Study Shows Superman the Best Superhero of All Time -- 3 Things That Disprove It
The Man of Steel is the Best Superhero of All Time, According to a Study
One of the longest running debates within the comic book community is who is the best superhero of all time. in a recent study done by the students of University of Lecester, the answer appears to be Superman.
The study, which was conducted from 2009 to 2016, weighed the pros and cons of each superher. Results showed that there is only one clear choice: Superman. However, is the Man of Steel really the best Superhero of all time? Let's take a look of what might have been overlooked by the study.
Irregular Powers
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It is well known that Superman has a vast array of super powers that would make any super villain cower in fear. However, his powers have not always been consistent through the years.
For instance, Superman could not always fly. Superman was orginally vaunted as faster than a speeding bullet and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. That's right, leap, not fly over tall buildings.
Superman's most powerful attack, the Super Flare, is a power that has only been added to his arsenal just recently. The study did note this attack as Superman's most power move as per normal physics.
Difficult to Write
The biggest problem with Superman is that how can a writer make someone with all those super powers look like he is danger? While Superman's weakness to both Kryptonite and magic are well known, writers have had to make creative ways on how to "hurt" the character.
One of the biggest stories of Superman's iconic history was his death and subsequent resurrection. However, the character has no singular storylines of note since. While it can be argued that the character has been in every DC Comic Universe crossover, his individual storylines have been sorely lacking in recent years.
Character Popularity
While Superman has been one of DC's longest running characters, his popularity has waned over the decades. Even during the Golden Age of comics, where it was believed the character was in his peak of popularity, Superman was not even DC's most popular character in terms of sales. That distinction goes to Captain Marvel, otherwise known as Shazam!.
The account for the downfall of Superman's popularity could be attested to how the character has not changed in over 50 years. Other characters such as Wolverine, Batman or Spiderman have all gone dramatic character changes in their storylines, may it be through traumatic deaths of supporting characters or returning pasts.
While all these factors should be taken into account, there is still something that will not change, Superman will always be an icon to many comic books fans for years to come.
