Characters that tend to be more interesting when they're the lead character in their own series than when they're part of teams/supporting casts. What characters would you say work out the best in that category?
Characters that tend to be more interesting when they're the lead character in their own series than when they're part of teams/supporting casts. What characters would you say work out the best in that category?
[QUOTE=Electricmastro;4526846]Characters that tend to be more interesting when they're the lead character in their own series than when they're part of teams/supporting casts. What characters would you say work out the best in that category?[/QUOTE]
Batman
Daredevil
Wolverine
Blade
Dr. Strange
Incredible Hulk
Spiderman for sure. And THe Flash. The two of them are kinda of writren as comic characters in team books. But on their own they can shine as the heroes they are.
Reportedly, Stan Lee kept Spiderman out of the first Avengers line up because he felt Spidey's concept ( that of a struggling teen-aged everyman) wouldn't work with him as part of a team. I'm sure that's probably why he took the Hulk out after only two issues. Supposedly, he thought Dr Strange wouldn't work as an Avenger either, but I sorta disagree with that.
Daredevil only works as a solo artist. Doesn't play well with others.
[QUOTE=Things Fall Apart;4527707]Wolverine[/QUOTE]
This one I'm especially inclined to agree on. Even though I've enjoyed Wolverine on the X-Men, despite all the stories he's been in with them, he still feels more like a loner no matter what. I think I'd even go so far as to say that he fares better in his solo-series spin-off than in the X-Men series.
[img]http://onlinecomics.ru/_pu/0/34416968.jpg[/img]
[QUOTE=Electricmastro;4528171]This one I'm especially inclined to agree on. Even though I've enjoyed Wolverine on the X-Men, despite all the stories he's been in with them, he still feels more like a loner no matter what. I think I'd even go so far as to say that he fares better in his solo-series spin-off than in the X-Men series.[/QUOTE]
I think both Wolverine and Gambit, work better as "plausible deniability" X-Men. They have a casual allyship with them, but should be kept kind of at arms reach.
Let’s see...
Spider-man, Daredevil, Moon Knight all come to mind.
Not saying it’s the case w. every street leveler, but those 3 are more neighborhood/solitary types.
Or should be.
Batman’s a tough one, because he falls into that solitary camp, but also provides a specific role in the Big 7 JLA line up.
Punisher, and Deadpool
Spidey definitely works better by himself, but I've always thought he worked very well on a team.
Honestly, I would throw in the rest of the original Defenders (Strange, Surfer, and Namor). One of the things about those Defenders was that they really didn't work well together.
I think most characters created to be the solo stars of a comic tend to work better as solo acts. That's not to say that you can't do interesting things by putting them into a team book with other established characters. That can be fun, and introduce new challenges/ideas that would be more challenging to introduce within the confines of their own series. It's just that you run into the problem of the character being shown in a reduced light that isn't always flattering. As fun as the Justice League or the Avengers can be, both books often come across as a gathering of the world's greatest heroes to defeat enemies that they could all handle individually in their own book.
It's not as much of an issue with a hero created to function as part of a unit.
Batman works best with groups that he can dominate, which is why he's a better fit for The Outsiders than the JL.
Daredevil has both personality traits (he tends to view himself as especially able to decide where the law should get bent versus others) and practical reasons (crowds tend to mess with his senses) to be a loner.
Silver Surfer's whole schtick was designed around being lonely; a team would poke holes in that.
Booster Gold is such a narcissistic turd-ball (although a lovable one) that no team should be able to stomach him.
The Submariner's agenda is about his people and territory, and his attitude is caustic, making him a bad fit for any team.
In a like manner, The Hulk's volatility make him too unstable for any team.
Like Batman, neither Dr. Fate nor The Phantom Stranger should be on a team unless they're basically using the team for some end of their own.
[QUOTE=Personamanx;4531522]I think most characters created to be the solo stars of a comic tend to work better as solo acts. That's not to say that you can't do interesting things by putting them into a team book with other established characters. That can be fun, and introduce new challenges/ideas that would be more challenging to introduce within the confines of their own series. It's just that you run into the problem of the character being shown in a reduced light that isn't always flattering. As fun as the Justice League or the Avengers can be, both books often come across as a gathering of the world's greatest heroes to defeat enemies that they could all handle individually in their own book.
It's not as much of an issue with a hero created to function as part of a unit.[/QUOTE]It's certainly more of a challenge to write solo characters on a team book, because to do it well, a writer has to mold the character interactions around the way the characters are likely to act/react not only to the plot, but to each other's actions/reactions. As to plots, a writer also has to come up with threats that challenge the team without nerfing any of the members. Stern's run on [I]The Avengers[/I] was probably the best that was ever done, followed closely by Busiek/Perez' run. You can also do stories that don't require a planet cracking menace to threaten such teams (i.e. the JL's "Tower of Babel" story).
Blade
He becomes silly and fairly irrelevant in a world of superheroes. Plus Vampires don't really make great foes for superheroes.
He'd be much better written as a solo book who never crosses paths with the rest of the MCU.