Money: Either you've got it, or you're living in the dog house... literally. In comics, we see a lot more characters with money than without, which in no way is a reflection of our society. Recently, we saw an article on the richest characters in comic books, but what about the other side of things? Who's the poorest? Many could say that the terms rich and poor are subjective. Does he mean rich in friends? Love? Food? Let's stop those pesky questions and flat-out say it: We're talking about wealth: cash, dollars, greenbacks, doh, etc. There's a few characters out there that have little to no money, some are even homeless, so our crack research team over at ComicVine decided to pose the question: Who's the poorest of the poor in the world of comic books? How did we come up with our list? Pretty simple. Is the character making any money at this time? Do they have a job? Is said character dependent on someone else? So read on and inform yourself, in no particular order, on some of the poorest characters in comics!
== TEASER ==
1: D-Man
Ex-Pro Wrestler Dennis Dunphry always worked real hard for a buck, and although he was actually an Avenger for quite some time, he spent most of his time as the protector of a group of homeless people in the sewers: Zerotown. Now-a-days, D-Man can't seem to find a job. He's been turned down by Mr. Osbourne himself for work and eventually, D-Man joined up with the military.He may have a job, but he doesn't have much else. And obviously, a man who spends the majority of the time protecting a hidden colony of homeless people won't be raking in the dough. In fact, just to help them out he went on a shoplifting spree, stealing jewelry to help out the people in Zerotown, but at least his heart was in the right place.
2: Archie Andrews
Archie Andrews has had two dilemmas over the years in his comics: Betty or Veronica? That's about it. Archie Andrews has been eternally in his teenage years. Sure, he may have had a job here or there, but there's no real way Archie has any cash. I'm sure there's even a story or two about Archie winning the lottery, but by the end of the issue, did he still have it? Nope.Being a teenager isn't as tough as trying to make it in the real world because you always have mom or dad backing you up. That's the problem, he depends on the parents, and without them, Archie would be laying in an alleyway somewhere telling stories about Josie and the Pussycats for a quarter, as he laid in a distinguishable fluid that stunk of garbage and burning tires.
3: Rex The Wonder Dog
That's right. We really dug through the DC archives for this one! Rex the Wonder Dog was an army trained dog, who fought in Korea. Now that Rex is almost 60 years old (420 in dog years) he doesn't have much to do. He hasn't been seen during the Day of Vengeance books, and regardless to that, what do you pay a dog in? Treats?No matter how many good deeds this pup has pulled, most people wouldn't even throw a crumpled up dollar bill at the pooch because dogs don't have imposable thumbs, and therefor, they wouldn't be able to carry money. Dogs don't need money, they need wet or dry food and a walk.
4: Starman (Thom Kallor)
Legion of Super-Heroes member Starman AKA Thom Kallor came back in time one day to help out and later join the Justice Society of America. His mind wasn't ready for time travel though and he developed paranoid schizophrenia as soon as he ended up in the past. So is days are split between helping the Justice Society and in the mental hospital.I'm pretty sure the Justice Society doesn't pay, or they don't pay that well, and with hospital/sloppy joes bills piling up onto Thom, he's not only broke, but most likely in debt. How bad? Not too sure, but I sure do hope that the JSA has decent medical benefits to ease his burden.
5: Spider-Man
Peter Parker has always had a place to live, a good family to back him up, a great wife, a great job to pay the bills... until recently. Spider-Man has gone through immense changes in the past few years. Aunt May has been in and out of the hospital. Peter and Mary Jane's marriage was magically dissolved by Mephisto. Peter was fired from the Daily Bugle. His whole world has been flipped upside-down.What will Spider-Man do for income? Saving New York City from the gauntlet of baddies doesn't bring in the big bucks, or any at all for that matter. Maybe his new Avengers team will kick in some cash. On top of that, Aunt May depends pretty heavily on him for support. He's in a rough place right now, and hopefully he'll get back on his feet soon before he ends up living on someone's roof.
6: Martha Kent
She's always lead a pretty modest life on the farm. She's always had her husband on her side, working the farmland, and a son saving the world time and time again. This all changed last year when the real Brainiac, not one of his thousands of drones, came to Earth and ended the life of her husband, Jonathon Kent. Since then, Martha has been on her own trying to survive, and her only son, is off-world trying to stop the invading Kryptonians.The bread winner of the family has passed away, and she's become financially dependent on her son Superman, who is not around anymore. All Martha has is the land, and I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see her selling it off in the next couple of years, or possibly filing for bankruptcy.
7: Swamp Thing
Alec Holland was a hard working scientist, who one day got his own secret forest restoration formula splashed on him, turning him into Swamp Thing. Now, roaming the swamps, and protecting the land around him, Swamp Thing has no job, and no assets.He lives in the Swamps, and for sure doesn't have a nickle to his name. He has nothing to show for all his hard, crime-fighting, work. He doesn't even have a single greenback hidden away. Get it? Greenback? His back is green!
8: Rick Grimes
A survivor in a zombie-infested wasteland, Rick Grimes travels with his son and a few other human survivors doing anything they can to stay alive one more day. Although Rick started off with a full-time job as a Sheriff, and a loving wife, both have been lost to him in the zombie apocalypse. All he has is the clothes on his back and his son.Understandably, in a zombie infested world, money doesn't mean anything. However, to this list, it does. Rick may have some funds stashed away in accounts prior to the infestation, but that doesn't matter now. And who knows if those banks will ever be up and running again. In addition to this, Rick not only has a son relying on him for stability, but a whole group of people. If only zombies were vegetarians, then the poor poor Rick wouldn't have to be on this list.
9: Silver Surfer
To quote Chief Editor of ComicVine himself, GMan, in regards to Silver Surfer, "He has no pockets." Very true, but after more digging, there's an even more obvious reason to why Silver Surfer is dirt poor: He was essentially a slave for hundreds, and possibly thousands of years. When you're surfing the universe, in search of planets for your master to eat, you have little need for cash or anything worth any money.He was once the slave of Galactus, and many years later, he was the Red King's slave during the Planet Hulk saga. the Silver Surfer, once again, was dirt poor and forced to do the bidding of an intergalactic jerk, but this time, instead of finding tasty planets, he was forced to fight in gladiator battles. Silver Surfer has proved time and time again, he's poor, and constantly finds his way into a tyrant's arms.
10: Eddie Brock
Once Spider-Man's arch-nemesis, Eddie has dealt with a lot of things that have left him financially drained. After the symbiote left Eddie because of the cancerous cells within his body, Eddie spent a good deal of time in the hospital. Afterwords, he became Anti-Venom, thanks to the help of Mr. Negative.Eddie hasn't really had a steady job since all those years ago at the Daily Bugle. Since then, he's racked up medical bills due his battle with cancer. Most likely, Eddie is severely in debt, possibly tens of thousands of dollars, and depending on the hospital and any other money he may owe, he could be at least one hundred thousand dollars in debt. Out of everyone on this list, he is for sure the poorest at this point in time.
What do you think? Is there someone we missed? Someone poorer than these chaps?
~Mat "InferiorEgo" Elfring is a comedian, teacher, comic book writer, and comic book store employee.~