Happy Birthday to ME! ^_^ + 10 Favourite Marvel Superheroes

Yep, it’s still my birthday, and having listed my 10 favourite DC heroes, it’s now time to list my favourite Marvel heroes. And I think I’d like to start of with THIS guy, just so I can get my issues over, done with, and outta the way first thing so that I may end on a happier note…

#1 – Peter Parker, AKA The Amazing Spider-Man

………*sighs, putting down the fedora* Okay, here’s the REAL truth. You wanna know why it is that I’m so bothered by the writing of Spider-Man these days? The deal with Mephisto, the back-tracking of his character, the refusal to let him grow up, and now the Superior Spider-Man nonsense, all just to name the biggest problems. It’s not just because it’s really crappy writing, even though it is. It’s not just because it makes me feel afraid to get into any Marvel character since they could do the same with them, and I still do feel that at times. No, at the core of it, it’s a really simple issue: The Amazing Spider-Man was my hero, right along with Batman. They were both brilliant heroes who fought for the good of mankind, even when it felt like the whole world could be against them at times…and now, my image of Peter Parker will ALWAYS be marked by what he did in One More Day, until such time happens as the deal with Mephisto is reversed, which considering recent events, probably isn’t happening.

And while I generally tend to side with my comic book loving idol, Linkara, here’s a point where I disagree with him: Spider-Man isn’t dead. Why?  Because rather than just kill the mainstream Peter Parker and be done with it, they instead have opted to keep him on constant life-support as to continuously wail on his balls over and over and over again. And it is sickening to those of us who are hoping to see Pete somehow emerge from all these events with his dignity restored, but considering he’s now made deals with the devil, been brain-swapped with Doc Ock, been unknowingly raped by his Aunt, and now been beaten by Doc Ock in the landscape of his own mind, if Peter DOES return, any kind of dignity he ever had is long since gone.

ANYWAY, rant over…for now. As for my favourite interpretations of the character, while the pacing of the 90’s Spider-Man cartoon could be insanely fast in some episodes, it was still a good show overall and represented Peter pretty well. Likewise, I really liked the Tobey Maguire movies too, albeit there were a few moments I might wanna change up. Also, while the Ultimate Universe can be very up and down, I will say that if nothing else, Ultimate Peter Parker went out a badass hero in those comics, and his replacement, Miles Morales, has been pretty awesome too.

#2 – Anna Marie, AKA Rogue

…Yeah, without a doubt, Rogue is my favourite Marvel hottie. Mind you, it’s impossible to touch her and not wind up in a hospital at best, but still plenty to admire about the girl. Strong, smart, beautiful, and a desire to do real good in the world, even when it’s prejudiced against her and her kind. She now serves on both the X-Men and the Uncanny Avengers. Probably my favourite take of her was on the old X-Men animated series, though the problem with that show back then was that if you missed a single episode, you were frakked. lol

#3 – Tony Stark, AKA Iron Man

I AM IRON MA-Why does everyone associate that song with the character? Seriously, they’re not even close to being the same character. Anyway, Tony Stark is one of the five founding members of the Avengers, and has long since been one of the major characters of the Marvel Universe. While his every move hasn’t exactly been very heroic (the Superhuman Registration Act, for example), he’s since gone to great lengths to redeem himself and rebuild his reputation and his standing with his fellow heroes all the way from the bottom to the very top. As for my favourite portrayal of Iron Man, gotta go with Robert Downey, Jr. While the plot of the Iron Man movies have occasionally been swing and miss, Rob pretty much OWNS the role.

#4 – James ‘Logan’ Howlett, AKA Wolverine

ADAMANTIUM RAGE!!! Wolverine is frigging awesome, albeit kinda psychotic on a number of occasions. Still, you can’t help but feel bad for Logan sometimes. His past is a never-ending spiral of pain and sorrow, he’s doomed to outlive everyone around him, and again, for some reason, the Marvel civilians are still assholes toward mutants. And yet, despite all that, he’s still a badass saving both ordinary humans and mutants from the worst scum of the universe as a member of both the X-Men and the Uncanny Avengers. Plus, probably one of the best and most famous Canadian superheroes. ^_^ And with all due respect to Hugh Jackman, my favourite interpretation of the character is from the old cartoon.

#5 – Ororo Munroe, AKA Storm

And another mutant, and possibly one of the most powerful X-Men ever. Storm has always been frigging awesome in how she can command the weather however she sees fit. She now acts as co-leader with Wolverine. Hard to pin down a favourite interpretation of the character, since I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a bad one, so take from that what you will.

#6 – Dr. Bruce Banner, AKA The Incredible Hulk

Say it with me now, HULK SMASH!!! Hulk is freaking awesome. Another of the founding members of the Avengers, Hulk might be lacking in self-control and can be a problem for the good guys, but when he’s on their side, it’s officially a bad day to be a bad guy. What’s funny is that his abilities are actually quite similar to Golden Age Superman: Uncanny leaping ability, insane amounts of strength, and virtually indestructible. In fact, if I may be so bold, his physical strength may be even greater than Superman’s. Again, hard to pick out a favourite version, but the one in Avengers is pretty awesome.

#7 – Natasha Romanoff, AKA The Black Widow

Former assassin turned heroine and member of the Avengers, Natasha Romanoff is too awesome for words. Again, this is based generally off the version in Iron Man 2 and Avengers, but she was amazing, even managing to outwit the trickster Loki. Not too thrilled with her choice of weapons, a pair of revolvers. But that’s the old-school Batman fan in me, and I guess in a world like the one she’s in, without powers, you kinda need some equalizers.

#8 – Thor Odinson

The God of Thunder and son of the Asgard God, Odin, Thor is another Marvel Superhero with power approaching that of Superman’s. In fact, the two have fought on two occasions. During the first bout, Thor managed to best Superman, but the second battle didn’t go so well with the God of Thunder. Still, one could have a FAR worse win/loss record against the Man of Steel. And I know, I sound like a broken record, but Avengers interpretation for the win. lol

#9 – Jennifer Walters, AKA She-Hulk

Okay, real simple. Take everything that’s awesome about the Hulk. Now slim him down considerably, but still musclebound and retaining his abilities. Now make him a hot chick. Thus, She-Hulk is born, and she is AMAZING. ^_^ Kinda stuck for a favourite version of her, and before anyone brings up Age of Ultron, if anyone believes the people killed in this comic are really dead, please slap yourself. HARD. lol

#10 – Steve Rogers, AKA Captain America

Okay, I’m a proud Canadian, and even I love Captain America. In much the same way that Superman embodies hope in the DC universe, so too does Steve Rogers in Marvel. Given the superhuman serum because of how dedicated he was to protecting peace, freedom, and justice, Captain America fights not for himself, but for others. And again, my favourite interpretation of the character is probably from the Avengers movie, though I REALLY loved his cameos in the Spider-Man cartoon. Also, just gonna throw this out there, Captain America and Thor fighting legions of the undead, best part of the otherwise shitty Ultimatum. ^_^

So I don’t ever wanna hear that I got nothing good to say about Marvel superheroes, okay? I just listed my 10 favourites. lol Anyway, that’s it for me, and it is now officially time I went to bed, so I am outta here. Ja né!

Happy Birthday to ME! ^_^ + 10 Favourite DC Superheroes

Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me! lol Okay, I’m not gonna do that the whole post, but I felt like bringing it up. And so, on this day that I turn 28, I decided to do two lists of my favourite superheroes, 10 from DC and 10 from Marvel. Let’s start with DC, since I’m honestly more of a DC guy than Marvel. I will elaborate on which interpretations of each character I prefer.

#1 – Bruce Wayne, AKA Batman

Yeah, be honest, you knew this was coming. In fact, I don’t know a single person who likes superheroes who doesn’t have Batman in their Top 10. I think it’s because there’s so many different interpretations of the character, thus allowing different people of different likes/dislikes to get into the character. Be it the comics, the 90’s cartoon, heck even the 60’s live action series, there’s plenty of interpretations of Batman to go around. Me personally, my favourite interpretations of the character are from Batman: The Animated Series and the Scott Snyder comics, neither of which should surprise anyone. lol

#2 – Clark Kent, AKA Superman

Ahh, the original template for the superhero in the 20th Century. Superman is the physical embodiment of hope, just as Batman is justice and Wonder Woman is truth. His feats are legendary, his abilities are unmatched, and his sheer power is only outdone by his sheer will and the strength of his heart. My favourite takes on the character are probably All-Star Superman and, again, the DCAU, although they perhaps showed him getting slapped around a bit too often there.

#3 – Stephanie Brown, AKA Batgirl

Hands down, my favourite super-heroine of all time. Sure, there are plenty who are faster, stronger, more intelligent, or more inventive, but Stephanie Brown is by far the most entertaining to read for her wit, her charm, and her never-say-die attitude. Obviously, my favourite take on the character is from Bryan Q. Miller‘s Batgirl title. But, to be fair, I have to pay homage to the original super-heroine…

#4 – Diana Prince, AKA Wonder Woman

As I said, Superman embodies hope, Batman upholds justice, and Wonder Woman is the spirit of truth. I get the feeling that perhaps one reason a lot of people tend to write poor Diana in such a botched up manner is because she is both the most compassionate super-heroine of all in DC while also the best fighter. However, my favourite interpretation of the character seemed to get the balance just write: Gail Simone‘s take on Wonder Woman.

#5 – Wally West, AKA The Flash

Yeah, I know I keep going on about this, but I seriously miss Wally West. Barry Allen is just not interesting as The Flash. The only comic strip I have ever read that has Barry written in a way that makes him fun to read is JL8, and that’s not even written by anyone in DC…for some bizarre reason. There’s actually a rumour going around that Wally is the new Reverse-Flash, with his memories of the pre-Flashpoint Earth intact and his sanity broken by how much the universe has changed and how his idol is responsible for it all. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but I can conceivably see it working, provided it ends with Wally regaining his sanity, possibly even becoming a good guy version of Reverse-Flash. Anyway, my favourite interpretations of Wally are from the Justice League cartoon and The Titans, AKA Linkara’s favourite comic series. lol

#6 – Rachel Roth, AKA Raven

Azarath Metrion ZINTHOS! Yeah, no big surprise here, but my favourite interpretation of Raven is from the Teen Titans cartoon. The version of her from The Titans where she was just a golden ghostly form was pretty awesome too, but c’mon, Raven was awesome there. She was dark, powerful, sarcastic, and honestly could be more fun than Beast Boy most times. And the excellent voice acting of Tara Strong only made her even more awesome.

 

#7 – Tim Drake, AKA Red Robin

Noticing a pattern here: Everyone here is either JLA, Titans, and/or Batman Incorporated. And in Tim Drake’s case, he could easily qualify all three someday. The only other hero besides Batman to have earned the title of ‘Detective’ from Ra’s al Ghul, Tim Drake is my favourite Robin (and no, I don’t care if his time as Robin is retconned or not, even as Red Robin, he still counts toward the group). I can’t really pick out an individual take on the character that I prefer most, but probably one the best stories to involve him is the aforementioned confrontation with Ra’s, especially the crossover stuff with Steph in Batgirl.

#8 – Kara Zor-El, AKA Supergirl

I’ve only recently gotten into Supergirl’s storylines, but honestly, I find her very interesting. I think I might just like her more than Superman. Her stories in the New 52 are higher quality than Supes’ (seriously, I’m at the point where I’m ready to BEG Scott Snyder to write the best damned Superman book he possibly can), her disguise is better than Clark’s, and she’s even potentially stronger than him since her body absorbs yellow sun energy faster.

#9 – Barbara Gordon, AKA Batgirl

Yeah, I brought up my personal favourite Batgirl, but this one deserves a spot in my 10 Favourite DC Heroes as well: Barbara Gordon. Be she the badass super-heroine, Batgirl, or the techno wizard who served as the eyes and ears of the entire Justice League, Oracle, Barbara is straight up awesome. My favourite takes on the character? Well, there’s Gail Simone’s writing, regardless of pre or post Flashpoint, and then her appearances in Bryan Q. Miller’s Batgirl, where she basically served as the old Bruce to Stephanie’s Terry McGinnis.

#10 – Shayera, AKA Hawkgirl

Ahhh, yet another badass woman in DC, Hawkgirl is among the highest ranking of her field. You get in her way, expect to wake up in a hospital bed the next day. And once again, my favourite interpretation of her is from the Justice League cartoon, though I also really like Kendra Saunders in Earth 2. What’s odd about that is that, really, they’re not all that alike at all, possibly the most different of the Earth 2 counterparts.

Anyway, that’s it for my 10 Favourite DC Superheroes. And if yer wondering why Green Lantern isn’t on here, it’s mostly because I couldn’t decide on which one to put on here, be it Alan Scott of Earth 2 or John Stewart from the Justice League cartoon. As such, just consider them tied for #11. Anyway, next time I will check out my 10 favourite heroes from Marvel. Ja né!