Were the -man/-woman/-boy/-girl suffixes of superheroes once considered...erm...goofy?

Question

This is a question which bugged me in my childhood. Being German, I recognized that most of the superheroes names were not translated at all (Superman, Batman) or were translated incompletely. Well, once I translated them, the reason was clear: In German "Batman" is either something which went horribly awry (like the "Fly") or it causes hysterical fits of laughter because it sounds utterly ridiculous (It's like wearing pink leather).

There are other names which are completely ok: Names itself (Thor, Elektro), names of animals (Panther, Scorpion), names of tools or characteristics (Man of Steel, The Claw, Avengers etc.). Only these -man/-woman endings sound...strange.

I know that people are now accustomed to the names of superheroes, but is this simply an oddity of languages or was there a time (especially during the creation) when people did find the names ridiculous and funny and satirized them ?

Just asking.

Answer 1

Possibly never to the extent you would expect. Yes they are goofy but...

Prior to Superman most proto-superheroes either had over-the-top real names (Flash Gordon, Doc Savage) or descriptive "The" names (The Shadow, The Phantom).

Superman was the first -man superhero and his name is derived from an existing concept/word (with German origins, no less) rather than just being a goofy combination of Super and Man. At the time this would have been no different to the names you find acceptable.

Following Superman it just became a naming convention based on his popularity.

That said, it can be completely absurd (check out the Legion of Superheroes roster some time) and superhero naming has been constantly satirized (even within the comics themselves, see Squirrel Girl). Although I think that's often due to the nature of their powers and inspiration than the name itself.

Answer 2

Ashandes's answer covers the most important points, but I wanted to add one more consideration:

Most names like that are descriptions.

There are a few superhero names, like "Wonder Woman", which basically mean nothing but "she's awesome!" But for the most part, the -man or -woman names tend to be descriptive in nature: the man with spider-powers is a Spider-Man and the guy with water-powers is an Aqua-man, very much like the very strong and tough man is the Man of Steel, which you mentioned. Even more common, such names are added to associate with a previous character: "Supergirl" is the female cousin of "Superman," and "Kid Flash" is the kid-sidekick of "The Flash." Again, these aren't just fancy nicknames, they are descriptors meant to illustrate a relevant connection.

A famous example of this in recent history was in Batman Begins: while being hunted by the new bat-themed vigilante, Scarecrow murmurs to his henchmen, "it's the bat...man." You can hear the pause or hyphenation in his voice (a great touch by the actor or director), because Batman's name isn't known yet. Scarecrow is almost coining the name in that moment, or even simply describing this person without giving him a name at all. In that situation it wasn't goofy to describe him that way, it was the most logical descriptor available.

It's kind of silly when you line up a bunch of these characters all together, but really, it's almost more normal to refer to someone associated with spiders as "that spider-man" than a more abstract name like "The Shadow." Sure, Green Lantern uses a lantern (although not nearly as often as he uses his ring), but he is not himself a lantern.

But that guy over there, dressed up as a bat? He's clearly a Bat-man.