Synthetic heroes and villains are (at least in part) deliberately constructed instead of being born organically, including those created by magic, blessings of gods and spirits, or scientific wonders.

There are countless potential methods of creating such a being, many of which involve significant effort with materials that cannot easily be replaced once used; some examples include the divinely-infused golems of Jewish traditions, partially-organic cybernetic beings, 'wetware' bioroids using organic materials as a base for a synthetic entity, and protoplasts that are endowed with life and organic processes by divinities acting on inert inorganic materials (or even ex nihilo).

Although protoplasts like Wonder Woman are not often recognized by the general public as being synthetic (while clones such as Lara Kent are falsely considered such), a notable example of synthetic heroes is the team of Metal Men. Created with 'responsometer' technology that interacts with base elements to grant synthetic life, they have a number of unique powers relating to their origins and materials. The heroines Guardian Venus and Azoth are two notable examples of responsometer-based synthetic heroes with distinct abilities, owing to their links to Senshi powers.