Here is an archive of all the past top five lists I've one over the years.

The best superhero origins become almost icons themselves. You can identify them with very little information. Here are what I think are the top five best ones...

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Almost too many for this to really be worth doing. So I'll just post the one that just BARELY missed my top five.

Captain America

Joe Simon and Jack Kirby gave Captain America an excellent origin in Captain America Comics #1, that's to be sure. I just think the ones above it are even better.

5. Iron Man

I think one way you can tell how cool an origin of a superhero is is how much films need to change it. Besides the stereotypical depiction of the Vietnamese villains (which IS pretty darn bad), Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Don Heck's origin story for Iron Man was adapted almost word for word for the Iron Man film. That's because it is a tight story with a great hook - he must build his way out of imprisonment, and become a hero while also keeping himself alive! That's awesome!

4. Superman

This one almost feels like it is out of some Greek myth, which makes sense, as Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster were sort of inventing the new American mythology here....

And, of course, All Star Superman's take on it was splendid, showing just how powerful and easy to explain that it is...

Go to the next page for the top three!

3. Doctor Strange

The pathos on this one is OFF THE CHARTS!

First, you very quickly establish a damaged guy and slowly give him both a quest and a chance at redemption...

And then you have Mordo use magic to keep Strange from warning the Ancient One, forcing Strange to make a heroic choice...

Damn, Ditko and Lee sure knew how to come up with an awesome, intense origin!

Speaking of which...

2. Spider-Man

First, you establish that he's an outcast...

then you give him powers...

and after he uses the powers to make himself a success and lose touch with humanity, you stick a knife in him and twist it...

All of this in, like, 10 pages. Amazing. But speaking of economy of pages...

1. Batman

While all five of these heroes dealt with unforeseen circumstances, what I think makes Batman stand apart a bit is that he had nothing to turn himself into a superhero besides his own grim determination. It gives him a unique form of agency that really resonates.

Okay, that's my top five! Agree? Disagree? Let me know!