Who is your favorite superhero?

[frigidmagi]

So some of you may have seen me asking this on facebook. If you answered there you don't have to answer here unless you want to.

Some clarification, it doesn't have to be a comic book character. It can be a book, tv, movie or video game character as long as you think of them as a superhero and they're your favorite.

[rhoenix]

I don't mind giving the same answer here.

I have a tie for mine:

#1: MacGuyver (because he tried to solve problems using his wits to achieve the best possible outcome in a given situation)

or

#2: Mr. Rogers (of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood).

[Dark Silver]

Comics: Green Lantern (John Stewart version)

[Lys]

This one is a tough call. For starters i don't really do favourites, with so much good stuff in the world i don't know how i can pick just one. Then there's the fact that i don't really go much for the superheroes in general, as they're not really my thing. Boyfriend's favourite superhero is definitely Superman, because of his god-like strength and power, and the way he is often times a living embodiment of his ideals. He's also rather fond of Dark Seid, who is not a hero by any means, for much the same reasons.

As for me, if i had to pick i'd have to say Vash the Stampede from Trigun. The reason why is because out of all the heroes who refuse to kill, Vash is pretty much the only one who sold me on it. The thing about violence and killing is that a lot of comic books paint it as a moral issue, as if all you needed to do to inflict violence without death was to unilaterally refuse to kill, as if killing where some kind separate of act of will instead a natural outgrowth of violence itself. This to me trivializes the whole affair, to the point that Batman's magical superpower might as well be that his punches can't seriously harm someone, not if he doesn't want them to.

This is my problem with the show Arrow, where in the second season Oliver Queen just decides he's not going to kill people any more. He just... chooses not to, as if that's all it takes. This has the unfortunate effect of making his first season self look like a deranged serial killer. I mean, all those times he fatally shot a mook who was in the middle of spraying gunfire in his direction he could have shot him non-fatally? Seriously? Then why the fuck didn't he? I can buy that he had no choice, that when you're in a firefight it's kill or be killed, and the rest is justified by the greater good. But apparently he did have a choice, he could have just not killed anyone all along, which makes him a fucking monster for killing anyway, effectively ruining the character for me.

So, going back to Vash the Stampede, he too refuses to kill, but it works. Why? Because the story goes out of its way to explore just how utterly bloody difficulty it is for him to pull this off. For starters he's blatantly superhuman, and people around him regularly point out how insane it is that he can do what he does. And yet on one occasion he still fucks up and has to actually stop fighting to give first aid to a couple of men he's just shot so that they don't bleed to death, while seriously wounded himself. This results in his companion angrily bitching him out for doing something so foolish as to try to have non-lethal firefights, which quickly turns into crying because he's just so virtuous it hurts to see it. Later on we find the price he's paid for his heroic mercy, as his antics have left his entire body is covered in horrifying scars. Then near the end of the series he's still manoeuvred to a position where he has to kill someone, and suffers a near total psychological collapse as a result. Basically, Trigun actually sells me on the idea of a hero who refuses to kill by making it into something extraordinary instead of ordinary like superhero comics then to.

[Josh]

Hard to say. Right now I'd have to go with Nick Fury, probably original flavor, though I do like the Samuel L. version too.

It's just that Samuel has yet to equal this in any appearance:

[General Havoc]

When I was a kid, Iron Man was my favorite hands down. He still may be. My horizons have grown since then, but the billionaire in the golden power armor still holds a special place for me.

Magneto, during his less-dickish periods at least, is always gonna be a favorite of mine. He's got one of the best concepts in comics, and when he's well written (or performed), he's awesomeness personified. I tend to prefer him at his less-deific power levels, but that's because everyone needs a challenge.

[LadyTevar]

I honestly can't say. When I saw the question, my first thought was Dr. Who... but then again, while he is a Hero, can you really hold him up to the thought of "SuperHero"? I mean, yes, he is heroic, but more muddles through by being clever, audacious, and lucky. He is also very much able to let someone suffer the cost of their actions, especially when he has no reason to hold back. As he put it, a Good Man doesn't need rules. The Doctor has many.

Raven of Teen Titans was my next thought, both the 1980s comic and the Timm-verse Titans cartoon. In those realities, she fought all her life to resist her father Trigon's will, to stop him from conquering Earth. She has to control herself totally, control her emotions, can never fall or fail, because that will let Trigon in. In the cartoon, she's fighting a deadline when he will show up anyway. That kind of struggle, to be a Good Person and fight Destiny, is heroic and powerful.

So, Raven and The Doctor (if he counts)

And, for the Not So Serious: Darkwing Duck.
Let's get Dangerous....

[Steve]

I don't know if you can call Teen Titans Timmverse? They ended up making it a separate continuity as I recall.

Still, an interesting trio of choices. I'd need to ponder my own a bit more.

[Batman]

Since Team Timm had from what I can tell jack all to do with the Teen Titans I'd say they started out a different continuity (in fact I don't see a way to make the two continuities mesh).

Your Favourite Neighbourhood Wall-Crawler. He's in my opinion the most human of us lot. He has ordinary human problems (like paying the rent,finding/keeping a job, has to mend his costumes himself etc) on top of the superhuman ones, and yet he manages to make light of the job.
Most of the time. Because another very human aspect of him is you really don't want to mess with his loved ones. You fight him, he fights you, both of you get hurt, that's part of the job. You hurt his family and friends, you better watch for the moment he stops trash-talking you...because that's the moment he stops caring whether or not you're still breathing when he's done with you.

[Steve]

Early on there were some indications that the TT series would be DCAU. For instance, in a Season 3 Static Shock episode, Batman tells Static that Robin is "off with the Titans".

[fgalkin]

Judge Dredd.

Batman and Spiderman used to be my favorite as a kid (first one, then the other), and I still have a soft spot for them. But Dredd wins, hands down.

Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin