Sorry Clark Kent, Superman is not the first superhero. The threads of superheroes are deeply rooted throughout human history. From gods and heroic epics to the spandex-clad versions today, they’ve been both a model for morality and a fun distraction. Early humans created stories of mythic beings who helped shape the world and save people from destruction. While many of them were not able to fly, they achieved a superhuman status to warrant the legends that would be passed down for generations.

Origins

Every superhero has an origin story, and so too does the genre.

While every culture has its versions of superhumans, gods or demigods, here are a few of note that can be paired with some modern heroes:

• The Greeks had stories of Achilles, who’s invulnerability was bestowed on him by his mother, Thetis, a sea nymph. In one version Thetis took baby Achilles to the River Styx and dipped him in the water, making him immortal, but she held on to his left ankle while she lowered him in, leaving just one weakness. (Modern counterparts: Superman, Wolverine, Human Torch)
• The Amazons lived in Themiskyra, the region of modern-day Ukraine, according to Greek mythology. They were a race of warrior women and daughters of Ares, the God of War. (Modern counterpart: Wonder Woman)
• Northwestern Native American tribes often spoke of Raven, the trickster who would often transform the world by the deception of others. (Modern counterparts: Loki, Trickster)
• In Scandinavia, the warrior Beowulf defeats the monster known as Grendel and its mother, making him the king of the Geats (a band of sixth century Nordic peoples). He later defeats a dragon but is mortally wounded in the process. (Modern counterpart: Thor)

When it comes to our modern heroes and the ones that are more recognizable as super, the history can be broken up into five eras, each highlighting a different aspect of the stories that would be told and how they would tell them.

The Golden Age (1938-54)

Rising alongside the funny pages in comic strip form in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were the pulp magazines, featuring sometimes strange tales or mysteries including “The Shadow,” which ran in that form from 1931 to 1949.

One of the writers of these pulp magazines was a retired soldier named Maj. Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, who started his own publishing house in 1935 and released the first comic-book series with new material. Two years later, Wheeler-Nicholson and his partners Harry Donenteld and Jack Liebowitz published “Detective Comics #1,” an anthology featuring heroes and civilians which is still being published today and where DC got its name.

Less than a year later, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster wrote and drew, respectively, the first costumed superhero in “Action Comics #1” and the birth of Superman.

Within the next few years, the success of the Man of Steel inspired other publishing companies to form, including Wonder Comics, Quality Comics Group, Centaur Publications and Timely Comics, which released its first anthology called “Marvel Comics #1” in 1939.

For the country that was still trudging through the effects of the Great Depression, the comics were cheap distractions from the events of the day.

Then the boom came.

By the 1940s DC, Marvel and their counterparts released new adventures with new heroes, sidekicks, identities and new real-world material to draw from, including fighting Nazis.

Superman famously grabbed Hitler by the scruff and hauled him away and Marvel’s new hero, Captain America, even socked him in the face.

Newsweek remarked that by 1943, 25 million copies of comics were sold each month. The surge was short-lived, and at end of the war, with less material to draw from, publishing houses went out of business and the entire genre nearly dried up.

Silver Age (1956-69)

Superman remained a staple in the 1950s, mostly due to “The Adventures of Superman,” a syndicated TV series, while many other comics began exploring other genres, including sci-fi.

Despite the TV show, DC struggled until it decided to try and revive the Flash with a new origin story and character to follow, Barry Allen. It went on to revamp the Green Lantern, too, and intermixed him and the Flash into other works with Wonder Woman, Superman and Batman, calling them the Justice League of America.

DC may have dominated during the Golden Age of comics, but the Silver Age ushered in the rise of Marvel with the help of writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, who created 1961’s “Fantastic Four #1” and follow-up characters The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Doctor Strange, Daredevil, X-Men, Spider-Man and revived Captain America and Sub-Mariner.

Television later took off for more heroes including Batman and Robin with the 1966 series, a hit for both kids and adults.

But Marvel was still outselling DC, despite their many shakeups.

Bronze Age (1970-80)

DC made a shift to become more socially relevant and throwing off the kitsch and cheese of the ’60s-era heroes.

Marvel wasn’t one to hold back with societal changes and published a three-issue anti-drug story in “The Amazing Spider-Man” #96 through #98.

The ease of what could be published ushered in more characters including the Punisher, Ghost Rider, Iron Fist, Wolverine and Luke Cage, the first comic to star an African-American hero.

Marvel continued to dominate the market but in 1976, it came together with DC to publish the 100-page special “Superman vs. The Amazing Spiderman.” While it was a bestseller, sales across the board dwindled, and creators increasingly turned to TV and merchandising to help stay afloat.

Late Bronze Age (1980-84)

The Punisher and Wolverine ushered in a more ambiguous tone to superheroes in the late ’70s, and in the 1980s more had joined the ranks. Their anti-heroic methods brought a shift to the market and how books were sold.

DC first ventured into a direct sales market, only printing a certain number of comics and offering them in a graphic novel form over the traditional 32- or 64-page books.

Independent publishers also emerged including Pacific Comics and Dark Horse, bringing a raw style and more thought-provoking material.

Modern Age (1985-present)

Comics fully embraced dark and gritty, allowing for storylines that included child abuse, genocide and rampant crime.

New titles such as “The Watchmen,” “Sandman,” “Hellblazer” and “Preacher” graced the covers of DC’s offshoot, Vertigo and brought better writing and more compelling stories. But they weren’t really for kids.

On the other side of the street, in 1996 Marvel filed for bankruptcy. Through licensing out its content creating new TV shows, games, toys and other merchandise, Marvel was saved, but comic book sales dwindled again.

By the late ’90s Hollywood came knocking in a big way. DC’s parent company, Warner Bros. began developing primetime shows such as “Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman” and “Smallville.” Marvel, on the other hand, launched Marvel Studios in 1996 and began cranking out X-Men and Spider-Man movies in partnership with other studios. But it was the 2008 success of its independently produced film “Iron Man” that changed the landscape and led Marvel down the path to churning out some of the highest-grossing films of all time.