Iconic Horse Characters Within the World of Comics

Since the early days of comic books, horses have played a role across many titles. Some have been the central characters, while others have been faithful companions, blending into the background, but saving the day when their skills are required.

DC Comics, Marvel and other significant publishing houses have all featured horses at some stage, but which characters have been the best?

An Equine Obsession

Our passion for horses dates back to ancient times. Over centuries, they’ve been seen as essential working partners, or as means of transport. Since the 1600s, horse racing has become one of the world’s most popular sports, leading to associated pastimes such as horse betting.

Humans have always felt an affinity with these incredible creatures, so it’s no great surprise that they feature heavily in the world of fiction. Hollywood has even come calling with roles for horses on TV and in movies, while comic books have also joined in with our equine obsession.

Supergirl’s Steed

It’s a little known fact outside of the dedicated comic book fraternity that the Superman series once featured a horse. Comet was the name, and he was a faithful and reliable companion of Supergirl.

Comet was once a Centaur that was transformed into a horse by accident. Although he may have appeared to be a regular animal, Comet retained many of his superpowers, including flight, telepathy, telekinesis and incredible levels of strength. He may only be remembered by hardcore fans, but Comet featured in an incredible 162 editions of the Superman comics.

The Lone Ranger’s Trusted Mount

While the Lone Ranger originally began as a radio show that was subsequently turned into a hit TV series, the fascination that built around the character made him a perfect fit for a comic book run. Along with his Native American friend Tonto, the main character fights wrongs out in the wild west.

Like every fictional star within their surroundings, our duo needed horses to get around. Famously, the Lone Ranger’s mount was the striking Silver, while Tonto’s steed was a pinto horse named Scout.

The horses were an essential part of the series, even though they lacked the super powers of some of their comic compatriots. In a TV show filmed with real characters, it was difficult to portray anything beyond basic horsemanship, but comics allowed creators to take the Lone Ranger franchise to greater levels.

Over the years, there has been a huge range of Lone Ranger comics from various publishing houses. Each is a little different, but most continue to feature Silver and Scout as essential characters.

Kofi: A Mix of Elements

Until now, each of our horse heroes has been a foil or an assistant to the main characters. Kofi is among a smaller number of creatures that take center stage in a starring role.

Kofi is a curious mix of features. He is part human and part alien, but there are distinct, horse-like features that see him as a clear equine character. Kofi belongs to the Kymellian race and he is the heir to their throne. He has powers that many of his community do not possess, and he is therefore considered as something of a mutant.

He made his debut in a Marvel annual, and continues to feature in different releases from this iconic publisher.

The Ultimate Champion

Similarly to the Lone Ranger series, Champion the Wonder Horse only received a comic book addition in his later career. He’s worth including here, as he is the central star, not just a foil to those who happen to be riding him.

Champion first appeared in no fewer than 79 films and 91 TV shows between 1935 and 1955. He was initially the companion of Gene Autry, before going on to star as the central character in his own series. Champion had no defined superpowers but, like other TV animals such as Lassie and Skippy the kangaroo, he had a kind of sixth sense for identifying those in trouble.

Champion the Wonder Horse enjoyed a comic book series to back up his huge popularity in the 1950s.

Making Strides

One of the more curious comic book horses was Stridor. A feature of the Masters of the Universe franchise, this was a mechanical creature who belonged to Fisto. Also known as Malcolm, Fisto is a mighty warrior and, as his name suggests, he is adept at hand-to-hand combat.

His horse appears infrequently, but Stridor’s strange mechanical appearance has made him something of an icon within the comic world.

Our ancient association with horses continues to manifest in popular culture, and that’s one of the reasons why many of these creatures have starred in comic book series. They resonate with humans and many of us can identify with them when they are portrayed as fictional characters.

These are some of the most well-known, but there are many more lurking between the pages, just waiting to be discovered.