| This month is an occasion where my column has nothing to do with the
rest of Fanzing. I seriously thought about what I could do with "Elseworlds",
but I figured that the top 12 Elseworlds stories would be kind of lame,
not only because it's kind of a predictable topic, but also because I really
haven't read enough Elseworlds stories to know which ones are really up
there (other than Kingdom Come). But then again, Elseworlds doesn't
REALLY exist anymore, does it? This whole Hypertime thing has screwed
everything up! But let's forget about that and move on with this
month's article: The Top 12 Super-Insignias... |
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HONORABLE
MENTION:
Flash I - Yet another simple yet classic symbol:
a yellow lightning bolt shooting upward from Jay Garrick's waist.
Captain Marvel - Almost the same as the classic
Flash's insignia, this one is facing down and isn't quite so big as Flash's.
Zauriel- The eagle this guy wears on his chest
is pretty neat. It just kind of.. spreads out all across his torso
and sits there. I guess it symbolizes his roots from the eagle side
of the angelic hosts or whatever, but either way I like it.
Parallax- Yeah, I know people still hate what
they did to Hal, but you've got to admit that his costume wasn't bad, especially
that weird version of the GL symbol he did (kinda). It's not REALLY
a GL symbol - just a circle with two lines that run up and down on the
top and bottom of it.
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Runner
Ups:
Wonder Woman - The only reason why this didn't make
it higher on the list is because whenever I see the two W's stacked on
each other, I think of WWF wrestling and my mind goes numb.
Impulse - I'm not even sure if Bart HAS an insignia,
but if he does, I'm sure it's that red lightning bolt that runs up and
down the front and back of his costume. I think it's pretty cool
- sort of like a never-ending symbol. |
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The
Top Twelve
12
Fate- That weird cross-with-a-circle-on-top thing looks great (there
probably is a name for it, but I'm just a wee high school student). [29-year-old editor interrupting here: it's called an ankh.] It's used in practically everything Fate does, you see it in all his spells,
and on the Superman cartoon it even does a neat little special effect thing
when he appears.
11
Darkstars - I've never even read a Darkstar comc book, but I remember
seeing their costumes for the first time in the Zero Hour mini and just
thinking, "Wowie zowie." That black star that runs down the center
of the front of their bodies is a dark star (hence the name, I suppose).
It just works well with the rest of the costume, I guess.
10
JLA - Sometimes a symbol or shield that actually bears the name
of its owner can be kind of stupid, but the JLA's symbol works quite nicely.
It appears on their round table, on their transport tube cards, and who
doesn't get all jittery when they see the shiny emblem on the newest issue?
9
The Injustice Gang - These nifty little skulls used by the latest
version of the JLA's teamed-foes looked pretty smooth while replacing the
regular insignias when the hard-light versions of each hero were made.
8
Green Arrow - I don't think I'd ever realized that GA even HAD a
symbol until I read an issue of JLA where Green Lantern burns the mark
on Connor's chair for him. The bow and arrows looks great and shows
just what it is that this hero does.
7
Green Lantern (original) - It's green, it's a lantern. He
pretty much wheres his name on his chest without having to spell it out.
Again, we have a basic design that's easily recognizable and doesn't look
dorky on clothing.
6
Blue Beetle - The insect that sits on Beetle's costume just has
a weird appeal to me. It almost makes me think about Spiderman, but
it has its own certain something that just makes me think, "Neato!" The
color of it is great, and the size and everything else just plain works.
I really don't know what else there is to say about it.
5
Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner) - I might get shot by old-timers for
this, but I seriously think Kyle's design of the GL symbol is great.
The reverse colors work great, and I think it symbolizes more of a "nineties
GL", not the older one everyone got used to. Not to mention it's
unique and separates himself from the other Green Lanterns.
4
Flash (II & III) - One of many designs that doesn't take much
labor to draw, The Flash's lightning bolt on a white-circle background
is just plain smooth, especially when you see the lightning extend to surround
his body when he runs, leaving a "shocking" trail behind him. 'Nuff
said.
3
Superman - Everyone knows the Superman symbol, no matter where they
are. This "S" appears on underwear, belt buckles, ties, shirts, pajamas,
Halloween costumes, tatoos, and pretty much everywhere else! While
skaters tend to where this on their shirts as more of a trend (spoiling
the magic behind the "S", in my opinion), others where it in homage to
the famous hero. Sometimes when I sign "The Shark" on a paper, I'll
replace the normal "S" with the Superman symbol!
2
Robin III - I figured I should specify which Robin we're talking
about here, considering that Tim Drake uses a much different costume/symbol
than the previous Robins (other than his color coordination). Unlike
the first two schmucks, Robin III's "R" on the left side of his chest is
just so neat-looking and fits in with the nineties. The previous
"R"'s have been simple and drawn almost as if just to get the whole thing
over with. This time the "R" catches the eye, and the one on Robin's
costume is detachable and is used as a weapon!
1
Batman - Who DOESN'T love this symbol? It's used everywhere:
Batman's costume, the bat-signal, etc. It's hard to imagine that
it took Bruce Wayne a long period of sketching before he came up with such
a basic design. It's sweet and simple, yet one glance at this sucker
strikes fear into the hearts of men. Even if it wasn't scary, though,
it sure is cool-looking. |
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Low
on the Totem Pole:
Aquaman- A fat "A" that used to go on his belt
(I haven't noticed whether or not he still wears it there), this ugly thing
is hideous and, if you ask me, pretty uncreative.
Steel- I liked it better towards the beginning
of Steel's career, when he wore a steel version of Superman's symbol.
When he switched to wearing his own thing I didn't like it at all.
Obviously this guy is better at building high-tech machines than artistic
design.
Green Lantern (Alan Scott)- That picture of
the lantern on his chest is too.. weird. Like it doesn't belong.
Maybe it's just too.. "complex" for a simple minded guy like me. |
