In the Golden Age of Comics, nearly anything could become a superheroic identity. Just ask the likes of War Nurse, The Clown, 711 and The Bouncer, each of whom is about as goofy as one might imagine. Of course, among the most common methods of heroic nomenclature is the use of animal theming, with the obvious example of The Bat-Man (as his earliest appearances would have it) leading to decades of similar themes, from Hawkman to Timber Wolf to the Black Panther and back, with side trips along the way in the lunatic realms of Wonder Warthog, the Mandrill and the dimwitted legend known only as Pumaman. Spider-Man’s rogues gallery alone accounts for a couple dozen different genus and/or species (I’m not sure which, I never took biology) of creature-inspired super-dupers, which in turn begs a query…
The MS-QOTD (pronounced, as always, “misquoted”) always felt bad for Tiny, having to be an Owl when the others were kickass birds of prey (and a swan), asking: Which super-type has the overall coolest animal theme?
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Megaman X always had some pretty sweet animal villains. Mmm, all those fond 16-bit memories
Raccoon Mario.
It never made any sense why a raccoon suit with a tail enabled him to fly, but it worked.
(and it was better than the frog suit)
If mythological animals count, then I’ll go with Green Ranger Tommy Oliver with the dragon theme.
If it has to be real animals, I’ll go with the Jetman team and the bird theme (and homage to Gatchaman).
THE MONARCH! Pretty much just because he’s incredibly amusing, especially with his near-complete misunderstanding of his namesake.
Or Rhino, if only because he was first introduced to me through the following exchange;
Spider-Man: Where the heck did you come from?
Rhino: Jersey.
Note to author: Owls are, in fact, birds of prey
And also Kick-Ass, though not as clever as Corvids.