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  1. #1
    Mighty Member Hybrid's Avatar
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    Default Is Daredevil the coolest B-list superhero?

    DD is the one character that many who love comics also love, despite the fact that he's never quite broken out into A-list. He has many defining runs, and it's said that his best runs are some of the best in comic book storytelling. Look at Frank Miller, who redefined the character into a gritty noir that set the standard for today, and then topped it off with Born Again, which is viewed as being in the same league as Kraven's Last Hunt, the iconic '80s story of DD's more iconic friend.

    This holds true today. Chip Zdarsky's new run is seen as being among the best of the new Marvel titles, with the general consensus being that they struck gold.

    His only movie is from 2003... and it's something we don't talk about. On the other hand, his Netflix series was easily the best of the Marvel TV Universe, and indeed, the best among Netflix Originals in general. It was also the only one that held consistent top quality from start to finish, which the others can't lay claim to. However, it's still by Marvel TV, and amounts to expanded universe that might as well be non-canon since Marvel Studios doesn't treat them as though they were. Tellingly, when I hear people say they want the Marvel TV shows to get rebooted into the MCU proper, Daredevil is often the frontrunner of them. The idea being to make Daredevil a true A-lister in the MCU.

    However, as it currently stands, DD is a B-lister. He's beloved, but not super iconic. There has never been a Daredevil animated series (one was pitched but never took off), DD's mythos is obscure to those who don't follow comics (even Charlie Cox didn't know he was blind before he auditioned for him), his adaptations are either bad or on the side, and he suffers from a general lack of exposure.

    So it begs the question: Is there a hard B-lister that's as universally beloved as Daredevil?

    Discuss.

  2. #2
    Astonishing Member KangMiRae's Avatar
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    He's also one of the few characters who has never had a genuine bad run. I think he's been the most consistently well written character.

  3. #3
    Mighty Member My Two Cents's Avatar
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    Talking just comic books
    Daredevil is A-List

    Or else there are only 2 real A-List characters in
    Super Hero Comics
    Spider-Man. And Batman

  4. #4
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    Daredevil is a solo title that has been in continuous publication more or less since the '60s. The same cannot be said of the X-Men (which got cancelled and replaced by reprints) and Thor (who was missing and AWOL for a bit until JMS revived him), or Doctor Strange (a guy whose solo series comes and goes).

    So yes, he's A-List. Just because he's street-level doesn't mean he's B-List. Neither Daredevil or The Punisher are B-List characters even if both are street-level characters.

    Moon Knight is B-List, as is Shang Chi, as is Iron Fist.

    Frank Miller's run on Daredevil is possibly the most influential comics run post-Lee/Kirby. The only competition is Claremont's run on X-Men. So Daredevil is a huge part of Marvel history.

  5. #5
    Astonishing Member Force de Phenix's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hybrid View Post
    DD is the one character that many who love comics also love, despite the fact that he's never quite broken out into A-list. He has many defining runs, and it's said that his best runs are some of the best in comic book storytelling. Look at Frank Miller, who redefined the character into a gritty noir that set the standard for today, and then topped it off with Born Again, which is viewed as being in the same league as Kraven's Last Hunt, the iconic '80s story of DD's more iconic friend.

    This holds true today. Chip Zdarsky's new run is seen as being among the best of the new Marvel titles, with the general consensus being that they struck gold.

    His only movie is from 2003... and it's something we don't talk about. On the other hand, his Netflix series was easily the best of the Marvel TV Universe, and indeed, the best among Netflix Originals in general. It was also the only one that held consistent top quality from start to finish, which the others can't lay claim to. However, it's still by Marvel TV, and amounts to expanded universe that might as well be non-canon since Marvel Studios doesn't treat them as though they were. Tellingly, when I hear people say they want the Marvel TV shows to get rebooted into the MCU proper, Daredevil is often the frontrunner of them. The idea being to make Daredevil a true A-lister in the MCU.

    However, as it currently stands, DD is a B-lister. He's beloved, but not super iconic. There has never been a Daredevil animated series (one was pitched but never took off), DD's mythos is obscure to those who don't follow comics (even Charlie Cox didn't know he was blind before he auditioned for him), his adaptations are either bad or on the side, and he suffers from a general lack of exposure.

    So it begs the question: Is there a hard B-lister that's as universally beloved as Daredevil?

    Discuss.
    If you're talking media, he had one movie and a spin-off movie, 3 seasons of his own series, he's been in several video games (including the Lego game), with one of his own, and has had several action figures, statues, etc. Not to mention comics...

    As someone said, if he's a B-lister, than Spider-Man and Batman (and Superman) are the only comics A-listers.

  6. #6
    Ultimate Member Lee Stone's Avatar
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    I personally think Dr. Strange is cooler, but Daredevil has him beat in popularity.
    "There's magic in the sound of analog audio." - CNET.

  7. #7
    Uncanny Member XPac's Avatar
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    It's a very debatable point. I'm not sure any character in comics has had the consistency he had for as long as he has. It's pretty darn amazing when you think about it.

  8. #8
    Spectacular Member macjr33's Avatar
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    I think it mostly depends on what you define as "A-List", if you just mean in terms of popularity or mainstream appeal then yes he would be a B-list character.

    The fact that the character doesn't have more broader mainstream status and tends (for the most part) to operate solo I think is what allowed such great writers to come in and have a profound impact because there wasn't as much oversight to the character. Writers didn't have to deal with him being part of a team or bigger events as he operates in his small sub-set of the Marvel Universe. Interestingly, the one time there seemed to be significant oversight was Shadowland, which was a dark spot in what had been a stellar run up to that point.

    Now if we want to talk more broadly about quality of writing/impact within the world of comics, there are (in my biased opinion) few better written characters, even though other characters may be more popular and well known by the average person. The easiest analogy I can think of is music. For example, Def Leppard is a band from the 80s everyone has heard of and they had some good songs; however, if you ask hardcore music fans which bands were most influential from the 80's you may get bands like The Replacements or Husker Du, bands which far fewer people would recognize but produced some amazing and influential music during their time.

    Yes, it's unfortunate that the Daredevil movie was a total bust. It was really just bad timing as that was a time when superhero movies were still figuring themselves out. However, the Daredevil Netflix series may be the single best thing that Marvel has put out. I do believe it has helped broaden the characters popularity and if there is a time when he can be inserted into the MCU that would awesome.

    So ultimately, it depends how you want to define it; however, either way I am glad things have worked out because of all the great stories we've had as a result.
    Last edited by macjr33; 09-17-2019 at 08:10 PM.

  9. #9
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    I really think that DD should be considered A-list. He's never had his comic cancelled due to poor sales, and he's had his own book since the sixties. Dr. Strange, Namor, Silver Surfer, Iron Fist and many other that I consider B-list characters have had multiple books cancelled over the years. Granted, he doesn't have multiple titles and spin-offs, but only a very, very few characters attain that level of popularity.

  10. #10
    Uncanny Member XPac's Avatar
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    I think the notion of A list has sort of evolved in the modern era.

    With characters now earning billions of dollars in licensing and at the box office, having a long running comic doesn't seem quite as special.

    That said, he's had a movie, a TV show, and a long running book. It doesn't put him the level of a Batman or a Spider-Man, but he's still WAAAAY ahead of 99% of the characters in comics.

  11. #11
    Mighty Member Hybrid's Avatar
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    By "B-list", I mean general exposure. Trust me, I hate referring to him as such as much as anyone, but the fact is DD has rather limited exposure and thus many aren't aware of his stories, characters and mythology.

    In terms of comics only within the fanbase, then yeah, you could say A-List for sure.

  12. #12
    BANNED Killerbee911's Avatar
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    Daredevil is A-list. Movies,Tv Shows, video game appearances, consistent long running comics. Moon Knight is B list character, Ms Marvel is B list character, She Hulk is B list character, Spiderwoman Jessica Drew is B list character...We can make some interesting arguments for Luke Cage,Iron Fist and Jessica Jones and War Machine and Vision being B-List. But Daredevil(And Punisher) most definitive is A-List. Without a doubt will be seeing a movie or tv show from these characters again.

  13. #13
    Astonishing Member Force de Phenix's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hybrid View Post
    By "B-list", I mean general exposure. Trust me, I hate referring to him as such as much as anyone, but the fact is DD has rather limited exposure and thus many aren't aware of his stories, characters and mythology.

    In terms of comics only within the fanbase, then yeah, you could say A-List for sure.
    As previously said, only Spider-Man and Batman are that "exposed" outside of comicdom.

  14. #14
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    I wonder if anyone has made a list. The Top ten coolest B-List Superheroes( No.1 will blow your mind!!).

  15. #15
    Baby Thanos Member catbellysqueezer's Avatar
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    What list is ant-man
    Baby Thanos

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