The Superhero Distribution Map

There's obviously something in the water in New York. Something that turns ordinary men and women into superheroes. I've been analyzing the Marvel Superhero Origins map trying to work out where superheroes are most likely to born. The answer is 'New York' - probably.

Exploring the map for the distribution of superhero births reveals that more superheroes are born in and around New York City than anywhere else on Earth. However the Marvel Superhero Origins map has not been normalized by population. I therefore wouldn't swear that the ratio of superheroes to non-superheroes is higher in New York than in less populated locations.

My analysis of where superheroes are most likely to be born is also complicated by the fact that some of the heroes on the Marvel Superhero Origins map weren't born superheroes. For example Spiderman is one of the superheroes mapped to New York. However we all know that Peter Parker wasn't born a superhero.


Some people will argue that it really doesn't matter where superheroes are born as long as they pledge their allegiance to the United States of America. In fact Marvel themselves have assigned one U.S. Avenger to every state.

The U.S.Avengers Map shows the Avenger superhero for every state. Each state includes a map label which shows the name of the local Avenger superhero. You can mouse-over these superhero labels to view a picture of the state's hero. The map itself was created with the super Mapbox Studio. It uses four different background images to create the comic half-tone type effect.