10 Coolest Financially Insecure Superheroes

1. The Maxx

 

 

Sam Keith brought us the Maxx, one of the more original and intriguing stories published by Image Comics.  The Maxxx was a homeless guy in the real world, but in his mind, he was the protector of Julie, Queen of the Outback.  The Maxx would do his best to shield Julie for the sadistic Mr. Gone.  This comic even became an animated series on MTV for a little bit, as The Maxx was a very different book for Image at the time.  It corporated themes absent from some of their more commercial titles, like the generic superhero comic Youngblood.  In fact, the Maxx didn't really have any super powers.  Not unless you count smelling like shit and always asking me for change as powers.  Get a job, bum!

 

2. The Runaways

 

 

The Runaways, which was not an official team name (but Marvel needed to call the comic book something), were a group of kids set out to fix the misdeeds caused by their supervillain parents.  Fighting their parents, known as The Pride, would of course mean running away from home and supporting themselves.  As such, the Runaways didn't have a lot of money.  They also didn't really mess around with code names or costumes, making this a "realer" hero stotry for Marvel. 

 

3. Cloak & Dagger

 

 

Ty Johnson and Tandy Bowen, better known as Cloak and Dagger, were both runaways.  An experimental drug gave them superpowers: Cloak was able to draw enemies into his dark, um, cloak, making them freak the fuck out and sucking out their life force.  Dagger, on the other hand, could generate light, making light weapons and - you guessed it - light daggers.  I always loved this comic because I, too, could generate light daggers after experimenting with drugs.  Who cares if it happened at work? I mean, besides my boss.

 

4. Luke Cage

 

 

Cage was wrongfully imprisoned and while serving time, underwent an experiment in exchange for parole.  The experiment made Luke Cage super strong and exponentially increased the durability of his skin.  With his new powers, Cage was able to escape prison.  Without any money to his name, he fought crime for money, helping rid communities of criminals while at the same time supporting himself.  A noble way to make some paper, indeed.  I tried this once and ended up with a broken nose and three lost teeth.  I did make three dollars, though.  Holla!

 

5. Jubilee

 

 

Jubilation Lee's parents were murdered when she was a small child, resulting in her growing up in an orphanage.  Before ultimately joining up with the X-Men, Jubilee would hang out at the mall, stealing what she could to survive.  Her mutant ability to generate light (or plasmoids) would often help her escape with whatever she stole.  After joining the X-Men, however, Jubilee learned to harness the power of her mutant ability and became able to increase the intensity and explosiveness of her plasmoids.

 

6. Rorschach

 

Walter Kovacs, or Rorschach, comes from the soon-to-be-wayyyyy-more-popular Watchmen, written by Alan Moore.  Rorschach had no superpowers (like me) and was the son of a prostitute (also like me!).  After being sent away for schooling, Rorschach lived in the slums while working in the garment business.  He fought crime despite his lack of any real wealth, as he was driven by his belief that all criminals should be punished severely.  In a cool and original move, Kovacs made a mask from special fabric that resembled the Rorschach ink blot test, which led to his sweet nickname.

 

7. The Badger

 

 

Norbert Sykes was a seriously messed up dude.  A Vietnam Vet abused by his stepfather, Sykes developed many different personalities.  One of these personalities was The Badger, a hero that was able to talk to animals.  Sykes predictably spent time in a mental instituion, but fortunately was able to escape.  As for his lack of money?  Well, it's not real easy for war vets with multiple personalities to find work.  As an interesting aside, it's not surprising that Mike Baron, the created of the Badger, went to college at the University of Wisconsin: their mascot is the badger. 

 

8. Spider-Man

 

 

There's no way this list would be complete without your friendly neighborhood Spider-man.  Everybody knows about Peter Parker and MJ and the radioactive spider and Green Goblin and the Sinister Six and Aunt May, but the thing that makes Spidey so great is that he's got to deal with all his real life problems, all the super-powered dicks who want him dead, all while working for J. Jonah Jameson at the Daily Bugle.  As readers, we can't always relate to every superhero, but a lot of us know what it's like to deal with a lot of shit while working for a horrible boss in a thankless job.  Spidey supports himself by taking photgraphs and still manages to save the day time and time again.

 

9.  Green Arrow

 

 

Oliver Queen started out as a billionaire but tragically lost his fortune.  He became Green Arrow, one of the greatest archers in the world with an arsenal of bad ass arrows at his disposal.  Seemingly modeled after Robin Hood (but green), Green Arrow would fight for the working class, a member of which he had become due to his huge loss.  Green Arrow has been known to fire a boxing-glove arrow, which, if you think of it, kind of defeats the whole purpose of an arrow itself.  It does look cute, though.

 

10.  Savage Dragon

 

 

Like The Maxx, the Savage Dragon was an original and cool comic book published by Image.  Created by Erik Larson, the Dragon was found in a burning field with no memory of who he is.  Eventually recruited by the Chicago Police Department, the Dragon battles superfreaks using his colossal strength.  The Dragon's origin was later revealed, and it turns out he was an alien emperor named Kurr.  Kurr was looking for a new homeland for his alien race and decided to destroy all life on Earth so that he could inhabit it.  Rogue scientists managed to erase Kurr's memory, dumped him on Earth, and then took off with the rest of the aliens.  Anyway, the Dragon is just one of many freaks in Chicago (and the world, apparently) so he's gotta make his living the old fashioned way - getting a job and busting his ass.