The Top 10 Supernatural Characters in all of Comicdom

Supernatural covers quite a bit of ground.  It includes the magical, the mystical, the possessed, spawns of hell, and any other creatures powered by or able to funnel the forces of the supernatural.  This, as stated, covers quite a bit of ground and my funneling it down may not agree with how you would funnel it down.  So, let’s agree to agree/disagree.

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.

The World’s Hardest Comic Book Quiz

OK, maybe not the WORLD’s hardest comic book quiz.  I’m sure there’s one that’s more difficult lying around somewhere.  But until you find that one, this one will have to do.

I have been searching the internet for odd comic book facts to put together one of the hardest comic book quizzes possible.  One that, I admit, I’m not sure I could pass.

The idea is to give you some interesting facts to use to baffle your comic reading colleagues.  But I want to baffle YOU first.

Take the quiz and be honest, tell me how you did:

1.)  In Loki’s first appearance in Journey into Mystery #85 he couldn’t use his powers when:

     a.)  He didn’t have his helmet on
     b.)  He didn’t have his scepter
     c.)  When he was soaking wet
     d.)  During the night

2.)  Wonder Woman’s bracelets were made of Amazonium, but in the 70’s TV Series they were named something different.   What was it?

     a.)  Vibranium
     b.)  Feminum
     c.)  Adamantium
     d.)  Indestructinum

3.)  In the Marvel Universe, Loki’s real father is ________, but in Norse Mythology that is actually Loki’s _________ name.

     a.)  Odin, brother’s
     b.)  Laufey, mother’s
     c.)  Zeus, son’s
     d.)  Odin, father’s

4.)  Captain America set aside his original shield for his current discus shaped shield.  Who gave him the discus shaped shield?

     a.)  Tony Stark
     b.)  Tony Stark’s Dad
     c.)  Nick Fury
     d.)  Franklin Delano Roosevelt

5.)  Batman once peed himself and admitted it (yes, it’s true).  He said that there was a large explosion with a sudden impact and he:

     a.)  had a bladder spasm
     b.)  peed himself
     c.)  secreted hydrogen dioxide
     d.)  found he had excessive moisture in his pants

6.)  Who was the first flying hero?

     a.)  Superman
     b.)  Namor the Sub-Mariner
     c.)  Captain Marvel
     d.)  Wonder Woman

7.)  Cyclops, from the X-Men, can light a fire with the beams that come from his eyes.

     a.)  True
     b.)  False

8.)  In The Amazing Spider-Man #3, Doc Ock calls Spider-Man another name, what does he call him?

     a.)  Super Spider
     b.)  Super Man
     c.)  Spider Web
     d.)  The Spider

9.)  In the 2007 crossover “New Avengers Transformers” Iron Man comes up with an interesting way to fight the Transformers.  What does he do?

     a.)  He sprays them with a “Rusting Agent” which rusts them instantly
     b.)  He uses huge magnets to hold them until he can dismantle them
     c.)  He finds their inventor and asks him how to stop them
     d.)  He puts on his “Anti-Transformers” armor

10.)  It’s a fact that “Kryptonite” was introduced on the Superman radio show, not in comic books.  In comic books it was first called “K-Metal” in an unpublished story in 1940, introduced by co-creator Jerry Siegel.  Why was kryptonite introduced into the radio show initially?

     a.)  Because Superman was too strong and he needed something to weaken him
     b.)  It was suggested by the creators of Superman as an alternate to “K-Metal”
     c.)  It was a slip of the tongue by the voice personality and they kept it in
     d.)  It was a plot device that allowed other characters to take the lead so the voice
           personality could take a vacation

11.)  Jamie Madrox, also known as Multiple Man, creates duplicates of himself that can live their own lives.  It’s interesting to note:

     a.)  that Jamie didn’t originally have this power until he died and was brought back
           to life
     b.)  that he got the power after falling into a vat of radioactive liquid that was being
           churned
     c.)  that one duplicate body started a family and became a preacher
     d.)  that Jamie was asked to become part of the X-Men but turned it down

12.)  While the current Green Lantern Corp is weak against the color yellow, the first Green Lantern, Alan Scott, was weak against:

     a.)  the color yellow also
     b.)  other Green Lanterns so they couldn’t fight
     c.)  against himself, so he couldn’t use his powers to fly
     d.)  wood

13.)  What was Jack Kirby’s real name?

     a.)  Jacob Kurtzberg
     b.)  Jack Kirby
     c.)  Jacob Krigstein
     d.)  Jake Kurgsburg

14.)  Arkham Asylum, the famous institution from the Batman comics, is names after:

     a.)  Arkham Sanitarium in Arkham, MA
     b.)  The actual Arkham Asylum that used to be in New York City
     c.)  It’s not named after anything, it was created by the writers of Batman
     d.)  It was named after Noah’s Ark because it held so many different “animals”

15.)  Which of these statements is false:

     a.)  Before Action Comics #1, Siegel and Schuster published a short story called “Reign
           of the Super-Man" where the Superman was a telepath trying to take over the world.
     b.)  In Age of Apocalypse, Magneto and Rogue are romantically involved.  In this reality,
           Rogue absorbs Polaris’ magnetic powers so that touching Magneto won’t put him into
           a coma
     c.)  Because of the time they spent together the Venom symbiote no longer triggers
           Spider-Man’s spider-sense.
     d.)  Nightcrawler is Mystique’s son, but she was the father thanks to her shapeshifting
           capabilities. Destiny is his mother.

16.)  Which doctor did Squirrel Girl beat-up with the help of her Squirrels?

     a.)  Dr. Doom
     b.)  Dr. Strange
     c.)  Dr. Octopus
     d.)  Dr. Light

17.)  In his first stories, Bruce Banner didn’t turn into the Hulk when enraged.  It was actually triggered by:

     a.)  Being physically threatened
     b.)  Being struck
     c.)  When he concentrated on becoming the Hulk
     d.)  Sundown

18.)  Natalia Romanov a.k.a Natasha Romanov, Black Widow, has kept her young looks due to a variation of the Super Soldier Serum.  How old is she actually?

     a.)  30
     b.)  50
     c.)  70
     d.)  90

19.)  Batman is known for having a huge penny in his bat cave.  How did he get it?

     a.)  It was given to him by Two-Face
     b.)  He got it from “The Penny Plunderer” a villain he fought in the 40’s
     c.)  He had it made for him to remind him that there are two sides to every story
     d.)  It was a novelty made for Wayne Enterprises that was discarded during remodeling

20.)  The original Hulk was gray, but later changed to green due to printing problems.  Why was the original color gray?

     a.)  The original drawings were black and white and the original gray coloring just stuck
     b.)  They wanted him to resemble the color of stone to symbolize strength
     c.)  They wanted a neutral color so as not to suggest a particular ethnic group
     d.)  He was supposed to be green all along, but at the time of the printing deadline they
           didn’t have enough green ink to satisfy the volume of comics to be produced.


I hope you wrote down your answers.  If you didn’t, go back and do it now because the answers are not in this blog, they will be included in the next one with explanations to go with each.

If you stuck to the initial instructions and didn’t look any of these up, give yourself a pat on the back. You are a person of honor and valor.  If you did look them up, then you really need to brush up on your “instruction following skills”.

Look for the answers tomorrow at 5 p.m. EST!