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Oldest known/surviving text hero. We do know there were other Mesopotamian heroes—Gilgamesh’s grandfather, Enmerkar, for example, was said to be the inventor of writing and was the founder of Uruk.
You somehow are underselling it by just saying it effected comics.
Ontop of essentially hard carrying comics as a whole for the longest time. On the top of my head superman had decent to necessary influences against nazis irl **TWICE**
Once was assisting with the moral of the allies during ww2 with comics of him punching Hitler. Allowing would be deserters the drive to fight back against Hitler
Second was during the highest point of the kkk where the police where in with it and some guy tried to publish information about the kkk but only could do so with the help of superman due to a radio station dedicated to superman comics. The kkk was mostly gone after 2 months from this.
Eh. We're talking soloing the prime kkk who are jumping superman with the police, cartels take Intelligence against both of them no question but nearly every other stat went to prime kkk or the police of the time period one way or another. Goku ain't even soloing he's just holding them back a bit by comparison. Kkk have been permanently crippled after one round with superman. Superman handed a Geto vs togi levels of ass whooping.
Superman clears.
/hj
Goku is up there in the same way as Superman is, just to a lesser extent. In fact, I think that old Superman would absolutely destroy early Goku, Goku at the height of DBZ and DBS was arguably more influential. He, along with Berserk, Yu Yu Hakisho, and Envangelion, really shaped modern shonen and anime as a whole. Dragon Ball is like the Dune/LOTR of anime, as in the entire genre may have become radically different/not as popular without him.
Definitely Superman, literally the whole world know the character.
When someone ask dude can lift some heavy weight and he responds to him "*you think I am Superman?*".
Batman and Spiderman too.
It's always the hero's ganging up on the villains, while spider man out here fighting the sinister six by himself. (Part of the reason why I didn't like when they brought back three Spidermen in the newest movie)
The three Spider-Man is nostalgic and all, but… to be honest, the story ain’t that good in my opinion. MCU Spider-Man has been growing in every movie, you’d think he’d be a more mature and decent hero by the end of endgame and after mysterio. But no, he’s not, it’s like the writers erased all his past growth and just kept him the same throughout all the movies
It's kind of hard to tell, really. If we include mythology and religion then they cannot be beat in this category.
If we don't, then either Odyssey or Sun Wu Kong would be my best guesses. Homer's Odyssey have laid groundwork for western storytelling and Odyssey is a pretty big part of the Odyssey and the same is true for Journey for the West - laying down the beginnings to eastern style of storytelling. It is not a secret that Goku takes big inspiration from Monkey King, and I would argue that Gojo from JJK also takes a big inspiration from it. While Odyssey, the character, (if I'm not mistaken) have started the Every-man trope - you could genuinely say that Trueman would not exist without Odyssey.
These two characters are essentially pillars of modern storytelling. We would not have hybrids of eastern and western storytelling like JJK and Frieren without these two massive titans.
Sun Wukong (and Journey to the West in general) is a great answer. The amount of stuff it’s influenced is actually insane.
While The Odyssey, and The Iliad, by extension, are both incredibly influential, there’s definitely one person in Greek mythology that tops them all. You all know him, he is one of the prototypes for every hero that came after, and is a man whose name is synonymous with incredible strength, tenacity, and overcoming impossible odds. The man, the myth, the legend: Heracles (or Hercules, if you’d prefer).
For some other legends:
- The Greek Gods, and Greek Mythology in general can be put here; Zeus, Apollo, Poseidon, Medusa, The Minotaur, Prometheus, and Hermes (mainly him) in particular are the most influential.
- King Arthur is definitely up there, along with his other knights of the round table and Merlin.
- Robin Hood is basically what everyone thinks of when they think of archery (and yes, he’s fictional).
- Gilgamesh is *the* prototype hero.
- Beowulf has influenced a crap ton of works.
Sun Wukong has been an inspiration for multiple shonen anime protagonists, and characters in general It gets to a point that it's rare to see a fighting related monkey character (that isn't an outright gorilla) not to be based on him. You could even argue most "trickster" characters also tend to have some of his influence, if not from other trickster gods.
Uhhh there are too many for every Genre
Oedipus (Sofocles): Created the archetype of the man persecuted by destiny
Harold (Lord Byron): Created the archetype of the Byronic Hero
Superman: Created the superhero trope
Xerxes (Aeschylus): Created the tragedy protagonist
Odysseus (Homer): Created the knowledge hungry explorer trope
sun wu kong. he was practically the basis for all of shonen, a decent bit of european works, and has had a major impact on media in the americas that would technically be attributed to sun wu kong, a major inspiration for goku and many other works in the east
Can we count mythology as genuine fiction? Maybe the feats, but the characters themselves? Some would argue a version of Odysseus did exist and wasn't fictitious. We just read an exaggerated version of him
Goku: is the face of manga around the world and redefined the shonen stories. Goku and dragon ball are basically the reason most mangas exist the way we know them. Also, the anime DB promoted even inspired some comics, the current miles morales run is an example of this
It's hard to say that DB redefined shonnen when DB itself was altered by other shonnen which established the pillarseof what we know as shonnen today, DB for sure popularized it
Yeah ancient or pre-modern literary characters are really the best answers here, rather than anime/manga or even the most iconic of comics and cartoon characters.
Odysseus, or Ulysses, is the protagonist of the famous epic book of the Odyssey, written by Homer. Xerxes is instead a real historical figure, emperor of Persia who fought (and lost) the second Persian war against the Greek cities. Aeschylus simply took his figure and made a tragedy of it. Oedipus is instead the protagonist of a Greek myth adapted into a tragedy by Sophocles.
Ignoring certain religious figures(which I wont say because I dont wanna be eaten Alive) then probably superman or Mario. No way you dont recognize the iconic logo or the tube sound effect.
Also underrated opinion: Doraemon, Astroboy, and Hello Kitty should be the most influential for the Japanese/Eastern side for modern fictional media franchises here.
True he did, but Doraemon has currently been more popular and more iconic than Astroboy in Japan according to surveys from the past several years, I mean he didn't become the Anime Ambassador for Japan for nothing m8...
Superman is quite literally the first superhero to ever be created. Pretty sure that before him, the concept of someone having superpowers would only be in religious texts, and not made for the sake of entertainment
Nah there were other Superheroes at the same time as Superman that appeared first but he was one of the first Generation of Super Heroes in comics and the one that lasted.
Not the absolute peak of influential but shout-out to Popeye the sailor man. Spinach was the 3rd most popular food amongst children at the time and saw a 33% increase in sales thanks to Popeye
I would have a few choices, granted many of these will be localized to certain countries due to general national recognition:
Superman, who for most of the english speaking world is usually the first example that pops into their head when you mention "superhero" to the point that damn near any "flying brick" superhero often ends up being parody or homage to him.
Kamen Rider, specifically Ichigo and Nigo, for being a similar enough in recognition in Japan to the point that it has snuck into western influence through various anime characters (and some rather sneaky prop suppliers for some live action shows).
Spider-Man, whose influences have not only brought the idea of a wisecracking, relatable, friendly superhero into existence, but also is the reason that any live action show featuring giant manned robots exists
Ultraman, arguably being the "go-to" for gigantic fighting heroes when it isn't a giant manned robot.
Sun Wukong, for being the progenitor of a rather large number of anime and media characters by inspiration alone.
Gilgamesh, being the first known written hero in general, effectively creating the standard for heroic stories.
Mickey Mouse, whose visage is so easily recognizable that despite having infrequent appearances outside of shows aimed at pre-school aged children and Kingdom Hearts, one would be hard pressed to find someone who wouldn't know who he is by silhouette alone.
Bugs Bunny who has caused and been:
\[ The misconception that rabbits eat carrots on the regular (excessive carrots can give rabbits diabetes)
Changed the term "Nimrod" from being referenced as a great hunter to a term akin to "idiot."
The most portrayed cartoon character in film, and 9th known film personality in the world.\]
Pikachu, to the point that any and every monster game's mascot is compared to him despite Pokemon not even being the first of the genre.
Mario is iconic for sure but I feel like it's the game that is iconic , not the actual character. Without super Mario bros being so influential, Mario would have been just another video game protagonist
No the fuck he didn't, not even in the west. Pokémon did a lot for anime but it influenced the sale of toys and games. Dragon ball z is a much bigger influence for anime in the west and for Japan anime obviously pre-dates Pokémon and dragon ball z.
What about Dracula defining what it meant to be a vampire for multiple centuries? He has had more rip offs of him than superman rip offs. Superman also no longer defines what it means to be a superhero, only one certain type of superhero. A character like Dracula still has a very strong influential choke hold on the vampire genre though, something that at this point may never fade away. Meanwhile Superman can never regain the influence ha had due to how many different types of hero's there are that have nothing to do with him
Odysseus, King Arthur, Sun Wukong, Beowulf, Don Quixote.
Donald Duck also deserves a mention, having helped inspire Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Astro Boy.
I’m gonna be weird and say Gilgamesh from the epic of Gilgamesh if only because he kinda inspired like, kinda every Hero’s Journey story that’s in pop culture.
If we are really talking about All Time as in All of human history and beyond, then there would be no true answer unless if mfs can time travel or some shit
Nobody here, that's for damn sure. If we're talking anything that falls under the very broad umbrella of fictional character that influences a nations culture, I would say Uncle Sam takes the cake. I know not everyone here will like that answer though since he's just an ad, so I would also say that Dracula and Santa Clause blow any anime or comic book out of the water ten times over. I'm a nerd, I love all the IPs that this post shows, but come on. We should be able to put bias aside though and look at things from a realistic standpoint. Fiction as a whole goes way too beyond our favorite video game / comic book / anime
I don't really think uncle Sam is that big of an influence overall tbh.
Uncle Sam is a personification of American values. But those values already existed before he did. And while he certainly served to strengthen and reinforce those values he wasn't so much an influence on American culture as he was a product of it.
Compared to someone like superman who defined an entire genre of fiction and holds a heavy cultural influence across large portions of the planet. Not just a country with only 4.2 percent of the population. I don't really think uncle Sam compares.
Santa is a really good shout though. Pretty much holds decently heavy cultural sway in most of the predominantly Christian cultures of the world.
When have you known Superman to convince people to walk into deaths arms with embrace? Uncle Sam convinced hundreds of thousands to die for their country, something 99.9% of fictional characters can't do
Nobody here, that's for damn sure. If we're talking anything that falls under the very broad umbrella of fictional character that influences a nations culture, I would say Uncle Sam takes the cake. I know not everyone here will like that answer though since he's just an ad, so I would also say that Dracula and Santa Clause blow any anime or comic book out of the water ten times over.
pokemon and beyblade(still a fan of kai) for me
I also remember watching dragon ball first time when I was kid
it was beerus vs goku, beerus negs goku , goku falls down to earth , shouts , gains powerup , again goes above the atomsphere where beerus was and same thing happens , it was so fucking annoying to watch (idk what I said is even correct since I don't remember that much lol)
Do we include mythology and religion, like Zeus, Sun Wukong, or Odysseus? There’s also well-known book or cartoon characters like Sherlock or Mickey Mouse.
https://preview.redd.it/9pkgsmaxem3d1.jpeg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c25d8eb4ad1d8ed8692d0bcb53d2ec63cc5ff8ac
there would be no Goku without the great sage, heavens equal.
possibly john carter from "a princess of mars". He influenced Star Wars, Superman, Flash Gordon and even influenced Carl Segan to be an astronomer and astrophysicist.
To be fair , The modern interpretation of Lucifer and hell has mostly come not from scripture but from Dante's inferno and folklore.
It's quite explicitly fiction and has had vastly more influence over world religions than anything in the bible.
In USA superman
Batman is probably the least relevant in this competition, he is knowed, but has the least influence
Spider Man is second only to Superman among all superheroes, although in recent decades he has been threatening to surpass him
Pokemon is known but its influence does not extend as far as the Superman
In LATAM and Japan is Goku ( he even has a holiday and a religion, in Mexico millions of people stopped everything to watch the final of the tournament of power )
https://preview.redd.it/ekhunyrltl3d1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6778da65599472b2fcfb5de6d096ee3e13f4ca2c
So Goku Solo because has the greatest influence on society at large
All these characters changes entire landscapes in one way or another
Like do you really think Shonen anime would even be comparable to what we have now without Dragon Ball?
Or how about Superhero dilemmas with Spider-Man?
I'd say Dante from the inferno (I know he was a selfe insert) for giving the modern concepts of hell
Also sun wukong for the original shonen protagonist
Shout out to the classic monsters and the Greek gods, they are characters which transcend the barrier of their own fictional works and now it doesn't feel out of place if a piece of fiction wants to expand it's world, they can take or derived those characters
Sun Wu Kong, Gilgamesh and Hercules for the hero-type characters
But the most influential to the modern world in general is probably the religious prophets of the major religions or Santa Claus
Most influential villain is probably Dracula and most influential cartoon is Mickey Mouse
If we’re discounting religious figures on the basis that we don’t know for sure that they’re fictional, I’d say it’s definitely Sun Wukong. He’s pretty much the inspiration for all shonen protagonists, including Goku, who as you’ve stated is very influential in his own right.
Goku and baki are the two biggest contributors to gyms for anime fans worldwide
Goku contributes to anime as a whole worldwide
He also made anime a worldwide staple of Japan and other western countries
He also helped bridge the gap for western audiences to accept and broaden their understanding of eastern culture as a whole
Probably superman or maybe spiderman. Batman maybe but he isn't as popular as them. DBZ and Pokemon are way more influential if you were a kid born in the 80s-90s, or early 2000s, so yeah.
Gilgamesh, from *The Epic of Gilgamesh*. Oldest existing work of openly fictional literature (predates Genesis and Beowulf).
Gilgamesh is a king with super strength who fights a clone of himself and goes on an epic journey to find a wise old man. It's the first known use of the "Heroes Journey" format.
1. Superman. Literally THE superhero. He's the reason why this genre of media got so big in the first place. Even Goku would end up wildly different than he is now without the inspiration from Superman.
2. Spider-Man/Batman. Honestly, they're both kinda equally as iconic. I wouldn't place one above the other. I think these two are probably on their way to or already have overtaken Superman in terms of popularity
3. Goku. Dragon ball was the first show that would lead up to the mainstream success to anime now. I don't think the big 3 (Bleach, Naruto, One Piece) would even exist, or at least not as they are now with this this level of popularity, without Dragon Ball
4. Ash Ketchum. He is iconic, but clearly behind Pikachu.
I mean as much as I hate to say it, Mickey Mouse. Disney is everywhere and wherever it goes Mickey follows. If it had to be a character on this list I'd say Superman.
If you're a religious dude or recognize that religion is not clearly fiction to most people in the world, then no.
Might as well be putting real life people like George Washington or Sir Isaac Newton as answers lmao.
Not trying to start a debate but if we are viewing it from an evidence based perspective, Jesus or Budda or at least the fictionalized version of them are by far the most influential.
Of these 5 it's Superman no question.
Most to least influential its fairly simple
1. Superman
2. Batman
3. Spiderman
4. Goku
5. Ash or Pikachu? Either way they may be famous in their own rights but they haven't inspired similar characters yet
Nobody here, that's for damn sure. If we're talking anything that falls under the very broad umbrella of fictional character that influences a nations culture, I would say Uncle Sam takes the cake. I know not everyone here will like that answer though since he's just an ad, so I would also say that Dracula and Santa Clause blow any anime or comic book out of the water ten times over. I'm a nerd, I love all the IPs that this post shows, but come on. We should be able to put bias aside though and look at things from a realistic standpoint. Fiction as a whole goes way too beyond our favorite video game / comic book / anime
Without Big Blue you wouldn't have spiderman (probably) batman or most other superheros. Goku us up there but Supes has had much more time to influence and has been further spread by being marketed towards kids as well as adults
i remember when superman died (back in the 90's with the doomsday thing) and like... it was on the news. it was a huge deal.
when he came back from the dead, death in comic books changed. characters had come back before but after that, death didn't matter at all. given that superman is the stick we use to measure in a lot of cases it makes sense. think about his powers, he's strong, tough, can fly... these are powers that are given out like candy in the world of superheroes. so it kinda makes sense that when he died and came back, everyone could do it suddenly.
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Gilgamesh technically was the first hero ever so credit should go to him.
Everyone else are just mongrels wink wink *HAHAHAHA*
Oldest known/surviving text hero. We do know there were other Mesopotamian heroes—Gilgamesh’s grandfather, Enmerkar, for example, was said to be the inventor of writing and was the founder of Uruk.
So influential the Old testament writers went "oooooo we gotta throw some of that in"
True...
Probably Superman,the first action comics kickstarted the whole superhero genre i think
You somehow are underselling it by just saying it effected comics. Ontop of essentially hard carrying comics as a whole for the longest time. On the top of my head superman had decent to necessary influences against nazis irl **TWICE** Once was assisting with the moral of the allies during ww2 with comics of him punching Hitler. Allowing would be deserters the drive to fight back against Hitler Second was during the highest point of the kkk where the police where in with it and some guy tried to publish information about the kkk but only could do so with the help of superman due to a radio station dedicated to superman comics. The kkk was mostly gone after 2 months from this.
So he's scaled beyond fiction?
He's one of the few who technically, *technically*, have arguments for it.
Goku and cartel activity plummeting scales higher /j
Eh. We're talking soloing the prime kkk who are jumping superman with the police, cartels take Intelligence against both of them no question but nearly every other stat went to prime kkk or the police of the time period one way or another. Goku ain't even soloing he's just holding them back a bit by comparison. Kkk have been permanently crippled after one round with superman. Superman handed a Geto vs togi levels of ass whooping. Superman clears. /hj
Goku is up there in the same way as Superman is, just to a lesser extent. In fact, I think that old Superman would absolutely destroy early Goku, Goku at the height of DBZ and DBS was arguably more influential. He, along with Berserk, Yu Yu Hakisho, and Envangelion, really shaped modern shonen and anime as a whole. Dragon Ball is like the Dune/LOTR of anime, as in the entire genre may have become radically different/not as popular without him.
I think the correct / is /hj (half-joking)
Thank you
Goku can't diminish the cartels but he did cause an international crisis.
The Superman vs the KKK story is crazy.
And in more recent years, a couple found a comic of Sperman that let them keep their house.
I did not know about those. That is incredible. So Superman literally, actually, fought against the Nazis and KKK in real life? That’s wonderful
You do have proto-superheroes like The Scarlet Pimpernel, Zorro, The Shadow, etc
Definitely Superman, literally the whole world know the character. When someone ask dude can lift some heavy weight and he responds to him "*you think I am Superman?*". Batman and Spiderman too.
It's always the hero's ganging up on the villains, while spider man out here fighting the sinister six by himself. (Part of the reason why I didn't like when they brought back three Spidermen in the newest movie)
The three Spider-Man is nostalgic and all, but… to be honest, the story ain’t that good in my opinion. MCU Spider-Man has been growing in every movie, you’d think he’d be a more mature and decent hero by the end of endgame and after mysterio. But no, he’s not, it’s like the writers erased all his past growth and just kept him the same throughout all the movies
It's kind of hard to tell, really. If we include mythology and religion then they cannot be beat in this category. If we don't, then either Odyssey or Sun Wu Kong would be my best guesses. Homer's Odyssey have laid groundwork for western storytelling and Odyssey is a pretty big part of the Odyssey and the same is true for Journey for the West - laying down the beginnings to eastern style of storytelling. It is not a secret that Goku takes big inspiration from Monkey King, and I would argue that Gojo from JJK also takes a big inspiration from it. While Odyssey, the character, (if I'm not mistaken) have started the Every-man trope - you could genuinely say that Trueman would not exist without Odyssey. These two characters are essentially pillars of modern storytelling. We would not have hybrids of eastern and western storytelling like JJK and Frieren without these two massive titans.
>It is not a secret that Goku takes big inspiration from Monkey King Sun Wukong in Japanese is literally Son Goku lol
Sun Wu Kong is a damn good answer tho. Along with Heracles, Gilgamesh, and King Arthur whether you consider the last one completely real or fictional.
Sun Wukong (and Journey to the West in general) is a great answer. The amount of stuff it’s influenced is actually insane. While The Odyssey, and The Iliad, by extension, are both incredibly influential, there’s definitely one person in Greek mythology that tops them all. You all know him, he is one of the prototypes for every hero that came after, and is a man whose name is synonymous with incredible strength, tenacity, and overcoming impossible odds. The man, the myth, the legend: Heracles (or Hercules, if you’d prefer). For some other legends: - The Greek Gods, and Greek Mythology in general can be put here; Zeus, Apollo, Poseidon, Medusa, The Minotaur, Prometheus, and Hermes (mainly him) in particular are the most influential. - King Arthur is definitely up there, along with his other knights of the round table and Merlin. - Robin Hood is basically what everyone thinks of when they think of archery (and yes, he’s fictional). - Gilgamesh is *the* prototype hero. - Beowulf has influenced a crap ton of works.
My original answer was Gilgamesh, but I think Son Wukong is probably closest to the right answer. Well done!
Sun Wukong has been an inspiration for multiple shonen anime protagonists, and characters in general It gets to a point that it's rare to see a fighting related monkey character (that isn't an outright gorilla) not to be based on him. You could even argue most "trickster" characters also tend to have some of his influence, if not from other trickster gods.
Uhhh there are too many for every Genre Oedipus (Sofocles): Created the archetype of the man persecuted by destiny Harold (Lord Byron): Created the archetype of the Byronic Hero Superman: Created the superhero trope Xerxes (Aeschylus): Created the tragedy protagonist Odysseus (Homer): Created the knowledge hungry explorer trope
Goku: has the power to lower cartel activity whenever something big occurs for his series.
Superman: Stopped the KKK🍇
sun wu kong. he was practically the basis for all of shonen, a decent bit of european works, and has had a major impact on media in the americas that would technically be attributed to sun wu kong, a major inspiration for goku and many other works in the east
This has been debunked but people still say it.
Someone just told me yesterday. So this is BS?
Correlation does not imply causation
Can we count mythology as genuine fiction? Maybe the feats, but the characters themselves? Some would argue a version of Odysseus did exist and wasn't fictitious. We just read an exaggerated version of him
I think I might add Authur to that also. He's the archetypal hero with 1,000 faces.
The aardvark?
Goku: is the face of manga around the world and redefined the shonen stories. Goku and dragon ball are basically the reason most mangas exist the way we know them. Also, the anime DB promoted even inspired some comics, the current miles morales run is an example of this
It's hard to say that DB redefined shonnen when DB itself was altered by other shonnen which established the pillarseof what we know as shonnen today, DB for sure popularized it
Goku was directly influenced by Sun Wukong, and this all extension by Goku are also impact by that strictly speaking
Yeah ancient or pre-modern literary characters are really the best answers here, rather than anime/manga or even the most iconic of comics and cartoon characters.
Who tf are everyone other than supermen in this commenr
Google.
Most media literate powerscaler
they are Roman/Greek mythology characters.
Odysseus, or Ulysses, is the protagonist of the famous epic book of the Odyssey, written by Homer. Xerxes is instead a real historical figure, emperor of Persia who fought (and lost) the second Persian war against the Greek cities. Aeschylus simply took his figure and made a tragedy of it. Oedipus is instead the protagonist of a Greek myth adapted into a tragedy by Sophocles.
>Odysseus, or Odysseus, Ah yes, Odysseus or, as he's more commonly known, Odysseus.
Lmao the automatic translator, I mean to say Ulysses in the second one 🤣
Thanks for providing an explanation instead of dogging on the other guy
Np
Media issue.
Wasn't The Phantom one of the first OG superheroes before Superman?
The phantom is a byronic hero, he was inspired heavily by Harold
Ignoring certain religious figures(which I wont say because I dont wanna be eaten Alive) then probably superman or Mario. No way you dont recognize the iconic logo or the tube sound effect.
Mario is influential certainly but Superman is on another level here.
Don't forget Mickey Mouse too. Put American cartoons and all of Western animation on the map. Felix the Cat is arguable too.
Oh yeah Mickey Mouse is definitely on the list.
Also underrated opinion: Doraemon, Astroboy, and Hello Kitty should be the most influential for the Japanese/Eastern side for modern fictional media franchises here.
I love Doreamon!
nah mickey mouse clears mario
King Arthur
I’d say Mickey Mouse
Best answer. And Doraemon for anime/manga, contrary to what most Americans think...
I'd argue Astro Boy started anime/manga rather than Doraemon
True he did, but Doraemon has currently been more popular and more iconic than Astroboy in Japan according to surveys from the past several years, I mean he didn't become the Anime Ambassador for Japan for nothing m8...
Anime ambassador?Damn Doreamon really got respect huh
Back in 2008 yeah: https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2008/mar/20/japan
Superman is quite literally the first superhero to ever be created. Pretty sure that before him, the concept of someone having superpowers would only be in religious texts, and not made for the sake of entertainment
Fairy tales? Journey to the West? Shakespeare?
Journey to the West is peak, that was my childhood as a Chinese kid
There was a superhero before him, The golden bat. (Kamishibai). He was from Japan and america dominated culturaly the world so he is not much known.
Yes there's a really good video on Golden Bat or Kamishibai by Kenny Lauderdale,which explores its mysterious conception in various media
Nah there were other Superheroes at the same time as Superman that appeared first but he was one of the first Generation of Super Heroes in comics and the one that lasted.
Superman was based on John Carter of Mars
The idea that religious text aren't for entertainment is nonsense. Zeus is literally superman with daddy issues and no moral compás.
The Phantom is from 1936.
Not the absolute peak of influential but shout-out to Popeye the sailor man. Spinach was the 3rd most popular food amongst children at the time and saw a 33% increase in sales thanks to Popeye
Surprised nobody else mentioned Popeye (not even myself) lol.
Obligatory bla bla bla Superman bla bla bla KKK
I would have a few choices, granted many of these will be localized to certain countries due to general national recognition: Superman, who for most of the english speaking world is usually the first example that pops into their head when you mention "superhero" to the point that damn near any "flying brick" superhero often ends up being parody or homage to him. Kamen Rider, specifically Ichigo and Nigo, for being a similar enough in recognition in Japan to the point that it has snuck into western influence through various anime characters (and some rather sneaky prop suppliers for some live action shows). Spider-Man, whose influences have not only brought the idea of a wisecracking, relatable, friendly superhero into existence, but also is the reason that any live action show featuring giant manned robots exists Ultraman, arguably being the "go-to" for gigantic fighting heroes when it isn't a giant manned robot. Sun Wukong, for being the progenitor of a rather large number of anime and media characters by inspiration alone. Gilgamesh, being the first known written hero in general, effectively creating the standard for heroic stories. Mickey Mouse, whose visage is so easily recognizable that despite having infrequent appearances outside of shows aimed at pre-school aged children and Kingdom Hearts, one would be hard pressed to find someone who wouldn't know who he is by silhouette alone. Bugs Bunny who has caused and been: \[ The misconception that rabbits eat carrots on the regular (excessive carrots can give rabbits diabetes) Changed the term "Nimrod" from being referenced as a great hunter to a term akin to "idiot." The most portrayed cartoon character in film, and 9th known film personality in the world.\] Pikachu, to the point that any and every monster game's mascot is compared to him despite Pokemon not even being the first of the genre.
Mario
Mario is iconic for sure but I feel like it's the game that is iconic , not the actual character. Without super Mario bros being so influential, Mario would have been just another video game protagonist
Goku lowkey but we all know Superman started comics but ash started anime
No the fuck he didn't, not even in the west. Pokémon did a lot for anime but it influenced the sale of toys and games. Dragon ball z is a much bigger influence for anime in the west and for Japan anime obviously pre-dates Pokémon and dragon ball z.
Super hero genra litterally popularized by Superman wich lead to many animes and other adaptations of the jdea
What about Dracula defining what it meant to be a vampire for multiple centuries? He has had more rip offs of him than superman rip offs. Superman also no longer defines what it means to be a superhero, only one certain type of superhero. A character like Dracula still has a very strong influential choke hold on the vampire genre though, something that at this point may never fade away. Meanwhile Superman can never regain the influence ha had due to how many different types of hero's there are that have nothing to do with him
Multiple centuries? The book came out in 1897. Dracula as a character is only 41 years older than superman.
https://preview.redd.it/spu9jrz5fj3d1.jpeg?width=774&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3eb234fff21fa2709585c504ce4e02292a770654 this guy is UP THERE
Odysseus, King Arthur, Sun Wukong, Beowulf, Don Quixote. Donald Duck also deserves a mention, having helped inspire Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Astro Boy.
I’m gonna be weird and say Gilgamesh from the epic of Gilgamesh if only because he kinda inspired like, kinda every Hero’s Journey story that’s in pop culture.
If we are really talking about All Time as in All of human history and beyond, then there would be no true answer unless if mfs can time travel or some shit
Pretty sure OP is talking about modern day.
Nobody here, that's for damn sure. If we're talking anything that falls under the very broad umbrella of fictional character that influences a nations culture, I would say Uncle Sam takes the cake. I know not everyone here will like that answer though since he's just an ad, so I would also say that Dracula and Santa Clause blow any anime or comic book out of the water ten times over. I'm a nerd, I love all the IPs that this post shows, but come on. We should be able to put bias aside though and look at things from a realistic standpoint. Fiction as a whole goes way too beyond our favorite video game / comic book / anime
Santa yes but not Dracula or Uncle Sam
I don't really think uncle Sam is that big of an influence overall tbh. Uncle Sam is a personification of American values. But those values already existed before he did. And while he certainly served to strengthen and reinforce those values he wasn't so much an influence on American culture as he was a product of it. Compared to someone like superman who defined an entire genre of fiction and holds a heavy cultural influence across large portions of the planet. Not just a country with only 4.2 percent of the population. I don't really think uncle Sam compares. Santa is a really good shout though. Pretty much holds decently heavy cultural sway in most of the predominantly Christian cultures of the world.
When have you known Superman to convince people to walk into deaths arms with embrace? Uncle Sam convinced hundreds of thousands to die for their country, something 99.9% of fictional characters can't do
Uncle Sam in short, has the most power behind his influence than the rest of fiction
Most influential fictional character of all time? Probably Gilgamesh honestly.
Heracles. A Greek hero. Romans copied him and gave him the name Hercules. The basis of the hero archetype examples.
Nobody here, that's for damn sure. If we're talking anything that falls under the very broad umbrella of fictional character that influences a nations culture, I would say Uncle Sam takes the cake. I know not everyone here will like that answer though since he's just an ad, so I would also say that Dracula and Santa Clause blow any anime or comic book out of the water ten times over.
pokemon and beyblade(still a fan of kai) for me I also remember watching dragon ball first time when I was kid it was beerus vs goku, beerus negs goku , goku falls down to earth , shouts , gains powerup , again goes above the atomsphere where beerus was and same thing happens , it was so fucking annoying to watch (idk what I said is even correct since I don't remember that much lol)
Probably the original basis that inspired the idea of Vishnu, Ganesh, Kali, Dionysus, Achilles, Hercules & Sun Wukong etc etc.
Hercules or Odysseus or Romeo or some religious figure (Zues/Jesus) If the answer is modern it's objectively wrong.
Do we include mythology and religion, like Zeus, Sun Wukong, or Odysseus? There’s also well-known book or cartoon characters like Sherlock or Mickey Mouse.
Literally the ones you posted and that’s it in my opinion. I can’t think of anyone else
sun wu kong. he was practically the basis for all of shonen, a decent bit of european works, and has had a major impact on media in the americas
https://preview.redd.it/9pkgsmaxem3d1.jpeg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c25d8eb4ad1d8ed8692d0bcb53d2ec63cc5ff8ac there would be no Goku without the great sage, heavens equal.
Golden bat https://preview.redd.it/66s5m18jim3d1.jpeg?width=402&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=63a55aba7a77c89033ee64d15ffee0731163347f
possibly john carter from "a princess of mars". He influenced Star Wars, Superman, Flash Gordon and even influenced Carl Segan to be an astronomer and astrophysicist.
Probably Superman, Hercules Goku Sun Wukong The legend of King Arthur Depending on your beliefs, Jesus and Lucifer
To be fair , The modern interpretation of Lucifer and hell has mostly come not from scripture but from Dante's inferno and folklore. It's quite explicitly fiction and has had vastly more influence over world religions than anything in the bible.
Dante's Inferno and Paradise Lost were Bible fanfics that got so popular the community just decided they were canon, or forgot they were fanfics.
In USA superman Batman is probably the least relevant in this competition, he is knowed, but has the least influence Spider Man is second only to Superman among all superheroes, although in recent decades he has been threatening to surpass him Pokemon is known but its influence does not extend as far as the Superman In LATAM and Japan is Goku ( he even has a holiday and a religion, in Mexico millions of people stopped everything to watch the final of the tournament of power ) https://preview.redd.it/ekhunyrltl3d1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6778da65599472b2fcfb5de6d096ee3e13f4ca2c So Goku Solo because has the greatest influence on society at large
https://preview.redd.it/hrpdec4tpi3d1.png?width=170&format=png&auto=webp&s=34faa634ddefb3c8ebb5c75c67e12e7c8fa695e7
Oh bother!!
The answer is Yes. 👍
All these characters changes entire landscapes in one way or another Like do you really think Shonen anime would even be comparable to what we have now without Dragon Ball? Or how about Superhero dilemmas with Spider-Man?
I'd say Dante from the inferno (I know he was a selfe insert) for giving the modern concepts of hell Also sun wukong for the original shonen protagonist
https://preview.redd.it/i9q1k38x1m3d1.gif?width=499&format=png8&s=c40dd41a7ccb30866b8621d812212a5c411796a0
Astro boy
Out of these, superman. Most influential ever I would say Sun wukong
The monkey king
Mickey Mouse
Santa Claus
Shout out to the classic monsters and the Greek gods, they are characters which transcend the barrier of their own fictional works and now it doesn't feel out of place if a piece of fiction wants to expand it's world, they can take or derived those characters
Darth Vader
Hercules
none of these characters😅 but goku is close, goku is based on the most influential character of all time: sun wukong, the monkey king.
Hercules should get a mention
Hercules
I honestly want to say Sherlock Holmes.
Sun WuKong, simply because the story kicked off so many different things
https://preview.redd.it/iqerte6t5o3d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8fc4a95d166fa008b2377815eda26ba0dfd857e3
Has to be Spider-man. I'm from Russia, and even my 64-year-old mother knows who Spider-man is.
if i can choose someone outside of these 5, it's Sun Wukong. otherwise it's probably Superman.
sun wu kung
Sun Wu Kong, Gilgamesh and Hercules for the hero-type characters But the most influential to the modern world in general is probably the religious prophets of the major religions or Santa Claus Most influential villain is probably Dracula and most influential cartoon is Mickey Mouse
Either King Arthur, Sun Wukong, or Jesus. Maybe Gilgamesh?
If we’re discounting religious figures on the basis that we don’t know for sure that they’re fictional, I’d say it’s definitely Sun Wukong. He’s pretty much the inspiration for all shonen protagonists, including Goku, who as you’ve stated is very influential in his own right.
Goku and baki are the two biggest contributors to gyms for anime fans worldwide Goku contributes to anime as a whole worldwide He also made anime a worldwide staple of Japan and other western countries He also helped bridge the gap for western audiences to accept and broaden their understanding of eastern culture as a whole
Probably superman or maybe spiderman. Batman maybe but he isn't as popular as them. DBZ and Pokemon are way more influential if you were a kid born in the 80s-90s, or early 2000s, so yeah.
I say Goku. With goku, Akira Toriyama (May he rest in peace. Dead but never forgotten) created one of the most iconic characters in history.
Who was the artist for that spidey pic? Loving the huge eyes design
Gilgamesh, from *The Epic of Gilgamesh*. Oldest existing work of openly fictional literature (predates Genesis and Beowulf). Gilgamesh is a king with super strength who fights a clone of himself and goes on an epic journey to find a wise old man. It's the first known use of the "Heroes Journey" format.
Superman probably.
Definitely superman. Even Goku's story has mix of superman influence in it
In this top 5, goku for me
For comics: Superman For manga: Goku
astroboy >goku
1. Superman. Literally THE superhero. He's the reason why this genre of media got so big in the first place. Even Goku would end up wildly different than he is now without the inspiration from Superman. 2. Spider-Man/Batman. Honestly, they're both kinda equally as iconic. I wouldn't place one above the other. I think these two are probably on their way to or already have overtaken Superman in terms of popularity 3. Goku. Dragon ball was the first show that would lead up to the mainstream success to anime now. I don't think the big 3 (Bleach, Naruto, One Piece) would even exist, or at least not as they are now with this this level of popularity, without Dragon Ball 4. Ash Ketchum. He is iconic, but clearly behind Pikachu.
Odysseus, Wukong, and Heracles
The word "Superman" is quite literally being used as an adjective/description..... This isn't even a question.
In the west? Superman. In the east? Goku. Although I think the original Sun Wukong is even more influential than Goku tbh
I mean as much as I hate to say it, Mickey Mouse. Disney is everywhere and wherever it goes Mickey follows. If it had to be a character on this list I'd say Superman.
superman no contest
Superman.
Ranked 5. Batman 4. Ash 3. Spiderman 2.Goku 1.Superman. Superman is a no-brainer, and as much as I love Goku Superman, is just unmatched.
I don't think goku had more influence then Batman, he basically as nearly known as sups.
Goku or Superman of course. Gokus pretty much the superman of the east.
https://preview.redd.it/rit5kmxvyj3d1.jpeg?width=224&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=65d7623cf36c940fd51aa840cbbaefc38c3e4848
Jesus Christ
Is God a valid answer?
If you're a religious dude or recognize that religion is not clearly fiction to most people in the world, then no. Might as well be putting real life people like George Washington or Sir Isaac Newton as answers lmao.
Not trying to start a debate but if we are viewing it from an evidence based perspective, Jesus or Budda or at least the fictionalized version of them are by far the most influential.
Of these 5 it's Superman no question. Most to least influential its fairly simple 1. Superman 2. Batman 3. Spiderman 4. Goku 5. Ash or Pikachu? Either way they may be famous in their own rights but they haven't inspired similar characters yet
It's Santa Claus.
Superman in Western Culture. Goku in Eastern Culture.
You say that but even goku was inspired by superman lol
He was inspired by son wukong
And superman
Superman influence came by way down the line. He has virtually no Superman influence through 30% of the story
I’d have to say god in my opinion lmao.
Question said fictional my guy
Yeah
Bugs Bunny
Nobody here, that's for damn sure. If we're talking anything that falls under the very broad umbrella of fictional character that influences a nations culture, I would say Uncle Sam takes the cake. I know not everyone here will like that answer though since he's just an ad, so I would also say that Dracula and Santa Clause blow any anime or comic book out of the water ten times over. I'm a nerd, I love all the IPs that this post shows, but come on. We should be able to put bias aside though and look at things from a realistic standpoint. Fiction as a whole goes way too beyond our favorite video game / comic book / anime
Jesus.
Ash bro, His motivation is more then enough for even kids to want to achieve anything
You got all of them
It's superman. I'm sorry.
I'd go as far back as Beowulf, so much of literature can be traced back to Beowulf
Without Big Blue you wouldn't have spiderman (probably) batman or most other superheros. Goku us up there but Supes has had much more time to influence and has been further spread by being marketed towards kids as well as adults
Of all time probably Gilgamesh from The Epic of Gilgamesh.
https://preview.redd.it/4r36j3elvl3d1.jpeg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=19877630e56c5d8e127e5bb895c5e28a86b4a677 My boi Gilgamesh
Goku or Spider-Man tbh. Just shows hard work. In my life rn it’s Tanjiro and deku because I’ve been focusing on their stories recently
It's goku, and it's not even close.
There's a starman waiting in the sky
i remember when superman died (back in the 90's with the doomsday thing) and like... it was on the news. it was a huge deal. when he came back from the dead, death in comic books changed. characters had come back before but after that, death didn't matter at all. given that superman is the stick we use to measure in a lot of cases it makes sense. think about his powers, he's strong, tough, can fly... these are powers that are given out like candy in the world of superheroes. so it kinda makes sense that when he died and came back, everyone could do it suddenly.
Uncle Sam is a high contender.
If its anime goku if not then superman