Didn't see a generic "Avengers Appreciation 2023" thread so I figured I'd drop this here.
I got a question about the kind of roster y'all like to see in the Avengers.
So, I'm mostly an outsider when it comes to this team. I've read a few runs, enjoy the movies, but I never really read them much back in the day. But it seems to me there's two types of Avenger teams. On one hand you've got the Big Name heroes; most of them usually have a solo, they're counted among the most powerful and capable heroes on earth....it's very "Justice League" like. Then on the other hand you've got the teams full of C- and D-listers, few of whom could carry a solo, with a couple big names to hold sales up, and while they might still face some huge threats they're just as likely to be dealing with smaller scale problems or inter-personal drama too. The "Mansion era" I guess it is?
I'm looking at the new McKay roster, and I'm totally digging it; that feels like a near-perfect distillation of the "JLAvengers" approach; seven of the most powerful people around, all of them long standing, classic veterans of the team, most of them with solo titles....this is a group that feels like it doesn't get together for anything less than a full scale Kree invasion, y'know? And as a JLA fan that has a lot of appeal to me. But I noticed a fair amount of posters here complaining about that very fact, that it doesn't have the appeal of the Mansion days where the personal drama got just as much page time as the big threat.
And I fear I missed out on that more grounded, character-driven charm. When 75% of your team has a solo, there isn't much room for character development, subplots, arcs, etc. You can't have much soap opera because it might interfere with whatever the solo writers are planning, but you can totally do that with a team of C-listers like Jack of Hearts, Tigra, etc.
So what do the long-standing Avengers fans/experts have to say? Is it better to be the JLAvengers, or to have a bunch of lesser known's hanging out with one or two big stars? Is there a happy medium, and if so who pulled that off best?
All this said, and as much as I'm looking forward to the new series, I *do* wish the McKay roster had just one or two more members; Songbird, Ant-Man/Wasp...maybe someone unexpected like the Invisible Woman. I'd love to see Luke Cage, Shang Chi, Hyperion (Hickman's version) or the Blue Marvel up in here too.....
"We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another, as if we were one single tribe."
~ Black Panther.
You rotate the roster in and out.
You don't need everyone who has a solo in every story.
In fact there is nothing to say you have to write for a trade. You can have a trade with 2-3 parters or 6 stand alone stories.
That is what is missing nowadays. The quick short story instead of filler issues that we see plague a lot of books.
I'd want at least one mutant on the team, instead of being segregated to an Uncanny team. Someone like Hellion.
2024: The Year of Hellion
You mean the McDuffy JLU approach? Always a fan of that, and Hickman basically did it with his run, which might be the only Avengers run I've stuck with from start to finish, I think?
Yeah, it's a good way to get around the roster problem by saying basically everyone is a member of the team. But it doesn't provide the kind of consistent attention and development you get from limited rosters. Still, it's as fine a structure as any and not anything I'd complain about, and I always felt it was a really good approach for teams that are supposed to be the alpha and omega of heroism, like the League or Avengers.
Or did you mean just swapping out the roster on a regular basis and not letting the membership settle? That works too, though again you don't get that consistent development.
"We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another, as if we were one single tribe."
~ Black Panther.
I will always prefer a few of the big names alongside a majority of characters without their own books.
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At least one...maybe 2...but I would not want another X-Mutant to be the ones. Use characters like Justice and Ultragirl (and clarify what a V-Factor Mutant is). I think it then broadens the 'mutant experience' away from all the doom and gloom of the X-Books. That is not to say there would be no anti-mutant plotlines...but you would get to see people like Steve and others actually stand up and present a 'mutants are just like anyone else and should be judged as individuals' message.
Generally speaking...it should be 2-3 big names...and the rest of the roster those who don't have their own books.
All I wanted was to be unconditionally loved while never having to work on my flaws. Is that so much to ask?
A team of only character who star in their own books isn't for me. I don't want every arc to have as big as stakes as a film -- not everything should be about saving the universe! And reading about only the big guns gets boring. I like the variety of the B and C characters. I'm okay with a 50/50 mix.
I think you can have a good balance. Ultimately what's important is the team chemistry, how everyone bounces off of each other, and how the team develops and that each member is used effectively in the book.
Like, to me something like Busiek's run is ideal because it had an all-star feel with some additions but the team worked really well together and we got plenty of character moments.
"We live in a world of cowards. We live in a world full of small minds who are afraid. We are ruled by those who refuse to risk anything of their own. Who guard their over bloated paucities of power with money. With false reasoning. With measured hesitance. With prideful, recalcitrant inaction. With hateful invective. With weapons. F@#K these selfish fools and their prevailing world order." Tony Stark
I prefer teams with 3-4 big names and a few lesser known characters. If I wanted to read about Cap, Carol, and Tony I can go read their books and the several mini, AU, and large scale events they'll be featured in throughout the year. There's no guarantee when you're going to see characters like Black Knight, Blue Marvel or Hercules again on a consistent basis.
With that said im about 90% percent sure McKay is going to cycle out those characters on the cover with a few lesser knowns (or oc's) anyway.
Reading List (Super behind but reading them nonetheless):
DC: Currently figuring that out
Marvel: Read above
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