Most popular superhero isn't who you think

A NEW frontrunner has overtaken Batman and Superman and emerged as the most popular superhero among Australian children.

In an unlikely twist, Wonder Woman has zoomed in front of a pack of male heroes to take the lead, the heroine doubling in popularity over the past two years, largely thanks to the Warner Bros blockbuster film released last year.

DC Comics characters took up four of the top five most popular superheroes, storming well in front of Marvel characters in the popularity stakes.

Coming in behind Batman in third place was Spider-Man, followed by Superman and The Flash, according to research conducted by Roy Morgan, who surveyed 2500 Aussie kids aged between 6 and 13.

They then extrapolated the data for the Australian population.

"The cool factor for Wonder Woman more than doubled since 2016 with 368,000 Aussie kids picking Wonder Woman as a favourite superhero in 2018, up by 192,000 since 2016," Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine said.

"Batman was a clear second place picked by 303,000 Aussie kids, but this was down 80,000 from 2016."

Spider-Man was the favourite character from Marvel comics, followed by The Hulk, Iron Man and Captain America who rounded out the top eight.

Wonder Woman, starring Gal Gadot and directed by Patty Jenkins, grossed more than $821 million at the box office worldwide in 2017, with a hugely-anticipated sequel set to drop next year.

It became the highest-grossing live-action film directed by a woman in history.

It comes as female-led and directed superhero movies finally begin to make their mark on the big screen, with Disney's Captain Marvel, starring Oscar winner Brie Larson as its lead, also due to be released next year on International Women's Day.

Warner Bros. in partnership with DC Entertainment also has Batman spin-off Batgirl on the horizon, as well as Superman spin-off Supergirl.

Both movies are expected to be directed by a female.

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