100 greatest comic book characters of all-time
By Mark Lynch
Greatest comic book characters – 36. Jessica Jones
First comic book appearance: Alias No. 1
Twenty years ago, the world was introduced to Jessica Jones and the world continued to love her. She was unprecedented. A woman who gave up the life of a superhero and became a private eye. Usually, a character will do both. In this case, Jessica’s trauma halted her hero career. A trauma that she literally fought and overcame.
Without Jessica Jones, Luke Cage doesn’t become a popular character. She helped turn him into more than just a strong guy. She challenged and supported him all the way. He needed her to get to the next level. We also saw this in the Netflix series. He seemed to work better when she was involved.
We can’t forget her personality. Jessica doesn’t take any mess from anyone. She knows her worth and won’t let anyone put her down. There are times when she’s hard on herself, but that’s only because she keeps herself accountable for her actions.
Greatest comic book characters – 35. Bruce Banner/Hulk
First comic book appearance: The Incredible Hulk No. 1
The Incredible Hulk is one of the original Avengers. A character that everyone loves. If we’re being honest, it’s because of the smashing. If it wasn’t for his supporting cast, he wouldn’t have made this list.
No one liked Bruce Banner Hulk. he was boring. The “Hulk Smash” Hulk doesn’t make him interesting. It’s just fun to see him break stuff. Joe Fixit was phenomenal, but we didn’t get enough of him to make a top 100. If we skip ahead to the early 2000s, we now have the Hulk we’ve been waiting for.
First, we have World War Hulk, a Hulk that is literally unbeatable. There’s not a comic book character that can beat him. Now, we have Devil Hulk, a sadistic and intelligent character. The things he did in Immortal Hulk are insane and scary. If not for these two runs, he wouldn’t have made this list. Thankfully, these characters have appeared.