Favorite all time Comic Book Character(s)!

Wow, this is my 100th post already! That's really kind of unbelievable. I sure wrote A LOT of stuff on this blog already! First off, thanks to anybody who ever bothered to take the time to read my at times almost incomprehensible ramblings! I really appreciate it.

Anyway, I figured that since this is my big 100th post, I should do something a little different or special, like they do in the comics for a milestone issue. The question then became what do I write about to commemorate this occasion? Well, why not write about my all time favorite character!

That seemed simple enough, until I sat down and realized I don't really have a single favorite character... There have been many different characters that have been favorites of mine through out my comic book collecting life. So, instead of picking out just one character, I figured, what the hell, this is my big 100th post, I'll just list everyone of my favorites and try to explain why I am attached to each one. The first one is kind of easy...

1. Nate Grey- The namesake of this very blog. My attraction to Nate's character has little to do with his actual comic, which for lack of a better term just plain stunk most of the time, but has more to do with his character. Nate was a stranger in a strange land. He had this vast potential that he was never able to achieve, and he had a disease that was slowly killing him. All the things I listed about Nate I could easily apply to myself. When I read my first X-Man comic book, not only was I about the same age as Nate, I practically was Nate! I think I could relate to Nate more closely then I could to any other comic book character. To this day, I hold out hope that eventually some writer will bring Nate back from the dead. Hey, he is a Grey, and they have a penchant for returning from the grave.
2. Bart Allen- Some of the first DC comics I ever read were from the "Young Justice" series. Bart as Impulse was a founding member of the team, and out of all the other members, he was the one who interested me the most. Bart had an unbridled enthusiasm for life, and his impulsive nature was so enjoyable to read about. He was the little brother of the team. He would drive everybody crazy, but you could see he genuinely didn't mean to. Bart was a truly good person. His world was so black and white, he was one of the few characters who was just pure good. There was no evil in Bart whatsoever. All Bart wanted to do was help out his fellow man, because it was the right thing to do. Even after DC decided to age Bart to adulthood, he kept a lot of the qualities that really endeared him to me. Bart always knew the difference between right and wrong, and never wavered in his convictions. Bart was a genuine hero, whose great character I miss enormously.
3.Laurie Collins- "Who is Laurie Collins?", I'm pretty sure a lot of people are asking themselves that right about now. Laurie was one of the second class of New Mutants that came out of the mutant boom of the early 2000's. She went briefly by the codename Wallflower, which fit her personality to a tee. Laurie was the soul of the New Mutants. She was the shy, quiet girl, who rarely had anything to say, but when she did speak up everyone listened. I'm sure a lot of people who read the New Mutants/Academy X comics might not even remember Laurie, but that is what attracted me to her character so much. She was different. The X-school had so many different loudmouths and trouble makers, but Laurie was the opposite. She was the most realistic character there. Of course she is dead as well... She was gunned down needlessly outside the school which was supposed to be protecting her...
4.Roy Harper- Roy is one of the more complete characters in either the Marvel or DC universes. He was a sidekick to Green Arrow as Speedy. Roy, in one of the more controversial moves in comic book history was revealed to be a heroin addict. Green Arrow threw Roy out onto the streets upon discovering this shocking revelation, but thanks to Hal Jordan and Black Canary, Roy managed to kick his addiction cold turkey, showing the strength of his character. Next, he made the mistake of fathering a child with the assassin Cheshire. Roy once again did the right thing and took his daughter, Lian from her murderous mother and went on to raise her as best he could. Although Roy suffered through numerous personal triumphs and tragedies, he has always found the time to serve on several super hero teams, including the Titans and the Justice League of America, even though he doesn't have any super powers. Roy is a great example of a flawed character who continues to try to do the right thing.
5.Magneto- I probably respect Magneto more then I respect any other villain in either Marvel or DC. Magneto is a man who grew up in the Nazi death camps of World War II, and decided that his people, mutants, would never suffer the same fate so many others did in the death camps he was raised in. I always found it so difficult to side with the X-Men whenever they would cross swords with Magneto, because in so many of his arguments, Magneto was right. Humanity just would never allow mutants to become the dominant species on the planet, no matter how much Prof. Xavier and his X-Men wanted to hope to the contrary. Magneto understood the hatred regular humans had for anything they felt was different from themselves, and was willing to do anything to make sure his race was the one that survived. Where Xavier and the X-Men lived in a world of dreams, I always felt Magneto lived in the real world, which was an ugly and brutal place for mutants.
6.Nightwing- Dick Grayson basically grew up under the wing of the Batman as his first Robin. Eventually, Dick grew too old to be Batman's kid sidekick anymore, and struck out on his own as Nightwing. Although Dick will always live under the enormous shadow of the Bat, he has managed to make his own life, outside of Gotham City and away from Batman. Dick Grayson's character has probably evolved as much as any other character in any comic book. He went from Bruce Wayne's young ward, to Batman's sidekick, to a member of the Teen Titans, to the leader of the Titans, to a very successful solo hero in his own right. Dick proved that you could take an established character(Robin) and re-package them into something even better(Nightwing).
Honorable Mention
7. Jean Grey- She was always the backbone of the X-Men, and her presence is sorely missed in the X-comics right now. Emma Frost isn't half the woman Jean was.
8.Steve Rogers- The original Captain America. What more needs to be said? Cap is, was, and always will be an icon in comic books. There are not many people out there with the unwavering moral compass Cap possessed. He always did what was right, no matter how unpopular it may have been.
9.Deathstroke the Terminator- Deathstroke is probably one of the smartest villains in either Universe. Not only could he beat almost any hero hand to hand, he is a meticulous planner, oftentimes able to outsmart his opponents as well as outfight them, a deadly combination.
10.Tabitha Smith- I much rather her codename Meltdown to the other ones. Anyway, I've always liked her attitude. Tabby was just one of those girls that you knew not to mess with. I've always liked Tabitha, but hated Jubilee which is kind of funny, since they are both cut from the same cloth... Go figure.
11.Cannonball- I've always liked Sam and the entire Guthrie clan. He was always such a sincere, salt of the Earth type of guy. Sam was always the hardest worker on whatever team he was on, and I always respected that.

I could literally go on and on here, because the more I write, the more I remember other characters that I would have liked to add to the list. I think it would be best to stop here, or I'll be writing all night.

Anyway, I'd be interested to hear about some characters that other people consider to be their favorites, that way, I'll have new characters to read about! Or, even if you hated some of my choices, I'd love to hear about that as well, maybe I could sway you to agree with me! Anyway, if you managed to get through this giant post, congratulations and thanks!