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We know Superman only started to fly in 1940/1941.

So who was the first comic book super hero to fly without:

  • The use of technological means
  • Any gadget or the like (magic carpets, Mjolnir).

By fly, I mean not just levitating in the air like what Doctor Strange does when he is meditating.

FuzzyBoots
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Rodrigo Gurgel
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1 Answers1

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According to Comic Book Legends Revealed #270, Namor the Submariner was the first in mid-1939.

In his very first appearance in mid-1939 in Marvel Comics #1 (which was actually his SECOND appearance, as he appeared earlier in the year in a giveaway comic that never was given away), Namor the Sub-Mariner flew!

The Submariner with some mildly ambiguous leap/flight More pages with ambiguity I mean, I guess he *could* be leaping...

He more explicitly flew in his next issue, Marvel Mystery Comics #2

Finally, clear flight

These predate Captain Marvel's first flight in Whiz Comics #5 in June, 1940, and Superman didn't fly until 1941 in Superman #10 (and that was generally considered to be an art mistake as he didn't officially gain that power until later in 1943's Action Comics #65).

FuzzyBoots
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  • I could've sworn Action Comics 2 started with Superman saying "Whatd'ya know, I can fly!" after missing landing on a building in Action Comics 1, but I guess I was looking at a different version. –  Jul 06 '18 at 15:38
  • Why was Namor on a crusade against white men? – Azor Ahai -him- Jul 06 '18 at 19:18
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    @AzorAhai: He's opposed to humans in general due to underwater explosives tests killing Namor's people, and the attempt at a counter-attack nearly leading to the entire race being wiped out. They're just all white men because this was 1939, so that's what 99% of the humans look like in the comics. – FuzzyBoots Jul 06 '18 at 19:24
  • @FuzzyBoots So he's basically Aquaman? – jpmc26 Jul 06 '18 at 21:14
  • @jpmc26: A much angrier Aquaman. :) Who can fly. – FuzzyBoots Jul 06 '18 at 21:47
  • Depends on what version of Aquaman. =) He can be pretty angry: https://youtu.be/tNN1RKfHXoo, https://youtu.be/Chg7xuNroYQ Although he's never flown as far as I know. – jpmc26 Jul 06 '18 at 22:07
  • @jpmc26 Namor came first. Marvel:Namor (1939), Aquaman (1941) so basically Aquaman is Namor. – Rodrigo Gurgel Jul 07 '18 at 18:19
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    @RodrigoGurgel: ^_^ Yeah. Marvel had a lot of firsts. – FuzzyBoots Jul 07 '18 at 18:30