Not much of a DC fan’s list
By Tom Kerr
DISCLAIMER: To be perfectly honest, I’ve never been much of a DC fan. Oh, I try to keep up with the goings on the DC universe, but I don’t read many DC books regularly, being a Marvel guy at heart. Therefore, asking me for a list of my top ten DC characters in akin to asking for a list of my favourite pureed fruits: I may like some better than others, but don’t really love any of them. That said, here are my top ten, and, more importantly, why?
Comic Editor’s note: The viewpoints of the writer do not respect the viewpoints of MONDOcomics or any of its staff (except Tom and possibly Miles). That said, the list is pretty funny. So let’s all laugh at his anti-DC prejudices and snarky comments together. Plus there’s even a few in there Tom genuinely likes!
10. Aqualad/Tempest
Never have the people so rapidly flocked away from the DC bin.
9. Doomsday
When we first met Doomsday, he was nothing more than an impossibly strong, virtually unstoppable engine of destruction who leapt miles at a single bound and seemed driven solely by rage. Thus, as a thinly veiled knock-off of the Incredible Hulk, my favourite comic book character, Doomsday places on this list. Plus, he killed Superman, if only temporarily. Thumbs up.
8. The Elongated Man
Heh heh heh. The Elongated Man. There’s probably a porn star star out there fighting to buy the copyright.
7. Power Girl
The cookie-cutter-est of all comic heroines. Go ahead, try to take her seriously.
6. Nightwing
This call, perhaps more than any other on this list, may show my naivette regarding the DCU. Having read little of him myself, I hear that a good Nightwing story can be a hard thing to find, yet I like the concept of the character enough to see past this. Comics tend to be a place where the more things change, the more they stay the same, and I am always interested in characters who really progress in identity, behaviour and scope. Dick Grayson is such a character. Batman may be wearing the same cape and cowl that he was decades ago, but Grayson has truly grown up in the comics, and this coming-of-age is a refreshing thing in a medium built so much on maintaining the status quo.
5. Lex Luthor
Much like some others on this list and many characters in DC in general, I like Lex Luthor more in principle than in application. On the page itself, his “genius” often seems to have holes in its reasoning that a truck could drive through, and his schemes’s are about as complex as a Kinder Surprise toy. However, the fact that he has survived so long as perhaps Superman’s greatest nemesis, while being no physical match whatsoever for the big S, gives him lots of street credit. Like Doom, Luthor’s villainous clout is such that his mere presence is enough to make a comic seem more interesting. If only he didn’t have such a penchant for dumb looking outfits, he might have placed higher.
4. Hawkman
From what I can tell, Hawkman seems to be the nexus of all great continuity errors in the DC universe, and any character that can frustrate the entire company’s storytelling cohesion is a character I’ll celebrate.
3. Booster Gold
I only checked out his solo book through the Random Comics reviewing, but I’m still there. Why? ‘Cause he’s a pretty darned good character. Booster is indeed an arrogant, self-serving sort of a sot, but it is in a way that is more humourous and honest than it is disgusting or offensive, and he’s plainly fun to read about. Anti-heroes are as often as not a sad attempt to cash in on a lame “cool” factor — I’m thinking of you, Punisher — but Booster is actually fun to cheer on, even knowing that he’s cheering himself on even louder.
2. Green Arrow
Political statements don’t normally mesh well with superhero comics, tending to be heavy-handed or in poor taste. Green Arrow, however, manages to have a certain edge to him that resurrects his character from being a poor Batman knock-off. Despite his lame origins (the Arrowcave? Since when do arrows come from caves?), Green Arrow has really grown on me, being the DC character I’ve likely read the most of, and he is my favourite leftist naysayer. In the profoundly conservative world of DC, his presence is a breath of fresh air.
1. Batman
Batman was the first great hero created from the mold of “prodigiously-rich-handsome-genius-inventor-and-world-class-fighter” (Green Arrow, Iron Man and Iron Fist, amongst others, would follow), and he’s still the best. Frankly, I’ve never liked these character types much; if these people existed in real life, I’d probably hate them for making me look bad. Still, Batman pulls it off, and although he’s probably the most oversaturated comic figure in the business (yes, I think moreso than Wolverine), all his goofiness serves to make him cooler. I may be urked by the legions of superfans salivating over every panel Mr. Wayne graces, but when you come right down to it, I’m that sort of fan myself. He’s only considered the coolest character in comics because he probably is, and he’s one of the only folks on this list who can convince me to spend money. So, he’s number one.
