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

[titanfan]

I would argue Booster and Beetle did break out. Maybe not in their original form, but they are solid B-List heroes.

Others:

New Gods

How many titles do New Gods have to get before DC realizes no one cares about them and they can't carry a series?!?!? The quality of several series has been phenomenal, but always cancelled in like a year. The only one people care about is Darkseid.


(I would also argue that being a supporting character in a mid-selling book really isn't being given a "chance"). Being put on the Justice League or in a movie or headlining a title is given a chance. A lot of the characters here I would say aren't necessarily in limbo, but haven't been given a huge push either.

[DrNewGod]

Sideways. Really the whole New Age line. DC tried really damn hard on that stuff, and I really enjoyed a lot of it. Shame it didn't catch on (I doubt any of us expected it to, but still, shame).

I enjoyed that book. I thought his powers a bit of a mess (superstrength just didn't feel like a natural fit with dimensional/spatial hopping), but it was well-written enough that it wasn't a deal breaker for me. I'd have liked to see him make it.

[Jim Kelly]

One book I've always wondered about is VEXT, from 1999. I liked this series by Keith Giffen and Mike McKone. And although Giffen had a co-ownership deal with DC, it was still in the DCU, with guest appearances by DC characters. I remember online that Giffen was despondent about his future in comics after this failed and seemed like it was going to be the last thing he ever did for DC. Yet a few laters, he was back on top as a DC creator and he's had success since, so I wonder why Vext was never revisited as a character.

[TheRay]

I do not really think DC screws up. The fan base is fickle, most of them are. It can be impossible to know what it is going to take to get someone over (think pro wrestling).
My first choice as an answer for this particular question is The Heckler. He was given his own on-going not even 30 years ago and doing research for this question is the first I have ever heard of him.

[j9ac9k]

I really liked the Adrian Chase Vigilante, and he had a great series, but for whatever reason, they decided to kill him off. There's been at least three versions of the Vigilante since then and none of them have caught on. It's too good a name for DC to give up and it's just a simple concept that can be taken in many different directions, but they need to find a way to make that one work. I'd be all for bringing Chase back via reboot (and distance him from the Teen Titans because that's a dumpster fire that DC keeps throwing gasoline on and anyone near that franchise is bound to get burned) and starting that one again. (and based on Perez's design with a few updates)

[Frontier]

I really liked the Adrian Chase Vigilante, and he had a great series, but for whatever reason, they decided to kill him off. There's been at least three versions of the Vigilante since then and none of them have caught on. It's too good a name for DC to give up and it's just a simple concept that can be taken in many different directions, but they need to find a way to make that one work. I'd be all for bringing Chase back via reboot (and distance him from the Teen Titans because that's a dumpster fire that DC keeps throwing gasoline on and anyone near that franchise is bound to get burned) and starting that one again. (and based on Perez's design with a few updates)

I've never read much of Chase as Vigilante beyond that Alan Moore story and his introduction in New Teen Titans but his eventual fate seemed kind of fitting considering the direction his character had gone in.

[skyvolt2000]

Kind of the opposite of what this thread was meant to be about - which characters that were given a fair shot at becoming big, but just didn't achieve it. Where DC didn't do anything wrong, but the character you like just didn't have the mass appeal needed to make it to that level.

Define fair shot.

Most of the folks listed around here were UNWELCOME from the start-especially those who happen to be POC.

Stuart Moore & Jamal Ingl could tell you about the HATE Jason Rusch got and how bad it was on the DC Messageboard. It had to be shutdown for a time because it was so bad.
We won't talk Jaime Reyes-"We want Ted" crowd gave the Rich Ryder crowd a RUN.

Also some of these folks did make it. A 3-5 year run is NOTHING to dismiss. HOWEVER nothing was done with them AFTERWARDS or they got crapped on.

Some of these guys fell into the hands of BAD writers.
Some of these guys got tossed into LIMBO and no one could use them.
Some of these guys got into the hands of top writers, only to be trashed (Wally West, Duke Thomas, John Stewart, Conner Kent, Legion) or marginalized.

If you are judging based on the comic book store-that is 95% of the issue. You are allowing entitlement fans to tell you what to make.

Mass Appeal is NOT limited to the comic book store.
You have to look at trades, digital and other factors.

DC DOES NOT take advantage of the outside media success. For some of these guys you need to think outside the box.

It's not that these guys can't sell. It's an issue of proper usage. You can only FLOOD the market with Batman books for so long. You are just flooding the market.

You wouldn't NEED a black Batman if you INVESTED in Cyborg, John, Jefferson and the rest. If that means 12 volumes-so be it. Hasn't hurt Carol Danvers.

[H-E-D]

I really liked the Adrian Chase Vigilante, and he had a great series, but for whatever reason, they decided to kill him off. There's been at least three versions of the Vigilante since then and none of them have caught on. It's too good a name for DC to give up and it's just a simple concept that can be taken in many different directions, but they need to find a way to make that one work. I'd be all for bringing Chase back via reboot (and distance him from the Teen Titans because that's a dumpster fire that DC keeps throwing gasoline on and anyone near that franchise is bound to get burned) and starting that one again. (and based on Perez's design with a few updates)

Vigilante doesn't strike me as a good name honestly. It's too basic, too non-descriptive. Nearly every character DC puts out is a vigilante, after all.

[Tzigone]

Define fair shot.

I thought I was pretty clear in the beginning. They got their own titles or a mini or two and had at least occasional crossovers (DC trying to get the character seen by fans who don't seek out the character), but their own titles just didn't sell. Characters that got exposure, and just didn't bring in the $$$. As a business, DC does not obligation, nor do I think they are failing a character, if they don't keep using characters that don't bring in money. Some I liked just didn't manage it. And that's the thing - I think it's okay for DC to say "we gave the character a shot, and it didn't work and we're going to move on to trying to promote characters we think have a better shot at success." Two or three years and the character hasn't done it, then I can understand not wanting to keep throwing good money after bad and switch attention/resources to trying for other characters as headliners. If fans are lucky, someone will have a great idea or the character will be well-used in a team later and gain popularity.

We won't talk Jaime Reyes-"We want Ted" crowd gave the Rich Ryder crowd a RUN.

And that's fans. Not DC. And DC has, IMO, no obligation to censor fans (on their board) for not liking a character or wanting someone else in the role. A "replacement" character is almost always an uphill battle. Some can overcome it, and some can't.

Also some of these folks did make it. A 3-5 year run is NOTHING to dismiss. HOWEVER nothing was done with them AFTERWARDS or they got crapped on.

Depends on the sales those 3-5 years. If it was lackluster sales for most of it, but DC just kept trying because they thought the character had potential, but eventually gave up, then they don't have a lot of incentive to do more with the character, because - despite sufficient exposure with several years of a solo series - the character wasn't picking up steam or growing more popular and not enough people were interested in them. If there was a period of great sales (that wasn't the first couple issues/collector type issues/specific crossovers), then there's something to build on.

Mass Appeal is NOT limited to the comic book store.
You have to look at trades, digital and other factors.

No, not only the comic book store. But how much money they bring in in total is what matters. Sales are just the most transparent way that we have to see it, since we don't have access to other numbers. And some of these characters had their premier and decline before digital was a thing.

[Ascended]

I enjoyed that book. I thought his powers a bit of a mess (superstrength just didn't feel like a natural fit with dimensional/spatial hopping), but it was well-written enough that it wasn't a deal breaker for me. I'd have liked to see him make it.

I still hold out hope that Sideways will get another shot. Didio seems to love him, so......

And the physical abilities were definitely a little odd, but I just sorta wrote that off as a kind of side effect of falling through the dark multiverse and having his metagene activated. Like, in order to survive the experience his body needed to develop not only the teleportation powers, but also needed to enhance his physical stats to help keep him alive. And by and large it didn't seem Sideways' physical powers really amounted to much; far as I can remember it basically just made him capable of taking a punch.

I do not really think DC screws up. The fan base is fickle, most of them are. It can be impossible to know what it is going to take to get someone over (think pro wrestling).
My first choice as an answer for this particular question is The Heckler. He was given his own on-going not even 30 years ago and doing research for this question is the first I have ever heard of him.

Oh, DC definitely screws up. I think sometimes they misinterpret what fans find appealing about a character and double down on the "wrong" things, or they do a story that just ends up really swinging out where it shouldn't be. Look at Jaime; his first run did well with critics and he managed to carve out a fanbase despite all the "oh noes Ted is dead!" bullsh*t. He had a really solid start for a legacy who got his start because the old guy got killed off in a much-hated story. And one of the aspects fans seemed to enjoy was the Reach; alien invaders who aren't traditional "send in the robot troops!" villains. So what does DC do in Rebirth? Drop the Reach completely and make the scarab magic. Because that somehow made sense and seemed likely to appeal to Jaime's established fanbase, right? No, that was a mistake. It made Jaime's world completely different, and it just didn't resonate the way the original series did (granted, the original series was superior in almost every way.....). Yeah, DC dropped the ball on that one.

But sometimes DC does everything right, and it still fails to catch on. I think the New Age line was done about as perfectly as it could've been. It spun out of a big Bat-centric Event, it had major talent on the books, there was a ton of marketing on social media.....I don't think there's much DC could've done better, but the NAoH still died within a year.

[Tzigone]

He had a really solid start for a legacy who got his start because the old guy got killed off in a much-hated story. And one of the aspects fans seemed to enjoy was the Reach; alien invaders who aren't traditional "send in the robot troops!" villains. So what does DC do in Rebirth? Drop the Reach completely and make the scarab magic. Because that somehow made sense and seemed likely to appeal to Jaime's established fanbase, right? No, that was a mistake. It made Jaime's world completely different, and it just didn't resonate the way the original series did (granted, the original series was superior in almost every way.....). Yeah, DC dropped the ball on that one.

That's not what won me over at all - I though the Reach were great - but were a one-and-done villain and should not return. What won me over was his fantastic family and friends. Those strong connections. I love that it doesn't occur to him to not go to the people he loves for support. I do like that he had a civilian supporting cast - we don't get too many of those anymore. Sure, they kinda help out heroing sometimes. But they live where he does and hang out out of costume and have history before he was a hero and a part of his daily, regular, non-hero life.

It is extremely disappointing to me that almost no heroes (especially teen ones) have happy or good families with two living, loving parents. Even among the adults - there used to be Barry and Wally, but both lost theirs in retcons. Hal's relationships with his brothers certainly declined from silver age days. But especially the teens. Cassie's got made worse. Cissie's too.

Oh, I also liked how very good Jaime was. No "grey" sort of guy.

Yeah, I think they screwed up with Jaime in Rebirth - but that was nearly 10 years after he debuted. They gave him his due with his original series (and I love the arc of his first 25 issues). He failed to break out back then (I assume, since the comic was cancelled, but haven't actually looked at sales figures) As I said before - I don't they are obligated to keep trying to make a character a star after it doesn't work. Not everyone can be a headliner, and after a certain amount of time if a character doesn't make it, it's not a failing on DC's part to not continue promoting them. Obviously, I think every character should be well-used, but they can't all be used the same amount and one that's "failed to launch" is "less deserving" than a new character of the resources in a business sense, even if I'd prefer to see the old one. The first run was his chance.

[TheRay]

Oh, DC definitely screws up.

It is all about perspective. It does not matter what the fans find appealing because a large part of the time the fans would take things in a terrible direction. It sounds like you just want them to do more of the same, old tired thing. Growth happens.

[Jim Kelly]

Vigilante doesn't strike me as a good name honestly. It's too basic, too non-descriptive. Nearly every character DC puts out is a vigilante, after all.

Vigilante suited the Western hero, because in my head I always heard the name in a cowboy drawl. I don't think I even knew what the word meant when I first read stories about the Vigilante--and I probably thought it was some cowboy designation like vaquero.

The thing about Adrian Chase is when he first showed up in THE NEW TEEN TITANS, he just appeared to be a middle-aged district attorney in average condition. Then he became the Vigilante and he looked like he was a top body builder, with special arms training--now he had guns and guns. Where'd he find the time, between being a prosecutor and a father? It was like if Jack McCoy all of a sudden put on a spandex suit and started carrying out renegade justice with a rifle. I could never buy it.

[DrNewGod]

I've never read much of Chase as Vigilante beyond that Alan Moore story and his introduction in New Teen Titans but his eventual fate seemed kind of fitting considering the direction his character had gone in.

To me, Adrian Chase's suicide worked because his story was so hideously bleak. That's not a complaint, but Noir is not supposed to have a happy ending. And 1980s Vigilante was intensely Noir.

[Dr. Skeleton]

I always felt Gypsy had so much potential to be a prominent character.

The same with Maxima.

The Doom Patrol always seemed to struggle to get a boost in sales. I'm not sure if the live action show is helping, though.

The Power Company. I felt they got hyped up enough for their debuts, but readers didn't seemed swayed, alas.