Fantastic Five: Best Legacy Heroes

If there’s one thing we’ve learned from our years on the Internet, it’s that there’s no aspect of comics that can’t be broken down and quantified in a single definitive list, preferably in amounts of five or ten. And since there’s no more definitive authority than ComicsAlliance, we’re taking it upon ourselves to compile Top Five lists of everything you could ever want to know about comics.

One of the benefits of long-form serialized superhero storytelling is seeing how the characters change and evolve over the decades. But one aspect nearly unique to the genre is seeing new heroes take up the mantles of their mentors and friends in order to preserve ~~trademark~~ continuity of crime-fighting tradition. This video takes a look at the concept of the legacy hero, those who are inspired by another hero to take up their name, costume, or gimmicks, and counts down the five most successful successors in comics history.

Show notes:

You can see the adventures of our honorable mentions here, here, here, here, and here.
Number five takes up the reins starting here.
Number four debuts here, and takes over as the title hero here.
Number three debuts here, puts on the mask here.
Number two first shows up here, but gets a solo title here. Or grab an omnibus here.
Number one starts showing up here, but takes up the mantle starting here.