10 cool songs about comic book characters
[A list from Adam Morrison. – AC]
Filled with tales of heroism, villainy, defeat, and triumph, comic book stories entertain and inspire us. And they’ve inspired more art than just movies and TV shows. Here are ten cool songs about or inspired by comic book-characters.
- Ghost Rider rides a motorcycle, and, when appropriate, cooks evildoers in hellfire. Synthpunk duo Suicide wrote this song about him and released it on their 1977, self-titled debut album. If you like this track, check out covers by Henry Rollins/Rollins Band, and R.E.M.
- Jury. Executioner. Judge. The law-abiding citizens of Mega-City One are lucky to have Joseph Dredd. Thrash titans Anthrax explain it all from Judge Dredd’s point of view on “I Am the Law,” a track from their 1987 Among the Living album. NSFW lyrics
- Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman comics tell stories of the Endless. The Endless are Destiny, Death, Dream, Destruction, Desire, Despair, and Delirium, and our lives being what they are depend on them doing their jobs. Electronic act Razed in Black namedrop all but one of the seven in “The Endless.”
- Ego the Living Planet has to be one of the weirder Marvel characters. I mean, he’s a sentient planet. For their song “Ego the Living Planet,” from 1995’s Dopes to Infinity, Monster Magnet pay tribute to the being without relying on words.
- Intergalactic law enforcement agent Green Lantern has a magic ring that makes him a mighty force. Nerd-rocker Kirby Krackle gets into the details on “Ring Capacity.”
- There are dozens if not trillions of mutants in the X-Men universe. The best known is probably Wolverine, who not only boasts an accelerated healing factor but also virtually indestructible bones and claws. The title track from Entombed’s 1993 album Wolverine Blues is nothing short of a death ‘n’ roll classic. Now, despite how the label promoted it, I’m not 100% sure this song is actually about Wolverine. But it’s definitely cool.
- Juggernaut is a classic X-Men villain who’s the stepbrother of Professor X, and who has a helmet with a gem that gives him powers. Open Mike Eagle shows the big guy some love with the track “Legendary Iron Hood.” NSFW lyrics
- 1969 garage rock song “Nobody Loves the Hulk” contains some relevant social commentary for the times, and makes you feel bad for the big green guy if you didn’t already.
- Ghostface Killah has been referencing Iron Man at least since his debut album, 1996’s Ironman. “Slept on Tony,” from the 2008 album GhostDeani the Great, describes the strengths and swagger of billionaire genius Tony Stark whether he’s in the suit or out of it.
- Al Simmons was an assassin for the U.S. government until his own boss had him killed. After literally making a deal with the Devil, Al returned as Spawn. In 1996, metal band Iced Earth released a whole album about the antihero, appropriately titled The Dark Saga.
Can you think of anything else that should be on this list? Please let me know in the comments!
Kinda surprised Crash Test Dummies’ ‘Superman’s Song’ didn’t make the list. And while it not be solely about comics, Pop Will Eat Itself’s ‘Can You Dig It?’ deserves an honourable mention for rapid fire lyrics that reference everything from ‘V For Vendetta’ to Batman, and a video with a dizzying array of comic book images. Alan Moore does indeed know the score… 😉
PWEI feels so forgotten in my circles these days. I’d put This Is The Day… far above Paul’s Boutique.
What, no Magneto and Titanium Man by Paul McCartney & Wings!!!????