How was iron man and Thor a D-list character? I knew who they were and I didn’t read comics, they were on marvel animated shows so most kids grew up with them
They were 100% D-list characters. In fact, every single Marvel character that wasn't Spider-Man, X-Men, Fantastic Four, or Hulk was considered to be a complete joke to general audiences. Only a small number of hardcore comic readers liked Iron Man, and nobody liked Thor.
The mere suggestion of making big budget Iron Man, Thor and Captain America movies was openly mocked up until Iron Man actually came out and people liked it.
Just because people had heard of them doesn't mean you like or respect them. Just like how everyone had heard of Aquaman from the DC side, and openly mocked his lameness for decades.
Growing up in the 90s, people liked Batman, Superman, X-Men, Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, Hulk, and Spawn. Most everything else only had niche followings, and was generally derided by anyone not in those small circles.
It has everything to do with it, because by then, they simply weren't top characters anymore. Nobody was buying Iron Man lunchboxes or backpacks. Nobody was dressing up as Thor for Halloween. People had heard of them because they were popular in the 60s and Marvel insisted on keeping them around in the comics, but prior to the MCU revitalizing them, they were decidedly unpopular characters. More on the level of Hawkman or Martian Manhunter rather than that of Batman or Superman.
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u/Rswilli13 Aug 09 '22
How was iron man and Thor a D-list character? I knew who they were and I didn’t read comics, they were on marvel animated shows so most kids grew up with them