PatrickG
09-02-2007, 04:31 PM
I figured that we could use a good corollary to Gail thread on those characters whose popularity escapes us.
There are a few characters who AREN'T terribly popular (some are even LOATHED now) and I never quite got it.
Off the top of my head:
Mr. Terrific (Terry Sloane). I love the gimmick. He's just THAT good. At everything. And it really works for me in a 40s style setting. I'd like to see his costume reinterpreted a bit (similar to the trend now of drawing every scale in Captain America's mail chestpiece) so that the "Fair Play" on his chest doesn't look like it was scrawled on with a sharpy. Modern Mr. T is cool too but I like Terry's less complicated schtick and brighter costume.
X-Man. Alternate reality kid messiah with a chip on his shoulder! Jerks are so much FUN!
Triumph. Speaking of jerks... I really liked Triumph. He was driven but not like Guy Gardner driven. More like the Bat-dick except not quite as competent at it. Really great chemistry with The Ray. Awesome powers. And I dug the concept of a "lost" Silver-Age hero. This guy was Sentry before Sentry and IMO less overburdened with the alcoholism and insanity angles attached to Sentry. And I really felt for the poor guy when he landed himself in progressively bigger messes. I always had the pet theory that he was actually the founder of a PARALLEL earth's JLA and now that we have that in play, I'd really like to see him thawed out and pay a visit to his homeworld.
Thunderstrike. I never really got Thor outside of Simonson. But I dug Eric Masterson, both when he posed as Thor and when he had his own identity and I REALLY dug the second trinity of Avengers/Force Works types via US Agent, War Machine and Thunderstrike.
Adam Warlock. He's genetically engineered space Jesus! He was crucified and died for the sins of Counter Earth on a GIANT ANKH! Hamlet-like brooding. Trippy visuals. His friends are all misfits. His worst enemy is himself. Starlin did the most memorable stuff with him but I see his story as THE BOURNE IDENTITY via Jack Kirby and I think that's a take that could really work in a modern context.
Ben Reilly. Dismissed as derivative but has the greatest unfulfilled plot hook EVER. He wants to be Peter Parker. He wants to be Spider-man. That's SO INSANE... It's like Parker's own neurosis multiplied. Think about it! Life sucks for Peter Parker. Life sucks for Spider-man. And along comes this clone with EVEN WORSE LUCK who ASPIRES to be the world's punching bag. He doesn't HAVE to be; he could go live his own life. He could be an Avenger. But NO! He feels compelled to live the suckiest life in all of comics. And as much as Peter himself is hard luck, Ben is "even worse luck". He spent years as a homeless drifter. He was created to fulfill a vendetta by a psychotic college professor who had the hots for Gwen Stacy.
There are a few characters who AREN'T terribly popular (some are even LOATHED now) and I never quite got it.
Off the top of my head:
Mr. Terrific (Terry Sloane). I love the gimmick. He's just THAT good. At everything. And it really works for me in a 40s style setting. I'd like to see his costume reinterpreted a bit (similar to the trend now of drawing every scale in Captain America's mail chestpiece) so that the "Fair Play" on his chest doesn't look like it was scrawled on with a sharpy. Modern Mr. T is cool too but I like Terry's less complicated schtick and brighter costume.
X-Man. Alternate reality kid messiah with a chip on his shoulder! Jerks are so much FUN!
Triumph. Speaking of jerks... I really liked Triumph. He was driven but not like Guy Gardner driven. More like the Bat-dick except not quite as competent at it. Really great chemistry with The Ray. Awesome powers. And I dug the concept of a "lost" Silver-Age hero. This guy was Sentry before Sentry and IMO less overburdened with the alcoholism and insanity angles attached to Sentry. And I really felt for the poor guy when he landed himself in progressively bigger messes. I always had the pet theory that he was actually the founder of a PARALLEL earth's JLA and now that we have that in play, I'd really like to see him thawed out and pay a visit to his homeworld.
Thunderstrike. I never really got Thor outside of Simonson. But I dug Eric Masterson, both when he posed as Thor and when he had his own identity and I REALLY dug the second trinity of Avengers/Force Works types via US Agent, War Machine and Thunderstrike.
Adam Warlock. He's genetically engineered space Jesus! He was crucified and died for the sins of Counter Earth on a GIANT ANKH! Hamlet-like brooding. Trippy visuals. His friends are all misfits. His worst enemy is himself. Starlin did the most memorable stuff with him but I see his story as THE BOURNE IDENTITY via Jack Kirby and I think that's a take that could really work in a modern context.
Ben Reilly. Dismissed as derivative but has the greatest unfulfilled plot hook EVER. He wants to be Peter Parker. He wants to be Spider-man. That's SO INSANE... It's like Parker's own neurosis multiplied. Think about it! Life sucks for Peter Parker. Life sucks for Spider-man. And along comes this clone with EVEN WORSE LUCK who ASPIRES to be the world's punching bag. He doesn't HAVE to be; he could go live his own life. He could be an Avenger. But NO! He feels compelled to live the suckiest life in all of comics. And as much as Peter himself is hard luck, Ben is "even worse luck". He spent years as a homeless drifter. He was created to fulfill a vendetta by a psychotic college professor who had the hots for Gwen Stacy.