Since I’ve been writing this column, it’s been all about the male superheroes and villains. There have been pictures of actors such as James Marsters, Chris Hemsworth and Michael Rosenbaum for the ladies (and fellow Sidekick, Joe Glass) to swoon over. Many of the votes I’ve received from female fans for their favourite actors to play the characters I’ve covered have ended with words to the effect of “because he’s hot.” Sorry ladies, it’s true.

Well, this week, it’s the mens turn, as I turn Behind the Masks to possibly the sexiest lady to ever grace the printed page, and take a look at the actresses who have portrayed Catwoman.

This column was probably the toughest one for me to write yet. It turns out there have been a lot of great Catwomen over the years, and there are some shocking omissions from this list. Those who know me well enough will be surprised at the absence of Eliza Dushku, but with Batman: Year One not having been released yet, I couldn’t really include her by my own rules. Gina Gershon’s turn in The Batman was out of the running fairly early on, but it was only as I started actually writing that I dropped Eartha Kitt from the list. Likewise, the top five itself kept on changing, with my top two constantly swapping positions, even halfway through writing the entry for them, as did my three and four. Obviously, Halle Berry’s awful, awful version did not make the cut.

The votes for your favourite Catwoman were also close, which wasn’t much help for me, but in the end Michelle Pfeiffer just (by one vote) edged out Julie Newmar for the top spot, with one vote telling me that “Michelle Pfeiffer is how you spell M’rowr”. So, who tops my list?

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The conclusion to our trilogy of columns looking at the Avengers Big Three, and the best actors to portray, them is here, and I’ve saved my favourite for last. Regular readers will be aware that I do love Captain America. Even wrote a whole piece about why a little while back. Cap’s put in more screen appearances than Iron Man or Thor, thanks in part to the fact that he precedes them in the comics by a good couple of decades. There were also two attempts at live action Cap movies before the recent effort with Chris Evans in the title role (winner of your vote for best Cap, by the way). In the seventies there were a couple of made for TV movies starring Reb Brown as a rather lacklustre, one-note Captain America. Then, the early nineties gave us Matt “son of J.D.” Salinger in the title role in a disastrous movie in which Salinger did his best impression of… Well, Reb Brown. And wore rubber ears as part of his costume. Who thought that was a good idea?

Neither of these efforts were ever going to make this list, and are now mostly regarded as, at best, curios. However, leaving them aside, I was more than ready to bombard you with a Super Soldier Serum charged column featuring one awesome live action Cap, and four awesome animated Caps too.

Then I discovered one more live action version...

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There have been some truly awful Thors over the years. In researching this column (yes, I do research. It involves watching a lot of cartoons) I was reminded of how difficult it can be to bring a character like Thor to the screen. Things that work well in the comics, such as his faux Shakespearian dialect or his long, girly hair, just don’t really translate that well unless done properly. You either have to go all the way, and adapt the comic character as is (will only work in animation), or you have to make some pretty drastic changes somewhere.

To pick a prime example, check out Eric Allan Kramer’s awful turn in nineteen eighty-eight’s The Incredible Hulk Returns. While the original Hulk TV series was absolutely brilliant, Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno’s return to our screens in several low budget TV movies left a lot to be desired. Of the three, and opinions are divided, but in this writer’s opinion, this first one was the worst. Yes, The Trial of the Incredible Hulk featured a completely uninspired version Daredevil, but the Thor who showed up in Returns, and had his ass handed to him by the Hulk, was, at best, a one note joke. An Asgardian warrior who relished battle, women and drink. There was no nobility to the character, and he was incredibly difficult to sympathise with. He also looked bloody stupid.

So, as with last week’s look at Iron Man, we’re faced with a dilemma. There are few truly great Thors, and not a whole lot of good ones to choose from either. Still, I did manage to find five who, at the very least, could be considered adequate. Four of the men on this list deserve their places. This first guy though, I’ll admit, is mostly there to fill out the numbers...

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Who loves Magneto? I count all of you. He’s easily one of Marvel’s best characters, neither hero nor villain, but something in between. He’s fought the X-Men as the leader of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, and he’s also fought as one of them for periods of time. He’s Professor Xavier’s best friend and worst enemy all at once. And he’s one of the most powerful mutants around to boot.

Magneto’s screen appearances were largely limited to various Marvel related cartoons until the X-Men films, where he was portrayed by Ian McKellen (the winner of your vote for the best Magneto ever, by the way). The problem is, since the release of X-Men in 2000, most of the actors who have played the part in computer games and animation have all sounded like they’re trying to do an Ian McKellen impersonation, to one degree or another. Some have been more successful than others, and many of them are fine actors in their own right, but I personally would rather hear their own take on the Master of Magnetism. You may disagree with me, and I encourage healthy debate, so please let me know if I miss your favourite Ian McKellen off the list. On we go...

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Doc Bruce Banner, pelted by gamma rays, turned into the Hulk. But chances are if you’re reading this, you already knew that. In this, part two of part five of my regular column, I’m looking at the actors who have played Banner, and giving you who I think are the five best.

Last week, when we looked at the Hulk, there was only one man who received any votes at all. Lou Ferrigno was, unanimously, picked as the best Hulk ever. But while there’s a clear favourite when it comes to the Hulk, the voting for Bruce Banner was much more varied. Four actors were very much in the running, with Eric Bana, Bill Bixby, Edward Norton and Mark Ruffalo all fighting for your top spot. Normally in this column, this is the point where I’d tell you exactly which one was your favourite. Not this week though. As it happens, I concur with your number one, and since it was so tight, I thought I’d try and keep you in suspense. Bana, Bixby and Norton all feature on this list. Ruffalo, much as I love him and awesome as I think he’ll be, doesn’t place here, much as Andrew Garfield didn’t for Spider-Man, simply because we haven’t seen him yet. Anyway, on with the list, and a man who got no votes from you at all.

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And so, my look at the best actors to have ever played our favourite superheroes continues with Marvel’s webbed wonder, Spider-Man.

There have actually only been two live action Spider-Men, with Nicholas Hammond taking the role in a 1970s TV series, and Tobey Maguire in the recent films. Andrew Garfield doesn’t count as no one’s seen his film yet. Though that didn’t stop him coming in second place when I asked the public who people’s favourite Spidey is. Top of the public vote? That was Tobey Maguire. But is he my favourite?

No.

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Superman, as we all know, first appeared in Action Comics #1 in the year 1938. The first true superhero, Supes paved the way for a veritable army of comic book superheroes in the decades which followed. Quite naturally, it wasn’t long until the screen beckoned, and ever since 1941, when Superman again led the way in the classic Fleischer Studios cartoon series, superheroes have been a common feature on TV and cinema screens everywhere.

Over the years, most of the more popular heroes have appeared in one form or another, played by a huge amount of actors who, it must be said, are all brave for taking on such iconic roles. Some have done better than others, but who are the definitive actors who have played the characters we all know and love? That’s what I aim to look at in this series of columns. Each week, I’ll take a different, well loved character from comics and have a look at five of the actors who have played them, ranking them in order of my own personal preference. I’m also throwing it open to everyone else to tell me who their favourite is before I begin on my Twitter account.

For this week, let us begin with the greatest comic book character of all time, Batman! When I asked on Twitter who everyone’s favourite Batman was, Adam West just beat Christian Bale by a single vote, but does he top my list?

I tried to pick my five favourite actors to ever take on the part of the Caped Crusader, but I couldn’t pick between the last two. So you’re getting six. Let’s go!

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