# Lamest Super-Hero Nickname **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 30, 2005, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-super-hero-nickname/296995 "2005-03-30T20:55:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-super-hero-nickname/296995/1 "2005-03-30T20:55:15Z")
Superman is the “Man of Steel.” Batman is “The Dark Knight.” Spider-Man is the “wall-crawler,” “web-slinger,” or “web-head,” depending on the day of the week. Obviously, Spidey is lacking something in the PR department here. But can you do worse? What’s your selection for the worst moniker/nickname for a super-hero? To get things started… while I think “web-slinger” is cringeworthy (how many people you know use “sling” in everyday chatter?), I’d award the crown to The Flash, whose arsenal of nicknames include… …(drum roll)… … **[The Sultan of Speed.](http://www.hyperborea.org/flash/barry.html)** :eek: What’ve you got? ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-super-hero-nickname/296995/2 "2005-03-30T21:16:21Z")
Iron Man is “Shellhead.” Supergirl is “the Maid of Might.” Gambit is “the Ragin’ Cajun Sensation Who’s Sweepin’ the Nation.” ---
**Author:** ![bclouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@bclouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bclouse)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-super-hero-nickname/296995/3 "2005-03-30T21:29:41Z")
Robin - “The Boy Wonder” Thor - “Goldilocks” And Mr. Fantastic’s name is so bad that he doesn’t need a stupid nickname. Mr. Fantastic - _sheeeshh_. You got to control that ego. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-super-hero-nickname/296995/4 "2005-03-30T21:31:36Z")
Spider-Man is “your friendly neighborhood wall-crawler / web-slinger.” Wonder Woman is “the Amazin’ Amazon” (a strong contender!) Ben J. Grimm is “the ever-lovin’ blue-eyed Thing”. Captain Marvel is “the big red cheese” (vying mightily with “AA” for this title). The “creative folks” of Mad magazine are often billed as “the usual gang of idiots”. Daredevil is “the man without fear”. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-super-hero-nickname/296995/5 "2005-03-30T23:32:16Z")
The cheesy nicknames so far (e.g., Goldilocks, Big Red Cheese, and especially the ever-lovin’ blue-eyed Thing) aren’t lame, they’re ironic, and they’re funny. The Maid of Might – now **that** is dum. –Cliffy P.S. Back when Ben Grimm was headlining Marvel Two-In-One the lettercol was entitled “The Ever-Lovin’ Blue-Eyed Letters Page.” I laughed at that every month. ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-super-hero-nickname/296995/6 "2005-03-30T23:45:44Z")
Wolverine calls Professor X, leader of the X-Men “Chuck.” ---
**Author:** ![Brainiac4](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brainiac4/32/3534_2.png) [@Brainiac4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brainiac4)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-super-hero-nickname/296995/7 "2005-03-31T00:26:54Z")
In his big dumb green days, the Incredible Hulk would give nicknames to everyone he encountered. Mostly because he was too dumb to remember their names. IIRC, he often called Captain America “flag man” and Ant-Man and the Wasp were “bug-man” and “bug-girl.” Quite a way with words, the Hulkster. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-super-hero-nickname/296995/8 "2005-03-31T00:31:33Z")
Some writers call Wolverine “Canucklehead.” Never caught on real big. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-super-hero-nickname/296995/9 "2005-03-31T01:16:59Z")
> [@rjung](#): > > I’d award the crown to The Flash, whose arsenal of nicknames include… > > …(drum roll)… > > … **[The Sultan of Speed.](http://www.hyperborea.org/flash/barry.html)** :eek: Not to mention “the Monarch of Motion.” I swear, these must have been inspired by some of the nicknames Babe Ruth acquired during his career. At various times, Babe Ruth was “The King of Swing”, “The Sultan of Swat”, and “The Maharajah of Mash”. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-super-hero-nickname/296995/10 "2005-03-31T02:02:58Z")
> [@Scott\_plaid](#): > > Wolverine calls Professor X, leader of the X-Men “Chuck.” What would you prefer, “Wheels”? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-super-hero-nickname/296995/11 "2005-03-31T04:01:15Z")
The Elongated Man has been referred to as “the Ductile Detective.” :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-super-hero-nickname/296995/12 "2005-03-31T04:07:44Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > What would you prefer, “Wheels”? 😉 Heh, remeber the 80s? Specifically, the comic book “Wolfpack.” One of the members went by that name. ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-super-hero-nickname/296995/13 "2005-03-31T04:16:05Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally Posted by **rjung** > I’d award the crown to The Flash, whose arsenal of nicknames include… > > …(drum roll)… > > … The Sultan of Speed. > > > [@tracer](#): > > > > Not to mention “the Monarch of Motion.” Not to further mention: the “Vizier of Velocity.” (I think Cary Bates called him that a few times when he wrote the title in the 70s.) ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-super-hero-nickname/296995/14 "2005-03-31T04:29:12Z")
If we can expand this out to actual codenames, not just nicknames… How about the two separate speedsters named Whizzer? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-super-hero-nickname/296995/15 "2005-03-31T05:32:01Z")
Batgrl is… (or in a groovier time, was) _the dominoed daredoll!_ ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-super-hero-nickname/296995/16 "2005-03-31T08:35:50Z")
Big Cheese :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-super-hero-nickname/296995/17 "2005-03-31T10:19:49Z")
I always liked “Caped Crusader” and “Dynamic Duo” from the Batman TV series, especially when the chief and the commissioner would straightfacedly address them by their nicknames. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-super-hero-nickname/296995/18 "2005-03-31T13:48:38Z")
> [@ouryL](#): > > Big Cheese :rolleyes: Do you mean “the Big Red Cheese”? That’s different. ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-super-hero-nickname/296995/19 "2005-03-31T13:52:34Z")
From Mile High Comics [preview page](http://www.milehighcomics.com/firstlook/marvel/). Ultimates 2 #4 Written by Mark Millar Pencils & Cover by Bryan Hitch Nick Fury has dispatched the Ultimates to take down thier most powerful member - Thor! S.H.I.E.L.D. is convinced that the Thunder God is a former mental patient who’s far too dangerous to be loose - and **the awesome Asgardian** is doing little to dispel that notion. Meanwhile, things are heating up between Tony Stark and Natasha Romanov. And we mean heating up! 32 PGS./Marvel PSR+ …$2.99 ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-super-hero-nickname/296995/20 "2005-03-31T20:08:27Z")
Hourman’s nickname was “Tick-Tock” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-super-hero-nickname/296995.md?page=2)