History Main / OldSuperhero

* ''The Manly Bee'' stars a retired bee-themed superhero.

-->-- '''Dr. Manhattan,''' ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}''

* One issue of ComicBook/YoungJustice introduced "Old Justice", a team of down on their luck golden age sidekicks who were desperate not to be forgotten, and harbored a lot of resentment for the young heroes who they claimed lacked experience. They were led by Dan the Dyna-Mite and featured [[Franchise/GreenLantern Doiby Dickles]], Merry the Gimmick Girl, [[ComicBook/RedTornado Dinky Jibbet and Sisty Hunkel-Jibbert]] and [[ComicBook/{{Hourman}} Second Sweep]].

* Both the animated version of ''WesternAnimation/TheTick'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{Freakazoid}}'' visited superhero retirement homes.
** The Tick met Golden Age-type characters including Captain Decency (a Captain America type), The Visual Eye (who could shoot his eyes out of his head by shouting "Rockets from their sockets!"), Sufra-Jet (a play on 'suffragette', now an old lady in a jetpack), and The Living Doll ("I'm full of tinier men!"). Captain Decency had a few teenage sidekicks over the years, but they're all off on their own.
** ''The Tick'' also reversed the trope in an episode that featured "The Terror", a frail, partially senile 104-year-old supervillain (his first major crime was punching out [[UsefulNotes/TheodoreRoosevelt Teddy Roosevelt]] on the White House lawn) who comes out of retirement to conquer the world. His stable of minions include a multi-gendered alien, the Human Ton and Handy, a college student he believes to be Joseph Stalin (codename Stalingrad, since he graduated from a Stalin impersonation school) and the Man-Eating Cow. MEC was originally a hero, but [[ExecutiveMeddling the network]] forced the change.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheTick'': "Grandpa Wore Tights" features The Tick and Arthur teaming up with the surviving members of the Decency Squad (Captain Decency, Suffragette, [[MatryoshkaObject the Living Doll]], and [[EyeSpy Visual Eye]]) to stop elderly supervillain The Terror from recovering one of his old secret weapons, the Desire-O-Vac.

* Franchise/ArchieComics' character ComicBook/TheWeb was a Golden Age hero in the forties, then settled down and got married. In the sixties, the character was revived--twenty-odd years older, a bit out of shape, and with a wife [[HenpeckedHusband who wasn't exactly thrilled]] with his return to superheroics. (Though she did eventually give in and took on her own superhero identity.)

* ''Manga/OnePunchMan'' has "Silverfang" Bang, the third-ranked S-Class Hero who's also the oldest at ''81 years old''. He can still keep up with those youngsters around him with his SupernaturalMartialArts and is still tough enough to shrug off getting smashed through a building and only complain about back and hip pain.

* In ''Film/AntMan'', Dr. Hank Pym was an active superhero and SHIELD agent from the 1960s until his retirement in 1987, making him the second oldest superhero in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse -- and unlike [[Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger Captain America]], he took TheSlowPath to the present day. The film is about Pym, now too old to be the Ant-Man when he's needed, recruiting and training Scott Lang as his successor.

* ''Anime/GunXSword'' has the El Dora V, a CombiningMecha piloted by a FiveManBand (well, four- TheChick of the team is dead) of old guys who come out of retirement to protect their town. Their first opponent constantly complains that their methods are obsolete, but they manage to win in the end. The show takes the opportunity to homage all kinds of {{Super Robot|Genre}} shows from the '70s, '80s, and '90s, including Anime/CombattlerV and Anime/GaoGaiGar.

* ''ComicBook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns'' has an old superhero ''bar.'' The kicker is, the book is set in the future, so all the superheroes are (in the current continuity) young and active. It's also an old ''supervillain'' bar. And, this being a book about the badassery of Batman, if there's one thing that can spoil the mood, it's mentioning [[TheDreaded the Bat.]]

* Back when the eponymous hero of ''ComicBook/{{Nightwing}}'' still lived in Bludhaven, his downstairs neighbor was a hero from the World War II era, the Tarantula. Even having grown up with superheroes, Nightwing was still fascinated by the man.

* Rising Sun in Franchise/TheDCU, an over-the-hill hero out of Japan who spends most of his time nowadays criticizing the current super-generation, specifically the ComicBook/SuperYoungTeam. He's become a paunchy alcoholic, a pathetic imitation of the paragon he once was. He eventually gets [[spoiler:possessed by a Mr. Mind parasite and becomes the ultimate threat faced by the Super Young Team]].
* One ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' comic featured a retirement home for supervillains, who sat around still dressed in their costumes reminiscing about their GloryDays. Mention must also be made of ''ComicBook/SupermanAtEarthsEnd'', which features an aging, bearded Superman . . . who battles twin clones of Adolf Hitler with a [[MoreDakka MASSIVE]] [[SuperheroPackingHeat gun]]. It is not as interesting as it sounds.
* The Legionary, one of the Club of Heroes in ''Franchise/{{Batman}}: [[ComicBook/GrantMorrisonsBatman The Black Glove]]''. No older than the other heroes, but he has gotten fat and become a fame whore.

* Kal-L, the Superman of [[TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Earth Two]], retires to a pocket dimension with his wife Lois Lane at the end of ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths''. He returns in ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis'' having joined Alexander Luthor's scheme to restore the multiverse in an attempt to save Lois, who is dying of old age. When the modern Superman shows up to stop him, Kal-L is able to go toe-to-toe with him until Superboy-Prime shows up.

* One issue of ComicBook/YoungJustice introduced "Old Justice", a team of down on their luck golden age sidekicks who were desperate not to be forgotten, and harbored a lot of resentment for the young heroes who they claimed lacked experience. They were led by [[ComicBook/{{TNT}} Dan the Dyna-Mite]] and featured [[Franchise/GreenLantern Doiby Dickles]], Merry the Gimmick Girl, [[ComicBook/RedTornado Dinky Jibbet and Sisty Hunkel-Jibbert]] and [[ComicBook/{{Hourman}} Second Sweep]].

* In''Film/AvengersEndgame'':

* At the end of ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' [[spoiler:Captain America decides to stay in the past after putting the Infinity Stones back. He reconnects with the rest of the Avengers in modern day as an old man.]]

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPU8OAjjS4k The video]] for the song "Kryptonite" by Music/ThreeDoorsDown.

* ''Comicbook/{{Watchmen}}'' plays this trope straight. They do '''not''' mention... Adam West.

* At the end of ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' [[spoiler:Captain America decides to stay in the past after putting the Infinity Stones back. He reconnects with the rest of the Avengers in modern day as an old man.]]''

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'' had Captain Righteous and Lefty, who had split up quite some time ago over a relatively minor squabble. They only came back because the Mayor insisted they were the only ones who could defeat The Ministry Of Pain, their equally-ancient arch-nemeses, who the Girls only held back on because Blossom believed they should be "respectful to one's elders". The whole thing ultimately ends with a bunch of old men that need to be hospitalized, and the news programs blame the girls for not doing anything to stop it. To add insult to injury, the usual closing shot instead features Bubbles and Buttercup glaring angrily down at poor Blossom.

* At the end of ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' [[spoiler:Captain America decides to stay in the past after putting the Infinity Stones back. He reconnects with the rest of the Avengers in modern day as an old man.''

Often, in a show, they'll want to [[TheParody parody]] the 60s ''Franchise/{{Batman}}''-style {{superhero}}. However, if they do, the vast majority of the time it'll be a SuperHero who ''was'' active back then... but now is old, decrepit, and retired.

This character rarely shows up in actual SuperHero [[ComicBookTropes comics]]. Instead, ComicBookTime usually applies; heroes don't age unless the story calls for them to or unless they don't appear in a comic for a while. If one does age, they'll usually still able to hold their own, often having their powers or equipment make up the difference. The original (Jay Garrick) [[Franchise/TheFlash Flash]] and the (Alan Scott) Franchise/GreenLantern are major examples of this; they may be in their 90s but between their adventures that led to their physical ages being slowed and their powers, they are respected elders in the Franchise/TheDCU's superhero community. Others become still-active [[CoolOldGuy Cool Old Guys]], just look at the ''ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica''.

Prior to 2017, there was a significant chance that said character would be played by [[AdamWesting Adam West]], [[ActorAllusion in reference to]] his character on the 1960's ''Series/{{Batman}}'' series.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQPOtS1-PGw The commercial]] for the ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'' video game features the League of Superheroes. The commissioner rushes to their headquarters and tells them that the city is under attack, only to find that every member of the League of Superheroes is too elderly to do anything heroic. The announcer then says, "It's time for some new heroes.".

* ''ComicBook/TheDarkKnightReturns'' has an old superhero ''bar.'' The kicker is, the book is set in the future, so all the superheroes are (in the current continuity) young and active. It's also an old ''supervillain'' bar. And, this being a book about the badassery of Batman, if there's one thing that can spoil the mood, it's mentioning [[TheDreaded the Bat.]]

* ''ComicBook/KingdomCome''. Notable in that many of the old characters are still badass and everyone has changed their costumes.

** And then there's the story "Old Times", where the aged Supersonic is called out of retirement to deal with one last crisis. In the olden days, he'd come up with some clever way of taking down the seemingly-impossible enemy- probably a nonlethal way that gets it into somewhere safe to fight. Now, he just whales on it until it breaks, [[DestructiveSavior destroying six blocks of residential buildings]] in the process. Sounds quite a bit like the shift into gritty realism that normal comics have gone through...

* Played straight in ''ComicBook/KingdomCome''. Enough time has passed that Superman looks like he's in his 50s (greying about the temple, receeding hairline), while batman is downright ''elderly'' looking, and uses an exosuit to get around.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'': Mr. Incredible is not as old as most of the examples shown here, but fifteen years after his forced retirement he is noticeably out of shape, and is still holding on to his glory days, even doing superhero work in secret. The scene in which he gets back INTO shape is entertaining. When an ordinary middle-aged man gets in shape he goes to the gym. When a {{Nigh Invulnerab|ility}}le middle-aged man with superhuman strength gets in shape... he hits the railroad yard.
** The sequel ''WesternAnimation/Incredibles2'' features an elderly super named Reflux, who can spew lava from his mouth. He holds up his own during the last third of the movie.

* The Swedish Advent Calendar series ''Series/{{Superhjaltejul}}'' centres around retired superheroes Stålhenrik (Steel-Henrik) and Supersnällasilversara (Superkindsilversara), telling the story about their first adventure to their grandchildren Vega and Nova.
* In ''Series/TheFlash1990'', Paul Winfield played a retired judge who moonlighted as a vigilante named Nightshade in the late '50s. He came out of retirement to join the Flash in fighting one of his old enemies who had emerged from [[HumanPopsicle cryogenic sleep]]. He returned to help deal with a young upstart who had taken on his persona, but called himself Deadly Nightshade as he killed criminals, which is something the original Nightshade would never do.
** ''Series/TheFlash2014'' introduces DC's best known one, Jay Garrick, first as a younger man, but [[spoiler: he's actually the villainous Zoom posing as the real deal, who proves to be an alternate version of Barry's father, played by John Wesley Shipp, who played the 90's Barry.]]

** Ulshade's ''Series/PowerRangersDinoCharge'' counterpart, Albert Smith, is even older [[spoiler: and he also doesn't keep the powers, though not due to age - he'd actually fabricated a lot of his exploits and was in truth a local do-gooder, more about getting cats out of trees than fighting supervillains, who'd never faced actual monsters before until he got on the BigBad's radar. He chooses to pass the powers on when he learns the situation.]]

%%[[folder:Music Videos]]
%%%* The video for the song "Kryptonite" by Music/ThreeDoorsDown
%%%[[/folder]]

[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
* Almost entirely averted in most wrestling promotions. It doesn't matter how old or flabby Ric Flair, Terry Funk, or Jake "the Snake" Roberts gets. They'll still be portrayed as just as vital and strong as when they debuted.

* Pretty much one of the things that defines the ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica is the amount of Golden Age superheroes (appropriately aged) that comprise its roster. Even though they've had young heroes like Stargirl and Damage, the first thing that comes to mind when talking about the JSA are the veterans: [[Franchise/TheFlash Jay Garrick]], [[Franchise/GreenLantern Alan Scott]], [[ComicBook/DoctorFate Kent Nelson]], Ted Grant (Wildcat) and so on. In a subversion, though, they still display the same degree of physical preparation and badassitude from the time they were created. Out of all of them the most impressive has got to be the original ComicBook/RedTornado who was an old superhero [[UpToEleven in the 40's.]]

* ''ComicBook/AstroCity'' is rife with examples of this trope, as it establishes a long history of generational superheroes, and the series' avoidance of ComicBookTime means characters age as new stories are published. Some (e.g. The Confessor, The Hanged Man) are extraordinarily long-lived, but some have retired and still make appearances in various capacities (many of them at former hero [[GoodGuyBar K.O. Carson's bar, Bruisers]]). The oldest we know of was Coyotl, who was (presumably significantly) pre-Colonial Native American. The oldest that we know is still alive is Iron Horse, a steam-powered automaton who's been active in some form since the 1860s.