After over 1,200 ballots were cast, YOU the reader ranked your favorite comic book characters from 1-10. I assigned point totals to each ranking and then tabulated it all into a Top 50 list. We're now revealing that list throughout the next few weeks. The countdown begins now...
50. Superboy (Kon-El) - 288 points (3 first place votes)
After the Death of Superman, four being showed up that people confused for being the return of Superman. One of those beings turned out to be the CLONE of Superman, only taken out of his development before maturation finished, so the clone was still a teenager. Eventually going by the name Superboy (he was created by Karl Kesel and Tom Grummett), this clone was a brasher version of Superman, with powers that worked more based on telekinesis than actual Kryptonian powers (the clone was cloned from half Superman DNA and half human DNA).
After an impressive solo career on the island state of Hawaii, this young hero (who had long been given the Kryptonian name of Kon-El by Superman) moved to Smallville and began living with Superman’s adopted parents, the Kents. Here he adapted Kon-El to Conner Kent, and began wearing a new costume (originally he wore a leather jacket – now it was a black T-shirt with a Red S on it and blue jeans). He became a member of a newly reformed Teen Titans and developed a relationship with Wonder Girl. However, he soon discovered that the human half of his DNA was from Lex Luthor!!! Luthor then showed that he had put in some failsafes in Superboy’s DNA, and he was able to turn Superboy against his teammates. Superboy eventually fought this off. However, it was only in time to sacrifice himself to help save the world from an insane version of Superboy from another universe. Luckily, he was able to return to life in an adventure involving the Legion of Super-Heroes, and he returned to Smallville as a local hero (in the tradition of Superman as a teen hero named Superboy in Smallville).
The New 52 Superboy...well, let's not get into that. It will not make any one happy.
49. Green Lantern (John Stewart) - 289 points (4 first place votes)
Introduced in the early 1970s (created by Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams) as an alternate Green Lantern, John Stewart eventually took over the role full time for a while during the 1980s and even when Hal Jordan returned, John continued to be a major player in the Green Lantern comics. An architect, John's finest moments in the comics might have come in the early 1990s when Gerard Jones and Cully Hamner did a series called Green Lantern: Mosaic, where John starred as the main protector of a so-called "Mosaic" world made of various cities from around the universe...
It was a nice, thoughtful approach to a character who had gone through a lot of turmoil in the late 1980s, from his wife being murdered to his arrogance being responsible for the death of a planet (him dealing with the guilt of the planet that was destroyed was, like, his main character trait for YEARS).
John Stewart was a supporting character in the Green Lantern comics after Kyle Rayner took over the role but his biggest spotlight came when he was made a member of the Justice League in the animated series adaptation of the comics. This John Stewart was a Marine and that approach was eventually adapted to the comics version of John (I explored the transition here) until it has now become his largest trait by far - he is a former Marine and that is what all of his adventures tend to revolve around, him as a military veteran.
48. Animal Man - 290 points (1 first place votes)
Due to some alien visitors, Buddy Baker gained the ability to borrow the abilities of animals, like flying like a nearby bird, running like a nearby cheetah, etc. This led to Buddy becoming the hero, Animal Man (created by Dave Wood and Carmine Infantino).
Eventually, Buddy grew tired of the hero game, and settled down with his wife and his two young children. He popped up occasionally with a few other mostly retired heroes in the Forgotten Heroes. After Crisis, though, he was back to being retired. However, eventually he got restless and became Animal Man again, even joining the Justice League!!
It was during this time that Grant Morrison wrote Buddy's first ongoing title, where Morrison used Buddy to explore both animal rights and also metafictive concepts about comic books, like acknowledging Crisis and how the series had changed "continuity." Morrison even appeared in the comic, as "The Writer."
After Morrison's departure, Buddy's book became more and more surreal, until its cancellation when, after being absent for a few years, Buddy just basically went back to the way he was at the end of Morrison's run.
Recently, Jeff Lemire had a strong ongoing series starring Buddy that managed to toe the line nicely between the surrealism of Morrison's run and having Animal Man still be a superhero. Jeff Parker has continued to maintain that approach in the pages of Justice League United.
47. Alfred Pennyworth - 300 points
Introduced by Bill Finger, Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson, Alfred initially was a rotund goofy little man. He eventually became thin (to tie in with the Batman film serial of the time).
Up until the 1980s, though, Alfred was someone that did not come into Bruce Wayne's life until much later. It was first the Super Powers cartoon but then most notably Frank Miller's Year One that changed this, and it was Miller who established Alfred's new sarcastic wit, which Miller patterned after the butler in the film Arthur. Up until this point, Alfred was very much just the loyal servant, offering criticism only when asked. Now he served as a dissenting voice to Batman's crusade. His role as Batman's field doctor also expanded.
In his last regular issue of Batman (before moving on to Batman and Robin and then Batman Incorporated), Grant Morrison has Alfred explain his role in the life of Batman beautifully...
He's definitely a unique supporting character.
46. Spoiler/Batgirl (Stephanie Brown) - 306 points (6 first place votes)
Stephanie Brown was introduced by Chuck Dixon, Tom Lyle and Scott Hanna in a clever story where we learn that the daughter of the villain Cluemaster (basically a second-rate Riddler) is intentionally trying to screw up his plans by leaving clues for Batman and Robin to stop him...
She seemed destined for just a clever one-off character until Robin got his own series and Dixon decided to bring her back as a ally/foil. Her guest appearance went over really well and fans clamored for more. She was a breath of fresh air - someone who was a vigilante because she just legitimately LIKED it (while initially it was just to get revenge on her dad, she quickly moved past that).
The problem was that Batman never quite trusted her. She slowly became friends with the other Bat-heroes, though. Finally, she seemed to get her chance when her boyfriend, Tim Drake, had to quit being Robin for a while. She tried to get the job and Batman seemed to say yes, but after less than three issues as Robin, Batman fired her. As it turned out, it was just all a plan by Batman to make Tim jealous enough to become Robin again. One of the dickier moves by Batman, and that guy is ALL about dick moves.
The problem was, Stephanie then tried to prove herself to Batman by implementing a "War Game" she discovered that he had written that would result with Batman taking control of all of Gotham's gangs. The problem was that the inexperienced Stephanie did not realize that the plan she implemented was incomplete (it required Matches Malone, Batman's fake gang identity, to work properly and since Batman didn't know she was implementing it, Matches was nowhere to be seen). In the end, she paid the price for her screw-up by being murdered by the crime boss, Black Mask. Later we learned that her death had been faked by Dr. Leslie Thompkins.
After first returning as Spoiler, she upgraded to Batgirl when her friend, Cassandra Cain, gave up the identity after Bruce Wayne's seeming death. Stephanie excelled as Batgirl, even finding acceptance from Bruce Wayne (after he returned from the "dead") that she was never able to get before. Here she is in one of her very last appearances as Batgirl (it was written before the new 52 but was published after the new 52)...
Awesome stuff.
She was introduced into the New 52 recently as Spoiler again.
45. Lois Lane - 307 points (4 first place votes)
Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Lois Lane is the ultimate in the badass take-no-prisoners, leap-before-you-look reporter trope, making her more than a match for Superman as both a friend and a possible lover.
I think John Byrne captured her spirit well in Man of Steel #4...
and after the party is taken over by terrorists...
The sight of Lois slinging a machine gun dressed in a man's suitjacket because she wouldn't be indebted to anyone is, well, pretty darn awesome. That is how great Lois Lane is. Mark Waid had an awesome panel in Superman: Birthright that captured how some of the things that make her great also sometimes make her difficult to be around...
44. Spectre (Jim Corrigan) - 310 points (7 first place votes)
Jim Corrigan, the Spectre, first appeared in More Fun Comics #51, created by created by Jerry Siegel and Bernard Baily.
Corrigan was a cop who was murdered, then refused entry into heaven, and instead became the host body for the Spirit of Vengeance, the Spectre.
The Spectre is essentially a super-powerful ghost who gets vengeance upon bad guys.
Corrigan was the host for the Spectre for decades.
Perhaps his most acclaimed run was during John Ostrander and Tom Mandrake's series.
Here is a snippet, where they cleverly set the Spectre upon a prison...
While the Spectre acts tough, he can't help but be swayed by the prisoner's plea, leading to a brilliant sequence later in the issue...
At the end of their run, Corrigan was finally admitted into heaven.
In the New 52, Corrigan is the Spectre once again, although there is a different take on the character. Now it is that it is ALL in his mind - that there is no one guiding his justice but himself!
43. Batwoman (Katherine Kane) - 311 points (2 first place votes)
Batwoman (created by Greg Rucka, Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison and Mark Waid) was introduced in 52, a storyline that was based around the notion that Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman were gone for a year. Thus, when Batwoman shows up in Gotham City there IS no Batman there...
Kate Kane grew up in a rich family but also a military family (her mom was a socialite and her dad was a Colonel). She was kicked out of a military academy because of Don't Ask Don't Tell. She spiraled out of control for a while there and was just a wild socialite. However, after Batman tried to save her from a mugger (that she managed to take out on her own), she was inspired to become a vigilante. Eventually her father discovered her activities and decided to help her, as well as provide her with a fancy Bat-suit. She has since become one of the most successful heroes in Gotham City.
Batwoman is one of the rare heroes where the New 52 didn't really change her at all.
42. Starman (Jack Knight) - 312 points (9 first place votes)
Jack Knight was created by James Robinson and Tony Harris as the unlikely wielder of the name Starman and the famous cosmic rod of Starman.
When Ted Knight chose to retire, his son David was the clear choice. He WANTED to be a hero. Jack did not.
But when David was murdered, Jack had to step up and become the new Starman, which he acquitted himself mightily at for many years.
Jack was interesting in particular because he WASN'T your typical hero, so he brought an outsider's perspective to the whole thing which was very engaging. He dealt in pop culture antiquities, so it allowed Robinson to have Jack make references most superheroes would never make. Another striking aspect of the series was Jack's relationship with the "villain" the Shade. Their friendship was awesome, as it sort of packaged everything about what made Starman great into one thing - Jack's out-of-the-box thinking as a hero, his off-kilter cultural references and, well, the Shade (the Shade was great).
Continuing in his unconventional way, Jack retired from being a superhero when he had his first child. That meant that he missed out on the New 52, which...well, yeah. Let's leave it at that.
41. Dr. Fate (Kent Nelson) - 319 points (5 first place votes)
Created by Gardner Fox and Howard Sherman, Kent Nelson discovered a sorcerer named Nabu, who then trained Kent to become Doctor Fate, complete with his magic helmet.
I always am partial to how Fox and Murphy Anderson brought Fate into the Silver Age...
Many other character have taken on the iconic helmet in the years since, most recently in the New 52 a young medical student named Khalid Nassour has become the new Doctor Fate.
Okay, that's it for the first batch of characters!