Batman Named the Greatest Super-Hero

[Aces&Jacks]

Alison Flood
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 28 February 2012 12.12 GMT
Article history

Batman's utility belt doesn't really compare to the superpowers of Spider-Man and Superman, but Gotham City's caped crusader has nonetheless been named the greatest comic hero of all time.


The readers of Comic Heroes magazine voted for Batman, the alias of billionaire Bruce Wayne, as their top comic hero, ahead of the second-placed Spider-Man and the third-placed Superman. The magazine is not the first to rank heroes from the world of comics: in 2008 Empire magazine put Superman top, followed by Batman and John Constantine, the exorcist created by Alan Moore, while the Man of Steel also topped a list from IGN.


But Comic Heroes editor Jes Bickham said it was "no surprise" that Batman came in at No 1 as the character, created in 1939 by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, was, "quite simply, the coolest and most interesting superhero ever created". He even, pointed out Bickham, has a butler.


Batman "doesn't have superpowers; he gets by with his mind, his wit and his physical abilities. He's dark, conflicted and tragic, yet never less than the best of us. He's got the best costume and the finest gadgets," said the editor. "His rogues' gallery is the most frightening and freakish collection of villains ever assembled; a cavalcade of criminality unmatched in modern comics. He's also strong enough to fit almost any story, being constantly remoulded by writers and artists since his creation in 1939."


Wolverine, the adamantium-clawed mutant from X-Men, comes in fourth in Comic Heroes' top 10, followed by Judge Dredd. Tintin makes a surprise appearance in sixth place, with the list rounded out by Captain America, a token woman in the shape of Wonder Woman, The Spirit and The Thing.


Comic Heroes' top 10 comic heroes of all time are:
1. Batman
2. Spider-Man
3. Superman
4. Wolverine
5. Judge Dredd
6. Tintin
7. Captain America
8. Wonder Woman
9. The Spirit
10. The Thing


Who is in your top ten?

 

[TheSpokenWheel]

I don't really care for super heroes, but I disagree with batman. he's not "super", therefor he cannot be a super hero.

 

[Aces&Jacks]

I don't really care for super heroes, but I disagree with batman. he's not "super", therefor he cannot be a super hero.

I don't think Batman is the greatest super-hero either, but even though he doesn't have super powers, he is still super. He has superior fighting skills, superior intelligence/detective skills, and most importantly, he has the drive and determination to engage in battles with those who do have super powers and come out victorious in spite of his lack of such powers.

 

[TheSpokenWheel]

Good point. I don't really like any of the superhero movie except The Dark Knight. They're all so cheesy and predictable, except for TDK, which is why it was awesome. And I've never really been into comic books, so I'm really not fit to make one of these lists.

 

[Mr. Numb3rs]

maybe im just biased, but where the hell is thor? i hate these lists based on either 1 or a small group of peoples opinions. my favorite group of heroes is the golden age jsa, and most of them were just normal guys

 

[Aces&Jacks]

As far as the top four in the list is concerned, It seems to be a popularity contest. Those are the best selling comics in the market. Batman, Spider-man, Justice League (Superman and Batman and Wonder Woman), and X-Men (Wolverine and friends) all dominate the monthly comic sales figures, all can be found in Saturday morning cartoons, and all are merchandising giants.

 

[D-rock]

I think often whether or not Superman is considered the top superhero ever on list like this has a lot to do if the list are done and voted on by casual fans or people that a lot more into comics.

The top three there in one order or another are pretty much always going to be in the top three for the for foreseeable future.

 

[StanScratch]

Oh, come off it: The Tick.

 

[Ruddiger]

I am gonna have to agree with Batman being named number one. It is shocking but the Batman stories are always fresh, smartly written and leaves you wanting to read the next issue. When I was a kid I loved reading Batman: Shadow of the Bat series and Batman: Knightfall. Always was a fan of Norm Breyfogle's artwork and Kelly Jones' art covers.

Superman was, well, super. You know Superman is always going to triumph in the end against the villains but Batman being a mere mortal made for more compelling drama. Also, Batman's villains are more engaging than the Superman villains.

I am a bit surprised that Judge Dredd made it on that list though.

 

[zell]

One of the worst lists ever.

I can agree with Batman,Supes,and Spidey,but the rest of the list is trash.

Ok,I'll even give you Wolverine too,even though I fucking hated him since pretty much day one,but The Spirit,The fucking Thing,and fucking Tin Tin?! Really?!

Where the hell is The Hulk,and like someone else said,Thor?!

Also,it seems like they just threw WW in there just to have at least one woman.

 

[Aces&Jacks]

OK, let's concede that the top 3 or 4 are on the list (whether they deserve to be or not). Who is going to fill out the remaining six spots. So far we have possibly Hulk and Thor. How about some women? Elektra? Witchblade? How about some old-school? Doc Savage? Conan?

 

[Neutron66]

They're talking about comic book heroes so, while there were Doc Savage comic books, he's mostly known from the pulp novels, same with Conan.

Here's my top 10:

1. Adam Warlock
2. Silver Surfer
3. Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell, not Shazam)
4. Thor
5. Dr. Strange
6. Spiderman
7. Moon Knight
8. Captain America
9. Quasar
10. Iron Man

Yeah, I'm a Marvel guy.

 

[Aces&Jacks]

They're talking about comic book heroes so, while there were Doc Savage comic books, he's mostly known from the pulp novels, same with Conan.

Considering that I have over 500 Conan comic books (Conan the Barbarian, Savage Sword of Conan, King Conan, Conan the Cimmerian) and around 50 Doc Savage comic books, I don't think its a reach to add them to the comic book hero category. All Marvel by the way. And I believe that DC comics recently had a Batman - Doc Savage comic.

 

[Will E Worm]

Green Lantern and Savage Dragon

 

[Aces&Jacks]

Green Lantern

Allen Scott, Hal Jordan, Kyle Rayner, John Stewart or all of the above?

 

[D-rock]

Yeah, I'm a Marvel guy.

At one time I would have wholeheartedly agreed with Marvel being the best, but then...well DC got a little better and their characterizations of their characters weren't a cheesy before they went to crap and Marvel really really went to crap and most comic makers started doing one dumb thing after another after another, and now they pretty much suck equally. Maybe with the whole stupid universe wide reboot DC did I would put Marvel back on top, but that's not saying much at all anymore. Then again DC didn't do something as stupid as One More Day so maybe they are ahead after all.

I'm convinced that they are both run by people that have long become out of touch and just don't give a crap about making good comics anymore, don't give a crap about making them for most people that could be fans, and don't give a crap about making them reasonably accessible in both availability and cost for most people (I remember back when people could by them at the local small grocery store cheaper than what they are now even counting for inflation). For all those things to not be true would almost have to go back the the 80s, maybe early 90s. The entire industry has been living off of gimmicks for decades now, and they are wondering why that actual comic parts of their properties are struggling.

 

[Mr. Numb3rs]

At one time I would have wholeheartedly agreed with Marvel being the best, but then...well DC got a little better and their characterizations of their characters weren't a cheesy before they went to crap and Marvel really really went to crap and most comic makers started doing one dumb thing after another after another, and now they pretty much suck equally. Maybe with the whole stupid universe wide reboot DC did I would put Marvel back on top, but that's not saying much at all anymore. Then again DC didn't do something as stupid as One More Day so maybe they are ahead after all.

I'm convinced that they are both run by people that have long become out of touch and just don't give a crap about making good comics anymore, don't give a crap about making them for most people that could be fans, and don't give a crap about making them reasonably accessible in both availability and cost for most people (I remember back when people could by them at the local small grocery store cheaper than what they are now even counting for inflation). For all those things to not be true would almost have to go back the the 80s, maybe early 90s. The entire industry has been living off of gimmicks for decades now, and they are wondering why that actual comic parts of their properties are struggling.

and if you needed proof marvel jumped the shark...

 

[Aces&Jacks]

Sometimes I think that Marvel and DC are the same company. They mirror/copy each other in every conceivable way. Their characters are the same with different names and writers and artist have worked for both companies or eventually will over time. DC comics have gotten better over time, but they are trapped in a pattern of reboots and retcons. It started with Crisis on Infinite Earths. Then it was Zero Hour to fix Crisis. Then there's Infinite Crisis, Final Crisis... multiverse here today, gone tomorrow, and back again. Only to be retconned out by a new need to "fix things". Now the New 52, which if you've been reading Justice League, may be getting reset back to before Flashpoint. It's a history crapshoot trying to figure out what's DC reality and what's just a story that may or may not be a part of the DC Universe. Can you imagine the fact checking the writers have to do to make sure their current stories are in sync with past events.

It's not about the companies, really. Marvel and DC both suck. You just have to find a comic that has both good writing and good art and those writers and artist stay with the comic for a long run. It can be hard to do because creative teams come and go quickly. Maybe that's why choosing a top 10 Greatest hero list is so meaningless. It's hard to choose them when it's hard to find good stories to read about any of them.

 

[Mr. Numb3rs]

^^very true aces&jacks... any "top ten" list has to be taken with a grain of salt. many times ive been offended over these whether its comics, music, movies... its what youre passionate about that matters. and speaking of ripoffs, anyone remember this?

 

[Chubbs36]

Muthafuckin CHUCK NORRIS greatest superhero of all time!!!