Dream Pick roster- The New Slingers

[Tmacaoni]

For me, the Slingers should be something very specific: a team of realistic young adults who walk the line between legitimate heroes and super-powered slackers.

They should be flawed. They should mess up.

This was Joe Harris's original take -- that young adults who gained super powers wouldn't automatically become awesome heroes, and to me, this general concept for the Slingers is a perfect fit in a comic line defined by the themes of "power and responsibility."

There are other awesome characters in the Spiderverse that definitely deserve screen time, yet don't strike me as Slingers.

For example, I'd love a team that consisted of...

Black Cat
Prowler
Rocket Racer
Cardiac

But if I'm reading a Slingers comic, I want to see Johnny and Ritchie about to throw down; I want to see Ben Reilly and Phil Urich as mirrors to Peter Parker's morality.

Oh, and if Kaine's there, I want Hummingbird there as well.

-Pav, who is kinda surprised there's been so few attempts at a Spider-team title...

Question: If you want a team of young adults like Ritchie on (I agree, you have to have the orginals in some capacity) why add Kaine or Ben? Aren't they like to old to be considered young adults at this point?

[Tmacaoni]

I like this idea ya'll brewed up though.

I agree that keeping Prodigy, Ricochet and Dusk would be awesome. From there, I'm thinking two more members to add to the roster. Komodo is one character that I'd like to see expanded upon in the spider universe. She has a decent connection to Kurt and she herself is a scientist. Hardball would be another cool addition, just so he can kind of clear his name as a villain and gives the team connections to other Marvel characters.

Honorable mentions would include:

Bombshell
Hummingbird
New DarkHawk
Jimmy Hudson (cause he has a symbiote now)
Powerman

[Pav]

Question: If you want a team of young adults like Ritchie on (I agree, you have to have the orginals in some capacity) why add Kaine or Ben? Aren't they like to old to be considered young adults at this point?

I suppose that's a matter of opinion, especially in the MU where ages fluctuate a bit. The Slingers are perpetually college-aged -- 21? -- and if Peter is in his late twenties, presumably so are Ben and Kaine, genetically speaking.

I guess I see Ben and Kaine more in leadership roles, trying to focus the Slingers and mold them into better heroes, while simultaneously still trying to figure out their own issues.

Really, I suppose I'm trying to have my cake and eat it too by having a team title full of literally my most favorite characters

Thematically, though, I do like the idea of "Slingers" being a title that studies what it means to be a hero, and specifically Spider-Man, by examining these other characters that, to some degree or other, are comparable: each of the original Slingers arguably represents certain aspects of Peter/Spidey, and obviously Ben and Kaine are useful in an exploration of Peter as well.

I like this idea ya'll brewed up though.

I agree that keeping Prodigy, Ricochet and Dusk would be awesome. From there, I'm thinking two more members to add to the roster. Komodo is one character that I'd like to see expanded upon in the spider universe. She has a decent connection to Kurt and she herself is a scientist. Hardball would be another cool addition, just so he can kind of clear his name as a villain and gives the team connections to other Marvel characters.

Honorable mentions would include:

Bombshell
Hummingbird
New DarkHawk
Jimmy Hudson (cause he has a symbiote now)
Powerman

Great ideas. I tend to prefer Slingers being very focused on characters from Spidey comics, but I agree that plenty of Initiative characters could find a new home with Spidey, especially Komodo!

Personally, I want her as Flash Thompson's new girlfriend. They have so much in common!

-Pav, who is intrigued by the upcoming Darkhawk miniseries...

[Spiderfan001]

I suppose that's a matter of opinion, especially in the MU where ages fluctuate a bit. The Slingers are perpetually college-aged -- 21? -- and if Peter is in his late twenties, presumably so are Ben and Kaine, genetically speaking.

I guess I see Ben and Kaine more in leadership roles, trying to focus the Slingers and mold them into better heroes, while simultaneously still trying to figure out their own issues.

Really, I suppose I'm trying to have my cake and eat it too by having a team title full of literally my most favorite characters

Thematically, though, I do like the idea of "Slingers" being a title that studies what it means to be a hero, and specifically Spider-Man, by examining these other characters that, to some degree or other, are comparable: each of the original Slingers arguably represents certain aspects of Peter/Spidey, and obviously Ben and Kaine are useful in an exploration of Peter as well.



Great ideas. I tend to prefer Slingers being very focused on characters from Spidey comics, but I agree that plenty of Initiative characters could find a new home with Spidey, especially Komodo!

Personally, I want her as Flash Thompson's new girlfriend. They have so much in common!

-Pav, who is intrigued by the upcoming Darkhawk miniseries...

Black cat?

[Huntsman Spider]

Komodo would be interesting to bring back as part of a Slingers cast or otherwise within Spider-Man's orbit. I could see her and Flash possibly relating to each other on the commonality of having lost their legs and then regained them, in a manner of speaking, through their superhuman alter egos, although Komodo lacks the "violent and misanthropic other side/personality" that Curt Connors and Flash as "Agent Venom" have struggled to contain. I'd also like to see Hobie Brown, the original Prowler, come back as a mentor figure to the Slingers, considering that Hornet was using tech he invented, and given how he started out, he'd have a lot of hard-earned experience and wisdom to share.