There are thousands of reasons why some heroes catch on with the public and some simply do not. In the comics, Nightcrawler was one of the most popular "B" list characters ever, yet in the second X-Men movie he was poorly received. The same thing happened when Ben Affleck put on the Daredevil costume years ago to the dismay of most Marvel fans.

Yet the Vision can come alive in the second Avengers movie, amid an entirely new storyline, and fans love the guy. Nobody even objected to the fact that they killed off Jarvis, and then had the actor who was the voice of Jarvis play the Vision, which means the original Jarvis from Iron Man will probably never return.

Fans are fickle, so there may be a dozen reasons why these heroes have been so incredibly underrated over the years. In this list we take a look at whom these underrated characters are, and why they may be a bit overlooked.

 

10. Hawkeye

The archer gets very little credit for his talents in the current version of the Avengers. In the comics, Hawkeye was a gifted marksman who made a point of performing trick shots and launched arrows with deadly accuracy. He was the antithesis to Bullseye the villain, who could utilize his marksmanship skills with any weapon.

Hawkeye spends a lot of time in the comics as Captain America's sidekick, which inevitably adds to his lack of respect. In the new Marvel Universe however, he has more of a relationship with the Black Widow and the two of them share a bond of sorts.

Hawkeye made a name for himself eventually in the comic world through his calm leadership and eventually took over the persona of Captain America for a time. It remains to be seen if he can carve out a niche of respect in the cinematic universe.

9. Falcon

Falcon is in a similar position to Hawkeye when it comes to building his level of respect among the other heroes. Like Hawkeye, he was also a soldier first, who turns to the superhero team as an assistant to Captain America, at first.

In the comics, Falcon takes off faster and lasts longer than Hawkeye in his solo career, but also develops into more of an independent character. He is the protector of a small piece of property in New York called Harlem, similar to Daredevil protecting Hell's Kitchen.

Falcon has a name that is well known among the other heroes, but his participation has been sporadic throughout the comics. That seems to be on its way to changing in the upcoming edition of Captain America: Civil War. Time will tell"¦

 

8. Hawkgirl

Rumored to be getting her own show on the CW in the near future, this superhero has never risen to the level of notoriety that she should have commanded. She is a force of nature that is an expert in hand to hand combat. She possesses enhanced strength and unlike the Falcon, she has actual wings she can use to fly.

Hawkman was introduced many years earlier into the DC universe and still maintains a solid cult-like following. Hawkgirl however has yet to build that allegiance with her audience. Perhaps it is a gender issue, where female heroes have a harder time gaining in popularity than their male counterparts.

Getting her own TV show would be a serious feather in the DC cap. If the character of Hawkgirl can follow Supergirl's recent success, this list could be changing very soon.

7. Iceman

The X-Men that everybody knows but nobody gets really excited about is definitely the Iceman. In the comics, he stayed in his ice covered form most of the time and spent his days sarcastically wisecracking about anything and everything. He is a hero who knew he was on the "B" list and didn't like it.

Always trying to prove himself, Iceman regularly gets himself into trouble by over stepping and underestimating the opponent they are facing as a group. Perhaps it is because the stronger heroes always have to step in and save him that causes his lack of respect among his colleagues.

The character of Iceman in the movies has been a much more serious and incredibly solemn person than the version in the comics. Maybe that change in attitude will be enough to pave the way to bigger and better things for this powerful hero.

6. Spider-Woman

In spite of having her own animated series decades ago Jessica Drew has never quite reached the heights of her counterpart, Spider-Man. That is funny, considering her powers are much more devastating than his in every way. She shoots venom blasts from her hands and has enhanced strength, but that isn't all.

Spider-Woman also has the ability to emit pheromones which cause male targets in close proximity to her to become totally enamored with her and drop their defenses. That weapon alone would have wiped out half of the Marvel universe if she ever decided to totally unleash it.

Her talent as a covert ops agent for SHEILD has been talked about much more in recent editions of comics and videogames, and that may be the way that she rises to greater prominence among her peers. Her role in the Civil War was significant in the graphic novels, so we need to wait and see what the movie world will hold.

5. Colossus

It has to be the lack of dialogue with his cohorts that has left this guy on a list like this. In the comics, the giant Russian was right in between the "A" list and the "B" list most of the time. He showed signs of rising to his own new levels of respect and prominence on many occasions.

Yet he always had something cool to say with his Russian accent and broken English that made him even more interesting. That is something that has been sorely missing from the Colossus that we have seen in the X-Men movies. The current Colossus may not even be alive anymore after the movie X-Men: Days of Future Past, so this may be a moot point.

The lack of lines has to have been a major contributor towards the lack of popularity that the new character has earned among fans. This, along with his lack of featured fighting scenes hasn't given him much of a resume with the younger portion of the audience.

4. Dr. Strange

From within his Sanctum Santorium the mightiest sorcerer on Earth wields his magical spells and alters the fate of the universe. But will his solo movie be a hit? Even with the great Benedict Cumberbatch playing the sorcerer supreme, it isn't a sure bet.

In the comics, Dr. Strange interacted with almost every hero in the Marvel universe at some point. He participated in many joint missions and Marvel Team-Ups and joined the Defenders for a period of time. Even so, it remains shrouded in mystery how this character has never risen to greater heights.

The only plausible explanation is a lack of understanding among Marvel fans about the mystic arts, and a lack of explanation through the writing as to how those powers affect the rest of the Marvel universe. The movie has a lot of work to do to bridge this gap.

3. Martian Manhunter

So we have this alien refugee that comes to Earth looking for acceptance. He has enhanced strength, fighting skills and he can fly. He is thought to be a threat by some who do not understand his intentions. He is considered a hero by those who take the time to understand him.

Isn't this the story of Superman? Despite the similarities, the green guy never quite got the respect he deserved. He has offered hi life in the place of another on many occasions, yet doesn't get top billing and consideration.

Before everyone jumps to conclusions about how he is being discriminated against for being green, let's remember that he also has a very straight-forward and exceedingly dry personality. This sort of humor is lost on a lot of younger folks these days and may be one of the reasons for his lack of likeability.

 

2. Aquaman

In the early days of the Justice League cartoons this hero was an afterthought. He didn't have a cool suit, he didn't have cool powers that we knew of and he didn't have much of a sense of humor about anything.

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Even with a likability issue, this hero still just didn't seem to bring anything unique and desirable to the table. Sure, he could send telepathic messages to sea animals. Sure, he could swim really fast, especially when he rode his purple sea horse. None of that seemed to matter over the years as he languished in mediocrity.

Now, with the recent revisions to his character as the Lord of Atlantis and his new outward persona, there is finally something to talk about. The newest rendition of Aquaman involving the portrayal by Jason Momoa is incredibly cool on any scale. The call to "Unite the Seven" will be heard throughout Hollywood when these movies finally hit theaters. He won't be on this list long.

1. Daredevil

Why is he the most underrated guy out there? Because his solo movie wasn't great with Ben Affleck under the mask, but his Netflix series was an absolute smash hit. The old portrayal of the man without fear is over.

He no longer needs to run alongside Spider-Man or Captain America in order to keep his superhero membership card from expiring. With the Brian Cox acting job came the instant revival of a man that has gone unnoticed and not talked about for far too long. This version of Daredevil is here to stay.

The plan is for him to head up the new Defenders team once the other Netflix series of Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist all come to light. He will also be starring in the second season of Daredevil soon. In addition to that, Daredevil is being rumored to have an appearance in the Captain America: Civil war movie. Bringing him into the mainstream Marvel cinematic universe would put him on the map for good. This will be fun to watch.