Team-Based Superheroes that Could support solo series

[Nitz the Bloody]

When I look at most superhero teams, excluding teams made of solo characters like the JLA and to an extent the Avengers, I usually don't see an ensemble cast of great, dynamic characters. Most often focus is given to two or three favorites of the author, with the rest sticking around the background. They're basically supporting characters at best, scenery at worst.

That said, the Marvel and DC universes are structured so that any character can at any point get their own series. So, I ask you all: Which characters associated exclusively or even mostly with teams would do best at supporting their own titles?

My vote goes to the Beast: while I know he had that mini in the 90's with Karma and Cannonball, I think he's an incredibly interesting character that is almost never used. He's got all the key ingredients for a spin-off title; a catchy name and appearance, an appealing and complex personality, a lot of potential for supporting cast ( given how he's known as X-Man, Avenger, bio-chemist, and mutant poster boy ), and a role of great importance as one of the smartest men in the MU. Yet he's usually shuffled off to the side as comic relief, particularly in the Avengers. Even in the X-Men, his best stories are often dropped ( like the devolving thing in Morrison's X-Men ). Sadly, the Beast story I've enjoyed the most was the one in the Simonsons' X-Factor where he rapidly became dumber and dumber. That should never be a character's best moment.

Any others?

[stealthwise]

In the current industry? No one that I can think of right now.

[Aaron Kashtan]

http://www.titanstower.com/assets/whos%20who/aamembers/whoswho80/starfirewho.jpg

Well, I'd buy it at least.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

Hawkman.....his series got turned into Hawkwoman by the worst decision DC made in years. Which brings up a lesson. Just because a character looks awesome in a cartoon , doesn't mean it will translate to comics.

[FunkyGreenJerusalem]

Hawkman.....his series got turned into Hawkwoman by the worst decision DC made in years. Which brings up a lesson. Just because a character looks awesome in a cartoon , doesn't mean it will translate to comics.

Actually, she totally could work... she just didn't with that creative team.

[Jessica Drew]

Emma Frost--just don't base the series on her life as a schoolgirl; base it on the present (and maybe even separate her from the X-Men); she's an intelligent and witty character, who's cynical attitude, snobbery, and cold-hearted facade could all make for an intriguing, alarming, and fascinating comic. I'd set her up in an office-type environment (but not just any old fudd-duddy office, either) and let her personality run wild, with sarcastic, mocking comments flying left and right.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

Actually, she totally could work... she just didn't with that creative team.

Hell its a bad thing when one half of the creative team leaves 3 issues in ! The worst crime was that Hawkman was a great read by the time DC did this. Palmiotti and Grey had done a great job and I loved the Golden Eagle arc.

[Jack Zodiac]

Power Girl could support her own series. She's more "Supergirl" than the Supergirl we have now, but also a strong, independent woman and almost as much a feminist figure as Wonder Woman. With a decent writer, she could have a great run on her own series.

[JeffreyWKramer]

Power Girl could support her own series. She's more "Supergirl" than the Supergirl we have now, but also a strong, independent woman and almost as much a feminist figure as Wonder Woman. With a decent writer, she could have a great run on her own series.

POWER GIRL by BKV and Amanda Connor would be all kinds of excellent.

[Jack Zodiac]

Yeah, Conner's art on her JSA Classified arc was great. Vaughn's a good pick for writer, too, but we all know that'd never happen.

[JeffreyWKramer]

Yeah, Conner's art on her JSA Classified arc was great. Vaughn's a good pick for writer, too, but we all know that'd never happen.

No, because it would be cool and fun, and it appears DC only allows very small rations of fun these days, and uses up most of the ration on ALL-STAR SUPERMAN.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

No, because it would be cool and fun, and it appears DC only allows very small rations of fun these days, and uses up most of the ration on ALL-STAR SUPERMAN.

Booster Gold maybe a change towards more fun. With what I've heard its gonna be fun world/time hopping so perhaps we'll see some return to nice fun stories.

[brundlefly]

POWER GIRL by BKV and Amanda Connor would be all kinds of excellent.

I, too, would pick that book up in a heartbeat. That sounds great.

Which, as Jack noted, essentially guarantees that it'll never actually happen. Pity.

[Ryan Day]

With the right writer and artist, just about anyone could support a series.

DC and Marvel usually put a C-list creative team on a C-list character, and then they're apparently surprised when it sells 15,000 copies.

[Shellhead]

While there are a lot of characters that could theoretically thrive with the right creative team, most of these characters are not currently interesting enough to inspire such a talented creative team. In particular, characters like Starfire, Power Girl, and Cyborg are visually interesting, but fairly lacking in the personality department.

In fact, to take it a step farther, some characters (Starfire) are so abnormal with respect to everyday life that a solo series would only work if placed in an exotic setting or else reduced to the stereotypical fish-out-of-water scenario. Come to think of it, how does Kory even survive in the DCU right now? I believe that her homeworld was destroyed. Does she have a job? Is she getting regular money from some team she belonged to in the past like the Titans? Or is Garfield Logan buying her used lingerie?

[Gingold]

Booster Gold maybe a change towards more fun. With what I've heard its gonna be fun world/time hopping so perhaps we'll see some return to nice fun stories.

It's Geoff Johns. There will be dismemberment and crying amid any fun to be had.

[stealthwise]

I'd like to see a Martian Manhunter series, but I have no idea who the hell they could get to write it that wouldn't suck big time.

And by that I mean, someone who's a big enough name to help sell the book, but doesn't suck ass.

I mean, Lieberman? For god's sake, at least stick Winick, or even Bruce Jones, on a series if you don't care about how good it is.

[JeffreyWKramer]

In particular, characters like Starfire, Power Girl, and Cyborg are visually interesting, but fairly lacking in the personality department.
All of which can change easily enough in the hands of a good writer.

Keep in mind, for much of the characters' existence, characters like Superman and Captain America have often also lacked much in the way of personality, and relatively few superhero characters have been consistently portrayed as having anything approaching a full, functional personality, as opposed to a couple of exaggerated traits and maybe a catchphrase or two. What, exactly, was Captain Atom's personality, as written by Ditko, and by Bates, and by the various others that have written the character? Most people wouldn't consider Mister Miracle a bad or innately boring character, but attempts to define much of a personality for him have worked about as well as trying to get something to stick on teflon, because - like many superhero characters - he's defined more by concept or theme than by personality. This goes along with the iconic nature of superhero characters, really.

The fact that Power Girl hasn't really ever been depicted as having a very consistent personality mostly speaks to the fact that she's had a lot of writers with very different visions, and none were strong enough to really wholly stick. There's nothing that says this can't change, though. Even her most obvious character trait, her buxom build, could be manifest lots of different ways, personality-wise. Does she just take it for granted, or does she use/flaunt her looks, or does she resent that people pay more attention to her cleavage than to what she says?

Rob Liefeld and Tony Tallarico creations and the Captain Marvel that was an android with the power to dismember himself aside, there really are relatively true innately awful characters, but there are plenty that have never really been given good enough effort.

[Brian Cronin]

I think that probably Storm would have the best bet at sustaining her own series.

Maybe the Thing again? MAYBE?

-Brian

[Jack Zodiac]

Has anyone here been reading Black Panther since he and Storm got married? 'Cause I wouldn't mind seeing a husband/wife team book from Marvel, so long as they treat Storm right. I hope they do the same with Black Canary when they relaunch Green Arrow/Black Canary as a shared title. After Gail's run on Birds of Prey, with the right team (maybe McKeever and Benes? or Nicola again?), Dinah could definitely hold her own series.

The Thing is a great character and Slott's book was pure awesome... but nobody read it, which is often the case for good books. I'd definitely read another Thing series. Or a Ben and Johnny buddy-comedy book.

[Gingold]

Team-based characters who I'd thought could carry solo books - Thing, Nightcrawler, Hawkeye - haven't been too successful in the past. I'd buy a Havok and Polaris series, but probably nobody else would.

[stealthwise]

Am I on crack, or was this thread inexplicably closed at one point?

[JeffreyWKramer]

Am I on crack, or was this thread inexplicably closed at one point?

It was indeed closed at one point, and I couldn't figure out why it had been closed.

[Kid Kamikaze10]

Power Girl is at the top of my list. If Ms. Marvel can have a series, and Supergirl can have one, and be in two others, then PG deserves one. She's at least better than them.

Jean Grey is another person, though this one would be much more difficult. It would take a Geoff Johns style revamp to help her maintain a series.

Luke Cage is another. Have it be done by Bendis, and it may work. Or have it done by Hudlin, and there will be a certain fanbase that will stick to it till the end, while everyone else thinks it's borderline racist trash.

Nightcrawler is another choice, but he's already had a failed one.

And lastly, Mr. Terrific. I have no reason for it, I just think he should have one. My only issue is that he may be considered "DC's Black Panther".

[Tommy]

I'd like to see a Martian Manhunter series, but I have no idea who the hell they could get to write it that wouldn't suck big time.

Alan Moore once wanted to write MM. Of course now he would never do anything for DC.

Say... when is the next bit of LXG coming out?

[Stony]

Matt Wagner scripting a Doc Midnite ongoing? I had a lot of fun with his mini

I think James Robinson could make just about any second-tier DC character work in their own series.
I miss that man's comic-work so much.



His movies? Not so much...

[Tom]

It was indeed closed at one point, and I couldn't figure out why it had been closed.

That was me. I learned a valuable lesson this weekend. Don't check out CBR on a Blackberry. You never know what you'll accidentally click on. Sorry about that.

[JeffreyWKramer]

That was me. I learned a valuable lesson this weekend. Don't check out CBR on a Blackberry. You never know what you'll accidentally click on. Sorry about that.

At least it was a fairly mild mishap. Just think of the shitstorm had you accidentally closed the Olney thread or something like that.

[creaky]

Nightcrawler is another choice, but he's already had a failed one.

Any solo that focuses on a theme that has nothing to do with the character and has him stand around while his friends do the fighting for him is pretty much doomed to fail.*sigh*

[stealthwise]

Alan Moore once wanted to write MM. Of course now he would never do anything for DC.

Say... when is the next bit of LXG coming out?

Never, the first one tanked.

The next LoEG on the other hand... ;)

I've read something like... lemme check... October 3, 2007.

[Deep_Sleeper]

I really liked the idea behind the Nightcrawler series a while ago, where he branched off the X-universe, but he was a demonologist or mystic detective or something.

I thought the idea behind it was good.

[Jeremy A. Patterson]

I really liked the idea behind the Nightcrawler series a while ago, where he branched off the X-universe, but he was a demonologist or mystic detective or something.

I thought the idea behind it was good.

Agree with you on that one!

J.A.P.

[Pól Rua]

Matt Wagner scripting a Doc Midnite ongoing? I had a lot of fun with his mini
I loved that miniseries.
A shame they pretty much jettisoned everything good about the character as soon as he joined the JSA.

[The Mutt]

I've been waiting forty years for Marvel to do a good Hawkeye ongoing. While I think he is the ultimate team player, and should always, always, always be on The Avengers roster, he is too good a character not to have his own title where they can really explore who he is.

He was a carny; a showman. He got on the wrong side of the law because he lusted for Black Widow. Faced with the basic "prison or the service" choice, he signed on in Captain America's army where without the benefit of superpowers (mostly), he found himself on the front line of world-shattering battles, alongside Earth's mightiest heroes. He was a full-time professional superhero, back in the day when everybody had a secret identity and a day job. He's still a show-off. Still chasing tail. But trying to do the right thing for the right reasons.

But I don't know who Hawkeye is any more. Dead, alive, shacking up with Wanda, dressed as a tubby ninja, WTF?

This character needs to be saved.

And how can Marvel have gone forty years without giving us a Goliath-sized Hawkeye with a giant bow, firing arrows the size of missiles?

Dan Slott and Ariel Olivetti. A twelve-foot-tall Hawkeye. How could it fail?

[Lanowar]

I've been waiting forty years for Marvel to do a good Hawkeye ongoing. While I think he is the ultimate team player, and should always, always, always be on The Avengers roster, he is too good a character not to have his own title where they can really explore who he is.

He was a carny; a showman. He got on the wrong side of the law because he lusted for Black Widow. Faced with the basic "prison or the service" choice, he signed on in Captain America's army where without the benefit of superpowers (mostly), he found himself on the front line of world-shattering battles, alongside Earth's mightiest heroes. He was a full-time professional superhero, back in the day when everybody had a secret identity and a day job. He's still a show-off. Still chasing tail. But trying to do the right thing for the right reasons.

But I don't know who Hawkeye is any more. Dead, alive, shacking up with Wanda, dressed as a tubby ninja, WTF?

This character needs to be saved.

And how can Marvel have gone forty years without giving us a Goliath-sized Hawkeye with a giant bow, firing arrows the size of missiles?

Dan Slott and Ariel Olivetti. A twelve-foot-tall Hawkeye. How could it fail?

Issue 1

Quickly Hawkeye it's the Enchantress she's

THROWM ~ as a giant missle sized arrow simply causes her to explode~

Oh...never mind.

[GrifterWC]

A Black Canary series by Gail Simone would be great.

[Nightstar1441]

Deadshot by John Ostrander comes to mind.

Here's a character that Ostrander fleshed out. He can stradle the line between the angels and the darkness depending on the job he does.

I don't believe characters should be black or white but shades of grey with choices that define his/her character

[beetlebum]

Emma Frost--just don't base the series on her life as a schoolgirl; base it on the present (and maybe even separate her from the X-Men); she's an intelligent and witty character, who's cynical attitude, snobbery, and cold-hearted facade could all make for an intriguing, alarming, and fascinating comic. I'd set her up in an office-type environment (but not just any old fudd-duddy office, either) and let her personality run wild, with sarcastic, mocking comments flying left and right.

I actually agree with this one. This sounds like a good idea. Emma Frost is the most love/hated character this side of Tony Stark (with whom it was revealed that she used to 'team up' with) Or better yet, maybe you could do her in her school girl days. Make her like a cross between Veronica Mars and Meredith Grey from Grey's Anatomy. Make her go through a lot of angst. That way the stories will be interesting, and if it is revealed that she suffered a lot of pain in her past, it could explain her aloof persona and her often times icy countenance. It could make her quite sympathetic. God I miss Veronica Mars so much. :(

And since Dark Horse is doing Buffy season 8, why not do a book that revolves around Kennedy? I would buy it. Only because I am as geeky as a Buffy fan can get.