30 Zenith
Publisher: IPC/Rebellion
First appearance: 2000AD #535, 1987
Created by: Grant Morrison, Brendan McCarthy
Grant Morrison’s reluctant superhero was the shallow, spoilt, brattish son of two ’60s superheroes. He would rather have used his powers to further his career ambitions as a celebrity than fight villains. Morrison’s witty strip was less of a superhero parody, and more of a satire on Generation X and Thatcher’s Britain.
29 Doctor Strange
Publisher: Marvel
First appearance: Strange Tales #110
Created by: Stan Lee, Steve Ditko
Sorcerer Supreme Steven Strange was master of the mystic arts, and sometimes leaders of Marvel "non" team of misfits, The Defenders. Possessor of the best collar in superherodom, hands down. Artists loved him as they could go all freaky and psychedelic.
28 Sandman
Publisher: Vertigo
First appearance: Sandman #1, 1989
Created by: Neil Gaiman
Lord Of Dreams, Morpheus, is the quintessential goth – pale, skinny, wild-haired and black attired with a permanently passive expression. But the stories appealed to more than just the kohl-crowd, as Gaiman wove wonderfully dark adult fairy tales around his ethereal hero.
27 The Tick
Publisher: New England Comics
First appearance: New England Comics Newsletter #14, 1986
Created by: Ben Edlund
Possibly the thickest superhero ever, the big blue bug had his heart in the right place, even if his battle cry of, “Spoons!” hardly instilled fear in the enemy. Probably better known from his cartoon and live action TV series outing, The Tick started life in a wonderfully daft comedy strip from future Angel and Supernatural scriptwriter Ben Edlund.
26 John Constantine
Publisher: Vertigo
First appearance: Saga Of The Swamp Thing #37
Created by: Alan Moore
Foul mouth, cynical, blond British demon hunter with magical powers who's dying of cancer. Introduced in Swamp Thing he then chain-smoked his way through his starring role in the Hellblazer series.
25 The Thing
Publisher: Marvel
First appearance: Fantastic Four #1, 1961
Created by: Stan Lee, Jack Kirby
New Yoiker Benjamin Jacob Grimm was the pilot of the spaceship that was bombarded with cosmic rays, turning its crew into the Fantastic Four. He drew the short straw, being transformed into a superstrong roc monster. Grumpy and long suffering, his battle cry of, “It's clobberin’ time!” heralded many a major mash up.
24 The Vision
Publisher: Marvel
First appearance: The Avengers #57, 1968
Created by: Roy Thomas, John Buscema
There was a Golden Age superhero called the Vision, who was an alien, but your votes were for the android member of the Avengers, created by the Robot Ultron. Largely emotionless (though, hey, even an android can cry as we learned in his first appearance), he nevertheless married the Scarlet Witch. Had the power to alter his density (even to the point of being intangible), could fly and had some nifty eye rays. Was destroyed in 2004, but a new Vision is now doing the rounds.
23 Kitty Pryde
AKA, Shadowcat
Publisher: Marvel
First appearance: Uncanny X-Men #129, 1980
Created by: Chris Claremont, John Byrne
Probably the most enduring new character created during the Byrne/Claremont era of X-Men, Kitty Pryde was a feisty youngster ready to embrace her power to become intangible. Sassy, chirpy and courageous beyond her years she was the longstanding girlfriend of Colossus, and had the kind of sisterly relationship with Wolverine that Rogue had in the movies. Her comics journey has been a charming coming of age saga. She also been a member of Excalibur and The New Mutants.
22 Hawkeye
Publisher: Marvel
First appearance: Tales Of Suspense #57
Created by: Stan Lee, Don Heck
Marvel’s “Purple Arrow" (okay, green had been taken, but purple?) Hawkeye was invited by Captain America to become an Avenger even though he had a shady past. A master archer armed with specialist arrows for all occasions, he's a bit cocky and known for rubbing Captain America up the wrong way.
21 Rogue
Publisher: Marvel
First appearance: Avengers Annual #10, 1981
Created by: Chris Claremont, Mike Golden
Southern belle Anna Marie is a mutant who can absorb the powers (and to a limited extent the personalities) of other superdudes. Having overdosed on Ms Marvel early in life, she now has her powers permanently (so she can fly and is super strong), but she's also prone to having her psyche taken over a psycho version of Ms Marvel’s alter ego Carol Danvers. Usually hangs out with the X-Men, possibly because Gambit is the only superhero with a worse accent than her’s.
Go to superheroes 20-11
