Who's The Best... Class of Powers?

Martinex1:   The heroes and villains from Marvel and DC can be classified fairly easily according to their primary power sets.   I am sure there are more categories than I have listed below, but I find that most characters can be catalogued in nine groups.  Even if a character has multiple powers they will continue to rely on their core capability.  So which group is the best?   Do you gravitate to a type of hero with certain abilities?  Does one set have better intrinsic value or interest? How about costumes and visual depiction - is one group generally better than others?   Or is there a classification that I have not mentioned that you consider superior?

Outlined below are my broad categories and some pictorial examples to get the conversation going:

• The Blasters:   These are characters who use energy as a weapon.  Whether utilizing fire, heat, ions, sonic waves, or light rays - they have some method of hurling or sending energy forces at their opponent. More often than not technology and science play a role in their powers.
• The Flyers:   These characters rely on their wings, whether feathery or mechanical, to take to the air.  Many characters can fly, but for these flight is their primary power
• The Runners:   This group relies on speed, speed, and more speed.    They can run, hit, and even vibrate faster than the human eye.  
• The Athletes: Not always super-powered, this group consists of the fighters, martial artists, acrobats, gymnasts, and sportsmen.   Typically they are honed to the peak of human perfection.  They work hard to stay in shape but often take a beating.  These are the gold medalists of the spandex set.
• The Brains: This set sometimes has supernatural abilities like telekinesis and telepathy.   They may be manipulators of the mind.   Or they may simply be extraordinarily smart - they are the genius class and the thinkers.   It is the grey matter that matters here.
• The Muscle:  The characters in this group are super-enhanced.   Their strength goes beyond the norm.   They can bench-press a mack-truck if needed.   Typically their brute strength is their primary attribute.
• The Magicians:  Here are the sorcerers, wizards, warlocks, and witches.   They have abilities that don't adhere to the laws of science and physics.   These are the other-worldly, pan-dimensional masters of the weird.
• The Robots: Call them androids, synthezoids, droids, or robots - these artificial creations with human emotions are a science fiction trope.
• The Size-Changers:   Whether enlarging to 30 feet or shrinking to the molecular level, this group of giants and insects have a "growing" population in our comic kingdoms.



The Energy Blasters!

The Brain-trust!

The Winged Warriors!

The Speedsters!

The Mighty and the Muscled!

The Magicians!

The Athletes and Acrobats!

The Size Shifters!

The Artificials!

So is it mind over matter?  Or brawn over brains?   Is it the fleet-footed or those that take flight?  Is it the energy fiends or those that need energy drinks?   Size over substance?  The witches or the whip smart?  From you comic book lovers out there - who's the best in this power struggle?  


Share your own classifications, considerations, examples, thoughts, and opinions,

Who's the Best... Justice Society of America Member?

If I Had A Buck... Summer Annuals!

Martinex1:   The calendar may not say Summer has started yet, but the kids are out of school and the neighborhood is filled with the sounds of basketballs bouncing, the squeals from trampolines and pools, the sing-song of ice cream truck tunes, and the bursts of firecrackers.

I have always enjoyed June and remember the childhood joy of waking up with no cares, wolfing down a bowl of Fruit Loops and slamming through the screen door to get outside for another day of whiffle ball, street hockey, eating snow cones, and firefly catching.   I clearly remember sticking my paper route money into the elastic of my knee-high tube socks and sprinting across the four-lane intersection to the corner drug store to look for the latest comics on the spinner rack.

And it was around this time of year that the Annuals started appearing.   Not one, but TWO issues of The Avengers on the rack at the same time!  Big thick 50 cent editions of Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man, and  Marvel Two-In-One were there also!  I quickly decided to skip the blue-raspberry Slushee, Marathon Bar, and Bottle Caps and get as many comics as I could.  

Annuals did not always contain the best scripted stories or the usual art team, but there was something magical about them.  The first annual I purchased with my own money was Amazing Spider-Man Annual #11.  It contained a rather pedestrian story about a trio of stuntmen hired to wear spider-like super-suits to take on our beloved Peter Parker.  It contained some of the first artwork of John Romita Jr. and to this day I still wait for those rather weak villains to make another appearance.  I must have read that issue thirty times that month.  It is strange how much I remember about that book from the venom tipped rapier to the scene with Mary Jane repeating her lines as a movie extra, "Peas and carrots.  Peas and carrots."

Another favorite of mine was Avengers Annual #9.  I picked that one up at a 7-11 in Colorado on a family vacation road trip on the way to the Grand Tetons.   The convenience store was adjacent to a KOA Campground where we stayed for a night, and my brother and I were out exploring.   This one had Don Newton art and the tale of Arsenal, a doomsday type robot, living in the sub-basements of Avengers Mansion.  I read that comic until the cover fell off.  I remember getting scolded by my Dad because I was reading in the back seat of the car instead of enjoying the majestic mountain scenery of the American west.  Decades later I replaced that issue with a much less worn copy from Doug's ebay offerings.  Others may say that the best Avengers Annual was #7 with the Thanos showdown or #10 with the Michael Golden art, but this one is all about nostalgia for me so it remains my favorite.

So here we are together yet again for another $1.00 Challenge.   Spend your money wisely as you choose just two issues this time (hey, they are double-sized after all) from the long list of selections below.  Whether you want 64 pages of humor or heroes, let us know what drove your decisions.  From Atlantis Attacks to Archie, what were your Summer Annual and seasonal memories?   Which year presented the best set of annuals?   And what were your all-time favorites?

Face-Off: Dr. Strange vs. Dr. Fate

Karen: Which doctor do you prefer?