#15- Beta Ray Bill- It may seem insane to some that Beta Ray Bill would be higher on this list than the superhero from whom he derives his look and some of his powers, Thor, but the simple fact of the matter is I have always been a bigger BRB fan than Thor. I don't know what it is, there is just something about a being who is mortal who has, simply by his nobility and his warrior's spirit, elevated himself to the level of a being like Thor. Beta Ray Bill EARNED his place as a brother to Thor, whereas Thor's powers are all inborn. Born a member of the alien Korbinite race that was enhanced cybernetically to be a protector of his people, Beta Ray Bill came into conflict with Thor. But Thor discovered in the alien a spirit of such sublimity that Bill could actually wield Thor's hammer mjolnir. Eventually, Bill and Thor became the closest of friends, and Bill was given his own asgardian powers and weaponry in the form of Stormbreaker, his magical hammer. Bill looks like a monster, and perhaps it is that monstrous exterior which hides that gentle and moral spirit that has made him one of my favorite all-time characters, and a character that is closer to my heart than even Thor.
#14- Ghost Rider (Dan Ketch)- There was a time when this character would've been higher on my list. But the overall Ghost Rider mythos has been weakened in recent years by some bad writing, causing both Ketch and Johnny Blaze to lose some of the cache they had with me in the past. Yet the first 25 or so issues of the Dan Ketch Ghost Rider series remain some of the best in all of comicdom. I simply loved reading those years, and a lot of that was because of Dan and his alter ego. A living embodiment of the spirit of vengeance, with an aesthetic like no other character and powers both strange, malleable, and story-driving, this character will always have a place on this list. And even a lifetime of bad writing can't take away the genius of those early years.
#13- Johnny Blaze- I list Johnny Blaze here separate from Ghost Rider because some of my favorite Blaze stories took place when he was not the Rider, but rather a kind of low-level magic user that had powers related to, but different from, the hellfire-clad skeletons like Zarathos. There is just something about Blaze, who has in him definite seeds of goodness but who let earthly attachments, which we all identify with (like his love for his father) lead him down a path that has caused hell itself to be a dominating feature of his life. As the Ghost Rider, Blaze's demonic form has always been darker and more merciless than the being incarnated in Dan Ketch. Yet it remains the man himself, John Blaze, that really makes the stories involving him so damned (pun intended) interesting.
#12- Rocket Racoon- Another recent addition to my collection, I've quickly come to absolutely love this character. Rocket Racoon grew up on a planetary insane asylum, where animals had been genetically enhanced to care for the patients. Rocket is a kind of science fiction version of a 'rogue'. There is a skill in some role playing games that rogues can have called 'incredible luck', which is kind of like probability manipulation mentioned elsewhere on this list. But it is not so much a superpower as a grand skill of 'making one's way' in this world. Racoon is that kind of lucky rogue. A merciless warrior, but with an incredible sense of humor, the dialogue they come up with for this character can have you rolling in the aisles. Some characters are on this list for power, others for complexity of character, and others because they are simply funny. Rocket Racoon is an example of the latter.
#11- Silver Surfer- Man, have I collected a lot of Silver Surfer and Silver Surfer-involved comic books. One of my favorite all-time issues is SILVER SURFER #50, where he fights the Thanos Golem. The Surfer is incredibly powerful, but his spirit is so noble. He's much like Beta Ray Bill on that level. Yet the Surfer has the added character benefit of being someone who has done horrible things in his past. The quest for atonement can make a great basis for character motivation in comic books. It is part of what makes Spider-Man so interesting. With a rogue's gallery both mighty and unusual, the entire expanse of the cosmos as the settings of his stories, powers both versatile and frightening in their scope, and a complex but noble mind and spirit, Silver Surfer has always been one of my favorite all-time characters.
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