Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 42

Hybrid View

Previous Post Previous Post   Next Post Next Post
  1. #1
    Extraordinary Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2018
    Posts
    5,375

    Default Best and worst use of a non-super hero supporting character

    What was the best and worst use of a non-super hero supporting character in a storyline or specific issue?

  2. #2
    Extraordinary Member Restingvoice's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2018
    Posts
    9,574

    Default

    Best: That time Alfred has to stall for time until Batman and Justice League arrived so he dressed up as Batman to face a Superman level foe

    9dba4b3c4769c74c31664504566762a0._SX1280_QL80_TTD_.jpg

    Batman Rebirth #5

  3. #3
    Extraordinary Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2018
    Posts
    5,375

    Default

    Worst - Sue Dibny in Identity Crisis

  4. #4
    BANNED
    Join Date
    Dec 2018
    Posts
    1,278

    Default

    I would say the best is Lois Lane. The worst...um...probably Ebony White.

  5. #5
    Fantastic Member mikelmcknight72's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Posts
    419

    Default

    I'll just do a few bests for now.

    Lois, so very many instances. I'll go with the Hell Bat armor usage.

    Alfred, any time he's pouring on the snark to encourage a little humbleness in Batman is wonderful.

    Oberon, taking town the Imskian invaders during the JLI era.

  6. #6
    Ultimate Member Jackalope89's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2017
    Posts
    10,381

    Default

    Lois has had some really good moments, some like in Rebirth, where she was very protective of both of her Kryptonians.

    When Bendis took over, she had some of her worst, like leaving her not even teen son behind with a highly questionably person barely into their trip in space, and didn't even bother to tell her husband, the father of her child, about it.

  7. #7
    Extraordinary Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2018
    Posts
    5,375

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by mikelmcknight72 View Post
    Oberon, taking town the Imskian invaders during the JLI era.
    LOL - I almost listed this as well but thought 'nobody will remember that'.

    I love it.

  8. #8
    Retired
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Posts
    18,747

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Vampire Savior View Post
    The worst...um...probably Ebony White.
    I might be digging a big hole for myself, but I think Ebony White was a great character. He started out as a bad stereotype but developed into a well-rounded sidekick. In hindsight, I just wish that Will Eisner had early on changed the look of him, so he wasn't a caricature of a minstrel show act. But then it took a lot of comics a long time to change their stereotypes--Chop-Chop, who was much worse, looked like that in all the Blackhawk comics from the 1940s.

    Even in the 1940s, Eisner was under pressure from well-meaning activists to get rid of Ebony--which he did a few times--at one time replacing him with an "Eskimo" stereotype which was just as bad if not worse--before finally replacing him with the innocuous Sammy, who was inoffensive but very bland compared to Ebony.

    The best comparison I can make for Ebony is Rochester, played by Eddie Anderson, on THE JACK BENNY SHOW. Anderson's performance played into the stereotype, yet he gave Rochester so much dimension (and he often got the best lines) that the character became a beloved staple of the show and Anderson gained true stardom.

    However, I now realize I'm probably making no sense--because no one reading this would be old enough to have listened to or watched the Benny show and know who Rochester was. And probably none have even read THE SPIRIT by Will Eisner.

    And it's not like I'm old enough to have been around in the 1940s--but in the 1970s, as a teen, I listened to old radio shows like the Benny program on my crystal radio set late at night and I subscribed to THE SPIRIT magazine (from Warren originally and later from Kitchen Sink).

    Trust me, there were whole storylines written around Ebony White--he even had his own popular song, "Every Little Bug." Yes, I dearly love Ebony White.


  9. #9
    BANNED Starter Set's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Posts
    3,772

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by caj View Post
    Worst - Sue Dibny in Identity Crisis
    No question there.

  10. #10
    Incredible Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Posts
    826

    Default

    It may not be her best moment but personally I loved Abby's role in the "Convergence" storyline.

    Basically she and Swamp Thing had travelled to Gotham but then some kind of barrier went up that sealed the city off. It also blocked Swamp Thing's connection to the Green, causing him to start withering. He only survived because Abby brought him bags of fertilizer, plant food and such which kept him going until the barrier came down.

    Plus she also knocked Poison Ivy out with a tree branch. I grinned like a loon when I read that.

  11. #11
    Extraordinary Member Restingvoice's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2018
    Posts
    9,574

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by caj View Post
    Worst - Sue Dibny in Identity Crisis
    I was going to write a case of fridging that still happened during New 52 which the trope was supposed to be old at that time, but yeah can't beat this one

  12. #12
    Spectacular Member Fromper's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2019
    Posts
    187

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Restingvoice View Post
    I was going to write a case of fridging that still happened during New 52 which the trope was supposed to be old at that time, but yeah can't beat this one
    I guess this would be a good time to suggest Alexandra DeWitt as among the worst in this thread.

  13. #13
    Extraordinary Member Restingvoice's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2018
    Posts
    9,574

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Fromper View Post
    I guess this would be a good time to suggest Alexandra DeWitt as among the worst in this thread.
    I don't know that one

    Oh wait is she Alex the Kyle girlfriend the actual fridge
    I don't know her full name.

  14. #14
    Astonishing Member pageturner's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Posts
    2,089

    Default

    Alfred Pennyworth is the best

    The worse changes.

  15. #15
    Astonishing Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2019
    Posts
    4,392

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by caj View Post
    Worst - Sue Dibny in Identity Crisis
    This almost feels like cheating.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •