Charlton Heroes Appreciation 2021

[The no face guy]

Big fan of all the Charlton Characters, your probably aware of most of this but...

Blue Beetle (Ted Kord): To the dismay of a large number of DC fans at the time, Ted Kord had his brains blown out by Maxwell Lord in the mid 2000's, and was replaced by Jamie Reyes as the new Blue Beetle. He has since re-appeared as Ted Kord, and is also currently in the Terrifics comic book. It's not inconceivable that he could get his own Blue Beetle run again, which would be nice, so long as Jamie Reyes is not sidelined and is active in a comic somewhere.

Blue Beetle (Dan Garrett) I haven't read the Jamie Reyes runs, but it is my understanding he showed up there at one point, otherwise I have no clue on his status.

Blue Beetle (Jamie Reyes) Still active as the Blue Beetle, had his own run a while back, I'm not sure where he is currently being used, but I imagine he will pop up as part of super hero team soon, if he isn't on one already.

Captain Atom: Still kicking about to my knowledge, always used as a metahuman big gun.

The Question (Vic Sage) As noted, was killed off in the mid 2000's shortly after Ted Kord, but has been resurrected. He first started to show up in Superman titles of all places, and then Event Leviathan, and he now currently has his own quarterly mini series, that harkens back to Denny O Neil's style. Personally, I would like to see him used more in the DC universe (Aka JLA cartoon). I'm not sure if your referring to Vic or Renee, but as a major Vic fan, I would love to see him in the back pages of Detective Comics.

The Question (Renee Montoya): Still around, I believe she is in the Harley Quinn and Birds of Prey comic.

Nightshade: She showed up in Justice League Dark a while ago to my recollection. When DC bought Charlton Comics back in the 80's the readership was still predominantly male at the time, unlike today where they females make up to 40% of comic readers (Though I do not know if they are reading superhero comics) which is probably why she never got her own mini series, but I definitely would like to see her used more.

Peacemaker: I've always had a soft spot for this character, largely because I happen to have his first comic, which is worth, and will always be worth...didley. He had a mini series at one point, but otherwise he is hardly used by DC. Surely he would be a good fit for a team like Checkmate?

Judomaster: The first Judomaster was killed off in Crisis on Infinite Earths around the time DC bought Charlton...so not a good start. Today Judomaster is female character, who I think would be a great fit for showing up in Batgirl (Cassandra Cain) comics, but she needs an overhaul on her uniform first.

Thunderbolt: I didn't even know this guy existed. So Cudo's for the person who filled his current status in.

[Hatut Zeraze]

Peacemaker was in the very connected backup story in the Keith Giffen Inferior Five comic from JUST last year.

http://smashpages.net/2017/10/08/gif...aker-back-ups/

https://bleedingcool.com/comics/dc-c...hrough-with-6/

[Timothy Hunter]

Has anyone read the Peter Cannon Thunderbolt series DC put out in the early 90s? What did you think?

Also what is the consensus on Ted Kord's 24 issue solo book right after Crisis on Infinite Earths? I've heard lukewarm things, which is a shame because I adored the character in JLI.

[The no face guy]

Has anyone read the Peter Cannon Thunderbolt series DC put out in the early 90s? What did you think?

Also what is the consensus on Ted Kord's 24 issue solo book right after Crisis on Infinite Earths? I've heard lukewarm things, which is a shame because I adored the character in JLI.

I have not read it in years, it was written by Len Wein so it couldn't have been all that bad. I recall it being a standard super hero comic, whereby he fights a gallery of rouges (Chronos ect), and he is pretty much a straight man as it's before Giffen turned him into the "Bwa ha ha ha!" character. The Question shows up for an issue or two as well.

Peacemaker was in the very connected backup story in the Keith Giffen Inferior Five comic from JUST last year.

http://smashpages.net/2017/10/08/gif...aker-back-ups/

https://bleedingcool.com/comics/dc-c...hrough-with-6/

Cool, I was absolutely unaware of that, too bad it was cancelled early.

[Alphaxman]

Who is reading the Terrifics? I stopped a while ago. I've seen Ted appearing on some covers so I assume he's now a member. How is he handled there? Is he a joke like he was on JLI and that mess called Heroes in Crisis or is he a more competent hero like in Batman brave and the bold?

[MajorHoy]

And for Charlton characters that DC bought, don't forget . . .


From Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe Vol. XX (October 1986)

[Riv86672]

Son of Vulcan and Punch & Jewelee are Charlton characters.





I’ve always liked P&J. They were doing the psychos in love but way before Joker and Harley Quinn made it cool.
Son of Vulcan I’ve always thought had potential.

[silly]

How does it work again? If a company doesn't use a property long enough it falls under public domain?

[Kaijudo]

I have a huge amount of love for the Charlton characters. One of the first DC books I read was Crisis on Infinite Earths #1, which introduced me to the Blue Beetle, who I was instantly a fan of. And when I saw him on his Earth with the other heroes in issue 6, I was totally hooked on this group of characters I'd never heard of before.

I have hopes for Ted's future as he and Booster were featured on the Infinite Frontier cover. Maybe we'll finally be getting a Blue & Gold series.

Peacemaker is obviously bound for the Suicide Squad series now as a regular. And as he's getting his own spinoff show from the movie, I wouldn't be surprised if he gets a solo book as well at some point.

A lot of folks have mentioned Nightshade without mentioning Shadowpact, where she was a regular member for that run. It's been a bit but I believe she appeared in Deathstroke not too long ago. If any of the Charlton heroes are overdue for a solo book, it's her.

The Question is wrapping up a new mini-series currently and has been featured in the Leviathan series, as well as in Bendis's Superman run leading up to it. Hopefully he'll land somewhere else soon. I personally hate Montoya as the Question, but if they can coexist as "Questions" I'm okay with that.

Captain Atom I think is in need of some help. The New 52 really screwed up his character by leaning into the Doctor Manhattan thing too much. I can't remember if he's been seen since the cameo in Doomsday Clock, alongside Ted, the Question, and Nightshade. Someone needs to bring him back to his pre-Flashpoint version.

Son of Vulcan had a new hero take up the mantle and get a mini-series out of it, before briefly joining the Titans. He was last seen in a Suicide Squad spinoff mini-series featuring El Diablo.

Sarge Steel pops up now and then. I think most recently in the Grayson series?

Judomaster hasn't come back from the dead, but I think the second one was used in the Earth-2 book for a while. And his sidekick Tiger hasn't been seen since becoming Avatar and being defeated in the terrible LAW mini-series, I believe.

There are a couple other properties of Charlton that made it over to DC that are rarely or never used. One is the team the Fightin' 5, which was a Howling Commandos-type team. I don't think they've shown up anywhere, though the team name could always be recycled for a different take, maybe even using some of the Charlton characters. The other character is Yellowjacket, who was (I believe) the sole Golden Age Charlton Hero, debuting in 1944. He wasn't used until Morrison put him in Pax Americana.

Oh, and as a side note: the DC Peter Cannon series was a lot of fun. It was almost more of an adventure book than a straight-up superhero book, which made it stand out, at least for me. Granted, it's been a bit since I've read it, but my guess is that it's aged pretty well.

[The no face guy]

I have a huge amount of love for the Charlton characters. One of the first DC books I read was Crisis on Infinite Earths #1, which introduced me to the Blue Beetle, who I was instantly a fan of. And when I saw him on his Earth with the other heroes in issue 6, I was totally hooked on this group of characters I'd never heard of before.

I have hopes for Ted's future as he and Booster were featured on the Infinite Frontier cover. Maybe we'll finally be getting a Blue & Gold series.

Peacemaker is obviously bound for the Suicide Squad series now as a regular. And as he's getting his own spinoff show from the movie, I wouldn't be surprised if he gets a solo book as well at some point.

The Question is wrapping up a new mini-series currently and has been featured in the Leviathan series, as well as in Bendis's Superman run leading up to it. Hopefully he'll land somewhere else soon. I personally hate Montoya as the Question, but if they can coexist as "Questions" I'm okay with that.

That is super cool about the Peacemaker getting his own show!

I'm stoked about that. After all these years of doing absolutely nothing with him, I wonder what prompted the push?

I confess I feel absolutely the same way about Montoya. How am I really supposed to feel anything other than animosity towards her when she replaced one of my favourite character. Jamie Reyes is a little easier to tolerate because he's technically a different type of hero...

but DC needs to learn not to kill off and replace heroes with popular followings...kill off or replace heroes with no fanbases not one who becomes a cult favourite on the JLA cartoon.

[Kaijudo]

That is super cool about the Peacemaker getting his own show!

I'm stoked about that. After all these years of doing absolutely nothing with him, I wonder what prompted the push?

I confess I feel absolutely the same way about Montoya. How am I really supposed to feel anything other than animosity towards her when she replaced one of my favourite character. Jamie Reyes is a little easier to tolerate because he's technically a different type of hero...

but DC needs to learn not to kill off and replace heroes with popular followings...kill off or replace heroes with no fanbases not one who becomes a cult favourite on the JLA cartoon.

My guess is that James Gunn heard the idea of the Peacemaker and decided to put his stamp on the character. Interviews with John Cena have described the way the character's going to be presented as a "douchey Captain America." And I have to assume they both loved that take so much they both signed on to do a series, so DC naturally invoked corporate synergy to bring the character into the foreground of the comics again.

And yeah, I hated the way DC handled replacing both Blue Beetle and the Question and I'm glad those deaths have been reversed. I've finally grown okay with the Jaime Blue Beetle, but it honestly took Ted coming back to finally make it happen...before, it was always one attempt after another to push a character who only existed as a replacement to my favorite. And I always felt Renee becoming the Question actually hurt her character...she didn't NEED to become the Question to be cool, she was already cool in her own right. I still believe it only happened because Gotham Central was getting cancelled and Greg Rucka had made her a pet character, so this was a desperate attempt to keep her "relevant," which is kind of a garbage move.

[Agent Z]

From Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe Vol. XVII (July 1986)




So was Eve supposed to have been inspired by Phantom Lady? They're both daughters of U.S. senators and used very similar tools. The main difference being that Eve originally had super powers while Sandra only got those later after crossing over to the DC earth.

[maxax]

Has anyone read the Peter Cannon Thunderbolt series DC put out in the early 90s? What did you think?

Also what is the consensus on Ted Kord's 24 issue solo book right after Crisis on Infinite Earths? I've heard lukewarm things, which is a shame because I adored the character in JLI.

He doesn't really act like Kord in JLI, but it does have a lot of references to different parts of the Charlton series, like the one cop who used to show up for single panels just to say "I warn you Kord, I will prove that you murdered Dan Garrett" before immediately leaving is a major recurring character and still a bit of a weirdo. The rest of the supporting cast (not including Ted's love interest) is also really fun as well.

I'd say it's enjoyable but don't go into it expecting JLI Ted.

[j9ac9k]

That is super cool about the Peacemaker getting his own show!

I seems Waller's also going to pick him to lead a new Suicide Squad. If she picked him to lead, I'm going to guess they might dial back a bit on some of his more "insane" characterizations in the past. I hope they find a way to release the rest of his backup from "Inferior Five" - that was kindof interesting.

[kalai]

Peter Cannon Thunderbolt by Kerion Gillen was like the most meta stuff I have read in a while