Characters you like, think were given opportunity, but just didn't break out

[Sandy Hausler]

Kirk DePaul got decapitated to free up Manhunters name.

Oy! Didn't know that.

[Jim Kelly]

I wonder if some super-hero names have been used so often by different characters that they've been worn out--like Manhunter, Guardian, Starman, Ghost.

[Riv86672]

...Manhunter, Guardian, Starman, Ghost.

^^^Captain (anything), (anything) Man.

[Factor]

One of my favourite characters: Hourman, the android version, sometimes called Tyler. He came out of the popular One Million comics event. He was a member of the JSA when they got their new series. He starred in his own absolutley great comic book, HOURMAN, with stupendous art by Rags Morales and highly imaginative story-telling from Tom Peyer. Yet for all that, he's been consigned to the dustbin of futuristic comics history. He just never caught on with mainstream comics audiences.

Great one. I have to read his solo.
Even so, I'd say he actually had a very decent run. Most characters don't get as many issues as he did.

[Jim Kelly]

Great one. I have to read his solo.
Even so, I'd say he actually had a very decent run. Most characters don't get as many issues as he did.

This is true. And it's unlikely the same creative team would have stayed with the book any longer than they did. So I'm grateful for it lasting as long as it did and I'm not bitter about it. But once the book was gone, it was like Tyler had never even existed. None of those issues had made a dent in the DCU. And as far as I know, DC has never bothered to reprint any of the series.

[ermac]

Does Nightwing count?

Also, Dolphin.

[Riv86672]

Does Nightwing count?

I guess it depends on what you like.

For me, NW has never been as good as he was in his first solo series (the first few years anyway).
I know he’s headlined other books since then, but they've all felt...meh, to me. His latest series started out okay, but it leveled off quickly and hasn’t really been all that exciting imho.

[Vampire Savior]

Cyborg isn't a character I like at all, but I think he is the best recent example (probably the best example, period) of a character who was pushed, but failed to become a popular character in his own right.

Here is a character with a prominent role on two major cartoon shows, a streaming show, a big budget Justice League movie, big budget video games, a bunch of direct to DVD films, and has had a position on the Justice League since 2011 and even got his own Justice League of sorts, and who had two consecutive solo comic series...and he STILL isn't a particular popular character, and his mythology is negligible at best, though I would say it's more or less nonexistent. It seems to me whenever DC trots him out, they just embarrass themselves in some fashion or another. I personally think they should stop trying because it's looking way more than silly at this point, and just roll him back into the Titans from whence he came.

[Dr. Ellingham]

posters complain that their character (or group of characters) just didn't get a push by DC - didn't get promoted (crossed over in other books, etc.) and really would have been a top-ten player if only DC had marketed them better.

Yeah, that's not a realistic expectation.

The superhero market is a mature market - meaning the main players were established decades ago, and it's almost impossible to create another character that can break out in a lasting fashion - whether it's on the level of Superman, Flash or even Swamp Thing. For 5-10 years? Sure, sometimes you hit on something fresh and exciting. But eventually "new" wears off, and you're back to competing with Superman, Batman, X-Men, etc.

For DC, the best shot they ever took to adding a new, lasting IP was Firestorm. It worked for 7-8 years, the book sold, he was added to the Super Friends cartoon. It was working. But - it eventually fell off in the late 1980s. Since then? Supporting character in a team book, and occasional cannon fodder.

And nothing DC has tried since has come close to topping that.

[j9ac9k]

And nothing DC has tried since has come close to topping that.

Harley Quinn, like her or not.

[Vampire Savior]

I think new heroes and properties CAN work, just like they can in any other medium, like Monster High, off the top of my head. That said, it's admittedly a long shot in the direct market. The very nature of that market place doesn't take kindly to new ideas or new fans, because not enough new eyeballs are seeing the products. It's very closed in on itself. However, it does vary somewhat from publishing company to publishing company. Readers of Image Comics, for example, would probably be more willing to try out a new idea if a writer they like is involved and the project looks intriguing. DC, however? That company and its fans will almost always prioritize Batman and the classic Justice League members above all else.

[Dr. Ellingham]

Harley Quinn, like her or not.

I think spinoffs of Superman and Batman are kinda exceptions. Supergirl, Harley, the Joker, etc.

A market analogy is soda. Coca Cola is king - so you have Cherry Coke, Diet, etc. The larger brand creates room and stability for varying flavors.

Creating a new brand of soda that will maintain long-term stability and shelf space alongside Coke, Pepsi, etc? Almost impossible. And that's why when new drinks are added to soda machines, they're typically not sodas. Juices, iced teas, etc.

[Electricmastro]

I always felt that Bumblebee could use more time to shine, even though she has been featured in some Titans books and cartoons since 1976. Just a clever, strong-willed, and fun character that could be incorporated into interesting material by the writers a lot more often.

[Jim Kelly]

I wouldn't put Nightwing in this category anymore than I would Sugar & Spike. If a concept has a long run and has caught on with people, as they clearly did, then it did break out. And at least Dick Grayson is still going strong and probably will be as long as Batman remains popular.

If anthology comics were the norm, like they once were, then a lot of concepts could survive by being in anthology comics where the lead characters' popularity keeps the book afloat. Now characters have to be spin-offs of popular characters, so the popularity of the one extends to the other titles. But in anthologies like DETECTIVE, ACTION, WORLD'S FINEST--the back-up features didn't need to be connected to Batman or Superman--just having those popular characters in the pole position was enough for others behind them to stay in the race.

[Frontier]

I always felt that Bumblebee could use more time to shine, even though she has been featured in some Titans books and cartoons since 1976. Just a clever, strong-willed, and fun character that could be incorporated into interesting material by the writers a lot more often.

It seemed like they were trying to push her more with Rebirth, but that petered out.

She's still a primary character on DC Super Hero Girls.