After taking much time to contemplate, and at considerable personal risk, here is The Comic Whisperer’s Top 10 Supernatural Characters in all of Comicdom. The list is in no particular order.
10.) HellBoy Watched the movie, have many of the comics, and loved them all. Sure, he’s not a wizard but he is, undoubtedly, surrounded by things considered supernatural. He’s fought demons, he’s grown horns then cut them off, he lives with a man-fish-type-thingy, and he loves cats. Let’s face it he’s magical, mystical and, arguably, a spawn of hell.
9.) Doctor Strange A former surgeon who loved no one more than himself turned Sorcerer Supreme (or former Sorcerer Supreme, depending on who is writing it and the time you read it) trying to love everyone more than himself, Doctor Strange is a popular character. Trained by the Ancient One and holder of the Eye of Agamotto, Doctor Strange has been a member of the New Avengers, Defenders, Midnight sons and the Illuminati. Accompanied by his trusty sidekick, Wong, there may be none more powerful.
8.) The Phantom Stranger Although various stories of his origin exist he seems to be a sinner who was caught and is paying for said sins. It has been said that for each good deed he does he loses a link off of the necklace he wears (subject to change without notice). His power set is never clearly defined but his goal appears to be fighting those things supernatural and occult. Besides all of this he dresses spiffy sporting a lovely cape and matching hat.
7.) Daimon Hellstrom Would any list dealing with the supernatural be complete without the Son of Satan himself, Daimon Hellstrom? Whether he is friend or foe depends on the comic you pick up and who the writer is. He has been a member of several teams including the Defenders and Midnight Sons and was one-time candidate for Sorcerer Supreme. No matter how you slice it the tattoo on his chest is awesome...on him. I don’t know how you’d look in one.
6.) Dr. Fate While he abbreviates “Doctor”, Doctor Strange does not. Clearly this is to create a dividing line between the two making them complete opposites. (suppressed grin) Dr. Fate is one of a succession of sorcerers all having the common denominator of wearing the yellow helm. Originating in More Fun Comics #55 he is the lingering spirit of Nabu the Wise who was released by a couple of archaeologists. The most recent series of comics featuring Dr. Fate was in 2015 with the “Nabu-host” being an Egyptian-American med student named Khalid Nassour.
5.) John Constantine On a limited list of 10 characters, out of the dozens of supernatural characters available, John Constantine is an obvious choice. John is the star of Vertigo’s longest running series, Hellblazer, and quite an adept sorcerer. John has mentored Zatanna, smokes like a chimney with his hellfire lighter, and he will aid anyone with a sob story. He has had his own series called Constantine and is a key member of Justice League Dark.
4.) Brother Voodoo Depending on who you ask Brother Voodoo, alias Jericho Drumm, is the current Sorcerer Supreme. It’s a super long story but he is chosen by Doctor Strange to be his successor with the help of the Eye of Agamotto. Brother Voodoo eventually battles Agamotto himself and appears to sacrifice himself in an effort to destroy him and the eye. He is resurrected by Doctor Strange in the AXIS series and possesses the Scarlett Witch to “reinvert” reality. On top of all that he has that really cool stick with which to funnel his juju.
3.) Zatanna Zatanna appears to be the total package. Outside of being drawn very well she is also, arguably, the strongest character in the universe. In her original skill set she had unlimited power. All she had to do was say what she wanted backward and it would happen. So “enoyreve llik” would mean 'kill everyone' and everyone would be dead. (not sure if that would include her or not) As her powers shifted over the years she went from this all powerful spell caster to just controlling the elements and some various and sundry things in-between. She has been a member of the Justice League and now works primarily with Justice League Dark. I still say for someone this powerful she should know that fishnet stockings are not the best crimefighting attire. She must take tips from Black Canary.
2.) Loki It’s hard to pin Loki down history-wise. In mythology he has a long storied history, but in comics it seems to be singular. He is the adopted son of Odin and the half-brother to Thor. He is also a shapeshifter and the demi-god of trickery. Dormmamu once said that Loki’s power almost rivals his own and the Silver Surfer said that Loki has the power to decimate a planet. If you watch the Avengers movie he also makes a nice plaything for the Hulk.
1.) Doctor Doom Some may say that this position belongs to someone more obvious like the Scarlett Witch, Circe (Wonder Woman’s sister), Eclipso (maybe the most powerful magic user in the DC Universe), Malekith, etc. but this is my list so the spot goes to Dr. Doom. He may not use magic too often but he is among the most powerful human sorcerers. His mother, Cynthia Von Doom, was a witch whose sorcery was kept secret by her husband, Victor’s father, Werner. Doom’s genius is well known and aside from being a formidable villain he has also been asked to lend his genius to Beast, from the X-Men, after Decimation, and he was also asked by Spider-man to help save his Aunt May. He is also the “God” in the new Secret Wars series by Marvel. Friend or foe, Doom is an awesome character who deserves the top spot on this list.
It’s unfair to reduce this to a Top 10 list. Logic would say that you have characters you would pull from this list as well as characters you would add. My son literally just walked by and said, “You could add more by separating them into heroes and villains.” and started rattling off characters. Keep in mind that this isn’t an end-all-be-all list nor is it meant to be. Feel free to concoct your own list and send it to me, I’d be glad to publish it. Frankly, if you all agreed with me I would question your intelligence because I’m just not that bright.
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