Wow, You Are Nowhere!

It may be true that there are some silly superheroes out there, but often the response to some characters is based solely on name and appearance rather than who the character actually is. Last time we talked about the heroes who got too much praise, now we're talking about the heroes who get too much teasing. This is The Panel Biter's Top 5 Underrated Characters.

#5. Hawkman & Hawkgirl

Obscurity can only protect these two so far as The Hawks biggest gripe is their appearance. Back in the 50's men in hawk costumes were considered standard comic book material, but in this day and age people laugh at the sight of these two. It doesn't help that The Hawk's origins are divided between explorers who found magic weapons to alien cops to reincarnated warriors to Rao knows what! Regardless of what some might think, The Hawks are some of the most ferocious heroes in the DCU, having a mastery of armed and unarmed combat, plus they've got air superiority. Also, Hawkman and Hawkgirl are forever destined to be together through every reincarnated life they've lived. Kinda sweet. Kinda constricting. Ah, traditional marriage.

#4. Cyclops

With Wolverine taking the spotlight in the X-Men films, Cyclops has always been the stale bread thrown under the X-Bus. He dies and then gets his girlfriend swiped up by Wolverine in the third movie. Dick move, Logan. Not only has Cyclops led the X-Men more times than Wolverine in the comics, but he's one of the original five X-Men. He's been training and leading the X-Men since he was a teenager, putting his leadership skills on par with Captain America. The fact that Scott's powers limit him to hiding his eyes, but still allow him to look human is a perfect example of what most mutants have to live with. And for the record, he doesn't have heat vision. Scott's Optic Blasts at full power have been described as "being hit by a train".

#3. Daredevil

So if Batman is cool because he's only human, why don't more people like Daredevil? He's human, he's blind, he's financially average, he's a strong catholic and he's a lawyer. Okay, maybe that last one can be argued as a credit. Most people think Daredevil is just diet Batman, but the fact of the matter is Daredevil's cool factor doesn't come from what toys he has, it comes from his abilities. Yeah he can't bench press a yacht, but he can tell what drug your on by smelling your breath from across a ballroom. See, Daredevil's blindness allows his other senses to become superhuman, so much so that he sees the world in a much more detailed way. Think about it, how else could a blind man leap from roof tops? Hey, do you think Matt Murdock and Scott Summers shop at the same LensCrafters?

#2. Ant-Man

"I would just step on him" says everyone when Ant-Man is brought up in conversation. Fact is, most people just don't know how his powers work. Ant-Man can grow as small as an ant, but retains his average human strength, if you step on him he will flip you over. Plus, the special particles he uses to shrink have been altered to make him grow to the size of a giant and increase in physical strength even at ant-size. Plus, he controls ants. Sounds dumb, but if you were covered head-to-toe in Red Fire Ants you wouldn't be doing much laughing. You wouldn't be making much sound after a while actually. The appeal to Ant-Man is that each person to take the mantle has been a failure in his own right, allowing people to relate to him when he struggles with personal problems. Consider this, one meatball sub can be a meal to a human, but to an ant it's a lifetime supply of food. Bye bye food bill.

#1. Aquaman

Who did you expect? "He talks to fish, his costume is lame, he's only useful in the water, blah blah blah". Seriously can people come up with any better jokes? Aquaman is biologically designed to live at the bottom of the sea, that means his body has adapted to deep sea pressure, extreme temperatures and dark areas. The lack of pressure on land means he's able to shrug off bullet fire, leap over buildings and lift entire skyscrapers because compared to the deep ocean the gravity of Earth is nothing to him. He doesn't talk to fish either, he controls them through a part of their brain that is primal and the only reason he does this to fish is because they're closer and easier to command. It doesn't mean he's above eating them, it's just nature. You know humans evolved from fish? Aquaman-if he tried hard enough-could even command humans! Commanding is his specialty as he and his wife rule over the entire kingdom of Atlantis. Oh yeah, he's married too, got to respect commitment. His wife Mera is just as much the capable hero as he is. Aquaman is a founding member of The Justice League guys, he's gone toe-to-toe with Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. In old continuities he lost his kingdom, lost his hand and has even lost his infant son in the line of duty. So the next time you rip on Aquaman, how about you stop making splashes and try looking under the water first. Heh, metaphors.

This was a hard list to make, really there are so many heroes who deserve more recognition. With so many lesser known heroes coming to the big screen I have hopes that more characters will get their chance to shine. After all that's the best part about superheroes, there are so many of them you can never get bored. Thanks for reading!

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