Top Ten Superhero by fans....

We are living in the age of superheroes. Caped crusaders have smashed the confines of their comic-book cages and now dominate almost every corner of global pop culture. But who among them truly rules?

To create this ranking of the 50 Most Powerful Super­heroes, we devised a 100-point system that rated each character in nine categories: Cultural Impact, Bankability, Design, Modern Relevance, Mythology, Nemeses, Originality, Personality, and Powers. We gave each category a maximum score of 10 points, with one exception: Cultural Impact.

The power of a superhero is defined most by this quality, so we measured it on a 20-point scale to weigh the final list in favor of characters who have the deepest cultural footprints.

We then assembled a team of EW’s hardcore superhero experts and had them individually score 155 characters in each category. Those composite category scores were then added together to create an overall power total for each character. This determined our final 50 and each character’s position on the list.

The result, we believe, is the most precise and comprehensive superhero ranking ever created. We’ve already revealed Wonder Woman as our No. 1 pick, but now, we’re taking a look at the top 10. (To see the full rundown, pick up EW’s special double-issue on Friday.)

#10: THE FLASH

When Barry Allen took over the mantle of the Flash from Jay Garrick in 1956, he ushered in the silver age of heroes, and the Scarlet Speedster is still going strong 60 years later — not just in the comics but on TV and (next year) in the first Justice League movie. Struck by lightning and doused by various vials of chemicals, the former perpetually late Central City PD forensic scientist was turned into the fastest man alive, with the ability to run at near light speed and phase through objects, time, and other dimensions. Allen, whose wit is just as quick, helped found the Justice League, while taking on one of the most impressive and deadly Rogues galleries, ultimately giving his life to save the world and becoming the lightning bolt that created him in the first place. —Natalie Abrams

9.Deadpool

First Appearance

New Mutants #98 (1990)

Origin

Deadpool #-1 (1997); Marvel Comics 1998 Annual Starring Deadpool and Death (1998); Deadpool #33 (1999)Deadpool possesses a superhuman healing factor derived from that of the mutant Wolverine that allows him to regenerate damaged or destroyed areas of his cellular structure at a rate far greater than that of an more

Abilities

Deadpool is an extraordinary hand-to-hand combatant and is skilled in multiple unarmed combat techniques. He is a master of assassination techniques, is an excellent marksman, and is highly skilled with more

Group Affiliations

X-Force, Agency X; formerly Six Pack, One World Church, DP Inc., Weapon X, Heroes for Hire, Secret Defenders, Frightful Four, Team Deadpool, Landau, Luckman & Lake, Department K; former employee of....

8.Captain America

First Appearance

(Captain America) Captain America Comics #1 (1941); (Nomad) Captain America #180 (1974); (Captain) Captain America #337 (1988)

Origin

Captain America Comics #1 (1941); Tales of Suspense #63 (1965); Captain America #109 (1969); Captain America #255 (1981); Adventures of Captain America #1-2 (1991)Captain America had mastered the martial arts of American-style boxing and judo, and had combined these disciplines with his own unique hand-to-hand style of combat. He had also shown skill and more

Group Affiliations

Secret Avengers; formerly the Avengers, Invaders, Captain's Unnamed Superhero Team, Redeemers; formerly partner of Winter Soldier, Bucky, Jones, Rick, Rick Jones, Falcon (Sam Wilson), Falcon, Demolition

7.

First Appearance

Incredible Hulk #1 (1962)

Origin

Incredible Hulk #1 (1962)Group Affiliations

Formerly Avengers, Defenders, Fantastic Four, Pantheon, Horsemen of Apocalypse, WarboundDr. Bruce Banner is a genius in nuclear physics, possessing a mind so brilliant that it cannot be measured on any known intelligence test. When Banner is the Hulk, Banner's consciousness is buried within..

6. Wonder Woman

First Appearance:

ALL-STAR COMICS #8 (1941)Wonder Woman is the most famous heroine of all time. No offense to the Lara Crofts, Buffys, or Disney princesses of the world, but none of them have been plastered on as many magazine covers, adorned as many T-shirts, or sold the countless comics, dolls, and action figures that Wonder Woman has. The full package of beauty, brains, and brawn, she’s been a feminist icon since her star-spangled intro in 1941..                         Powers:

super strength, invulnerability, flight, combat skill, combat strategy, superhuman 

5.agility, healing factor, magic weaponry

5.WOLVERINE

First Appearance

(As Wolverine, cameo) Incredible Hulk #180 (1974), (as Wolverine, fully) Incredible Hulk #181 (1974), (as Patch) Marvel Comics Presents #1 (1988), (as Weapon X) Marvel Comics Presents #72 (1991), (as Death) Astonishing X-Men #1 (1999)

Origin

Origin #1-6 (2001-2002); Wolverine #10 (1989); Marvel Comics Presents #72-84 (1991); Alpha Flight #33 (1986); Wolverine #113 (1997) Due to his extensive training as a soldier, a C.I.A. operative, a samurai, a spy, and a member of the X-Men, Wolverine is an exceptional hand-to-hand combatant, having mastered virtually every fighting...

4.Iron Man

ron Man, like knights of old, is identified by the armor he wears. The best-dressed of the Marvel heroes, he has changed his look frequently since his debut in 1963, but he can afford to: the man who wears the suits (and designs them) is wealthy inventor Tony Stark. So the man make the clothes, but do the clothes make the man?

Not only does Tony Stark have no super powers of his own, but the armor that gives him strength was also created to keep his damaged heart beating; he could not survive without his iron shell. Eventually his cardiac condition was corrected by a heart transplant, and a later that left him paralyzed was repaired with a microchip. So even without his high-tech costume Tony Stark is a mixture of man and machine, what science fiction writers call a cyborg.

Exactly who Stark might be without his armor is difficult to say. Writer Stan Lee and artist Don Heck initially presented him as a suave playboy, part of a long tradition of rich men who have become masked heroes. Yet unlike most of his predecessors, Stark got his income from a specific source: he manufactured and sold weapons. This was a slightly sinister occupation, despite its undoubted utility, and there were hints that Stark was ambivalent about his role. When his business was menaced by a hostile takeover in a 1979 storyline, he collapsed into alcoholism, and a friend was obliged to take over temporarily the job of Iron Man. So the suit an function without Stark, but can Stark function without the suit?

Stark publicly proclaims that Iron Man is his bodyguard, and to avoid prosecution for his own violence he once announced that the man in the suit had died and been replaced. He might have been talking about himself, since he is empowered by machinery and sustained by another man's heart. Beneath his polished veneer, Iron Man may be the most troubled of Marvel's heroes, forever fighting to prove that his armor is not hollow.

3. Spiderman

First Appearance

Amazing Fantasy #15 (1962)

Origin

Amazing Fantasy #15 (1962) Peter is an accomplished scientist, inventor and photographer.

Group Affiliations

Avengers, formerly the Secret Defenders, "New Fantastic Four", the Outlaws.Peter can cling to most surfaces, has superhuman strength (able to lift 10 tons optimally) and is roughly 15 times more agile than a regular human. The combination of his acrobatic leaps and web-slinging

2.Superman

First Appearance

ACTION COMICS #1 (1938)Superman is an ongoing American comic book series featuring the DC Comics  superhero Superman as the main protagonist. Superman began as one of several anthology features in the National Periodical Publications comic book Action Comics #1 in June 1938. The strip proved so popular that National launched Superman into his own self-titled comic book, the first for any superhero, premiering with the cover date Summer 1939. Between 1986 and 2006 it was retitled The Adventures of Superman while a new series used the title Superman. In May 2006, it was returned to its original title and numbering. The title was canceled with issue #714 in 2011, and was relaunched with issue #1 the following month which ended its run in 2016. A fourth series was released with issue #1 in June 2016 and ended in April 2018. A fifth series with new issue #1 will be launched in July 2018.

1.Batman

DETECTIVE COMICS #27 (1939)A family outing to the cinema ended in tragedy for young Bruce Wayne. Walking homeward, Bruce, his father, Thomas, and mother, Martha, accidentally ventured into Gotham City's notorious "Crime Alley" and were accosted by a mugger. Not content merely to rob the wealthy family, the hoodlum - whose identity was "never determined" - shot Dr. Thomas and Martha Wayne dead before fleeing into the darkness. As he knelt beside his parent's bodies, Bruce swore to avenge them. After the police arrived, Bruce was comforted by Dr. Leslie THompkins. Dr. Thompkins and Alfred Pennyworth helped arrange matters so that Gotham's Social Services would not take Bruce into care. In this way, both Dr. Thompkins and Alfred enabled Bruce to realize his dream of becoming a crusader against crime.The Young Bruce Wayne

At age 14, Bruce embarked on a journey that took him to every continent as he sought to learn all the skills he would need to keep his vow. He studied criminology, forensics, and criminal psychology, and learned from manhunters and martial artists, mastering every fighting style. In time, Bruce forged himself into a living weapon to wage war on crime and injustice. On his return to Gotham, Bruce stalked street thugs as a plainclothes vigilante. Beaten by the very people he intended to protect, he barely survived his first night out. As he sat bleeding in his study at Wayne Manor Bruce knew that he had to first strike fear in the hearts of his foes. Just then, a bat crashed through the study window, giving Bruce the inspiration he needed.

Batman Begins

Establishing a secret headquarters in the caves beneath his mansion, Bruce became Batman, a Dark Knight to protect Gotham and its citizens from vice and villainy. Alfred Pennyworth remained his confidant, tending to injuries and offering sage advice - whether requested or not!

Batman became an urban legend, a cautionary tale that sent shivers through the city's underworld. This Caped Crusader found a friend in Captain James Gordon a Gotham cop who didn't approve of Batman's methods, but appreciated the results of his nightly crime fighting. Batman's Rogues Gallery grew to include a host of bizarre criminals, such as the Joker, Catwoman, Two-Face and the Penguin. As his enemies increased, help arrived in the form of another young boy left parentless by brutal crime.