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A lighthearted escapist thread here. I've been into comics my whole life and read a lot of graphic novels these days. With all the superhero movies that have been coming out the past few years, which characters are your favorites? (Or your least favorites.) I admit it, I'm in my 40s and I still love losing myself in these stories. The two big comic companies are Marvel and DC and I like them both but tend to lean powerfully to the DC side. Some of my personal favorites--
BATMAN- Always the #1 badass superhero, no super powers necessary, just a little kid- Bruce Wayne- who saw his parents murdered in front of him and vowed to become the very best at everything he'd ever need to be to keep such horrors from happening to other people. Best detective, best fighter, best master of every gadget he might ever conceivably need. The fact that he happens to be heir to a billion dollar fortune and has a massive cavern underneath his house to use as a hideout are just big perks. Nobody tops him.
RORSCHACH- No super powers here either, just a very messed up childhood as Walter Kovacs that gave him a stark black and white view of life, no shades of gray, like a rorschach test. As a member of the Watchmen he is somewhat reigned in, but on his own he is an absolute avenger. Not altruistically though, not to help people, because he basically hates most people and sees no real hope for humanity. He simply hunts down the worst of the worst because he thinks it's the right thing to do. Unlike Batman, Rorschach kills. A fascinating character study.
V- From "V for Vendetta"- Altruism personified, V fights for revolution in a futuristic England that has become a fascist state. Scarred by fire from his early dealings with the corrupt government, he hides permanently behind a mask that he will never be able to shed whether he wins or loses. No double life, no secret identity. No one knows who he is. His role as hero/terrorist is literally all that he will ever be.
GREEN ARROW- Have gotten very into him just lately. Oliver Queen, former millionaire playboy turned Robin Hood crime fighter. Very like Batman, but much more ethically flawed. He tries hard not to kill, but sometimes does. He's a staunch liberal and has a short temper, constantly spouting his left wing rants. He worries that he is getting to be too old. He cheats on his girlfriend on occasion, but feels bad about it. I certainly don't admire him for that, but it makes him so very human and therefore an interesting character. As a member of the Justice League he is surrounded by heroes with amazing powers but manages to hold his own as nothing more than the world's greatest archer.
HIT GIRL- From "Kick-Ass"- As pure unadulterated escapism, if you can accept the cartoonish level of blood and gore and profanity, who can help but fall in love with this 11-year-old killing machine? The level of violence is so over the top it's laughable, both in the comic and the movie where Chloe Grace Moretz played her to perfection. Her father Big Daddy has raised her to be his sidekick in avenging the criminals that have disgraced their family and she's been denied a normal childhood. All through the story I just wanted to give her a hug.
WOLVERINE- Hey, finally a Marvel character on my list. The guy with the steel claws that come out of his fists. I'll never forget the moment in the first X-Men movie when Anna Paquin asks Hugh Jackman if it hurts when the claws come out and he says, "Every time." Wolverine- Logan- has so much samurai in him which is a part of history I'm fascinated with, yet he never fully embraces it. He is just himself, a warrior with an indestructable metal skeleton that makes it hard for him to pass through airports.
Guess my choices tend mainly toward those without actual super powers, just fully advanced natural abilities, and thus things that might actually happen in real life. Couple of nods in there also to British comic writer Alan Moore.
As for villains, no one beats the Joker. Both physically and mentally scarred, he's a creepy and hideous serial killer who thinks any and every act of violent depravity he can imagine is hilariously funny, and no amount of beating him into submission will ever, EVER make him stop. Comics are not always kid stuff, folks. Kind of puts Jack the Ripper into perspective as a super villain.
BATMAN- Always the #1 badass superhero, no super powers necessary, just a little kid- Bruce Wayne- who saw his parents murdered in front of him and vowed to become the very best at everything he'd ever need to be to keep such horrors from happening to other people. Best detective, best fighter, best master of every gadget he might ever conceivably need. The fact that he happens to be heir to a billion dollar fortune and has a massive cavern underneath his house to use as a hideout are just big perks. Nobody tops him.
RORSCHACH- No super powers here either, just a very messed up childhood as Walter Kovacs that gave him a stark black and white view of life, no shades of gray, like a rorschach test. As a member of the Watchmen he is somewhat reigned in, but on his own he is an absolute avenger. Not altruistically though, not to help people, because he basically hates most people and sees no real hope for humanity. He simply hunts down the worst of the worst because he thinks it's the right thing to do. Unlike Batman, Rorschach kills. A fascinating character study.
V- From "V for Vendetta"- Altruism personified, V fights for revolution in a futuristic England that has become a fascist state. Scarred by fire from his early dealings with the corrupt government, he hides permanently behind a mask that he will never be able to shed whether he wins or loses. No double life, no secret identity. No one knows who he is. His role as hero/terrorist is literally all that he will ever be.
GREEN ARROW- Have gotten very into him just lately. Oliver Queen, former millionaire playboy turned Robin Hood crime fighter. Very like Batman, but much more ethically flawed. He tries hard not to kill, but sometimes does. He's a staunch liberal and has a short temper, constantly spouting his left wing rants. He worries that he is getting to be too old. He cheats on his girlfriend on occasion, but feels bad about it. I certainly don't admire him for that, but it makes him so very human and therefore an interesting character. As a member of the Justice League he is surrounded by heroes with amazing powers but manages to hold his own as nothing more than the world's greatest archer.
HIT GIRL- From "Kick-Ass"- As pure unadulterated escapism, if you can accept the cartoonish level of blood and gore and profanity, who can help but fall in love with this 11-year-old killing machine? The level of violence is so over the top it's laughable, both in the comic and the movie where Chloe Grace Moretz played her to perfection. Her father Big Daddy has raised her to be his sidekick in avenging the criminals that have disgraced their family and she's been denied a normal childhood. All through the story I just wanted to give her a hug.
WOLVERINE- Hey, finally a Marvel character on my list. The guy with the steel claws that come out of his fists. I'll never forget the moment in the first X-Men movie when Anna Paquin asks Hugh Jackman if it hurts when the claws come out and he says, "Every time." Wolverine- Logan- has so much samurai in him which is a part of history I'm fascinated with, yet he never fully embraces it. He is just himself, a warrior with an indestructable metal skeleton that makes it hard for him to pass through airports.
Guess my choices tend mainly toward those without actual super powers, just fully advanced natural abilities, and thus things that might actually happen in real life. Couple of nods in there also to British comic writer Alan Moore.
As for villains, no one beats the Joker. Both physically and mentally scarred, he's a creepy and hideous serial killer who thinks any and every act of violent depravity he can imagine is hilariously funny, and no amount of beating him into submission will ever, EVER make him stop. Comics are not always kid stuff, folks. Kind of puts Jack the Ripper into perspective as a super villain.
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