IGN published a top 100 comic book heroes that made me crazy, both in its predictability (Hey! Superman and Bats are #s 1 and 2!), overinclusiveness (every single Robin except Damian Wayne (who is the most interesting one by far), as well as Superboy and Supergirl? Really?) and its attempts to be esoteric without providing sufficient justification (Groo makes the list, but they don’t really say what makes him so essential; James Gordon makes the list, but Aunt May and Uncle Ben don’t–nor does Jarvis; and Nova makes the list, but nobody really gives a shit about Nova). Maybe it was the list’s sketchy criteria for placement: “Picked by their cultural impact, character development, social relevance, general cool factor, and importance of storylines, these are the best of the best.
It made me so nuts, I made my own list. Yes, there’s a lot of overlap. But mine is better. Because I said so.
Note: If you’re just looking for a list without supporting arguments, you can jump to the last page of this post. But you can’t tell me I was wrong to put Thor at #33 unless you go and read why. So, read every page and then tell me why I’m full of $#!+.
Enjoy!
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Tags: Captain America, Comic books, Daredevil, Ed Brubaker, Fantastic 4, Filthy Muties, Flash, Frank Miller, Garth Freakin Ennis, Grant Morrison Sucks, Green Lantern, Hulk, Iron Man, Punisher, Spider-Man, Superman, The Avengers, The Caped Crusader, Wonder Woman, Zombies
remotely interesting, but I imagine they bring with them a significant paycheck. I’m probably in the minority here, but I think this could be a good thing for Tony Stark. Iron Man 1 was terrific, but the actual action sequences were just okay—it was Robert Downey, Jr., who made the film so good. And Iron Man 2 was pretty humdrum, even with the addition of War Machine. I’d rather see IM3 attach a fresh voice with new ideas, especially since it will be the first Marvel Studios film to follow The Avengers. If it turns out that Marvel Studios cultivates talent and Disney snatches it away, that wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing: It will mean that up-and-comers will be treating their Marvel movies as auditions for a big paycheck, which means more of the film budget will be on the screen and that the talent will really be trying their best.
THE WALKING DEAD. You all delivered for the new AMC show, with the highest ratings ever for a show on that network. Still no order for season two, but if next Sunday’s ratings are comparable, I’d say it’s pretty much a guarantee.
10. Joss Whedon and John Cassaday’s X-Men (2004-2007) (6 votes)
interesting under Byrne’s run. It’s possible that without it, she would have disappeared from the Marvel Universe forever. Like Teen Hulk. But Byrne also got votes for his work with the F4 in general, turning Sue into a woman (she changed her name from Invisible Girl to Invisible Woman); forcing Reed to come to terms with the indirect consequences of his interdimensional meddling by bringing him to court in an alien world; having Johnny date a future herald of Galacus; and making Superman-with-a-mohawk rip-off Gladiator, of the Shi’ar Empire, the foe in issue #250. Perhaps the greatest fight sequence ever to grace The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine.
Uncanny X-Men #524. But don’t say I told you to. Instead, I’m suggesting that X-Men Forever has (finally!) gotten a sense of direction, with the introduction of Iron Man as the primary villain. Chris Claremont is definitely one of the best “idea men” in the biz, but his writing is usually too verbose (show, don’t tell Chris!) and clunky (“I’ll teleport behind him and disarm him!”). Those flaws, combined with unimaginative but perfectly serviceable art and design have kept this book from being all it should be, but it does seem to be picking up speed more. The ideas of a blind Sabertooth joining the X-Men, an evil Storm and a good baby Storm from the future, dead Wolverine (so he doesn’t dominate every storyline), Kitty with claws, the X-Men as an arm of Nick Fury, and the afore-mentioned bad-Stark, are all good ones,
