The Prime (Honorary)
The Prime isn't necessarily the first superhero, but he is a starting point. He's when what a superhero is started to come together in people's minds. Though many will debate whether or not he's the greatest of heroes, he is the embodiment of the ideals. In many ways, The Prime is less a hero and more a symbol. He's a symbol of what people hope for the best of in humanity. Which is strange given that he's not actually human himself.
As such a symbol of good, it's a surprise Kiv-Ro comes from such a violent background. His parents were some of the worst villains on their home planet of Dromia. And after a failed coup attempt when they attempted to take over the planet's governing bodies and armies, they were banished from Dromia altogether. Kiv-Ro was born during that banishment. And shortly after his birth, his parents decided to execute a plan they had been plotting and planning for since their banishment.
Kiv-Ro's parents destroyed the planet of Dromia. But they hadn't figured on the blast being quite so large. It ripped through their own ship, killing them both. Luckily for Kiv-Ro, the compartment holding the infant at the time was relatively unharmed, and it soon landed in a field near Normville, Nebraska. He was found by the Mears family, who had no kids of their own. Dale and Edith Mears named the boy Ethan and raised him as their own.
Early on though, the boy began to show unique abilities. It turns out that the wreck of the spacecraft on Earth had caused a remnant of Dromia to pierce the boy's heart. And the strangely radiated shrapnel had given him a unique set of powers. It would take years for Ethan to discover this as the source of his powers, as well as the fact that the radiation was negated by other remnants of Dromia. But he soon developed the ability to see and hear from great distances, super speed and strength, invulnerability, and even to fly.
Ethan would eventually learn of the fate of his home planet and just who his real parents were. He would struggle with the question of whether the evil that was in them, was his eventual direction as well. But he came to see that the parents who raised him had taught him to overcome whatever was within him. With that knowledge, he moved to one of the largest cities on the planet, Polestar City, and began a career as freelance video producer. But that was all a cover for his real reason to come there: to begin a superhero career as The Prime.
The Prime has been around ever since and is the ultimate example of the superhero. He was an honorary member of the Hands of Justice, but a founder of its follow up, The Select. He's saved the world countless times, and resisted to ever use his powers against it. It's impossible to understand superheroes without understanding The Prime. Some of his more well-known adventures have been told in Dromia's Last Son, Cataclysm, and Invasion from Dimension Q.
The Select
The Select are the follow up team to The Hands of Justice. In contrast to the name, it feels like almost every new hero spends some time as a member of the Select. But the founding trio of The Prime, New Moon, and Iceni, are the constant leaders and inspiration.