# Who is the best-known comic-book character? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 4, 2016, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-known-comic-book-character/770642 "2016-11-04T21:07:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Pliam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@Pliam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pliam)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-known-comic-book-character/770642/1 "2016-11-04T21:07:45Z")
Please move this to another forum if there is a more appropriate one, but I was looking for a factual answer, and was not sure where this would fit. I was having an argument with a friend about this, and it was difficult for me to convey exactly the point I was making. Worldwide fame, since a range must be established, though I’m sure it will probably represent the notoriety in either the US or Europe. I contested that no comic book character is better known to people than Superman, with Batman being a close second, and probably Spider-man in third. They argued that because of the movies, Iron Man and Captain America would be the best known. To be clear, I’m not curious who is the most popular, I’m sure that is a more fluid number than strictly “known”. It is easy to measure popularity by different counts (childrens’ Halloween costumes, box-office sales, comic sales), but I want to know actual awareness, like the Family Feud question would be “Name a comic book character” and everyone in the world was polled. I’m sure that the existence of the new movies have surged worldwide popularity of a number of comic book characters that had less mainstream exposure, but I want to know if someone could surpass Superman on that list. Twenty years ago, if someone knew who Iron Man was, it was fairly safe to assume that they or someone close to them was a comic book reader. I also accept the possibility that Superman is the most known in my mind because of my age. I was born in '82, and the Reeve Superman movies were in the height of their popularity when I was a child. So a second thought, was Superman more popular after the Reeve movies, or was he already so popular from the old b&w TV show that the movies were preaching to the choir? I’ve tried looking for this online, but I got tired of sifting through popularity polls. Anyone who could give their insight would be hugely appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-known-comic-book-character/770642/2 "2016-11-04T21:15:05Z")
In terms of world-wide recognition, probably Snoopy or Charlie Brown, even though they are not the superhero-type comic book character cited in the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-known-comic-book-character/770642/3 "2016-11-04T21:15:38Z")
There’s obviously no way to get a factual answer to this question, unless you can poll all 7+ billion people on the planet, but I find it hard to fathom that the answer can be anything other than Superman. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-known-comic-book-character/770642/4 "2016-11-04T21:17:58Z")
Reported for a move to Cafe Society, because you’re unlikely to get a purely factual answer and you’re unlikely to be able to define a comic book character. How about Mickey Mouse? He was (and still is) in comic books and probably one of the most recognized characters on the planet. I like Snoopy as well, but no way does he have the reach of Mickey Mouse. For superheros, Superman is almost surely the most iconic and recognizable worldwide. The recent Marvel movies, while influential and profitable, haven’t made the cultural impact that 70 years of Superman. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-known-comic-book-character/770642/5 "2016-11-04T21:31:49Z")
This is better suited to Cafe Society. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![JR\_Brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JR\_Brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JR_Brown)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-known-comic-book-character/770642/6 "2016-11-04T21:33:13Z")
From the contents of your post, I’m assuming that by “comic book character” you actually mean “American superhero character” (otherwise the answer is probably Donald Duck). Unfortunately I have never seen any references comparing polling of name recognition of different superheroes across different countries, but from what I’ve seen in the academic literature, Spider-man and Batman seem to be referenced more often in non-Western contexts, perhaps because Superman is seen as being somewhat of a nationalist American symbol. I know that both of the characters have had locally-produced comics in overseas markets; e.g., Japan had a 60’s manga adaptation of Batman (a sampling of which is available in English translation under the title _Bat-Manga!: The Secret History of Batman in Japan_ - very worth looking at just for the brain-breakingness) and a 70’s manga adaptation of Spider-man. Unfortunately I don’t know of much that has looked at the influence of the recent movies on the other superhero characters. (If you are also interested in non-American superheroes, based on what I know of geographic reach of the TV show / movies / comics in various translations, I’d place a small bet on [Tetsuwan Atom, AKA Astro Boy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astro_Boy) being #1 overall). ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-known-comic-book-character/770642/7 "2016-11-04T21:41:13Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > For superheros, Superman is almost surely the most iconic and recognizable worldwide. The recent Marvel movies, while influential and profitable, haven’t made the cultural impact that 70 years of Superman. I’m not sure I’d say “surely” about Superman, given that Batman’s comic debuted only one year later – and is, AFAICT, currently outselling Superman’s, along with everyone else’s – and the character has managed to headline billion-dollar blockbusters the way Superman hasn’t; you’ve got everything from the Adam West incarnation to the various animated shows, plus the outings by Michael Keaton and so on. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-known-comic-book-character/770642/8 "2016-11-04T21:47:16Z")
I would imagine that anyone who would recognize Superman would also know Batman and Wonder Woman. But I’ll bet that Superman would be the first character to “pop up” in their head! ---
**Author:** ![Pliam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@Pliam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pliam)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-known-comic-book-character/770642/9 "2016-11-04T21:53:05Z")
All very good points. I hadn’t even considered Mickey Mouse or any of the non-Marvel/DC comics. I did consider Manga, but couldn’t think of any characters that actually had the worldwide impact of the larger Marvel/DC heroes. I did not consider Astro Boy, but I do recall reading somewhere that he was much more popular in many places than he ever got here in the US. Thank you all for your feedback, this is giving me great points to research more closely. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-known-comic-book-character/770642/10 "2016-11-04T22:25:57Z")
A quick search online didn’t find it, but there was a worldwide poll taken a few years back (less than eight) as to who was the most recognizable person in the world. IIRC, The top three were: 1. Superman 2. Barack Obama 3. Ronald McDonald. Batman was somewhere in the top 20. Spider-Man and Wonder Woman were in the top hundred. Mickey Mouse was in the top 10. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-known-comic-book-character/770642/11 "2016-11-04T22:33:10Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > Mickey Mouse was in the top 10. Presumably for a fairly loose definition of “person.” ---
**Author:** ![Disheavel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@Disheavel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disheavel)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-known-comic-book-character/770642/12 "2016-11-04T22:40:57Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > A quick search online didn’t find it, but there was a worldwide poll taken a few years back (less than eight) as to who was the most recognizable person in the world. > > IIRC, The top three were: > > 1. Superman > 2. Barack Obama > 3. Ronald McDonald. > > Batman was somewhere in the top 20. Spider-Man and Wonder Woman were in the top hundred. Mickey Mouse was in the top 10. I absolutely remember this as the most remarkable one to me and the headline writers was Ronald. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-known-comic-book-character/770642/13 "2016-11-04T22:43:04Z")
> [@Pliam](#): > > I contested that no comic book character is better known to people than Superman, with Batman being a close second, and probably Spider-man in third. They argued that because of the movies, Iron Man and Captain America would be the best known. I agree with you. Though, if it’s a generational thing, I may not be much help, being even older than you. But Superman and Batman have permeated pop culture, whereas I hardly ever hear about Iron Man or Captain America except in the context of the relatively recent movies. FWIW, to me “comic book character” implies a character who _originated_ in comic books, as Superman and Batman did. That rules out Snoopy (who first appeared in newspaper comic strips) and Mickey Mouse (who first appeared in animated cartoons). ---
**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:** [November 5, 2016, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-known-comic-book-character/770642/14 "2016-11-05T00:50:23Z")
Superman, for sure. This was originally said about Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, but it also applies in this case: Superman us who we aspire to be, while Batman is who we fear we are. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2016, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-known-comic-book-character/770642/15 "2016-11-05T01:29:39Z")
It’s Batman, according to this unscientific survey. I googled /batman auf/ and /batman avec/, using a second keyword unique to German and French, and the same with Superman, Spidrman and Mickey Mouse, to see how many hits in texts of those languages… The same using сверхчеловек, человек-паук Микки Маус and Бэтмен, for Russian hits. Batman, French (13 million) and German, (4.2 Million), Russian (11.7 million) Superman, French (775,000) and German (732m000), Russian (444,000) Mickey Mouse, French (575,000) and German (669,000) , Russian (4.2 million) Spiderman, French (687,000) and German (1.2 million), Russian (9.0 million) Looks like a clear winner for Batman, in all three languages, with Spiderman second. ---
**Author:** ![Trancephalic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trancephalic/32/380_2.png) [@Trancephalic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trancephalic)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2016, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-known-comic-book-character/770642/16 "2016-11-05T04:35:49Z")
> [@Pliam](#): > > . > I did consider Manga, but couldn’t think of any characters that actually had the worldwide impact of the larger Marvel/DC heroes. I did not consider Astro Boy, but I do recall reading somewhere that he was much more popular in many places than he ever got here in the US. I’d wager Pikachu and Goku are far more known than Astro Boy. In fact, I’d wager Pikachu is up there with Superman and Mickey Mouse, if not moreso. Also Super Mario has been rendered as both Manga and Comics. Sonic the Hedgehog, too. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2016, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-known-comic-book-character/770642/17 "2016-11-05T05:05:31Z")
Fang. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2016, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-known-comic-book-character/770642/18 "2016-11-05T06:03:17Z")
It’s either Clutch Cargo or Roger Ramjet. ---
**Author:** ![Pliam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@Pliam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pliam)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2016, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-known-comic-book-character/770642/19 "2016-11-05T06:11:41Z")
> [@Trancephalic](#): > > I’d wager Pikachu and Goku are far more known than Astro Boy. In fact, I’d wager Pikachu is up there with Superman and Mickey Mouse, if not moreso. > > Also Super Mario has been rendered as both Manga and Comics. Sonic the Hedgehog, too. I bet Pikachu is getting up there now. > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > FWIW, to me “comic book character” implies a character who _originated_ in comic books, as Superman and Batman did. That rules out Snoopy (who first appeared in newspaper comic strips) and Mickey Mouse (who first appeared in animated cartoons). I think for the sake of my original question, this is a good qualifier to use. This would exclude Pikachu, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, [Barack Obama](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama_in_comics), etc., while still including Astro Boy. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2016, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-known-comic-book-character/770642/20 "2016-11-05T06:26:20Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > FWIW, to me “comic book character” implies a character who _originated_ in comic books, as Superman and Batman did. That rules out Snoopy (who first appeared in newspaper comic strips) and Mickey Mouse (who first appeared in animated cartoons). Yeah, if we define “comic book character” to mean, “Anyone who ever appeared in a comic book,” then the answer is either [Jesus](http://www.covernk.com/Covers/L/J/Jesus/jesus1.jpg) or [Mohammed](http://www.chick.com/catalog/comics/images/0117.jpg). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-known-comic-book-character/770642.md?page=2)