Summary:
Created by I. (Izzy) Klein in the spring of 1940, this character was originally designed as a fly. Paul Terry liked the concept, and green-lighted the project after changing the fly to a mouse called, "Supermouse."
After two years on the screen, the Supermouse name was changed to Mighty Mouse. Some reports are that the threat of a lawsuit from DC Comics was behind this name change. Others insist that Terry did not want to compete against a character of the same name that an ex-TerryToons employee drew for Coo Coo Comics.
In any case, in 1944, the character's name was changed, and the Supermouse cartoons were retitled to the new name, Mighty Mouse!