Favorite Superheroes

progSHELL

This thread is just for letting others on the thread know what your favorite superhero is and why.

Personally, I'm tempted to say Batman, but really my favorite is the Justice League Flash because he's the Sokka of that show. He's really great. You need a sense of humor when your only power is running really fast.

Rochelle

Batman, because he's the goddamn Batman.

I like him because he has no superpowers, but cunning and determination. That and a whole shit ton of money to supply his need for vengeance.

Churba

I like him because he has no superpowers, but cunning and determination. That and a whole shit ton of money to supply his need for vengeance.

Bruce Wayne does have a superpower - his superpower is infinite money.

Aria

Shinzou Ningen Casshern. 'Cause he got them jethips and robot awesomeness.
Also, Karas, 'cause he's got them vehicle transforming and awesome sword/armor shit going on.

Victor Frost

Batman. If not him then The Doctor.

Apreche

Spider-Man 2099, a nerd and a jerk.

Tesla

Iron Man for me, for a pretty unique reason. I have this condition called pectus excavatum, where my sternum grew inwards, not straight, so there was this giant dip in the middle of my chest. Around the time Iron Man came out, I was swimming with some friends, and one of them had never seen it, so without thinking, I joked "I'm Tony Stark, I just took the reactor out for a while." It got a bunch of laughs, and the name stuck for a little while. Well about a year later, I was told I had to have surgery to correct it, which involved putting a metal bar inside my chest to push it back out, and so now, I am Iron Man!

ColombianShadow

Batman, because he's the goddamn Batman.

I like him because he has no superpowers, but cunning and determination. That and a whole shit ton of money to supply his need for vengeance.

Why Batman doesn't need any powers.

Li_Akahi

Batman, because he's the goddamn Batman.

I like him because he has no superpowers, but cunning and determination. That and a whole shit ton of money to supply his need for vengeance.

Churba

It's hard to say. Empowered is always a favorite - Despite that she gets defeated and humiliated quite a lot, and she is essentially one of maybe three or four actually good heroes in a universe full of capes who are almost universally complete arseholes, along with her own crippling body image and confidence issues, and neuroses - she keeps fucking going. She gets her ass kicked all the time, but she just keeps stepping up to the plate and swinging for the fences, even after she's humiliated in front of(and by) the entire superhero community - as well as Her boyfriend, best friend, and the Goddamn MaidMan(He carries doilies, a feather duster, and wears heels and a maid outfit, but nobody fucks with the goddamn maidman) - which is then interupted by a supervillian, who she immediately proceeds to give her all in fighting to save the douchebags who had just spent an entire evening(and really, the rest of her career too) making her feel like shit for their own amusement, and then after managing it, recives nothing but scorn for taking down the apparently well-liked villain, and is met with accusations and insinuations that she was actually the one behind it, not the popular villain.

And what does she do? She keeps fucking going.

Yeah, sure, sure, she's a Chubby(According to her, but perfect hour-glass figure would be more descriptive), blonde lass from (IIRC) the midwest and a long way from home, but she's got more steel in her spine than a dozen Supermen.

(Thugboy - the aforementioned boyfriend - is a runner up too. Like batman, he defeats his enemies with strength, cunning, and quick thinking, but unlike Batman, he doesn't have the superpower of unlimited money, and he's also perfectly happy to use firearms - He is essentially normal, if at a somewhat greater level of physical fitness than most normal dudes, and yet he Still manages to be famous in the past of the book under an alias for killing superheroes - most of whom would smear him into paste in a second flat, in a fair fight - with nothing more than his wits, cunning, intelligence, and an big fucking rifle.

Jason

The super-genius version of Batman. I like it when the Detective moniker is earned. In the early 2000s, you could really see a swing at DC in how they were making Bats the "good" version of Lex Luthor.

Churba

n the early 2000s, you could really see a swing at DC in how they were making Bats the "good" version of Lex Luthor.

Side note - Last time I checked in on the Batman books in any real way, They'd done that to The Riddler, too - He's now a good guy, using his skills to figure out crimes as a detective, or at the very least, was on the path to reforming - though he ends up with Two-face, Catwoman, and Harley in his office, getting him to prove they didn't kill a lass.

DevilUknow

Why Batman doesn't need any powers.

I was going to say "Batman's superpower is winning". He's pretty much the only character I'll accept bullshit impossible reversals and total Deus Ex Machina from.

You have planet destroying bombs? Batman already reprogrammed them.

You are encrypted them? Batman broke that code.

But he's only been here for 10 minutes? Batman did it last Tuesday because he knew you'd try something like this. You're so predictable. Also cowardly and suspicious.

You threw him through multiple concrete walls? He'll just get bloody and glare at you. Maybe he'll acknowledge the pain in his internal monologue but you'll never know.

"BUT HOW" you ask? GDBM.

Churba

I was going to say "Batman's superpower is winning". He's pretty much the only character I'll accept bullshit impossible reversals and total Deus Ex Machina from.

You have planet destroying bombs? Batman already reprogrammed them.

You are encrypted them? Batman broke that code.

But he's only been here for 10 minutes? Batman did it last Tuesday because he knew you'd try something like this. You're so predictable. Also cowardly and suspicious.

You threw him through multiple concrete walls? He'll just get bloody and glare at you. Maybe he'll acknowledge the pain in his internal monologue but you'll never know.

"BUT HOW" you ask? GDBM.

Actually, that's something that's started to annoy me somewhat of late - Batman is essentially getting Wolverine'd. They take his initial template (Rich, smart, tough, cunning, martial artist) and then just turn everything up to "whatever bullshit level beyond eleven we need to tie the plot together", and then shove him into about 49 Bat-titles a month, plus every other DC title they can reasonably fit him into (Not counting titles like JLA books - He's always been on that team, so it's kinda a pass, there)

HungryJoe

It's funny to me how Batman is so unquestionably cool now when I so clearly remember a time when he was a cringe-inducing laughingstock. It's amazing how quickly and thoroughly one good story by Frank Miller in 1986 rehabilitated his image.

Apreche

It's funny to me how Batman is so unquestionably cool now when I so clearly remember a time when he was a cringe-inducing laughingstock. It's amazing how quickly and thoroughly one good story by Frank Miller in 1986 rehabilitated his image.

Yes, it is true. However, there was also the important contribution of crazy Neal "the earth is hollow" Adams. But Batman was so cornball it took two people to make him cool again.

Jason

I would argue that while Miller reintroduced Batman, Bruce Timm's animated world has far more to do with his commercial resurgence.

Rym

BTAS holds up pretty damn well. I've been watching it idly while I work at home.

Rochelle

I would argue that while Miller reintroduced Batman, Bruce Timm's animated world has far more to do with his commercial resurgence.

Also Tim Burton's Batman was another factor.

The only exposure I had of corny Batman was in the Scooby Doo Movies when Batman, Robin, Joker, and the Penguin were a part of it. That's it. The rest of my exposure was B:TAS, Burton Batman, and so on.

I mostly know Batman as being awesome and not lame like Old Man Joe remembers.

Churba

It's funny to me how Batman is so unquestionably cool now when I so clearly remember a time when he was a cringe-inducing laughingstock. It's amazing how quickly and thoroughly one good story by Frank Miller in 1986 rehabilitated his image.

Yeah, No kidding. There had been a few smaller attempts at making batman into a more serious character before that - well, as serious as it got in those days, we're not talking Citizen Kane, here, more like The Spirit or Sandman(Wesly Dodds, not dream) - and then, DKR hits like a bloody bomb, and it's still showing it's continuing effects, 24-25 years on.

I would argue that while Miller reintroduced Batman, Bruce Timm's animated world has far more to do with his commercial resurgence.

You're right on that one. Some really popular characters were invented for that series and later became canon - Harley Quinn, for example, and Renee Montoya - who happens to be the new Question, nowdays - As well as revamping Poison ivy, Clayface and Mr Freeze(who became wildly more popular as a villian after BTAS came out).

Jason

BTAS holds up pretty damn well. I've been watching it idly while I work at home.

I recently watched through season three and wished the characters didn't look so Warner Brothers-y.

Apreche

Yeah, No kidding. There had been a few smaller attempts at making batman into a more serious character before that - well, as serious as it got in those days, we're not talking Citizen Kane, here, more like The Spirit or Sandman(Wesly Dodds, not dream) - and then, DKR hits like a bloody bomb, and it's still showing it's continuing effects, 24-25 years on.

It's so true.

It also gets me thinking. These people who had the power to change comics in such a big way, basically all caved like a house of cards. Frank Miller, Jim Lee, Todd McFarlane, basically all caved. Neil Gaiman still does a little comics work, but not much. Comics really needs these guys to work on comics full-time. Will Eisner and Tezuka worked on comics until they died. I expect to do the same with computers. That one generation just couldn't stick with it, and I think that is a very significant factor leading to the current state of comics that is not often recognized.

Churba

Frank Miller, Jim Lee, Todd McFarlane, basically all caved.

How So, if you don't mind me asking? Not disagreeing, just requesting elaboration. Lee Still does plenty of comics and still does his own thing, Todd McFarlane is mostly running Image now, one of the biggest publishers around and famous for letting creators own their own work, and Miller is still doing his own thing in comics. Gaiman has about 55-60 comic SERIES credits to his name(much more in individual issues) and still releases quite a few comics, and hasn't really caved into just going with the flow. Warren Ellis - who I don't think anybody could really restrain from doing his own thing - is still regularly publishing comics, including his own moderately successful Freakangels webcomic.

KapitänTim

It's funny to me how Batman is so unquestionably cool now when I so clearly remember a time when he was a cringe-inducing laughingstock. It's amazing how quickly and thoroughly one good story by Frank Miller in 1986 rehabilitated his image.

Yes, it is true. However, there was also the important contribution of crazy Neal "the earth is hollow" Adams. But Batman was so cornball it took two people to make him cool again.

If the earth isn't hollow, then where are all the dinosaurs Scott? WHERE ARE ALL THE DINOSAURS THEN?

Wyatt

Jesus!!!

HAHAHA LOLZ!!!1! j/k...

My real favorite is Moses.

Nukerjsr

John Stewart as Green Lantern, in the animated Justice League.

Apreche

How So, if you don't mind me asking?

They all have relatively little comic creative output. When Gaiman was doing Sandman and/or Books of Magic, he had a new comic coming out every single month. Jim Lee used to put out at least one, if not multiple, issues per month. Now he maybe does some covers and such. Frank Miller cares more about movies, and doesn't really have any substantial output.

Even though I don't read comics int he monthly form, it's the guys with the most quantity of output that drive the bus. Right now, those guys are people like Geoff Johns, Robert Kirkman and Brian Michael Bendis. I would much rather have Neil Gaiman driving the bus, TYVM, but in order to do that he needs to at least have a comic series that comes out monthly. It's not like those other guys, and I'll add Alan Moore in there as well, are doing nothing at all. They're still working. But they aren't as devoted to constantly putting out comics all the time in a way that they can drive the direction of the industry.

Jason

Relevant:

KapitänTim

Jesus!!!

HAHAHA LOLZ!!!1! j/k...

My real favorite is Moses.

DevilUknow

Comics really needs these guys to work on comics full-time. Will Eisner and Tezuka worked on comics until they died. I expect to do the same with computers. That one generation just couldn't stick with it, and I think that is a very significant factor leading to the current state of comics that is not often recognized.

I don't know if comics aren't "recognized" and even if they aren't I don't think Frank Miller, Jim Lee and Todd McFarlane the ones to fix it. They're all pretty much self parodies like Stan Lee.

Warren Ellis, Garth Ennis, Grant Morrison and Alan Moore are better candidates IMHO. They've all been around just as long and they're still doing good work.

Churba

They all have relatively little comic creative output. When Gaiman was doing Sandman and/or Books of Magic, he had a new comic coming out every single month. Jim Lee used to put out at least one, if not multiple, issues per month. Now he maybe does some covers and such. Frank Miller cares more about movies, and doesn't really have any substantial output.

Even though I don't read comics int he monthly form, it's the guys with the most quantity of output that drive the bus. Right now, those guys are people like Geoff Johns, Robert Kirkman and Brian Michael Bendis. I would much rather have Neil Gaiman driving the bus, TYVM, but in order to do that he needs to at least have a comic series that comes out monthly. It's not like those other guys, and I'll add Alan Moore in there as well, are doing nothing at all. They're still working. But they aren't as devoted to constantly putting out comics all the time in a way that they can drive the direction of the industry.

I'd say yes and no. I can see what you're getting at, and you're half right - when these guys do a comic, it's a rare event. But it's also usually a rare event within the main universe, because these guys work better when left to their devices - What do you think would happen if you tried to hold down Gaiman with the years of bollocks from the main DC universe right now? Hell, even back around when he wrote Sandman - his own character - despite it being in the DC universe, very rarely do the two really meet, if at all - Dream, the main character, in all the years since the sandman, has only had nine appearances in comics outside of his own, and two of them were hellblazer and swamp thing, and only four of them are mainstream DC rather than Vertigo - Green Arrow, Ambush Bug, and two JLA appearances, IIRC.

But, that's more of a side point - In a way, you're right - it would be nice to see people like Gaiman, Ellis(who you consistently forget), Moore, Miller, and Lee running the show. Todd McFarlane kinda is, but from the other side of the editor's desk. However, the problem is that it's not really the writers who run things anymore.
Johns, Bendis, Kirkman - Who I think you should give a chance, they're not half bad when left to their own devices - Don't run things. DC Editors and Corporate run things. Marvel Corporate and Editors run things. Everything is run from a fucking boardroom now days, in terms of "What's going to sell books?" instead of "What's going to make a good story?"

What Does Bendis get if he tries to run a big, excellent, world-changer of a story like DKR, or Year one? He gets told to shut up and shit them another guaranteed selling book.
Comic companies really focus on their distribution and sales now, because even the best selling books have trouble topping out 100,000 Floppies, because of any number of factors, from loss of readership, to people ignoring western comics for manga, to people not buying the floppies and waiting for the trade, without realizing that without enough floppy sales, there will be no trade - and that's among another dozen reasons, easily.

Your problem isn't really with the artists and writers, they're doing the best they can - it's mostly with the corporate knobs who are all about the money, rather than the books.

I mean, look at smaller studios like BOOM! - They're pumping out consistently amazing titles, and selling plenty of them, because they are writer and artist focused, and let people get on with it, over all the pissing about with corporate and the like. How sucessful is this, in terms of good comic results? Well, they write, draw and print the Disney comics - and Disney owns Marvel, who have their own massive staff of writers, editors, and distributors. They could trivially do it in house, but instead, they employ BOOM!, because BOOM! have this funny habit of actually producing work that's 90% excellent, 8% Great or good, and 1% shit, unlike Marvel and DC, who have trouble producing that quantity of good books, because Marvel and DC books are halfway towards being written and drawn by committee.


Why yes, I'm restraining myself from throwing out a page or three about this, how can you tell I fancy to have a rant on about it because of these corporate wankers?