Staff Picks: All-Time Favourite Superheroes
With Arcade Con 2015 coming to a close, we decided to come up with a list of our favourite heroes to complement this year’s superhero theme. After much deliberation (along with some hair pulling, teeth grinding and severed friendships) and fierce debate, here are the heroes (a bit of a mixed bag!) who came out on top:
Green Lantern – Hal Jordan
Hal Jordan, otherwise known as Green Lantern, is a reinvention of a pre-existing character of the same name that originally appeared in ’40s comics.
Jordan is a member of an intergalactic police force called the Green Lantern Corps, which fights evil and promotes democracy across the universe. He gets his awesome powers from a ring that is only limited by his imagination and willpower, and Jordan’s willpower is the envy of many.
Green Lantern has been depicted in many different forms of media, including an animated series, graphic novels, games and a movie that many of us wish we could purge from our memories but, in our opinion, this hero has been seriously underrated for too long.
Best moment: Breaking Sinestro’s neck!
Wayne says: The best example of Hal Jordan being the best Human Green Lantern there is (Guy Gardner is a close second) and also a great place to start for anyone wanting to get into the Green Lantern Comic Book is Green Lantern Rebirth, which focuses on Hal Jordan’s return from the grave. It’s one of the best modern Green Lantern stories and a great jumping on point.
Judge Dredd
Created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra, with his first appearance in the second issue of 2000 AD (1977), Judge Dredd is a tough, but fair, law provider in the dystopian future of Mega-City One. He is a ‘street judge’, meaning he has the power of police, judge, jury, and executioner. He has a licence to kill, kind of like James Bond, but with more respect for the law and less sleeping around.
Based on the fantastic 2000AD comic, Dredd was one of those comics-to-movie adaptions that became an instant cult classic – so it didn’t make much money. Starring Karl Urban as our favourite Judge, he did the role justice and depicted a version of the iconic character that was loyal to the books, and to the fanbase.
Best moment: “Gaze into the fist of Dredd!”
Anthony says: When our favorite Judge displays his callous attitude to fear by literally punching fear in the face. Judge Dredd faces off against his nemeses the Dark Judges, Judges Fire, Fear, Mortis and Death, and during his final descent against the despicable foursome, he decides he’s had enough humoring Fear’s expositional attempts at extorting fear from his impenetrable mental solitude.
“Gaze into the face of fear…” “Gaze into the fist of Dredd!”
Spider-Man
One of the great comic book icons of the 20th Century; love him or hate him Spidey is among the most well-known Marvel properties and recognisable comic book heroes ever. First appearing over 50 years ago, and after going through multiple iterations, Spider-Man remains a pillar of the comic book world.
Best moment: When Spider-Man is trial-testing the symbiote suit that would become Venom. Web-head temporarily enters a Faustian Pact that compromises the principles for which he stands.
Seán says: Amazing Spider-Man #248 written by Roger Stern and drawn by Ron Frenz, when Spider-Man went to meet Tim Harrison, a very young fan that sent fan-mail to The Bugle and was featured in a piece. Spidey visits him and retells his origin and shares the power and responsibility quote before unmasking and telling Tim his real name and making him the happiest little dude ever.
As Spidey leaves, he stops and hangs his head just outside, and the shot pans back to show that Tim Harrison is in a children’s hospital and the final panel shows the ending to The Bugle’s article on him: “You see, Tim Harrison has leukaemia, and the doctors only give him a few more weeks to live…” It’s an amazing story that shows the human side of Spider-Man. It shows what it means to be a hero and how, despite the criticism Spidey gets, it is the opinion of Tim that matters most to him.
Catwoman
Selena Kyle is THE femme fatale of the DC world. Perfectly encapsulating dangerous sex appeal, she became an instant fan favourite and the ultimate crack in the Dark Knight’s armour.
Best moment: Any time she routinely gets the better of Batman!
Declan says: The first time I ever saw Catwoman/Selena Kyle was when she backflipped out of Shrecks Store and blew it up. I was in love, she was powerful, she was dangerous and she was going toe to toe with Batman. She was unrelenting in her ambitions to see revenge exacted on the man who tried to kill her. To this day, I still cry at the end of the movie and still get excited when she appears alive, standing over Gotham city.
Batman
Another of the comic book colossi, Batman has been interpreted in so many different ways but has always been one of the most popular heroes. From the light-hearted, brightly coloured 1960s version through to the dark Frank Miller graphic novel series and on to the blockbuster Christian Bale movies, Batman will forever remain a staple hero for all ages.
Best moment: The Dark Knight knocking out Guy Gardner with a single punch.
Seán says: A recent highlight for me was when Batman absolutely refused to give up on his son Damian. Darkseid planned to use the boy as a weapon and in a rare moment of humility Batman appealed to the Justice league for help. The League said no on the grounds that Darkseid was too dangerous. So naturally Batman crosses the league and takes what he needs before literally journeying to Hel and fighting Darkseid and bringing Damian back from beyond the grave. It’s the perfect mix of stubborn determination and fatherly love and a giant middle finger to the league for ever doubting him.
Who are your favourite heroes? Let us know in the comments!
