Characters you want to like, but just can't

[nigel33]

Talk about characters that had really great concepts behind them, but the executions just left you cold. Here are mine:

Daredevil - Blind man who can see the world in ways the sighted can only dream of. A lawyer so frustrated by the justice system, he becomes a vigilante. An Irish Catholic who dresses up as the devil to fight for justice.

Sounds great huh? Yet I've always found the highly-rated Brubaker/Miller DD to be a noir overload - unbearably gloomy lead, one disposable femme fatale after the other and gangsters who look like they've time-travelled from the 1930s. Phil J wrote on another thread that he's tried and tried to get into DD and still can't be bothered, and I kinda feel the same way.

Green Arrow - Its a great idea : an urban Robin Hood. I imagined a mischevious trickster who outwitted mob bosses and greedy businessmen, who exposed corrupt politicians and dodged crooked cops. Batman minus the brooding, plus a social conscience.

Instead we get Oliver Queen.

[Professor Moriarty]

Booster Gold.

after 52 i really wanted to get into him but i just couldn't.
i could never figure out what i didn't like about him, maybe it's his name, maybe it's costume, i just don't know.

and i wanted to pick up his series but i just couldn't.

[Red Jack]

Booster Gold.

after 52 i really wanted to get into him but i just couldn't.
i could never figure out what i didn't like about him, maybe it's his name, maybe it's costume, i just don't know.

and i wanted to pick up his series but i just couldn't.

seconded.

star girl is another. just never grabbed me.

[dupersuper]

Talk about characters that had really great concepts behind them, but the executions just left you cold. Here are mine:

Daredevil - Blind man who can see the world in ways the sighted can only dream of. A lawyer so frustrated by the justice system, he becomes a vigilante. An Irish Catholic who dresses up as the devil to fight for justice.

Sounds great huh? Yet I've always found the highly-rated Brubaker/Miller DD to be a noir overload - unbearably gloomy lead, one disposable femme fatale after the other and gangsters who look like they've time-travelled from the 1930s.

Ever try another writers DD? Ann Nic(sp?)? Kevin Smith? Stan Lee?

[AdamYJ]

Does this thread work for team books too?

Because I wanted to get into Teen Titans. I tried to like the Teen Titans. I really hoped I'd like the Teen Titans. I never liked the Teen Titans.

Except for maybe the '60s version, but that's because it's so crazy it makes me laugh.

The '80s version was solid superhero fare, but I never really felt anything to hook me on that book.

If we're still doing individual characters, I'll pick one out of that group: Beast Boy (or Changeling, or whatever). I knew he was supposed to be the funny one in the group and that he changed into animals. Both of those things sounded good. He turned out to be one of the most annoying characters I've encountered. Almost all of his humor seems to stem from sexual innuendos. In the '80s series, usually innuendos that referenced '80s starlets that the world has since forgotten (these jokes didn't age well).

[Free-Man]

Pretty much every character from Bloodlines not named Hitman. The only time Gunfire was ever cool was the future Gunfire who accidently blew himself up in the Hitman 1 Million tie-in. And then we had the lameasses like the Bloodpack, Argus, and Mongrel....sigh.....love the beginning of the first Hitman trade where someone refers to Bloodlines as DC "throwing a bunch of characters against the wall to see what stuck".

Also, Lagoon Boy.

[Ziggy Stardust]

I've always wanted to like Superman. But, around the age of 8 or 9, his luster wore off. And now? Well, I can't stand him.

I understand his role in comics. I really do. BUT, I just find him dull. Not just in personality, but in that there is no sense of danger or drama in his books due to his power levels, especially compared to the power of his usual villains.

And if he IS in trouble? Meh, he was just holding back and drops a mental block or takes a trip to the Sun.

[Ziggy Stardust]

Another one for me is Lobo.

I get he was a joke chjaracter to mock the whole "wolverine popularity" thing, but he should have been relegated to just that role and/or been a one-shot appearence type. Don't get me wrong, he made me laugh way back when, but not for about 15 years.

I also wanted to like Doomsday. FINALLY a threat to Superman! One who actually KILLED him. Shame Superman can now smoke him any time he wants. He was a plot device. He shoulda been used once only.

And let's not get me started on Sentry, another character who was only supposed to be a one-shot type character who's further appearences are not only annoying, but forced and idiotic.

[Ziggy Stardust]

Pretty much every character from Bloodlines not named Hitman.

Ah, Hitman.....

Love his writer, heard tons of good stuff about the book, read half the first TPB of his run, retuirned it to the library unfinished.

[KevinTBrown]

I second Lobo.

Also, the Jason Rusch Firestorm. No matter what, it's a character I just cannot stand. And I'm a HUGE Firestorm fan. Though now with Ronnie Raymond back and DC forcing the two characters together, I may try again. But based on what I read in Brightest Day #1, my opinion still hasn't changed. As far as I'm concerned, Rusch just needs to go away.

[Free-Man]

Another one for me is Lobo.

I get he was a joke chjaracter to mock the whole "wolverine popularity" thing, but he should have been relegated to just that role and/or been a one-shot appearence type. Don't get me wrong, he made me laugh way back when, but not for about 15 years.

I also wanted to like Doomsday. FINALLY a threat to Superman! One who actually KILLED him. Shame Superman can now smoke him any time he wants. He was a plot device. He shoulda been used once only.

And let's not get me started on Sentry, another character who was only supposed to be a one-shot type character who's further appearences are not only annoying, but forced and idiotic.

Nobody likes the Sentry.

Ray Palmer and Ronnie Raymond are another two who I just can't stand. Just reading Brightest Day, Ronnie comes across as an enormous prick.

[Cam63]

Broody Batman and Cheatin' Green Arrow.

[Typo Lad]

I second Lobo.

Also, the Jason Rusch Firestorm. No matter what, it's a character I just cannot stand. And I'm a HUGE Firestorm fan. Though now with Ronnie Raymond back and DC forcing the two characters together, I may try again. But based on what I read in Brightest Day #1, my opinion still hasn't changed. As far as I'm concerned, Rusch just needs to go away.

That's funny, because I'm the exact opposite.

[pariah-1972]

Cyclops since his Apocalypse mind F*ck at least.

Invincible mostly cause of art reasons.

Spawn the guy is like Batman with supernatural powers and all he ever seems to do is sitting around in an alley with homeless people and mope.


Cable doesn't really work for me unless he has someone to work off of.


Green Arrow was only likable in JLU otherwise he usually comes off as tool-ish and doesn't seem to have the ability to look inward and see his own hypocrisy.

Superman currently is just bland and boring.

Sentry is just a walking dues ex machina at least since Bendis has gotten ahold of him.


Daken i mean he is Wolverine's son and i'm a big fan of Wolverine..... but he usually seems to come off as an arrogant self centered asshole with daddy issues him being possibly bi-sexual doesn't really change all those negative qualities, also his reason for hating his father is completely ludicrous and stupid unless he has some kind of proof that Wolverine intentionally murdered his mother but honestly it doesn't seem like he cares about that much and he just uses it as an excuse to hate Logan without trying to resolve their differences.

So ok maybe i don't want to like him, but i need something to hang my hat on with him as it where if he is gonna be around.


Power Girl up until the Amanda Conner - Jimmy Palmiotti series she was a complete hard ass bitch who was never kind to anyone and had a butt load of issues that didn't make her endearing at all she almost comes across like one of those highly sexualized Wrestling Diva's who are all attitude and big boobs.
Ms Marvel is much the same for me.

Plastic Man is just generally annoying although probably written that way on purpose.
Kyle Raner mostly cause i haven't read much of him but he reminds me of Wesley Crusher a little too much and i never disliked Wesley originally but i could understand the venom his character got

But of course now he has been demoted to Guy Gardner's sidekick which i'm not sure if he deserves that, but he does seem to mellow Guy out a bit at least lately.

[dupersuper]

I've always wanted to like Superman. But, around the age of 8 or 9, his luster wore off. And now? Well, I can't stand him.

I understand his role in comics. I really do. BUT, I just find him dull. Not just in personality, but in that there is no sense of danger or drama in his books due to his power levels, especially compared to the power of his usual villains.

And if he IS in trouble? Meh, he was just holding back and drops a mental block or takes a trip to the Sun.

I NEVER understand this complaint. Is there really more danger in a Batman book just because the character isn't bulletproof? Do you think they'll actually kill him in Batman 487 or Shadow of the Bat 42? Even Darkseid couldn't get rid of him. As for villains, if Luthor, Brainiac, Zod, Faora, Ursa, Non, all the other Phantom Zoners and faux-Zods, Doomsday, Darkseid, Asmodel, Solaris, Dominous, Imperiex, Mongul, Mongal, the Kryptonian ice goddess, Blaze, Satanus, Millenium Giants, Mordru, Time Trapper, Cyborg Superman, Bizarro, Ultraman, the other Ultraman, Tangent Superman, Superboy Prime, Parasite, Metallo, Kryptonite Man, Titano 2, Wordbringer, Bloodthirst and Massacre are underpowered, I don't want to think about who you'd want him to fight...