MONDOmagazine

By Rachelle “living between Wednesdays” Goguen
Visit her blog at http://livingbetweenwednesdays.blogspot.com/!

I don’t make a secret of the fact that, in the past, I didn’t read a lot of Marvel comics. So the entire Marvel family is fairly new to me. But based on the last two years of reading Marvel comics, both old and new, these are my favourite characters.

10. Cyclops (Scott Summers)
This is probably a surprising choice. I mean, who likes Cyclops, right? For some reason I always have. I know he’s boring, and whiny, and self-destructive, and not at all fun. But he’s also…got a cool visor? Actually, I think he’s a really great leader and I admire how he’s been able to lead team after team of annoying weirdos. Sure, he pathologically sleeps with women while pretending they are his dead wife, but everyone has their little quirks.

9. Power Man (Luke Cage)
As a business student, I really admire Luke Cage’s entrepreneurial spirit. He was given super powers thanks to some experimental prison tests, so he decides to go into business as a “Hero For Hire.” That’s just awesome. And then he made an excellent strategic decision to add a partner, in the form of kung-fu all-star, The Immortal Iron Fist. Fortunately, this turned out to not only be a good business move, but also resulted in one of the best superhero friendships ever…and the best buddy comic ever. Power Man & Iron Fist comics are great. Oh man, and I haven’t even mentioned how amazing Power Man’s original costume was. Afro? Tiara? Open shirt? Chain for a belt? So good. Now he has a much more subdued look, which is admittedly sexy, but not nearly as fun.

8. Iron Fist (Danny Rand)
Iron Fist has the power of a dragon in his fist. That’s awesome. I really appreciate Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction’s efforts on the current Iron Fist solo title. They’ve done a great job re-inventing him without losing the fun of the character. Danny Rand: rich guy with crazy kung-fu powers. Plus, he has really cool friends. And I like how he wears ballet flats.

7. Namor the Sub-Mariner
Namor does not care about you, you disgusting, land-dwelling turd. Namor cares about two things: Atlantis and shaping his hair into a neat little point. And maybe waxing his eyebrows into perfect Greta Garbo arches. All that I’m saying is that if I had to choose a Marvel hero who likely moonlights as the headlining act at a drag club…I would go with Namor. Namor will leave the house wearing nothing but a speedo and wings on his ankles. He will fight battles wearing this and he will STEAL YOUR WIFE wearing this. Lately he’s been wearing more clothing, but it only makes him look more like David Bowie in Labyrinth. Namor is awesome.

6. Black Widow (Natalia Romanova)
I like to live vicariously through Black Widow. Not only is she about as cool as a human being can possibly get, what with being a super spy and being all hot and wearing a sexy mod jumpsuit, she also gets to romance all the coolest heroes in the Marvel universe. Daredevil, Hawkeye, AND Winter Soldier have all fallen in love with her. And so have I!

5. The Thing (Ben Grimm)
I don’t really care for at least half of the Fantastic Four. You know the half I’m talking about. They’re married to each other. The other half, however, is tons of fun. Especially the ever-lovin’ Thing. Y’know, whiny, emo superheroes who brood about their super powers and responsibility that they didn’t ask for could learn a thing or two from this guy. Clearly Ben Grimm has a very undesirable superpower. He is a giant rocky monster. Yet he still has a great sense of humour and generally a great attitude about life. So shut the hell up, X-Men.

4. Winter Soldier (Bucky Barnes)
Bucky lives! And he’s all grown up! And he’s a smoking babe! Even though this guy is new, or at least new as an adult character, he has quickly become one of my favourite Marvel characters. Mostly because he is dreamy, but also because he is PISSED OFF and a LETHAL KILLING MACHINE. Now he’s Captain America and he has decided to add handguns to the costume. Captain America is now shooting out kneecaps. Go Bucky!

3. Captain America (Steve Rogers)
Captain America is basically the Superman of the Marvel Universe. It’s not because he has anywhere near the power of Superman, but more because when he shows up on the scene everyone just feels a lot more confident. Steve Rogers is in control…or, at least, he was. Before he was shot and killed. Before all that, though, I had really fallen hard for the character. I really am in love with the whole concept of Steve being around in the ’30s and ’40s and then being frozen for a long time and then having to live in the present day. I love his record collection and his simple Depression-era ways. The other way that he is like Superman is that he is pure good, and just genuinely wants to help people. Except he’s kinda cooler than Superman because he’s a soldier who fights Nazis.

2. Iron Man (Tony Stark)
It’s the man we love to hate! I guess I have a thing for billionaire industrialists. Iron Man is just so…ridiculous…that you have to love him. He’s not even really tragic, like Batman or someone who is a dick but has his reasons. Iron Man is just a straight-up asshole who also happens to be good at building robot suits. Unfortunately, his other hobbies have included alcoholism, womanizing, and forcing superheroes to register with the government. But still I love him. Maybe it’s because he’s one of the most awesome-looking heroes. Or maybe it’s because he just cracks me up with his relentless douchebaggery.

1. Daredevil (Matt Murdock)
A blind man as a superhero is just a really cool idea. I remember thinking, “What a great role model for blind people!” And then I remembered that blind people can’t read comic books. And then I got sad. But then I read a bunch of Daredevil comics and I was happy again. Matt Murdock is currently the saddest sack in comics, but in the past he’s been remarkably happy-go-lucky considering his lot in life. Plus, he’s done very well for himself, what with the private law firm and all. His costume is sweet, his powers are awesome, and he is so sexy that he makes you forget that dating him will inevitably lead to horrible death.