Friday Night Lists: THE TOP 10 OTHER ANIMAL-RELATED SUPERHEROES

This list is all about those other animal-related superheroes who aren't such popular characters as Batman, Robin, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Rhino, Vulture, or The Wasp. Or, really any other of those overly famous comic book folks inundating the shelves these days. No, this list is specifically geared toward those either forgotten, lost, or just plain not quite up to the level of snuff of those other guys and gals. Read on and see if your favorite back-ground heroes and villains made the list.

10) ANIMAL MAN

ORIGINS: "Animal Man (Bernhard "Buddy" Baker) is a fictional DC Comics superhero. As a result of being in proximity to an exploding extraterrestrial spaceship, Buddy Baker acquires the ability to temporarily “borrow” the abilities of animals (such as a bird's flight or the proportionate strength of an ant). Using these powers, Baker fights crime as the costumed superhero Animal Man"

9) PUMA

ORIGINS: "Puma possesses a number of superhuman attributes that are a result of a combination of genetic engineering and mysticism. Thomas Fireheart is the latest in a line of Native Americans that were specially matched and bred to produce a perfect human being. That genetic manipulation was enhanced by an unknown supernatural process through which his tribe endowed him with magical abilities.

Fireheart undergoes a physical transformation through intense concentration that includes an increase in his height and weight, his body becoming covered with a fine tan fur, and razor sharp fangs and claws.

Transformation into this form also grants Fireheart superhuman physical attributes of strength, speed, stamina, agility, and reflexes.

Puma also possesses superhumanly acute senses. His sense of touch is heightened to the extent that he is able to feel the impressions of ink on a piece of paper. His hearing is enhanced in a similar manner, enabling him to both hear sounds that ordinary humans can't and to hear at much greater distances. Puma also possesses a superhumanly acute sense of smell that he uses to track a target by scent."

8) SILVER SABLE

ORIGINS: "Silver Sable (Silver Sablinova) is a fictional character from Marvel Comics, a female mercenary, hunter of war criminals, the leader of the Wild Pack, and CEO of Silver Sable International. Though a legitimate mercenary, her methods and motives have sometimes brought her into conflict with other superheroes."

7) HOWARD THE DUCK

ORIGINS: "Howard the Duck, as his name suggests, is a three-foot-tall anthropomorphic duck. He generally wears a tie and shirt, and is almost always found smoking a cigar. Originally, like many cartoon ducks, he wore no pants; Disney threatened legal action due to Howard's resemblance to Donald Duck, and Marvel redesigned that aspect of character.

Howard has an irritable and cynical attitude to the often bizarre events around him; he feels there is nothing special about him except that he is a duck, and though he has no goals other than seeking comfort and to be left alone, he is often dragged into dangerous adventures simply because he is visibly unusual. His series' tagline, "Trapped in a world he never made", played off the genre trappings of 1950s science fiction. A common reaction to meeting Howard the first time is a startled, "You...you're a DUCK!"

6) KILLER MOTH

ORIGINS: "In his original incarnation, Killer Moth has no superhuman abilities; he relies on the vast array of equipment he has developed. Killer Moth’s range of gimmicks includes a moth mobile, a moth signal, and a steel-line, which allows him to swing through the skies. He carries a cocoon gun that fires a stream of sticky threads that can totally envelop a victim. The gun can also fire a grenade.

As Charaxes, he has superhuman strength, agility and endurance, an exoskeleton that gives him some protection from physical and energy attacks, a set of wings that allows him to fly, sharp claws, and sharp, prehensile feelers. Charaxes secretes a sticky acidic substance that can trap the strongest of men and dissolve their bodies."

5) MAN-BAT

ORIGINS: "By taking his bat-gland formula, Kirk Langstrom can transform himself into a bat-like creature. By taking an antidote he can return to human form.

As Man-Bat, his strength, agility and endurance are all enhanced to super human levels; Kirk possesses a set of leathery bat wings that allow him to fly, super-sensitive hearing, and natural sonar. He emits high-pitched sound waves and can hear the echoes they make when they bounce off nearby objects, enabling Man-Bat to navigate perfectly in pitch black darkness.

If in Man-Bat form for a prolonged time, he will lose control over his animalistic side and works purely on instinct, making him prone to harm friend and foe alike."

4) OWLMAN

ORIGINS: "In 52 Week 52, an alternate version of Earth-3 was shown as a part of the new Multiverse. In the depiction were characters that are altered versions of the original Justice League of America, including Batman. The names of the characters and the team are not mentioned in the two panels in which they appear, but the altered Batman is visually similar to Owlman. This same character—assisted by a team referred to as the Crime Society—later appears in issue 31 of Countdown and fights Jason Todd, who is aided by his traveling companions, Kyle Rayner and Donna Troy.

Based on comments by Grant Morrison, this alternate universe is not the pre-Crisis Earth-Three, making this a new character unrelated to previous versions.

In The Search for Ray Palmer: Crime Society Owlman is shown with a sidekick called Talon, who had a relationship with Duela Dent, the daughter of his greatest foe, the Jokester. Based on statements and illustrations in this same book, it is stated the original Talon succeeded the old Owlman in a manner parallel to the way that Wayne as Batman was succeeded by Dick Grayson in the role of Batman for a period of time."

3) ROCKET RACCOON

ORIGINS: "Rocket Raccoon comes from Halfworld, in the Keystone Quadrant, an abandoned colony for the mentally ill where the animal companions were genetically manipulated to grant them human level intelligence and bipedal body construction for many to become caretakers of the inmates. Rocket was Halfworld's chief law officer ("ranger") who protected the colony against various threats.

Rocket Raccoon acts as the "Guardian of the Keystone Quadrant", an area of outer space sealed off from the rest of the cosmos by the so-called Galacian Wall. Rocket is captain of the starship Rack 'n' Ruin, and he and his first mate Wal Russ (a talking walrus) come from the planet Halfworld, half of which is inhabited by other talking animals, and half of which is inhabited by automatons."

2) DEVIL DINOSAUR

ORIGINS: "The young Devil Dinosaur was nearly burned to death by a tribe of Killer-Folk, hostile beings native to his planet, but was rescued by Moon-Boy, a young member of a rival tribe, the Small-Folk. Exposure to the Killer-Folk's fire activated a mutation in the dinosaur which gave him powers greater than others of his species and turned his skin from olive green to flame red. Devil Dinosaur is fiercely loyal to his constant companion Moon-Boy and seems more intelligent than the average dinosaur (as they are portrayed in the comic). Devil Dinosaur first encounters extraterrestrials, and is briefly transported to Earth via magic before returning to his home world.

Godzilla rampages through the Marvel Universe (Earth-616). In an attempt to stop the monster, S.H.I.E.L.D. shrinks Godzilla with Pym Particles and attempts to teleport him via a time machine to the prehistoric past. However, Godzilla's radiation distorts the time machine so that he is transported to the alternate universe of Dinosaur World instead. While there, he briefly unites with Moon-Boy and Devil against a common foe before being pulled back to the main Marvel continuity."

1) CAPTAIN CARROT

ORIGINS: "Captain Carrot is depicted as a superhero who lived on the otherdimensional world of Earth-C, an alternate Earth populated by sentient animals, which was later redesignated Earth-26 in the new DC Multiverse. At the beginning of the Captain Carrot series, he was referred to as "Roger Rabbit"; later in the series, "Rodney Rabbit" was usually used, to avoid legal issues involving the literary (and later film) character Roger Rabbit.

After their initial appearance in New Teen Titans #16, Captain Carrot and team appeared in 20 issues of their own series, Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew!. According to the final issue of the series, the book was cancelled in favor of placing the Zoo Crew in a number of miniseries, but only one such miniseries, the three-issue Oz/Wonderland War (in which the characters became involved in an interdimensional war involving the worlds of L. Frank Baum and Lewis Carroll), was ever published.

The Captain and Crew returned in a miniseries titled Captain Carrot and the Final Ark! (October-December 2007). After the new DC Multiverse, Captain Carrot and the Zoo Crew are said to reside on Earth-26. The end of that series shows their Earth to be rendered uninhabitable and the Captain has an ocean liner loaded with refugees that is transported off the planet by the Just'a Lotta Animals. The ship is then accidentally sent to New Earth. The Justice League encounters the ship and lands it safely, though all the passengers, including the Captain and his Crew are transformed into non-anthropomorphic animals. The superheroine magician, Zatanna, unaware of the animals' true nature, claims Rodney as a pet for her magic act.

However, in the climatic battle in Final Crisis #7, Captain Carrot participates, his humanity and powers restored by the renegade Monitor Nix Uotan."