# If you were an 11 year old boy: Superman,Batman or Spiderman?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-an-11-year-old-boy-superman-batman-or-spiderman/333744
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [December 2, 2005, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-an-11-year-old-boy-superman-batman-or-spiderman/333744 "2005-12-02T16:26:39Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2005, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-an-11-year-old-boy-superman-batman-or-spiderman/333744/1 "2005-12-02T16:26:39Z")
I am thinking of giving my 11 year old nephew a gift subsciption to a comic book.
I cannot decide between The Big Three: Batman, Superman or Spiderman.
They are all the same price for the year: $20.49 (Via Ebay)
Should I let Dopers pick his present?
What to do …what to do…
---
### Author:  [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2005, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-an-11-year-old-boy-superman-batman-or-spiderman/333744/2 "2005-12-02T16:29:41Z")
I would have to say that in a fight, Spider-Man would win. In terms of being safe for an 11 year old, Spider-Man still wins.
---
### Author:  [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2005, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-an-11-year-old-boy-superman-batman-or-spiderman/333744/3 "2005-12-02T16:31:25Z")
Even though my favorite is Batman, I’d have to vote for Spiderman for an 11 YO. Just seems more wholesome.
---
### Author:  [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2005, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-an-11-year-old-boy-superman-batman-or-spiderman/333744/4 "2005-12-02T16:32:26Z")
> [@Scott Plaid](#):
>
> I would have to say that in a fight, Spider-Man would win. .
Them’s fightin’ words! :mad:
---
### Author:  [@Leviosaurus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leviosaurus)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2005, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-an-11-year-old-boy-superman-batman-or-spiderman/333744/5 "2005-12-02T16:34:40Z")
When I was 11, I avoided Superman and Batman and read as much Spiderman as possible, so I’d go with Spidey too.
Of course, that was 1981…
---
### Author:  [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2005, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-an-11-year-old-boy-superman-batman-or-spiderman/333744/6 "2005-12-02T16:39:45Z")
I’m casting my vote for Batman. I’m not an 11 year old boy though, so I don’t know that my opinion counts for much in this instance.
---
### Author:  [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2005, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-an-11-year-old-boy-superman-batman-or-spiderman/333744/7 "2005-12-02T16:41:29Z")
I’d go with Superman, based on what I remember of being an 11 year old boy and those characters. Back then, in the early 1970’s, Spiderman comic books were as least as much about the on-going soap opera of Peter Parker’s life as they were about what he did as Spiderman. At 11, I just couldn’t identify with his job/girlfriend/sickly aunt/etc. angst. Half or more of each comic was “wasted space” IOW. Batman was somewhat better, and later became my favorite comic book character, but seems to be written rather more darkly these days than I remember him. Superman, though, resonated rather well to my 11 year old self. It would have been _just so cool_ to be able to fly and all that other super stuff. No soap opera, no revenge-driven psychopathy, just being super because you were super.
---
### Author:  [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2005, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-an-11-year-old-boy-superman-batman-or-spiderman/333744/8 "2005-12-02T16:41:49Z")
> [@Anaamika](#):
>
> Them’s fightin’ words! :mad:
Well, yes, the word “fight” is indeed a fighting word. However, I am confused as to what you mean, if not that.
. . . .
Oh, you mean [this](http://www.fanzing.com/mag/fanzing22/feature2.shtml). Ok then, you are still wrong. 😛
---
### Author:  [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2005, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-an-11-year-old-boy-superman-batman-or-spiderman/333744/9 "2005-12-02T16:45:01Z")
> [@Scott Plaid](#):
>
> I would have to say that in a fight, Spider-Man would win. In terms of being safe for an 11 year old, Spider-Man still wins.
Nonsense. None of 'em had super powers at age 11 (depending what you take as canon; certainly Spidey didn’t); and at maturity, Spidey comes in third. (Batman always wins if he’s prepared; Supes could drop-kick Spidey into orbit.)
I thought the OP was going to be about which of the three we’d rather have been at age 11, in which case I was all set to say that my superhero persona in those days was definitely Superman-ish, with a heavy sprinkling of various members of the Legion of Superheroes (probably a character I could never have costed out under “Champions” rules). 🙂
---
### Author:  [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2005, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-an-11-year-old-boy-superman-batman-or-spiderman/333744/10 "2005-12-02T16:45:11Z")
> [@Scott Plaid](#):
>
> Oh, you mean [this](http://www.fanzing.com/mag/fanzing22/feature2.shtml). Ok then, you are still wrong.
_I_ can kick \*your \* ass, thus Batman can kick Spiderman’s. 😛
Batman is the coolest. Spidey is a silly little boy compared to Batman, who is a Real Man ™.
---
### Author:  [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2005, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-an-11-year-old-boy-superman-batman-or-spiderman/333744/11 "2005-12-02T16:46:20Z")
> [@Anaamika](#):
>
> _I_ can kick \*your \* ass,.
Cite?
---
### Author:  [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2005, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-an-11-year-old-boy-superman-batman-or-spiderman/333744/12 "2005-12-02T16:47:27Z")
> [@Scott Plaid](#):
>
> Cite?
You wouldn’t hit a girl would you?
_removes contacts, puts on glasses_
How about a girl with glasses?
Anyway, I am one tough cookie when riled. ROWR!
---
### Author:  [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2005, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-an-11-year-old-boy-superman-batman-or-spiderman/333744/13 "2005-12-02T16:48:30Z")
I’d pick Spiderman just because there’s been a couple of movies out recently so Spiderman’s more popular among the younger set. He probably hasn’t seen the most recent Batman movie as it was rated R and there hasn’t been a Superman movie in forever.
---
### Author:  [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2005, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-an-11-year-old-boy-superman-batman-or-spiderman/333744/14 "2005-12-02T16:48:52Z")
Mary Jane or Lois Lane.
Discuss.
---
### Author:  [@Leviosaurus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leviosaurus)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2005, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-an-11-year-old-boy-superman-batman-or-spiderman/333744/15 "2005-12-02T16:51:38Z")
> [@Shirley Ujest](#):
>
> Mary Jane or Lois Lane.
> Discuss.
Why not both?
---
### Author:  [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2005, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-an-11-year-old-boy-superman-batman-or-spiderman/333744/16 "2005-12-02T17:03:14Z")
OKay, let’s discuss this rationally. I don’t think any of these would be a great idea right now. For one thing, there are multiple monthly comic books for each character:
Superman: Action Comics, Superman, Adventures of Superman, All-Star Superman.
Batman: Detective Comics, Batman, All-Star Batman.
Spider-Man: Amazing Spider-Man, Spectacular Spider-Man, Marvel Knight Spider-Man, Ultimate Spider-Man.
Most of these books are pretty continuity-heavy, which means they feature storylines that have been continuing for months and even years, and new readers might be frustrated jumping into the series where they are now. Furthermore, they often cross over into the related books, so a subscription to “Batman” might not be much fun for a kid if that year half of the stories continue into Detective Comics. DC Comics, who publishes the Superman and Batman titles, also has a miniseries going on right now (a finite series that only runs for seven issues and then ends) called Infinite Crisis, which ties into every other DC book. A kid who just knows Superman and Batman from the movies and cartoons may be confused by all the Infinite Crisis references, and may find it annoying when so many events in his comics refer to some other series he isn’t buying and probably has never heard of.
So I can’t believe I’m doing this, but I’d have to strongly recommend you don’t buy this kid subscriptions, **Shirley**. What I would recommend, however, is to spend the $20 on a few trade paperbacks, which are thick, squarebound collections of entire stories (reprints of the single issue comics). That way he can get completed stories with beginnings, middles, and ends, and if you shop smart, you can probably get him a good trade paperback for each of the three characters with a story that is “new reader-friendly.” [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) offers new trade paperbacks for 30% off, and they offer free shipping on orders over $25.
I’ll let other fans chime in, but here are a few recommendations off the top of my head:
Batman: Year One (the origin story, slightly updated for modern times) or Hush, which is actually two books (gorgeous art, and features all of Batman’s famous villains, plus Superman). Year One was written in the mid-'80s, and Hush only came out a couple years ago. For an 11-year-old who might not have read many comics, I think either of those would be fine.
Spider-Man: Ultimate Spider-Man Book One (a modern retelling of his origin, similar to the movie), or Marvel Masterworks: Spider-Man, an affordable reprint of the first 11 issues from 1962-63. This is a Barnes & Noble store exclusive, if you have access to one of those, with a $12.95 cover price. It’s a steal of a deal for those classic comics by Spider-Man’s creators, Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. I’d go with either one in this case.
Superman: There is a horrible lack of good collected Superman stories around. Rather than recommend the usual (“Whatever Happened To the Man of Tomorrow?” by Alan Moore), I’d go with Birthright, again, a modern retelling of the origin story, encompassing many writers’ previous interpretations of Superman, including the movies and the Smallville TV series, into the mythology.
Please e-mail me if you have further questions. A few of these classic trade paperbacks could make a fan for life, but a year-long monthly subscription might confuse and frustrate a kid, especially given the state these comics are in today.
---
### Author:  [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2005, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-an-11-year-old-boy-superman-batman-or-spiderman/333744/17 "2005-12-02T17:05:08Z")
At 11 I was reading Superman and Batman stuff, rarely anything by Marvel. But yeah – I’d go with the consensus so far and say buy Spiderman.
---
### Author:  [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2005, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-an-11-year-old-boy-superman-batman-or-spiderman/333744/18 "2005-12-02T17:11:09Z")
I’d probably go with _X-Men_ or similar at that age.
---
### Author:  [@psycat90](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psycat90)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2005, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-an-11-year-old-boy-superman-batman-or-spiderman/333744/19 "2005-12-02T17:19:33Z")
Spider-Man!
When I was 11, I was absolutely \*obsessed \*with Spider-Man. Both of my boys have been huge Spider-Man (and X-Men) fans since birth pretty much. 😉 I know at 11 they’d both choose Spidey in a heartbeat.
He’s just awesome.
---
### Author:  [@Cowgirl\_Jules](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cowgirl_Jules)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2005, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-an-11-year-old-boy-superman-batman-or-spiderman/333744/20 "2005-12-02T17:25:14Z")
I and my best friend both have 11-year old boys, and they are both only into Spiderman. It’s because of the movies.
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-an-11-year-old-boy-superman-batman-or-spiderman/333744.md?page=2)