Comic books have long been popular for their entertaining stories of superheroes. This trend has transcended onto the big screen as more and more characters provide inspiration for silver screen hits. Roughly three films based on comic book characters are being released each year, with Marvel having the most success after numerous box office hits. Here are the top 5 most successful Marvel characters, taking films and comics into consideration.
Spider-Man
Films – $1.37bn
Comics (2002-12) – $144m
With his debut coming in 1962, Spider-Man has become one of the most well-known comic book characters ever created. Tobey Maguire donned the latex suit for the first 3 Spider-Man films, with Andrew Garfield taking over for The Amazing Spiderman in 2012.
Wolverine
Films – $311m
Comics (2002-12) – $70m
If you take the X-Men franchise into consideration, Wolverine would be up there as the highest-grossing character, but he hasn’t done too badly on his own too. His first appearance came as a cameo in 1974, featuring in an Incredible Hulk comic and has since gone on to become one of the best loved Marvel characters, especially through Hugh Jackman’s on-screen depiction.
Captain America
Films – $435m
Comics (2002-12) – $64m
Being the elder statesman of the Marvel franchise, Captain America originally featured during the height of World War II in 1941. The character has appeared both on screen and in comics of his own, as well as part of the highly successful Avengers group.
Iron Man
Films – $1.1bn
Comics (2002-12) – $40m
The adventures of Tony Stark have become some of the most successful Marvel films to be produced, with only Avengers Assemble beating Iron Man 3 to the top spot. Although the comics haven’t grossed as much as other characters, Iron Man is still one of the all-time classics and has successfully also become the top slots game on various casino sites such as Gaming Club.
Thor
Films – $385m
Comics (2002-12) – $25m
Although his role in the Avenger series is much more popular, Thor still stands out as one of main characters in the Marvel family. He made his silver screen debut in 2011, with a 3rd installment of this adventures set to be released within the coming years.