 The Nyctalope predated comic book superheroes like Superman and Batman by three decades, and is sometimes seen as an early superhero or "proto-superhero".In addition, the fact that he has both mechanical and organic body parts may make him the first cyborg character in fiction, prefiguring characters like Iron Man, who similarly has an artificial heart.The Nyctalope remained obscure for years after La Hire's death in 1956.