Everyone has their own favorite superheroes and usually their own favorite comic book publisher. The top two comic book publishers in the world in number of annual sales are DC and Marvel, not necessarily in that order. Superman, one of the top two on anyones top list of superheroes is on the DC roster, Spiderman is on Marvels. Growing up, we always thought of Marvel as the coolest, hippest and best, but at that time Marvel was not the best-selling publisher. Below is my Top Ten List of Superheroes. See if your favorite made the grade.
Number Ten: Prime. When Prime number one came out in the early 1990s it had a good twist of a premise. Prime was just an eleven year old suburban boy that transformed into the seven foot tall, massively muscled Prime.
Number Nine: The Silver Surfer. The Silver Surfer is a Marvel hero that came from the Fantastic Four magazines of the late 60s. The Silver Surfer eventually got his own title and joins the Top Ten list of superheroes. He is the cosmos surfing, brooding mystery man that used to work for that big baddie, the colossal Galactus, eater of worlds.
Number Eight: Captain America. This G.I. turned into a science experiment by the army is another classic character that was created during World War II as a way to entertain and inspire the troops. With his trusted sidekick Bucky Barnes, Captain America fought for truth and freedom. He later joined the Avengers in the 60s after being thawed out of a glacier in perfect physical condition.
Number Seven: Green Lantern or Green Arrow. Take your pick, they are both great characters who happen to love the color green. Go figure.
Number Six: The Incredible Hulk. Though he could be a super villain at times, this green behemoth makes the list of superheroes because he was also temporarily a part of the Avengers, a group of superheroes, until they realized that he had a bipolar personality and in the interest of not getting killed themselves they kicked him out.
Number Five: The Fantastic Four. Yes, all four of them belong on my list of superheroes because this comic rocks! Marvel artist Jack Kirby created them along with genius Stan Lee back in the sixties and they are more popular today than ever due to the recent Hollywood movies. Flame on!
Number Four: The X-Men. Again, Marvel shoots and scores with their brilliant lineup of angry mutants led by Professor X. Wolverine is one of the greatest superheroes of all time and he joins a team led by Cyclops, Storm, the Beast, Dr. Jean Grey (Dark Phoenix) and Iceman.
Number Three: Batman (and Robin). DC created this Gotham City defender and his spunky sidekick way back in the forties and he is still going strong after all the great movies including The Dark Knight which won an Academy Award for the late, great Heath Ledger. Although they do not technically have super powers, they make the list of superheroes in a big way.
Number Two: Superman. Not much to say here. Everyone knows the S-man. Look, up in the sky, its a bird, its a plane, no, its.well, you know who.
Number One: Spiderman. This is of course a personal favorite because I grew up with him, though my kids prefer Smallville and Superman. Spideys alter ego Peter Parker was like every other nerdy boy growing up. Bullies pushed him around at school and he could never get the girl. One day he is bitten by a radioactive spider and gains the agility, web-making, and strength of a spider. Well, a very large spider anyhow.