Givanildo Vieira de Souza, better known to the world (and even the Champions League's database) as The Hulk because of his resemblance to the comic-book character's alter ego, Bruce Banner, is not the only sportsman to have been given a superhero's nickname.

Camilo Villegas, the Colombian golfer who won the TOUR Championship last week and competed strongly at this year's Open, is known as Spider-Man because of the unusual way in which he lines up putts, stretched out flat just above the green with one leg straight behind him and the other cocked in at an angle, his arms spread. Carlo Cudicini, the Italy and Chelsea goalkeeper, was also given the nickname for the way he could reach balls. But can he fire webs from his wrists?

Iceman is a nickname generally given to those sportsmen who show calm unflappability. Mika Hakkinen and Kimi Raikkonen, the racing drivers, were both called Ice Man, but that may have also had something to do with coming from Finland. Stephen Hendry, the snooker world champion, and Dennis Bergkamp, the Arsenal and Holland forward, were also called Iceman, as was Alan Warriner, the darts player, who walks on to 'Cold as Ice' by Foreigner.

Mike Piazza and Robin Ventura, the hard-hitting catcher and third baseman for the New York Mets in the 1990s, were understandably given the name Batman and Robin.

Paula Creamer, the American golfer, is known as The Pink Panther because of the way she dresses.

Bryan Robson was dubbed Captain Marvel after guiding England to the quarter-finals of the 1986 World Cup. Claudio Reyna became known as Captain America for the rather more simplistic explanation that he captained the United States at football.

Naturally, if your surname is Gordon you are going to get the nickname Flash. This applied to Joe Gordon, the baseball player in the 1940s who won five World Series with the New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians. Dwayne Wade, who won an Olympic gold medal in basketball in Beijing this year, has the nickname Flash because, according to his team-mate Shaquille O'Neal "He's the greatest in the universe", while Jerry Rice, the San Francisco 49ers wide receiver, was called Flash simply because of his speed.

It is not just comic book heroes whose names are given to sportsmen. Hideki Matsui, the New York Yankees player, is known as Godzilla in part because of his Japanese background and in part because of his pockmarked face.

Some get their nickname because of their forename. Mario Andretti, the racing driver, was naturally called Super Mario. Dennis Wise is Dennis the Menace. Sticking with characters in The Beano, Jason Robinson, the former England rugby player, was called Billy Whizz because of his speed.

The Flintstones is also a source of sporting nicknames. Andrew Flintoff, the cricketer, because of his surname and build, has long been known as Freddie, while Raymond van Barneveld, the darts world champion, is known as Barney.

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