Not long ago, someone asked me for my definitive list of Stilt-Man “runs.” It seems they had become curious about Stilty due to my unending admiration of this clown prince of Marvel, and my passion had made them want to read some comics starring the guy. It was a fair question, but a difficult one to answer. That’s because Stilt-Man is not exactly a run kind of guy.

In 60 years, Stilt-Man — or at least the Wilbur Day variety of the character — has only made full appearances in 86 comics. In that time, the most consecutive issues he’s ever appeared in is four, with most of those only being limited showcases. A generous reading of that fact is he’s a star that burns bright, only destined to appear in brief stints out of fear of overshadowing everyone else in the comic. A realistic one is there’s only so much you can do with the guy. It’s like the All-Time Leader of Writing Stilt-Man Appearances Chip Zdarsky once put it to me: He’s got no legs.

But with it being the 60^th anniversary of Stilt-Man in 2025 and interest in the character being high, 6 I knew it was time to give readers a guide to how you can best enjoy the character, even if runs were and are not his bag. So, today, I’ll be sharing something that’s a bit more abbreviated than his best runs. This is the definitive ranking of the ten greatest appearances of Stilt-Man, a list that has been rigorously considered in my time as perhaps the character’s biggest — or least most vocal — fan.

If you’re looking to learn why this giant goofball is so appealing to me, or maybe even why Stilt-Man is the best, these issues act as a good guide. But hey, if you’re a fellow Stilt-ficionado, let me know your own favorites in the comments. You have to have some, right?

Right?

RIGHT???

Sigh…

Let’s get to the rankings, which for once will be in order from first to last.

1. Daredevil Vol. 3 #22

The Team: Mark Waid, Chris Samnee, Javier Rodriguez, and Joe Caramagna

The Story: Two pals and fellow heroes in Daredevil and Spider-Man come to blows, with the former not realizing the latter is a different, Superior version of himself and the latter not caring for the other’s desire to chat. They’re going to need something big for this to not turn into a disaster.

The Highlight: “Thank God for Stilt-Man”

Why It Makes the List: This is all about that moment, which is the finest in the history of Stilt-Man. There has never been a greater out-of-context beat for my guy Stilty than the sheer brilliance of the full-page splash that finds Stilt-Man reaching out to a helicopter as Spider-Man and Daredevil as DD narrates four simple words onto the page: “Thank God for Stilt-Man.” Drawn by Chris Samnee with colors by Javier Rodriguez, this is as good as the character has ever looked and a moment that seems magical, an oasis of respect in an unending desert of derision.

In-context, it’s quite a bit less respectful. The part that’s omitted through my unending desire to produce Stilt-Man propaganda is what leads into those four words. Daredevil, flustered as he fights Spider-Man for reasons unknown, 7 says, “I can save this friendship with a magic combination of four words that have never, ever been spoken in any language in this order before:” which immediately leads into “Thank God for Stilt-Man.” It’s the level of respect he probably deserves. It’s what Stilt-Man is really about, a bit of a joke that solves problems by accident as much as he creates them through intent.

But in isolation, Stilt-Man looks pretty awesome on that page!

And he’s given telescoping arms in this one appearance and credibly fights Daredevil and Spider-Man briefly!

For those reasons, and those reasons alone, this is the greatest appearance of Stilt-Man.

Just ignore that caption that precedes it.

The Story Behind the Story: A lot of bad things happen to Matt Murdock, the person that’s better known as Daredevil. Sometimes he has to get involved with some explosive, end of the world type situations. It can be a stressful way to live. That’s why heroes like Matt deserve a nice change of pace on occasion, why readers need it too, and why Stilt-Man made a good fit for this issue, according to its writer, Mark Waid.

“In my time as a comics reader, we’ve gone from Batman stopping bank robbers to Batman stopping Darkseid, and that’s just across the board in superhero comics,” Waid said. “The stakes have risen so dramatically and seem unlikely to ever come down, but my God, every reader needs to be able to take a breath every once in a while, if for no other reason than to have lower-stakes moments that accentuate the terror of high-stakes ones.”

2. Sensational She-Hulk Vol. 1 #4

The Team: John Byrne, Bob Wiacek, Glynis Oliver, and Jim Novak

The Story: She-Hulk’s looking for a new job — and maybe a new love interest?? — when a long-legged buffoon comes stomping through her lunch meeting. A fight ensues, one that takes the battle across New York City before it ends in maybe the toughest L from Stilt-Man’s career.

The Highlight: Every page where Stilt-Man and She-Hulk are fighting

Why It Makes the List: In terms of the visual approach to how he works, the quality of the actual fight, the humor in the issue, and almost every other metric, this is Stilt-Man’s finest hour. It isn’t just a great Stilt-Man comic; it’s a great comic, period. John Byrne delivers a barrage of Stilt-Based hijinks in this issue, a meta-textual bonanza that finds Stilty doing work against She-Hulk.

So, why is it at #2?

Well, Stilt-Man is eventually defeated when former hero-turned-legal secretary Louise “Weezi” Grant gets a cook to throw a bunch of hot lard in front of his massive footsteps, a substance that makes him slip, allowing She-Hulk to recover and take him out. The ignominious way he gets taken out puts a cap on how far this issue can rise in the rankings, despite its greatness.

3. Daredevil Vol. 7 #7

The Team: Chip Zdarsky, Rafael De Latorre, Marco Checchetto, Elisabetta D’Amico, Matthew Wilson, Clayton Cowles

The Story: Daredevil’s on a mission to help rehabilitate supervillains as part of his and Elektra’s efforts with The Fist, and a squad goes on a mission to try this whole “helping people” thing on for size.

The Highlight: Stilt-Man saves a falling child.

Why It Makes the List: This issue is all about a mission with the all-rehabilitation squad, as some fascist-like activities are taking place in Charlotte, North Carolina and Daredevil leads a team to stop the bad guys (the literal police) from doing their dirty work (evicting folks under manufactured pretenses). When a young girl is launched from a roof after the police chase her up there right before an explosion goes off, she seems certain to perish from her multi-story fall. It seems no one is there to save her, as onlookers stare with terror in their eyes…wait a second is that Stilt-Man in the crowd????

Due to maximum extension, maximum effort, and maximum heroics, the girl is safely caught from the sky thanks to Stilt-Man’s outstretched arms and even more outstretched legs. He looks to her and then says to the girl, “I’m Stilt-Man. What’s your name?”

Cue the strings.

Cue me weeping.

Cue the Eisner Awards.

Cue me suing Chip Zdarsky for stealing from my very private Stilt-Journal.