Characters that may be limited because they have a very specific role to fill.

[babyblob]

I had seen some characters mentioned on the board several times and how people cant believe they dont have a current on going title. Mostly Blade. And I was thinking about not only him but other heroes or characters that may be limited as to what they can do in the Marvel universe because of the roles they play and the type of character they are that may limit where they can pop up or if an ongoing that has a long run wouldnt get tired or played out.

Let me try my best to explain what I mean.

There are some characters that fit very well into many types of stories. Like street level heroes that can do street crime, super villain and have done magic and super natural stories so it is easy to fit them any where.

Or characters like in The Avengers bubble like Captain America, Hawkeye, Black Widow and Falcon who have both been on The Avengers have fought street crime (Falcon more then Captain America) have done super natural stories (Like the Falcon series where he was dealing with vampires) they have dealt with super villains and aliens and Widow, Falcon and Captain America have done the whole spy/working with Shield and stuff in the past.

Then like Iron Man and Thor who have done the whole battle The Super villains, mystic super natural things, Cosmic level stuff etc...

Same with Xmen They battled mutants, cosmic level events, some non mutant super villains Wolverine has done the whole spy ninja thing.

Fantastic Four? Cosmic, Super Villain, and super natural.


But I think of some characters like Blade, Doctor Strange, Brother Voodoo, Who really only fit the role of Supernatural/Magic and the cosmic level characters like Silver Surfer or Thanos who really only do cosmic level stuff. Or Kazar. How many jungle stories can there really be?

Is there a way to make the appeal of characters that have very specific roles have a broader appeal? Like I know Thanos will never rob a bank and Silver Surfer or Brother Voodoo are really not going to take on mob bosses. But is there a way to maybe take characters out of their niche roles? or am I just missing the Potential of some of these characters?

[mung]

I feel it's more on the writer to make things like that work. Nocenti had Daredevil fight Ultron and Mephisto in her run. The hardest part is making it make sense. I think it is probably harder to justify a powerful character in a simplistic setting than the other way around. Nobody would be surprised to see Captain America fighting Thanos, but it would take some narrative magic to have Gladiator fighting mobsters. I've seen people that think Cyclops is type casted so much as a leader/general type that it keeps him from getting a solo run.

[babyblob]

I feel it's more on the writer to make things like that work. Nocenti had Daredevil fight Ultron and Mephisto in her run. The hardest part is making it make sense. I think it is probably harder to justify a powerful character in a simplistic setting than the other way around. Nobody would be surprised to see Captain America fighting Thanos, but it would take some narrative magic to have Gladiator fighting mobsters. I've seen people that think Cyclops is type casted so much as a leader/general type that it keeps him from getting a solo run.

Cyclops is a good example. he is so tied to the Xmen that you really cant do much else with him. of course the same could be said for a lot of the Xmen. I mean it is not like Kitty, Iceman, or Gambit are really getting solo books either. out side of Wolverine I cant think of an Xmen that had a solo that worked.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

Mostly it's just the Punisher. They have tried to put him in more outlandish adventures but it feels awkward. He probably works better outside the MU. But I like him more as a foil than a lead so it's a bias.

Every other character just comes down to the writing and the setup of the story. Mung beat me to it.

Cyclops's younger self did get a solo. He explored the stars with his father and the star jammer. For a solo to work he needs a goal beyond hanging out with the X-men. Claremont's original idea for Cyclops was to retire him and have him be a civilian air pilot. That's actually a good pitch for a Cyclops solo. You took Cyclops out of the X-men, can you take the X-men out of him? (Rhetorical).

Because Marvel is status quo addicted, that's probably a maxiseries and you already know the answer.

I think most characters can hold a solo depending on the setup. Ironically solos are a misnomer that you can't take too literally. You do need a plot hook but most solos become ensembles eventually.

[JudicatorPrime]

If a "street level" character can do "cosmic level" things, albeit with amps, then cosmic level characters should be able to do street level things...only faster. I mean it's not like Superman is going to see a bank robbery in progress as he's flying overhead and ignore it.

The parameters are really just artificial constructs. Constructs, mind you, that writers of street level characters break all of the time in order to give their Most Favorite characters (that's right, MFs for short) purpose and a role where they otherwise would be impotent and sidelined.

[babyblob]

If a "street level" character can do "cosmic level" things, albeit with amps, then cosmic level characters should be able to do street level things...only faster. I mean it's not like Superman is going to see a bank robbery in progress as he's flying overhead and ignore it.

The parameters are really just artificial constructs. Constructs, mind you, that writers of street level characters break all of the time in order to give their Most Favorite characters (that's right, MFs for short) purpose and a role where they otherwise would be impotent and sidelined.

I think on a consistent basis as far as street level crime Superman may be the only god level hero that still gets his hands dirty on street level at times. In Marvel not so much. Thor did in the Silver Age but it has been a long time since he took on mobsters and bank robbers. Ironman does not The Fantastic Four do not.

[scribbleMind]

Sleepwalker definitely feels like he's in too much of a niche. Simultaneously, his niche is woefully underexplored. There could be lots of Psychonauts-esque adventures. If Morrison got his hands on Sleepwalker the result would have been something special.

[FFJamie94]

I think with Punisher, there is some potential to do something with him.
Personally, I think it’ll be interesting if he actually explored America a bit more. Maybe have him face off against Deadpool or even make him immortal for a couple of arcs.
You can’t really do Frank seriously anymore, it’s just sadly not going to work, so you may as well go balls to the wall insane with it.

Ive read that Daredevil issue where he fights Mephisto, it’s actually a pretty good introspective issue. It works well with the whole “fighting your inner demons” idea.

[K7P5V]

I think with Punisher, there is some potential to do something with him.
Personally, I think it’ll be interesting if he actually explored America a bit more. Maybe have him face off against Deadpool or even make him immortal for a couple of arcs.
You can’t really do Frank seriously anymore, it’s just sadly not going to work, so you may as well go balls to the wall insane with it.

Indeed. Still enjoyed how he was handled during the Punisher Kill Krew Saga (XD)

Ive read that Daredevil issue where he fights Mephisto, it’s actually a pretty good introspective issue. It works well with the whole “fighting your inner demons” idea.

If you're speaking of the JRJR/Nocenti run, then I agree. Truly classic (IMHO):