Elevating other MARVEL character's profiles

[Brian Adkins]

Usually see a lot of comments about too much focus on certain long running characters so:

If you could take a half dozen MARVEL characters and elevate their profiles,i.e.,make them more popular,whom would they be and how would you do it?

[Exciter]

The Hood - I know Bendis soured lots of people on him, but I absolutely loved the original BVK miniseries.
Hit-Monkey - A monkey who is a hitman should be a license to print money!
It! The Living Colossus - classic marvel monster, plus It's controller being a man in a wheelchair hits a nice diversity note.
Frenzy - a mutant who seems seriously overlooked.
Shanna the She-Devil - I'd like to see her move beyond the bikini and take on some adventures as a capable heroine.
Ghost - loved him as the anti-corporation terrorist in Thunderbolts.

[Marvel Forever]

I would give the Wizard a power upgrade and have him choose three very strong allies so he could fight the Fantastic Four to a tie!

[Brian Adkins]

The Hood - I know Bendis soured lots of people on him, but I absolutely loved the original BVK miniseries.
Hit-Monkey - A monkey who is a hitman should be a license to print money!
It! The Living Colossus - classic marvel monster, plus It's controller being a man in a wheelchair hits a nice diversity note.
Frenzy - a mutant who seems seriously overlooked.
Shanna the She-Devil - I'd like to see her move beyond the bikini and take on some adventures as a capable heroine.
Ghost - loved him as the anti-corporation terrorist in Thunderbolts.

Those are definitely some interesting choices!

[Tiamatty]

Karma: She's an awesome character. She's one of the most diverse characters ever - Vietnamese rape survivor lesbian amputee. She's not showy, but she's got a definite badass streak in her. She's strong-willed, and she's overcome a lot in her life. I think she deserves a higher profile.

Miss America Chavez: She's just a lot of fun. I love her attitude. And she's got an awesome backstory. Plus, she can kick through to other worlds.

Blink: I miss the Exiles. Especially Blink. She was cool. But I miss all of them. Bring back the Exiles!

Jackie Kane: She's only appeared in one of the Marvel Zombies minis, but she was so cool. I'd love to see her show up again.

Marrina: Now that she's got her awesome punk rock look and attitude, she's a character worth enjoying, so I want her to do more stuff.

Finesse: Bring her back! Give her a book to appear in, dammit!

[robreedwrites]

I'm not going to do Black Panther in this list. He's my favorite character, and I'd love for him to have an elevated profile, but I'll try to do some different characters in my answer:

Prowler - Have him appear as a supporting character in a couple arcs of Amazing Spider-Man before creating a new spider title, Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends which would feature Spider-Man, Prowler, Firestar, Iceman, and Black Cat.
Lucy in the Sky - Have her join an Avengers team, but not the Young Avengers team. Have her join the big boys. Give her an arc that deals with the falling apart of the Runaways.
Nightshade - Have her appear as a regular supporting character in a Black Panther series. When he joins the Avengers, have her cameo in an issue or two.
Songbird - Put her on the Avengers. 'Nuff said.
Manifold, Smasher, Cannonball, and Sunspot - Totally cheating, but I really like them as a quartet. Cannonball and Sunspot are best pals, Izzy is the brains of the outfit, and Eden is kind of the loner and/or the one who gets along better with the vets like Cap and Thor. I'd keep them all on the main Avengers squad. Or maybe put the New back in New Avengers once Hickman's run is over and have them be the stars of that book.

[Mutant God]

I like The Hood as the mobster who sells magical items on the Black Market and keeps the really powerful stuff to himself, he could battle a magic hero.

With Bentley 23 I see The Wizard as a different Dr. Doom, instead of Doombots he has clones of himself.

I'm not sure for Big Zero, if she should stay on the Young Masters and be a rival to Miss America or join a gang and be a foe for Ms. Marvel (Khan).

Since Wolverine is dying I guess enemies could go to heroes with barely any foes, which will boost both hero and villian: Dr. Rot-Punisher, Gorgon-Captain America, Dog Logan-X-23

Create an event featuring vampires, have Blade join and stay on a team.

[Pav]

The Hood - I know Bendis soured lots of people on him, but I absolutely loved the original BVK miniseries

Miss America Chavez: She's just a lot of fun. I love her attitude. And she's got an awesome backstory. Plus, she can kick through to other worlds.

Prowler - Have him appear as a supporting character in a couple arcs of Amazing Spider-Man before creating a new spider title

I love seeing the lesser-known characters get their chances to shine.

Lately I've really wanted to see something major done with Sleepwalker.

Other characters who could be "elevated (off the top of my head):

Terror, Inc
Morbius
Hellstrom
Brother Voodoo

I didn't even set out to point out how badly Marvel needs to focus some creative energy at their magic/horror characters! It just happened!

-Pav, who would def buy an America Chavez book with the right creative team...

[OBrianTallent]

Manifold, Smasher, Cannonball, and Sunspot - Totally cheating, but I really like them as a quartet. Cannonball and Sunspot are best pals, Izzy is the brains of the outfit, and Eden is kind of the loner and/or the one who gets along better with the vets like Cap and Thor. I'd keep them all on the main Avengers squad. Or maybe put the New back in New Avengers once Hickman's run is over and have them be the stars of that book.

I haven't understood Marvel's reasoning for making the "New" Avengers a bunch of not at all "new" Avengers in any sense of the word. I would have made that book the book about a newer crop of younger Avengers like this. Still operating within the main title, but this book being the one where they take off on their own and bond together.

Frenzy....she had a great build up as the angry young mutant wanting to turn over a new leaf. She has the potential to be the next Rogue class character. If not putting her in X-Men, then striker her out on her own. Give her a solo of her own and have her struggle with past life meets present dreams.

Songbird. This girl needs/deserves/demands to be on the main Avengers team. If they aren't going to pull out the original Thunderbolts making them an Avengers class then put her on the team.

[baltiroo]

Darkhawk - tie him in to more of the cosmic comics
Frenzy - make her the new Rogue in X-Men (redemptive villain)
Jack Flagg - really interesting in the previous Guardians series
Songbird - make her an Avenger already
Ghost - what a great anti-corporation terrorist
Living Lightning - would be a great new Avenger
Sepluchre - interesting power set and character
Julia Carpenter - get rid of the Madame Web powers and make her Arachne again

[Time Like Lightning]

Lucy in the Sky - Have her join an Avengers team, but not the Young Avengers team. Have her join the big boys. Give her an arc that deals with the falling apart of the Runaways.

I dig this. My additional five would be:

Xavin-- She escapes the Majesdanians after somehow rendering them non-threats. Back on Earth, Karolina's moved on and the Runaways have split up. Xavin's on the road to discovering what her gender identity and new path in life are.
America Chavez-- "America Chavez: Super Soldier." A solo title could so totally work! I'd also like to see her take a leadership role in a post-Kate, Teddy and Billy Young Avengers.
Kate Bishop-- Read the Fraction issues and you'll know why. 'nuff said.
White Tiger-- She's intriguing in Ewing's Mighty Avengers and I want to know more about her. Plus she's already been on a cartoon, so the potential for a popularity spike is there.
Spectrum-- movie. It. UP!!!! C'mon, Monica Rambeau's the field leader of the Mighty Avengers. She totally deserves a more prominent role in Marvel comics.

[Spider-Chan]

I just want Marvel to give another shot at Anya...

[tsaimelemoni]

Elektra: Keep her on team books, where she actually interacts with the larger MU. Don't be afraid to develop her beyond simply being an assassin. I, personally, don't mind if she becomes less lethal while on a team. She can be dangerous and effective without killing everyone (her kinda recent appearance in Waid's Daredevil is a good example of this). After making her more overtly heroic, I wouldn't mind seeing her mentor a younger character.

[Anonymousmc]

I dig this thread concept, as it has my comic geek gears turning:

Blue Marvel - his connection to marvel's continuity makes tales for him rich and multifaceted. He has had a friendship with Uatu, Blade, battle a Hyperion, a legacy linked to the Civil Rights movement and that's just scratching the surface.
America Chavez - she has much potential as a foil with other characters because of stubborn attitude but also strong sense of honor and pride, plus she posses enough mystery to add more to her story. She needs to be apart o an Avengers team, I can see her as a potential Wonder Woman analogue.
Zodiac - his Dark Reign mini was so well written and it left so much on the table, his ceiling as anarchist villain is high, could easily become the Tyler Durden of the Marvel Universe, super creative and underrated villain.
Spectrum (Monica Rambeau) - considering her high profile during the 80s and involvement in the highly popular and critical Nextwave, she needs her own mini or at least lead in a Avengers book. So under utilized.
Starhawk - another character with an interesting power set and ability (alter gender) but seems to fall into obscurity too easily, hopefully the new GOTG 3000 book can give the character the recognition she/he deserves.
Black Panther - he is probably the most popular black superhero not named Storm, yet does not get the push that he deserves, top five marvel genius, world renowned martial artists, imbued with the supernatural power by the panther goddess Bast, so much richness to write from, yet only appears in one Marvel book.
Nebula - with Thanos Rising and Infinity delving into Thanos' origin and past, this would give Marvel a perfect opportunity to give her a shot at becoming a top tier villain/threat or at the least give seeds to revealing her origin.
Nova (RR) - Annihilation, Annihilation Conquest, Thanos Imperative, earned Nova Prime status, nuff said.

I know I am forgetting some but it's late...

[Sutekh]

Frenzy - make her the new Rogue in X-Men (redemptive villain)
Songbird - make her an Avenger already
Ghost - what a great anti-corporation terrorist
Julia Carpenter - get rid of the Madame Web powers and make her Arachne again

Frenzy, Songbird and Ghost are great choices, and Julia did indeed seem more interesting with her original power-set.

I dig this. My additional five would be:

Xavin-- She escapes the Majesdanians after somehow rendering them non-threats. Back on Earth, Karolina's moved on and the Runaways have split up. Xavin's on the road to discovering what her gender identity and new path in life are.
America Chavez-- "America Chavez: Super Soldier." A solo title could so totally work! I'd also like to see her take a leadership role in a post-Kate, Teddy and Billy Young Avengers.
Kate Bishop-- Read the Fraction issues and you'll know why. 'nuff said.
White Tiger-- She's intriguing in Ewing's Mighty Avengers and I want to know more about her. Plus she's already been on a cartoon, so the potential for a popularity spike is there.
Spectrum-- movie. It. UP!!!! C'mon, Monica Rambeau's the field leader of the Mighty Avengers. She totally deserves a more prominent role in Marvel comics.

More great choices! Spectrum and America Chavez really have the chops to become major heroes. Kate and White Tiger also have great potential.

I wouldn't mind seeing more of Finesse, Reptil and Stryker, as well as many of the New X-Men (Dust, Hellion, Elixir, a repowered Wind Dancer), etc.