Green Superheroes: Top 15 Who Are or Wear Green (Marvel & DC)

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! Okay, no… technically, we’re late this year and there are about 364 times during the year that our intro is going to be wrong, but hey – who cares!? We started off with good old Saint Paddy because we’re celebrating the color green in today’s article. Although it’s not the most common color in the world of superheroes, the color green is certainly present and, as we all know, there are a lot of very important superheroes that are associated with the color green, either because they are green or wear green costumes. In this article, we are going to give you a list of the 15 best green superheroes, divided by those that are naturally green in color and those that just wear green costumes. Enjoy!

Best superheroes that wear green

5. Banshee

Name: Banshee
Alias: Sean Cassidy
Created By: Roy Thomas, Werner Roth
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Banshee is a mutant superhero appearing in stories published by Marvel Comics, and is Ireland’s most famous superhero. He is commonly associated with the X-Men. Banshee debuted in 1967 and was created by Roy Thomas and Werner Roth. He is named after the banshee, a legendary spirit from Irish mythology, said to possess a haunting cry. He possesses a “sonic scream”, capable of harming enemies’ auditory systems and causing physical vibrations.

Sean Cassidy is an heir to an ancestral castle in Ireland and a small fortune. He married Maeve Rourke, and worked for Interpol. While on a mission for a long time, his wife learns that she was pregnant and gives birth to a daughter named Theresa. Sean still hasn’t returned from his mission and still doesn’t know he’s a father when Maeve is killed in a bombing in Northern Ireland. Black Tom, Sean’s cousin, collects the child and plans to raise her himself.

When Cassidy returns, he is devastated to learn of his wife’s death and no one tells him about his daughter’s existence. Cassidy leaves Interpol. Kevin Sydney finds out about his existence through the Factor Three group. He invites him to join the Organization. When she learned of the group’s goals, Banshee refused. He is then captured and a bandage is placed around his head containing explosives to force him to obey, but he manages to get himself out of that tight spot. He later joins the X-Men.

4. The Vision

Name: The Vision
Alias: None
Created By: Roy Thomas, John Buscema
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Vision was an android created by Ultron, a villainous robot who wanted to destroy the Avengers. Vision was created as his villainous henchman (Ultron referred to him as a “synthezoid”) and was sent to lure the Avengers in a trap. Wasp (Janet van Dyne) is the first to encounter the “synthezoid”, and describes it as a “vision”. Adopting the name, Vision is convinced by the Avengers to turn against Ultron. After learning how Ultron created him, using the brain patterns of then-deceased Simon Williams (Wonder Man), Vision becomes a member of the team. 

During his initial run, Vision was depicted and viewed as a “synthetic human”, with his android nature pushed a bit to the sidelines. This was best evident in his romantic relationship with Scarlet Witch, whom he eventually marries; they also have two children. This was quite unusual behaviour for an android, but again – he wasn’t viewed as one during the time.

A big change happened in 1989, when writer John Byrne decided to emphasize Vision’s android nature and move away from the “synthetic human” label. He wiped out all of his memories and revealed his wife and children to be essentially imaginary constructs. He also included a two-page spread showing a dismantled Vision. Journalist Karen Walker later commented, “This image alone has probably done more to shape how future writers (and readers) perceive the character than anything before or since. Once seen broken down into component parts, it’s hard to truly move past that image and think of Vision as a synthetic man, not a machine.” This move really did change the comic book version of the character forever.

3. Kick-Ass

Name: Kick-Ass
Alias: Dave Lizewski
Created By: Mark Millar, John Romita Jr.
Publisher: Icon Comics / Image Comics

Dave Lizewski is an ordinary New York student, the only child of the loving widowed father Greg Willer. Dave’s great passion for comics inspires the boy to become a superhero in real life without having superpowers or special skills. He creates a costume and a mask, which he wears daily under his normal clothes, and begins to practice walking on the roofs. By keeping his identity secret, he aims to fight crime, but his first attempts have an almost tragic outcome as he suffers beatings and stabbing by a group of thugs.

After being attacked and undergoing four operations, he undergoes a long and intense physical rehabilitation. After recovering and ditching his crutches, he continues to play the role of the superhero. One day, he saves a man from an assault; a passer-by records all of it with a cell phone camera and puts the footage on YouTube, transforming Dave into a phenomenon dubbed “Kick-Ass”. At school, Dave has long had a crush on Katie Deauxma, but she doesn’t have any feelings for him and calls him a maniac and a nasty loser.

But when rumors about why he was attacked lead her to believe that he was gay, Dave takes advantage of it and, indulging her, he becomes her “gay best friend”, thus being able to spend a lot of time with her. Dave, as Kick-Ass, creates an account on MySpace so that people can contact him for help. In his various missions, Kick-Ass will have the opportunity to get in touch with other “improvised superheroes”, such as the girl armed with swords Hit-Girl and her partner Big Daddy, real vigilantes who use deadly weapons against criminals, killing them without scruples.

2. Green Arrow

Name: Green Arrow
Alias: Oliver Queen
Created By: Mort Weisinger, George Papp
Publisher: DC Comics

Green Arrow is dressed like Robin Hood and his goal is to help the poor. His specialty is fighting with a bow and arrow. As a member of the Justice League, his area of ​​operation is the fictional Star City. Originally, the archer was practically nothing more than a more positive version of Batman.

He even had an Arrow car, an Arrow plane, and an Arrow signal and, like Bruce Wayne, is not a superpowered person who only relies on his superior skills and technological aids. Another parallel to Wayne are his origins, as he, like Bruce Wayne, grew up under the name Oliver Queen as a son from a wealthy family. Green Arrow had a long relationship with Dinah Lance aka Black Canary and he has two sons, the adopted Roy Harper (his old companion Speedy) and the biological Connor Hawke, who had meanwhile followed in his father’s footsteps (Green Arrow II).

Over time, Green Arrow became more important and independent as a liberal voice in the Justice League, and he had now lost all of his money. In particular, author Dennis O’Neil and artist Neal Adams created a story cycle around Green Arrow and the Green Lantern, in which Oliver Queen was positioned as the most liberal superhero in the DC Universe, who acted in stark contrast to the more conservative attitude of the Green Lantern.

It was also Neal Adams who gave Green Arrow its characteristic yellow mustache. In Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, Green Arrow only has his right arm. In a conversation between Batman and Superman, it becomes clear – if not explicitly mentioned – that Oliver lost his arm in the fight against Superman and was arrested and locked away after the fight. Instead, he now uses his teeth to shoot the arrows.

1. Green Lantern Corps

Name: Green Lantern Corps
Members: Hal Jordan, John Stewart, Kyle Rayner, Simon Baz, Guy Gardner, Jessica Cruz, Killowog, etc.
Created By: John Broome, Gil Kane
Publisher: DC Comics

The Green Lantern Corps is the name of a fictional intergalactic militarized police organization that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. They patrol the farthest reaches of the DC Universe at the behest of the Guardians of the Universe, a race of immortals who reside on the planet Oa.

According to the DC continuity, the Green Lantern Corps has existed for three billion years, surviving multiple conflicts both internally and externally. Currently operating in pairs among the 3,600 “sectors” of the universe, there are 7204 members (commonly known as Green Lanterns), two lanterns for each sector, with the exception of sector 2814, which has six members. Each Green Lantern receives a green Power Ring, a weapon that grants the use of incredible abilities controlled by the user’s own willpower.

In 1959, during a revival of the popularity of superhero comics in America, DC Comics’ editor Julius Schwartz decided to reinvent the 1940s superhero character Green Lantern as a science-fiction hero. Schwartz’s new conception of Green Lantern had a different name (Hal Jordan), costume, and origin story, and no connection to the original Green Lantern. Whereas the Green Lantern of the 1940s was a lone vigilante who only had adventures on Earth, the new Green Lantern was but one of a group of interstellar lawmen who all called themselves Green Lanterns. The group is first mentioned in Showcase #22 (1960) when a dying Green Lantern passes on his ring to Hal Jordan. Over the years, writers have introduced a large cast of Green Lanterns in both supporting and starring roles.

Best green superheroes

10. Fire

Name: Fire
Alias: Beatriz da Costa
Created By: E. Nelson Birdwell, Ramona Fradon
Publisher: DC Comics

Fire, also known as Green Fury, is a superheroine appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. She was created by E. Nelson Birdwell and Ramona Fradon, debuting in 1979. Her human alter ego is a Brazilian woman named Beatriz Bonilla da Costa; as a superheroine, she was a member of the Justice League and other heroic groups.

Fire got her powers from a Brazilian magician, and was the president of the Brazilian branch of Wayne Enterprises (Bruce Wayne’s company). During this time, she was a member of the Global Guardians under the name Green Fury. Her story was later revamped and she was renamed Beatriz Bonilla da Costa. She gained her powers when she became trapped in a pyroplasmic explosion. Beatriz met the heroine Ice, and together they became members of the Justice League.

Her powers were amplified by a “gene bomb” from an alien race. Fire was like a big sister to Ice on the team. She stayed with the Justice League for most of the team’s existence. In the battle with Doomsday, Bea was so injured that she lost her powers. She stayed with the team until her powers were restored. The temporary loss of her powers prevented Ice from being killed by the Overmaster. Beatriz eventually returned to Brazil, where she tried to retire from the hero life. This failed, and she was soon recruited by the “Super Buddies”, a team of “heroes for the common man”. Later, Fire was reunited with Ice, who had been brought back to life.

9. Brainiac 5

Name: Brainiac 5
Alias: Querl Dox
Created By: Jerry Siegel, Jim Mooney
Publisher: DC Comics

Brainiac 5 is a green-skinned, blond-haired teenager from the planet Colu, who claimed to be a descendant of the original Brainiac, one of Superman’s most dangerous enemies. He wanted to join the Legion as an atonement for the misdeeds of his great-great-grandfather.

When Brainiac 1 was revealed to be an android created by the Computer Tyrants, Brainiac 5 “discovered” that he was actually descended from Brainiac 2, the leader of the rebellion against tyrants, as well as being the clone of the original Brainiac. Brainiac 5’s ingenuity led to the invention of, among other things, the Legion Flight Ring (perfecting an invention of the original Invisible Kid based on a metal discovered by Mon-El), the anti-lead serum that allowed Mon to leave the Phantom Zone and the force field belt that became the character’s signature device.

Another of Brainiac 5’s creations had less beneficial effects: the supercomputer Computo, which attempted to take over the world, killing one of Triplicate Girl’s three selves in the process. He successfully destroyed his own creation with “an anti-matter force”, but this highlighted one of his main flaws: the habit of starting projects without regard for dangers. Another experiment, performed in conjunction with honorary Legionnaire Rond Vidar, led to the transformation of fellow scientist Professor Jaxon Rugarth into the psychotic, all-powerful Infinite Man.

8. Gamora

Name: Gamora
Alias: Gamora Zen Whoberi Ben Titan
Created By: Jim Starlin
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Gamora is the last of her kind, the Zen-Whoberi, who were exterminated by the Badoon. Thanos found the girl and decided to use her as a weapon. Gamora was raised and trained by Thanos to assassinate Magus, an evil alternate version of Adam Warlock. Thanos showed her little humanity in her childhood, but Gamora was very loyal to the man who promised her the opportunity to avenge the death of her family. Gamora soon mastered the martial arts, earning herself the nickname “the deadliest woman in the entire galaxy”.

When she was a teenager, Thanos took her on a trip. Gamora disobeyed Thanos’ orders, and because of this, she came into conflict with some thugs. She was vastly outnumbered, and despite her abilities, she was defeated and then raped by one of the assailants. Thanos found her half-dead, and at the same time killed all the attackers and restored her health, cybernetically enhancing her abilities to superhuman levels.

As an adult, Gamora was sent as an assassin against the Universal Church of Truth, quickly being feared by her agents, the Black Knights. She took revenge for the genocide of her race, murdering all the Church members involved before the event actually occurred. Gamora met and teamed up with Adam Warlock, who wanted to stop the old version of her. She even got close to Magus, but ultimately failed to assassinate him.

Along with Warlock, Pip the Troll, and Thanos, Gamora fought to escape the Black Knights of the Universal Church of Truth and the Magus Death Squad. She was later assigned by Thanos to protect Adam Warlock, but she became suspicious of Thanos’s plans, only to be attacked by Drax the Destroyer. Ultimately, Magus was defeated, but Thanos revealed himself to be a much greater threat.

Gamora assisted Captain Mar-Vell, Drax, and the Avengers against Thanos. She and Pip tried to stop Thanos from destroying all life in the universe. Gamora tried to kill Thanos, but he mortally wounded her, destroying Pip’s mind. Adam Warlock found them, and Gamora warned Adam of Thanos’ plans. Warlock absorbed her soul into the Soul Stone. When Adam Warlock also died, her spirit was reunited with that of his friends in the “World of Souls”, inside the Gem.

7. Swamp Thing

Name: Swamp Thing
Alias: Alec Holland and several others
Created By: Len Wein, Bernie Wrightson
Publisher: DC Comics

Swamp Thing was originally the biologist Alec Holland, who was researching a synthesis of animal and plant life in a secret government laboratory in the swamp. An explosion occurred during a robbery and he fell, burned, along with a large amount of his newly discovered elixir into the swamp.

As a result, the spirit of Holland merged with the marsh plants: a human-like being emerged, but had the typical abilities of a plant (photosynthesis, plant strength, regrowth of severed extremities). Due to the friendly nature of Holland, Swamp Thing is also a generally positive figure. His main adversary is the scientist Anton Arcane, who takes the plant elixir and then – according to his dark soul – turns into an evil and ugly monster.

Despite its vegetable nature, Swamp Thing has recurrent relationships with women, and Alan Moore’s comics even describe some sort of physical union that is accomplished through the consumption of psychedelic fruits grown from Swamp Thing’s body.

Swamp Thing is probably a kind of superhero, but has its dark sides, probably due to the violent, brutal death of Alec Holland. Because of its vegetable nature, Swamp Thing is sensitive to pollution, which is a recurring theme in the stories. Another difference to the conventional superheroes is the fact that Swamp Thing does not have a civil cover identity.

6. Beast Boy

Name: Beast Boy
Alias: Garfield Logan
Created By: Arnold Drake, Bob Brown
Publisher: DC Comics

When American biologists Mark and Marie Logan began their research in the African nation of Lamumba, they took their young son, Garfield, with them. They soon regretted their decision, as the boy was bitten by a green monkey belonging to a very rare species and contracted a strange disease called “Sakutia”.

Destroyed by their guilt, the Logans decided to exhaust any possibility rather than lose their little one, so they injected him with an experimental serum that had not yet been tested. This serum saved Garfield’s life, but caused a series of changes in him, the first of which was that his skin and hair turned green. Some time later, Marie was attacked by a black mamba and Gar instinctively transformed into a mongoose to protect her from it. It was then that he realized the second change that the experimental serum had caused in him: to transform into any animal.

Gar’s parents died in an accident while sailing, when he was still very young, so small and inexperienced that he was unable to use his powers to save them. This caused a feeling of strong guilt in Gar that would accompany him throughout his life. Gar was picked up by King Tuwaba, head of a local tribe and a personal friend of his father. At that time, he was captured by a couple of thieves who transferred him to the United States and forced him to participate in his misdeeds.

After the thieves murdered each other, a man named Nicholas Galtry found Gar and took him under his wing to also take over the inheritance of his parents, the only thing that really mattered to him. Later, he would become one of the prominent members of the Teen Titans; his romance with Raven is one of the often recurring topics of these arcs. He also went under the superhero name Changeling.

5. She-Hulk

Name: She-Hulk
Alias: Jennifer Susan Walters
Created By: Stan Lee, John Buscema
Publisher: Marvel Comics

She-Hulk, Jennifer Walters is a cousin of the original Hulk Bruce Banner. She was a popular lawyer who became her Hulk persona after she was shot by a crime boss who was in a fight with her father. Unlike every other iteration of the Hulk, Jenifer got transformed through a blood transfusion rather than exposure to the gamma rays and the serum. After she was shot her cousin tried to save her and once he realized she was going to die he gave her a blood transfusion which in turn transformed her into the same creature.

Much like her cousin, upon her first turning, Jenifer was uncontrollable and savage before her intelligence fully comprehended what was going on. One thing that was different between the two is that Jennifer preferred her Hulk form to her normal human body. She is mostly depicted as preferring to work alone, however over the course of years she was a member of many notable formations such as Avengers, Fantastic Four, and even X-Men. In regards to her powers, she gained mostly the same power set as her cousin Bruce due to the way she was turned into her Hulk form. 

She possesses the ability to transform into her Hulk form at will, but unlike most of the Hulk iteration, she remains much smaller while packing the same amount of muscle. This allows her to preserve her intelligence and personality entirely even when she turns. She can also turn into different versions of the Hulk form such as the Gray Hulk and her bulkier form which she assumed after being modified by Celestials.

4. Piccolo

Name: Piccolo
Alias: None
Created By: Akira Toriyama
Publisher: Shueisha

Piccolo’s grandfather is Katas who was a great leader of the Nameks. Around the Age 242, he gave birth to a son, The Almighty, who would become God on earth. On the day Katas passed away in Age 261, massive climate change took place on planet Namek.

However, Katas manages to save his son by sending him to planet Earth in a Namekian spaceship before dying with almost all of the other Namekians alive. The only survivor of this situation was Guru, who gradually restored the population. After his death, Katas remained in Giru’s memory.

Arrived as a child on earth, The Almighty waited for his parents for several months, until adulthood. Seeing no one arriving, he left his lair and trained to become an expert in martial arts. When The Almighty wanted to be the god of planet Earth, the previous God refused because of his vice. Thus The Almighty separates from his evil side, which takes the form of the self-proclaimed king Piccolo Daimaō.

Piccolo Daimaō wreaked havoc on Earth for several years, but he was quickly stopped in his ambitions to conquer the world after being imprisoned by Master Mutaito, and was freed by Emperor Pilaf and his men hundreds of years later. His return was, ultimately, stopped by Goku, after which the two of them became close allies and Piccolo, now back into his true form, became a hero. He would also train and form a close bond with Goku’s son, Gohan.

3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Name: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT)
Members: Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, Michelangelo
Created By: Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird
Publisher: IDW Publishing (current)

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are a group of four fictional anthropomorphic turtles that appear as the protagonists of the franchise named after them. They were created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird in comic book form, but have since appeared in TV shows, films, video games and more. There are four turtles that comprise the group:

• Leonardo, nicknamed Leo, is most often the leader of the group. He is often depicted wearing a blue bandanna. His signature weapons are two katana. Leonardo is the eldest brother. He is the most skilled, the most serious, the most spiritual, the most disciplined and the most in-line with Splinter’s teachings and thoughts. He is named after Leonardo da Vinci.
• Raphael, nicknamed Raph, is the second oldest/mid-middle-child of the turtle brothers. He is usually depicted wearing a red eye mask. Raphael wields twin sai, the points of which are usually sharpened, as his primary weapon. Raphael is most famous for his temperamental personality, being short-tempered, aggressive, sullen, maddened, and rebellious. He is portrayed in most interaction as speaking with a Brooklyn accent. He is named after Raffaello Sanzio.
• Michelangelo, nicknamed Mike or Mikey, is the comedian of the group. He is usually depicted wearing an orange eye mask. His signature weapons are dual nunchaku, though he has also been portrayed using other weapons, such as a grappling hook, manriki-gusari, tonfa, and a three-section staff (in some action figures). Michaelangelo is the most naturally skilled of his four brothers but prefers to have a good time rather than train. He often coins most of their catchphrases, such as “Cowabunga!”. He is named after Michelangelo Buonarroti.
• Donatello, nicknamed Don or Donnie, is the technical genius of the group. He is usually depicted wearing a purple eye mask. His primary signature weapon are his (2) effective bō staffs. In all media, he is the smartest of the four turtles. Donnie often speaks in technobabble with a natural aptitude for science and technology. Because of this, Donnie’s ninja skills are the lowest of the four turtles. He usually relies on gadgets over combat skills. He is the middle of the turtles and third-in-command. He is named after Italian sculptor Donatello.

The Turtles live in the sewers of New York City with their sensei Splinter, an anthropomorphic rat they consider to be their father. Their best friend is the TV reporter and journalist April O’Neil, but they also frequently collaborate with the mysterious vigilante Casey Jones. Their arch-enemy is The Shredder, the villainous ninjitsu master who leads the Foot Clan; his underlings include the mutated delinquents Rocksteady and Bebop, but also a large number of ninjas that comprise Shredder’s clan. Along with the Shredder, the Turtles have often fought the brain-like alien Krang, as well as the mad scientist Baxter Stockman.

2. Martian Manhunter

Name: Martian Manhuter
Alias: J’onn J’onzz
Created By: Joseph Samachson, Joe Certa
Publisher: DC Comics

In his first story in Detective Comics #255 (1955), J’onn J’onnz was accidentally teleported to Earth by human scientist Dr. Erdel. The scientist immediately suffered a heart attack and died. Stranded on Earth and unable to return, J’onn J’onnz used his superpowers to make himself look human and eventually assumed the identity of a police officer named John Jones, who had been murdered by the Mafia.

From then on, he used his extraterrestrial powers to help the inhabitants of his new planet. In particular, television and comics helped him find his way around the world. During the Silver Age, from the early 1960s to the early 1970s, when classic comic book superheroes enjoyed tremendous popularity in the United States, he also fought crime in his ancestral looks, wearing a blue cape and a red crossed ribbon on his chest.

In later comics, J’onn J’onzz was portrayed as one of the last two survivors of his kind. The inhabitants of Mars – who were called Ma’aleca’andra in their language, based on a story by C. S. Lewis – lived in a peaceful society of poets, priests and magicians for millennia. This utopia was free from war and resentment because each Martian could read the other’s mind.

J’onn Jonzz was then a happily married scientist and father, the husband of M’yri’ah and father of K’hym, a girl. Only one Martian had no telepathic abilities, J’onn’s brother Ma’alefa’ak. Out of envy and anger, he let H’ronmeer’s disease plague the Martians; it was a disease that was telepathically transmitted and that burned the infected. The entire Martian race was exterminated, except for J’onn Jonnz, who believed he had killed his brother after a long battle.

From then on, the story began again with the earlier comics, where J’onn J’onnz was teleported to Earth. When Earth was attacked by various competing aliens in 1962, trying to see who could conquer the planet first, the Martian Manhunter teamed up with Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Barry Allen as Flash, Hal Jordan as Green Lantern, and Aquaman to form the Justice League. The story appeared in The Brave and The Bold #28. J’onn J’onzz has since taken on the role of the wise thinker and sharp analyst on the team.

1. Hulk

Name: Hulk
Alias: Bruce Banner
Created By: Stan Lee, Jack Kirby
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Dr. Robert Bruce Banner is a genius physicist, but a physically weak, socially withdrawn, and emotionally reserved human. During the experimental detonation of a gamma bomb, Banner saves teenager Rick Jones who has driven onto the testing field; Banner pushes Jones into a trench to save him, but is hit with the blast, absorbing massive amounts of gamma radiation. He awakens later seemingly unharmed by the incident, but that night transforms into a lumbering grey (yes, he was initially grey before having been recoloured) form. A pursuing soldier named the creature a “hulk”. 

Originally, it was believed that Banner’s transformations into the Hulk were caused by sunset and undone at sunrise, but later, it was discovered to be caused by anger. Banner was, interestingly enough, cured in The Incredible Hulk #4, but chose to restore Hulk’s powers with Banner’s intelligence. He later became one of the founding members of the Avengers.

The Hulk is a green-skinned, hulking and muscular humanoid possessing a vast degree of physical strength. The two exist as separate dissociative personalities in the same body, and (generally) resent each other. The Hulk’s level of strength is normally conveyed as proportionate to his level of anger. Commonly portrayed as a raging savage, the Hulk has been represented with other personalities based on Banner’s fractured psyche, from a mindless, destructive force, to a brilliant warrior, or genius scientist in his own right.