Yeah, I see what you mean ... even when I was posting that about the Hood, I was recalling how the same could be said (about how they were kind of ubiquitous back then, but have since disappeared) about the Sentry and Ares. For all that he was a darker kind of character, Sentry was clearly meant power-wise to be like Marvel's answer to Superman, and for a bit there, it seemed like Ares was going to be as much a fixture to the Avengers as Thor, and moreso than Hercules.
I guess other writers need to get on board to make stuff like that stick though, because none of those characters remained as ever-present as they were for that moment in time. Marvel Boy was brought back in Guardians of the Galaxy though, and apparently he and Hercules were kind of a thing.
Be kind to me, or treat me mean
I'll make the most of it, I'm an extraordinary machine
Personally, I think Thanos belongs on this list, especially since he has become Jim Starlin's Mary Sue and completely unbeatable.If any writer has the gall to write a story where Thanos is bested, another story is written to say that wasn't but one of his Thanosi duplicates, which are identical to Doombots in function, only 'cosmic'. And because Thanos can't be beaten, his stories consist of him effortlessly defeating the universe's heroes and then deciding not to win for reasons of his own.
And all this from a character who started because Starlin said "I want to ripoff Metron" and Roy Thomas replied "Nah, ripoff Darkseid instead".
Trunks from Dragon Ball
Tommy from Power Rangers
In regards to pet characters in comics, most of the examples I can think of are created by the people who flaunt them such as Bendis with Naomi, Marv Wolfman with Baron Winters, Geoff Johns with Stargirl, and Grant Morrison with Damian Wayne.
What are some examples of comic book writers treating pre-established characters with the "creator's pet" mentality?
The most offbeat example that I can think of is from when David V. Reed was writing Batman in the 1970s. For some reason, he become obsessed with a minor villain created by Robert Kanigher called Dr. Tzin-Tzin: a Fu Manchu-type (who was really a white man in yellowface) with illusion powers. Reed felt Dr. Tzin-Tzin should be a major part of Batman's rogues gallery and wrote several stories featuring him. He even had Batman refer to him as the most dangerous foe he had ever faced, and in one story he breaks into prison so he can consult Tzin-Tzin on the baffling crime he was currently investigating.
Actually, no, though the similar concepts existed, and are part of the reason I can’t stand that character.
Ben Skywalker was a Pre-Disney son of Luke and his wife Mara Jade, who never truly fell to the dark side, though he was tempted. He was never my favorite character... but he at least existed in a world where the family got a satisfactory ending.
Jacen Solo was a Pre-Disney son of Han and Leia who started out as a hero alongside his twin sister and brother, including getting an awesome “safe the universe” story before he badge the Sith Lord Darth Caedus. His villainous turn was somewhat sloppy and full of missed opportunities... but wasn’t nearly as insultingly shallow, prejudiced, or as much of a cancer on the storyline. I mean, at least they had the decency with him to make it so no heroic female lead character seemed to fall for him because he was an asshole, which is how The Last a Jedi did it with Kylo, and they had the balls to actually elevate a heroine (his sister) by keeping him as a villain to the end.
Like action, adventure, rogues, and outlaws? Like anti-heroes, femme fatales, mysteries and thrillers?
I wrote a book with them. Outlaw’s Shadow: A Sherwood Noir. Robin Hood’s evil counterpart, Guy of Gisbourne, is the main character. Feel free to give it a look: https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asi...E2PKBNJFH76GQP