He’s a talking mouse. I’d say that qualifies as a superpower.
Me, I’ve always been partial to Roy “Speedy/Arsenal” Harper.
My father always held any other hero to the McGarrett standard. As in, “Yeah, he’s good, but could he take on McGarrett?” The Phantom was the only one who ever stood a chance.
My vote is the Green Arrow: He can pull a 200 lb bow multiple times in quick succession. Now that’s badassed
Karate Kid is pretty damn badass. He was able to keep a telepath off-balance (for a short while anyway) just because he’s that skilled.
I’m a fan of the new Speedy. She has to get points for taking all that life has given her and still being a hero.
[quote[The Shadow has some hypnotic abilities (the power to “cloud men’s minds”), and Constantine has more than enough magic skill to disqualify him, I would say.[/quote]
I’m no expert, but I thought the Shadow’s hypnotic skills were something he learned and, as such, not essentally different than Batman’s athletic skills or Green Arrow’s archery.
And I remember reading in one of the early Tim Hunter series that Constantine has loads of knowledge about the supernatural but no actual supernatural powers. There was a scene where a group of supernatural beings backed down from Constantine because they assumed he could defeat them when in fact he was completely powerless.
I suppose that would put Dr. Strange in the same category.
P.S. Adam Strange is so offend ignored, and I suppose because people assume without any justification that he is simply a man with a rocket on his back, a la’ Jules Verne.
You’re recalling the original Books of Magic Miniseries. I wouldn’t call someone who could bluff an entire room of demons into backing down completely powerless.
Garth Ennis pretty much established that JC has powers. IIRC, he referred to it as “putting the zap” on people to get them to do as he wanted.
An example is when JC decided he no longer wanted to be homeless. He stared briefly at a passing gentleman (You could tell he was a gentleman fromthe bowler he was wearing.), who then stopped and gave him all his cash, his check card, and his ATM card.
Depends on the iteration. In some stories it’s simple hypnosis. In others the “clouding men’s minds” is more clearly super-human. Even going by the hypnosis theory, the ability to instantly hypnotize anyone at will from a distance is pretty well super-human.
I would say the same would hold true of Iron Fist and his fist of iron-y justice!
Whoops, channeled the Tick there for a second.
I humbly venture that the quality of “badassness” goes beyond mere fighting ability. It’s something innate to a character, and his/her personality. I mean, take “Q” from Star Trek—being omnipotent, he could easily trump just about any other fictional character. But he just doesn’t have that special “badass” quality.
Likewise, Rorschach’s “badass” nature seems to be strengthened by the fact that he isn’t honed to the peak of human ability.
WhO is McGarrett? Certainly not the cop in Hawaii 5-0?
The Phantom would have been a better charecter except for that awful purple costume. I always loved that one punch knock out with the skull insignia on their jaw. I’m surprised they never updated it and presented another generation. It would be cool if “The Ghost who Walks” new generation used modern technology to furthur the legend a little.
I was also just thinking of Karate Kid of the LOSH. Very cool and could hang with the best of them. Is he back? He was killed years ago.
I’ll nominate Hawkeye. Yeah, he’d normally fall second to Green Arrow in the Archer category, but during the recent Avengers Dissembled story arc, the dude grabbed a kree warrior by the jetpack and flew them both into an engine of a kree battleship destroying the ship and giving his life in the process.
Pretty hard core shizzle right there.
Plus, if you’ll recall from the original Books of Magic, JC has an unusual ability in that he can get from place to place without exactly going through the space in between. From what I’ve seen it’s not something he can always do, but maybe when he really, really has to.
My vote has to go for Bats, with place going to Nightwing, then Oracle, because, wheel chair or not, she’s a damn fine fighter and has plenty of tricks of her own.
Win: Batman
Place: Green Arrow
Show: Nightwing
I’d be willing to bump T’Challah The Black Panther in place or show, but am uncertain as to whether or not he is a mutant or is charged in some way with mystical energy or whatever.
I love Captain America, but he was enhanced with the Super-Soldier Formula and so didn’t get where he is under his own power (not to mention that brief period in the 70’s when he actually had super strength).
Nick Fury was a good offering, and a hell of a character, but any of the three up listed at the top could have taken him down – wouldn’t have been easy, but they could’ve done it.
Same goes for Jon Sable.
I’m not sure about Grimjack – I like him and while I think he’d take out Green Arrow or Nightwing alone or together, I think he’d have a tough time with the Bat, plus we haven’t established whether or not he’s all natural.
Jonah Hex is the only other character I can think of who would give any of these three a run for their money.
I like Hawkeye and he had moxy, but just really wasn’t portrayed as being anything more than a decent scrapper, ergo, he’d get his butt kicked too.
Wildcat has been mentioned and he mentored a lot of the fighters in the DC universe, and he’s a lot like Rocky Balboa in that he can just keep taking punishment and taking punishment – at what seems an inhuman level. Could he beat the Bat? I don’t think so.
Another important factor in considering who, among the naturals, is the toughest is that most of them believe in a fair fight. Batman believes the only fair fight is one you can walk away from, in short, any advantage is acceptable. No “Honor” nonsense that would allow him to lose to, say, Shang Chi, or even Ra’s Al Ghul for that matter. Like Kirk, he balances it in his favor. He doesn’t believe in losing.
What I’ve always taken away from those scenes, along with his ability to take cash from anyone he chooses whenever he needs it, is that he’s just an ordinary guy using magic to accomplish his ends. Unlike, say, Zatanna, for whom using magic is an ability she was born with, Constantine acquired his skills through learning. u
Mind you, by no definition do I accept Constantine as a “superhero” as indicated by the thread title 
Probably the finest death ever met by a man wearing bright purple with his initial stamped on his forehead. 
(I kid, I kid. It was a cool way to go.)
How about the “Ultimates” Hawkeye? He’s only been around a couple of years, true, but he does seem to have an advantage in costume, and willingness to kill.
True, of course. Rorschach does have the ability to walk into a crooked, violent waterfront bar and have practically everyone fall silent and the bartender stammer out a plea for him not to kill anybody, when he’s armed with nothing but a dirty overcoat, a mask, his bare hands and his psychopathy. That counts for something.
If Q is omnipotent, can he create a burger so big he can’t eat it without barfing? 
Last I knew, T’Challah was powerless. Just a guy in black tights.
I’ll throw Silver Sable in the list as well. James Bond cool. Bruce Wayne rich. Friggin hot.
Geez, Marvel didn’t have one in the top three. Cap isn’t nessecarily disqualified because of the fornula. The question is does he exceed human limits in strength and speed. I’ll check Marvel UNiverse. The Black Panther was one of my favorites and I don’t remember any augmentation. Then again. It’s been years since I followed the comics.
Conan, the Barbarian :eek:
I’d put him against most of the people here, including Batman, & he’d give any one of em a run for their money.
Yes, he’s the one. My father holds Steve McGarrett as the paragon of coolness.
Wasn’t there a cartoon about ten years ago which attempted to update The Phantom?