I also think swamp thing has good hero qualities as well. At first glance some people will think he’s a monster and he is one since the real Alec Holland was burned to death in a chemical fire and plants replaced him with a memory of him, but even though he’s a monster that constantly strives to be human. And therefore, he has the most heart. He is caring, humble, protector of earth and forces of nature that most people would abuse or take for granted. Though, he is defender of the green, he defends it for other people. Other people who may or may not care for him because of his appearance, yet he helps them anyways because he remembers his human life. And also because he knows that humans and animal life need the green to live and vice versa.
It is Donna Troy for me. It is because, like DC Daily mentioned about her, there is a certain sense of tragedy regarding her. She has been through a lot, not even including all the continuity changes. Tragedy seems to permeate from her, but still she has almost always pushed forward. She has been a beacon of light for the DC universe through so much. I know there is a story impacting that, won’t say more due to not wanting to spoil stuff, but I see this character that continues to push through everything. She inspires me to push through my own tragedies. She gives me such a sense of hope. She even inspires me to keep going at work where I work with kids with tragedy and traumas. She reminds me, even if she is fictional, that people do not have to be their past. They can continue to move forward. Donna Troy is more than some sidekick throw away character, she is a strong female character that shines above many others in the DC universe.
Thank you for your reply and I’m glad she builds you up. Such a motivating story. I like Donna Troy as a character also. Just that glimpse of her in Titans series and how inspiring of a character she was to so many team members. Though, she is just a sidekick, she has many qualities that would say make her just as good as wonder woman. All those tragedies she’s been through makes her more experienced and prepared and somehow a better influential leader because of those tragedies. Even in her death she inspired people. We see that in Titans. I just wish that Titans S2 delved more into her character than what was shown at times. But I can’t complain with what we got.
A bit off topic but I can’t wait to see wonder woman’s depitction in WW84. The costume looks great and from what I’ve seen or know so far I’m sure Gal Tarot will knock it out of the park.
Wonder woman is a great character in that she not only fights for her fellow female warriors but also for a mans world, and for the government. For truth, justice, and american way pretty much like superman but from a different perspective.
Honestly, Batwoman. She inspires me a lot. She inspires me to be myself no matter what. In the comics, Batwoman gets stabbed in the heart. She can’t breathe as well as she used to, but still continues to protect the people of Gotham. I call that inspiring.
After watching the Titans and all seasons of teen titans animated series and reading comics I’ve got to say that ravens character could stand out as a very inspirational hero. One that continues to overcome impossible odds and continues to defeat her destiny to become a world ender. Even though her father is evil trigon a demon who cursed her with great and terrible power, she consciously chooses to use that power for good rather than evil. She controls her emotions and goes through a constant inner struggle to protect herself and ones she loves. She defies her evil fate and continues to use that power to help her friends and others. And she is not above going to her fellow team mates for help and also helping them through their problems too.
Sorry for the edit, i’ve actually started reading more about the batwoman character and I can now confirm more about her character other than what I’ve seen on the CW tv show. She’s gotta a lot of grit to her, she has weathered tragedies and found the will to survive and persevere despite any challenges. Her mother and sister got assassinated by terrorists but she refused to let that get to her, she learned through her dad to bury and control her emotions an she had joined west point to hone her skills even further, but even then she lost a lover and that hurt her too. She thought she could change world through charity and healing the sick and downtrodden, but she found that even her west point duties were limiting her. She needed a purpose. Batman appearance gave her hope of being something more. It gave her a cause to fight for, but she would not be batman, she would be something different. She would actually take a stance on streets of Gotham as the so called Batwoman, her own independent hero. She made conscious decision to cut ties with her family (her father: Jacob Kane ) to protect what’s left of them. And it is her refusal to bow down to tragedies, conform to any norm, making a mark, standing up for justice directly, and not letting her emotions cloud or control her judgment is what makes her inspiring.
I am so behind in comics (I haven’t caught up to New 52 yet) that for all I know, he’s been mangled in comics since, but I’ve always loved Dick. I love how passionate he is, whether it’s a moment of light or dark within his character; I love the optimism that ultimately wins out in his look on life; I love his sense of family; and I empathize with his need to always want to prove himself, because I relate to that kind of drive. Plus, ever since I was a kid, I’ve always loved the circus and been in complete wonder of trapeze artists, so that added to the charm of his character.
I agree. Dick is an inspiring leader too. And i also like his evolution as a character. From being a youthful adventurer type to being an independent and also successful leader of titans as well as forging his own destiny as his own hero seperate from batman, yet, somehow not above accepting advice from his former mentors or working with them and helping them with their problems. He remains humble. And he takes those lessons he learned from his mentors and tries to inspire other heroes who were like him struggling to learn their powers or identity and he helps them all the same, giving them resources and skills to be their own heroes. Yet teaching them to work and unite as a team.
Excellently put, and I’m glad you added his role as leader to the list of inspiring characteristics! Even if he has occasional moments of jealousy at having been replaced, as you said, he ultimately takes the things that he’s learned, all the sources of his personal growth, and is quick to use them to bolster others. And that kind of support and compassion seems so instinctive to his nature.
I’ll grin at the occasional joke of his looks being the source of his popularity, but at the risk of sounding like a Disney movie, it’s ultimately who he is that matters.
Mine is definitely Kara Zor-El
I think @Pow-Pow gave excellent reasons why that also match up with why I feel inspired by her so I’ll only add one more.
It was mentioned that she is always the one to lose everything over and over, which is certainly true, but many people would point out so did Superman. I think a point which should always be considered is to think about the age difference between Kara and Kal-El when they left Krypton.
Clark was an infant. He had no memory of Krypton and never even knew he had lost anything until he was told. He is essentially a superpowered human more than an alien from another planet.
Kara (in every version I can recall) was a teenager. She grew up in a completely different culture. She had dreams and ambitions for her future. All of those things and more were taken away. She then had to come to a planet vastly different than her own, learn how to control her new powers on top of learning a new culture, a new way of life and new language.
Despite all of this she still has a heart to help people. She still hopes, and refuses to give up even having lived through literal world ending catastrophe.
And I’ll stop now before a write a short story 
Raven has been portrayed kind of inconsistently over the years, but I’d definitely say that her characterization in the original Wolfman/Perez run is actually really powerful. The way they wrote her empathic abilities, she could heal injuries, but only by taking on the person’s pain. And every time somebody got hurt, no matter how bad it was, Raven would be right there helping them through it. She’s just utterly selfless in a way you don’t see with most superheroes.
Completely agree with you. While Raven is not my favorite, she is definitely very high on the list.
I would also say that Oliver queen or the green arrow has inspirational qualities. If only for his growth and his transition from a drunken playboy that took most things for granted into a heroic robin hood like character that fights for the poor in the glades and others that can’t defend themselves. The island changed him as a person and what was once thrust upon him soon grew on him and he learned to give beyond his own means.
Weird one but I gotta go with Booster Gold. I say weird b/c I wouldn’t consider him towards the top of my DC characters list. Pertaining to this subject tho, I see a lot of the same hardships, & qualities that they develop in me. Like Booster I was a football star. I had my pick of any college I wanted. Unfortunately, like Booster I tore my knee for the 3rd time, unlike him it was my very 1st college game & my very first run. Literally 30 seconds & my career was over. That meant no more scholarship & not having enough cash to stay. The levels of depression I sunk to were as bad as it gets. I played, & started at the same position from 3rd grade until my senior year in high school b4 I suffered my first serious injury. I set 2 records in one half of a game & sat out the entire second half b/c we were up 43-6 & I had scored every single point & rushed for 345 yards & 6 td’s in two quarters. They didn’t want me to get hurt when we were blowing out a team that was supposed to win State that year. 2 games later I tore my knee for the 1st x. Didn’t need surgery, said the cartilage would rebuild & my medial collateral wasn’t torn thru. So I come back in a game we need to win to make the playoffs. We win. Next game we play an easy win team. Top of the 2nd quarter my knee bends so far backwards my shoe touches my ear hole on the side of my helmet. So we go to playoffs I’m out. Worked extra hard all year so now I’m back to healthy. That’s when I get my 1st college carry & everything in my knee tears except my pcl. Trainer swung my leg to the left nothing stopped it, same to the right. Now I’m back to where I was an hr ago, my bad. It took me years & I’m still not over what could’ve been. Booster literally saves the world countless times & he not only can’t tell anyone. He has to play the guy who only wants fame & is in it for all the wrong reasons, as far as anyone except him & rip hunter knows. I learned how to be humble & keep going even when it’s the last thing you want to do. I now will take the apology for writing a novel, my bad. I really didn’t think I would write this much.
That’s okay. The whole point of this thread is making a connection with a character you find inspiring, doesn’t matter whether it connects on a personal level or just something you see has potential to be inspiring. I can see how you relate to this character, great story, and I hope you are doing better. Thank you for sharing. I can also see how Booster Gold could be a very inspiring character to most people.
Thank u. That’s very kind.
Your welcome.
Also as a Green Lantern fan, I kind of think some of the other lantern corps have an inspirational quality to them. The Indigo Tribe - started out as criminals, scum of the earth, and some of the most reviled people, but the rings although compelling them to feel compassion, there are some members that evolved in that programming and just felt compassion period (Indigo 1- Iroque). Being in the corps reformed her. And I like the whole idea that even the worst beings of society can change their habits (Despite the fact that it may be a bit forcing) and evolve to a point of better living and give compassion to those who have none. Its almost like when a person tries to change their habits and adopt a better lifestyle it feels forced in the beginning but then it becomes second nature and you regret not having been changed in some way, and you like and enjoy your new lifestyle cause your better for it. And you don’t want to go back to how things were in your past. Almost how Indigo 1 felt when the rings programming stopped working. She wanted to return to the ring-not because the ring compelled her, because the ring took the pain of the past away, the ring gave her that new lifestyle she wanted to be a better person, to move forward and give others the compassion and inspiration it gave her.
Also the Blue Lantern Corps - Saint Walker and his family embarked on a mission to find their god and to save his world from chaos, riots, and destruction because their planet’s sun was unstable. What I find inspiring is that even though he had every reason to give up, quit, cower in fear, or be consumed by his rage considering the tragedies he faced along the way - lost family members along the way, his god wasn’t there. He never gave up hope that in the end “All Will Be Well”. He became that hope for his people, he became the Blue Lantern and he renewed the sun and saved an entire world based on the hopes and prayers of his own people. And I like the whole idea that only a few people can be a blue lantern- its not like the greens, yellows, or reds where there can be many- it makes it a task for one to truly give of them-self not just for themselves but for the entire well-being of the universe and not every being is capable of that. And I also like that it can quell the powers of the red ring; nullify the effects of rage and give it reason and a purpose to move on. We saw that with Guy Gardner. And it also gave a brief glimpse of what it could do to Larfleeze one of the most vile and greediest lanterns in the universe and the blue ring gave a glimpse- a sliver of hope that he could be better than the Orange Lantern.
I love that Saint Walker part you’re talking bout. I thought for sure he was gonna be wrong & have to face that not everything works out just b/c u believe it will. I felt relief for him when he was proved right. I love Brother Warth & Indigo-1 too. Good stuff btw, I agree with all your sentiments.