Pop Mythology Pop Mythology: Movie, Book, Comic reviews & commentary
British gaming company Ladbrokes recently conducted a survey about superheroes and published some shocking results: men like hot chicks and women like rich guys!
Some of the categories’ results were divided up between men and women and these were what I found most telling and amusing.
(1) First of all, men selected The Dark Knight as the Best Superhero Film Ever. Following a close second was The Dark Knight Rises. Women, on the other hand, selected The Avengers as their favorite superhero film. I think Batman, for men, represents a certain kind of wish-fulfillment fantasy in that he’s a filthy-rich, perennial bachelor with a devoted servant who gets to ride an uber-cool car and play with all kinds of cutting-edge gadgets unavailable to the rest of the world. Though there is that slightly troubling bit about bringing young lads back to the Batcave and having them dress up in colorful outfits…
Avengers must be women’s favorite for two main reasons that come to mind. One, it features the Black Widow, a kickass female character that doesn’t take crap from anyone and who also happens to be gorgeous (again, wish fulfillment). Two, it also stars the guy I’m about to mention next.
(2) Iron Man was, predictably I’d say, singled out as the male superhero women would most like to date. I mean, c’mon, is it any mystery? The guy’s rich, dashingly handsome and, unlike Batman, has an unflappable sense of humor. And you know what all those dating gurus say: make a woman laugh and you’re halfway there. Thing is, Spider-Man is also very funny. But I guess he’s just too nice and nerdy. ‘Cause you know the other thing that dating gurus say: women want nice guys as friends and bad boys with hearts of gold (like Tony Stark) as their lovers.
Also no great surprise was men’s pick for hottest date: Catwoman. Prrrr. I understand the fantasy, guys, but beware: She’d probably steal your wallets in a second and leave you stranded and feeling, um…shall we say, rather unfulfilled?
(3) Catwoman also takes away the dubious honor of being the Worst Superhero Movie Ever. The meaning should be clear. We just want to shag her, not watch her lame-ass movie.
(4) Men voted the Hulk as the Toughest Superhero while women chose Batman. Hmm, but if they think he’s so tough (and rich!) why wouldn’t they want to date him? Oh, yeah, he’s glum and has no sense of humor.
(5) 59% of people, men and women combined, prefer Marvel over DC. Sorry, DC, I think you might’ve did it to yourselves with the New 52.
(6) 75% of the total people surveyed prefer the big screen versions of superhero stories to the original comic.
To see more of the survey results, including Best Superhero Vehicle and Best Superhero Gadget visit here.
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Cool article dude! Iron Man? Really? Come on, Thor is the most handsome superhero…
Just one thing, your formatting makes it look like 5.59% of people prefer Marvel and 6.75% of people prefer films. I had to read those stats a few times to understand what you’re saying 🙂 Maybe just put
5) 59% of people
6) 75% of people
Just to make it clearer.
Awesome piece 🙂
Emma, I’m afraid I’m gonna have to contend with your claim about Thor. Come on, now. Sure, he’s got those golden-boy looks but how long’s that gonna last you? How soon before summoning a thunder storm for your entertainment will get old? Let’s be honest. Only Tony Stark can give you everything that a girl wants. 😉
Since women tend to be more relational than men, another reason why women may prefer Avengers over other superhero movies is because Avengers is about a *group* of superheroes and how they get along.
From a more serious, analytical perspective, Derek, yes, I think you have a good point, and, psychologically speaking, that may very well be another major reason that women rank ‘Avengers’ over the ‘Dark Knight’ movies. Another reason might be that it’s more light-hearted and fun vs. the somber, dark quality of the Dark Knight films. Obviously, this post is just intended to be light-hearted fluff.
I forgot to add about the toughest superheroes. Maybe women chose Batman over The Hulk because they were thinking of tough-mindedness.
That’s also a good point. Men can get caught up in the idea of physical toughness as being the signature of manhood but true toughness, from women’s perspective, is internal fortitude which Batman has perhaps as much as any other superhero we could possibly think of. And more than most.
Honestly surprised Tony would rank so high among women given his history of alcoholism and womanizing. You’d think they’d want someone a bit more stable or trustworthy. But then women have always been a mystery to me.
I know, huh? Though I’m guessing that most of the participants of this survey get the bulk of their knowledge about Tony Stark through the movies which don’t really go into the alcoholism to any significant degree (except maybe the second one but even that was just on the surface). An interesting distinction to make might have been to ask which superhero they’d like to date vs. which they’d like to marry. I think many women do get turned on by a character like Tony Stark and may fantasize about dating him, but for marriage and settling down they might prefer someone more stable and reliable – say, Captain America?
Speaking of Catwoman, Julie Newmar was probably my first comic book crush.
Mine too!