DC Comics has been putting out superhero stories since before World War II started, giving readers the colorful adventures of some of the greatest heroes ever created. Back then, superhero names were rather simple (did you think Superman, Batman, or the Flash were complex?); they described the hero pretty accurately most of the time. They had to sound cool and they had to be related to the character, so that readers could look at their name and imagine the kind of stories they would get. However, their main name was only the beginning; the best heroes would end up getting nicknames, extra names that usually sound cool and do much the same thing that their superhero names do. They tell you want you’re dealing with and get stuck in your head.
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DC has created the best nicknames in comics, bar none. Sure, there are some cool Marvel ones (I’ve always been partial to the “ol’Canucklehead” and “Sentinel of Liberty), but DC has created the ones that stuck in the minds of everyone who hears them. Some characters have one nickname, and some have several, but all of them have played an important role in their existence.
7) Maid of Might
The Superman family is DC’s most powerful hero family, and it’s also home to some of the best nicknames in comics. This makes sense; Superman has several of the coolest nicknames ever, mostly because the Golden, Silver, and Bronze Age were full of nicknames. The first member of the Superman family was Supergirl and she came with her own bevy of nicknames. However, the best of this is “the Maid of Might”. First of all, it has the power of alliteration, which makes just about any name or nickname stand out (I don’t have a lot of praise for Stan Lee, but he was right about the alliteration, folks). It just sounds satisfying to say and it definitely describes Kara Zor-El – she is a mighty women. Female characters don’t usually get the best nicknames – name all of Wonder Woman’s off the top of your head and it has to be more than just “Wondy” – but Supergirl was lucky enough to get one that is unforgettable.
6) The Emerald Archer
Green Arrow is one of DC’s greatest vigilantes, first appearing back in the Golden Age of Comics. While today we know Oliver Queen as the mouthy, liberal firebrand of the Justice League, back then he was just Batman dressed as Robin Hood, down to the Arrowcave and the Arrowmobile. He definitely benefited from the changes made to him over the years, but one thing that has stuck is his awesome nickname. Ollie is also known as “the Emerald Archer”, which is such a cool nickname. To begin with, emerald is just fun to say. There are so many cool sounds in it and there’s something that is satisfying to my brain about it. Archer is a cool word as well, and honestly fits really well with the word emerald. This is a nickname so good, it could be the name of a hero. It has a cool old school feel to it. It’s just satisfying.
5) The Boy Wonder
Robin is one of the most important characters in comic history. Dick Grayson was the first sidekick and he was created for a simple reason – so that young readers could see someone like themselves going on adventures with Batman. The character was wildly successful, becoming a key part of the adventures of the Caped Crusader (is this a spoiler? Keep reading to find out), to the extent that the World’s Finest team isn’t just Batman and Superman, it’s Batman, Superman, and Robin. The character was introduced in Detective Comics #38 and readers immediately got to experience one of the best nicknames of all time: “the Boy Wonder”. It was the perfect way to describe the new character; he was a boy and he was certainly a wonder. Some out there might question why it’s “Boy Wonder” and not “Wonder Boy”, but call him by both full names and tell me “Boy Wonder” doesn’t sound better. It’s iconic and the last 86 years have proved it.
4) The Big Red Cheese
Captain Marvel is back even if he technically never left. Orphan Billy Batson was chosen by the Wizard Shazam to become his modern champion. Every time he utters the wizard’s name, he’s given the power and abilities of Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury. Nicknames have always been a part of Billy’s life; Shazam, the name he was forced to go by for years when Marvel Comics got mad about him being called Captain Marvel, started out as a nickname of sorts, mostly because before, Marvel wouldn’t let them put his real name on the cover. However, he has a better nickname, even if it seems kind of insulting – “the Big Red Cheese”. He’s big, he’s red, he’s cheesy. It fits him perfectly. It doesn’t get used as much as it used to, and it’s rarely appeared on any covers, but it will always be one of the best nicknames in the history of comics.
3) The Fastest Man Alive
The Flash is one of the most venerable mantles in comics, with numerous speedsters riding the lightning bolt in the battle against evil. There have been some things that have survived the last 86 years without changing, though, and that’s his nickname “the Fastest Man Alive”. While “Scarlet Speedster” is a great nickname, it doesn’t fit every single Flash (Jay Garrick has blue pants and Avery Ho wears purple). “The Fastest Man Alive”, or “The Fastest Woman Alive” or “The Fastest Person Alive”, perfectly fits the character. The Flash is the fastest thing on Earth, which is why the nickname works so well. It’s appeared on the cover of his solo series for years, letting readers know what they’re going to get right away. It’s an extremely simple nickname and that’s a huge reason why it works so well. It’s gone down in comic history as one of the all-time greats and will always be connected to the Scarlet Speedster.
2) The Dark Knight
Batman is the most popular hero in the DC Multiverse and he has numerous nicknames. There’s “the Caped Crusader”, which I’ve personally never liked all that much. There’s just something about it that feels weird to say; it’s one of the few times where alliteration fails. He’s sometimes called “Bats” or “the Bat”, which are both fine but nothing to write home about. “World’s Greatest Detective” is kind of blah; it definitely describes the character but it doesn’t really have any style to it. However, there’s another one, one that has been used as the title of movies and comics numerous times – “the Dark Knight”. It’s a nickname that fits him like a glove. He is a dark knight – a man dressed in dark colors, fighting for the innocent, putting his life on the line every night. Personally, I’ve always liked “Dark Knight” more than “Dark Knight Detective”. There’s just too many syllables in the word “detective”; it ruins the flow of “the Dark Knight”. It’s an amazing nickname.
1) The Man of Steel
Superman has an amazing history. His success birthed the superhero and he became the first exemplar of this new kind of character. Major characters usually have numerous nicknames, especially ones as old as Supes. Obviously, there’s that one. There’s “the Metropolis Marvel” (this one isn’t used as some of the others), there’s “the Last Son of Krypton”, there’s the “Man of Tomorrow”. Sometimes, he’s called “the Big Blue Boy Scout”. However, we all know the one that is missing and it’s the best of them all: “the Man of Steel”. It’s one of those nicknames that just works in every way possible. It has the right length, the brevity helping it along. It sounds cool when you say it and it does a fantastic job of describing who and what he is – a man who is as hard as steel. That’s a great juxtaposition; it tells you that this a man, someone you understand, someone who you can trust, but also someone who is strong and dependable, like steel. It’s exactly the kind of nickname you would want for a character like Superman.
What’s your favorite DC hero nickname? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!
