Captain Ireland? 7 superheroes you didn't know were Irish

Extra.ie​

3 days ago

Despite being a nation of storytellers and known for being home to many great myths and legends, Ireland has never had many ties to the superhero genre.
Science-fiction movies, comic books and fantasy novels have been consistently popular in the country but it seems like there's never been much Irish representation.
With most of today's popular superheroes created in the US, it can be naturally assumed that there isn't much connection to this side of the pond. Some superheroes are more Irish than you think. Pic: Marvel Enterprises/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock
However, there are more big name heroes than you probably realise that come from our island.
After the recent releases of 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' and 'Superman', Extra.ie decided to take an in-depth look at superheroes that not many people know are actually Irish.
One of Marvel's oldest and most well-known superheroes is Captain America.
Steve Rogers was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby and made his comic book debut in 1941.
Steve was born in New York City to poor Irish immigrant parents, making him a first generation Irish-American.
As the story goes, Steve lost his father when he was a child and his mother during his teenage years.
However, he credits his strong backbone and desire to defend the weak to his Irish upbringing. Captain America's parents are Irish. Pic: Rex Features
After volunteering to be the test-subject of a secret military super-soldier experiment, Steve transformed from a frail and skinny man into a perfect human specimen in peak physical condition.
Donning the rank of Captain America, Steve took his newfound strength, and Irish values, to the fight against the Nazis and help the Allies win World War II.
The very first time Captain America appeared on a comic cover showed him landing a whopping punch on Adolf Hitler – doing his ancestors proud.
The character was popularly portrayed by Chris Evans in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) from 2011 to 2019.
Another popular superhero of Irish descent is Daredevil and his ancestry has been a focal point of his character over the years.
Created by Stan Lee and Bill Everett, Matt Murdock is a blind vigilante that first debuted in 1964.
Matt's Irish Catholic upbringing has consistently been a significant part of his complex character and superhero motivations.
In the comics, the red-headed lawyer was born to Jack and Maggie Murdock in the working class Irish American neighborhood of Hell's Kitchen in New York City.
His mother left the family soon after to become a nun, while his single father barely made ends meet as a boxer and low-level criminal enforcer.
As a child, Matt pushed an old man out of the way of an oncoming truck, but his reward was being struck in the head by radioactive waste and blinded for life.
The only upside is that the toxic waste heightened all his other senses, giving him a radar-like ability to scan the world. Daredevil's Irish upbringing is a huge part of his character. Pic: Netflix
With his newfound abilities, Matt became a lawyer by day and the vigilante Daredevil by night.
Matt's Irish background has become more prominent in recent years than it was when he was first created.
Frank Miller took a more tortured take on the classic hero in the 1980s with his Irish past and devout Catholic faith.
It was also a central point of the character's development in the Netflix Daredevil series that started in 2015 and was cancelled in 2018.
Charlie Cox portrayed this version of Daredevil and returned earlier this year when the series was reignited by Disney as part of the MCU.
Speaking of Daredevil, his mortal enemy 'Bullseye' shares even a stronger Irish connection than he does.
While Bullseye's character's origins have been somewhat inconsistent in the comics, in the 2003 Daredevil film – when Ben Affleck starred as Matt Murdock – the villain was born and raised in Ireland.
This version of the character was portrayed by Irish icon Colin Farrell, who was told to keep his own accent for the film. Colin Farrell got to use his own accent for the role. Pic: Taylor Hill/FilmMagic
Bullseye was a hard-drinking sadist who had a target branded on his forehead and killed for fun, using everything from peanuts to paper clips as deadly projectiles.
He was also straight from Ireland, hopping on a plane at the beginning of the movie to kill the father of Daredevil's lover.
First appearing in 1976, the deadly assassin has been a consistent thorn in the side of Matt Murdock.
Recently, he returned in the Disney Plus Daredevil show earlier this year.
Wilson Bethel, who also played the character throughout the Netflix series, returned as Bullseye – although this version has an American accent.
While he is not the classic Spider-Man that most people would recognise, Miguel O'Hara is still a version of the iconic web-slinger.
Miguel is technically half-Irish, with his father hailing from Ireland and his mother from Mexico.
This version of Spider-Man is from the year 2099 and was created by Peter David and Rick Leonardi in 1992.
In the story, Miguel is a geneticist obsessed with recreating the legendary Spider-Man from history. Miguel O'Hara is from the year 2099. Pic: The Amazing Spider-Man (2018) #33 cover by Patrick Gleason
When he's double-crossed by his employer, Miguel tries to rewrite his DNA, which accidentally becomes half-human and half-spider.
A lot of new fans would recognise him from the animated movie 'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse' in 2023.
This iteration of the character is voiced by Oscar Isaac and takes on a half-hero, half-villain role when he tries to take down Miles Morales – another Spider-Man.
Banshee, as you can tell by his name, is probably the most Irish-related superhero from all of Marvel comics.
The red-headed X-Men character first appeared in 1967 and was created by Roy Thomas and Werner Roth.
Banshee is of course named after the mythological ghoul who lets out shrieks before someone's death, which is a rather dark image for a superhero that is usually so hopeful and affirming.
His real name is Sean Cassidy and he has the power to make his voice so loud that it can create waves of destructive force and even help him fly.
Banshee began his superhero career as an antagonist to the X-Men but soon realized the error of his ways and joined the iconic group of mutants. Robert Sheehan was originally supposed to play Banshee. Pic: Cat Morley/SOPA Images/REX/Shutterstock
Using his powerful vocal cords, he could distort his enemies' hearing and cause physically damaging vibrations.
In the comics, he was extremely Irish with a thick accent and smoked a pipe, but he also had a bad habit of losing his superpowers on a regular basis.
Banshee did appear in 2011's 'X-Men: First Class', but was American in this one and was killed off-screen before the next movie.
The character was originally supposed to be Irish in the film and would have been portrayed by Love/Hate's Robert Sheehan had he not dropped out due to scheduling conflicts.
Next up, is none other than Banshee's daughter, Siryn.
Theresa Cassidy was created by Chris Claremont and Steve Leialoha in 1981 and inherited her father's mutant genes and sonic voice powers.
The young mutant lost her mother to an IRA bombing in Ireland while her father was out of the country.
As Banshee didn't even know of his daughter's existence, she was secretly raised by his cousin, super villain Black Tom Cassidy.
When Black Tom was arrested, he could no longer take care of Theresa, so Banshee and the X-Men took her in and helped her develop her mutant powers for good.
Siryn appears as a minor character in the 2003 film 'X2' and cameos in the 2006 follow-up 'X-Men: The Last Stand'.
This one sounds almost too Irish.
Molly Fitzgerald is a superhero from Ireland with the power of luck.
She was conceived by a list of classic creators which includes Mark Gruenwald, Bill Mantlo, Steven Grant, and John Romita Jr in 1982.
Shamrock has similar powers to the likes of Spider-Man villain 'Black Cat' or 'Domino' who appeared in 2018's 'Deadpool 2', but isn't as well-known.
Molly hails from Dunshaughlin, Co Meath, and is the daughter of a member of the IRA.
Named after the fabled four-leaf clover, Shamrock's powers are the result of being possessed by the souls of thousands of spirits lost in past wars.
She was essentially created as a living embodiment of the phrase 'luck of the Irish'.
Shamrock has not appeared in the comics for some time now and was last seen retiring and opening an Irish pub in New York City.