My top five favorite DC superheroes. I should mention that I stopped reading comics back in like 2010ish, so I have zero clue what has been happening (I know Superman went bad for a bit, and Batman maybe got a demon powered suit, I do not know). But these are my favorite superheroes…I would do an honorable mention, but I think I might save those for another top five.

FIVE

 

Green Arrow was a fantastic book during the 2000s. I think he was resurrected by Kevin Smith, then we got a Brad Meltzer run, but after that Judd Winick took over the writing duties, and that is when the character really began to shine. It would be easy to make GA a lame Batman-wannabe (I think that was how people felt about him in the 60s/70s), but writers decided to give him a personality that was unique in the world of comics. Oliver Queen has his flaws, but at the end of the day he is a good man. One of my favorite stories came from Meltzer, who did an issue where Ollie and Roy travel around the country picking up mementos that Ollie stashed before he died (Hal’s spare Green Lantern ring just to name one). The two have a great heart-to-heart, which was cool, but then as issue ends, Ollie recovers something shocking: a picture of him holding Connor as a baby. The reveal is that Oliver Queen knew he had a son, and that he abandoned the mother and child. It was sad, and ends up being something Oliver has to atone for over the next bunch of issues. 

FOUR

I read a few different Wonder Woman series over the years, but honestly it was always her role in the Justice League that I loved the most. I loved the moment when she kills Maxwell Lord in order to free Superman of his mind-control. Or when she defeats the Martian in JLA by holding her breath longer in space. Speaking of Grant Morrison’s JLA run, I always enjoyed how he wrote the flirting between her and Aquaman. Like Arthur would get awkward when Wonder Woman would make some comment. Morrison had a fun of way of making JLA into a soap opera with little side plots, which were kind of fun.

THREE

Everyone loves to argue about which Flash is better (Barry Allen vs. Wally West). I love them both, but I would probably have to pick Wally West. Wally grows as a person over the years after Crisis when he becomes the new Flash. I always loved when he would do a Flash Fact, which were science facts that Barry had taught him. Also, Wally had a sense of humor that was fantastic for certain moments. My favorite coming from JLA…early in the story Superman and Flash are discussing responsibility, and Superman says that sometimes he worries about living up to the myth of Superman. Later, they are fighting some renegade angels, and Supes is battling the main guy who says that no mortal can stand against him, but Superman is holding him back. Flash stops mid-fight, looks at us and says something along the lines of “guy is afraid of living up to the myth, and now he is wrestling an angel!” 

TWO

I know, some of you are probably shocked that Batman comes in at #2. There are too many great comic book moments to list when it comes to Batman. One of my favorite moments is in JLA when the Martians leave Batman for dead, and he says that he knows their secret (later Superman laughs when the Martian leader says that Batman is only a human, he has no powers). Batman has probably the best Rogue’s Gallery, but that is also a problem. After the Hush story line, every writer that came on for an arc decided they wanted to shoehorn all the major villains into their story.

ONE

Were you able to figure out my favorite? It had to be obvious once you saw Batman. Yes, I LOVE Superman. I have mentioned this before, probably a few times, but what I love is how he is an alien who truly encapsulates what it means to be human. He is the opposite of Batman–Clark Kent is who Superman is, whereas Bruce Wayne is just a mask that Batman wears. I think my favorite Superman moment is the classic “Burn” line from Alan Moore’s story. But another classic is when Superman realizes he can hear fire alarms going off all over the world, and that if he can hear that, then the Kryptonite is not real, and he breaks free of the Martians control in JLA. But another simple moment I love is after Final Night (the Sun has been restored, but Clark is still without his powers) and he is sitting up on the Daily Planet roof without a shirt, trying absorb sunlight. I think a janitor sends Perry White out there and the janitor is like “I didn’t realize the guy was so ripped.” The best Superman stories are the ones that focus on his humanity. His fight against Doomsday was great, but during that story, the beginning of it has him at a school talking to children.