Any comic book fan can tell you that Aquaman and Cyborg are great characters with no shortage of good stories in their pasts. Unfortunately, to the mainstream public, both are completely unknown -- or worse. Aquaman has long served as the butt of jokes in the public arena, frequently held up as an example of a hero who drew the short straw in the superpowers department. Geoff Johns chose to lampoon this perception of Aquaman in his recent run on the comics to great effect, but it doesn't change the fact that many see the character as a punchline. With DC's reboot in 2011, Cyborg was made a part of the "Big Seven" -- the original Justice League lineup -- alongside Superman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman. Certain promotional materials for DC at large, though, had Cyborg cropped out of artwork. That's hardly a show of faith in the character. Even The Flash and Wonder Woman are untested at best -- and cheesy at worst. While the characters do appeal to comic fans -- and for good reason -- a public without a sci-fi/fantasy interest, or those not used to suspending their disbelief, might have trouble accepting them. DC is to be commended for beating Marvel Studios to the finish line on a woman-led superhero movie (and, in making Cyborg, potentially on a film starring a minority character), but skeptics have to wonder -- how deep does public interest in DC's properties run, Batman and Superman aside?