If they ever get control of the Milestone characters -- Icon and Rocket and maybe Static. Other than not, I don't see any of the characters reaching Trinity status. Hell, I don't think any white characters will reach that status.
Green Lantern (John Stewart)
Vixen (Mari McCabe)
Cyborg (Victor Stone)
Black Lightning/Vulcan (Jefferson Pierce)
Static (Virgil Hawkins)
Naomi (Naomi McDuffie)
Mr. Terrific (Michael Holt)
Steel (John Henry Irons)
Bumblebee (Karen Beecher)
Icon (Augustus Freeman IV)
Rocket (Raquel Ervin)
Amazing-Man (Any Version)
Aqualad (Kaldur'ahm/Jackson Hyde)
Other (Specify Below)
None
If they ever get control of the Milestone characters -- Icon and Rocket and maybe Static. Other than not, I don't see any of the characters reaching Trinity status. Hell, I don't think any white characters will reach that status.
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Last edited by SecretWarrior; 10-25-2019 at 10:56 AM.
No other character, regardless of race, can reach the same level as the trinity. Nobody can. Even when someone like Harley Quinn or Green Lantern starts selling better than Superman, Batman or Wonder Woman, which happens, they still don't have that broad cultural awareness that the Big Three have. Arguably they can't. Robin probably has the most public awareness after those three, but that's just by piggybacking off Batman.
I would hasten to say, that doesn't mean there's no other success to be had. Flash and Green Lantern are probably the fourth and fifth best known (in no particular order), but while Hal probably has the most awareness in recent years, there was a whole generation of kids for whom John Stewart was Green Lantern because of JLU. That's success on a comparable level to the trinity.
However, I sincerely think that Cyborg has the best odds of being his own truly big character, just because unlike GL, he's, you know, the absolutely one and only Cyborg, and his cartoon was if anything more popular than JLU back during the mid '00s, and unlike John Stewart he's maintained a relatively high media profile.
"You know the deal, Metropolis. Treat people right or expect a visit from me."
What was the last original character to break big that came out of the main universe comics not counting people taking over mantle of someone else (or people ported over from other media)
I can only think of constantine but that was 30 years ago now.
He’s not but that’s where DC might benefit from making some big renovations to the character that make him more lovable. Cyborg stands a good chance at making his own mythos but editorial is committed to a status quo that limits his appeal. Granted, DC is just trying to keep him as close to his Titans incarnation as possible to keep up his marketability. But because of the hesitation to truly experiment with him they’re stuck with a character that can never break out.
At this point, outside of comics he's JLA, Teen Titans, Doom Patrol and Outsiders. That's a lot of exposure but I also wonder if all the different interpretations undermine the character.
Which is ironic because John Stewart wasn't created to be a leading man either. Even his most well-known version, where he had no "competition" from other Green Lanterns, still had no definitive origin story, still fought someone else's villains and still was given a love interest he had no prior history with, who was destined to be with someone else, while Hawkman was completely sabotaged in the process. If they could jump through hoops like that to make sure the character stands out, I don't see why the same effort can't be applied to a character like Cyborg. The people who wrote the DCAU did put in some effort to make their characters stand out, while Cyborg has had only half-assed attempts anytime DC tried to push him and that had nothing to do with him being deformed. Doom Patrol showed that he didn't need the Teen Titans to be a compelling character either. I don't find anything inherently deficient about a character like Cyborg that prevents him from being one of their upper echelon heroes. It's all part of the execution and so far they haven't found or haven't tried to find the right way to do that.
Last edited by Johnny; 10-25-2019 at 12:07 PM.
Cyborg has gotten a lot of exposure but, is it just me, or is he a character that however much you push him will never rise to b-level, let alone a-level status? He works best as a member of the Teen Titans where he fits in a certain role but he's just not all that interesting in and of himself. Dare I say, he's just a little bit bland - especially as a solo character. I always thought he was such a bizarre choice to be one of the Big 7 in the New 52 JLA, not least because the attempt at diversity effectively replaced the only one of the founding seven who is, for all intents and purposes, black. J'onn J'onzz is constantly played by black actors in live-action and animated movies/ series and his whole character is actually a great representation of a minority living among an often xenophobic majority culture/ race.
And, honestly, just looking through the poll above, I would take most of them over Cyborg. Steel is probably my favourite but I would think that Mr. Terrific, Black Lightning, Vixen and, most especially, John Stewart would all be far better black characters to "elevate" than Cyborg. But, hey, maybe that's just me.
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The Thing is the most popular member of the Fantastic Four. Even people who hate that team like him. If Victor is as popular as the Thing then he's in good company. Wish fulfillment is not the only mark of a good character otherwise Superman wouldn't be struggling in popularity.
J'onn J'onzz is a shapeshifting alien. He can look like anyone he likes and him being played by black men is a recent depiction. Victor has been depicted as a black man since his first appearance. J'onn is about as authentic a representation of black people as a mostly white X-Men team.
Last edited by Agent Z; 10-25-2019 at 09:16 AM.
while I 100% agree with you, with the right creative team they could rework J'onn's and the Martian socio-political landscape to be better representative to the black experience. it'll never be a substitute for legitimate black representation but I like whenever aliens come and they aren't just cosmic white people. Icon was able to make an alien taking the form of a black person legitimate, I think they could do the same with Martian Manhunter in the right hands
Last edited by lemonpeace; 10-25-2019 at 10:21 AM.
THE SIGNAL (Duke Thomas) is DC's secret shonen protagonist so I made him a fandom wiki
also, check out "The Signal Tape" a Duke Thomas fan project.
currently following:
- DC: Red Hood: The Hill
- Marvel: TBD
- Manga (Shonen/Seinen): One Piece, My Hero, Dandadan, Jujutsu Kaisen, Kaiju No. 8, Reincarnation of The Veteran Soldier, Oblivion Rouge, ORDEAL, The Breaker: Eternal Force
"power does not corrupt, power always reveals."