If Batman, Superman & Wonder Woman are the Top Three, Who is #4?

[Air Wave]

If we accept that Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman are the three MOST POPULAR DC SUPERHEROES OF ALL TIME, then who is in fourth place?

[thwhtGuardian]

Dick Grayson?

[j9ac9k]

If we accept that Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman are the three MOST POPULAR DC SUPERHEROES OF ALL TIME, then who is in fourth place?

Why not ask the real question you've been leading up to: Who's the eleventh most popular of all time??

[Riv86672]

Aquaman, if dubiously.

He’s been the butt of jokes since at least the early Seventies to the point even non comics fans have known who he was well before any of his live action appearances.

[dswynne]

It's whether or not Mark Waid and Alex Ross is in charge of the mega-plot, ie. SHAZAM!

[Noodle]

Matter-Eater Lad

[Zero Hunter]

By public perception I would probably say the Flash. Two TV shows, a movie, featured player in the cartoons.

[kcekada]

Ha. I think that Flash movie probably lowered his standings among public opinion. Aquaman is probably above Flash, but I don't think there is a clear number four -- otherwise, he or she would be grouped wit the top 3.

[Confuzzled]

[Psy-lock]

Harley Quinn according to Jim Lee

[Kaijudo]

I feel like it ultimately comes down to five candidates:

1. Robin/Nightwing - Everybody who knows the concept of Batman knows the concept of Robin. Dick Grayson hasn't had a big showing in DC's biggest media of late, being relegated to animated series and the live-action Titans, but he is an absolutely known entity by people who aren't superhero fans, regardless of the medium.

2. Shazam - Has had a couple movies recently but before that hadn't received the constant media attention that other heroes have. Mainly here because, at the start of the age of the superhero in the 1940s, he was even bigger than Superman (albeit briefly).

3. Aquaman - Unlike Shazam, he benefits more from other media than the comics. Being a staple of Saturday morning cartoons for over two decades has permanently ingrained him in peoples' consciousness to this day, even if his comic presence has ebbed a bit. He's gone from being a regular punchline in mainstream culture to headlining a billion-dollar film (and its follow-up).

4. Flash - Regardless of whether it's Barry or Wally, the identity of the Flash been a semi-regular-to-regular fixture in comics and other media since the 60s, from the odd Superfriends appearance to his 80s TV show to the DCAU to his CW series to the big-budget movie. People who don't know comics can likely cite the Flash, as least when asked about a super-fast comic character.

5. Harley Quinn - There will be pushback against this idea (there always is), but denying the explosion and impact she's had on comics and non-comics media, especially after being brought out of the BTAS world and into the mainstream, is an exercise in stubborn obliviousness. She's been in three movies with a fourth on the way, has a popular animated show, and is a go-to for Halloween/cosplay, as well as having a more consistent presence in DC's comic line than some of the others here, who predate her by decades. You don't have to like it, but that's irrelevant to the facts on hand.

[Air Wave]

Harley Quinn according to Jim Lee

I had decided not to include Harley since she is not a "superhero" but if enough people disagree...

[Lightning Rider]

Dick.

I wanted to say Flash but that's more the mantle than the person. Whereas Dick as both Robin and Nightwing covers a lot of ground in the DCU.

I feel Aquaman kind of "should" be 4th (he mirrors and contrasts Diana nicely while Batman and Superman have their own dialectic) and has the potential to become more iconic but hasn't had enough special treatment in comics (elseworlds, stand-alone epics, etc.).

[Digifiend]

4. Flash - Regardless of whether it's Barry or Wally, the identity of the Flash been a semi-regular-to-regular fixture in comics and other media since the 60s, from the odd Superfriends appearance to his 80s TV show to the DCAU to his CW series to the big-budget movie. People who don't know comics can likely cite the Flash, as least when asked about a super-fast comic character.

90s, not 80s. The John Wesley Shipp led Flash series aired in 1990.

[Riv86672]

3. Aquaman - Unlike Shazam, he benefits more from other media than the comics. Being a staple of Saturday morning cartoons for over two decades has permanently ingrained him in peoples' consciousness to this day, even if his comic presence has ebbed a bit. He's gone from being a regular punchline in mainstream culture to headlining a billion-dollar film (and its follow-up).

^^^Good choices and reasoning across the board, but it’s nice to see my own pick seconded.