Is it a bird, is it a plane? No - it's a life-size, radio-controlled Superman.

The idea has taken the Man of Steel's powers to new heights in the US. Designer and engineer Otto Dieffenbach, from southern California, has created planes that look like famous comic book characters.

The robots, which are made out of very light styrofoam, can reach speeds of up to 30mph.

The planes are currently used for commercial promotions, and Mr. Dieffenbach and his business partner Ed Hanley said they were not planning to make the planes available to sell at the retail level because of the man hours it takes to construct them.

Mr Hanley said "We envision just about any character you can think of flying and add a dimension that's never been used before.

"There are banners and there's planes that fly pulling a big banner - but to actually see a character, a life-size character fly in the stadium or at an event, down the beach, wherever, is just brand new.

"No-one's ever seen that, it just blows everybody's mind."

Plane spotters could also catch a glimpse of Iron Man and Ms. Emerson, a flying lady who has wings, speeding across the skies.