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

[ArAich]

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

 

There's always room for a super-hero....but the 50's did have some krappy ones...but the horror was nice....

[fantastic_four]

I AM!!!

But...didn't you just liken yourself to the Devil in that recent restoration thread ("Explaining to ME about Sue Ciccone's comic restoration work, is like if you decided to explain to the Devil about heat")? The Devil is no hero!!!

[ArAich]

The Devil is no hero!!!

 

And besides...you said "non-religous"...

[Crowzilla]

hard to say how close he is but what about Goku from dragonball/z/gt fame

 

You are at least in the right continent. Over a billion Chinese and several hundred million more asians will tell you that the most popular hero ever is Ultraman

(and no, I don't even like him).

Unless you've ever traveled in Asia, you just have no idea how overwhelmingly popular he is. A new movie every year, TV shows for the past 25 years a line of toys that would dwarf the turtles - it's just amazing.

 

As for our Western heroes, Batman and Spider-man run almost neck and neck (remember the Japanese have their own version of Spider-man) and James Bond trails behind them. But Star Wars definitely outshines all three of them (Star Trek though is not so popular). The most popular Star Wars hero character is Yoda followed by Luke.

 

[blowout]

I think the argument regarding current exposure holds a lot of water. Spidey is number one right now on the back of the movies success. All the other heroes mentioned in this thread haven't had anything like the media exposure that Spider-Man has in the last couple of years.

It will be interesting to see if Spider-Man can sustain this popularity and can become a bigger cultural icon than the likes of Superman.

I think he can, because after all Spider-Man is the best hero ever created.

[Crowzilla]

definitely all about the current exposure - before Spidey it was Superman, and beffore him Tarzan - notice each was introduced about 25 years apart.

Every generation has their own most popular hero, but it's tough to say who will still be standing in 100 years.

 

But I'm telling you - Ultraman is really, really damn popular.

And he's got a pretty strong following here in the USA too.

 

[ninanina]

Soooooo..... how do you know about Ultraman? Never heard of him.

[Mushroom]

1.75 billion Chinese can"t be wrong. I would suggest that Bruce Lee was a bigger hero than Spidey and right now I would say that Jet Lee is probably the biggest god in Asia. If we talk about characters or icons then 'Hello Kitty' absolutely dwarfs any of the disney or peanuts characters.

[clobberintime]

I spent about 3 years in Japan as a child and I never liked Ultraman much. But I loved the Space Giants. I recently found someone on ebay that had evry episode compiled on 3 cds. great memories - I remember watching them evry day after school in the US on the Superstation.

[COI]

I just noticed something about the Spider-Man film versus the Batman film

 

Interesting thread, and a wlecome change.

 

One thing to keep in mind about the Batman movie VS Spidey is that Batman was marketed a lot differently. It was rated R, and therefore not accessible to everyone. It was definetly aimed towards an adult market, while the Spidey movie was much more universal. Kids wanted to see it just as much as the adults did, which is the reason I think it did better than the Batman movie, financially.

 

As for which hero is the most popular, I'd have to call it a tie between Batman and Spidey. The Batman mythos is huge, and he's just as much of a houshold name and pop culture icon.

 

On a personal note: While I like and collect Spidey comics more, Batman as a character has always had a bigger impact on me. He's got no Super powers, but is basically a one-man army. He's not driven by radioactivity or cosmic, but purely by his own will, grit, ambition, obsession and determination. And he's chasing a goal which he will probably never acomplish, which is a trait many of us can relate to. I find that much more profound, and deep than any other Superhero concept. If more of the Batman comics were handled like DKR(the first, not that pathetic sequel) and Batman: Year one, I'd be just as much of a Batman collector.

 

Then you've got Spidey. Peter Parker, despite having the powers that he does, has many of the same problems that every one of us faces. And while the whole "with great power comes great responsibility" has become a cliche, it is a powerful message that can be carried into all aspects of life, from a personal perspective, all the way to what's currently going on in Iraq.

 

So bottom line: For me, it's a tie between Bats and Spidey, and these are 2 heroes that will definetly be around for ever. What will keep them around is that extra human depth that is not present in most Super Heroes.

[COI]

All the other heroes mentioned in this thread haven't had anything like the media exposure that Spider-Man has in the last couple of years.

 

I don't necessarily agree. There's a video that was released in the late 80's called "Batman: From comics to Screen" or something like that. It's an amazing documentary that goes through the histroy of the entire Batman mythos, covering ALL forms of media, from Detective #27, to the 50's TV serial, and through the campy 60's version, all the way to the movie, and much, much more. I've got a copy somewhere. When I find it, I'll post more about it. If you watch that, I think it wouls be a real eye opener.

[Mushroom]

I can't disagree with your assessment about the two main heroes, but what does it for me with Batman is that he is the everyman. Peter Parker is a wimp, nerd, geek. He comes off so whiney sometimes. Batman on the other hand has no doubts about his role in life and although he constantly fights with his inner demons he rarely compromises who he is.

[fantastic_four]

Batman was rated PG-13

[COI]

I agree about Peter parker. He can get a little too whiny and wimpy about stuff, especially for a guy who could probably military press a tank.

 

But I wouldn't call Batman an "everyman". In a way, he's what men should aspire to, in terms of his ambitions and dicipline. But in another way, his goals are an obssession, which is unhealthy and bordering on mental illness. Either way, IMO Batman is a more interesting and deeper concept. I just wish that the comics were done in a way to utilize this complex character. Just looking at the 60's and earlier books makes me cringe.

 

But I think we basically agree. As a concept and Icon, Batman does more for me, but from a collecting standpoint his character is limited(for my tastes anyway) because of the inconsistent way his character is handled.

[delekkerste]

but what does it for me with Batman is that he is the everyman.

 

I don't think Batman is even remotely representative of the "everyman"...he's got movie-star looks, a tycoon-sized fortune, a mansion with live-in butler and even a young ward. I guess he might be the everyman if you live in Greenwich or Beverly Hills or if you compare him to the ultra-super-mega-high-powered heroes in the DC Universe, but for the rest of us...!!

 

Peter Parker is supposed to represent the everyman and how he would react if suddenly blessed/cursed with awesome powers & responsibility. Yeah, he's smarter than the average Joe, but he's got family problems, girl problems, money problems, job problems, etc.

 

Gene

[Smokinghawk]

I think Spider man has some of the best-known heroics right now, but for all history it would probably be some icon like Hercules or Odysseus.

[COI]

Batman was rated PG-13

 

Here in Canada we have an "AA" rating(adult acompaniment) between the Pg -13 and R ratings. Most movies that are designated R in the States are "AA" here, which means that if you're under 14, you need a parent, as opposed to Pg-13 which means anyone can go in. Also, Pg-13 movies are somtimes bumped up to AA here as well. If something is given the R rating here, that means 18+ unless your with a Parent.

 

So if I recall correctly, Batman was rated AA, so I assumed it was originally an R release. My mistake.

[Mushroom]

Guys, you are right. What I meant to say is what everyman aspires to.

 

As for spidey, he doesn't represent the everyman. Given what you have outlined he must represent every fanboy, plus how realistic is it that a geek gets Mary Jane and Gwen?

[delekkerste]

As for spidey, he doesn't represent the everyman. Given what you have outlined he must represent every fanboy, plus how realistic is it that a geek gets Mary Jane and Gwen?

 

I think he was supposed to represent the everyman when he was created, though things started to change a bit after Romita took over the art chores with #39 and started drawing PP in a more masculine fashion. However, he still had tons of "everyman"-like problems to contend with over the years (despite getting Gwen and then MJ).

 

I think where Spidey really went awry was in the late '80s/early '90s when suddenly Pete is doing very un-everyman-like book tours, MJ is gracing the covers of swimsuit magazines as a freaking supermodel, and Spidey is fighting villains like Firelord the cosmic herald, the Beyonder and Venom, the extraterrestrial alien symbiote costume. I hate those issues with a passion, because those kind of changes go against the "everyman" concept of the character that we knew and loved for so many years (and that also provided the basis for the hit movie).

 

Gene

[COI]

think he was supposed to represent the everyman when he was created, though things started to change a bit after Romita took over the art chores with #39 and started drawing PP in a more masculine fashion. However, he still had tons of "everyman"-like problems to contend with over the years (despite getting Gwen and then MJ).

 

I always loved this transition from the Ditko issues to the Romita era, because it was very realistic in depicting his growth, both mentally and physically, into "a man". This was the time he started coming into his own, which is the case for most of us as we leave our teen years.