JulianPerez
03-03-2007, 12:46 AM
I'm not sure I'd like to see Black Knight as a regular Avengers member the way Roger Stern had him be back in the day, but he does make a great guest-star if, say, the Avengers have a case in England.
Ditto for Starfox. He was a great Avenger during the Thanos War, and one of the most exciting things about Avengers space stories is they get to dig him out of mothballs. His devil-may-care appearance leading the Eternals of Titan against Thanos in CELESTIAL QUEST was righteously rockin', like hearing the Stones play "Satisfaction."
In fact, I would even argue that a classic, founding Avenger like Thor is better a guest-star than a regular member. All of his great appearances have been single, triumphant moments where Thor comes out of the blue and saves the Avengers' bacon with his overwhelming godly power, like his battle against Count Nefaria during the Jim Shooter years that everybody remembers.
Busiek had the right idea with Quicksilver: he's great in small doses. In the Busiek run, Quicksilver was used in very specific situations for great moments: like for instance, the conflict with himself and his sister that ended with Pietro saying, "We may disagree, and I don't have to protect you anymore like I did in the old days...but you're my sister and I'll always love you." If Quicksilver is a regular Avenger the way he was in the Roy Thomas years, he's called to be "the *******."
Then again, there are some Avengers that if they're used at all, it's best to use them as a regular part of the roster. One of the few frustrating things about the otherwise great Busiek Avengers was that the Wasp and Hank Pym were terminal guest-stars (though Hank Pym's rocket-beeper was a lot of fun). Ditto for Monica Rambeau - every time they show up, you want to see more of them. And Monica's power is so flexible that you can have her do something different every issue and not have it get boring.
She-Hulk doesn't work as a guest-star. She doesn't have a truly mindblowing or unique set of powers, but they are solid and visual, and Jen Walters brings a very fun-loving, brawling personality that makes reading Avengers comics more fun on a regular basis.
(In fact, I would argue that She-Hulk doesn't really work as a solo character without a team either, but I guess Dan Slott's proved me wrong there.)
Hawkeye, like She-Hulk, doesn't work as a guest-star, but is way better off as a regular member if used at all. He's got a good dynamic with the other members, history with the team, and a great personality; Hawkeye never gets boring after a while. Anyway, if he's not there, who'd fire that one-in-a-million arrow shot that saves all mankind?
Anyway, it's arguable that Hawkeye is so associated with Avengers identity that if you pick up the book and don't get Hawkeye, you're being cheated. This also goes for the Vision and Scarlet Witch.
Ditto for Starfox. He was a great Avenger during the Thanos War, and one of the most exciting things about Avengers space stories is they get to dig him out of mothballs. His devil-may-care appearance leading the Eternals of Titan against Thanos in CELESTIAL QUEST was righteously rockin', like hearing the Stones play "Satisfaction."
In fact, I would even argue that a classic, founding Avenger like Thor is better a guest-star than a regular member. All of his great appearances have been single, triumphant moments where Thor comes out of the blue and saves the Avengers' bacon with his overwhelming godly power, like his battle against Count Nefaria during the Jim Shooter years that everybody remembers.
Busiek had the right idea with Quicksilver: he's great in small doses. In the Busiek run, Quicksilver was used in very specific situations for great moments: like for instance, the conflict with himself and his sister that ended with Pietro saying, "We may disagree, and I don't have to protect you anymore like I did in the old days...but you're my sister and I'll always love you." If Quicksilver is a regular Avenger the way he was in the Roy Thomas years, he's called to be "the *******."
Then again, there are some Avengers that if they're used at all, it's best to use them as a regular part of the roster. One of the few frustrating things about the otherwise great Busiek Avengers was that the Wasp and Hank Pym were terminal guest-stars (though Hank Pym's rocket-beeper was a lot of fun). Ditto for Monica Rambeau - every time they show up, you want to see more of them. And Monica's power is so flexible that you can have her do something different every issue and not have it get boring.
She-Hulk doesn't work as a guest-star. She doesn't have a truly mindblowing or unique set of powers, but they are solid and visual, and Jen Walters brings a very fun-loving, brawling personality that makes reading Avengers comics more fun on a regular basis.
(In fact, I would argue that She-Hulk doesn't really work as a solo character without a team either, but I guess Dan Slott's proved me wrong there.)
Hawkeye, like She-Hulk, doesn't work as a guest-star, but is way better off as a regular member if used at all. He's got a good dynamic with the other members, history with the team, and a great personality; Hawkeye never gets boring after a while. Anyway, if he's not there, who'd fire that one-in-a-million arrow shot that saves all mankind?
Anyway, it's arguable that Hawkeye is so associated with Avengers identity that if you pick up the book and don't get Hawkeye, you're being cheated. This also goes for the Vision and Scarlet Witch.