC superheroes. Cartoons, like PJ Masks and Teen Titans, Go, have my son and 2-year-old daughter pretending to be Cat Boy and Owlet.
Let’s face it, superheroes and super villains are everywhere and, with the passing of a genius like Stan Lee last year (2018), I can’t help but ‘marvel’ at how he shaped popular culture for decades. I don’t claim to be an expert in the field of comics, but here are five of my favourite superheroes that I wish I’d written myself.

Many writers and authors wish that they had written a specific character. Which character do you wish you could steal for your own work in progress? Comment below.
Superheroes: The Incredible Hulk – 1962
The Incredible Hulk first morphed into our imaginations in 1962. When I was a child, I was scared of The Hulk! I remember thinking that he was so close to Frankenstein and I used to have nightmares!
The Hulk came into being when Dr. Bruce Banner tested his research on himself. This test unfortunately caused him to transform into The Hulk when his own rage climbed to uncontrollable levels.
As Frankenstein is my favourite book of all time, I can’t help but see similarities between the two characters. This is possibly why I like him so much!
The intricacies of the character being transformed by rage really appeals to me as we can have our characters completely altered by high levels of anxiety, frustration and rage. When we watch Dr. Banner transform into the green creature, I feel a part of us empathises with the human doctor and identify with the fact that he struggles to contain his emotions – namely rage in Banner’s case. This is similar to the scene in Frankenstein when the creature meets the blind man and his family attack him. We sympathise with him and it is this cathartic reaction to such characters that makes them a part of us.
I love this character and, like many others, he has a fatal flaw that we always know is bubbling just under the surface of Banner’s façade. The empathy and sympathy we feel for the characters means that we take them both into our hearts and root for them as they battle their enemies, as well as their demons.
Superhero Writing: Wolverine – 1962
Possibly the most recognisable X-Man, Wolverine, came to be in 1962 when he faced off with The Incredible Hulk.
What I always loved about Wolverine was his almost constant battle with his sense of not fully belonging. Even when watching cartoons of the X-Men when I was a child, I remember Logan always wanting to carve his own path under Professor X’s leadership. He always wanted to bend the rules!
This character was much more complex than the other X-Men and I was always drawn to him.
Added to his excellent fighting ability, was his ability to heal rapidly from almost any attack or battle if he appeared to come off worse for wear.
Probably Wolverine’s most recognisable features were his six retractable bone/adamantium claws. These retractable weapons were a part of Wolverine’s body that I always felt showed a side of his character too.
It was as though Logan was a person who looked completely ‘normal’ to the naked eye but, just under the surface, there was a deadly weapon that could shoot out at any moment. The physical deadly weapons were Wolverine’s claws, but the underlying deadly weapon was always Logan’s temperament – would he be able to control it, or would he allow it to boil over?
This complexity was what I loved about Logan/Wolverine. The unpredictability always added an element of drama to his character.

Email Scott at scott@sgfiction.co.uk to enquire about appearing as a young author in his Type Cast author interview blog.
Superheroes: Thor – Journey Into Mystery – 1952
Thor first appeared in Marvel’s Journey Into Mystery series in 1952. The main thing that makes Thor stand out from the other superheroes is the fact that he is a god.
Many of the other characters have powers bestowed unto them by mutation or technology, but Thor comes from another realm – Asgard!
Where Hulk possesses unmatchable strength and Wolverine has retractable claws, Thor has his Uru hammer, Mjolnir, giving him a weapon that has exceptional power!
In The Avengers/Thor franchise, the recurring gag shared with the other characters trying to ‘lift Thor’s hammer’ shows us just how Thor is as much a part of the hammer as it is him.
What I loved about this character, especially on the screen, was how always wanted to be honourable and save the people of Earth or Asgard. Many of my other favourite characters are anti-heroes and are tortured by their inner demons and weaknesses, Thor always appeared to battling members of his family, like Loki.
As a leader, he also played an integral role within The Avengers along with many of my other favourite heroes. Thor is an all-round superhero and his background, by having a foot in history, adds to his depth as a character.
Superheroes: Ironman – 1968
We were introduced to Ironman over 50 years ago in 1968. This billionaire playboy has an arrogant, self-indulgent side that could turn many people off. I found his arrogant humour in the movies very funny and I feel it was this part of his personality that endeared him to fans throughout the Marvel movies.
This engineering genius followed in his father’s footsteps and took over Stark Industries when his parents died. This then led to Tony almost being killed! He then had to use the power source, that kept him alive, to power an iron suit and allow him to escape to freedom.
This character is so deep and has so many intricate details, like how he almost died when working in connection with his own weapons. He also allows his own arrogance to get him into trouble and, in some cases, almost die in the process.
Throughout both the comic books and the movies, Iron Man’s suit goes through multiple redesigns and upgrades. When I look at this, it could be one way for a cynic to see it as a money-spinning, merchandising exercise, but I see it differently.
I love how Tony Stark is always trying to use his creativity and intellectual gift to push boundaries. He constantly tests what is possible of technology, his suit and, in turn, his body.
In the modern technological world, we see how tech is constantly upgrading and devices have a lesser shelf life than they did ten years ago. When I look at the iron suits and Tony Stark, I see how he and other pioneering real-life inventors are never contented by treading water – they always want more.
When considering superhero writing, I can’t help but look at Tony Stark and see the very essence of what it is that drives the human race forward – pushing the boundaries of what is possible.

Click the image to watch Scott’s creative writing series for young writers, The Forge. If you’re a beginning author, these exercises could help you with your fiction.
Superheroes: Batman – 1940
Batman first appeared in comic books in 1940. The young son of murdered parents, who were killed at the hands of criminals in the City of Gotham. Bruce Wayne took on a personal crusade to rid Gotham City of all criminals.
Bruce’s endless desire to take on the criminal underworld meant that he sculpted and trained his body to physical perfection. I feel that this makes him different to many of the other heroes on my list.
Bruce Wayne’s dedication, along with his arsenal of stealth weaponry and martial arts training, made him the much-loved superhero rather than a mutation or godly powers. The fact that Wayne and Stark had billions of dollars meant that they could technically buy their way to becoming a superhero.
The billionaire playboy lifestyle that he lived as Bruce Wayne, when not fighting the criminal elements of Gotham as Batman, gave him a disguise that only Tony Stark could afford. This, like Stark, gives Wayne a secondary disguise that other superheroes didn’t really have.
This depth, created by characters such as Wayne/Batman, Stark/Ironman and Kent/Superman, gives a true duality to the hero (click the link to watch a Writing Tip video I made on duality and characters). This adds another layer of depth to the all-round character that we come to love.
When a character has added depth, complexity, history and an inner pain or darkness, there is an added level of jeopardy that puts them right in the clutches of death and ruin. The constant desire to push themselves right to the edge adds so much drama to the comic, movie or book that we read!
In my opinion, characters like Iron Man and Batman are at the height of what a superhero should be. They are the anti-hero (click the link to watch a Writing Tip video I made on Anti-Heroes), the yin and the yang that multiple complex characters have at the core of their being.
They have a fallibility that makes them almost tangible – it makes them almost real and we identify with them as being ‘one of us’.
Superhero Writing: Why We Need Superheroes
Superhero writing has fired the imaginations of children and adults alike since the 1930’s, allowing generations of people to be inspired. Whether a genetic mutation or the bite from a spider gave the recipient their powers, the right balance of superpower and talented character craftsmanship doesn’t come around very often. This is why creative minds, like that of the late Stan Lee’s, will rarely (if ever) be seen again.
As my 5-year-old boy, Ollie, and my 2-year-old daughter, Lucie, grow up, I only hope that they see the positive, tangible traits that superheroes have and take some inspiration from them.
I hope that Ollie can see the determination and creative thinking, shown by Tony Stark, and always look for solutions to any problem he faces! I hope that Lucie could show the strength, empathy and compassion that Wonder Woman shows to those around her! I want them both to take on the world!
Superheroes and super villains are everywhere, and they will likely shape our popular culture for decades to come. We may not be able to instil superhuman powers on our children and young people, but I believe we can show them how to develop superhuman characteristics to be the best superhero of all – their own superhero.
For Ollie and Lucie!
A fun blog to read, Scott!
Thank you. I will be releasing a villains blog in the coming weeks. Look out for it!