# Do fans over estimate people's familiarity with the origins of iconic comic book characters? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 12, 2010, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-fans-over-estimate-peoples-familiarity-with-the-origins-of-iconic-comic-book-characters/528669 "2010-02-12T05:45:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-fans-over-estimate-peoples-familiarity-with-the-origins-of-iconic-comic-book-characters/528669/81 "2010-02-15T05:19:33Z")
As far as the OP question, all I can speak of is my experience, which did not have a lot of comic book reading growing up. Fully aware of Superman, knew Batman’s parents were “killed by cowardly criminals” is how Adam West put in in TV series, knew there were Captain America, Fantastic Four, Thor, Iron Man, Spiderman but that’s it and had no idea X-Men existed until the movies came out (and after sitting thru the first two, have no desire to see anymore). I don’t remember my friends being interested either with the exception of some cousins who lived 1,000 miles away. ---
**Author:** ![kidneyfailure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9f8e36/32.png) [@kidneyfailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidneyfailure)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-fans-over-estimate-peoples-familiarity-with-the-origins-of-iconic-comic-book-characters/528669/82 "2010-02-15T07:46:06Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Now that I’ve heard of Bolan, it looks obvious to me. I’d never heard of Mack Bolan either until now, but the influence is obvious. However, maybe it was just an “influence” rather than a total “knock-off.” ---
**Author:** ![kidneyfailure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9f8e36/32.png) [@kidneyfailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidneyfailure)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-fans-over-estimate-peoples-familiarity-with-the-origins-of-iconic-comic-book-characters/528669/83 "2010-02-15T07:52:35Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > had no idea X-Men existed until the movies came out I find this a bit odd. The X-Men were big pop culture figures, especially in the early 90’s and especially on FOX. Ok, how about Judge Dredd? How many on the board were familiar with him before the movie? Or Tank Girl? ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-fans-over-estimate-peoples-familiarity-with-the-origins-of-iconic-comic-book-characters/528669/84 "2010-02-15T10:21:29Z")
> [@kidneyfailure](#): > > Ok, how about Judge Dredd? How many on the board were familiar with him before the movie? Or Tank Girl? Who? What movie? There was a movie about Judge Dredd? Tank girl? These are actual superheroes? I’ve never heard of either. I don’t find a lack of familiarity with the X-Men to be strange at all. I had to explain them to many people when the movies were out. The only reason I knew about them is because we used to play the RPG Champions when I was a kid. I’d never seen an actual show or comicbook about them. ---
**Author:** ![kidneyfailure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9f8e36/32.png) [@kidneyfailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidneyfailure)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-fans-over-estimate-peoples-familiarity-with-the-origins-of-iconic-comic-book-characters/528669/85 "2010-02-15T11:19:26Z")
> [@WarmNPrickly](#): > > Who? What movie? There was a movie about Judge Dredd? Tank girl? These are actual superheroes? I’ve never heard of either. > > I don’t find a lack of familiarity with the X-Men to be strange at all. I had to explain them to many people when the movies were out. The only reason I knew about them is because we used to play the RPG Champions when I was a kid. I’d never seen an actual show or comicbook about them. There was indeed a Judge Dredd movie, starring Stallone as the Judge himself. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-fans-over-estimate-peoples-familiarity-with-the-origins-of-iconic-comic-book-characters/528669/86 "2010-02-15T12:34:43Z")
And the Judge Dredd film totally missed the subversive humour that made the comics worth reading. I was not aware of Tank Girl before the film was made, and only barely aware of it afterwards. I have decidedly mainstream tastes and rarely read anything put out by small publishers (unless you count “Debbie Does Comics.”) ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-fans-over-estimate-peoples-familiarity-with-the-origins-of-iconic-comic-book-characters/528669/87 "2010-02-15T15:58:40Z")
What about “powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men”? Could you know this phrase but not where it came from? ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-fans-over-estimate-peoples-familiarity-with-the-origins-of-iconic-comic-book-characters/528669/88 "2010-02-15T16:15:51Z")
> [@kidneyfailure](#): > > Ok, how about Judge Dredd? How many on the board were familiar with him before the movie? Or Tank Girl? I had heard of Dread and seen him somewhere but had never read his comic. I had never heard of Tank Girl until the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-fans-over-estimate-peoples-familiarity-with-the-origins-of-iconic-comic-book-characters/528669/89 "2010-02-15T16:39:10Z")
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**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-fans-over-estimate-peoples-familiarity-with-the-origins-of-iconic-comic-book-characters/528669/90 "2010-02-15T16:39:22Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > A much smaller but still significant number would know the basics of Batman’s origin–saw his parents’ murdered as a child and consequently went batshit rather than getting therapy. More importantly, I now understand the origin of the term ‘batshit’. (Adj. Crazy as Bruce Wayne.) ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-fans-over-estimate-peoples-familiarity-with-the-origins-of-iconic-comic-book-characters/528669/91 "2010-02-15T16:45:42Z")
In 1939, especially in comicbookland, one did not “get therapy” unless one already _was_ good and batshit. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-fans-over-estimate-peoples-familiarity-with-the-origins-of-iconic-comic-book-characters/528669/92 "2010-02-15T16:50:37Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > Is it really that hard to believe that many people just have no interest in comics at all? I haven’t seen any of the Batman movies, hence I don’t know his origin. But I don’t think comic fans are totally off base. I read comics voraciously for about 20 minutes in the summer of 1993 and have barely touched them since. A Batman here, a Firefly there, a Buffy way over there. That’s about it. But through all of the comic-based cartoons and video games and through geek osmosis, I’ve picked up a farely decent number of them. I could probably convincingly tell the origins of Batman, Robin, Superman, Spider-Man, the X-Men, Wolverine, Magneto, the Fantastic Four, the Punisher, Iron Man (although I needed the movie for that one) and a few others. I don’t think that’s weird (or dweeby) for a non-comic reading under 30 year old at all. ---
**Author:** ![Coil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Coil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coil)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-fans-over-estimate-peoples-familiarity-with-the-origins-of-iconic-comic-book-characters/528669/93 "2010-02-15T17:11:22Z")
My answer for the question in the OP is that the average person around here (Sweden) would probably know that: Superman came from another planet. They are quite likely to know about his identity being Clark Kent. They may be able to name Krypton or kryptonite. For Batman they may know about Bruce Wayne. Some may be able to know about his parents being murdered but I guess quite many would just guess he’s a rich dude fighting crime. Spiderman is probably less known but some people may know about the spider bite. The other heroes in this thread are probably unknown unless you were into comics. I guess people may know about the Phantom as well since he used to be quite popular. So comic fans definitely overestimate what the average person knows. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-fans-over-estimate-peoples-familiarity-with-the-origins-of-iconic-comic-book-characters/528669/94 "2010-02-15T17:16:57Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > But I don’t think comic fans are totally off base. I read comics voraciously for about 20 minutes in the summer of 1993 and have barely touched them since. A Batman here, a Firefly there, a Buffy way over there. That’s about it. > > But through all of the comic-based cartoons and video games and through geek osmosis, I’ve picked up a farely decent number of them. I could probably convincingly tell the origins of Batman, Robin, Superman, Spider-Man, the X-Men, Wolverine, Magneto, the Fantastic Four, the Punisher, Iron Man (although I needed the movie for that one) and a few others. > > I don’t think that’s weird (or dweeby) for a non-comic reading under 30 year old at all. The OP didn’t say anything about under 30. I’m in my 40s. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-fans-over-estimate-peoples-familiarity-with-the-origins-of-iconic-comic-book-characters/528669/95 "2010-02-15T18:15:20Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > Is it really that hard to believe that many people just have no interest in comics at all? I haven’t seen any of the Batman movies, hence I don’t know his origin. The idea is that some of these superheroes have become cultural icons and therefore even a lot of people who haven’t read comics are aware of their origins. I haven’t seen Citizen Kane but I know what Rosebud is. Even if you haven’t seen Star Wars you probably know who Luke’s father is. Of course it’s entirely possible that you and others simply don’t know a piece of somewhat well known pop culture. I find myself in the same situation from time to time. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-fans-over-estimate-peoples-familiarity-with-the-origins-of-iconic-comic-book-characters/528669/96 "2010-02-15T18:22:05Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > But I don’t think comic fans are totally off base. I read comics voraciously for about 20 minutes in the summer of 1993 and have barely touched them since. A Batman here, a Firefly there, a Buffy way over there. That’s about it. > > But through all of the comic-based cartoons and video games and through geek osmosis, I’ve picked up a farely decent number of them. I could probably convincingly tell the origins of Batman, Robin, Superman, Spider-Man, the X-Men, Wolverine, Magneto, the Fantastic Four, the Punisher, Iron Man (although I needed the movie for that one) and a few others. > > I don’t think that’s weird (or dweeby) for a non-comic reading under 30 year old at all. I think you overestimate the number of people that watched cartoons and played video games like you did. You grew up in an environment where learning these origins was pretty standard. Since all of your peers did also, you assume that most people did. I don’t think that is the case. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-fans-over-estimate-peoples-familiarity-with-the-origins-of-iconic-comic-book-characters/528669/97 "2010-02-15T18:52:10Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > The OP didn’t say anything about under 30. I’m in my 40s. True. I’m merely listing a data point for why this kind of information is likely well known to the general population. You are the exception. I’m not saying you’re old or out of touch, but among the younger generation, these origins are well known and among the old generation, origins of Batman, Superman and Spider-Man (at the very least) should be common knowledge because of all the TV shows, movies and cartoons those characters starred before 1980. > [@WarmNPrickly](#): > > I think you overestimate the number of people that watched cartoons and played video games like you did. You grew up in an environment where learning these origins was pretty standard. Since all of your peers did also, you assume that most people did. I don’t think that is the case. I think you’d be wrong. But we can’t really prove this now can we? And I think you’d be doubly wrong for the current crop of high schoolers, for which Spider-Man and Batman are two of the greatest movie franchises of all time. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-fans-over-estimate-peoples-familiarity-with-the-origins-of-iconic-comic-book-characters/528669/98 "2010-02-15T20:33:20Z")
They made **Thor** into a comic book character? I know the origin stories for Superman, Batman, Spiderman, The Hulk, Wolverine (well, as well as anyone does), Robin, Daredevil and The Fantastic Four. Despite having seen 3 movies, I still couldn’t tell you the origins of most of the X-Men characters. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-fans-over-estimate-peoples-familiarity-with-the-origins-of-iconic-comic-book-characters/528669/99 "2010-02-15T21:09:18Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > And I think you’d be doubly wrong for the current crop of high schoolers, for which Spider-Man and Batman are two of the greatest movie franchises of all time. I think a lot of people will be able to get Spiderman, Batman, and Superman. Those are relatively well-entrenched in pop culture, I think, although I didn’t remember Batman. However, Wolverine, Robin, Mangeto, Iron Man, the Punisher–I don’t know. I think those origin stories are a long shot for most people. I don’t even know who the last three are exactly–at least I don’t remember them–and I played a lot of video games growing up and used to watch the Justice League cartoons religiously. (I’m 34). However, in my circle of friends, there was only one person who read comic books. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have known who even the X-Men and Wolverine were before the movie (and even now, I’m not sure who or what they are.) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-fans-over-estimate-peoples-familiarity-with-the-origins-of-iconic-comic-book-characters/528669/100 "2010-02-15T21:39:48Z")
> [@](#): > > I don’t even know who the last three are exactly–at least I don’t remember them–and I played a lot of video games growing up and used to watch the Justice League cartoons religiously. Watching the Justice League wouldn’t have helped you with those, since the Justice League is DC, and those three characters are all Marvel. Crossovers within either of the companies are very common, so you could, for instance, see almost any DC character show up on Justice League, but crossovers between the companies are very rare, so you’d never see (for instance) Iron Man on Justice League. So it’s quite possible to be very familiar with all of the characters from one company, but not at all with the other (to say nothing of the many third-party publishers, as well). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-fans-over-estimate-peoples-familiarity-with-the-origins-of-iconic-comic-book-characters/528669.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-fans-over-estimate-peoples-familiarity-with-the-origins-of-iconic-comic-book-characters/528669.md?page=6)