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When did Batman become more popular than Superman?
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130 posts in this topic

26 minutes ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

There are a lot of specific details being shared that are inaccurate in some posts, but attempting to address them is not tolerated. Suffice it to say, everyone should do their own research, and not rely on comments on a message board...from anyone...without independently confirming any information presented in those comments.

So, if we take your advice in this post, we shouldn't take your advice. :kidaround:

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2 minutes ago, valiantman said:

So, if we take your advice in this post, we shouldn't take your advice. :kidaround:

Information...not advice. ;)

If I say "2 + 2 = 5", you should probably independently verify it.

If I say "it's a good idea to independently verify information", there's no information being shared to verify, merely advice being offered.

:cloud9:

 

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5 minutes ago, RockMyAmadeus said:
9 minutes ago, valiantman said:

So, if we take your advice in this post, we shouldn't take your advice. :kidaround:

Information...not advice. ;)

If I say "2 + 2 = 5", you should probably independently verify it.

If I say "it's a good idea to independently verify information", there's no information being shared to verify, merely advice being offered.

:cloud9:

Verified:

2+2=5

;)

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1 hour ago, Jaylam said:

Looks like government math to me.

Gödel demonstrated with his incompleteness theorem that we cannot prove, mathematically, that 2+2 does NOT equal 5.  So-

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My ADD isn't going to allow me to read all this. Soooo....

Superman always sucked. Always.

Batman was always cool until he started sucking beginning whenever that 60s Adam West sh*t-show started, which made him poppy and stupid like Superman. It took Marshal Rodgers and Carmine I. to make him cool again. He was blasted into full-nova coolness with Frank Miller. Neil Adams probably had a hand in Batman becoming cool again, but whenever I think of Adams all I think about is seeing him at the Stan Lee con in LA in 2016 eating a hamburger and it dripping all over him.

I think the only thing good to happen to Superman EVER was the Alan Moore story in the late 80s. I had hopes for the Miller Superman: Year One book, but looking at it, no, Superman continues to suck. 

Edited by NoMan
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7 minutes ago, NoMan said:

My ADD isn't going to allow me to read all this. Soooo....

Superman always sucked. Always.

Batman was always cool until he started sucking beginning whenever that 60s Adam West sh*t-show started, which made him poppy and stupid like Superman. It took Marshal Rodgers and Carmine I. to make him cool again. He was blasted into full-nova coolness with Frank Miller. Neil Adams probably had a hand in Batman becoming cool again, but whenever I think of Adams all I think about is seeing him at the Stan Lee con in LA in 2016 eating a hamburger and it dripping all over him.

I think the only thing good to happen to Superman EVER was the Alan Moore story in the late 80s. I had hopes for the Miller Superman: Year One book, but looking at it, no, Superman continues to suck. 

Superman hit his high in the Swanderson books IMO.  Clever, interesting stories and top notch art.

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At the risk of being as humble as Drax... Superman is an idol to those who generally already excel at everything considered human, while Batman is an idol to those who haven't really ever been good at anything. 

Superman fans believe in themselves completely, while Batman fans believe they could become successful if they just had some money or gadgets.

Therefore Batman should be exponentially more popular.

Discuss... :popcorn:

Edited by valiantman
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A fun thread, partly because there can be no "right" answer... it's all hypothesis and opinion.  Vintage Comics is no more right or wrong in his choice than Shadroch or I am in ours.  A lot of it also has to do with when you grew up and how you perceived things.  It's also important to understand that the term "most popular" is not defined.  It can be interpreted quite broadly.  If one is thinking "only comics", then I suspect (without looking it up) that Superman might still have out-sold Batman well into the '70s, if for no other reason that DC still considered him their flagship character, and put him into as many different titles as they could... Superman, Action, Adventure (as Superboy), World's Finest, Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, specials and 80-pagers, etc.  But the broader media certainly covered Batman more intensively... at least for awhile... during and following the TV series, as did product merchandising.

Another factor is the age of the reader, or fan, we are discussing.  Younger kids (say 6-8) almost always identified with Superman.  Older ones (13, 14 or older) generally preferred Batman (at least in my region of the country).  And what about world-wide?  Is Superman still better recognized in the far corners of the planet than Batman?  I suspect he translates better in some cultures (he's more universal, whereas Batman is connected to a noirish urban environment, and has more ties to western criminal justice systems).  In America, in the present, I don't think there is any doubt Batman is more popular than Superman (and Spider-Man may be more popular than either, but that's a separate debate).  But worldwide?  I don't have an answer.

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39 minutes ago, valiantman said:

At the risk of being as humble as Drax... Superman is an idol to those who generally already excel at everything considered human, while Batman is an idol to those who haven't really ever been good at anything. 

Superman fans believe in themselves completely, while Batman fans believe they could become successful if they just had some money or gadgets.

Therefore Batman should be exponentially more popular.

Discuss... :popcorn:

"Should" is the real "s-word", you dingus.

People relate to Batman because he's human. Superman is a damn alien with god-like power. When you try to make Superman more relative (*cough* Man of Steel) people hate him.

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2 minutes ago, TwoPiece said:
44 minutes ago, valiantman said:

At the risk of being as humble as Drax... Superman is an idol to those who generally already excel at everything considered human, while Batman is an idol to those who haven't really ever been good at anything. 

Superman fans believe in themselves completely, while Batman fans believe they could become successful if they just had some money or gadgets.

Therefore Batman should be exponentially more popular.

Discuss... :popcorn:

"Should" is the real "s-word", you dingus.

People relate to Batman because he's human. Superman is a damn alien with god-like power. When you try to make Superman more relative (*cough* Man of Steel) people hate him.

Dingus?  Can a "dingus" move so slowly that they turn invisible... and why is Gamora?

Superman is an alien with god-like power... which is exactly how smart people feel walking around in this world. :foryou:

Batman is just a guy, with the help of his Daddy's money and a magic fanny pack, who becomes more than just a guy.  Pretty much everyone, everywhere, is already Batman without the money and the fanny pack... basically useless... and they know it.  So they want to pretend that they'd be awesome if they had money or stuff... but sadly, they'd just be Robin.:baiting:

:devil:

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6 minutes ago, valiantman said:

Dingus?  Can a "dingus" move so slowly that they turn invisible... and why is Gamora?

Superman is an alien with god-like power... which is exactly how smart people feel walking around in this world. :foryou:

Batman is just a guy, with the help of his Daddy's money and a magic fanny pack, who becomes more than just a guy.  Pretty much everyone, everywhere, is already Batman without the money and the fanny pack... basically useless... and they know it.  So they want to pretend that they'd be awesome if they had money or stuff... but sadly, they'd just be Robin.:baiting:

:devil:

Not that I am aware of...

I would like to think that I am smart, and I don't walk around thinking I'm Superman. Why? What am I doing wrong!?

:roflmao: @ "magic fanny pack". :roflmao:

Doesn't prime Batman life 1,000 lbs a day in the comics? My fat :censored: can't do that...

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Superman is a great idea, but how many really great Superman stories are there? For the Man Who Has Everything, Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow, and All Star Superman. That's...all I got.

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Just now, F For Fake said:

Superman is a great idea, but how many really great Superman stories are there? For the Man Who Has Everything, Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow, and All Star Superman. That's...all I got.

There are definitely more "great" Batman stories out there than Superman ones.

I know that the Death of Superman event is more of an entire DC/Justice League thing, but I'd put that up there.

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2 hours ago, valiantman said:

Dingus?  Can a "dingus" move so slowly that they turn invisible... and why is Gamora?

Superman is an alien with god-like power... which is exactly how smart people feel walking around in this world. :foryou:

Batman is just a guy, with the help of his Daddy's money and a magic fanny pack, who becomes more than just a guy.  Pretty much everyone, everywhere, is already Batman without the money and the fanny pack... basically useless... and they know it.  So they want to pretend that they'd be awesome if they had money or stuff... but sadly, they'd just be Robin.:baiting:

:devil:

Batman fans have to admit it's more realistic that an alien has godlike powers than a guy who IS INCREDIBLY LUCKY WHEN IT COMES TO BULLETS.

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