Zack Snyder sent social media ablaze yesterday with his stylish debut of Ben Affleck’s Batman from the upcoming Batman vs. Superman. Today, we’ve decided to take a look back at 30 other movie superheroes and the images that debuted them to the public.
Before not too long ago, movie characters made their “first appearances” to audiences in the same place as the main attraction: as trailers or posters at the theater. Due to the vast expansion of social media in the past two decades, the mode by which reveals are first delivered to curious fans is ever-evolving and, as such, the past two decades are the primary focus of the below slideshow. If anyone has stories of older methods of promotion used for classic superhero adaptations, however, we’d love to hear about them in the comments!
Although the following list is largely in chronological order, we’re opening with a special super-villain debut awfully close to our hearts. Longtime readers will be sure to catch a few nostalgic moments and it’s a good bet that, at least once, you’ll remember being pleasantly surprised by a costume or character you thought you’d hate (or vice versa)!
30 Superhero First Looks
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The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
Bringing us full circle, our very own SuperHeroHype.com debuted the first look at the most recent Spider-Man costume, updated for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 with a brighter (and more comic-accurate) design. -
Ant-Man (2015)
Although we've still yet to see either Paul Rudd or Michael Douglas don the costume, Marvel Studios brought Ant-Man test footage to the San Diego Comic-Con in July, 2012. Fortunately for fans who couldn't attend, the footage later showed up online and was included in the deluxe "Phase One" box set. -
Catwoman (From 2012's The Dark Knight Rises)
Anne Hathaway's Catwoman was revealed by Warner Bros. with this official still just one day after they debuted the first shot of Henry Cavill as Superman. -
Man of Steel (2013)
Zack Snyder staged an early shot of Henry Cavill's Superman in action, which came online August 4, 2011, nearly two full years before Man of Steel finally hit the big screen. -
The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
Marc Webb's take on the webspinner was revealed by Sony Pictures in July of 2011 with this image, which also teased the battle-damage inflicted by Rhys Ifans' Lizard. -
Bane (From 2012's The Dark Knight Rises)
As was the case with Heath Ledger's Joker, Tom Hardy's Bane was revealed through fan participation through a viral site on May 20, 2011. -
Green Lantern (2011)
Ryan Reynold's primarily CGI costume made its first public appearance on the cover of Entertainment Weekly in July, 2010, prepping fans for footage that would be revealed during that year's San Diego Comic-Con. -
Captain America (2011)
The first image of the Captain America costume to really make the rounds was this illustrated version posted on Ain't It Cool News in June of 2010. It was quickly followed by a series of unofficial set photos posted by The Daily Mail. -
Thor (2011)
Fans got their first look at Chris Hemsworth's Asgardian superhero with this official image, which arrived April 30, 2010. -
Jonah Hex (2010)
Although unofficial set photos had already hit, Warner Bros. teased Josh Brolin's DC Comics cowboy with this first official image in the summer of 2009. -
Black Widow (From 2010's Iron Man 2)
Scarlett Johannson's Natasha Romanoff (along with Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark and Mickey Rourke's Whiplash) graced the cover of Entertainment Weekly in July 2009. Inside was this first solo shot of the Black Widow in action. -
The Joker (From 2008's The Dark Knight)
Fans got their first look at Heath Ledger as the Clown Prince of Crime by entering their e-mails on a viral site, which slowly revealed the now-iconic movie villain. -
Iron Man (2008)
The now-defunct IESB.net managed to get unofficial spy photos from the set of Jon Favreau's Marvel Cinematic Universe launcher, revealing Tony Stark's armor for the first time. In a clever nod to the ordeal, Favreau included one of the paparazzi shots on the newspaper at the end of the film. Sadly, due to legal issues, the image had to be altered for home video release. -
Watchmen (2009)
In a sneaky move, director Zack Snyder actually hid the first image from his massive Alan Moore adaptation in a single frame of the Red Band trailer for his 300. -
Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Spidey's black costume was the first image to arrive from Sam Raimi's final Spider-Man film. It was featured in the pages of USA Today on February 24, 2006. -
Superman Returns (2006)
A first look at Bryan Singer's take on the Man of Steel arrived in the pages of USA Today on April 22, 2005. -
Fantastic Four (2005)
20th Century Fox revealed Marvel's first family with a set of four character images, the first shots anywhere of quartet's unstable molecule outfits. -
Batman Begins (2005)
Entertainment Weekly revealed the first shot of Christian Bale as the Caped Crusader with a few more photos immediately released online via an official site that's still accessible a decade later. -
Constantine (2005)
Heralded by a few unofficial set photos, October of 2010 saw the first still of Keanu Reeves's decidedly non-blonde John Constantine. -
Catwoman (2004)
In September of 2003, TIME magazine released the first image of Halle Berry as Patience Phillips, a new iteration of Catwoman (rather loosely) based on the Batman character. -
Doctor Octopus (From 2004's Spider-Man 2)
Sony Pictures used the 2003 San Diego Comic-Con to debut this teaser poster, the first look at Alfred Molina's Dr. Octopus. -
Hellboy (2004)
Guillermo del Toro revealed Ron Perlman's Hellboy (and the incredible make-up work done by Rick Baker) on the now-defunct HellSite.com on May 30, 2003. -
The Punisher (2004)
Thomas Jane's Frank Castle debuted on an episode of Access Hollywood on April 29, 2003. It wasn't long before this promo image made its way online. -
Daredevil (2003)
An image of Ben Affleck's first go-round as a comic book superhero appeared in print for the first time in the pages of USA Today on May 16, 2002. -
Hulk (2003)
Ang Lee's Hulk made his first appearance on the big screen, albeit in a far-from-finished form. A teaser trailer was attached to Spider-Man's May 3, 2002 release that primarily featured Eric Bana's Bruce Banner with just the briefest flash of his big green counterpart (screen captured here). -
Spider-Man (2002)
The first images of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man hit the pages of Entertainment Weekly in January of 2001, offering up a comic-accurate costume with the assurance that it was, indeed, Tobey Maguire underneath the mask. -
X-Men (2000)
Ain't It Cool News brought fans their first taste of Bryan Singer's X-Men with a series of "top secret" sales slides. Hugh Jackman was a late addition to the cast, replacing Dougray Scott in the role. As you can see from his slide, Jackman only had two big screen credits to his name at the time! -
Batman (1989)
The unit publicist on Tim Burton's first take on the Dark Knight famously turned down a 10,000 pound offer for photos of Jack Nicholson as the Joker. Instead, the character made his debut in a 1988 teaser trailer, which was soon followed by a series of promotional images, such as the one shown here. -
Superman (1978)
On the heels of a teaser trailer that consisted solely of the cast members' names, this print ad ran in the pages of LIFE magazine, offering the first public look at the big screen spectacle that would make audiences everywhere believe a man could fly. -
Green Goblin (From 2002's Spider-Man)
Believe it or not, SuperheroHype.com was once a site called SpiderManHype.com, bringing fans the latest news on the upcoming Sam Raimi Spider-Man film. It was these on-set photos of the Green Goblin that marked our first major scoop! Although the site is no longer available, a cached copy is still viewable at Archive.org! -
Batman vs. Superman (2016)
Yesterday saw the first major glimpse at Ben Affleck's Batman in the upcoming Zack Snyder film. Today, we've decided to take a look back at all the different movie superhero debuts over the years, beginning with a very special debut and then continuing in (mostly) chronological order.
