r/hulk • u/thefulsometoetoise • 2d ago

General The masses have now forgotten about hulk

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I've seen this all over people are replacing the hulk with iron man and it makes me so sad to see before the mcu he was easily in these conversations

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u/darkmoonfirelyte 1d ago

DC's Trinity came about in large part because after World War II, when superhero comics went into a sales decline and were steadily replaced with Western comics (for instance, All Star Comics became All Star Western for a stretch from 1951 to 1961), only three superheroes sold well enough to continue their books through this phase: Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. Everyone else was phased out, and after the Western era ended, newer versions of many were introduced. This is the split that caused the Golden Age / Silver Age.

Spider-man, meanwhile, is included as he's the single best selling superhero. He sells well, he's beloved, he can launch universes... Any discussion of the "greatest" superheroes has to include him, by pretty much any metric.

So, yes, this image is correct. From a perspective of sales, and from cultural impact since the Golden Age of Comics, these are the heroes you point to.

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u/DocApocalypse 1d ago

Spidey also broke the mold: he's young but not a teen sidekick, brought in a ton of soap opera elements that DC didn't have, the ambivalent/hostile attitude of the public towards him, etc. He's also the most iconic full mask hero.

He even effectively spawned Super Sentai/Power Rangers through the Japanese tv show with Leopardon, so he's influential beyond just American media.

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u/darkmoonfirelyte 1d ago

Yeah, there have been discussions about how Spidey is a character that anyone can imagine themselves as since he's full masked and suited. Most superheroes you can see their skin, at least a little bit, so you know what color they are, how old they are, etc. But with Spidey most of the time you can imagine yourself in the suit no matter what you look like. Spidey is special.

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u/No-Sheepherder3929 1d ago

Not just the Trinity, Aquaman, green arrow, zatarra, were not changed.

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u/darkmoonfirelyte 1d ago

Not changed maybe, but didn't continue in full publication.