Superhero API (akabab)

aid: superheroes
name: Superhero API (akabab)
description: >-
  Open-source REST API exposing 731 superheroes and villains drawn from
  multiple comic universes (Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, Image, and more) under
  a single, unauthenticated JSON surface. The dataset is rebuilt from the
  original superheroapi.com source, cleaned up, and republished as static
  JSON files served from GitHub Pages and the jsDelivr CDN. Each character
  includes powerstats, appearance, biography, work, connections, and a
  multi-resolution image set.
url: https://akabab.github.io/superhero-api/api/
specificationVersion: '0.20'
created: '2026-05-28'
modified: '2026-05-29'
x-source: public-apis/public-apis
x-type: opensource
x-category: Games & Comics
x-tier: 3
x-tier-reason: bulk-registered-from-public-apis
tags:
  - Games And Comics
  - Superheroes
  - Comic Books
  - Open Source
  - Static API
  - GitHub Pages
  - Public APIs
apis:
  - name: Superhero API
    description: >-
      The Superhero API is a static JSON REST surface that returns a single
      consolidated dataset of 731 characters or per-character / per-property
      records. All responses are pre-built JSON files served from GitHub
      Pages (akabab.github.io) with a jsDelivr CDN mirror. Endpoints cover
      the full character record (/id/{id}.json) and individual property
      slices (powerstats, appearance, biography, work, connections), plus
      a bulk /all.json file containing every character. A separate image
      surface serves four sizes (xs, sm, md, lg) per character slug.
    humanURL: https://akabab.github.io/superhero-api/api/
    baseURL: https://akabab.github.io/superhero-api/api
    tags:
      - Games And Comics
      - Superheroes
    properties:
      - type: Documentation
        url: https://akabab.github.io/superhero-api/api/
      - type: SourceCode
        url: https://github.com/akabab/superhero-api
      - type: OpenAPI
        url: openapi/superheroes-openapi.yml
      - type: NaftikoCapability
        url: capabilities/superheroes-characters.yaml
      - type: NaftikoCapability
        url: capabilities/superheroes-powerstats.yaml
      - type: NaftikoCapability
        url: capabilities/superheroes-images.yaml
common:
  - type: Website
    url: https://akabab.github.io/superhero-api/api/
  - type: SourceCode
    url: https://github.com/akabab/superhero-api
  - type: GitHubOrganization
    url: https://github.com/akabab
  - type: License
    url: https://github.com/akabab/superhero-api/blob/master/LICENSE
    title: MIT License
  - type: CDN
    url: https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/akabab/[email protected]/api/
    title: jsDelivr CDN Mirror
  - type: OriginalSource
    url: https://superheroapi.com
    title: superheroapi.com (Original Source)
  - type: PublicAPIsListing
    url: https://github.com/public-apis/public-apis
  - type: SpectralRules
    url: rules/superheroes-rules.yml
  - type: Vocabulary
    url: vocabulary/superheroes-vocabulary.yml
  - type: JSONLD
    url: json-ld/superheroes-context.jsonld
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/superheroes-character-schema.json
    title: Character
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/superheroes-powerstats-schema.json
    title: Powerstats
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/superheroes-appearance-schema.json
    title: Appearance
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/superheroes-biography-schema.json
    title: Biography
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/superheroes-work-schema.json
    title: Work
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/superheroes-connections-schema.json
    title: Connections
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/superheroes-images-schema.json
    title: Images
  - type: JSONStructure
    url: json-structure/superheroes-character-structure.json
    title: Character
  - type: Example
    url: examples/superheroes-character-example.json
    title: Character Example
  - type: Example
    url: examples/superheroes-all-example.json
    title: All Characters Example
  - type: Example
    url: examples/superheroes-powerstats-example.json
    title: Powerstats Example
  - type: RateLimits
    url: rate-limits/superheroes-rate-limits.yml
  - type: Plans
    url: plans/superheroes-plans-pricing.yml
features:
  - name: Bulk Character Dataset
    description: >-
      The /all.json endpoint returns all 731 character records in a single
      response — ideal for clients that want to load and cache the dataset
      once and query it locally.
  - name: Per-Character Records
    description: >-
      The /id/{id}.json endpoint returns a complete record for a single
      character keyed by numeric id (1..731).
  - name: Per-Property Slices
    description: >-
      Property-specific endpoints (/powerstats, /appearance, /biography,
      /work, /connections) return just one sub-document, which lets
      bandwidth-sensitive clients fetch only what they need.
  - name: Multi-Resolution Images
    description: >-
      Each character has four image sizes — xs, sm, md, lg — keyed by the
      character slug (e.g. `1-a-bomb.jpg`), served as static JPGs from
      GitHub Pages and jsDelivr.
  - name: Powerstats Scoring
    description: >-
      Every character has a six-axis powerstats vector — intelligence,
      strength, speed, durability, power, combat — scored 0-100, suitable
      for ranking, filtering, and comparison.
  - name: Alignment Classification
    description: >-
      Each biography includes an alignment tag (good, bad, neutral) so
      clients can split the catalog into heroes, villains, and antiheroes.
  - name: Cross-Publisher Coverage
    description: >-
      The dataset spans Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Image
      Comics, Wildstorm, Star Trek, IDW, Sony Pictures, Universal Studios,
      and several other publishers — accessible via the biography.publisher
      field.
  - name: No Authentication
    description: >-
      All endpoints are unauthenticated GETs. No API key, OAuth, or
      account sign-up is required, in contrast with the upstream
      superheroapi.com which requires a free token.
  - name: CDN-Backed Static JSON
    description: >-
      Files are pre-built and served from GitHub Pages with a jsDelivr CDN
      mirror, so clients get edge-cached responses with no origin server
      to rate-limit them.
  - name: Open Source Dataset
    description: >-
      The full builder pipeline, sources, and images are MIT-licensed on
      GitHub, so the dataset can be forked, augmented, and redeployed.
useCases:
  - name: Frontend Tutorial Fixture
    description: >-
      Zero-friction REST API used in JavaScript / React / Vue tutorials
      to demonstrate fetch, list rendering, image loading, and detail
      pages without bringing up a backend.
  - name: Game and Battle Simulators
    description: >-
      The powerstats vector is widely used to build superhero battle
      simulators, top-trumps style card games, and ranking experiments.
  - name: Data Visualization Demos
    description: >-
      Cross-publisher, multi-axis powerstats data is a common dataset for
      D3, Observable, and Tableau tutorials showing radar charts,
      scatter plots, and comparative analytics.
  - name: Machine Learning Toy Dataset
    description: >-
      Small (731-row), well-structured, mixed-type dataset useful for
      teaching classification (alignment), regression (powerstats), and
      embedding (text fields like aliases and connections).
  - name: Chatbot and LLM Demos
    description: >-
      Used as a stable JSON corpus for retrieval-augmented chatbots and
      agent demos that answer "who is X?" or "compare X vs Y" questions.
  - name: Mobile App Sample Data
    description: >-
      iOS and Android tutorials use the character + image surface as a
      ready-made backend for list/detail UX patterns.
integrations:
  - name: GitHub Pages
    description: Origin host for the static JSON files and image assets.
  - name: jsDelivr CDN
    description: Public CDN mirror at cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/akabab/superhero-api for faster delivery.
  - name: superheroapi.com (Upstream)
    description: Original community dataset cleaned and republished by the akabab project.
solutions:
  - name: Public-APIs Catalog Entry
    description: Registered in the community-maintained public-apis directory under Games & Comics.
  - name: Free Tutorial Backend
    description: Frequently recommended as a no-key REST API for tutorial and bootcamp curricula.
maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: [email protected]