Comeback is a generic word, freely tossed around. To qualify for a comeback, an actor doesn’t need to have gone away. He just needs not to have been noticed.

Examples, both past and present:

Rourke is the real thing, with his tender, mesmerizing performance in The Wrestler definite Oscar-bait. The role of a has-been wrestler almost mirrors Rourke’s own status. Once a critic’s favorite, he’s made relatively few films in the last decade, with 2006’s Stormbreaker a critical and box-office dud. But he’s been navigating the comeback trail with great finesse, appearing on talk shows, apologizing for past excesses and even chatting up his pet Chihuahua.

Downey has never gone away. He was wry and witty in 2007’s Zodiac, but the film was not widely seen. His terrific turn in Iron Man helped make the comic book movie a Marvelous hit, and he followed it with inspired hilarity in Tropic Thunder. The one-time bad boy and substance abuser is now a Hollywood kingpin, to be seen in ‘09 as Sherlock Holmes, co-starring Jude Law and Rachel McAdams. One misstep, however: He started dissing The Dark Knight once the Batman epic surpassed Iron Man as the year’s biggest blockbuster.

Gwyneth Paltrow has announced that she wants to concentrate on her family and no longer cares about “carrying” a movie. So, after a slew of largely unseen artsy endeavors, Princess Gwyn made a wise career move by playing Pepper Potts in Iron Man. She was accessible, jolly and a regular salt-and-pepper gal who had strong chemistry with Downey. If Iron Man was a comeback for Downey, it was no less so for Paltrow.

Jim Carrey and Tom Cruise are hoping for holidays greetings.

Carrey’s last hit was 2005’s Fun With Dick and Jane, but it was a fleetingly popular film that few even remember. Otherwise, his recent starring vehicles have bombed. Yes Man, which borrows heavily from Carrey’s own Liar, Liar, opened nicely but below expectations. Carrey and Company are blaming its meek opening week on the weather.

Cruise’s alleged fall from grace has been widely documented. But his comic bit in Tropic Thunder won raves, including a Golden Globe supporting-actor nod, while his down-with-Hitler opus Valkyrie, opened Christmas Day with strong advance tracking but mixed reviews. Still, don’t count Cruise out. He knows how to play the game.

More than 200,000 votes were tabulated. Readers also were allowed to add a comment explaining why that individual was worthy of recognition.

Here are the Top 10:

  1. Barack Obama
  2. Steve Jobs
  3. Michael Phelps
  4. Robert Downey, Jr.
  5. Stephen Colbert
  6. Gordon Ramsay
  7. Christian Bale
  8. Rob Kay
  9. Cristiano Ronaldo
10. John McCain

To see the full list, and find out what readers had to say about each, visit AskMen.com. You can also see the 2007 list and the 2006 version to find out whose stock is rising or falling.

It’s also got a trio of hot cameos. Early reports indicate that Tom Cruise should get a career boost with a screamingly funny extended cameo as a fat, bald, foul-mouthed producer. Matthew McConaughey plays a slick, slick, slick agent, while Tobey Maguire appears briefly but significantly in a preview of the Downey character’s upcoming movie.

Like much Hollywood jargon, “cameo” has a flexible definition. Basically, it’s a small part played by an A-list star whose name is mentioned, if at all, only in the final credits. Let’s take a gander at some earlier cameos.

• Bruce Willis played himself in an Ocean’s Twelve cameo, greeting Julia Roberts like an old friend. Julia’s character, you see, was pretending to be Julia Roberts. It makes sense in the movie. Well, not altogether. Anyway, there was something smug about the “inside joke” that didn’t help the movie. In the original 1960 Ocean’s Eleven, headlined by Frank Sinatra, Shirley MacLaine, then a member of Sinatra’s Rat Pack, made a fleeting appearance at a bar.

• In the original Planet of the Apes, Charlton Heston played the astronaut stranded in Apeland. In the inferior remake, Mark Wahlberg had the lead, but Heston appeared briefly as the wise simian poppa of menacing ape Tim Roth. As in the first movie, Heston also had the last line.

Just what is a superhero, anyway? It’s a generic term for crimefighters, often but not always of comic book/graphic novel origin, blessed with super powers (Superman, et.al.), outlandish gadgets (James Bond) or just plain survival instincts (Indiana Jones). A sampling of such power players and their impersonators:

Hancock, which opens today, may be the ultimate test of Will Smith’s box-office muscle. It’s tracking through the roof, but practically all buzz has been negative. The first week should be huge, and if continues to show “legs,” Smith may really be “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” He plays a slovenly, reluctant superhero. In such antics as Independence Day, Men in Black and I, Robot, his superheroics were less reluctant.
 
Batman has had a colorful host of interpreters. Most of the spin for The Dark Knight (July 18) revolves around Heath Ledger’s Joker, but Christian Bale’s Caped Crusader has also drawn praise. Hey, this is the same guy who played both American Psycho and Laurie in Little Women. He also sang and danced his way through a couple of minor Disney musicals and won Steven Spielberg’s praise as the child star of Empire of the Sun. What’s more, his late father was married to Gloria Steinem. An interesting profile.
 
This generation’s original Batman, onetime Beetlejuice Michael Keaton survives as a solid B-list actor, while George Clooney fizzled as Batman but remains on the A-list. As for Val Kilmer, he’s probably growling and howling on some movie set.

 Iron Man/Tony Stark has been a career milestone for talented Robert Downey Jr., whose flippant attitude always seemed to hide a conflicted inner spirit. All pop-psycho babble aside, the parallels between Downey and Stark are undeniable and work in the movie’s behalf. 

Although the list is numbered from 1 to 100, the magazine divides the list into five categories, and the numbering follows from category to category. It’s in both list form and individual profiles.

The magazine even included a chance for readers to vote on their own list — and the winner is … Shigeru Myamoto (if you’re asking, “Shigeru WHO?” you obviously aren’t playing enough Wii!).

Guess who’s the only person to make the Time 100 every time (hint: Her initials are O.W.!). Here are the top five in each category:

Leaders and Revolutionaries

• Dalai Lama
• Vladimir Putin
• Barack Obama
• Hillary Clinton
• John McCain

Heroes & Pioneers

• Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie
• Oprah Winfrey (Here she is, her sixth visit!)
• Oscar Pistorius
• Mia Farrow
• Andre Agassi

Scientists and Thinkers

• Michael Bloomberg
• Craig Venter
• Jill Bolte Taylor
• Larry Brilliant
• Jeff Han

Artists and Entertainers

• Lorne Michaels
• Miley Cyrus
• Robert Downey Jr.
• Herbie Hancock
• Joel & Ethan Coen

Builders and Titans

• Indra Nooyi
• Ali al-Naimi
• Rupert Murdoch
• Steve Jobs
• Radiohead