Expert: Justin Case - 10/4/2009

Question
1. What is top ten MU characters?
2. Is MU better than DC?
3. What is all of Gladiator (Kallark) comic?

Answer
Hi Henry -

I'm going to assume you intend MU to mean the "Marvel Universe", if that's not correct shoot me back another question and let me know what you do want that to mean.

According to the Marvel stockholder reports I get these are their top ten characters:

1. Spider-Man
2. Wolverine
3. Iron Man
4. Captain American
5. The Punisher
6. Daredevil
7. Silver Surfer
8. Deadpool
9. Thor
10.Human Torch

Now, keep in mind that the list is constantly changing.  When Wolverine was first introduced he was a Canadian assassin sent to capture the Hulk and, over time has evolved into one of the company's most popular characters.  One could probably argue that the Sub-Mariner should be on the list somewhere, but that list shown above is what is current as of right now, today.

2. That's like having to choose between your children!  Both companies are visionary enterprises that helped change the face of the comic industries in different ways.

Ask the average person on the street to name three superhero characters they will probably say Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, three DC characters.  The DC properties helped shape a great deal of the early history of the industry and continue to be poignant, relevant characters to this day.  Thus they have the longevity and ease of identification that people appreciate.

The Marvel Universe took great risks with their characters (i.e. the biggest one being giving them 'normal' problems in addition to their super powers) and Stan Lee and Jack Kirby broke new ground in so many different ways.

I can't honestly say one is better than the other as both companies and their stories and characters were necessary building blocks of the industry and contributed a great deal to the mythology we enjoy today.

Check out the website listed below, it has a search function where you can type in Gladiator and it should display all the comics he's appeared in.

Thanks for the questions, let me know if you have any others.

Deran

http://www.comics.org/series/name/g.i.%20joe/sort/alpha/