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cbishop: Favorites
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I have always liked The Spot, but hated that he's rarely used as more than loser comedy relief. Sure, it's a weird power, but applied correctly, it could be devastating.
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I have always affectionately referred to Magpie as "the last of the theme villains." Whether that's true or not, I couldn't be certain, but that's how I think of her. She was introduced in Man of Steel, and reappeared in the Legends storyline. I thought she was going to make a nice addition to Batman's rogues gallery, but then she disappeared, and was killed in recent years. With all the bird names in Gotham, she'd fit right in there again.
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Kraven has always been a source of mild fascination for me, completely due to nostalgia. My first three comics came in a 3-pack, and Kraven was the villain in the Spider-Man issue. I liked his m.o., liked it that he saw Spidey as the ultimate hunt. Kraven's Last Hunt was a good story, but I hated it that Marvel killed him - especially as a suicide.
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The Destroyer is another nostalgia favorite. My first three comics came in a 3-pack, and in the Thor issue, the Destroyer busts through a door at the end. That image has always stuck in my mind and made me think that when The Destroyer shows up, it's serious business.
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I love these guys, but why, why, WHY are they Hulk villains? Their powers are roughly analagous to the FF, they should be THE counterpoint to the Fantastic Four.
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The Shroud should be a much bigger player in the Marvel U. His history is that he's made a name for himself as a player in the underworld, in order to strike at the criminal element from within. So how come we never hear of him? It's ridiculous. Considering the cloak and basically opposite color scheme, I've always thought he would be a good Moon Knight foe. We got to see it in one issue of Avengers Spotlight. Also, I was wrong, but I had predicted that Shroud would be the stand-in for Daredevil, after Shadowland (or alternately, that it would be Shroud as DD that killed Bullseye, as an out for Marvel), because he has a mystic sense that works much like DD's radar sense, and his darkforce power would allow him to operate from shadows at all times. It would have been a good opportunity for Marvel to inject some cool and attention to Shroud.
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I was aware of Moon Knight, before Fist of Knoshu, but FoK made me a fan. The multiple aliases idea is cool, but I don't so much like the crazy guy of the most recent titles.
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I like DD's radar sense, but honestly, he's always been a favorite, because of What If #28: "What if Daredevil became an agent of SHIELD?" It's perhaps the first story that made me consider a practical application for superpowers - an idea that is very important in my own creative process, and has been well displayed in shows like Heroes, Smallville, No Ordinary Family, and Alphas.
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How can you not like Medusa? It's just such a crazy power! All that freakin' hair! I've always been curious how she knew what to say for Black Bolt - was there some sort of telepathic link? Some unspecified sign language? Was she just speaking for him, because he couldn't speak up to contradict her? I liked it too that Marvel went so long without trying to explain it.
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Black Bolt was another one that always indicated serious doings, whenever he showed up. And once he spoke! Whoa! "The power of words," huh? This is one of those crazy cool characters of yesteryear that has a funky power, without explanation of how it works, and I like it.
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I think my first exposure to White Tiger was an issue of Marvel Team-Up, but it may have been Spidey Super Stories. Either way, it's a character I just love. I think he'd make an interesting revamp as a villain (or at least counterpoint) for Black Panther - especially considering that the Panther God that appears as T'Challa's source of power is a white panther, rather than a black one. Coincidence? Not if they'd write it correctly.
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I don't know a ton about Morbius, but I know the basic history, and he's always fascinated me. It's kind of a dumb moniker though. "Living Vampire?" Isn't that basically a cannibal?
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It's hard to accept this old, frail looking man as a threat, but he is, and artists almost always draw him cool. Love the Vulture.
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I was a fan of this duo from very early on, and they're one of those that is almost always drawn cool. It's weird that Cloak is so visually similar to the Shroud, and that his cloak was once someone's curtains, but hey, they rock.
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Like the U-Foes, I think the Super-Skrull should be fighting the Fantastic Four more often, simply because his powers mimic theirs. I love the way he combos their powers on attacks, and even though he's had a recent-ish mini-series, I think Marvel has yet to tap his ultimate potential for coolness.
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It's hard to explain the appeal of the Soviet Super Soldiers. My first exposure to them was in an issue of Hulk, with the team consisting of Vanguard, Darkstar, Ursa Major and Crimson Dynamo. Besides the general appeal of new characters, they were relatively young characters, and kinda surfed the wave of teen hero popularity created by The New Teen Titans and New Mutants. The bad thing is that their characterizations were anchored in Cold War perceptions, so when it ended, so did their focus.
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I hated Lobo for a long time, simply because he was an obvious attempt to cash in on the grim-n-gritty badass craze. He kept showing up though, and eventually, I ran across a few TPB's cheap. His stories are ridiculous, but once you just accept that, they get to be a lot more fun, and whatayaknow, I became a fan of Lobo. I don't like the New 52 version though. He's lost some of that over-the-top spark.
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Past foe to Merlin, imprisoned in a man; gets out by a chant, whenever he can. It wasn't fully explained at his time of creation, but DC should explore his point of motivation. He talks in rhyme. What's not to care for? DC should take the time to see what he's there for.
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I've always liked Deadman. I've said for years that his dying trapeze act should be connected to the Haly Circus and the Flying Graysons, and finally, DC has done that. They explored it briefly in one of the Batman Animated titles, and have recently solidly connected him in the New 52. Long live Deadman!
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It might just be the flaming head, but Firelord always makes for a cool appearance. You know someone is in for a fight when he shows up.
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Firestorm and his flaming noggin might be why I liked Firelord, when he showed up at Marvel. My favorite version is still the hybrid of Ronnie Raymond and Martin Stein, and I think it should have been the only version. The Firestorm Matrix is a nice explanation for the mess of multiple Nuclear Men DC has had over the years, but Ronnie and Martin are the ones for me. DC had an awesome chance to connect him to the Superman family, just after the Reign of the Supermen storyline, but let it pass them by in favor of a new Eradicator personality.
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What a creepy character, and all because of a curse on people who eat human flesh. So once they turn into this hulking monstrosity with fangs and claws, it's truly something to be scared of, if you see one coming.
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I liked that Marvel made him super strong and invulnerable, but hated that they made him crazy along with it. He was psychopathic before, but there was a controlled cool about it at first. For me, his defining moment was when he was enforcer for a mob boss, and goons from a rival gang tried to buy his loyalty, during a summit of bosses. He punched the goon through the door, then stood in the broken doorway, rubbing his knuckles, and in that whisper of his, simply said, "He slipped." That's a badass you can like.
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This is one of those "passing fascination" favorites for me. A conflicted mix of nobility and treachery, "is he friend or foe" really applies to this guy.
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I struggled to understand Doctor Strange for a long time - I wanted to understand the "rules" of how his powers worked. It's when he was somewhat affected by darker forces, and traded in the Eye of Agamatto for a bat shaped talisman at his neckline, that I realized that, "Duh, his magic is a plot device, and won't have a set frame of rules." The Doc's still on my funky meter, but he slipped a couple notches when I realized that, because I think magic-for-every-occasion is a bit of a copout.
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I don't know exactly why I like the Creeper. I find the character a little annoying, but sometimes, I see a glimmer of potential, and I don't think it's ever quite been tapped. Maybe it's that I don't totally understand the character, that makes me keep coming back to him. I'll figure him out one day.
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I liked Dick Grayson as Robin, leading the New Teen Titans - it was watching a character come into his own. I liked him as successor to Bruce Wayne's Batman - it made sense in continuity, it was gratifying to see the story go where it should, and after years as a fan, it was rewarding to see logical progression for a favorite character. But as NIGHTWING, Dick Grayson was complete. His original reasons for choosing that name were perfect. They made sense in story, they were a perfect nod to history, and it was one of the greatest signals of character change I've ever seen done in comics. Years later, getting his own series, own city, and own villains was just huge bonus. THAT Nightwing will always be a favorite. The jury is still out on the New 52 version.
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I liked the original lineup best, although I loved it when Brainiac put an energy blast through Psimon's brain.
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I was reading New Teen Titans off the grocery store spinner rack, so was there for Deathstroke's first appearance. But as a kid, I had also created my own character named Deathstroke, shortly before his appearance. My character wasn't anywhere near as cool as Slade (mine was an Iron Fist knockoff) but the name on top of his coolness gives him a sentimental place in my fan heart.
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Another sentimental favorite. This team reminds me of grade school days, talking and trading (yes, trading) comics with one of my first comic reading friends. Even beyond the sentimentality though, think about how awesome these guys are: FIVE villains against a LEGION of super-heroes, and they're a viable threat? That's badassery.
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This team had it's own popularity momentum building, but got a huge push as "the other teen team," when New Teen Titans made it big. There was a time when this was just an all-around awesome book... and then it wasn't. I'm still a fan of the characters, but DC has gone seriously wrong with them, somewhere along the way. I really want to see them get their groove back.
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As they were designed to, New Mutants hit my radar because of the popularity of New Teen Titans, and I followed 'em all the way: from the graphic novel, to #1, to #100, and into X-Force... a little of the way. They're kind of stuck, like the NTT - Marvel doesn't seem to have room for them to graduate to replacing the X-Men, but they've developed new characters behind them. Too bad - this is an awesome team.
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Another team of teens with "New" in the name, New Warriors came just a little too late to properly cash in on the popularity of New Teen Titans and New Mutants. Too bad for them, because it was a good book for a good deal of the run... and Psionex was a cool arch-enemy team for them to fight against.
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Not gonna lie: I loved Team America, and still have all of their issues (and all but one guest appearance). I'm still pulling for their eventual comeback... and could be done easier than you think.
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I think Supergirl is more relatable than Superman, because she's younger. I've always liked her character. Not so much, the past two titles, even tho' the art is better. I liked it better when she was striving to live up to Superman's example, than this new version, trying to live down that she was raised to kill him.
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I have never quite put my finger on why I like Power Girl so much, but I mostly chalk it up to her being from Earth 2. And I always wondered why she chose a plain white costume, instead of something copying Superman, like Supergirl did. She should have better story.
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I always liked Batgirl. Maybe it was because she didn't show up as often as Batman & Robin, and maybe it was because she was "related" to the Bat-Family, without being in the shadow of "Batman and..." She was part of the Fam, but also her own person. Kind of like Dick Grayson later, as Nightwing.
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I think I liked Cassandra as Batgirl for the same reason as Barbara: "related" to the Bat-Fam, but still her own person. And body language is her first language - how cool is that? I hated that DC kind of lost focus on her, after her series got cancelled.
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I've always liked the classic Grundy. Basically a Frankenstein's Monster whose story we don't know. And while I've always wanted to know how he wound up in Slaughter Swamp to begin with, I also like it that his story has never been revealed. I think they're trying to write that story now, but I refuse to read it - I don't want to know.
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I like the earlier versions of Plas best. The stuff in the Plastic Man Archives is just fun, and the run he had in Adventure Comics (just before the Chris & Vicki run of Dial H For Hero) was my absolute favorite. I think DC could find strong ties to Gotham for Plastic Man...even stronger if it was as a villain turned hero. What's that? You say his origin IS villain turned hero? You don't say...
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Doctor Doom is just THE classic villain. He has stood the test of time (even if his wardrobe is a trifle dated). Every good villain (<--oxymoron alert) should take notes from Doom.
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I've always liked this guy's look, and even though he was basically a Green Goblin copycat, I actually liked him better. It just occurred to me, looking at his picture, that he would be a cool visual counterpoint to Ghost Rider...although I'm not sure he'd be a challenge, the way he has been written in the past.
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I think Mon-El worked better in his earliest incarnation: a Daxamite mistaken for a member of the El family. Allergic to lead, so cast into the Phantom Zone to save his life, until a cure was found in the 30th century. He was the closest thing to Superboy for the Legion, when Superboy wasn't around, and he was a logical retcon standin for Superboy's inspiration, when Superboy was retconned out, after COIE. I liked him as Valor, but am glad to see him return to the name Mon-El.
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I've always liked Wonder Woman, but I LOVE the current version - one of the only things in the New 52 that I do like.
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I had read Erik Larsen's Spider-Man stuff and liked it, but Savage Dragon is what made me know his name. There are too many great things to say about this character, even if Larsen has been injecting his own voice into the character a little too obviously, the last few years. There's a difference between a character sharing your views on things, and straight using the character as a mouthpiece, when you want to get up on a soapbox about something. Still, overall, Dragon remains one of my favorite characters ever.
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Invincible: Superboy done right. Robert Kirkman freely admits that he learned all of Larsen's writing tricks, and then applied them to Invincible, and it shows in great stories. Now if he could just teach Larsen to put out one issue a month, every month, they'd be even.
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I think I've liked every version of this character, but it puzzles me that no version has ever gotten off the ground quite right. This is one of the few generational legacy characters that I like. I would have liked to have seen the Paul Johnstone vampire Shadowhawk from the crossover with Vampirella explored beyond that two issue mini-series, but I think I like the kid that succeeded him better.
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These were the villains being raised up against the original Shadowhawk, and I really liked where it seemed to be going, but it just petered out. Too bad.
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Firebreather is just a cool concept, and I like the way he's been used with Invincible, Shadowhawk, and the Noble girl in The Pact. They played off each other well. I'd love to see this character come back strong, but I actually think he's better in a team setting than in a solo book.
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I just cannot say enough good about Hellboy. For me, Mignola hit just the right mix of superhero, pulp hero and mythology for me. His books are just such a fun ride.
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I was hearing good things about the New 52 version of Aquaman, but that praise seems to have fizzled out lately (I unfortunately have not had the fun money to check out this book). I keep waiting for Aquaman's breakout moment - I think he's overdue. He's WAY underutilized in the DCU, and could be made a major player with a few easy tweaks. I'm not sure that fans could bring themselves to accept it though, except grudgingly. It could be done though. DC just needs to find the right mix of now and the previous 2 series, plus those "tweaks" I hinted at.
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This lame looking golden age speedster was transformed into an all-time favorite for me with four simple words: "zen master of speed." Mark Waid wrote his character defining moment, when he had Max explain to Wally West how to best tap into the speed force.
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I like all of the Green Lanterns, and I love the idea of the ring. This has long been one of my favorite DC characters.
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I always felt like the Carol Ferris Star Sapphire was underused at DC, but I hate the Star Sapphire Corps. Ruination of a great character. She's an awesome villainess, but might be better served against a different hero than Green Lantern.
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I love this character. I read all of her 80's stuff, and I'm glad to see her back in the New 52 (jury is still out on the new storyline though). It just somehow seemed like a fresh concept, when she was introduced, and the Gemworld idea and characters have always stuck with me. She could be better connected to the DCU, but I think DC is going to miss that opportunity again.
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