SUPERHEROES are a big deal. Not only have they captured the imagination of the public through comic books for more than 60 years, but Hollywood has turned them into some of the biggest movies of all time.They've also inspired songwriters from time to time. From Donovan to Weezer, Prince to The Ramones, the likes of Batman, Superman and dozens of other masked avengers have popped up in lyrics.So here's just five great songs that mention superheroes. Some of them aren't necessarily about superheroes, and there are stacks more songs, but these are some of the coolest ones. (PS. I should mention I'm actually wearing a Marvel Superheroes T-shirt while writing this column... or maybe I shouldn't.)That's Really Super, Supergirl - XTCXTC frontman Andy Partridge is a big comics fan, as evidenced by this wonderfully ironic song about dating the titular super-powered hero. "You're changing all the world's weather, but you couldn't put us back together," he laments, noting that she's often off saving some other man. It's not the band's only flirtation with caped crusaders. On Black Sea, they begged Sgt Rock to help them attract a mate, and under the guise of Dukes Of Stratosphear they sung a McCartney-esque ode of love to an imagined offspring of Superman nemesis Brainiac.Iron Man - Black SabbathNOT actually about the superhero alter-ego of Tony Starks, but that was only to avoid a lawsuit. Instead, bassist Geezer Butler penned the lyrics about a man who visits the future and witnesses the apocalypse, but upon returning to his own time to warn the people he is mocked and ignored. In a strange twist, the song and its classic metal riff were picked up for the opening credits of the first Iron Man movie, despite Geezer's original attempts to avoid the connection.Tony's Theme - The Pixies"THIS is a song about a superhero named Tony... it's called Tony's Theme," bass player Kim Deal announces at the start of this raw punk track from The Pixies' landmark Surfer Rosa album. It's not about a real superhero, but a kid who rides his bike around town wishing he was a superhero. One of his superpowers is that he can look at the sun (so long as he's wearing sunglasses) and he'll be out there on the road doing good... as soon as he's finished mowing the lawn for his dad.Magneto & Titanium Man - WingsPAUL McCartney manages to squeeze two Iron Man villains - Titanium Man and Crimson Dynamo - and the X-Men baddie Magneto into this jaunty tale about them combining their powers to pull off a bank job, only to get foiled by the narrator's girlfriend. It's one of the stranger McCartney songs (which is saying something) and it's even weirder seeing clips of the band playing it live in front of a big picture of Magneto.Waiting For A Superman - The Flaming LipsFROM their wonderfully metaphysical opus The Soft Bulletin, comes this song about, well... life. "Tell everybody waiting for Superman that they should try to hold on the best they can," Wayne Coyne intones wisely, before adding that some things are just too heavy to deal with, even for Superman. The superhero is in us all, he seems to be saying, if you can just hold on for long enough. An indie favourite, this tune has been covered (badly) by Coldplay and (excellently) by Iron & Wine.