Is Spider-Man the most popular fictional hero in human history?

[fantastic_four]

Here's a hypothesis to ponder that I'm not convinced is accurate, but it might be. Here it is--Spider-Man has the largest worldwide fanbase of any non-religious hero in history, and possibly a bigger fanbase than some real-life heroes. Bigger than Hercules, bigger than Ulysses, bigger than King Arthur or Lancelot, and bigger than Paul Bunyan.

 

I started thinking about this when Stan Lee was talking about his success in that "Marvels, Mutants, and Monsters" video. He said that an unintended reason that Spidey is so popular is because he wears a suit that covers his entire body, which makes it easier for people of all nationalities and ethnicities to fantasize that they're the hero.

 

Anybody disagree? Which historical fictional hero has had more fans at any one time than Spidey? I could be wrong about this, but I've been pondering it ever since I saw how much the Spider-Man movie made outside the US.

[chromium]

 

 

Tin-tin !

 

75 years old and still selling tons of comics in over 100 countries

 

But eventhough it hurts me to bits, I have a nagging feeling that Donald Duck is even more popular...but then again is he a hero ? Questions...questions

[delekkerste]

Well, it would be tough to measure, but I suspect that Spidey is NOT the most popular fictional hero ever. Here are a few possible alternatives:

 

1. Luke Skywalker or other "Star Wars" character

2. Superman or Batman (they may not pull in as many comic sales, but they do have large fan bases due to the movies, TV shows, Halloween costumes, etc.)

3. Harry Potter

4. Mickey Mouse or other Disney character

5. James Bond

6. Sherlock Holmes

7. Bugs Bunny or other animated character

8. Some Sesame Street character

9. Dracula

10. Frankenstein

11. The Lion King

12. TMNT

13. Some Star Trek character

14. Charlie Brown or other Peanuts character

15. Some huge foreign character that I'm unaware of

16. Probably some really obvious choice that I'm totally missing.

 

Gene

[hammer-migration]

NO WAY!!!!

 

I AM!!!

 

 

[Arty]

This isn't even a competition Donald is way above any other character. (Based on worldwide number of sold comics)

 

If he isn't qualified as super hero, then I have to say Superman. I guess Golden Age superman comics sold millions of copies? Plus many succesful (?) movies.

 

Spider-man may be hot at the moment, but mainly because of that movie?

 

BTW what are distribution numbers of spider-man comics in US now?

[fantastic_four]

Are the cartoon funny characters heroes? It seems like Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny fill a different human need; I'm not sure too many people aspire to be like them other than maybe little kids. Dracula and Frankenstein are villains; they also fill a different human need. If we restrict the list to just fictional heroes, and define a hero as someone who works to save other people from some type of harm, your list of contenders to Spider-Man is reduced to:

 

1. [*]Luke Skywalker[*]Batman[*]Superman[*]Harry Potter[*]James Bond[*]Sherlock Holmes[*]Lion King[*]TMNT

Ignoring the other comic heroes for now, the biggest possibilities on that list are Luke Skywalker and Harry Potter.

 

Sherlock Holmes raises an interesting question--why isn't he as popular today? I got back into thinking about the question in this thread when I made that statement in another market-related thread that superheroes will never die!! It's definitely true that heroes as a group will never die, but why do certain ones fall out of favor? What is it about Sherlock Holmes that has lost people's interest? And do comic book superheroes have some quality that is more enduring?

[joe_collector]

Talking about a global "media hero" and not our inbred little "comic book niche" I'd have to agree, with James Bond being the only one I'd say has a hold like Spidey.

 

Once again, I'm referring to the global media market as it pertains to "heroes" right now, and not using generic cartoon characters like The Simpsons, Mickey and Donald, Barney, etc. that would obviously dwarf it.

[clobberintime]

I think an argument could be made for that but it could be a hot at the moment kind of thing. Like when Oasis was more popular than the Beatles! You have a movie that makes a billion dollars and goes all over the world and that alone would lead you to believe that spidey is pretty darn popular! I think the Bat and Superman are right up there though. I bet people all over the world know Batman and Superman - probably better than Spidey as those 2 have been around about 25 more years and have had much more tv and movie exposure. However I think the disguised ethnicity of spidey and his youthfulness do give him an edge as far as the enire world goes. I don't think any other characters mentioned come close - Luke, Bugs, Mickey - whatever. How about a certain Hobbit? No. People have always wanted to fly and Spidey brings that home - maybe better than Supes who is after all an alien and comes off as an older person. Also Spidey appeals to the awkward youth element which has to span all time zones! He is the ultimate geek hero.

[delekkerste]

It's definitely true that heroes as a group will never die, but why do certain ones fall out of favor? What is it about Sherlock Holmes that has lost people's interest?

 

I think a character has to stay in the spotlight, and I think after Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's death, Sherlock Holmes did not. Spidey has the luxury of new creative teams picking up his mantle, but I don't think his longevity is assured. Just look at how far sales have dropped off since the early 1990s, or, going back further, since the 1960s and 1970s. Being popular for 40 years does not necessarily mean you will be popular at the 100-year mark. I doubt Spidey will ever fade completely, but could his fan base be as small or smaller than Sherlock Holmes' present fan base 50 years from now? Sure.

 

 

And do comic book superheroes have some quality that is more enduring?

 

Given the drop in comic book sales from the industry's glory days, objectively speaking, I would argue just the opposite.

 

Gene

[fantastic_four]

Well if we take the amount of money the Spidey film made as an indicator, even adjusted for inflation, it is the most popular comic book superhero film of all time, although it isn't significantly far ahead of Batman. Here's the inflation-adjusted list:

 

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/adjusted/

 

And using that list, it brings other heroes to mind:

• Indiana Jones
• Ben-Hur (I haven't seen this film...is Ben Hur a hero?)
• Butch Cassidy

Indiana Jones is another big contender along with Luke Skywalker.

[ArAich]

Not sure about global popularity....but I think Spock might be right up there in popularity and legendary status...

[fantastic_four]

Given the drop in comic book sales from the industry's glory days, objectively speaking, I would argue just the opposite.

I would counter-argue that the renewed success of superhero films show that people do hunger for what superheroes have to offer. In not buying comic books, people aren't showing that they don't like superheroes, they're saying they don't like print media as much as TV and film.

[joe_collector]

Man, I love seeing these lists, as it puts the insanity of current "price inflated" box office revenues into perspective, rather than just jacking up prices and guaranteeing that no movie will ever remain at the top of the BO chart.

 

But I guess that's part of the plan, to always have a revolving door for the new box office champion, no matter how pre-ordained the whole process is.

[joe_collector]

If you're looking for the most popular and recognizable fictional characters at this moment, just say Doah!

[fantastic_four]

I just noticed something about the Spider-Man film versus the Batman film at this link:

 

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/world/

 

Spider-Man did better overseas than Batman did. Around 50% of Spider-Man's revenues were from overseas, whereas only 40% of Batman's revenues came from abroad. But that could just be that Warner Brothers didn't market the film in foreign markets back in 1989 like Sony did in 2002.

[joe_collector]

Every day foreign markets grow, more countries become democratic or "westernized", start opening up Fat Macs and movie theatres, etc.

 

Check out Eastern Europe for a startling example.

 

It's actually Hollywood's biggest growth sector right now, and would be much larger than when Batman debuted.

[clobberintime]

Yeah - have to give the Simpsons their props! Show has been consistently good for over a decade. i liked Futurama just as much but it never really caught on. And King of the Hill is excellent too - have yet to see a bad episode.

[ArAich]

I would counter-argue that the renewed success of superhero films show that people do hunger for what superheroes have to offer.

 

And in this case Spidey came by at one of the most oppertune time of any super-hero's in history....anylise this....Super-man was and is popular and he came out around the time that the world was at war and the masses needed a hero and Supes filled that bill with his super-human qualities...

well...Spidey came along after 9/11 right when we yearned for the same thing...for this I think that Spidey is now ingrained(sp?) in the mass mind and is destined to stay there for some time to come...

 

JMO...

[doyle033]

hard to say how close he is but what about Goku from dragonball/z/gt fame? aside from americans and the cartoon network stranglehold over release dates of episodes and toys, this little cartoon is huge worldwide. I would say he would have to be right up there. i think it is one of the longest running cartoon series or something like that.

For my money, Vegeta is cooler than Goku anyday. But...

[fantastic_four]

Super-man was and is popular and he came out around the time that the world was at war and the masses needed a hero and Supes filled that bill with his super-human qualities...

So once there's no more war, there will be no more need for superheroes?

 

Then, superheroes will never die!!!