Here is the archive of the lists Lorendiac posts here, and here is his latest piece!- BC.

Let’s suppose you hear from a Very Reliable Source that a new miniseries is scheduled; it will be a joint effort from Marvel and DC. It will feature the following characters, all of whom have previously appeared in other comic books over the last umpteen years, using the same colorful aliases they will be using in this special crossover event. You are even told that these key characters will be split up into two groups, which we shall call "Blue Team" and "Gold Team" for the sake of argument.

Blue Team

Ant-Man, Aurora, Black Widow, Blink, Diablo, Electro, Gladiator, Jolt, Karma, Legion, Lionheart, The Lizard, Professor X, The Puppet Master, Magneto, Mockingbird, The Masked Marauder, Mysterio, The Vulture, The Wasp, Yellowjacket.

Gold Team

Bane, The Bat, The Creeper, Doctor Destiny, El Diablo, Huntress, Ice, Impulse, Jade, Manhunter, Obsidian, Oracle, Rainmaker, Raven, Ravager, Robotman, Spoiler, Titano, Voodoo, Witchfire, Zealot.

Given all of the above, are you safe in assuming that the Marvel contingent will be the Blue Team, and the characters representing DC will be clumped together on the Gold Team?

No!

It could just as easily be the other way around! Or each team could comprise a mixture of Marvel and DC character concepts! Just because a comic book has "Professor X" in it doesn't mean the user of that name has anything to do with the X-Men, and just because a villain calls himself "Bane" doesn't mean he once broke Batman's back!

A year ago I saw someone on DC’s own discussion forums asking for advice. He wanted to write and post a fanfic featuring what I gathered was an original character, although the story would be set in the DCU, but the heroic alias he had in mind was one which he realized DC has already used from time to time (not for anyone who ever had his own title, though). The fan wanted advice on whether he’d get in trouble for copyright infringement if he stuck with the name he wanted to use.

I figured he didn’t really need to worry. First, because nobody can copyright a name all by itself; second, because DC doesn’t even visibly object to the existence of thousands of online fanfics that obviously are using their distinctive characters (instead of just recycling the occasional name for a new user); and third, because if frequently swiping colorful names for their new characters from old characters at Marvel is good enough for DC (and vice versa), then swiping names from both companies for our new characters certainly ought to be good enough for us common folk!

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. 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!

When I started soliciting suggestions for the first draft of this list in early 2007, I could think of a few names offhand ("Captain Marvel" was an easy one), and I figured there were more duplications I had seen over the years but wasn't immediately remembering, and probably several others involving characters I’d never heard of. I estimated I might end up with 30 "shared aliases" after my fellow fans had weighed in.

Live and learn! A week later, thanks to the help I received, my First Draft actually listed 166 names. Several months later, incorporating new suggestions from my fellow fans along with others I had dug up on my own, I had 303 in the Second Draft. A year after that, I figured I had 416 in the Third Draft. Now, almost a year later, I figure I'm up to 653 "aliases" which both Marvel and DC have used for characters (or someone else used them at another company, and then Marvel or DC later added those characters to their collections, somehow).

I dare to hope that I finally have most instances of "duplication" covered here. At any rate, I'll probably want the tally to get up to at least 750 before I bother releasing another draft. How long will that take? Beats me!

Over the years I've had to hammer out some rules of thumb regarding what counts and what doesn't for the purpose of this list. Let's run through those now, to save you the trouble of asking why I completely skipped over certain names.

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. But if they didn’t "create" those characters, then I’m not interesting in calling those cases of "duplication." (On the other hand, I made a possible exception for personifications of the concept of "Death" at both companies. I don’t see that the Marvel version or the Neil Gaiman version from "Sandman" were simply swiped from any single preexisting mythology.)

2. On the other hand, I am willing to list any names which both companies have swiped from mythological sources and then recycled for "new" character concepts who definitely are not "the original Andromeda of Greek Myth" (or whatever). Both DC and Marvel have, in fact, used the name "Andromeda" for female heroes.

3. I also ignore any cases where both companies have handled the same "licensed" characters at different times. Both DC and Marvel have published comic books set in the world of "Star Trek," for instance, but they didn't claim to have created the characters of the original TV series.

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 famous X-Men. Likewise, Marvel and DC each own characters who have used the name "Thunderbolt," but my entry for that alias does not mention Marvel’s team concept known as "the Thunderbolts," because each member of the team has used some other colorful alias for himself or herself.

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 usually spelled and punctuated.

6. It appears that at least a few dozen members of Marvel’s group "The Elements of Doom" have been mentioned by name in the group’s 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 whose names have been mentioned in dialogue. So I’m assuming that any DC character named after a real chemical element has a namesake at Marvel. In cases where it doesn’t appear that such a character was ever mentioned by name, but implicitly is part of the group, 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 effectively 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 (whether by purchase or by some long-term licensing deal which is currently in force). 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 neither DC nor Marvel has any control over her. Similarly, I ignored the Milestone and Impact characters in 2007, but I changed my mind for the Third Draft after I heard DC had acquired permission to integrate both sets into its standard continuity and see what happens. And I’ve decided to include a couple of cases of costumed characters from Alan Moore’s "Watchmen" who shared aliases with Marvel characters, although I’ve read that Alan Moore will regain full control of those characters if and when DC lets the trade paperback collection go out of print. (Hey, it could happen! It’s only been a couple of decades, after all!)

8. I ignore any characters who have only appeared in other media, such as TV shows, movies, regular novels, or games which adapted character concepts now controlled by DC or Marvel. However: If such characters debuted elsewhere and later appeared in comic books, that makes them fair game!

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," regardless of whether those were the "real names" or "aliases" of the characters using them. 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 exotic 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. However, I’ve decided I’m not interested in such things as multiple uses of the names "Arak" and "Arion," because those just look too much like "real names" to me, even though I can't remember the last time I met anyone who had been named "Arak" or "Arion" by his parents.

10. Here are a few things I deliberately exclude from my list: "Atari Force" characters, because I don’t think DC owns them, and (as far as I know) they were never really integrated into the DCU. "Masters of the Universe" characters, for much the same reasons, although I know Superman did travel to Eternia and meet He-Man at least twice in the early 1980s. Amalgam characters, because they were not just "Marvel" or "DC," but deliberately swiping and merging elements of various characters owned by both companies.

11. If one character has normally called himself "Blade" and another frequently introduces himself as "The Blade" (insert any other word or phrase for "Blade" in that example), then I treat those as variants of the same alias, but I try to distinguish between those different usages in my listing for "Blade/The Blade." I'm sure I fail to make the correct distinctions on many occasions, partially because the online databases which I use for my research generally don't bother to mention whether each user of a certain name is or isn't in the habit of pronouncing the direct article ("The") when introducing himself by his colorful alias.

12. Some Doubtful Cases: I am currently working on the theory that the characters known as "Comet the Super-Horse" (Silver Age Superman continuity), "Neon the Unknown" (Golden Age hero), "Omega the Unknown" (1970s hero), and "Deathstroke the Terminator" (Slade Wilson) all used those complete strings as their preferred aliases; not just the first words of each string. Thus, none of those guys are mentioned below in listings for "Comet," "Neon," etc. I don’t list Tryco Slatterus under "Champion," either, because I believe that for millennia his full preferred alias was "Champion of the Universe."

Now, on to the main event!

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 which issue showed a certain character using a certain alias for the first time. And I usually don’t bother mentioning which company used a certain alias first. I always mention DC characters first, but only because "DC" precedes "Marvel" alphabetically! I provide as much data as I happen to feel the need to provide in any given case, and you’re welcome to do further research on your own time!

Acrobat/Acro-Bat DC: Two users of "Acrobat"; both villains. One was a WWII-era villain who fought Judomaster and Tiger in the Charlton comics. One was a member of Amos Fortune's "Luck League" in one JLA story. "Acro-Bat" was the heroic alias used by a member of the Justice Experience until he and most of his team were killed back in the 1970s (according to a retcon in the 1990s); his daughter, Chase Cameron, grew up to be an agent of the DEO and had her own solo series "Chase" for a little while.

MARVEL: At least three users of "Acrobat" (one lived in the 19th Century and fought the Rawhide Kid).

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.

Agent Orange

DC: Four users; one of them is a Wildstorm character.

MARVEL: Two users; one was Anjelica Jones in a "What If?" timeline.

Ajax DC: The name Superman gave to one of his robot doubles in a Silver Age story because it was stronger than the rest of its kind; that robot's mind subsequently was transferred into a different body (called "Wonder-Man") by aliens; but soon died.

MARVEL: Several users.

Alchemist/The Alchemist DC: At least two users of "The Alchemist" -- one of them was also known as Professor Zodiac (a Golden Age villain).

MARVEL: Two mutants have each used "Alchemist."

Alpha DC: A former terrorist who appeared a few times in Cassandra Cain’s regular "Batgirl" title. In the title’s final story arc, Alpha seemed to have become very loyal to Cassandra -- but he hasn’t been heard from since that time, so don’t ask me if he’s currently "good" or "bad" or "dead" or what!

MARVEL: Several users.

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.

Anarchy/Anarky DC: "Anarky" is Lonnie Machin, an anarchist vigilante who thinks he's a hero, but Batman and other superheroes generally disagree with him.

MARVEL: "Anarchy" is a villain; a redheaded woman who worked for Flag-Smasher's ULTIMATUM outfit during the "Acts of Vengeance" event in 1989 (and hasn't been heard from since).

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.

Anomaly DC: Super-powered clone of Floyd Barstow; villain, but with some signs of scruples.

MARVEL: At least two entities have used this.

The Answer DC: Mike Patten, villain.

MARVEL: Two users, both villains.

Ant-Man DC: Jumbo Carson, villain (initially masquerading as a hero), who appeared in a single Batman story.

MARVEL: Hank Pym's first heroic costumed identity.

Antaeus DC: Two users. One was a member of the New Olympians in the 1980s. One was Mark Antaeus, a metahuman who joined the JLA, assassinated a mass-murdering dictator in the Middle East, discovered he had thereby triggered a very messy civil war, and then committed suicide; all this happening in the graphic novel "JLA: Superpower."

MARVEL: A member of the superpowered race called "the Neo."

Ape/The Ape DC: "The Ape" was a villain who fought Batman in the mid-90s; died.

MARVEL: One of the Morlocks.

Archer/The Archer DC: "The Archer" was a Golden Age villain who fought Superman.

MARVEL: "Archer" is a member of the XSE in Bishop’s future timeline; he traveled back to "modern times" and ended up inhabiting the body of a recently deceased criminal named Jude Black.

Arclight DC: Noah Pasternetti, villain.

MARVEL: Phillippa Sontag, villain; one of the Marauders who performed the Morlock Massacre.

Argent2

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.

Argon DC: One of Mr. Element's henchmen used this alias in a single story. Later, there was an extraterrestrial villain called "Argon" who fought Superman in the 1970s, died, and hasn't been heard from since.

MARVEL: Presumably one of the Elements of Doom.

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 Vicky Grant.

MARVEL: Several users, including Kitty Pryde at one point.

Arsenal DC: Three users. The first two were villains. The third was Roy Harper, hero; formerly "Speedy" and later known as "Red Arrow."

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.

Astro DC: Bruce Mills became a superhero under this name in the Iron Curtain nation of Dolomain a long time ago -- and may not have been heard from since his debut.

MARVEL: Apparently this was the name used by a Golden Age character in one of the stories in "Marvel Mystery Comics #35." I know nothing more about him, her, or it (as the case may be). I have not found any reference to the character ever reappearing.

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.

Avatar/Avatarr DC: "Avatar" was a temporary "Dial H for Hero" identity of Chris King. The same spelling was later used by the man who had been "Tiger," WWII-era sidekick to Judomaster, after "Tiger" grew up to be an insane villain.

MARVEL: At least two users of "Avatar"; one is an adult version of Franklin Richards. Also, there was an "Avatarr" (now dead) in the 2099 timeline.

Azrael DC: Several users; one was a winged alien who worked with the Titans for awhile; another was Jean Paul Valley, a brainwashed assassin for the Order of St. Dumas. (When Jean Paul debuted, he was replacing his father as Azrael, and we were told that their ancestors had been Azraels for a long, long time before Batman ever heard of them.)

MARVEL: At least two users besides the legendary one.

Ballistic/Ballistik DC: "Ballistic" was Kelvin Mao, hero; member of Blood Pack; dead.

MARVEL: "Ballistik" is a Marvel UK character; member of something called "the Zoo."

Bane DC: Villain who broke Batman’s back in "Knightfall." (I hear he has joined the current "Secret Six.")

MARVEL: An enemy of the Knights of Pendragon.

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.

Barker/The Barker DC: "The Barker" was another name for Carnie Callahan, a Golden Age character in Quality’s comics.

MARVEL: "Barker" is a villain; one of the three brothers known as "The Howlers," who served as part of "The Gladiators."

Barracuda DC: At least two.

MARVEL: At least three.

Barrage DC: Karnowsky, a 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.

The Bat DC: At least two users, one in regular continuity and one way outside of it. First: Helena Bertinelli -- while wearing a dark, pointy-eared costume in the "No Man’s Land" event in a valiant effort to keep the Bat-legend alive in Gotham while Bruce Wayne was far away, indulging in a months-long childish sulk -- introduced herself as "I’m The Bat" on at least one occasion and probably a lot more (even if we didn’t see them all). Having people call her "Batgirl" came later. Second: In the alternate timeline featured in the Elseworlds stories "JSA: The Liberty Files" and "JSA: The Unholy Three," both set in the 1940s, the local analog of what we would normally call "Batman" is consistently called "The Bat" instead.

MARVEL: Villain in the nineteenth century who fought The Rawhide Kid and died.

Battering Ram DC: A villain who fought Chris King and Vicky Grant in their "Dial H for Hero" days.

MARVEL: An X-Force member who died in battle.

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.

Bella Donna/Belladonna DC: "Bella Donna" has been used twice. Once an obscure villainess; once a Yuppie Demon (whatever that is).

MARVEL: "Belladonna" is Narda Ravonna, villainess. (I don't count Gambit's ex-wife because "Bella Donna" really was part of the name on her birth certificate; not an alias -- although I had to check it just now to make sure.)

Big Ben DC: Villain; member of "the Big Gang" which fought Atom (Ray Palmer).

MARVEL: Villain who fought Spider-Girl in the MC2 timeline. There was also a "Big Ben" who fought "Miracleman" (or "Marvelman"; take your pick) in stories written by Alan Moore in the 1980s; it is possible that this character now belongs to Marvel Comics, or some portion of him does, or whatever.

Big Bertha DC: Villain; member of "the Big Gang" which fought Atom (Ray Palmer).

MARVEL: Heroine; member of the Great Lakes Avengers.

Black Cat/The Black Cat DC: Steve Robinson, an African-American soldier in World War II who was often called by the codenames "Black Cat" or "Chat Noir" -- apparently depending upon the nationality of the speaker -- during his work with a Resistance group in occupied France.

MARVEL: "The Black Cat" is Felicia Hardy, a former cat burglar who is supposedly reformed.

Black Death DC: Villain who fought the JLA a few years ago.

MARVEL: Two users; both villains.

Black Hand/The Black Hand DC: "Black Hand" is William Hand, villain.

MARVEL: "The Black Hand" was a Golden Age villain who fought Captain America.

Black Hawk/Blackhawk DC: "Blackhawk" was the alias used by the leader of the WWII fighter squadron collectively known as "The Blackhawks." He was a Quality character in the Golden Age; later ended up at DC. His real name was originally "Bart Hawk," but later was retconned as "Janos Prohaska."

MARVEL: In "Mystic Comics #2," in a story set in the year 2300, there was a villain who used this alias, either with or without a space in the middle. (At least one online resource indicates it may have been lettered both ways in different word balloons in the same Golden Age story, but I don’t know that for sure.)

The Black Knight DC: Alias used by a Nazi villain (apparently surnamed "Von Stauffen") who fought the Unknown Soldier.

MARVEL: Many users; probably the most famous is Dane Whitman, hero.

Black Jack/Blackjack DC: "Black Jack" was a pirate captain who fought the Golden Age Aquaman. Later, "Blackjack" was a villain who clashed with Chris King and Vicky Grant in their "Dial H for Hero" days.

MARVEL: At least four users, three of whom spell it as one word.

Black Racer DC: Supernatural entity who skis around collecting souls of dying people.

MARVEL: Villain; member of the Serpent Society.

Black Thorn/Blackthorn DC: "Black Thorn" is Elizabeth Thorn, a vigilante in New York City who was later recruited into the Checkmate program.

MARVEL: "Blackthorn" was Aline Pagrovna, member of Strikeforce: Morituri; dead.

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.

The Black Witch DC: A Fawcett villain who fought Ibis the Invincible in at least one Golden Age story.

MARVEL: Alias used by a lawyer named Feritt who fought Captain America in one Golden Age story and died at the end of it.

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.

Blade/The Blade DC: "The Blade" was a clone-slave of a villain known as "The Master."

MARVEL: A few users of "Blade" -- the most famous is a hero named Eric Brooks; the African-American daywalker who spends most of his time killing evil vampires.

Blaze DC: At least two users; the more famous is a demonic villainess who has given Superman some very bad times; she was eventually revealed to be "the half-demon daughter of the wizard Shazam."

MARVEL: The name has been used at least two or three times; one "Blaze" was an "imaginary villain" created by three people trying to prove they were clever enough to fool Spider-Man, but then Spidey persuaded Johnny Storm to pose as "the real Blaze" in order to turn the joke around.

Blindside DC: Two users; one is a member of Relative Heroes.

MARVEL: At least three users, all pretty obscure. (In addition: A note at marvunapp.com suggests that this name may have been used occasionally by a New Universe character also known as "Blindspot" -- but I don’t know the details; perhaps there was a one-time typographical error which meant nothing?)

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: At least three users; one is a 2099 character.

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.

Bloodhound DC: At least two.

MARVEL: At least two.

Bloody Mary DC: Villain; member of the Female Furies. Also: A Milestone character.

MARVEL: Two of them; one is evidently the alias of one of the personalities inside Typhoid Mary’s head.

Blowhard DC: Codename or nickname used by a soldier who was part of the "original" Suicide Squad program of the WWII era (according to a retcon in the late 80s).

MARVEL: A mutant member of the Morlocks; dead.

Blue Streak DC: One of the previous aliases of the speedster hero now known as "Max Mercury."

MARVEL: Four users; one is a member of the A-Next team of the MC2 timeline.

Blur/The Blur DC: "The Blur" was a temporary "Dial H for Hero" identity of Jerry Feldon.

MARVEL: At least two. "Blur" was a member of DP7 in the New Universe (until he died). "The Blur" is Stanley Stewart, African-American speedster in the world of J. Michael Straczynski’s "Supreme Power" (Stanley is basically that timeline’s local equivalent of The Whizzer from other versions of "Squadron Supreme" continuity).

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."

Bouncer DC: At least four users.

MARVEL: "Bouncer" is a villain; one of the three brothers known as "the Howlers," who served as part of "Gladiators."

Bounty DC: At least three. One was an evil entity who took control of Dawnstar in "Legion of Super-Heroes" continuity in the early 90s (this character was presumably erased from existence by the Post-Zero Hour Reboot of Legion continuity). One was a mercenary who fought Damage. The latest one was a character in the "Emperor Joker" story arc.

MARVEL: Female mercenary who dated Ben Grimm for a bit in Chris Claremont’s run on the FF.

Bounty Hunter/The Bounty Hunter DC: At least two users; apparently both used "the" at the start.

MARVEL: At least three users; I’m not sure about the use of "the" in their cases.

Bowman/The Bowman DC: At least three users. One is a former superhero who is the father of White Feather, the archer member of the Inferior Five. The second was a member of the Justifiers in the alternate timeline which the Extremists came from (after they had slaughtered all the other inhabitants, including Bowman). The third was a member of the Maximums in a "Superboy/Batman" story arc; he was already dead before we met him; he was basically a thinly veiled knockoff of Marvel’s Hawkeye.

MARVEL: At least two. One was apparently a reincarnation of Sir Lancelot; the other is a member of the HYDRA Super-Agents.

Brain/The Brain DC: "The Brain" is a villain; leader of the Brotherhood of Evil.

MARVEL: Several users.

Brainstorm DC: Several users.

MARVEL: Insane villain who was manipulated into thinking he was just venting some frustration while dreaming.

Brass DC: A member of "Metallik," which was the group name for one of the other "Team Titans" teams from the alternate future timeline in which Lord Chaos (Donna Troy’s son) was the evil ruler of the world.

MARVEL: Three 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."

Bug/Bugg DC: One user of each version. "Bug" was a member of the Maximums in a "Superman/Batman" story arc; he was a thinly veiled Spider-Man knockoff.

MARVEL: "Bug" is a nonhuman hero who debuted as a member of the Micronauts in the Marvel comic books based on a line of action figures; however, this character was created by Marvel and they have continued to use him in new stories after their license for the Micronauts ended. (I am told that he is now referred to as one of that heroic group known as "the Microns.")

Bull’s-Eye/Bulls-Eye/Bullseye DC: "Bull’s-Eye" was a villain who fought the Golden Age Green Arrow in the old Pre-COIE continuity.

MARVEL: "Bulls-Eye" was a Hydra assassin who had a single appearance in 1969; he killed Nick Fury (or seemed to) in "Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD #15" -- and then got killed himself by the end of that story. Later, the assasin "Bullseye" became a notorious Daredevil villain.

Note on the above: Two years ago, right after I posted my Second Draft, there was some disagreement regarding just how the Hydra assassin wrote his name. ("Bull’s Eye? Bull’s-Eye? Something else?") A couple of sources have assured me he used "Bulls-Eye" as his alias throughout that story, so that’s what I’m going with until further notice. Near as I can tell, however, that issue has never been reprinted as part of any TPB, and I don’t feel like coughing up the money to buy a 40-year-old comic book just to check on some punctuation in the dialogue, so it’s awfully hard to be sure. Some online resources have that alias punctuated in other ways -- and in 2007, when I was researching the point, I found multiple instances online where people were offering copies of that Hydra assassin’s only appearance for sale on their websites with such commentary as "The First Appearance of Bullseye the Assassin!" or words to that effect. Clearly they either mistakenly believed, or else desperately hoped their unsuspecting customers would mistakenly believe, that the assasin on the cover of that comic is the same guy (in a different costume) as the "Bullseye" who has killed two of Daredevil’s old girlfriends: Elektra Natchios and Karen Page.

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.

Bulletproof DC: A Milestone character.

MARVEL: A codename used by the late Nathaniel Briggs when he was acting as a member of "Sentinel Squad O*N*E."

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.

Burst DC: One of the greatest heroes of the planet Thordia.

MARVEL: Genoshan mutate who died in the service of Exodus.

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).

Buzz DC: Marcus Gaius, of the old Roman Empire, eventually sold his soul and became a demon known as "Buzz" for the next couple of millennia, until Supergirl (Post-COIE Linda Danvers) started having a redeeming influence on him.

MARVEL: "The Buzz" is a teenage superhero of the MC2 timeline.

Cadaver/Kadaver DC: "Kadaver" was a villain who fought Batman.

MARVEL: At least three characters have used "Cadaver."

Cain/Cane/Kaine DC: "Cain" is the working name of David Cain, high-priced assassin.

MARVEL: "Kaine" is an evil Spider-Man clone. "Cane" was an assassin who once fought The Punisher -- it will probably shock you speechless to hear that Cane is no longer among the living.

Calcium DC: One of the second (and evil) team of Metal Men. Destroyed.

MARVEL: Presumably one of the Elements of Doom.

Calculator/The Calculator DC: "The Calculator" is Noah Kuttler, villain.

MARVEL: "Calculator" was Kwong Dae, a character in "NFL Superpro,"

Caliber DC: Villain; member of Team Turmoil.

MARVEL: Villain who fought Alpha Flight.

Cannonball DC: Military nickname of Horace Calhoon, who was second-in-command of Tomahawk’s Rangers during the Revolutionary War.

MARVEL: Sam Guthrie, hero.

Capricorn DC: Villain who fought Superman and Batman in a single story in the 1970s. He died at the end of that story, but the heroes didn't realize that.

MARVEL: Several villainous Capricorns have served with some version of the "Zodiac" team at different times.

Captain Marvel DC: Billy Batson (usually). The name was also used by Freddy Freeman as a grown man in the alternate future timeline of the "Titans Tomorrow" stories.

MARVEL: Several users; the first was Mar-Vell of the Kree (now dead), and both a son and a daughter of Mar-Vell have subsequently used the name (as have a few others).

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: "Captain Tiger" was a 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.

Cardinal DC: One of the temporary aliases of Vicky Grant in her "Dial H for Hero" days.

MARVEL: Member of I.C.O.N., an evil conspiracy which once clashed with the Frankenstein Monster; this man apparently died in an explosion (but I gather this was never confirmed).

Carnivore DC: Evil entity who fought the "Supergirl" who was actually a merger of "Matrix" and the Post-COIE "Linda Danvers."

MARVEL: Two users. One was Dick Chalker, villain; one is Count Andreas Zorba, of the Examplars.

Cat/The Cat DC: "The Cat" was the first alias used by Selina Kyle (better known as Catwoman); at least in the Golden Age continuity.

MARVEL: "The Cat" was a costumed identity for Greer Grant before her physical transformation into "Tigra." "Cat" or "The Cat" have also been used by several other beings, including Shen Kuei, a martial artist whose abilities rival those of Shang-Chi.

Catalyst DC: Villain; last seen working as an assassin for Vandal Savage.

MARVEL: Villain; used to work for HYDRA.

Catapult DC: Member of the demon-hunting group known as the Hell-Enders.

MARVEL: Hero; member of the original "Exiles" team of the Ultraverse; died soon after he debuted.

Cathode DC: Villainess; member of a group called "the Network" which fought Superman and Batman in "World’s Finest Comics" in the early 80s; they may not exist in Post-COIE continuity.

MARVEL: Villainess with a long-distance teleporting ray who once used it to steal the Statue of Liberty and thus ended up fighting Silver Sable, her Wild Pack, and their temporary ally Deathlok. She hasn’t been heard from since. (Except in a fanfic I keep writing.)

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.

Catspaw/Cat’s Paw DC: "Catspaw" is April Dumaka, heroine in the far future in at least two versions of "Legion of Super-Heroes" continuity.

MARVEL: "Cat’s Paw" was the alias of a foreign spy who fought the Golden Age hero known as "The Angel."

Catwoman/Cat Woman DC: "Catwoman" is Selina Kyle, sometimes a hero, sometimes a villain.

MARVEL: "Cat Woman" was a Golden Age villain, leader of a gang of thieves, who fought Captain America and then died at the end of her first appearance.

Cauldron DC: Two or three of them. One is an obscure Golden Age villain, possibly demonic, who fought Plastic Man a few times. The more recent user of the alias is a robot, originally designed at Project Cadmus, which was forced to fight Superman a couple of times in the 1990s. (I'm not clear on whether Superman's second fight with "Cauldron" was with the same robot after it was rebuilt, or with a new robot built from much the same design as the first.)

MARVEL: A villain.

Centurion DC: One of the Dogs of War who fought the Doom Patrol.

MARVEL: Villain who fought Ms. Marvel. There are also suggestions that this word alone may have been used as a codename for some members of the Nova Corps, but I’m not sure of the details.

Chain Lightning DC: Apparently this name has been used by both the Pre-COIE and Post-COIE versions of a female character with multiple personality disorder who sometimes fights Captain Marvel Jr.

MARVEL: Two users, both obscure.

Chairman DC: The masked leader of an evil organization known as "the Council" which clashed with Supergirl -- meaning Kara Zor-El, the Pre-COIE version -- in the early 80s. I have no idea whether Chairman, and/or the Council, are still around in modern continuity.

MARVEL: There was a Chairman who was a villain in an old Hostess Twinkies ad in the comic books. (It occurs to me that I have no idea whether those old Hostess ads are presumed to be "in continuity" or not.) There was also a Chairman in the 2099 timeline; a villain who was in command of the Ratpack.

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.

Champion DC: There have been at least four users. First: the wizard Shazam. Second: a guy who initally posed as a superhero in the mid-80s but turned out to be a villain; ended up fighting the partnership of Green Arrow (Ollie) and Black Canary (the second one). Third: M'onel. Fourth: Herakles when he was masquerading as a run-of-the-mill modern superhero (I choose to mention Herakles to be complete; since he's a mythological figure in the public domain, I could just ignore him).

MARVEL: Another alias used by a Wolverine villain also known as "Mister X."

Changeling DC: At least five users, beginning with a Golden Age Villain who fought the original Flash, and ending with Garfield Logan (who has since reverted back to his earlier alias of "Beast Boy").

MARVEL: The former villain who died while impersonating Professor X (at the Prof’s request).

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.

Chunk DC: Chester P. Runk, brilliant physicist who fought Flash (Wally West) but later became one of his closest friends.

MARVEL: Villain; one of the Outriders.

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.

The Clown DC: Lyle Corley, a Flash villain; dead.

MARVEL: One of these has served in the Ringmaster's Circus of Crime. Another was a member of the Crazy Gang in the 1980s (and maybe he still is, for all I know).

Cobalt/Kobalt DC: "Cobalt" was a robot, a member of the third "Metal Men" team; eventually went rogue and was destroyed. "Kobalt" is a Milestone character.

MARVEL: "Cobalt" is one of the Elements of Doom

Cobra/Kobra DC: For many years, "Kobra" was Jeffrey Franklin Burr, villain; he is now dead. Recently, his brother Jason Burr has been setting himself up as the new "Kobra."

MARVEL: Previous alias of Klaus Voorhees, a villain who later called himself "King Cobra."

Cobweb DC: Heroine created by Alan Moore as part of his "America’s Best Comics" line; now part of the ABC imprint at DC.

MARVEL: Two users; one was an enemy of Sleepwalker.

Coil DC: Milestone character who fought Static in the 1990s.

MARVEL: Villain; one of the Twisted Sisters in Shadow City.

The Collector DC: Silver Age villain who fought a Batman/Hawkman teamup and hasn't been heard from since. I am told that years later, there was another villain using the same name in a Superman story in the late 70s; I gather he hasn't reappeared either!

MARVEL: One of the Elders of the Universe. I'm told there was also a human thief who used this alias when he appeared in "Wolverine/Doop #1" (which I'd never even heard of).

Comet/The Comet DC: "Comet" was an "Earth-Born Angel of Love" in Peter David’s "Supergirl" title. I’ve also been told that the Silver Age hero previously known as "Captain Comet" later started using just plain "Comet" as an alias. And Rob Connors, "The Comet," was an Archie character who apparently will soon be integrated into the DCU if he hasn’t been already (I haven’t been paying attention).

MARVEL: "The Comet" was Harris Moore, created in the 1970s as a superhero with a retconned career from the 1950s; now dead.

Note on the above: I am aware that Peter David’s version of "Comet" was a takeoff from the Silver Age character who was called "Comet the Super-Horse." However, I am working on the theory that in the Silver Age guy’s case, his full heroic alias was "Comet the Super-Horse," so I don’t count him as being another duplication of the name "Comet."

Computo DC: A villainous artificial intelligence who fought the Legion of Super-Heroes in their original continuity. Also: Danielle Foccart, a heroine, later swiped the name for herself (still in the original continuity before the Post-Zero Hour Reboot).

MARVEL: An artificial intelligence created by Quasimodo.

Confessor/The Confessor

DC: There was a Confessor who worked for Brother Blood in the 1980s; also, "The Confessor" has been used successively by two heroes in "Kurt Busiek's Astro City."

MARVEL: Russian mercenary who fought Maverick.

Controller

DC: Villain who fought Adrian Chase when he was The Vigilante with his own title in the mid-1980s.

MARVEL: Basil Sandhurst, villain.

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.

Cossack DC: At least two. One was a Russian robot who fought the Doom Patrol. The second is an alternate alias of the first "Dark Rider" of the DCU.

MARVEL: Russian terrorist who once fought Daredevil.

Crackerjack DC: A hero in "Kurt Busiek's Astro City."

MARVEL: A villain who appeared in the "Ghost Rider 2099" series.

Creeper/The Creeper DC: Jack Ryder, hero, has intermittently appeared in stories as "The Creeper," going back about 40 years now. I am told that a Vertigo miniseries a few years seemed to retcon in a "previous" Creeper, a woman named Madeline Benoir, active in the 1920s. There was also a Creeper in the "DC One Million" event, living in the year 85,271.

MARVEL: "The Creeper" was an alias used by Ambassador Lissom, a funny-animal villain (I’m told -- but I haven’t seen any images) who appeared and died in a single Golden Age story. "Creeper" was the alias used by a kid living in New York City a century ago; a super-powered member of a group known as the Street Arabs. He was killed in the same "Runaways" story arc in which he debuted.

Crime-Buster/Crimebuster DC: "Crimebuster" was a Fawcett hero in the Golden Age. I don’t know that anyone has ever revived the character (or any "successor" to the original user of the name) in anything published by DC in recent decades.

MARVEL: Three users. The first was Frank Moore, son of a hero called The Comet; Frank is now dead and at least two other guys have tried to continue the role. (As near as I can tell from Wikipedia, two of the Marvel guys have spelled the name without a hyphen.)

Crimson DC: Jodi Slayton, heroine, daughter of Backlash. She worked with Wildstorm’s Wildcore team for awhile, and later changed her alias to "Jet."

MARVEL: Villainess; member of a quasi-vampiric group called the Ravens; died fighting X-Factor.

The Crooked Man DC: "The Crooked Man" was J.J. Crook, a crimelord who appeared in the "Chain Gang War" series and apparently died at the end of it (but I hear the body was never found after the big explosion).

MARVEL: "The Crooked Man" was a crimelord who fought The Shroud.

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.

Crusher DC: A villain who was once defeated by Bobo Bennetti.

MARVEL: Several users.

Cyclone/Psi-Clone/Psyclone

DC: At least four users of "Cyclone." 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 of Nylor Truggs -- retcon-erased by COIE. One is Maxine Hunkel, heroine; a granddaughter of Ma Hunkel, the Golden Age "Red Tornado." Also: "Psi-Clone" was a temporary "Dial H for Hero" alias of Vicky Grant.

MARVEL: There have been at least three users of "Cyclone," all villains; the first is dead. There is also a "Psyclone" in the 2099 timeline.

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.

Dagger/The Dagger DC: "The Dagger" was a villain who fought Batman a couple of times.

MARVEL: At least two users; the famous one is Tandy Bowen, heroine; partner of Cloak.

Dark Angel DC: A Wonder Woman villain.

MARVEL: Several users.

Dark Rider DC: Two of them, both villains; the second claims to have killed the first.

MARVEL: Several of them; one was an evil Reed Richards of an alternate timeline.

Darkling DC: Dora Keane, an Earth-S villainess who fought the Marvel Family in the early 80s.

MARVEL: Henrique Manuel Gallante, member of Psionex.

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.

Dazzler/The Dazzler DC: Two users. "The Dazzler" was Daniel Domino, a villain who fought The Fly (the Archie hero) in a story in 1960. Another "The Dazzler" was Ken Baldwin, a character who fought Hal Jordan in a story in 1966. (Neither of those Dazzlers has ever been heard from again.)

MARVEL: "Dazzler" is Alison Blaire, heroine.

Deadeye/Dead-Eye DC: "Deadeye" is the alias or nickname of a criminal who once fought The Creeper. "Dead-Eye" is the alias or nickname of a criminal who fought Batman and Robin in the Silver Age.

MARVEL: At least four users of "Deadeye"; one was an Ultraverse character.

Deadline DC: Mercenary villain.

MARVEL: Kishi Oramosha, villain.

Deadman DC: Boston Brand, ghostly hero.

MARVEL: "The Deadman" is apparently another alias used by a magical entity who appeared in "Wolverine: Evilution" and who also likes to modestly call himself "The Saviour."

Deadzone DC: Jay Daniels, member of the S.T.A.R. Corps.

MARVEL: John DeZoan, vigilante who killed members of organized crime outfits.

Death DC: One of the Endless.

MARVEL: the sister of Eternity; the entity whom Thanos is traditionally so obsessed with. Also the alias of various Horsemen of Apocalypse (including Archangel and Wolverine at different times).

Deathwish DC: A Milestone character.

MARVEL: An Ultraverse villain.

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.

Diablo DC: In the Silver Age, there was a man called "Diablo" who worked as a henchman for the evil Dr. Dome (I don’t know if "Diablo" was part of the henchman’s real name, or nickname, or alias to conceal his real name, or what).

MARVEL: Evil alchemist who has fought the Fantastic Four on various occasions. The name has also been used by a couple of smoke-monsters.

Note: I am ignoring any users of "El Diablo" in this listing, on the theory that "El" is different from "The" for my purposes. However, if you scroll down you will see that both Marvel and DC have used that alias, as well!

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.

Disruptor/The Disruptor DC: Two of them; the first one preferred "The Disruptor"; I’m not sure about the second. First: Michael Beldon, villain; son of "Brains" Beldon, criminal mastermind. Second: Angelica, a teenage villain (member of the Terror Titans) who was recently established as Michael’s daughter. (I really didn’t think he was old enough to have a teenage daughter, but what do I know?)

MARVEL: At least two "Disruptors"; both villains; one of them is dead.

The Djinn/Jinn DC: "The Djinn" is a villain; a member of the terrorist group called the Jihad which fought the Suicide Squad.

MARVEL: "Jinn" was the chief assassin working for Anton Lone (evil mastermind and father of the hero Solitaire) in the Ultraverse continuity; 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."

Doctor Destiny DC: John Dee, one of the earliest supervillains to fight the original JLA.

MARVEL: Two users; the first was a Golden Age villain who fought Captain America.

Doctor Doom/Doctor Doome DC: "Dr. Doome" was an adversary of the original Seven Soldiers of Victory in the Golden Age.

MARVEL: "Doctor Doom" (Victor Von Doom) is a villain.

Dog/Dogg DC: "Dogg" is a Milestone character.

MARVEL: At least two characters have used "Dog" as an alias.

Dollar Bill DC: A hero in the 1940s in the world of "Watchmen"; he died in the line of duty.

MARVEL: Name commonly used by a young moviemaker who was frequently hanging out with the Defenders back around the 1970s. (As near as I can tell from my own reading and some online research, the character was never caught onstage using any name except "Dollar Bill." Since I’m reasonably sure his parents were not "Mr. and Mrs. Bill," and didn’t name their baby boy "Dollar," I’m working on the theory that this constituted the continuous use of an alias.)

Dominus DC: Villain who’s given Superman some bad times.

MARVEL: Alien computer that became a supervillain.

Double-Header DC: Two-headed hero who failed of admission to the Legion of Super-Heroes; he ended up with the Legion of Substitute Heroes in the Pre-Zero Hour era.

MARVEL: Two-headed mutant in the "Earth X" timeline.

Dragon Fly/Dragonfly DC: "Dragonfly" was a temporary "Dial H for Hero" identity of Chris King. DC also has at least two users of "Dragon Fly." One was a criminal, leader of a gang which fought the Blackhawks in a single story. The other was a villainess who fought Batman in the Silver Age and recently made a comeback.

MARVEL: Several users of "Dragonfly."

Dreadnaught/Dreadnought DC: "Dreadnaught" was a member of the genetically-engineered group known as the RECOMbatants; he (like his teammates) died at the end of his first appearance. The second "Dreadnaught" was constructed by extraterrestrials; along with partner Psi-Phon, he fought the Post-COIE Superman and other heroes, and was defeated. Then he exploded now that the test of Earth's inhabitants was over.

MARVEL: "Dreadnaught" was Paul Turner of the Marvel UK Super Soldiers; now deceased. "Dreadnought" can refer to any one of many powerful robots which have been manufactured by Hydra and sold to various customers.

Dummy/The Dummy DC: At least two users of "The Dummy," both villains; both were little men who used the schtick of pretending to be a ventriloquist’s dummy. The first was an adversary of the Golden Age Vigilante. The second fought Batman in the Silver Age. (Neither of those villains has any apparent connection to Batman’s later foes, The Ventriloquist and Scarface -- I just thought you might be wondering.) Beyond that, a very doubtful case -- might qualify as a "character," might not! -- was an actual ventriloquist’s dummy who appeared in a two-part "Sergeant Rock" story in the early 1980s. On the surface, the little figure (called "The Dummy" in the story title, and by members of Easy Company) was simply a lifeless object which other people had to carry around, but for awhile Rock thought he could hear the Dummy arguing with him inside Rock’s head, as if The Dummy were telepathic/haunted/whatever. The Dummy was lost underwater at the end of the story -- so there was never a chance for any of the DCU’s experts on mystical matters to take a long, close look and offer an opinion on whether or not any sort of "life" or "consciousness" was present, as opposed to Rock’s imagination getting carried away after a few years of the stresses of combat. (But if I didn’t mention this particular Dummy, someone would have accused me of overlooking him!)

MARVEL: Two users. One was a small criminal who posed as a ventriloquist’s dummy in a single Silver Age story; one was a student with a gaseous body who attended Xavier’s school.

Dynamite/Dyna-Mite DC: Apparently the word "Dynamite" alone has sometimes been used as an alias by the Golden Age crimefighter originally known as "Dan the Dyna-Mite."

MARVEL: "Dynamite" is Michael Crawley, a member of Psi-Force in the New Universe. "Dyna-Mite" was a British WWII-era crimefighter, member of a group called the Crusaders, according to a retcon in Marvel’s "Invaders" series in the 1970s.

Echo DC: Several users; one of them is the partner of Query; those two 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.

El Diablo DC: Four users; the first was a villain in a serial in 1938 and 1938 in "Adventure Comics"; the other three have all been heroes.

MARVEL: Villain who fought Sub-Mariner in a story published in 1955.

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" operatives.

Everyman DC: Hannibal Bates, shapechanging villain.

MARVEL: Larry Eckler, villain; dead.

Fade DC: A Milestone character.

MARVEL: A mercenary in the timeline of Marvel's "2099" books.

Falcon DC: Villain who fought the Silver Age Hawkman.

MARVEL: Two users. Carl Burgess, Golden Age hero. Sam Wilson, hero; Captain America's co-star for several years in the 1970s.

Fang DC: Jake Ketchum, werewolf and superhero; member of the band "Scare Tactics."

MARVEL: Several users; at least two have been members of the Shi’ar Imperial Guard.

Fast Forward/Fastforward DC: "Fast Forward" is Ted Bruder, hero; served as a member of the Doom Patrol.

MARVEL: "Fastforward" was the alias eventually adopted by an amnesiac blond guy who was a mysterious speedster from some extradimensional reality; he had initially said he thought his name was "Buried Alien" or something similar (a thinly disguised reference to DC’s own Barry Allen, who had died in "Crisis on Infinite Earths" a few years before "Buried" appeared out of nowhere, wearing red shorts and yellow boots and not much else).

Fastball DC: Obscure villain.

MARVEL: Timothy Ferris; hero in the New Universe.

Fever DC: Shyleen Lao, heroine; 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.

Firebug DC: Two villains.

MARVEL: A villain who fought Beta Flight once and apparently died.

Firefist DC: Lyle Byrnes, villain. This alias was also used by a Khund who briefly served with the "Legion of Super-Heroes," shortly before their Post-Zero Hour Reboot.

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.

Flashback DC: A Milestone character; she was a member of the Blood Syndicate. Before that, there was a French villain by that name who fought Batman and the Pre-COIE Wonder Woman in a single issue of "Brave and the Bold" and never appeared again.

MARVEL: Gardner Monroe, who has been part of Gamma Flight, Beta Flight, and Omega Flight at various times.

Flashpoint DC: Wildstorm hero; used to be part of Stormwatch.

MARVEL: Travis Slaine, a character who fought Nightwatch and then disappeared by being compressed to a sub-molecular reality; hasn’t been heard from since.

Flex DC: One of several aliases used by Sturgis Butterfield, a member of the Hero Hotline group.

MARVEL: Hero who served with Alpha Flight and Beta Flight, but lost his powers on M-Day.

The Fly DC: An Archie hero.

MARVEL: A Spider-Man villain.

Fog/Fogg DC: "Fog" was a member of a "Night and Fog" duo which operated for the Axis in WWII (according to a retcon in "All-Star Squadron").

MARVEL: "Fogg" was an assassin; part of the "Knight and Fogg" duo which fought Spider-Man.

Frag DC: One of the Blasters.

MARVEL: One of the Inhumans.

Freak DC: Heroine; served as a member of the Doom Patrol.

MARVEL: At least four users.

Freefall DC: Roxy Spaulding, hero; founding member of Wildstorm’s first Gen13 team.

MARVEL: At least two; one is a villain in the MC2 timeline.

Frog Man/Frog-Man DC: "Frog Man" is a 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: Two users: A member of Wildstorm’s DV8, and a member of the Young Heroes.

MARVEL: Sloan Alden, a villain. Also used by an obscure mutant in a group called "the Chosen" who fought the X-Men 2099 group.

Fury DC: At least three users. The first two were 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. But Post-COIE, the "previous" Fury, Helena Kosmatos, was created out of thin air and retconned in as a 1940s heroine who had later become Lyta’s biological mother.) The latest user was Erik Storn, who received powers from Lex Luthor, served with Infinity Inc., and then died.

MARVEL: "The Fury" is an almost unstoppable artificially created entity who specializes in killing superhumans.

Fusion DC: At least three users. One was a Soviet operative who fought the Outsiders and died in the late 80s. One was a temporary "Dial H for Hero" identity of Jay. One was a member of the "Metallik" group of the Team Titans program.

MARVEL: Two 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.

The Gamesman DC: Villain who fought Aquaman in the 90s.

MARVEL: Two villains used this alias in quick succession when fighting Jessica Drew, the original Spider-Woman, in her solo title. Apparently they've never been heard from since.

Gargantus DC: Villain; one of the Ani-Men who fought the JLA in the 1980s.

MARVEL: A few users, including one robot.

Gargoyle DC: Bromwell Stikk, an old Titans foe.

MARVEL: Most notably: Isaac Christians, who 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.

Genesis DC: Temporary heroic alias of Vicky Grant in her "Dial H for Hero" days. Also, the name was later used for a powerful entity, the hybrid product of a love affair between an angel and a demon, which possesses Jesse Custer in the "Preacher" series from Vertigo.

MARVEL: Tyler Dayspring (or Tyler Summers), villain, an adopted son of Cable (according to one source; but there seems to be considerable doubt on the details of their family ties); killed by Wolverine.

The Ghost DC: "The Ghost" is Alec Rois, villain.

MARVEL: "The Ghost" is a villain who fought Iron Man; real name unknown. Also: "Ghost" was used by a member of Death Force: Morituri.

Giz DC: Mercenary who works with Mouse.

MARVEL: Character in the Ultraverse who provides tech support for Warstrike.

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: Two of them (not counting any mythological Gorgons in the DCU, such as the original Medusa). One was a villain, one of the Extremists -- though it eventually turned out that the only one who appeared onstage while fighting the Justice League was actually a robot duplicate of the "original" Gorgon. The other Gorgon was one of "the Hybrid" who once fought the Titans; apparently died later 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.

Grasshopper DC: Temporary heroic alias of Vicky Grant in her "Dial H for Hero" days.

MARVEL: Three users; apparently all wanted to be superheroes and all died pretty quickly after they got started.

Graybeard/Greybeard DC: "Greybeard" was the oldest living active criminal in the world of Captain Marvel’s Pre-COIE stories, both in the Golden Age comics from Fawcett and in the Earth-S era.

MARVEL: The Grand Vizier of Polemachus is listed at marvunapp.com as both "Graybeard" and "Greybeard."

The Griffin/Gryphon DC: "Griffin" was 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.

Grunt DC: Hero who served with the Doom Patrol (in John Byrne’s reboot version of the DP).

MARVEL: At least two users.

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.

Hafnium DC: Villain who fought Metamorpho and was destroyed

MARVEL: One of the Elements of Doom.

Half-Life/Halflife DC: "Half-Life" was Byron Stark, member of the Ravers; now dead.

MARVEL: "Halflife" is an extraterrestrial villain. "Half-Life" was Anthony Masterson, a villain who fought the Hulk a few times -- and may or may not have committed suicide; online resources contradict one another on the subject of whether he was "dead" or merely in a "coma" when last seen.

Hammer DC: Member of the Russian superhero team "the People’s Heroes."

MARVEL: Several users.

The Hang Man/The Hangman DC: "The Hang Man" was the name applied to a mysterious cop-killer during a year-long killing spree depicted in the graphic novel "Batman: Dark Victory." (Since that story is more of a whodunit than most Batman stories, I prefer not to ruin the surprise right here for anyone who hasn’t read it.)

MARVEL: Three users, all villains; the first and second users are dead.

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 Vicky 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.

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: Two users. One is a character in the 2099 timeline; one is Carter Ryking, mutant villain; lost his powers on M-Day.

Headhunter DC: Villain who fought Batman in the early 90s.

MARVEL: At least three users (no known connections among them).

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; went rogue and died.

Helium DC: Villain; one of the Gas Gang. Also, one of Mr. Element's henchmen in his first appearance must have been using the alias Helium (since Mr. Element claimed all six noble gasses were represented).

MARVEL: One of the Elements of Doom.

Hercules DC: At least four users of the name definitely were not "the original Hercules of Greek myth" -- or so I am told. As an example: One of them was a Golden Age hero who was published by Quality; he was born and raised in the USA in the early 20th century; his real name was Joe Hercules and he had superhuman strength (which apparently was never explained, but just at a wild guess, perhaps readers were meant to assume he was a distant descendant of his namesake?).

MARVEL: Several users -- and, as with DC’s uses of the name, I’m not even counting the variations of "the mythological Hercules" which have existed in one timeline or another.

Hero DC: Hero Cruz, has an H-Dial which he uses; has served with the Ravers and the Titans (apparently very briefly in the latter case).

MARVEL: At least two users; in one case it was a temporary alias of the Forgotten One.

High-Tech/Hi-Tek/Hi-Tech DC: "Hi-Tek" was a teenage computer hacker who once fought Green Arrow in the early 1980s before reforming. "Hi-Tech" is a villainess who has fought Superman several times.

MARVEL: "High-Tech" is now the preferred alias of Curtis Carr, the reformed ex-villain who invented the role of "Chemistro."

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.

Holocaust DC: Name used by a Milestone character who later switched to "Pyre" for awhile.

MARVEL: Villain; son of Apocalypse from the "Age of Apocalypse" timeline.

Hood DC: George Cross, costumed hero in England; met Batman during "Knightquest"; may not have appeared again?

MARVEL: Several users.

Hornet DC: Maxmiums Wasp knockoff called Jaime

MARVEL: Three users; one was Spider-Man.

Hotshot DC: Billy Lefferts, member of the "Hero Hotline" service.

MARVEL: At least three users.

The Human Cannonball DC: Ryan Chase, fledgling hero in a few Lois Lane stories in the Pre-COIE continuity.

MARVEL: Member of the Circus of Crime.

The Hunchback DC: Two users: A Golden Age hero from Fawcett, and a villain who fought Barbara Gordon in her Batgirl days.

MARVEL: Apparently this was an alias used by the character "Half-Mad" in "Werewolf by Night" in the 1970s?

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.

Hyena DC: Two villains.

MARVEL: Henry Mortonson, Golden Age villain who fought the original Human Torch.

Ice DC: Heroic alias adopted by Tora Olafsdotter after she stopped being the second "Ice Maiden" of the Global Guardians.

MARVEL: Several users.

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.

Icon DC: A Milestone hero.

MARVEL: A Wakandan villain. Also the name of a computer program modeled on one version of "Heather Hudson" in the "Exiles" title.

Impulse DC: Two users. Best known as a former alias of Bart Allen, hero who later served as "Kid Flash" and then "Flash"; then died; I hear he is now back in harness as "Kid Flash" once again. Also: Richard Kent Shakespeare, who served with the Legion of Super-Heroes before the Post-Zero Hour Reboot.

MARVEL: Two users. First, a member of the Imperial Guard of the Shi’ar; now dead. Second: Dwight Hubbard, member of Psioniex

Indigo DC: Two users. A female hero; a member of Sovereign Seven. Later: an feminine android who seemed to be a villain; then was allegedly reprogrammed and seemed to be a hero while serving with the Outsiders; then turned out to be a villain after all; Brainiac 8, in fact; the character is now dead.

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.

Iron Butterfly DC: A Milestone character.

MARVEL: Two users; women who were analogs from different timelines.

Jack Frost DC: Two users. Zan of the Wonder Twins reportedly turned himself into an icy form which he called "Jack Frost" on one occasion in the old "Super Friends" comic book. Later, this same alias was used by Dane McGowan of the Vertigo series "The Invisibles."

MARVEL: Two users. One was a Golden Age superhero who, in the 1970s, was retconned to have been a member in good standing of a WWII-era group called the Liberty Legion; at some point, it was also established that he remembered nothing of his own origins. In the early 90s, Thor speculated that this Jack Frost might be a person he had once heard of (but never met) who was exiled from the Frost Giants for being such a runt by their standards, but that theory has never been proved or disproved. The second user of this name was a villain who debuted in the Silver Age and later renamed himself "Blizzard" (Marvel’s first user of that alias).

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.

Jackhammer DC: Two villains have used this name. One fought the Pre-COIE Superman (so he may not exist in continuity now). The other was a member of the Demolition Team.

MARVEL: Villain.

Jade DC: Jennie-Lynn Hayden, heroine; daughter of Alan Scott, the Golden Age Green Lantern.

MARVEL: At least three users.

Jaguar DC: An Archie heroine.

MARVEL: An obscure villain who was killed by a "Scourge" in the 1980s.

Javelin/Javelynne DC: "Javelin" was a former Olympic athlete from Germany who became a villain; currently dead.

MARVEL: Several users of "Javelin." There was also one "Javelynne" who fought Hawkeye.

Jester DC: Chuck Lane, originally a Golden Age Quality hero. Later: Cord Dexter Lemoyne, member of Wildstorm’s Wetworks.

MARVEL: Jonathan Powers, villain.

Jinx DC: East Indian sorceress, villain.

MARVEL: Several users.

Jolly Roger DC: Character in the timeline of "The Invisibles."

MARVEL: At least three users; one is an Ultraverse character and another lives in the 2099 timeline.

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; the first honest person to join the original Thunderbolts in the 1990s (of course, at the time she assumed they were honest superheroes too).

Karma DC: Wayne Hawkins, served with the Doom Patrol, later died.

MARVEL: Xi’an Coy Manh, founding member of the original New Mutants.

Key/The Key DC: Two villains; one apparently died in the early 50s. The second has fought the Justice League on various occasions.

MARVEL: "Key" was an Australian mutant who assisted Cable.

Killshot DC: Russian cyborg villain; he was part of the group of professional asssassins called "the Hangmen," all of whom are now dead.

MARVEL: Assassin who fought Spider-Man.

King/The 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, villainess, former member of the Female Furies of Apokolips.

MARVEL: Elizabeth Rawson, villainess, member of the Femme Fatales and the Femizons.

Krypton DC: One of Mr. Element's henchmen used this alias in a single story.

MARVEL: Presumably one of the Elements of Doom.

Lamprey DC: Tayla Scott was a student at the Legion Academy, a thousand years in the future, in the Pre-Zero Hour version of "Legion of Super-Heroes" continuity.

MARVEL: Villain in Mark Gruenwald’s "Squadron Supreme"

Landslide DC: Temporary villainous "Dial H for Hero" alias of Nylor Truggs

MARVEL: Two users.

Lead DC: One of the original Metal Men.

MARVEL: One of the Elements of Doom.

Legion DC: Villain who only appeared in the "Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn" mini.

MARVEL: Two users (not counting groups). One is Professor X’s son, who suffers from Multiple Personality Disorder. The other is or was a member of the Special Executive. Since the second guy’s power was to create duplicates of himself, similar to what Madrox does, except that they were all himself pulled back from times in the future, and since one of his "duplicates from the future" got killed in the 1980s, it’s quite possible he’s dropped dead by now. (I don't think that was ever confirmed, though.)

Leviathan DC: Heroic alias used by the version of Gim Allon who existed in the continuity of the Post-Zero Hour Rebooted Legion of Super-Heroes.

MARVEL: Many users.

Libra DC: Villain who fought the JLA once in the 70s and then disappeared until the time of "Final Crisis."

MARVEL: Several users, usually connected with one incarnation or another of the evil organization called Zodiac.

Lightmaster DC: Temporary "Dial H for Hero" identity of Chris King.

MARVEL: Edward Lansky, villain.

Lightning Lord DC: Mekt Ranzz, villain; brother of Lightning Lad and Lightning Lass of the Legion of Super-Heroes.

MARVEL: At least two users; one was also known as "the Lord of Living Lightning."

Lilith DC: Heroine, occasional Titan, eventually started calling herself "Omen." She’s currently dead (I think).

MARVEL: Daughter of Count Dracula; villain.

Lionheart DC: Richard Plante, a distant descendant of the old Plantagenet dynasty, who became a hero working for the British government during the "Bloodlines event" (and may not have been heard from since that time?).

MARVEL: Two or three users.

Lion-Mane/Lionmane DC: At least 2 users of "Lion-Mane" -- one was a man who fought Silver Age Hawkman; one was a woman who fought Hawkman, post-Zero Hour. Also, there was a "Lionmane" villain who fought the Earth-2 Huntress, Pre-COIE.

MARVEL: "Lionmane" has been used as an alias by Lo Chien, an evil warlord.

Livewire/Live Wire DC: "Live Wire" was the heroic alias used by Garth Ranzz in the Post-Zero Hour rebooted version of "Legion of Super-Heroes" continuity (Pre-Zero Hour, he was known as "Lightning Lad"). "Livewire" is Leslie Willis, a Superman villain.

MARVEL: Villain; member of the Circus of Crime.

The Lizard DC: Gang leader who fought the Metal Men once and hasn’t been heard from since.

MARVEL: Alter-ego of Curt Connors, a Spider-Man villain (although usually a nice guy when in his standard human form).

Lockup/Lock-Up DC: "Lock-Up" is Lyle Bolton, villain.

MARVEL: "Lockup" was a Brood Mutant who died fighting the X-Men.

Lodestone DC: Rhea Jones, heroine; served with the Doom Patrol.

MARVEL: Villainess who fought Darkhawk.

Looter/The Looter DC: "Looter" was a villain who fought Kamandi; died.

MARVEL: Three users of "The Looter." One was a Golden Age villain who fought Captain America; one was a Wild West villain who fought the Two-Gun Kid; one is a Spider-Man villain who later changed his alias to "Meteor Man."

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.

Lucifer DC: A few people have used this at different times. For instance, one villain called "Lucifer" fought Blue Devil in the 1980s and then died.

MARVEL: An alien who crippled Charles Xavier way back when.

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.

Mad Dog DC: Villain who fought Cassandra Cain in the final issues of her "Batgirl" series.

MARVEL: Several users; best-known is probably Buzz Baxter, the ex-husband of Patsy Walker (Hellcat)

The Mad Hatter DC: Two users. The original Mad Hatter is Jervis Tetch, a Batman villain, who first appeared in the Golden Age. According to a retcon in the early 1980s, "The Mad Hatter" who had fought Batman a few times in previous Silver Age/Bronze Age stories had actually been an impostor; not Jervis himself.

MARVEL: An actor hired by the villainess "The White Rabbit" to pose as a supervillain ally of hers.

Maestro/The Maestro DC: I'm not sure of these details, but I've been told that at least four different villains with musical themes have called themselves "Maestro" or "The Maestro" at some point; two of those also were called "The Mad Maestro."

MARVEL: An evil future version of the Hulk. The name was also used by "modern Hulk" when an evil personality took over his body at one point.

Magneto DC: Two users. One was a temporary "Dial H for Hero" identity of Robby Reed. One is a villain; a member of "the Awesome Threesome" group which fought Aquaman in the Silver Age.

MARVEL: The first villain the X-Men ever fought.

Magog DC: Ruthless vigilante introduced in the possible future of "Kingdom Come."

MARVEL: At least two. One was a demon who fought the Hulk once. One apparently lives in the Mojoverse.

Magpie DC: Margaret Pye, villain; now dead.

MARVEL: Two users.

Malice DC: Villainess; daughter of Vermin Vunderbarr of Apokolips.

MARVEL: Six users.

Mammoth DC: Baran Flinders, villain.

MARVEL: At least four users.

Manhunter DC: Lots and lots and lots of them.

MARVEL: Bounty hunter who went after Kid Colt in the 19th Century.

The Manikin/The Mannikin/Mannequin DC: "The Manikin," first name Miranda, was a Batman villain in a two-part story in 1981. Hasn’t been heard from since? "The Mannikin" was a wooden creature which fought The Demon (Etrigan) in the 1970s and was soon destroyed; never reappeared.

MARVEL: "Manikin" has been used twice. Most notably by 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. "Mannequin" has also been used at least twice; once by an Ultraverse character which was apparently the composite of three people and a couple of other things.

Manta DC: Villain; one of the Dogs of War who fought the Doom Patrol.

MARVEL: Member of the Shi’ar Imperial Guard.

Manticore DC: Four users.

MARVEL: Villain who has worked for the Brand Corporation.

Mantis DC: A New God from Apokolips.

MARVEL: The Celestial Madonna.

Manx DC: Hero; member of the Justice Experience team back around the 1970s (according to retcons in the 90s); died in the line of duty.

MARVEL: A savage, feral creature bred from Hellbent stock; apparently killed by Slaine.

Marauder/The Marauder DC: "The Marauder" was a villain who fought the Earth-1 Superman a few times.

MARVEL: At least two users; one was the character who was the combined essences of "Team America" (or "The Thunderriders"); that combined entity was also known as "Dark Rider."

Marionette (Dial H) DC: Temporary "Dial H for Hero" alias of Barry Allen.

MARVEL: A heroine who debuted as a member of the Micronauts in the Marvel comic books based on a line of action figures; however, this character was created and owned by Marvel and they have continued to use her in new stories after their license for the Micronauts ended. (I am told that her group of fellow adventurers is now referred to as "the Microns" if it is mentioned at all.)

Marvel Man/Marvelman DC: "Marvel Man" was a Superman-analog on a distant world strongly resembling Earth (it was creatively called "Terra") in the same universe as Earth-1 of the Pre-COIE DCU. I say "analog" because he had much the same face and power set, but his origin story was different; no Kryptonian blood in him, nor in his cousin, Marvel Maid (a Supergirl analog, except that she was the mentor-figure who was much more experienced in the heroic use of her powers than her cousin). Marvel Man, also known as "Ken Clark," appeared in a two-part story in the Silver Age and has never been heard from since.

MARVEL: Apparently "Marvel Man" has been used by Wendell Vaughn and by Vance Astrovik at different times. Also, Marvel has recently bought at least some of the rights (I’m not prepared to say "all the rights, beyond a shadow of a doubt!") to a character who debuted in the UK in the 1950s as "Marvelman" but who, in American publications of much later stories written by Alan Moore and others, was renamed "Miracleman." If and when Marvel actually starts reprinting any of that fellow’s old stories, and/or publishing new ones, I don’t know which version of his name they will use.

The Mask/Masque DC: "The Mask" was a villain who fought Fawcett’s Spy Smasher in the Golden Age. I have also run across a reference to a character in "Superboy #36" (this issue was published in 1954) who wore a lead mask and called himself "The Mask" while using his knowledge of Clark Kent’s secret identity to compel Superboy to do certain tasks for him. This mysterious figure turned out to be Pa Kent, as part of the set-up for a surprise birthday party, and that’s all I know about the logic of it.

MARVEL: Two users of "Masque." The more famous was a villainous Morlock who had the ability to do the equivalent of advanced plastic surgery by just running his hands over your flesh and reshaping your body to his own specifications; he is now dead. The other "Masque" was a "bioduplicate" of Madame Masque. Also, it appears that Emalia, wife of the villain Boneyard in the Ultraverse, sometimes called herself "Mask"; she is now dead.

The Masked Marauder DC: Villain who fought Ted Kord in a Charlton story in the 1960s.

MARVEL: Frank Farnum, villain.

Masquerade DC: A Milestone character.

MARVEL: Member of Elektra's Order who quickly got himself killed after he debuted.

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.

Mastermind/The Mastermind DC: "The Mastermind" is a villain who fought Green Arrow in one Silver Age story. "Mastermind" (I think he didn’t use "The") is a villain who appeared in some comic books set in the world of the DCAU; he usually was working with (or competing with?) Mister Nice and The Perfesser.

MARVEL: At least five users; apparently most or all of them don’t habitually use the definite article. Probably the most famous is Jason Wyngarde, villain; he was a founding member of the original Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and later played a key role in the legendary Dark Phoenix Saga. (Two other users of the alias are Jason's daughters, by the way.)

Match DC: A clone of the modern Superboy.

MARVEL: Ben Hammil, a student at the Xavier Institute.

Maverick DC: Callsign of a U.S. Air Force pilot who first appeared in "Captain Atom #1" in 1987.

MARVEL: Two users. The first was Christoph Nord, apparently a hero; the second was a mutant villain who impersonated the first and then was killed.

Megaton DC: Temporary "Dial H for Hero" identity of the Pre-Crisis version of Pete Ross.

MARVEL: Jules Carter, villain, dead.

Mentor DC: Robot villain who fought Blue Beetle (Ted Kord) in a Charlton story in the 1960s.

MARVEL: Looks like three users; one is A’lars, leader of the Eternals of Titan.

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.

Merlin/Merlyn DC: "Merlyn" is an archer villain who has tangled with Green Arrow. He was also on Zandia's Olympic Archery Team in the 2000 Summer Olympics. In addition, "Merlin" is a name Baron Winters uses for his leopard when conversing with it -- we never understand the leopard's responses, but Winters apparently does.

MARVEL: Several characters have reportedly used the name "Merlin" at one time or another; whichever Merlin was actually King Arthur’s court magician would be disqualified under my rules (public domain and all that), but the various imitators who are just "original Marvel characters swiping the name of a legendary figure" are each qualified for this list.

Metalhead/Metal Head DC: "Metalhead" was a villain who fought Batman in the early 90s.

MARVEL: "Metalhead" is a hero; member of the X-Men 2099. "Metal Head" is a villain.

Metalo/Metallo DC: "Metalo" was a Golden Age villain in an armored suit who fought the Earth-2 Superman. "Metallo," both Pre- and Post-COIE, has been a villain whose brain was transplanted into an artificial body powered by Kryptonite; he also fights Superman.

MARVEL: "Metallo" is Mike Fallon, a criminal.

Midnight DC: Dave Clark, a Golden Age Quality Comics hero later acquired by DC.

MARVEL: Several users.

Mikado/The Mikado DC: "The Mikado" is a villain who once fought the original Question.

MARVEL: "Mikado" is a Japanese woman who has helped Blade hunt vampires.

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: Charlotte Gage-Radcliffe, hero; 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.

Mist/Myst DC: A Golden Age Starman villain and his daughter Nash have both used the alias "The Mist" (or perhaps sometimes just "Mist.") There was also a "Myst" who was a member of the demon-hunting group called the Hell-Enders.

MARVEL: Either the real name or the alias of a Valkyrie who is part-Faerie on her mother’s side.

Mister Big DC: Villain in the alternate future timeline of the original OMAC stories by Jack Kirby.

MARVEL: Two; one was a bad guy in the 1930s; one was Frederick Foswell in his "Ultimate Universe" version (in the original Silver Age Spider-Man continuity, Frederick Foswell was once the crimelord known as "the Big Man").

Mister E. DC: A blind man with various mystic abilities and unpredictable changes of personality.

MARVEL: A native of the Shadow Realm who fought Captain Universe (Steve Coffin at the time) and apparently died as a result.

Mister Menace DC: An alias used in at least one story by the villain who previously had been the Golden Age villain known as Sportsmaster.

MARVEL: A character whom Franklin Richards briefly brought to life from a "Protectors of Peace" comic book.

Mister Mind DC: Originally a Fawcett character; a telepathic green worm who fights Captain Marvel.

MARVEL: Mercenary who fought Team America once.

Mister Muscle DC: One of several aliases used by Sturgis Butterfield, a member of the Hero Hotline group.

MARVEL: Villain who was working for the Mayhem Organization when he fought Team America (apparently his only appearance).

Mister Nice DC: Very soft-hearted villain who apparently only appeared in comic books set in the continuity of the TV shows of the DCAU (but never in the TV shows themselves!).

MARVEL: A villain who worked for Arcade at least once; his power is to induce fear, I gather.

Mister Nobody DC: Villain who has fought the Doom Patrol.

MARVEL: Criminal in the MC2 timeline.

Mister X DC: Golden Age villain who fought the JSA.

MARVEL: At least two users; one was a professional wrestler.

Mockingbird DC: This alias has been used by what appear to be at least four different people (including Lex Luthor a few years ago) when each of them was directing the activities of one "Secret Six" roster or another.

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.

Moloch DC: Character in the "Watchmen" timeline who was a villain for many years, but had left all that behind by 1985 (when the main action of the story was set).

MARVEL: Name used by one or two demons, and also by a mind-controlling, tentacled creature in the Ultraverse.

Monocle/The Monocle DC: "The Monocle" is a villain who debuted in the Golden Age.

MARVEL: Two users.

Monster DC: A small girl known as "Becky" is capable of transforming into a huge, strong, dumb monster known as "Monster" in the timeline of the Maximums. (A thinly veiled knockoff of the Incredible Hulk.)

MARVEL: Several users.

Mortician/The Mortician DC: "The Mortician" was making zombies in attempt to find the way to restore his own parents to life. But he gave it up after Batman explained that one of his zombies had been used for murder by someone else.

MARVEL: "Mortician" was a voodoo leader who debuted and died in "Punisher: Die Hard in the Big Easy."

The Moth DC: Temporary "Dial H for Hero" alias of Chris King.

MARVEL: Mercenary villain who once fought the Human Torch and then was killed by his own criminal employers.

Mouse DC: Mercenary computer-hacking woman who dresses like a mouse; Giz is her partner.

MARVEL: Looks like at least five users.

Murmur DC: Two. One a demon; one a Flash villain.

MARVEL: Three users.

Muse/The Muse DC: "The Muse" fought Blue Beetle (Ted Kord) in the 1980s. Another "The Muse" was a villain fighting Batman and Robin in a Hostess cupcake ad in some comic books in the 1970s.

MARVEL: At least four users; I’m not clear on how many of them used "The Muse" as opposed to just "Muse."

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.

Naiad DC: Two users.

MARVEL: Ultraverse villainess; member of TNTNT.

The Needle DC: Golden Age villain who fought the original Seven Soldiers of Victory.

MARVEL: Two users; both villains; one male, one female.

Nemesis DC: Several users.

MARVEL: Three users. The latest was Amelia Witherspoon, who served with Alpha Flight.

Nemo DC: One of the heroes of Wonderworld; killed by Mageddon.

MARVEL: Leader of a motorcycle gang called "The Blood Brothers" in the "X-51" series.

Neon DC: Temporary "Dial H for Hero" identity of Chris King. Also: Celeste McCauley (aka Celeste Rockfish), who served with the Legion of Super-Heroes before the Post-Zero Hour Reboot. Also, one of Mr. Element’s henchmen in a single Silver Age story must have been using this alias (since Mr. Element claimed all six noble gasses were represented on his payroll, although "Neon" was not mentioned by name).

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 which is preferred by the character who is usually called "Munchkin" by his teammates in "New Genix."

The Night Man/Nightman DC: "Nightman" appeared as a mysterious new costumed crimefighter in a single Silver Age story. Batman investigated, and finally discovered that he himself was Nightman -- thanks to his buddy Superman having hypnotized him into being a new hero part of the time, and not remembering it the rest of the time. The purpose of the exercise was to create a true challenge for Batman’s detective skills.

MARVEL: Johnny Domino is "The Night Man," an Ultraverse hero. (Incidentally, his costume bore a strong resemblance to the traditional Batman look -- but I don’t know if the creative team also deliberately adapted a name which had previously been a Batman alias in one obscure old story; that part could have been an in-joke or it could have been sheer coincidence!)

Nightfire DC: Name used by a character in the old series "Arion, Lord of Atlantis."

MARVEL: Two users.

Nighthawk DC: A 19th Century Old West 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.

Nightmare DC: One of the heroes of Wonderworld; killed by Mageddon.

MARVEL: Two users; the more famous is a demon lord who has fought Dr. Strange and other heroes on many occasions.

Nightrider/Night Rider DC: "Nightrider" was named David, also known as Dagon, a vampiric member of "Team Titans" (apparently erased from history during Zero Hour).

MARVEL: "Night Rider" was one of the aliases used by the 19th Century Wild West vigilante also known as Ghost Rider and Phantom Rider. Several other characters in the Old West may have also used this alias, as well as "Phantom Rider," at one time or another; the online resources I consulted aren't entirely clear.

Nightshade DC: First: A Golden Age villain who was later (according to a retcon in the 1980s) known as "Ramulus." Second: Eve Eden, a superheroine they acquired from Charlton.

MARVEL: Tilda Johnson, villain.

Nightwind DC: Berta Skye Haris was a student at the Legion Academy, and later a member of the Legion, in the Pre-Zero Hour version of "Legion of Super-Heroes" continuity

MARVEL: Female ninja villain, member of "Rising Sons" -- lost her powers on M-Day.

Nimrod DC: Villain who fought Batman.

MARVEL: Several users.

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 members of the Exiles team which was organized by the Timebroker; T.J. is the daughter of an alternate timeline’s versions of Nightcrawler and the Scarlet Witch.

North Wind/Northwind DC: Norda Cantrell, hero; a founding member of "Infinity Inc."

MARVEL: Two villains have successively served as "North Wind" of the group the Four Winds; the first user of that alias was killed by Elektra, thus creating a vacancy for the next guy to fill.

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 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.

Null DC: Thief; partner of Void; fought Batman and Superman in the Pre-COIE continuity.

MARVEL: Giant android designed to oppose Galactus.

Oblivion DC: At least two; one was the dark side of Kyle Rayner, more or less.

MARVEL: Cosmic entity.

Obsidian/Obsydian DC: "Obsidian" is the son of Alan Scott, the Golden Age Green Lantern.

MARVEL: "Obsidian" is the second-in-command of the terrorist outfit known as the Undertow. "Obsydian" is a character native to the timeline sometimes called "Earth-Cable."

Ogre/The Ogre DC: "The Ogre" fought Batman in the mid-90s and then vanished into comic book limbo after his buddy "The Ape" was shot dead.

MARVEL: At least three users (one was Techno impersonating the original user of the alias).

Omega DC: A robot created by Brainiac 5 while he was secretly controlled by Pulsar Stargrave. The robot fought the Legion of Super-Heroes (in their original continuity) and was soon destroyed.

MARVEL: Several users.

Onyx/Onyxx DC: "Onyx" is a female ex-member of the League of Assassins; now reformed to be a non-murderous vigilante crimefighter who has gained Batman’s approval.

MARVEL: One user of each spelling.

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: Several users; I think the best-known is a female member of the Shi’ar Imperial Guard.

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. Also a villain who fought Metamorpho and was destroyed.

MARVEL: Presumably one of the Elements of Doom.

Outlaw2

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.

Overmind DC: An alias once used by Professor Emil Hamilton.

MARVEL: Grom, last survivor of the planet Eyung.

Override DC: Villain; leader of a group called the Mainframe.

MARVEL: Greg Herd, villain.

The Owl DC: Codename used by the analog of the Golden Age Doctor Mid-Nite who lives in the timeline where the Elseworlds stories "JSA: The Liberty Files" and "JSA: The Unholy Three" are set.

MARVEL: At least three users. One is Leland Owlsey, one of the earliest foes of Daredevil.

Ox DC: A trained assassin who was eager to follow Cassandra Cain’s lead in the final issues of Cass’s regular "Batgirl" series -- until he died.

MARVEL: Several users; two of them (twin brothers) have each served with the group of Spider-Man foes known as "the Enforcers" at different times.

Oxygen DC: Villain; one of the Gas Gang.

MARVEL: Presumably one of the Elements of Doom.

Ozone DC: Villain who fought Green Arrow in the 1980s.

MARVEL: Character who wanted to be a hero but was rejected for membership in a group called O-Force in the "X-Statix" title. Hasn't been heard from since?

Ozymandias DC: Adrian Veidt, mass-murderer; a former superhero in the "Watchmen" graphic novel (he'd retired from that about a decade before the main action of the story).

MARVEL: A servant of Apocalypse.

Paragon DC: Villain who once fought the JLA.

MARVEL: At least four users; one was the character later known as "Her" and then "Kismet."

Parasite DC: Maxwell Jensen was the Pre-COIE Parasite; Rudy Jenkins became the Post-COIE Parasite; both of them habitually fight Superman. Alex and Alexandra Allston later became "Parasites" simultaneously; Alex is now dead.

MARVEL: One of the Lilin; infected Martine Bancroft; now dead.

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.")

Payback DC: A Milestone character. Also the name used by one of the greatest heroes of the planet Thordia.

MARVEL: A Punisher imitator in the 1990s.

Persuader DC: At least three; the most famous was a regular villain in at least two versions of "Legion of Super-Heroes" continuity; a member of the Fearsome Five.

MARVEL: A Spider-Man villain who died in his first appearance.

Phade DC: A villainess working for Onimar Synn.

MARVEL: Ultraverse heroine.

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?

The Phantom DC: This alias was used during a single robbery by one of the villains also known as "The Mad Maestro."

MARVEL: At least two users of "Phantom" or "The Phantom."

Note: Both companies have also had characters who called themselves "The Phantom of (Whatever)" or "The Phantom of the (Whatever)," but in each of those cases I feel the "full alias" was different from that of anybody at the other company.

Phobia DC: Angela Hawkins III, villain; has served with the Brotherhood of Evil.

MARVEL: Two. One is a demoness; one is an Inhuman in the era of the Guardians of the Galaxy.

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, villain; he had also been the hero "Atom Bob," a founding member of the Ultraverse team "the Strangers," before he went bad.

Piper/The Piper DC: At least two. One was a former villain who died as soon as he appeared, in "Aztek #1." It also seems to be the alias now preferred by Hartley Rathaway, a reformed villain who used to fight Barry Allen as "the Pied Piper."

MARVEL: At least two. One of the Morlocks (believed dead), and one of the Savage Land Mutates.

Pix/Pixx DC: "Pix" is Ariadne Pixnit, a villainess who fought Batman.

MARVEL: "Pixx" was a teen heroine in the Ultraverse; a founding member of the Ultraforce, she died in the line of duty.

Pixie DC: Temporary "Dial H for Hero" identity of Vicky 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.

Poet DC: Name used by a man who was a member of a group of homeless people who appeared in some Batman and Batgirl stories in the Pre-COIE days.

MARVEL: 2099 character who died.

Poltergeist DC: Temporary "Dial H for Hero" identity of Oliver Queen.

MARVEL: Mickey Silk, mutant with unpredictable telekinetic powers.

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 Fist/Powerfist DC: "Powerfist" is a Milestone character who fought Static.

MARVEL: "Power Fist" is the analog, in another timeline, of the character known as "Luke Cage" and "Power Man" in the main timeline of the regular continuity.

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 clear on the details. Silver Age Lois also had a dream sequence in which she was the super-powered "Power Girl" and Clark Kent was the equally super-powered, but wimpy and ineffectual, "Power-Man." There was also a Silver Age story with a mysterious new hero named "Power Man" who turned out to be a Superman Robot in disguise. This was reflected in "Kingdom Come" with a "Power Man" character who was a Superman Robot with a new paint job; I’m not sure if the Silver Age story was still supposed to have "really happened" in the past of the "Kingdom Come" timeline or not, though; so that "Power Man" may or may not have been a different robotic character than the one from the Silver Age.

MARVEL: At least two users of "Power Man." 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 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" is 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.

Proletariat DC: According to a retcon when he was introduced in the early 1990s, Proletariat had been a superpowered operative of the Soviet Union since the WWII era, but went rogue after he became disgusted with Gorbachev’s ideas about glasnost. MARVEL: Villain who fought Speedball.

Prometheus DC: Apparently two or three; the latest one is a villain who gave the JLA some bad times.

MARVEL: Member of the Pantheon.

Protector/The Protector DC: At least two users of "The Protector." One is a villain who fought Superman in a couple of issues in the 1970s and then seems to have been forgotten. The other is Jason Hart, who first appeared as a young hero in the 1983 comic book "New Teen Titans Drug Awareness Giveaway #1."

MARVEL: At least four users.

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.

Psyche DC: Heroine; member of the Wanderers, a team existing in the same era as the Legion of Super-Heroes.

MARVEL: Three users. Most notably, this was the first heroic alias used by Danielle Moonstar as a founding member of the New Mutants.

Puma DC: Jackson Jones, villain; dead.

MARVEL: Thomas Fireheart, sometimes portrayed as a villain.

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.

Puppeteer DC: Jordan Weir, villain; previously known as "Puppet Master."

MARVEL: At least two users; one was the entity which became better known as "Necromantra" in the Ultraverse.

Pyra DC: Two users. One was a character in the old "Kamandi" stories. One was a female arsonist who fought the original Black Canary -- according to a retcon in the 1980s.

MARVEL: Sorceress who has appeared in some "Death’s Head" stories.

Pyre/The Pyre DC: "The Pyre" is apparently a character who appeared in "Martian Manhunter #1,000,000." There is also a Milestone character who prefers the name "Holocaust," but used "Pyre" for awhile.

MARVEL: Several users.

Quake DC: Villain, member of a Black Ops team which used to fight Steel (John Henry Irons, that is).

MARVEL: Two users. One villainous; one heroic.

The Queen of Hearts DC: A temporary "Dial H for Hero" alias of Vicky Grant.

MARVEL: An alternate alias for the member of the Crazy Gang who apparently is more frequently called "The Red Queen."

Quicksilver DC: A Golden Age hero, originally belonging to Quality Comics, and now better known as "Max Mercury."

MARVEL: Pietro Maximoff, hero.

Radion DC: First user: A villain who fought Superman once in the 1970s and hasn’t been heard from since. Second: A Legion of Super-Heroes reject during their Post-Zero Hour era.

MARVEL: Henri Sorel, villain (later known as Ravager).

Radon DC: One of Mr. Element's henchmen used this alias in a single story.

MARVEL: Presumably one of the Elements of Doom.

Rainmaker DC: Sarah Rainmaker, hero; founding member of Wildstorm’s first Gen13 team.

MARVEL: Villain in the 2099 timeline; member of a group called the Free Radicals.

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.

Ranger/The Ranger DC: "The Ranger" was an Australian hero who debuted in the 1950s. In modern times, he changed his alias to "Dark Ranger" and then got himself killed.

MARVEL: At least three users; one was an Ultraverse hero.

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 in that role) 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.

The Red Queen DC: Villainess in the continuity of Kurt Busiek’s Astro City.

MARVEL: Several users; some of them live in alternate timelines. It is also another alias for the member of the Crazy Gang also known as "The Queen of Hearts."

Red Raven DC: This alias was used by a criminal in a single story; he lived in a parallel world where Superman was secretly Bruce Wayne, and the boss at the Daily Planet was James Gordon. More recently, this became the current alias of the character formerly known as "Little Raven"; a sidekick to his occasionally-crimefighting father, the Native American known as Man-of-Bats; the two of them are (or were) part of "the Club of Heroes.".

MARVEL: At least three users. A Golden Age hero used this name, and I am told that one story mentioned that he had a daughter who eventually continued the family tradition of superheroing, complete with dusting off her daddy’s costumed alias. There have also been a few stories with a "Red Raven" who was a flying villain in the Old West.

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: Two users. Walter Thorsson, hero; member of Sovereign Seven. Devlin O’Ryan, hero; served with the Legion of Super-Heroes before the Post-Zero Hour Reboot.

MARVEL: Hero; member of the First Line in "MARVEL: The Lost Generation."

Requiem DC: A name sometimes used by Artemis of the Bana-Mighdall Amazons.

MARVEL: Villain; member of the Neo.

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.

Riot DC: Two users.

MARVEL: Three users.

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.

Rite/Right DC: "Rite" was a woman who had joined the group (called the Changers) who were following The High in his attempt to reshape the world (the Earth of Wildstorm) in a Stormwatch story arc.

MARVEL: "Right" is one of the Soldiers of Misfortune.

Robotman DC: Four users. First: Robert Crane, Golden Age hero. Second: Cliff Steele, founding member of the Doom Patrol. Both men were kept alive after terrible injuries by having their brains implanted in robot bodies. (In Crane’s case, his brain was eventually transferred back into another human body so he could retire from superheroing and marry his longtime sweetheart.) The third user was a robot body meant for Cliff which developed free will and turned nasty. The fourth user initially seemed to be Cliff (and believed himself to be), but had been subconsciously created out of thin air by Dorothy Spinner; after Robotman IV realized what he really was, he conveniently evaporated into thin air.

MARVEL: A size-changing robot which appeared in "Fantastic Four/Iron Man: Big in Japan #2."

Robot-Master/The Robotmaster DC: "The Robotmaster" was another alias used by a Silver Age villain who was also known as "Professor Menace."

MARVEL: "Robot-Master" is a robot built by Mendel Stromm.

Rock DC: Two users. One was a temporary "Dial H for Hero" identity of Vicky Grant. One is Micah Flint, a Superman villain.

MARVEL: At least two villains.

Rocket DC: Two female Milestone characters consecutively used this identity when functioning as Icon's sidekicks.

MARVEL: Ultraverse character, partner of Blast.

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.

Roulette DC: Two villains. The first was a woman who fought the original Mister Terrific way back when (according to modern retcons). The second Roulette is the granddaughter of the first (and apparently believes the first Mister Terrific was her grandfather, but she may be wrong?).

MARVEL: Two of them. One was Jennifer Stavos, one of Emma Frost’s original Hellions; dead.

Saber/Sabre DC: "Saber" was an assassin who fought Adrian Chase when he was the Vigilante. "Sabre" was John Zero, a 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?

Samson DC: In the Silver Age, DC published several stories about a "Samson" who was not the Biblical figure of that name, but may have been a descendant or other relative continuing a family tradition. This Samson was incredibly strong, called himself "Mighty Youth" for awhile but then gave that up, and lived about 3,000 years ago, mostly operating in Ancient Greece.

MARVEL: At least three users, including The Forgotten One when he once posed as the Biblical Samson.

Samurai DC: Toshio Eto, hero.

MARVEL: Member of the Mutant Liberation Front

Sandman DC: Several characters, beginning with Wesley Dodds in the Golden Age.

MARVEL: Flint Marko, one of the earliest Spider-Man villains.

Sapphire DC: Candace Jean Gennaro, hero, an "associate" in the Power Company.

MARVEL: A Marvel UK character; one of the trio known as the Wyrd Sisters.

Satan I’m going to make some general comments here. Apparently many evil entities in both DC’s and Marvel’s publications have been known to use this name at least part of the time, presumably hoping to be extra-terrifying to the mortals with whom they are dealing. I gather that most of the users have eventually been either stated or implied (if not in dialogue, then in editorial comments long after the fact) to be poseurs rather than "the real Satan"; thus, those users qualify as "original characters" in their respective universes, even if some of them were initially intended by the writers to really be the Biblical Satan, plain and simple, before that was retconned. (Any use of the Biblical Satan, of course, is not eligible for this list.) I’m not sure any of the DC impostors are "famous" under any other names; however, you have probably heard of some of the Marvel users; they are better known as "Mephisto," "Satannish," and "Chthon."

Satana/Satanna DC: "Satana" is Sara Descarl, a villainess who debuted in the Golden Age as a Hawkman foe.

MARVEL: "Satanna" is Satanna Hellstrom, sister of Daimon Hellstrom; she has sometimes been very nasty and sometimes not.

Savior/Saviour DC: "Saviour" is Ramsey Murdoch, a Superman villain.

MARVEL: Several characters have used one spelling or the other.

Scalphunter DC: Brian Savage, a 19th Century hero.

MARVEL: John Greycrow, villain, one of the Marauders who performed the Morlock Massacre.

Scanner DC: Female alien hero in the Vanguard.

MARVEL: Several users.

Scar DC: Milestone character.

MARVEL: Ultraverse villain.

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.

Scatter DC: One of the great heroes of the planet Thordia.

MARVEL: Villain; one of the Lilin.

Scavenger DC: At least two users.

MARVEL: At least three users.

Scorpio/Skorpio DC: "Skorpio" is Dennis Samuel Ellis, villain.

MARVEL: Numerous villains have used the name "Scorpio."

Scout/The Scout DC: "The Scout" is the former sidekick of "Dark Ranger" (formerly "The Ranger"); after his partner died, he took over the "Dark Ranger" role.

MARVEL: At least three users.

Selenium DC: Villain who fought Metamorpho and was destroyed

MARVEL: One of the Elements of Doom.

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.

Seraph DC: Chaim Lavon, Israeli hero; served with the Global Guardians.

MARVEL: New Universe character also known as "Guardian Angel."

Shade/The Shade DC: "The Shade" is a Golden Age villain who was somewhat reformed, the last I heard.

MARVEL: Two users; both seem to be obscure villains.

Shamrock DC: Name, evidently an alias/nickname, used by a man who was a member of a group of homeless people who appeared in some Batman and Batgirl stories in the Pre-COIE days.

MARVEL: Three users; best-known is Molly Fitzgerald, Irish heroine.

Shard/The Shard DC: "The Shard" was a superhero during part of WWII, according to a retcon in 2001. He was a member of the group known as the Seven Shadows -- he and five of his friends all died in the same event in 1944. This character was also known as The Luminary, for some reason.

MARVEL: Two users of "Shard"; one of them is Bishop’s sister, a hero.

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.

Shift DC: Hero, one of the Outsiders; initially thought to be the veteran hero Metamorpho; actually began as just a piece of him that developed independent sentience and all that jazz, with altered powers. I am told that Post-OYL, Shift finally asked to be merged back into Metamorpho, and was. (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; 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: Two users. Lancaster Sneed, villain. Kathy Ling, member of Psi-Force in the New Universe.

Shrike DC: At least four users.

MARVEL: At least three users.

Sidewinder DC: A member of "Task Force X II"; now dead.

MARVEL: Three users. The first and best-known is Seth Voelker, a villain with teleport capability built into his costume; he was the first leader of the Serpent Society. Two other people have, at different times, each "leased" the costume from Voelker and tried to be Sidewinder themselves. (One of those guys promptly got himself killed.)

Silencer/The Silencer DC: The Silencer was a freelance assassin who fought Batman and Robin in a single Silver Age story.

MARVEL: At least five users, including one who was a female member of Strikeforce: Morituri and died.

Silhouette DC: Obscure villain. Also: a deceased heroine who was part of the backstory in "Watchmen."

MARVEL: At least three; one is a heroine who has served with the New Warriors.

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.

Silver Dragon DC: Mercenary villain who fought Primal Force.

MARVEL: Alias used by Heather Rand (after she had already died) when she was magically forced to fight her son Daniel (Iron Fist).

The Sin Eater/Sin-Eater DC: "The Sin Eater" is another name for Onimar Synn, who claims to be one of the Seven Devils of Thanagarian mythology.

MARVEL: Several villains have used "Sin-Eater" at one time or another. (I’m not clear on whether all of them used the hyphen; I believe Stan Carter, a cop gone psycho, did.)

Siphon/Syphon/Psi-Phon DC: "Siphon" is a villain; a member of the Freak Show. There was also a "Psi-Phon" who was the partner of a "Dreadnaught"; the two of them were artificial lifeforms created by an alien race to test the inhabitants of Earth, which in practice meant fighting Superman and some other superheroes. After Earth had passed the test, Psi-Phon and Dreadnaught self-destructed.

MARVEL: Two users of "Syphon." One is Thomas Boyd, a Psi-Force character in the New Universe. One was a Warpy who met the Excalibur team at least once.

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.

Note: On each of the three previous drafts of this project, I have conscientiously not mentioned "Siryn" (Theresa Cassidy, daughter of Banshee of the X-Men) on this list; and each time, someone has suggested I must have overlooked her existence. I’ve finally broken down and decided to explain my reasons in advance. To my eyes, "Siren" looks to be pronounced "sigh-ren." "Siryn" looks as if it should be pronounced "sigh-rin." The sound of a "short E" in one; the sound of a "short I" in the other. (I have previously admitted that in practice, many speakers of English may just pronounce both names as "sigh-run," more or less; but they shouldn’t.)

Sizzler DC: Robot villainess who fought the Metal Men; finally destroyed.

MARVEL: "Sizzler" was a villain whose body was magically animated bacon; one of the "Eggsmen" who worked for Pro Rata in his first clash with Howard the Duck.

Slag/Slagg DC: "Slag" is a Milestone character.

MARVEL: One user of "Slagg" and several of "Slag."

Slash DC: Two villains, each of whom may have gotten just one appearance.

MARVEL: Two users, apparently both villains.

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.

Sledge DC: Powerful but dumb character who died heroically.

MARVEL: Two users.

Slipstream DC: Temporary "Dial H for Hero" identity of Lori Morning in post-Zero Hour "Legion of Super-Heroes" continuity

MARVEL: Cameron Davis, who 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.

Smasher/The Smasher DC: "The Smasher" was a horribly mutated man who fought Hercules in the post-nuclear-war setting of a 1970s comic book series, "Hercules Unbound." The Smasher died.

MARVEL: At least six users (but I'm not sure whether any of them normally used the definite article).

Smoke (one of the High's people) DC: A vigilante who was one of a group working with The High to change the world (Wildstorm version of Earth); Smoke died in the same arc in which he debuted.

MARVEL: Villain; partner of Succubus; the two of them are agents of Coach.

Snapdragon DC: Internet alias used by Lex Luthor on at least one occasion when he emailed info to Superboy (Kon-El) regarding Superboy's genetic heritage.

MARVEL: Three users, all female. One was a member of Strikeforce: Morituri until she died.

Sniper/The Sniper DC: "The Sniper" was a Golden Age hero. Apparently his name was never revealed, but he wore a green costume, carried a sniper rifle, and did his best to make things difficult for Axis soldiers in Occupied Europe and the South Pacific in Quality stories published during WWII. I am told he has never been heard from since, so it is not even known if he survived the war.

MARVEL: Two users; both villains. One of them was killed by The Punisher.

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.

Song Bird/Songbird DC: "Song Bird" was a heroine; a member of the Justice Experience team, back around the 1970s (according to retcons in the 90s); died in the line of duty.

MARVEL: "Songbird" is the alias which Melisssa Gold, formerly "Screaming Mimi," took when she and some other villains were founding the Thunderbolts (and she kept the alias after she switched from being a phony superhero to the real thing).

Sorcerer/Sorceror DC: "Sorceror" was apparently the codename of a member of the OSS in one or more stories told in "G.I. Combat." "Sorcerer" was an alias used by a character who was a member of "the National Interest"; he apparently sacrificed himself by allowing his body to be used as a vessel for "the Spirit of America" plus the souls of several other people; this new conglomeration thereby becoming a brand new hero called "The Patriot" and later becoming the latest user of the alias "Uncle Sam."

MARVEL: Several characters have apparently used that word (usually spelling it "Sorcerer," I gather) as a working name.

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 army 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/The 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; apparently a name used by the former "Halo" in some old "Outsiders" comics (which I 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 villains.

Spellbinder DC: At least three; all fairly obscure.

MARVEL: Erica Fortune, star of the "Spellbound" miniseries in the late 1980s; apparently languishing in obscurity since then.

The Sphinx DC: Villain who fought Plastic Man in the 1960s.

MARVEL: The name has been used by both 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/The Spider DC: Two users of "The Spider," both expert archers. The first was a Golden Age hero who was much later retconned to have been working on building his own criminal empire all along, and to have betrayed the original Seven Soldiers of Victory to The Nebula Man.

MARVEL: Several characters have used "Spider" or "The Spider," including at least two alternate-timeline analogs of our beloved Peter Parker, and also an alternate-timeline analog of Flash Thompson.

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.

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.

Spinner DC: Villain who apparently fought Batman and Robin just once in the Silver Age.

MARVEL: At least two. An extraterrestrial; apparently a hero and a member of the "Galactic Alliance of Spider-Man" (whatever that means). Also: A new character who joined Freedom Force as part of "the Initiative" program.

Spiral DC: A member of the demon-hunting group known as the Hell-Enders.

MARVEL: At least two; the more famous one is a six-armed woman who often works for Mojo.

Spirit DC: A "Spirit" was a supporting character in the 1970s "Kamandi" stories.

MARVEL: A Marvel UK character who was wiped out by the Annihilation Wave.

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. Later, another Spitfire was a heroine in the New Universe.

Spoiler DC: Stephanie Brown, who also served as the fourth Robin before dying in "War Games" -- or so we thought at the time. (Now she's Batgirl IV.)

MARVEL: Mercenary who fought Spider-Man. Also: A villain from "Spidey Super Stories."

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. Later, a Milestone character used the name.

MARVEL: "Sponge" was one of the Warpies; a mutated child who appeared in "Excalibur" way back when. I know almost nothing about her. There was also a "Sponge" in DP7 of the New Universe.

Spook/The Spook DC: At least two. The first "The Spook" was Val Kaliban, a Batman villain without true powers, but a master of using special effects to create the impression he's a ghost or other supernatural being; most of his appearances happened in the Pre-COIE era. Also: Another villain in a "Legends of the Dark Knight" story arc who also fought Batman; he may have been intended as a "Post-Crisis Reboot" of the same concept, but the original Spook (Kaliban) has since been worked into Grant Morrison's run on the Batman title (and Kaliban apparently died in the same story in which he appeared there, but if he "comes back from the dead" it won’t be the first time!).

MARVEL: At least three users.

Spore DC: Constance Hollis, a Plant Elemental villain.

MARVEL: A Deviant mutate who liked to absorb Eternals and -- apparently -- make himself immortal thereby.

Squid/The Squid DC: "The Squid" was a Batman villain who was killed by Killer Croc way back in 1983.

MARVEL: "The Squid" is Donny Callahan, a Spider-Man villain. There is also an Atlantean character who has called himself "Squid."

Squire DC: Three people have been "Squire" at different times. The first and second (father and son) each later became "Knight."

MARVEL: Superhero who died in the "MARVEL: The Lost Generation" mini.

Stalker DC: Fantasy character who briefly had his own series in the 70s; was later revealed in a retcon to have died in WWII.

MARVEL: Several users.

Starburst DC: Temporary "Dial H for Hero" identity of Vicky Grant.

MARVEL: Linda Warren, Ultraverse heroine; she had already been comatose for a few years before we ever heard about her.

Starlight DC: At least two. The first is a Milestone character. The second is Natasha Irons, formerly the fourth hero to be known as Steel.

MARVEL: Tania Belinsky, formerly a Red Guardian (she served as a Defender for awhile).

Starshine DC: Presumably an alias; this was the only name used by a hippy character in a two-part Superman story (Pre-COIE) who was temporarily gifted with the power to make people do whatever he said, even if it required "miracles" to make that happen.

MARVEL: This name has been used by three different Spaceknights, including Brandy Clark.

Static DC: Virgil Ovid Hawkins, a Milestone hero.

MARVEL: At least three users.

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: "Steelhawk" is a superpowered mercenary.

MARVEL: "Steel Hawk" is Arun Bakhti, a terrorist/mercenary/assassin.

Sting/The Sting DC: Three users. "Sting" was a temporary "Dial H for Hero" identity of Chris King. "The Sting" was a villain who fought Ray Palmer, but later reformed and allowed Ray Palmer himself (supposedly dead at the time) to infiltrate the villainous group known as the Micro Squad by posing as "The Sting."

MARVEL: Apparently "Sting" was the name used by a member of the "Outcasts of New Mexico" who had begun life as a simple scorpion.

Stinger DC: Two villains.

MARVEL: Several different users.

The Stranger DC: Martian villain who fought Batman in 1953.

MARVEL: The most famous user is an enigmatic white-haired alien of incredible power; a couple of other people have also used this name at times.

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: Two users. One was an Earth-S villain who fought the Marvel Family in the Pre-COIE era. The other is 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."

Strontium DC: Villain who fought Metamorpho and was destroyed

MARVEL: Presumably one of the Elements of Doom.

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.

Sumo DC: At least three. Two were villains; the other was a Japanese super-powered soldier who fought the All-Star Squadron in WWII.

MARVEL: Several users.

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.

Sunshine DC: Name, presumably an alias, of a gang leader in Gotham who appeared in a single story in 1981.

MARVEL: Autumn MacRae, heroine; depicted in "MARVEL: The Lost Generation." Also: an "Inquisitor" who met Mantra in the Ultraverse.

Sunspot DC: Temporary "Dial H for Hero" identity of Vicky Grant.

MARVEL: Roberto DaCosta, founding member of the original New Mutants.

Supernova DC: Alias used by Booster Gold 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.

Sureshot DC: Member of the demon-hunting group called the Hell-Enders.

MARVEL: Two users. One is a female villain. One was an agent of the XSE in Bishop’s native future timeline; that character died in action.

The Swami DC: Johnny Witts, a Batman villain, used the alias "The Swami" in one story.

MARVEL: "Swami" was Hamilton Hart, a member of the Paranormal Platoon in the New Universe; he died when Pittsburgh was destroyed.

Swarm/The Swarm DC: "The Swarm" is a Milestone villain.

MARVEL: "Swarm" is Fritz von Meyer, diehard Nazi. His "body" is just a skeleton surrounded by zillions of mentally controlled bees; hence the name.

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 timeline.

Swift DC: Winged vigilante who became a member of the Authority; she probably thought she was a hero.

MARVEL: At least three users.

Taboo/Tabu DC: "Taboo" is Amanda Reed, Wildstorm heroine. There was also a "Tabu" who was a female mercenary; she fought Animal Man and later died.

MARVEL: "Taboo" is a 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."

Tantalum DC: Villain who fought Metamorpho and was destroyed

MARVEL: Presumably one of the Elements of Doom.

Tarantula DC: Two of them. Jonathan Law, Golden Age hero. Catalina Flores, using the name more recently, much less heroic.

MARVEL: Several characters. The newest one is Maria Vasquez.

Tattoo DC: At least two. One was Black Mask's second-in-command in the early 90s; one was a terrorist who fought Aztek.

MARVEL: Several users.

Tech/Tekk DC: "Tekk" is a villain who fought Peter Cannon, Thunderbolt.

MARVEL: Two users of "Tech." One was a villain who once fought the Fantastic Four. One is Lela Cho, leader of the Solution in the Ultraverse.

Technocrat DC: Geoffrey Brown, hero; served with the Outsiders in the 1990s.

MARVEL: Two users.

Tempest DC: At least three: Temporary "Dial H for Hero" identity of Vicky 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.

Templar DC: Colin Brandywine, telekinetic British hero; used to lead the Conglomerate.

MARVEL: Hero in the First Line; died fighting Skrulls.

Terror DC: At least two; both villains. One of them is an evil child of the wizard Shazam. (If I’ve got this right, Shazam has at least four evil children in modern continuity, which says marvelous things about his parenting skills.)

MARVEL: Laslo Pevely, Golden Age hero; apparently he also has used "Captain Terror."

Thallium DC: Villain who fought Metamorpho and was destroyed.

MARVEL: One of the Elements of Doom.

The Thinker DC: At least four of them.

MARVEL: The preferred alias of the brilliant villain whom others usually call "The Mad Thinker."

Thorn/Thornn DC: At least two "Thorns." First: Rose Canton, the Golden Age version of the "Rose and Thorn" concept, and 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 for each spelling variation; one "Thornn" was the sister of Feral of X-Force in the 1990s.

Thumbelina DC: A temporary "Dial H for Hero" alias of Vicky Grant.

MARVEL: Kristina Suggs, member of the Mutant Liberation Front.

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" and/or "T-Bolt." And in the 1980s Jonni Thunder was also called "Thunderbolt."

MARVEL: William Carver, African-American speedster hero, now dead. Marvel also has another "Thunderbolt" speedster who got one appearance in an old Hulk story; real name unknown.

Thunderer/The Thunderer DC: At least three users.

MARVEL: One "The Thunderer" was a Golden Age hero named Jerry Carstairs who, in his final Golden Age appearance, renamed himself "The Black Avenger" (don’t ask me why). It appears a couple of other characters have also used "Thunderer" or "The Thunderer" as an alias or as part of a longer name.

Thunderhead DC: At least two users; both heroes. One is (or was?) part of Hero Hotline. One served with the Young Heroes.

MARVEL: At least two users; one was a New Universe character.

Tiger DC: Heroic alias used by a Japanese orphan who was the first Judomaster's sidekick during and after WWII; he later became an insane villain known as Avatar.

MARVEL: Several users.

Tiger-Man DC: Two brothers, Dean and Desmond Farr, have successively used the heroic alias "Tiger-Man." Dean, who used it first, is dead.

MARVEL: There were Golden Age characters called "Armless Tiger-Man" and "Trojak the Tiger-Man." Listings for this alias on marvunapp.com imply that that both of those guys may have sometimes settled for just being called "Tiger-Man," but I am not in a position to swear to the details of how they habitually introduced themselves in their stories, since I've never read any of those stories!

Tiger Shark DC: "Tiger Shark" was apparently the nickname and/or official codename of a U.S. Navy officer who commanded a vessel known as "The Phantom Clipper" in WWII. (One online resource gives me the impression that "Shark" may have been the officer's real surname, but don't hold me to that!)

MARVEL: Todd Arliss, villain.

Tigra DC: Darkseid’s ex-wife; mother of Orion.

MARVEL: Greer Grant, heroine.

The Tigress DC: Three villainesses have used this name; the third is the daughter of the second.

MARVEL: "Tigress" was another name for Chia, a woman who existed in Conan the Barbarian’s lifetime. (Conan is no longer published by Marvel, but I gather that Chia/Tigress was and still is their property? I may be dead wrong about this; Conan lore is not my strong suit.)

The Timekeeper DC: Villain who fought the Zoo Crew in the early 1980s.

MARVEL: Scientist who worked for AIM.

Tin DC: One of the original Metal Men.

MARVEL: Presumably one of the Elements of Doom.

Tiny DC: At least two users; the first was a midget member of a crimefighting group called the Purple Trio in some of Quality’s Golden Age stories.

MARVEL: At least three people have apparently used this as a nickname, including one of Sergeant Fury’s Howling Commandos.

Titania DC: At least two. One was a villain in pre-Zero Hour "Legion of Super-Heroes" continuity. The other is the Faerie Queen who appeared in the "Books of Magic" stories and probably falls into the "public domain" exemption I listed above, but I’ll mention her anyway.

MARVEL: At least two. Davida DeVito, villain, dead. Mary "Skeeter" MacPherran, villain.

Titano DC: Both Pre-COIE and Post-COIE, Superman has fought giant apes called "Titano."

MARVEL: "Titano" was the name given to a gigantic rampaging crustacean which appeared in a single story in 1960; it was last seen trapped in a glacier.

TNT DC: Golden age hero, partner of Dan the Dyna-Mite; died in action during WWII, according to a retcon in the 1980s.

MARVEL: The military nickname and/or callsign of General Harry Kenkoy.

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.

Torpedo DC: . Villain; leader of "the Awesome Threesome" group which fought Aquaman in the Silver Age.

MARVEL: At least three users.

Torque DC: Dudley Soames, villain; dead.

MARVEL: Several users; one is a villain, one of the Twisted Sisters in Shadow City.

Toxin/Toxyn DC: "Toxin" was Isaac Fisher, a villain who died fighting Aquaman and Swamp Thing.

MARVEL: At least two users of "Toxin"; one is a former cop who somehow got bonded with a symbiote spawned from Carnage and has tried to act heroically since then. Also, "Toxyn" was a member of Strikeforce: Morituri; dead.

Trapper DC: A villain who appeared in at least one story in the 1950s; his real name was "Jason Bard" (not the same guy as the private investigator in Gotham who debuted much later; it seems to be sheer coincidence).

MARVEL: One of the Spaceknights; died in the line of duty.

Trauma DC: Member of the S.T.A.R. Corps.

MARVEL: At least three users; one was an Ultraverse character.

The Traveler/Traveller DC: "Traveller" is a bearded mystic who works for the Parliament of Stones.

MARVEL: "The Traveler" was an alias used by Cable in his younger days, apparently when he was doing some time-traveling before finally ending up in the "modern era" of the Marvel Universe as a regular thing.

The Trickster DC: Two villains have used this name; the first (known as James Jesse, although his real name is supposedly "Giovanni Giuseppe") has apparently reformed.

MARVEL: At least four users; the first was a Golden Age villain who fought Captain America.

Trog/Trogg DC: "Trogg" was one of Bane's henchmen in the "Knightfall" days.

MARVEL: "Trog" was a name used by an entity created by the villain Father Darklyte. That "Trog" appeared to be a big ugly caveman with superhuman strength and a club; was destroyed by Son of Satan in the same story; never appeared again. "Trogg" is an Asgardian rock troll.

Turtle Man/Turtle-Man DC: A character sometimes known as "Turtle Man" and sometimes as "The Turtle" was the first supervillain to ever fight the Silver Age Flash (Barry Allen) in Barry’s debut story.

MARVEL: "Turtle-Man" was a Golden Age villain who fought Captain America.

Twilight DC: A few users; one is a Milestone character.

MARVEL: At least two. One is a mutant in the "X-Nation 2099" series. Another Twilight was a member of the New Universe's DP7 group; apparently died in a battle with the Famileech.

Typhoon DC: Two users; both villains.

MARVEL: Two users; one is a villain; one is a detective who works as the partner of someone called "Cutlass."

Ultra Girl/Ultra-Girl/Ultragirl DC: "Ultra Girl" was a temporary "Dial H for Hero" alias of Vicky Grant.

MARVEL: A heroine who debuted in the 1990s and served with the New Warriors for awhile allegedly has sometimes used "Ultra Girl" and sometimes "Ultra-Girl." Also: The Ultraverse character eventually known as "Phade" was sponsored by a program within the U.S. government, and its leaders apparently considered calling her "Ultragirl," and then settled on "Ultrawoman" -- but that plan was derailed when she took matters into her own hands at a press conference by unexpectedly introducing herself as "Phade." I’m not clear on whether "Phade" was stated or implied to have ever previously called herself "Ultragirl" (or "Ultrawoman") at least once or twice before choosing something entirely different, but thought I’d mention it to be on the safe side.

Unicorn/The Unicorn DC: "The Unicorn" was a temporary "Dial H for Hero" alias of Vicky Grant.

MARVEL: At least three users.

Uranium DC: Evil robot created by Doc Magnus before he created the Metal Men.

MARVEL: One of the Elements of Doom.

Vagabond DC: Golden Age hero in at least one story from Quality.

MARVEL: Priscilla Lyons was a flag-suited heroine when using that name, although she later moved away from that and spent time working in the "Scourge of the Underworld" organization.

Valor/Val-Or DC: "Valor" is a heroic alias sometimes used by the character also known as Mon-El, Lar Gand, and M'Onel. (I have long since lost track of his more recent continuity, but I believe "Valor" was the alias he used when he had his own series in the early 90s -- I think that would be just before the Zero Hour reboot of everything relating to the Legion of Super-Heroes?)

MARVEL: "Val-Or" is a mutant Moloid with telepathic abilities.

Vapor DC: Carrie Donahue, hero. (www.dcuguide.com also has a vague mention of a second "Vapor," without providing any useful details.)

MARVEL: Ann Darnell, villain; member of the U-Foes.

Venom/Venomm DC: "Venom" was a villain who once fought the first Firestorm.

MARVEL: Several users of "Venom" -- the best-known is Eddie Brock when merged with an alien symbiote; he is (or they are) usually a villain. "Venomm" was Horatio Walters, who fought Black Panther and later switched sides.

Viking/Vyking DC: "Viking" was a member of the Maximums; allegedly of Norse Frost Giant ancestry (in other words, a rough analog of Thor of Marvel’s Avengers).

MARVEL: "Vyking" was a member of Strikeforce: Morituri; dead.

Virago DC: Pre-COIE, this was an Earth-S villainess created by Mr. Mind. More recently, the name was used by a superheroine in Philadelphia who was introduced to us so she could promptly be killed by the assassin known as Onomatopeia.

MARVEL: Two users.

Vixen DC: Mari Jiwe McCabe, heroine.

MARVEL: At least three users (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. Before that, there was a "Void" who was a thief, partnered with "Null," who fought Superman and Batman in the Pre-COIE era, and may not exist in modern continuity.

MARVEL: "The Void" is the 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.

Voodoo DC: Priscilla Kitaen, one of the original WildC.A.T.S.

MARVEL: Donny (last name unknown), a mutant member of a group called "the Children of Heaven"; he appeared in a single X-Factor story in the late 80s and hasn’t been heard from since.

Vortex/"VOR/TEX" DC: "Vortex" is a hero who served with the Doom Patrol immediately after its "temporary reboot" by John Byrne.

MARVEL: At least three users of "Vortex." Furthermore, one Artificial Intelligence has called itself "VOR/TEX" as an acronym for "Virtual Organism/Turing Experiment."

Vox DC: Two villains.

MARVEL: Two users; one is a member of the Action Pack; the other is part of the 2099 timeline.

Vulcan/Vulcann DC: "Vulcan" was a villain who fought the JSA in the 1970s.

MARVEL: "Vulcan" is Gabriel Summers, villain; the recently-revealed long-lost "third Summers brother"; Cyclops and Havok being his siblings. Before we ever heard of him, the "X-Men 2099" series showed the heroes fighting a villain called "Vulcann."

Vulture DC: Two, both villains.

MARVEL: Many users; the most notorious is Adrian Toomes, one of the earliest villains to clash with Spider-Man.

Warbird/The War Bird DC: "The War Bird" was Tom Sharp, heroic American aviator in WWII.

MARVEL: "Warbird" is one of several aliases used by Carol Danvers over the years. There is also a "Warbird" in the 2099 timeline.

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.

White Dragon DC: William Heller, villain.

MARVEL: At least three users.

Whirlwind DC: Villain who apparently got just one appearance and may have died at the end of it.

MARVEL: David Cannon, villain.

Wild Card/Wildcard DC: When Hector Hammond organized the second Royal Flush Gang to fight the JLA, he used the alias "Wild Card." When Amos Fortune organized the fourth Royal Flush Gang, he also dubbed himself "Wild Card."

MARVEL: "Wildcard" was a member of Strikeforce: Morituri; died.

The Wild Man/Wildman DC: Two users of "Wildman." In the first case, it was the military nickname of Harold Shapiro, a member of Sergeant Frank Rock’s legendary Easy Company during WWII. The second user is a villain who fought the Justice League Task Force.

MARVEL: At least one "The Wild Man" and one "Wildman."

Wild Thing DC: An Earth Elemental, created partially from the delirious mind of recently deceased ecoterrorist Alan Bolland; eventually destroyed by Swamp Thing.

MARVEL: At least three users. An alias used by a character in DP7 in the New Universe. Later, a "Marvel UK" heroine in a short-lived series in the early 90s. Also: the daughter of Wolverine and Elektra in the alternate future timeline of MC2.

Wildcat DC: At least four; all heroes. Ted Grant, Golden Age hero, started the tradition and still uses the name sometimes; the latest user is his long-lost son; the other two Wildcats are dead.

MARVEL: Codename or alias used by a guy who was a teammate of Logan's (Wolverine’s) on "Team X" at some point many years in the past, before Logan got all that adamantium added to his skeleton.

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.

Wildside DC: Villain; member of Team Turmoil.

MARVEL: Villain; member of the Mutant Liberation Front.

Willow

DC: A green-skinned, green-haired woman who appeared in Steve Englehart’s JLA run in the 70s; her speech patterns and other details made her a thinly disguised version of the "Mantis" character whom Englehart had previously created at Marvel during his Avengers run.

MARVEL: A character in the 2099 timeline.

Wind Rider/Windrider DC: "Wind Rider" was a temporary "Dial H for Hero" alias of Chris King.

MARVEL: "Windrider" was the name of a fictional genie modeled on Storm of the X-Men, as described in a fairy tale which Kitty Pryde once spent an issue of "Uncanny X-Men" telling to Illyana Rasputin.

Windshear DC: A Milestone character

MARVEL: Colin Hume, hero; served with Alpha Flight; was depowered on M-Day.

Wing DC: Sidekick of The Crimson Avenger in the Golden Age.

MARVEL: Two users. One was a ninja member of the Chaste (now dead). One was a mutant named Eddie who studied at the Xavier Institute until his powers were neutralized by Ord; then he apparently committed suicide.

Winter/Wynter DC: "Winter" is a Wildstorm hero who has served with Stormwatch.

MARVEL: "Wynter" was a robot secretly controlled by Dark Beast. "Winter" was a 2099 character.

Wipeout DC: Wipeout is a villain; leader of the Run Riot Boys.

MARVEL: Two users. One was a New Universe character. One was a Genoshan who could remove a mutant’s powers; he died.

Witch/Wytch DC: "Wytch" was a Milestone character

MARVEL: A few characters have gone by "Witch" or "The Witch" on occasion.

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.

Wolfen DC: One of the Maximums (a bunch of knockoffs of Marvel heroes) in their own timeline; seemed to combine aspects of Wolverine and Beast.

MARVEL: A cyborg assassin; he worked for Hydra in the only storyline in which he appeared.

Wonder Man/Wonder-Man DC: "Wonder-Man" was a superhero in a single Silver Age story; it turned out his personality came from the mind of a Superman Robot (previously nicknamed "Ajax") after it had been transferred into a similarly strong, but more truly "living," android body; hence his new face was quite different from Superman’s; sadly, he died at the end of the story.

MARVEL: "Wonder Man" is Simon Williams, hero.

Wrangler DC: Temporary "Dial H for Hero" identity of Chris King.

MARVEL: An obscure villainess who goes for the cowgirl look, complete with lariat.

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.

Xenon DC: One of Mr. Element's henchmen used this alias in a single story.

MARVEL: Presumably one of the Elements of Doom.

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. Later: Rita DeMara, a female Yellowjacket who was a villain and then a hero; now dead.

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/The Zombie/Xombi DC: "Zombie" was one of Bane’s henchmen in "Knightfall." Also: It’s been suggested that the Milestone character "Xombi" probably pronounced his alias exactly the same way as "Zombie," but wanted to have a more distinctive spelling; I don’t know for sure if the X was meant to be pronounced as a Z.

MARVEL: "The Zombie" was Simon William Garth, who was "undead" for awhile and is now just plain dead.

Closing Words

If you want to know more about any of the multiple users of a particular name in the Master List, good places to start looking are:

http://www.marvunapp.com/

and

http://www.dcuguide.com/

If the character appeared in one of DC's Silver Age or Bronze Age comic books, in a story set before the shift to Post-COIE continuity, then he may well be listed in one of the indexes at

http://darkmark6.tripod.com/indexintro.html

-- although DarkMark doesn't bother to maintain an alphabetical listing of all the characters mentioned anywhere in his indexes, so you'd have to use Google to search for what you want at that site!

Beyond that, sometimes Wikipedia or other online resources will have useful data (although I believe many of the characters on this list are so obscure that Wikipedia is unlikely to have any pages about them).

And, of course, if you see anything I got wrong, or know of any examples of "shared aliases" which I am still missing, be sure to set me straight! That word "Draft" in the title is my way of acknowledging that anything this ambitious is always a work in progress, since I can’t possibly know and remember everything about every DC or Marvel character who’s ever been published! There’s always more to learn! (It doesn't help that those companies keep cranking out new stories with new characters in them, and bringing old characters back from the dead, and so forth!) Why, would you believe that I had nearly called it quits on my research for this year’s Draft before I stumbled across a reference to a "Doctor Destiny" who fought Captain America in the Golden Age, a couple of decades before the JLA ever learned to be wary of that name? There's no telling what other examples of duplication are still beneath my radar!