In modern
popular fiction, a
superhero (sometimes rendered
super-hero or
super hero) is a type of
heroic character possessing extraordinary talents, supernatural phenomena, or superhuman powers and is dedicated to a moral goal or protecting the public. A
female superhero is sometimes called a
superheroine (also rendered
super-heroine or
super heroine). Fiction centered on such characters, especially in
American comic books since the 1930s, is known as
superhero fiction.