Most Vanilla Comic Book Hero?

[Jeremy A. Patterson]

I have a question for you guys: What are the MOST VANILLA of all of the heroes in Comic book history?

These characters are:
*So boring
* So bland
*So uncharismatic
*Are in dire need of a retool.
*And they are downright dull!

What are your suggestions?

Jeremy.

[Omar Karindu]

I have a question for you guys: What are the MOST VANILLA of all of the heroes in Comic book history?

These characters are:
*So boring
* So bland
*So uncharismatic
*Are in dire need of a retool.
*And they are downright dull!

What are your suggestions?

Jeremy.

Most examples I can think of eventually got a retool, like the original version of Nova, where Peter Parker without the interesting supporting cast and motivation gets Green Lantern's origin but ends up with the world's most generic "flying strong guy" powerset. The Len Wein version of the Blue Beetle was similar, a kind of watered-down hybrid of Iron Man, but imagined as a drippy no-show boss who fought crime as a costumed acrobat with a few gadgets. The book lasted only 24 issues, and most fans now remember either the Ditko take on the character from Charlton or the Giffen/DeMatteis comedy version of Ted Kord.

Speaking of the great Steve Ditko, much of his mid-1970s work has been utterly forgotten because of its generic quality. Tiger-Man, a hero at the ill-fated Atlas Comics helmed by Larry "Stan's brother" Lieber was a generic spandexed gymnast type with a bland costume and a standard 'dead loved one" origin story. Destructor and Killjoy, two other third-tier Ditko creations at other minor publishers, were similarly dull and came to nothing after one appearance each. Ditko created quite a few of these third-rate knockoffs of his much better creation, the Creeper. None of 'em hold a candle to Spider-Man or Doctor Strange; proof positive to me that Ditko worked better with Lee, especially alongside Ditko's tendency to have someone else script most of his work even after he left Marvel.

The retooled Noh-Varr, aka Protector, strikes me as very bland.

[Nitz the Bloody]

Jean Grey, sans Phoenix, hits all of these criteria. Her only charismatic feature is being the "girl next door" fantasy, and when that doesn't have a complex character attached, it's useless.

[Nitz the Bloody]

The retooled Noh-Varr, aka Protector, strikes me as very bland.

Sadly, Bendis has been guilty of this quite often during his Avengers run. Echo, one of the few truly unique and complex disabled characters in comics (or fiction, for that matter), is reduced to being the random occupant of the Ronin man-suit. The Hood, a darkly comic villainous version of the Peter Parker archetype, is played as the latest Kingpin, nothing more. And if Brother Voodoo had any interesting stories as Sorcerer Supreme, they weren't seen in the pages of New Avengers.

[Bison4Life]

I think Power Man is in dire need of a retol/reboot. Sure they ditched the headcollar and yellow boots but he's still Shaft with super strength.

[Vaiyt]

I think Power Man is in dire need of a retol/reboot. Sure they ditched the headcollar and yellow boots but he's still Shaft with super strength.

It's not coincidence, he is a blaxploitation hero.

[AdamYJ]

I have a question for you guys: What are the MOST VANILLA of all of the heroes in Comic book history?

These characters are:
*So boring
* So bland
*So uncharismatic
*Are in dire need of a retool.
*And they are downright dull!

What are your suggestions?

Jeremy.

Geez, you're being awfully mean to vanilla, aren't you. Real vanilla is one of the mosty exotic spices on Earth. Vanilla pods have to be picked from vanilla orchid plants that have vines that climb high into trees in exotic places like Hawaii and Tahiti. And they can only be picked at certain times of year. Then they undergo a long process to be edible much like chocolate or coffee does. It's why vanilla beans (or pods) are so expensive.

Anyway, I always found John Stewart kind of dull. He's always either dull or angry. Two things that never really appealed to me.

[dancj]

John Stewart
Hal Jordan
Cyclops
The Will Payton Starman
The Guardian

[Hamdinger]

Actually if he was still written as Shaft with Super Strength he would actually be interesting! But that hasn't been the case for a few decades.

[Hamdinger]

Jean Grey, sans Phoenix, hits all of these criteria. Her only charismatic feature is being the "girl next door" fantasy, and when that doesn't have a complex character attached, it's useless.

Oh, and I could not agree more with your pick. Untill Dark Phoenix and that's where they should have left both Jean and Phoenix stay dead. To meCaptain Mar'Vell was another one that was bland and boring with now personality whose only interesting story was when he died. He did have a cool costume (the red & black one).

[custodes]

My least favorite is Batman but, I guess he is not very vanilla and is doing OK right now.

Supergirl? Could be great.Wish it was.

[dupersuper]

Surely there's an ice cream mascot we could mention here...