Karen: All right, gang -it's your turn! That's right, it's another DIY version of "Who's the Best!" The first person to comment needs to come up with today's topic. "Who's the Best" typically asks the BAB community to make a choice - in the past, we've asked, Who's the best giant monster, Superman artist, musical trio, Tarzan actor....you get the idea! It's up to you to ask the question today. So go ahead -we're waiting!
Wow, no takers yet? How about the best super villain that you associate with strictly with one hero? But don't say Luthor...nor Joker...nor Goblin...nor...
ReplyDeleteIt can be based on a long running history or one epic storyline or whatever your heart desires.
I'll throw out Killmonger from the Black Panther Jungle Action series. I thought that was an inspired epic.
Tom
Who's the best character who has NEVER had his/her own ongoing or limited series?
ReplyDeleteOkay, who's the best "voice" of a superhero?
ReplyDeleteSince the Fleischer Superman series or the 40s, we've had cartoons, live action movies/tv/radio/serials that feature characters that first appeared in comic books.
Which one of these voices do you "hear" when you read comic that features one of these heroes? Or do you "hear" a voice that's nothing like the ones featured in other media?
Some examples that I "hear":
Superman-Danny Dark various 'Superfriends' shows.
Spider-Man-Paul Soles from the 1960s cartoon, also voice of Hermey the elf in Rudolph.
Batman-Adam West.
Iron Man-Downey (sorry, John Vernon!)
Iceman-Frank Welker
OK, 3 posts at the same time ... so I'll answer all 3 using Batman:
ReplyDelete1. Ra's al Ghul is strictly Batman.
2. Batmite should have his own series (not sure he's "the best" though ... he's just the only one in the vast BatUniverse that I don't think has ever had a series).
3. Batman - Kevin Conroy / Joker - Mark Hamill
Adam West and Olan Soule tie for me when it comes to the voice of Batman.
ReplyDeleteHello from Great Britain ! I only discovered this blog yesterday - what about best non-American super-hero ( including aliens ) ?
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the African superhero Power Man, reprinted as Power Bolt due to Marvel's trademark.
DeleteVillain associated with one hero:
ReplyDeleteI was going to say Hobgoblin, but that might be covered by Tom's "no Green Goblin" decree. So I'll go with Doctor Octopus. I know he fought DD & Captain America, but those were one-offs. For a long time it was Doc Ock, not Norman Osbourn who was considered Spidey's "deadliest enemy".
Character(s) who never got their own series:
A series starring Hellcat & Son of Satan as a crime fighting couple would've been fun. They could've alternated between "street level" and demonic/supernatural villains.
Hellcat had a miniseries.
DeleteAnd Son of Satan had a feature series in Marvel Premiere or some title like that.
DeleteSo many to answer!
ReplyDelete1) Doc Ock came to mind first - so I'll stick with him - but when it comes to Spidey all the "animal" villains: Doc Ock, the Rhino, the Vulture, the Kangaroo, the Gibbon, the Puma, the Beetle, Chameleon, etc.. .
2) Hasn't almost everyone had their own series at some point? Even Son of Satan and Cloak & Dagger! I'll say Rick Jones.
3) I'd go with Kevin Conroy, since Joker/Mark Hamil is not a superhero.
4) Non-American hero? (Welcome Colin!) Black Panther - how can anyone else compare?
Re: item 2, that's to make it require thinking!
DeleteWhen I wrote the comment I thought Wolverine would be the favourite - he's everywhere in Marvel's comics it seems , as well as the movies- overkill ? Thanks for the welcome !
DeleteI'll amend my DIY to include villains, since Mark Hamill IS the Joker after Batman:TAS.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny, I remember when the series was announced, Tim Curry was going to voice the Joker, but he backed out. And no one was excited when Hamill was cast. He made the role his own.
Hmm, lot's of choices for discussion here.
ReplyDelete1. best villain associated with a single hero: Killmonger's a good choice, Tom, and made me think of another from McGregor's other notable '70s epic: Skar from the Killraven stories.
2. best character with no ongoing/limited series (I'm guessing that also includes extended runs or one-off appearances in anthology titles like Marvel Premiere or Adventure Comics): Ultra Boy from the Legion.
(And Matt's right about Son of Satan - not only did he have a run of about a dozen issues in Marvel Spotlight, he also had his own 8 issue solo series.)
3. J.A., I thought Doug & Karen already had a post about the best superhero voice, but I'll say this: back when I was reading the Michelinie/Layton run on Iron Man as it was coming out, Tony Stark sounded quite a bit like Tom Selleck in my head - probably because at the time I was also a really big fan of Magnum P.I. (and, in that vein, Rhodey sounded a lot like Roger Mosley, i.e., the guy who played T.C.).
4. Colin, you're a bit late to the party, but all right. First, I have to ask, do you mean a hero non-American by nationality in the comics themselves, or one created (and published) abroad by a non-American? In the former case, I'd have to agree with Osvaldo about the Black Panther, with the Tania Belinsky version of Red Guardian coming in second. In the latter case, I'd say Croatia's own Lavenderman.
Tom Selleck would have made a good Tony Stark if there had been an Iron Man TV show or movie in the '80s!
DeleteI meant a non-American created in America- I assumed Wolverine would be the runaway favourite ! I only added aliens as I couldn't think of many non- American superheroes but since I made that comment I've thought of quite a few. I started with Captain Britain obviously ( who was a bit embarassing when he was launched in 1976 ).
DeleteHoly cow! I looked at this on my phone when I first got up this morning and saw Tom had beaten Matt by a mere minute to the first post, and thought, "I hope everyone remembers the first post rule." But I see you guys have worked it out anyway, adding even more questions! I applaud your ability to run with it.
ReplyDeleteA big welcome to Colin! Hope you stay and participate in more discussions.
Edo -Lavenderman??? Does he spray perfume on people??
Thanks very much , Karen !
DeleteI think I like all of these other questions better than mine.
ReplyDeleteBest character who NEVER...tough for me because I didn't keep up with comics enough to be sure of the NEVER part - how about Colossus? If not him, any of the new X-men that didn't have a series - Nightcrawler? Storm? Rogue? Did any of them have series?
Voice...how about Michael Chiklis' Thing? I thought he had that character down pretty good.
Non-American...I'm back to Colossus. It's funny, but this blog has made me realize how much I like that big foreign lug. He was a top "nice guy" too. I guess that explains why he's also my answer to Matt's question above.
And yes Karen, I think everyone here plays nice. You and Doug have built a warm, respectful community here.
But I was first. :-)
Tom
Oh my, but the inmates are loose today!
ReplyDeleteI love watching you all play in the sandbox.
And a hearty handshake and slap on the back to Colin from me, as well. Welcome!
Doug
Thanks Doug, what a friendly place this is !
DeleteColin,
ReplyDeleteI think you won't find a lot of Wolverine fans here. ;) Overkill in more ways than one!
I didn't include X-Men like Rogue or Storm who never had their own series or limited series (Nightcrawler did) b/c I like them as part of a group, and would not care for them on their own.
At least, I don't think Rogue, Storm or Colossus ever had their own series (unless Magick counts for Storm, but that is more about Illyana anyway).
Glad to see I'm not the only one who thinks there too much Wolverine, I don't know what he's doing in the Avengers for instance ( or Spider Man come to that ).They should bring back the proper Avengers like the Vision and Scarlet Witch.
DeleteGreat Day, I love free-for-alls.
ReplyDeleteWhy not..?
Best Villain strictly with one hero..? Without Luthor, Joker, Goblin..? Too limiting.
I'd say Thanos for MarVell, despite his run in with Avengers but that was just part of his master plan.., not a direct conflict.
Best character without own series..? Hank or Janet Pym, of course. Perhaps Sue or Johnny Storm as well.
Best voice..? I'd go with Conroy on Batman. As much as I'm a West fanatic, his standing was unquestioned until Conroy came in. Totally nailed it.
Best non-American hero..? Wouldn't Vision be a nominee..? He was built 'from' other men, but he was still created as a separate and new entity. If not, I'd go with T'Challa as well.
Hank Pym and Johnny Storm had solo runs in the '60s in Tales to Astonish and Strange Tales, respectively. Torch also had an ongoing series in the '70s but I think it was all reprints.
DeleteWell, yes, Pym has solo stories back in the Silver Age, but not his own title or 'limited series'. I suppose that qualifies, but most of the time it was with the Wasp.
DeleteMatt's right again about Hank (& Janet); there was also a respectable 7-issue run of new Ant Man (Hank Pym) stories in Marvel Feature in the early '70s.
ReplyDeleteKaren, I mentioned Lavanderman (and also spelled his name wrong) with tongue firmly planted in cheek. As for his 'powers,' you were close: he apparently has super-strength and emits a powerful yet pleasant aroma of lavender. Here's a link to a rather amusing English-language summary and explanation:
http://www.body-pixel.com/2010/10/12/lavanderman-%E2%80%93-croatian-comic-book-hero/
A few years ago, a low-budget, limited release Lavanderman movie was also made - which I haven't seen yet, unfortunately.
Best one hero super-villain: I am really leaning DC here. So many great ones – Brainiac (I love how he’s been reinvented in recent years), Gorilla Grodd (talking gorilla with super strength and mental powers, what could be cooler than that?), Ra's al Ghul, Scarecrow, Two-Face. I guess I will toss a dart and go with… Ra's al Ghul. I like how he’s got a seemingly noble goal, to create a “utopia”, but goes about it in such a twisted fashion, that he’s a great villain to hate, and yet perhaps with some mixed feelings.
ReplyDeleteBest character who has NEVER had his/her own ongoing or limited series: This one is really tough becaue I think virtually everybody has had at least a miniseries. I think even Colossus had a miniseries, didn’t he? I guess I’ll go with either Banshee or Brainiac 5 (or a couple of other Legion of Super-Heroes members, for that matter).
Best "voice" of a superhero: Robery Downey jr. for Iron Man, I think.
Favorite non-American superhero: I used to love me some Wolverine back in the day, but he has indeed become overexposed, and has become somewhat a parody of himself, what with his ridiculous healing factor and all. So, I will give my vote to the Black Panther. I don’t necessarily love all of the things they’ve done with him in recent years, but he remains very cool.
It's interesting all this love for the Black Panther as I was reading " Panther's Rage " in a Marvel Essential volume last November- the story was first printed in the UK as a back-up strip in Planet Of The Apes in 1975- 76 which I mostly ignored at the time as it seemed too dense and complicated for me aged 10. I didn't know it would become a classic !
ReplyDeleteI'll take another stab at a "hero" who never had a solo series:
ReplyDeleteClea.
For foreign-born heroes, I'd go with the Black Panther, I'm currently re-reading the Panther's Rage Masterwork and loving it again.
Here are my three:
ReplyDeleteBest Villain associated with one Hero: Ras Al Ghul
Best Hero Without a Limited: Red Wolf
Best Voice of a Hero: John Vernon (Iron Man)
Rip Off
Ah, but Red Wolf did have a series. I have issue 1 right here!
DeleteGorilla Grodd. Best one hero-villain. He eats people, for godsakes!
ReplyDeleteWhen did Grodd start eating people?!
DeleteI enjoy the Leader's bouts with ol' Greenskin as a one-hero villain. Such extreme arrogance about cerebral supremacy never-endingly duped by raw gamma might or some miscalculated flaw.
ReplyDeleteBorderlines on Wile E. Coyote territory some days.
My favorite one-hero supervillain as a kid was Professor Zoom! I'm not sure why he was special...maybe just that he was a dark version of the Flash was intriguing, like when you see the "evil twin" version of a character.
ReplyDeleteNon-American superhero, I'll say...Superman! C'mon everyone knows that Joe Shuster was a Canadian! : ) Well, I'll actually go with another Canadian: Sasquatch. Recently reading through Alpha Flight again, I found Sasquatch was the character that stood out for me, while as a kid I liked Vindicator/Guardian...or Captain Canuck...anyone with a Maple Leaf! But Sasquatch is a visually interesting character, especially well-drawn by Byrne, and is big and strong, but intelligent and with a sense of humour. So he gets nominated for deserving his own series as well.
Voice: I listened to The Shadow radio programs a few years ago, and Orson Welles was very effective as the Shadow. The others who replaced him were also good. I owned a whole set and would listen as I worked--great stuff, they really knew how to evoke all the aspects of a story with just audio back then.
Best Villain - The Mandarin (ol' Shellhead's nemesis for many years)
ReplyDeleteBest hero w/out a series - tough one here; nearly every hero out there has had a limited run- how about Thor's buddies the Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun & Volstagg)?
Best Voice - Kevin Conroy as Batman in the animated series.
- Mike 'I love Wolverine but yes he is too overexposed' from Trinidad & Tobago.
One of my favorite supervillians was the Shocker. No superpowers, no grudge, he wasn't insane, he was just a hi-tech-hi-jacker.
ReplyDeleteI also liked Scorpio, for reasons I'd rather not go into.
1. Best villain associated with only one hero? (With the obvious exceptions of Luthor, Joker, Green Goblin, etc.) I'll say Sabretooth. He has fought other heroes, but he is definitely Wolverine's arch-enemy.
ReplyDelete2. Best character who never had his/her own monthly ongoing series? - Wow! This is a tough question, because it seems that just about every character I could think of, has at some point had their own ongoing series at one time or another. But for me, Scott Lang Ant-Man would get the vote. (I know Ant-Man has had his own ongoing, but Scott Lang never did).
3. Best voice actor for a superhero/or villain? - This is a total no-brainer (at least for me anyway). As many others have already noted it's definitely Kevin Conroy as Batman, and/or Mark Hamill as the Joker.
4. Best non-American hero. I think the poster's original intention was to name characters that were not created by American comic book companies. (Such as Judge Dredd, etc.) So, if that is the case, I'd say Miracle Man (aka Marvel Man).
Garett mentioned Professor Zoom, and that was another favorite of mine. Just about the only evil speedster I can think of, and I loved the fact that his costume was the same as the Flash, with the reverse color scheme.
ReplyDeleteAlso, William, Colin stated that he meant a non-American created in America.
Man, a person goes on a vacation, and the BEST threads come flyin' through!
ReplyDeleteA belated welcome to Colin, if I may, eh?
TOTALLY chiming in supporting the Leader as best one-hero villain. He got completely scrambled come the McFarlane years, but he was FOREVER before that an almost comically snotty, snide, arrogant, pleased-with-himself egomaniac. . . and never, never handled defeat with anything like grace or even resignation. Someone we've overlooked, though, would also be the Abomination, who we saw even more times over the years. A third (and one who I believe has popped up in the "modern" universe)is Tyrannus, who may have never appeared anywhere, ever, other than in Greenskin's titles.
Best character voice: This is out of left field, but I'm gonna put EVERYONE behind Townsend Coleman as The Tick in the Fox animated series. I don't know if anyone has nailed the vocal soul of comic book character better than that. Many kudos to all previously mentioned, but I think my #2 spot would go to the legendary Paul Frees as the voice of Ben Grimm in the old 60's FF cartoon. That was the voice I'd use when reading those comics to toddler HBSon so many years ago. Another unexpected one: Neil Patrick Harris voiced the "mainstream" Spidey in the SPIDERMAN:SHATTERED DIMENSIONS game a few years ago. . . and was simply brilliant. And that was a game where all four guys "voicing" Spidey hit it out of the park, IMO. (Generally, I've always been pleased w/ the Spidey/Peter voice actors in all of the Activision games).
Someone needing their own series? Actually. . . I think we could definitely say the Wasp. The old Ant-Man/Giant-Man feature was definitely Hank's book, and Jan was the sidekick-- that was pretty much stated by the characters themselves on several occassions. Jan on her own? Don't think that's ever been done. Somewhere recently I'd floated the idea that she would actually make a darned cool "private detective" type of protagonist in a solo book. Albeit a surprisingly superpowered one.
Anyone with me on that?
HB (back from West Virginia. . . and exhausted!)