Marvel's 50 Best

[Grazzt]

Here they are in all their glory. (http://anw.livejournal.com/302697.html) The list was generated in a democratic fashion.

The list in brief:

50. Kraven the Hunter, Sergei Kravinoff
49. Juggernaut, Cain Marko
48. The Sub-Mariner, Prince Namor McKenzie
47. Marvel Girl, Jean Grey
46. Swarm, Fritz von Meyer
45. Black Bolt, Blackagar Boltagon
44. Loki Lauyefson
43. Ghost Rider, Johnny Blaze
42. Professor X, Charles Xavier
41. Quicksilver, Pietro Maximoff
40. Kingpin, Wilson Fisk
39. Doctor Octopus, Otto Octavius
38. Green Goblin, Norman Osborn
37. Red Skull, Johann Schmidt
36. She-Hulk, Jennifer Walters
35. Colossus, Piotr Nikolevitch Rasputin
34. Shadowcat, Kitty Pryde
33. Cyclops, Scott Summers
32. Havok, Alex Summers
31. Luke Cage
30. Black Widow, Natasha Romanova
29. Beast, Henry McCoy
28. The Multiple Man, Jamie Madrox
27. Silver Surfer, Norrin Radd
26. Ultron
25. Captain Britain, Brian Braddock
24. Iron Man, Tony Stark
23. The Punisher, Frank Castle
22. Ego the Living Planet
21. Nightcrawler, Kurt Wagner
20. Annihilus, the Living Death that Walks
19. Deadpool, Wade Wilson
18. Captain America, Steve Rogers
17. Fin Fang Foom
16. Daredevil, Matt Murdock
15. J Jonah Jameson
14. Kang the Conqueror, Nathaniel Richards
13. Beta Ray Bill
12. Doctor Stephen Strange
11. Wolverine, Logan
10. MODOK, George Tarleton
09. Nick Fury
08. Emma Frost
07. Black Panther, T'Challa
06. The Hulk, Bruce Banner
05. Thing, Ben Grimm
04. Galactus, Devourer of Worlds
03. Magneto, Magnus
02. Spider-Man, Peter Parker
01. Doctor Victor Von Doom

Some thoughts:

1) MODOK? I never realised that guy was that popular. Similar with Swarm.

2) Three of the top five are villains. I think Marvel may have some of the most iconic villains out there.

3) Emma Frost was the highest rated X-Man, which is surprising.

4) Namor's last name is McKenzie? They should introduce his long-lost cousins, Bob and Doug. :D

5) I'm surprised Thor is missing, particularly given how will Beta Ray Bill did.

So, what do you think of it?

[The Foreigner]

What a lame list. Modok, Beta Ray Bill, and Ego the Living Planet all in the top 25. Uh huh.

[MarvelKnight]

That list not only left out Thor, it also left out Warbird(Ms.Marvel), Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye, Iceman, Firestar, and the rest of the Fantastic Four. Also, where's Spider-Woman and Elektra?

[Tommy]

That list not only left out Thor, it also left out Warbird(Ms.Marvel), Iceman, and Firestar. Also, where's Spider-Woman and Elektra?
Which is not as grevious an error as leaving out three of the Fantastic Four.

[The Foreigner]

Which is not as grevious an error as leaving out three of the Fantastic Four.

Yeah, I noticed that too. :rolleyes:

[Darkoth]

This was based on everyone's top 25? Interesting results,can't express how happy I am that the Thing came in as second best/favorite hero in the MU,kinda shows that Marvel maybe shouldn't be too quick to cancel a great title.

[The Foreigner]

This was based on everyone's top 25? Interesting results,can't express how happy I am that the Thing came in as second best/favorite hero in the MU,kinda shows that Marvel maybe shouldn't be too quick to cancel a great title.

By that logic, then shouldn't Modok have two solo titles as well as membership in both The Avengers and the X-Men? He did placed above Wolverine-- Marvel shouldn't be too quick to leave Modok out of the limelight!

The Thing solo wasn't selling well. End of story.

[Norrin Radd]

I agree with number one. Doom is the best, bar none.

[Faded]

Go Emma! :D

101010

[Mariah]

The list was determined by psuedo nerds, so you know they aren't gettin any, unless from nerdettes like me(but i'm a sexy she-nerd.)

p.s. the list sucks big time.

[CPT Space Bomb]

HAH, Whatever failings the list had (Most notably not having THOR!!!), DOOM WAS NUMBER 1!! I'd second that any day of the week. All hail the good Doctor!

[Volk1]

The list was determined by psuedo nerds, so you know they aren't gettin any, unless from nerdettes like me(but i'm a sexy she-nerd.)

p.s. the list sucks big time.


LOL Sexy she-nerds are the hottest living things on the planet! :)

[Volk1]

Multiple Man over Charles Xavier?

I like Jamie and all but Xavier should be in the top 5 at least....

[twilight]

*Retcon punches the walls of reality until Thor appears on the list*

Better :)

[Sir Tim Drake]

I suspect that there was some ballot-box stuffing going on. Someone should determine how many of the people who voted for Doom had Latverian IP addresses.

[Dark Soul # 7]

Interesting list. No Storm or Thor and three fourths of the FF are missing but Swarm, Modok, Ego, Annihilus, Fing Fang Fom and Beta Ray Bill made the cut.
This was based on everyone's top 25? Interesting results,can't express how happy I am that the Thing came in as second best/favorite hero in the MU,kinda shows that Marvel maybe shouldn't be too quick to cancel a great title.Actually it shows what the internet fans think and we are far from being the majority.

[kentonator]

i just wanna know who votes for fing fang foom....... seriously

[Darkoth]

Interesting list. No Storm or Thor and three fourths of the FF are missing but Swarm, Modok, Ego, Annihilus, Fing Fang Fom and Beta Ray Bill made the cut.
Actually it shows what the internet fans think and we are far from being the majority.

That's true,the best books don't always have the most orders.My LCS doesn't order many copies of Daredevil or Captain America either,wich might be the two next best solo marvel books,imo.

[Expletive Deleted]

This was based on everyone's top 25?Not the one that someone posted here a few days ago. This is a different effort.

[Nonentity]

And once again we have evidence that people who post on message boards only constitute a small part of the comic book audience.

I mean, on what twisted world does MODOK beat Charles Xavier? Hell, how does MODOK even make it onto the top ten when three of the Fantastic Four are not even mentioned?

[kentonator]

Not the one that someone posted here a few days ago. This is a different effort.


i guess that makes a lil more sense, since i saw people on this list that i didnt see on everyone elses 25 list from earlier, itll be interesting to see how that persons turns out.

[Grazzt]

I love the guys explanation for Swarm's appearance on the list:

He's a Nazi made of radioactive bees. Shakespeare only wishes he'd come up with stuff this good.

[SalazarSleaze2]

By that logic, then shouldn't Modok have two solo titles as well as membership in both The Avengers and the X-Men? He did placed above Wolverine-- Marvel shouldn't be too quick to leave Modok out of the limelight!

The Thing solo wasn't selling well. End of story.

LMAO!!!
So true...where are the JJJAmeson and Fing Fang Foom's solo books?

This list proves once again that internet tastes are wildly different from "real world" fans.

Thing is the # 2 hero, yet he clearly bombs in a solo series.

(I am still hoping to see a Modok book...:D

[hoffmandu]

Interesting survey, though it seems a little hokey. Modok, for Satan's sake? It was obviously a joke, not really taken very seriously. Validity=zero.

[Elegance Liberty]

While part of me is happy Beta Ray Bill made the list (wahahaha, look at my title), it does feel a little... strange, to say the least.

But...

Thor is not in this list of fifty great Marvel characters. Thor isn't a horse-faced golden space monster with a funky 70s name. Thor is not worthy.

... that made me snort orange soda out of my nose. el oh elllllllll.

[fireball87o]

That list not only left out Thor, it also left out Warbird(Ms.Marvel), Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye, Iceman, Firestar, and the rest of the Fantastic Four. Also, where's Spider-Woman and Elektra?
For real! That list is some sort of sick & twisted joke . I can't believe who made it & more importantly who didn't. And Swarm--are you ****ing kidding me?--beat out Jean Grey?

http://www.marvel.com/universe/Swarm

SWARM?!? Who i just saw on Spiderman & His Amazing Friends this morning made the list!?!



SWARM?!?

[Grazzt]

Interesting survey, though it seems a little hokey. Modok, for Satan's sake? It was obviously a joke, not really taken very seriously. Validity=zero.

How many people do you think take comics seriously? Some people like to revel in the goofiness of certain characters. That's why Swarm, MODOK, and Fin Fang Foom managed to rate so high (or at all).

That might also be the reason that Doom got number one place. He makes a great serious villain, but he also has his goofball moments too (being beaten by Squirrel Girl, being called on talking in all capital letters, etc.)

[Alistair]

For real! That list is some sort of sick & twisted joke . I can't believe who made it & more importantly who didn't. And Swarm--are you f*%king kidding me?--beat out Jean Grey?

http://www.marvel.com/universe/Swarm

SWARM?!? Who i just saw on Spiderman & His Amazing Friends this morning made the list!?!



SWARM?!?

Well, he is a Nazi made of radioactive bees, you know.

But yes. Hello all. When I'm not a CBR poster, I am also one of the pseudo-nerds who helped compile this list. For info:

The original list from which these 50 characters were derived was comprised of some 320 characters. The rounds of polling (of which there were many) were decided by putting the characters in alphabetical order. Over 200 people took part in the voting, which lasted for over a month. The forum on which this was carried out was http://www.thevhive.com - popularly called "The V". The voting threads are all still there, and you can go and check them out yourself to see the arguing. The final poll - Doom vs Spidey - has some of the most thoughtful analysis of Spider-Man I've ever read, plus a lot of people going "DOOM!".

Just for interest, you understand, in case anyone thought Andrew had come up with this list all by himself.

[Expletive Deleted]

Validity=zero.Validity?

It's a list of favorite superheroes. Is there any way it could be valid on any more than an individual, personal level?

[Titan76]

What a lame list. My respect(what little of it I had left) for Internet fans is now down to 0. If this list was shown to non-hardcore fans and just regular fans(ones who don't go on comic book sites, and collect just 1,2,3 books at most) they would think this would be a joke, and not a good one.

[Corsair]

Well, he is a Nazi made of radioactive bees, you know.

But yes. Hello all. When I'm not a CBR poster, I am also one of the pseudo-nerds who helped compile this list. For info:

The original list from which these 50 characters were derived was comprised of some 320 characters. The rounds of polling (of which there were many) were decided by putting the characters in alphabetical order. Over 200 people took part in the voting, which lasted for over a month. The forum on which this was carried out was http://www.thevhive.com - popularly called "The V". The voting threads are all still there, and you can go and check them out yourself to see the arguing. The final poll - Doom vs Spidey - has some of the most thoughtful analysis of Spider-Man I've ever read, plus a lot of people going "DOOM!".

Just for interest, you understand, in case anyone thought Andrew had come up with this list all by himself.Just glancing over some of these polls, this looks like a very silly way to organize the voting. If I'm reading this correctly Thor was eliminated in the first round due to the unfortunate circumstance of being placed alphabetically next to the Thing. Yet a bunch of relative nobodies made it through to the later rounds simply by being grouped together with a bunch of even lesser nobodies.

[Nefarius]

At least Dr Doom is the most popular character in this list.:cool:

But,Fing Fang Foom was in this list.Who the hell vote him:confused:

[Alistair]

It wasn't just one through from each of the initial rounds - the actual deciding was done via complicated spreadsheet-y stuff based on who got what number of votes in what round.

I think we should bear in mind that a) it was a list of the *best* Marvel characters, in the opinions of the 200+ fans who voted, rather than the most famous/most heroic/longest-running titles/best-selling, and b) it was a bit of fun.

[Alistair]

At least Dr Doom is the most popular character in this list.:cool:

But,Fing Fang Foom was in this list.Who the hell vote him:confused:

1) Giant death lizard;

2) Purple pants;

3) Name that's fun to shout.

Everything that's fun and dramatic and goofy in comics, wrapped up in one character. I luvs 'im.

[shadowraven]

1) Giant death lizard;

2) Purple pants;

3) Name that's fun to shout.

Everything that's fun and dramatic and goofy in comics, wrapped up in one character. I luvs 'im.

I'm sure his Nextwave appearance a couple months back didn't hurt either.

[Corsair]

It wasn't just one through from each of the initial rounds - the actual deciding was done via complicated spreadsheet-y stuff based on who got what number of votes in what round.Even so. Here's poor Thor (not that I'm a huge Thor fan, just using him as an example) up against both the Thing and the Punisher. Stiff competition, he makes a poor showing at 35 votes and is out of it. Meanwhile here's Kang up against Karen Page, Karma, Karoline Dean and Kate Bishop. 119 votes for Kang, no surprise at all. I'd expect Thor would have done similarly well if matched against a group of D-list/background/supporting characters.

I think we should bear in mind that a) it was a list of the *best* Marvel characters, in the opinions of the 200+ fans who voted, rather than the most famous/most heroic/longest-running titles/best-selling, and b) it was a bit of fun.Aw, c'mon. Ya want us to be reasonable about the whole thing? That's no fun.