Well, I did a list of my favourite superheroines, but what about their male counterparts? After all, would there be a Huntress without Batman? Would there be a She-Hulk without The Hulk? So, with that in mind, here's my list of favourite male superheroes, as always, in no particular order.
C'mon, are you REALLY shocked? Of course Batman is my favourite superhero. However, while I say that, I will admit that being a big Bat fan hasn't always been easy. The fact that out of control fanboys insist he could beat anyone in a fight, despite his obvious and often brought up limitations. The fact that he's the one to constantly get more movies, tv shows, and video games based off of him, even getting top billing over Superman in Supes' own sequel. The fact that DC only seemingly ever markets his books, and even tries to change other heroes to be more like him in tone and personality. The DC Universe should be more varied than that, with room for everyone to shine. That said, can't deny his popularity, nor the characters resolve in the face of overwhelming odds. And hey, not every superhero can remain one of the top heroes for 75 years.
Let's be honest, folks, Superman pretty much embodies what it is to be a superhero: Not just strength of body, but of mind, will, and heart. Now, he hasn't always been written this way, but the Superman that I love is the one who acts out of hope and compassion, who fights only to defend, who desires to inspire others to be better, who doesn't look down on anyone, and who values ALL life. That's not to say he should NEVER have any moments of angst or doubt, but I always felt that was best personified in his concerns over not being able to help EVERYONE, and that he doesn't want people to see him as a godlike figure. That is who Superman is to me, and that is who one of my all-time favourite heroes is...Oh, and while Batman is still my favourite of all, let's be honest, in a 1-on-1 fight with no prep time and both men actually wanting to fight, Superman would put Batman in a hospital. Seriously, getting so sick of that argument...
You ever have a favourite character in a story that lots of people like to pick on for no good reason and you just wanna smack 'em? That's Aquaman for me. To this day, people STILL make fun of Aquaman. When Zack Snyder of all people has to come to his defense, you know there's something wrong with the world. Guys, at the risk of stealing a well-known meme, he's the Goddamn King of Atlantis! He has enhanced strength and senses from operating out of the bottom of the ocean, he's got a trident that could skewer Darkseid, he could conceivably summon Cthulu to devour the souls of his enemies (depending on your definition of aquatic lifeforms), and he's all but completely bulletproof, as they just leave little scratches on him. Seriously, what is there to make fun of? Because he talks to fish? No, he controls them with his mind. Because he can't fly? Neither can Batman. Because his superpower in the Superfriends cartoon was basically just that he owned a jet ski? Yeah, but that show was stupid anyway, so what's your point? Hell, even his wife is a superhero with a pretty intimidating power, the ability to warp and control water, when you consider that means she could literally turn your insides against you if she so wanted. Honestly, guys, don't make fun of Aquaman. You just make yourselves look dumb by doing it.
I should note that I'm mostly going by the movie and certain animated interpretations of the character, wherein he did NOT exile Bruce Banner to outer space, did NOT create a clone of Thor to beat down people against the pro-registration side of the Civil War, and did NOT have Captain America mind-wiped to cover up the crimes of the Illuminati...Though I will admit, I kinda wish the movie Iron Man wore the black and gold suit, since it looks awesome. lol No, I like the Iron Man that's a smug, self-indulgent, sarcastic asshole, but can always be trusted to do the right thing, uses his tech to protect and help people, and is aware of his own personal faults as a human being. But most importantly, the Iron Man that, upon seeing 13 people falling out of Air Force One and learning that he could only carry four, more or less said "Screw that" and instead found a way to save them all, not because he'd look all the more awesome for it or to challenge what his suits could do, but because he couldn't as a person and a hero watch nine people die and do nothing. THAT is the Iron Man I love: The Iron Man that is a hero.
Okay, this is going to sound bizarre, but when I say that Spider-Man is one of my favourite superheroes, I'm pretty much talking about every Spider-Man EXCEPT the main one from the comics. And I'm not gonna get into a debate with people over this. If you wanna say that Peter's actions as a hero make up for his extreme unwillingness to act like an adult, that's fine. If you wanna say he doesn't deserve the bad rep he gets for One More Day, as that was editorially mandated and a lot of the blame has instead been shifted to Mary Jane, that's fine. If you wanna say that liking every other version of Peter Parker but the 616 version makes no sense as none of them would exist without him, that's fine. This is just my own personal opinion, and in that opinion, I can't forgive his actions. I'm probably gonna write up my own take on One More Day someday soon, but for now, let's just say that regardless of who agreed to the deal with Mephisto first, it was Peter that ultimately decided to have his repeatedly dying aunt in his life than his wife and future daughter. I would far sooner take the Ultimate universe's Peter Parker, who seemingly died protecting his friends and family from a group of supervillains, all while resisting the crudely webbed up bullet wound in his side, and went out like a badass hero.
Okay, this might seem odd to some that I like a character who is primarily an American patriot, being that I'm from Canada. But honestly, the way his patriotism is presented most of the time is really quite admirable to me, and his never-say-die attitude in the face of near impossible foes is amazing. Granted, in the comics, he's faked his death a few too many times for my liking, but otherwise, I don't really have a problem with him. Hell, him and Thor fighting legions of the undead to save the soul of Valkyrie was my favourite part of Ultimatum. Seriously, if they had just made a comic about that, I would've LOVED it. And lest we forget, it was Cap's leadership and strategy that kept all of New York from being destroyed in the Avengers movie...although the nuke that Iron Man caught definitely helped a lot. Also, just throwing this out there, of all the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Captain America: The Winter Soldier is my favourite. I cannot wait for this movie to come out on DVD.
Yeah, this is probably surprising no one, but I'm more of a John Stewart fan than Hal Jordan. Why? Simple: He's not an idiot. Not to say he doesn't have flaws, he very clearly does. That said, they're a bit more understandable and forgivable flaws. In fact, why isn't HE made the leader of the Green Lantern Corps? He's serious, tactically sound, and has the respect of his peers. And before you ask, yes, I know that he killed that one Green Lantern, but let's be fair here: He was about to give important information to the enemy, and was probably going to die anyway. That's not to say I'm 100% okay with what happened, just that I at least understand it. And when I can say that about a DC superhero killing someone, you know they're either just that good or I'm high as a kite.......Don't look at me like that, I'm completely straightedge. lol
Confusing decisions regarding the character in the reboot (though for the record, I actually kinda like the costume, just not as much as the old one), Wally West is easily my favourite Flash. And yeah, between him and John Stewart, you can probably tell that I was a big fan of the Justice League animated series. Sure, he's something of a stereotypical jokester, but he's still a heroic person in his own right, and at least I could actually pin down his personality. With Barry, I'm not so sure what his personality is. Yes, I think that his job gives him something neat to work with as a superhero, but his personality is just so bland. Really, I think that's the real reason Wally wasn't around in the beginning of the reboot: So they could instead transfer that joking personality over to Barry, so he could be the more light-hearted of the Justice League. Me personally, I would've just as soon used Wally instead. And the fact that Barry's actions (though guided by Pandora, so not COMPLETELY his fault) not only retcon Wally's existence as The Flash, but creates a possible future where he's responsible for his death...well, it just leaves me feeling uncomfortable. Sorry, folks, but when it comes to The Flash, Wally West leaves everyone else in his dust.
Again, this is mostly based on the Thor from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, from what I've seen and read about, Thor in the comics has remained a badass protector of Earth for the majority of his existence in the Marvel Universe, managing to survive Ragnarok, grant us the only cool scene in all of Ultimatum, and give Iron Man a most righteous of ass kickings for his horrible actions in Civil War. And while I am excited for the upcoming change to the comics, wherein a woman shall become the new Thor, I still hold onto hope that the original will keep his job, kicking ass and protecting the nine...or, sorry, ten realms now. Verily.
Name one other character that can go through as many changes as this guy and still remain consistently popular. Dick started off as the first Robin, and thus the first of many partners to the Dark Knight, led the Teen Titans, left Batman's side to become Nightwing, became the sole protector of Blüdhaven (as well as a cop for their police force while living there) until it was decimated, stood in for Bruce as Batman on a few occasions, and now is a secret agent after being unmasked and believed to have been killed in action. I think I personally prefer him as Nightwing, though he's found ways to work into each of those roles. In fact, I daresay the best Dynamic Duo was himself and Damian Wayne.
