The most popular superhero used to be driven by comic book fans, more so than movie-goers. However, since Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe, that has flipped. With the release of the latest Spider-Man movie, which has broken movie records, the question “who is the most popular superhero?” comes up a lot.
While this can feel like a personal, subjective topic for many superfans, it can also be backed up by data. Game actually conducted a poll on this topic showing the most popular superheroes from the Marvel and DC universes. So, from comic books to the big screen, these are the most popular superheroes and we have data to prove it.
5. Superman, 5.1%
One of the most popular superheroes in today’s superhero universe is Superman. Yet, he just about makes it in the top-5, despite Henry Cavil being both a great actor and truly committed to the role.
The character Superman has been around for a while. He’s had countless movies, TV shows, and even went toe-to-toe with Batman on the big screen in 2016. Many people prefer Christopher Reeve’s depiction of Superman from the 1970s. However, whether you love the classic vision of Superman or the new Warner Bros version, Superman remains the strongest superhero.
4. Iron Man, 8.5%
Tony Stark’s journey as Iron Man is epic. A billionaire playboy who gets kidnapped by terrorists, who want him to make the same weapons he has sold to the military they’re fighting against.
During this ordeal, he gets a glimpse of the dangers of his creations and decides that rather than selling weapons, he would go into the superhero industry. His first armor design was crude; however, it allowed him to escape those who held him captive and protect the world from further terrorist attacks. The rest is history.
3. Batman, 9.2%
Few superheroes are as popular today as the Caped Crusader. Batman was created by an already historic team including Bob Kane, Bill Finger, and Jerry Robinson way back in 1939. Amazingly, Batman was created just months after the first Marvel character, The Sub-Mariner.
Batman has been around for almost eight decades and is still as popular as ever. He’s starred in comic books, TV shows, amazing animations, and movies. Granted, many of the Batman movies are terrible. Who can forget Arnold Schwarzenegger’s, Mr. Freeze? However, Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy bests many marvel movies.
Some may question whether Batman is a real superhero, as he doesn’t have superpowers. Whether you do or don’t, the Dark Knight is the second most popular superhero.
2. Wonder Woman, 12.8%
In the comic backstory, Wonder Woman is the daughter of Hippolyta, an Amazon warrior queen, and Greek God Ares. Ares gives Diana to a family in Boston, where she is raised by parents who don’t know about her origins. Diana grows into a powerful person, both physically as a warrior and mentally. Eventually, Diana finds out about her true father and decides to go find him. Here she discovers an island of warrior women, with powers, and joins the fight.
The Wonder Woman movies tell a different origin story. Nonetheless, the first movie is fantastic, so we have to give Warner Bros credit for that one. Wonder Woman is a very interesting character and one of the most popular across the world, regardless of the details.
1. Spider-Man, 48.7% of votes
One of Marvel’s earliest superheroes, Spider-Man, kicked butt back in the 1962 comic books and has taken it up several notches on the big screen. Not only does Spider-Man have amazing powers, but his backstory is full of loss, which adds to the character’s pursuit of justice.
Best of all, Spider-Man is young, fun, and naive. Whether in the comic book or movies, he has great one-liners, amazing villains, and a relatable struggle to find love, keep his job, or just keep his friends. As a result, it is not surprising that he has gathered almost 50% of the popularity votes, sweeping the other superheroes on this list.