Why are they no new Iconic characters at Marvel?(or in comics)

[Electricmastro]

I think the most recently created character to have achieved very successful and iconic status, at least without directly using similar imagery of a previous hero and is relatively more distinct, is Gambit. I've seen comparisons of Deadpool/Spider-Man, X-23/Wolverine, as well as heroes who seem to gain more recognition specifically because they have familiar mantles, like Kamala Khan and Miles Morales, and while new heroes taking up old mantles definitely happened in the 60s-90s, I still wonder if one could make the solid argument that Marvel is relying more on "hand-me-down mantles" now than compared to the past.

[CRaymond]

Gambit is what you get when you mix Nightcrawler and Longshot, remove extraneous continuity, pour in three parts MTV and top it with cajun spices.

That all said, Gambit should have been black.

[manymade1]

I think the most recently created character to have achieved very successful and iconic status, at least without directly using similar imagery of a previous hero and is relatively more distinct, is Gambit. I've seen comparisons of Deadpool/Spider-Man, X-23/Wolverine, as well as heroes who seem to gain more recognition specifically because they have familiar mantles, like Kamala Khan and Miles Morales, and while new heroes taking up old mantles definitely happened in the 60s-90s, I still wonder if one could make the solid argument that Marvel is relying more on "hand-me-down mantles" now than compared to the past.

Definitely.

Miles (Spider-Man)
Kamala (Ms. Marvel)
RiRi (Iron-Man)
Gwenpool (Deadpool)
Kate (Hawkeye)
X-23 (Wolverine)

And if we're counting already established characters that took on mantles:

Jane (Thor)
Amadeus Cho (Hulk)
Sam (Captain America)

[Doombot]

The 80s and 90s had lots of new breakouts that have stayed around and become Marvel staples. Nowadays, any new characters is some knockoff of previous characters. Making new characters is hard, icons even harder. Marvel is doing the Hollywood sequel/remake method. It's far easier to make a twist of Thor or Wolverine than it is to make a new character stand beside them.

[phantom1592]

and while new heroes taking up old mantles definitely happened in the 60s-90s, I still wonder if one could make the solid argument that Marvel is relying more on "hand-me-down mantles" now than compared to the past.

I would counter that it happens a LOT MORE now than it does back then. Back then, you still had replacement characters... but it wasn't really THEIR identity. The whole story tended to be the 'real' hero working his way back to the mantle. War Machine, Thunderstrike, USAgent, Scarlet Spider, etc, all started out as a blatant rip off... but it was to elevate the 'real' character more than to replace them... and they've become iconic with their OWN identities more than they have the stolen one.

Off the top of my head, the only one that really became solidly entrenched with the placeholder ID would be Danny Ketch's Ghost Rider... and that didn't really feel like a replacement. Johnny was cured and retired and his book was canceled for years before Danny revitalized the property.

Ms. Marvel, Jane Foster, Miles Morales.... people go nuts at the very thought that they should have their own identity... People were insanely ticked off because bringing Logan back to life somehow insulted X-23 who had usurped the identitiy…

In the 60's-90's... that wasn't so much the case.

[Electricmastro]

Definitely.

Miles (Spider-Man)
Kamala (Ms. Marvel)
RiRi (Iron-Man)
Gwenpool (Deadpool)
Kate (Hawkeye)
X-23 (Wolverine)

And if we're counting already established characters that took on mantles:

Jane (Thor)
Amadeus Cho (Hulk)
Sam (Captain America)

I think it's part of why I felt a sense of refreshment with the New Agents of Atlas when characters like Aero came along. Been enjoying her comic and wish her the best.

[Citizen Kane]

When it comes to the bigger publishers, it seems much of the creativity is gone. The artistic utilization of comic books as a visual medium seems to be a lost art form. What was once a visual medium for artistic expression is now just a platform that Twitter pseudo-intellectuals use to validate their ideologies with self-insert characters and soulless symbols given form as "newer and better" heroes. All the while, these writers are seemingly in an eternal ego stroking contest, trying to convince themselves that they truly are the visionary artists of the industry. Yet so much of what goes into a comic nowadays is completely uninspired and lazy. The coloring, penciling, inking, characters, story, panel layouts and contents, concepts, designs, and more--all of it has just lost so much of the heart it once had; it all seems so procedural now. Compare the first 10 issues of Spawn to even something recent like House of X. You can't tell me House of X has more heart in it than Spawn--you just can't. You'd be hard-pressed to find any modern series that has the same magic that many pre-2000's series had. Now, it's not to say it's all bad. There is the odd diamond in the rough, as it were, but such series are few and far between; fewer still are worthy of icon status. I doubt we'll ever see an icon come out of this age.

[Redjack]

just gonna leave this here for ya.

[Mr.B]

Lack of sales. Lack of top acts wanting to do new characters. Time making new ones fade faster.

[Holt]

just gonna leave this here for ya.

Oh hey this looks neat...

*Sees title*

Never mind.

[JudicatorPrime]

Lack of sales. Lack of top acts wanting to do new characters. Time making new ones fade faster.

Rejection/repulsion by an impermeable readership base that only wants to read about their pet characters, even if it means reading previously explored plots and developments on said characters.

[Holt]

That certainly helps. I commented in another thread, but for all the talk about how fans seemingly want brand new characters and not ones who have "stolen" the identity of an existing one, the latter characters tend to have far longer shelf lives than the former.

[classicgmer]

I'd say because it's not easy nor is it suppose to be easy for something to obtain an iconic status. To me it's like asking why there haven't recently been any wrestlers to achieve lengendary status the likes of Hulk Hogan,Ric Flair Macho Man, The Rock or Stone Cold Steve Austin....It's just kinda crazy to me to expect a majority to obtain that type of status.

[Prof. Warren]

You can't tell me House of X has more heart in it than Spawn--you just can't.

I think a whole lot of people would say yeah, we actually can.

[HipHopAvenger]

Old Comic fans: We want new characters
Also old Comic fans: we want to read our old guard