FEATURE: Top 10 CBM Characters Not Owned By Marvel Or DC

In a year like 2012 when we have 3 new releases from the likes of Marvel and DC it's easy for us to forget about those comic book properties that belong to the smaller companies. But every now and again one of these properties manages to gather a large enough fan base to garner a big budget film. Because of all the hard work it's only fair that we honor these characters in the same way that we do the likes of Batman or The Avengers. So let's talk about my picks for the top 10 best CBM characters not owned by Marvel or DC.

Before we get to the list I'd like to explain the rules I set up for choosing these characters. First of all they naturally must come from a movie based on a comic book which isn't owned by Marvel or DC. Second there will only be one character per movie franchise. And lastly this is based on my own opinion and has no reflection on popular opinion so take that into account before commenting below. So without further ado let's begin this list with...

10) SCOTT PILGRIM- SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD

What kind of self respecting geek couldn't relate to this character? Here we have a young man literally fighting against the world in order to begin dating the girl of his dreams. The story of Scott encompasses all of our inner fantasies as we see him fight against impossible odds using physically impossible stunts ending with him making out with an incredibly hot chick. To make matters better the film does a great job of showing the awkward life he leaded beforehand making the us root for him all the way through hoping that he achieves his happily ever after. Scott Pilgrim, the ultimate geek life.

9) SPAWN- SPAWN

I must clarify that this is based on the movie as I'm not accustomed to the comic where this originated from. Even though the movie wasn't as good as it could have been, it brought one awesome character to the big screen. The story follows Al Simmons, an assassin who's betrayed and killed on one of his assignments. When sent to Hell he makes a deal with the Devil in order to come back as the always awesome Spawn. Granted in the movie they make this as a cliched action movie character, the actor managed to show a lot of the pain his character's going through. That plus the fact he's one of the few super powered characters still willing to strap on some guns in order to take out his enemies Rambo style, he's definitally a man's superhero.

8) MARV- SIN CITY

Much like Scott Pilgrim, Marv's motives throughout this story involves fighting unbelievable odds for a girl. Unlike Pilgrim though this is for a girl who's already dead and also may not have had the same feelings for him as he did for her. It's a trajic tale of a deformed man attempting to get revenge for a person who treated him to a pleasant night, something that's rare for that kind of person. Throw in a talented actor like Mickey Rourke and you have one classic character.

7) MICHAELANGELO- TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES

With a list like this we can't forget about the party dude. As many stories today try to include a comic relief character, Mickaelangelo of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles holds the destinction of being one of the few who's actually pretty funny without being annoying in the slightest, or out of place. In fact many Turtles fans consider him the best of the four. What better way to explain his general awesomeness than with his signature catchphrase, kowabunga. Mikey, the ultimate chucker.

6) EBEN OLESON- 30 DAYS OF NIGHT

What I enjoy about 30 Days of Night is the fact that they managed to make changes to the traditional vampire movie formula that actually make a lot of logical sense. One of them being our hero for the piece Eben. Being the sheriff of the small town of Barrow it's his job to keep the citizens of the town safe during the 30 days the vampires remain in their town. Unlike other heroes in this genre he's rational, clever, and devoted to his fellow citizens. His general greatness as a character culminates in his decision at the end of the movie where he turns himself into a vampire to fight the rest of the baddies off then kills himself when the sun comes up so he doesn't hurt anyone in the town. Eben, we'll miss you man.

5) HITGIRL- KICKASS

If anyone tries to take this cutie pie hostage, prepare to lose your head in the process. Trained by her dad to fight crime and get revenge for the loss of her mother, Hitgirl throws no punches. Despite being the size of a garden gnome she's able to take out entire rooms full of dangerous thugs in a gruesome manner that would make The Punisher feel uncomfortable. Throw in some casual swears that any other child wouldn't dare say in front of an adult without immediatelly regretting it and you have the most awesome kid ever.

4) KING LEONIDAS- 300

In a way you could consider this guy the most accurate superhero ever, mostly because he's the craziest mofo you've ever met. Here's a guy who's thrown into a battle against the largest army ever assembled with his 300 troops yet all he can do is laugh at these impossible odds. Not to mention that but how often do we really see kings in movies take such a big part in a battle? In fact he's so awesomely crazy that technically his entire goal throughout the movie is to die. I'm not even kidding. He needs to get killed in battle so the Spartans have no choice but to go to war against the Persians. Devoted and crazy as hell, Leonidas is one leader I would follow to death (mostly because I'd have no choice).

3) HELLBOY- HELLBOY

Now here we have one of those few characters outside of Marvel or DC that managed to not only become famous and get his own movie, but is extremely close to having an official trilogy (both Marvel and DC still have popular characters that haven't been featured in a single movie). Hellboy, or Onung Unrademanala or whatever his real name is, is a demon out of Hell, raised by man, and taught to defend the people of earth from what goes bump in the night. It's hard to describe him without just explaining that he's awesome. He stares death in the face with a witty retort, jumps into danger alone because he thinks it's cool, and he's got both a giant stone hand and a giant revolver in order to send these monsters back to Hell. This is a guy who can have a mess of cats hanging around his place yet still remains one of the most awesome characters ever.

2) KAY- MEN IN BLACK

There's a reason why I'm choosing Kay and not Jay and that's because Kay's just the definitive Men In Black experience. I've always thought of Jay as the voice of the audience with the charm of Will Smith, but Kay is just flat out awesome. Here's a guy who can remain perfectly calm in the face of a spaceship crashing just a few feet from him, a giant bug eating him, and the news that in a few hours an alien force is going to destroy the Earth. This guy has the biggest balls of any character on this list. Heck in the third installment he remains unphased at the fact that a man from the future comes and tells him an alien's going to kill him. What better way to put this but don't mess with Kay.

1) ERIC DRAVEN- THE CROW

Brought back from the dead after he and his fiance are killed just before their wedding, Eric is revived thanks to a crow in order to exact his revenge on those who did him in. Being the last performance of Brandon Lee, he manages to make his swan song one to be remembered. Finding creative means of using his immortality and of killing each of his victims there's no denying why Goths the world over consider him their favorite superhero. One trajic tale of revenge earns Eric Draven the number one spot on my list of best character not owned by Marvel or DC.

So there's my list. I'd like to thank those from my last list for helping make this possible. Like if you liked and comment below on who you think should have been included (be nice). Also be sure to include your thoughts on any lists, reviews, or what happens next's that you'd like me to make an article out of. Tomorrow I'll post my next what happens next for The Amazing Spider-man. See you then.