Most of the time, superhumans and organizations don’t mix. Chaos sort of comes with the costume, but in some cases, there’s a clear hierarchy. Welcome to Ten Things: Ten Second-In-Command Supers!

Whooshman-Bicarbonate Films, in conjunction with An Amateur Comics Historian and most Avengers chairpersons who end up with Iron Man on their squad, Presents:

TEN THINGS: TEN SECOND-IN-COMMAND SUPERS!

10) THE ANGEL

A founding member of the Uncanny X-Men, handsome, blonde, rich guy Warren Worthington III would have been the leader of the group in most Golden Age settings. Part of the genius of Silver Age Marvel was the undermining of such comic book tropes, giving leadership duties to the awkward, gawky Cyclops instead. Still, in times of need, The Angel would step up in Cyke’s stead, as in X-Men #36, particularly memorable for a repeated editorial error where Warren was called “Scott” repeatedly.

9) AORANGER

The original Blue Ranger, Akira Shinmei’s official designation as the number two member of Himitsu Sentai Goranger is shown in the stripes of his uniform tunic. The sole survivor of a massacre in Touhoku, AoRanger (literally the Japanese for “Blue Ranger”) serves as the team’s pilot, taking the helm of their Variblune and Varidorin flying ships, as the giant combining mechas that would come to define Super Sentai and Power Rangers hadn’t actually debuted yet.

8) SHEGO

The main henchperson and actual brains of Doctor Drakken’s villainous operations, Shego (real name unknown, surname possibly Go) was once a superhero in her own right. Having given up her noble goals and abandoned her brothers (Hego, Mego, and twins Wego) and Team Go, Shego has a bad temper, a wicked sense of humor, and is unexpectedly beautiful, serving as Drakken’s right-hand woman, as well as occasionally freelancing for villains like Motor Ed and Señor Senior, Junior.

7) SEA DEVIL BIFF BAILEY

Seemingly created in the mold of The Challengers of The Unknown, The Sea Devils had a dashing, heroic leader in Dane Dorrance, with Biff Bailey serving as his lancer, muscle, and second-in-command. They were accompanied by the lovely Judy and her kid brother, Nicky, a paradigm that predates the similar configuration of The Fantastic Four by a year or so. Biff and the Sea Devils are rarely seen these days, popping up every once in a blue moon as supporting characters for Aquaman.

6) ANGUS

The Earth-warrior of the Mystic Knights of Tir-Na-Nog, Angus works with a team of young heroes who transform to fight off monsters sent by an evil queen from a faraway land. If it sounds a bit like Power Rangers, there’s a darn good reason for that, as Saban Entertainment was consciously trying to recreate the success of that series with homegrown heroes. Despite some fun bits, Angus and his Terra Sling Mace didn’t last very long, with the whole Mystic Knights team failing to secure a second season.

5) SPECTRUM

Though she was once the chairman of The Avengers, former Captain Marvel Monica Rambeau has spent an awful lot of time as a lancer. She was The Blue Marvel’s second-in-command during her time with The Mighty Avengers, as well as a more recent stint as second-in-command of The Thunderbolts under Hawkeye, as a favor for her former teammate Mayor Luke Cage. She was even Miss America’s right-hand woman during their days in The Ultimates, making her perhaps the most experienced Second on today’s list.

4) CANNONBALL

After serving as co-leader of The New Mutants throughout their entire history, Sam Guthrie became a key part of Cable’s first X-Force strike team. He served as the second-in-command, thanks in part to a hazy destiny as one of the Externals, something-something-mutants-that-are-immortal. After dying and resurrecting, Cannonball was told that he was NOT an External after all, and has pretty much been one of the heroes who only appear in team settings ever since, which is kind of a bummer, given all the setup for his supposedly epic future

3) ULTRA BOY

One of the earliest and most-tenured members of the Legion of Super-Heroes, Jo Nah of the planet Rimbor was also the team’s sixth official leader and the first to be elected by the comic’s readers. He earned a second term as the tenth leader, but lost to Dream Girl in his third go, serving as her official deputy leader.

At least, for a little while, as his roughneck style clashed with hers, causing Jo to loudly and dramatically quit as her second-in-command.

2) SARU BROTHER

The Blue Ranger and second-in-command of Avataro Sentai Donbrothers, Shinichi Saruhara has a keen mind and a sharp eye, often being called “Professor” by his friends, denoting his intellect. This has been seen to irritate his leader, Don Momotaro, but they are able to overcome this and work together unlike *ahem* certain Legionnaires one might mention. His powerful gorilla-themed form has fur sleeves, which I find honestly ridiculous. Mileage, as always, may vary.

1) MONSTER GIRL

The second-in-command of the Young Heroes, under the team founder Hard Drive, Rita Lopez cultivated drama, seducing nearly all her male teammates, for reasons even she couldn’t explain. When an alien arrived on Earth, explaining that Rita was one of his people, and that she was genetically programmed to assemble superhumans and endure they liked her… It got a little icky, to be honest.

Once again, this week’s topic, Ten Second-In-Command Supers, is all me, but feel free to follow along @MightyKingCobra to suggest a topic of your own! There’s always more Ten Things madness on my Twitter or check out the full Twitter archive here! As with any set of like items, these aren’t meant to be hard and fast or absolutely complete, if only because every Kirk needs his Spock. Either way, the comments section is below for just such an emergency, but, as always: Please, no wagering!

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