My Top Comic Characters, Part 1

So I'm blatantly stealing an idea from Guy LeCharles Gonzalez over at Comic Book Commentary. Here, for your reading pleasure, are my 10 best characters from DC Comics, and what I think are the dream creative team for that character. (Marvel's best will soon follow)

10. Black Adam. My fondness for Captain Marvel aside, Teth Adam has been the best bad ass anti hero in the DCU for the past few years. Under the talented eye of Geoff Johns he's gone from a Cap knockoff to a character the world can't get enough of. I'm ususally not a fan of Anti-heroes, but I just like the character, inexplicably pointy ears and all.
Dream Team: Mark Millar & Alex Ross

9. Oracle. A few months back Barbara Gordon, in the pages of Birds of Prey, wiggled her big toe. This of course triggered a wave of "She's going back to Batgirl" hysteria on the internet. Let me make myself clear. KEEP BABS IN THE CHAIR. As Batgirl she was a bland feminization of an iconic character that was forever doomed to toil in his shadow. As Oracle she is unique in so many ways, not the least of which is her disability. She also wields something very few other characters do, information. In this day, this age of information, she is as powerful in her own way as anyone with an 'S' on their chest.
Dream Team: Warren Ellis & Mark Silvestri

8. Superman. What? Supes is only number 8? Yup. He is a great character, and an icon in every way, but in the hands of most writers he's just ordinary. In fact I was sorely tempted to put Lex Luthor here instead, but erred on the side of conformity this once. That said, in the hands of the greats, Superman can be the best of the best.
Dream Team: Alan Moore & Steve McNiven

7. Deathstroke. Another anti-hero? Maybe I should rethink my stance on them. But to be honest, whats not to like? He wears an eyepatch and carries a sword, so he's already half pirate! That alone should get him on the list. He has been, along with Batman, the most dangerous non-metahuman on the planet. He can go toe-to-toe with any group in the DCU, but still maintains some kind of moral code, even if it's foreign to us.
Dream Team: Garth Ennis & Luke Ross.

6. Amanda Waller. She has no powers. She's overweight. She will kill without hesitation. She is also a brilliant strategist and a true patriot. And this overweight, "normal" woman will look Batman in the eye and tell him to go fuck himself. The former head of Task Force X, and present White Queen of Checkmate, regularly butts heads with the capes and just as regularly comes out on top.
Dream Team: Brian Michael Bendis & Alex Maleev

5. Starman (Jack Knight). What can be said about Starman, the book and the character, that hasn't already been said by better people than I? Emotional. Quirky. Reverent. Fun. Real. When most great characters have been away for a while you long for them to return. With Starman the story, as told by James Robinson, Tony Harris and Peter Snejberg, being so complete I'm content to let Jack Knight rest. For now.
Dream Team: James Robinson & Tony Harris

4. Darkseid. Those eyes. That craggy face. The posture that just screams "Bow down before your master!". In a universe populated by alien gods, men that can turn every thought to life, and demons that can shrivel your soul with a glance, Darkseid stands alone and unchallenged atop the Mount Rushmore of evil. Unlike most of the great antagonists in comics history Darkseid transcends the concept of a nemesis. He has, at one time or another, come into direct conflict with just about every good guy in the DCU without being bound to any one hero or team.
Dream Team: Geoff Johns & Dale Eaglesham


3. Joker. No villain is more famous than The Joker, and with good reason. He successfully made the transition from Batman's early days, to the goofball camp of the 50's and 60's. When Batman was returned to his roots in the 70's by Denny O'Neill The Joker was the first to come along for the ride. As a psychology student I'm fascinated by this most brutal and unpredictable of killers wrapped up in the most innocent and childlike of facades. Joker can be laugh out loud funny on one panel, be disconcertingly creepy on the next, and be pants wettingly terrifying on the panel after that. Countless attempts to copy the magic of the Joker have been made. Few survive to this day. None came even close to the original. Before I go any further I have to say that whenever I read The Joker, I hear Mark Hammill's voice in my head. His performance as the Joker, from Batman: The Animated Series right through to Justice League, is the definitive portrayal of the character. Better than Caesar Romero. Better than Jack Nicholson.
Dream Team: Brian Azzarello & Justiniano

2. Guy Gardner. Is Guy too high on this list? No way. Guy is the most consistently underrated character in comics today, forever overshadowed by other more popular Green Lanterns. He's a hero, but he's also, at best a jerk, and at worst a truly terrible person, but he's still a hero. He'll save the world while staring openly at Power Girl's rack. He can say and do things that no other character can. He is the human Id run wild and wielding a power ring.
Dream Team: Grant Morrison & Doug Mahnke

1. Batman. Who else could be number one? He wasn't the first superhero, hell he doesn't even have any powers, but he is the ultimate character. He can be a reflecting glass for the reader's psyche and the pinnacle of human ability at the same time. He is the man you strive to become and a warning sign of how not to live you life. His supporting cast and rogues gallery is unmatched in comicdom, in both depth and strength. He can work in almost any situation, from chasing down street level thugs to plotting how to take down Darkseid. While "Criminals are a cowardly, superstitious lot." doesn't have the resonance of "Up, up, and away" it's still one of the all time great lines. I believe that Batman is the greatest character in modern fiction, and maybe in any form of fiction through out history. He's the goddamn Batman.
Dream Team: Denny O'Neill & Jim Lee