Heh,
Captain Marvel (either male or female versions of the character) is not, and never has been Marvel's version of Superman. Not
really.
Those two guys, on the other hand?
The one on the left, the
Sentry, came out as a "
lost character" that was supposed to have been created decades ago by some unknown creators, as well (which was nothing but a mildly clever ruse, mind you). He was created by Paul Jenkins and Jae Lee and, later, Brian Bendis put him in his New Avengers. Was he successful? No, but he was a clear homage. This guy once tried to commit suicide by
flying directly into the sun and didn't even succeed at that. So...
Now, the one on the right... He's got a far more richer background.
Hyperion was created in the 60's, as a villainous version of Superman, part of a group called the "
Squadron Sinister" - which was full of copycats of other Justice Leaguers, as well. They battled the Avengers and the Defenders, across the multiverse and all that jazz. But the characters really sparkled when the "
good" versions appeared. There's a 12-issue miniseries that's pretty well-regarded to this day - when Mark Gruenwald (the writer) died, he was cremated, and his ashes were mixed with the ink used to print the first printing of the trade paperback compilation of the series. Talk about a love for the craft.
