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

[Mushroom]

So then Gene, give me your view on USM. Have they corrected this or have they just modernised it. From a Bat perspective, I hate the 'Bruce Wayne a killer thread'. I think they pushed it too far and to have such important side kicks doubting their beliefs defied logic. Let's face it, for over 60 years Bats has never killed anyone, now that is some sort of track record. Do they honestly want us to believe that his friends would forget that that quickly.

[delekkerste]

I think they've done a great job with USM in keeping with the spirit of the Lee/Ditko Peter/Spidey character. As for the ultimization of Venom, I didn't mind it at all. His bio-engineered origin was just a hyper-exaggeration of today's headlines - it's not as if a cosmic being called the Beyonder transported Spidey to another planet where he battled the Earth's super villains and got a new costume in the process that eventually turned against him and bonded to a co-worker and became his deadliest enemy! Bendis said in an interview that this kind of nonsense (he didn't call it as such, but reading between the lines...) would not and could not happen in the Ultimate universe and thank god for that!!

 

Gene

[idle-migration]

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.

 

this decline is with comics overall, not just Spider-Man.

 

it's easier for me to guage things from the point of view of Spider-Man comics, because for the last 20 years, that's pretty much the only super-hero I've religiously collected. And I must say, the stories are getting tired. Of course, surely it's not just Spider-Man that suffers from this - as I say, it's just what I know...

 

I mean, some of the older comics, like all the Stan Lee written Spider-Man comics were just cheesy as hell now thay I look back on them, but the overall stories were great. But after, what, 60 years of super-hero comics, things are starting to really drag on... Spider-Man has been around for over 30 years, but there have been so many titles published, and in the 90's, there were always biweekly runs during part of the year, that there are probably 80 years worth of Spidey comics out there.

 

Titles like Astro City, Power Company and even Madman are providing a slightly different take on the same genre. This breathes fresh life into them rather than revamping a popular hero for the current era and bringing out more titles. That's one of the reasons I'm quitting on Spider-Man too. Ultimate Spider-Man and writers like JMS on Amazing are just rubbish.

 

People that know me looked at me in shock when I announced that I was going to stop collecting Spidey comics... well, new ones anyway

 

I'll still be buying back issues.

 

I also think that longevity will be assured with movies, games, and cartoons. kids can sit in front of cartoons without problems, but picking up a comic book is more work for them.

 

maybe something the big companies should try is releasing DVDs with 1 or 2 cartoon episodes and release them monthly or bimonthly. Maybe offer them a bit cheaper than your average DVD, certainly with 1 episode per disc. but I think this is the best way to keep a character popular for the long haul. change - or, rather, expand - the media that comics are released on.

 

[fantastic_four]

Hercules or Odysseus.

Weren't those heroes mostly known in their time in Greece and surrounding countries? Since their creation, their popularity has spread to other nations; but have Hercules or Odysseus penetrated the Orient like Spidey has?

[Mushroom]

The asians would have no idea who they are. Given their long literary history they have many many of their own folk stories. A lot of them are really worth reading such as 'Dreams of Red Mansions'.