When I was in school (back in the Cretaceous Period), Otter Disaster and I shared a love of the comic adventures of The Spectre. Trouble was, the John Ostrander version of Specs that he loved and the Michael Fleischer version that I loved were almost entirely different characters. The M.S.P. crew occasionally discuss the different editorial takes on an iconic character like Batman or Spider-Man, but secondary characters such as The Spectre, Captain Atom or Star-Lord get COMPLETELY revamped and rejiggered with every new iteration.
The MS-QOTD (pronounced, as always, “misquoted”) thinks you look a bit familiar, but can’t place the green booties, asking: Which characters do you end up loving in multiple (even contradictory) incarnations?
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Perhaps this is tangential (since the LSH is NEVER secondary), but I’ve actually found something to enjoy in every incarnation of the Legion. Some characters fare more or less well, but overall it balances. I liked the concept of the Threeboot the least, but still enjoyed many of the characters. Overall, four Legionnaires do very well across the incarnations: Luornu Durgo, Tinya Wazzo, Tenzil Kem, and Lyle Norg.
More on the nose, perhaps: Dr. Fate always works for me as do any of the Starmen.
Even the 1994 Fate with the rediculous nineties aesthetic? The one with the wild hair and the grimace and the massive knife?
Ewww. No, not that one. Glad I said “Dr.” Fate just to give myself some wiggle room! ;-}
Green Arrow,
He was originally a Batman gimmick knockoff, eventually a loud mouthed hotheaded liberal, a hunter not using any gimmicks but his skill and a Longbow, followed by a fanboys impression of the hotheaded liberal.
In all of that , I must say I always enjoyed him. I also enjoyed the Connor Hawke GA used in the 90’s written by Chuck Dixon. Great new character who like Kyle Rayner got the shaft.
Pun intended?
I would have to say the Skywalker clan. I enjoyed the tale of Ankin’s fall in Episode III (they exist Matthew!), Luke’s ascension in the original trilogy, the story of Luke, Mara and Ben in the extended universe and finally Cade in Legacy. Since they are related you could also throw in the Skywalker/Solo kids in the extended universe with the death of Anikin, Jaina becoming the Sword of the Jedi and the dark side turn of Jacen. All were stories that I enjoyed with different takes on the Skywalker/Jedi mythos.
I really liked the blue lightning Superman.
While it might not quite count, Green Lantern. There have been the reboots and retcons that changed the characters, but usually it is the same (except for the change from Alan Scott to a group of space cops). Unlike Batman or Superman, you can swap in someone else as the GL of Earth and create new stories and it will work without having to call it an Elseworlds story (although it does upset the hardcore Hal fans, so don’t kill him off again).
I’ve also steadily enjoyed almost every incarnation of TMNT. While I am one of the many who became fans with the 80’s cartoon, I grew I love the comics incarnations as well. They’ve gone through a lot of versions over the years (the original Mirage version, the cartoon-based Archie universe with the Mighty Mutanimals, the weird Image version where Donatello was part cyborg, the weird anime turtles with mystical powers, the live-action version that teamed up witht he Power Rangers, etc.) but I’ve always enjoyed them to some degree.