 The Sphinx was a Golden Age hero who was the creation of Better  Publishing; his real name was Ellsworth Forrester, and he first  appeared in EXCITING COMICS #2. Had Better Publishing still been in  existence at the time this movie came out, the filmmakers could have  been sued for plagiarism. As it is, due to the fact that Better went  out of business in the 1950s after World War II, the character is  now in the public domain.