World Has Spidey been strategically de-throned as Marvels flagship character?

[CyclopsWasRight]

Since the Iron Man movie came along in 2008, Marvel has been pushing the character into the spotlight to make him the new Marvel icon.

While Iron Man has been trending, Spider-Man has been given the worst cartoon in his history and is no longer Peter Parker in the comics.

Has their attempts to position Iron Man as THE marvel character succeeded enough to de-throne the iconic Spidey in the minds of the public?

 

[Picard Sisko]

No, Spider-Man is still the flagship character. Nothing good has really come out of Superman lately and he is still the flagship character of DC comics.

Honestly though, has Iron Man really had amazing comic books recently (or ever for that matter?) His popularity relies on RDJ's performance and the MCU films.

 

[psylockolussus]

Not yet. I think we could only really say once the first Iron Man movie turned 10 years and once we saw the box-office performances of upcoming TASM/Iron Man movies.

 

[CyclopsWasRight]

I thought Batman was the flagship of DC. He has the most comics/shows/movies ect...

 

[Picard Sisko]

I thought Batman was the flagship of DC. He has the most comics/shows/movies ect...

I'm pretty sure both Batman and Superman are considered the flagship characters of DC.

As far as Marvel goes, I don't think they will ever "replace" Spider-Man as the flagship character. There can be multiple, so I could see Spider-Man AND Iron Man holding that title.

 

[Thundercrack85]

I'd say it's too close to call right now between Spider-man and Iron Man.

 

[Picard Sisko]

Honestly, I just can't see Iron Man being THE flagship character of Marvel. It feels like most of the time its Iron Man vs. a bigger, "evil" Iron Man.

His best villain, The Mandarin, was turned into a big joke in IM3, and the rest are just Iron Man rip-offs. Iron Monger, Crimson Dynamo, Zeke Stane, Titanium Man, A.I.M., or The Controller. Iron Man's rogues gallery is really weak, and doesn't come close to Spider-Man's.

 

[Picard Sisko]

I'd say it's too close to call right now between Spider-man and Iron Man.

Well he is more popular with the GA than Spider-Man right now based off of the box office success of IM3, but I think most hardcore fans of Marvel comics (pre-MCU) still feel the same as they did before the Iron Man films were released.

 

[Thundercrack85]

Well he is more popular with the GA than Spider-Man right now based off of the box office success of IM3, but I think most hardcore fans of Marvel comics (pre-MCU) still feel the same as they did before the Iron Man films were released.

You do have a good point about Iron Man's villains.

But as a figure to the general public, I think they almost stack up. Spider-man had more exposure, but Iron Man has had more recent buzz.

 

[jonathancrane]

Spider-Man is still a major brand and that is not going to change: they have a TV series, a film in the works, and shoe horn him into every project they can. Now, these are not attestations to the merit of the work, but financial success and marketing: at the end of the day, the concern is not on whether they are making the next The Dark Knight, but, if they still slap him on children's underpants and sell him, through a successful symbiosis with the film.

 

[Picard Sisko]

You do have a good point about Iron Man's villains.

But as a figure to the general public, I think they almost stack up. Spider-man had more exposure, but Iron Man has had more recent buzz.

The GA seems to judge these characters soley based on the movies they see, so I imagine Iron Man is way more popular than Spider-Man right now.

Spider-Man is still a major brand and that is not going to change: they have a TV series, a film in the works, and shoe horn him into every project they can. Now, these are not attestations to the merit of the work, but financial success and marketing: at the end of the day, the concern is not on whether they are making the next The Dark Knight, but, if they still slap him on children's underpants and sell him, through a successful symbiosis with the film.

Unless Spider-Man becomes a dead franchise (which will not happen as long as Marvel is in business and Sony has the film rights), he will always be a major brand.

 

[Thundercrack85]

Spider-Man is still a major brand and that is not going to change: they have a TV series, a film in the works, and shoe horn him into every project they can. Now, these are not attestations to the merit of the work, but financial success and marketing: at the end of the day, the concern is not on whether they are making the next The Dark Knight, but, if they still slap him on children's underpants and sell him, through a successful symbiosis with the film.

I don't think anyone is debating whether or not it's a major brand, but it may be being eclipsed by Iron Man.

But it's too soon to tell. Let's see if Iron Man can survive post-Downey.

 

[Picard Sisko]

I think the Iron Man film series is going to run out of gas... I am personally losing interest with each film.

I think the character himself will remain popular as long as he is featured in Avengers films, though after RDJ leaves, it will test whether or not people truly love the character or just the actor.

 

[CyclopsWasRight]

Imo Iron Man can't last at the top without the movies. He doesn't have the interesting aspects of Spider-Man, X-Men ect... To keep peoples attention. His current popularity is a fad whereas Spider-Man has stayed consistently popular for decades acoss all mediums

 

[Picard Sisko]

Iron Man COULD become the most popular Marvel character to the GA, at least for a set amount of time, but I doubt he will officially become the Flagship character to Marvel comics.

 

[Green Goblin]

I think both will be equalish like Batman is just as iconic as Superman but Supes is still the most iconic character.

 

[Dark Raven]

I think Iron Man is still seen as a newish property and movie phenomenon despite the first movie coming out in 2008. Spider-Man has been around for decades. Iron Man has too, but a lot of the general public may not even have known who he was. He certainly wasn't a household name like Spidey, Hulk, Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman.

Iron Man is a popular film character, the way Jason Bourne is a popular film character. I don't think there has been enough time yet where he has settled into pop culture the way those other heroes mentioned above have, or other characters like James Bond, characters from Star Trek or Star Wars or Indiana Jones. Give it another few years to see whether IM is just a popular craze right now and whether the public like him through several interpretations of the character.

 

[Spiderine]

No doubt Iron Man's status has skyrocketed because of the movie franchise. He also benefits from being incorporated into a cinematic universe with other Marvel heroes too. But Spidey continues his own popular movie and cartoon franchises as well. And does it very well on his own merit. Spiderman is still the face of Marvel IMO.

 

[Picard Sisko]

I think Iron Man is still seen as a newish property and movie phenomenon despite the first movie coming out in 2008. Spider-Man has been around for decades. Iron Man has too, but a lot of the general public may not even have known who he was. He certainly wasn't a household name like Spidey, Hulk, Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman.

Iron Man is a popular film character, the way Jason Bourne is a popular film character. I don't think there has been enough time yet where he has settled into pop culture the way those other heroes mentioned above have, or other characters like James Bond, characters from Star Trek or Star Wars or Indiana Jones. Give it another few years to see whether IM is just a popular craze right now and whether the public like him through several interpretations of the character.

No doubt Iron Man's status has skyrocketed because of the movie franchise. He also benefits from being incorporated into a cinematic universe with other Marvel heroes too. But Spidey continues his own popular movie and cartoon franchises as well. And does it very well on his own merit. Spiderman is still the face of Marvel IMO.

Agreed.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

I don't know, is he down?
In movies he's not up to the height of Iron Man in financial gain
In comics I think the X-Men are more popular

Honestly though, has Iron Man really had amazing comic books recently (or ever for that matter?)

Not a fan of Michilinie and O'Neil 3 consecutive runs in the 80s up till the early 90s? Those are amazing

 

[Picard Sisko]

I don't know, is he down?
In movies he's not up to the height of Iron Man in financial gain
In comics I think the X-Men are more popular

The X-Men were Marvel's most successful comic book franchise, but that has a lot to do with how expansive it is. So its hard to compare Spider-Man to a whole franchise based on a large, large number of mutants. But if you take any of the mutants and make them stand on their own, they don't even come close to Spidey. There is a reason for why Spider-Man was made the flagship character and not Wolverine for example.

Not a fan of Michilinie and O'Neil 3 consecutive runs in the 80s up till the early 90s? Those are amazing

I don't remember them too well. Will re-read them again. But from what I recall, the Iron Man comics overall never came close to Spider-Man (especially from the 60s/70s eras).

 

[Spider-Aziz]

The X-Men were Marvel's most successful comic book franchise, but that has a lot to do with how expansive it is. So its hard to compare Spider-Man to a whole franchise based on a large, large number of mutants. But if you take any of the mutants and make them stand on their own, they don't even come close to Spidey. There is a reason for why Spider-Man was made the flagship character and not Wolverine for example.

If any X-Men was to take place as Marvel's flagship I hope it would be Cyclops, as far-fetched as the idea may be

I don't remember them too well. Will re-read them again. But from what I recall, the Iron Man comics overall never came close to Spider-Man (especially from the 60s/70s eras).

80s Iron Man comics imo are better than Len Wein's run of Spidey in the 70s, and better than the other two titles (Marvel team-Up and Spectacular)
I'd say it's even better than many of the 80s Spidey comics

 

[Picard Sisko]

If any X-Men was to take place as Marvel's flagship I hope it would be Cyclops, as far-fetched as the idea may be

80s Iron Man comics imo are better than Len Wein's run of Spidey in the 70s, and better than the other two titles (Marvel team-Up and Spectacular)
I'd say it's even better than many of the 80s Spidey comics

Hmm, it would be very hard to top 60s-70s Spider-Man comic books IMO, but I'll give it a shot.

I think if any of the X-Men were to be placed as the flagship character, it would have to be Wolverine. Although I think Cyclops is underappreciated and underrated, he isn't nearly well-known enough to take the stand as the Marvel icon.

 

[Dark Raven]

Just to clarify, Michellinie and Layton's original run was in the 1970s. Their second run was in the mid 80s.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

Just to clarify, Michellinie and Layton's original run was in the 1970s. Their second run was in the mid 80s.

Started in the late 70s, but more than half of it is in the 80s
Thanks for the info bit, I remember all of it done in the 80s