Most iconic Superhero (DC and Marvel) all time?

1) Superman

2) Spiderman

3) Batman

As awesome as batman is, his creation along with the rest of the superhero comic book genre was a response to Superman and so Supes is unequivocally the most iconic and famous too.

Popularity is different from fame and iconic status. In that respect you can argue against superman currently but otherwise nope.

Superman. The Man of Steel is the quintessential Superhero.

This is the answer you're searching for.

Superman is the most iconic hero. He might not be the most popular anymore, but he is still the most recognizable.

Why is Captain America and Thor on the list but not Spider-Man and Wolverine? Most people didn't even know who Thor and Cap were until five years ago.

Lol Batman isn't close to being the most iconic hero. Sure he's immensely popular, but when you think "Superhero" you think of people like Superman, Spiderman, Captain America, etc.

List isn't valid without Spider-man. Lmfao WW isn't anywhere close to being as iconic as Spider-man. Batman and Superman sure.

Superman

You're joking right? When anyone thinks of Superheroes they think of Superman, Batman and Spider-Man at first and then Wonder Woman and Flash etc. Even Robin is more Iconic than Captain America.

I think a more interesting question to settle it would be are DC characters more iconic than Marvel's?

And if so then at least you know it is a DC character and to me it's Superman. He wasn't the first hero ever but he was the first Superhero so that alone should give him the spot.

How is this a question? Superman is by far the most iconic hero, and forever will be. The red S is one of the most recognizable and parodied symbols on the planet.

@rustyroy: Really dude? The iconic image of a superhero is a selfless being who abides mostly by the law and inspires hope. Superman, Spiderman, and Captain America all have these qualities. Batman is a nutcase who goes around at night dressed up in a batsuit beating the living shit out of thugs. Cool? Yes. Heroic? No. Iconic =/= popular.

Superman, no contest.

1) Superman and 2) Batman. They're the most iconic pop-culture characters next to Darth Vader.

A list without Spiderman is a idiotic list.

Superman

Where's Spidey?

I don't agree at all. There were other hero type characters appearing in comics back in that day(both in the monthly kind as well as the daily newspaper kind) such as Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers and Zorro. Batman if anything was based more on the Zorro archetype(even according to Bob Kane and the other guy who first drew him) than Superman. Superman gave rise to the superpowered variety of comic character but not the Batman type which already existed at the time in a bunch of different forms. Batman would exist even if Superman had never been thought of.

1. Batman

2. Superman

3. Spiderman

4. Wonderwoman

5. Cap America

are the 5 most iconic imo.

Superman

Superman, clearly.

Superman will always be #1.

Superman.

Iconic in fiction has more to do with recognition in pop culture, Joker, Darth Vader etc. are Iconic characters too but they aren't heroes. And Batman has inspired more people than Captain America. Also Batman is selfless too, he actually one of the few comic book superheroes who works with the police in a regular basis, and he also inspires hope in and out of comic books.

@jedixman said:

No it doesn't. Iconic is not the same as popular. Iconic is what people relate with the term Superhero. Darth Vader would be an Iconic Star Wars character, because when people think of Star Wars they think of Darth Vader. Batman is likely a very iconic comic book character, but not a Superhero.

Do you happen to have a source for Batman inspiring more people than Captain America?

Batman isn't selfless, if he was selfless he would kill the Joker. He doesn't because he sticks by his moral code, which is what makes him an interesting character, but if he truly cared more about others than himself he'd just end it instead of letting countless people die because he can't bring himself to take a life. Working with the police means literally nothing, and I wouldn't say he inspires hope in comics at all. People in real life may see his movies and become inspired because he is for the most part a normal man who has struggled and made it through. That does not equate however to him being a symbol for hope, unlike Superman, Spiderman, and Captain America who all follow the qualities of a quintessential hero. There's a reason they wear blue, you know. Blue = Hope. Black most certainly does not...

Yes it does. When people think about superheroes they think about Superman, Batman and Spider-Man.

Do you have a source saying Batman isn't an Iconic "Superhero"? or that Captain America has inspired more people than Batman?

Tell me one thing, did Superman and Spider-Man kill their archenemies even though they far more dangerous than Joker? Did Captain America kill Red Skull? And you have to read Batman comics to know that he inspires hope, not like Superman of course, but that light in the sky is what helps Gothamites sleep peacefully. Also if he didn't inspire people why would so many characters follow him? Also Batman wears grey and I didn't know that one couldn't inspire hope unless he/she wore blue.

@rustyroy:

Yes it does. When people think about superheroes they think about Superman, Batman and Spider-Man.

How many times do I have to say it, iconic is not the same as popular. Iconic means what your relate with something, and given the fact Batman isn't even by definition a superhero, I don't understand how you think he's iconic by any means. He doesn't stand for truth and liberty, he's not a shining beacon of hope for the people, he's a vigilante with mental issues.

Do you have a source saying Batman isn't an Iconic "Superhero"?

It's obviously not an actual question given that's what we're debating right now, but by definition, yes.

superhero Syllabification: su·per·he·ro

See definition in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Pronunciation: /ˈso͞opərˌhirō/

Definition of superhero in English:

noun (plural superheroes)

A benevolent fictional character with superhuman powers, such as Superman.

Batman doesn't have Superhuman powers (that's half the point of his characters), nor is he benevolent. Not by a long shot. So by definition he is not a superhero.

icon Syllabification: i·con

See definition in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Pronunciation: /ˈīˌkän/

Definition of icon in English:

noun

2A person or thing regarded as a representative symbol of something: this iron-jawed icon of American manhood

He is also not regarded by the general populous to be representative of Superheroes.

So yes, I do have proof that by definition Batman is not an iconic Superhero. But that should be more than obvious to most people, it only seems to be Batman fans that think he is iconic when he has nothing to do with inspiring hope, upholding the law, and being a symbol of freedom and liberty.

or that Captain America has inspired more people than Batman?

I haven't specifically researched Captain America inspiring people in real life, but don't try a strawman argument. Burden of proof is on you, I never claimed Captain America inspired more people in real life than Batman, so don't act like I did. I said he inspires hope more than Batman, which is correct.

Tell me one thing, did Superman and Spider-Man kill their archenemies even though they far more dangerous than Joker? Did Captain America kill Red Skull?

Superman, Spiderman, and Captain America all kill when they absolutely have to. Let's look at their main villains:

Superman (New 52 Variations of Villains, because some older Lex Luthors were really bloody evil). In general Superman never has to kill because he's powerful enough to find another way.

• Lex Luther - Honestly not even close to being as evil as someone like the Joker. Sure he's done some evil stuff before, but it is all because he genuinely believes what he is doing is right and he himself is a hero to the people. He's literally a member of the Justice League currently (unless he left). Killing Luthor would make Superman a villain in everyone's eyes, especially his own. He's not enough of a threat to the people to warrant Superman killing him.
• Doomsday - Superman died giving everything he had to kill him. He had no knowledge he would come back, so for all intents and purposes he did kill something because he had to. And then Doomsday just comes back, so...
• Braniac - Same with Doomsday, Superman does kill him but he just comes back.
  
  

Spiderman. Something to note is Batman doesn't kill purely because of his moral code and his trauma after seeing his parents gunned down. If he were to kill, he'd probably feel really bad (or maybe good, who knows) but pull a badass face and continue being a hero. Peter suffers from severe neurosis; killing someone seriously messes with him mentally, yet he's tried to and succeeding in doing it before when he's had to.

• Green Goblin - He's tried... a lot. He's punched him off buildings and thrown pumpkin bombs after him at his chest, rammed his head repeatedly into a wall while yelling "What does it take to kill you!" (and actually cracked his head open, but healing factors yo).
• Most of Spideys other villains are the same. Spidey operates way about his weight class, so his enemies that are actually dangerous to people other than Spidey are simply too difficult for him to kill.
  
  

Captain America. He... doesn't have a problem with necessary killing, never has. Don't know where you got the idea he did from. He killed a bunch of people during the war, and has killed numerous outside of it. He doesn't like it, but when he has to he won't shy away from it.

• Red Skull is the only one I can't explain, as I haven't read any comics with him in it. I'd have to look into it further.

The difference between Batman and everyone else here is that when they have no other option, they will kill. Batman won't.

And you have to read Batman comics to know that he inspires hope, not like Superman of course, but that light in the sky is what helps Gothamites sleep peacefully.

Why are you automatically assuming I don't read Batman comics? I do, and he does not inspire hope...

Yes, he may provide a feeling of safety for the people of Gotham, but it's not the same thing. When people see Superman flying through the sky or Spiderman swinging around the city, they think "Wow, it's him! He's off to save the day again!". The heroes are well loved by their people. Batman is to many people is just an urban myth, and to the ones who know of him a scary vigilante who prowls the night and leaves thieves in near death states until the police get them.

Also if he didn't inspire people why would so many characters follow him?

They... don't. The Robins follow/ed him because of special circumstances, not because they were inspired. Superman is the leader of the Justice League, people follow him. Batman is the tactician. Many characters respect him, but that still doesn't address the point of him not inspiring hope.

Also Batman wears grey and I didn't know that one couldn't inspire hope unless he/she wore blue.

Batman wears grey/black, don't be pedantic. And don't twist my words, you know I wasn't saying they have to where blue to inspire hope, it's just blue is the colour most commonly associated with hope, by a huge margin. The designs for Superman, Spiderman, and Captain America all include blue because the idea of hope is integral to them as characters, and their costumes reflect that. Just as Batman's dark costume reflects the fact he is a dark, brooding vigilante who prowls the night.

By both definition and simply looking at the characters, it should be clear Batman is not an iconic Superhero, at least compared to staples like Spiderman, Captain America, and of course Superman.

It will always be

Superman

Batman

Spider-man

@rustyroy:

Update: I remembered and checked some things to do with Captain America

1. I don't know how I forgot this, but literally the entire point of Captain America being created was to give hope to real life people that America would win the war. Batman was created because DC asked for a new character.
2. Concerning killing red skull, wikipedia talks about his major story arcs he was involved in:

1.

Finally, Captain America tracked Red Skull down to his hidden bunker. Red Skull was about to hurl an armed hand grenade at his nemesis when Captain America threw his shield at him. The grenade went off, but Red Skull was not killed, thanks to his body armor. He was, however; seriously hurt and partially buried in debris. Thinking he was dying, Red Skull defiantly told Captain America that the Sleepers would avenge the Nazis' defeat. Then, suddenly, an Allied attack on Berlin began. An Allied plane dropped a huge blockbuster bomb on the bunker, causing a cave-in that Captain America barely escaped. Captain America was picked up by the Allies and returned to England only to fall into Zemo's trap, which led to Captain America's falling into suspended animation for decades. Support pillars that crisscrossed over Red Skull when the bunker caved in saved him from being struck by tons of rubble when the bomb hit. The cave-in released an experimental gas from canisters in the bunker which put the Skull into suspended animation during which his wounds slowly healed.

So Captain America tries to kill him but is forced to escape, and he survives via being healed through suspended animation.

2.

The gas that placed Red Skull in suspended animation wears off and his body rapidly ages to his actual years. Now physically weak and feeble in his mid-80s, Red Skull plans a final showdown with his arch-rival. Kidnapping Captain America's closest allies, he forces Captain America to surrender himself to a medical treatment that ages his body to its rightful age. The two men, their bodies now ancient, fight a battle to the death. When Captain America refuses to kill him, Red Skull dies cursing Captain America as his elderly body shuts down.

Captain America doesn't kill him because he doesn't have to, Red Skull dies anyway. He is resurrected by Arnim Zola.

3.

Captain America's recovery segues into a reluctant team-up with Red Skull; a Nazi cult that worshiped Hitler as a god had discovered a Cosmic Cube that contained Hitler's mind, put there by Red Skull himself. The two try to stop the cult from fully powering the Hitler Cosmic Cube but Red Skull opts instead to send Captain America (against his will) into the cube to kill Hitler, imprisoning Captain America in the cube while he uses its power to conquer humanity. Captain America escapes and uses his shield to sever one of Red Skull's arms, causing him to drop the cube. The Cube becomes unstable, destroying Red Skull.^[40]

Trapped in a hellish nightmare dimension and forced to serve as a bellhop to a world of non-European immigrants, Red Skull's will ultimately is so great that he is able to escape his prison. As a result, Red Skull now possesses limited reality warping powers that make him a cosmic threat. He is further aided by Korvac, posing as Kang the Conqueror. He is sent to Galactus's ship to steal more power (in particular the power of omniscience), which would remove all limits to Red Skull's reality warping powers. Skull is ambushed by Korvac, who steals his cosmic powers and banishes him back to Earth.^[41]

Red Skull later manipulates his way into the position in the form of U.S. Secretary of Defense Dell Rusk (an anagram for Red Skull) to develop a biological weapon he tested at Mount Rushmore.^[42] He is exposed and defeated by the Avengers. The Black Panther beats him so badly that he breaks Red Skull's jaw in half.^[43]

Captain America cuts one of his arms off with his shield and let's the Cube destroy him. He is then again revived, sent back to earth completely powerless, and Black Panther beats the shit out of him. He is then killed by Winter Soldier.

His next major event is while Cap is dead during Civil War

4.

While Rogers and the Avengers keep Red Skull occupied with a team attack, he is destroyed by a missile barrage fired by Sharon on a hijacked AIM battleship. In the epilogue, it was shown that Sin was too close to the exploding robot and her face was heavily scarred, leaving her looking just like her father.^[53]

After Cap is returned to life, they blow up Red Skull. Dead again. He then turns out to have a clone body, which Magneto kills. Dead again. The revived again.

5.

In an attempt to defeat the new Red Onslaught and his army of Stark Sentinels - created from information acquired from Tony Stark during the time he was in charge of the Superhuman Registration Act - Magneto gathers a team of villains to try to take the Skull's forces by surprise.^[62] Wanda and Doctor Doom - after Doctor Strange is knocked out - attempt to cast a spell that will 'invert' the Skull and bring out the part of Professor X that still exists in his brain. However, the plan backfires when the resulting spell causes the moral inversion of all heroes and villains in the area.^[63] With the villains now the only hope to defeat the corrupted heroes, Captain America is forced to protect the Skull - now terming himself the White Skull - from the evil Avengers while Spider-Man works with the inverted villains to fight off the various corrupted heroes.^[64] Doctor Doom is able to summon the spirit of Brother Voodoo to possess Wanda and invert the spell, the Skull sacrificing his heroism and freedom to restore the heroes to normal.^[65]

Red Skull gets essentially mindwiped into being a hero and sacrifices himself... man even as a good guy he won't stop dying.

6. (current)

Following the reconstruction of the universe, it is revealed that the Skull is hiding in Avengers Mansion - now a theme hotel as the various Avengers teams have moved on to new bases - in a secret underground room, along with Sin, who has been restored to her original appearance. He is nearly discovered by Quicksilver and Deadpool investigate the room, but uses a psychic suggestion to convince them that the room is empty, as well as planting a command in Quicksilver's subconscious that will be triggered later.^[66]

So yeah, Cap hasn't found him yet.

So.... about Cap not killing Red Skull? He has. Multiple times. Despite the fact he doesn't like killing. Batman still refuses to kill an insane clown who has no chance of rehabilitation of any kind and has killed thousands. That's not being selfless.

Superman is the embodiment of what a superhero is (as a concept), fast, strong and a symbol of hope and good.

As the most popular cultural icon the answer is spider-man. He's as popular as ever and come on, you totally know the words to his theme song.

Again I disagree. Also where did I say Iconic means popularity, if I meant that then Batman and Spider Man would be more iconic than Superman. And it's not about relatablily, Joker, Lex, Darth Vader aren't that relatable but they are still iconic. He's considered hero and not "a vigilante with mental issue" by the majority.

Batman is considered a Superhero so is Iron Man, Green Lantern and other human characters. Like I said before he does inspire hope and upholds the law too.

Lex has killed far more people than Joker and is bigger threat to humanity than Joker, same with Goblin and Red Skull. Also Batman has attempted to kill Joker many time but someone always stopped him. The others have just as much option as Batman.

Batgirls and other Batcharacters follow him. Trinity were the leaders in Post Crisis and almost everyone respected and followed Batman. Batman is the New 52 team leader iirc.

I'm not twisting anyone's word. Batman's role is not limited by his costume colors. And yeah he wears grey, only the cape and cowl is black. Anyways you can ask anyone who's the Top 3 most Iconic superheroes the answer will be Superman, Batman and Spider-Man.

Superman is most iconic with Batman close behind. Bats is easily one of my favorite comic characters, whereas Supes is top 3 most hated for me. However, the fact still remains that he is THE superhero. "Superman" has become more than the alter ego of Clark Kent, it's become a term we use to describe anyone when they perform an "impossible" feat outside the realm of human possibility (obvious hyperbole, but you know what I mean). If we jump higher, run faster, lift more, etc., in that moment, the superlative used is "Superman". When a name becomes that ingrained in society and is an actual accepted dictionary term, that speaks to it's iconic nature. Apart from that, there's also the ideals he represents, but I won't bother with that because many superheroes represent the same things (though to varying extents).

@rustyroy:

Again I disagree. Also where did I say Iconic means popularity, if I meant that then Batman and Spider Man would be more iconic than Superman. And it's not about relatablily, Joker, Lex, Darth Vader aren't that relatable but they are still iconic. He's considered hero and not "a vigilante with mental issue" by the majority.

You said this:

Iconic in fiction has more to do with recognition in pop culture, Joker, Darth Vader etc. are Iconic characters too but they aren't heroes.

Recognition in pop culture depends on how popular a character is. For a character to be an Iconic superhero they have to be an archetypal, quintessential character that fits the core idea of a superhero - a benevolent character with superhuman abilities with traits of selflessness, inspiration of hope, guardians of liberty etc.

You misunderstand what I mean. I didn't say the characters have to be relatable to be iconic, I said something that is iconic is what you relate to said thing. I.e. an iconic superhero has to relate to the core idea of a superhero, an iconic action movie would be something will a lot of explosions, etc.

Hero =/= superhero. Emergency services are heroes too, but we don't consider them superheroes.

Batman is considered a Superhero so is Iron Man, Green Lantern and other human characters. Like I said before he does inspire hope and upholds the law too.

Being a superhero means you have the ability to perform superhuman feats. It has nothing to do with being human or not.

ability Syllabification: a·bil·i·ty

See definition in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary Top 1000 frequently used words

Pronunciation: /əˈbilədē/

Definition of ability in English:

noun (plural abilities)

1 [in singular, with infinitive] Possession of the means or skill to do something: the manager had lost his ability to motivate the playersthey’ll examine your ability to pay

Iron Man's suits give him the ability to fight gods. They give him powers. Green Lantern's ring does the same. Batman is explicitly stated to be the physical peak of a human - but he is still just that, human. Tony Stark is human, Ironman is not. Hal Jordan is human, Green Lantern Hal Jordan is not. The difference is the stuff Batman has does not push him into the realm of superhuman, and as such he is not a superhero.

Lex has killed far more people than Joker and is bigger threat to humanity than Joker, same with Goblin and Red Skull. Also Batman has attempted to kill Joker many time but someone always stopped him. The others have just as much option as Batman.

I'm not actually sure that's true, I'd have to check that. And as for Goblin and Red Skull I just showed you the heroes literally trying and failing (or in cap's case succeeding) to kill them. Do you have any proof for what you're saying, or are you just blurting it out? Literally the entire point of Batman's character is that he won't kill no matter what. He never tried to kill the Joker. It's what makes Batman an amazing, interesting character, but it doesn't make him a superhero. Quite the opposite. Batman could kill Joker quite easily, Spiderman and Captain America have tried and failed to rid the world of their archvillains, which I showed in depth and you just ignored.

Batgirls and other Batcharacters follow him. Trinity were the leaders in Post Crisis and almost everyone respected and followed Batman. Batman is the New 52 team leader iirc.

All Bat-related characters follow him because of special circumstances. New 52 Justice League is odd, but as far as I am aware Batman is only the leader in the sense that he funds everything and creates plans. Superman is still the heart and soul of the team though. He's the reason heroes join the justice league. It's the same way with Cap and Ironman in the traditional Avengers - Ironman designs all the stuff, maintains their base of operations, manages everything, but the leader is undeniably still Cap. And as I said, respected does not mean he inspires hope.

I'm not twisting anyone's word. Batman's role is not limited by his costume colors. And yeah he wears grey, only the cape and cowl is black.

Yes you are. I never said that characters must wear blue to inspire hope, I said that it's made even clearer that these characters inspire hope because their costumes contain blue, which is essentially the colour of hope. And it depends on what version he is, the current comic one wears a mix of grey and black, yes. But you can't just try and deny the fact that costumes represent aspects about the characters. That's half the point of costume design, to give a visual representation of the character's traits. You can't honestly look at Batman, then look at Captain America, and say there's no way to tell that Captain America is the more light hearted, hope inspiring of the two. That's just denial in the face of evidence.

Anyways you can ask anyone who's the Top 3 most Iconic superheroes the answer will be Superman, Batman and Spider-Man.

Yeah... no. That's what most Batman fans will say, or it's what most people say when you ask who are the top 3 most famous/recognisable heroes. Or maybe its just because people use iconic so vaguely now. Either way, Batman doesn't fit the bill of 'Superhero'.

who wouldn't recognize superman these days? except for tribal people

Whichever one I like best.

Thor pre-dates Superman by considerable time. ;)

Superman, he's both the proto-type that all others harken back to simply in defining what a hero is, his very name is being used to describe heroes with extra-human abilities and his outfit has been copied again and again when a new hero took flight.

Funny to think then that Superman has borrowed alot of things from John Carter: Warlord of Mars.

supes

https://youtu.be/LaxqxfpSzMQ

Superman, Spider-man should definitely be on the list though. Then Batman Then Probably Cap followed by Wonder Woman. imo

@infantfinite128: Good for you. Still doesn't mean he's the most iconic superhero. I'd say he's definitely the most famous along with supes, but the problem every has is they assume iconic = most well known, which is not true. I actually agree with you on Superman, he's one of my least favourite characters, but that's not what this discussion is about. (And as far as the disguise goes, I don't know why so many people have a problem with it. It's not different to someone who looks like a celebrity. They act completely different, so if someone walks up and says you look like ___ they just say they're not, and the other person shrugs and walks off.

Most inspirational character for me was probably Captain America, because he was always a heart first body second person.

Absolutely Superman

@pipxeroth: Whoah. Bat's isn't the most iconic but yeah he's close. Cap shouldn't even compare to Bruce in that regard. He easily next to Spidey and Supes in terms of how iconic they are.

Edit: referred to your conversation earlier. Your points are fair and your reasoning makes sense. You may move on with your life :)

@pipxeroth: If I was familiar with Captain America as a kid, I would definitely agree with you. I don't get inspired by fictional characters like I did when I was a little kid, so I can't say I'm inspired by any of these guys anymore. I was never a kid that needed stuff like Barney the Dinosaur, Mr. Rogers, or Superman. Real people inspire me; not cartoons. Although, characters like Atticus Finch and Aragorn already filled the void for "inspirational" characters, so Cap wasn't that appealing when Batman was a more complex character.

I can understand where you're coming from, but I do believe Batman is a superhero based on him wearing a costume and being an over the top figure that saves people. I find Batman to be the most interesting comic book character without a doubt, but he is for the most part either written like an angsty man-child or an insane person. Any normal person wouldn't have held on for their anger for so long, and it's kind of pathetic when I think about it, especially since I, and a lot of people have gone through way worse than him. That's why I liked Grant Morrison's take because he had him grow up. His issues made him a fantastic character, but I guess besides the determination stuff (which I also got from Goku as a kid, and that actually inspired me way more because of his joyful attitude). But then again, a lot of people have psychological issues (and it's getting worse and worse), and Batman is a great hero for that. Some people don't have the time, the money, maturity, intelligence, health, or people to help them overcome their issues.

Again, it doesn't matter if he doesn't have superpowers, he is considered a superhero by the majority of people. He fights supervillains, his allies are superhuman. Google top ten superheroes, iconic, famous or anything, Batman's going to be on the list. If you search for supervillains Joker's going to be on the list.

Batman performs superhuman feats on a regular basis. He has fought gods, aliens etc. Saved many superhuman characters lives.

It's true, check out Public Enemies for that. Also if don't believe that he tried to kill Joker then read Hush, TKJ, Dotf to name a few. There are other instances too.

Superman isn't the reason why others have joined the league. The trinity as a whole has been the heart and soul of league for most of JL's stories, Superman still is one step above Batman and WW but not by too much.

No I"m not. You made it sound like if just because someone wears blue if automatically makes him more hope inspiring than a character who wears a different characters. Also FYI Batman's standard costume for a long time has been grey and blue.

You already said what the majority feel about that, I'm with them on this one.