15 Comic Book 'Firsts' You Didn't Know

15. The Ultra-Humanite - The First Supervillain

When Superman debuted in Action Comics #1 in 1938, it initiated The Golden Age of Comics, which helped launch superheroes like Wonder Woman, Batman, and the Flash. In his early adventures, Superman effortlessly defeated bank robbers, gangsters, and evil scientists. After a year, the writers upped their game and wrote a story where Superman squared off against a super-powered criminal called The Ultra-Humanite.

The Ultra-Humanite (whose real name is unknown), was a scientist who conducted an experiment which endowed him with the ability to control and transfer minds. His power drove him mad and he decided to (unoriginally) take over the world.

Unfortunately, the experiment advanced his brain so much, his body couldn't keep up and withered away. Using his newfound powers, the scientist transferred his mind into another body. (The Ultra-Humanite is also the first comic book character to transfer a mind into another person.)

To give himself an edge over Superman, The Ultra-Humanite usually takes the form of an 8ft-tall albino ape. If he is killed, his mind will automatically transfer to another body, which he transforms into an ape. (During the 1930s, everyone was nuts about apes. I don't know why. It was a weird phase.)