Holy polls! Caped crusader Batman was today named the greatest superhero of all time.
The Dark Knight, who has been reinvented many times through comics, graphic novels, TV and films, triumphed ahead of webslinger Spider-Man, with Superman forced into third place.
Batman, who unlike many of his crime-fighting peers has no special p
owers, was voted the UK's favourite super hero in a survey of fans for sci-fi and fantasy website, SFX.co.uk.
First published in May 1939, the alter-ego of billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne has been immortalised in the camp 1960s TV series as well as in a big budget movie franchise. He was most recently seen in Batman Begins, played by British star Christian Bale and interest was again revived with the release of the Batman: Arkham Asylum video game last week.
Dave Golder, editor of SFX.co.uk, said: "No matter how often he's reinvented - a noir detective in the 40s, a camp icon in the 60s, a gothic Knight in the 80s - he's always the coolest, most iconic and recognisable superhero there is."
UK comic hero Captain Britain was included at number seven. He was created in the late 1970s and has been relaunched occasionally over the years, most recently with a story by Doctor Who and Casualty writer Paul Cornell.
His US counterpart Captain America was ranked at number 33 in the poll.
Seven of the top 10 positions were occupied by characters from Marvel Comics, which has just been acquired by Disney. The rest - Batman, Superman and Green Lantern - belong to the stable of rival publisher DC Comics.
The top 10:1. Batman
2. Spider-Man
3. Superman
4. Wolverine
5. Iron Man
6. Green Lantern
7. Captain Britain
8. Deadpool
9. Daredevil
10. Hulk
