Superhero Poll

A few months ago, I had the people at my work (only a dozen participated - none have ever read comics) list off the first ten superheroes that came into their heads. I was shocked most (especially in this year of Marvel superhero movies) by how much faster people spouted off DC characters. Granted, they have been around a lot longer (except in the case of Captain America). I'll put the number of lists each character made it onto (in parenthesis), then I'll order them as did my pollsters (top to bottom on lists). There were a total of 35 characters mentioned between all the lists, but I'm only giving you the ones that came from multiple mouths:

1. Superman (11) - remember, there were twelve people polled & the one missing here & next was just trying to be difficult
2. Batman (11) - I read a story that either Christopher Nolan or Christian Bale wasn't quite sure how big Batman is until they saw a picture on the cover of a newspaper of a kid in Iraq wearing a Batman t-shirt. Michael Caine said "Superman is the way America sees itself, but Batman is how the rest of the world sees it."
3. Spider-Man (8) - I don't think I can count all the TV series & movies
4. Wonder Woman (7) - Super Friends & Linda Carter
5. Wolverine (7) - two cartoons & Hugh Jackman
6. Robin (7) - Burt Ward & Chris O'Donnell
7. Catwoman (5) - 60's Batman & Birds of Prey TV shows, Batman Returns, & bad solo flick
8. The Hulk (5) - live-action TV show & two movies
9. Captain America (4) - aside from a bad 80's movie (which I've seen), this character's ranking really surprises me
10. Green Lantern (4) - just the new JLU cartoon; surprising to me
11. Aquaman (3) - Super Friends and Entourage
12. The Flash (3) - live-action TV show
13. Iceman (2) - listed more than Cyclops or Professor X, maybe because of the Spidey cartoon
14. The Thing (2) - everyone could describe him, but I only gave it to those that named him
15. She-Ra (2) - maybe a stretch where superheroes are concerned
16. Storm (2) - not surprising based on who played her in the movies
17. Colossus (2) - the most surprising to me; he's just never stuck out to me as characters go
18. The Green Hornet (2) - technically no superpowers, but these people were baby boomers
19. Jean Grey (2) - no one mentioned Angel, Beast, or Rogue
20. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1) - only one vote, but first on its list

Notice any missing? Here I thought Shazam was a big 70's hit TV show. I want to know why people still don't know Iron Man, The Punisher, Blade (all have multiple movies). In my estimation, the lists (dividing DC and Marvel) would have gone in the following order (and here they actually make sense as individuals battling each other in a company crossover):

1. Superman vs. Spider-Man - this one's been published, right?
2. Batman vs. Wolverine - I think this one has too
3. Wonder Woman vs. Hulk - obviously the Hulk can't be #1 (against Superman), but WW will give him a good workout
4. Aquaman vs. Mr. Fantastic - interesting because of the Aquaman/Namor comparison
5. The Flash vs. Iron Man - both red, so it would look good on a cover
6. Green Lantern vs. Professor X - mental, see?
7. Green Arrow vs. The Punisher - no super powers
8. Martian Manhunter vs. Daredevil - all right, so it doesn't work in every case
9. Captain Marvel vs. Captain America - both start with Captain; I still can't believe how much more popular Cap is than the Marvel characters preceding him here
10. Hawkman vs. Thor - the medieval armor
Alternate: Swamp Thing vs. Ghost Rider - the supernatural

Compare that to who George Perez has fighting who on the cover of the actual, published company crossover:



In case you can't see, Vision & Red Tornado at the top left makes sense, so do Zatanna & Scarlet Witch underneath them, Captain Marvel & Thor at the top right also, Superman opposite Spider-man matches my list, and finally, Quicksilver opposite the Golden Age Flash is one I wouldn't have come up with but I guess it makes sense. What do you think?