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[draco x]

Now in comic-dom, ripping off other characters is nothing new and specifically, Superman himself is one of the most ripped off characters ever. Now I am not saying that's a bad thing in all fairness but it's an obvious fact that can't be ignored. However, I myself don't think ripping off other characters is a bad thing as I kind of like some characters that are based off others-However, I will save that rant for another thread down the road. Now specifically, there are some characters based on the Big S that I happen to like and have laid them out down here:

Gladiator

-Basically Mohawk Superman better yet. What I like about Gladiator is that he is Superman without restraint and someone who kicks ass without asking questions. The downside is that Gladiator is primarily regarded by Marvel as a parody of Superman and is often used as a yardstick for other characters to take down( Most often by god-awful and biased writing). To me, Gladiator is the most interesting of all the Superman variations that Marvel has unlike Hyperion, who I found very dull and Sentry, who was shoe-horned into relevance and forced down the fan's throats. If Marvel wants to have an official Superman analogue, they should give Gladiator that honor and move him past being just a plot device.

Eradicator

-Another variation that is Superman without restraint. Originally, the Eradicator was just a Brainiac wannabe that went on to replace Superman when he got killed. Althought the Eradicator was a douchebag as Superman, he did have that cool costume going for him and eventually he grew on me. However, afterwards, the writers at DC didn't know what to do with him and just made him a plot device. It's a shame the Rads never got the respect he fully deserved as he had the appeal of being a Superman analogue that didn't hold back and someone you did not want to cross.

Majestic

-Or Warlord Superman as I like to refer him as. Majestic is similar to the Eradicator and Gladiator in the sense he is Superman that doesn't hold back-in fact, I remember the crossover where he came to the DC Universe and sat down in a diner next to Superman and had a conversation on how different they were. Hopefully, despite the new 52 crapfest we have to endure that Maj shows up again in the Superman books as either an ally of foil of Superman to show how different they truly are

Icon

-Icon's appeal comes mostly from the fact that I liked Milestone Comics during the 90's and he did have a cool costume design. The only gripe I had was that his origin was too much like Superman's when he came to Earth and got raised by earthlings as one of their own.

Cyborg Superman

-Basically the evil Superman with Mr. Fantastic's origin. Now bear in mind that there have been a lot of evil Superman analogues already but the Cyborg Superman was the most interesting and arguably the most dangerous. The fact that he has given Superman hell on a consistent basis and has taken on various other characters shows how badass the Cyborg truly is. Hopefully, the Cyborg shows up again despite the garbage fest in the new 52 and that they didn't retcon his origin.

Honorable Mentions:

The Sentry

-The Sentry could have made the list if it weren't Jenkin's shoe-horning the character into the Marvel Universe and Bendis's god-awful writing. As it now stands, it would take some very good writing for him to ever make this list

Ethan Edwards

-Although I find Ethan interesting as a religious Superman, he hasn't done much to make this list yet

Blue Marvel

-Blue Marvel seems like a cool character but too bad he is underused by Marvel at the moment. I do wish they would give him more to do as he could easily be on the list once he does

Will add more later.

[Juan Cena]

Mon-El has to be near the top of the list.

[Juan Cena]

And you're forgetting the obvious:

[draco x]

Mon-El has to be near the top of the list.

Didn't really follow Mon-El that much although ironically Gladiator is based off Mon El coincidentally.

[Strict31]

No Apollo or Samaritan? I think they're both interesting takes on Superman. Of course, I tend to feel Apollo was most interesting when Ellis was still writing the character. After that, he was sort of defined primarily by his homosexuality. I liked the fact they had the balls to have him and Midnighter be "out", but it sort of overtook his characterization. And then, when he became a dad, being a father to Jenny Quantum took over his characterization. But I dunno...maybe there just wasn't anything left in the character if you remove those two things.

Samaritan is cool for showing the "human" side of the superman archetype. Dreaming about the freedom to simply fly, without worrying about flying from one emergency to the next. Going on a date. The loneliness of power. Very human things that center and root a very superhuman character in things that are familiar.

Icon was...always rather dull. Maybe that was the point of the writing, though. But Rocket was always a more interesting character. One thing I liked about Icon was that he knew more of the black man's struggle in America than any of Rocket's embittered disenfranchisement could come close to touching. It's like, "Oh Raquel...the white man's keeping you down because you got fired from a job? Interesting. Well, when I came to earth in the 1800s, I WAS A GODDAMN SLAVE."

Sentry was...well. It's difficult to put it simply. Sentry was a cool idea when it was just a one-off miniseries. Because he was excised from the collective memory of the MU, it was almost like one big "What If", where the subject was "What If Superman Had Been a Marvel Character?"

Sentry would have been great if they'd just left him to slip out of active memory again; to never again be integrated into the MU. He's not a character that has any sort of staying power, because the Void so completely balances him out that he is literally his own worst enemy. To truly defeat the Void, Sentry must utterly disappear.

But they tried to integrate him. And to make matters worse, they clearly did so without any actual game plan whatsoever. So, everything they did with the character felt like random shoehorning. There were so many missed opportunities that could have eased the character in. Moments that he could have shared with other heroes.

There was a scene in the New Avengers annual, where Luke Cage is in the foreground crying out in joy because his girlfriend is pregnant. In the background of the panel, you see Sentry and Captain America engaged in what looks to be a conversation. A living legend who was forcibly removed from the world for decades, and a forgotten hero who chose to remove himself from the world. Seems to me, that conversation would have been more important than an entire panel devoted to Luke Cage whooping for joy.

Sentry's integration into the MU was so poorly orchestrated...

[KingPagla]

Supreme as written by Alan Moore

[Benderbrau]

Where's Hyperion?

[misac]

Gladiator's probably my favorite followed by Captain Marvel.

Plutonian is just alright but I really like his comic.

[Benderbrau]

Also Omni-Man

[draco x]

Supreme as written by Alan Moore

Didn't follow Supreme that closely although I did have that comic where he and Gladiator fought and he was portrayed as this religious nutjob.

[draco x]

No Apollo or Samaritan? I think they're both interesting takes on Superman. Of course, I tend to feel Apollo was most interesting when Ellis was still writing the character. After that, he was sort of defined primarily by his homosexuality. I liked the fact they had the balls to have him and Midnighter be "out", but it sort of overtook his characterization. And then, when he became a dad, being a father to Jenny Quantum took over his characterization. But I dunno...maybe there just wasn't anything left in the character if you remove those two things.

Samaritan is cool for showing the "human" side of the superman archetype. Dreaming about the freedom to simply fly, without worrying about flying from one emergency to the next. Going on a date. The loneliness of power. Very human things that center and root a very superhuman character in things that are familiar.

Icon was...always rather dull. Maybe that was the point of the writing, though. But Rocket was always a more interesting character. One thing I liked about Icon was that he knew more of the black man's struggle in America than any of Rocket's embittered disenfranchisement could come close to touching. It's like, "Oh Raquel...the white man's keeping you down because you got fired from a job? Interesting. Well, when I came to earth in the 1800s, I WAS A GODDAMN SLAVE."

Sentry was...well. It's difficult to put it simply. Sentry was a cool idea when it was just a one-off miniseries. Because he was excised from the collective memory of the MU, it was almost like one big "What If", where the subject was "What If Superman Had Been a Marvel Character?"

Sentry would have been great if they'd just left him to slip out of active memory again; to never again be integrated into the MU. He's not a character that has any sort of staying power, because the Void so completely balances him out that he is literally his own worst enemy. To truly defeat the Void, Sentry must utterly disappear.

But they tried to integrate him. And to make matters worse, they clearly did so without any actual game plan whatsoever. So, everything they did with the character felt like random shoehorning. There were so many missed opportunities that could have eased the character in. Moments that he could have shared with other heroes.

There was a scene in the New Avengers annual, where Luke Cage is in the foreground crying out in joy because his girlfriend is pregnant. In the background of the panel, you see Sentry and Captain America engaged in what looks to be a conversation. A living legend who was forcibly removed from the world for decades, and a forgotten hero who chose to remove himself from the world. Seems to me, that conversation would have been more important than an entire panel devoted to Luke Cage whooping for joy.

Sentry's integration into the MU was so poorly orchestrated...

I honestly didn't follow Apollo or Samaritan that much but they were interesting as anti-superman type characters as well. As for the Sentry, I pretty much agreed with what you said for the most part. If Jenkins had been smart, he wouldn't have shoe-horned his relevance into the Marvel Universe to begin with as it made him harder to write when that happened. What they should have done was either depower him to make him more appealing or have him be a newcomer to the Marvel-verse who looked up to the other heroes.

[draco x]

Where's Hyperion?

I never found Hyperion that interesting to begin with except when he was evil( King Hyperion). The character came off as a deliberate parody of Superman.

[Benderbrau]

I never found Hyperion that interesting to begin with except when he was evil( King Hyperion). The character came off as a deliberate parody of Superman.

It's almost unavoidable in the case of any superhero in a cape who flies and has super strength. Superman casts a long shadow.

[Keb]

Apollo from Authority for sure.

[Miracloman]

Supreme as written by Alan Moore

I agree with this.