Exceptions to the rule...

[Guy_McNichts]

Growing up, thanks mainly to animated series, Barbara Gordon was the Batgirl I grew up with. But she's much better as Oracle and Cassandra Cain was a far superior Batgirl.

I suppose Wonder Woman would also qualify. I'd read some books involving her--Kingdom Come probably the most significant--but I think my first real consistent exposure to her was through DCAU. Once I became more familiar with her in the comics, I honestly hate how she was portrayed in JLU now.

In general, most superhero fans prefer the version of the character they were first exposed to when they were kids.

To be honest, speaking personally, I think I'm the opposite of this more often than not. I tend to mistrust first impressions and I don't hold nostalgia in high regard.

[Marvell2100]

Legion of Super-Heroes. While I enjoyed the bright, happy version of the LSH, I prefer the 5YL Legion. I know it was dark and gritty but I really enjoyed this take on the Legion and was really disappointed they ended it.

[Stanlos]

My first exposure to DC heroes was the Super Friends cartoon.


My faves were the Wonder Twins. I really prefer the versions from the recent maxi-series on Wonder Comics. The twins were portrayed as competent and dependable, and as two young adults who wanted to make a difference in life. While Zan was still less series than Jayna, he came across with better adult view, when compared to his TV counterpart. Jayna was always willing to challenge the adult heroes in the JLA, and with all these improvements, there was still a touch of sibling rivalry between them.

Ah, but the real question is 'did they c4eate a gopher moat'?

[CellarDweller]

Ah, but the real question is 'did they c4eate a gopher moat'?

not in the maxi-series they didn't. No "Ice Unicycle" either. LOL

[CaptCleghorn]

To be honest, speaking personally, I think I'm the opposite of this more often than not. I tend to mistrust first impressions and I don't hold nostalgia in high regard.

Trying not to speak for Bored, I feel this is directed at series and characters we're fans of. There are many characters I've not decided to read or follow that eventually made a positive impression on me. I take it to mean that a reader who started with, say, the Byrne Superman will usually have that as their favorite version. But in any case, these are generalities to spark discussion and hopefully no one is using them as hard and fast rules always applicable.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Trying not to speak for Bored, I feel this is directed at series and characters we're fans of. There are many characters I've not decided to read or follow that eventually made a positive impression on me. I take it to mean that a reader who started with, say, the Byrne Superman will usually have that as their favorite version. But in any case, these are generalities to spark discussion and hopefully no one is using them as hard and fast rules always applicable.

Exactly. It would probably be more accurate to say that fans tend to favor the incarnation of a character they first fell in love with.

And, yeah, I'm not saying this is a hard and fast rule that applies to all fans, so no one else needs to point out how individualistic, special and unique they are because this sweeping generalization doesn't apply to them

Besides, everyone knows that I'm the special and unique contrariarian here. The rest of you are sheep. SHEEP!

[AdamFTF]

This can be a hard thing to answer because many of us are introduced to multiple versions over time, even if we don't really engage with them on a significant level. I mean, even as a kid of the '80s and '90s, I still watched reruns of Super Friends and the '66 Batman show before I ever picked up a comic book.

That said, I've noticed an interesting phenomenon. When there were modern characters I couldn't get into, I could often fall in love with the older versions by reading Showcase Presents books. The thing is that those big "phone books" of Silver and Bronze Age stories were often good at showing a "simple and clean" version of the characters before the habit became to add more and more baggage to them.

One such example is The Flash. I grew up in the Wally West era, but I never quite got Wally West. Mainly because every time I tried to read Wally's stories, it felt like the base of his character was his trying to live up to Barry Allen's example. So, eventually I read the early Barry Allen stories and you know what? I loved them to death! Simple and straightforward sci-fi cops and robbers stories about a regular guy with extraordinary powers trying to do some good in the world. Barry was probably the closest '50s/'60s DC had to an "everyman". And while the Spider-Man model created the everyman type because of how many problems he had, Barry felt relatable for how many problems (of the extraordinary kind) he didn't have. I mean, he wasn't a billionaire, alien or royalty. He was a regular guy who worked in a crime lab. He didn't have women falling at his feet. He had one steady girlfriend. It also probably didn't hurt that for a while every couple issues that series introduced something iconic to the Flash mythos or greater DC canon.

Some other examples include early SA Aquaman. And I mean early. From the days before he became king of Atlantis. I prefer him as an outsider to two worlds who's still out there doing good rather than as someone sitting on a throne (also, Aqualad's role became superfluous once Aquaman became king). Hawkman's another. I prefer the Thanagarian cop from a world where all the criminals are thrillseekers to the cop from a corrupt alien society that was around when I was a kid and much more than the "reincarnation man" version. I especially loved when weird quirks of Thanagarian culture would come up. I also probably owe those Showcase books entirely for my appreciations of Elongated Man, Metamorpho, Dial H for Hero and Bat Lash.

[Ascended]

Besides, everyone knows that I'm the special and unique contrariarian here. The rest of you are sheep. SHEEP!

Aww.....

[DrNewGod]

Oh, there are a few:

• Superman: 1st Pre-Crisis, Fav Golden Age
• Batman: 1st Adam West, Fav O'Neal + Adams
• Green Lantern: 1st Hal Jordan, Fav Alan Scott
• Green Arrow: 1st JL Satellite Era, Fav Amell's 1st season on Arrow
• Superboy: 1st Young Kal-el, Fav Kon-el, later supplanted by YJ Toon Conner Kent
• Manhunter: 1st Simonson's Paul Kirk, Fav Busiek's Kirk dePaul

[poroto678]

My first exposure to Batgirl was the Batman TAS show, but I think Steph and -specially- Cassandra are much better BATGIRLS than Babs. Each of them have something that makes them more appealing to me as that character.

[Sutekh]

I don't think I follow "the rule".

Started reading at the end of pre-crisis, and yet, my favorite Blue Beetle is Jaime, fav bat-person is Cass and fav Green Lantern is Jo Mullein.

Actually, in general, I tend to favor the newer versions, with some exceptions (I love Connor, but he is no Ollie, and I didn't care for OYL newbie Aquaman).

Same here. I grew up with Barry and Hal as 'my' Flash and Green Lantern, but I like Wally and Kyle or John better in those roles. Similarly, Dick was Robin, when I got into comics, and the only Robin, at that. But he's Nightwing now, and I like Tim just fine, and Jason has (post-Red Hood re-imagining) grown on me as well. (Still can't stand Damien, though...)

I'm generally all over the place. Every Dr. Fate but Kent Nelson has turned me off (save perhaps the Young Justice cartoon version who is Giovanni Zatara), and I'll take Helena *Wayne* any day over this Bertenelli person. And yet I'm more fond of the third person to take on the Blue Beetle name, or the second Hawkgirl. I like old classic Legionnaires like Ultra Boy and Shadow Lass and Phantom Girl, and new blood like Dragonwing and the second Karate Kid (Myg) and Glorith, and 'reboot' characters like Kid Quantum II and Shikari and even 'threeboot' characters like Theena, Gazelle and Dream Boy, and yet I am beyond bored with some of the oldest most iconic Legionnaires (the three founders, and Brainy).

The only rule for me is inconsistency.

[superduperman]

Gal Gadot IS my Wonder Woman despite coming along decades after I started reading comics.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Aww.....

Don't try to deny it Ascended! You know how special I am! That's what Mommy told me anyway...

[SiegePerilous02]

My first exposure to Superman was my parents watching Lois & Clark, and later on watching S:TAS. Both of which pulled a lot from the then current post-Byrne comics. And while I certainly liked Superman well enough, I didn't love him nearly as much as Batman or Spider-Man or the X-Men.

Then I read All-Star which heavily skews towards pre-COIE stuff, and it made me love the character in a way that the "modern" stuff couldn't manage. Now he's one of my favorite superheroes and I prefer the lore and basic characterizations from Pre-COIE for Superman for the most part. I like some later additions like Maggie and Steel and could definitely do without the sexism of the earlier eras (especially as they pertain to Lois), but overall that's ultimately where my preferences lie.

DCAU was also my first exposure to Wonder Woman, and while it made me love Batman and at least like Superman, I was completely apathetic to her. Then I started reading some of her actual comics and loved her.

John Stewart and Wally West were also my first real introductions to GL and Flash respectively through JLU (also the Kyle/Hal fusion in S:TAS), but I've found that I vastly prefer Hal after reading the Johns GL run and mostly prefer the comic Wally or some versions of Barry to the DCAU Wally.