In chronological order . . . John Carter kind of serves as a prototype for super powered men. I mean, for modern fictional characters. Guys like Hercules and Beowulf obviously set a bit of a precedent here. Heroes like Zorro and The Shadow created the whole mysterious vigilante archetype. The Phantom is influential of the superhero aesthetic, from the tights to the mask. All of these characters pre-date Superman. That said though, the fascism angle does make a bit of sense as well. It was an argument that was brought up against comics many times, as I read in The Ten Cent Plague. I think maybe if enough people make that argument, there might be something there. Then again though, the people who were saying super heroes were embracing fascist ideals were trying to attack comics from any angle they could, so maybe their argument needs to be taken with a few grains of salt.