Which Latino Hero Has the Potential to Become an A-list Character?

Bunker is full of potential but he is often forgotten...

Is El Dorado actually in anything outside of the Young Justice series and the classic superfriends series?

Kyle or Kendra, but I'll go with Kendra because I don't believe Kyle is culturally Latino.

Why not just retcon Bruce Wayne, Barry Allen, or John Stewart into being half Latino? Worked for Kyle Rayner.

[QUOTE=SecretWarrior;4891682]Why not just retcon Bruce Wayne, Barry Allen, or John Stewart into being half Latino? Worked for Kyle Rayner.[/QUOTE]

Didn't really "work" for him IMO because he grew up without any Latino cultural attributes. Having the label without displaying the cultural experience is hollow and defeats the purpose.

[QUOTE=Lightning Rider;4891725]Didn't really "work" for him IMO because he grew up without any Latino cultural attributes. Having the label without displaying the cultural experience is hollow and defeats the purpose.[/QUOTE]

And yet he's third highest ranked in the poll, lol

People want representation, and they don't want a secondary status. I get it. Just saying almost any DC character could be Latino, even prominent ones. Just reveal that Martha Wayne was Martha Gonzalez-Kane before she married, and I think folks would be satisfied. Have a couple of stories about Bruce recognizing that part of his heritage, and people who feel left out would find someone to hold on to. Ties it closer to the Zorro analogy anyway.

DC already did this with Superman in Gods and Monsters, making his parents Mexican immigrants.

[QUOTE=SecretWarrior;4891744]And yet he's third highest ranked in the poll, lol

People want representation, and they don't want a secondary status. I get it. Just saying almost any DC character could be Latino, even prominent ones. Just reveal that Martha Wayne was Martha Gonzalez-Kane before she married, and I think folks would be satisfied. Have a couple of stories about Bruce recognizing that part of his heritage, and people who feel left out would find someone to hold on to. Ties it closer to the Zorro analogy anyway.

DC already did this with Superman in Gods and Monsters, making his parents Mexican immigrants.[/QUOTE]

Kyle is winning by virtue of being the most established and popular, which doesn't speak to his status as a Latino superhero.

I don't know who you're suggesting would be satisfied, but I don't think either the minority ethnicity in question would feel satisfied, and everyone else would probably be annoyed.

Gods and Monsters was very clearly an elseworlds-style reimaginging.

I also think Blue Beetle, for Kyle or Jessica to become A-List DC would have to make them the main lantern instead of Hal Jordan, and if DC was really going to retire Hal, the next big problem would directly be why make Kyle or Jessica the lead and not John Steward (or one of the other non white Lanterns).
With Ted Kord this problem is not that big because he is not that big of a character (and they can keep him around as a Support Character for Jamie).

The rest is to obscure, and Vibe has of course still the baggage of being a pretty crappy character when he was introduced in Justice League Detroit.

My turn to throw in my two cents as the thread starter:

[b]Aztek:[/b] Has potential, especially if you start connecting the character to Aztec mythology and give the character more ties to Mexico. Don’t see it happening though as the male version hasn’t appeared anywhere in probably over a decade and the female version has gone into limbo recently, with only her creator using her here and there.

[b]Black Condor:[/b] Really cool character, great look, but unfortunately isn’t much of a solo hero. Too connected to a team and is from an alternate universe. Would love to see DC try though, especially if they tie him more to the Mayans in Mexico/Central America.

[b]Black Orchid:[/b] Another character with tons of potential! She has a cool look and power set and her predecessors have led solo titles before, meaning she’d be able too. Unfortunately DC hasn’t done much with her and she’s mostly a blank slate known for the team she’s a part of.

[b]Blue Beetle:[/b] Bias aside, he’s my pick. He has his own support cast, villains, location, mythos and a cool look. DC has pushed him in outside media and he’s become really popular because of that. He’s held solo titles, been a Leaguer and a Titan! And as far as legacy goes, he doesn’t step on the toes of his predecessors because his power set is extremely different from then, with basically no connection what so ever. Basically only shares the name with Ted and Dan. Stick to the alien origin though, if you want magic added in then just say the scarab was corrupted by earth magic, which is why it’s off mode.

[b]El Diablo:[/b] Interesting character with a cool power set. He had a really cool look before they gave him the LA cholo look and I feel that look has more potential. He has cool powers and his own support cast/villains/mythos/location thanks to the minis DC has given him. Unfortunately as he is now, he’s a walking stereotype, something his biggest appearance outside the comics played up (Suicide Squad). Go back to his OG look he had and himmense potential.

[b]El Dorado:[/b] Has potential but DC never does anything with the character. Outside media has done some interesting things with him but that’s about it. Would love to see him brought into the DCu fully (an older version [Super Friends] and a younger one [Young Justice])

[b]Engineer:[/b] Awesome character with a ton of potential, DC just has to properly integrate her and the WildStorm Universe into the DCU. She’s unique, has a cool look and isn’t connected to any other character as a legacy so she should definitely be pushed.

[b]Fire:[/b] Another awesome character with loads of potential. Unfortunately she’s rarely used and is mostly associated to a specific era of a specific team. She’s also not a legacy and is her own character so that’s a plus.

[b]Firebrand:[/b] He’s led his own series back in the 90’s but that’s about it. He has cool powers though, DC should bring him back.

[b]Jessica Cruz and Kyle Rayner:[/b] I combined these two because both are proven to be successful solo characters and have led books in the past. They are also popular and associated to a big franchise in the DCU. Unfortunately for both, neither one will likely ever be considered the main one or the head of their respective franchise (Hal claims that, and likely John is above). Don’t think it’d be cool to make the main Latino hero in DC who isn’t at the front their respective franchise.

[b]Renee Montoya:[/b] Good character with a place in the DCU. Don’t think she has the potential to become the main Latino hero in the DCU as she doesn’t really have any powers. Think she works best as a supporting character and I’m glad she appeared on the big screen.

[b]Sideways:[/b] An awesome character with a cool look and powers! He held his own series but DC really needs to bring him back and do something with him! Too much potential to just leave in limbo. It’s also a bonus that he is own character and isn’t connected to a legacy. He also has his own cast and villains, which is a huge plus. Next step is outside media.

[b]Vibe:[/b] A cool character and has awesome powers, plus he’s surged in popularity thanks to his role on the Flash as a support character. He’s currently in limbo and I think that’s such a bad decision on DC’a part. Anyway I feel Cisco works best as a support character and team player rather than the main hero.


Overall: Blue Beetle, Sideways, Engineer and El Diablo have the most potential. The Lantern are also up there but their main set back is not being the main hero of their franchise/legacy.

[QUOTE=SecretWarrior;4891744]And yet he's third highest ranked in the poll, lol

People want representation, and they don't want a secondary status. I get it. Just saying almost any DC character could be Latino, even prominent ones. Just reveal that Martha Wayne was Martha Gonzalez-Kane before she married, and I think folks would be satisfied. Have a couple of stories about Bruce recognizing that part of his heritage, and people who feel left out would find someone to hold on to. Ties it closer to the Zorro analogy anyway.

DC already did this with Superman in Gods and Monsters, making his parents Mexican immigrants.[/QUOTE]Thing is in Gods and Monsters Superman was [B][I]raised [/I][/B]in Latin culture since he was a baby whereas Kyle was raised [B]Irish [/B]his entire life and didn't "discover" he had any Latin heritage until he was an adult during Winick's run when his estranged Rudy West ripoff secret agent father started coming around and told Kyle that he was his biological father after his mother cheated on the man who raised Kyle (Kyle's Dad Aaron Rayner)

When it comes to A-List potential, I think Fire has the most potential as long as she is paired with Ice. A Fire & Ice cartoon in the same vein as DC Superhero Girls would easily sell to little girls and propel them both easily into the mainstream. I just wonder why DC didn't do something like that with them both a lot sooner.

I would say:

TEEN LANTERN...I thought that if 5G happens, she will be the Lantern of the Earth or?

I would also add:
LORENA MARQUEZ (dont know if she is still around somewhere, but she was member of the ToT)
[B]HAWKGIRL
[/B]VULCAN
JOLT (interesting character, but only with few appearances)
PANTHA
ACRATA
AQUAMARIA

[QUOTE=El_Gato;4900771]My turn to throw in my two cents as the thread starter:

[b]Aztek:[/b] Has potential, especially if you start connecting the character to Aztec mythology and give the character more ties to Mexico. DonÂ’t see it happening though as the male version hasnÂ’t appeared anywhere in probably over a decade and the female version has gone into limbo recently, with only her creator using her here and there.[/QUOTE]

Are either of them Latino? I don't recall the original version being latino and the second one hasn't been confirmed to be Latino although her name, Nayeli, is of Zapotec origin (which is a different thing from Aztecs and runs into an issue of that mish mash of foreign cultures American superhero media suffers).

[QUOTE]
[b]Black Condor:[/b] Really cool character, great look, but unfortunately isnÂ’t much of a solo hero. Too connected to a team and is from an alternate universe. Would love to see DC try though, especially if they tie him more to the Mayans in Mexico/Central America.[/QUOTE]
YouÂ’re talking about the John Trujillo version? IÂ’d like to see more of him but I recall they played up his American Indigenous heritage up more, with his last name being the only thing Latino about him.




[QUOTE][b]Engineer:[/b] Awesome character with a ton of potential, DC just has to properly integrate her and the WildStorm Universe into the DCU. SheÂ’s unique, has a cool look and isnÂ’t connected to any other character as a legacy so she should definitely be pushed.[/QUOTE]
The Engineer is Latina? I looked up her name and it says itÂ’s of [I]Latin[/I] not Spanish origin. Granted there is more to race and ethnicity that names.

The rest of your post I pretty much agree with. Though IÂ’ll be surprised if DC remains consistent with Kyle being Latino given it was ignored for most of his history.

For my choices:

Jaime Reyes

Jessica Cruz

Cisco Ramone

In that order. Honorable mentions are Lorena Marquez (the second Aquagirl) and Aquamaria from Milestone's Blood Syndicate (since apparently the Milestone deals has been sorted out).

Blue Beetle, because Cruz has to share the Green lantern label with a million other characters and all the other characters on this list are cringe worthy stereotypes that require vast reworkings to be functional.