NationStates Jolt Archive

While I love DC, I don't love it as much as Marvel. But, DC needs some love, too, hence this thread.

My favorite is Batman, all the way.

Batman.

The Sandman. That is, if Morpheus counts as a superhero.

Batman, definitely

Batman, I would always choose Läderlappen

Green Lantern! He pwnt em all in "Zero Hour"

The "Batman vs Spawn" back in the 90s was a good issue.

Captain Nazi

oh and batman is not a superhero (hes a caped crusader which I imagine causes some controversy in the middle east)

Captain Nazi

oh and batman is not a superhero (hes a caped crusader which I imagine causes some controversy in the middle east)

But the topic was "hero" which I think Batman can qualify under.

But the topic was "hero" which I think Batman can qualify under.

then its just the poll that is wrong :p

also all these people are villains anyway stopping those zany madmen from destroying the Earth

The Sandman. That is, if Morpheus counts as a superhero.

I've freaking loved everything else of Neil Gaiman's I've read so far, but have never looked at any of the Sandman stuff... one of these days.

then its just the poll that is wrong :p

also all these people are villains anyway stopping those zany madmen from destroying the Earth

Why do I get the impression that you are an aspiring super villain? :p

Batman. No super powers. He feels pain. He just likes to fight and is really good at it. You may beat him once but over time he is going to come out on top.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c211/Coltknows/BatmanOwned.jpg

Superman.

A lot of people deride Superman because he has so many superpowers and he's so nigh-unbeatable that there's no real challenge out there that would threaten him and thus, no real story. While I agree that can be a problem, if that's how you see Superman you're looking at it all wrong.

Superman is, for all intents and purposes, godlike. Physically, he has very few weaknesses. What is there that can challenge Superman?

Morality.

Ever heard the old proverb that says "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely?" This is the real struggle for Superman. He can do just about anything, defeat just about any enemy, and change the world any way he sees fit. The real struggle for Superman is where do you draw the line? How far do you go to save mankind from itself? When do you interfere and when do you let things run their course?

It's exactly the fact that Superman has godlike abilities that presents him with his greatest challenge: The ethical challenge.

Lex Luthor is Superman's greatest enemy despite his having no superpowers whatsoever. Originally, it was Luthor's application of his vast intellect that would challenge Superman, but more and more we're seeing stories where Luthor challenges Superman's ethics. Forcing him into situations that are morally ambiguous to try and gain the upper hand over Superman by making him question is own actions.

I think that's really why Superman is as powerful as he is... to take the simple physical battle out of the equation. Will Superman prevail when he uses his powers? Of course. The real question is: Should he? How far should he go? Superman stories are best when they're stories about Superman facing a moral dilemma, and working through it. His powers are vast, but can't help him there. That's when he relies on the simple lessons in life he learned from the Kents back in Smallville, who don't have any superpowers either.

When I was young, I had a crush on Wonder Woman/Linda Carter. Her and the Bionic Woman. There's just something about a woman that can leap 100 feet that does it for me. :)

Superman.

A lot of people deride Superman because he has so many superpowers and he's so nigh-unbeatable that there's no real challenge out there that would threaten him and thus, no real story. While I agree that can be a problem, if that's how you see Superman you're looking at it all wrong.

Superman is, for all intents and purposes, godlike. Physically, he has very few weaknesses. What is there that can challenge Superman?

Morality.

Ever heard the old proverb that says "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely?" This is the real struggle for Superman. He can do just about anything, defeat just about any enemy, and change the world any way he sees fit. The real struggle for Superman is where do you draw the line? How far do you go to save mankind from itself? When do you interfere and when do you let things run their course?

It's exactly the fact that Superman has godlike abilities that presents him with his greatest challenge: The ethical challenge.

Lex Luthor is Superman's greatest enemy despite his having no superpowers whatsoever. Originally, it was Luthor's application of his vast intellect that would challenge Superman, but more and more we're seeing stories where Luthor challenges Superman's ethics. Forcing him into situations that are morally ambiguous to try and gain the upper hand over Superman by making him question is own actions.

I think that's really why Superman is as powerful as he is... to take the simple physical battle out of the equation. Will Superman prevail when he uses his powers? Of course. The real question is: Should he? How far should he go? Superman stories are best when they're stories about Superman facing a moral dilemma, and working through it. His powers are vast, but can't help him there. That's when he relies on the simple lessons in life he learned from the Kents back in Smallville, who don't have any superpowers either.

See, while I agree with you. Even when he screws up he just flies backwards around the world until time goes backward. Bah what fun is that? i think more interesting when he fights people of his own abilities.

Batman has a very real chance of getting killed. He can't pull jumbo jets out of the air. He can't defy the laws of physics he is just a normal guy. Okay so he spent a few years in the gym and he has a bullet proof suit. He still gets hurt all the time. He gets his clock cleaned every now and then. He almost never gets the girl. In fact most of the women in his life think he is weird. He is not the fastest or the strongest he just really wants to see justice done.

See, while I agree with you. Even when he screws up he just flies backwards around the world until time goes backward. Bah what fun is that? i think more interesting when he fights people of his own abilities.

Yeah I had a problem with that too. In a way, I see that as an example of Superman's failure to adhere to the code of ethics he's supposed to follow, specifically in this case he ignores Jor_El's admonishment to not interfere with history. Overall I liked Donner's portrayal of Superman but I think this was a major mistake.


Batman has a very real chance of getting killed. He can't pull jumbo jets out of the air. He can't defy the laws of physics he is just a normal guy. Okay so he spent a few years in the gym and he has a bullet proof suit. He still gets hurt all the time. He gets his clock cleaned every now and then. He almost never gets the girl. In fact most of the women in his life think he is weird. He is not the fastest or the strongest he just really wants to see justice done.

See I like that about Batman too, which is why he ranks pretty high on my superhero favorites list. I just really like deep stories that probe ethical questions and things like that and while Batman does explore that to an extent, it's not really a major theme for him. Batman does what he does to exorcise his own demons.

Having said that, I think one of the biggest strengths of Dark Knight was the exploration of the duality of Batman (something they did in Spider-Man but not as well) in which he is a hero but most people see him as frightening and suspect, and he bears the burden of a thankless role.

Yeah I had a problem with that too. In a way, I see that as an example of Superman's failure to adhere to the code of ethics he's supposed to follow, specifically in this case he ignores Jor_El's admonishment to not interfere with history. Overall I liked Donner's portrayal of Superman but I think this was a major mistake.



See I like that about Batman too, which is why he ranks pretty high on my superhero favorites list. I just really like deep stories that probe ethical questions and things like that and while Batman does explore that to an extent, it's not really a major theme for him. Batman does what he does to exorcise his own demons.

Having said that, I think one of the biggest strengths of Dark Knight was the exploration of the duality of Batman (something they did in Spider-Man but not as well) in which he is a hero but most people see him as frightening and suspect, and he bears the burden of a thankless role.

With Spider man it can be pretty much summed up in one phrase.

With great power comes great responsibility.

Batman is your ultimate control freak. He is really pissed about something that happened long, long, ago that he could not prevent.

One of the nice things about Superman is that he has a day job. Even though he could totally sell out and make a million bucks. He doesn't. He doesn't really understand us too well. He doesn't really want to be the hero. If he doesn't act, many people will die. He has no choice. Damn, where is a phone booth when you need one.

Spider man was pretty much in the wrong place at the right time. He was concern about getting rich and in the process missed an opportunity to stop a horrible act from happening. The thing interesting about that is sometimes the horrible event you prevent may just save someone in your family.

The Sandman. That is, if Morpheus counts as a superhero.
No fair!

You can't count DC imprints like Vertigo (Swamp Thing, Sandman, Hellblazer), because then we can count Wildstorm (The Aurthority, WildC.A.T.s ) and Helix (Transmetropolitan) comics, and then we can count America's Best Comics (LXG, Tom Strong, Promethea, Top 10/Smax)...

And we'd be here for ages.

With Spider man it can be pretty much summed up in one phrase.

With great power comes great responsibility.

Batman is your ultimate control freak. He is really pissed about something that happened long, long, ago that he could not prevent.

One of the nice things about Superman is that he has a day job. Even though he could totally sell out and make a million bucks. He doesn't. He doesn't really understand us too well. He doesn't really want to be the hero. If he doesn't act, many people will die. He has no choice. Damn, where is a phone booth when you need one.

Spider man was pretty much in the wrong place at the right time. He was concern about getting rich and in the process missed an opportunity to stop a horrible act from happening. The thing interesting about that is sometimes the horrible event you prevent may just save someone in your family.

Yah, I was talking about in the first Spider-Man movie when the Green Goblin was taunting him about how even with all he did for the people, ultimately they would despise him. (Which did turn out to be true as a result of the Bugle's bad PR, but Spider-Man was vindicated in the end when the people stood up for him.)

Assuming we're talking comics here...
Superman.

A lot of people deride Superman because he has so many superpowers and he's so nigh-unbeatable that there's no real challenge out there that would threaten him and thus, no real story. While I agree that can be a problem, if that's how you see Superman you're looking at it all wrong.

Superman is, for all intents and purposes, godlike. Physically, he has very few weaknesses. What is there that can challenge Superman?

Morality.

Ever heard the old proverb that says "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely?" This is the real struggle for Superman. He can do just about anything, defeat just about any enemy, and change the world any way he sees fit. The real struggle for Superman is where do you draw the line? How far do you go to save mankind from itself? When do you interfere and when do you let things run their course?

It's exactly the fact that Superman has godlike abilities that presents him with his greatest challenge: The ethical challenge.

Lex Luthor is Superman's greatest enemy despite his having no superpowers whatsoever. Originally, it was Luthor's application of his vast intellect that would challenge Superman, but more and more we're seeing stories where Luthor challenges Superman's ethics. Forcing him into situations that are morally ambiguous to try and gain the upper hand over Superman by making him question is own actions.

I think that's really why Superman is as powerful as he is... to take the simple physical battle out of the equation. Will Superman prevail when he uses his powers? Of course. The real question is: Should he? How far should he go? Superman stories are best when they're stories about Superman facing a moral dilemma, and working through it. His powers are vast, but can't help him there. That's when he relies on the simple lessons in life he learned from the Kents back in Smallville, who don't have any superpowers either.

that's part of the Superman problem for me. because he credits his morality with his foster parents (the Kents) that indicates that the Kents were THE PERFECT PARENTS. the reason why Luthor was a tough opponent was due to several factors. the first being that Superman wasn't invulnernable in the beginning. so alot of Luthor's inventions were strong enough to hurt him. when Supes became invulnerable, Lex had to build them bigger and use Krytonite in some fashion. I mean, with what he spent on building giant robots and all, he could've bought a small country and become a ruler there!

favorite DC hero?

It used to be Wonder Woman, but after her 'rebirth' she's become a female version of Superman.

Green Lantern... but after a while, he too became too powerful. for me, Green Lantern will always be Hal Jordan.

Batman? he's probably my favorite. how he balances between the hero he knows he should be and the villian he's afraid of becoming....

yeah.. Batman... and Christopher Chase (he did get his start in DC before moving to Vertigo.) are my two favorite DC characters.

Tho I do miss the first version of The Huntress... :(

Batman. He's not an ideal hero, but he's a very interesting character.

Superman's probably closer to the ideal of heroism than Batman's shadowy vigilante act though.

Green Lantern.

I suppose Gaiman's Sandman (http://books.google.com/books?id=hDnski1_UzcC&dq=sandman&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=S9M1Nd2Jwj&sig=mw_Fbx4wBircXF3FL4jTuy6Yg-U&hl=en&ei=xEv_SaeGJ6eMtgP-973uAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7) doesn't count? Although his sister is better ;)

I've freaking loved everything else of Neil Gaiman's I've read so far, but have never looked at any of the Sandman stuff... one of these days.

Do it. You won't regret it.

Sandman, if we're allowing it.

Batman, if we're not. :)

(And both of them piss over the entire Marvel canon).

Batman

Green Lantern.
Yay!!!

Batman of course, Noone has the kind of deep backstory within the DC Universe that Batman does...

Besides, he's played by Christian Bale, and he's a Hunkcicle, :p

I can't believe we've got to 30 posts without anyone mentioning Lobo!
If not Lobo, then PlasticMan. He's perhaps the one guy who could beat Superman, if he weren't so loopy.

Bye the way, we've had 3 Marvel heros threads, a DC heros thread, and a Marvel villains thread. Why no DC villains thread?

I mean, is it that obvious the Joker would win?;)

Sandman, if we're allowing it.

Yes, Sandman is allowed.

Bye the way, we've had 3 Marvel heros threads, a DC heros thread, and a Marvel villains thread. Why no DC villains thread?

I mean, is it that obvious the Joker would win?;)

Here ya go (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=592903). :)