Hero Rankings INSIDE the Marvel Universe

[StoneGold]

This is spun out of a thread on the Avengers board. Basically, if you were actually a citizen of the Marvel Universe, let's say in Idaho, so you're not reading the Bugle every day, which heroes would be the most popular? Would you have even heard of guys like DareDevil, who don't get outside of Manhattan much? At least before the trial.

[Expletive Deleted]

In the infogasm that is the twenty-first century . . . you'd have to be a pretty minor superhero to not be in the public consciousness.

[Shellhead]

This is spun out of a thread on the Avengers board. Basically, if you were actually a citizen of the Marvel Universe, let's say in Idaho, so you're not reading the Bugle every day, which heroes would be the most popular? Would you have even heard of guys like DareDevil, who don't get outside of Manhattan much? At least before the trial.

Living in Idaho? Captain America would be number one in popularity. He fought in
WWII in the old days, and now he's saving the world every year with the Avengers. (Well, maybe not this year, with Bendis writing him.) The Fantastic Four have always been public with their identities, and they have saved the world many times, so they would probably rank second on the list, especially the Thing, who is like a working-class hero. Iron Man would be pretty popular and famous, especially since he has been a high-profile member of the Avengers on both coasts, plus he is practically a corporate logo for Stark Industries/Enterprises/Whatever.

Spider-man and Daredevil would be less popular, as they mostly fight crime in New York City, plus Spider-man had a bad reputation for a lengthy period of time thanks to the Daily Bugle. Thor wouldn't be very popular, since he probably makes christians kind of twitchy, and because so many of his battles have taken place in distant locations like Asgard or Jotunheim. The X-Men wouldn't be that popular, not even counting their supposed problems with mutant discrimination, because too many of their heroics have involved low-profile infighting with other mutants. Oddly enough, Beast might be known to the general public more as an ex-Avenger than as an X-Man.

[StoneGold]

In the infogasm that is the twenty-first century . . . you'd have to be a pretty minor superhero to not be in the public consciousness.
That's the thing though. Until the "trial of the century," Murdock pretty much stayed within a couple blocks of Manhattan.

Think of it this way. I can name a whole lot of actors. I can't name that many who only work on Broadway.

[The Purple Skull]

The top 2 spots would most likely belong to Captain America and Iron Man. Cap owns the middle age to elderly demographic. The Fantastic Four would probably take the next spots. However, with the exception of the Thing & Torch, Reed & Sue might get bumped down in the rankings.

Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Spider-Woman, and maybe the Sentry might move up on the rankings due to their membership with the Avengers. However, the presence of Spidey and maybe Cage might actually bring Cap and Iron Man's rankings down. I do, however, see Spidey appealing to the younger demographics.

The lower rankings would probably be filled by various X-Men, the Hulk and Daredevil. This is a cool thread. Maybe we could do a power rankings thread each week?

[dingo]

The lower rankings would probably filled by various X-Men, the Hulk and Daredevil. This is a cool thread. Maybe we do a power rankings thread each week?

In the "real" wold the X-men and hulk may even be ranked lower than many villians.

[Beast]

Re: Beast's Popularity in the MU.

He's got a fairly strong fan following still from his Avengers days. Especially after he came out as gay during Morrison's run. Yes, he just said it to hurt Trish, but according to Emma his popularity polls skyrocketed because of that. And there's this exchange from Excalibur. :)

Karima: "So tell me, are you the real McCoy? Or just some cheap imitation?"
McCoy: "Ouch!"
Karima: "Do you know there are 1,143 websites devoted to The Beast?"
McCoy: "Including the naughty ones? Accessed them, did you, with your built-in satellite modem? Stored every bit of data in the hard drive that replaced your human brain?"
Karima: "Yet never a mention -- anywhere -- that there are two of you."
McCoy: "You checked them all? I'm truly flattered. It must be love. But there's only one Beast. And it isn't that "Cowardly Lion" poseur living my life in Westchester. I really shouldn't be here, this is a horrible mistake."

[StoneGold]

As to Spidey, keep in mind, he also made his world debut on the Sullivan show, or whatever the modern age equivalent of it ends up being retconned into. So he had some pretty major initial national exposure. Granted, fame is fleeting, but it does give him a leg up on most other heroes, at least in terms of name recognition.

[Chocolove]

However, with the exception of the Thing & Torch, Reed & Sue might get bumped down in the rankings.

Not Sue, at least; she'd be considered a MILF and a sign of female empowerment.

[Kevinroc]

As to Spidey, keep in mind, he also made his world debut on the Sullivan show, or whatever the modern age equivalent of it ends up being retconned into. So he had some pretty major initial national exposure. Granted, fame is fleeting, but it does give him a leg up on most other heroes, at least in terms of name recognition.

These days? I'd say Letterman, since that is filmed in New York.

In a few years? If Conan does The Tonight Show in New York, it'd probably be that.

[Oram]

ya i guess it would have to b cap. i mean hes captain AMERICA not just captain NYC

[Young Avenger]

As to Spidey, keep in mind, he also made his world debut on the Sullivan show, or whatever the modern age equivalent of it ends up being retconned into. So he had some pretty major initial national exposure. Granted, fame is fleeting, but it does give him a leg up on most other heroes, at least in terms of name recognition.

He was also a wrestler at the time. Wrestling fans in the MU had their exposure to Spidey before he became a hero.

[Young Avenger]

ya i guess it would have to b cap. i mean hes captain AMERICA not just captain NYC

The guy goes all over the country to battle super villains and terriosts. NYC just serves as a base of operations for Cap.

[dingo]

Surely all the positive press and positive media exposure for Spidey would at least be equally offset by JJJ's Bugle rantings.

Far more likely is that he has generally put the population against him.

[StoneGold]

He was also a wrestler at the time. Wrestling fans in the MU had their exposure to Spidey before he became a hero.
They've gone back and forth a bit though as to how regional the wrestling organization Spidey fought in was. It's pretty sure though they weren't national.

[The Purple Skull]

Not Sue, at least; she'd be considered a MILF and a sign of female empowerment.
Good point. I forgot about Sue's milf factor :p

[onizuka]

hulk is always jumping around smashing stuff isn't he? he'd be fairly well known.

[Young Avenger]

They've gone back and forth a bit though as to how regional the wrestling organization Spidey fought in was. It's pretty sure though they weren't national.

MU must have a IWC. Even if it was regional promotion indie wrestling fans would have known about Spidey.

[dingo]

hulk is always jumping around smashing stuff isn't he? he'd be fairly well known.
The original question was most popular, not most well known. Everyone would know Hulk, but you can bet that at the very least he had smashed up something owned by a friend of a friend. At worst he killed (or was directly responsible for the death of) a friend of a friend.

[StoneGold]

The original question was most popular, not most well known. Everyone would know Hulk, but you can bet that at the very least he had smashed up something owned by a friend of a friend. At worst he killed (or was directly responsible for the death of) a friend of a friend.
Or, if you take the opposite view, he smashed your car. That'd piss me off.

[onizuka]

The original question was most popular, not most well known. Everyone would know Hulk, but you can bet that at the very least he had smashed up something owned by a friend of a friend. At worst he killed (or was directly responsible for the death of) a friend of a friend.
whoops, my bad. i suppose i really should learn to read a question before i answer it aye. :o

although, i know i'd wish he'd smash a couple of cars owned by a few certain people i know. that'd definately put him in my good books.

[tangentman]

"A-Listers"--Wasp & Yellowjacket
The Fantastic Four
Captain America
Black Panther
Iron Man
She-Hulk
Hawkeye
Scarlet Witch (pre-Dis-Assembled)
Black Widow

"B-Listers"--Wonder Man
Beast
Falcon
Pulsar

Subculture heroes--Cage
The X-Men
New Warriors
Spider-Woman
Daredevil
The Punisher

[Expletive Deleted]

That's the thing though. Until the "trial of the century," Murdock pretty much stayed within a couple blocks of Manhattan.

Think of it this way. I can name a whole lot of actors. I can't name that many who only work on Broadway.True enough. I just can't help but think things like the Kingpin's downfall, the Nuke situation, and anything the Punisher does would be national news. John Gotti, Bernie Goetz, and all that.

I suppose it's a question of how inured the MU's denizens are to superhero antics, but I've got to think that they're famous (to some extent, at least) from the minute they save their first pretty, kidnapped white girl.

[Zombienorthstar]

Youd have fringe heroes are cool though...like when teenagers listen to heay metal to be rebellious

'TAKE DOWN THOSE SPEEDBALL POSTERS, CODY'

'YOU DONT REMEMBER WHAT ITS LIKE TO BE MY AGE!'

ahhh....memories.

[Cthulhudrew]

The top 2 spots would most likely belong to Captain America and Iron Man. Cap owns the middle age to elderly demographic. The Fantastic Four would probably take the next spots. However, with the exception of the Thing & Torch, Reed & Sue might get bumped down in the rankings.

I'd say that Spider-Man and the Hulk would be the top two. Spider-Man, due to all the mixed (and mostly negative) publicity he gets- he'd be the top story on all the gossip-rag news shows and publications. The Hulk would be well known for all the devastation he causes. I could see "Hulk Watch" portions of the news, much like "Tornado Watch" and "Hurricane Watch" reports.

[EDIT]Like Onizuka, I didn't actually y'know, *read* the question by the OP, so this answer doesn't have a whole lot to do with popularity.

Although I think Spider-Man would still fit, because we all love to read the trash and dirt on our celebrities (he's the Princess Di, or the Bennifer of the superhero world.)

[Exodus]

This is an interesing topic. The idea of how much the average citizen in the MU REALLY knows is one that hasnt really been propelly adressed imo.

Does the average citizen remember the time Reed Richards telepathically connected all the minds on the planet earth to use them as a weapon against Galactus?

What about the other times galactus has walked around in new york? Ive seen episodes where ppl refer to it as a media hoax and a commercial trick.

What about the existence of a starspanning shi`ar empire with regular contact with earth?


Anyway to answer the question i think first of all Xstatix has alot of fame and popularity.

Also after the Xmen "came out" with Xcorp there must have been tons of media coverage on them.

Avengers has always been famous ofcourse, i guess wonderman more then anyone since he is also a movie actor.

I think the hulk certanly has alot of fame, and he was pretty popular back when he got his official pardon, and tried to repay society for his actions.
Thou he has since caused alot of dmg, i think perhaps he would be in the media most as americans tend to focus on thngs that scare them imo.

[Mr_Fox]

Hmm. Long-time lurker, first-time poster. My two cents on this -

Captain America would be on top of the list.

I'd probably put the Fantastic Four just above Iron Man, if only because they're open about who they are and where they live. If you read the early Lee-Kirby issues, they're certainly celebrities.

Iron Man would be somewhere just below the FF, and the X-Men below him.

Where would Thor be? Probably just below Iron Man, the public has never really believed him to be an actual god, but he does get good press. I'm sure the ladies love him because he resembles Fabio.

The Hulk must certainly be regarded as a super-villain. He's definitely well-known, but he's infamous. Sub-Mariner is probably just slightly better regarded than the Hulk.

Dr. Strange is unheard of, I'm sure.

Howard the Duck might be a trivia question in the MU because of his presidential run years ago.

[Chocolove]

Or, if you take the opposite view, he smashed your car. That'd piss me off.

Not if you make thousands on e-bay.

AUTHENTIC CAR SMASHED BY THE HULK -- End time: (Apr-12-06 21:50:57 PDT) ***** WE ONLY SHIP TO THE USA *****

[The Purple Skull]

Come to think of it, I can see maybe the Astonishing X-Men (with the exception of maybe Wolverine & Emma) higher in popularity. They are the X-team that's featured the most in the media. Plus, as some said, the Beast still has popularity dating back to his Avenger days. Also, Storm might gain some more popularity due to her work in Africa and inevitable marriage to T'Challa.

Speaking of Panther, I could see him as another popular hero in the Marvel Universe. Some might say he's the Tony Stark of Africa. Being a king isn't too shabby either. As for the other monarchs, Black Bolt and Namor might place lower in terms of popularity. Black Bolt is pretty self-explanatory. And as for Namor, although he may be remembered for his help during WWII, his popularity probably dropped during those times he tried to invade the surface.

With Thor's disappearance, his popularity can go two ways. He could fall out of the public's radar due to spending most of his time in Asgard. However, his disappearance might spike a lot of public attention. Imagine milk cartons with Thor's picture on it?

Here's how I would rank them (partial list; not ranked in order)
Top of the list:
Cap
Iron Man
Fantastic Four
Black Panther
Beast
Cyclops
Spider-Man

Middle:
Luke Cage
Spider-Woman
Thor? (depending on reaction of his disappearance)
Hank Pym
Wasp
Dr. Strange

Low:
Sentry
Punisher
Daredevil
various X-Men
Namor
Hulk
Inhumans

[StoneGold]

Not if you make thousands on e-bay.

AUTHENTIC CAR SMASHED BY THE HULK -- End time: (Apr-12-06 21:50:57 PDT) ***** WE ONLY SHIP TO THE USA *****
I can't imagine Hulk-smashed cars are a rare commodity.

[Exodus]

Dont forget the Xmen got their deaths televized on live TV when they faced the Trickster in Texas.

That was broadcasted pretty much over the entire world, painting them as heroes.

-Exodus

[Chocolove]

I imagine that the Power Pack would have people arguing about what to do with super-powered children and questioning why none of the older heroes have done anything about them.

I can't imagine Hulk-smashed cars are a rare commodity.

Eh, that's only if you don't already have one. Considering how many (stupid) people there are willing to waste money on things as trivial as the last pea of a Thanksgiving dinner (which raked in hundreds), a mint-condition Hulk smashed vehicle with footprints or handprint or whatever would probably attract someone eccentric collector or a bored, rich California twenty-something.

I think I put too much thought into this.