Origin Story

In comic book terminology, an origin story is an account or back-story revealing how a character or team gained their superpowers and/or the circumstances under which they became superheroes.

In order to keep their characters current, comic book companies, as well as cartoon companies, game companies, children's show companies, and toy companies, frequently rewrite the origins of their oldest characters. This goes from adding details that do not contradict earlier facts to a totally new origin which make it seem that it is an altogether different character.

"Origin story" or pourquoi story is also a term used in the study of myths. It can refer to narratives of how the world began, how creatures and plants came into existence, and why certain things in the cosmos have certain qualities.

Notable examples

 * Batman - His parents murdered by one of the muggers, Bruce Wayne used his vast family fortune to become Batman and wage a one-man war on crime.
 * Spider-Man - Bitten by a radioactive spider, Peter Parker found himself bestowed with spider-based superpowers. He was motivated to fight crime by his uncle's death, which he blames on himself.
 * Superman - Born on the planet Krypton, infant Kal-El was sent to Earth before an explosion destroyed his home planet. His strong moral code motivated him to fight for justice.
 * Wonder Woman - Diana, the princess and appointed champion of the Amazon warrior women, who left her homeland to battle injustice in the world of men.
 * Iron Man - American industrialist Tony Stark was captured by Communist Vietnamese military and forced to build weapons for them. Instead, he built powered armor to escape. He then uses his armors, which is more improved that the first one that he used to escaped, to fight crime.
 * Fantastic Four - Four astronauts (Reed Richards, Sue and Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm) who were exposed to cosmic rays, which gave them superpowers.
 * The Flash - Barry Allen, a forensic scientist, was struck by lightning and bathed in electrically-charged chemicals, connecting him to the Speed Force and giving him super-speed.
 * Incredible Hulk - Dr. Bruce Banner, belted by gamma rays, now turns into the super-strong Hulk whenever he gets angry.
 * Green Lantern - Test pilot Hal Jordan receives a power ring from the dying alien police officer, Abin Sur, and becomes a member of the Green Lantern Corps.
 * Sabrina Spellman - Hilda and Zelda Spellman mixes magic potions and ingredients to create an evil, wicked witch. Unfortunately, they accidentally got a wrong potion as an extra ingredient and then Sabrina Spellman is born.
 * The Powerpuff Girls - Professor Utonium mixes the ingredients to create the perfect little girls using a mixture of sugar, spice, and everything nice. However, he accidentally spilled an extra ingredient called "Chemical X" into the mixture, creating, instead of the perfect little girl, Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup.
 * Judge Dredd - Awoken from his sleep with his clone Rico, Joseph Dredd witnesses nuclear war going on. They then split up. Rico becomes an evil-doer, Joseph becomes the toughest judge yet — Judge Dredd.
 * Astro Boy - A robot created to replace his creator's son, who was killed in a car accident in the anime and by a robot in the film, and was equipped with weapons that he uses to fight crime.
 * Atomic Betty - Born on the planet Bane of Fragnog, she began training with her martial arts master, Spindly Tam Kanushu. As she grew up, she came to the planet Earth.
 * Turbo Teen - Brett and his car were driving through a stormy mountain, and then a tree swerved them off the road into the path of Dr. Chase's experiment. He and his car are now one — Turbo Teen.
 * Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - When a boy was walking, carrying his four turtles in a bowl of water, a toxic slime truck stood in his way. All four turtles and the slime fell into the sewers by accident where they met Splinter the rat whom recently lost his master Yoshi at hands of Oroku Saki. During the same accident, one of the slime canister inside the truck also fell onto the sewer and cracks, releasing the mutagen within. As Splinter decided to raised the turtles, they were had physical contact with the mutagen and mutates into the anthropomorphic, humanoid version of themselves where they then came to fight an evil that invaded New York in the form of the Shredder, whom none other than Oroki Saki himself.
 * SuperTed - He was a discarded toy given life by Spotty and superpowers by Mother Nature.
 * Optimus Prime - In the cartoon, Optimus Prime, his Autobots, and the Decepticons, led by Megatron, are at war with each other until they crash landed on Earth in a 4-million-year-old sleep. That is until they scanned vehicles, weapons, and animals in order to become the Transformers we know. This includes Optimus Prime, whom scanned the truck his trademark vehicle form is now.
 * Power Rangers - They were five ordinary teenagers chosen by Zordon to become the world's colorful superpowered superteam, the Power Rangers. Upon Zordon demise, his apprentice Gosei became mastermind of the new Power Rangers team that would later carry the same duty that previous Power Rangers did.
 * Masked Rider - Dex was given powers by his grandfather, the king of Edenoi, and is sent to our world to protect it from the advancing evil of Count Dregon. Dex was raised by a family, and learns to live as a human. With his companion Ferbus by his side, Dex is ever vigilant, ready to call on his powers in order to become Masked Rider.
 * RoboCop - Originally, Officer Alex Murphy is killed in the line of duty and brought back to life as a crime-fighting cyborg called RoboCop; in the remade film, he is horrifically wounded and rebuilt as a cyborg.
 * Captain America - He became a super soldier thanks to a serum that enable him to fight against HYDRA led by Red Skull. Later, while taking on the Red Skull during World War II, Captain America fell into the sea, where he was frozen until the present day where his fight against evil continues.
 * Thor - Thor was banished from his home realm, Asgard, and ended up on Earth.
 * He-Man and She-Ra - They were brother and sister twins, separated due to their enemies Hordak and Skeletor. He-Man lived in Eternia, She-Ra lived in Etheria.
 * Xena - Xena was the chosen one to fight all that is evil, although she was separated from her parents during war.
 * Conan the Barbarian - Conan's family was killed in the films or turned to stone in the cartoon. He swears to destroy all evil within his land.
 * Daredevil - He was blinded by chemicals, and he devotes to fight crime as Daredevil, but he's normally Matt Murdock.
 * The Punisher - His family was killed by mobsters, and Frank Castle devotes to fight crime as the Punisher.
 * Harry Potter - He is a wizard and his parents were killed by Voldemort, who left him with a scar due to him destined as the great power that can destroyed Voldemort.
 * Wolverine - After he got bone claws upon the awakening of his mutant powers, his claws fused with adamantium, and he escapes the pool he was in, the very same pool which made his bones become adamantium.
 * Ghost Rider - He was a motorcycle stuntman whom possessed/bonded with a demon named Zarathos due to a deal that made with Mephisto to take on crime.
 * Machete - Machete was a man with an injured leg befriended by his priest brother.
 * Biker Mice From Mars - They came from Mars, their world that was enslaved by Plutarkians (1993) and Catatonians (2006), to our world. They consist of Modo, Vinnie, and their leader Throttle.
 * Captain Marvel - A boy named Billy shouts "Shazam!" to become Captain Marvel.
 * Strider Hiryu - A brave assassin sent by the Striders to kill Grandmaster Meio.
 * Mega Man - Mega Man was the second creation of Dr. Light/Dr. Wright after the failed Proto Man. Dr. Wily, a world dominator-to-be, wanted Mega Man dead or alive by turning Dr. Light's creations against the good doctor.
 * King Arthur - According to legend, when he was a boy, he pulled out a sword from a stone, thus becoming king.
 * Puss in Boots - He was an orphaned cat, who befriended Humpty Alexander Dumpty at an orphanage. They both stole different types of beans in the search of the magic beans. After some time, Puss gave up stealing things. But, Humpty, unable to steal without the cat's help, tricked him into a bank robbery. From then on, Puss became a fugitive from law, searching a way to clear his name.
 * Arrow - Oliver Queen was a billionaire playboy who was shipwrecked on an island in the middle of the Pacific. Five years later he returns home on a quest to save his city.
 * Godzilla - Godzilla was once a Godzillasaurus, a dinosaur who was later transformed into a giant monster by the nuclear explosion.