Why is Spiderman as iconic as Superman?

[ImageMask]

Superman is more iconic, all the first are.

 

Neil Armstrong - first man to walk on the moon

do you remember #2??

 

Buzz Aldrin

 

Charles Lindbergh - first man to cross the atlantic non-stop

do you remember #2??

 

Richard Byrd.

 

Amelia Earhart - first solo flight across the atlantic by a woman.

do you remember #2??

 

Probably Beryl Markham...

 

Right Brothers - first powered flight

do you remember #2???

etc etc etc.

 

 

Wright....

 

And the second was also Wilbur & Orville...as was the third and fourth.

 

Nice, was going to do the same thing but was to lazy.

 

RMA has lots of free time for Googling.

[RockMyAmadeus]

Superman is more iconic, all the first are.

 

Neil Armstrong - first man to walk on the moon

do you remember #2??

 

Buzz Aldrin

 

Charles Lindbergh - first man to cross the atlantic non-stop

do you remember #2??

 

Richard Byrd.

 

Amelia Earhart - first solo flight across the atlantic by a woman.

do you remember #2??

 

Probably Beryl Markham...

 

Right Brothers - first powered flight

do you remember #2???

etc etc etc.

 

 

Wright....

 

And the second was also Wilbur & Orville...as was the third and fourth.

 

Nice, was going to do the same thing but was to lazy.

 

RMA has lots of free time for Googling.

 

It's true...I googled the last three. The first one, I knew. The last one, I could have guessed.

 

[ImageMask]

Superman II = Half-caf, mocha chai latté enema WIN.

 

And this one we know you experienced.

[david20009]

Westerners may be able to relate to Spidey, but kids in Namibia, or Nepal, or Uruguay....maybe not so much.

 

Harlan Ellison once posited that there were only 5 fictional characters truly recognized world-wide... in no particular order...

 

Tarzan, Superman, Sherlock Holmes, Mickey Mouse, Robin Hood.

 

 

I think Harlan has it wrong. If I were to walk out into one of my factories in southern China and show photos of all three and ask who they were I have no doubt that each of the factory workers would know Mickey Mouse and Superman. I would be shocked if any knew Tarzan, Sherlock Holmes and blown away if any knew Robin Hood.

 

 

 

[500Club]

Movies had little to do with it. Look at all the Marvel 70's merchandising- Spidey was king (plus Hulk and Cap)

 

Spidey might be more iconic because people can relate- Superman is basically a perfect God and Spidey has all kinds of frustrations and disappointments. His world is much more realistic and people can relate more

 

From my experience, icons aren't people that we can relate to. They tend to be people that we place on a pedestal.

 

Yeah, I'm guilty of interchanging popularity with icon status in this thread, now that I think about it.

 

Thinking with a clearer head, it's seems obvious to me that Superman is head-and-shoulders more iconic than any other character.

[RockMyAmadeus]

Superman II = Half-caf, mocha chai latté enema WIN.

 

And this one we know you experienced.

 

Who hasn't..? :shrug:

[RockMyAmadeus]

Movies had little to do with it. Look at all the Marvel 70's merchandising- Spidey was king (plus Hulk and Cap)

 

Spidey might be more iconic because people can relate- Superman is basically a perfect God and Spidey has all kinds of frustrations and disappointments. His world is much more realistic and people can relate more

 

From my experience, icons aren't people that we can relate to. They tend to be people that we place on a pedestal.

 

Yeah, I'm guilty of interchanging popularity with icon status in this thread, now that I think about it.

 

Thinking with a clearer head, it's seems obvious to me that Superman is head-and-shoulders more iconic than any other character.

 

You always come around to my way of thinking eventually....

 

[cpannell]

I don't think the movies had anything to do with it. The reason the books were cheaper 30 years ago is because they were only 30 years old at that point. I don't think any Marvel character that isn't already iconic ever will be. It's POSSIBLE another Wolverine is created someday, maybe Deadpool is it, but I don't think so. I do think Spider-Man is every bit as iconic as Superman. I don't think AF15 is as rare as Action 1, but disregarding value and length of time existing, they are both big characters.

 

While the supply of AF15 is greater than Action #1, so is the demand, hence the recent "high" price paid for a copy of Spidey's origin story, and another indication of Spider-man's longevity, iconic status, and his undeniable whateverness.

[500Club]

Movies had little to do with it. Look at all the Marvel 70's merchandising- Spidey was king (plus Hulk and Cap)

 

Spidey might be more iconic because people can relate- Superman is basically a perfect God and Spidey has all kinds of frustrations and disappointments. His world is much more realistic and people can relate more

 

From my experience, icons aren't people that we can relate to. They tend to be people that we place on a pedestal.

 

Yeah, I'm guilty of interchanging popularity with icon status in this thread, now that I think about it.

 

Thinking with a clearer head, it's seems obvious to me that Superman is head-and-shoulders more iconic than any other character.

 

You always come around to my way of thinking eventually....

 

 

More a case of coming around to reading the title of the thread...

[AbsoluteCarnage]

I think Spider-Man is more iconic b/c people can relate to him more than Superman.

 

But that's just my opinion

 

I wasn't gonna even read one post before I responded but got this far 3 posts down and she hit it on the money.

 

Relation to hero from a person of the norm. This guy came into his powers and wasn't tossed here by a spaceship from an exploding planet.

 

People love them both but Spider-Man has gone through hardship after hardship after hardship, whether it's losing loved ones or friends backstabbing him etc etc..... and never really being able to trust anyone till so late into the book lines.....

 

 

Just MHO as well but I agree 100% with her statement!!!

 

And I'm pure spidey but I do like reading Batman / Superman time to time as well.

 

After my regular marvels. Alot of good characters to read out there.

 

 

 

 

Rich

[Mr. 10%]

Spidey was born in the US of A...Superman is an immigrant (illegal at that)...simple!!!

 

He is not even human. Why are we relating to Bats and Spidey? Because the are vulnerable, fragile dudes who can die and they are pulling through ... coping with their world. The man of steel is ... otherworldly, immortal, with unlimited strength. Uninteresting.

[AbsoluteCarnage]

I guess ya got the baby boomers era of comic collectors as well that is a SUPER high amount of ppl compared to who's left alive that was there when Superman started. Sad to say but true. Alot of ppl that were teenagers collecting ASM from issues 1-100 in their youth are in that category of baby boomer era.

 

 

Take that for what it's worth......

 

 

 

[RockMyAmadeus]

I don't think the movies had anything to do with it. The reason the books were cheaper 30 years ago is because they were only 30 years old at that point. I don't think any Marvel character that isn't already iconic ever will be. It's POSSIBLE another Wolverine is created someday, maybe Deadpool is it, but I don't think so. I do think Spider-Man is every bit as iconic as Superman. I don't think AF15 is as rare as Action 1, but disregarding value and length of time existing, they are both big characters.

 

While the supply of AF15 is greater than Action #1, so is the demand, hence the recent "high" price paid for a copy of Spidey's origin story, and another indication of Spider-man's longevity, iconic status, and his undeniable whateverness.

 

Dude.

 

Did you *really* just say that the demand for AF #15 is GREATER than the demand for Action Comics #1....?

 

Did you REALLY just say that....?

 

Honestly.....?

[Chespirito]

Superman is more iconic, all the first are.

 

Neil Armstrong - first man to walk on the moon

do you remember #2??

 

Buzz Aldrin

 

Charles Lindbergh - first man to cross the atlantic non-stop

do you remember #2??

 

Richard Byrd.

 

Amelia Earhart - first solo flight across the atlantic by a woman.

do you remember #2??

 

Probably Beryl Markham...

 

Right Brothers - first powered flight

do you remember #2???

etc etc etc.

 

 

Wright....

 

And the second was also Wilbur & Orville...as was the third and fourth.

 

Nice, was going to do the same thing but was to lazy.

[Bronty]

I believe it is. If Action 1 and AF15 were the same era book and had the same supply across all grades - AF15 would be worth more, IMO, at each grade.

 

Ergo, it has greater demand

[RockMyAmadeus]

I believe it is. If Action 1 and AF15 were the same era book and had the same supply across all grades - AF15 would be worth more, IMO, at each grade.

 

Ergo, it has greater demand

 

Oh come ON.

 

Not you too, Bronty!

 

This is utter lunacy!

 

The very fact that they are NOT the same era is why Action #1 trumps AF #15 all day long. If there were the same number of copies, in the same grades, Action #1 would still beat AF #15.

 

Action #1 is, and has been for 50+ years, THE comic to own, the one that sets apart great collections from every other collection.

[Bronty]

I believe it is. If Action 1 and AF15 were the same era book and had the same supply across all grades - AF15 would be worth more, IMO, at each grade.

 

Ergo, it has greater demand

 

Oh come ON.

 

Not you too, Bronty!

 

This is utter lunacy!

 

Don't confuse value with demand. Don't confuse lack of supply with demand. Don't confuse price with demand.

 

If you hold supply utterly constant and imagine a world where either supey was introduced in the SA, or spidey in the GA, Spidey would whup him good.

[RockMyAmadeus]

I believe it is. If Action 1 and AF15 were the same era book and had the same supply across all grades - AF15 would be worth more, IMO, at each grade.

 

Ergo, it has greater demand

 

Oh come ON.

 

Not you too, Bronty!

 

This is utter lunacy!

 

Don't confuse value with demand. Don't confuse lack of supply with demand. Don't confuse price with demand.

 

If you hold supply utterly constant and reimagine a world where either supey was introduced in the SA, or spidey in the GA, Spidey would whup him good.

 

I am not confusing ANYTHING for ANYTHING.

 

It is total lunacy to suggest that, all other things being equal, Action #1 is in LESS demand than AF #15. In fact,....if AF #15 had the same numbers as Action #1, it would be worth LESS than it is now, because it would essentially be uncollectable. Super rarity is fine for the most important book in comics...not so much a 1962 Marvel, regardless of how popular Spidey has become.

[Bronty]

The very fact that they are NOT the same era is why Action #1 trumps AF #15 all day long.

 

YES

 

If there were the same number of copies, in the same grades, Action #1 would still beat AF #15.

 

NOT A CHANCE

 

Action #1 is, and has been for 50+ years, THE comic to own, the one that sets apart great collections from every other collection.

 

UTTERLY IRRELEVANT TO THE PARAMETERS OF OUR CONVERSATION AND HOPELESSLY INTERTWINED WITH SCARCITY AND AGE

[RockMyAmadeus]

Superman WASN'T introduced in the SA, so pretending he was is nothing but a moot exercise.