Air Patrol: 1937, Star Ranger #1 (Centaur/Chesler). The Air Patrol is active along the border of the US and Mexico. The Patrol is led by pilot Lieutenant Ted Thomson facing off against bandits and smugglers.

Air Rover: 1945, Golden Lad #1 (Spark). The Air Rover is a WWII veteran named Johnny Hopper. Bored, he devises a special plane in order to go find adventure and little seen places such as when he encounters the "Sword Women", a tribe of Amazons.

Air Warden Cadets: 1941 Army and Navy Comics #3 (Street and Smit). The Cadets are a group of adventurous boys including Hank Prelton and Biff Morgan protecting the Home Front from spies, saboteurs and such. Things take a strange turn for them when Biff gets the Chronogen Belt and is able to travel through time.

Alabam: 1947, Cow Puncher Comics #1 (Avon). When the elder sheriff of Broken Creek John Hyler is gunned down bymurderer Mike Mantee, his nephew leaves the plains of Texas and comes to town to become the new sheriff. Alabam is a tough fighter and a sharp shooter, but tends to not be the shoot first, ask questions later type to his grief-stricken Aunt Hilda's chagrin. Broken by grief, his Aunt Hilda is gunned down by the outlaw when trying to provoke him so that Abalam would shoot the man down. Which he promptly does. An early strip by Joe Kubert.

Alexander: 1942, Super-Magician Comics #7 (Street and Smith). Alexander is an escape artist, billed as “the handcuff king” of Harper’s Five Star Carnival. He claims that “no lock can hold me.” He also proves to be a good detective, solving a murder in his one published appearance.

Perry Allen: 1943, Headline Comics #1 (Prize). Perry Allen and friend Don Powers are American adventurers travelling about the Amazon River. To survive, they must face natives, dangerous animals and even Germans.

Amazing Man: 1939, Amazing Man #5 (Centaur). Orphan John Aman was chosen as a child during the days of WW1 by the Tibetan Council of Seven to be raised and trained to mental and physical perfection; he gained superhuman strength, amazing control of his body, and incredible mental powers (including a low level of telepathy). Also, through the intervention of a woman from the outside world, he was injected with a serum that allowed him to become a green mist (at times, this was also his super-hero moniker). He had to pass some grueling tests which include fighting a cobra using only his teeth, survive a knife being thrown into his throat among others. When he turns 25 he is deemed ready leave the lamasary to fight crime in the larger world. For reasons never fully explained, one of the lamasery's top monks known only as the Great Question opposed Amazing Man's training. He had tried to discredit Amazing Man while he was growing up but had failed. Once Amazing Man was released into the outside world, the Great Question continued to try to discredit him, using an amazing variety of criminals under his control as well as mentally controlling Amazing Man at some times. In issue #11, Amazing Man returned to the lamasery and underwent a purifying fire which "cured" him of his more sinful emotions ie much of his more bloodthirsty tendancies. It also made him immune to the Great Question's mind control. It's at this time he is given the shield & harness that makes up his costume. They are indestructible so serve as some armor as well as a reminder of who he is. The seal also negates the need for routine injections to become the Green Mist, allowing him to internalize this power. It was following this that he became friends with Zona Henderson, who is described as thinking three times as fast as anyone else. Whether this is meant as a literal ability or just some hyperbole is unclear. In May, 1941 Stars and Stripes #2, it is said that the Council of 12 (guess they have grown since the early days) will give Zona powers to help Aman. However, the following issue has her still normal. In issue 23 of Amazing Man Comics (later in 1941) Zona doesn't show powers but her brother Tommy gets some. The Great Question (now called Mr. Que, Que, the Great Que) has grown so powerful with his armies, science and black magic and now allied with the Nazis, Amazing Man telepathically calls on his friend Nika, head of the mystic Council of 12 to grant him more power. Unknown to him, Zona's visiting brother is secretly watching and he receives a portion of that power and becomes Amazing Man's sidekick. Both are able to fly at this point.

Created by Will Everett, Amazing Man had all the violent and angry tendancies that Namor became known for. Modern heroes Iron Fist and Peter Cannon, Thunderbolt were based on this golden-age hero.

Commodore Ambord: 1940, Hyper Mystery Comics #1 (Hyper Publications). Commodore Ambord is an extraordinary explorer. With his aides Lt. Brundage and the biologist Prof. Hudker they decide to travel on his tramp steamer Katy to Maiden Island to look into the mystery of Werdolfs (or Weredolfs), men who supposedly can transform themselves and others into goats. Only interested in knowledge, Ambord doesn't seem interested in righting the various abuses they see or hear about. In fact, they seem to take the scoundrel and brutal Sivad's account of things at face value.

Sergeant Manuel American:1942, War Stories #6 (Dell). Sergeant Manuel Luis Avillo is the "great grandson of a jungle chieftain" as well as part of the 59th Fillipino Scout Regiment in Manilla. He and his unit are waging a guerrilla war against the Japanese, taking no prisoners.

American Eagle: 1942, America's Best Comics #2, 6,7,10-12,14 (Better). Timid scientist Tom Standish is an assistant to Dr. Wolfe who has uncovered and corked a serum with the secret of an eagle's strength and bouancy. He leaves it to Tom to put away while he goes on an errand. Accidentally breaking the test-tube, Tom notices it imparted a strange light to a cathode. Putting the cathode in a projector, it emits a black light ray and makes Tom feel funny. He then discovers Wolfe is in the employ of the Nazis and they throw him off the mountain. Tom is surprised to find that he not only survived but is super-strong and can fly. In New York, he's saved from being run over by a super-strong boy named Bud Pierce who tosses the car to one side. The explanation for his strength is that Bud is the son of a carnival strong man. Tom puts together a costume to further pursue Dr. Wolfe and Bud helps out and so becomes his sidekick the Eaglet. The Eagle's costume was blue (sometimes purple) with red and white stripes. In his first appearance, his boots gloves and capes were reminiscent of Batman!American Eagle's longest run was in Exciting Comics: 22-47 except issues 28 & 39. It was here, starting with issue 22 in 1942 that Bud became the Eaglet. In his first adventure, the Eagle doesn't seem able to fly or is unaware of the ability until he puts on the costume making it unclear whether the flight is part of him or the costume.

Dexter Ames: 1940, Planet Comics #6 (Fiction House). Dexter Ames is captain of the space ship Discover. While his first appearance has him fighting Neptunian pirates, life takes a strange turn starting in his second appearance when he and his crew find themselves caught in a time-warp sending them to the distant past, first to fight the Mongol hordes of Attila the Hun and then cavemen in the third and last published adventure. If he will ever be seen again, only time will tell. Note: The three Ames stories were text stories in the comic. The accompanying artwork was sometimes recycled from other stories (such as in issue 7 used a panel of another character in a different story in issue 6).

Anzac Hawks: 1941, Rangers of Freedom #1 (Fiction House).. The Anzac Hawks are an English trio of young adults, Tommy and Betty Armitage (who live with their father who designs planes and such for the government), and Roy Blake living on a plantation on the north coast of Australia.Wishing to do their part for the War, they make use of autogyro outfitted with pontoons that the Armitages' father to search for and destroy German raiders and spies.

Arabian Knight: 1945, Treasure Comics #2 (Prize). In ancient Bagdad, the Arabian Knight is friend and confidant of Prince Haroun al Raschid. When the prince is betrayed and forced to flee, the Knight becomes the "Thief of Bagdad" to restore him. From there he has other adventures, drawn from the tales of "The Arabian Nights" such as it is he who finds a lamp with a djinn in it.

Ace Archer: 1940, Sky Blazers #1 (Hawley). Ace is is your typical freelance pilot hero. He's sidekicked by Bucko an organ-grinder's monkey who is naturally above average intelligence, understanding and obeying Ace's orders. In his two part adventure, he gets the job of transporting gold and runs afoul of indians working for a pilot of an invisible plane! The pilot is apparently the developer of an invisible paint, but his identity goes undiscovered as he's ultimately shot down and the plane crashes and burns.

Argus, Inc: 1945, Lucky 7 Comics #1 (Howard Publications). This private detective agency sets their sights a little more realistic than most with: “Have you a problem? Have you lost your ration-book? Have your gasoline coupons been stolen? Have you been victimized by blackmailers? Bring your problems to Nick Proust and Al Blemer who solve anything. Satisfaction guaranteed. Argus, Inc.”

Arizona Kid: 1937, The Comics #1 (Dell) The Arizona Kid is a typical free roaming cowboy hero taking on crooks and thieves of all types. He's good with guns in both hands.

Armstrong, Jack: Radio: 1933. Comics: 1947, Jack Armstrong Magazine #1 (Parents' Magazine Press). Jack Armstrong is the perfect all around athletic, mentally sound American lad. When he's not an athlete at Hudson High School, which seems often the case, he travels around the world with girlfriend Betty Fairfield, his best friend and her brother Billy, industrialist Uncle Jim Fairfield as well as criminologist and hero in his own right Vic Hardy. Their regular foe is Professor Proteus, a super-disguise artist and who sells his talents to any who will pay. In 1951, he finally graduates from high school and becomes a government agent on the radio show and it gets renamed "Armstrong of the SBI". Note: Same year as the comic, Jack made it into a movie serial.  He later made it into a Big Little Book. Supposedly, a shelved animated tv pilot got re-worked into Johnny Quest.

Bert Arnold: 1940, Sky Blazers #2 (Hawley). Bert Arnold is the payroll flyer for the Tampico Oil. Co. He's helped by Alvarez, his mechanic, and Mex, his faithful dog and in their one published adventure, he fights oil fires and hostile Indians. Just another day at the office.

Arrow: 1938, Funny Pages v2 #10 (Centaur). Ralph Payne puts on a costume and use his incredible archery skills to fight the bad guys when he feels he cannot do enough as a U.S. Intelligence agent. The Arrow is the first of comics' archery based mysterymen.

In the early stories, his identity is kept secret though he's wealthy enough to have a butler and lives in New York. His identity is figured out and known by Inspector Carter of the Chicago police.

Atom Wizard: 1947, X-Venture #1 (Victory Magazine). “Professor Winthrop Lane creates to his astonishment a new element–which as an explosive makes even plutonium obsolete. An atom so unstable that it requires no neutron to split it–but merely a jolt.” After he masters the power, he takes his son into his confidence. He sprays him with a formula that will make him proof to the radiation, but before he can spray himself and continue, crooks burst in. Professor Lane blows everything up by tossing a concentration of the atoms, and only his son survives the devastation, though even he is left a bit loopy afterwards. He then has to contend with some Nazis that want to use it to re-start and win the War.

What other powers he has if any are unrevealed. He doesn't wear the costume except for the first and last panels. Even his surviving the atomic explosions may be limited, requiring fresh coverings of the formula.

Avenger II: 1941, The Avenger (Street & Smith). On radio, the Avenger was changed substantially enough to constitute a new character. Scientist Jim Brandon comes up with two inventions: one allows him to pick up thought flashes and the other a capsule that grants him invisibility. He's helped by Fern Collier who knows his secret.