Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin, the real-life American Founding Father, statesman, and polymath, appears in comics as a historical figure — depicted across genres from classic Americana to modern superhero stories.

Few figures from American history have enjoyed as long and varied a comics life as Benjamin Franklin, who first graced the page in Ralph Briggs Fuller's Judge back in 1922 — a Platinum Age debut that makes him one of the medium's earliest historical guests. Over more than a century of publication, this Founding Father has turned up across an eclectic range of titles, from the classic Americana of The Saturday Evening Post and Four Color to the decidedly more chaotic pages of Deadpool, where he rubs elbows with the likes of Captain America, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Thomas Jefferson. Forty-six catalog appearances spanning 103 years is a testament to Franklin's enduring appeal — whether comics need gravitas, wit, or a touch of revolutionary spirit, they keep coming back to him.