My friend and I were having a conversation about DC Comics the other day. I said that Superman was still the icon, or the face of DC Comics, and he argued that since the Dark Knight Returns in '86 and Bob Kane's original take on Batman was revived in the eighties and has continued until today, that Batman was.

Who would you say it is? When you think of DC Comics, who comes to mind first? Batman? Superman? Someone else like Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, etc.?

 

They both do. Not one more than the other really.

 

Superman. Batman is arguably more popular, but Superman is the original superhero - without him the entire genre wouldn't have been born.

 

Superman.

There is absolutely no point to a poll or debate. Without Superman, there would be nothing else.

 

LOL at Bob Kane's original vision, i'd love to see what Batman would have ended up like without Bill Finger.

 

I'd say Superman, although Batman is a VERY close second.

 

Superman's my vote because unless I'm mistaken he came first.

 

Both, but since that wasn't a choice. Bad poll  , I'd say superman.

 

There's Superman and then there's everybody else. Batman comes a distant second.

 

Yeah, Superman.

 

I liked how Mark Hamill put it in an interview a few years ago. "Everything else drools down from Superman."

 

i tend to think that superman is the original icon, while batman is the modern icon. either way, marvel belongs to spidey.

 

Superman may have come first, but I don't think that automatically makes him the "face" of DC. The Fantastic Four were the first superheroes published by Marvel Comics proper, but currently Spider-Man and Wolverine are more likely to be the characters the general public would recognize if one were to say "Marvel Comics", IMO. Being the "face" of the company isn't about influence on the line/company, but about public recognition.

In general, I think the "face" of DC fluctuates between Superman and Batman, but right now Batman's out representing the company a lot more than Superman. Compare what's out there for the two characters right now (going off memory, so I might overlook something), and Batman has far more exposure:

- Batman - Two critically acclaimed and highly successful movies, headlining the "Brave and the Bold" cartoon, toy lines from both the movies and the cartoon, a couple of comic series selling ~60K (Detective) and ~90K (Batman) a month.

- Superman - Last movie did OK but nothing spectacular and any follow-up seems to be stuck in development hell, Smallville TV series, no cartoon series, no current toy line other than occasional appearances in the poorly-distributed DCUC, two comic series (Superman, Action) each selling ~50K a month.

 

Ah, but you're leaving out all the years of media exposure that Superman had over Batman. If you're going with the angle of the Icon of DC Comcis for the Modern age, then yes, Batman would probably be the larger icon. However, if we consider the entire history and cultural impact of the two characters, Superman without a doubt is the larger icon.

Superman in the media
Superman in other media - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Compared to Batman in the media
Batman franchise media - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Superman has reached a much larger audience than Batman. Superman has WAY more public recognition history than Batman.

 

Superman is the only answer

 

Batman might be more popular -this very second-,but Superman is more of an icon.

 

One only has to look at the Superman logo and just how friggin popular it is, its on everything. Its probably one of the most recognized symbols behind the holy cross or the golden arches.

 

I hate the piece of shit but it's clearly Superman. My grand mother knows the "S". She doesn't know the Bat or the Spider.

 

I read once that Superman was second in worldwide recognizability, behind only Jesus Christ. Not too shabby.

 

Well, you see, Icon was originally a Milestone character, but they've all been subsumed into the "main" DCU now. He even recently appeared in JLA where...

what was the question?

- Coeloptera