Sony Online Entertainment is letting comic book lovers be first to try an online videogame that lets players invent superheroes that could go on to thrash even Superman.

"DC Universe Online" will premiere at a major US comic convention next week, creative director Christopher Cao told AFP on Wednesday at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles.

"I can't wait to have someone dressed as Batman playing as Batman," Cao said, referring to fanatic comic book fans.

"But this game is not just about being another person playing as Superman. It is about being equal to Superman."

Players will be able to play as any DC super characters or design a supernaturally powerful character of their own. They will then get to pursue paths of good or evil.

Each villain's journey is shaped by player choices and leads to showdowns with Superman or Batman.

A player opting to oppose Superman in a fictional Metropolis will fall in league with the superhero's notorious arch rival Lex Luthor.

"I wouldn't trust Lex as far as I can throw him," Cao warned.

Online multi-player aspects of the game will let friends play together in superhero teams.

There will be some constraints on superhero looks or skills based on copyrights and trademarks of established comic book characters.

"We want you to make something original to yourself," Cao said. "Not something that is a parody of something else."

After getting feedback from comic fans for whom the game is tailored, SOE will release it for limited "beta" testing online before making it available to the world.