My 10 Greatest Super-Heroes of All Time
Nov. 14th, 2007 03:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thatcrazycajunFollowing on the "10 Scariest Super-Villains" list I linked to last month, and apropos of the announcement this week by Marvel Comics of its archives going free online (see previous post here), I thought I'd write my own list of the ten greatest super-heroes in comic-book history. In order of importance:
10. Spider-Man
Until 15-year-old Peter Benjamin Parker got bitten by that irradiated spider, teenagers' role in comics had been pretty much confined to being part of adult heroes' supporting cast (aside from teams like DC's Legion of Super Heroes and Teen Titans, which had come around not long earlier; see below). And until his agonizing over the death of his Uncle Ben at the hands of a petty crook Peter could have stopped but chose not to, superheroes had been relatively free of angst and flaws...and thereby, of complexity. Writer/editor Stan "The Man" Lee and artist Steve Ditko changed all that with their greatest creation: a kid who could walk on walls and ceilings, swing between skyscrapers and lift incredible masses with the proportionate strength of a spider...and who could stand toe-to-toe with older, more powerful heroes like the Fantastic Four and the Avengers, and more than hold his own. Even in the recent Marvel linewide crossover Civil War, as heroes were pitted against their loved ones, each other and their own government by Congressional legislation demanding federal registration of superheroes, Peter led by example, outing himself as Spider-Man not only to the feds, but to the whole world on national television...with the blessing of his beloved Aunt May and wife Mary-Jane. Only Captain America has more moral authority in the Marvel Universe than Spidey...and now that Marvel's had the colossally bad judgment to kill off Cap after over half a century (see below), only Spidey is left to carry the banner.
9. The original X-Men
Stan Lee's second-greatest creation, this time with legendary brush-slinger Jack "King" Kirby. Yeah, sure, I know lots of people think the second team—Storm, Colossus, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Shadowcat et al.—was way cooler. But Scott Summers, Jean Grey, Henry "Hank" McCoy, Robert "Bobby" Drake and Warren Worthington III (AKA Cyclops, Marvel Girl, the Beast, Iceman and Angel, respectively) were there first...and along with helping Spidey and the Fantastic Four introduce the whole "heroes with problems" thing, brought the topics of bigotry and social conformity to comics audiences for the first time. These five original students of Prof. Charles Xavier took the standard teenage "what am I turning into?" angst and kicked it up at least a couple of notches with the addition of highly dangerous super-powers they only barely knew how to use, let alone control. They also took not only his lessons, but his dream—of a world where humans and mutants could live side by side in peace—to heart, and quite literally fought to make it reality, not only against a passel of "evil" mutants like Sabretooth and Magneto, but also, all too often, against a non-super-powered populace that, often as not, hated and feared them simply for existing. With these modern-day parables, the ever-growing family of X-books not only gave us some kick-ass entertainment, they actually performed a public service.
8. Captain America
As mentioned above, Steven "Steve" Rogers is, in the Marvel Comics Universe (both of them, actually; original and Ultimate), an analogue to Superman in that he is the MCU's moral center, the leader all the others look to for direction and inspiration. Also, he holds the distinction of being Marvel's oldest superhero, in that not only he himself but his comic book were both around during World War II. (Like the now-DC-based Marvel Family, he was stuck in suspended animation for a couple decades to explain his going missing after the war—in his case, a convenient iceberg.) He was the first major-company superhero to team up with an African-American character on an ongoing basis (Sam Jones, AKA the Falcon) and even share cover-title billing with him. During the Watergate era, he pursued an even worse government conspiracy all the way to the Oval Office...and came to question whether loyalty to flag and country should be the same as loyalty to the people who run it. And in Civil War, where everyone might have expected the living symbol of America to toe the pro-registration government line, Cap instead led the underground superhero/mutant resistance. Yet after all this, Marvel's bosses were stupid and/or greedy enough to kill him off, in the dénouement to the year-long event! Of course, death being as notoriously impermanent a condition as it is in comics, one can still hope for his resurrection. For the sake of the MCU and the company's bottom line, they better friggin' well make sure it happens...and do it PDQ.
7. Plexus Ranger Reuben Flagg
From the 1980s First Comics series American Flagg!, written and (mostly) drawn by Howard Chaykin. Alan Moore, Frank Miller and all the rest of their ilk who came after owe their careers to this character, his creator and his book. Of all those writers and artists of the era attempting to infuse mainstream comics with noir sensibility and earthy sexuality, Howie was the first and best. But it wasn't all sci-fi gadgets, chop-socky action and bimbos in garters, hose and heels; biting satire and commentary on very real issues—racism, sexism, religious fanaticism, sociocultural decay—lurked under all the future tech, sex and violence. And all this in a comic featuring the first openly Jewish main character. Reuben knows full well he's being shoved around by people and forces beyond his sight or control...and he just plain doesn't give a flying fuck. He's gonna bring law and order back and the bad guys down, no matter what it takes—even when the most heinous bad guys of all are his own military and government leaders, which they usually are.
6. The Incredible Hulk
Melding the timeless Mary Shelley-crafted legend of Frankenstein's monster with 1960s fears about the dawning Nuclear Age (not to mention a hefty dose of another classic-lit big-bad, Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde), Robert Bruce Banner, MD, PhD is comicdom's most tragic superhero. Cursed by a bath in gamma radiation with a monstrous alternate personality several times his size and strength, driven by rage and fueled by ferocity, he embodies the near-universal desire in us to "Hulk out" and deal death and destruction to all the forces set against us in our own lives. For sheer, unstoppable physical power, no one else in comics but Superman comes close (and they even proved it by fighting each other to a draw a few years back, thanks to the company-crossing DC Versus Marvel team-up series and a readers' poll that chose which of the two firms' heroes should be matched up therein). The Hulk is the one superhero you literally do not want to piss off, ever...because the madder he gets, the stronger he gets—and the closer you get to hearing the two words nobody ever wants to hear from him: "HULK SMASH!!" (And they may well be the last words you ever hear in this life!) His own government wants him dead or at least captured, the superhero community at best barely tolerates him except when they need his occasional assistance (they even exiled him into space as a result of his uncontrollable power, setting up the recent "World War Hulk" storyline when he finally came back to Earth looking for some serious payback)...and the one woman he loves, he cannot have, at least as much out of fear of what his hulking alter-ego might do to her as because she happens to be the daughter of his most implacable enemy, Gen. Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross. How can you not feel for the guy? The 1970s TV series featuring the late Bill Bixby as Banner and Lou Ferrigno as the Hulk only cemented his status as an iconic hero of comics' Silver Age...and thanks in large part to the writing of Peter David in his main title a few years back, he retains that status even today. "You wouldn't like me when I'm angry...!" (David, in a side note, has just taken over writing the main book of Bruce's cousin Jennifer Walters, AKA The She-Hulk. Look the %$#@! out.)
5. The Legion of Super-Heroes
Cosmic Boy. Brainiac 5. Saturn Girl. Ultra Boy. Shrinking Violet. Lightning Lad (or Live Wire, depending on the era). Matter-Eater Lad (as![[info]](https://stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
billroper sings in "Brain Sludge," the strangest one of all). Chameleon Boy. A whole army of super-heroes living in the distant future and traveling to strange new worlds. And all led by Superboy himself, whose legend had inspired them (and more recently, by Supergirl). What's not to love? They were only supposed to be a one-shot set of guest stars, supporting characters in the Boy of Steel's book...and became so much more. Along with the original Teen Titans, they helped reclaim the spotlight for teen heroes whose role in comics up to then had only been as sidekicks to the grown-up heroes. From their 1960s debut to Mike Grell and Dave Cockrum's legendary run on the book in the 1970s to their most recent revamp (how many is that now? three? four?), they've become an integral part of the panorama of DC Universe history. And so far, their new cartoon series on The CW has only added to their luster.
4. The Fantastic Four
Mr. Fantastic, with his seemingly infinite physical flexibility and even more impressive scientific genius. The Invisible Girl (later "Woman"). The second Human Torch (the first had been an android hero of the 1940s in a title by Timely Comics, Marvel's predecessor firm). And the ever-lovin' blue-eyed Thing, self-proclaimed idol of millions. But underneath the fancy code names and incredible powers, they were (and are) Reed Richards, Susan Storm Richards, Johnny Storm and Benjamin Grimm—human beings with flaws, problems and mistakes in their backgrounds. This, even without the powers and all the rest of it, set them apart from the run of the 1960s mill for super-heroes when they made their cosmic-radiation-bathed debut. They were in the vanguard, along with Spider-Man and the X-Men (as mentioned above) of Marvel's effort to present heroes who weren't unrealistic, passé paragons of virtue with unbeatable abilities. And this has continued even to the present day, with Reed and Sue finding their marriage strained and Reed having to live with the literally world-shaking consequences (one of which was World War Hulk) of his membership in the secret cabal of superhero leaders called the Illuminati.
3. Wonder Woman
The strength of Heracles/Hercules, the speed of Hermes/Mercury, the beauty of Aphrodite/Venus and the wisdom of Athena/Minerva. That figure-hugging, much-displaying star-spangled costume. That magical golden lasso (as Green Arrow puts it, "the only lie detector in the world designed by Zeus"). The invisible jet plane. And beyond these, the nearly seven decades of history. The sublime irony of a woman from a race of legendary warriors being sent out into the world on a mission to spread peace. The message of female empowerment that always came through, even past the bizarre bondage trappings her creator Bill Marston (inventor of the real-life lie detector) threw in. Batgirl, Buffy, Xena and all the rest of the butt-kicking super-sorority could never have existed without Princess Diana of Themyscira (AKA Paradise Island). She, like Superman for the guys, was and is the template for all of DC's most bodacious super-babes, from Liberty Belle to the Birds of Prey...and with Superman and the Batman, forms the DC Universe's heroic trinity (even to the point of their headlining a miniseries by that title recently, reimagining their first meeting). Her portrayal in two 1970s TV shows by the still-luminous Lynda Carter iconized her for new generations, just as Hulk's show did him...and the recent Infinite Crisis tie-in storyline, where she had to snap the neck of deranged telepath/spymaster Max Lord to keep him from mind-controlling the Man of Steel into an unstoppable engine of destruction, only made her more believable: an all-too-human woman, ageless body and godlike powers or no, forced to make a very hard, very human choice. And as the most powerful non-Kryptonian woman in the DCU, she's the best choice to be the best friend and confidante of its most powerful non-magical hero.
2. The Batman
If Superman was first in 1938, he was second less than a year later. Where Clark Kent/Kal-El strives in the sunlight to stop the big, cosmic threats, Bruce Thomas Wayne lurks in the shadows to catch the smaller ones that slip like cockroaches through the cracks. He is a man driven to action (and just possibly psychosis) by the ultimate in personal tragedy: the cold-blooded, gruesome murder of both his parents, right before his terrified eight-year-old eyes, by a mugger's gun. But where others might have turned such trauma into suicide or destruction, he made his into a mission to make sure no other little boy or girl would have their childhood ripped from them so. As Supes points out in the landmark Elseworlds series Kingdom Come, "When you strip everything else away from Batman, what you're left with is a man who doesn't want to see anybody else die." For all his dark, brooding intensity and his sometimes ruthless treatment of criminals, at rock bottom is still that wish...which makes him every bit as noble, in his own warped way, as his pal from Krypton (and serves as the glue for their uneasy friendship). Since Neal Adams, Jim Aparo and company rescued him in the 1970s from the silly campiness that had encrusted on his mythos in the two decades prior, the Caped Crusader of Gotham City has reclaimed his rightful place as the scariest "good guy" in the DC Universe. Even Lex Luthor isn't in his league when it comes to smarts, as he proved in the final flameout of Lex's ill-fated stint as President of the US. And even Gotham PD commissioner Jim Gordon—a cop's cop who emphatically does not believe that unlicensed civilians, costumes and powers or no, have any place in criminal investigations—finally came around to believing in and trusting the Bat...and Jim's daughter Barbara ended up joining the Dark Knight's crusade as the first Batgirl. Bats and Supes are two sides of the same coin, as even Two-Face would tell you; and the 12-month weekly maxi-series 52, depicting the year of their absence following Infinite Crisis, only proved how badly the DC Universe truly needs them both.
And at the very tippy-top of the list, the greatest superhero of all time (drum roll, please)...
1. Superman
C'mon, you didn't really think any other hero could hold down this spot—or deserve it more—did you? It's not just that he was the first costumed superhero, like, ever—the prototype for all those who donned domino masks and spandex tights and followed him. It isn't even that he's the most powerful, though he certainly is (and even that's only true if you don't count the Marvel Family, whose magic-based powers make them the only heroes able to hurt him). It's not even that he's come back from death itself. It's that he is, quite simply, the best—not just in terms of skill and experience, but also in terms of character and nobility. He's the one all the rest of the DC Universe's heroes look to, just as Marvel's do to Captain America (see above), for inspiration, hope and moral guidance. Even Earth-3's Alexander Luthor, as wrongly distorted as his character was made in Infinite Crisis, still recognized this: "In some way I don't understand, and probably never will...everything comes from Superman." And this capacity to inspire and hearten may well be his single greatest super-power, more than the heat vision or invulnerability or planet-tossing super-strength. Elliot S! Maggin, one of the best of Superman's 1970s writers, summed up the Man of Steel's governing precept this way: "There is a right and a wrong in the universe, and the distinction between the two is not that difficult to make." Simplistic as it may sound today, Clark Joseph Kent learned that, along with much else, from his foster parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent...and continues to live it every day, over seven decades after his creation. Whatever the peril, whoever is involved, whatever changes are rung on his origins, his history, his powers and/or his costume (remember Superman Red and Superman Blue?), when the Last Son of Krypton flies into action, you know beyond any shadow of a doubt that he will always—always—strive to do the right thing...for no other reason than because it is right. Even when he isn't any more certain than the rest of us ordinary mortals—who can't change the course of mighty rivers or bend steel in our bare hands—just what the right thing to do might be...which happens far more often (at least in his current stories) than you might think.
Arguments? Nominations? Bring it.
10. Spider-Man
Until 15-year-old Peter Benjamin Parker got bitten by that irradiated spider, teenagers' role in comics had been pretty much confined to being part of adult heroes' supporting cast (aside from teams like DC's Legion of Super Heroes and Teen Titans, which had come around not long earlier; see below). And until his agonizing over the death of his Uncle Ben at the hands of a petty crook Peter could have stopped but chose not to, superheroes had been relatively free of angst and flaws...and thereby, of complexity. Writer/editor Stan "The Man" Lee and artist Steve Ditko changed all that with their greatest creation: a kid who could walk on walls and ceilings, swing between skyscrapers and lift incredible masses with the proportionate strength of a spider...and who could stand toe-to-toe with older, more powerful heroes like the Fantastic Four and the Avengers, and more than hold his own. Even in the recent Marvel linewide crossover Civil War, as heroes were pitted against their loved ones, each other and their own government by Congressional legislation demanding federal registration of superheroes, Peter led by example, outing himself as Spider-Man not only to the feds, but to the whole world on national television...with the blessing of his beloved Aunt May and wife Mary-Jane. Only Captain America has more moral authority in the Marvel Universe than Spidey...and now that Marvel's had the colossally bad judgment to kill off Cap after over half a century (see below), only Spidey is left to carry the banner.
9. The original X-Men
Stan Lee's second-greatest creation, this time with legendary brush-slinger Jack "King" Kirby. Yeah, sure, I know lots of people think the second team—Storm, Colossus, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Shadowcat et al.—was way cooler. But Scott Summers, Jean Grey, Henry "Hank" McCoy, Robert "Bobby" Drake and Warren Worthington III (AKA Cyclops, Marvel Girl, the Beast, Iceman and Angel, respectively) were there first...and along with helping Spidey and the Fantastic Four introduce the whole "heroes with problems" thing, brought the topics of bigotry and social conformity to comics audiences for the first time. These five original students of Prof. Charles Xavier took the standard teenage "what am I turning into?" angst and kicked it up at least a couple of notches with the addition of highly dangerous super-powers they only barely knew how to use, let alone control. They also took not only his lessons, but his dream—of a world where humans and mutants could live side by side in peace—to heart, and quite literally fought to make it reality, not only against a passel of "evil" mutants like Sabretooth and Magneto, but also, all too often, against a non-super-powered populace that, often as not, hated and feared them simply for existing. With these modern-day parables, the ever-growing family of X-books not only gave us some kick-ass entertainment, they actually performed a public service.
8. Captain America
As mentioned above, Steven "Steve" Rogers is, in the Marvel Comics Universe (both of them, actually; original and Ultimate), an analogue to Superman in that he is the MCU's moral center, the leader all the others look to for direction and inspiration. Also, he holds the distinction of being Marvel's oldest superhero, in that not only he himself but his comic book were both around during World War II. (Like the now-DC-based Marvel Family, he was stuck in suspended animation for a couple decades to explain his going missing after the war—in his case, a convenient iceberg.) He was the first major-company superhero to team up with an African-American character on an ongoing basis (Sam Jones, AKA the Falcon) and even share cover-title billing with him. During the Watergate era, he pursued an even worse government conspiracy all the way to the Oval Office...and came to question whether loyalty to flag and country should be the same as loyalty to the people who run it. And in Civil War, where everyone might have expected the living symbol of America to toe the pro-registration government line, Cap instead led the underground superhero/mutant resistance. Yet after all this, Marvel's bosses were stupid and/or greedy enough to kill him off, in the dénouement to the year-long event! Of course, death being as notoriously impermanent a condition as it is in comics, one can still hope for his resurrection. For the sake of the MCU and the company's bottom line, they better friggin' well make sure it happens...and do it PDQ.
7. Plexus Ranger Reuben Flagg
From the 1980s First Comics series American Flagg!, written and (mostly) drawn by Howard Chaykin. Alan Moore, Frank Miller and all the rest of their ilk who came after owe their careers to this character, his creator and his book. Of all those writers and artists of the era attempting to infuse mainstream comics with noir sensibility and earthy sexuality, Howie was the first and best. But it wasn't all sci-fi gadgets, chop-socky action and bimbos in garters, hose and heels; biting satire and commentary on very real issues—racism, sexism, religious fanaticism, sociocultural decay—lurked under all the future tech, sex and violence. And all this in a comic featuring the first openly Jewish main character. Reuben knows full well he's being shoved around by people and forces beyond his sight or control...and he just plain doesn't give a flying fuck. He's gonna bring law and order back and the bad guys down, no matter what it takes—even when the most heinous bad guys of all are his own military and government leaders, which they usually are.
6. The Incredible Hulk
Melding the timeless Mary Shelley-crafted legend of Frankenstein's monster with 1960s fears about the dawning Nuclear Age (not to mention a hefty dose of another classic-lit big-bad, Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde), Robert Bruce Banner, MD, PhD is comicdom's most tragic superhero. Cursed by a bath in gamma radiation with a monstrous alternate personality several times his size and strength, driven by rage and fueled by ferocity, he embodies the near-universal desire in us to "Hulk out" and deal death and destruction to all the forces set against us in our own lives. For sheer, unstoppable physical power, no one else in comics but Superman comes close (and they even proved it by fighting each other to a draw a few years back, thanks to the company-crossing DC Versus Marvel team-up series and a readers' poll that chose which of the two firms' heroes should be matched up therein). The Hulk is the one superhero you literally do not want to piss off, ever...because the madder he gets, the stronger he gets—and the closer you get to hearing the two words nobody ever wants to hear from him: "HULK SMASH!!" (And they may well be the last words you ever hear in this life!) His own government wants him dead or at least captured, the superhero community at best barely tolerates him except when they need his occasional assistance (they even exiled him into space as a result of his uncontrollable power, setting up the recent "World War Hulk" storyline when he finally came back to Earth looking for some serious payback)...and the one woman he loves, he cannot have, at least as much out of fear of what his hulking alter-ego might do to her as because she happens to be the daughter of his most implacable enemy, Gen. Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross. How can you not feel for the guy? The 1970s TV series featuring the late Bill Bixby as Banner and Lou Ferrigno as the Hulk only cemented his status as an iconic hero of comics' Silver Age...and thanks in large part to the writing of Peter David in his main title a few years back, he retains that status even today. "You wouldn't like me when I'm angry...!" (David, in a side note, has just taken over writing the main book of Bruce's cousin Jennifer Walters, AKA The She-Hulk. Look the %$#@! out.)
5. The Legion of Super-Heroes
Cosmic Boy. Brainiac 5. Saturn Girl. Ultra Boy. Shrinking Violet. Lightning Lad (or Live Wire, depending on the era). Matter-Eater Lad (as
billroper sings in "Brain Sludge," the strangest one of all). Chameleon Boy. A whole army of super-heroes living in the distant future and traveling to strange new worlds. And all led by Superboy himself, whose legend had inspired them (and more recently, by Supergirl). What's not to love? They were only supposed to be a one-shot set of guest stars, supporting characters in the Boy of Steel's book...and became so much more. Along with the original Teen Titans, they helped reclaim the spotlight for teen heroes whose role in comics up to then had only been as sidekicks to the grown-up heroes. From their 1960s debut to Mike Grell and Dave Cockrum's legendary run on the book in the 1970s to their most recent revamp (how many is that now? three? four?), they've become an integral part of the panorama of DC Universe history. And so far, their new cartoon series on The CW has only added to their luster.4. The Fantastic Four
Mr. Fantastic, with his seemingly infinite physical flexibility and even more impressive scientific genius. The Invisible Girl (later "Woman"). The second Human Torch (the first had been an android hero of the 1940s in a title by Timely Comics, Marvel's predecessor firm). And the ever-lovin' blue-eyed Thing, self-proclaimed idol of millions. But underneath the fancy code names and incredible powers, they were (and are) Reed Richards, Susan Storm Richards, Johnny Storm and Benjamin Grimm—human beings with flaws, problems and mistakes in their backgrounds. This, even without the powers and all the rest of it, set them apart from the run of the 1960s mill for super-heroes when they made their cosmic-radiation-bathed debut. They were in the vanguard, along with Spider-Man and the X-Men (as mentioned above) of Marvel's effort to present heroes who weren't unrealistic, passé paragons of virtue with unbeatable abilities. And this has continued even to the present day, with Reed and Sue finding their marriage strained and Reed having to live with the literally world-shaking consequences (one of which was World War Hulk) of his membership in the secret cabal of superhero leaders called the Illuminati.
3. Wonder Woman
The strength of Heracles/Hercules, the speed of Hermes/Mercury, the beauty of Aphrodite/Venus and the wisdom of Athena/Minerva. That figure-hugging, much-displaying star-spangled costume. That magical golden lasso (as Green Arrow puts it, "the only lie detector in the world designed by Zeus"). The invisible jet plane. And beyond these, the nearly seven decades of history. The sublime irony of a woman from a race of legendary warriors being sent out into the world on a mission to spread peace. The message of female empowerment that always came through, even past the bizarre bondage trappings her creator Bill Marston (inventor of the real-life lie detector) threw in. Batgirl, Buffy, Xena and all the rest of the butt-kicking super-sorority could never have existed without Princess Diana of Themyscira (AKA Paradise Island). She, like Superman for the guys, was and is the template for all of DC's most bodacious super-babes, from Liberty Belle to the Birds of Prey...and with Superman and the Batman, forms the DC Universe's heroic trinity (even to the point of their headlining a miniseries by that title recently, reimagining their first meeting). Her portrayal in two 1970s TV shows by the still-luminous Lynda Carter iconized her for new generations, just as Hulk's show did him...and the recent Infinite Crisis tie-in storyline, where she had to snap the neck of deranged telepath/spymaster Max Lord to keep him from mind-controlling the Man of Steel into an unstoppable engine of destruction, only made her more believable: an all-too-human woman, ageless body and godlike powers or no, forced to make a very hard, very human choice. And as the most powerful non-Kryptonian woman in the DCU, she's the best choice to be the best friend and confidante of its most powerful non-magical hero.
2. The Batman
If Superman was first in 1938, he was second less than a year later. Where Clark Kent/Kal-El strives in the sunlight to stop the big, cosmic threats, Bruce Thomas Wayne lurks in the shadows to catch the smaller ones that slip like cockroaches through the cracks. He is a man driven to action (and just possibly psychosis) by the ultimate in personal tragedy: the cold-blooded, gruesome murder of both his parents, right before his terrified eight-year-old eyes, by a mugger's gun. But where others might have turned such trauma into suicide or destruction, he made his into a mission to make sure no other little boy or girl would have their childhood ripped from them so. As Supes points out in the landmark Elseworlds series Kingdom Come, "When you strip everything else away from Batman, what you're left with is a man who doesn't want to see anybody else die." For all his dark, brooding intensity and his sometimes ruthless treatment of criminals, at rock bottom is still that wish...which makes him every bit as noble, in his own warped way, as his pal from Krypton (and serves as the glue for their uneasy friendship). Since Neal Adams, Jim Aparo and company rescued him in the 1970s from the silly campiness that had encrusted on his mythos in the two decades prior, the Caped Crusader of Gotham City has reclaimed his rightful place as the scariest "good guy" in the DC Universe. Even Lex Luthor isn't in his league when it comes to smarts, as he proved in the final flameout of Lex's ill-fated stint as President of the US. And even Gotham PD commissioner Jim Gordon—a cop's cop who emphatically does not believe that unlicensed civilians, costumes and powers or no, have any place in criminal investigations—finally came around to believing in and trusting the Bat...and Jim's daughter Barbara ended up joining the Dark Knight's crusade as the first Batgirl. Bats and Supes are two sides of the same coin, as even Two-Face would tell you; and the 12-month weekly maxi-series 52, depicting the year of their absence following Infinite Crisis, only proved how badly the DC Universe truly needs them both.
And at the very tippy-top of the list, the greatest superhero of all time (drum roll, please)...
1. Superman
C'mon, you didn't really think any other hero could hold down this spot—or deserve it more—did you? It's not just that he was the first costumed superhero, like, ever—the prototype for all those who donned domino masks and spandex tights and followed him. It isn't even that he's the most powerful, though he certainly is (and even that's only true if you don't count the Marvel Family, whose magic-based powers make them the only heroes able to hurt him). It's not even that he's come back from death itself. It's that he is, quite simply, the best—not just in terms of skill and experience, but also in terms of character and nobility. He's the one all the rest of the DC Universe's heroes look to, just as Marvel's do to Captain America (see above), for inspiration, hope and moral guidance. Even Earth-3's Alexander Luthor, as wrongly distorted as his character was made in Infinite Crisis, still recognized this: "In some way I don't understand, and probably never will...everything comes from Superman." And this capacity to inspire and hearten may well be his single greatest super-power, more than the heat vision or invulnerability or planet-tossing super-strength. Elliot S! Maggin, one of the best of Superman's 1970s writers, summed up the Man of Steel's governing precept this way: "There is a right and a wrong in the universe, and the distinction between the two is not that difficult to make." Simplistic as it may sound today, Clark Joseph Kent learned that, along with much else, from his foster parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent...and continues to live it every day, over seven decades after his creation. Whatever the peril, whoever is involved, whatever changes are rung on his origins, his history, his powers and/or his costume (remember Superman Red and Superman Blue?), when the Last Son of Krypton flies into action, you know beyond any shadow of a doubt that he will always—always—strive to do the right thing...for no other reason than because it is right. Even when he isn't any more certain than the rest of us ordinary mortals—who can't change the course of mighty rivers or bend steel in our bare hands—just what the right thing to do might be...which happens far more often (at least in his current stories) than you might think.
Arguments? Nominations? Bring it.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-11-14 08:34 pm (UTC)Although, you gotta hand it to Lex Luther. You really have to respect a man with no powers who takes on a guy who constantly has new powers pop up whenever the need arises.
I think I have to go with Spidey as my top. Give me heroes with issues (pun intended) any day.
no subject
Date: 2007-11-14 09:22 pm (UTC)Spidey is probably my #2; Peter is a wiseacre New Yorker who aside from spider power is your basic geek, and seeing the geek manage to get the girl on his own merits is heartening.
No mention atall of Green Arrow *or* Green Lantern... nevermind Daredevil or Elektra, who not only did decently well in the dead tree editions but got made into movies...
'course, it occurs to me that I'm looking at the writing these days... Bats by Frank Miller, Spidey with JMS and JRJR, GA with Kevin Smith, DD with Bendis... Comics grew up.
no subject
Date: 2007-11-14 09:41 pm (UTC)Thought it might have been worth it to set up the conflicted portrayal of Superman in Mark Waid's sublime Kingdom Come
Of course, I always went for the more conflicted heroes. Captain Mar-vell. Adam Warlock. Silver Surfer. The Defenders. The darker aspects of Batman.
no subject
Date: 2007-11-14 10:40 pm (UTC)Unfortunately because he is so powerful, they are few and far between.
Alan Moore's "Birthday" story is one of these.
Waste of time
Date: 2007-11-15 02:49 am (UTC)It's time you entered the real world and stopped spending so much time here writing about these adult fairy tales. In short, stop wasting your life and talent writing, rewriting, polishing, rewriting and posting your opinions to this sheltered venue. If you get started now, this very night, I think you could have the rough draft of your book in three months. It's always easy to write about your passion. An additional three months should see all of your research into the stuff you're too young to remember completed, and three to six months after that you should be at #100 on the NYT bestseller list, and well on your way to being rich.
I'm not kidding. I'm not being overly optimistic. I HATE every political commentary you worked into this piece, and I HATE that you consider comic book heroes to be paragons of any facet of human life, especially the angst filled SHs. My opinion of good comic writing is like much else, the exact opposite of yours. I HATE that you don't know why Superman is the one everyone looks to.
But the fact is, I read every word of it, and actually HATED your opinion(not just disliked as I would if it was fatuous and bland), but I read it all, because you have style, you have skills, and you have something of note to say.
Here's a working title, free if you use it. "Super: How 75 Years of Comic Heroes and Heroines, and Their Authors and Illustrators Have Shaped Our National Id."
Bravo! Bravissimo. Now don't just sit there. Go write this book! Now! Today! Put down the Journal and step away from the login. You know you want to. We know you can. I'd be surprised if anyone disagrees with me on this.
no subject
Date: 2007-11-15 03:23 pm (UTC)The Tick?
No?
Well, he's my favorite. ALL KINDS of flaws, like the delusional, personality disorder kind. Plus, his "lair" is cooler, and he does macaroni art.
Oh, well.
Yeah, mebbe you SHOULD write a book...?