Marvel characters you think are currently being written out of character

[Spidercide]

It'd be easier to list the ones who are not being written OOC to be honest.


As of this Wedensday Spider-Man and Mary jane are totally out of character for their post-OMD incarnations....which means they're actually in character for a change...

[Gaastra]

Sandman but he has an excuse due to mind control. Hey marvel can you please break his mind control in the next 30 years. How long has that plot hole been going? Even Polaris got rid of her mind control after a few years! Sheesh!

[Valamist]

Its a hard question, because sometimes I find that fans see being written 'out of character' as the same as 'being challenged or having a different story' There seems to be a very fine line there.

[mrbrklyn]

Its a hard question, because sometimes I find that fans see being written 'out of character' as the same as 'being challenged or having a different story' There seems to be a very fine line there.

Gwen Stacy is dead

[nnelg]

IMO, a lot of Marvel characters are, at the moment, being written out of character without any sort of logical explanation. Wonder if you guys feel the same way and would want to specify who you think is and how.

Off the top of my head, I would say Star-Lord, X-23, Hawkeye, Thor, Carol Danvers, Mockingbird, Spider-Man, Deadpool, Jean Grey, Jane Foster, Squirrel Girl, Iceman, Luke Cage, Daken, Jessica Drew, Jubilee, Lady Deathstrike, Quicksilver, Beast, AoA Blink, Kitty Pryde, Falcon, Jocasta, and She-Hulk.

Sabertooth, Lady Deathstrike, Omega Red, Magneto and Dr. Doom as well.

[kilderkin]

Imo

Thor and Carol are most out of sorts from their more common personality

Others might be away from their norm, like say doom, but that's more an arc they are going through

In thor and carols case I think it's due to poor handling by the creatives

Of course some might say the writer knows better, but that's not my point, that's how it feels to me as a reader, imo, and that's all I can comment on

[KingsLeadHat]

To be fair to modern writers, I don't really count "expansions" of characterization as being OOC. I love classic comics, but it's true that writers often spent little time on characterization outside of the most prominent characters back in the day, and even then the focus was usually on plot and action. Many characters, even many prominent ones, didn't really get distinguishable personalities until the 80's.

I think one of my favorite examples is Simonson's Thor. Simonson didn't contradict anything about Balder, Sif, Volstag, etc., but he did add nuance and made them all more three-dimensional. Odin certainly wasn't as big of an ass as he was during the Lee/Kirby era (an entertaining ass, granted) but all of the compassionate, wise, traits that Simonson emphasized were already there in the 60's. Contrast this to "wise-cracking" Dr. Strange, which has no precedent and is glaring given that Strange has always been one of Marvel's more serious characters with the occasional display of dry wit.

[Colt Cape]

Don't know if it counts, but the Eternals? Aren't they supposed to have regeneration that can bring them back even if just a small handful of their atoms are still in existence? How did they manage to kill eachother?

[Wiccan]

LOOOL that OP list.

[Restingvoice]

I haven't read, so I'm keeping everyone's response, reasoning, and which point they start being OOC, as a summary and personal guide

Most of Post House of M Wolverine
95% of Post-OMD Spider-Man.
Almost every character that Bendis has touched in the 616 universe.
95% of Post-OMD MJ.
Those are the ones in the top of my head.

Iceman, Beast, Xavier and Cyclops for sure. Honestly I don't recognize most of the X-Men any more. Not since Morrison's run I guess.
I will say, on a positive note, that I'm really happy Rogue and Gambit have finally gotten "back" together. KT seems to be doing those characters much justice. It's like she went back in time to the early 90's and finished what others started and failed to finish. VERY happy with Rogue's current, R&G and beyond characterization. Carey did a lot of damage to her IMO and I'm glad she's back.

I've found her to be none of those things in Red. You're reading into it what you want to read into it. She hasn't been vindictive. She's not really a segregationist, she's recognizing strength in numbers and the need for mutants to have a safe place of their own where oppressive governments can't hunt them. And she's only gone into the heads of people attacking her or other mutants. She's shown compassion, and she's still ethical.
And it's worth remembering that Jean's also long had a hard side. For all she was the team mom, she was a lot fiercer than people generally think of her. The '90s cartoon made her fairly bland, but in the comics, by the '90s, I would argue she was the hardest and most intimidating of the O5. Also the most compassionate, yeah, but piss her off, and she was downright scary.

Tony Stark was never depicted as a snarky wiseass in the comics until after Iron Man came out in 2008.

He joked before that. Just not as much as the last few years, although Geoff Johns and other writers wrote him like that before the movie. Also it's been so long that it is part of his character.

He was in the Ultimate Universe. And also when Warren Ellis wrote him.

Iceman- They literally change the core of the character something else which is fine but that is not the same character from before. To me Iceman changes seem as forced when they tried to push Sentry as always being apart of Marvel universe and a important character but I understand why they did it ultimately I am fine with it.
Cyclops- They kinda did assassin job on his character and never quite filled his motivations to me to explain his character change and this how Cyclops has been to me "Cyclops is the most boring character in the X-men" " Oh snap Cyclops is a badass now good job" " Uhm what are doing to Cyclops you can stop now" " You broke Cyclops and can't fix him ".
Beast is kinda a jerk that is his establish personality now the fun loving beast thing hasn't been thing for awhile and things have happened to beast that explain his change.
Jean Grey and Kitty Pryde are leadership any "change" character can be seen from additional responsibility of leadership imo.
Jubilee has literally grown up as character. Falcon was place in high profile position I don't get how you would get the same characterization as the past from them.

I disagree that Jubilee has grown up. If anything, she's more irresponsible than ever was in her history. It's a terrible idea to take a kid and deprive him of of a normal life with loving adoptive parents that would absolutely be safer because of your feels. I don't know if any of you guys ever watched Boy Meets World, but it's the exact opposite of what Eric did with that kid that he bonded with. It's pure selfishness and irresponsibility. Not remotely considering what would be best for the kid.

How is she being written OOC in Tony Stark: Iron Man?

Like L3-37.

Doctor Strange is the most glaring to me. He was flat out written like Tony Stark by Aaron. I know Aaron has done some fine writing on stuff like Scalped and Southern Bastards, but the popularity of his Marvel work mystifies me. I find it almost always to be OOC and mediocre. I can't speak for all those other characters the OP listed (not reading those titles) but how any long-time Strange or Thor fan can tolerate the modern stuff puzzles me. It's irritating.

It's going to depend on what comics you've read, and especially what was the first Thor run you read that defined the characters for you. The two most popular and influential Thor runs are the Lee/Kirby run from the 60's, and the Simonson run from the 80's.
The Lee/Kirby run portrayed Odin as authoritarian, mercurial, and harsh... but also wise and just in the end. He had a tendency to rob Thor of half his powers or threaten his life fairly regularly, but just when the reader was convinced he'd gone mad it would become apparent he had a logical reason for his actions that wasn't immediately obvious. Basically Stan wanted Odin's presence in the strip to imply danger to Thor as much as help, but he always had to be seen at the end of the story to be worthy of Thor's respect and loyalty - otherwise Thor would look like crap for upholding his rule. It was a little contrived, but it worked.
Simonson's Odin was wise and kind, pretty much in the vein of Gandalf or Dumbledore, and was very likeable. Fans generally prefer this version and tend expect modern stories to be influenced by Simonson's very popular take on the character.
In recent years (recent for me, but at least as far back as Fear Itself) Odin has been portrayed as a ***** - not only unjust and unreasonable, but also kind of stupid and brutal. Fans have complained about that for years now, but Aaron seems determined to go ever further down that road.

The Thor one has the clearest explanation for someone who haven't read. So are Tony and Strange. Good job.
I'm unclear on the Iceman one.
The Jubilee discussion can still continue

[Tarqon]

Totally disagree on the prospects of Iceman and Jean being out of character. With Iceman I think people are just confusing dislike of him being gay with their concept of him as a human being. He is exactly the same as he always has been, just with levels of humor fluctuating depending on the tone of the current arc or the writer's tendency to take it over the top. The X-Men have been dragged through the mud for years and acting like a clown 24/7 would not only be in poor taste given the severity of the events occurring but also paint him an insensitive fool, and foolishness is something he has outgrown. The only real difference with Iceman now is just that he is far less bitter and petulant. Traits that, when writers wrote him as being heterosexual were rooted in his deep sense of loneliness and difficulty in 'growing up' the way his peers had, and when written as closeted, well. It's easy to see why he was so bitter and angry when you look at it from that point of view. I'd read him as closeted ever since the late 90s. Some may think him no longer being aggressive/bratty to everyone and finally having some kind of breakthrough in finding himself and bettering himself is out of character. I think of it as character growth. Not that being gay is growth but rather the things it's lead to him assessing about himself and using it as a starting point on a map to retrace the parts of himself that he can improve. If people are wondering why he feels different it's because for the most part, he finally seems happy without it being a front, like he's gained enough clarity to finally navigate his life better. I like happy Iceman.

Jean in Red has been so on point with the Jean I remember. She's always been absolutely terrifying, a lot of characters have been scared of her and anyone who pushed her or took her lightly paid for it. She's always done whatever she had to do when the stakes were high but she still retains that sense of self awareness and empathy. She still has these quiet heart to heart like moments with people which is something i've always attributed to being one of her defining roles on the team but I think for a long time she was overshadowed by Scott, Storm and Xavier as a character that only took up leadership roles during emergencies. Now we have a Jean who is calling her own shots and responsible for her own people and its just really working for her imo.

Characters I think are out of sorts right now? I'd say X-23 ever since she joined the All New O5 and currently on Red. Her Red dialogue is especially painful as shes talking in a way that does not sound like her and this symbiotic relationship with Honey Badger is starting to wear on me. She always struck me as a very soulful character but these days shes just like an edgy teeny bopper or something.

[kilderkin]

It's going to depend on what comics you've read, and especially what was the first Thor run you read that defined the characters for you. The two most popular and influential Thor runs are the Lee/Kirby run from the 60's, and the Simonson run from the 80's.

The Lee/Kirby run portrayed Odin as authoritarian, mercurial, and harsh... but also wise and just in the end. He had a tendency to rob Thor of half his powers or threaten his life fairly regularly, but just when the reader was convinced he'd gone mad it would become apparent he had a logical reason for his actions that wasn't immediately obvious. Basically Stan wanted Odin's presence in the strip to imply danger to Thor as much as help, but he always had to be seen at the end of the story to be worthy of Thor's respect and loyalty - otherwise Thor would look like crap for upholding his rule. It was a little contrived, but it worked.

Simonson's Odin was wise and kind, pretty much in the vein of Gandalf or Dumbledore, and was very likeable. Fans generally prefer this version and tend expect modern stories to be influenced by Simonson's very popular take on the character.


In recent years (recent for me, but at least as far back as Fear Itself) Odin has been portrayed as a ***** - not only unjust and unreasonable, but also kind of stupid and brutal. Fans have complained about that for years now, but Aaron seems determined to go ever further down that road.

Imo I absolutely think this is a fair summary of Thor and odin

Odin might have been an ass at tines, but that was almost more at his family than others,

But he was also wise, powerful and acted with an awareness of a greater purpose behind his actions others didn't grasp as he was protection ting them from some greater threat

now he's just a pompous fool, arrogant and bigoted indiscriminate, or at least almost universally, though if I was to think of it being directed a a new target I would say Jane and Freya, he now uses his brother as council when he knows he's not trustworthy

This is new characterisation, he's now a damned fool and generally a pompous bigot to everyone

I feel this is an analogy for some specific real world people, but that's just my best guess

Either way it's very out of character based on decades of past writing

As has been thors self loathing, shame, drinking as a crutch and general abasement for the past few years

Very much out of character of them both

Imo

[KurtW95]

Totally disagree on the prospects of Iceman and Jean being out of character. With Iceman I think people are just confusing dislike of him being gay with their concept of him as a human being. He is exactly the same as he always has been, just with levels of humor fluctuating depending on the tone of the current arc or the writer's tendency to take it over the top. The X-Men have been dragged through the mud for years and acting like a clown 24/7 would not only be in poor taste given the severity of the events occurring but also paint him an insensitive fool, and foolishness is something he has outgrown. The only real difference with Iceman now is just that he is far less bitter and petulant. Traits that, when writers wrote him as being heterosexual were rooted in his deep sense of loneliness and difficulty in 'growing up' the way his peers had, and when written as closeted, well. It's easy to see why he was so bitter and angry when you look at it from that point of view. I'd read him as closeted ever since the late 90s. Some may think him no longer being aggressive/bratty to everyone and finally having some kind of breakthrough in finding himself and bettering himself is out of character. I think of it as character growth. Not that being gay is growth but rather the things it's lead to him assessing about himself and using it as a starting point on a map to retrace the parts of himself that he can improve. If people are wondering why he feels different it's because for the most part, he finally seems happy without it being a front, like he's gained enough clarity to finally navigate his life better. I like happy Iceman.

Jean in Red has been so on point with the Jean I remember. She's always been absolutely terrifying, a lot of characters have been scared of her and anyone who pushed her or took her lightly paid for it. She's always done whatever she had to do when the stakes were high but she still retains that sense of self awareness and empathy. She still has these quiet heart to heart like moments with people which is something i've always attributed to being one of her defining roles on the team but I think for a long time she was overshadowed by Scott, Storm and Xavier as a character that only took up leadership roles during emergencies. Now we have a Jean who is calling her own shots and responsible for her own people and its just really working for her imo.

Disagree with this. Changing Iceman's sexual orientation turns his characterization upside down and when it comes to personality, he is now a sociopathic jackass. The solo has him complaining about their old headquarters being turned into a gym when their supposed to be in mourning, acting like a jerk to his parents, and attacking a random woman and not apologizing for it. And now he's having drunk one night stands at what was supposed to be his ex's wedding. This is a complete 180 of the wisecracking ladies man that cared about his friends. The idea that he was "closeted" before is asinine. Bendis decided to fundamentally change the character. Don't pretend that was always the intention. And Jean? She used to be compassionate, restrained, and a proponent of Charles Xavier's dream. Now she's a vindictive, intrusive segregationist who pretty much says X's dream is dead. It would make more sense to say that she's Maddy than Jean. The only argument that one can make that this characterization is consistent with is Morrison, who I think also wrote her tremendously out of character along with Cyclops, Beast, and Magneto.

Characters I think are out of sorts right now? I'd say X-23 ever since she joined the All New O5 and currently on Red. Her Red dialogue is especially painful as shes talking in a way that does not sound like her and this symbiotic relationship with Honey Badger is starting to wear on me. She always struck me as a very soulful character but these days shes just like an edgy teeny bopper or something.

This I agree with. Laura has lost all of her flaws and Honey Badger is one of the worst characters in comics IMO. I hate that she's saddled with her. And Laura taking the mantle from Logan in the first place to honor him is so perverse considering the last thing Logan wanted was for her to follow in his footsteps.

[Tiamatty]

Disagree with this. Changing Iceman's sexual orientation turns his characterization upside down and when it comes to personality, he is now a sociopathic jackass. The solo has him complaining about their old headquarters being turned into a gym when their supposed to be in mourning, acting like a jerk to his parents, and attacking a random woman and not apologizing for it. And now he's having drunk one night stands at what was supposed to be his ex's wedding. This is a complete 180 of the wisecracking ladies man that cared about his friends. The idea that he was "closeted" before is asinine. Bendis decided to fundamentally change the character. Don't pretend that was always the intention. And Jean? She used to be compassionate, restrained, and a proponent of Charles Xavier's dream. Now she's a vindictive, intrusive segregationist who pretty much says X's dream is dead. It would make more sense to say that she's Maddy than Jean. The only argument that one can make that this characterization is consistent with is Morrison, who I think also wrote her tremendously out of character along with Cyclops, Beast, and Magneto.

Oh, christ. No. Iceman's not acting like a "sociopath," that's a stupid thing to say. He yelled at his parents? Hey, it's not the first time he's done that! And he's shown as still loving them, and they still love him. You think someone hooking up at a wedding is bad? Are you frigging serious? Shit, even when weddings are disasters, there's hooking up going on, because weddings get people thinking about romance. Complaining about the old headquarters? You may not realize this, but people handle grief in different ways. Maybe you think that if a person isn't wailing and weeping, they're not sad, but nope, plenty of people actually deal with grief with jokes. And it's not like any of them there were actually all that close with Black Widow. They hung out for a short time a while back, they weren't exactly best friends. So again, not exactly unusual that Iceman wasn't deep in his feelings.

As for Jean: Again, no, you're wrong. You want to use Jean yelling at a bigot as proof of how horrible a person she is now? Did you forget the part later in the same story where she was keeping an eye on him to see if her words actually helped him? Because, yeah, that's pretty much Jean. She's got a hot temper, hence the telling off, but she's also got deep compassion, hence the keeping an eye on him. And she still believes in Xavier's dream, but she's also acknowledging the reality of the world, that mutants are persecuted everywhere, and she wants to give them refuge. Frankly, a pretty reasonable idea. She's not preaching isolation, she's simply setting up a refuge for mutants facing persecution that threatens their very lives.

You have these insanely extreme views of these characters, and it is ridiculous and does not in any way reflect anything that actually happens in any of the books being published. It is nonsense. It is complete and total nonsense. Entirely wrong-headed views of the writing and characterization.

[ed2962]

Has anyone mentioned Aaron's Dr Strange yet?