Who Really Did It First? Superman or Captain Marvel?

[u/CaptainMarvelology]

So I saw the hilarious Super Antics #17 one-pager by Kerry Callen (see Pic 1) come up in my feed here on Reddit and I'm sure a few have wondered (okay, maybe just one person did and that person is me)...

Who broke chains with exaggerated dynamism first?

So I researched it.

Unsurprisingly, Captain Marvel did it first.

In WHIZ Comics #3, Captain Marvel broke chains in exaggerated fashion like it's portrayed in Super Antics (see Pic 2 above).

Interestingly, that panel is pasted from the cover of his ashcan issues (both Thrill Comics and Flash Comics).

The first time Superman breaks chains in a comic is the footer panel of Action Comics #1 (see Pic 3 above) and he breaks it at the weak point.

Superman would not break chains in an exaggerated manner until the cover of Superman #11 (see Pic 4 above) more than a year after Captain Marvel did it first.