if you guys really want to see who's gonna win, then lets st it at a fair playing field
the winner is judged by their gross sales! the market does not lie! whichever character has the highest gross sales, has the bigger fanbase. thus making one character better than the other based on their influence towards the consumers!
Well, Superman's been around for nearly 70 years, been in thousands of comics, books, newspaper strips, had several (admittedly awful) video games (a trend that'll hopefully change sometime soon), several big-budget Hollywood movies (one great, two good, one not-so-good...), one low-budget Hollywood movie (which was awful), the highly popular 40's radio serial, movie serials ranging from the great animated Superman shorts by the Fleischers (which inspired its fair share of anime and manga artists too) to the Superman serials starring Kirk Alyn, The Adventures of Superman starring George Reeves, Superboy, Lois & Clark, Smallville, "It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman!" The Broadway Musical, Superfriends, the 1988 Superman cartoon by Ruby-Spears, Superman: TAS, Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, new DVD Movie Superman: Doomsday that's gonna come out soon, and another big budget Hollywood movie coming out in 2009.
There's also toys, various merchandise, and a UN-commissioned book regarding the danger of landmines.
The superhero comic-book genre started with Superman, when Action Comics proved that superheroes would sell.
Also, the term "superhero" comes from Superman, previously characters than would fit into the superhero genre were called "crimefighters" or "vigilantes".
All told, Superman has generated
billions of dollars in sales and revenue either directly or indirectly.
Superman comics were considered part of essential supplies for Marines at the Midway Islands during WWII.
The Superman symbol is one of the most recognized symbols in the world, and Superman is one of the world's best known characters. I mean, almost everybody can list at least 3 of Superman's powers, and know at least part of his story (he's from Krypton, Krypton blew up, relationship with Lois Lane, etc) Ask someone on the street who Goku is, they probably won't know. Ask someone who Superman is, and they'll probably ask if you've been living under a rock for the past 70 years.
There are quite a number of songs inspired by the Superman mythos:
* "Kryptonite" by 3 Doors Down.
* "Superman" by The Clique; the song was later made famous when R.E.M. covered it on their 1986 album Lifes Rich Pageant. That version also appeared in an episode of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.
* The Crash Test Dummies' first hit single was the song, "Superman's Song", which is sung like a funeral dirge. The song compares Superman to Tarzan and mentions Green Lantern's old villain Solomon Grundy. It continues with the lament that Superman kept fighting despite sadness and fatigue, and that "the world will never see another man like him."
* "Superman (It's Not Easy)" by Five for Fighting; the popular 2001 single is clearly sung from the point of view of Superman, although his name is never mentioned. The song became a popular anthem after the September 11, 2001 attacks, as well as after Christopher Reeve's death. It was also used in an episode of the TV series Smallville.
* "(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman" by The Kinks
* "Superman" by Martha Redbone, on her Home of the Brave album, 2002, contains the lyrics "have you ever been to the moon?/ you could take me there if you want to....just say the word , baby, save the day/ maybe lie awake with me....
* "Even Superman" by Ryan Shupe & The Rubberband (from SLC, Utah)
* "Even Superman Shot Himself" by Powerman 5000
* "Resignation Superman" by Big Head Todd & The Monsters on Beautiful World (1997) examines what might happen should Superman decide to turn his back.
* "Waitin' For Superman" by The Flaming Lips
* "Superman" by Barbra Streisand
Besides, his monthly book
Action Comics has more or less been in print for almost all of those 70 years, quite the achievement. On it's 850th issue now, along with issue #600-something for Superman.
A near mint-condition copy of the original 1938 Action Comics #1 is worth about $1,000,000.
Oh, and Superman is in the dictionary.
Superman
(Admittedly, this entry was a ways down, but still)
American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Superman:
A seemingly immortal, superhuman comic-strip character created in the late 1930s, who hides his powers beneath the persona of Clark Kent, a mild-mannered newspaper reporter. Only when there is a threat of danger — often to his fellow reporter and secret love, Lois Lane — does Clark transform himself into the caped hero.
[Chapter:] Mythology and Folklore
Indeed, Superman really is an integral part of modern mythology.
I think Superman won
this fight quite handily.
