Marvel, DC, and Image. The Big 3 and my Personal Favorite Characters

SPOILERS in the post........Read at your own risk!!!!!!!!!

 

    We all have a favorite hero or villain from Marvel or DC, and sometimes we may even have a favorite from another company that's not as well known such as Image comics. For me, I recently started getting into Image comics' cast of characters such Invincible, Spawn, Pitt, Savage Dragon, and of course, everyone from the Walking Dead. While the movies, shows, and games, did help boost my interest, some of them I found out on my own and today I'd like to talk about what my favorite characters are from each of these companies that I have grown to love.

Marvel:

    Now, after viewing the pictures provided to you, you may be wondering, "why these characters in particular?" Growing up, I always felt bad for certain characters like Hulk, Sentry, Isaiah Bradley, and Spider-Man (Peter Parker and Miles), as they tried to do good in the world but every time they did, society shunned and hated them despite saving them from a world-ending threat or a supervillain who was going to kill them. This and the fact that they know they could kill everyone but choose not to shows that they have a great amount of willpower but also know that even though the public hates them, there are people that know what they do and admire and cheer them on despite having to go against public opinions that are sided with the most. Another reason I chose these characters specifically was their powers. While some would consider super strength and healing factors boring, some have strength that makes them strong enough to manhandle gods and destroy a universe with a clap (Hulk). Also, wall-crawling and spider-sense would be cool powers to have as you could walk, run, and of course, crawl on anything while also being able to sense what is about to attack you without having to look. 

    Now, while I love the heroes of the Marvel Universe, the villains are amazing as well. Thanos and Galactus have become one of my top ten favorite villains as their motivations surprised me or made me feel bad for them. In Thanos's case, he was trying to impress a girl/cosmic entity named Death (who is death personified) which would make people say "are you crazy?!" With Galactus, he has no choice and is really more of a victim of circumstance. I say this as he is a cosmic force of nature and to survive, he has to consume energy from planets which sadly results in innocent beings losing their lives. Despite all this, these two are some of the best villains I've ever read about, and hope that Galactus gets better treatment in the MCU. Also regarding Devil Dinosaur, it's a monkey (Moon Boy) riding a red T-Rex, what's not to love?

DC:

    With DC, there are a plethora of characters that people will instantly pick such as Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman (which I know I put as one of my favorites so don't judge me). Of course, I put them in there, but I also decided to include characters that stood out the most to me when I grew up watching the Justice League cartoons as a child and eventually reading their series as I got older. Out of all the characters on this list that I found the most amazing, Superman, Solomon Grundy, Dr. Fate, Martian Manhunter, Dr. Manhattan, and Red Hood stood out the most to me. 

    They all lost something or someone that was important to them such as their planet and people (Superman and Martian Manhunter), their soul (Solomon Grundy and Dr. Fate), or went through a traumatic experience that scarred them for life and hardened them (Dr. Manhattan and Red Hood). While Superman and Martian Manhunter were able to find a new home and people on Earth and have gained respect from fellow heroes, villains, and the people of Earth, they never forget what happened and how they ended up where they are now and when push comes to shove, they will defend their new home at any cost. With Dr. Fate and Solomon Grundy, I feel horrible for them as they were cursed or forced into a mystical problem in which they could not die and stay dead (Grundy) or cannot escape their burden of being a protector for something they can't escape (Dr.Fate) these were cases that engrained the message of how power can corrupt and that sometimes, seeking out power or making a decision can greatly affect you in more ways than we realize.

Image:

    Now for the company that deserves a lot more love. When I started reading the Walking Dead, I had no idea that this would be the beginning of an amazing journey into a universe of unknown characters and stories that were darker than most of Marvel and DC as they tackled themes that most comics only touch on at best. This is what made me come to love characters like Invincible, Spawn, and Omni Man as they found themselves in tough situations and had to make choices that made the viewer think. In addition to this, only Invincible got a happy ending out of all the characters on this list as Spawn is still dealing with demons from Hell, Omni Man is dead, and Pitt is still out there dealing with an enemy alien race. While some characters were able to find a happy ending like Invincible did, most of Image comics' characters cant catch a break or even have more than a second of happiness before it's ripped away from them. All in all, Image definitely loves to make their characters suffer while also showing the audience how their decisions can impact them and the people closest to them.