credit: MCU
It’s not difficult to realize that some of the greatest heroes that have ever come along haven’t originated on this planet, even though they came to be among the most favored individuals ever to be written into one story or another. Alien heroes have been a part of comic book and movie tradition for quite a while, even if aliens have, in the movies, been exceedingly negative for many decades. The unknown tends to terrify a lot of people, but when it becomes known that beings from other worlds can and do find a reason to preserve life on planet earth, these individuals end up being praised as heroes and become quite popular. Some of the most well-known heroes in pop culture are aliens, no matter that some of them look human and others are humanoid in nature. It does make sense, considering that the human imagination is often born from ego as well, meaning that the overall form of one hero or another will be recognizable to those who want to idolize them.
Here are five of the greatest alien heroes.
5. Superman
credit: Man of Steel
Superman would likely be at the top of many lists, but in order to try and keep the man of steel, and his fans, a bit humbled after so many years, it’s fair to say that he is one of the most beloved aliens that has ever come to earth. There has been pushback toward the character over the years since the fact that he has flaunted a few laws in his time is worth noting, but at the same time, he’s done so much good that a lot of people are willing to look beyond the negative aspects that come with his actions. Plus, if not for Superman, it’s like likely that earth would have become a new Krypton in the movie, so it’s easy to say that he’s revered more than anything.
4. Venom
credit: Venom
Venom is one of the few heroes, or rather, anti-heroes, who can shape itself to conform to whatever host that it happens to inhabit, so it’s one of the only aliens on this list that doesn’t really need a humanoid form to exist. Venom does need a strong enough host to survive, though, as this was mentioned in the movie. For someone that started out as a villain in the comics, though, it’s fair to say that this character has come a long way since the first appearance and has earned more than a few fans along the way. While it’s yet to see how the most current version will interact with Spider-Man, if he does, it’s interesting to think that they might serve the same goal.
3. Optimus Prime
credit: Transformers
Since the 80s, Optimus Prime has been one of the most inspirational leaders that have ever been created, not to mention that he’s one of the more powerful. That last statement is hard to prove at all times since he does take a lot of damage and has needed to be resurrected a time or two. But the overall feeling about Prime is that he’s one of the more passionate and stoic individuals that has ever come to protect humanity and care about the planet earth. The fact that he doesn’t want the earth to become another Cyberton is touching, but as a character that’s seen the extent of human cruelty, it does make him appear a bit naive.
2. Thor
credit: MCU
As a character that’s straight out of human legend and myth, Thor is one of many characters in the history of comics that has changed considerably from what legends painted him as in the first place. Taking a look at Norse legends, it’s very easy to see that the MCU and even the Marvel version of Thor took a lot of cues from the myths but went in a very different direction than many might have thought necessary. Still, his popularity has increased tremendously over the years, and despite the fact that he looks human, his role as an alien has been noted more than once since he did not originate on earth.
1. Silver Surfer
credit: Marvel Comics
It is kind of amusing how many heroic aliens are seen to take pity on earth when it comes time for our world to be put on the chopping block in one story or another. The superpowered heroes that emerge to thwart the intentions of other beings to destroy this world are often similar in appearance to human beings in one way or another, but they’re often quite a bit more capable of doing something significant. The Silver Surfer was at one time what a person could have described as a villain since he was the herald for a being that consumes worlds. But after finally seeing enough worlds die, he decided to turn on his master and become a hero.