Vigilante: Any person who takes the law into their own hands, as by avenging a crime.
Masked-vigilantes hide their identity as to strike fear into the hearts of men, to avenge a wrong or to protect their closest relationships from the very criminal elements against whom they fight. Comic books have presented its fair share of vigilantes.
Whether existing as urban legend or ghost in the darkness, the vigilante haunts a broken frontier. Call them heroes or call them law-breakers, these are the ones who protect our
iron jungles or
terra incognito. I've compiled a list of vigilantes from comics based on popularity, history, mainstream appeal and longevity in the consciousness both dedicated and casual comic book fans. The vigilantes on this list also wear a trademark or
signature mask/face-covering to obscure their identity.
Because of Batman's popularity, he deserves his own top-
whatever, so neither the Dark Knight nor his Bat-Family is listed here. Moreover, these are
masked-vigilantes so the Punisher is out. I want to also make a distinction between crime-fighter and vigilante. Though J. Jonah Jameson considers Spider-Man a menace and though the public and law enforcement shift opinions about him, Spidey is more crime-fighting hero than avenging spirit.
This excludes the
Merc-With-A-Mouth Deadpool who is more a mercenary and an assassin than a vigilante, though he wears a mask for good reason. For this same reason, Wolverine is not on the list. I'm also excluding masked-vigilantes from original graphic novels or characters from limited series for whom there was a clear beginning, middle and end. So no
Kick-Ass,
V for Vendetta or
Watchmen. Sorry Rorschach.
12. The Lone Ranger
11. The Green Hornet & Kato
10. Zorro
9. The Phantom
8. The Shadow
6. The Question
5. Casey Jones
3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
So what do you think? Who would you include on this list?
