Who is the most tragic superhero in comics?

[Uncle Yusuf]

Who do you folks believe is the most tragic superhero in the history of the medium? I'm eagerly awaiting to read what each and every one of you think. Until then, make mine VALIANT!

[400yrs]

Daredevil

[Uncle Yusuf]

Daredevil

I can't say I disagree with you. At least Peter Parker (Spider-Man) and Clark Kent (Superman) were both raised in loving, two-parent households. For all intents and purposes, Peter and Clark had a mother figure AND a father figure in their lives. Matt Murdock didn't have the kind of nurturing environment that comes with having both parents. He never knew his mother. Matt also never had the benefit of having his own children. At least Frank Castle (The Punisher) had that. Even if it was just for a little while. Matt Murdock also never had anyone to look after him in his troubled adult life the way that Alfred Pennyworth and Dick Grayson (formerly Robin, now Nightwing) have looked after Bruce Wayne (Batman) during his fractured adulthood. Matt Murdock has never been as wealthy as some might think he should have been, considering that he's a professional lawyer. When Matt took to drinking and popping painkillers after Karen Page died, he didn't have the support group that Tony Stark (Iron Man) had in friends like Pepper Potts, James "Rhodey" Rhodes (War Machine), Happy Hogan, and Steve Rogers (Captain America). Unlike Ben Grimm (The Thing) and Sue Storm (Invisible Woman), Matt Murdock never had a sibling to confide in, or to share his triumphant victories or his painful defeats with. He was usually left to deal with his heartache in the cold, all by himself. As far as I can remember it, the only three real friends he had in the superhero community were Peter Parker, Luke Cage, and Danny Rand (Iron Fist). Yeah, Foggy Nelson was his best friend, but Matt always seemed to be bailing him out of trouble. It was almost (to my recollection) never the other way around. As far as I know, Matt Murdock is the loneliest, most tragic superhero in recent memory.

[ian_house]

Can't argue with Daredevil personally!

[Uncle Yusuf]

Can't argue with Daredevil personally!

Yeah. It's sad, but true.

[Chiclo]

Victor Von Doom

[Uncle Yusuf]

Victor Von Doom

Since when is Doom a superhero?

[Cyberstrike]

Victor Von Doom

Since when is Doom a superhero?

In Doom 2099.

[Uncle Yusuf]

Victor Von Doom

Since when is Doom a superhero?

In Doom 2099.

Hate to break it to you, but that wasn't Victor.

[Cyberstrike]

You didn't specify wheather it had to be Victor or not.

Magneto is very tragic character, reguardless wheather he's hero, anti-hero, or villain.

[comicsyte95]

Batman(Bruce Wayne),Punisher,and Daredevil.Also this sounds stupid but I think Silver Surfer he lost his people to save them.

[Chiclo]

Victor Von Doom

Since when is Doom a superhero?

Since always. Were it not for Reed Richards, the man would be one of the most celebrated heroes of the Marvel Universe. I have a theory that if he could move to the DC universe, he would be the most beloved member of the Justice League within months. He would do something like take everything from Lex Luthor and then start helping people the way he thinks they need to be helped.

Victor Von Doom has one of the most rigid codes of honour of any fictional character. He is arrogant and aristocratic but neither qualities disqualify a superhuman as a hero. He is as effective at enforcing his will upon the world around him as Batman but considerably more orderly. His only villainous quality is a rivalry with Mr. Fantastic.

[Chiclo]

You didn't specify wheather it had to be Victor or not.

Magneto is very tragic character, reguardless wheather he's hero, anti-hero, or villain.

Magneto was my second choice. Truly a tragic hero.

[StarBrand]

The Thing.

[lorddunlow]

Victor Von Doom

Since when is Doom a superhero?

Since always. Were it not for Reed Richards, the man would be one of the most celebrated heroes of the Marvel Universe. I have a theory that if he could move to the DC universe, he would be the most beloved member of the Justice League within months. He would do something like take everything from Lex Luthor and then start helping people the way he thinks they need to be helped.

Victor Von Doom has one of the most rigid codes of honour of any fictional character. He is arrogant and aristocratic but neither qualities disqualify a superhuman as a hero. He is as effective at enforcing his will upon the world around him as Batman but considerably more orderly. His only villainous quality is a rivalry with Mr. Fantastic.

Well said, Chiclo!

[Uncle Yusuf]

Batman(Bruce Wayne),Punisher,and Daredevil.Also this sounds stupid but I think Silver Surfer he lost his people to save them.

You make a good point. I completely forgot about Norrin Radd.

[StarBrand]

Batman(Bruce Wayne),Punisher,and Daredevil.Also this sounds stupid but I think Silver Surfer he lost his people to save them.

You make a good point. I completely forgot about Norrin Radd.

I was thinking of him as well.

[Uncle Yusuf]

Victor Von Doom

Since when is Doom a superhero?

Since always. Were it not for Reed Richards, the man would be one of the most celebrated heroes of the Marvel Universe. I have a theory that if he could move to the DC universe, he would be the most beloved member of the Justice League within months. He would do something like take everything from Lex Luthor and then start helping people the way he thinks they need to be helped.

Victor Von Doom has one of the most rigid codes of honour of any fictional character. He is arrogant and aristocratic but neither qualities disqualify a superhuman as a hero. He is as effective at enforcing his will upon the world around him as Batman but considerably more orderly. His only villainous quality is a rivalry with Mr. Fantastic.

Well said. I never thought of him like that. It has certainly given me a new perspective on Doom.

[comicsyte95]

Victor Von Doom

Since when is Doom a superhero?

Since always. Were it not for Reed Richards, the man would be one of the most celebrated heroes of the Marvel Universe. I have a theory that if he could move to the DC universe, he would be the most beloved member of the Justice League within months. He would do something like take everything from Lex Luthor and then start helping people the way he thinks they need to be helped.

Victor Von Doom has one of the most rigid codes of honour of any fictional character. He is arrogant and aristocratic but neither qualities disqualify a superhuman as a hero. He is as effective at enforcing his will upon the world around him as Batman but considerably more orderly. His only villainous quality is a rivalry with Mr. Fantastic.

+1
There was a what if I read a few years ago where he never lost the Beyonders power's after a centuries long battle with the Celestials(saving countless species by being judged and destroyed) he gave up the last of his powers to put earth back revolving around the sun and out of a long ice age.How many villians would do that.

[dave]

Tohru Rai.

[Cyberstrike]

Megatron (IDW universe) is almost too the point of being a Magneto/Dr. Doom style character. Before the war and before the factions Cybertron was ruled by a corrupt senate and strict class system. Megatron was a miner who wanted to reform the system through peaceful means but when his friend, Impactor (who later becomes an Autobot and one of the leaders of the Wreckers an elite Autobot black ops group that makes the Dinobots look like whimps) gets in a bar fight he's arrested as well. While in custody he's savagaly beaten by Whirl (another Autobot who becomes a Wrecker and is one of two Wreckers who get kicked off the team the other is Impactor) while handcuffed and not able to defend himself. Meagtron is saved by Orion Pax (who later becomes Optimus Prime) who arrests Whirl and reads Megatron's manifesto and agrees with most of it. Megatron having been disillusuied goes back to the mines and when a corrupt seator arrvies and tells him and the other miners that the mine would be closed Megatron throws his axe at him he is caught and sent to prison while on the prison ship he meets Rumble and Frenzy who convince him to help them and every one on the transport ship. They seize control of the ship and escape to the Cybertronian City-State of Kaon in which Megatron, Rumble, and Frenzy join an underground deathmatch club, where Megatron meets several of the Decepticons and builds his power-base. He ultimately starts a coup against Kaon's local government and takes over the city. When the Autobot leader Sentinal Prime tries to put down the revolt Megatron kills him and the Autobots are forced to retreat. Then Zeta Prime came and he was a monster that Orion Pax and Megatron had to team up to take him down. Following Zeta's defeat Megatron betrayed Orion Pax, in an attempt to grab power. Orion survived, found the Autobot Matrix of Leadership and became Optimus Prime. Optimus rallied the Autobots and with the help of reawken Titan, known as Metroplex he defeated Megatron. Megatron survived and vowed vengence and so the war between the Autobots and Decepticons began.

[String]

Can't argue with Daredevil personally!

Yeah. It's sad, but true.

What's really sad is that the tragic aspect has since become DD's primary character trait. Ever since Miller's Born Again, following writers have felt the need to include ever more dramatic tragedies in Matt's life.

Which is why Waid's current run is so refreshing. Matt still has his issues, but he's handling them in a different way. He's more the swashbuckler that he was back in the Lee/Colan days than he's been in a long, long time.

[myron]

Horatio Hellpop

or maybe Jim Gaunt

[StarBrand]

The Thing gets no respect. Even in this thread he doesn't get any.

[Uncle Yusuf]

The Thing gets no respect. Even in this thread he doesn't get any.

The Ever Lovin' Blue Eyed Thing is arguably the most popular member of the Fantastic Four. He's had plenty of beautiful girlfriends, he's a WWII veteran and a world class astronaut, he's gone toe to toe with the likes of the Hulk, Doctor Doom, and Wolverine, he's best friends with the the Marvel U's smartest man, and he's the World's first and most beloved Jewish superhero. Uncle Benji? No respect? Since when?