I don't recall this much backlash with Bucky, there certainly was a backlash but I don't believe it was as sustained or went on as long. Though I could wrong as I wasn't as active then.
As for people being sure it was temporary, there was just as much evidence that Bucky was the permanent Cap as there is that Falcon is the permanent Cap, i.e. None.
My priority is enjoying and supporting stories of timeless heroism and conflict.
Everything else is irrelevant.
So, are we defining a legacy hero as someone taking up the identity of another hero who died? Or just taking up the identity and mantle in general? Because, even with Steve, Odinson, and Bruce still active in their own way, I'd say Sam, Jane, and Amadeus are still legacy characters in that they're taking their old identities.
Miles is also legacy for his Peter Parker, if not for the 616 Peter Parker.
As far as DC they still, even after the reboot, has the Robin legacy relatively intact, with all the Robins (Dick, Jason, Tim, Damian) still alive and active. And that legacy is one of the oldest legacy identities in comics.
I wasn't that active either, but Bucky as Cap was written by an Eisner winning writer, with good (or great, IMO.) stories. Sam as Cap, so far, has been written as a fascist douche in AXIS, yes I know he was inverted, but that was really his first major exposure as Captain America, and in his solo his first arc (IMO) made him incompetent, he got saved by Ian, by Misty, and by Ian again. I'm taking a bit of a hiatus until after Secret Wars, so I haven't been reading currently, so hopefully they're starting show him as competent and decent.
Yep.
I hope I shall possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.
- George Washington
For me, at least, I define a legacy character as any character that has been assumed by two or more people. Captain America is perhaps the obvious legacy character, being one since the 50s. Ms. Marvel is now a legacy character, Captain Marvel, Thor, and now Hulk are all legacy characters.
I hope I shall possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.
- George Washington
I love how many legacy characters there are now. Legacy characters and "new starts" are what got me in the door. Part of the benefit of these legacy characters is that it implies history, change, growth. The universe they live in feels real because it doesn't stay still. Plus, it's not continuity and history that drives away new readers; it's incestuous and constantly ret conning history that drives away readers. Revolving doors of death, secret betrayals, "the real history", it drove me nuts. When you don't let the universe move forward and grow, all you have left to play with is screwing with the past.
So yeah, let Sam be Cap so Steve can have new stories or, god forbid, an actually ending. Let Amadeus be Hulk so Bruce can go retire and have fun in his workshop. Let Robbie take over as Ghost Rider, Johnny hates it anyway.
I agree that Sam as Cap was poorly written. I think he came off as a total d-bag when he was named successor and I quit the series when it became All New Captain America. However now that he is the hands of what I feel are better writers, I am interested in seeing where it goes.
it is kinda weird. what i loved about DC was the JSA and all the different legacy characters. most of those are gone now. just look at the roster for All New All Different Avengers. Iron Man and Vision are the only non-legacy characters (one could argue Vision kinda sorta is).
If by "weird" you mean sad, then yeah.
But I hate legacy characters with a passion.
f/k/a The Black Guardian
COEXIST | NOEXIST
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Legacy characters were one of the reasons I never got into reading DC, if the current Flash dies there is 2 or 3 others waiting in the wings to take his spot on the Justice League, right? So why should I really care? He's an expendable hero, not a unique snowflake. Same with the hundreds of Green Lanterns out there. Hal Jordan doesn't seem have any greater fortitude of willpower or whatever that makes him "the only human possible to bear this great responsibility" given to him by the GL Corps and those big head blue guys.