Best Hero of 2008
Doom DeLuise says: Iron Man!
Iron Man had a rough couple of years, what with being the “bad guy” during Civil War and his unpopular stint as the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. In 2008, however, he started to redeem himself with a new continuity-free series and some badass moments during the Skrull invasion.
What really set him apart from the rest of the comic book heroes, though, was his big summer blockbuster film. While “The Dark Knight” may have grossed more money and generated more buzz, Batman took a backseat to his onscreen foe, the Joker. With “Iron Man,” on the other hand, the most entertaining aspect of the movie was its title character.
Tony Stark/Iron Man, as portrayed by Robert Downey Jr, stands as possibly the best adaptation of a comic book superhero ever put on film. It blew me away when I saw it last summer, and it continues to amaze me all these months later. I can’t wait for the sequel.
Jim Doom says: Batman!
He was fantastic in Batman RIP, he was great in Detective, and he had a cool movie, too. DC — through great work by Paul Dini and Grant Morrison — managed to show how fresh and exciting Batman could be in 2008, but it appears as if 2009 won’t be as good a year for him. The only consolation is that Grant Morrison appears to think Batman is pretty cool too, so he’s likely to get a properly awesome sendoff.*
*Ed. Note: Jim Doom wrote this in 2008, before Batman’s improper, opposite-of-awesome sendoff.
Here are our picks for Best Hero from the past couple years:
2007:
Doom DeLuise: Booster Gold
Jim Doom: Captain America
Doominator: Cyclops
Fin Fang Doom: Winter Soldier2006:
Doom DeLuise: Black Adam
Jim Doom: Nightwing (through Infinite Crisis)
Fin Fang Doom: Jamie Madrox
Doominator: Cyclops