madcougar

Inspired by this thread I began trying to think of the most famous superhero who does not belong to DC or Marvel.

The Walking Dead is certainly the most famous property right now that doesn't belong to the Big 2, but which superhero would it be?

The only two that come to mind are Spawn and Hellboy. Thoughts?

taffer

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

They are way more popular than Spawn or Hellboy.

Jacoby Ellsbury

"super" hero outside of marvel and DC is pretty limited and there are a lot of characters that I don't believe started in comics but eventually had a comic line like He-man, Transformers, GI Joe.

You got stuff like Pokemon and Ninjago nowadays, not superheroes, but heroes.

If none of these qualify then it's Spawn

madcougar

I'm not talking about properties like He-Man that started out as cartoons or a game or some other medium. I'm talking about characters that debuted in a comic book.

madcougar

How the hell did I forget TMNT?!

fumanstan

Do kids these days even know who Spawn is? Unless you grew up or were into comics in the 90's, i'm pretty sure no one these days gives a shit. Hellboy probably has more recognition because of the more recent movies.

madcougar

Comparatively speaking, Spawn has kinda gone away, but he did spawn (ha!) a movie and a television series, along with a long-lived toy line. He's no TMNT, but it's not ridiculous to bring him up.

fumanstan

True, but it just shows how much of a drop off there is from the Marvel/DC stuff I suppose when one of the next most popular characters hasn't been relevant in 15 years.

I don't think I ever considered TMNT as traditional superheroes though.

madcougar

As the discussion with the other thread, it's difficult to compete with the likes of Batman and Spiderman, when your comic book company doesn't have a comparable hero on its roster.

Groucho

Captain America (pre-dates Marvel).

davidh777

I wish it were this guy

fumanstan

Me too, love Invincible.

stingermck

TMNT, Spawn or The Tick

JasonF

Does Powerpuff Girls count? Because that was the highest-selling non-Big-Two superhero book in the latest sales figures.

I'm not sure what All New Executive Assistant Iris is, but if that's a superhero, then she's next.

Otherwise, the top-selling, non-Big-Two superhero book is TMNT, followed closely by Eternal Warrior. It's worth noting, though, that Eternal Warrior, like Powerpuff Girls and All New Executive Assistant Iris, is a #1 issue (the other Valiant books sell 40-50% fewer copies than Eternal Warrior #1 did, and I suspect Eternal Warrior #5 will have sales figures closer to those of Archer & Armstrong, Shadowman, X-O Manowar, and so on).

PhantomStranger

It has to be TMNT. That brand has become a powerhouse in children's merchandising. Spawn has died off in popularity among anyone that was born after its heyday in the '90s.

Obi-Wanma

Is that an Image/Top Cow book? If so, then I read it before, and its a book about a Japanese Executive Assistant (Corporate Secretary) who doubles as a Ninja/Assassin.

Don't think it counts as a superhero title.

EDIT: I just looked it up, it's actually an Aspen Title (The late Michael Turner's imprint, which is probably why I confused it with Top Cow). But yeah, that's what it is.

robin2099

I don't count TMNT as comic book heroes necessarily because no one outside of a small group knew of them when they debuted. They really became popular with the cartoon, and that's where most people thought hey originated.

Spawn or Hellboy are the only two characters from the 90's who have had a consistent presence since their first publication, so I would say one of them. Probably HB because he's had more of a presence with the movies and DTV cartoons.

madcougar

They began as a cartoon and doesn't DC publish their comic book anyway as they are a Time Warner property?

davidh777

In fairness, the OP was asking about properties, not necessarily comic books.

The Valeyard

It was still Marvel even tho the company was called Timely. If any Marvel character pre-dated Timely/Atlas/Marvel, it would be The Sub-Mariner. He was created for an unreleased comic titled Motion Picture Funnies Weekly before being packaged with the Human Torch, The Angel and Ka-Zar in Marvel Comics #1 (1939).

Definitely TMNT.

movieguru

Captain Marvel/Shazam was originally not DC if we want to go that route.

movieguru

Technically, He-Man first appeared in Dc Comics presents #47 which predated the toy line by a short time period. His appearance in that comic however was to promote the new toyline. this would also make him a DC character though too.

taffer

Yeah but we're talking about popular characters here...

90% of the general audience doesn't even know his name is Captain Marvel.

exharrison

I thought it wasn't anymore in the N52? (I haven't read the storyline yet)

taffer

Its not. His name is officially Shazam now in the New 52. I was talking more about before the New 52 when people thought his name was already Shazam.