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  1. #1
    Astonishing Member Electricmastro's Avatar
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    Default Is Batman more popular than Superman?

    I’ve often seen Superman be called the most iconic and popular superhero of all time, but when I considered the amount of media and spin-offs Batman had been associated with in these last three decades in particular, I felt inclined to ask this question to see how you all felt, over whether Superman is more popular, or whether Batman is more popular, or if they’re both equally popular alongside their fellow “trinity member” Wonder Woman.

  2. #2
    Mighty Member C_Miller's Avatar
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    Batman is absolutely more financially successful than Superman. I'd argue as far as "popular" that's tough to quantify. They are both the most iconic superheroes of all time with Spider-Man in third place. But I think it's probably a 1a/1b situation with Spider-Man at 2.

  3. #3
    Relaunched, not rebooted! SJNeal's Avatar
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    Unfortunately, yes, he is.
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  4. #4
    Ultimate Member Sacred Knight's Avatar
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    Yup. Popluarity-wise I believe the seeds were planted around wiuth Dark Knight Returns, and then Batman '89 really had Bat-fever take hold for the first time. From there the successes and other media properties just took off with regularity. Only proviso would be that in the comics themselves, it took till about the mid to late 90s before he supplanted Superman as the number 1 focal point there.
    Last edited by Sacred Knight; 04-16-2020 at 02:24 PM.
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  5. #5
    Astonishing Member WillieMorgan's Avatar
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    Batman generates a lot more revenue than Superman certainly, and has done consistently for a long time now.

    For the record I'm a bigger fan of Superman than Batman, although I enjoy both.
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  6. #6
    Incredible Member Wandering_Wand's Avatar
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    Today, yes.
    Previously, no (like decades ago).

    I believe the top 3 modern Superhero hierarchy is something like (in terms of overall popularity, sales, merchandise, etc.):

    1. Spiderman
    2. Batman (some people and lists flip flop between Bats and Spidey being 1-2)
    3. Superman

  7. #7
    Extraordinary Member Güicho's Avatar
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    In the public eye, Superman was king into the first Christopher Reeve era films
    There was a huge paradigm shift (although some are loath to admit it) about the time of DKR and then the Keaton films.
    I wonder if this is reflected in the comic sales of the time.
    I know at some point Batman's sales became the benchmark of healthy comic book sales.
    Last edited by Güicho; 07-14-2020 at 04:35 AM.

  8. #8
    Mighty Member Uncanny Mutie's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by C_Miller View Post
    Batman is absolutely more financially successful than Superman. I'd argue as far as "popular" that's tough to quantify. They are both the most iconic superheroes of all time with Spider-Man in third place. But I think it's probably a 1a/1b situation with Spider-Man at 2.
    This is the best/correct answer.

  9. #9
    Mighty Member jb681131's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Electricmastro View Post
    I’ve often seen Superman be called the most iconic and popular superhero of all time, but when I considered the amount of media and spin-offs Batman had been associated with in these last three decades in particular, I felt inclined to ask this question to see how you all felt, over whether Superman is more popular, or whether Batman is more popular, or if they’re both equally popular alongside their fellow “trinity member” Wonder Woman.
    Hard to say why Superman is concidered more iconic. I guess he represents "THE" perfect superhero.
    But since very early on Batman has had way more success than superman. Maybe because of Robin, then in the Bronze/Modern age because of his very dark side.
    Anyways, over the years Batman always had more medias on him (more comics appearences, more tv shows, more movie appearences, a big familly, ...).

  10. #10
    Ultimate Member Ascended's Avatar
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    Bats is more financially successful, and has been since the 80's.

    Superman is still more well known around the world. Batman is on that list too, but a few spots below Clark.

    Of course, the fact that a grandmother in North Korea knows the "S" shield but not the Bat logo doesn't mean a lot when DC gives Bats all the good creators and big roles in Events while forcing all the cool stuff out of Superman's mythos for the benefit of other characters, and WB makes great Bat films while utterly undermining and screwing up everything about Superman.
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  11. #11
    Astonishing Member mathew101281's Avatar
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    Superman is am more popular symbol and icon, his iconography is used far more in random conversation, but Batman is a more popular character. that being said, Batman seems to appeal to people more in modern times. I think it's because parts of Superman's mythos need serious updating. Example, newspapers are becoming more and more irrelevant by the year, and don't have the symbolic significance they once did. But making Superman a blogger or newscaster kind of doesn't work, because they lack the symbolism that newspaper reporters use to. The values of middle America have also come into question in recent years. A major part of Superman's lore tells us that being raised in middle America is what made him what he is. What happens to a character based on certain conventions, when those conventions are perceived as problematic?

    Batman, has also had his basic premise questioned in recent years, but he's been able to weather it better then Superman, because he is a more versatile character. A good example of this was Snyder's Superman film. A sizable percentage of Superman fans hate that film with a passion because they don't feel it represents the character's essence well. Now look at the Batman films. You've had campy Batman, films (Adam West) Gothic Batman films (Burton) "realistic," Batman films ( Nolan) and even goofy family film Batman(Lego), and you rarely here people say that any of these versions "don't get the character". Their all just versions of Batman. I think this stems from the fact that what Batman represents is more nebulous then what Superman represents, and can be morphed to fit the times a lot more easily. It's hard to change Superman significantly without loosing what makes Superman "Superman". What if Kal-El's ship had crashed in Compton rather than Kansas? would his values be different? Or would it be the same character?

    Batman, at it's core is a concept that has been remade several times since the 1700's. Batman, the Shadow , Zorro, and the Scarlet Pimpernel, are essentially the same character just updated slighty for the time. But the values that make Superman what he is stems pretty firmly from mid 20th century American values and notions.
    Last edited by mathew101281; 04-16-2020 at 04:50 PM.

  12. #12
    Father Son Kamehameha < Kuwagaton's Avatar
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    Batman is way easier to sell. He's been on top for years but I don't think there was ever anything to do about it.

    Sadly it makes people way too hard on Superman. At worst he's the third most successful comic character
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  13. #13
    Ultimate Member Holt's Avatar
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    Cynically, I think another part of the reason Batman's overtaken Superman is that he's an easier character to market to children because he has all sorts of cool gadgets and vehicles that easily translate to merchandise.



    Conversely, Superman doesn't need a cool car or a jet or grappling pistol or a utility belt. There's a really great anecdote Kevin Smith had about when he was working on Superman Lives and how the producer wanted him to include stuff like Superman having a suit of high-tech battle armor and S-shaped shurikens just so they could make a bunch of toys to sell to the kiddies.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Holt View Post
    Cynically, I think another part of the reason Batman's overtaken Superman is that he's an easier character to market to children because he has all sorts of cool gadgets and vehicles that easily translate to merchandise.



    Conversely, Superman doesn't need a cool car or a jet or grappling pistol or a utility belt. There's a really great anecdote Kevin Smith had about when he was working on Superman Lives and how the producer wanted him to include stuff like Superman having a suit of high-tech battle armor and S-shaped shurikens just so they could make a bunch of toys to sell to the kiddies.
    Good point! I never thought about it from a marketing standpoint, but it makes total sense, you can simply market more toys and merchandise with Batman from the mask to the gadgets and vehicles, With Superman you have just have the suit, cape and fortress of solitude. Warner Brothers and affiliates have been pushing Batman over Superman for years.

  15. #15
    Astonishing Member phantom1592's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ascended View Post
    Of course, the fact that a grandmother in North Korea knows the "S" shield but not the Bat logo doesn't mean a lot when DC gives Bats all the good creators and big roles in Events while forcing all the cool stuff out of Superman's mythos for the benefit of other characters, and WB makes great Bat films while utterly undermining and screwing up everything about Superman.
    Do they though? Superman has had big creators too. Morrison has been on Superman... Johns revitalized both Aquaman and Green Lantern but didn't do well on Superman. Now 'golden boy Bendis' is on Supes... Superman was the key in CoIE, Infinite Crisis and Final Crisis... Batman never really does a whole lot in the crossovers until this dark multiverse stuff came up...

    I'm not sure why these top respected writers can do so much for OTHER characters but are just kind of 'there' when they get on Superman...

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