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Ranking comic book characters by their powers, strength, physical traits, affiliations, and other features, like how just goshdarn super they are.

Best Characters

Captain America

List of the most badass, tough, and iconic comic book superheroes ever created. This list includes central characters from both the DC and Marvel Universe, as well as more non-traditional or underground comic books. The definition of what makes a &quot;superhero&quot; can be quite slippery, and often encompasses characters with questionable morals and behavior (giving rise to the notion of the &quot;anti-hero.&quot;) If you love these superheroes, you&#39;ll also be interested to know that a few of them have really <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/the-10-lamest-super-hero-origins/ihateeverything">lame origin stories</a>.

Traditionally, a &quot;superhero&quot; simply means a larger-than-life character, or one gifted with special abilities, either organically or via their own genius or inventiveness, who uses his or her powers to protect and defend the public from threats - at times <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/unexpected-superhero-day-jobs/stephanroget" target="_blank">even while maintaining day jobs</a>. Though the word &quot;superhero&quot; began to be used as early as the 1910s, the concept really took hold in the public&#39;s mind following the introduction of Superman in 1938.

Though Superman and other characters of his day were gifted with special talents and abilities, making them particularly suited to crusading for justice, many characters that followed were more &quot;human&quot; than the noble alien from Krypton, using their intelligence (such as Iron Man or Batman) to create a superheroic persona.&nbsp; Some <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/the-10-greatest-disabled-superheroes-of-all-time/saintmort">superheroes also have disabilities</a> that counteract their skills, weapons or unique talents.&nbsp;

Because of the massive popularity of superheroes &ndash; particularly at the start of the 21st Century, when <a href="http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-best-superhero-movies-ever-made">superhero films</a> reigned at the box office &ndash; a number of deconstructions and analyses of the genre have also been done, culminating in the creation of &quot;meta-superheroes&quot; who comment on the concept of superheroism itself.&nbsp;So take a look at this list, decide who your favorite comic book superheroes are, and vote them up.&nbsp;We have your top 50 superheroes, your top 100 superheroes of all time&hellip; we don&rsquo;t quite have your top 200 comic book characters of all time simply because this list is just for the best superheroes ever. We didn&rsquo;t include the super villains on this top comic book characters list. Who are the top comic book heroes? Who is the best superhero? Let&rsquo;s put these question to rest of who is the best super heroes to rest.

Superheroes

Adam X the X-Treme

There have been some pretty terrible costumes over the decades of comic book history, but the weird superhero outfits on this list take the cake for the absolute worst. Do headbands, shoulder pads, and exposed chests make you a better hero? It remains to be determined, but probably not. Which comic superheroes have the ugliest and strangest costumes?From classic characters, to lesser known heroes, this list covers all the worst costumes in comics history. Luckily, a few of these characters have been made over (some even have the <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/best-alternate-costumes-in-marvel-comics/ranker-comics">best alternate comic costumes ever</a>), but a few of them got the axe before they were able to get a makeover. Fortunately for fans, tributes their terrible costumes have been immortalized here. Do your favorite heroes have wild costumes? Click through the list below and vote up the worst and weirdest hero fashion faux-pas.

There&#39;s something inherently intriguing about weird alternate versions of superheroes. Fans of other entertainment genres may not understand the fascination that <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/what-comic-book-fans-dont-like-about-the-mcu/zack-howe?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">comic book fans</a> have with alternate&nbsp;and <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/depressing-future-versions-of-superheroes/eric-vega" target="_blank">depressing future versions of superheroes</a>. TV shows and movies may offer brief flash forwards&nbsp;to increase tension and generate suspense, but rarely do they spend more than a&nbsp;moment in the future. Comic books, on the other hand, devote entire issues, story arcs, and major crossover events to dozens of possible futures and characterizations.&nbsp;The X-Men started the trend with their highly successful Days of Future Past arc, and since then nearly every major superhero has grabbed a piece of the prognostication pie.

Sometimes, these visions of the future and its heroes are pleasant and utopian. But more often, they&rsquo;re the exact opposite of that. Most comic book futures run the gamut between dystopia and outright apocalypse. In fact, some of them literally feature a giant blue menace named Apocalypse raining terror down upon humanity with his Four Horseman. Yes, alternate futures are mostly meant to be foreboding and dreadful, but some take that extra step to become more disturbing than anything. Read on to discover what upsetting <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/weirdest-alternate-versions-heroes-and-villains/joedonley" target="_blank">versions of superheroes</a> populate the pages of comics, and cast your vote for the creepiest of all.

Villains

Galactus

Who are the best comic book villains of all time? This list of top supervillains in comics includes some of the most notorious evil-doers in comic book history. Some of them are among the <a href="/crowdranked-list/best-marvel-villains" target="_blank">best Marvel villains</a> like Doctor Doom, Magneto and Galactus. Others are classic <a href="http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/best-comic-book-villains">DC Comics villains</a>&nbsp;like The Joker and Bane. Are they the best (or worst, depending on how you view supervillains)? Vote them up! Feel free to add any great comic book villains who are missing from the list, and you can also re-rank this list your way, in any order you like. Any and all great comic book villains have one thing in common: They are the absolute arch rivals of some of the greatest and <a href="www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/best-superheroes-all-time" target="_blank">best superheroes</a> in comics' history. Every great protagonist needs a worthy antagonist to balance things out, after all. Several of the top supervillains listed here began their evil careers in comic books, but they quickly took their evil deeds to the big screen, starring in some of the <a href="/crowdranked-list/the-best-superhero-movies-ever-made" target="_blank">best superhero movies ever made</a>.Who do you think are the top comic book villains? Vote now!

poll

List of the best superpowers we all wish we had as voted by the Ranker community. This list of superpowers includes anything we&#39;ve seen in movies, read in comics, or dreamt up ourselves. Just think about how life-changing it would be to have cool superpowers. Have you ever been sitting in traffic and wished that you could just fly to work? Or have you had to run through the airport to catch your plane and thought of how great it would be to just teleport where you wanted to go? Maybe you&#39;d just want to be able to know what your partner is thinking for once. Superhero powers <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/most-unfortunate-x-men-mutations/tyler-mitchell" target="_blank">may not all be useful</a>, but they&nbsp;can sure come in handy, but just remember Uncle Ben&#39;s famous words, &quot;With great power, comes great responsibility.&quot;

The most-wanted superpowers - even <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/obscure-superpowers-useful/jessica-bedewi" target="_blank">the weird, obscure ones</a> - improve our everyday lives or allow us to become a little greater than we are. If you&#39;ve ever been jealous of superheroes and their different types of awesome super powers, fantasize with this list&nbsp;and pretend you&#39;ve harnessed their powers.&nbsp;Now, you can use this list of superpowers&nbsp;to dream of how your life could be. Share this with your friends and add whatever cool superpowers <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/things-you-wish-you-were-better-at/lauren-slocum?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">you wish you</a> had.&nbsp;

This is a list of the best superpowers we wish were real. Vote up your favorite and add any that aren&#39;t listed yet. &nbsp;

Some superhero origins are just lame. Not all heroes get bitten by radioactive spiders, were the last survivor on a destroyed planet, or survived a science experiment gone wrong to get crime-fighting, world-saving powers. Some heroes enter the vigilante game without any pizzazz, without a modicum of sense, or with a just plain lame origin story.This list is a compilation of the lamest <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/most-harrowing-superhero-origin-stories/bobby-anhalt?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">superhero origin stories</a> of all time. Keep in mind, the focus is on lame origins, not necessarily lame heroes. Many of these heroes would earn respect over time or be rebooted to become the <a href="http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/best-superheroes-all-time">greatest superheroes of all time</a>. However, whenever these <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/best-superheroes-all-time?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">comic book heroes</a> tell their origin story, they probably have a hard time not blushing.

Tim Drake Is The Ultimate Robin

<a href="/list/best-alternate-costumes-in-marvel-comics/ranker-comics">Amazing alternate costumes for superheroes</a> are always entertaining, but what about alternate superhero characters? The topic of &ldquo;legacy characters,&rdquo; or replacement superheroes, has led to many heated debates&nbsp;in the world of comic book fandom. Publishers have attempted to add diversity and &ldquo;fresh ideas&rdquo; to their comic book universes by replacing their most popular heroes with younger and more diverse vigilantes. The results have been, <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/superhero-replacements-worse-than-the-original/stephanroget" target="_blank">at best, mixed</a>.

Fan outrage is high anytime a popular character goes away - even the times when <a href="/list/times-marvel-has-changed-a-character-for-no-reason/ranker-comics">Marvel changes a character for no apparent reason</a>&nbsp;aren&#39;t met with as much resistance.&nbsp;Nothing is worse than seeing your favorite superhero feign death for awhile so that a precocious teenager can take up their mantle to spout internet slang and share crossovers with Spider-Man.

Now, this may be considered sacrilege in some corners of the fandom, but some legacy heroes turn out pretty cool. In fact, there&#39;s a&nbsp;rare handful of second generation superheroes who are actually better than the originals. It&#39;s not easy to replace a legendary hero,&nbsp;but as the following characters can attest to, it is doable. Check out the list below and vote up the coolest second generation heroes who you believe are an improvement from the original.&nbsp;

Who needs the likes of Michael Myers, Freddie Krueger, and Jason when we have villains in comics that are just as scary, if not scarier, to keep you up at night?&nbsp;You know, those villains that you definitely wouldn&#39;t want to run into in a dark alley. Which are <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/scary-things-seen-heard/amandasedlakhevener?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">the most terrifying</a> villains in comic books?

Does the Scarecrow bring the fear out in you? Does the thought of Venom being around you make you cringe? Does Batman&#39;s Victor Zsasz make you feel lightheaded?

We&#39;ve got goblins, alien symbiotes, evil clowns, the undead, and all manner of spooky characters! Some of these characters even come from the <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-horror-comic-books-graphic-novels/ranker-comics" target="_blank">best horror comics</a>. Make sure to vote up all the villains that you wish weren&#39;t flooding your nightmares, and vote down the ones you could handle in your face, no problem.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Storm

Capes couldn&#39;t be more associated with superheroes. Not every superhero wears a cape, and in today&#39;s comic&#39;s not many superheroes wear capes. But what&#39;s the one thing a little kid grabs, ties around his neck, and starts cruising around the house pretending to be a superhero? A towel, sheet, blanket or anything else he can use as a cape!

Not all the <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/best-superhero-costumes/analise.dubner">best superhero costumes</a>&nbsp;have capes, but plenty do. Superhero capes come in all shapes, sizes, and practicalities. Heck we could make a list of just the capes <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/best-batman-costumes-v1/ranker-comics">Batman has worn</a> depending on the story or the artists depicting the caped crusader. Superman is known for his big red cape (usually complete with that iconic S). Some superheroes use their capes practically. The aforementioned Batman uses his to glide through the skies above Gotham. Storm&#39;s cape helps her fly, and Banshee&#39;s allows him to channel his screams into flight. Heck, Spawn&#39;s cape is a living freakin&#39; entity! That cape is like Venom meets Ghost Rider!

Needless to say, someone needed to gather up all of the coolest capes in comics in one place, and pit them against one another with user votes deciding <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/best-superheroes-all-time?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">the best superhero</a> capes ever. These are the absolute best capes in comics and it&#39;s up to you to chose the victor! Vote up your all time favorite capes.

*Cloaks are included because cloaks are awesome.

&#34;By the goddess!&#34;

Taglines, slogans, catchphrases. Whatever you want to call them, they&#39;re important.&nbsp;Be it a noble battle cry like &quot;Imperius rex!&quot; (Namor), a transformative tool like &quot;SHAZAM!&quot; (Captain Marvel), or just a thing you quip weirdly to yourself like &quot;my Spidey-Sense is tingling,&quot; a superhero tagline says a lot about the character. Many superheroes and <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/best-superheroes-all-time?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">comic book characters</a> have taglines, but whose is the best super hero saying?

Many of these superhero taglines are legendary, while some are not well known, and others are a bit dated. But, they are all some of the greats. Vote up the superhero with the mightiest, zingiest, most memorable, and best taglines below.&nbsp;

Marvel Comics

Captain Universe

In general, comic books have not paid nearly enough attention to people of color. Even when a Black super hero did exist, they didn&#39;t get the exposure they deserved. The best Black superheroes are every bit as iconic, interesting, and emotionally compelling as their peers.&nbsp;In fact, Black Panther&nbsp;in particular has been a consistently strong book over the years that will no doubt provide a lot of great material for a ton of films down the line. Static has not only gotten his own cartoon, but an incredibly loyal cult following. When Superman died, Steel was one of the only people who stepped up to take his place that didn&#39;t have some horrific ulterior motive waiting in the wings that could spell doom for the planet Earth. When the mantle of Ultimate Spider-Man was passed from Peter Parker to Miles Morales, the character blossomed and became arguably more beloved than his predecessor. &nbsp;

Even despite these triumphs, Black characters still haven&#39;t gotten the time of day they deserve. Ask most people to name a few Black super heroes and you probably will get a list with maybe three names. The good news is recent films, comics, and TV shows are really pushing their Black characters the way they always deserved. We&#39;re seeing &nbsp;new exposure for characters like Black Panther getting his own film in the Marvel cinematic universe, Luke Cage on Netflix, and Cyborg in the Justice League movie. While it was great to have Wesley Snipes as Blade have his own film series, we&#39;re glad to see new <a href="/list/best-black-superhero-movies/ranker-film/" target="_blank">Black superhero movies</a>&nbsp;filling the ranks. &nbsp;

But let&#39;s not forget how much farther we have to go. The length of this list proves there are a ton of Black superheroes that could make their debuts in television and movies. The Spectre could make a great on screen presence. Spawn deserves a better film than his 90s misfire, and with the advances in special effects and storytelling available today we could get something very special for fans of his book in addition to new audiences. If you&#39;re curious to see just how many characters are out there, check out the list of the best Black superheroes&nbsp;below and be sure to vote up your favorites.&nbsp;

Comic Book Characters

Quantum and Woody

Who are the funniest <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/best-superheroes-all-time?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">comic book characters</a> and superheroes? It seems like too many superheroes and comic books are too grim. Everything is just too serious. There needs to be a little more humor and fun in comics. Luckily, there are some comic book characters out there that know how to have a little fun and crack a few jokes.&nbsp;Humor in comics is making a comeback and there are handful of funny superheroes out there. Everyone from Deadpool to The Tick to Rocket Raccoon makes an appearance on this list of funniest superheroes. Some of their humor is straight slapstick, while others rely on funny one-liners or witty banter, but there's plenty to go around for these funny superheroes.&nbsp;

Comic Books

Silhouette

When superheroes first appeared in comic books, many minority groups were heavily underrepresented. There was a criminally&nbsp;small percentage of Black <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-female-comic-book-characters/ranker-characters?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">women in comics</a>. Black comic book characters just didn&#39;t really&nbsp;appear&nbsp;in&nbsp;DC or Marvel Comics until the 1970s when&nbsp;Blaxploitation films were at the peak of their&nbsp;popularity. Comics with Black girls slowly began to trickle out (usually as sidekicks serving brief tenures with&nbsp;established heroes). Over time, their importance increased and, eventually, we got the female&nbsp;African American&nbsp;comic books we desperately needed.

Over the years, we have gotten some <a href="/list/best-black-superheroes-in-comics/ranker-comics">amazing Black superheroes</a> in both mainstream&nbsp;and independent comics.&nbsp;Though other minorities groups have also gained traction in comics&nbsp;over the years, many simply were&nbsp;<a href="/list/politically-incorrect-comic-book-characters/erik-barnes">too politically incorrect&nbsp;</a>to be&nbsp;embraced and admired. There is still room&nbsp;for&nbsp;more inclusion&nbsp;of (actually cool) characters that represent the <a href="/list/handicapped-anime-characters/anna-lindwasser">disabled</a> and&nbsp;LGBTQ+ communities. Companies are recognizing these needs and are slowly working to fill these gaps.&nbsp;

And while we wait (somewhat) patiently for better representation and inclusion, it&#39;s also important to recognize the fierce Black heroines and women superheroes in the pages of our favorite comic books.&nbsp;

Miss Martian

This list of teenage superheroes has been voted on by you. the fans. The are the best teenage <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/best-superheroes-all-time?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">superheroes of all time</a>! Being a teenager is both tough (because it's an awkward time) and awesome (because you're young and all of your joints work!) --- like these superheroes. From finishing yesterday's math homework and thinking about your crush by day, to saving the world and still thinking about your crush by night. Vote and help decide the best adolescent superheroes in comic book history. They may sometimes be&nbsp;identified as a young adult by casual comic book fans.Who is your favorite teenage superhero? Vote for your favorite young superhero now!

Rorschach

It&rsquo;s safe to say&nbsp;most characters don&rsquo;t become superheroes because they possess a&nbsp;great life. If anything, most <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/updated-superhero-origin-stories/stephanroget" target="_blank">superhero origins</a> take root&nbsp;in the character&#39;s&nbsp;dissatisfaction&nbsp;towards&nbsp;their life, if not all-out tragedy. But the saddest origin stories of superheroes take the tragedy of everyday life and twist the knife until&nbsp;nothing&#39;s left to bleed. The characters on this list haven&rsquo;t simply led&nbsp;a hard life, they&rsquo;ve <a href="/list/saddest-supervillain-origin-stories/cynthia-griffith">had the hardest life</a>. Either their parents were murdered in front of them, or the one thing cherished&nbsp;most was ripped away from them, leaving them a broken mess of a person. Keep reading to learn about even more sad superhero origin stories.

For much of the golden era of comics, superhero origins were based around dead either dead parents or science gone wrong &ndash; or in the case of one character on this list, both &ndash; but as the decades moved on the origin stories got more complicated, and some of them became even more depressing. As you read this collection of the most depressing superhero origin stories prepare to sigh heavily, think about your parents, and maybe even have a stiff drink. But remember, the characters on this list took the world&rsquo;s biggest lemons and turned them into lemonade, and that means that you can too. But before you turn your life around, don&rsquo;t forget to vote on the most traumatizing superhero origin stories.

Ambush Bug

Ridiculous <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/superheroes-ranked-by-most-comic-book-appearances/ranker-comics?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">comic book superheroes</a> come in all shapes and sizes. And these are the characters voted by many to be the most ridiculous superheroes of all time. Sometimes it&#39;s not the stupid heroes&#39; fault; they were written to serve a very specific comic book function, and no one had a plan for the character after that. Other times they were just a product of a period of time where they were more appropriate. Even so, many of these ridiculous <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-female-comic-book-characters/ranker-characters?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">comic book characters</a> should probably have been written out of the series long before they were.

Sometimes these stupid characters just outgrew the context they were in. Are these stupid superhero names enough to make you never want to read comic books? If so, vote on the worst ones here so that people have an inkling of what NOT to do.&nbsp;

Who are the most.... stupid superheroes ever? You decide.

Also see our roundup of <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/superheroes-with-painful-superpowers/brent-sprecher" target="_blank">superheroes whose powers make them hurt themselves</a>.

Elektra

Super villains become heroes all the time. In comic books, it can be hard to tell the good guys from <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-movies-where-the-bad-guy-wins/ranker-film?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">the bad guys</a> in the first place. Nearly everyone wears masks and brightly colored spandex, after all. Even Spider-Man is a MENACE according to at least one New York newspapers. In such a strange world of cosmic happenings and super shenanigans, of course there are many villains who turned into superheroes.These&nbsp;superheroes who started out bad range from the obscure, like Pied Piper, to the mainstream, like the Merc with a Mouth. Heck, a plenty of core X-Men have changed sides, as any fan of Gambit, Emma Frost, or Rogue could tell you. These&nbsp;<a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/best-comic-book-villains?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">comic book bad guys</a> who became good guys are everywhere. You're favorite hero might have debuted as a villain. Don't think so? Would it surprise you to learn that Hawkeye tried to rob the Avengers before becoming one of Earth's Mightiest Heroes?More surprises await you in this list of supervillains turned superheroes.These are the <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/best-superheroes-all-time?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">comic book heroes</a> who started out as villains! Vote up your favorite reformed bad guy below!

It seems like Marvel and&nbsp;DC are premiering a new superhero film every other month. However, even though there are some great <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/dc-comics-animated-movies/all-genre-movies-lists" target="_blank">DC animated films</a>&nbsp;and fantasic&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/best-movies-based-on-marvel-comics/all-genre-movies-lists" target="_blank">Marvel superhero movies</a>, there are many enjoyable <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/the-best-original-superhero-movies/ranker-film" target="_blank">standalone superhero movies</a> that don&#39;t come from their franchises. Hell, they aren&#39;t even part of their comic book companies.&nbsp;

There are some indie superhero movies, original takes on the superhero genre, and original superpowered films that aren&#39;t based on a comic or cartoon that are pretty entertaining. Did you remember crying out, &quot;COWABUNGA!&quot; when you saw the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Ever utter, &quot;Hell yeah&quot; while watching Hellboy? What about the fantastic animated action of The Incredibles? Read on for a list of some of the <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/comic-book-movies-shows-not-dc-or-marvel/terrance-w-pryor" target="_blank">best non-DC or Marvel superhero movies</a> that you can catch up on Amazon Prime or Netflix.

Does the Scarecrow bring the fear out of you? Does the thought of Venom being around you make you cringe? Does Batman&#39;s Victor Zsasz make you feel lightheaded? There are many comic book super villains that you should be afraid of meeting in an empty alley.

We&#39;ve got goblins, alien symbiotes, evil clowns, the undead, and all manner of spooky! Make sure to vote up all the villains that you wish weren&#39;t flooding your nightmares, and vote down the ones you could handle in your face, no problem.&nbsp;

They don’t call them <a href="http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/greatest-graphic-novels-and-collected-editions">graphic novels</a> for no reason. Comic books and graphic novels are works of visually and textually explicit scenarios, but one of the things that make&nbsp;them so intriguing is the fact that one-dimensional characters simply don’t exist between the pages. For this reason, there have been countless times <a href="http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-15-scariest-villains-in-comics">comic book villains</a> were sweet, even borderline sentimental, if you will.It’s easy to miss these few-and-far-between instances of comic book villains being nice. Moreover, it’s easy to forget the times our favorite heroes began as villains, despite the fact that this is a recurring comic book theme.&nbsp;If all it takes to become a villain is one bad decision, the opposite must also be true. One good deed has been known to send some of the most sinister baddies over the line into benevolence, even if just for a frozen, solitary moment.Now, to be clear, in this context, we’re not talking about characters that have a dark side.&nbsp;We’re not discussing the now-infamous antihero trope. We're talking about characters who are the dark side, the certified psychopaths who will laugh gleefully while detaching your head from your body and simultaneously humming the National Anthem. Even they might save a puppy or two along the way.From feeding orphans to rescuing superheroes, from healing plagues to sacrificing their own souls in order to save the lives and souls of others, here are some examples of unexpected supervillains who do good.

Heroes and Villains

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Character Costumes

This is the list of the coolest superhero costumes. It's hard to fight crime and look good while doing it, which is exactly why there are so few items on this list. Not many people can pull off kicking people in the face while wearing brightly colored spandex, but someone's gotta do it, right? What are <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/best-superheroes-all-time?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">the best superhero</a> costumes ever?What makes a superhero costume awesome? Color, functionality, practicality? We've got all the best ones right here for you to thoroughly examine. Browse through and take notes, just in case you're in need of one of these bad boys.What do you think are the greatest superhero costumes?

Greatest Superhero Costumes | List of the Best Superhero Uniforms

The Best Superhero Costumes

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Batman

Batman is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, as well as its associated media. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and first appeared in Detective Comics #27. Originally named "the Bat-Man," the character is also referred to by such epithets as "the Caped Crusader," "the Dark Knight," and "the World's Greatest Detective." Batman is the secret identity of Bruce Wayne, an American billionaire, industrialist, and philanthropist.

Venom

Venom, or the Venom Symbiote, is a fictional antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with Spider-Man. Venom was originally a supervillain when he made his first full appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #300, before eventually becoming an antihero. Venom is a symbiote, a sentient alien, with a gooey, almost liquid-like form that requires a host, usually human, to bond with for its survival, as with real world symbiotes. After bonding, the symbiote endows its enhanced powers upon the host. When the Venom Symbiote bonds with a human, that new dual-life form refers to itself as "Venom."
The Venom Symbiote's first known host was Spider-Man, who eventually separated himself from the creature when he discovered its true nature. The Symbiote went on to merge with other hosts, most notably Eddie Brock, its second and most infamous host, with whom it first became Venom and one of Spider-Man's archenemies. According to S.H.I.E.L.D., it is considered one of the greatest threats to humanity, alongside Magneto, Doctor Doom, and Red Skull.

Catwoman

Catwoman is a fictional character who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics and is associated with the Batman franchise. Historically a supervillainess and often an antiheroine, the character was created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, partially inspired by Kane's cousin, Ruth Steel, as well as actress Jean Harlow. The original and most widely known Catwoman, Selina Kyle, first appears in Batman #1 in which she is known as The Cat. She is usually depicted as an adversary of Batman, known for having a complex love-hate relationship with him. In her first appearance, she was a whip-carrying menace with a taste for high-stake capers.

Midnighter

Midnighter is a fictional, comic book-based superhero, best known as a member of the rogue superhero team, The Authority. Created by writer Warren Ellis and artist Bryan Hitch, he first appeared in Stormwatch No. 4, before appearing in various Authority books and series and his own eponymous ongoing series. He and his husband, Apollo, have also been interpreted as a parallel of the Batman/Superman World's Finest partnership. Unlike Batman, Midnighter has superhuman abilities, and generally kills his opponents. In an interview for Comic Values Annual, edited by Alex G. Malloy, Warren Ellis described Midnighter as "The Shadow by way of John Woo". Midnighter is rarely seen without his costume and mask. Recurring themes in Midnighter's adventures are his love of violence and killing, as well as comments on his sexuality.

Black Widow

Natalia Alianovna Romanova is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by editor and plotter Stan Lee, scripter Don Rico, and artist Don Heck, the character debuted in Tales of Suspense #52 (April 1964). The character was introduced as a Russian spy, an antagonist of the superhero Iron Man. She later defected to the United States, becoming an agent of the fictional spy agency S.H.I.E.L.D., and a member of the superhero team the Avengers.

Hellboy

Hellboy is a fictional character created by writer-artist Mike Mignola. The character first appeared in San Diego Comic-Con Comics #2, and has since appeared in various eponymous miniseries, one-shots and intercompany crossovers. The character has been adapted into two live-action feature films in 2004 and 2008 that starred Ron Perlman in the title role, and two straight-to-DVD animated films, as well as two video games – Asylum Seeker and The Science of Evil.
A well-meaning demon whose true name is Anung Un Rama, Hellboy was summoned from Hell to Earth as an infant demon on December 23, 1944 by Nazi occultists. He was discovered by the Allied Forces; amongst them, Professor Trevor Bruttenholm, who formed the United States Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. In time Hellboy grew to be a large, red-skinned man with a tail, horns, cloven hooves for feet, and an oversized right hand made of stone. He has been described as smelling of dry-roasted peanuts. Although a bit gruff, he shows none of the malevolence thought to be intrinsic to demons, and has a strong sense of humor.

Spider Jerusalem

Spider Jerusalem is a fictional character and the protagonist of the comic book Transmetropolitan, created by writer Warren Ellis and artist Darick Robertson, introduced under the now-defunct Helix imprint of DC Comics before being moved to the Vertigo imprint.
He is a sarcastic, drug-addicted, foul-mouthed, troubled, bitter, but deeply brilliant gonzo journalist with a deep-seated hatred of authority, political corruption and dogs. Almost always drawn wearing a set of stereoscopic sunglasses with one lens red and the other green, and is most often compared to the real-life figure Hunter S. Thompson.

This is the list of the coolest superhero costumes. It's hard to fight crime and look good while doing it, which is exactly why there are so few items on this ...