Born of royal Atlantean blood, Aquaman (the infant Prince Orin) was abandoned for having blond hair, which according to Atlantean myth signifies the Curse of Kordax. The child, left for dead, was rescued and raised by a lighthouse keeper before eventually discovering his royal heritage and reclaiming his birthright as King of Atlantis.

A spy attempting to steal the research of Dr. Bruce Banner, Emil Blonsky accidentally exposed himself to a concentrated burst of gamma rays that transformed him into a green-skinned monster known as the Abomination. Unlike the Hulk, he retained his intelligence and personality, but he could not revert to human form.

Chester Gould's immortal Dick Tracy made his first appearance in the Detroit Free Press on October 4, 1931. Modeled after the innovative Sherlock Holmes, Dick Tracy introduced the world to new crime-fighting technologies such as the two-way wrist TV and the engineless car that took the detective to the moon.

Starfire grew up on Tamaran, the youngest daughter of the planet's rulers. In order to ward off an alien invasion that threatened to destroy the entire planet, her family gave her up as a "peace offering" to the powerful invaders who took her away and enslaved her. Eventually, Starfire escaped her captors and fled to Earth where she joined the Teen Titans.

When Tony Stark (Iron Man) first joined The Avengers, he offered his family mansion as the team's headquarters. Since that day, Jarvis, the Stark family butler, has maintained his residence in the mansion and has served as butler to Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

One of the many incarnations of DC's Hawkgirl, Kendra Saunders' body was inhabited by the soul of an ancient Egyptian princess after a traumatic event caused her to attempt suicide.

The Phantom was the first fictional hero to wear the skintight costume which has became a hallmark of comic-book superheroes. He first appeared in a daily newspaper strip on February 17, 1936. At its peak, the strip was read by over 100 million people daily.

Elvis Presley loved reading comic books as a boy. His favorite hero was Captain Marvel, Jr. In fact, according to legend, it was this character that inspired his jet black hair with the curl hanging down in the middle of his forehead.

In 1933, publishers at Eastern Color Press, looking for a way to make better use of their printing equipment which frequently sat idle between jobs, came up with the idea of printing an 8-page comic section that could be folded down from the large broadsheet to a smaller 9 inch by 12 inch format. The result was the first modern comic book. Containing reprints of newspaper comic strips, this experimental comic book titled "Funnies on Parade" was given away for free. It proved so popular, however, that the following year Eastern published "Famous Funnies" and took the bold step of selling the comic for ten cents through chain stores. The enterprise was a smashing success and Eastern began churning out numerous comic books on a monthly basis. Other publishers, eager to get in on the profits, soon jumped on the bandwagon, and the comic book industry was born!

Luke Cage frequently teams up with fellow superhero and close friend Iron Fist who was also his original Heroes for Hire partner.