DC has their Big Three, who are Marvel's Big THree?

[Vanguard07]

I dont know about you but it seems to me that Civil war in marvel is being talked about a lot more at my local comic shop than DC's crisis is.

And Spiderman HAS to be part of any big three list for Marvel. He's been their flagship character for decades.
Anyone who knows anything about comics knows that Spiderman is Marvel's Superman.
Captain America has the respect and iconic status of superman within continuity but he's never been the flagship character for his company.
Also I dont think Wolverine should be put on there. He has the sales but his popularity always seemed like a fad thing. Like people will get sick of it any second and it'll go away (probably just wishful thinking)

If i were to choose i'd go with the biggest character from the three major origin groups. Accident, Mutant and Otherworldly/dimensionally.
In which case I'd pick Spiderman (every man's hero and world's greatest accident lol), Cyclops (basically the most influential mutant since Xavier's gone and Magneto isnt a hero) and the Silver Surfer.
Norrin Rad's got more recognition than Thor does as a comic character and he's been around for a long time.

 

[Harlekin]

bit of a dated idea for a character. the lasso of truth or whatever it is. cmon...

Tho i heard they got some guy to admit the only way of stopping him was killing him. Then she did. thats kinda cool. course the consequences werent too great. i hate DCs no killing policy. there should be a hardcore Batman book where he kills. thatd b wicked. i'd buy that!

The consequences weren't too great?

You missed out on the whole Infinite Crisis thing didn't you?

 

[UK_Stu]

The way I see it, DC's big three aren't based purely on comic sales or popularity, but the impact they have had on both DC comics and the general non comic reading population over the years. Therefore I think if you had to pick Marvel's big three it would be:

Spider-man
Hulk
Captain America

If I showed a a non comic reading colleague at work, pictures of some Marvel superheroes - I'm sure they'd be able to pick out the three I outlined above, but wouldn't be able to correctly name many if any of the others. It would be the same with DC, they'd recognise Wonderwoman, but probably have no idea who Green lantern was.

I think this type of criteria identifies who a companies's big three are

 

[Franklin Richards]

How bout Spidey, Wolverine, and The Invisible Woman.


Heh!

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I dont know about you but it seems to me that Civil war in marvel is being talked about a lot more at my local comic shop than DC's crisis is.

I think that may have something to do with the fact that Civil War is just beginning while DC's Crisis has been over for about two months already.

 

[Warhammer]

My big 3 were always Thor, Iron Man, and Captain America.
Sorry Spidey.

 

[MyPokerShirt]

The consequences weren't too great?

You missed out on the whole Infinite Crisis thing didn't you?

I don't generally read DC, but i belive the correct response to ur post is a sarcy "ha ha". i've read wonder woman #1, the new one (v.3 isnt it??) and it turns out Diana, the orginal wonder woman can apparently no longer continue as Wonder woman, becos of the murder. thats what i meant.

Even if i did mean IC, its fair enough. Superboy punchs retcon. And a mess of a storyline. -- thats what i've heard...

 

[deemar325]

Captain America

Ironman

Thor

If your talking in continuity Importance and stature, now if it's sales and popularity....


Spider-man

Wolverine

Hulk


This says it all.

 

[sukinta]

DC's Big Three are Superman, Batman & Wonder Woman. But what about Marvel? I know Spider-Man is one, but who are the other two?

Spider man any of the X-Men group and wolverine by himself. Avengers would only be included because of the success of the movies. But they are so diluted in the comics.

 

[sukinta]

Spider man any of the X-Men group and wolverine by himself. Avengers would only be included because of the success of the movies. But they are so diluted in the comics.

I am only going by influence over the years and including popularity and sales. No one from marvel has had the influence peter Parker/ Spider-Man has on keeping marvel going except for the X-Men. Based also on story lines. Wolverine is the best X-Men on lot of stories and popularity. But the most powerful that is debatable. Batman is not the most powerful but still one of the big three in dc.

 

[lenz]

Sometimes there is a synergy with "fandom" and the GA, sometimes a disconnect.

Characters Alone: Popularity across all mediums

1) Spider-Man
2) Wolverine
3) Hulk
4) Cap and Thor
5) Iron Man and Deadpool (I give Cap and Thor the nod based on historical record, but honestly after his latest film outing, DP may be #4, if not #3; Iron Man too, most trancendant breakout star of the Avengers)


Franchise IP: Across all mediums

1) Spider-Man
1A) X-Men
3) Avengers
4) Wolverine/
4A) Hulk (arguable. Hulk 60/70/80's; Wolverine from late 80's on. I weight more towards Wolverine being part of the X-Men and obviously movies and animation)
5) Fantastic Four/Cap/Thor/Deadpool/Iron Man (depending on era again and measuring impact roots of particular franchise has had on Marvel as a whole)

Franchise IP: Popularity in Comics

1) X-Men (most dominant run at #1 consecutively (17 years), more year end #1 spots over every other property.
1A) Spider-Man (more comics sold than anyone)
3) Fantastic Four (earlier);
Avengers (later)
4) Cap/Hulk/Thor/Wolverine (depending on era)
5) Iron Man and Daredevil.

Franchise IP (Historical significance in Marvel comic history)

1) X-Men
1A) Spider-Man
3) Fantastic Four
3A) Avengers
(FF early half; Avengers second half. I give more weight to FF because they were the OG team in the 60's and their villians have had more impact on Marvel Comics as a whole. Doom most certainly.)
4) Cap/Hulk/Wolverine/Thor (Could make argument for either. Cap first icon of Marvel in the1940's; the Hulk's impact across many titles and events as the scary powerhouse/force; Thor is the first Marvel title to break into the top 50 in sales, ie Marvel's first best seller in the early 60's, and the most great stories/runs to draw from over the decades of the BIG 3 Avengers (Cap, Iron Man, Thor); Wolverine like the latter day Hulk, impact in multiple titles, trancendant go-to character, ie, force of nature charisma/dynamic, always added ingredient to spice things up/give it an edge. Or more simply, the most popular character in Marvel's most popular franchise in the comics).
5) Daredevil/Iron Man (feel both should be higher, but a testament to the impact of the titles/characters above).

Franchise IP: Popularity in Films (the biggest/most impactful medium)

1) Avengers
2) Spider-Man
3) X-Men (not as high gross as Iron Man, Thor and Cap, but characters in Franchise over 24 years and impact on consciousness still felt into MCU now, punctuated by Deadpool and Wolverine.)
4) Deadpool (No Avengers boost, basically alone until DP & Wolverine, with a leak and a prayer)
5) Cap/Thor/Iron Man(arguable) Stark most popular individually, but trilogy not as beloved as Cap, Thor more films and still going.
6) Wolverine

Points:
1 = 5 (1A=4.5)
2 = 4
3 = 3 (3A= 2.5)
4 = 2
5 = 1
6= 0.5


Most Points:
BIG 3 Overall (IP):

1) Spider-Man: 23
2) X-Men: 17.5
3) Avengers: 15.5
-----------------------------------------------------------‐
4) Wolverine: 11.5
5) Hulk: 9.5
6) Thor and Cap: 9
7) Fantastic Four: 8
8) Iron Man: 5
9) Deadpool: 4
10) Daredevil: 2
---‐------------------------------------------------‐----‐-
BIG 3 Individual Characters Overall:

1) Spider-Man: 23 (IP: #1)
2) Wolverine: 11.5 (IP: #4)
3) Hulk: 9.5 (IP: #5)

I think for most Marvel fans, its viewed more in terms of IP > Individual characters.

 

[Lily Adler]

Spider-Man, Wolverine, and Hulk. The **** are you others talking about.

 

[DeadlyWest]

Seeing the difference between a pre MCU and most MCU Marvel big three is flat out fascinating in how little it's actually changed

Like I legitimately think it's hard nowadays to argue the big three isn't Spider-Man, Iron Man and Wolverine, almost 10 years after this thread was posted

 

[Lobo]

Spidey, Iron Man, Wolverine

 

[lenz]

Seeing the difference between a pre MCU and most MCU Marvel big three is flat out fascinating in how little it's actually changed

Like I legitimately think it's hard nowadays to argue the big three isn't Spider-Man, Iron Man and Wolverine, almost 10 years after this thread was posted

I'm not a fan just simplifying it to just characters alone. People say, I love Spider-Man, I love the X-Men, etc. There is an obvious distinction that isn't cut and dry. So the way I did it was to give more context/nuance to the question, and which also doesn't fall into recency bias alone.

 

[Shinobi Shaw]

Storm, Jean and Rogue are clearly Marvel's Big 3. Always have been.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

Spidey, Iron Man, Wolverine

Agreed.

 

[Lobo]

Agreed.

I will say that when this thread was made, I'd have put Hulk instead of Iron Man

 

[psylockolussus]

The friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, the Wolverine and the incredible Hulk.

But Marvel doesn't have a big three, they have a big six - with the invincible Iron Man, the first avenger Captain America and the mighty Thor.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

I think Marvel is different. Their big three includes teams...

Avengers
X-men
Spider-man

 

[Karelia]

This thread was started in 2006. Absolutely wild how much has changed since then in terms of popularity with characters.

 

[lenz]

Biggest Movers since thread started:

Characters:

1) Deadpool. Without benefit of MCU initially.

2) Iron Man. Kicked off the MCU. Closed his arc at the MCU's peak. Iconic portrayal of Stark by RDJ. "Face" of the MCU.

3) Black Panther. First film was a popular culture moment. First solo film to reach 700m domestic. Best picture nod, 6 noms overall.

Franchise/ip:

1) Avengers. Not just the biggest Marvel franchise of all time, the biggest movie franchise of all time.

2) Guardians of the Galaxy. D-Listers to Stars overnight. Occupy a place you would have assumed the Fantastic Four to be.

 

[Sithborg]

I think the fact that Marvel constantly, and I mean constantly, throws out a massive crossover for this character, its clear he is the third part of the trinity.

Spider-man
Wolverine
Venom

 

[lenz]

I think the fact that Marvel constantly, and I mean constantly, throws out a massive crossover for this character, its clear he is the third part of the trinity.

Spider-man
Wolverine
Venom

He's a popular character and his design just pops off the page. I considered him for his movie and games footprint, merch sales and just his iconography in pop culture alone, which is significant. From a historical pov, I can't put him with Spidey, Wolverine, Hulk, Cap, Thor, or Iron Man. Any debate between him and Deadpool for newer anti-hero type characters (say under 40) has been put to rest for now. Daredevil hasn't had the film success Venom has, but his comic runs are second to none, plus with his show coming back, despite the popularity of the Venom films, DD, imo, will achieve a greater cultural impact despite not being in theaters.

 

[Breogan]

That Deadpool (and justifiably so) is being put up against DC's Trinity is hysterical.
And shows how much WB has absolutely failed their characters.