This entire morning has been a carnival of errors for me, featuring at least three instance of being well-behind the eight-ball and ending in the MS-QOTD being a tiny bit late. Of course, the good part is, this reminds me of one of my favorite superhero characters, Joe Pi, who entered the original 12-issue ‘Top 10’ comic book in the last three issues and proceeded to steal the entire show. A stellar example of Alan Moore’s ability to write a character who is always one step ahead without seeming like a complete jerk, it’s Joe who makes the biggest impact of any of the characters, and it’s he who successfully takes out a Superman-analogue character with nothing but reverse-psychology, leading us to today’s dollar-short query…
The MS-QOTD (pronounced, as always, “misquoted”) also likes to remember the example of Mr. Universe, a character who never appeared in ‘Firefly’, who’s death was nonetheless one of the most heart-breaking and meaningful parts of ‘Serenity’, asking: Who’s the most compelling Late Entrant character in your favorite pop culture?
6 Comments
Thats a tough one. I have two, I think. Does Kitty count? She came kinda late to my all time favorite X-Men team and then proceeded to become a head of Xavier´s school. Thats some character progression right there.
Another one is Stargirl. About five years ago I started reading that new Justice Society run where they were putting the team back together and she was easily the best new character. Its still one of the best DC team books I´ve ever read. Isnt she now in one of the Justice League teams with Martian Manhunter?
As with most MS-QOTD’s, your answers always count, as long as you are playing in good faith.
I’d say that both your picks are solid…
Stargirl is part of Justice League United, yep.
Woody on Cheers is probably a good one; while both Frazier and Rebecca Howe were also late entrants on the show, I think Coach’s pen pal from Indiana was my favorite.
There are probably many Doctor Who companions that would fill the bill, too, and for today I will say Donna Noble tops the list, but I remember how Ace was a breath of fresh air. For that matter, would any version of the Doctor after William Hartnell be eligible for consideration? If so then I’d say Christopher Eccleston, whose Doctor was interesting enough to resurrect the franchise.
Ooh, The Ninth Doctor is an excellent call. Well-played, sir…
Vision on Avengers, if 1968 additions to a 1964 team count…
Harley Quinn.
She was a pretty late arrival on both the animated series (not appearing until the 22nd episode, Joker’s Favor) and in the comics (The Batman Adventures #12 (1993)), but instantly became one of the most popular characters in Batman’s rogues gallery. Even after that, she still didn’t become part of the main DCU until she got her own series in 1999.