When you think of superheroes, most of the ones that come to mind are American. Batman, Superman, Spiderman. But across the globe there are many examples of superheroes very different from the familiar characters from Marvel and DC. Here are a few of the most outrageous.

10 Superdupont France

His true identity unknown, Superdupont is the son of an unknown soldier buried under the Arc de Triomphe. Superdupont is the title character in a French comic series, made as a parody of the common French stereotype. He wears a beret, smokes, drinks wine, eats French cheese and even sometimes has a baguette under his arm. His powers are super strength, invulnerability and flight. Oh, and firing a magic ray from his hands that can cure gonorrhoea.

9 Generation Tesla Serbia

Generation Tesla is a superhero team founded by the Internet’s favourite underdog scientist, Nikola Tesla. In this Serbian comic, Nicola Tesla evades his own death (presumably orchestrated by Edison) by transferring to another plane of existence.

Once there he resurrects a bunch of dead humans slain by an evil dude named Kobalt. He then transforms them all into superheroes to counter villainous threats, while at the same time trying very hard not to infringe on X-Men.





8 The Golem Israel

Not to be confused with any Marvel characters with the same name, this Golem is a superhero from Israel with multiple origin stories. Originally he gained his powers from a scientist’s invention. Another version claims his powers come from the seal of King Solomon. A third story blames it on radiation, like Godzilla and so many others. He is known as the protector of the Jewish people, and his nemeses include an Arabian demon, a Canaanite god and a vampire.

The Golem was made with an elaborate fictional comic history where an alternate universe Jack Kirby creates The Golem instead of Captain America. The Golem is even depicted on a comic cover punching Hitler in the face, like the famous Captain America cover where he does the same.

7 The Rapeman Japan

Oh, Japan.

In the satirical manga Rapeman, the main character Keiko Uasake is a high school teacher by day and a vigilante by night. As his alter ego, he dispenses a surreal brand of justice through a business “Rapeman Services” that he runs with his uncle. Their business motto: “Righting wrongs through penetration.”





6 Mercury Man Thailand

Mercury Man is Thailand’s take on the blockbuster superhero movie. After being stabbed with an ancient Tibetan amulet, a firefighter named Chan is transformed into a superhero. He fights evil together with his transsexual sister, a boxer. His nemesis is some terrorist named Osama bin Ali who plots to destroy the United States, rather than Thailand. What, Thailand isn’t good enough for terrorists? Also at one point Chan fights an elephant.

5 Zooman: The Human Fly Mexico

Back in the 60’s, a guy named Stan Lee created a superhero with various spider-themed powers. At the time, people thought it was pretty ridiculous but fast-forward 50 years and four movies later, Spiderman is now one of the most well known superheroes in the world. It’s a winning formula. Take a lucky individual, liberally apply some animal-themed super powers, and you’ve got comic book gold.

For whatever reason, this Mexican creator chose a fly. Weird enough on its own, but then there are the hero’s adventures: shrinking himself down to fight pissed-off spiders and peep up skirts. Seriously.





4 Devilman Japan

Devilman is a character from a popular Japanese manga. Akira Fudo is a boy possessed by a demon after a mass shooting in a club by his friend Ryo, secretly the son of Satan. Luckily, Akira is a goody-two-shoes and his pure heart keeps the evil of the demon in check. This allows him to control its powers, becoming Devilman.

Later, Devilman fights Satan and brings about Armageddon.

3 Super Commando Dhruva India

Dhruva was born to a husband-and-wife trapeze artists so he pretty much grew up in the circus. When villains set the circus on fire and killed everyone except him, he vowed revenge. His powers include breathing underwater and talking animals. Except gorillas. He can’t talk to gorillas. He also has a kick-ass motorcycle.





2 Zsazsa Zaturnnah Philippines

Zsazsa Zaturnnah is a popular superhero from the Philippines, and his exploits have found their way into film and even musicals. And that ‘his’ wasn’t a typo— Zsazsa’s a man. At least, some of the time.

Ada, a gay beautician, lives in a small province where literally nothing interesting happens. One day when taking a bath, a spiky fist-sized pink meteorite fell on his house and hits him. Apparently knowing a magic meteorite when he sees one he swallows it, because we all know that ingesting strange objects is a good idea.

Luckily instead of choking to death, it transforms him into a powerful Amazonian woman. From then on, any time Ada wants to transform he swallows the same meteorite. Again and again. Think about that.

1 El Bulbo or The Bulb Mexico

Yes, Mexico has a superhero light-bulb.

El Bulbo is a super powered light-bulb. He was born when, no kidding, someone cast a spell on an old television set and brought the bulbs inside it to life. As for why someone would waste good magic on a TV was not explained.

One of the bulbs believed he was Adolf Hitler, and dubbed himself “Adolfo”. To combat him, one bulb donned a cape and became “El Bulbo”. The other bulbs in the TV lived normal lives paying taxes and contributing to society.