Doug: OK, maybe the title is a bit harsh. But, are there characters who you really just don't care about? Maybe you've never read anything about them, or even a book they were in? Is there someone out there that you keep asking yourself, "What's the big deal?" For me, the guy at Marvel who fills that bill is Deadpool.
I was never a Rob Liefeld fan, never got into the New Mutants or X-Force, so that entire line of characters has largely gone by the wayside in my brain. I know Deadpool is popular, but he's just a gun-totin' blowhard to me (by the way -- check out the left forearm in the image to the left... I say "Image be damned!!"). He just doesn't resonate with me. I wouldn't say I hate him -- I'd just say he doesn't register anytime on my Care-o-Meter.
And, over at the Distinguished Competition, it has to be Firestorm. I believe he came 'round during the period I was out of comics (early 1980's -- I could be off a bit). So when I got back in, I saw his books on the spinner racks, saw him in the JLA, but just never found the character, the look, or the backstory attractive. I mean, again, I don't hate on the guy -- just don't really have any involvement with him, no attachment.
So who's yours?
(sorry in advance for this long post)
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about Deadpool.
Is Cable too obvious a character to mention here? I'll get back to Cable in a minute,but I think the main reason I lack interest in certain characters mostly has to do with my age when they first appeared. Others I just never cared for.
I was a huge X-men fan, but I've never cared for Gambit,who first appeared when I was 18,and less impressionable than when I was younger. The costume,the powers,the cards don't do anything for me. And reading phonetic cajun has always been an annoying task for me.
Cable showed up around the same time and is less interesting than Gambit. Sure,he's a telepath,but he's really just a big guy with a gun...who happens to be Cyclops' son...from the future...or something. Cable's history and "continuity" give me headaches.
Earlier characters that don't register:
Angel. He's got wings,he can fly,he's a rich kid,and...he's colorless and bland.
The Punisher. I'll admit I enjoyed his early appearances in Spider-man,the Miller Daredevil 'Child's Play' and the Grant/Zeck/Beatty miniseries,but that's it. No matter what the back-story is,no matter how many Travis Bickle-esque interior monologues he delivers,he's a guy with a gun. Period. I guess the characters who consist of "man/woman with weapon" don't register on my Care-o-meter.
Mantis is someone I never got into. I love the 70s Avengers stories, including the 'Celestial Madonna' business. It's been discussed here before but(similar to Gambit)it's a chore to read through all her Mantis-speak. "This one feels the Vision is hot",etc. She's just another agile martial artist and her back-story is forgettable.
Just about all of Iron Man's villains are boring. Cartoon Communists in armor or "powerhorns" get old fast.
Here's my "controversial" pick:
Thor,but only in his solo series. I enjoy him in the Avengers,watching him interact with the others was usually fun and interesting. And I love the look of the series when it's drawn by someone great(Kirby/Simonson/both Buscemas)but I guess the whole "god" thing just made it impossible for me to get interested in his solo tales,just too distant for me.
As for DC it's any incarnation of Robin who doesn't register,or Nightwing,or Batman II or whatever he is these days. When I was a little kid,I liked Robin because of the West/Ward series and the Superfriends. By the time I was 7-8 and reading comics,I realized Batman does fine without Robin,and I don't think he's interesting enough to exist as a solo character or as one of the Teen Titans. As for his creation,I always thought that was silly too. Kids don't need a younger character in 'Batman' comics to identify with,they want to be Batman!
I wouldn't mind if the hero/villain cast of the MU stopped just after the Contest of Champions....sure there's been plenty of cool characters introduced since, but i don't really consider any of them "essential" to MY personal Marvel Universe after ContestofChampions or maybe Secret Wars---just wipe out the mohawk Storm, please.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Cable, Deadpool, Phoenix II, Gambit---no thanks (maybe include Mojo, though)
starfoxxx
I have another one, and this may be a Bronze Age sin to even say it: Howard the Duck. Confession time -- I have NEVER read anything with Howard the Duck in it.
ReplyDeleteI know, I know -- it's supposed to be great Gerber satire and social commentary... It's just never been high on my list of priorities. Maybe I'm missing out.
Doug
The Sentry. Words cannot begin to describe my apathy.
ReplyDeleteAlso: Bane. Doomsday. The Mac Gargan Venom. The Eddie Brock Venom. Any shmuck off the street who's name even SOUNDS like Venom.
(Where is Carnage on this list, you may ask? This is zero on the Care-O-Meter. I LOATHE Carnage with the passion of a thousand burning suns.)
Marvel: Starfox, & any X-character introduced after about 1985/86.
ReplyDeleteDC: Red Tornado - I guess he was supposed to be something like the JLA's version of Vision, but to me he was always just the bright red and largely uninteresting guy taking up space in various stories.
I would have added Dazzler to this list, but I get the impression from Doug's original post that the emphasis is on characters we're indifferent to rather than those we actively dislike or even loathe (in the latter case, I think everybody would be mentioning Terry Long...)
Deadpool, Gambit and Cable are at the top of my Marvel list. I have seen Deadpool panels on tumblr and such that have made me chuckle but I just can't gather the strength to read a full issue.
ReplyDeleteWith Gambit, I was probably 20 when he arrived on the scene and slowly began to choke off my love of the X-Men (which Cable finished off). I was baffled by the "excitement" I read about on the internet about his inclusion in the Wolverine movie.
I'm struggling to think of a DC character I loathe. I've always been discouraged that I never read LOSH but I like the concept (and characters) so it doesn't fit here...
Deadpool I really don't care at all.
ReplyDeleteNow Gambit, it is not only that I don't care but I think is lame, bottom line is that his power is to throw poker cards (who came up with that?). Is he constantly buying new decks? and his outfit? SUCKS!
In my case I wasn't that old when the character came out, somewhere around 11 or 12...
Now a days there are a lot of mutants that I don't even know their names which keep the x books way crowed for my taste.
pretty much agree with everyone else's choices here already - except Howard the Duck - but I'd also like to chuck in Iron Man. can't stand him. I don't mind him in the Avengers, but Iron Man solo I cannot abide. also, Wolverine, or rather Wolverine after the Claremont/Byrne X-Men days. actually, to be honest, you could probably lump ALL of the X-Men in with that. tell you what: while I'm here, why don't we just say ANY MODERN VERSION OF ANY MARVEL COMICS CHARACTER? there. I've said it. I'm just a grumpy old comic book guy.
ReplyDeleteSorry I was traveling and missed this.
ReplyDeleteMy Marvel list:
Anything/anyone with a symbiote attached. Venom is an awful character and Carnage is an embarrassment. I have seen evidence that they have attached symbiotes to others...but I don't care.
The Sentry. Big time agreement on that one.
Anyone in the New Warriors that isn't Nova or Speedball, but frankly they screwed those characters up enough that I am close to not caring about them anymore too.
The Beyonder. He should have stayed a plot device.
Lyja the Lazer Fist. Actually, how about any characters that Tom Defalco created during his interminable run on the FF?
Throw in any Thor-related crap DeFalco presided over too. I love Thor and Asgard, but Defalco could screw up a 2 car funeral.
Anyone who appeared in Daredevil "Fall from Grace." I want the $3 I spent buying those back issues back too.
DC:
I tried to care about Azrael. I failed. Sorry Denny.
Jericho.
Deadshot, Cain, and all other pale imitations of Deathstroke....even though I still don't care about his son. (Weird, huh?)
Vigilante.
Adam Strange. Not every Silver Age idea should have outlived Marilyn Monroe.
At DC, the one I never cared for was Aquaman. He had/has a dorky costume, lame powers, and a personality that shifted with every writer. The "badass" version with a hook hand was, to me, representative of everything wrong with gritty rebots of characters. It was just too transparent that that was what they were trying to do.
ReplyDeleteAt Marvel, the Submariner always struck me as fairly ridiculous too. He had that weird face with the arched eyebrows and the high forehead and spent most of his time wearing nothing more than a teeny-tiny green speedo. That combined with a personality of a petulant brat made it easy for me to skip his appearances.
I want to add that I don't automatically hate aquatic-themed characters. It's just that for some reason they always come out lame.
Marvel: 60s- Iron Man. Daredevil. Namor.Read a lot (a LOT) of stories about 'em but never really engaged with them.
ReplyDelete70s -Luke Cage. Werewolf By Night: Dull.
80s/90s- Quasar. Punisher
DC: 60s- Green Lantern. Aquaman.(although I loved the cartoons) Martian Manhunter.(Don't get it. At all).
70s- Ditko's Shade. Steel. Black Lightning
80s/90s- Suicide Squad. Azrael.