Or – “Sometimes I Don’t Get What People Like…”
Since the beginning of Major Spoilers, I have repeatedly bumped into the realization that not everyone thinks that my favorites are all that awesome. People miss the grandeur of the 3-D Man, they fail to see the conceptual brilliance that is The Scarecrow, and talk about Batman whenever I try to explain how Matter-Eater Lad single-handedly saved the universe three times. But there are several cases in comics where I just cannot fathom why the fans aren’t rushing out in a buying frenzy for nine monthly titles featuring their adventures…
Wally West
The honest truth about Barry Allen for me is that he’s never been terrifically interesting. For many years, he was played as the token Midwestern nice guy in the Justice League, and his solo adventures are full of Hail Mary passes (Iris’ murder, the death of Reverse-Flash and his eventual fate in the original Crisis are the most obvious examples) to try and make him relevant. The biggest problem with his recent resurrection comes in the fate of his once-sidekick Wally West, the third Flash, whose career as Flash has been effectively nullified by Barry. Wally’s path to heroism was a difficult one, but he eventually came into his own as a speedster, a father, and a man, and the only reason I can find that he was ever replaced (first by Bart, then by his old mentor) was as part of universe-wide revampings of the status quo of the DCU. If there’s justice in the world, Wally will get his own series again (or at least a high-profile gig in some team title) allowing those of us who aren’t loving the Silver Age retread adventure of Senor Allen to get our Flash fix without all the hooplah.
Rocket Racer
Here’s a character with a built-in hook: Spider-Man villain gone straight trying to find his way in the world. The Racer combines aspects of Batman with bits of the Doc Savage inventor/adventurer and the physicality of a Nightwing or Spider-Man in a package that could be the next Iron Fist or Ghost Rider. For those that worry his skateboard schtick is silly, it’s really no sillier than The Silver Surfer’s board, or even Iron Man’s armor (which comes with rocket skates, I might add.) His star turn in the MODOK’s 11 miniseries a couple years ago even makes him an agent of SHIELD, giving him even more grounding in reality. Hell, make it a buddy comedy featuring Fat Cobra, and you can re-create the amazing synergy of Heroes For Hire in the new millenium…
Nightcrawler
Recent events in the X-Men comics may seem to make this one academic, but, c’mon, it’s the X-Men! Death never takes with these guys… Nightcrawler’s relative invisibility in recent years has puzzled me, as less interesting characters like Cable and Daken get superstar-level pushes, while he is relegated to “staff priest.” But let’s look at the core of the character: acrobat, swashbuckler, unique look, INCREDIBLE powerset, cute accent, and a prehensile tail. There’s no one like Nightcrawler out there in any universe, and it’s a shame that repeated retcons (he went from being just a man of faith to a full-on priest, his mother is Mystique and his father, unless it’s been retconned away, is an actual demonic being) have lowered his stock. Of all the characters on the list, he’s probably the one with the most lost potential, especially when you look at the pals he could have doing cameos in a solo series. (Wolverine would finally make SENSE as a guest-star.)
Static
Virgil Ovid Hawkins is, without question, the most nuanced and interesting character to come out of the comics of the 1990’s. A teenager who actually ACTED like a teenager, Virg was a smart, geeky kid whose ego got him stuck in the middle of a gang war, which he barely survived, thanks to his new electromagnetic powers. One of the few heroes who uses magnetic and electrical powers together (in very unique ways, I might add) Static’s awesomeness can’t even be dampened by his appearance in the last couple of years of Teen Titans. With a fascinating origin, strong character, and a great supporting cast, I’m glad to see that Static is getting a solo book of his own, soon. Here’s hoping that the fans support it… Nearly every teen hero is tagged as the next iteration of Spider-Man, but Static is one of the few that earned the designation.
Deathlok
Having been a surprise hit in two different decades, Deathlok’s absence from the Marvel Universe is an enigma for me. He’s an amazing amalgam of the Six Million Dollar Man, the Terminator, and Captain America, and has that neat time-travel twist going for him. A downside is that there are five or six different characters who are all pretty much the same guy, but it’ll take all of ten pages of temporal mechanics (or a good old-fashioned plot handwave) to fix all of that. With an internal monologue that allows his human and computer brain to fight against each other, Deathlok is a natural, and I can’t understand why he isn’t a block-buster hit. How about a weekly television series wherein he travels back in time and ends up involved in the lives of the people who then wind up creating him in the first place? Heck, at this point, I’d settle for having so indication that he still exists in the mainstream world, as I can’t remember seeing any of the Deathloks since “Beyond” in 2005 or so…
The Martian Manhunter
But, wait, you say, isn’t he a high-profile character in Brightest Day? And wasn’t he in the JLU? Indeed, you are correct, but it took him nearly 45 years to get his own solo series, and while it was long lasting, it was never a barn-burner in terms of sales. J’onn J’onnz takes a lot of flack for having the Superman powerset, but his uniqueness can’t be argued. How many other characters do double-duty as “Tank” and “Rogue?” How many other characters have the ability to have dozens of secret identities and ready-made supporting cast members from all walks of life? Why is it that it’s so hard for audiences to wrap their mind around the Manhunter From Mars mystique? I suspect it’s his power-levels, but a good writer could overcome that limitation easily. He’s a big green guy who can be ANYTHING and provide Gene-Roddenberry-esque commentary on humanity and our various foibles while playing Big Gun throughout any crisis situation…
Howard The Duck
It’s amazing how one bad movie can screw everything up. At one point, Howard was the most popular character in comics, and his first issue is highly prized even four decades later. The Duck was a trend-setter, and his adventures in the real world were the precursor of everything that people currently love about comics. His dialogue was realistic, he traveled in circles that no other Marvel character did (hanging out in Cleveland with a former exotic dancer) and even had a sex life, albeit a highly subtle one. Howard’s adventures paved the way for Vertigo, for Marvel MAX, and more. Even today, the duck serves as an example of a concept so unique, so uncompromising that any appearance of the duck (even in places like Generation X or Marvel Zombies) sets a tone of anarchy, cynicism, and 70’s style comic book fun. Without the Duck, there would be no New Avengers, no Sandman, no Scott Pilgrim, no Preacher, and probably no Grant Morrison. Then that damn George Lucas stepped in and hosed it all up…
Dupli-Kate
The multiple-body thing is a very well-travelled power, from the Silver Age one, but Dupli-Kate brings a different twist to it all: There is an original, and every other body comes from her. Even more amazing, she had the sense to hide her original body, and send her duplicates out into the world to experience things and beat people up wearing leotards. Her years of subjective experience make her a level-headed presence, and she ALONE was able to hold off the Kryptonian-powered Invincible. Given the ability to make infinite duplicates with one mind, Kate occupies a unique niche in comics history, and I would be interested in reading the adventures of Dupli-Kate and her Immortal husband who may or may not have been Abraham Lincoln in a previous life. Of all the Guardians of the Globe, she’s the one who would play in any universe, as an Avenger, a Justice Leaguer or a Teen Titan with equal aplomb.
Jay Garrick
Okay… Here’s the pitch: He’s 90, looks 50, has the wisdom of dozens of subjective lifetimes AND runs a super-speed. If this were a movie, it would sell itself. Jay Garrick’s presence here is different than my whine about Wally West (although both are rooted in my lack of understanding of the Barry Allen-worship, to be honest) in that Jay had a long run at the top and was a founding member of the very first super-team in existence. Lots of books retcon in mentor-types and grandfatherly older heroes, but Jay Garrick has actual REAL historical significance and an amazing hook. Given that his super-speed allows him to speed up his mind as much as his body, Jay has the benefit of having time to have thought of everything, making his Wisdom stat his primary skill in any situation. When I was younger, Jay was a member of the Justice League in a trainer/mentor role, but kept being a hands-on hero. Can you imagine a better person to take a less-experienced hero under his wing? Even if he’s not as fast as he once was, Jay can still hobble at near the speed of sound, and his years of super-heroing would make for a fascinating Sandman-type variable-era story structure. If nothing else, the helmet sells this one…
The Mimic
This one just makes me sad when I think about it… In his original incarnation, Calvin Rankin showed up, immediately overpowered the neophyte X-Men, and was quickly given COMMAND of the team. His arrogance at being able to literally do anything gave him more character than his fellow mutant teens, and it’s a shame that he disappeared for as long as he did. His return in Exiles in the 90’s was technically a different Mimic, but the hook of super-powerful former villain with a lot to make up for sold the entire title in a lot of ways. In an almost unheard-of move for the times, he overcame Wolverine in one-on-one combat, and even beat Captain America (to try and protect him from further degradation in the Skrull combat games.) When he finally left the rotating cast of Exiles, nearly all the magic of the book went with him, and the title never recovered. Once again, it seems that a lot of the arguments against the character come down to his being overpowered, but even that doesn’t explain why there aren’t crowds in the streets demanding he lead the Avengers…
Faithful Spoilerite Question Of The Day: Who did I miss?
37 Comments
I was wondering why you put Static on the list seeing as how he’s recently purchased by DC, soon to have his own comic and had ?5? seasons of his own tv show. I thought he’s popular already … just under published.
was wondering why you put Static on the list seeing as how he’s recently purchased by DC, soon to have his own comic and had ?5? seasons of his own tv show. I thought he’s popular already … just under published.
Static is a self-starter, but DC never seemed to give him the push that he needed to be uber-popular. DC doesn’t really have a character who fills that Spider-Man niche, and Static could be that character, an A-lister whose series runs for decades. Doesn’t hurt that he adds some diversity to the DCU, either.
I was actually quite please by the death of Nightcrawler. I take that to mean that sometime in the next 3-5 years, he’ll be back as his own identical twin from a parallel dimension who was not the bastard lovechild of Mystique and the Devil who somehow made it through seminary to become a priest without anyone in the Church noticing. If the new Nightcrawler also reveals that Archangel and Husk only hooked up because of mind control from some nefarious villain and that Ernst really is Cassandra Nova, it will successfully erase all of Chuck Austen’s stupidity from X-Men continuity.
I agree completely with your inclusion of Static. He does need more love. Out of all the characters that came out and really did something in the 1990’s, he is the one that really had a impact on me (if just for the cartoon show). He is a extremely like able character, for a while he was the only reason I would read the new Teen Titan’s line up. (Although when they added Beast Boy and Raven back to the mix, I read it all the time). I just hope that they include Gear into the new comic. There is a character I would love to get a proper comic book adaptation.
Wait, when did they kill Nightcrawler? He was always one of my favorites! What did they do, decide that an Errol Flynn-loving fuzzy elf had no place with their vampire-palooza? God, that’s crap. I blame Chuck Austen and his Rapture crap for letting this happen.
I’d like to support Static’s new book, but I’m afraid. Felicia Henderson is the writer on it, and she is BAD. I’ve loved him since I first saw the TV show, then went back & read the comics, and I’d love to see him done well.
Finally, I have a deep love for Howard the Duck. He’s my 70s historian in comics form (him and the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers – read both series and see what a crazy time it was). Most people hate him because of the movie, and half the time, they’ve never even seen the damn film! Gerber’s magnum opus deserves better.
Deathlok (or Deathloks) has been making an appearance, with the requisite time travel angle, in Wolverine: Weapon X (guest starring Rogers Cap, Bucky Cap, Spidey etc). he also had a miniseries recently.
Kyle Rayner. You might not agree with me, but you also said Quesada was right and that makes me question your sanity and taste. ;p
I agree with Maximus, him and Wally West should be cornerstones of the modern DCU along with Dick. They’ve been the lead characters for years only to be put back by the Hulk Hogan and Macho Men of the DCU. Put Geoff Johns or Grant Morrison on Kyle and Wally and it would be selling just as good as Hal and Barry, especially towards the end of Kyle’s run, it was just terrible, but with Marz and Winnick it was selling really well, just didn’t get as much of a push as it could’ve when they’re doing with John’s.
Kyle Rayner. You might not agree with me, but you also said Quesada was right and that makes me question your sanity and taste.
My sanity and taste have always been in question, but Kyle would be an excellent call, so long as we ignore the Jim Lee dog-collar costume.
I agree full heartedly with 9 out of 10 of those (With Rocket Racer not making the list…but that could just be me being bitter over breaking my ankle the first (and last) time I tired to skateboard…)
also, Mimic appeared as part of Norman Osborn’s Dark X-Men, but he was more of a troubled hesitant individual rather than a multipowered arrogant badass that he could be. apparently, just simply telling him that he wasn’t original is enough to deck his ego.
I completely agree with Mimic, especially the Exiles version. When he was in that book it was by far my favorite. He would be a great addition to the 616 universe!
Nightcrawler in Excalibur was what made me like him more and more. That book was awesome, especially the early part and through the cross time caper. I miss books like that, fun, interesting, and always keeping me on my toes.
The ones to come to mind are not individuals but teams: Alpha Flight, Big Hero 6, Winter Guard(sure they have a mini now but after it’s over I doubt we’ll hear from them for years), Global Guardians and Excalibur.
None American based super-hero teams have a hard time staying published for long…
A fantastic set of characters Matthew. I try to carry the torch for Mimic, but Marvel just can’t see it.
To answer your question, Blue Beetle(all incarnations). He’s had radio shows, guested on cartoons, but can’t seem to hold down a series even though it is fantastic.
I used to declare Nightcrawler my most favorite comic character ever, but all the stuff that’s happened to him in the past twenty years, just kept getting more and more stupid(his father is a demon?!?), that when he was ‘killed’ I just thought “oh it’s just marvel proving again how lame & repulsive they’ve gotten, they’re going to bring him back in 5 minutes anyway”. Now Jay Garrick is my absolute FAVORITE, He’s so cool and despite every crazy thing he’s gone thru since the 30’s, he still held on to his values and is always so darn nice. I love him!
I loved Wally West under Bill Loebs….but after that run he really bored me actually. Let’s make him LIKE Barry Allen. Let’s make him as fast as Barry, let’s have him settle down with a jounalist…
As for Hail Mary’s….issue 50 of his series had to do with him surviving a gun shot wound, issue 100 oh look he is sucked into the speedforce never to be seen again, issue 150 oh look we have to replace him again…….at least 200 was interesting.
Who are Wally’s chief villains? Vandal Savage? The Rogues? Reverse Flash? even villains created for him were a spin off of Barry villains. Cobalt Blue who was retconned to be a Barry villain, and another who was an obivous take off of Reverse Flash.
Like I said, I was a huge fan of the charactor when Loebs wrote him, but he quickly went downhill so much that I stopped caring for him, until Johns wrote for him. But I would rather drink original coke then New Coke any day of the week. As for great Barry storylines….what about when Dr. Alchemy and Mr. Elemenant both showed up in the same story? Or some of Barry’s interactions with Gorrilla city. I know its a play off of Iris’s death, but Bachelor Barry was way more interesting than Wally any day. How many other times did romance come into the original Justice League of America? I still think Barry and Zee did it.
For Martian Manhunter I pretty much agree with you, but part of the problem is that for most of the charactor’s shelf life he was viewed as a Kal-El rip off. And I think when he spent most of the late seventies to early eighties not in the JLA, nearly a decade most fans didn’t seem to care…based on those issues letter columns.
My top ten would be….
10. Mon-El
9. Wildfire
8. Rusty Collins (he was well used in X-Factor/New Mutants and then went to Comics Limbo only to return for his death)
7. Aquaman (once rivalling Batman in DC Popularity more often than not he doesn’t have a series)
6. Nightwing (yes he has done well recently, but if this was 1995 he would be number 1 with a bullet….I worry that with Bruce’s return, we may have to wait 55 years for his next solo.)
5. Cyclops
4. Black Cat
3. Any female Legionnaire not included in the Mattel 12 Pack….sorry I probably only put that in for the recent news that bummed me out. Really? We get Saturn Girl and that’s it……I sooooooo wanted a Shadow Lass and Phantom Girl.
2. Cyborg
1. Hawkman (This JLA mainstay has had numerous solo titles never to reach an issue 50, and when he finally does….it’s retitled Hawkgirl)
Molly Hayes, Reed Richards(You heard me) Beast(Give him his own Tom Strong-esq book) and Hank Pym. Oh and EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER FROM NEXT-WAVE!
I guess DC does an okay job with prioritizing to my liking. Or my liking has been heavily influenced by DC’s prioritizing…Either way, besides Alfred (who deserves an ongoing I can’t think of somebody who needs more time in the spotlight.. Well I could but they are getting a book soon, so it seems unnecessary.
Thank goodness you explained where Dupli-kate was from; i thought she was yet ANOTHER product of a Legion reboot.
Also, I’m still waiting for someone to get the Metal Men right. The last time I liked them was when Marty Pasko and Walt Simonson did their book at the end of its run, and in that great Charlie Boatner/Jim Aparo story (“Whatever Happened To What’s’ername?”) in Brave and the Bold 187. Just, please, no radical appearance redesigns and no “they used to be people” crap. Oy!
Molly Hayes, Reed Richards(You heard me) Beast(Give him his own Tom Strong-esq book) and Hank Pym. Oh and EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER FROM NEXT-WAVE!
Reed is one who WAS super-popular for a time, but became less interesting as he was forced into the role of super-nerd with no social skills. In many ways, he’s been a victim of the same character shorthand as Iron Man, whose humanity has been eclipsed by the alcholic womanizing user, or Hank Pym, who is a walking PSA for spousal abuse these days.
nextwave was a wonderful series that, sadly, wouldn’t be as good if it were relaunched again, even with the original creators. I think the zeitgeist that made it awesome has passed.
Speedball.
Yes. Speedball. Not that S&M monstrosity. I was very glad to hear about Robbie Baldwin’s return from the dark side. Still and all, he was such a great character when Fabian Nicieza was writing him, I don’t know what compelled the need to destroy him.
I’d say maybe (YMMV,) Elongated Man and Sue, because I just love their interactions, especially in the JLI stuff. Plus they provided one of the few stable marriages in comicdom. Plus there’s always more to him than Plastic Man knock-off (I am aware though that’s why he was created.)
Speaking of Dupli-Kate, I still maintain Multi-Paul is one of the best comic book character names ever.
“Beast(Give him his own Tom Strong-esq book) ”
That… would… be… AWESOME!
I’m also someone who likes Wally and just doesn’t get the love for Barry Allen. I’m actually pretty convinced that the only love for Barry Allen was coming from DC editorial and fans have just gone along with the meme.
Agreed about J’onn. And I would support the Static series….if it wasn’t being written by Felicia Henderson.
In the category of “Dead Mutants”: Doug “Cypher” Ramsey.
Here was a mutant whose gift was the ability to understand *any* language…expand that into *body* language/facial expressions…not to mention kabbalistic possibilities and you have a character that *could* have been dropped into almost *any* genre (fighty-fight, super-spy, suave charmer, mystical mojo)…instead we got a sacrificial lamb insecure because he couldn’t fly…or turn into a wolf…or whatever.
In the category of “Teams”: Suicide Squad. Over the years the Squad has filled a lot of roles: Black Ops, Meta-Police, Cannon Fodder….but the really cool thing about the Original Book was that there was a time when almost every member of the team actually looked forward to their moment when the team lived up to its name! Such a premise ought to be able to offer something for everyone.
Doug “Cypher” Ramsey IS back…he has some cool new powers too (he can read body languge now)
Glad to see Jay Garrick on the list again..one thing I loved about him in the original Flash comics was his sense of humor. He toyed with the villans half the time
Doug’s back?! He was one of my favorite Marvel characters of all time, and I stopped collecting the back issues of New Mutants after Simonson had him killed off by a drooling loon in a leopard skin. He was a character who, with the non-action nature of his powers and the abstract means of applying them, was really ahead of his time.
I would add Banshee to the list but, unlike Nightcrawler, I don’t think Banshee will be coming back from the dead. He was my favorite of the new X-men but after he left the team, he disappeared. When he was finally brought back in Generation X, he was horribly written. There was so much wasted potential. Interpol connections, a haunted castle, evil cousin.
I would also include Adam Warlock as a character who should be more popular. And Ron-karr formerly of the LSV. He started as a villain with rare appearances but the last time I remember seeing him, in the 5-year gap Legion stories, he was helping the Legion against the Dominators. Did he appear in the Re/Three-Boot Legions?
When I began reading comics again in the early 90s after a 3-4 year hiatus, one of the first books I picked uup was The Flash, this was during the really great Mark Waid run, and Wally was one of my favorite characters in comics. I read the Wally West Flash book longer than any other single title, ever.
As for Nightcrawler he was always my favorite X-Man when I was reading that book. Yes, there was only Uncanny and X-Factor at the time, and yes I’m old. One of the things I loved about him (aside from being an awesome Dave Cockrum design) was that he was usually more upbeat than the other X-men, even though he had the most grotesque appearance, and had to remain hidden or disguised while his fellow X-men could blend in fairly normally. Nightcrawler is also the reason I got into Errol Flynn movies, with the Sea Hawk, and the Adventures of Robin Hood being two of my favorite films of all time.
Damage. With JSA they were finally moving him into a role that gave writers a chance to work with the personality his father Al Pratt was given during Roy Thomas’ run on All-Stars and later JSA revivals…as Carter Hall said “the first guy to wade into a fight…and the first to get his ass kicked”. He was the sole survivor of the old Freedom Fighters, a JSA legacy and had an interesting dynamic with his “brother” Atom-Smasher. Now he’s just a dead Black Lantern with a hold in his chest.
Sorry…. “hole” in his chest. I really shouldn’t post stuff early on a weekend.
I loved mimic in exiles but I always thought that the comic jumped the shark when they introduced spiderman 2099. Not that there is anything wrong with him (and possibly should be on this list) but they shoe horned him into this comic without addressing the problems that occur when a scientist from the future where science has cured most of the present times problems. That and they had no clue what to do with him once they had him in Exiles, it seemed they were happy enough just to be using the character. Toss on that they removed him from the comic by placing him in a limbo-esque timeline where he hooks up with a mary jane look a like and its enough to make you puke.
I just finished re-reading Ultimate Exiles #4 again and I can’t help but think if he’s got Wolvie’s and Deadpool’s healing after being drained by Proteus…shouldn’t he be waking up pretty–er, fairly soon after that? too bad the last we saw of him was his dried husk in the crystal wall.
What was the name of that Dark X-Men mini/tpb, “Utopia”?
My vote for this list goes to Will “Starman” Payton – he had the Spidey background but Superman power-levels with a mystery company sending goons after him every time he turned around. okay, the yellow/purple outfit was admittedly hideous, but the black/red rocked. too bad they immediately killed him off by Eclipso, then retcon-merged him into Prince Gavyn…yeahbuhwha? not sure what’s up with him/them in those various Strange Adventure minis since.
(note to self: finish that RegenSup/Payton custom!!!!)
Aquaman – PAD had a good run, but then Orin got devolved back into Arthur after that so they killed him in OWAW, only to have fans complain and bring him back in JLA’s Obsidian Age…where he did nothing/got replaced, got killed again, became a Black Lantern, now…? maybe characters like him and Hawkman work best in groups like JLA? just create a JLA title with the Big Guns, and a secondary title JL/JLU/Justice Legion that can carry the characters that only work as part of the team? (and my idea for a Titans regrouping includes Dick, Donna, Wally, and Kyle, so suck it, Johns!)
and what’s the status of Blue Devil, these days? I lost track of him in ShadowPact. I also dropped Teen titans when they depowered and then offed Eddie aka Kid/Red Devil. :(
at least Hercules is coming back at Marvel, but is that Prince of Power series necessary to understand his return in the Chaos War? JMS had a good restart to Thor, but then kicked out because he wouldn’t play with the BIG ONGOING SAGA of the last fourteen years and it’s back to more of the same old shtuff. Herc and thor werre the last two Marvel titles I was getting, but now…? not sure if I want to hang on until next summer.
oh and can we please get a CLASSIC New Warriors title and maybe get Quasar away from that Cosmic….mess and into something on par with GL? kthxbi
If one of your faves is not getting the proper recognition you must go out and love him that much more.
That said, I really love all these lists so I will add my own:
Black Orchid
Swamp Thing
Amanda Waller
Ghost Rider
Adam Warlock
Android Hourman
Captain Atom
The Ghost of Elongated Man
Captain Fear
Challengers of the Unknown
Dammit, Slash…I had a whole run of Static because of you…They may still be in the attic. don’t read &*$% comic books any more…it was too much of an addiction and I can’t find them in town any more…the only “comic” shop in town has crappy hours and a worse attitude. I couldn’t even get Wonder Woman 600 so I could sneer at the fashion faux pas.
Why did I go to facebook? WHY did I look at this link? You are as wicked as Captain Jack Harkness on a good day (and that book is coming soon…written by the Captain, himself….
I may have the wrong guy here, but didn’t Wolverine discover that The Hood was sending Deathlok on a crash course with Avenger’s Mansion like a year or two back? I can’t ever keep those guys straight, and it’s back and forth amongst companies. I’m constantly confusing Deadshot, Deathlok, Deathstroke, Death’s Head, Deathstrike Bloodforce, whomever.
I wouldn’t mind seeing some kind of Blue Devil and Kid Devil team-up, since Kid Devil said that Blue Devil was his de facto mentor in Teen Titans like forever ago, and since I haven’t kept up with it they may have teamed up some. I just thought the character was pretty cool and had a cool hook, it seemed like he would be attached to Blue Devil and the fact that it was a lie made it more real I guess. I guess if I were to add anyone else to the list of people I’d like to see get some more play:
Animal Man
Terror Inc.
Clive Barker’s Hyperkind (sue me, I liked it)
B’wana Beast
Gambit
Drax the Destroyer
Dark Devil
I dunno, I might be scraping the bottom of the barrel here, but I want more Great Lakes Initiative/Avengers/Champions/X-Men/whatever. The GLA Holiday Annual that featured Deadpool was one of the Deadpool crossovers that I actually liked, it was pretty funny.