The 10 Greatest Superheroes with Red Hair (Ranked)
Although not one of the more popular choices for hair color, the color red is worn by a number of highly influential and important superheroes. These superheroes have both changed the landscape of comic books and broken down stereotypes that plagued the industry before them. Without too much delay, let’s just get into it. Here are the greatest redhead superheroes.
List of greatest red hair superheroes:
10. Banshee
The first time the world saw Banshee was in X-Men #28. This happened back in January of 1967.
As his name eludes, Banshee’s superpower is vocally driven. This means that his scream enables him to incapacitate his enemies, fly on its sonic vibrations, stun his enemies with low-frequency sonic blasts, and, if he chooses to, liquefy his opponents with a high pitched enough scream. Banshee is also a former member of Interpol, The NYPD, the X-Men, Generation X, X-Corps, among a few other organizations.
Banshee was created by the legendary Roy Thomas and Werner Roth. When he first appeared he was slated to be A) a woman and B) a villain. Although he was initially a villain, he was never a woman. This was primarily because Stan Lee didn’t like the idea of the X-Man ganging up on a woman. Eventually, like many other adversaries of the X-Men, Banshee joined the team. His time in the team would come and go throughout the years. Through this, however, one thing remained the same…he was always one of the superheroes with red hair.
9. Hope Summers
Just because Hope Summers is lesser-known than most other superheroes with red hair, doesn’t mean that she doesn’t belong here. Hope Summers belongs here because, unlike many other superheroes, Hope isn’t limited to one or two superpowers. In fact, she’s not limited to any number of superpowers.
Hope Summers has the power of mimicry. This means that she can copy the mutation and power of any nearby mutant. But that’s not all. After she’s copied the mutation or power, she can use either to its full potential.
Hope Summers is an Omega-Level Mutant. For reference, an Omega-Level Mutant means that she and a few others possess an undefinable limit of power. The main drawback of Hope Summers, if I’m to be honest, is that while she can use the powers to their full potential, when she does she puts all those around her at risk.
8. Elongated Man
Debuting in The Flash issue #112, Elongated Man is one of the most important members of the Justice League.
Randolph (Ralph) Dibny is the husband of Sue Dibny and has been a member of the Doom Patrol, Secret Six, Justice League Europe, the Black Lantern Corps, and the aforementioned Justice League of America.
Similar to Marvel’s Mr. Fantastic, he‘s able to shape, stretch and contort his body into just about any shape imaginable. Different from Mr. Fantastic, Elongated Man is also able to smell when things aren’t as they should be. This ability has helped to make him one of the greatest detectives in DC Comics.
Ralph became the Elongated Man after learning that the best contortionists in the world drank a soda known as “Gingold”. After learning the chemical makeup of the Frank, Ralph created an incredibly rare and concentrated version of the drink. After drinking it, Ralph was able to move, bend, and shape himself in manner that no human should be able to do.
7. Guy Gardner
There may not be a more divisive Green Lantern in existence. Love him or hate him, Guy Gardner belongs on this superheroes with red hair list.
Guy Gardner was created in Green Lantern #59 by John Broome and Gil Kane. While this version of the character sold reasonably well, it isn’t the version that would define him. That’s version was created in the 1980s by Steve Englehart and Joe Staton.
Guy Gardner is arrogant, cocky, acts before thinking, and at times, is difficult to be around. None of these detract from the fact that he’s one of Earth’s greatest heroes. What made him a lock as one of the original Justice League International members is not that he’s big, strong, and does whatever it takes to defeat his enemy. What made him a lock is that he possesses exactly what makes a Green Lantern a Green Lantern… unbreakable will.
6. Mera
Mera is one of the most influential women in DC Comics. Alongside Aquaman, she has patrolled the Seven Seas, protected Atlantis, and helped bridge the gap between those living on land and those living in the sea. Mera is the Queen of Atlantis and not only one of the fiercest women under the water, but arguably the fiercest on land too. She’s powerful beyond imagination, is able to do things that most can only dream of, and commands the attention and respect of all those around her. Put it this way. Mera is so respected that Batman, the most straight-faced and black and white character in comics, asked her to join the Justice League.
No matter what’s thought of Mera, she is Aquaman’s equal. Not his underling, sidekick, or stay-at-home wife.
His equal.
As a result, Mera’s popularity has soared over recent years. Aside from starring in multiple books, she has also made a transition to the big screen, and made little girls and boys fall in love with her…and she’s one of the greatest superheroes with red hair.
5. Jean Grey
Say what you want about the perpetual cycle of life and death she lives in, as one of the many superheroes with red hair, there’s no one like her.
Jean Grey’s story begins inside the pages of X-Men #1 in September of 1963. She was created by the legendary duo of Jack Kirby and Stan Lee. Like all of the other characters introduced in that book, Jean Grey is a mutant.
As a mutant, Jean is one of the most respected and feared characters in the Marvel Universe. Her power set grants her telepathy, mind reading, telekinesis, and the ability to create telekinetic weapons. Jean Grey is also a powerful empath. As an empath, she can feel the pain of others and causes others to feel the pain they’ve inflicted.
Jean reached her full potential after bonding with the Phoenix Force. It was after this that she became one of the most feared entities in all of comics.
4. Daredevil
First appearing on the cover of Daredevil #1 back in April of 1964, Daredevil was the creation of Stan Lee and Bill Everett. Daredevil wasn’t just one of the first prominent Silver Age Marvel superheroes to immediately change his costume, but he was also one of the first with a disability. He is a superhero who fights crime without the ability to see.
Daredevil changed the way that superheroes are viewed. Because of him, heroes didn’t need to be God, have an army of powers and abilities, or be involved in experimentation. Daredevil was and is a street-level hero who uses his own natural and trained abilities to carry out justice.
Through his stories, Marvel has been able to create and give the world some of the most well-known heroes and villains in comic books.
- Bullseye
- Electra
- The Hand
- Styx
- Echo
It’s also through his stories that Frank Miller was able to write one of the greatest of all time in Born Again.
3. Wally West
Kid Flash first appeared inside the pages of The Flash #110 back in December of 1959. He was created by Carmine Infantino and John Broome and has been an integral member of the Teen Titans.
Kid Flash possesses many superpowers. Most of these revolve around the Speed Force. As such, he has super speed, can read and process material as quickly as he runs, can phase through objects, can time travel, can dimensionally travel, has heightened senses, can give and take speed away, possesses electrokinesis, is able to manipulate time, and become one with the Speed Force. Because Wally can become one with the Speed Force, he is considered the fastest superhero in DC.
Yep. You read that right.
Kid Flash is actually faster than his mentor, Barry Allen. He is living proof that having a succession plan isn’t such a bad idea.
2. Black Widow
Loki famously told Black Widow, “Barton told me everything. Your ledger is dripping, it’s gushing red, and you think saving a man no more virtuous than yourself will change anything?”
This very sentence affirms what we’ve known for so long. Bock Widow is a trained killer. She was a mercenary for the KGB who spent her time erasing people from existence. As a graduate of the Red Room, Black Widow is highly trained in martial arts and many other forms of fighting. In addition, she is one of the world’s best spies, is capable of getting in and out of places without being seen, can use any firearm in existence, and can stand toe-to-toe with the most formidable of opponents.
Black Widow is one of the foremost assassins in the entire Marvel Universe. Throughout her long history (she dates back to 1964), she has battled the likes of Iron Maiden, Mandrill, Bullseye, Snapdragon, Taskmaster, Madame Hydra, Alexi Shostakov, Yelena Belova, and Ivan Petrovich.
Black Widow was trained by the Russian Government inside their Black Widow program. As a result, she became one of the deadliest fighters that Marvel has to offer. In addition to this, she is also an expert in all firearms. This equates to Black Widow being A) one of the most feared superheroes alive and B) a valuable asset to the Avengers or whichever team she’s chosen to be a part of.
1. Batgirl
Throughout her history, Barbara Gordon has done what very few characters have managed to successfully do. She has completely rewritten herself in a better and more interesting way.
The events of The Killing Joker, although not meant to be canon, left Barbara in a state of emergency. She was shot by The Joker and left paralyzed. Although she could’ve easily been written out of DC Comics, the team of Kim Yale and John Ostrander completely changed who she was. Gone was the Batgirl persona and in her place stood Oracle. As Oracle, rather than being able to fight one crime at a time, she could fight an unlimited amount of crimes.
Barbara Gordon is one of the most important superheroes With red hair simply because she has something that very few characters will ever have…a willingness to succeed when all seems hopeless.
And that’s it. The greatest superheroes with red hair. Agree? Disagree? Who would make your superheroes with red hair list?
