A brief guide to superheroes

He's the grandfather of all superheroes: Superman, created by cartoonists Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in 1933, debuted in 1938. Superman's superpowers include super-speed, super-strength, super-vision, super-hearing, super-breath, flight, and basically invulnerability — although Kryptonite blocks his powers, since he's from the planet Krypton. The sun however magnifies his abilities.

She first appeared in Superman comics, and got her own series in 1959. Supergirl has the same powers and abilities as her cousin. The 1984 film Supergirl, starring Helen Slater, was a box office flop. A new TV series was created in 2015. Incidentally, Helen Slater plays the role of Supergirl's adoptive mother in the show.

Peter Parker was bitten by a radioactive spider and that gave him the super powers allowing him to be Spider-Man. He can stick to walls and sense danger before everyone else; he can also fire cobwebs to block his opponents. He neglects his girlfriend, as his great feeling of responsibility prevails over everything else. Spider-Man was created in 1962 and is still the most famous Marvel character.

When scientist Bruce Banner accidentally gets exposed to massive amounts of gamma radiation, something unusual happens to him. When he gets angry, he turns into a big green monster called the Hulk. Hulk is not very smart, but extremely strong. Once Banner learns to control the Hulk, he becomes a useful superhero.

In 1941, Captain America was created as a patriotic super-soldier fighting against the Nazis. He's a fighting machine whose only weapon is a near-indestructible shield. Thanks to a serum developed by the military, Cap's strength, endurance and reflexes are amplified. Unfortunately, the Nazis also gain access to the super-serum.

As a child, Bruce Wayne witnessed the murder of his parents. The traumatizing experience leads him to take on the life mission of eliminating crime from his home town, Gotham City, as Batman. His power is based on hard training, intelligence and technology. He took on a bat costume to inspire fear. His main weapon is the Batmobile, a car that can basically do everything — except fly.

She started out as Batman's adversary, but they have sometimes worked together — and had quite a few romantic encounters. The sexy Catwoman has appeared in several films, embodied by famous actresses. Michelle Pfeiffer portrayed her in 1992, Halle Berry (pictured) in 2004, and Anne Hattaway in The Dark Knight Rises, in 2012.

Matt Murdock looses his eyesight after getting blinded by a radioactive liquid during an accident. This unusually heightens his remaining senses — he can even hear through walls. He becomes a successful lawyer and takes on a second identity as superhero Daredevil. That's how he can fight criminals that manage to find protection under the law during the day.

The son of a witch and a demon, Hellboy was born in another dimension: Hell. Born in flames, he is naturally fire resistant, super strong, and virtually invulnerable. As a weapon, he uses a special revolver and different items disliked by paranormal forces, such as holy water, garlic and silver. He hunts demons and saves humanity as it faces the Apocalypse.

As Wade Wilson learns he has cancer, he puts himself through a risky experiment that cures him, but also disfigures him. Wade becomes Deadpool, who seeks revenge against his tormentors. This antihero is brutal, psychotic and has a dark sense of humor. The 2016 film based on the character is one the world's biggest box office hits.

The Watchmen are not a typical crew of superheroes either. The DC comics Watchmen landed on Time magazine's list of 100 best novels published in English between 1923 and 2005. A film adaptation came in 2009, where one member of the crew gets murdered and the rest of the group search for the perpetrators, uncovering a conspiracy through their investigation.

They are young mutants with supernatural abilities. Wolverine (pictured) has a metal-reinforced skeleton and can extend steel claws. Other mutants in the team can teleport, freeze their surroundings, or destroy enemies with their eyes. The strongest mutant is Magneto, but he also has served as a supervillain chased by the X-Men.

The Fantastic Four are a group of heroes with different skills acquired by traveling to outer space: Reed, or Mister Fantastic, is extremely flexible; Susan, the Invisible Woman, can become invisible and create force fields; her brother Johnny, the Human Torch, can control fire and fly; and Ben, the Thing, is the stone muscleman. Together they save humanity.

Marvel superheroes unite! Along with Captain America and Hulk, this team also includes Black Widow, who's a spy; Iron Man, who has a powered armor; and Thor, whose hammer can generate thunder and lightning. Many other Marvel characters have appeared in the Avengers comics since 1963. The movies featuring the team are among the world's top grossing blockbusters.