Ironically enough, I was working on a top ten list of my own (for my personal benefit) just this week. Excellent timing! One thing that surprised me, but only a little, was that no non-Marvel character made my top ten. I knew I had a bias, but I didn't know how big it was! There are some excellent non-Marvelites that were up for consideration (DC's Hawkman, Aquaman, and most of the pre-Crisis Legion of Super Heroes) but just got edged out into the Top 20 realm. Had I chose to include villains, or anti-heroes, the Hunter Rose Grendel would have placed in my top 3, Ozymandias would be in my top 10, and Lobo might've placed, but I stuck to Heroes to keep this more concise (have I been concise? )
Some Marvelites that were just pushed out the top 10 are DD, the Panther, and Thundra (whom I've just always dug for some oddball reason!) and supervillains like Thanos and Doom.
Without further adieu:
10) The Black Widow: Redheaded Russian spy in a tight black costume. 'Nuff Said!
9) Namor: As physically powerful as anyone on Earth, and the arrogance and rage of a king!
8) The Ultimate Hulk: When PAD put this guy together (Brains, Brawn, and Attitude) it was one of the coolest runs I can remember in comics.
7) Valkyrie: The ultimate woman warrior, with a mythical past to boot. She puts it all together for me in one package.
6) Adam Warlock: Starlin's classic tragedian. The old stuff is still his best stuff.
5) Iron Man: The self-made man who can walk with gods. Tony has always had a slightly hidden chip on his shoulder that, when it comes out, is supreme Iron Man.
4) Goliath: I'm a Pym fan, and this is his second best persona for me. I just like the look of giants among men, and he was my first exposure to that (way back when I was a wee lad...)
3) Yellowjacket: Just trumps Goliath as the best Pym Persona of all time. I'll take him humble but self-assured (as in the original Nefaria trilogy) or as Jackass who Married Jan. The best costume ever, IMHO.
2) The Swordsman: One of those guys who just stuck with me (and my flair for the tragic hero is really showing now!) and whom I'll always dig. The costume, the weapon, the attitude, and a skill at something that was second to none. All of it worked for me.
1) Mar-Vell: The only constant in my 30 years of comic book life is that A) My favorite superhero changes every few years, and Whoever it is is second to Mar-Vell. He embodies all the things one can define as 'Hero' and mixes in elements like a great look and a tragic ending to add to his legend. Still the best after all these years...
Note: Genis is cool, too, but he's no Marv (any more than Wally is Barry or Kyle is Hal ).
That was fun. Thanks for the forum!
