There’s no stopping the juggernaut of comic book–inspired movies taking over the country’s silver screens, and it looks to be another year of pitched battles between Marvel and DC. The next crop of contenders—including Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Joker, and Wonder Woman 1984—mean that fans of big-screen skirmishes between good and evil have a lot to look forward to over the next few years.

Movie buffs don’t just like rooting for their favorite superheroes—they like knowing who’s rooting with them too. That’s what inspired the team at USDish.com to use Google Trends data to identify each state’s most popular comic book universe and superhero. The results of our Marvel versus DC poll show that fans may not be so loyal to last year’s most popular heroes.

DC Universe Dominates

While Marvel conquered last year’s survey, the tables have turned this year. Thirty-two states named DC their most popular comic book universe, and fourteen chose Marvel. Alaska, Hawaii, New Mexico, and Kentucky couldn’t name a winner between the two universes, though all four named a DC superhero as their favorite. Twenty-nine of the top heroes also came from DC comics, while twenty-two came from Marvel.

Last year, California pledged its allegiance to Burbank-based DC, and New York stood solidly behind New York City–based Marvel. However, both states were surprisingly fickler this year and switched universes.

Superman soared in the showdown of superheroes, landing at the top of the list for eight states. That includes Illinois, home to Metropolis and a fifteen-foot-tall, two-ton Man of Steel statue.

While female superheroes have gained visibility lately—Wonder Woman raked in more than $820 million worldwide in 2017, and Captain Marvel has grossed over $1 billion globally—they didn’t conquer the competition. Only four of the eighteen most popular superheroes on our list were women.

Heroes Claim No Hometown Advantage

Just because a superhero was born in a state didn’t guarantee they triumphed there. Batman’s birthplace of Gotham City may allegedly be in the Garden State, but he didn’t come out on top in our poll. New Jersey named The Flash its favorite instead.  

Kansas decided against hometown boy Superman for top superhero and sided with Green Lantern. But Superman was voted Missouri’s favorite hero even though Star-Lord, Marvel’s sassy star of Guardians of the Galaxy, calls the Show-Me State home.

Actors Win for Their Characters

In two cases, the actors behind the capes may have won their state’s support and captured the “Most Popular” title. Captain Marvel earned that spot in California, where actress Brie Larson was born, and the Aloha State weighed in behind Native Hawaiian Jason Momoa’s character Aquaman.

Utah Splits Vote between Two Heroes

For the second year in a row, Utah couldn’t decide on the best superhero. Captain America held onto his fans in the Beehive State, but Utahns also love Iron Man despite Steve and Tony’s epic civil war.

The Hulk Charms the Haters

Just because no one likes you doesn’t mean you can’t be popular, which seems to be the case for The Hulk. Fans have their theories about why he’s one of the most hated Avengers, but this smashing green rage monster crushed the competition in seven states despite being widely reviled.  

Do you disagree with your state’s choices? Would watching superhero flicks help you decide which universe truly is the strongest? Share your thoughts or share on social media and keep the discussion going.

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