Clark "Doc" Savage Jr. was one of the first superheroes to ram, shoot, and punch his way through American popular culture in the twentieth century. Beginning in 1933, he appeared in 181 "pulp" novels, several episodes of radio drama, and one movie.

Savage made his debut in the novel, The Man of Bronze (a reference to the hero's suntanned skin, acquired while fighting evil in all climates and all forms of weather), which also introduced the first issue of Doc Savage Magazine. This publication would feature a Doc Savage novel every month until 1949.

The 1930s saw the beginning of magazines that were known as "hero pulps," built around the adventures of one popular character. The first of the hero pulps featured the exploits of The Shadow (see entry under 1930s—Print Culture in volume 2), and it was the runaway success of this publication that inspired Henry W. Ralston...