HEY, MARVEL!! What about.....?

[Philip Portelli]

With all the new titles and crossovers that Marvel has been and will be putting out, there are definitely some characters falling through the cracks of the ever-changing Marvel Universe. Some are long time heroes and some were major stars a few years ago yet they have seldom seen recently, if at all.

(Of course, I don't read EVERY Marvel comic anymore so I would welcome corrections.)

So, HEY MARVEL!! What about...

• HERCULES--when the Prince of Power took over the Hulk's numbering as Incredible Hercules, he finally became a big time player in the MU. He was revamped several times since as the God of Heroes with a couple of titles. But now he's not even included in Avengers World or Secret Avengers. How the mighty have fallen...
• HENRY PYM--yes he was in Avengers A.I. but that didn't last long. He's a founding Avenger who's not even the star of Ant-Man: The Movie!! Talk about no respect!
• AGENTS OF ATLAS--at one point, they were everywhere! Several series and a couple of solo minis including my personal favorite, Gorilla Man. Then they all just vanished! I guess the Guardians of the Galaxy took over the "Eccentric, Edgy, Non-Avengers-Team" slot!
• ADAM WARLOCK---speaking about the Guardians, Warlock's girl-friend Gamora is a movie star and Golden Boy is a no-show! Poor HIM! Is Marvel waiting for Jim Starlin to resurrect him again?
• KA-ZAR--Laugh if you want to but the Lord of the Savage Land had two very good series to his credit and ties to the X-Men. But since Frank Cho would rather draw an inflatable Shanna, Marvel's "Oldest" character has been ignored.
• BLACK PANTHER---I know that he's in New Avengers but what happened to his star turn? Where he was the most dangerous man in the MU? Where he was married to Storm? When the Avengers were a bit afraid of him? Where is the King?
• QUASAR---Y'know, the Cosmic Crusader IS Marvel's Guardian of the Galaxy! He was the vanguard of newer Avengers getting their own titles and he explored the MU and beyond. I think Marvel needs a character who can delve into the unexplained mysteries that are left behind from all these crossovers and epic events.
• MARVEL'S MONSTERS--Halloween's coming and where is Dracula? Werewolf By Night? The Frankenstein Monster? They starred in Legion of Monsters but that was more of a showcase for the evolving Elsa Bloodstone. They can't be lumped together all the time, at least without Abbott and Costello showing up!
• THE ORIGINAL THUNDERBOLTS---Atlas, Mach-One, Techno and especially Songbird looked like that they were leaving their criminal pasts behind and about to become major super-heroes but were left behind after each passing Thunderbolts revamp. So much for second chances!

I make no denials that I enjoyed all these characters at various times and wouldn't mind them returning to prominence.

Do any of you have favorites that Marvel has been ignoring? All comments are welcome!

Until Marvel announces The All-New, Superior It the Living Colossus!

[Mark S. Ogilvie]

Yes, but Howard was such a creature of his time and in a way so was Tigra. Characters can be recast and re-written to match the times that they appear in, but something is always lost. A writer can't replicate the entirety of thought and experience of another writer. No writer today could match completely the world view of Conan Doyle, the best he can do is take the template of what Doyle created and match it to the modern world.



ClarkKent_DC said:

I don't think it's impossible for another creator to handle a character after the original creator has left the series (or died). If that was the case, we wouldn't be reading stories today featuring Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Robin, the Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, the New Gods, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, the Silver Surfer, Captain America, The Black Panther, the Rocketeer, the Phantom, Dick Tracy, etc., etc., and so forth. 

Someone can do Howard the Duck and do it right; we just haven't found him or her yet.

[Captain Comics]

I bet Gail Simone would do an awesome Howard.

[Lee Houston, Junior]

Nice thought about Simone on Howard Captain.

But if the duck does get to make a comeback, I hope he gets a better artist this time. The graphics in the 2007/8 mini-series were a total turnoff for me.

[Richard Willis]

Now there shouldn't be a conflict with Donald Duck, so maybe they'll do it right. They need to line up the best writer/artist combo or don't even try.

[Randy Jackson]

For me, if you're going to go there, I'd choose Warren Ellis.

Captain Comics said:

I bet Gail Simone would do an awesome Howard.

[Captain Comics]

Yeah, they were awful! It's like "grown-up" has to mean "ugly."

Lee Houston, Junior said:

Nice thought about Simone on Howard Captain.

But if the duck does get to make a comeback, I hope he gets a better artist this time. The graphics in the 2007/8 mini-series were a total turnoff for me.