Underutilized characters who should have a bigger role in the DCU

[achilles]

Power Girl, who could be close to SG in popularity, and if done right, perhaps even greater. But, while DC introduces endless Robins and Superboys/Men, they are very reluctant to even mention, much less use the existing female Superman character. Wonder why?

[Ascended]

uhmmm *slowly raises hand* ...I agree with you. Amazing Man is a character that NEEDS to be used more. there are so few characters of color with their own superhero legacy, Amazing Man needs to be brought back and proper fleshed out.

Right? There's an entire mythology and setting sitting right there, waiting to be found.

I feel like Amazing Man needs the classic Geoff Johns treatment (not necessarily Johns, but maybe); go in, find the core of the concept and expand on it, tie the loose ends together in a organic, but bold, new direction.

[Dr. Skeleton]

Skyrocket. Non legacy Black Woman with a unique powerset that led her own team somewhat.

Definitely. I was a big fan of Power Company.

[Falcon16]

Scorch (Scotty Fischer.) Both times he appeared, he had no character development, and died as quickly as he arrived. In my DCU, he's more Clint Barton than anything.

[SecretWarrior]

[Adekis]

Bunker, Vic Sage (as distinct from Charlie Szasz) and Ted Kord would all be at the top of my list!

[married guy]

Starman (Jack)
Ragman
Black Lightning
Vibe
Elongated Man

[Kaijudo]

nightshadenew.jpg

Definitely Nightshade. She's my DC version of Jack of Hearts as far as a lesser-known character I love who shows up next to never. And, hey, Jack is going to be a lead in a new event series alongside She-Hulk and the Fantastic Four, so hopefully Nightshade will get some similar prominence love soon, too.

[Ascended]

This thread has me wondering what went wrong with Starman. Ted came from the same generation, had the same chance to catch the public's eye. And in the decades since, his family has expanded in interesting directions (they're basically the Kennedy's of DC), he's thematically interesting and unique from DC's other big names, with the closest parallel being Batman, but Bats is humanity at its utmost potential, trained to excellence, while Ted is humanity's curiosity and ingenuity being used to build miracles. He's multi-generational (which isn't unique now but seems a natural extension of the family vector). His powers are different enough from the Lantern's to stand on their own (especially considering the number of flying bricks who stand tall in DC's pantheon).

I love J'onn but I wonder how he ended up in the League's seventh seat and not a Starman?

[Robotman]

I think there’s still huge potential for a Starman to have a big role in the DCU. The name alone is super cool. Similar to the situation with Amazing Man. You have a character with a brilliant comic book name and an interesting history. Why aren’t they front and center?!?

I was hoping that Scott Snyder would utilize Will Payton a bit better in his Justice League run.

A version similar to the Joel McHale Starman would be really cool to introduce into the DCU. he could be a Captain America-like hero DC lacks.

[Timber Wolf-By-Night]

I think there’s still huge potential for a Starman to have a big role in the DCU. The name alone is super cool. Similar to the situation with Amazing Man. You have a character with a brilliant comic book name and an interesting history. Why aren’t they front and center?!?

I was hoping that Scott Snyder would utilize Will Payton a bit better in his Justice League run.

A version similar to the Joel McHale Starman would be really cool to introduce into the DCU. he could be a Captain America-like hero DC lacks.

Like Commander Steel or General Glory or Major Victory or Mister America? It's not that DC "lacks" a Captain America-like hero, they just aren't nearly as interested in a Captain America-like hero as you think they should be. Because it would be rightly seen as them just aping Captain America, and not filling a Captain America-shaped hole that they somehow need to fill.