Who is your favorite comicbook superhero?...

finister · Forum Member Joined: Oct 21, 2002 Posts: 95

...and what comic book of hers/his do you like best?

If you can't just pick one, perhaps give us your top 5 favs.

What is it about this superhero that connects with you?

GhostofMacbeth · Forum Member Joined: Sep 21, 2001 Posts: 619

There is a similar thread in Comic Book Discusions .. But mine is Batman.Something about the average man who excels through brains and craft to be one of the best superheros out there speaks to me. It isn't what you are given but what you do with it. Plus the whole adversity thing and determining how a tragedy will shape you.

palmers · Forum Member Joined: Jun 07, 2002 Posts: 379

Some days Captain America, some days Superman. Each represents what we should be trying to be. Trying to do the right thing is something I seem to feel strongly about.

IMP.
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lectatege · Forum Member Joined: Mar 14, 2006 Posts: 203

Im sorry Ghost of Macbeth but I just can't buy into Batman being plagued by adversity.
OK tragic childhood and all that but the man's a billionaire for goodness sake - if he didn't have Wayne Industries to fund R and D into all those nifty gadgets and Alfred to iron his underpants he'd just be another everyday emotional cripple.

If he really wanted to do some good with what he was given he'd be funding programmes to combat social alienation, not new features on the batmobile.

Enjoy the comics, mind.
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A broken stereotype is a beautiful thing

GhostofMacbeth · Forum Member Joined: Sep 21, 2001 Posts: 619

Well yeah but I didn't say he was still plagued.

But in a lot of ways he still is — He has to constantly fight villains that are superior to him as far as power, etc. He has the gadgets but it isn't what rules him as a character. It is sort of like good James Bond, bad Bond gets too into the gadgets but good Bond has them but they become secondary to the skill of the man etc.

And I know most of the books have him being a great donor to a lot of different things.

palmers · Forum Member Joined: Jun 07, 2002 Posts: 379

As for favourite stories, John Byrne's original Man Of Steel miniseries is perfect. Can't think of a favourite Captain America comic, but favourite appearance is in Frank Miller's Daredevil: Born Again.

My favourite superhero comics actually don't feature my favourite superheroes: The Dark Knight Returns, and Born Again.

IMP.
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RIVER: skin on the outside. First chapter FREE from www.ianmpalmer.com

GhostofMacbeth · Forum Member Joined: Sep 21, 2001 Posts: 619

I don't think I have read Daredevil: Born Again .. I should try and find a copy.

palmers · Forum Member Joined: Jun 07, 2002 Posts: 379

Not having read that series is a sin.

IMP.
_________________
RIVER: skin on the outside. First chapter FREE from www.ianmpalmer.com

lectatege · Forum Member Joined: Mar 14, 2006 Posts: 203

So what should I do as a penance?

And I know Batman does a lot of work for charidee but so do the Mafia.
Poor little rich boy!

What did you think of the cartoon series?
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A broken stereotype is a beautiful thing

finister · Forum Member Joined: Oct 21, 2002 Posts: 95

Just read Will Brooker's "Batman Unmasked" which is more about public opinion of Batman, but interesting to read how Batman has been perceived through the years.

It seems to me that Batman (the 'dark' Batman anyways) is almost a kind of 20th Century version of the Hamlet mythos - avenging prince. He could use his wealth and power to affect societal change perhaps, but deep down he's driven to avenge his father.

I really liked the 90's animated Batman TV series. It kind of blended the dark themes of the 80's graphic Batman and the campy villain aspects of the 60's Tv show. I didn't care for the Batman Begins movie.

I used to love the Fantastic Four best as a kid...now it's probably...Danger Girl - ha ha

So I've got a lot of reading to catch up on Palmers

palmers · Forum Member Joined: Jun 07, 2002 Posts: 379

Ah, but good reading.

IMP.
_________________
RIVER: skin on the outside. First chapter FREE from www.ianmpalmer.com

GhostofMacbeth · Forum Member Joined: Sep 21, 2001 Posts: 619

I know Palmer. I know. I didn't like Daredevil for a long time and then I stopped collecting comics and didn't know about things and when I came back I still didn't really like Daredevil so much so I sort of didn't have as much desire to pick it up but I have been getting some of them slowly.

So what is your favorite lectatege? And I loved the animated one from the '90s and the new Justice League stuff even. Not as big a fan of the new one but it is sort of interesting, if too kiddy.

lectatege · Forum Member Joined: Mar 14, 2006 Posts: 203

Daredevil I don't know, but I will keep my eyes open.

My favourite Batman is probably the one from the Dark Knight series, and I liked some of what Tim Burton was trying to do in terms of tone, atmosphere and general vision (but then I'm a bit of a Tim Burton fan anyway).
The sixties Batman is fun in a campy kitsch way but seems more like a spoof than anything else; and I very much admired the animation because of its graphic flair and the way the characters were at times stylised visually to the bone.
Most elegant.
I was probably a bit harsh on the man, after all he does have the intensely irritating boy wonder to contend with.

As regards superheroes generally, I was always a fan of the X-men in general and the later Wolverine in particular - I expect I identify with his ongoing struggles to control his temper.
First place in my heart however probably goes to Calculus Cat for the superfelinely brave face he puts on in the face of insults, brickbats, TV adverts
and all other impedimenta of daily life.
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A broken stereotype is a beautiful thing

Hasdrubal

During most of my years collecting Namor the Sub-Mariner was my favorite. The King of Atlantis just doesn't take B.S. from any villain or hero, (except for Dr. Doom). Namor had a fairly successful series in the 60's and 70's until his creator, Bill Everett, died. His popularity never did recover from the loss. I still followed every issue of Subby's later adventures with Dr. Doom in the 70's Super Villain Team-Up series. It had one of the biggest extended story lines of the decade. It was an epic spanning several years, with multiple series cross-overs. There's now an Essentials volume of the entire series available. Another reason I liked Sub-Mariner was that he was one of the few 40's vintage characters to survive over the years without ever having a boy side-kick. His partners in adventure were usually beautifully drawn exotic undersea women such as Dorma, Namora, and Namorita. His greatest enemy, the evil shape-shifting Princess Lilyra, was also a woman.....sometimes.

Aquaman has never been more than a pale imitation.

I strongly recommend the reprints of his early 40's battles with the Human Torch. They're legendary for being the first comics battle between two super-human adversaries.

Since Namor doesn't currently have a series, Green Lantern is my favorite hero for having the backbone to turn on his corrupt passionless masters. I don't think his assault on the Guardians was entirely due the influence of the yellow impurity in the ring.

Ironbear · Forum Member Joined: Nov 06, 2001 Posts: 1038