Part 1: Preamble and Ground Rules
Pop Quiz! Study these lists carefully before committing yourself! Remember, spelling and punctuation count for a lot!
LIST #1
Magneto
Professor X
The Vulture
Spider Girl
Blink
Dr. Doome
Yellowjacket
The Wasp
Bull's-Eye
Molecule Man
And then we have:
LIST #2
Huntress
Impulse
Manhunter
Oracle
Raven
Specter
Ravager
Zealot
Psimon
Heatwave
All ten names on List #1 have something important in common. What is it?
And all ten names on List #2 have something important in common. What is it?
Take your time to mull it over . . . don't jump to any conclusions!
Ready?
All right. If you said, "That's obvious! List #1 is a bunch of aliases for characters controlled by DC, and List #2 is a bunch of aliases for characters controlled by Marvel," then congratulations! You correctly observed that Marvel has never had a villain who used a hyphen in the middle of "Bull's-Eye," nor one who used an E at the end of "Dr. Doome," nor a heroine who called herself "Spider Girl" without any hyphen; therefore it had to be an interesting selection of mostly-obscure DC characters on that first list!
By the same token, you were perceptive enough to realize that DC has never had a villain who called himself "Heatwave" as one word without a space in the middle, nor have any of their ghostly avenger types ever used the working name of "Specter" instead of "Spectre" - therefore the second list had to be a collection of Marvel characters!
On the other hand: If you leaped to the conclusion that the ownership of each list of characters was actually the other way around - Marvel for List #1 and DC for List #2 - then I regret to inform you that you've still got a lot to learn before you can really call yourself an Obsessive-Compulsive Nitpicking Fanboy Who Is Frighteningly Well-Informed Regarding the Details of Both the Marvel and DC Universes.
(Note: Please don't ask me why you would want to call yourself such an awkward mouthful in the first place - especially if you happen to be female and thus not likely to qualify as any type of "fanboy." Do I look like a psychoanalyst? How would I know why you feel the urge to call yourself that?)
When I was a kid, I used to wonder how the various writers at DC and Marvel managed to keep coming up with nifty new "superhero names" or "supervillain names" that nobody had ever thought to use before. Well . . . now I know better. They don't necessarily sweat blood in the effort to come up with new aliases in the superhero genre! Often, they just dust off and recycle old names, from their own company's past continuity or a rival's, if they figure they can get away with it! :)
Around the start of the year, I posted on a few forums, requesting that people help me compile a list of "character aliases" that have been used by both DC and Marvel for different characters in their respective comic books. I had a vague idea that I might end up with about 30 or so cases of "duplication."
A week later, I posted my First Draft. It actually had 166 aliases listed! (Just between you and me: If I'd had any idea of what I was letting myself in for when I started this project, I might not have gone through with it.)
That First Draft, in turn, inspired other fans to point out even more cases that I had missed. In addition, over the last eight months or so I have made notes in a file on my hard drive whenever I happened to stumble across yet another name in a DC or Marvel comic book that made me scratch my head and say to myself, "Hey, didn't I see this name used at the other company once?"
As I write this (early September 2007) I now have 303 listings for cases where both of those longtime rivals have used the same aliases for different characters at one time or another. And even that number would be a lot larger if I hadn't set up a few rules for myself as I went along.
Ground Rules
1. I'm not interested in characters who have been around so long that they are in the "public domain." For instance, DC and Marvel have both put their own spins on various characters from Norse Mythology, Graeco-Roman Mythology, Egyptian Mythology, etc. And they've both done stories featuring names from Arthurian Legend (Arthur, Merlin, Morgan Le Fey, et cetera). But they didn't "create" those characters, really, so I'm not interesting in calling those cases of "duplication."
2. However, I am willing to list character names that both companies have swiped from mythological sources and then recycled for "new" character concepts who are not, and don't claim to be, "the original Andromeda of Greek Myth" or whatever. (Both DC and Marvel have, in fact, recycled the name "Andromeda" for original character concepts.)
3. I also ignore any cases where both companies have handled the same "licensed" characters at different times. Both DC and Marvel have published comics set in the "Star Trek" universe, for instance, but neither company ever claimed to have "created" the key characters. By an extension of that logic, I'm ignoring any case where someone at DC or Marvel may have created, for a "licensed" comic, a new character who used the same colorful alias as someone belonging to Marvel or DC.
4. "Group names" don't count unless individual members also demonstrate the habit of using that name or an obvious variation for themselves personally (as when a new member of the Green Lantern Corps starts calling himself "Green Lantern" as his heroic alias). Examples of what I don't count: DC has had evil organizations with the names "Cyclops" and "Colossus," but I don't count those as "duplicates" of the names of two famous X-Men. As near as I can tell, DC has never created any characters who used either of those names for themselves as individuals.
5. After looking at the examples of "Dr. Doome" and "Dr. Doom," I decided that "pronunciation trumps spelling." If two names are obviously meant to be pronounced exactly the same way by English-speaking readers, then I'll count them as "duplicate aliases" even if there are differences in how they are written down. (This rule came in handy when I was later considering the cases of three villains named "Bull's-Eye," "Bull's Eye," and "Bullseye.")
6. It appears that at least a few dozen of Marvel's group "The Elements of Doom" have been mentioned by name in their published appearances. I believe it's also been stated in dialogue that they include members named after the full periodic table, not just those members who have specifically mentioned their own names for the record. So I'm assuming that any DC character named after a chemical element has a a namesake at Marvel. In cases where it doesn't appear that such a character was mentioned by name at Marvel, I say "presumably one of the Elements of Doom" in the listing.
7. To keep the project down to a manageable size, I'm only counting characters who are controlled by Marvel or DC; either because they were created at those companies or because they were created at some other company whose "character stable" later ended up under the thumb of Marvel or DC. Any other, completely independent company gets ignored. For instance: Marvel and DC have both used the alias "the Ghost" for one supervillain apiece. I list those villains below, but I don't include any mention of Dark Horse's vigilante
heroine "Ghost," because she is not the property of either DC or Marvel. Likewise, I'm ignoring any characters who are published by Image or TokyoPop or anyone else.
8. I ignore any characters who have only appeared as members of the cast in TV shows, movies, or video games derived from concepts owned by DC or Marvel. However: If such characters later appeared in printed comic books, then that makes them fair game! (After a brief struggle with my conscience, I also listed one character who apparently debuted in print as part of a roleplaying game module, but who has never appeared in any comic books to the best of my knowledge. Possibly I should not have done that. Let me know what you think!)
9. Defining the meaning of "alias" in this context has led me to some tricky decisions. I'm not interested in finding cases where both Marvel and DC have used such bland names as "John Smith" or "Mary Jones," whether those were "aliases" or "real names" of the fictional characters in question. On the other hand, I tend to include the more colorful names of Inhumans, Deviants, New Gods, and Metal Men (among others), even in cases where we are either told or led to believe that the names being used may be the only names those characters have ever had. I suppose in some cases I'm settling for names that "look like a carefully chosen alias" even if they might not be.
One last thing: I don't try to tell you everything about everybody; I'm not writing an encyclopedia. If you want to know more about the multiple users of a particular name in the Master List, good places to start looking are:
http://www.marvunapp.com/
and
www.dcuguide.com
Beyond that, sometimes Wikipedia or other online resources will have useful data.
And, of course, if you see anything I got wrong, be sure to set me straight!
THE MASTER LIST
Be warned: I don't make any claim to tell you everything you could possibly need to know about any of these characters. Most of the time, I won't even mention what their superpowers are (if any). Nor will I usually tell you exactly what issue showed a certain character first showing a certain alias. And I usually don't bother mentioning which company named a character with a certain alias first. I always mention DC users first, but only because DC precedes Marvel alphabetically!
Agent Axis
DC: Golden Age Nazi villain who fought the Boy Commandos; later reappeared in "modern times."
Marvel: A WWII-era villain, retconned in during the 70s, who was somehow a merger of three Axis spies (one German, one Italian, one Japanese) into a single entity with the strength of three men.
Aluminum
DC: One of the second (and evil) team of Metal Men. Destroyed.
Marvel: Presumably one of the Elements of Doom.
The Anarchist
DC: Simon Ellis, villain who fought the JLA in the 1970s. (Just once,
apparently?)
Marvel: Tike Alicar, hero, member of X-Statix; dead.
Andromeda
DC: In the Post-COIE era, and again after the Post-Zero Hour Legion Reboot, she was Laurel Gand, a retconned substitute for the role previously filled by the Pre-Crisis Supergirl in the continuity of the "Legion of Super-Heroes." She was erased by the 2004 Reboot of Legion continuity.
Marvel: An Atlantean superheroine.
Angel
DC: name for the heroine of the "Angel and the Ape" duo.
Marvel: Founding member of the X-Men; later "Archangel." (Also a Golden Age hero "The Angel" who was later retconned to have been two brothers taking turns. The Angel who married Beak may or may not qualify, since that was actually her real first name and I'm not sure if she ever tried to use it as an "alias.")
Anomaly
DC: Super-powered clone of Floyd Barstow; villain, but with some signs of scruples.
Marvel: A metaphysical being.
Ape
DC: Sam Simeon is called "The Ape" in the titles of the series and various miniseries that have featured him working with Angel.
Marvel: One of the Morlocks.
Arclight
DC: Noah Pasternetti, villain.
Marvel: Phillippa Sontag, villain; one of the Marauders who performed the Morlock Massacre.
Argent
DC: Toni Moretti, heroine, one of the new batch of "Teen Titans" who debuted in the mid-90s.
Marvel: Samantha Hassard, a member of Clan Destine.
Argus
DC: Two users. One was an obscure villain; one is Nick Kelly, hero.
Marvel: Villain who cut off Leiko Wu's hand.
Ariel
DC: Temporary "Dial H for Hero" identity of Vicki Grant.
Marvel: Several users, including Kitty Pryde at one point.
Arsenal
DC: Roy Harper, formerly "Speedy."
Marvel: An android long since destroyed. Also: a villain who fought Moon Knight.
Astra
DC: Hero, member of the Xenobrood.
Marvel: Several, including a member of the Shi'ar Imperial Guard and another who claimed to be a former member of Magneto's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.
Atlas
DC: An action hero of ancient times.
Marvel: Steve Rand, villain. Later: Erik Josten, who's tried to be a hero as a Thunderbolt (after being a villain under other names).
Atom Smasher/Atom-Smasher
DC: "Atom Smasher," alias once used by Manfred Mota, Golden Age villain. "Atom-Smasher," alias used by Albert Rothstein (formerly "Nuklon" of Infinity Inc.)
Marvel: Two villains, brothers; Ronald English (dead) and then Michael English. They both used the hyphen.
Aura
DC: Heroine; one of the Ravers.
Marvel: Annie Herd, bounty hunter. Apparently last seen hospitalized with severe injuries.
Aurora
DC: One of the Recombatants who once fought the Titans; dead.
Marvel: Jeanne-Marie Beaubier, heroine; founding member of Alpha Flight.
Banshee
DC: Max Bine, a villain who fought the Question (Vic Sage) when he was still a Charlton character.
Marvel: Sean Cassidy, hero.
Barium
DC: Robot; member of an evil "Metal Men" team. Destroyed.
Marvel: One of the Elements of Doom.
Barracuda
DC: At least two.
Marvel: At least three.
Barrage
DC: Karnowsky. Superman villain.
Marvel: One of the "Riders of the Storm" who worked for Apocalypse.
Basilisk
DC: Irish Autumns, hero. (A shameless parody of Scott Summers - Cyclops of the X-Men -- in an old Inferior Five story.)
Marvel: Villain, dead.
Battleax/Battleaxe
DC: "Battleax" is an alias for Princess Norka of Nekrome.
Marvel: "Battleaxe" has been used by several people.
Beautiful Dreamer
DC: One of the Forever People.
Marvel: One of the Morlocks.
Bedlam
DC: Two of them. One was a villain who gave Young Justice a hard time.
Marvel: Four of them, apparently.
Black Death
DC: Villain who fought the JLA a couple of years ago.
Marvel: Two users; both villains.
Black Racer
DC: Supernatural entity who skis around collecting souls of dying people.
Marvel: Villain; member of the Serpent Society.
Black Widow
DC: A woman named Princess Hellene, listed in online resources as "Black Widow," once fought the Golden Age Flash and then died.
Marvel: At least three; the best-known (although not the first) is Natasha Romanoff.
Blacksmith/Blaquesmith
DC: "Blacksmith" is Amunet Black, a Flash villain.
Marvel: "Blaquesmith" was one of Cable's mentors in the alternate future timeline where he grew up. A second character later impersonated the first "Blaquesmith."
Blackwing
DC: Charlie Bullock, rookie superhero in the Gotham City of the Pre-COIE Earth-2; a shameless imitator of the Golden Age Batman.
Marvel: Two users; both villains.
Blindspot
DC: Mercenary whose suit lets him turn invisible.
Marvel: At least two.
Blink
DC: Temporary "Dial H for Hero" identity of Craig.
Marvel: Clarice Ferguson of the Exiles.
Bliss
DC: Nicole Callahan, member of Wildstorm's DV8.
Marvel: One of the Morlocks.
Blizzard
DC: Temporary villainous "Dial H for Hero" identity of Lisa Davis, but only in Pre-Crisis continuity.
Marvel: Several, usually villains. The second, Donny Gill, has recently tried to turn over a new leaf with the Thunderbolts.
Blockbuster
DC: Mark Desmond, now dead. Then his brother Roland, a Nightwing villain for a long time, now also dead.
Marvel: At least three. The third was one of the Marauders; he participated in the Mutant Massacre and was killed by Thor.
Bloc/Blok
DC: "Blok," member of the Pre-Zero Hour Legion of Super-Heroes.
Marvel: "Bloc" - a mercenary. "Blok" - a villain working for Mister X.
Bloody Mary
DC: Villain; member of the Female Furies.
Marvel: Two of them; one is evidently the alias of one of the personalities inside Typhoid Mary's head.
Bolt
DC: Larry Bolatinsky, assassin.
Marvel: Chris Bradley, hero; dead.
Bombshell
DC: Amy Allen, villain; recently infiltrated the Teen Titans on behalf of Deathstroke the Terminator.
Marvel: Wendy Conrad, villain; used to be one of the Death-Throws. ("Bombshell" was also the alias of a heroine in the alternate timeline of "The Last Avengers Story.")
Bounty
DC: Character in the "Emperor Joker" storyline.
Marvel: Female mercenary who dated Ben Grimm for a bit in Chris Claremont's run on the FF.
Brain
DC: Villain; leader of the Brotherhood of Evil.
Marvel: Several users.
Brother Power
DC: I'm told that the title character (an animated mannequin) of the old series "Brother Power, the Geek" strongly preferred to just call himself "Brother Power" and resented it when other people kept calling him "the Geek."
Marvel: Achmed Korba, villain; fought Spider-Man in one story arc in the 70s; possibly died at the end of it.
Brute
DC: Several users; all pretty obscure, it seems.
Marvel: Several, including an evil analog of Reed Richards from a place called "The High Evolutionary's Counter-Earth."
Bull's Eye/Bull's-Eye/Bullseye
DC: "Bull's-Eye" was a villain who fought the Golden Age Green Arrow in the old Pre-COIE continuity.
Marvel: "Bull's Eye" was a Hydra assassin who apparently got just one appearance. Later, "Bullseye" (apparently no relation) became a notorious Daredevil villain.
Bulldozer
DC: At least three. Most famously, this was the military nickname of Horace Eustace Canfield Nichols, who served with Sergeant Rock in Easy Company during WWII.
Marvel: At least two; the more famous one is a villain, a regular member of the Wrecking Crew.
Burnout
DC: Robert "Bobby" Lane of Wildstorm's original Gen13 lineup.
Marvel: Alias for two members of the Mutant Liberation Front in succession; both dead.
Bushmaster
DC: Bernal Rojas, hero, member of the Global Guardians; dead.
Marvel: Two brothers, both villains. John McIver (dead), followed by Quincy McIver (longtime member of the Serpent Society).
Cain/Kaine
DC: "Cain" is the working name of David Cain, high-priced assassin.
Marvel: "Kaine" is an evil Spider-Man clone.
Calcium
DC: One of the second (and evil) team of Metal Men. Destroyed.
Marvel: Presumably one of the Elements of Doom.
Captain Marvel
DC: Billy Batson, until recently.
Marvel: Mar-Vell of the Kree, and much later his son Genis-Vell, and in between them, the alias was also used by Monica Rambeau for awhile - she later became "Photon" and most recently (I think) "Pulsar."
Captain Strong
DC: Horatio Strong, a Silver Age knockoff of the "Popeye the Sailor Man" concept.
Marvel: Not a masked crimefighter; but he was a Golden Age action hero who got exactly one appearance in "Daring Mystery Comics #3" in 1940. Hasn't been heard from since.
Captain Tiger/Captain Tyger
DC: Pirate-themed villain who fought the original Teen Titans.
Marvel: "Captain Tyger" was a French nobleman in the 17th Century who had a career as a pirate for awhile.
Cascade
DC: At least two; most noteworthy was Rhian Douglas, leader of Sovereign Seven.
Marvel: This one is iffy. A character named Ross Kincaid used the name "Cascade" and acted as a villain while mind-controlled by the Leader, but later got free of that and helped Alpha Flight . . . according to a roleplaying module from TSR in the 1980s. No comic book appearances. I'll work on the theory that Marvel actually owns this copyrighted character, and list him here.
The Cat
DC: A previous alias for Selina Kyle (Catwoman), at least in the Golden Age continuity.
Marvel: A previous costumed identity for Greer Grant before her physical transformation into "Tigra." "Cat" or "The Cat" has also been used by several other beings at different times, including Shen Kuei, a martial artist whose abilities rival those of Shang-Chi.
Catman/Cat-Man
DC: "Catman" is Tom Blake, a longtime Batman villain, supposedly trying to redeem himself nowadays. I believe that he - or his Golden Age version, anyway - originally used the hyphen in the middle, but he's long since abandoned that.
Marvel: At least two villains using the name "Cat-Man" have served with versions of the Ani-Men. They both died.
Catseye
DC: Japanese villain who fought the Suicide Squad.
Marvel: One of Emma Frost's Hellions; dead.
Chameleon
DC: The alias used by the Post-Zero Hour rebooted version of the "Legion of Super-Heroes" character originally known as "Chameleon Boy."
Marvel: The first supervillain Spider-Man ever fought.
Changeling
DC: Garfield Logan when he isn't calling himself "Beast Boy" instead.
Marvel: The former villain who died while impersonating Professor X.
Cheetah
DC: At least three. I think they've all been Wonder Woman villains.
Marvel: Esteban Carracus, villain, dead.
Chimera
DC: Several users.
Marvel: Several users. One was a Deviant Skrull who died in the "Marvel: The Lost Generation" mini.
Claw/Klaw
DC: Several users of "Claw."
Marvel: "Klaw" (Ulysses Klaw) is a villain.
Cloud
DC: "The Cloud" was a temporary "Dial H for Hero" identity of Mark.
Marvel: "Cloud" was a Defender in the mid-1980s.
Cobalt
DC: Robot member of the third "Metal Men" team; eventually went rogue and was destroyed.
Marvel: One of the Elements of Doom
Cobra/Kobra
DC: "Kobra" is Jeffrey Franklin Burr, villain.
Marvel: Previous alias of Klaus Voorhees, a villain who later called himself "King Cobra."
Comet (or The Comet)
DC: "Comet" was an "Earth-Born Angel of Love" in Peter David's "Supergirl" title.
Marvel: The Comet was Harris Moore, created in the 1970s as a superhero with a retconned career from the 1950s; now dead.
Copperhead
DC: Villain; real name unknown.
Marvel: At least three villains.
Copycat
DC: Gem Antonelli; member of Wildstorm's DV8.
Marvel: Vanessa Carlysle, villain, dead.
Crimson
DC: Jodi Slayton, worked with Wildstorm's Wildcore team for awhile, later changed her alias to Jet.
Marvel: Villainess; member of a quasi-vampiric group called the Ravens; died fighting X-Factor.
Crossbones
DC: Nicholas Jones, member of Wildstorm's Wetworks, dead.
Marvel: Brock Lumlow, villain.
Crusader
DC: Two, both heroes. First: Don Powers, hero, apparently appeared in a single issue of "Aquaman" in the 1970s. Second: Derek Bradbourne, who appeared in one story in the early 90s and also seems to have faded into obscurity.
Marvel: Several users.
Cyclone
DC: At least three. One was originally a Quality hero in the Golden Age. One was briefly a villain, fighting the JLA in a single story in the 1970s. One was a temporary "Dial H for Hero" villainous identity identity of Nylor Truggs - retcon-erased by COIE.
Marvel: There have been at least three, all villains. The first one is dead.
Cypher
DC: Three users; including Cameron Begay, formerly "Cypher" of the DEO and now better known as "Omni" of the "Relative Heroes."
Marvel: Doug Ramsey of the New Mutants, long dead.
Dark Angel
DC: A Wonder Woman villain.
Marvel: Several users.
Dark Rider
DC: Two of them, both villains; the second one claims to have killed the first.
Marvel: Several of them; one was an evil Reed Richards of an alternate timeline.
Darkstar
DC: Any member of the Darkstars, an intergalactic outfit that tried to replace the (then-defunct) Green Lantern Corps at one point.
Marvel: Laynia Petrovna, currently dead.
Darwin
DC: A tarzan parody who worked with the Inferior Five.
Marvel: A long-lost former X-Man; the notorious "third Summers brother."
Death
DC: One of the Endless.
Marvel: the sister of Eternity; the entity that Thanos is traditionally so obsessed with. Also the alias of various Horsemen of Apocalypse (including Archangel and Wolverine at different times).
The Demon
DC: Etrigan is frequently just called "The Demon."
Marvel: Several users; first one was a human magic-user, real name unknown, who fought Thor in the mid-60s.
Destiny
DC: One of the Endless.
Marvel: Paul Destine, villain, dead. Irene Adler, villain and later part of Freedom Force (if there's a difference?), dead.
Dinah Soar/Dyna-Soar
DC: "Dyna-Soar" was a temporary "Dial H for Hero" identity of Lori Morning in post-Zero Hour "Legion of Super-Heroes" continuity.
Marvel: "Dinah Soar" was a founding member of the Great Lakes Avengers; now dead.
Doctor Death
DC: Dr. Karl Hellfern, a Batman villain.
Marvel: Thomas Bradley, became a villain serving the Axis in the WWII era; apparently this alias and bad behavior was a retcon imposed in modern times upon a Golden Age crimefighting character previously known as "Doctor Nemesis."
Dominus
DC: Villain who's given Superman some bad times.
Marvel: Alien computer that became a supervillain.
Dragonfly
DC: Temporary "Dial H for Hero" identity of Chris King.
Marvel: Several users.
Dr. Doom/Dr. Doome
DC: "Dr. Doome" was an adversary of the original Seven Soldiers of Victory in the Golden Age.
Marvel: "Dr. Doom" (Victor Von Doom) is a villain.
Echo
DC: Several users; one of them is the partner of Query; they have served as the Riddler's henchwomen on various occasions.
Marvel: Maya Lopez; served as "Ronin" in the "New Avengers" team for awhile.
The Eel
DC: Mort Coolidge, villain.
Marvel: At least three of them.
Electro
DC: A "light ray creature" who was actually a hoax contrived by the Silver Age Lex Luthor.
Marvel: Several users; most famous is Maxwell Dillon, one of the earliest Spider-Man villains.
The Enchantress
DC: Member of the Shadowpact.
Marvel: Amora of Asgard, usually a Thor villain.
Enforcer/The N-Forcer
DC: Two different "Enforcers" fought Firestorm in the 1980s. Also: "The N-Forcer" is a hero in the Honor Guard in the universe of "Kurt Busiek's Astro City." (I'm not clear on the details, but some think there have actually been several different people inside the armored suits over the decades.)
Marvel: "The Enforcer" was a villain who was killed by one of the "Scourge of the Underworld" characters.
Fang
DC: Jake Ketchum, werewolf and superhero, member of the band "Scare Tactics."
Marvel: Several users; at least two of them have been members of the Shi'ar Imperial Guard.
Fever
DC: Shyleen Lao, member of a previous version of the Doom Patrol.
Marvel: A cyberspace character in the 2099 timeline.
Firebird
DC: Serafina Arkadin, Russian superhero.
Marvel: Bonita Juarez, hero.
Firebrand
DC: At least four users. Most recently: Andre Twist, introduced in "Crisis Aftermath: The Battle for Blüdhaven #1."
Marvel: Gary Gilbert, villain, dead.
Firefist
DC: Lyle Byrnes, villain.
Marvel: An alias of Rusty Collins. Also: a serial killer who fought Spider-Man once, using a flamethrower glove.
Firefly
DC: Two, both of them Batman villains at different times.
Marvel: Very short-lived villain; fought the Shroud and died.
Freefall
DC: Roxy Spaulding, founding member of Wildstorm's first Gen13 team; hero.
Marvel: At least two; one is a villain in the MC2 timeline.
Frog Man/Frog-Man
DC: Villain who fought the Inferior Five.
Marvel: At least two "Frog-Man" characters. One was Francois Le Blanc, a member of the Ani-Men, now dead. The other was Eugene Patilio, who wore his father's old costume in a heroic role a few times in "Marvel Team-Up" in the 1980s. (He was the son of the original Leap Frog, an old Daredevil villain.)
Frostbite
DC: Member of Wildstorm's DV8.
Marvel: Obscure mutant in a group called "the Chosen" who fought the X-Men 2099 group.
Fury
DC: At least two of them, mother and daughter. The daughter, Lyta Trevor, was a founding member of Infinity Inc. (Pre-COIE, Lyta was the daughter of the Earth-2, Golden Age Wonder Woman. Post-COIE, the "previous" Fury, Helena Kosmatos, was retconned in as a 1940s heroine who had later become Lyta's biological mother.)
Marvel: "The Fury" is an almost unstoppable artificially created entity who specializes in killing superhumans.
Fusion
DC: Soviet operative who fought the Outsiders and died in the late 80s. Later: Temporary "Dial H for Hero" identity of Jay.
Marvel: Two different Spider-Man villains have used the name.
Gallium
DC: Robot member of the third "Metal Men" team; eventually went rogue and was destroyed.
Marvel: Presumably one of the Elements of Doom.
Gargoyle
DC: Bromwell Stikk, an old Titans foe.
Marvel: Isaac Christians; served as a Defender. Previously, there was another
"Gargoyle," a Soviet scientist who died in his first appearance.
Geist
DC: Member of the Blood Pack; hero. Also a Geist in Wilstorm's Wildcore team.
Marvel: A villain; a diehard Nazi who finally got killed by Magneto.
Ghost
DC: Alec Rois, villain.
Marvel: Villain, real name unknown.
Gladiator
DC: Temporary "Dial H for Hero" identity of Chris King.
Marvel: Several users, including Kallark, leader of the Shi'ar Imperial Guard.
Gog
DC: Superman villain.
Marvel: Several of them.
Gold
DC: One of the original Metal Men.
Marvel: One of the Elements of Doom.
Gorgon
DC: One of the Hybrid who once fought the Titans; apparently died in Roulette's fight club.
Marvel: One of the Inhumans. Also: Tomi Shishido, villain who fought Wolverine and died.
Grace
DC: Grace Choi, created by Judd Winick for his recent version of the Outsiders team.
Marvel: Several users.
Grandmaster
DC: Leader of the evil robotic Manhunters.
Marvel: The Elder of the Universe who is obsessed with playing games.
The Griffin/Gryphon
DC: Griffin Grey, developed superspeed and superstrength, said he wanted to be a hero but often acted like a villain; now dead.
Marvel: "The Griffin" is Johnny Horton, villain. "Gryphon" is Ekatarina Gryaznova, who fought X-Force.
Guardian
DC: Jim Harper, Golden Age hero, and later his modern-day clone.
Marvel: James MacDonald Hudson of Alpha Flight.
Gunhawk
DC: A Batman villain.
Marvel: At least one, maybe two, "Wild West" characters from the 19th Century.
Gunshot
DC: Villain; served as a member of "The New Extremists" and later in the Overmaster's second Cadre.
Marvel: A Genoshan Magistrate.
Hammer
DC: Member of the Russian superhero team "The People's Heroes."
Marvel: Several users.
Harbinger
DC: Lyla (no last name known?), who was the Monitor's assistant before and during Crisis on Infinite Earths.
Marvel: At least two. One was a servant of Apocalypse; now dead.
Hard Drive/Hardrive
DC: "Hard Drive" was the first team leader of the Young Heroes.
Marvel: "Hardrive" was a villain; a cyborg member of the Dark Riders.
Harpy
DC: Temporary villainous "Dial H for Hero" identity of Vicki Grant.
Marvel: At least two have used this alias, including Betty Ross (later married Bruce Banner) when she was briefly mutated into a villainous creature.
Harvest
DC: Supernatural vigilante villain who recently fought the Birds of Prey.
Marvel: Several users -- including Chi Lo, one of the Young Gods.
Haven
DC: The name, apparently an alias, used by a kind-hearted hermit whom Batman met just once, in "Detective Comics #514." (Died at the end of the story.)
Marvel: Radha Dastoor, apparently a powerful mutant, now dead.
Hawk
DC: Hank Hall, Sasha Martens, and Holly Granger have all served as the "Hawk" half of one "Hawk & Dove" heroic duo or another, at various times.
Marvel: Several users, including one of Killraven's Freemen.
Hazard
DC: Two; both villains; no apparent connection between them. One is Rebecca Sharpe, former member of the Injustice Society. One is Manuel Cabral, a criminal mastermind who used to give Steel (John Henry Irons) a bad time.
Marvel: Carter Ryking, mutant villain. Lost his powers on M-Day.
Heat Wave/Heatwave
DC: Mick Rory, an old Flash villain (from the Barry Allen era) who sometimes reforms and then goes bad again.
Marvel: One of the Spaceknights who went rogue and died.
Hitman
DC: Hired killer Tommy Monaghan; possibly dead at the end of his series (I'm told it's rather unclear).
Marvel: Burt Kenyon; assassin who fought Spider-Man and the Punisher.
Hood
DC: George Cross, costumed hero in England; met Batman during "Knightquest"; may not have appeared again?
Marvel: Several users.
Hotshot
DC: Billy Lefferts, member of the "Hero Hotline" service.
Marvel: At least three users.
Hunter
DC: Several, including Rip Hunter who sometimes just uses this name.
Marvel: Several.
Huntress
DC: Paula Brooks, Golden Age villain. Then Helena Wayne, Pre-Crisis Earth-2 hero. And now it's Helena Bertinelli, who's kinda-sorta a hero, on a good day.
Marvel: A codename used by Bobbi Morse before she became Mockingbird.
The Ice Man/Iceman
DC: "The Ice Man" was a villain hired to fight the L.E.G.I.O.N.
Marvel: "Iceman" is Bobby Drake, founding member of the X-Men.
Impulse
DC: A former alias of Bart Allen, who later served as "Kid Flash" and then "Flash"; now dead.
Marvel: Member of the Imperial Guard of the Shi'ar; now dead.
Indigo
DC: Hero; member of Sovereign Seven.
Marvel: Patient in the Clinic in "D.P.7" (a New Universe title); dead.
Inertia
DC: Thaddeus Thawne, a clone of Bart Allen and a villain; recently became a member of the new "Titans East."
Marvel: A female character in the Squadron Supreme timeline who infiltrated that group on behalf of Kyle Richmond's "Redeemers" resistance group.
Inferno
DC: Used at least twice, in different versions of Legion of Super-Heroes
continuity. Once as a new alias for Dirk Morgna (Sun Boy), Pre-Zero Hour. Once as the alias of a female character, real name unknown, in Post-Zero Hour continuity.
Marvel: Several of them.
Ion
DC: Alias used, off and on, by Kyle Rayner, hero. (I'm told that a recent retcon has said that "Ion" is actually a separate entity that's bonded, off and on, with Kyle Rayner.)
Marvel: Violetta Todd, villain.
Iridium
DC: Robot member of the third "Metal Men" team; eventually went rogue and was destroyed.
Marvel: One of the Elements of Doom.
Iron
DC: One of the original Metal Men.
Marvel: One of the Elements of Doom.
Jack O'Lantern
DC: At least three. The latest one is Liam McHugh.
Marvel: At least four, all of them villains.
The Jackal
DC: The crook who ordered Joseph Wilson's (the future Jericho's) throat to be cut - right before Deathstroke the Terminator killed the Jackal and his stooges. Joseph just barely survived his injury. Later, there was a terrorist called the Jackal who fought Superman.
Marvel: Miles Warren, villain.
Jester
DC: Chuck Lane, originally a Golden Age Quality hero. Later: Cord Dexter
Lemoyne, member of Wildstorm's Wetworks.
Marvel: Jonathan Powers, villain.
Jolt
DC: Carlotta Rivera, hero. One of the "Blasters" -- until she, like most of that group, went "missing in action" and (I gather) simply hasn't been heard from in a long time.
Marvel: Hallie Takahama, hero.
Karma
DC: Wayne Hawkins, served with the Doom Patrol, later died.
Marvel: Xi'an Coy Manh, founding member of the original New Mutants.
King
DC: "King" Standish was a Golden Age masked crimefighter called "The King" (and later an agent of the OSS during WWII).
Marvel: Several users.
Kismet
DC: A cosmic entity; their equivalent of Marvel's "Eternity."
Marvel: An alias taken by the character previously known as "Her."
Knight/Night
DC: At least two "Knights." First: Percival Sheldrake, Earl of Wordenshire, the "Knight" of the first "Knight and Squire" duo that consciously imitated the Batman/Robin duo in a story published in 1950. Second: Cyril Sheldrake, son and successor of the first Knight (having previously served as his father's "Squire").
Marvel: One "Knight" was an assassin who was part of the "Knight and Fogg" partnership that fought Spider-Man. At least two other "Knights" have also existed (with no connection to "Knight and Fogg"). Marvel has also had at least two or three minor characters who sometimes used the name "Night."
Knockout
DC: Kay, villain, former member of the Female Furies of Apokolips.
Marvel: Elizabeth Rawson, villain, member of the Femme Fatales and the Femizons.
Lead
DC: One of the original Metal Men.
Marvel: One of the Elements of Doom.
Lightmaster
DC: Temporary "Dial H for Hero" identity of Chris King.
Marvel: Edward Lansky, villain.
Lilith
DC: Heroine, occasional Titan, currently dead (I think).
Marvel: Daughter of Count Dracula; villain.
Lord Chaos
DC: Son of Donna Troy and Terry Long in an alternate future timeline where he grew up to be a world-conquering tyrant.
Marvel: A cosmic entity.
Lynx
DC: Teenage villain who formerly worked for King Snake and often fought Robin. (She's already died, come back from the dead, and died again - I think she's still dead at the moment.)
Marvel: At least three.
Magneto
DC: A temporary "Dial H for Hero" identity of Robby Reed
Marvel: The first villain the X-Men ever fought.
Manhunter
DC: Lots and lots and lots of them.
Marvel: Bounty hunter who went after Kid Colt in the 19th Century.
Manikin/Mannikin
DC: "The Manikin," first name Miranda, was a Batman villain in a two-part story in 1981. Hasn't been heard from since?
Marvel: "Manikin" - Whitman Knapp, hero, trained in Canada's Beta Flight program; became a regular face in the original "Alpha Flight" series in the late 80s and 90s.
Mantis
DC: A New God from Apokolips.
Marvel: The Celestial Madonna.
Master Man
DC: Two of them. First: A Golden Age hero they acquired from Fawcett and allegedly have never used at all since they got him! Second: A Golden Age Quality character who was basically the evil equivalent of the hero Kid Eternity.
Marvel: A diehard Nazi villain.
Match
DC: A clone of the modern Superboy.
Marvel: Ben Hammil, a student at the Xavier Institute.
Megaton
DC: Temporary "Dial H for Hero" identity of the Pre-Crisis version of Pete Ross.
Marvel: Jules Carter, villain, dead.
Mercury
DC: One of the original Metal Men.
Marvel: Numerous users. One of the Elements of Doom. Also a superheroic alias used by Makkari the Eternal in the 1930s/1940s. And there were other users.
Midnight
DC: Dave Clark, a Golden Age Quality Comics hero later acquired by DC.
Marvel: Several users.
Mirage
DC: An obscure Batman villain. Later: Miriam Delgado, heroine.
Marvel: At least two. Desmond Charne, villain, dead. Also an alias of Danielle Moonstar, heroine.
Misfit
DC: Recently debuted in "Birds of Prey"; initially called herself "Batgirl" before settling for this name instead.
Marvel: Villain. A client of the Power Broker who ended up superhumanly strong but also looked deformed; became a member of the Night Shift.
Miss America
DC: A Golden Age heroine they acquired from Quality; Joan Dale, who later married Derek Trevor according to Post-COIE continuity.
Marvel: A Golden Age heroine named Madeline Joyce; later married the Golden Age Whizzer (Robert Frank). Now dead.
Mister Mind
DC: Originally a Fawcett character; a telepathic green worm who fights Captain Marvel.
Marvel: Mercenary who fought Team America once.
Mockingbird
DC: The alias traditionally used by anyone directing the activities of any incarnation of the "Secret Six" concept.
Marvel: Bobbi Morse, heroine, who married Hawkeye and later died.
Molecule Man
DC: Temporary "Dial H for Hero" identity of Chris King.
Marvel: Owen Reece, who started as a villain but improved himself. I'm not sure what he's up to now.
Murmur
DC: Two. One a demon; one a Flash villain.
Marvel: Three users.
Mysterio
DC: Alias briefly used by a Silver Age Superboy Robot disguised in bandages.
Marvel: Quentin Beck invented the role as a Spider-Man villain. At least two other villains have copied him.
Nemesis
DC: Several users.
Marvel: Three users. The latest one was Amelia Witherspoon, who served with Alpha Flight.
Neon
DC: Temporary "Dial H for Hero" identity of Chris King.
Marvel: One of the Elements of Doom
Neptunium
DC: Apparently a robot connected with the Metal Men, who was seen in at least one panel in "Metal Men #8" in the 1960s. (I've seen an online scan of that one panel, with the robot's name printed across the back of its shoulders - beyond that, I know nothing for certain!)
Marvel: One of the Elements of Doom.
Network
DC: Several users; one was Taryn Haldane, member of Sovereign Seven; hero.
Marvel: Several users.
Neutron
DC: Nat Tryon, villain.
Marvel: Apparently the alias that is preferred by the character who is usually called "Munchkin" by his teammates in "New Genix."
Nighthawk
DC: A 19th Century "western" hero.
Marvel: Kyle Richmond; at least two analogs of him have played significant roles in Marvel continuity. One joined the Squadron Supreme in their timeline; one was a longtime member of the old Defenders in the main 616 timeline, after briefly serving with the Squadron Sinister and then reforming.
Nightshade
DC: Eve Eden, a superheroine they acquired from Charlton.
Marvel: Tilda Johnson, an African-American villain.
Nocturn/Nocturne
DC: "Nocturn" was an alien hero who fought alongside Guy Gardner. Now dead.
Marvel: Several users of the name "Nocturne." Best-known is probably T.J. Wagner, one of the six original "Exiles"; the blue-skinned daughter of an alternate timeline's versions of Nightcrawler and the Scarlet Witch.
Nova
DC: An alias used by a depowered version of Clark Kent when he set up a new costumed identity in an Imaginary Story (or "alternate timeline") of the Silver Age. (Note: The character recently got a cameo in the "Infinite Crisis" miniseries.)
Marvel: Richard Rider, off and on, and the name may also have been used by an unknown number of other members of the Nova Corps at one time or another. Also: Frankie Raye, a Herald of Galactus.
Oblivion
DC: At least two; one was the dark side of Kyle Rayner, more or less.
Marvel: Cosmic entity.
Oracle
DC: At least two. The first was a cosmic entity who gave the JLA and JSA some guidance in rescuing the original Seven Soldiers of Victory in a 1972 story. The second is Barbara Gordon, formerly Batgirl I.
Marvel: Member of the Imperial Guard of the Shi'ar.
Orca/Orka
DC: Orca was Grace Balin, a Batman villain; now dead.
Marvel: Orka is a villain; a mutated renegade Atlantean.
Osmium
DC: Robot member of the third "Metal Men" team; eventually went rogue and was destroyed.
Marvel: Presumably one of the Elements of Doom.
Outlaw
DC: Two. One was Rick Wilson, Old West character, star of a series of "Outlaw" stories in the 1970s.
Marvel: At least three; one was a British vigilante who deliberately mimicked the Punisher.
Paragon
DC: Villain who once fought the JLA.
Marvel: At least four users; one was the character later known as "Her" and then "Kismet."
Patriot/The Patriot
DC: Member of the Freedom Brigade, now retired from superheroing; father of Myron Victor (Myron grew up to be "Merryman," the leader of the Inferior Five).
Marvel: At least two heroes have used the name "Patriot." First: Jeff Mace, Golden Age hero who (according to retcons in the 1970s) also filled in as Captain America for awhile, around the late 1940s. Second: Elijah Bradley, member of the Young Avengers. (Note: I get the impression that Jeff Mace called himself "The Patriot" but Elijah just goes with "Patriot.")
Persuader
DC: At least three; the most famous was a regular villain in at least two versions of "Legion of Super-Heroes" continuity.
Marvel: A Spider-Man villain who died in his first appearance.
Phantasm
DC: Several, including Danny Chase (a deceased Titan) and the villain mentioned in the title of the comic book adaptation of the animated film "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm."
Marvel: Villain who once fought Paladin (and lost); apparently hasn't been heard from since?
Phoenix
DC: Codename of an agent of the OSS in WWII, as established in "G.I. Combat" in the 1980s.
Marvel: Several; the most famous is Jean Grey (and/or the Phoenix Force that sometimes impersonates her and sometimes merges with her).
Photon
DC: Temporary "Dial H for Hero" identity of Galen.
Marvel: Jason Dean, villain. Later: Monica Rambeau, heroine, now called "Pulsar." Also: Genis-Vell, now dead (I think).
Pilgrim/The Pilgrim
DC: "Pilgrim" was Maritza Blackbird, member of Wildstorm's Wetworks.
Marvel: "The Pilgrim" was Bob Hardin; formerly the hero "Atom Bob" of the Ultraverse team "The Strangers" before he went bad.
Piper/The Piper
DC: At least two - one former villain who died as soon as he appeared, in "Aztek #1," and it also seems to be the name now preferred by Hartley Rathaway, a reformed villain who used to fight Barry Allen as "the Pied Piper." (I think he prefers Piper now, but I could be wrong.)
Marvel: At least two. One of the Morlocks (believed dead) and one of the Savage Land Mutates.
Pixie
DC: Temporary "Dial H for Hero" identity of Vicki Grant.
Marvel: Several users.
Plasma
DC: Temporary "Dial H for Hero" identity of Lori Morning in post-Zero Hour "Legion of Super-Heroes" continuity.
Marvel: Leila O'Toole, villain.
Platinum
DC: One of the original Metal Men.
Marvel: One of the Elements of Doom.
Plutonium
DC: One of the second (and evil) team of Metal Men. Destroyed.
Marvel: One of the Elements of Doom.
Powderkeg
DC: Villain who fought the JLA at least once? I know very little about him.
Marvel: Villain.
Power Broker
DC: A Pre-Crisis villain who supplied weapons to other villains.
Marvel: A villain who used to make a living by selling other people super-strength.
Power Man/Power-Man
DC: I've run across a reference to the idea that a "Power-Man" also known as "King of Outer Space" once proposed marriage to the Silver Age Lois Lane, but I'm not sure of the details. Silver Age Lois also had a dream sequence in which she was "Power Girl" and Clark Kent was the super-powered, but wimpy and ineffectual "Power-Man." "Power Man" was also the name of a character in "Kingdom Come" who was supposed to basically be a Superman Robot with a new
paint job; I can't tell if that name had been used by such a character in the Silver Age.
Marvel: At least two. One was Erik Josten, using it as his original villainous alias, long before he became Atlas of the Thunderbolts. The second was Luke Cage, hero.
Powerhaus/Powerhouse
DC: "Powerhouse" was a temporary "Dial H for Hero" identity of Jerry Feldon. Another "Powerhouse" was a villain who fought the Inferior Five. Also, "Powerhaus" was a member of Wildstorm's "DV8."
Marvel: At least three users of "Powerhouse." One of them was Alex Power, one of the Power Pack; just one of several aliases he's used over the years.
Primus
DC: Original leader of the Omega Men.
Marvel: Artificial lifeform created by Arnim Zola.
Prism/Prysm
DC: "Prism," a temporary "Dial H for Hero" identity of Chris King. "Prysm" (Audrey Spears), heroine, one of a new group of "Teen Titans" introduced in the mid-90s.
Marvel: "Prism" was one of the Marauders; died in the Mutant Massacre.
Professor X
DC: Mad scientist who fought Plastic Man in "Plastic Man #1" (that's the series
that came out in the 1960s).
Marvel: Charles Xavier, founder of the X-Men.
Prometheus
DC: Apparently two or three; the latest one is a villain who gave the JLA some bad times.
Marvel: Member of the Pantheon.
Proteus
DC: At least two, both villains.
Marvel: Kevin MacTaggart, villain, son of Moira MacTaggart. Reality-warping mutant, now dead.
Psimon
DC: Villain who has often worked with the Fearsome Five.
Marvel: Hero; worked with Warlock (the former New Mutant guy) in a "Warlock"
series several years ago.
The Puppet Master
DC: At least two. First, a Golden Age Batman villain. Second, Jordan Weir, who later became known as "the Puppeteer."
Marvel: Phillip Masters; villain; stepfather of Alicia Masters.
Quicksilver
DC: A Golden Age hero, originally belonging to Quality Comics, and now better known as "Max Mercury."
Marvel: Pietro Maximoff.
Radion
DC: A Legion of Super-Heroes reject during their Post-Zero Hour era.
Marvel: Henri Sorel, villain (later known as Ravager).
Rampage
DC: Kitty Faulkner; sometimes a hero, depending upon her ability to control her temper when in her super-strong form.
Marvel: Stuart Clarke, villain.
Ravager
DC: Several users; including two of Deathstroke the Terminator's kids at different times.
Marvel: Henri Sorel, villain.
Raven
DC: Heroine (usually); brought together the other members of "The New Teen Titans" when that title began in 1980.
Marvel: Several users; all seem pretty obscure.
Reaper
DC: Three Batman villains, at least two of whom are no longer in continuity.
Marvel: A character who was a villain when he worked with the Mutant Liberation Front, but later became a hero in the Ultraverse.
Red Dragon
DC: At least four users.
Marvel: At least three users.
Red Eye
DC: Red Eye was apparently a villain in "Blue Devil #19" in the 1980s. May never have appeared again?
Marvel: Alias of a Cyclops-analog in the mini Avataars: "Champions of the Realm."
Red Fox
DC: Apparently "The Red Fox" was the original alias for the French superheroine (secretly two sisters taking turns) who later preferred to use the alias "The Crimson Fox." Both sisters are now dead.
Marvel: A Chinese guerrilla fighter in the WWII era who worked with Captain Savage and his Leatherneck Raiders, and died in action.
Redwing
DC: Carrie Levine; heroine; member of the "Team Titans" until she (and most of her team) got erased from history by Zero Hour.
Marvel: Alias for Sam Wilson's pet falcon; the name has also been used by a couple of characters in alternate timelines.
Reflex
DC: Walter Thorsson, hero; member of Sovereign Seven.
Marvel: Hero; member of the First Line in "Marvel: The Lost Generation."
Ricochet
DC: Speedster villain who fought the third Hawkman.
Marvel: At least three. Alias used by Spider-Man; this role (name and costume) was later revived by Johnny Gallo of the Slingers. There was also an agent of Mister Sinister who used the name; he's dead now.
Ringmaster
DC: Villain who once fought a Flash.
Marvel: Villain with a hypnotic hat; used to lead the Circus of Crime.
Risk/Risque
DC: "Risk" was one of the first members of the new "Teen Titans" team that debuted in the mid-90s.
Marvel: "Risque" fought X-Force, but later became an ally; is now dead.
Rock
DC: Temporary "Dial H for Hero" identity of Vicki Grant.
Marvel: At least two villains.
The Roman
DC: Nickname of Carmine Falcone, a mob boss in Gotham City; apparently dead (if we pretend "The Long Halloween" was meant to be firmly in continuity - rumors say it was never meant that way when first published).
Marvel: A mob boss who gave Wolverine some trouble.
Saber/Sabre
DC: "Saber" was an assassin who fought Adrian Chase when he was the Vigilante.
"Sabre" was John Zero; villain who fought the Swamp Thing.
Marvel: Several users of "Sabre."
Sabre-Tooth/Sabretooth
DC: "Sabre-Tooth" was the alias used by two villains, one male and one female, who each fought Barry Allen at different times and each died in action.
Marvel: Sabretooth is Victor Creed, villain; apparently dead?
Sandman
DC: Several characters, beginning with Wesley Dodds in the Golden Age.
Marvel: Flint Marko, one of the earliest Spider-Man villains.
Scalphunter
DC: Brian Savage, a 19th Century hero.
Marvel: John Greycrow, villain, one of the Marauders who performed the Morlock
Massacre.
Scarecrow
DC: Jonathan Crane, a Batman villain.
Marvel: Ebenezer Laughton, villain. Also: a mystical hero who later took the name of "the Straw Man" to avoid being confused with Ebenezer.
Sentinel
DC: Alan Scott for awhile, when he was not using the name Green Lantern.
Marvel: Any one of a zillion mutant-hunting robots that have been built over the years.
Shift
DC: One of the Outsiders; initially thought to be Metamorpho; actually just a piece of him that developed independent sentience and all that jazz, with altered powers. (Long before he came along, in the Post-Zero Hour version of Legion of Super-Heroes continuity, there was also a "Shift" who was a hero in Wildfire's Legion in the 75th Century.)
Marvel: Clifton Joseph, hero, a member of "Genetix."
Shifter
DC: Temporary "Dial H for Hero" identity of Nick Stevens.
Marvel: One of the aliases used by the member of the Shi'ar Imperial Guard also known as "Shapeshifter" and "Hobgoblin."
Shockwave
DC: Arnold Pruett, mercenary villain.
Marvel: Lancaster Sneed, villain.
Siren/Psiren
DC: "Siren" is a water-breathing ecoterrorist villain.
Marvel: Several "Sirens," including Jennifer Pearson from the Ultraverse. Marvel also has a woman called Psiren; a Psi-Cop who ended up assisting Warlock (the former New Mutant Warlock, that is) in a series he had several years ago.
Silver
DC: Robot member of the third "Metal Men" team; eventually went rogue and was destroyed.
Marvel: One of the Elements of Doom. Also: A Chinese mutant who ended up in the Alpha Flight training program.
Scorpio/Skorpio
DC: "Skorpio" is Dennis Samuel Ellis, villain.
Marvel: Numerous villains have used the name "Scorpio."
Shark
DC: Three of them; the one with the most staying power is a mutated tiger shark who's fought Green Lantern and other heroes on various occasions.
Marvel: Two of them; one was a Golden Age villain.
Slasher
DC: Several; including a hired assassin who fought the Titans in the early 80s and promptly got killed by Adrian Chase, who'd just become the new Vigilante.
Marvel: Several users.
Slipstream
DC: Temporary "Dial H for Hero" identity of Lori Morning in post-Zero Hour "Legion of Super-Heroes" continuity
Marvel: Cameron Davis, served with the X-Treme X-Men for a bit.
Slither
DC: Jimmy Tilton, hero, member of the "Scare Tactics" band; Dead.
Marvel: Aaron Solomon, villain.
Snowman
DC: A Batman villain; the half-breed offspring of a male Yeti and a human woman.
Marvel: A character who met the "Ultimate X-Men" - I don't know if he's good, bad, or what.
Sodium
DC: One of the second team of Metal Men (all evil).
Marvel: One of the Elements of Doom.
Solaar/Solarr
DC: "Solaar" is a member of the space-traveling team known as the Vanguard.
Marvel: "Solarr" was Silas King, villain; dead.
Spark
DC: Alias used by Alya Ranzz in the Post-Zero Hour Reboot Version of the Legion of Super-Heroes. (Pre-Zero Hour, she had used the names "Lightning Lass" and "Light Lass" at different times.)
Marvel: Villain; member of the Avant Guard.
Sparks/Sparx
DC: Sparx is a hero; served as a member of the Ravers.
Marvel: "Sparks" is a villain killed and resurrected by The Hand.
Sparrow
DC: Codename of an Allied spy who died during WWII; also apparently the nickname of a soldier in Sergeant Rock's Easy Company during that war.
Marvel: Apparently at least three.
Spear
DC: Mercenary who fought the Titans in the early 1980s.
Marvel: Two; both villains.
Specter/Spectre
DC: "The Spectre" has been Jim Corrigan, Hal Jordan, and Crispus Allen.
Marvel: "Specter" was Dallas Gibson, a teenage mutant student in the second "New Mutants" series, who was depowered on M-Day.
Spectra
DC: Heroine; name used by Violet Harper in some old Outsiders comics (which I now own but haven't read yet).
Marvel: Selena Slate, who used to fight Sleepwalker but apparently wasn't such a bad person? (I'm going on hearsay.)
Speed Demon
DC: Two users. First: a villain who fought the Inferior Five. Second: Jerry McGee, a Flash villain who later reformed.
Marvel: At least two different villains.
Spellbinder
DC: At least three; all fairly obscure.
Marvel: Erica Fortune, star of the "Spellbound" miniseries in the late 1980s -- and apparently also languishing in obscurity since then.
The Sphinx
DC: Villain who fought Plastic Man in the 60s
Marvel: Anath-Na Mut and Meryet Karim, husband and wife, both incredibly powerful. When last seen, they had merged together and traveled back in time a few thousand years to try to get things right the second time around.
Spider Girl/Spider-Girl
DC: Spider Girl was a supporting character in "Legion of Super-Heroes"-related comics both before and after the Zero Hour Reboot, but hasn't been heard from yet in the latest Rebooted Legion Continuity.
Marvel: Spider-Girl is May "Mayday" Parker, teenage daughter of Peter and Mary Jane, in the alternate future timeline of "MC2."
Spider Queen
DC: A villainess of the Golden Age. Also: an evil spirit that fought Animal Man.
Marvel: Sharon Kane (or Shannon Kane), who began as a Fox Features Syndicate heroine in the Golden Age; but was retconned into becoming an Axis agent for awhile during WWII, according to scripts by Roy Thomas in an "Invaders" miniseries in 1993.
Spiral
DC: A member of the HellEnders, a group of demon-hunters.
Marvel: At least two; the more famous one is a six-armed woman who often works for Mojo.
Spitfire
DC: At least two. First: Nickname of Tex Adams, a fighter pilot with the "Eagle Squadron" during WWII. Second: Joshua Terrill, first-born child and onetime sidekick of the Golden Age Ray, still about ten years old (when last seen?) because of time in suspended animation.
Marvel: Jacqueline Crichton, later Lady Falsworth, who was retconned into Marvel's Golden Age continuity in the "Invaders" title in the 1970s.
Spoiler
DC: Stephanie Brown, who also served as the fourth Robin before dying in "War Games."
Marvel: Mercenary who fought Spider-Man.
Sponge/The Sponge
DC: Miklos, a character who appeared in one or more old "Challengers of the Unknown" stories, was apparently known as "Sponge-Man" and also as "The Sponge." He died bravely.
Marvel: "Sponge" was one of the Warpies; a mutated child who appeared in "Excalibur" way back when. I know almost nothing about her.
Spook
DC: A Batman villain. Apparently dead at the moment.
Marvel: A name for a spy who fought the Punisher; also an Ultraverse character. Both of them are dead.
Spore
DC: Constance Hollis, a Plant Elemental villain.
Marvel: A Deviant mutate who liked to absorb Eternals and - apparently - make himself immortal thereby.
Squid
DC: "The Squid" was a Batman villain who was killed by Killer Croc way back in 1983.
Marvel: Donny Callahan, a Spider-Man villain.
Squire
DC: Three people have been "Squire" at different times. The first and second ones (father and son) each later became "Knight."
Marvel: Superhero who died in the "Marvel: The Lost Generation" mini.
Starlight
DC: Natasha Irons, formerly the fourth hero known as Steel.
Marvel: Tania Belinsky, formerly one of many Red Guardians (she served as a Defender for awhile).
Stealth
DC: Heroine; member of L.E.G.I.O.N.
Marvel: At least three.
Steamroller
DC: Villain.
Marvel: Member of the Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation. (That's all I know.)
Steel Hawk/Steelhawk
DC: Superpowered mercenary.
Marvel: "Steel Hawk" is Arun Bakhti, a terrorist/mercenary/assassin.
Stinger
DC: Two villains.
Marvel: Several different users.
Stranglehold
DC: Female assassin who fought the Titans.
Marvel: Deviant; member of a group called "the Sword" that worked for the Damocles Foundation; fought X-Force; last seen being turned into a lizard?
Stretch
DC: Tom Longacre, retconned into the "Golden Age" continuity in the late 80s as a superheroic, Gingold-drinking predecessor of the Elongated Man. Ended up with "Hero Hotline."
Marvel: Member of the second Pride in "Runaways."
Strobe
DC: Villain who fought Ray Palmer.
Marvel: Villain; member of the Mutant Liberation Front
Strong Man/Strongman
DC: "Strongman" was a villain who fought the Justice League in the late 70s, as part of the evil "Luck League."
Marvel: At least two users of "Strong Man" and two users of "Strongman."
Stuntmaster
DC: Temporary "Dial H for Hero" identity of Chris King.
Marvel: George Smith, who's been a villain, a hero, and a TV actor.
Sublime
DC: Rachel Goldman, member of Wildstorm's DV8.
Marvel: Sentient bacteria; villain.
Sun Girl
DC: Villain in the current "Titans East" group.
Marvel: Mary Mitchell, superheroine in the Golden Age. Had her own title for three issues; then served as a new sidekick to the original Human Torch.
Sunspot
DC: Temporary "Dial H for Hero" identity of Vicki Grant.
Marvel: Roberto DaCosta, founding member of the original New Mutants.
Supernova
DC: Mysterious hero running around in the "52" series.
Marvel: Apparently another alias of Nova Omega (Garthan Saal) who is now dead.
Supreme One
DC: Villain who used to fight Aquaman.
Marvel: Leader of the Quists; boss of the alien known as Lucifer who originally
crippled Professor X.
Swashbuckler
DC: Michael Carter, hero based in Houston, Texas. Nephew of Greg Saunders -- the cowboy-themed "Vigilante" who was a member of the original Seven Soldiers of Victory. Swashbuckler teamed up with Batman once in 1980, and has never been heard from since.
Marvel: An ally of Deathlok's in his native alternate future timeline.
Taboo
DC: Amanda Reed, Wildstorm heroine.
Marvel: Villain; stepfather of Topaz the sorceress.
Talon
DC: The trained falcon used by Bird (one of Bane's henchmen) before he died. More recently: A new hero who became a Teen Titan during the "one year gap" after Infinite Crisis.
Marvel: A former codename for "X-23."
Tarantula
DC: Two of them. Jonathan Law, Golden Age hero. Catalina Flores, using the name more recently, much less heroic.
Marvel: Several characters. The recently introduced current one is Maria Vasquez.
Tempest
DC: At least three: Temporary "Dial H for Hero" identity of Vicki Grant. Joshua Clay, Doom Patrol member, dead. Later the new alias of Garth (formerly "Aqualad").
Marvel: The alias previously used by the Shi'ar Imperial Guardsman later known as Flashfire. More recently, the name used by Nicolette Giroux of the Exemplars.
The Thinker
DC: At least four of them.
Marvel: The preferred alias of the brilliant villain usually called "The Mad Thinker."
Thorn/Thornn
DC: At least two "Thorns." First: Rose Canton, the Golden Age version of the "Rose and Thorn" concept, the mother of Jade and Obsidian. Second: Rose Forrest, the more modern version of the "Rose and Thorn" concept.
Marvel: Multiple users; looks like at least two of each spelling variation; one of them was Thornn, the sister of Feral of X-Force in the 1990s.
Thunderbolt
DC: Peter Cannon, who started as a Charlton character. Also, I believe the Golden Age Johnny Thunder's magical helper was frequently just called "Thunderbolt."
Marvel: William Carver, African-American speedster hero, now dead. Marvel also has another "Thunderbolt" speedster who only got one appearance in an old Hulk story; real name unknown.
Tigra
DC: Darkseid's ex-wife; mother of Orion.
Marvel: Greer Grant, heroine.
Tin
DC: One of the original Metal Men.
Marvel: Presumably one of the Elements of Doom.
Titania
DC: At least two. One was a villain in pre-Zero Hour "Legion of Super-Heroes" continuity. The other is the Faerie Queen -- and apparently Tim Hunter's biological mother.
Marvel: At least two. Davida DeVito, villain, dead. Mary "Skeeter" MacPherran, villain.
Topaz
DC: One of the Recombatants who fought the Titans and then died.
Marvel: Young sorceress; heroine. Also: a Queen of Gwendor, member of Ultraforce, heroine, in the Ultraverse (later acquired by Marvel).
Uranium
DC: Evil robot created by Doc Magnus before he created the Metal Men.
Marvel: One of the Elements of Doom.
Vixen
DC: Mari Jiwe McCabe, heroine.
Marvel: At least three of them (and that's not counting the ant whom Ant-Man I apparently named after one of Santa's reindeer?).
Void/The Void
DC: "Void," one of the original WildC.A.T.S. who came to DC when ABC/Wildstorm merged into them.
Marvel: "The Void." Arch-enemy of the Sentry.
Volcana
DC: Apparently an inhabitant of Kandor in the 1990s who originally hailed from Apokolips?
Marvel: Marsha Rosenberg, Molecule Man's girlfriend for awhile in the 1980s.
Vulcan
DC: Villain who fought the JSA in the 1970s.
Marvel: Gabriel Summers, villain; the recently-revealed long-lost "third Summers brother" -- Cyclops and Havok being his siblings.
Vulture
DC: Two, both villains.
Marvel: Many users; the most notorious is Adrian Toomes, one of the earliest villains to clash with Spider-Man.
The Wasp
DC: 1940s villain who once fought the Golden Age, Quality Comics hero then known as "Quicksilver" (and now known as "Max Mercury").
Marvel: Janet Van Dyne, heroine.
Weasel
DC: Villain who fought Firestorm
Marvel: Several users.
Whirlwind
DC: Villain who apparently got just one appearance and may have died at the end of it.
Marvel: David Cannon, villain.
Wildfire
DC: Carol Vance Martin, a Golden Age heroine from Quality Comics. Later: Drake Burroughs, hero, in at least two different versions of "Legion of Super-Heroes" continuity, Pre- and Post-Zero Hour.
Marvel: Harold Paprika, racist villain with a blowtorch.
Witchfire
DC: Heroine; partner in the Power Company. (Initially thought she was Rebecca Carstairs, but was actually some sort of mystical duplicate of the "real" Rebecca.)
Marvel: A member of the Alpha/Beta/Gamma Flight programs in Canada.
The Wizard
DC: At least two. William I. Zard, Golden Age villain who was recently absorbed into Ragman's rags. Also, a temporary villainous "Dial H for Hero" identity of Robby Reed.
Marvel: Bentley Whitman, villain.
The Wrecker
DC: A Silver Age Batman villain. Also, a temporary "Dial H for Hero" identity of Jerry Feldon.
Marvel: Several of them; the most famous was Dirk Garthwaite, leader of the
villainous Wrecking Gang.
Yellowjacket
DC: Reed Victor, former superhero, father of The Patriot, and thus grandfather of Merryman (of the Inferior Five)
Marvel: One of several aliases Hank Pym has used. Also: XXX, a female Yellowjacket.
Zealot
DC: Zannah of Khera, one of the first WildC.A.T.S.
Marvel: Thomas Moreau, a Genoshan mutate.
Zinc
DC: Robot member of the third "Metal Men" team; eventually went rogue and was destroyed.
Marvel: Presumably one of the Elements of Doom.
Zirconium
DC: One of the second (and evil) team of Metal Men. Destroyed.
Marvel: One of the Elements of Doom.
Zombie
DC: One of Bane's henchmen in "Knightfall."
Marvel: Simon William Garth, who was "undead" for awhile and is now just plain dead.