Something about our favorite character always draws us to that one! What is that?
THE BATMAN
It probably comes as no surprise that my favorite comics character is Batman. Hey, I do talk about him quite a bit, and I am happy he’s doing so well right now. He is DC’s best-selling hero, after all!
What was it about Batman that captured my attention?
Well, when I was in college, we had to talk about the fictional character we identified most closely with and why.
When I had to describe him without actually saying his name, I talked about how he could solve any puzzle. Of course, he tended to do this at night and resembled a nocturnal creature, which scared some but delighted others.
The people in my class were perplexed. That was back before Batman’s first motion picture had debuted, so the general public wasn’t all that into him. But I had read about Batman when I was young. I had seen him in a comic book in the basement of our house, and he was flying around a castle in England, patrolling by using wooden wings as a glider.
As Frank Miller once said, “I fell in” to the comic when I read about him.
But what was it about Batman that really attracted my attention? I first realized that his last name was actually my first name, Wayne. We had that name in common, so I was immediately drawn to the hero. When I was growing up, not many people had the name of “Wayne” associated with them, so that stood out to me.
THE IMPORTANCE OF RELATABILITY
Interestingly, my identical twin brother, who was named Randy (short for Randall), really liked Superman.
There was something about Clark Kent having powers “far beyond those of mortal men” that appealed to him. Now, he didn’t have “Clark” or “Kent” in his name, but he was drawn to someone who could do things beyond what others could accomplish. I think we all want to be “special” in our own way, and he liked the idea of being able to do things far above what others could. Me, I just admired people who could solve complex puzzles.
After all, I never came from another planet where my body density was different from others—so unique that it gave me powers as such. But my brother really liked it.
Whenever Halloween came around, we dressed up as the “world’s finest” team whenever possible. If I couldn’t find a Batman costume in those days, I would dress up as a highway partrol man. Justice and fairness was always an important part of what I admired in others.
WHAT ABOUT OTHERS?
It didn’t take long before I ran into other comics fans who identified with Marvel Comics heroes. After all, those books started to take off in the mid- to late-1960’s.
I’ve encountered a lot of people who identify with Peter Parker/Spider-Man because he struggles to make things happen in his daily life. You know, he hides from the landlord because he doesn’t always have the money to pay the rent (even though he has a web-shooter and chemicals he could easily sell to pay him or her as needed).
Then, too, I know some friends who truly get into speedsters like the Flash and Quicksilver. It’s not that they CAN move faster than others, it’s that they would LIKE to be able to do that!
For a long time, Wolverine was big among Marvel fans. He could unleash his claws and make things get out of his way because of them. He’s not quite as popular as he once was, but he still has his fans.
I’m always at least a little suspicious of fans who admire the villains in the comics. I’ve met several people who dress up as the Joker during Halloween or even Doctor Doom from Marvel.
What is it about those characters that they admire? Often they tell me it’s that they get to do what they want when they want it. Then, too, a lot of people compensate for that instead of being like Mr. Parker, who avoids conflict. They face it head on and want to be bigger than life, just in that way.
I know one attribute of Wolverine that I’d enjoy having right now! I came down with COVID recently after 2-1/2 years working to avoid it! I’d love to have his healing factor after feeling run down for the last 10 days or so!
Who is your favorite comics character? And what is it about that person that drew you to him or her?
Over the years, I’ve met people who admire and/or dress up like Cyclops from the X-Men, or Wonder Woman, or even The Spirit from the Sunday comics strips.
It just depends on how you relate to that individual!
What do you think? What do you find appealing in a comics character? Their abilities? The way they navigate through life? Whatever your opinion, be sure to share your thoughts in the space below!
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Wayne Hall creates the Wayne's Comics Podcast. He’s interviewed Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, John Layman, Kyle Higgins, Phil Hester, Jimmy Palmiotti & Justin Gray, David Petersen, Christos Gage, Mike Grell, and Matt Kindt. On this site each week, he writes his "Comics Portal" column (general comics comments and previews) and reviews comics.